October 16, 2013 | 07:59
YEREVAN. – Instead of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement, the Armenian authorities are preparing to sign a 1.5-page document during the European Union (EU) Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in the Lithuanian capital city Vilnius, at the end of November, Haykakan Zhamanak daily reports.
“The name of the document will be ‘declaration.’ Diplomatic sources explain that the declaration will be about the work already done—under the auspices of the EU—in fighting corruption, human rights, [and] democratic reforms [in Armenia].
“The same circles note that the EU has agreed to sign such document. Otherwise, it will turn out that it lost [to Russia] in the case of Armenia, and its four years of work was in vain.
“And the signing of this declarative document is very convenient for [Armenian President] Serzh Sargsyan, since he likewise will have to prove that, ‘See, the ‘and-and’ precept, which I said, is executed,’” Haykakan Zhamanak writes.
To note, following the talks that were held on September 3 in Moscow between Armenian and Russian Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin, Sargsyan had announced that Armenia plans to join the Customs Union and subsequently engage in the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. Aside from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan likewise are members in the Customs Union. And in response to this development, the European Union had stated that the signing of the Armenia-EU Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement is now doubtful.
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