According to Simon Fraser, the Permanent Under-Secretary of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Armenia is an important player in the region.
* Mr. Fraser, do reforms that are carried out in Armenia make our country closer to the European Union in terms of political association and economic integration within the framework of the Eastern Partnership, in your opinion, and is Armenia making progress in this regard, in your opinion?
* I very much support the progress Armenia is making in building its relationship with the European Union through the Association Agreement negotiations and as part of that, negotiations on a free trade agreement. I think a lot of good progress has been made, and we hope that we will make further significant progress before the Vilnius Summit in November. I hope that that process will support the internal economic reform agenda within Armenia, just as the internal economic reform process helps us advance the negotiation. So they should be mutually reinforcing.
* There are two documents of strategic importance to Armenia on the negotiating table with the European Union – the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and the Armenia-EU Association Agreement. I would like you to tell our society what Armenia will gain from those programs.
* As a general benefit, which is that through these negotiations Armenia will come closer to the European Union with everything that the European Union stands for in terms of governance, strengthening democracy, as well as economic progress. And I think that’s important for Armenia and important for the European Union, and it will help us work together on issues involving security and stability in the region, where we have a common interest, and then there will be more specific benefits. So, for example, through these negotiations, it should be possible to increase economic activity and trade to bring more investment into Armenia, to
improve some of the procedures, for example, in the area of customs, so that there is a great flow of goods and economic benefits.
* Mr. Fraser, you talked about the possible advantages, benefits for our country in the EU direction, but Armenian experts have been discussing for a few months now the possibilities of Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Union and Customs Union proposed by the Russian President; former and current ambassadors accredited in the Republic of Armenia – the German Ambassador to Armenia, the current Polish Ambassador – have talked about this issue. How urgent the issue of membership of former Soviet republics, Armenia in particular, and generally choosing between the EU and the Eurasian Union is, in your opinion?
* I think Armenia rightly wants to have a stronger relationship with the European Union. But Armenia also has – and I absolutely recognize this – a strong and important relationship with Russia. And it’s for all sovereign countries to choose better relationships. The key thing, I think, in relation to the trade and customs agreements is that access to the European Union market of 500 million people, which is the biggest market in the world, is a valuable prize. And it’s important that whatever agreements you enter into with different parties have to be compatible with each other. I am not an expert on the detail of these agreements, but I have been told that it is not compatible to be a member of the Customs Union and the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, so that needs to be studied carefully. So that’s a technical issue, but, in general, we would like Armenia to have good relations with all her neighbors.
* Nonetheless, Russia’s aspirations in the South Caucasus, given its influence, are obvious; so there is a political component here too.
* Clearly, Russia has interests and influence in this region, and that is to be expected. I think it’s important that the countries in the region like Armenia are able, have the freedom to choose their own course and partnerships, but, of course, you have to take account of the realities. I don’t want to talk about history, and I don’t want to talk about, comment on Russian policy, but I think it’s important that the European Union makes an offer to countries of the region, which is attractive and supports their growth and development. But we shouldn’t see it as a zero-sum game, either the European Union or Russia. And of course, the European Union’s relationship with Russia is really important as well.
* Mr. Fraser, after the 2008 presidential election, Serzh Sargsyan initiated “football diplomacy” aiming at normalizing the Armenia-Turkey relations. Those protocols have not been implemented; they are still pending. There is no significant progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. A few days ago, a presidential election took place in Armenia, now what can the Armenian government offer to the international community, in terms of regional development?
* Armenia is clearly an important player in a number of regional issues; first of all on Nagorno-Karabakh, we do hope that the Minsk Group can move forward. I know that there has been perhaps not as much progress recently, as people
would wish. I think we have to continue to support, as I said earlier today, a settlement, which respects the Helsinki Principles and the legitimate concerns of the different parties. Obviously, in any solution of such a problem, there has to be an element of compromise, and the task of the Minsk process is to find that area of compromise.
And similarly, in the case of Turkey, we very much supported the 2009 protocols, and we would like to see them implemented. I think there is an interest for both Armenia and, frankly, for Turkey in taking this forward. So I hope that you will continue to pursue that even if you find the progress disappointing in that area. I realize it’s not entirely in Armenia’s hands, because there are developments in Turkey, which will influence the progress of this, but, of course, there are big benefits that could flow from it, in terms of regional stability, if you like, but also potential economic benefits. But I recognize these are very difficult challenges, and we need to support you in seeking to make progress.
* During your briefing in Yerevan, you talked about economic programs within the framework of the Armenia-United Kingdom relations; you attached particular importance to the issue of your country’s support to British companies, encouraging new investment. Mr. Fraser, what was the reason for the British side’s willingness to enhance relations with Armenia, what contributed to that?
* It’s a part of a broader initiative in our diplomacy, which is to focus very much on supporting trade and investment, which reflects the economic difficulties that we ourselves are confronting. So, basically, where there’s a good market, we should go to that market. So you have a market here with very skilled people, you have some assets, some sectors, where you’re strong; for example, in mining, in agriculture, in IT, increasingly, you have big opportunities. You have a young and dynamic population who’re looking out. So I think it’s great that British companies should be looking for opportunities, and it’s the responsibility of the British government to support them.
Emma Gabrielyan
