The August war, global economic recession and gas conflict between Moscow and Kiev affected the Eastern Partners of the European Union (EU) and slowed down the reforms in the partner-countries, said the Head of the European Commission Delegation to Armenia Raul de Luzenberger, while discussing the fulfillment of EU “Eastern Partnership” neighborhood and initiative policy by Armenia.

“Armenia was dramatically influenced by the war in Ossetia (August 2008) and the economic recession consequences, as well as the internal political crisis after the presidential race. All these factors had the impact on European Neighborhood policy implementation”, Luzenberger emphasized.

Meanwhile, he said, that Armenia has intensified its activities in terms of regional cooperation, in particular starting a dialogue with Turkey. “There is also a progress in Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, however after the March 1-2 events, the democracy and human rights situation significantly worsened in Armenia”, Raul de Luzenberger added.