Armenia can be connecting bridge between EU and Eurasia, president says in Almaty

Armenia has been and remains at the crossroads between the EU and Eurasia, having the real potential to serve as a unique kind of connecting bridge, President Armen Sarkissian said in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he is taking part in the 16th Eurasian Media Forum (being held under the slogan The World Today: Transforming Reality?)

Addressing a debate entitled Deglobalization: World in Quest of New Models of Development, the president shared his sonewhat skeptical attitude to the concept. ''Deglobalization has not ended at all. It is going to continue at even more rapid paces. It didn't start today, not even years and decades ago; it traces its roots to centennials and millennia, to periods much earlier than the Silk Road [concept came into existence]. The world had already globalized then; only the options for globalization were different. And that globalization is continuing today,'' he said, sharing the participants' concerns over the existing difficulties at most different levels.

The president also agreed that management-related issues remain the key concern in the process nowadays.

''Armenia is a small state but an international nation anyway. So I do believe that we will be the people who knows how to adapt; a people who, over the course of centuries, has survived tragedies to start life anew. This is an important quality in the new world where certainties are less and uncertainties - even more in number,'' he noted.

As a key advantage raising the Armenia's international image, the president emphasized the proportionally developing relations with the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union. ''Armenia is at the crossroads. This is why our country has learned how to work with everyone, maintaining close relations with the Russian Federation and member states of the Eurasian Economic Union. Yet at the same time, Armenia has signed an agreement with the EU, '' he said, referring to the Comprehensive and Enganced Partnership agreement concluded in 2017

''And I do not see any controversy here. Moreover, Armenia has an advantage - which the international community must benefit from - as we are the only country that maintains deep relations with both the European Union and Russia and Eurasia. So why not use those advantages of Armenia, a country which acts as a real bridge?''

The president further stressed the paramount role of social networks in today's globalized world, agreeing that they serve as an important platform in terms of connecting people. He spoke of the quantum characteristics of world politics, praising contemporary politicians' ability to make a literate use of social media tools.

Asked to comment on Armenia's relations with Azerbaijan, Sarkissian referred to the ongoing negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) – conducted on the level of the two countries' top leaders (Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbiajani President Ilham Aliyev) and foreign ministers. ''I extend my full-fledged support to the peaceful settlement efforts. That problem, anyway, does not distance Armenia from the opportunity of being a real platform of international relations, and cooperation between Eurasia and the Eurasian Union.''