Armenia’s relations with the Russian Federation are and should be based on mutual interests, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a press conference organized on April 28 within the framework of his official visit to Estonia.
Pashinyan emphasized that Armenia has adopted a balanced and balancing foreign policy.
“We do not imagine and do not build our foreign policy in only one direction; we are trying to find and build the right balances in our foreign policy. One of its expressions was the law recently adopted in the Republic of Armenia on launching the process of Armenia’s accession to the European Union,” Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister of Armenia noted that during discussions with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, he had emphasized that the law is also envisaged as an additional incentive for democratic reforms, as Armenia is pursuing a strategy of democratic reforms.
"It is significant that we have additional incentives in that strategy, and this law is one of the additional incentives. I want to be clear: sometimes comments are made in Armenia that, in my opinion, do not accurately reflect reality. We have no intention whatsoever to strain, break, or ruin our relations with Russia."
"We want, as is logical, to have good relations with all international partners. We want to normalize our relations with the countries of our region; we want to normalize relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey. We also want to improve relations with our other neighbors — Georgia and the Islamic Republic of Iran — and deepen our relations with the European Union.
The developments that have taken place in Armenia-European Union relations in recent years had previously seemed or been assessed as unrealistic or impossible," Pashinyan emphasized.
The Prime Minister of Armenia reminded that the European Union has deployed a civilian observation mission in Armenia, and he expressed gratitude to the European Union and Estonia for supporting that decision.
Pashinyan also mentioned the visa liberalization negotiations and said he hopes that the negotiations will reach a logical conclusion within a reasonable timeframe.
"Last year, the European Union decided to provide support to Armenia within the framework of the European Peace Facility, which is also a very important decision.
In a tangible, objective, or material sense, this decision is quite symbolic, but it carries enormous political significance. This is also one of the important results of our balanced and balancing foreign policy.
"We hope to deepen economic and trade relations with the European Union, because I believe that political dialogue becomes more effective and tangible when it is accompanied by concrete economic results," Pashinyan concluded.
