Pashinyan: Strengthening ties with Europe is of strategic importance  for the South Caucasus

ArmInfo. Strengthening ties with Europe is of strategic importance for the South Caucasus region, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on October 2, speaking at the closing session of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in  Copenhagen.

He noted that EPC summits have also played an important role in  promoting peace and stability in the South Caucasus region. "It is  noteworthy that in the margins of this very Summit in Prague in 2022  Armenia and Azerbaijan reaffirmed their respect for each other's  sovereignty and territorial integrity, based on the Alma-Ata  Declaration of 1991," he said. "This agreement was reached in the  presence and active involvement of French President Emmanuel Macron  and former European Council President Charles Michel," he added.

Last year, again within the ENP, Armenia and Azerbaijan reciprocally  supported each other's candidacy to host one of the upcoming ENP  summits.  "These agreements  in fact paved the way  to historic  summit in Washington DC, where I and President Aliyev  declared  peace. And now in 2026 in Yerevan and in 2027 in  Baku, you will be  visiting  two states who are working towards strengthening and  institutionalization of peace and connectivity.

In this regard, connectivity will be one of the key topics for EPC  Yerevan summit. The implementation of the Middle Corridor and  unimpeded connectivity  of goods, energy, fiber-optic cables between  Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia  is of mutual interest,"  he said. According to him, today it is especially important to  strengthen Europe's ability to combat hybrid threats, while  maintaining the integrity of democratic governance, the rule of law,  free and fair elections, and political pluralism, even in the face of  internal and external pressure.