Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and visiting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met in Yerevan today and discussed ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks and Armenia-NATO cooperation.

Pashinyan, during a joint press conference following their meeting, said Armenia wants to expand ties with NATO, to which Stoltenberg responded that NATO shares his desire.

“We also support your efforts to develop a more independent foreign policy, which we believe is important,” Stoltenberg said, referring to Yerevan’s recent steps to distance itself from the Russian-led CSTO military alliance.

Stoltenberg stressed that NATO supports Armenia’s territorial integrity. The NATO chief, prior to his arrival in Yerevan today, visited Baku and Tbilisi and said NATO supports the territorial integrity of those countries.

Pashinyan said he and Stoltenberg discussed his government’s steps to reform the Armenian military, stressing that this process “is not directed against any state and is aimed at increasing the defense capabilities of the Armed Forces of Armenia in order to ensure the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia.”

Stoltenberg called on Yerevan and Baku to finalize a peace deal that would go far to ensure stability and development in the South Caucasus.