EU to assist Armenia in holding elections in line with international standards

PanARMENIAN.Net - On a working visit to Brussels, RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan met with European Union Council Secretary General and High Representative for the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana.



Welcoming the Armenian Prime Minister to Brussels, Mr Solana mentioned that the visit came at the right time as presidential elections were awaiting Armenia. He said that more than once he happened to discuss questions relating to the development of EU-Armenia cooperation with the President of the Republic of Armenia. Mr. Solana made a point of holding the upcoming presidential elections in line with the international standards. Emphasizing the need of having a delegation from the OSCE/ODIHR to attend these elections, he asked the Prime Minister about the ongoing electoral processes in Armenia.



The RA Prime Minister conveyed President Robert Kocharian's greetings to Mr Solana. Noting that he had so far been responsible for national security and defense affaires within the government of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan said that by taking a premiership glance at the EU-Armenia Action Plan in the wake of his appointment to the post of Prime Minister, he got added evidence that the logic of the program was matching that of our country's development in respect of both internal and external policies. Serzh Sargsyan stressed that elections as part of the democratic process were among the key challenges facing Armenia. "We want to hold good elections so as they may be estimated as such by foreign and native observers," the Prime Minister said. He mentioned that the parliamentary elections of last May were given a favorable assessment and, therefore, Armenia was interested in improving on this achievement during the presidential elections. Among the major problems faced by our country, Mr Sargsyan mentioned the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the normalization of relations with Turkey, the implementation of second-generation reforms. Armenia is experiencing a number of serious problems that can be resolved only by a candidate elected through internationally recognized elections.



Concurrent with the Prime Minister of Armenia as to the importance of the forthcoming elections, Mr Solana expressed hope that they will meet the international standards and offered the assistance of the European Union in this matter, the RA government's press office reported.