Interview of Armenian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan to Armenian News - NEWS.am.

Statistics on the Armenian vote at the UN became are widely discussed, and you have already expressed the Armenian side’s point of view on this issue. In your opinion, what is fraught with such a statistical approach and how does it reflect the true foreign policy vectors?

We have repeatedly noted that Armenian interests and Armenians are in the center of the Armenian foreign policy, and therefore it is not surprising that the answer to this question will be the following: Armenia based on its own national interests in international organizations votes, taking into account the content of documents, the background, the discussion process, but not to please someone.

I would not want to comment on the publication in the media, the purpose of which was completely different. And the material was created in the context of the announced new approach to revising the aid provided by the US administration to foreign member states. The approach is not clear, what method of statistical analysis was used in the preparation of the Voice of America's material, whether all quantitative and qualitative data were taken into account - how many countries voted? when and what is this regarding? were only the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ voting data taken into account? whether the abstentions and absences were taken into account, etc. And those who exaggerated the publication did not take into account the logic of the publication or the content of the resolutions put to a vote at the UN, or whether they proceed from the interests of Armenia and the collective interests of the Armenian people. UN resolutions are versatile and diverse, and, as I have already noted, Armenia considers them based on national interests. Armenia’s foreign policy priorities are reflected in the government’s program and Armenia’s vote in the UN is based on these priorities.

Is it possible to say that Armenia continues the policy of complementarity, and to what extent is this possible, given the processes in the world?

It is a very good question. And going forward, I’ll make a statement - at the end of August, the traditional meeting of the heads of the diplomatic missions of Armenia will be held in Yerevan held in a new format this year. It provides for the participation of representatives of state bodies of Armenia, MPs, the MFA central apparatus, and heads of diplomatic services. Within a few days, an active, closed discussion of regional and international developments, the priorities of Armenia in foreign policy, steps proceeding from their logic are expected. The basic principles of foreign policy will be consolidated. There are three of them: Sovereignty will be highlighted as the most important principle of foreign policy, through the prism of which all steps for the benefit of state interests will be considered. This is what the government, and in particular the FM repeatedly indicated as a policy, the central place of which is assigned to the Armenian interests.

The second principle is the interests of all Armenians. This is reflected in the best use of the collective potential for the benefit of collective interests, the protection of national identity, the promotion, strengthening and development of civilizational and democratic values.

The interaction will be determined by the third fundamental principle: equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with the international community, for the benefit of peace, the security of development. Thus, the sovereignty, central interests of the Armenians and interaction form the logical circle of our activity in the foreign policy sphere, these are the basic principles of our foreign policy.

How do you comment on the appeal of the Azerbaijani MFA to the UN and the OSCE, as well as the appeal of the “Azerbaijani community of Karabakh”, in connection with the Armenian PM and FM statements?

It is the sovereign right of each subject of the international community to appeal to international and regional structures. However, it would be preferable if Azerbaijan, albeit indirectly, held a civilized dialogue with Armenia and Artsakh.

The issue of US financial aid to Nagorno-Karabakh is actively discussed and several points of view are expressed. What can you say about this?

This is a process that takes place annually in the US administration, the House of Representatives and the Senate in the context of talks on external subsidies from the US budget. Each year, following the results of these talks, as a rule, aid is also provided to Artsakh. Our desire is to ensure the initiation and implementation of various humanitarian programs in Artsakh. Therefore, this issue is on the agenda of bilateral talks with American colleagues.

How many countries have already ratified the deal between Armenia and the EU, and are there any expected deadlines for the completion of the process?

Armenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Poland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Malta, Romania, the United Kingdom, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Cyprus have already completed the necessary procedures for ratification.

However, it would be wrong to say that this is a complete picture of the process. For example, Sweden has completed the domestic processes necessary for ratification of the deal but has not yet informed the secretariat of the Council of Europe and the EU Council about this. We consider the process fully completed when the result is published on the official website of the EU secretariat.

There are countries in which the ratification process can be said to have reached the last stage. For example, the deal was ratified by the German Bundestag and presented for signature to the country's president, after which Germany will inform the Council of the EU about this.

The process of ratification of the deal has passed some domestic stages in almost all EU member states, and we expect that the process will continue with the same activity in the coming months.

However, it should be noted that we make full use of the opportunities provided by the provisional application of the deal. As you know, temporarily applied articles make up approximately 80% of the deal, the remaining 20% are mainly articles within the jurisdiction of the EU member states, will enter into force after the ratification of the deal by all member countries of the organization. Therefore, the already effective block is subject to 100% application, in accordance with the Roadmap developed by Armenia and the EU.