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YEREVAN. – The goal of Eastern Partnership was to intensify the EU's relationship with this six countries, and the EU managed to do so, UK Ambassador to Armenia says. In an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am, UK Ambassador to Armenia Katherine Leach spoke about prospects for economic cooperation, the Karabakh issue and upcoming referendum in Scotland.

How do you see prospects for economic cooperation between Armenia and UK in the context of Armenia's upcoming accession to Eurasian Economic Union?

We hoped that Armenia would sing the DCFTA and that would give a big boost to UK and European trade business. But, I think businessmen look for opportunities in every circumstance, and the main opportunities for British businessmen will be to use Armenia perhaps as a base to then export to the wider Eurasian Union. I know that at least one British-Armenian business which manufactures medical products which might benefit from the Eurasian Union. Businessmen look for better opportunities and also for business environment. And the reforms that Armenia has made over the last few years preparing for DCFTA were really helpful in improving business environment. If Armenia continues those types of economic reforms, being a member of the Eurasian Union, then I very much hope that there will still be a lot of interest in opportunities for British business.

How does the UK government assess Eastern Partnership project? Do you agree with some experts who say Eastern Partnership project has failed?

I would not call it a failure, in a sense that actually what we got is that three out of six are signing the Association Agreement and the DCFTA. The whole goal of Eastern Partnership was to intensify the EU's relationship with this six countries. And I think it managed to do that actually with all six in different ways. I think the key is to make sure that Eastern Partnership can adapt to the different situations and offer an appropriate relationship to countries like Armenia which have made a different choice.

Is reopening of Yerevan-London flights expected in the near future?

As you can imagine I have personal interest in this issue as well. At the moment I do not know of any concrete plans. But, I can say that the decision taken by the government last year to have an open skies policy was absolutely the right thing to do. We see the prices going down, the flights go up, new airlines coming in. I feel much more confident now that we can make much attractive offer to other airlines, and I hope an airline will be interested in re-establishing Yerevan-London flights.

In Georgia, British companies are represented more than in Armenia with BP being a core of these companies. What can be the center of attraction for the British companies in Armenia?

I think we already have one that is financial services, that is HSBC. It was one of the first and is still the largest British investment in Armenia, and helps set standard for banking and financial services in the region. There is a number of other British offices and companies, for example Ernst & Young. Obviously, the Lydian International, a British-based mining company, which is planning 300 million investment. It would become Armenia's biggest taxpayer if production goes ahead. That would clearly offer more opportunities to the local and perhaps for British businesses to become involved. Another field is a retail. You see a lot of British brands available in the shops, and it has a lot of potential. British brands are popular in Armenia. IT is an area where of course Armenia has huge potential, and there is at least one British-Armenian startup. We have not found the way to build those links. This is one of the areas that I would like to continue to look at.

Last year you conducted monitoring of Armenian penitentiaries together with Ombudsman's office. Does the embassy continue cooperation with the Ombudsman's office and what issues are in focus?

Penal reform is really important and longstanding commitment from the UK. I was pleased to have an opportunity to go with human rights ombudsman to Nubarashen penitentiaries where overcrowding is a really big problem. There are no particular projects that we have, but we are always looking for opportunities to support ombudsman and his office.

In February the British parliament held debates on Nagorno-Karabakh. During the hearings, Mark Simmonds, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, said UK will continue to support all efforts to resolve Karabakh conflict. Do you think there are real prospects for the settlement of Karabakh conflict?

We have just marked 20 years since ceasefire, and this is a reminder that time does not solve conflicts. Only political will and determination solves conflicts. I think it is positive that presidents met in November last year. President Hollande has offered to host the presidents, and I very much hope the sides will take up. I remain concerned about the number of ceasefire violations, sniper deaths, including in places like the border with Nakhchivan where we have not seen incidents before. I know there has been the detention and pressure on some of the Azerbaijani partners that we have been working with for many years. Those civil society projects are very important, given that we have generation of Armenians and Azerbaijanis who had no chance to meet in other circumstances. It is still really important to keep up that work of preparing the populations for peace by talking what the final peace deal would look like. It would involve peaceful compromise on both sides.

In September, Scotland will hold a referendum on independence. What are the expectations of the British government?

The British government is neutral on the subject. We believe that United Kingdom is better together. We believe that there a many advantages for Scotland in staying within the Great Britain. We are trying to give the economic and foreign policy arguments to the people of Scotland to explain what the benefits of the union are. We hope that people in Scotland will read all these analysis and ultimately will make up their mind.

 

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