ArmInfo. In the near future Armenia will be able to announce the end of the talks on the new Armenia-EU framework agreement, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian says in an interview to Deutsche Welle. "The talks are proceeding quite successfully and we have come closer to the final phase. I suppose we will be able to announce the end of the talks in the near future. Naturally, this will be followed by several more phases - coordination (given that the EU comprises 28 countries), initialing and signing," Nalbandian says, adding that the agreement will reflect the high level and the wide volume of the current Armenia-EU relations and the prospects for future partnership in various areas and in all possible dimensions. "We are very much interested in it and we feel the same interest of the EU," he says.
When asked whether Yerevan is conducting consultations with the Russian authorities regarding the specified agreement, the diplomat stresses that in the talks with the EU and other partners Armenia gives high priority to transparency. "We hold no covert talks. Our President and I, the foreign minister of Armenia, have repeatedly spoken in our interviews and press conferences about the upcoming conclusion of the agreement with the EU," he says, noting that in its allied relations with Russia Armenia has taken no steps running counter to development of the bilateral ties. "So, there can hardly be any objections," Nalbandian says.
The interviewer recalled that the previous Armenia-EU Association Agreement was not signed and this coincided with the Armenian President's visit to Russia. "It is not so. We were holding talks and approached the final phase of the associated cooperation with the EU. At the same time, we have always stated that Armenia wanted to join the Customs Union, which was later transformed into the Eurasian Economic Union. However, we were told that it was hard to do that because we lacked common borders. Later, a relevant working group of experts was set up to analyze the situation and the experts arrived at the conclusion that Armenia's Customs Union membership was possible," he notes. He stresses that he has heard no objections from Moscow regarding European integration of Armenia.
The topic of Armenia-EU cooperation will also be touched on during Edward Nalbandian's official visit to Moscow on Feb 21. "Naturally, our talks will cover a wide spectrum of issues on the bilateral agenda. I think this visit will allow us to compare our approaches to cooperation on international platforms," Nalbandian says.
The Armenian minister reiterates that in Armenia's relations with Russia and all other partners Armenia comes out for close and reliable relations. "As regards the EU, during the Vilnius summit we exchanged letters with Mrs. Ashton, then a joint statement with the EU was released, and when we launched the talks on the new Armenia-EU framework agreement together with Mrs. Mogherini, we clearly stated that both sides are going to develop the relations and promote the cooperation with due regard for Armenia's commitments in other international integration processes," he notes.