MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
375010 Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: press@mfa.am

PRESS RELEASE

05-05-2006

Minister Oskanian’s Remarks at International Conference in Vilnius

Let me join the others in expressing our appreciation to the Lithuanian
and Polish presidents for organizing this conference and for inviting
Armenia.

It’s been an illuminating and inspiring day. I also would like
to thank President Adamkus and the Lithuanian government for the
wonderful reception and also for everyone’s expression of sympathy
with regard to the tragic airplane accident yesterday morning.

Mr. President, your visit to Armenia is still fresh in our minds,
and the message that you brought – the message of democracy, peace and
cooperation – still reverberates in my mind. We’ve always appreciated
the leadership that Lithuania has shown with regard to bridging our two
regions – the Baltics and the Caucasus – and making your experience
available to us to develop our region and to develop cooperation
among our countries. Your efforts fall within a similar, and broader,
effort by transatlantic organizations. With the benefit of hindsight,
we wonder where we, the countries of the Caucasus, would have been
had there not been the vision demonstrated by the leadership of
these structures to make their knowledge and practice available to
countries like ours in the post-soviet space. Organizations like
the OSCE, the Council of Europe and others opened up and shared
their experience. Even more, there was the foresight to create new
structures, such as EAPC within NATO, to embrace these countries,
to provide a framework for our development.

We, the countries which have been the beneficiaries of those
organizations and the processes created around them, want you to know
that this guidance has been very helpful and useful.

Still, each of us in the post-soviet space, has chosen a different way
to benefit (or not benefit) from the varying options made available
to us.

Those different options fall into three categories:

First, there are those who have chosen the more abrupt and
revolutionary path to reform; then, there are those who have chosen
the more incremental and evolutionary path, and third, there are those
who have dug-in their heels and are not moving in a new direction.

Armenia has chosen the second path – the evolutionary, incremental
approach – because we believe in two principles.

Firstly, as Javier Solana said, democracy is not a one-shot deal, it
does not happen overnight. We know that, and we believe that as long
as you know that you are on the right track and are confident that
you are moving forward and not backtracking, then the evolutionary
and incremental approach to democracy is more effective and enduring.

Secondly, we understand that democracy is a tool for development,
that there is clear linkage between democracy and prosperity. As
much as democracy is a tool for development, we know that economic
development is a facilitator of democratization. I want to emphasize
the EU’s enhanced role in these interconnected processes through
the creation of a new program and a new instrument – the European
Neighborhood Policy and the Action Plan. We are currently negotiating
the Action Plan, the process will be concluded soon, and it will
elevate the level of our relations with the EU to new heights.

It will reinforce the reforms and make them irreversible. Further,
it will increase the integrational options and make available new
possibilities.

Now Mr. Chairman, my second topic: unresolved conflicts. First,
let me address the charges leveled at Armenia by the Azerbaijani
Prime Minister. He basically called Armenia an aggressor, and
called the Armenians inhabiting Nagorno Karabakh terrorists and
drug traffickers. Given the overall spirit of the talks which
are taking place at the highest level, between the presidents,
and given the positive elements that exist at this moment, such
inaccurate and inflammatory comments are not understandable. Nor are
they justified. Especially since territories under Armenian control
today are the consequences of Azerbaijan’s aggression toward people
it considered its own citizens. I don’t think that Javier Solana was
overly optimistic when he said there are positive aspects in this
process, but Mr. Solana, those positive elements can be transformed
to encouraging developments only if the Azerbaijani side is clearly
told and finally understands that they don’t have a military option
here. With their oil resources and with high oil prices, they have
unfortunately come to believe, or at least they publicly proclaim
that there is a military option available to them. With that kind of
thinking, it will not be easy to compromise. But they need to be told
very clearly by the EU and others, that there is no military option,
so that they make the necessary compromises, as Armenia has already
done, to reach a peaceful resolution. Only then, Mr. Chairman, do
we stand a chance of making further progress this year, eventually
bringing peace and stability to this region.