EU Caucasus rep meets high-ranking officials in Armenia

The EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Magdalena Grono, has met Armenia's Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan in the course of her visit to the country. 

In the course of the meeting, which as Caliber.Az reports citing Armenian media took place on January 10, the parties discussed issues of developing relations between Armenia and the European Union, as well as various security issues, including the process of normalizing relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The EU delegate also met with Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan earlier in the day.

As Caliber.Az recalls, her visit to Armenia is part of her wider tour throgh the region as Representative Grono met President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on January 8 in Baku. During that meeting she extended her deepest condolences regarding the Azerbaijani Airlines flight 8243 plane crash and expressed hope that all causes of the accident would be thoroughly investigated.

During her meeting with President Aliyev, Grono described Azerbaijan as an important partner of the European Union and praised Azerbaijan’s substantial contribution to Europe's energy security and stressed the importance of energy cooperation. Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan would continue its efforts to ensure lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus region, emphasizing the ongoing bilateral negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

In a seperate meeting with Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Elnur Mammadov, Baku's concerns were expressed over EU policies perceived as supporting Armenia’s rearmament, urging actions that promote peace and stability.

Magdalena Grono has replaced Toivo Klaar after 6 years in office as the new EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia in September 20204.

By Nazrin Sadigova