Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the panel discussion on "How to expand Europe's influence" within the framework of the Davos World Economic Forum.
Nikol Pashinyan answered the moderator's question: you recently put the bill on joining the EU on the table, what is the significance of such a discussion for a country like Armenia?
Nikol Pashinyan answered: "Actually, the initiative belongs to the civil society, and they presented a bill on starting the EU membership process. Our government approved it and there is a high probability that our parliament will adopt that law, which will legally mean that we are starting the process of getting closer to the European Union.
Why do we want to be close to the European Union? Because we are a democracy, and when one is a democracy, he wants to be close to democracy or to be in that current. The opposite would be illogical. Now we cooperate very closely with the EU and to be honest, enormous changes and developments have taken place in our relations in recent years. For example, we have started negotiations on visa liberalization, which has been on our agenda for many years, but we have not been able to even start negotiations. And I hope that we will manage to finish and sign it as soon as possible.
Now Armenia is included in the European Peace Fund, which is also very important. The European civil mission is now in our country, which is also very important. We are currently in the process of implementing the EU's Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. We cooperate very closely.
As for economic ties, of course we want to be close to the EU in economic terms as well. But on the other hand, we want to be economically close to our regional countries as well. Because, unfortunately, we have been in economic isolation since the very beginning of our independence, because our borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan were closed and continue to be closed.
And in order to make a difference in the supply chain, and not only in our region, but globally, we have put on the table our proposal called "Crossroads of Peace", which I hope you are familiar with. This project is about making our regional transportation and communication channels more efficient, and also about creating new communication channels not only with Azerbaijan, but also with Turkey, deepening our relations with Georgia and Iran.
But it is also related to the European Union, because when this project is implemented, we will have a new chain route through Armenia to the European Union. This is not just an economic issue, it is also a very important security factor, because you just mentioned interdependence as a very important factor for universal stability and security. But of course, this project will be implemented when we can establish a stable peace with Azerbaijan, which unfortunately has not yet been achieved, we are working in that direction.
It is also very important that we can establish diplomatic relations with Turkey, and we are working in this direction as well. People often ask me whether I am an optimist or a pessimist in this matter. I must say that I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist. I am pragmatic and I understand that we have to work until the problem is solved.
The most important thing is not to deviate from the peace agenda, we must focus on it as a goal and work without giving up, without getting frustrated. But for this, of course, we need the support of the international community, and I hope that this support will be there."
