THE PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA WILL GO TO TURKEY IF THE BORDER IS OPEN OR ON THE THRESHOLD OF RAISING THE BLOCKADE

armradio.am
29.07.2009 11:29

By the invitation of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, the
President of the Republic of Serbia Boris Tadic arrived in Armenia
on a two-day official visit.

The official welcome ceremony took place at the Presidential Palace,
and was followed by a private meeting of Presidents Serzh Sargsyan
and Boris Tadic.

"Mr. President, I am greatly honored to welcomed you in Armenia. This
is the first visit of the Serbian Head of State to our country
and I am confident that it is inspired by the sincere desire to
reinforce the Armenian-Serbian historical and friendly ties by strong
intergovernmental relations. Regrettably, up to now our relations
were not too strong, which reflects neither the historical realities,
nor the existing possibilities. I believe that today the geopolitical
situation not only provides an opportunity but also compels us to
elevate our relations to a new level. I have invited you to Armenia
with that very hope and I am confident that your visit will serve as
a strong impetus for the development of our relations," the President
of Armenia said.

The private meeting of the two Presidents was followed by the meeting
of the official delegations with the participation of Serzh Sargsyan
and Boris Tadic.

President Sargsyan said t hat Armenia desires to establish closer
relations with Serbia and is ready to work toward that end. As a first
step Serzh Sargsyan proposed to invigorate spiritual and cultural
relations, noting that it would serve a solid base for disclosing
the possibilities for cooperation in different areas.

Boris Tadic welcomed President Sargsyan’s proposal and said that
instructions to start works on that direction would be given to the
corresponding structures and by the time of the Armenian President’s
visit to Serbia the first results would already be there.

The two sides spoke also about possibilities for cooperation in the
areas of transportation and economy. They noted that the economic
component would bolster the development of the Armenian-Serbian
relations.

Boris Tadic said that Serbia intends to open embassy in Armenia
so that the Ambassador is able to contribute to the development of
bilateral relations in Yerevan rather than from Athens.

The Presidents of Armenia and Serbia exchanged views on existing
problems in the South Caucasus and Balkan regions and possibilities
for their resolution. The parties concurred that the problems can
and must be solved exclusively through peaceful negotiations and
peace processes.

The meeting of the Presidnets was followed by a joint press conference,
during which President Serzh Sargsyan stated:

"Today we are honored to host in Armenia the President of the Republic
of Serbia, my dear colleague Boris Tanic.

Our two nations have been maintaining friendly relations for centuries.

Serbia is one of those countries which genially welcomed many
survivors of the Armenian Genocide and particularly those who had
fled the Izmir massacres of 1922.

Our people also remember with gratitude indispensable spiritual and
material aid of the friendly Serbian people in the aftermath of the
devastating Spitak earthquake of 1988. We will forever hold sacred the
memory of the Yugoslav pilots who perished in the name of their mission
– to give a helping hand to a friendly nation in the direst time.

We have discussed with the President of Serbia in a congenial and
constructive way the current stage of the Armenian-Serbian relations
and their prospects, exchanged views on a number of international
and regional issues of mutual interest, and spoke about cooperation
in the framework of international organizations.

Facilitation of the political dialogue, establishment and strengthening
of interparliamentary relations, development of trade and economic
relations between Armenia and Serbia are important components of
our partnership.

Not so distant experience of our two countries brought the President
of Serbia and me to the same conclusion that use of force in the
settlement of regional conflicts must be ruled out; conflicts must
be solved exclusively through peaceful means and peace negotiations
based on the principles and norms of international law.

We are confident that one universal mode for the conflict resolution
simply does not exist. Each conflict has its own origins, causes,
and unique course. It is impossible to get to a fair and long-lasting
solution without taking them into consideration.

I also told President Tadic about the developments which followed my
initiative on the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations. I
also informed him on the details of the current phase of the
process. As you know, little time is left till the return match of
the national football teams of Armenia and Turkey, which I have been
invited to attend by the President of Turkey Abdullah Gule. In the
existing circumstances we, certainly, anticipate to witness in the
nearest future some constructive steps, through which our partners
will try to create a corresponding milieu for the reciprocal visit of
the President of Armenia. I reiterated for President Tadic my previous
statements that I will accept the invitation only if the agreements are
observed and visible steps are taken, i.e. I will go to Turkey if the
border is open or if we are on the threshold of raising the blockade.

Mr. President, I am confident that your delegation will have very
productive meetings here, in Yerevan, which will give a momentum for
elevating our relations to a qualitatively new level.