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Armenian politician skeptical about Eurasian integration
15:13 * 27.12.14
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/12/27/hovhannes-igityan/1547559
In an interview with Tert.am, a former head of the Armenian National
Assembly's Standing Committee of Foreign Relations expressed his
concerns over the country's Eurasian Union membership perspectives,
considering the process a major unresolved problem of the past year.
"The year saw very many developments, but what's important for me is
the unresolved problem that's going into next year. It has to do the
Eurasian Economic Union, and ridiculously enough, that big trouble or
ordeal turns out to be befalling us on January 2," Hovhannes Igityan
said, when asked to comment on the political developments of 2014.
The politician said he doesn't think that the other EEU member states
are so enthusiastic about Eurasian integration as is Armenia. "If you
listen to [Armenian] politicians, all seem to be enthusiastic about
this structure, but we do not see the same enthusiasm in the speeches
of the same member states' presidents. If we listen to [Belarusian
President Alexander] Lukashenko or [Kazakh President Norsultan]
Nazarbaev, they all speak of the problems arising out of the EEU
membership. And the countries create bodies whose risks have to be
evaluated," Igityan noted.
According to him, Kazakhstan is the only member state that managed to
pave way to the Eurasian Union without harming previous partnership
relations and cooperation with other foreign countries. "The EEU
treaty has an article which allows [member states] to maintain the
commitments to the states and organizations [they cooperated with]
before. That's way Nazarbaev signed with rapid efforts both the [EU]
Association Agreement and the EU-Kazakhstan trade bloc in Brussels.
Armenia did not unfortunately manage to sign any treaty or agreement
with the European Union. And if we look into the EEU regulations, all
further agreements have to be between the EU and the EEU. And there
are statements about that in both Russia and Brussels. So the EU has
to conduct negotiations with the EEU when it comes to the signing of
agreements. But in case the EU has agreements with the EEU, the
situation will necessitate determining the quality and level based on
the weakest country's standards. Hence, our relations will be built
based upon the sanctions and restrictions Russia may face. And that
means our relations with the EU will be similar to those of Russia,"
he added.
15:13 * 27.12.14
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2014/12/27/hovhannes-igityan/1547559
In an interview with Tert.am, a former head of the Armenian National
Assembly's Standing Committee of Foreign Relations expressed his
concerns over the country's Eurasian Union membership perspectives,
considering the process a major unresolved problem of the past year.
"The year saw very many developments, but what's important for me is
the unresolved problem that's going into next year. It has to do the
Eurasian Economic Union, and ridiculously enough, that big trouble or
ordeal turns out to be befalling us on January 2," Hovhannes Igityan
said, when asked to comment on the political developments of 2014.
The politician said he doesn't think that the other EEU member states
are so enthusiastic about Eurasian integration as is Armenia. "If you
listen to [Armenian] politicians, all seem to be enthusiastic about
this structure, but we do not see the same enthusiasm in the speeches
of the same member states' presidents. If we listen to [Belarusian
President Alexander] Lukashenko or [Kazakh President Norsultan]
Nazarbaev, they all speak of the problems arising out of the EEU
membership. And the countries create bodies whose risks have to be
evaluated," Igityan noted.
According to him, Kazakhstan is the only member state that managed to
pave way to the Eurasian Union without harming previous partnership
relations and cooperation with other foreign countries. "The EEU
treaty has an article which allows [member states] to maintain the
commitments to the states and organizations [they cooperated with]
before. That's way Nazarbaev signed with rapid efforts both the [EU]
Association Agreement and the EU-Kazakhstan trade bloc in Brussels.
Armenia did not unfortunately manage to sign any treaty or agreement
with the European Union. And if we look into the EEU regulations, all
further agreements have to be between the EU and the EEU. And there
are statements about that in both Russia and Brussels. So the EU has
to conduct negotiations with the EEU when it comes to the signing of
agreements. But in case the EU has agreements with the EEU, the
situation will necessitate determining the quality and level based on
the weakest country's standards. Hence, our relations will be built
based upon the sanctions and restrictions Russia may face. And that
means our relations with the EU will be similar to those of Russia,"
he added.