Armenia has completed the first stage of the way to the European integration, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian stated at a press conference dedicated to the 5th anniversary of Armenia's membership in the Council of Europe. In his words, the republic has entered a crucial stage, that is the fulfillment of the commitments undertaken at the entry to the CoE. "We can say that Armenia became a European state during these five years but we still have much to be done," the RA FM stated.

He divided the way Armenia has passed since 1992 into four stages. The first is the acquiring of independence and choice of the path. The second stage started with the request for CoE membership. Armenia was very interested in it and we have passed the complicated way. We had a precise goal - to become a full member of the Council of Europe and we achieved this goal completing the third stage," Oskanian remarked. "We face difficulties and need the CoE's support for achieving democracy and sustainable development. We are advancing and have fixed progress. Democracy is an instrument of development by itself and today we are a more democratic state than 5 years ago," Minister Oskanian underscored.