Arthur Hovhannisyan: Considering Armenia`s state interests,  strengthening close relations with EU is on Civil Contract`s agenda 

ArmInfo.Considering the state interests of the Republic of Armenia, the agenda of the "Civil  Contract" party provides for further strengthening of close relations with EU countries.  Secretary of the ®Civil Contract¯ ruling party Artur Hovhannisyan stated during a briefing on March 1.

He emphasized that Armenia is ready to have warmer and more effective  contacts with the EU, considering the need for new economic markets,  strengthening the political course, and strengthening democratic  processes. In this regard, Hovhannisyan also noted that with the  presence of the EU observation mission in Armenia on the  Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the dynamics have changed.

To the question of whether Armenia plans to deepen relations with  Europe, being a member of the CSTO or after leaving this  Organization, MP from the ruling party Vladimir Vardanyan emphasized  that issues of economic cooperation are being discussed with the EU,  while the situation in the CSTO needs to be understood from the  inside. "For 30 years, the role of the CSTO was initially unclear,  and now it has become unclear not only for us, but also for other  CSTO partners," he said.

Yesterday, during a briefing, Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen  Simonyan noted that the Armenian authorities are not changing their  foreign policy vector; Yerevan has no decision to withdraw from the  Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

At the same time, he mentioned that in the case of Armenia, the  current security system does not work, which causes more than serious  concern of official Yerevan.  Simonyan emphasized that Yerevan is  currently trying to acquire weapons from all possible places to  defend the state. "And if these steps interfere with any security  system, that's their problem. It is obvious that the allies are not  fulfilling their obligations.  We did not have any discussions  regarding the possibility of NATO participation in maintaining the  security of the Armenian state, just as there were no such  discussions regarding the EU. Nevertheless, we will move in the  direction of those forces that will help us ensure the security of  the Armenian state to the maximum extent," stated the Speaker of the  National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia.