In case of realistic chance of becoming EU member Armenia won’t miss it, says PM

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s future actions regarding the EU should be transparent, PM Nikol Pashinyan has said, adding that the intentions of EU partners should also be transparent. 

Pashinyan was asked at the Global Armenian Summit about his statement that Armenia is ready to be as close to the EU as the bloc deems possible. 

“It is no secret that after my statement this issue has become an integral part of the political agenda in Armenia, whether or not Armenia should officially adopt a trajectory of joining the EU. But we must understand that this is not a one-way action, and it’s not even a bilateral one. This is where we should be very attentive in wording the objectives in order not to cause new disappointment among our people on the path of solving those objectives. We should also physically imagine Armenia’s membership to the EU. The Georgia-EU ties are highly important here, the development of Turkiye-EU ties are highly important too. And in this context it is very important how the Armenia-Turkiye relations will develop,” Pashinyan said.

He said that Armenia’s strategic choice of adopting democracy will bring the country closer to the EU and the US, and other Western partners. “But on the other hand we must not contradict our democracy with our region and our regional policy. Our future actions regarding the EU must be transparent. Moreover, the intentions of our EU partners must be transparent, and so on. Basically I cannot rule out that if we see a more or less realistic chance of becoming a full member of the EU, including by keeping the possible threats that could emerge on that path manageable, we won’t miss the moment,” he said.