On September 4 the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan made a speech about the foreign policy of Armenia over the meeting with Armenian ambassadors and permanent representatives of the republic to international organizations. In a wide-ranging foreign policy speech made public he also indicated that situation formed in the region has first of all hit the development of economy of Armenia.
Sargsyan said, “We have numerously mentioned that a peaceful region is needed for the development of Armenia’s economy. There was bloodshed in our region again and innocent people died.” He added that the current situation contains at least three key issues for Armenia – regulation of frozen conflicts, transit roads and increase of tension in international relations. “As of the first part it became clear that the level of tension in the Caucasus has become a reality for all of us. It recalls all those parties, involved in the conflicts, that any careless word and heedless step in this region are fraught with unpredictable consequences”, the president said. He thinks that this circumstance also recalls that armament race, the militaristic statements heat the atmosphere that, in its turn, inevitably causes provocations and situations which may get out of control of the political figures responsible for creation of this atmosphere. Once again our allegation was proved, according to which the attempts of ignoring the principle of national identity brings serious consequences and leaves no alternatives. Let them repeat that Kosovo is not a precedent and perhaps some others may say that neither are Ossetia and Abkhazia. But the fact is that exceptions not considered precedents prevail in such conflicts. Take the recent events in East Timor, Kosovo, Ossetia as examples and of course many other names can be added to this list. In all these places the number one priority for the solution of conflicts is the will and opinion of nations and their right of identity,” said Sarsyan. Sargsyan further announced that Armenia is poised to end its heavy dependence on Russia for natural gas with the impending launch of a gas pipeline from Iran. “Thank God, the gas pipeline has already been built, and we can receive gas from the Islamic Republic of Iran as early as tomorrow,” he said. “Work on enhancing the capacity of that pipeline will likely end in late October or early November, and we will be able to import from 2 to 2.5 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas each year. That is, as much as we import now from Russia.” Sargsyan went on to speak of his “political expectations” from Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s upcoming visit to Yerevan and the broader thaw in Turkish-Armenian relations. He added that currently a situation is formed when both sides of the border (Turkey and Armenia) must show political will and consistency in order to normalize relations. “That will be the experiment of the maturity of the two states. I have invited the president of Turkey to Armenia by being sure that the direct contact and communications are the best way of normalizing relations. Of course, my invitation also has political motives. By not forgetting the past we should think of the future and start communication without preconditions. In the event of a dialog it will be possible to resolve even the most “wrinkled” issue,” he said. Sargsyan also said that during his meeting with the Russian president Medvedev the parties discussed a number of projects aimed at contributing to the development of the region. Sargsyan further stated that he intends to “deepen and strengthen” Armenia’s “friendly partnership” with the United States as well as other Western powers and structures. “We are planning to enlarge and strengthen relations with the US. That’s why we are interested in deepening and delving into US projects and I challenge you to focus on the Millennium Challenge Corporation programs. The Armenian government has paid on its own to continue the implementation of the projects. In near future negotiations are planned with the management of the MCC. I hope that the Corporation will objectively assess the work done by the government and will agree to cooperate with Armenia.”