The 11th sitting of the Armenia-EU Cooperation Council was held in Brussels on December 7. The Armenian delegation was headed by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.
The delegation of the high-ranging officials of EU structures was headed by Zsolt Nemeth, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Hungary, and the Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Sefan Fule.
The parties discussed issue on the agenda of Armenia-EU cooperation, the steps to be taken for the further deepening of bilateral ties, as well as a wide range of regional issues.
Minister Nalbandian stated that “the cooperation with the European Union is one of the priorities of Armenia's foreign policy and the Armenian side will continue its policy targeted at the reinforcement of relations.”
Minister Nalbandian hailed the activity of the EU advisory group, which supports the process of reform implementation in our country, characterizing it as a successful example of effective cooperation.
The parties exchanged views on intensification of the political dialogue, negotiations on the Association Agreement, the Free Trade agreement and simplification of the visa regime.
Highly appreciating the cooperation with Armenia, the European officials expressed their support for the democratic and economic reforms implemented in our country.
At the request of the European side, Minister Nalbandian presented the latest developments in the process of settlement of the Karabakh issue. In this context the Hungarian Foreign Minister noted that the European Union supports the peace process under way within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Commissioner Fule noted, in turn, that the accidents that bring about tension at the line of contact are fully unacceptable. The European officials said they welcome the Astana statement on Karabakh.
As regard the Armenian-Turkish relations, the European side reiterated its support for the ratification and implementation of the two protocols signed in Zurich without any preconditions.
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In case of Armenia, the progress achieved by the adoption of the joint statement is apparent, said Naira Zohrabyan, head of the Armenia-EU Interparliamentary Cooperation Commission.
“Besides determining that the Karabakh issue should be solved in a peaceful way within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, we proposed including an important provision in the statement that all parties to the conflict should be involved in the talks. We all remember that Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan were de jure recognized as parties to the conflict by the Bishkek agreement of 1994 and not only,” Naira Zohrabyan said.
The statement refers to Armenia-Turkey relations, as well. “It calls on Turkey to take necessary steps without any preconditions to establish diplomatic and good-neighborly relations with Armenia and open the closed border as soon as possible,” she said.
It's worth mentioning that the Armenian delegation managed to have the “Vandals of the 21st century” film screened at the sitting of the Cooperation Council, which presented to European MPs how the Azeris destroyed the Jugha khachkars.
Public Radio of Armenia