The third sitting of the Armenia-EU Partnership Council was held in Brussels on December 17. The Armenian delegation was headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ara Aivazian, and the EU delegation was headed by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
The agenda of the Council session included a wide range of Armenia-EU partnership issues related to the political and sectoral dialogue, including the implementation of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, the prospects for launching a dialogue on visa liberalization between Armenia and the EU, and Armenia's reform agenda.
The Partnership Council also addressed the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the EU assistance to Armenia in this regard.
The parties also discussed issues related to cooperation in trade, economic, energy, education and environment.
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In his welcoming speech, Minister Aivazian mentioned: "Further strengthening of value-based partnership between Armenia and the EU, EU member states continues to be one of Armenia's foreign policy priorities. Unfortunately, our common democratic values face many challenges, particularly in our region, whose stability and security have been clearly undermined by the recent Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against the indigenous people of Artsakh".
Touching upon the implementation of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, which is the legal basis of the RA-EU relations, the Foreign Minister noted with satisfaction that Armenia has already developed a draft roadmap for the provisions of the agreement, which will enter into force soon.
The meeting also focused on regional security and stability. The Minister presented to the participants of the meeting the steps taken to address the consequences of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan with the direct involvement and support of Turkey, against the people of Artsakh. Including the steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh.
Aivazian stated that the actions of Azerbaijan and Turkey, which were accompanied by gross violations of international humanitarian law and pursued the ultimate goal of exterminating the Armenians of Artsakh from their homeland, set new dangerous precedents for resolving conflicts by force in the EU's Eastern Neighborhood.
The Minister also expressed concern over the transfer of thousands of foreign armed terrorists from Syria and Libya by Turkey to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, as a result of which part of the EU Eastern Neighborhood has become a hotbed of international terrorism.
Both sides stressed the need for a comprehensive settlement of the Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
