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KARABAKH HAS A SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT BASED ON EUROPEAN VALUES: PRESIDENT
20:51 25.04.2014
Today, President Serzh Sargsyan took part in the second-day session of
the Eastern Partnership Summit in the Czech Republic. At the summit,
the president made a statement.
Statement by the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
at the High-level Meeting on the 5th Anniversary of the Eastern
Partnership
Dear Colleagues,
Armenia is interested in the further development of the Eastern
Partnership format. It should continue to serve its major objective -
united Europe that is free of dividing lines, stable and prosperous.
It is important for the Eastern Partnership to be responsive to the
vital interests of all the participating states. For Armenia it is
first of all the unblocking of the closed border with Turkey.
It is an unfortunate reality that there is still no full-fledged
collaboration between the partner states. Sometimes, we not only evade
cooperation to achieve shared objectives but even display enmity and
hatred towards each other. Yesterday's statement by the President
of Azerbaijan is the striking illustration of my words. Of course,
his absence from today's session deprives me of an opportunity to
touch upon his speech in details. Instead of speaking about present
day's numerous issues he tried to assume the role of Turkey's advocate.
Instead of making a constructive proposal on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict he touched upon the four twenty one-year-old UN Security
Council resolutions whose implementation had been brought about an
abortion by Azerbaijan at that time.
The peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the European continent is
of primary importance for the peace and prosperity. The settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains to be of vital importance
for Armenia.
It is a matter of plain fact that Nagorno Karabakh has got a system
of government based on the European values and corresponding to
the democratic principles. It is long overdue to affirm de jure the
factual exercise of the Artsakh people's right to self-determination.
Honorable friends,
Assessing the road covered by the Eastern Partnership we can note
that at the end of the day it was successful. As I said on numerous
other occasions, it first of all provided the partner countries with
an opportunity to coordinate and expand their domestic reforms. We
have grounded it in shared values and consolidated the foundation
for our collaboration.
Over the past five years Armenia and the European Union have done an
extensive work: our political dialogue has been consolidated, we have
taken joint efforts at responding to multifarious challenges. We have
agreed upon and applied a visa-facilitation mechanism, which is one
among the first tangible outcomes of our partnership.
Armenia has got an opportunity to participate in different EU programs
and thus enlarged the framework of its sectoral cooperation. We are
committed to taking further steps with our EU partners in order to
form a new legal foundation regulating our relations, which on one
hand will reflect the contents of Armenia's preceding discussions
with the EU, and on the other hand will be compatible with other
formats for cooperation.
It is our conviction that none of the partner countries should
be forced to pay a price for the decision it makes regarding its
participation level in this or that integration process. We do not
want to make a choice between friends, but we want to have as many
friends as possible.
I believe that we have chosen the right path. The Eastern Partnership
is not solely about an association agreement. It is basically an
instrument. When we declared our approach of "both... and..." we
meant an opportunity that envisages alternative, and not a choice
of this or that instrument of cooperation. I am confident that if we
continue to abide by shared values and respect each other's decisions
and choice our cooperation will proceed by the right path.
We sincerely believe that only through the avenue of cooperation and
joint steps it is possible to materialize the vision of the united
Europe in peace and prosperity.
In the end, I would like to note once again that the Eastern
Partnership had some problems in its formation period yet.
Particularly, the criterion of grouping partners was not clear:
the countries differed in their approaches, their goals and I think
that this is the reason that at least of the Eastern Partnership's
components - the regional cooperation component - was doomed to
failure. I still do not understand the criterion of grouping Armenia
and Azerbaijan into one partnership - different opportunities,
different approaches, different goals - and this is the reason that
component did not work. I am confident that in any case the partnership
will continue and I am sure that there will be difficulties as they
exist today, but I am also confident that all those difficulties will
be addressed by peaceful means.
I thank you.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/04/25/karabakh-has-a-system-of-government-based-on-european-values-president/
20:51 25.04.2014
Today, President Serzh Sargsyan took part in the second-day session of
the Eastern Partnership Summit in the Czech Republic. At the summit,
the president made a statement.
Statement by the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
at the High-level Meeting on the 5th Anniversary of the Eastern
Partnership
Dear Colleagues,
Armenia is interested in the further development of the Eastern
Partnership format. It should continue to serve its major objective -
united Europe that is free of dividing lines, stable and prosperous.
It is important for the Eastern Partnership to be responsive to the
vital interests of all the participating states. For Armenia it is
first of all the unblocking of the closed border with Turkey.
It is an unfortunate reality that there is still no full-fledged
collaboration between the partner states. Sometimes, we not only evade
cooperation to achieve shared objectives but even display enmity and
hatred towards each other. Yesterday's statement by the President
of Azerbaijan is the striking illustration of my words. Of course,
his absence from today's session deprives me of an opportunity to
touch upon his speech in details. Instead of speaking about present
day's numerous issues he tried to assume the role of Turkey's advocate.
Instead of making a constructive proposal on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict he touched upon the four twenty one-year-old UN Security
Council resolutions whose implementation had been brought about an
abortion by Azerbaijan at that time.
The peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the European continent is
of primary importance for the peace and prosperity. The settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains to be of vital importance
for Armenia.
It is a matter of plain fact that Nagorno Karabakh has got a system
of government based on the European values and corresponding to
the democratic principles. It is long overdue to affirm de jure the
factual exercise of the Artsakh people's right to self-determination.
Honorable friends,
Assessing the road covered by the Eastern Partnership we can note
that at the end of the day it was successful. As I said on numerous
other occasions, it first of all provided the partner countries with
an opportunity to coordinate and expand their domestic reforms. We
have grounded it in shared values and consolidated the foundation
for our collaboration.
Over the past five years Armenia and the European Union have done an
extensive work: our political dialogue has been consolidated, we have
taken joint efforts at responding to multifarious challenges. We have
agreed upon and applied a visa-facilitation mechanism, which is one
among the first tangible outcomes of our partnership.
Armenia has got an opportunity to participate in different EU programs
and thus enlarged the framework of its sectoral cooperation. We are
committed to taking further steps with our EU partners in order to
form a new legal foundation regulating our relations, which on one
hand will reflect the contents of Armenia's preceding discussions
with the EU, and on the other hand will be compatible with other
formats for cooperation.
It is our conviction that none of the partner countries should
be forced to pay a price for the decision it makes regarding its
participation level in this or that integration process. We do not
want to make a choice between friends, but we want to have as many
friends as possible.
I believe that we have chosen the right path. The Eastern Partnership
is not solely about an association agreement. It is basically an
instrument. When we declared our approach of "both... and..." we
meant an opportunity that envisages alternative, and not a choice
of this or that instrument of cooperation. I am confident that if we
continue to abide by shared values and respect each other's decisions
and choice our cooperation will proceed by the right path.
We sincerely believe that only through the avenue of cooperation and
joint steps it is possible to materialize the vision of the united
Europe in peace and prosperity.
In the end, I would like to note once again that the Eastern
Partnership had some problems in its formation period yet.
Particularly, the criterion of grouping partners was not clear:
the countries differed in their approaches, their goals and I think
that this is the reason that at least of the Eastern Partnership's
components - the regional cooperation component - was doomed to
failure. I still do not understand the criterion of grouping Armenia
and Azerbaijan into one partnership - different opportunities,
different approaches, different goals - and this is the reason that
component did not work. I am confident that in any case the partnership
will continue and I am sure that there will be difficulties as they
exist today, but I am also confident that all those difficulties will
be addressed by peaceful means.
I thank you.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/04/25/karabakh-has-a-system-of-government-based-on-european-values-president/