We should not pretend nothing happened after Armenia’s decision to join customs union- lawmaker says

YEREVAN, October 16. / ARKA /. The chairwoman of an Armenian parliamentary committee on European integration Naira Zohrabyan from the Prosperous Armenia party said one can not pretend that nothing has happened after Armenia’s decision to join the Russia-led Customs Union following almost four years of negations between Armenia and EU on association agreement and the deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA).

"We should not pretend that nothing has happened. Unfortunately, we all need to admit a very important fact - this U-turn is a major foreign policy change for the majority of Armenian political forces, a change that came on September 3 (when president Sargsyan announced the decision)," she said at the opening of a conference in Yerevan titled " Four Years of the Eastern Partnership : Results and Challenges .. The views of Armenian policy makers and experts. "

Zohrabyan also commented on arguments that the decision to join the Customs Union was forced by security concerns and the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We all understand that we have a security problem, but we must also understand that our security is contingent also on corruption, violations of human rights and democracy, which are slowly draining our country. Maybe it's not so visible and tangible, but we understand that these issues are vitally important, and in this sense it is very important to continue cooperation with the EU, " she said.

"For me, as a citizen of Armenia, Armenia's place is in the European family of nations. I do not see any other path," she added.

The conference has been organized by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Armenia and the Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation. .-0-