Working visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to United Kingdom

On the margins of his working visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to attend a meeting of heads of State and government of NATO-member States and nations involved in International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan / ISAF /, President Serzh Sargsyan met with French President François Hollande in Newport.

The two leaders praised the high level of the Armenian-French political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation in different fields of activity.

While looking at a number of issues of mutual interest, including the Karabakh settlement-related talks, the parties referred to the upcoming trilateral meeting between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan due to be held at the initiative of the President of France.

After exchanging views on regional challenges, Serzh Sargsyan and François Hollande discussed progress in the implementation of bilateral arrangements made at the top level.

Apart from bilateral agenda items, the parties have talked about the French-Armenian cooperation in the frame of international organizations, as well as the possibilities of mutual support in key issues.

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In Newport town of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, President Serzh Sargsyan attended the meeting of heads of State and government of NATO-member States and nations involved in International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan / ISAF /, which was held on the margins of the upcoming NATO summit.

Held in a NATO-ISAF format, the concluding gathering summed up the results of ISAF’s Afghanistan mission and outlined the areas and objectives of the new Resolute Support mission.

Serzh Sargsyan delivered a speech, in which he greeted David Cameron, the Prime Minister of Great Britain which is the host country, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, as well as the meeting participants, including the Afghan partners.

“As a NATO partner and a State contributing to safeguarding international security, Armenia has engaged with the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan since February 2010; a year later, in July 2011 it tripled its contingent. In the course of the past four and a half years, the Armenian peacekeepers have gained an invaluable experience in the framework of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

I would especially highlight here the fruitful cooperation Armenia has enjoyed with Germany, which doubtless can be viewed as an instance of a best practice and exemplary cooperation between a NATO member and a partner State,” President Serzh Sargsyan said.

Serzh Sargsyan underscored that those in Armenia appreciate the value of both peace and security. According to the Armenian President, our country struggles for both of them almost every day. “Tomorrow here, in this same hall a document will be adopted that will be related to the security of my people and peace in our region.

There are two options. Either it will adopt the language of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is the only specialized international structure dealing with the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, a language that was proposed and supported by the Co-Chair countries that are represented here by France and the United States of America, or upon the lobbying of another member State it will pass again with an aim to save the face of our tyrant neighbor vis-a-vis his own people. Believe me it will not lead to any positive results.

Either the common sense and the strive for peace will have the upper hand, or the silent encouragement of xenophobia will go deepening, the war rhetoric and the deadly provocations, so easily provoked by Azerbaijan, which does not care about its soldiers’ lives and gets enthusiastic with papers like that, will continue ahead,” Serzh Sargsyan emphasized.

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A tripartite meeting was held today in Newport between Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and US Secretary of State John Kerry on the initiative of the American side.

Discussed were issues related to the current stage and the prospects of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict talks. The conflicting sides presented their respective positions with regard to the negotiation process.

Reiterating that there is no alternative to the peaceful settlement and ruling out any attempt to escalate the situation, State Secretary Kerry urged the parties to find mechanisms for easing the tensions and develop confidence building measures between the sides.

Stressing the need to continue the talks in the OSCE Minsk Group format, John Kerry expressed readiness to possibly back up the search of ways for conflict resolution. At the same time, he underscored that the two sides need to show strong commitment and political will on the way to peaceful settlement.