Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian today met with Italy’s Defense Minister Giampaolo Di Paola today in Yerevan.

Minister Nalbandian said that Armenian-Italian relations have been developing satisfactorily since the establishment of diplomatic links between the two countries twenty years ago and stressed that last year’s state visit of   Armenian President Sargsyan to Italy provided a new impetus to bilateral relations.

Giampaolo Di Paola noted that he was pleased to visit Armenia and highly assessed Armenian’s engagement in maintaining of international security and peace, in particular peacekeeping operations.

In the course of the meeting, the sides expressed satisfaction with the signing of an agreement on the cooperation in the defense sphere, which is seen as a basis for   efficient cooperation in that sphere. The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Italian Defense Minister touched upon the interaction between Armenia and the European Union and the huge progress made in its frames.

During the meeting views were exchanged on a number of issues related to regional security. Minister Nalbandian presented a detailed description of the ongoing Karabakh settlement process.

The Defense Minister of Italy stressed that his country, as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, supports the efforts of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards a peaceful settlement of the issue.