EU ready to continue assisting Armenia – Ambassador Piotr Świtalski

The European Union is ready to continue assisting Armenia since it sees the citizens’ positive reaction to the ongoing EU actions in Armenia, Ambassador Piotr Świtalski, head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, told reporters on June 20.

“I want to take this chance and thank the Armenian citizens who appreciate our work, thank you for the support. We really understand that there are many people in Armenia who believe that EU makes good job. I can say that sometimes we receive quite touching messages from citizens who generally appealed to us for assistance, but now they are showing support. This is a great impetus for me and my team. I assure you that are ready to make maximum efforts for Armenian citizens so that they will greatly benefit from our actions”, the EU Ambassador said.

Commenting on the discussion organized by the European Council on Armenia’s April 2 parliamentary election results, where he talked about a number of electoral frauds, which was followed by the statement of the Justice Minister, according to which it’s an attempt to interfere in Armenia’s internal affairs, Piotr Świtalski said he has no need for public announcements to make his message clear.

“I didn’t come here to take part in public discussion, it’s not my role, but of course, it is welcomed when a foreign observer is engaged in discussions of key issues. We need to positively react to public discussions and debates on key issues, but it’s important to follow certain elementary rules: before revealing something, be sure what has been said, watch the video again, listen to the recording, think and respect your speaker”, the EU Ambassador said, adding that he has good working relations with Armenian officials.

As for the elections, the Ambassador once again reminded that the EU greatly assisted Armenia on holding the parliamentary elections, by providing more than 7 million Euro which allowed to organize the entire electoral process. He emphasized that this has been done by Armenia’s will.

“It’s not a secret that our assistance to electoral process was much more than just a finance and technical assistance. We are ready to continue our assistance, but if there are skepticism or other opinions that this is not so desirable, we greatly respect Armenia’s sovereignty. If our assistance is not desirable, we cannot force anything against your will”, the EU Delegation chief stated.