Armenia and Belarus refused to sign the final message of the Riga summit of the Eastern partnership, if it will retain the phrase "illegal annexation" of Crimea, the participants worked out a compromise text which outlined their places separately, the Agency reports referring to epistocracy.

The fourth summit of "Eastern partnership" opens on Thursday in Riga." Eastern partnership - the EU-funded project on development of cooperation with European and Transcaucasian Soviet republics. 3 of the six countries participating in the project - Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in 2014 signed the Treaty on the Union with the EU. Russian envoy to the EU Vladimir Chizhov have said before, that work on a final Declaration rather tense: some countries want to strengthen anti-Russian orientation, and others that create obstacles.

As sources told Reuters, from the beginning expected to write in Riga Declaration about "illegal annexation" of Crimea by Russia, but such wording, faced with opposition of Belarus and Armenia. For this reason, most likely, will be presented a corrected version of the document, where the positions of the EU and partner countries will be presented separately.

"in the text will indicate that the EU condemns the situation in Crimea will also be identified the position of the partner countries, the views they expressed during the voting in the UN in March 2014, when Armenia and Belarus took the side of the Russian capital (voted against the decision, calling the Crimean referendum invalid) ", - reports the Agency.

"It's difficult dialogues," said the Agency, one diplomat following the talks in Brussels on the Declaration.

Draft text of the joint statement will consider on Thursday evening, the foreign Minister of the EU and the six partner countries.

Crimea and Sevastopol became the Russian regions after the 16 March 2014 referendum in which the overwhelming majority of voters voted for reunification with Russia. The Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the referendum in Crimea complies with international law and the UN Charter.

sections: Politics