Working visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to Sochi

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in the Russian Federation on a working visit, met today in Sochi with the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The bilateral meeting was followed by the trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, and was dedicated to the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

At the meeting, Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Dmitry Medvedev discussed cooperation of the two states in the economic, trade, military-technical, other areas as well as regional issues. They also spoke about the results of cooperation in 2011 and future development programs aimed at the further advancement of the bilateral ties.

“Esteemed Serzh Azatovich, we have created a good tradition of meeting in wintertime in Sochi, in the mountains. I believe it is emblematic. Now, we will discuss the current state of the Armenian-Russian relations, and will recap the results of last year. It was not bad – from the viewpoint of the turnover and other aspects of our cooperation – from the economic and up to the military and technical cooperation. As for the future, along with the traditional business development, which has penetrated all areas of the Armenian-Russian cooperation, it is also necessary to contemplate major programs.

Beside the bilateral relations, I also propose to discuss regional issues. The life is complicated enough; there is a number of tricky challenges, including also in our region. Later, we will continue with the discussions on one of the most intricate regional issue – discussions on the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict; this will be done with the participation of our Azerbaijani colleague.

I cordially welcome You and I am very happy to once again see you here, in Sochi,” the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev said at the meeting with the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.

Serzh Sargsyan thanked Dmitry Medvedev for the invitation and for the efforts exercised by the Russian President towards the resolution of the NK issue.

“These meetings have indeed become traditional; they are very useful. I thank You for the efforts exercised towards the resolution of the NK issue. Indeed, these meetings, Your efforts, the time You give for the resolution of this issue allow to have more or less manageable situation in the South Caucasus. For that very reason, these meetings are very useful and, naturally, it is also a nice opportunity to discuss our bilateral issues.

I fully share the viewpoint that last year was not bad. In any case, the turnover has increased by some 15 percent. It is tangible. And thank You for the readiness to discuss major programs. It is very important for us,” said the President of Armenia.

A trilateral meeting of the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan and dedicated to the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has concluded in Sochi minutes ago. The Parties adopted a joint Declaration.



***



Joint Declaration by the Presidents of the Republic of Armenia, Russian Federation and Republic of Azerbaijan on the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
(January 23, 2012)

At the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation, the Presidents of the Republic of Armenia, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan met on January 23, 2012 in Sochi and discussed issues pertinent to the process and prospects of the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The leaders of the three states underscored the great amount of work conducted towards the resolution of the NK conflict, starting from their meeting on November 2, 2008 when the Parties adopted the Moscow Declaration. The Presidents stated that intensive negotiations allowed to register progress in the reconciliation of the Basic Principles for the settlement of the NK issue.

In the view of the importance of starting the drafting of the Peace Agreement, the Presidents of the Republic of Armenia and Republic of Azerbaijan expressed readiness to expedite the process of reaching understanding with regard to the Basic Principles, taking into account all the works conducted so far.

The two Presidents hailed the mediation mission of the Russian Federation and other Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and expressed hope that the RF, USA and France in that capacity will in the future also bring their active participation to the process of settlement until eventual peace and stability have been established in the region.

Further to the provision of the Joint Declaration adopted on March 5, 2011 in Sochi, the Presidents of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan took note of the jointly drafted report by the Co-Chairs and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office pertinent to the mechanisms for the investigation of the accidents along the line of contact and directed to continue that work.

The Presidents reaffirmed that in the context of the NK settlement, the development of humanitarian contacts between the parties is part of the confidence building measures. With this regard, the Presidents of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan expressed readiness to encourage the establishment of a subsequent dialogue between the representatives of intelligentsia, scientific and social circles.