We Expect That The US, Jointly With The Other Co-Chair Countries, Will Continue Its Active Mediation Mission: Serzh Sargsyan

Today, on the occasion of Independence Day of the United States of America, President Serzh Sargsyan visited the residence of the US Ambassador to Armenia. On the occasion of the holiday, President Serzh Sargsyan congratulated Ambassador Richard Mills and in his person the staff of the Embassy and the people of the United States, and wished success in the continuous development and strengthening of the Armenian-American relations. The President of Armenia highly valued the input of the United States to our country’s economic development since independence, strengthening of democracy, maturing of the civil society and underscored that he was hopeful that after the presidential elections in the US, the bilateral relations will continue to develop dynamically.

Ambassador Richard Mills thanked the President of Armenia for the visit and congratulations. He noted that for the last twenty-five years he has been following closely developments in Armenia and agreed with President Sargsyan on the issue of the achievements registered in the country in the mentioned period of time. The US Ambassador underlined that the citizens of Armenia can rightfully take pride in progress achieved by Armenia in the last quarter of the century in the economic, social as well as political areas. He said that he was glad that the people and Government of the United States have played their part in that advancement.

The President of Armenia also sent a congratulatory message to the President of the United States Barack Obama:

"Honorable President Obama,

Allow me to wholeheartedly congratulate you and the people of the United States on the occasion of Independence Day of the United States of America.

Early next year, we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our nations. Looking back on our journey, I note with great satisfaction that the Armenia-US relations have always been marked by cordiality, mutual trust and respect.
We highly value the great support extended by the United States towards the development of Armenia's economy, the implementation of various reforms and the strengthening of our democratic institutions. Building on a strong tradition of fruitful cooperation and on the existing significant potential, Armenia stands ready to further deepen and develop the Armenian-American friendship and the close partnership.

We greatly appreciate the US engagement, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, in the Nagorno-Karabakh peaceful settlement process. The diplomatic efforts that followed the full-fledged military operation of Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh in the early April, 2016, have once again underscored the key role played by the United States in the peace process. Similar to the co-chair countries of the Minsk Group, we are also strongly convinced that the maintenance of the unlimited-in-time trilateral ceasefire agreements of 1994-1995 and the implementation of steps leading to the establishment of an environment conducive to negotiations, would serve as a strong foundation for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through exclusively peaceful means. We expect that the United States, jointly with the other co-chair countries - Russia and France, will continue its active mediation mission towards the establishment of a stable and durable peace in our region.

Please allow me to once again congratulate you on Independence Day and to wish you and people of the United States continued progress and prosperity. Please accept, Mr. President, the assurances of my highest consideration," reads the congratulatory message of the President of Armenia.