LITHUANIA SET TO HELP ARMENIA DRAW CLOSER TO EU

Baltic News Service
November 18, 2008 Tuesday 3:06 PM EET

Lithuania is prepared to help Armenia draw closer yet to the
European Union (EU), Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said in a
meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandian on Tuesday
in Vilnius. "Europe needs Armenia and we are ready to help your
country to get closer to the European Union, " Adamkus said. Adamkus
and Nalbandian discussed in the meeting bipartite relations, which
Adamkus pointed out as being friendly and increasingly intensive,
the president’s press service said in a statement.

"The opening of the Lithuanian Embassy in Yerevan and the planned
opening of the Armenian Embassy in Vilnius will send a message
to our entrepreneurs, artists and all other people about our
commitment to facilitate, as much as possible, the development
of our bilateral relations. I hope our people will make use of the
emerging new opportunities for cooperation," Adamkus said in the press
release. Nalbandian stressed that his country expected to broaden
bilateral cooperation with Lithuania and for Armenia’s closer relations
with the EU. The Armenian foreign minister also informed the Lithuanian
leader about Armenia’s aspirations to improve the relations with
Turkey, about the negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh and the progress
of the talks. In Adamkus’ words, Armenia is enhancing its relations
with Europe, becoming increasingly open to neighbors and searching
for common solutions to deep-rooted problems. The president said
that these steps taken by Armenia had a positive effect on stability
and economic development in the region. Adamkus stressed Lithuania’s
support to the efforts to solve these problems by way of dialogue and
in a peaceful way. The Lithuanian leader said the solution should
be based on principles of international law and reinforce peace,
security and stability in and beyond the region, adding that search
for specific solutions should be carried out in existing negotiating
formats of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE). Vilnius newsroom, +370 5 2058531, politika@bns.lt

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress