Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
News

Warm welcome for Angela Merkel in Armenia

25 August 2018

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday (24 August) held talks with Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan during the second leg of her visit in the South Caucasus.

Speaking after the talks Chancellor Merkel said she had been watching carefully what was happening in Armenia following peaceful protests there in the spring, and the subsequent change of government. Armenia and Germany can develop cooperation in a number of directions, Angela Merkel said at a joint press conference with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The Chancellor said she is glad to come to Armenia not only in the year of the 100th anniversary of the First Republic, but in the period of democratic reforms. Merkel said that she had discussed with prime minister Pashinyan relations between the two countries, and that they had discussed the future of the relations not only in a bilateral format, but also in the format of relations with the EU.

Chancellor Merkel said Germany is ready to encourage the creation of a favorable atmosphere for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. The Chancellor reminded that Germany is a member of the OSCE Minsk Group. She said the conflict cannot be solved without talks, and it is necessary to spare no effort to resolve it.

Nikol Pashinyan warmly welcomed the visit of the German Chancellor to Armenia, which he said was historical. Referring to Armenia-EU cooperation, Pashinyan highlighted the ratification of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, reaffirming Armenia's commitment to the implementation of widespread reforms. The Armenian prime minister said his country attached importance to the EU's targeted assistance, based on the principle "more for more".

Earlier Merkel went to the Tsitsernakaberd hilltop memorial where she laid a wreath at the monument commemorating the victims of what Armenia describes as the 1915 genocide against 1.5 million people carried out as the Ottoman Empire disintegrated during World War I.

According to the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) "choosing her words carefully in Armenia, Chancellor Angela Merkel avoided using the term "genocide" for the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians in 1915. She did refer to the Bundestag's resolution two years ago."

DW political editor who was at the ceremony larter tweeted

On Friday evening, Merkel, accompanied by prime minister Nikol Pashinyan and Armenian president Armen Sarkissina went for a walk on Yerevan's Northern Avenue.

On Saturday, Chancellor Merkel will depart for Baku, for the last leg of her visit to the South Caucasus.

source: commonspace.eu with Deutche Welle, Cologne, and agencies

photo: German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on 24 August 2018.

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged
Trending

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

9 June 2021
Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
NATO Chief says war is on Europe's doorstep, and warns against complacency
Trending

NATO Chief says war is on Europe's doorstep, and warns against complacency

12 December 2025
Russia could attack a Nato country within the next five years, the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, said in a stark new warning. "Nato's own defences can hold for now," Rutte warned in Berlin, but conflict was "next door" to Europe and he feared "too many are quietly complacent, and too many don't feel the urgency, too many believe that time is on our side. "Russia is already escalating its covert campaign against our societies," Rutte said in a speech in Germany. "We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured." Earlier this month, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said his country was not planning to go to war with Europe, but it was ready "right now" if Europe wanted to - or started a war. But similar reassurances were given by Moscow in 2022, just before 200,000 Russian troops crossed the border and invaded Ukraine. Putin has accused European countries of hindering US efforts to bring peace in Ukraine - a reference to the role Ukraine's European allies have recently played in trying to change a US peace plan to end the war, whose initial draft was seen as favouring Russia. But Putin was not sincere, Nato's secretary-general said in the German capital, Berlin. Supporting Ukraine, he added, was a guarantee for European security. "Just imagine if Putin got his way; Ukraine under the boot of Russian occupation, his forces pressing against a longer border with Nato, and the significantly increased risk of an armed attack against us." Russia's economy has been on a war footing for more than three years now - its factories churn out ever more supplies of drones, missiles and artillery shells. According to a recent report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Russia has been producing each month around 150 tanks, 550 infantry fighting vehicles, 120 Lancet drones and more than 50 artillery pieces. The UK, and most of its Western allies, are simply not anywhere near this point. Analysts say it would take years for Western Europe's factories to come close to matching Russia's mass-production of weapons. "Allied defence spending and production must rise rapidly, our armed forces must have what they need to keep us safe," the Nato chief said.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
NATO Chief says war is on Europe's doorstep, and warns against complacency
Trending

NATO Chief says war is on Europe's doorstep, and warns against complacency

12 December 2025
Russia could attack a Nato country within the next five years, the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, said in a stark new warning. "Nato's own defences can hold for now," Rutte warned in Berlin, but conflict was "next door" to Europe and he feared "too many are quietly complacent, and too many don't feel the urgency, too many believe that time is on our side. "Russia is already escalating its covert campaign against our societies," Rutte said in a speech in Germany. "We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured." Earlier this month, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said his country was not planning to go to war with Europe, but it was ready "right now" if Europe wanted to - or started a war. But similar reassurances were given by Moscow in 2022, just before 200,000 Russian troops crossed the border and invaded Ukraine. Putin has accused European countries of hindering US efforts to bring peace in Ukraine - a reference to the role Ukraine's European allies have recently played in trying to change a US peace plan to end the war, whose initial draft was seen as favouring Russia. But Putin was not sincere, Nato's secretary-general said in the German capital, Berlin. Supporting Ukraine, he added, was a guarantee for European security. "Just imagine if Putin got his way; Ukraine under the boot of Russian occupation, his forces pressing against a longer border with Nato, and the significantly increased risk of an armed attack against us." Russia's economy has been on a war footing for more than three years now - its factories churn out ever more supplies of drones, missiles and artillery shells. According to a recent report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Russia has been producing each month around 150 tanks, 550 infantry fighting vehicles, 120 Lancet drones and more than 50 artillery pieces. The UK, and most of its Western allies, are simply not anywhere near this point. Analysts say it would take years for Western Europe's factories to come close to matching Russia's mass-production of weapons. "Allied defence spending and production must rise rapidly, our armed forces must have what they need to keep us safe," the Nato chief said.