ROME – “Armenia and Azerbaijan have decided to open a new phase in their relations. Italy will be close to these two friendly countries at every moment of their exchange of views”. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, welcomes the agreement reached by the two countries in the South Caucasus. “With an understanding that Italy welcomes with sincere satisfaction, two countries that have been in a situation of conflict for years are resolutely embarking on a path that we hope will soon lead them to peace, which we want to be total and definitive. A new phase that will bring them ever closer to Europe, and will enable us Europeans to broaden the scope for cooperation and peaceful collaboration”.
Hon. Tajani also emphasises that the agreement allows for an exchange of detainees, a decisive confidence-building measure between the two countries. “The European Union will again stand by Armenia and Azerbaijan in the coming months as they continue to work towards normalising their relations with a genuine peace agreement. I wish to congratulate my fellow Ministers, Armenia’s Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijan’s Jeyhun Bayramov, for their continued work. We had met at the United Nations, and they felt that the Italian government’s ongoing support for the progress of their relations has always been sincere and engaged, because we determinedly want peace and prosperity to bear fruit for their peoples and for all Europeans”.
