KIEV, FEBRUARY 25, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan attended the inauguration ceremony of President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovich in Kiev on February 25. The press service of the RA president reports that the Armenian delegation headed by S. Sargsyan was composed of Gagik Tsarukian, leader of Prosperous Armenia party, Andranik Manukian, advisor to the Armenian president, and Armen Khachatrian, Armenian ambassador to Ukraine. Following the special session of the Supreme Rada held on the occasion of the inauguration of the newly-elected president of Ukraine, S. Sargsyan participated in the official reception and the official dinner given by V. Yanukovich in honor of the heads of foreign states who had arrived in Kiev. During these events, the Armenian president had contacts with his foreign counterparts and other high-ranking officials. At his residence in Kiev, S. Sargsyan received U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon. Issues related to the Armenian-Turkish normalization were discussed at the meeting. The Armenian president presented once again official Yerevan's approaches to the current stage of the normalization process, noting that Armenia is committed to the principle of normalizing its relations with Turkey without preconditions. P. Gordon reaffirmed the United States's support for Armenian-Turkish normalization. Expressing a high opinion about Armenia's constructive position at all stages of the process of normalizing relations, he underlined that the ratification of the protocols by the parliaments of the two countries without linking them to the other existing problems is important for achieving the normalization of relations. The delegation headed by S. Sargsyan will return to Yerevan later on the same day.

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