ArmInfo.Armenia is actively discussing the idea of joining the EU, said the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Ararat Mirzoyan in an interview with the Turkish TRT World.
As Mirzoyan noted, the region, including Armenia, is undergoing serious transformations. "This is also an internal process for us. The people of Armenia have chosen the democratic path of building public life, we have repeatedly proven this choice through elections, as well as the development of democratic institutions. And along this path, we see that the European Union and the United States actively support our democratic reforms and institutional changes. In general, it is important to diversify as much as possible, to expand the circle of partners and allies. This is how we are moving forward, significantly deepening our relations with the EU, the USA, while maintaining traditional ties or, for example, also looking to the East," he said, adding that RA is building completely new high-quality relations with India and other countries. At the same time, the Minister pointed out, the development of relations with neighboring countries is a priority for Armenia. "This is a brief description of our foreign policy," he noted.
When asked whether Armenia has thought about joining the EU or NATO membership, Ararat Mirzoyan replied: "Especially, bearing in mind all the challenges that we have faced in the last 3-4 years, new opportunities are being actively discussed in Armenia. I won't reveal a secret if I say that the idea of joining the EU is also on this list. The people of Armenia have European aspirations, and as I said, we are going through this process and we will see what the end of this process will be, which at the moment no one can be sure or make predictions".
Assessing the current stage of relations with two Western countries - the USA and France, and their support, the Foreign Minister noted that today there are new opportunities for cooperation with these countries. "We have a strategic dialogue with the United States, within which we are exploring new directions. I can say the same about the European Union. We have a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU, but we look beyond that agreement. We are discussing liberalization of the visa regime, some new mechanisms that can be used in our relations. I would also like to add that for the first time in history, the European Union was involved in security issues in our region. You know that there is an EU observer mission in Armenia that monitors the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan; It is also important to note that since the deployment of the mission, tensions on the border have decreased and we have seen that the mission has contributed to stability. Thus, we are including new directions, new areas in our partnership, and we are still halfway through the process," Mirzoyan said.
According to some media sources, at the beginning of March this year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at a closed meeting with the Civil Contract faction that Armenia should apply to join the EU no later than the fall of this year. It was noted that the prime minister made it clear to his associates that the West demands from Armenia practical steps to distance itself from Russia and oust it from the region. In this situation, Armenia has no choice but to fulfill these demands, because "Russia has turned its back on us for a long time."