September 22, 2017 - 14:52 AMT
Armenia defense chief, U.S. lawmakers talk ties, Karabakh issue

Defense minister Vigen Sargsyan on Friday, September 22 briefed U.S. Congressman on the current situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the contact line between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

Sargsyan met Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chairs Frank Pallone and Jackie Speier, as well as Members of Congress Anna Eshoo, David G. Valadao, Tulsi Gabbard and Jim Sensenbrenner in Yerevan.

At the meeting, the defense chief detailed the lawmakers on the joint projects that Armenia and the U.S. are currently working on, stressing the importance of the assistance that the United States provides for carrying out reforms and boosting cooperation between the two armies.

Also, Sargsyan weighed in on Turkey and Azerbaijan's militaristic policies and a number of other issues.

The Members of Congress, in turn, pledged to work for better Armenia-U.S. ties and the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Pallone and Gabbard traveled to Artsakh on Wednesday, September 20, where, alongside government officials and ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian, they witnessed firsthand the independent Republic’s remarkable economic, democratic, and cultural progress.