ArmInfo. Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan at the meeting with the Minister of Defense of Cyprus Charalambos Petrides thanked the latter for his participation in the events dedicated to the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan, which once again testifies to the friendship and brotherhood of the two countries. As reported by the press service of the RA parliament, Mirzoyan noted that strong ties between Armenia and Cyprus are based on centuries-old Christian and cultural ties, adding that the Armenian parliament, in turn, recognized the genocide of the Pontic Greeks in Ottoman Turkey. He noted that it is necessary to further deepen cooperation both in the bilateral and in the trilateral format of Armenia-Cyprus-Greece. In turn, the head of the defense department noted that Cyprus is full of fraternal feelings towards Armenia and the Armenian people. Petrides stressed that the external threats of the two countries are largely similar due to the aggressive policy of Turkey. The interlocutors touched upon the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh, stressing the need for the immediate return of Armenian prisoners of war and other persons held by Azerbaijan. During the meeting, the sides discussed issues of interaction between the two countries in the parliamentary dimension, as well as in the defense and other fields.