Speech by President Charles Michel after his meeting with Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan

Thank you, Prime Minister, dear Nikol,

It is both a pleasure and an honour for me to return to your beautiful country, Armenia. I had the opportunity to pay you an official visit three years ago as Prime Minister of Belgium in the context of the Francophonie Summit. And this morning I was able to visit the Genocide Memorial, where – three years earlier, in my then capacity as Prime Minister of Belgium – I had symbolically planted a tree in memory of the victims. First of all, I would like to congratulate you in person on the outcome of an electoral process which both provides a mandate for and confers legitimacy on democratic political action. And I hope, on behalf of the European Union, that all political stakeholders in this country can be imbued with a spirit of positivity which enables them to succeed in cooperating and working to address the challenges facing this country. It is the EU’s ambition to be a fair and committed partner actively engaging in the pursuit of prosperity, stability and security. And within that framework, we have had an opportunity to discuss our bilateral relations, starting with relations between Armenia and the EU. And I have an important message to convey as I stand before you and with you to confirm the EU’s decision to mobilise an unprecedented financial package: 2.6 billion euro in support of Armenia’s priorities. And you, Mr President, have had the opportunity to mention the priorities on the basis of which your teams will cooperate with the EU’s teams in order to ensure that those funds do not remain merely virtual or theoretical in nature, but are translated as quickly as possible into specific projects to support the ambitions of the Armenian authorities in the various different sectors: infrastructure, ambitions in the digital, climate and transport fields, or efforts to pursue the agenda of democratic reforms to enhance governance and ensure greater capacity and efficiency and thereby satisfy the aspirations of Armenian citizens.

Finally, we are confronted with the global challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. As you have already mentioned, we have also endeavoured to mobilise efforts on the part of the EU. We will continue to act in a spirit of solidarity. I would like to point out that, as soon as the production of vaccination technologies was launched, it was the EU, among the world’s major democratic regions, which made the choice to export vaccines. We chose to export around 50% of the vaccines produced each month. We also chose to mobilise capacity in support of the COVAX project in order to ensure that every country in the world has access to vaccination technologies. And in addition to what has already been accomplished, the Heads of State and Government have decided to mobilise at least 100 million doses before the end of the year so as to maximise access to vaccination technology capabilities worldwide; after all, in the current COVID-19 crisis, no-one is safe until everyone is safe.

Another reason for my presence here in Armenia – and, more generally, in this region as a whole (tomorrow I will be in Azerbaijan, and on Monday in Georgia) – is to demonstrate the EU’s commitment to the South Caucasus. We want to strengthen connections and enhance ties between the EU and countries in this region, and – as you have already mentioned – we are keen to lay the groundwork for the summit due to take place with all Eastern Partnership countries – with the exception of Belarus, which has announced that it is suspending its participation in that Partnership – in December. In that context, it is important for me to listen to the various political leaders in the countries concerned to see how we can ensure the success of that summit in December in order to provide new impetus and new energy. And in the next few weeks and months, we would like to continue to work with you, Mr Prime Minister, to make progress on a number of topics. Naturally, we were deeply affected by the war which struck Armenia last year, and by the situation of all those directly impacted by the war; I wish to pay tribute to the victims of that conflict, and to express my solidarity with and sympathy for them. We have had the opportunity to talk about a number of topics which will have to be discussed with a great deal of commitment on a political level in the months to come. I would like to reiterate very clearly and unambiguously the EU’s support for the work that has been carried out within the framework of the Minsk Group. We are keen to support and encourage the Minsk Group in discharging its responsibilities and addressing the various matters of concern. And we have identified four topics which need to be addressed in the short, medium and long term in order to achieve what we all seek – security, stability and prosperity – and to make gradual progress towards resolving what we know are the very serious conflicts confronting us.

The first point is the importance of using language which fosters moderation, of avoiding verbal escalation and ensuring that progress can continue to be made on very specific issues:

• on the question of prisoners, we have had the opportunity to discuss this subject over the past few weeks. The EU, together with other partners, has had the opportunity to encourage efforts to take initial decisions on this issue of prisoners;
• regarding the question of ‘mine maps’, we hope that it will be possible to continue to make responsible and positive progress on this important topic.

The second point is the delimitation of disputed borders. On this subject, we hope it will be possible to engage in a process of dialogue and negotiation. And once a dialogue or negotiation has been established, it would be beneficial, in our view, to be able to withdraw troops from the disputed areas in order to ensure a sense of calm and cool-headedness during discussions on the delimitation of the borders.

The third point I would like to raise is the importance – as we see it – of being able to discuss possible cooperation projects: the issue of the transport sector, which you have already mentioned. There may be other sectors too where regional cooperation could help to encourage economic development, prosperity and dialogue.

And fourthly, and more generally, there is the question of peace negotiations. The status of Nagorno-Karabakh must also be addressed. And I have taken very careful note of the topics which you yourselves have raised, such as the question of cultural heritage and the role that could be played by bodies such as UNESCO in order to ensure respect for such heritage, all of which are entirely legitimate issues of concern.

As you can see, therefore – Mr Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen – we have had the opportunity to hold an in-depth exchange of views on the various topics. I must express my thanks to you for your sincerity and candour, and for the close cooperation which has enabled us – the EU delegation – to fully understand your views on the various areas of concern. Tomorrow, I will have an opportunity to visit Azerbaijan. During that visit, I will also be able to engage in an exchange of views with the authorities of that country. And I would like to emphasise that the EU is willing to remain engaged as a fair, positive and constructive partner, and is concerned not only to show respect for political stakeholders in the region, but also to uphold the values in which we believe: the values of democracy, rule of law and governance, which in our view constitute the best possible pillars to ensure progress in terms of prosperity, stability and security. Thank you.