President Armen Sarkissian participated in a plenary discussion on “Geopolitics: Where is the world going?” held within the framework of the Summit of Minds in Chamonix, France.

As a keynote speaker, President Sarkissian addressed the challenges of the modern world. Speaking about the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, the President stressed that in Nagorno Karabakh, in Armenian Artsakh, Armenians have historically lived for thousands of years.

“If you go to Karabakh, you will find churches from 4th, 5th centuries, because Armenians have lived there for thousands of years. Today we have an issue with our neighbor Azerbaijan, and we appeal to the international community, UNESCO, concerned about the fate of these religious and cultural monuments,” the President said.

President Sarkissian briefed the summit participants on the history of Artsakh and the reasons for the conflict, how the USSR leadership gave the territory historically belonging to Armenia to Azerbaijan in the early 20th century. The President of Armenia noted that during more than 70 years of the Soviet Union, the people of Nagorno Karabakh strived for freedom, independence, declared it in 1991, and then won the first Karabakh war provoked by Azerbaijan in 1994.