After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Germany was one of the first states to welcome and assist the newly independent states, including Armenia, Germany’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Armenia Hans-Jochen Schmidt said at the September 20 press conference on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. In his words, today - on the eve of independence of the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian authorities together with their partner states should find such a solution to the Nagorno Karabakh problem that will be acceptable to all the parties. “The Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the closed Armenian-Turkish border are the last remnant of the cold war,” the German ambassador said. According to him, the solution of these problems will have a positive effect on the nations living in all the South Caucasian countries - from the political and economic point of view. “True, the Nagorno Karabakh problem is not the one to be resolved in the near future, but it is at the center of attention of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,” Hans-Jochen Schmidt noted. In response to a question about Armenia’s achievements, he said: “I read in media publications today that the issue of facilitating the Armenia-EU visa system will be discussed at the Warsaw summit soon, this fact makes me happy as I attach importance to free movement of people”.

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