RA PRESIDENT MEETS WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY OF RUSSIA
armradio.am
24.06.2008 11:57
Yesterday RA President Serzh Sargsyan met with representatives of
the Armenian community in Moscow. Speeches were delivered by People’s
Artist of USSR Armen Jigarkhanyan, Co-Chair of the Armenian-Russian
Interparliamentary Commission Nikolay Ryzhkov and other renowned
figures.
Rector of the Moscow State University Viktor Sadovnich awarded RA
President with a Big Order of the University. President Sargsyan
noted in his speech that, of course, the Diaspora is linked to the
Motherland with thousands of ties, but the historic ties of those who
live in Russia with the Motherland are tighter and multifaceted in
terms of both political and economic contacts, and these realities
greatly influence on the relations of Russian Armenians and Armenia.
Today the Motherland has entered into a new stage of reforms and
the solution of the problems facing Armenia and the success of
implementation of programs are possible only with coordination of
efforts of all Armenians.
The comprehension of the exceptional mission of the Diaspora has
hinted us to create a separate Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which is
in the stage of formation. It’s aimed at raising the effectiveness of
our policy in this sphere. We aspire to turn Armenia into a regional
center of healthcare, banking and tourism.
President Sargsyan turned to three pivotal issues. The first is
the internal political situation in Armenia. "I would like you to
correctly comprehend and assess it. A political force that openly
declared it would not accept any outcome of the election except for its
victory several months before it was conducted, tries to destabilize
the situation in the country through political blackmail. I have
declared many times that deriving from Armenia’s interests I’m ready
to negotiate and work with any political force, and my steps have
been directed towards it ever since I assumed office.
The second issue I would like to speak about refers to Armenian-Turkish
relations. Our position on the matter is distinct: there should be no
closed borders between neighbor countries in the 21st century. Regional
cooperation can be the best means for establishing stability. The
Turkish side suggests forming a commission that would study the
historic facts. We do not mind establishing that commission, but
only when the border between our countries is opened. Otherwise, it
can become a means of protracting the solution of the issue for many
years. In the future I intend to undertake new steps to further the
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. Most probably, I will
invite Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan to watch the match
between the national football teams of Armenia and Turkey.
The third issue is the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. You
know that recently I held negotiations with the President of
Azerbaijan. We agreed to continue the talks in the framework of
the document on basic principles. Nagorno Karabakh will never be
under Azerbaijan’s’ jurisdiction. The people of Nagorno Karabakh has
achieved its right for independent statehood in the framework of law
and later defended it in an imposed war, and the issue cannot have
any solution diminishing that status," RA President said.