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  • Armenia develops relations with NATO and EU

    Armenia develops relations with NATO and EU

    Azg/Arm
    5 Nov 04


    Though NATO Membership Is not on the Agenda Negotiations Should be
    Expected

    Minister of foreign affairs of Armenia Vartan Oskanian noted recently
    that Armenia doesn't set a priority to become NATO member but will
    deepen relations with the Organization.

    Deputy foreign minister Ruben Shugarian informed Azg Daily that NATO
    membership is not high on the agenda but there may come a point of
    starting negotiations. NATO Secretary General is arriving in Yerevan
    on November 5 within the frameworks of the South Caucasian visit.

    "NATO is willing to deepen relations with Armenia. Though Armenia was
    not as active in cooperation with NATO as its 2 neighbors, today we
    see signs signaling of Yerevan's readiness to maintain deeper
    relations", Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer informed Mediamax
    news agency a day before his visit.

    "Azerbaijan and Georgia have the NATO membership on their agenda's.But
    if take a closer look we'll see that our cooperation with NATO does
    not differ from those of Azerbaijan and Georgia. But if Azerbaijan and
    Georgia have to take administrative, technical steps then Armenia has
    too take political ones", Shugarian said.

    Deputy minister Shugarian held a speech recently in Michigan
    University where he was invited to participate at a conference on
    South Caucasus and Armenian policy. "My speech was mainly about EU's
    new neighborhood, Armenian-Turkish relations and political
    perspectives for the 3 Caucasian states and region's new geo-political
    identity. My speech put an accent on the importance of the
    Armenian-Turkish border-gate", he said.

    "That is not simply a Turkish border but NATO's border with
    Armeniawhich remains closed up to now. We may even call it the
    region's border with NATO as Georgia's and Azerbaijan's borders are
    not wide enough to make relations tighter and secondly, it is not a
    geographical issue but a geopolitical one", Shugarian said in his
    speech.

    Yerevan should not pin hopes on NATO that it will make Turkey put an
    end to Armenia's blockade. On the other hand, Armenian authorities
    hope that Turkey in its strive for the EU will open the
    border. Shugarian said that at the European-Armenians' congress in
    Brussels last month the EU representative read a sentence from
    European Commission's report concerning Armenia.

    "There is the following sentence in the report: â=80=98The perspective
    that Turkey may become EU member will make it put relations right with
    its neighborsâ=80=99. If the sentence were other way around, i.e. if
    it said that the perspective that Turkey will not become EU member
    will make it put relations right with its neighbors, that would be
    completely a different thing. EU-Turkey talks may last a decade and
    the day before the end of the talks Turkey may open the border",
    Shugarian said.

    Six Armenian ambassadors from different European states participated
    at the congress in Brussels. While the European-Armenians were holding
    meetings appealing to European states not to include Turkey in the EU,
    foreign minister Vartan Oskanian was speaking for Turkey's accession
    in Rome.

    I don't see any contradiction in what the European-Armenians say and
    what the minister said. The issue was discussed in different legal
    levels. We want to have a common border with the EU because our
    further aim is joining the EU. Armenian communities of Europe may
    have their view as regards Turkeyâ=80=99s accession. They may be
    concerned about purely Armenian issues such as the blockade and the
    Armenian Genocide", Shugarian said.

    Shugarian also notes that the issue of the Armenian Genocide is
    mutually important for both the Armenian state and the Diaspora but
    has diverse tints. "Firstly, Diaspora is a result of the Genocide. If
    Diaspora considers Genocide acknowledgment, primarily by Turkey, a
    reinstatement of historic justice then Armenia considers it a
    guarantee for safety and prevention of possible recurrence in
    future. They say that today's Turkey is different. There are
    differences, of course, but what's Turkey's attitude towards Armenians
    today? We are in blockade and Turkey carries on an aggressive
    policy. Blockade is a war action".

    By Tatoul Hakobian
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