Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan stated that Armenia can contribute to stability in the region.

The webpage of the German Marshall Fund of U.S. published an interview of Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to Senior Fellow Jonathan Katz on July 19 in Washington.

Mediamax presents excerpts from Zohrab Mnatsakanyan’s answers.

Revolution and foreign policy

I think the most important challenge before us was to make it very clear that Armenia’s Velvet Revolution was strictly about Armenia and it was a strictly a domestic affair; that this was a very important development in Armenia for Armenians; for consolidating public institutions, democratic institutions to serve the nation and economy better, to serve our national security agenda better.

Armenia’s foreign policy has been built in a very careful way to consolidate the national security architecture through engagements with our major partners Russia, the European Union, and the United States.

Role of great powers and Armenia

There is a very good example of cooperation of Russia, the United States, and a European country, France, working together as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. Countries that may not necessarily agree on many issues on the international agenda, but in this particular case it’s a very well-coordinated, very strongly consolidated form of co-operation.

We are interested in further stability and reducing tension. Armenia can contribute to stability in the region. When you have an island of stability, like Armenia, it works well for everyone. We can be contributors by way of absorbing the areas in which the interests can be combined for the sake of stability.

Connection with EU

Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is practically in force. It takes 28 EU countries to ratify it, and each of them has their own method. Eighteen EU members have already ratified it. So, currently there are still 10 to do so; there is no political impediment to that. In fact, we already have 80 percent of all the provisions in the implementation phase.

Since the Velvet Revolution in 2018, we have been in very intensive and extensive political and economic engagement with the EU. As part of this process, we would like to see a visa liberalization dialogue with the EU that will lead to an agreement.