"I hope you can see that the European Parliament is determined to deepen ties further," said Nils Ushakovs, Co-Chair of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee, during the 4th meeting of the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee.
According to him, Armenia and the EU have never had such close relations: "Our relations are based on solid foundations and commitments. We believe in the right of people and states to choose their future. The European Parliament has already clearly expressed its support for developing and deepening relations, but it depends on what kind of relations it seeks."
According to Ushakovs, it is essential that security cooperation also develop in the South Caucasus.
"The EU civilian mission has helped stabilize the situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Of course, Baku and Moscow target this mission and make accusations, but the question arises: what threat can an unarmed civilian mission pose? "It is essential to understand that Baku rejects this cooperation and wants to terminate the EU mission in Armenia. However, Armenia has presented a proposal on mechanisms for mutual arms control, and this is an example of Armenia committing itself to the peace agenda, and we support it. And Azerbaijan's reaction to all this is complicated to understand and interpret," he said. He added that the EU is also interested in the "Crossroads of Peace" initiated by Armenia, which is crucial for opening up regional ties and communications.
