Mediamax, Armenia
Aug 22 2008
ARMENIAN LEADER URGES PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT TO CAUCASUS CONFLICTS
Yerevan, 22 August: Armenia is deeply concerned about the crisis in
South Ossetia that has led to many human losses.
A humanitarian catastrophe took place in the region, and it is
necessary to make every effort to overcome its consequences, Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan has said. The president’s press service has
reported that he made the comment when meeting the defence ministers
of the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization] member states in
Yerevan on Thursday [21 August]. Sargsyan said that the Armenian
leadership welcomes the joint initiative of Russian President Dmitriy
Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the settlement of the
conflict in South Ossetia.
"We welcome the six principles of the Medvedev-Sarkozy plan, which is
the basis for getting out from the current situation and for the
further work on a lasting settlement of the conflict," Sargsyan said.
He added that the tragic events in South Ossetia had showed that the
attempts to counteract the aspiration for self-determination in the
South Caucasus were fraught with serious military and geopolitical
consequences. "They also demonstrated that such conflicts should be
settled based on the principles of free will of nations struggling for
self-determination; otherwise we see ethnic cleansing and violation of
the international humanitarian law," he said.
Sargsyan said that the Armenia side had repeatedly pointed to the
danger of the unprecedented build-up of military potential by some
countries of the region and the attempts to settle the conflicts by
military means. "I am sure that the military way of settling the
conflicts has no future, and the events in the South Caucasus will
have a sobering effect for those who still have illusions about
settling conflicts by using force," Sargsyan added.
Sargsyan pointed out that Armenia had expressed its readiness to
become a humanitarian corridor and also provide humanitarian aid to
the victims.