In general the NA was in strange environment. Everybody was so warm and cordial to everybody that you couldn’t even hear a single sour word. And when both the oppositionists and the independent deputies, who usually make all kinds of accusations to the Defense Minister, started to praise Serj Sargsyan, we all realized that something is going on. For example, NA Deputy Victor Dallakyan not only praised the national security strategy document mentioned that the authors but also in particular Sargsyan, who have done a really good job on it. Dallakyan didn’t “like” on one thing in the document. The document, the 8th article of which says that the main inner threats of security are poverty, corruption, distrust of the society to the authorities, etc, Dallakyan thus got curious by asking whether Serj Sargsyan, who’s been in government for over 10 years, ever felt his fault in it and whether he feels responsible for all the negative things, which were mentioned above. As a response Sargsyan said that the fact that these threats are mentioned in the document, doesn’t mean that we have those. “I only mentioned that there are such negative processes. So you Mr. Dallakyan are slightly mistaken. I have been a government member for over 13 years and of course take partial responsibility for the negative phenomena that exist in the society. But I’m fully responsible for our military forces, the army, and the system, which is highly respected by the internationals and 82 % of our population. Show me any other body, which has even half trust as the military system has,” announced Sarsgyan. As a response to Dallakyan’s statement, “this is the confession of our authorities, who say there is poverty, corruption and distrust of the society to the government”, Sargsyan said, “You are not right because for many years our government has been accepting that there are numerous problems in our society and that we have to solve them jointly instead of playing a role of a judge or critique.”
Hmayak Hovhannisyan was interested whether it wouldn’t be more expedient if the article on relations with Azerbaijani didn’t specially mention the Karabagh conflict because without that according to Hovhannisyan “we get a bit segregated from reality”. “No, I don’t think so. If I explain to you why in half a minute, you will understand why it’s better the way it is,” mentioned Sargsyan. When in half of minute Sargsyan explained to Hovhannisyan why it’s better the way it is Hovhannisyan agreed. At least he didn’t disagree or argue as he usually does. “I think that 70-80% of our people, including the ones present in this hall, are literate and we cannot help saying trivial truth. We cannot help saying that NA is a legislative body, Yerevan is a good city, etc. But if you think that Azerbaijani-Armenian relations will become friendly right after the Karabagh conflict resolution, you may be mistaken.”
Nevertheless, this draft, proposed by ARF deputy, Spartak Seyranyan is the “evidence of our society’s maturity”. According to Shavarsh Kocharyan it’s a compact and a very good draft and RPA deputy Samvel Nikoyan thinks that the draft has an Armenian style in a good meaning. According to the head of the ULP faction, Gurgen Arsenyan, this is a draft, which represents the ethnicity and not our daily needs. RA Minister of Education, Levon Mkrtchyan announced that this document is the “passport” of our country. And the academicians, rectors, doctors and philosophers were being proud that the document was signed during their lifetime. Academician Nikolay Hovhannisyan said that they were glad that this “extremely good document” was signed by their generation.
To the question of journalists why the RA National Security Council doesn’t summon sessions since the document is so important Sargsyan said, “according to the constitution the RA Security Council is a consultative body and only the chair of the council decides how to dispose the council.” There was also a question about NATO announcement, by which the North Atlantic Treaty Organization recognizes the territorial integrity of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. “Has our country ever said that we don’t recognize the territorial integrity of any country. We accept the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan as well. But meanwhile we recognize the territorial integrity of Karabagh because NKR and Azerbaijan were established simultaneously based on the laws existing during the Soviet period. Thus Karabagh cannot possibly be part of Azerbaijan,” said Sargsyan. In his speech Sargsyan also mentioned that for Armenia it’s more important that Azerbaijan accepts the territorial integrity of Karabagh than the international community. “Even if 50 countries of the world recognize the territorial integrity of Karabagh it can only be means to put pressure on Azerbaijan to recognize the integrity of Karabagh. The best way of eliminating the threat of war is for Azerbaijan to recognize the territorial integrity of Karabagh.”
P.S. In his wrap-up speech Sargsyan announced that anyone, who wishes to make recommendations, may send those in a written form within 10 days. The committee will discuss those and if necessary will include in the document.