ArmInfo. Armenia wishes to draw closer to the European Union. French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies stated in an interview with the Defis Humanitaires online magazine.
As Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian told the European Parliament on October 17, Armenia is ready to develop its relationship with the European Union as far as the EU is prepared to go. Armenia welcomed the prospect of EU membership opened up to Georgia a few weeks ago. It also held a cooperation council with the European Union.
"As Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian told the European Parliament on October 17, Armenia is ready to develop its relationship with the European Union as far as the EU is prepared to go", the diplomat recalled.
"Armenia welcomed the prospect of EU membership opened up to Georgia a few weeks ago. It also held a cooperation council with the European Union," continued the French Ambassador.
At the same time, Decottignies believes that the European Union observer mission in Armenia (EUMA) is a very good example of what the European Union can do effectively and concretely.
" Having been out in the field on patrol with the mission, I've been able to observe that European observers are warmly welcomed, that they are greeted in a friendly manner in the villages and on the roadsides, that their presence reassures. They are proof, for these vulnerable and isolated populations living in military contact zones, that they are not forgotten by the world. In addition to this reassuring role, the presence of this observation mission means that the international community can obtain impartial information, which is essential in a crisis of this nature. It helps to dispel the fog of war," the diplomat assured.
To clarify how likely it is that EUMA could be mobilized more specifically in the Syunik region, which seems particularly threatened, the French Ambassador recalled that the mission's mandate covers the whole of Armenia. So it can go anywhere.
"Its patrols focus primarily on border areas and military contact zones. The mission's aim is to have sufficient manpower to increase the number of patrols, and Syunik is obviously one of the priority areas in this context.," the French diplomat said.
Regarding the likelihood of a new aggression by Azerbaijan against Armenia against the backdrop of ongoing conflicts in the world, the Ambassador admitted that he does not know what the intentions of the Azerbaijani authorities are, since he has no contacts with them.
" But what I do know is that in this fragmented, degraded international environment you describe, there have been several military episodes in recent years involving Azerbaijan and Armenia, or Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and that each time, Azerbaijan has taken the initiative," he noted.
When asked how he sees Armenia's future, Decottignies noted in ppart:
"I see it looking towards Europe. This is the sense of the democratic trajectory that the Armenian people chose during the "velvet revolution" of 2018 and that they have maintained ever since, through all the trials and tribulations. From this point of view, Armenia's recent accession to the International Criminal Court is also a very strong signal. However, turning towards Europe does not mean ignoring our regional environment. Building Armenia's future requires reaching a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, but also, more broadly, a modus vivendi that enables all the states in the region to take full advantage of their strategic position at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. That's why the resolution of this conflict is so important to us Europeans," the French diplomat summed up.