The foreign ministeries of Armenia and Ukraine kicked off a round of political consultations on Monday in Kyiv.
The Armenian foreign ministry reported that the delegations engaged in the talks are headed by the deputy foreign ministers of the two countries, Mnatsakan Safaryan and Yevhen Perebiynis.
“During the consultations, a wide range of issues on bilateral political agenda was touched upon along with prospects for further enhancing the cooperation in the areas of mutual importance. The parties discussed cooperation in trade-economic, legal, and other directions,” the Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement.
Over the past two years, Yerevan has sought to advance relations with Ukraine, despite that country’s well-documented military and political support to Azerbaijan, especially during the 2020 Artsakh War.
A significant deterioration of ties between Yerevan and Moscow was punctuated in recent weeks, when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan claimed that two member states of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, of which Armenia is a member, were actively supporting Baku during the war.
Last week, the foreign ministries of Armenia and Belarus recalled their respective ambassadors, with Pashinyan and official Yerevan accusing Belarus of assisting Azerbaijan during the war.
Pashinyan, however, did not mention Ukraine’s overt support to Azerbaijan before and after the 2020 war, as his close political allies, including the parliament speaker, made overtures to Kyiv.
According to the foreign ministry, Monday’s meeting “highlighted the importance of continuous contacts and exchange of views at different levels between the two countries.”
“The Ukrainian side was provided with detailed information about the situation in the region due to the aggression of Azerbaijan and the occupation of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia as well as on the efforts of the Republic of Armenia aimed at normalization of relations,” the Armenian foreign ministry said.
Safaryan also briefed the Ukrainian delegation about the Armenian government’s “Crossroads of Peace” initiative, which is “based on the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, reciprocity and equality and is aimed at ensuring stability and economic development in the region.”