It is apparent for the European Union (EU) that Russia plays a central part in relations with the EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries with which we will sign an agreement today.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday stated about the aforementioned at the official opening of the EaP summit in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium.
“I’m very happy that we [already] have signed the [EU] Association Agreement with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine,” added Merkel. “Now, we [the EU] will sign a partnership agreement similarly with Armenia and Azerbaijan. It will not be as intensive as the Association Agreement, but we will cooperate with them.
“It’s clear to us that the relations with Russia play a central role in the case of these countries. For that reason, I hope that we will realize, at today’s discourse, what the domestic political situation is in those countries.”