Armenian president, EU envoy discuss Karabakh, Armenian-Turkish relations

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
24 Jan 05

President Robert Kocharyan and the EU special representative for the South
Caucasus, Heikki Talvitie, on 24 January discussed the EU’s policy concerning
the South Caucasus countries, in particular, issues pertaining to the programme
Expanded Europe: New Neighbours.

During the meeting, the sides also discussed the current state and prospects
of a peaceful settlement to the Nagornyy Karabakh problem.

The sides also discussed Armenian-Turkish relations. Heikki Talvitie
expressed confidence that the beginning of talks on Turkey’s admission to the EU would
have a positive impact on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

During a meeting with Armenian Security Council Secretary and Defence
Minister Serzh Sarkisyan, Heikki Talvitie noted that one of his tasks was to
establish a good basis for the development of Armenia-EU relations with the aim of
facilitating conflict settlement. Talvitie said that during the preparation of an
individual plan of cooperation, all the South Caucasus countries will be
assessed in accordance with their real possibilities.

Hailing Serzh Sarkisyan’s position on the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh
conflict, Mr Talvitie expressed the hope that real progress will be achieved
in the peaceful settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict in the near
future.

[Video showed the meetings]