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`WE WILL NOT TAKE YOUR FOREIGN MINISTER WITH US’
[07:49 pm] 06 February, 2008

`Don’t worry we won’t take your Foreign Minister with
us,’European Commissioner for External Relations and
European Neighbourhood Police, Benita Ferrero-Waldner
said on February 6 during a joint press conference in
Yerevan.

Ferrero-Waldner and Dimitrij Rupel, Minister for
Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, devoted part of their
speeches to Armenia’s FM Vartan Oskanian and his
activity.

Do the assessments suggest a diplomatic job proposal?
In reply to a journalist’s question, Mr. Rupel said,
`Generally, foreign ministers are wise, intellectual
and charming.’

The EU delegation’s visit is aimed at opening full
fledged European Commission Delegations (ECD) in
Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Armenian FM underlined that the opening of the
ECDs coincides with the presidential election in
Armenia.

While speaking of EU’s significance, Minister Oskanian
said, `The resolution of the Karabakh conflict and
Armenia-Turkey relations are top priorities for the
European Union.’

In this respect Rupel said, `The EU Troika is visiting
Armenia as a very important place in South Caucasus to
offer assistance and listen to the views of our
Armenian friends. The EU has a policy for the whole
South Caucasus; it is part of our European
Neighborhood Policy. The main massage that we are
trying to send is that our friends should be friends
with each other. We are trying to do our best to
contribute to the friendship. We have discussed some
technical matters regarding the Action Plan. We have
discussed political issues, as well. Certainly here
the top priorities for the EU are human rights,
strengthening the democratic structures and of course
attention to the media.’

Turning to the forthcoming presidential elections in
Armenia, Dimitrij said, `We think the presidential
elections will be a proper opportunity for progress,
although the past parliamentary elections were not bad
either.’

The Slovenian Foreign Minister noted that the issues
related to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement
and Armenian-Turkish relations were discussed during
the meetings in Armenia. Noting that there are no
diplomatic relations and the border remains closed,
Rupel noted that the EU will try to assist in the
improvement of Armenian-Turkish relations.

EU Commissioner for External Relations and European
Neighborhood Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the
`EU is hopeful that Armenia will hold a competitive
and free presidential election. We are hopeful that
the presidential election will be better than the
parliamentary election, although the parliamentary
election also complied with the democratic benchmarks
and was evaluated positively by the international
observers. Benita Ferrero-Waldner believes that the
public administration bodies that will be shaped after
the presidential elections will be based on the
principles of democracy, rule of law and human rights.