Anders Fogh Rasmussen Says He Is in Armenia To Help Strengthen Country’s Relations With the West, EU

Last time Anders Fogh Rasmussen was in Armenia was in 2012 as the then-Secretary General of NATO, and a lot has happened since then.

Rasmussen, who is now the founding chairman of Rasmussen Global international political consultancy organization, is currently in Armenia right now and he met with reporters today.

He said that he is in Armenia at the invitation of the country's government, and to help the latter strengthen ties with the West and the EU.

Rasmussen said yesterday he met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as well as the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs of Armenia — and expressed his satisfaction with the efforts aimed at strengthening democracy in the country.

“Today I was at the Lachin corridor that links Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. It is currently blocked by Azerbaijanis, leaving 120,000 residents without access to essential goods. The EU must push Azerbaijan to lift the blockade. If not, we risk a humanitarian catastrophe,” Rasmussen tweeted.

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Background: Anders Fogh Rasmussen is a Danish politician who was the 24th Prime Minister of Denmark from November 2001 to April 2009 and the 12th Secretary General of NATO from August 2009 to October 2014. He became CEO of political consultancy Rasmussen Global and founded the Alliance of Democracies Foundation. He serves as a Senior Adviser to Citigroup.