SERGE SARGSIAN: WE CANNOT REMAIN INDIFFERENT TO IRAQ AND KOSOVO

AZG Armenian Daily #183
12/10/2005

“We will possibly turn to the parliament to prolong the stay of our
peacekeepers in Iraq,” Mediamax agency quoted defense minister Serge
Sargsian as saying at the awarding ceremony of Armenian peacekeepers
yesterday. “You represented the Armenian armed forces with honor in
Iraq contributing thus to the authority of our country. On its way to
European integration Armenia cannot step back from the issues facing
the European family. We cannot remain indifferent and that’s why we
took part in peacekeeping missions in Iraq and Kosovo.”

Sargsian also stated that he will discuss issues of deepening
Armenian-American military cooperation at his forthcoming US
visit. Defense minister said no inner political issues of Armenia
will be discussed in the US: “I am not accustomed to discussing our
inner issues abroad.”

Speaking about Baku’s militant statements, Sargsian said that “certain
Azerbaijani leaders are intoxicated with oil dollars.” “Today’s
situation can be compared with that of the early 90s when the leaders
of Azerbaijan wanted to settle the Karabakh issue in a short while
by occupying Karabakh, Armenia or at least part of it. The war
showed that it was a wishful thinking, a legend that vanished on the
battlefield. Today, 11 years past the military operations, they again
sing the same old song,” Sargsian said.