ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 24, 2004 Wednesday 8:26 AM Eastern Time
Armenia ready to develop economic ties with neighbouring states
By Tigran Liloyan
YEREVAN
Armenia is ready to establish and develop economic relations with all
neighbouring countries without any preconditions, Prime Minister
Andranik Margaryan said.
In his meeting with EU Special Envoy to the South Caucasus Heikki
Talvitie on Wednesday, Margaryan said these relations would provide a
foundation for the peaceful settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia’s membership in the Council of Europe and the compliance of
obligations before the CE will allow the country to hope that it will
be able to integrate into a European family, the Armenian prime
minister said.
In his view, the EU efforts to strengthen economic cooperation with
European countries and reforms in Armenia prove that these are real
goals.
Talvitie said the European Union was discussing a possibility of
involving the South Caucasus in Wider Europe/New Neighbours
Initiative. Ambassador Talvitie said he is hopeful that this process
would yield positive results. He is in Yerevan on a four-day visit as
part of an extended regional tour
In order to achieve this goal the EU envoy stressed that it would
necessary to develop regional cooperation, encourage economic
relations between the region and West European countries, and settle
the existing conflicts, in particular the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Talvitie said he is ready to help find a peaceful solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh problem.