PRESS RELEASE                                                      
May 3-5, 2009

Foreign Minister Nalbandyan visits Washington, DC

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan visited the United States on May 3-5, 2009. Minister Nalbandyan had meetings with the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US National Security Adviser General James Jones, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives Howard Berman, co-chairs of the Armenian Caucus of the House of Representatives Frank Pallone and Mark Kirk, as well as Representatives Anna Eshoo, Scott Garrett and Steve Rothman, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried, Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Rodney Bent, and representatives of Armenian American organizations. During these meetings he was accompanied by Ambassador Tatoul Markarian. During the meeting Secretary of State Clinton and Minister Nalbandyan discussed a wide spectrum of issues concerning different spheres of bilateral relations, in particular, the Armenian-American economic cooperation, the forthcoming Armenian-American intergovernmental committee session due in Yerevan in May, the Karabakh peace process, Turkish-Armenian relations, and various regional and international issues. With the National Security Adviser James Jones the Minister discussed issues related to Armenian-American political and security cooperation, security and stability in the region, the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations, and the opportunities for settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. During the meetings with the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives Howard Berman and the Cochairmen of the Armenian Caucus of the House of Representatives the Minister introduced priorities of Armenia’s foreign policy, briefed them on the latest developments in the Nagorno Karabakh peace process and the process of normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.