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Haykakan Zhamanak (in Armenian) , Armenia
Feb 6 2014
Armenian MPs mull "failure" of meeting with EU colleagues
The session of the EU-Armenian Parliamentary Cooperation Commission
held in Strasbourg on 5-6 February was a failure, the pro-opposition
Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper said on 7 February. The paper noted that
the same was true of the previous session held in October in Yerevan
due to virtual boycott by the EU delegates following Armenia's
decision to join the Russian-led Customs Union.
Opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan opined that after Armenia's decision,
which was a U-turn in Yerevan's policy of European integration, the
EU's attitude changed sharply, the paper reported. "Just seven or
eight months ago, political circles in the EU considered Armenia to be
a leader in European integration, whereas by now, we are viewed just
like Belarus or Kazakhstan," Pashinyan told the newspaper.
Samvel Farmanyan, MP from the ruling Armenian Republican Party and the
head of the delegation, commented on the session on his Facebook page.
"It is a fact that at least a majority of the members of the European
Parliament do not comprehend Armenia's recent foreign policy
decisions. It is clear, to me at least, that those MPs are not
inclined towards a discussion based on arguments and is lead by
situational presumptions," he wrote.
Farmanyan also touched on the reasons for not signing a concluding
declaration, saying that it included anti-Armenian remarks and wording
on Nagornyy Karabakh problem and therefore, could not be signed by the
Armenian delegation.
"It is alarming that some MPs of the European Parliament think that
the best way of expressing their dissatisfaction with Armenia's recent
foreign political decisions is through radical approaches to the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict resolution, which in fact does not
contribute to the process of peaceful resolution of the conflict and
even harms it," Farmanyan added.
[translated from Armenian]
Feb 6 2014
Armenian MPs mull "failure" of meeting with EU colleagues
The session of the EU-Armenian Parliamentary Cooperation Commission
held in Strasbourg on 5-6 February was a failure, the pro-opposition
Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper said on 7 February. The paper noted that
the same was true of the previous session held in October in Yerevan
due to virtual boycott by the EU delegates following Armenia's
decision to join the Russian-led Customs Union.
Opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan opined that after Armenia's decision,
which was a U-turn in Yerevan's policy of European integration, the
EU's attitude changed sharply, the paper reported. "Just seven or
eight months ago, political circles in the EU considered Armenia to be
a leader in European integration, whereas by now, we are viewed just
like Belarus or Kazakhstan," Pashinyan told the newspaper.
Samvel Farmanyan, MP from the ruling Armenian Republican Party and the
head of the delegation, commented on the session on his Facebook page.
"It is a fact that at least a majority of the members of the European
Parliament do not comprehend Armenia's recent foreign policy
decisions. It is clear, to me at least, that those MPs are not
inclined towards a discussion based on arguments and is lead by
situational presumptions," he wrote.
Farmanyan also touched on the reasons for not signing a concluding
declaration, saying that it included anti-Armenian remarks and wording
on Nagornyy Karabakh problem and therefore, could not be signed by the
Armenian delegation.
"It is alarming that some MPs of the European Parliament think that
the best way of expressing their dissatisfaction with Armenia's recent
foreign political decisions is through radical approaches to the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict resolution, which in fact does not
contribute to the process of peaceful resolution of the conflict and
even harms it," Farmanyan added.
[translated from Armenian]