Envoy on Armenia's CU accession: EU can’t pretend nothing happened

October 16, 2013 - 20:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The European Union and Europeans are well-disposed towards Armenia and understand the exceptionality of its situation, Ambassador-At-Large of the Czech Republic for the Eastern Partnership said, according to ARKA.

"Brussels and European capitals are favorably disposed towards Armenia, the people are well aware of the uniqueness of your situation, and the general line is that we need to keep Armenia next to us," Petr Mares said at the opening of an Eastern Partnership conference in Yerevan.

"However, the relations can not be brought back to what they had been, (before Armenia’s decision to join the Russian-led Customs Union)," the envoy noted.

According to Mares, the EU is now trying to analyze the situation, with Armenia-focused meetings held daily.

"We have not come yet to a final conclusion, but we are sure of one thing- this is not a normal development. We can not pretend that nothing has happened. You have made a serious decision, and the ball is now on our side of the field, and we haven't yet figured how to play it back," he said.

The conference has been organized by the embassy of the Czech Republic in Armenia and the Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation.

Photo: armenianleaders.wordpress.com

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Eastern Partnership

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is the first comprehensive initiative introduced into the system of the European Union’s external relations, addressed to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The Eastern Partnership is designed to help the countries of Eastern Europe and South Caucasus with their approximation to and integration with the European Union. The EaP has injected a new quality into relations between the EU and the countries covered by the initiative through their gradual integration with the European Union.