Speaker Of Iran's Majlis Ends Two Day Visit To Armenia

(09.13.2006; Islamic Republic News Agency

During a two-day official visit to Armenia, Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, Speaker of Iran's Majlis (Parliament), said that his government would never yield to the will of 'bullying powers'. Referring to Iran's nuclear issue, the Speaker said that Iran had always pursued negotiations to settle the issue. He also praised what he termed Armenia's 'logical stance' on the issue.

His counterpart in Armenia, National Assembly Chairman Tigran Torossian said that, " All countries should benefit from equal conditions to access nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. No country should abuse its position to restrict other states."

The Majlis Speaker, who arrived in Yerevan on Monday, mentioned that the first pipeline to transfer gas from Iran to Armenia would be operational by year's end.

Regarding relations between the two nations, the Speaker commented that Iran-Armenia ties have been quite favorable given the good relationship that exists between Iranian Muslims and the Armenian minority. Pointing to the deep-rooted bonds linking the Iranian and Armenian peoples, both Haddad-Adel and Torossian called for an expansion of cooperation between the two neighboring states.