Slovak parliament ex-speaker to offer EU to accept Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan as associate members

May 25, 2010 - 14:40 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - First speaker of the Slovak parliament Frantisek Miklosko said that the NKR parliamentary elections were free, democratic and complied with the EU standards.

The NKR elections are similar to referendums that are held once in five years, Miklosko told a joint press conference with Chairman of the Forum of Armenian Unions of Europe Ashot Grigoryan.

Miklosko added that, taking this into consideration, he is surprised at the statement by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton that the EU does not recognize the NKR elections.

According to Miklosko, the NKR problem is a problem of the EU, as the future of the EU is decided in Karabakh.

Miklosko and Ashot Grigoryan will submit to the EU a new concept - Confederation of the South Caucasian countries, for the Karabakh problem resolution. Thus, the two men are going to offer the EU to accept Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan as associate member. “Otherwise, the tense situation will be preserved in the region,” he said.

According to Miklosko, the offer on the South Caucasian Confederation does not mean that the OSCE Minsk Group has exhausted itself, as currently peace is preserved in Karabakh due to efforts of the local authorities and Minsk Group. “We just want to stir up the Karabakh problem resolution in parallel, nothing else,” said Miklosko.

For his part, Ashot Grigoryan stated that as soon as Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan become associate members of the EU, they will implement reforms that will allow them to become candidates for the EU membership.

Asked whether the Armenian and NKR authorities support this initiative, Grigoryan said that he discussed the issue with the Armenian Foreign Minister, who eventually has not supported the offer. “Meanwhile, the NKR authorities displayed great interest towards our initiative, but they have not given their final response yet,” the Chairman of the Forum of Armenian Unions of Europe stated.