Armenia has a great deal of work to do on path to EU membership – Vahagn Khachaturyan

Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Czech President Petr Pavel addressed the deepening of Armenia-European Union relations, the prospects for Armenia’s European integration and the steps required along that path, stressing that the process requires time and continuous work.

During a press conference, the presidents responded to a journalist’s question about how the Czech Republic could support Armenia in a possible process of joining the European Union and whether any specific agreements had been reached in this regard.

Czech President Petr Pavel said that no specific roadmap for Armenia’s accession to the European Union or individual steps in that process had been discussed during the meeting.

“Today, of course, we did not discuss a specific roadmap for Armenia’s accession to the European Union. We were talking about expanding relations between the European Union and Armenia,” Pavel said.

According to the Czech President, any process of further EU enlargement is linked to meeting the relevant criteria and taking the necessary steps.

He stressed that it is in the interests of both Armenia and the Czech Republic for relations between Armenia and the European Union to be as close as possible.

“If we reach that point and the relevant negotiations with Armenia begin, then let us leave that for the future and see how events develop,” the Czech President said.

Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, for his part, agreed with his Czech counterpart’s assessment, stressing that Armenia’s European integration process requires time and also depends on the work that Armenia itself needs to carry out.

“In reality, this requires time. We ourselves, as the Republic of Armenia, need to assess how prepared we are. And there, so to speak, we have a very great deal of homework to do,” Khachaturyan said.

According to him, the desire to become a candidate for European Union membership and subsequently to join the EU entails lengthy and extensive work.

The Armenian President stressed that the law adopted in Armenia on launching the process of accession to the European Union primarily demonstrates the country’s political desire to move in that direction.

“I think the law we adopted, which is the beginning, shows that we have the desire to do this. Rather, it is not that we are ready, but that we have the desire. When we will be ready depends on how we carry out the work,” Vahagn Khachaturyan said.

According to him, the assessment of Armenia’s preparedness will also depend on European Union member states, including the Czech Republic.

“It also depends on the extent to which our partners in the European Union, including the Czech Republic, assess that we are actually ready. But what is clear is that the cooperation exists, we have the aspiration, the support exists, and these are not merely words, but also concrete steps,” the Armenian President stressed.

Khachaturyan also recalled the steps taken recently towards deepening Armenia-EU relations.