The Armenian Parliament has approved the draft law for initiating the process of joining the European Union, IPN reports.

The initiative comes from the Platform of Democratic Forces, which managed to collect 60,000 signatures within two months.

The signatures were required to submit the draft law for parliamentary review. On January 9, the government approved the proposal, according to the Armenian news agency News.am.

The bill, titled "On Initiating the Process of the Republic of Armenia's Accession to the European Union", was passed in its second and final reading with 64 votes in favor.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan previously stated that even after the adoption of the bill, Armenia’s accession process to the European Union can only proceed if the Armenian people support it through a referendum, as cited by The Kyiv Independent.

Photo source: Hayk Baghdasaryan/AP