We must build a strong state, based on understanding the change of geopolitics. President Armen Sarkissian addressed the Summit of Minds

On September 18, President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, who is in France on a working visit, participated in the plenary session “Geopolitics. Where on Earth Is Our World Going? ” within the Summit of Minds.

As key speaker, President Sarkissian referred to the challenges of the modern world. In that context, speaking about the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, the President stressed that Armenians have historically lived in Nagorno-Karabakh, in Armenian Artsakh, for thousands of years. "If you go to Karabakh, you will find 4th and 5th century churches," said the President of Armenia. - Armenians were the first to accept Christianity as state religion. To put it mildly, we have an unpleasant history with the fate of those monuments. And today, we appeal to the international community, UNESCO, concerned about the fate of these religious and cultural monuments."

President Sarkissian briefed the summit participants on the history of Artsakh and the reasons for the conflict, how the USSR party leadership gave the territory historically belonging to Armenia to Azerbaijan in the early 20th century. The President of Armenia noted that over the seventy years of the Soviet Union, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh have strived for freedom and independence, declared it in 1991, and then, won the first Karabakh war provoked by Azerbaijan in 1994.

President Sarkissian reminded that the OSCE Minsk Group, which includes Russia, the United States and France, was established with the efforts of the international community to resolve the conflict. The Co-Chairs supported the peaceful settlement of the conflict.

"In 2020, a war broke out between Karabakh and Azerbaijan. This was an absolutely different war. When the war started, Azerbaijan had a great advantage. They have gas and oil pipelines; they had made immense investments in the military sphere. The Armenians were fighting against much more advanced technologies and military equipment, as well as with the full involvement of Turkey. There was a new situation here, when the Co-Chairs could not do anything. This war showed the changing world," said the President of Armenia. -This is the reality of life, which is a changed region and geopolitics."

Noting that Armenia has bravely fought against Azerbaijan and Turkey for 44 days, President Sarkissian said that it is necessary to stand up and continue to get stronger. "This world continues to change. We must build a strong state, which must be based on understanding the change of geopolitics, " said Armen Sarkissian. - If you do not understand, and are late, you will lose in other battles, be it in the fields of economy, transportation, or science. Armenia is a small country, but a world nation. In this new world, which I call quantum, you have an advantage; you can build a small, strong state, if you involve the Diaspora as well."

"In that case, you can have a population of 15 million, a modern state located all over the world, which can help you with technologies and ideas ," said the President. - To be successful tomorrow, we must understand that the world has changed from a geopolitical viewpoint, and in a much more profound way. We must fundamentally change our view and our perception.

To understand what is happening, we must put aside our classical way of thinking, and find a new model, and a new philosophy.

We have a super connected world. And our interconnectedness has the speed of light. In the new, quantum world, we are all particles. This is unpredictable for us. Our way of thinking is wrong, we have to change ourselves, and our view of the world.

There are several important categories, in which we live. I will call one of them asymmetry. The world today is at war not only with drones, but also with cyber attacks. These cyberwars are asymmetric. There is no geopolitical symmetry in the war between states.

Because of individuals, the world has become asymmetric in terms of influence.

In the classical world, democracy takes us to the polls every five years, and forms a government. However, in many countries, including my own, democracy has no containment mechanisms. Moreover, now you can express your viewpoint every day, every minute, every hour, that is, we live in a daily democracy regime. In today's world, individuals can express their ideas about everything the president, the prime minister and the deputies are saying."

President Sarkissian also considered the pandemic as a consequence of the changing world. "The world has not changed because of the coronavirus, the world was in the process of changing, that is why the coronavirus happened the way it did. The same virus manifested itself differently years ago, but now we are strongly interconnected. The coronavirus is not the cause of the changes, but the backlash, its accelerator."

According to the President of Armenia, in the quantum world, we must rediscover the institutions, values, and democratic models.

Concluding his speech, President Sarkissian said. "I will be happy to use this chance to invite you to the Armenian Summit of Minds in Dilijan, Armenia, where we will try not only to outline the problems, but also to talk about finding possible solutions."