The Armenian Vice Chancellor Spoke at the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires

From left to right: Roberto Malkassian,
Ashot Hovakimian and Ester Mkrtumyan

The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Ashot Hovakimian, gave a public conference on October 30 at the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires with the Ambassador of Armenia in Argentina, Ester Mkrtumyan, and Roberto Malkassian, head of the Free Chair on Holocaust, Genocide and Fight Against Discrimination of that Faculty.

"I traveled for political reasons, the Foreign Ministries have this mechanism and sometimes they meet to discuss issues of mutual interest, exchange ideas or information on different topics," explained Hovakimian during the conference entitled "25 years of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Argentina."

"We are two fraternal countries," summarized the diplomat. "We need more Argentine culture. The Argentine Ambassador in Yerevan is working to spread the Argentine culture, especially the tango, and is doing a great job," he added, speaking about the diplomat Gonzalo Urriolabeitia.

On the political situation that Armenia is currently experiencing, Hovakimian emphasized the role of youth at this moment: "It is a new way of putting the people interests and wishes into the internal politics. There ir a lot of enthusiasm especially in young people. This is a very interesting transition and a very responsible time for my country."

Regarding the geopolitical situation of Armenia, the deputy minister spoke about the importance of the Eurasian Economic Union for trade, as well as a recent treaty with the European Union in the context of the country's difficulty with its neighbors, mainly Turkey and Azerbaijan, with whom there are no diplomatic relations. "We are trying to balance the different interests, without playing with them," he specified.

When asked about the situation in Artsakh, Hovakimian stressed that Armenia's priority was to keep the population safe, respect their visions and peacefully resolve the conflict. "Azerbaijan thinks that the issue should be resolved exclusively with the principle of territorial integrity. You cannot resolve the conflict looking only for territory and forgetting about the people. Thus, one would be thinking of territories without people," the diplomat said.

During his visit, Hovakimian also met with the Secretary of Human Rights and Cultural Pluralism of the Nation, Claudio Avruj and with the Deputy and President of the Parliamentary Group of Friendship with Armenia, Waldo Wolff. On Monday, October 29, Hovakimian also held a meeting with the Argentine Foreign Relations Secretary, Daniel Raimondi. After that, Hovakimian visited Uruguay where he met Viceminister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, Ariel Bergamino.