ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP TO EU WILL NOT AFFECT YEREVAN’S FOREIGN POLICY: S. KOCHARYAN
News from Armenia – NEWS.am
12:21 / 12/14/2009
Armenia’s associate membership to EU will not affect Yerevan’s foreign
policy priorities and fully conforms with complementary multi-vector
policy course of the country, RA Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh
Kocharyan told NEWS.am.
According to him, associate membership to EU will not upset
Armenia-Russia military-strategic partnership, as well as the country’s
membership to other international organization like CSTO and CIS.
As NEWS.am reported previously, the Committee of EU Foreign Ministers
announced the opening of negotiation process with South Caucasian
countries on their associate membership to EU.
Earlier, a high-ranking European diplomat informed NEWS.am,
that the talks with South Caucasian countries will start in
2010, as EU is interested in the associate membership of three
countries simultaneously. According to him, the negotiations will
be held accounting for the political, economic, legal and social
characteristics of each country. Democratization issues will be in
limelight, as in this regard all South Caucasian countries face
problems, the diplomat outlined. He also noted that associate
membership to EU de-facto does not differ from a regular one.