U.S. Assistant Secretary Nuland Arrives in Armenia

U.S. Assistant Secretary Victoria Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills at the Genocide Memorial in Yerevan.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, Victoria Nuland arrived in Yerevan on February 18 following a short visit to Baku, Azerbaijan. Nuland, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills paid a visit to the Genocide Memorial Complex, the memorial to honor the 1.5 victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

During her visit she will meet with senior government officials, civil society groups and youth representatives to discuss strengthening bilateral political and economic ties.

Following her visit to the memorial, U.S. Assistant Secretary Nuland had a meeting with Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Edward Nalbandyan. In a press statement released by Nalbandyan's office, the interlocutors spoke about deepening bilateral relations in different spheres. They both were satisfied with their cooperation in the field of international and regional security issues, peacekeeping operations, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the fight against terrorism. Nuland expressed gratitude for Armenia's active participation in peacekeeping missions.

U.S. Assistant Secretary Nuland also said she was pleased by Armenia's steps in achieving democracy, strengthening civil society and reform in the economy. They spoke about developing Armenian-American trade possibilities and encouraging investment in Armenia.

Both Nalbandyan and Nuland agreed that all possible efforts must be put into place to ensure the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. While in Baku, Victoria Nuland had said that the United States is very much concerned with the recent upsurge in tension and violence along the Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact.