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ARMENIA IS IMPORTANT REGIONAL PLAYER - NEWSPAPER
NEWS.AM
March 13, 2013 | 07:59
YEREVAN. - Simon Fraser, the Permanent Under Secretary and Head of
the Diplomatic Service at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, gave
an exclusive interview to Aravot daily, during which he specifically
said as follows:
'"I support Armenia's efforts to try to establish relations with
the EU. I believe you have had serious progress, and I hope you will
achieve further progress until November, the [Eastern Partnership]
summit to be held in [the Lithuanian capital,] Vilnius. I also hope
that all this will contribute to the implementation of additional
economic reforms in Armenia.'
Reflecting on the question whether European Union or Eurasian Union,
Fraser noted:
'I believe Armenia truly wants to have stronger relations with the EU.
But Armenia has very strong ties with Russia. Independent states
themselves must decide what kind of relations they prefer. [But] in
this case, the most important is the EU market, which has 50 million
consumers at present.'
The diplomat also noted that Armenia is an important player in several
regional problems, first and foremost, in terms of the settlement of
the NK [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict.
'It is apparent that mutual accord, compromise is indispensable for
the settlement of the problem and, of course, it is the OSCE Minsk
Group's task to find the key to compromise,'" Aravot quotes.
NEWS.AM
March 13, 2013 | 07:59
YEREVAN. - Simon Fraser, the Permanent Under Secretary and Head of
the Diplomatic Service at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, gave
an exclusive interview to Aravot daily, during which he specifically
said as follows:
'"I support Armenia's efforts to try to establish relations with
the EU. I believe you have had serious progress, and I hope you will
achieve further progress until November, the [Eastern Partnership]
summit to be held in [the Lithuanian capital,] Vilnius. I also hope
that all this will contribute to the implementation of additional
economic reforms in Armenia.'
Reflecting on the question whether European Union or Eurasian Union,
Fraser noted:
'I believe Armenia truly wants to have stronger relations with the EU.
But Armenia has very strong ties with Russia. Independent states
themselves must decide what kind of relations they prefer. [But] in
this case, the most important is the EU market, which has 50 million
consumers at present.'
The diplomat also noted that Armenia is an important player in several
regional problems, first and foremost, in terms of the settlement of
the NK [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict.
'It is apparent that mutual accord, compromise is indispensable for
the settlement of the problem and, of course, it is the OSCE Minsk
Group's task to find the key to compromise,'" Aravot quotes.