It’s possible to confidently move forward by joining different integration unions – Serzh Sargsyan
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![It’s possible to confidently move forward by joining different integration unions – Serzh Sargsyan](http://armenpress.am/resized/480/static/news/b/2018/01/920105.jpg)
YEREVAN, JANUARY 24, ARMENPRESS. It’s possible to confidently move forward by joining different integration unions, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced at PACE, answering the question of the MPs.
“We had been negotiating with the EU on the signing of the new agreement since 2009-2010. This period coincided with our negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union. Both EAEU and EU officials clearly knew that we were negotiating with both integration unions. At the initial stage both of them praised our approach. But some time later our EU partners started to think that it’s impossible to combine our participation in those 2 integration units. We had to make a decision to become an EAEU member, since Armenia’s economy is linked with the EAEU economies with thousands of threads, we have a history of relations dating back centuries ago, friendship and the overwhelming majority of the citizens of Armenia, about 80%, supported Armenia’s closer cooperation with the EAEU”, ARMENPRESS reports Serzh Sargsyan saying.
According to him, thanks to the EU officials, time brought changes in mentality and already at the Riga summit of the Eastern Partnership a decision was made, according to which it’s really possible to combine one’s participation in different integration unions.
“We launched intensive talks and as you can see we came to the right outcome. We signed the agreement with the EU on November 24. According to me, the precondition to combine participation in both unions is very clear – it’s necessary to be honest with partners and not to conceal the negotiation process and obligations. If your obligations assumed as a member of one integration unit do not contradict to other obligations assumed by another document, why not to cooperate? I think we already have that experience – being a full CSTO member state we cooperate with the NATO”, Serzh Sargsyan added.
According to President Sargsyan, in the future there will be a close cooperation between the EAEU and the EU.