Armenian Foreign Minister, Edward Nalbandian and Federica Mogherini – Picture by European Union.
Wednesday, 21 February 2018, Brussels: Three months after signing the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement at the Eastern Partnership Summit, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Eduard Nalbandyan held a joint meeting to lay out the priorities for future cooperation between the European Union and Yerevan.
The list of priorities for future bilateral cooperation includes strengthening i) the role of public institutions; ii) improving Armenia’s economic development and its market opportunities; iii) increasing of people’s mobility and people-to-people contacts; as well as iv) cooperation in environment and climate change policies.
Moreover, the document lays the foundation for €160 million in financial aid that the EU plans to wire gradually to Yerevan, a substantial amount for a landlocked country with few natural resources, a high dependence on the import of food, oil, and natural gas, and remittances from Armenia’s vast diaspora in Russia, the US and Europe.
Though Armenia is a full member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, which imposes certain trade limitations on third parties, the Kremlin has thus far stood idly by as more Western institutions look to court Yerevan.
Armenia’s own interest in re-examining its relationship with Europe likely stems from the conflict in Ukraine. Russia’s support of pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Donbass region and its annexation of Crimea has likely sent a signal to other former Soviet republics who entertain the idea of leaving Russia’s orbit that the Kremlin is capable of sparking deadly wars against former close allies.
For further information:
http://www.mfa.am/en/press-
