Liberalization of the visa regime with the EU is of great importance and is a matter of principle for Armenia. This was stated by Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan in an interview with journalists on the margins of the event dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Eastern Partnership program in Brussels.

Answering the question of whether the issue of visa liberalization was discussed during the current meetings, the minister noted that the issue is important and it was discussed.

“Liberalization of the visa regime is not the only, but the most important tool, giving the opportunity to strengthen what is called contact between people. This is not the only tool, we pay attention and try to develop all areas. As I have already said, there are various comments, various questions concerning attitudes towards migration and policies in this direction. But we cannot consider the question closed and continue to consistently pursue our policy, since we believe that everyone is evaluated according to his merits and capabilities. We are very sensitive and will not create a situation threatening the abuse of visa liberalization. We do not contribute to anything that causes problems. Now we are told that there are other countries that are using and abusing the liberalized regime. For us, this is not enough reason. We want us to be judged by our merits, our capabilities, and in this regard, all experts and departments related to migration issues, in contact with relevant European experts to assess how well we have developed, how much they meet the criteria so that we can to start a dialogue on visa liberalization”, - the Foreign Minister noted.

When asked whether he could indicate a specific date, the minister noted that this could happen at any time. But when exactly, he cannot say for sure now.