Prime Minister Pashinyan Meets with French President Emanuel Macron in Brussels on Wednesday
BRUSSELS—Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is on his first official visit to the European Union capital, where on Wednesday he met with French President Emanuel Macron and shared his vision of Armenia’s future with European officials. Pashinyan is in Brussels to attend the NATO Summit.
During his meeting with Macron, Pashinyan said that under his leadership, the Armenian government will continue to strengthen the already robust relations with France, saying that the changes in Armenia have created a climate for increasing investment and more economic cooperation.
The focal point of the meeting was the upcoming summit of French-speaking nations, known as Francophonie, to be held in Yerevan in October. Macron told Pashinyan that he was looking forward to his visit to Armenia. Pashinyan said that the summit will provide an opportunity for Francophonie nations to explore new and innovative opportunities for advancing ties and furthering economic cooperation.
In addressing the continuing efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict, Pashinyan told Macron that any effort to use military force in the resolution process must be viewed as an attack and an affront to democracy and human rights.
The two leaders said that their counties are committed to a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minks Group, of which France is a co-chairing country. Pashinyan also praised France’s continued commitment to the peaceful resolution of the conflict.
At the start of the meeting, Pashinyan congratulated Macron on France’s advancement to the World Cup finals, which will be held on Sunday against Croatia, whose team beat England on Wednesday to advance to the finals.
Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Prime Minister Pashinyan discussed Armenia-EU relations in Brussels on Wednesday
After his meeting with Macron, Pashinyan met with Federica Mogherini, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The two leaders discussed the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement that was signed last year between Armenia and the European Union.
Pashinyan emphasized that for Armenia democracy is not a foreign policy posturing but rather a guiding principle, which he said his government is committed to uphold and advance.
“You can lean on us on your road to making fundamental reforms to advance rule of law, fight against corruption, defending human rights and other spheres,â€
