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The Armenian election year was opened with a self-promotional session of the local Minister of Foreign Affair. At the press conference, Eduard Nalbandyan unfolded a grant vision of fast and effective negotiations with the European Union. Yet such euro-enthusiasm could be a little exaggerated…
Eduard Nalbandyan, author: PanArmenian, source: flickr.com
Armenian Minister Eduard Nalbandyan entered this week with a conference summing up the last year in his department. As an achievement, the minister presented the work of a special joint commission over the Association Agreement (AA) between his country and the EU, praising its pace. According to press agency ARKA, Nalbandyan mockingly mentioned Azerbaijan not being even halfway through the EU integration process Armenia has already undergone.
The Armenian foreign minister put forward precise plans of bringing his state closer to united Europe. For him, it is a matter of honour to sign the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTA) and to launch visa facilitation for Armenians travelling to the EU in 2012.
Negotiations on the AA with Armenia started in 2010. The Agreement is to replace the current pact on partnership and cooperation, and aims at strengthening relations between the Union and this Caucasian country. The key directions Armenia is going towards are joint foreign policy with the EU, building democracy, promoting economic integration and visa facilitation, and stabilizing the energy sector.
Source: ARKA, EaPC, Eastbook, News.am
Toppling the Fellow Sufferers, by Grigory Ioffe on The Jamestown Foundation:
“…it has been clear for some time that the Western sponsors of the Belarusian opposition contribute to its deep divisions and feuds simply because various opposition groups compete with each other over Western funding sources”.
Read also Belarusian Dinosaurs & Кто боится Революции? (Who’s afraid of the revolution?) by Vyacheslav Dianov on Eastbook.eu RU.
The presence…
@Caspian_Watch: Is Armenia really ready to sign Karabakh peace principles?
@geysar: Azeri Refugees and IDPs from Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia living in Azerbaijan
@armenialiberty: Baku Sees Stronger Push For Karabakh Peace After Azeri Vote
…and some history
@anitsa35: The geopolitics of armed conflict settlement:
How did Russia affect the settlement of the 1991-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh war?
The List of Officially Concerned about the results of the Eurovision song contest is growing – alphabetically that would be Ilham Aliyev, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergey Lavrov…
Who paid whom for what & who should have voted differently…”why? because!” – read also on RFE/RL: Eurovision Vote Theft Claims Roil Russia, Azerbaijan.
And the famous Azerbaijani song before it fades away from the memory of avid Eurovision fans:
Belarus Digest tackles the issue of perceiving the Belarusian higher education system (within the country as well as “outside”…):
How Belarusian Is The Belarusian University In Exile?
Four Western Myths About Belarusian Higher Education
After the Krakow meeting of foreign ministers from V4 & EaP countries:
“If Ukraine and the EU do not sign the agreement, what is Plan B?”
There is no Plan B, answer Adam Reichardt & Giacomo Manca on New Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, “Alexei Pushkov, head of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, has said he is skeptical about the prospects for the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement”. (Interfax)
Aşıq Nargile, an ethnic Azeri Ashiq, performs ”Borçalı Poem”:
Learn more about the The Sayat Nova Project & the traditional music of the Caucasus.
Photo gallery by Onnik Krikorian
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2012-07-29 10:57:16
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