S. Sargsyan: “Azerbaijan has been rejecting categorically any proposal aimed at confidence building”

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who is the Kingdom of Belgium on a working visit, met today with the Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Press service of Armenian President informs about this.

At the conclusion of the meeting, President Serzh Sargsyan and Secretary General of NATO gave a joint press conference. 

President Serzh Sargsyan released a statement at the joint press conference with the Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He especially said:

”Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am glad to be here, at the NATO Headquarters again, and I am glad to meet with the Secretary General. 

Regular meetings provide a good opportunity to exchange views on all aspects of the Armenia-NATO cooperation and to discuss regional issues and challenges. 

Armenia has been cooperating actively with NATO in every area of partnership. Reformation processes in the areas of defense, security and emergency situations have been progressing successfully, becoming an important component of a full-fledged internal reformation process in Armenia.

With this regard, we have noted that the Armenia-NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan continues to be the cornerstone of our partnership. Last November, we decided on our activities in the third part of that program and have undertaken the implementation of its goals.

We both gave high assessment to the ongoing process of Armenia-NATO dialogue. With this regard, I stressed the importance of the NATO Council-Armenia meeting which will commence shortly and which provides a good opportunity to present to our partners in NATO our understanding of the threats and challenges existing in theSouth Caucasusand means to conquer them. 

I am also glad that the Secretary General and NATO overall highly value Armenia’s efforts in maintaining global peace and security. We realize that current threats and challenges can be defeated only through our collective efforts. For that very reason, last summer we tripled the number of the Armenian troops participating in the international force which support security in Afghanistan.

We have also discussed the latest developments in the NK peace process. Unfortunately,Azerbaijan has been rejecting categorically any proposal aimed at confidence building, among them, for instance, the enhancement of regional cooperation, reduction of tension at the line of contact, withdrawal of snipers from the first line and investigation of the incidents. Moreover, belligerent calls do not cease inAzerbaijaneven for a moment. The leadership of Azerbaijan continues to instill hatred toward Armenians. A couple of days ago the President of Azerbaijan declared that the world-spread Armenian nation isAzerbaijan’s number one enemy. This fact must be given due assessment by the international community. 

We concurred with the Secretary General that the conflict must be solved exclusively through peaceful means and negotiations in the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. We are confident that a ultimate solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is possible only based on the respect towards the right of people for self-determination and through the establishment of comprehensive security guarantees. 

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate Armenia’s readiness to continue our mutually beneficial cooperation with NATO”.