The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia has met with participants of the Munich Youth Leaders Forums

17 February, 2017 18:11
On morning of February 17th, in the context of the 53 defense conference in Munich, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan met with participants of the Munich Youth Leaders Forum.

Vigen Sargsyan made a speech, in which he spoke about Armenia's defense system, regional developments, and the Artsakh conflict. Thereafter, he answered questions posed by the listeners.

The defense conference in Munich has taken place every year since 1962. This year, over 500 representatives from several dozen nations are participating in the event, including ministers of defense and foreign affairs, experts and representatives of media organizations. The primary topics in Munich in 2017 are the dangers emanating from the Middle East, North Korea, and various other global challenges. One of the central topics of discussion is "The Future of the West: Decline of Return."

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The speech by Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan, at the Munich Youth Leaders Forum

 

I would like to thank Dr. Thomas Paulsen and Mrs. Nora Müller for the invitation and very warm welcome. Moreover, I would like to thank them for a long-standing commitment to the Young Leaders’ platform as an essential addition to the Munich Security Conference.

I remember very well my own participation in the 1stMunich Young Leaders meeting some 9 years ago. And before I proceed to my introductory note, I would like to tell you this: when one takes part in “youth” platformsof bigger events, she or he might think that the real life is there – in the core event. Believe me, as you naturally move to that “core” event you will start missing deeply the very unique atmosphere of this format. After all, moving up in career is a natural development path for young and smart and hard working people like those gathered in this room, while aging and being age-wise ‘overqualified’ for youth platforms is a sad, even if also natural, byproduct of it. So, enjoy Munich Young Leaders.

I will talk today about the Regional dynamics in Eurasia and Armenia’s role, or place in it.

Armenia’s case is unique in terms of successfully leveraging concurrent integration processes in Eurasian and Euro-Atlantic formats.

As many of you have heard, Armenia is an ancient civilization, with its first statehood dating back to the 9thcentury before Christ. It was also the first nation to adopt Christianity as State religion back in 301. In series of consecutive rises and falls of Armenian states, interrupted for a few centuries between Middle Ages and our days, Armenia has through its own bitter lessons of history fully explored the disparaging impact of clashes between mighty and powerful around it. Wars and concurring, divisions and reunifications of its territories by Romans and Parthians, Byzantines, Sassanid’s, Ottoman and Russian Empires have taught us a lesson once and forever: we do not seek for benefits in confrontations of regional and global players. We know for sure that dialogue and open exchange with all, exploration of mutual benefits and co-creation are the road to prosperity and stability.

Now, after regaining our independence 25 years ago this knowledge and experience have evolved into our foreign and defense policies aimed at fostering regional and trans-regional cooperation as the only possible way to solve ongoing disputes and ensure lasting peace.

In context of our current discussion those policies can be focused through paradigm of leveraging our membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Treaty Organization with open and engaged partnership with Euro-Atlantic structures. In the heart of it is our plea for security, prosperity and regional order based on a consistent system of principles and values.

I would like to turn now to each of these directions:

Eurasian integration format

For Armenia it is based on three pillars – our membership in Eurasian Economic Union and in Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well as bilaterally - strategic alliance with Russia.

Membership in the EEU serves mostly economic ends, like free flow of goods, services, labor and capital, providing vast markets for Armenian goods and labor force, attracting more foreign direct investment to Armenia.

CSTO is more of a security tool, allowing for intensive military to military cooperation in all spheres – from military research and development, to mutual access to military industries in other member states, from development of peacekeeping capacity to unified efforts in combating terrorism, drug and human trafficking. CSTO has its own equivalent of what is known as Article 5 of NATO – attack on one is attack on all. Being relatively young organization, CSTO is still in process of developing its soft power tools, continues to enhance its human and institutional capital.

Our bilateral relations with Russia, as I have mentioned, of strategic partnership character, are multidimensional and include all spheres from intensive political dialogue at the highest level to mutually beneficial interaction in literally all fields of life. Russia, along with France and United States, serves as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk group – the only international format dealing with Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Attack on one is attack on both – is also a bilateral arrangement between Armenia and Russia, incorporated in our defense treaties. In practical terms this commitment of Russia is materialized in the form of a Russian military base stationed in the territory of Armenia, as well as Joint Task Force and Joint Air Defense System.

Partnership in Euro-Atlantic formats

In this direction also we base our policies on three main pillars: bilateral relations with US and European Nations, active involvement in Eastern Partnership of the European Union, and our continued interaction with NATO through Partnership for Peace initiative, as spelled out in our Individual Partnership Action Plan.

In our bilateral ties with US and European nations we build up on a long history of ties and connections. Those connections are rooted in coinciding civilizational and value-based approaches and are reinforced by presence of huge Armenian communities in those countries. As a matter of fact, those ties were strong enough to persist even despite the strong iron curtain isolating us in Soviet years.

With EU we have actively engaged immediately after Armenia secured its accession to the Council of Europe, having had completed the first round of key democratic reforms. Since we have launched extensive dialogue with Brussels aimed at furthering our democratic institution building. We warmly welcomed the platform of Eastern Partnership as a tool of more interactive dialogue, as an avenue for furthering our interaction. We are now completing negotiations on a Framework Agreement that will be regulating Armenia-EU relations for the future. We have fully completed the round of work on readmission treaties and have secured visa facilitation instrument. Armenian enterprises enjoy GSP+ trade system with EU, which is a major factor for investors in Armenia.

With NATO, as I have already mentioned we work closely through an Individual Partnership Action Plan.Armenian peacekeepers participate in NATO-led missions, mandated by UN, in Afghanistan and Kosovo. In close cooperation with the US government we have build-up substantial peacekeeping capacity and have installed humanitarian demining mechanism. We also continue to work with NATO and its member states on key matters asStrategic Review Process, advancement of military education and military healthcare capabilities in Armenia.

To sum up, Armenia has fully adopted the strategy of building up its capacity through multidimensional cooperation. While we neither make secret of our strategic partnership with Russia, nor shy away from it, we continue to be genuinely interested in all forms of cooperation with the West. And we do not want to get used to the idea that world again shall be turning black and white.

In our National Security Strategy and Military doctrine, as well as in practical politics, we find it crucial to build-up and further deepen relations with our neighbors – Georgia and Iran. With both nations Armenia has had millennia-long ties, in both countries there are huge and long-standing Armenian diasporas.

With Georgia, another ancient Christian nation in the region, Armenia has probably one of the oldest in the world history state borders that stands. Moreover, there is no single case in those thousands years of common history when Armenia and Georgia had confronted each other. Our disputes usually narrow down to topics like who’s food is more delicious, who’s language is more ancient, who’s kids are more talented. Despite existing substantial differences in our foreign policy plans and roots we choose to assure our security, we share clear understanding that security and stability in our region of South Caucasus is deeply interconnected. We, therefore, work closely to address existing challenges and risks.

With Iran we also have thousands of years of common history. That history had its ups and downs, wars for religious conversion, absorption and loss of parts of former Armenian states, encouragements for Armenians to immigrate into Iran from other nearby countries, and establishment of separate Armenian communities with Iran in Middle Ages, occasional swap of Armenian territories between Iran and Russia as a result of Russian-Persian wars.

Ever since Armenia re-established its long-lost statehood in 1991, Iran has clearly demonstrated its readiness for a true friendship, and we were able to develop neighborly relations based on mutual respect. Iran has adopted a very balanced position on Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and has continues to do everything needed to assist the search for a just solution. Iran has demonstrated its deep respect to the Armenian cultural heritage on its territory and worked extensively with the Armenian church to include four of ancient Armenian monasteries in Iran into UNESCO world heritage list. Indeed, relations between our two countries are an example of a dialogue of civilizations, religious tolerance and mutual respect.


Such position is in a sharp contrast with position and behavior of another regional player - Turkey. From continuing to deny the undeniable – the internationally recognized fact of Armenian genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey in 1915 to a full land-blockade of Armenia Turkey has adopted a clearly anti-Armenian stand as a policy. From assassination of a prominent editor of the Armenian newspaper to daily meddling with the affairs of Armenian community life and manipulation of matters related to the Armenian patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkey further fuels the negative feelings and processes in the region.

While it has very intensive relationships with Georgia, and with Azerbaijan they refer to themselves as “one nation – two sates”, Turkey has efficiently left itself out of the regional processes in South Caucasus through complete lack of relationships with Armenia. At our initiative Turkey engaged a few years ago in talks on establishment of basic ties between our countries, which were adopted in form of international protocols signed in Zurich almost 7 years ago, but immediately after that Ankara stepped back and tied implementation of those protocols with some preconditions, which were neither part of our talks, nor related to the substance of the concluded treaties. Turkey continues to openly and one-sidedly support Azerbaijan on Nagorno Karabakh issue by providing weaponry, military training, technology and political support to Baku.

Now this brings me to the last point in my introduction, but obviously not least important – the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. One can regularly hear that conflict being referred to as a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As a matter of fact, such labeling fully misrepresents the substance of that conflict. Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a classical case of a fight of a nation for self-determination – a right clearly supported by rules and principles of international law and upheld by practice and history.

Moreover now, when NK has proved its capacity to build democratic institutions and has established an effective decision-making system of state governance that fight becomes even more understandable, considering the situation with human rights and democratic freedoms in Azerbaijan. People of Karabakh clearly states it has no intention to be part of that dictatorial system of governance.

People of Nagorno Karabakh, which has imprinted its millennia-long residence in that territory in numerous Medieval Armenian churches and monasteries, locally written manuscripts, its towns and villages, has faced the injustice of Soviet national policy. By unilateral and illegitimate decision of Josef Stalin the region was attached to Azerbaijan, while was given the right of autonomy supported by the Soviet Constitution, in recognition of rights of its almost mono-ethnic Armenian population. The same happened to another historic Armenian region of Nakhijevan, where throughout Soviet time Armenian population was effectively outnumbered by Azeries.

War & ceasfire.

OSCE MG co-chairs.

TBMs and failure to implement international commitments.

Hate speech, arms race and regular violations of ceasefire.

April provocation.


Armenia works hard towards a peaceful settlement of the conflict, but aware of Azeri position shall be always prepared to protect the people of NK.