Joint Statement Issued Following Meeting of Pashinyan and Ursula von der Leyen

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have issued a joint statement following their meeting. Specifically, it states:

“Today we met in Granada, during the summit of the European Political Community hosted by Spain. We once again condemned Azerbaijan’s military actions against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and reaffirmed the necessity to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan, based on the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration and the understanding that Armenia's territory encompasses 29,800 square kilometers, while Azerbaijan's covers 86,600 square kilometers.

We also emphasized that the opening of regional communication links must be based on full respect for the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries, as well as on the principles of equality and mutuality. Armenia and the EU are bound by shared political values and are committed to a rules-based international order. In these challenging times, the EU and Armenia stand shoulder to shoulder. We are committed to further strengthening EU-Armenia relations.

As discussed earlier this week, our immediate focus is addressing the humanitarian needs of the more than 100,000 Armenians who have fled to Armenia from Karabakh. We discussed how to ensure the maximum effectiveness of humanitarian aid and other immediate support provided by the EU, amounting to €10.45 million.

President von der Leyen also announced that the Commission is mobilizing funding to allocate €15 million to Armenia from its annual program as budgetary support. This will enable the Armenian government to address urgent socio-economic needs and support the procurement of food and fuel.

In the long term, the European Union and Armenia are determined to strengthen their economic ties by working towards unlocking the full potential of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Specifically, the EU Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) for Armenia foresees up to €2.6 billion to be used for investments in critical infrastructure and other projects.

The Commission and Armenia will double their efforts to implement important projects. The Commission will also support Armenia’s participation in regional projects, such as the Black Sea electricity cable. Additionally, the Commission will enhance technical assistance to Armenia, particularly in the areas of aviation safety and nuclear safety.

President von der Leyen informed about the preparation of a joint EU-US initiative to support Armenia. In the coming days, we will continue discussions on ways to further strengthen our relations.”