Armenia seeking EU membership

RIA Novosti, Russia
July 30 2004

ARMENIA SEEKING EU MEMBERSHIP

YEREVAN, July 30 (RIA Novosti) – Membership in the European Union is
a strategic goal of Armenia’s foreign policy, Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan said in an interview for the French magazine Politique
Internationale.

In Mr. Oskanyan’s opinion, all countries of the South Caucasus are
seeking to integrate into the European Union. “We really want to
become part of the union to live side-by side with the other
twenty-five EU member states, keeping in mind that we still have a
long way to go,” he pointed out.

To the Armenians, integration into the EU is of particular
importance, as they see it as a return to the ancestral civilization
from where their nation emerged, Mr. Oskanyan said.

Speaking of the prospect of Turkey’s accession, the Armenian Foreign
Minister said it was a universally recognized fact that that country
could not join the European Union right away as it falls short of the
EU standards. It will take the Turks ten to fifteen years to effect
reforms that will enable them to meet admission requirements.