NATO has been very supportive of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Colomina

In an interview with the Georgian Public TV channel, Special representative of the NATO Secretary General Javier Colomina spoke about the possible signing of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty and regional developments.

“We are quite optimistic about the joint declaration that was signed by Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Aliyev. I’ve met with the ministers recently and also with the leaders of those countries in different moments. We believe it’s very good news. We have been very supportive of the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

We’ve been supporting the efforts towards that normalization coming from the European Union or from the United States or the ones that have been carried out by Armenia and Azerbaijan bilaterally. We will continue to support those and hope for the best. It is fundamental indeed for us that stability in the Caucasus region is preserved, not only through the work that we do in Georgia, but also through the stability that could be brought from Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Colomina said.

To the journalist’s question whether he sees interest from Yerevan in getting closer to NATO Keeping in mind that the Armenian government is seeking diversification of its security policy, Colomina answered: 

“I think Armenia has decided very clearly to make a shift in their foreign policy to take some distance from Moscow. It’s something that we have encouraged.

The Armenians are free to take their own decisions, but they decided to do that and I believe they’re already starting to get closer to us – to ask for more cooperation, to ask for more political dialogue, to ask for more NATO presence and visibility in the relationship they have with us.

We encourage whatever is decided by our partners that we believe is good for the stability of a region. That is very important for us.”