Lithuania is one of our reliable partners in the European Union, and we are grateful for the political support given to us by Lithuania in the EU-Armenia relations, for promoting the access to our views and approaches in the European Union, and the taking decisions important to us. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this in a joint statement Thursday with visiting Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.

“One such decision is the deployment of a Civilian Observation Mission along the state border of Armenia with Azerbaijan. The day before, I gave an extensive speech in the European Parliament, where I noted that Armenia is ready to be closer to the European Union, as much as the European Union considers it possible. We discussed with Prime Minister Simonyte what this means, or what it could mean in practice. We also talked about the decisions to be made in the European Union in the near future, which also concern the South Caucasus region,” Pashinyan stressed.

He detailed the discussion he had with the PM of Lithuania.

“I presented to the Prime Minister of Lithuania our project and proposal of the Crossroads of Peace, which I also spoke about in the European Parliament, the key goal of which is the re-opening and activation of regional North-South and East-West communications, including through the territory of Armenia, which will connect the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, the Black Sea to the Gulf, and this can not only be a long-term guarantee of the stability and development of our region, but also become an important hub of global economic cooperation. This can also activate EU-Armenia, Lithuania-Armenia economic ties.

“In recent years, the trade turnover between the Republic of Armenia and Lithuania has had a significant percentage increase, but the absolute numbers remain symbolic. I think the intergovernmental cooperation commission has something to think about and a big front to work on. We agreed to activate this work,” Pashinyan said.

“I also presented to Prime Minister Simonyte the situation in our region, first of all, the fact of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and the fact that another 100 thousand Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh became refugees, as well as the steps taken by the Armenian government to meet their urgent needs. (…). I also emphasized that during the meetings between the President of Azerbaijan and myself, through the mediation of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, a roadmap for peace and normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia was developed, which was also expressed in the four-sided statement of Granada. The commitment of the parties to that road map will ensure a breakthrough in the peace process. Armenia confirms and reaffirms its commitment to the above-mentioned principles,” the Armenian PM noted.