YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian-Ukrainian cultural ties have many old traditions. As Olexander Bozhko, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Armenia said in the interview to the Noyan Tapan correspondent, there are facts that prove that Armenians moved to Ukraine developed thier national culture there even centuries ago. "We have thousands of manuscripts which Armenians created on the Ukrainian land. A performance of the first Armenian school theater took place in Lviv still in the 16th century. Armenian books were published, monasteries were built in Lviv, in the Crimea, in Kamenets-Podolskiy and other Ukrainian cities," the Ambassador continued. He mentioned that the Ukrainian-Armenian cultural ties very actively developed in the Soviet period as well. Numerous translations were published. "I must mention with a pity that the liveliness that existed in our peoples' contacts during those years, reduced at some extent, caused by some reasons," Mr.Bozhko said. At the same time, in his words, the situation in this sphere is being improved. Legal bases are being created which will allow to develop ties in the spheres of culture and education, An agreement on cultural cooperation was signed still in 1996, agreements on attestation of scietific and scientific-pedagogical personnel as well as on cooperation in the medical and health care sphere were also signed, Bozhko said. Ambassador Bozhko mentioned as an example of estiblishing ties the fact of opening the Ternopol Academy branch in Yerevan. As well, in his words, Armenian younth has possibility to get education in Ukraine. The Ambassador stated that a document is being prepared owing to which Armenian diplomates will be able to be re-trained in the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. "Just to say, that for us, Ukrainians, the Armenian culture is very interesting, would be very little. We consider that for the Ukrainian people, treasures of the Armenian culture of many centuries must become an indivisible element of the cultural life of our country," O.Bozhko stated. In his words, Grigor Narekatsi's "Book of Tragedies," the epic "David of Sasun" and other works were in the Ukrainian published in Ukraine during the recent years. Even more, Ukrainian publishing houses publish Armenian authors' books in the Armenian as well, O.Bozhko said. The Ambassador stated that the Embassy attempts at present to re-establish the old kind traditions when Armenian writers participate in the "Taras Shevchenko" annual holiday.

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