“The ball is in our field and we have not yet decided how to push it back,” announced today special Envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic on Eastern Partnership issues Peter Maresh during the conference “Four years of Eastern Partnership: results and challenges. Views of Armenian political figures and experts”. The conference was organized in Yerevan by the mutual initiative of the Embassy of the Czech Republic, and “Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation”, several months ago, when RA President’s statement on joining the Customs Union was not made. The Czech official said in his speech that he preparing for this conference, in particular, had planned to talk about on what background Armenians succeeded to place the relations with the EU into a rapid development, to spoke about the achievements and benefits of Armenia. But the situation has changed, and the speaker is convinced that we can not “pretend that nothing has happened.” “In the European Union we all try to analyze the current situation. Meetings to discuss the Armenia’s issue are held nearly every day. We have not yet come to any conclusion. This is not a normal course of affairs, we can not continue as if nothing has happened. But, the attitude in Brussels is friendly. We understand the situation very well, in which you are found, and we want to keep Armenians beside us. But we can not do it as it was assumed before,” said Peter Maresh.
He also referred to some of the recent statements made by the RF high-rank officials, who, in essence, are a challenge to the EU. “Quite interesting statements are made from your neighboring countries. The EU will not jump into the games with final zero result. These are left in the history of international relations. The EU is not ready for geopolitical games like that. Let’s not play geopolitical games, it is important not only for Brussels but also Armenia. I wish good luck to Armenia in the search for the right answers and analysis.” Head of EU Delegation to Armenia Traian Hristea said that generally he concurred with his colleague. He also urged the MPs present in the conference to work towards quick ratifications of the agreement on the free movement of opportunities to have something before Vilnius. Traian Hristea also clearly pointed out that due to the decision on September 3, it will not be possible to sign the documents in Vilnius that were provided for. “The EU is looking forward to proposals of Armenia. The four-year agreements, yes, can not be denied,” said he and added that the EU is a system based on the values and the principle of differentiation and moreover, the principle for more will play an important role in the debates.
Nelly Grigoryan
