Working visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to the Republic of Poland

President Serzh Sargsyan has arrived to the Republic of Poland where he will participate at the meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the NATO member and non-member states dedicated to the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

The meeting will be held in framework of the NATO Summit. At the venue of the Summit, the Heads of the delegations were greeted by the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg and President of Poland Andrzej Duda.

In Warsaw, the President of Armenia will meet with the US Secretary of State John Kerry.

***

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is the Republic of Poland on a working visit, in the evening of July 8 in the framework of the NATO Summit met with the US Secretary of State John Kerry. At the beginning of the meeting, President Sargsyan expressed condolences to Secretary Kerry on the tragic incident which took place in Dallas, Texas.
The President of Armenia and Secretary of State Kerry discussed issues related to the settlement of the NK problem. President Sargsyan highly valued efforts of the United States as a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group aimed at preservation of peace and stability in the region. On the occasion of the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan once again expressed his gratitude to Secretary Kerry for the practical steps directed at de-escalation of the tense situation created in the conflict zone which resulted from the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in April against Nagorno Karabakh. These steps also made possible the meetings in Vienna and Saint Petersburg and adoption of joint declarations.

Serzh Sargsyan and John Kerry spoke also about issues discussed by Presidents of Russia and the United States on July 6 which were related at the resolution of the NK issue. The parties once again reiterated the importance of the unconditional implementation of the agreements reached in Vienna and Saint Petersburg.

***

Today, President Serzh Sargsyan participated at the meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the NATO member and non-member states dedicated to the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan which is held in framework of the NATO Summit. The President of Armenia made a statement.

***

Statement by President Serzh Sargsyan at the meeting of the Heads of delegations of the states contributing to the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan

Distinguished President Duda,

Distinguished Secretary General,

Dear Colleagues,

We are all here united by the idea that it is necessary to provide the friendly people of Afghanistan with peace, security and stability.
Armenia, as an advocate for the cooperative security, is determined to make its modest contribution to the efforts in consolidation of international peace and security. In the course of the Peacekeeping Summit, which took place in New York in September 2015, Armenia undertook additional commitments to develop capabilities such as Role II medical hospital and training of associated personnel, as well as training of a company of EOD/C-IED (Explosive Ordnance Disposal & Counter-Improvised Explosive Device). We have reiterated our engagement with up to 130 servicemen with the Resolute Support mission, and stand ready to continue with it also beyond the year 2016. In this context, I should like to underline the effective cooperation we have enjoyed with Germany, and that, in my view, is one of the best and most illustrious examples of a partnership between a NATO member State and Partner Nation.
We have also expressed our readiness to participate in the NATO Enduring Partnership mission, when it will replace the Resolute Support mission. With that objective in mind Armenia has already engaged with the planning process for the establishment of a civilian-led temporary presence.

Dear Colleagues,

Armenia is also an active advocate for peace and stability in our region, and it has always stood for the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue, which is the most vital issue we face. On May 16 in Vienna a meeting took place with the high representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, namely the U.S. Secretary of State, Russian Foreign Minister and French State Secretary for European Affairs, which resulted in their Joint Statement that reiterated that there could be no military solution to the conflict, and further underlined the importance of respecting the 1994 agreement on ceasefire and 1995 agreement on consolidation of the ceasefire regime, both of which were unconditional.
Meanwhile, the Statement also registered introduction of the OSCE investigative mechanism to record the violations of the ceasefire and expansion of the capabilities of the existing office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. These approaches were further consolidated in the statement adopted by the trilateral meeting held in Saint Petersburg with the participation of the Presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. As for the allegations voiced by the President of Azerbaijan, I don’t believe it is appropriate to artificially turn this meeting and the NATO declarations into a platform for the discussions of the NK issue: there is a specialized structure for it. I see it as my duty to underscore that today the main obstacle on the road towards the settlement of the conflict is the policy conducted by the highest leadership of Azerbaijan and the lack of will to solve the problem peacefully. It was vividly demonstrated by the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno Karabakh last April, which was a heavy blow to the efforts carried out by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and aimed at the peaceful settlement of the issue. The status quo will change when the people of Nagorno Karabakh will received the opportunity to exercise their right of self-determination.

Thank you.

***

Today, in Warsaw President Serzh Sargsyan met with the President of France François Hollande.

The President of Armenia expressed gratitude for President Hollande’s consistent important role and support on all issues which are vital for Armenia and underscored that in Armenia people take pride in having special relations with France.

The President noted with satisfaction that the Armenian-French economic relations have considerably expanded through the years: among the EU states, France remains one the leading countries with regard to the investments made in Armenia.

Serzh Sargsyan also expressed gratitude for the recent adoption by the National Assembly of France of the resolution which criminalizes the denial of the Armenia Genocide. President Hollande’s personal contribution to the adoption of the mentioned resolution was noteworthy.

At the meeting, the parties spoke about the Nagorno Karabakh issue. The President of Armenian attached great importance of the active role of France as one of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in the process of a peaceful resolution of the conflict and thanked President Hollande for his constant personal efforts. Serzh Sargsyan and François Hollande stressed the importance of the unconditional implementation of the provisions secured in the Declarations adopted in Vienna and Saint Petersburg. The Presidents of Armenia and France exchanged views on the prospects of moving the NK peace process forward.