Armenia parliament speaker on Russia: One had to be good partner, protect allies

The security of the South Caucasus, the peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the further development of relations between Armenia and the EU were the main topics that the speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, discussed with his Latvian colleague, Daiga Mierina in Riga, reports RUS.LSM.lv.
"We talked about Armenia moving towards the European Union. And that is why it wants to leave the CSTO, led by Russia. Armenia also informed us that the Russian military is gradually leaving the country," said Mierina.
"What is happening in our region is the same story as in Ukraine. The characters are just a little different. We [i.e. Armenia] need support for long-term peace. We have no territorial claims against our neighbors. We only need the desire of the Azerbaijani government to establish peace. And in this matter we need the help of Latvia and other European partners. We share the values of Latvia and EU members, so we need support to become a full member of the EU family," Simonyan told RUS.LSM.lv.
"About some envy towards Russia: one had to be a good partner, protect allies, and be honest with the partner, even if that partner is small. Our society has a solution: to be part of the European Union. A few days ago, our parliament discussed holding a referendum on Armenia becoming a member of the EU. I believe that one day in the near future we will have this referendum, and I am sure that our people will say ‘yes,’" added Simonyan.
And speaker of the Latvian Saeima (parliament), Daiga Mierina, stated that she sees Armenia in one family of democratic countries.

• Azerbaijan
• Russia
• Armenia
• EU
• peace agreement
• South Caucasus
• relations
• parliament speaker
• Latvian
• Riga