Dear colleagues,
Ten years ago I had the honour to become the head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. During those years we have reached together important achievements. I am confident, that in the upcoming years it will be possible to fulfill all the things that has not been implemented yet. This confidence is founded on the goal-oriented working environment that exists in the Foreign Ministry, the established institutional mechanisms, professional and patriotic diplomatic staff devoted to their job.
When last year we marked the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations of Armenia with a number of countries, there was no doubt that during that relatively short period of time we have managed to form a vibrant institution which today carries out its responsibilities with an honour. This has a great importance for all of us, especially for those who were standing at the roots of formation and establishment of the diplomatic service in Armenia.
The documents and figures summarizing the past ten years speak for themselves. I will name only few examples.
During the last ten years a conceptual changes have taken place with regards one of the most important priorities of Armenian foreign policy – the process of settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue, our positions have been significantly strengthened. Statements of the heads of the Co-Chair countries in L’Aquila, Muskoka, Deauville, Los Cabos and Enniskillen clearly enshrined the realisation of the people’s right to self-determination, which has been the cornerstone of our position for years, as a main element for the settlement of the issue, and those statements outlined that the status of Artsakh will be determined by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh through their legally binding expression of will. This is the position which today enjoys the support of the international community.
While Azerbaijan was claiming for years that the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue should be based exclusively upon the principle of territorial integrity, today we have reached a milestone when the international community states that three principles – non-use of force or the threat of force, equal rights and self-determination of peoples, territorial integrity – should serve as a basis for the settlement, which are considered as an integrated whole and any attempt to prioritize one of them will undermine the peaceful settlement.
Armenia has stated on numerous occasions that the comprehensive and lasting settlement of the issue is impossible without the participation of Nagorno-Karabakh. Today the Co-Chairs share this stance and it is embedded in the working papers of the negotiation process.
In contrast to the previous period, it was exactly during the last years that the Co-Chairs started to issue statements addressed to Azerbaijan as well.
After failing in the negotiations over Nagorno-Karabakh issue, in April of 2016 Azerbaijan unleashed new aggression against Artsakh thus attempting to impose its own approaches on the settlement within the negotiation process. Baku failed yet again, and the outcomes of the Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva Summits, numerous statements of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries attest to that.
Today we can unhesitatingly state that the international community and Armenia speak almost with the same language: the peaceful settlement of the issue based on the implementation of the right of people of Artsakh to self-determination, international recognition and guarantee of security has no alternative. As a negotiating side, Armenia has repeatedly stated that together with the Co-Chair countries will continue to undertake efforts in this direction.
The unfolded developments attest to the rightfulness and effectiveness of the tactic we have chosen and our steps.
The achievements we have registered are the result of our consistent and zealous work. And the maintenance and enhancement of those achievements also require big efforts so that to make reaching the settlement on that basis possible.
For the ten years the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide have been one of the main priorities of our foreign policy. During this period of time the number of countries which recognized the Armenian Genocide increased by ten, and the number of different international institutions and administrative units of countries by dozens. Genocide Centennial events, our nationwide unity and the resonance of the events held are worth a special mentioning.
Upon Armenia’s initiative, a number of resolutions on prevention of genocide and crimes against humanity were adopted in the UN Human Rights Council and other international fora. Based on the resolution initiated by Armenia and adopted by Human Rights Council in March of 2015 through a consensus, the UN General Assembly designated December 9 as a Day of commemoration of the victims of genocide. In April of 2018, upon Armenia’s initiative the Human Rights Council adopted through consensus another resolution on prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity, which was co-sponsored by sixty countries.
Today various international institutions consider Armenia with its initiatives as a frontrunner in the international efforts to prevent crimes against humanity. In december this year on the occasions of the 70th anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide Yerevan will host the third Global Forum “Against the Crime of Genocide,” which will be dedicated to the topic of preventing genocide through education. Necessary preparatory works to hold the Forum on a proper level have been carried out.
Our country has been actively involved in the processes and initiatives towards settlement of global issues, such as non proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, arms control, nuclear security, fight against terrorism, protection of victims of ethnic and religious identity-based discrimination and violence, addressing issues of migration, refugees and others.
During the last decade, our attention was constantly focused on the protection of interests of citizens of the Republic of Armenia and native Armenians, as well as providing assistance to our compatriots in crisis situations. The vivid example of this is the comprehensive assistance provided to Syrian-Armenians.
Armenian-Russian allied relations were further deepened and enhanced over the past decade and are currently at their height. This was reflected in the recent state visits of the leaders of Armenia and Russia, which were the first state visits in the history of our bilateral relations. Political dialogue, economic cooperation, military-technical, decentralized, scientific-educational and humanitarian cooperation have gained a new momentum. The Protocol No. 5 to the Agreement of 16 March 1995 on the deployment of the Russian military base in the territory of Armenia was signed between Russia and Armenia. It envisages that the military base of Russia in Armenia together with the Armed Forces of Armenia will act as a guarantor of Armenia’s security and, for that purpose, Russia will provide Armenia with modern weapons, as well as special military equipment.
Through our joint efforts, the friendly partnership with the United States reached a qualitatively new level. The high level contacts became regular, the collaboration was expanded in various areas, from political dialogue to development programmes. Two visits of the US Secretary of State, one after the other, were noteworthy. The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement was signed, the largest investment from the United States in Armenia was also made in recent years. Visa regime has been facilitated.
The centuries-old good-neighbourly relations with our immediate neighbours Georgia and Iran have been incrementally developed.
One of the most important priorities of our foreign policy was the active participation in regional integration processes.
In 2015 Armenia became a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, which stems from the strategic and economic interests and opens up broad prospects for the development of our country.
Being an active member of the Eurasian Economic Union, Armenia, with it’s realistic steps, proved that it can also effectively cooperate within other integration formats
Signing of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement became a significant milestones of the Armenia-European Union relations.
Armenia is unanimously identified by the international community as a successful example of cooperation with various integration structures.
We have deepened the traditional friendly partnership with France, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Vatican, Italy, Eastern and Central Europe, Scandinavian and other European countries.
During this period the geography and intensity of Armenia’s relations have been enhanced. Significant progress has been reached with regards the cooperation with China. The contacts with India, Japan and the Republic of Korea have intensified. Effective and practical cooperation has been developed with the Arab world, Asian region, Latin America, African countries
Thanks to our initiative aimed at normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations, the support of the international community towards Armenia’s principled position on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations with no preconditions has been reiterated, and destructive approaches of Turkey have been treated correspondingly by the international community.
One of the most important directions of Armenia’s foreign policy was the deepening of involvement in international organizations. An extensive work has been done to ensure the election of Armenian representatives in various international structures.
The chairmanships of Armenia in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) were marked by new initiatives. The chairmanship of our country in the Council of Europe has been highly appreciated internationally. During these years, Armenia has twice chaired the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. The BSEC Foreign Ministers Council session is scheduled to be held in June in Yerevan.
Armenia has expanded its engagement in international peacekeeping operations by participating in a number of peacekeeping missions.
The cooperation between Armenia and North Atlantic Alliance has been continued.
The vivid demonstration of confidence and solidarity towards Armenia by the international community has become the decision to hold the 17th summit of the International Organization of La Francophonie in Yerevan and to transfer the presidency of this organization, unifying almost the half of the world, to Armenia.
A large-scale preparatory works have been carried out. Already today heads of two dozens countries and governments have already confirmed their participation in the October summit. I would like to ask all of you to do everything possible to hold the summit and the Francophone Economic Forum at the highest level. Accept this as a personal request.
As a result of promoting the economic component of Armenia’s foreign policy, cooperation with traditional partners has been strengthened, the cooperation within regional and international financial and economic structures has been deepened, and effective mechanisms of intergovernmental economic cooperation committees have been established with a number of countries.
Dear colleagues,
The new and comfortable building of the Foreign Ministry itself symbolizes the extensive work that has been done to increase the effectiveness of our diplomatic service in recent years. I am confident that these walls will witness a lot of successes in the coming years.
It is with particular respect that I would like to speak about the Diplomatic School of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, more than 100 graduates of which have joined the diplomatic service, breathing in a new life into our system.
The geography of our diplomatic missions has drastically expanded, over the last ten years Armenia has established about two dozen diplomatic missions. During the same period of time, 15 diplomatic missions have been established in Armenia. The number of countries having diplomatic relations with Armenia has reached 175. The number of international organisation to which Armenia is a member has also increased reaching around hundred. Around nine hundred international agreements have been signed throughout these years.
Several hundreds high level mutual visits have been carried out. A number of meetings at the level of Foreign Ministers and heads of international organizations exceeds a thousand.
To the staff of the Foreign Ministry gathered here it is clear what a huge amount of work is hidden behind this, at first glance, cold numbers and facts, and how great were our efforts. All this would have been impossible without the hard work and devotion of our entire staff.
It is my greatest wish for our diplomatic service to spare no efforts and energy in order to double the achievements, to continue keeping high the dignity of the Armenian diplomat, to represent and protect the interests of our country and people to the best possible.
Amidst the recently occurring events in Armenia, it is noteworthy that the foreign policy of our country has not become a subject for any criticism, moreover, the main guidelines of it have been reiterated by the political forces with different views.
Taking stock of the last ten years, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan for granting me the opportunity and the honour to serve for Armenia as a Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as for for the support and trust.
I would like to express my gratitude to the staff of the MFA, from the high level officials to the graduates of the Diplomatic School who have recently joined us, our colleagues abroad, who serve their homeland with the most devoted dedication, often in a very difficult situations, the technical staff who have a substantial contribution to the effective functioning of our Ministry, to all those with whom I had the honour to work for the advancement of interests and priorities of Armenia.
I wish success and new achievements to newly appointed Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and all our diplomats for the glory of our Motherland and the Armenian people.
I thank you.