RA NA Deputy Speaker, RPA spokesman Edward Sharmazanov, in conversation with Aravot.am, estimating President Sargsyan’s speech at the Third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius and the joint statement adopted between Armenia and Europe, said that he positively assesses the agreement, which based in common values, the two parties are committed to develop the cooperation towards continuous improvement of democratic institutions and judicial system, promotion of human rights and priority of the law, good governance, fighting corruption, strengthening civil society, further improvement of environment for enhancing trade and investments, ongoing implementation of mobility partnerships, and expansion of sectoral cooperation. Moreover, Sharmazanov considers this number one stimulus of the statement. “In fact, the EU and Armenia once again reiterate that they are favorably disposed to continue political dialogue towards development of democratic values, that the authorities of Armenia have the political will to implement political reforms.” As for the President Sargsyan’s speech in the Vilnius summit, Sharmazanov says that there were several important and noteworthy stimuli in the speech. He identifies a few, in his opinion, the most significant aspects. They are first and foremost about the prospects of building an Armenia statehood with a European model, which should be ongoing to Turkey’s behavior and NKR conflict. “Building up and strengthening an Armenian statehood with a European model was the choice of our conscious, and this process is irreversible. Our main goal is to establish an effective mechanisms with the EU, which, on the one hand, reflect deep character of our socio- political and economic relations, and, on the other hand, are compatible with the other formats of cooperation,” said the President Sargsyan, which as interpreted by Edward Sharmazanov, means that the democratic values do not have alternatives in Armenia, and that “Armenia will be steadily going by the way of the development of democracy.” “The Eastern Partnership should become a natural bridge by spreading economic integration from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. In this sense, we are committed to make consistent efforts towards building a Europe, more comprehensive, and void of dividing lines,” President Sargsyan’s this observation, our interlocutor draws attention to the fact that the president was talking about reconciliation. “He was acting as a leader of a state, which is a predictable partner for all its partner countries, including the European partners. A leader of a state that is preaching peace in the region instead of war, which is also a key part of the European system.” The third noteworthy observation Edward Sharmazanov considers the part of the President Sargsyan’s speech, where he is sending a direct stimulus to our EU partners with regard to Turkey. As assessed by our interlocutor, the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the leader of the Republic of Armenia acts as an All-Armenia leader”, as a person voicing the desires of all Armenians noting that Turkey should abandon its policy of denial and reconcile with its past. This is a very important message, with which the president once again raises the struggle against denial. The second call, which he make to Turkey is to end the blockade and to open the only closed border with Europe without any preconditions. It is very important that it is done in Europe, in the Vilnius summit.” The other important stimulus NA Vice-Speaker considers the observations related to the Karabakh-Azerbaijan conflict. “The president, once again, is indirectly making everyone understand regarding RA and NKR that the problem cannot be resolved without NKR, also noting that both RA and NKR have never preached war and hostility. On the contrary, unlike other forces, they have prepared only peace to their people, and the conflict resolution may be at the time when people will be prepared not for war, there will not be a negative, militant rhetoric, shootings and tension on the front line, but vice versa. In this sense, the president sends an indirect message to the European institutions, saying that if the negotiations do not make serious progress, then the responsibility falls only on the side, which has always preached hostility, but not peace. And, we all know that it is neither Armenia, nor NKR, but Azerbaijan.” Speaking about the two Armenian states from the European podium, according to Edward Sharmazanov, the president also wanted to make it clear to our partners that, sooner or later, Karabakh should be recognized as a subject of international rights.
Nelly Grigoryan
