Meeting with Ararat Mirzoyan

On October 27, within the framework of the working visit of Péter Szijjártó, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary, a tête-à-tête meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Hungary took place. The meeting was continued in an extended format with the participation of both delegations, the Press Office of the Armenian Foreign Ministry reported.

Following the meeting, Ararat Mirzoyan and Péter Szijjártó held a joint press conference.

Mirzoyan stated, "We discussed issues on the enhancing partnership between Armenia and the European Union. We expressed confidence that the cooperation aimed at promoting economic development in the region and further development based on that logic will have a positive outcome, including with the support of the EU. In this context, we discussed Armenia's involvement in various regional projects, particularly referring to the joint statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of the European Commission of October 5, which stated that the Commission will support Armenia's participation in regional projects, such as the Black Sea electric cable."

"I am sure that Hungary, also as an EU member state, is well aware of all developments. I would like to emphasize that for lasting and dignified peace in the South Caucasus for our people, it is vital to ensure the exclusion of the use of force and xenophobic policy because we have already witnessed its manifestations, which we have repeatedly warned about. Only a month ago, the policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh was completed, and more than 100,000 Armenians were forced to flee to save their lives and were forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, left their historic homeland, and now seek safe shelter as refugees in the Republic of Armenia," the Armenian Foreign Minister stated.

Meeting with Nikol Pashinyan

On the same day, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the delegation led by Péter Szijjártó, who was in Armenia on a working visit, the Press Office of the Armenian Prime Minister reported.

The Prime Minister attached importance to the continuity of the Armenian-Hungarian dialogue and its consistent development in different directions. Nikol Pashinyan highlighted steps to promote economic cooperation, education, culture, aviation, and other fields.

Szijjártó emphasized the positive dynamics in bilateral relations and the importance of high-level mutual visits between Armenia and Hungary. He added that the Hungarian government intends to open a consulate in Yerevan, contributing to the expansion of Armenian-Hungarian ties.

"Nikol Pashinyan referred to the forced deportation of more than 100,000 of our compatriots from Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing policy and the resulting humanitarian situation, the steps taken by the Armenian government to solve the existing problems," the report added.

Notably, Yerevan broke diplomatic relations with Budapest in 2012 when it extradited to Baku Ramil Safarov, convicted of the murder of Armenian Lieutenant Gurgen Margaryan in the Hungarian capital during a NATO course in 2004. Safarov was immediately released upon his return to his homeland. As a result, then-Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan ordered to sever diplomatic ties with Hungary.