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On June 7 Naira Zohrabyan, Chairwoman of the NA Standing Committee on European Integration, met with Ambassador Petr Mareš, Special Envoy for Eastern Partnership of the Czech Republic Foreign Ministry and Mrs Eva Kordovan, expert on Eastern Partnership.

Emphasizing the Eastern Partnership, the Committee Chairwoman noted that the Eastern Partnership showed more explicit approach towards the Eastern partner countries, separately assessed each country’s effort in the political association and economic integration with the European Union. Nevertheless, in this context, Mrs Zohrabyan voiced a few concerns, particularly, that the Azerbaijani side was already about to turn the newly launched EURONEST PA format of the Eastern Partnership into the next platform of contradictions.

In the Committee Chairperson’s opinion, if the European Union member countries allow Azerbaijan of trying to make the EURONEST PA a platform of creating new dividing lines in the region, then that important format, which is to promote one of the most important provisions of the Eastern Partnership, i.e. the formation of multilateral and bilateral relations, will be condemned. Introducing the Armenian side’s viewpoint, Mrs Zohrabyan once again underscored that Armenia was ready to take part in the formation of agenda on issues representing common interests in the region, let them be educational, humanitarian or environmental issues.

While the Azerbaijani side has repeatedly claimed at the state level that both within the Eastern Partnership or any other format it refuses to cooperate with Armenia. By the Committee Chairperson’s assessment, it’s high time for the European Union to distinctly respond to such non-constructive Azerbaijani stand, which tries “to adjust” the basic philosophy of the Eastern Partnership to Azerbaijani agenda. Speaking about the intolerance of the Azerbaijani side, she made reference to the social survey recently made among schoolchildren in Azerbaijan: In response to the question - “Who is perceived as a national enemy?”, the overwhelming majority of the schoolchildren answered “the Armenians”. In Mrs Zohrabyan’s opinion, Armenophobia has been reached to the level of state campaign in Azerbaijan. She believes that the structures interested in the region’s European Integration should pay serious attention to this problem.

Speaking about the goals of Armenia’s European Integration, Mrs Zohrabyan noted that unlike some of our neighbours, particularly Azerbaijan, which tried to buy imitation of European Integration for money, the European Integration was an important and basic priority for Armenia, as we understood that our only resource is democracy. She underlined that Armenia was greatly interested in political association and economic integration with the European Union.

Other issues were also discussed at the meeting.