BRUSSELS. – Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in Belgium on a working visit, on Wednesday met with the European Parliament President, Martin Schulz. After the meeting, they announced a joint statement before the press.

And below is an excerpt from Sargsyan’s statement issued at the end of his meeting with Schulz.  

“I would like to express confidence that our relations with EU will register a new success during your tenure. We underscore the European Parliament’s role in the context of the deepening Armenia-EU cooperation. The Armenia-EU interparliamentary ties are dynamically developing. A Euronest Parliamentary Assembly session was recently held in [Armenia’s capital] Yerevan, and this was the organization’s first-ever meeting in a partner country.

We were also delighted to host, in the same time period, a delegation from the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. Together with President Schulz we discussed a wide array of matters that are on the agenda of Armenia-EU relations. I presented to Mr. Schulz our commitment to implementing reforms in our country, and the steps toward securing assistance to stimulate reforms between the European Commission and the Government of Armenia.

The both of us stressed with satisfaction the progress recorded in our relations with EU. We reflected on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia. I am delightful that the European Parliament observers’ mission likewise will monitor Armenia’s elections.

I informed President Schulz about the latest developments in the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I noted that the Armenian side sees the matter’s resolution solely in peaceful ways, and in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group negotiation process.  We welcomed the EU Council’s recently-adopted conclusions, which also note the need for EU representatives to visit Nagorno-Karabakh.”