Mihkelson: New era has begun in relations between Estonia, Armenia

TALLINN – Marko Mihkelson, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the parliament of Estonia, said after Armenia's Independence Day celebrations on Friday that a new era has begun in the relations between Estonia and Armenia. 

"Yesterday, Armenian Ambassador Ara Margarian hosted a reception at Maarjamäe Palace on the occasion of the Independence Day, where I was a guest of honor on behalf of Estonia," Mihkelson wrote on social media. "The democratic developments in Armenia in recent years have created a very good opportunity for closer relations with Estonia and the European Union as a whole. Of course, Estonia supports all steps to strengthen peace and stability in the region, as well as to consolidate Armenia's sovereignty."

Mihkelson described the departure of units of Russia's FSB from the border control at Yerevan airport as a recent positive move. He expressed hope that, at some point, the FSB border units still deployed at Armenia's borders with Turkey and Iran will also leave, and Armenia will exit the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

"In any case, a completely new era has emerged in our bilateral communication, the details of which I discussed yesterday with members of the Armenian parliament's Estonia friendship group, who were visiting Tallinn," Mihkelson said in his post on Saturday.