News - Greece PM to Armenia colleague: We will always stand with you to form, get peace treaty from Azerbaijan

It is with great joy that we host the prime minister of friendly Armenia in Athens. This visit is an important step that further strengthens the excellent relations between Armenia and Greece. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated this at his joint press conference with visiting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Athens Tuesday. In his remarks, Mitsotakis stated as follows, in particular. "These are relationships that go back centuries, but can be even more effective in the face of the new shared challenges we face. Especially at this moment, when Armenia, with the support of the EU, is forming clear and transparent institutions that will enable drawing investments [to the country]. We will have the opportunity to discuss as well our bilateral cooperation in such domains as renewable energy, modern technology. This cooperation is deepening and developing further. In that logic, a memorandum was signed between Enterprise Greece and Enterprise Armenia. We support cooperation also in the defense sector by signing a special agreement in December 2023. We are discussing with Mr. Prime Minister how we can further strengthen our trade and economic relations." The Greek PM noted that they discussed regional developments as well with his Armenian colleague. "Our approaches here are shared, we are clearly against the threat of force or the use of force. We are dedicated to the principles of respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each country. We believe that differences should be settled only peacefully. And since 2023, Armenia knows the price of peace better than all of us. The decisions you have to make, dear Nikol, will shape the actual country's future for years to come. I listened with great interest to your approaches, how you see the implementation of steps in the strategic environment being newly formed. We had the opportunity to discuss also the format of making the life easier for more than 100,000 [displaced Armenian] people of Nagorno-Karabakh. From the point of view of diplomacy, Greece will always stand with you to form and receive a peace treaty from Azerbaijan. Only a stable [peace] treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan can pave the way for a better future in the South Caucasus. For this reason, Greece also supports the Crossroads of Peace initiative that you presented to us. This will enable the region to transform from a stage of conflict zone into a trade hub, linking the Gulf countries with the Mediterranean countries. Only shared prosperity can silence weapons, only the progress of peoples can restrain the plans of tyrannical leaders. We discussed also the reforms taking place in Armenia, which show Armenia's commitment to the West. Greece, as an EU country, is ready to shape a new, liberal democracy with its knowledge, experience, and abilities." At the end of his remarks, the Greek PM thanked also the Armenian community in Greece, which is a connecting link between the two countries.