President Serzh Sargsyan has said that Armenia can achieve liberalization of the visa regime with the European Union within 2-3 years.

In an interview with Armenia TV, Sargsyan said that while the visa liberalization is linked to the recently signed partnership agreement between the EU and Armenia, it’s not a part of it.

“The new agreement and the liberalization of visas differ from each other. Although they are related to some extent, they should be distinguished,” the president said.

According to Sargsyan, the necessity to start a liberalization dialogue was hinted at during the Eastern Partnership summit held in Brussels on November 24.

The president said it’s too early to talk about concrete time frames but said nevertheless that somewhere in the first half of 2018 Armenia and the EU will start a dialogue about visas.

Head of the EU delegation to Armenia Piotr Switalski said in a late November that the liberalization of the visa regime may be concluded by 2020.