“It is very important that our counterparts from the EU, seeing the wide consensus of the political sphere of Armenia and its willingness to not only ratify the Agreement, but also to implement it, take this energy and transfer it to the Parliaments of other member states of the EU. It is the sacred duty of the Armenian Parliament to facilitate the ratification of this Agreement in the Parliaments of all EU member states in the upcoming year through all means of parliamentary diplomacy,” said Armen Ashotyan, President of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Parliament, in his speech during the discussion of Armenia-EU Agreement.
Ashotyan mentioned that it is not correct to leave it all up to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Armenian Parliament has got the potential to carry out these works.
Moreover, Ashotyan emphasized, concerning the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, that this document, irrespective of entering into force, will not have that much influence without being ratified by the European Parliament. He mentioned that the resolution stated in the new Agreement is not a favor to us, it is just a mere tribute of the European community to stay true to its principles. It is no reverence that it has been stated in the Agreement: “I will not consider the Agreement within political frameworks before I witness its discussion and ratification in the European Parliament.”
Ashotyan said that the documents of Georgia and Moldova have been ratified within at least one and a half year, and we also have got that one and a half year: “I consider it really important for our EU counterparts to see that it is not right to divide the Eastern partnership to beloved children and adopted children of second grade. It is not right to do that. Yes, this Agreement is not the Association Agreement. The political part is almost the same as the political part in the Association Agreement. It will only have tiny differences with the Agreements of associated states. There are certain differences concerning trade regime.”
Ashotyan said that the Armenians do not pass this route to get praised by international organizations, they pass this route to improve the life of each and every citizen of their country.
