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EUROPE DOES NOT SEE ARMENIA AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE: MP
02.11.2014 17:16 epress.am
The EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee meeting in
Strasbourg from Feb. 5-6 failed because the Armenian delegates were
deprived of not only the opportunity to speak, but also the right to
make statements. This was a first in the history of the EU, writes
Armenian delegationmember and Armenian National Congress MP Nikol
Pashinyan in today's issue of local dailyHaykakan Zhamanak.
Furthermore, the official dinner in the Armenian delegation's honor
was cancelled by European Parliament Vice-President Jacek Protasiewicz.
"Representatives of Armenia's ruling authorities insisted that
Armenia's decision to join the Customs Union is logical and natural,
[while] Committee Co-Chair Milan Cabrnoch was astonished by this
statement. He said that for three years, they invested huge amounts
of money, time, mental and physical efforts on negotiations over
the Association Agreement, and now they say that Armenia's decision
to join the Customs Union is logical. If we knew that this was the
logical decision, we wouldn't have spent so much time and resources,
he said," Pashinyan wrote.
The opposition Armenian MP also mentioned that Armenia is no longer
perceived as an independent state. "The perception that Armenia is not
an independent state has further deepened -- it can be said has reached
catastrophic proportions -- in Europe. Armenia is perceived not as a
sovereign state but as a Russian outpost. This is an important nuance.
One of the main trump cards of our official diplomacy is to show the
West the difference between Armenia and Azerbaijan and that Armenia
is a more democratic, more legal state than Azerbaijan. And based
on this there is an attempt to create some sort of concept to ensure
positions in Armenia's interest.
"This is an outdated concept. The comparison between Armenia and
Azerbaijan for the West is no longer on the plane of democracy and rule
of law, but on sovereignty. The EU sees Azerbaijan as an independent
state. Though [run by a] sultan, but an independent state, which is
fighting for its independence and in its struggle for independence,
it suffered -- losing territories. While Armenia, according to their
perception, is not an independent state but a instrument, an outpost,
which Russia uses to punish Azerbaijan.
"Armenia is no longer perceived as an independent state. This is not
a new phenomenon -- I addressed this phenomenon also in the past, but
after the September u-turn, it has become more -- much more -- deeper.
And this phenomenon completes the perceptions in the European
Parliament on the future relations between Armenia and the EU. They
say quite clearly we are prepared to continue to work with Armenia,
but Armenia itself has to say what obligations it assumes to the
Customs Union and what it can and cannot do in its relations with
the EU," concludes Pashinyan.
http://www.epress.am/en/2014/02/11/europe-does-not-see-armenia-as-an-independent-state-mp.html
02.11.2014 17:16 epress.am
The EU-Armenia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee meeting in
Strasbourg from Feb. 5-6 failed because the Armenian delegates were
deprived of not only the opportunity to speak, but also the right to
make statements. This was a first in the history of the EU, writes
Armenian delegationmember and Armenian National Congress MP Nikol
Pashinyan in today's issue of local dailyHaykakan Zhamanak.
Furthermore, the official dinner in the Armenian delegation's honor
was cancelled by European Parliament Vice-President Jacek Protasiewicz.
"Representatives of Armenia's ruling authorities insisted that
Armenia's decision to join the Customs Union is logical and natural,
[while] Committee Co-Chair Milan Cabrnoch was astonished by this
statement. He said that for three years, they invested huge amounts
of money, time, mental and physical efforts on negotiations over
the Association Agreement, and now they say that Armenia's decision
to join the Customs Union is logical. If we knew that this was the
logical decision, we wouldn't have spent so much time and resources,
he said," Pashinyan wrote.
The opposition Armenian MP also mentioned that Armenia is no longer
perceived as an independent state. "The perception that Armenia is not
an independent state has further deepened -- it can be said has reached
catastrophic proportions -- in Europe. Armenia is perceived not as a
sovereign state but as a Russian outpost. This is an important nuance.
One of the main trump cards of our official diplomacy is to show the
West the difference between Armenia and Azerbaijan and that Armenia
is a more democratic, more legal state than Azerbaijan. And based
on this there is an attempt to create some sort of concept to ensure
positions in Armenia's interest.
"This is an outdated concept. The comparison between Armenia and
Azerbaijan for the West is no longer on the plane of democracy and rule
of law, but on sovereignty. The EU sees Azerbaijan as an independent
state. Though [run by a] sultan, but an independent state, which is
fighting for its independence and in its struggle for independence,
it suffered -- losing territories. While Armenia, according to their
perception, is not an independent state but a instrument, an outpost,
which Russia uses to punish Azerbaijan.
"Armenia is no longer perceived as an independent state. This is not
a new phenomenon -- I addressed this phenomenon also in the past, but
after the September u-turn, it has become more -- much more -- deeper.
And this phenomenon completes the perceptions in the European
Parliament on the future relations between Armenia and the EU. They
say quite clearly we are prepared to continue to work with Armenia,
but Armenia itself has to say what obligations it assumes to the
Customs Union and what it can and cannot do in its relations with
the EU," concludes Pashinyan.
http://www.epress.am/en/2014/02/11/europe-does-not-see-armenia-as-an-independent-state-mp.html