“The purpose of my visit to the Central Asia and Caucasus is to express gratitude for the cooperation with the US”, Senator Chuck Hagel said during a press conference in Yerevan. In his words, he has already visited Turkey and Azerbaijan and is going to pay a call to Georgia and Ukraine. According to Chuck Hagel, the US appreciates the cooperation with Armenia, since the countries have common interests in defense and security, in part it refers to the peacekeeping activities in Kosovo and Iraq. He also thanked the US Embassy in Armenia for promoting cooperation between the two states. To note, during the meeting with Robert Kocharian, the Senator presented to the RA President collar buttons with the image of the US Senate seal.