YEREVAN, March 9. /TASS/. The Armenian authorities are discussing "new opportunities," among which is the people-backed accession to the European Union, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has said in an interview with the Turkish TV channel TRT World.

"New opportunities are being actively discussed in Armenia. I won't disclose a big secret if I say that the idea of joining the EU is also on the list. The people of Armenia have European aspirations. As I said, we are going through this process and we will see the end of this process, which at the moment no one can be sure of or predict," he said.

Earlier, Mirzoyan said time was ripe for beginning a dialogue on visa liberalization between Armenia and the EU. He noted that Yerevan intended to develop relations with the EU on other tracks as well.

"I would like to once again emphasize Armenia's intention to further deepen relations with the EU on the basis of an ambitious agenda to the benefit of our peoples and for the sake of a more prosperous South Caucasus," he pointed out.

Mirzoyan pointed to trade as one of the areas where Yerevan saw good chances of expanding ties.

"The EU remains one of Armenia's leading trading partners," he added. "We agreed to explore opportunities for further strengthening trading and economic ties both at the bilateral level and within the framework of regional cooperation."

In late February, the speaker of parliament, Alen Simonyan, expressed the opinion that Armenia was a democratic state and was in a position to consider the possibility of becoming a candidate for EU membership.