President of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, welcomed the Armenian sailboat “Armenia”, which docked at Limassol port Thursday, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Republic of Armenia, in the presence of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

Addressing the Armenian President, his Cypriot counterpart said he was glad to welcome him and the vessel “Armenia” to Cyprus as the country celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Cyprus is the final port of call for the vessel, which started its world voyage from the Spanish Port of Valencia on May 28, 2009. The vessel has visited any place in the world inhabited even with one Armenian.

As President Christofias said, the vessel had embarked on its journey with a crew of seven headed by Dr. Zori Balayan, a renowned Armenian author, traveller and human rights activist whose mission is to increase world awareness about the Armenian nation.

The voyage is dedicated to Saint Mesrob Mashdots, the father of the Armenian alphabet said President Christofias, as well as the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia. “It is a great honour for such trip to end in Cyprus, a symbol of the excellent relations between Cyprus and Armenia”, Christofias said.