Estonia Recognises Armenia’s Reform Efforts

06.03.2012

No. 58-E

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet met with his Armenian colleague Edward Nalbandian yesterday in Prague. Paet stated that in recent months Armenia has been successful in moving towards the European Union. “We hope that Armenia can ensure that reforms will continue in the future; we also hope that the free trade agreement and visa facilitation processes go smoothly,” said Paet.

At the meeting, the foreign minister emphasised that the upcoming Armenian presidential and parliamentary elections give the country a good opportunity to positively influence its progress in moving closer to the European Union. “Holding honest, fair and free elections will help to affirm the country’s dedication to EU integration,” said Paet. The foreign minister added that we are calling on Armenia to work closely together with the OSCE so that the election monitoring mission can be a success.

During their meeting, Paet also touched on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The foreign minister stated that the European Union is concerned over how little progress has been made in negotiations to resolve the conflict and over the incidents that have taken place at the contact line. “Therefore we are calling on the parties to talk to each other and seriously work on finding solutions,” he stated.

The Estonian foreign minister said that we welcome the Armenian foreign minister to visit Estonia soon.

Paet noted that thus far we have worked more closely with Armenia within the framework of the Eastern Partnership programme. “Representatives of Armenia have participated in seminars organised by the Centre of Eastern Partnership and studied at the Estonian School of Diplomacy. We hope that this kind of co-operation will continue,” said Paet. The foreign minister added that we could also intensify reciprocal economic contacts. “We are interested in concluding an agreement for the protection of investments with Armenia,” he noted.

While in Prague, Foreign Minister Paet also met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko.

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