Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
“The agenda of Armenian-German relations is too broad. it includes multifaceted bilateral relations, Armenia-EU, Armenia-NATO cooperation and participation in peacekeeping missions,” President Serzh Sargsyan said at a joint press conference with Merkel.
“I briefed Chancellor Merkel on the developments of the past few days. Armenia highly appreciates the support of the OSCE German Presidency to the negotiations on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group,” he said.
“Back in January, Germany expressed its support to the proposal to implement a mechanism of investigation of border incidents. Armenia backs the implementation of this mechanism, as well as the withdrawal of snipers from the line of contact,” President Sargsyan said. He added, however, that Azerbaijan has always denied any confidence-building measures and pursued different objectives.
“The objectives were finally revealed the night of April 2. Ignoring the calls of the international community for peace, Azerbaijan started large-scale military actions all along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact in what was the worst clash ever since the 1994 ceasefire agreement. As a result Azerbaijan turned the region into a hot spot threating the security of Europe,” President Sargsyan said.
“The people of Karabakh do not want war. What they want is one simple thing – the right to determine their future, they want to live in a democratic country,” Serzh Sargsyan added.
“The people of Karabakh do not want war. What they want is one simple thing – the right to determine their future, they want to live in a democratic country, and expect the international community to recognize this right,” Serzh Sargsyan added.
President Sargsyan expressed gratitude to Germany and personally Angela Merkel for their consistent support to the development of Armenia-EU relations.
“Azerbaijan may have more modern weapons, but the power is not measured by the modernity of weapons, by the quantity of tanks, the power is in the faith among the people of Karabakh and Armenia that they will defend their Motherland at any cost,” President Sargsyan said.
Angela Merkel said, in turn, that “as a country presiding over the OSCE, Germany is ready to help the OSCE Minsk Group solve the issue, to play a constructive role. She also stressed the important of returning to the negotiation table as soon as possible.