On Tuesday 17 October, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pachinian announced his country’s desire to move closer to the European Union “insofar as the EU deems it possible”.
“The EU and Armenia are in solidarity; let’s continue to stand shoulder to shoulder”, he emphasised in a speech to the European Parliament, in which Armenian democracy was given pride of place.
“Democracy can bring peace, security, prosperity and happiness, let’s prove it together”, he said, highlighting the EU’s support for his country’s reforms.
Referring to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the flight of 100,000 people to Armenia, Mr Pachinian called on the international community to help his country financially. “We need to allocate around €100 million for displaced persons and we need international aid, including budgetary support”, he explained.
The Armenian leader also felt that, despite numerous warnings from his country, the international community had not taken any measures to prevent the “ethnic cleansing” of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Despite all the wars, complications and crises, our region, the South Caucasus, needs peace”, he stressed. The Prime Minister felt that a peace agreement with Azerbaijan was possible by the end of the year.
“We have agreed to hold a trilateral meeting [with the President of the European Council and the President of Azerbaijan] in Brussels this month and, if the principles are reaffirmed, it is very realistic to sign an agreement on peace and the normalisation of relations by the end of the year”, explained Mr Pachinian.
Taking the view that it was necessary to move gradually towards peace, he informed the audience that he had the political will to do so. “I will be asking for your continued support, particularly in implementing the principles on which we have reached agreement”, he told MEPs. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)