On January 19, the delegation led by Alen Simonyan, the President of the National Assembly of Armenia met with Brad Sherman and Gregory Meeks, the Chairmen of the House Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Republican Chris Smith.
Welcoming the members of the delegation, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks mentioned that they have paid special attention to the democratic processes in Armenia since 2018. He also expressed readiness to always support those reforms.
Issues related to the 44-day war and its consequences were discussed at the meeting. At the request of American partners, Alen Simonyan touched upon the issues of security of the Armenian border, the settlement of post-war humanitarian problems and the repatriation of hostages held in Azerbaijan. The American side informed that the U.S. House of Representatives, and in particular their Committee, is strictly concerned for the fate of prisoners of war and thinks that they should be immediately repatriated to their homeland. During the meeting, the Chairman of the Committee emphasized that it is very important to ensure the stability of the South Caucasus and in that context, it is necessary to reach a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and a lasting settlement of the issue. The United States will greatly contribute to that, including in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Alen Simonyan stressed the importance of Genocide’s recognition by the U.S. House of Representatives of the Congress, emphasizing the role of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Thanking the RA NA President for the high assessment, those present once again stressed that it was really the result of the continuous work.
At the end of the meeting, Alen Simonyan informed that a number of events and mutual visits are planned within the framework of the 30th anniversary of establishing the diplomatic relations between Armenia and the U.S. The NA President invited the Chairman to visit Armenia to get acquainted with the existing problems and the democratic achievements on the spot.
