Your trusted source

Uruguay is a very important and reliable partner for Armenia, Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said during a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa of Uruguay on Wednesday, summing up the outcomes of their talks held earlier in the day.

The Armenian official stressed Uruguay conveys ‘a kind of emotional sentiment’ to Armenians as a country which recognized the Armenian Genocide still in 1965 and further reinforced that fact in a law adopted in 2004.

Mnatsakanyan said interstate relations with Uruguay are based on common values – democracy, human rights, peace – and on the shared priority of pursuing common goals in this respect. He said Uruguay supports Armenia's efforts to prevent genocides.

The Armenian foreign policy chief said they have reflected on a wide range of issues concerning bilateral relations, the continuation of the political dialogue, as well as the role of around 20,000-member Armenian community of Uruguay serving as a bridge between two countries.

“20,000 Armenians are not only dedicated citizens of Uruguay and take part in the country’s social and political life, but also remain true to their Armenian identity,” he said.

Mnatsakanyan said they have also highlighted the intensification of inter-parliamentary contacts, adding an Armenia-Uruguay inter-parliamentary friendship group has been established.

The Armenian FM said he has also briefed his Uruguayan counterpart on Armenia’s position on the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict settlement.

“I reaffirmed that the security of the Nagorno-Karabakh population, our compatriots, has been and remains a priority in our approaches, so does the status stemming from it,” he said, stressing there is no alternative to the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Mnatsakanyan also said the Consulate General of Uruguay will open in Yerevan this week, with discussions on the matter held in New York back in 2018.