Hariri in Armenia

Lebanese Prime minister Rafik Hariri arrived in Armenia, yesterday, at the invitation of Prime Minister Robert Katsharian. Hariri landed at the the capital's airport at 9:15 (Beirut time), with the ministers Fouad Sagnura, Beshara Merhej and Hagob Badrossian and five Lebanese-Armenian deputies.

Katsharian, accompanied by an official Armenian delegation. The prime ministers and the respective ambassadors of the two countries held a closed meeting in the cabinet's palace, followed by a session joining the two official delegations.

The discussions resulted in the signature of a Lebanese-Armenian agreement of friendship and cooperation, and the project of a common Lebanese-Armenian bank. Hariri visited the monument of the martyrs of the great Armenian slaughters. He visited, afterwards, the president of the National Armenian Organization Babken Araktirian.

Before returning to Beirut yesterday night, Hariri met Armenian President Levon Derpetrossian, in the presence of the two official delegations and, then, in a closed session where the relationship between the two countries and Middle East problems were examined. Hariri, who described the Armenian-Lebanese relationship as historical and praised the Armenians present in Lebanon, invited the Armenian prime minister to visit Lebanon. Katsharian, after the meetings, said that there were no obstacles to the development of a good relationship between the two states.