YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS.  Rome hopes that a new partnership agenda will be established between Brussels and Yerevan.

Italy's Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Giorgio Silli said, addressing the question of  Paolo Formentini, Vice President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.

At the April 11 session, Paolo Formentini inquired about the measures the Italian government intends to take in the current situation to encourage Armenia's further rapprochement with the Euro-Atlantic West, also considering Italy's important national interests, particularly of energy and commercial nature, in the South Caucasus.

In response to the question, Giorgio Silli said: "The relations between the European Union and Armenia are experiencing special dynamics. We highly appreciate Armenia's commitment to strengthening cooperation with Brussels, and it is important to encourage Yerevan's progress in such fundamental areas as the strengthening of democratic institutions, the rule of law and human rights.

The existing cooperation instruments, the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, and the Eastern Partnership Regional Mechanism, provide the institutional framework within which dialogue and cooperation can be deepened. Italy hopes that we can reach the establishment of a new partnership agenda between Brussels and Yerevan. This would contribute to the complete emancipation of Yerevan from Russian 'tutelage'."

Giorgio Silli also noted that Italy firmly supports the mediating role of the European Union and, in particular, European Council President Charles Michel  in advancing the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which, in his opinion, is a prerequisite for future peace, stability, security, and prosperity in the Caucasus region and closer ties with Europe.

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Italy also noted that Armenia has had  official relations with NATO since 1992. "From the point of view of political dialogue, these relations took into account the difficulties related to Armenia's closeness with Moscow, especially after the aggression against Ukraine. However, the cooperation has never ceased. After Armenia has frozen its participation in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, a new phase may open.

"Secretary General Stoltenberg visited Yerevan last March, where he met with President Khachaturyan and Prime Minister Pashinyan. Stoltenberg encouraged both Armenia and Azerbaijan (during his visit to Baku) to reach an agreement that would regulate their relations, emphasizing the importance of the issue for security in the Euro-Atlantic area," he said.

In his speech, Giorgio Silli referred to the bilateral relations between Armenia and Italy, noting that they intend to strengthen cooperation with Yerevan in various fields.

In his speech Silli noted that Italy had paid special attention to the humanitarian situation caused by the influx of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia.