AZG Armenian Daily #070, 20/04/2005
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‘ARMENIA READY TO RENEW RELATIONS WITH ANKARA WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS’
Serge Sargsian Stands for Turkey’s Accession to EU as ‘it is in our best
interests’
Minister of defense of Armenia, Serge Sargsian, thinks that “we have to
renew our relations with Ankara without preconditions”. “This does not mean
that Turkey should not recognize the Genocide or should not give up its
pro-Azeri stance in Karabakh issue”, he said during a press conference at
the press Club yesterday.
“I stand for Turkey’s accession to the EU. It is in our best interests”,
Sargsian said and specified that Ankara will have to carry out serious
reforms in its home and foreign policy amidst the EU membership process. “A
country that bids for EU cannot maintain blockade on Armenia”, he said
opining that Turkey will recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Sargsian did not agree that he has been begun mentioning concessions in
Karabakh issue lately. The minister said, “I have talked of solving the
issue through concessions, I see no other way”. NKR can by no means be in
Azerbaijan’s structure, cannot be an enclave and has to have overland
connection with Armenia.
The recent parliament hearings on Nagorno Karabakh were characterized by the
mass media as a step preparing the people for concessions. The Azeri, press,
on the contrary, dubbed foreign minister’s speech as belligerent. “One side
depicts me as a falcon, the other as a pigeon. I want to be neither of
them”, the minister said.
Serge Sargsian assured that tension on Karabakh-Azerbaijan contact line has
“somewhat alleviated”. “I do not think there is a danger of war. The
possibility of war will vanish as much as our army will get stronger”, he
said.
The minister refuses the claim that the relations of Armenia and Russia are
those of “vassal and master”. “We are in partnership with Russia. I’ve never
felt anything insulting the self-esteem of my country in relations with the
Russian side”, he said. Concerning the Armenian-American relations, Sargsian
said that they are steadily developing and cooperation in military sphere
has been deepening for the last years as well.
Serge Sargsian thinks that it is possible to equally deepen cooperation with
the both security systems — NATO and Organization of Collective Security
Agreement. “I consider cooperation with both NATO and OCSA an inseparable
part of Armenia’s national security. I see no contradiction here. Many
members of OCSA cooperate with NATO”, he said.
The minister also answered a number of questions concerning Armenia’s home
policy. Sargsian sees no “premises that would bring to extra parliamentary
elections”. “I don’t think that the coalitional majority has exhausted
itself. If it has not deconstructed then it has not exhausted itself as
well”, the minister said.
Sargsian gave no clear answer as to his candidacy for president in next
elections. The acting president, Robert Kocharian, has already assured that
will not run for the third term.
Defense minister sees no perspective for a “colorful revolution” in Armenia
but he thinks that Mikheil Saakashvili and Viktor Yuschenko “chose a
civilized way for power shift”.
By Tatoul Hakobian