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VAZGEN MANUKIAN: JOINING CUSTOMS UNION DOES NOT MEAN ARMENIA ABANDONS EU PATH
Agerpres, Bucharest, Romania
March 6, 2014 Thursday
Agerpres, Bucharest, Romania
March 06--BUCHAREST -- Last year's decision by Armenia to join
the Eurasian Customs Union led by Russia was motivated by security
considerations, but Yerevan has not abandoned the European path, former
Armenian Prime Minister and Defence Minister Vazgen Manukian said in
an interview with AGERPRES while paying a short visit to Bucharest.
AGERPRES: Lately, there have been discussions about a decentralization
of the bilateral cooperation between Romania and Armenia. Which are,
in your opinion, the main domains in which the Armenian companies
could primarily invest in Romania?
Vazgen Manukian: Although it's not my area of expertise, I am familiar
with the fact that a decentralized cooperation between Armenia
and Romania has been launched over the past few years. This is an
interesting framework enabling the local authorities to maintain
direct contact and draw up projects to develop local production,
trade, tourism, carry out an exchange of cultural programmes and
various projects for the youths. The Armenians' historical presence
in Romania, the huge cultural heritage shared by the Romanians and
Armenians give a breath of fresh air to this cooperation.
AGERPRES: Which is in your opinion the main obstacle at present to
solving the territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh? What do you
think about the mediation efforts made by the OSCE Minsk Group? Could
Romania, as an EU and NATO member state, play a more important role
in settling this conflict?
Vazgen Manukian: The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute includes three basis
components: the issue of the return of refugees to their native
places; the second component regards the territories, namely the
delimitation of the borders between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh,
and the most important component is the third one, that is the status
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
As a former defence minister, I can assure you that even the worst
peace is better than a war. This danger is always hanging over your
heads, and the consequences can be disastrous not only for Armenia
and Azerbaijan, but for the entire humankind. For this reason,
we expect from the international community and the partner states,
including Romania, to become aware of this threat, make an objective
evaluation of this situation and act properly.
AGERPRES: Which is your opinion about the evolution of the Ukraine
situation? Do you believe we could witness a new war similar to the
one in Georgia in 2008 or will Russia decide not to take risks? Do
you think there's the risk of partitioning Ukraine?
Vazgen Manukian: I express my deep regrets and I am extremely concerned
about the unfolding situation in Ukraine. I hope the Ukrainian people
and its leaders will found as soon as possible a solution to get out of
this crisis. I also hope they will set up a power, which will mobilize
the entire population and will represent the interests not only of
some segments, but of the entire country, including the minorities'.
AGERPRES: I have one more question. How do you explain the decision
made by Armenia in September 2013 to join the Customs Union led by
Russia, instead of moving closer to the European Union? Do you truly
believe in the project of the Eurasian Union? Will it become fully
operational in 2015?
Vazgen Manukian: First of all, I would like to stress the fact that
we do not prioritize one direction at the expense of the other. In
parallel with our decision to join the Customs Union, Armenia's
President Serge Sarkisian said that Armenia does not abandon the
Association Agreement with the EU. A joint declaration between
Armenia and the EU was signed in Vilnius and we hope to establish the
parameters of the association by year-end, taking into consideration
the new realities. During the time we spent considering the idea of
joining the Customs Union, Armenia was guided by pragmatic interests
and security considerations, which I believe are important not only
for Armenia, but for the entire region and European space. Both
the European capitals and the EU authorities have greeted Armenia's
decision with some measure of understanding.
I would like to remind the fact that after Armenia gained independency,
when we started to build a new state, we chose the European model and
we shall not deviate from it. Fortunately, we realize that all the
others around us are heading in the same direction, and this give us
hope for the future. As for the Eurasian Union, the setting up of such
unions copying the EU model, across the vast Eurasian space benefiting
from a huge economic potential, is not ruled out. This is the future in
the current globalization process and no direction should be regarded
with envy. Given its national interests and specific geostrategic
position, Armenia will try to fully integrate to these global systems.
Agerpres, Bucharest, Romania
March 6, 2014 Thursday
Agerpres, Bucharest, Romania
March 06--BUCHAREST -- Last year's decision by Armenia to join
the Eurasian Customs Union led by Russia was motivated by security
considerations, but Yerevan has not abandoned the European path, former
Armenian Prime Minister and Defence Minister Vazgen Manukian said in
an interview with AGERPRES while paying a short visit to Bucharest.
AGERPRES: Lately, there have been discussions about a decentralization
of the bilateral cooperation between Romania and Armenia. Which are,
in your opinion, the main domains in which the Armenian companies
could primarily invest in Romania?
Vazgen Manukian: Although it's not my area of expertise, I am familiar
with the fact that a decentralized cooperation between Armenia
and Romania has been launched over the past few years. This is an
interesting framework enabling the local authorities to maintain
direct contact and draw up projects to develop local production,
trade, tourism, carry out an exchange of cultural programmes and
various projects for the youths. The Armenians' historical presence
in Romania, the huge cultural heritage shared by the Romanians and
Armenians give a breath of fresh air to this cooperation.
AGERPRES: Which is in your opinion the main obstacle at present to
solving the territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh? What do you
think about the mediation efforts made by the OSCE Minsk Group? Could
Romania, as an EU and NATO member state, play a more important role
in settling this conflict?
Vazgen Manukian: The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute includes three basis
components: the issue of the return of refugees to their native
places; the second component regards the territories, namely the
delimitation of the borders between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh,
and the most important component is the third one, that is the status
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
As a former defence minister, I can assure you that even the worst
peace is better than a war. This danger is always hanging over your
heads, and the consequences can be disastrous not only for Armenia
and Azerbaijan, but for the entire humankind. For this reason,
we expect from the international community and the partner states,
including Romania, to become aware of this threat, make an objective
evaluation of this situation and act properly.
AGERPRES: Which is your opinion about the evolution of the Ukraine
situation? Do you believe we could witness a new war similar to the
one in Georgia in 2008 or will Russia decide not to take risks? Do
you think there's the risk of partitioning Ukraine?
Vazgen Manukian: I express my deep regrets and I am extremely concerned
about the unfolding situation in Ukraine. I hope the Ukrainian people
and its leaders will found as soon as possible a solution to get out of
this crisis. I also hope they will set up a power, which will mobilize
the entire population and will represent the interests not only of
some segments, but of the entire country, including the minorities'.
AGERPRES: I have one more question. How do you explain the decision
made by Armenia in September 2013 to join the Customs Union led by
Russia, instead of moving closer to the European Union? Do you truly
believe in the project of the Eurasian Union? Will it become fully
operational in 2015?
Vazgen Manukian: First of all, I would like to stress the fact that
we do not prioritize one direction at the expense of the other. In
parallel with our decision to join the Customs Union, Armenia's
President Serge Sarkisian said that Armenia does not abandon the
Association Agreement with the EU. A joint declaration between
Armenia and the EU was signed in Vilnius and we hope to establish the
parameters of the association by year-end, taking into consideration
the new realities. During the time we spent considering the idea of
joining the Customs Union, Armenia was guided by pragmatic interests
and security considerations, which I believe are important not only
for Armenia, but for the entire region and European space. Both
the European capitals and the EU authorities have greeted Armenia's
decision with some measure of understanding.
I would like to remind the fact that after Armenia gained independency,
when we started to build a new state, we chose the European model and
we shall not deviate from it. Fortunately, we realize that all the
others around us are heading in the same direction, and this give us
hope for the future. As for the Eurasian Union, the setting up of such
unions copying the EU model, across the vast Eurasian space benefiting
from a huge economic potential, is not ruled out. This is the future in
the current globalization process and no direction should be regarded
with envy. Given its national interests and specific geostrategic
position, Armenia will try to fully integrate to these global systems.