Friday, April 29 2016 09:27

 Mr. Ambassador, quite lately the European Parliament hosted discussions on Nagorno-Karabakh and many parliamentarians came out for the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence. What do you think about this?

 

European Parliament is an important platform for discussions, but it is not the right place to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. European Parliament is not engaged in the issue. The OSCE Minsk Group is the only internationally mandated body to work towards settlement of the given conflict. There are certain principles that have been agreed upon during long years of the OSCE MG-brokered dialogue between the sides. However, I am sure that the future peace agreement on Nagorno Karabakh should be determined by the parties to the negotiation process – Armenia and Azerbaijan – with the support of the Minsk Group mediators. 

 

After the recent flare-up in the Karabakh conflict zone, is it possible to make any breakthroughs in the peace process in the near future?

 

I think we are at a very important stage now. The military actions in early April once again demonstrated that there is no military solution to the conflict.  The recent developments showed that the threat of a flare-up will remain until the conflict gets a lasting settlement. Any actions or provocations may spark resumption of the military actions and make the conflict unmanageable. I think it is necessary to draw the right conclusions from the recent escalation. As I have already said, we are at a very responsible stage now. Serious efforts are being made to create favorable conditions for further negotiations. As you know, earlier this month, when the situation grew tense, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs traveled to the region, held phone calls with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan. In addition, the foreign minister of Russia traveled to Baku and Yerevan i.e. the necessary conditions are being created to re-launch the negotiations. I think it is an important phase and it is necessary to support these efforts. Political figures and diplomats should refrain from any actions or statements that may impede these efforts. It is necessary to take measures to prepare the societies in Armenia and Azerbaijan that the time for important decisions will come. Both Armenians and Azerbaijanis should prepare for peace. Both the region and the countries directly involved into the conflict need peace. There will be neither prosperity nor free economic development unless there is peace. Therefore, it is necessary to take advantage of the fact that a number of countries and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are actively working now towards tangible results.

 

In one of his recent interviews, President of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan said the peace process on Nagorno-Karabakh cannot continue unless Artsakh is directly involved in it. What do you think of NKR involving in the peace talks?

 

This issue has been discussed within the Minsk Group for many years. I think no one has any doubts that the stance of Nagorno-Karabakh representatives, at a certain stage and in a certain form, should be brought to the sides to the negotiations. I think when the negotiation process is re-launched; the sides should decide when and how it will be done. 

 

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has already applied to the UN Human Rights Office of the Higher Commissioner  (OHCHR) over the facts of mutilation and torture of the bodies of the Armenian soldiers killed in the April 2-5 aggression unleashed by Baku. Will the EU consider the issue too?

 

The actions and facts demonstrating atrocious behavior during the military clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh should be thoroughly examined and investigated. The sides to the conflict can launch this process themselves. There are international organizations, which also can join the process and I suppose they must do it, since such kind of barbarities and atrocities must not happen in the European area. The photos and other facts published in social media testify that the conventions and agreements determining the standards of the civilized life were grossly violated. Those actions are incompatible with European values should not remain unnoticed by the European civil society and agencies.

 

As the Eurasian Economic Union Summit in Yerevan was cancelled, many in Yerevan called for the need to withdraw from that Russian-led project. Even a bill that looks to terminate country’s EEU members has been submitted to the Parliament of Armenia. What do you think about this situation?

 

Choosing the integration path is a sovereign decision of Armenia. Armenia should decide with whom and in what format to cooperate and the European Union will always respect its free and sovereign choice. But I think that currently the most important task for the Armenian society is to demonstrate unity in view of the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. The Armenian nation has demonstrated unity and solidarity when facing military threats, and we have seen this also during the latest escalation of the conflict. Now the Armenian nation should demonstrate the same unity, since the Armenian authorities will have to make a responsible decision on the peaceful settlement and this decision should be reinforced by unity and solidarity of the people. This is the most important challenge for the Armenian society at the current stage. As for the prospects of further developments, I think Armenia is able to do it on the basis of the national interests and weighting all the pros and cons. As the European Union, we will respect this choice.   

 

Considering the current humanitarian situation in the conflict zone, does the EU consider any financial aid to the NKR or implementation of any projects in the region?

 

Throughout Europe, from Atlantics up to Ural, no areas should stay out from the European space of values and solidarity. I think the parties to the conflict with the help of the international community will manage to find a solution to the conflict, negotiations will kick off and move towards successful settlement, and then the European Union will not stand aloof. EU will think how to help the people first of all, to help them see opportunities for better life. But currently, the primary task is to return to the negotiating table and work dynamically towards the settlement of the conflict. And once this is achieved, EU will help those people who have been directly or indirectly suffering from this conflict throughout these years.

 

Does EU plan any new projects in Armenia for the nearest future?

 

The EU funds to be disbursed in the development of Armenia will be record high in 2016. New projects are being discussed and negotiations are being held with the Armenian Government regarding new large agreements. We are now discussing issues related to reformation of the labor market, personnel training in the agrarian sector; we are negotiating to support the reformation of public finances. In addition, we are considering projects related to creation of a large irrigation system and we also want to participate in administrative reform, implement big projects to support NGOs, as well as projects on e-governance in the field of justice. As you know, we also support small and medium-sized enterprises. This year, the EU is going to invest EUR 1 million in SME development. There are some major projects related to environmental protection, water purification, and waste management. Actually, the scale of cooperation is quite extensive. A mid-term and long-term outlook of cooperation for 2017-2020 will be outlined this year. The European Union assigns a high priority to this task, because the entire program of support for Armenia is based on the long-term outlook.  Hopefully, we will manage to agree this cooperation program with the Government by late 2016. We have also applied to the Armenian Government to hold joint discussions on the major infrastructure priorities, particularly, in power engineering, transport and communications. It is important for the EU to know the Government's vision of cooperation in the specified areas, because they require big funds and they are long term oriented. It is important, as it will help us understand how particularly we can assist. This is exactly why we want to have a clear idea of Armenia’s vision. In this light, I’d like to reiterate that the EU financial aid to be provided to Armenia in 2016 will be record-breaking. Usually, the aid amounts to nearly EUR 50 million, but this year the amount will be doubled.

 

Will these talks depend on the processes around the new comprehensive legal document between Armenia and EU?

 

Two independent processes are going on between Armenia and the EU. The first process is the negotiations on the framework agreement. The conclusion of the agreement will create a legal basis for cooperation.

 

The second, parallel process will be launched soon. It is the definition of the so-called priorities of partnership, which stem from the new concept of neighborhood policy. This also implies provision of specific financial aid for development.      

 

This dialogue will start a little later. The first discussion will most likely commence in early summer and will make it possible to outline the prospects of partnership. There are also political aspects. But the Armenia-EU framework agreement has an international legal aspect, while the partnership priority is a political aspect related to provision of economic support to development.

 

We have much to do this year and we hope we will manage to move dynamically and constructively towards implementation of the framework agreement and the partnership priorities. The year 2016 is very important for us. Our scenario of cooperation with Armenia is based on quite optimistic premises. We hope the elections of 2017 will meet European standards and a lasting political cooperation will be established. We believe that in the foreign policy, we will be moving towards peace, if not within the coming weeks, we will anyway move towards peace. Hopefully, the relations with Turkey will be normalized too. Our forecasts are optimistic.

 

Thanks for a very interesting interview, Mr. Ambassador