AZERBAIJAN MAY PUT EASTERN PARTNERSHIP’S SUCCESS AT STAKE: NALBANDIAN

Tert.am
11:38 ~U 09.12.09

The first meeting of foreign ministers of EU Eastern Partnership took
place yesterday, in which the Armenian delegation led by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian participated.

In his speech, the Armenian foreign minister stated that Armenia
seeks to strengthen relations with the EU. According to Nalbandian,
the Partnership’s initiative creates additional opportunities for
cooperation with the European Union on political, economic and
humanitarian thematic platforms.

Referring to the EU’s intention to establish legal-contractual
relations of new quality with partner states, Nalbandian stated that
it proves the positive result of the cooperation established over
the past ten years and stated Armenia’s readiness to work toward the
development of Armenia-EU Association Agreement and to create a deep
and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.

Emphasizing that all the initiatives proposed by the Partnership
program are important for Armenia and the other partners, Nalbandian
paid special attention to the issue of facilitating visa arrangements,
since it will significantly promote contacts among Armenian and
European Union peoples.

Nalbandian attached great importance to the rational cooperation within
the frames of Eastern Partnership emphasizing that Azerbaijan’s
withdrawal from the cooperation planned by the project can put
the Partnership’s success at stake: "Such behaviour from a partner
state discredits the true idea of cooperation, and the absence of
a response from participating countries even more devaluates it,"
Nalbandian emphasized.

At the meeting it was decided to hold the next meeting in the second
half of 2010, and the next summit of the Eastern Partnership in 2011,
informs the Republic of Armenia Ministry of Foreign Affairs.