Thursday, November 16 2023 10:04

ArmInfo.On November 15, in Brussels Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan  delivered remarks at the 15th annual Assembly of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.

The full speech is presented below.

"Dear colleagues, 

This is an honor to address the participants of the Eastern  Partnership Civil Society Forum Annual Assembly. I do believe that  today, among like-minded partners, we can openly discuss and  critically assess the developments both in each Eastern partner  state, and on regional and European levels. 

So, for triggering further discussion let me put forward two  questions, reflection on which might be helpful today.

What was and what is the Eastern partnership about?

What is the role of civil societies in changing the world and the  Eastern partnership, in particular?

Back in 2009, when EaP was being launched, it was aimed to strengthen  the ties of the partners with the EU and EU Member states based on  common values, deepen economic and political cooperation and support  reform agenda. If we try to summarize it in one sentence - EaP was  launched being about democracy and today it remains about democracy.

I can proudly state that my country remains committed to democracy  and democratic values. During the recent years despite the whole  challenges that we have been facing - COVID 19 pandemic, war of 2020,  military attacks and aggressions against the sovereign territory of  Armenia, influx of more than 100 thousand refugees from  Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of ethnic cleansing, the democratization  process and implementation of ambitious reform agenda did not stop in  Armenia for a single moment. The Government of Armenia continues to  remain committed to the endeavors of the 2018 democratic, non-violent  Velvet revolution.

And it is really difficult. It is difficult to sustain democracy if  there is no conducive environment. The collapse of the European  security architecture, rise of authoritarianism in the world, massive  violations of the UN Charter on the one hand and the democratic  values on the other, make it necessary to seriously rethink how the  EU should position itself. And this requires the EU not only  strengthening its links with Eastern Partners, but also the EU  encouraging the cooperation among Eastern Partners. 

In this context, I want to commend the European Commission's decision  to recommend the European Council to open accession talks with  Moldova and Ukraine and to grant candidate status to Georgia. This  decision is welcomed not only by the Government of Armenia, but also  people of Armenia, who also have European aspirations. During the  last several years we have had an impressive record of joint work to  bring Armenia and the EU closer. We are cooperating on implementation  of the reform agenda, on realization of flagship initiatives of 2.6  billion euros, and in many other fields. Recently we launched the  high-level Armenia-EU Political and Security Dialogue, the second  round of which is taking place today in Brussels. I should also  commend the decision of the EU to deploy a monitoring mission along  the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Moreover, the EU is  an important partner of Armenia's peace agenda in assisting our  efforts in bringing peace and stability in the South Caucasus. The  Government of Armenia has political will to normalize relations with  another Eastern Partner - Azerbaijan, and we are ready to move  forward to that end on the basis of the principles adopted in Granada  by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, President Michel of the  European Council, President Macron of France and Chancellor Scholz of  Germany.

Furthermore, as we believe that peace and stability in the Eastern  neighborhood much depends on economic cooperation of the Partners,  Armenia has recently introduced the project of the "Crossroads of  peace", as a token of our commitments to the establishment of peace  and cooperation in the region and beyond. Armenia is also interested  in joining the Black Sea Electricity Cable project, and we hope that  the European Union will support this aspiration using its toolbox. 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Coming to my second question on the role of civil societies, I should  confess that no government in the world is able to implement a  development agenda nor to combat the challenges alone without you.  The times that we are living through are not easy at all, and I  definitely know that the issues which I was talking about will not be  addressed without your participation, without your criticism but also  your support.

And I thank you. 

And this is not the traditional "thank you" that we usually say at  the end of our statements, I really want to thank you for the  tremendous job that you are doing for Eastern Partnership's common  cause, for our values, for democracy, for peace."