President Armen Sarkissian met today with representatives of the Russian mass media and responded to their questions related to the military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan.
“What started on September 27 was not just a local clash as it used to be before. This is a real war which Azerbaijan and Turkey prepared seriously and long ago. Another difference is that in this war, besides the Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, a third party is directly involved – Turkey,” President Sarkissian said. “The parties of the conflict, Azerbaijan and Republic of Artsakh, have different approaches. Azerbaijan claims that it is liberating its territory. From whom? If they liberate it from Armenians, then there is another word for it, and it is not territorial integrity, but another international term – ethnic cleansing. It means we want that territory but without Armenians.
So, let’s call things by their proper names. There is a war started by Azerbaijan and it must not be linked to territorial integrity; its sole purpose is ethnic cleansing.”
President Sarkissian noted that in this war, the objectives of the Armenians of Artsakh and Azerbaijan’s differ substantially. “People of the Republic of Artsakh are fighting for their life, their land, their freedom, for their churches which have been standing there for ages. There are two different approaches: death on one side, people fighting for their life and their Fatherland on the other side.”
The President of Armenia underscored that besides its scale and use of military equipment, this war is different because of Turkey’s engagement. “You’ve asked about Turkey’s possible mediation. How can a party to the conflict be a mediator? It is impossible: mediators are those whom you trust. How can Armenians of Artsakh, Armenia, Moscow, or any other place trust Turkey? All know our history very well,” the President noted. “What Turkey is saying to justify its open engagement? First, they are supporting their ethnic brothers. What does it mean? From the viewpoint of ethnic brotherhood, Turks have ethnic brothers also in Central Asia, from Mongolia to China. So what? It means that if something happens in those place, they will go and engage in conflicts to defend their ethnic brothers?”
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President Sarkissian dismissed as nonsense Turkey’s other claims that allegedly there are Kurdish fighters in Armenia and the necessity to protect Azerbaijan’s international energy infrastructure. “If Armenians intended, they would have hit that gas and oil pipelines 20 years ago and would not allow Azerbaijan to earn billions of dollars, purchase weapons and use it now not only against troops but also civilian population,” he underscored. “This way Turkey is trying to justify the presence of its officers, generals, and Islamist terrorists in Azerbaijan. In fact, it will be their permanent presence in Azerbaijan but this is Azerbaijan and its people’s problem. They will not contain themselves with “protecting” that infrastructure but will start to control, then manage it which means that whole Europe from the viewpoint of oil and gas supply will be dependent on Turkey which will become a country of huge influence.”
The President of Armenia underscored that presence of Turkey and terrorist-mercenaries in the region totally changes the geopolitical picture in the Caucasus. “What’s the solution? There is the OSCE Minsk Group mechanism which has been pretty efficient, with its three co-chairs. But how to return to that format when war is ongoing? Is it possible to stop fire today? It is possible only if the third party – Turkey, gets out. In mathematical terms we have an equation with its parameters, where a new parameter appears which is from a totally different equation and that equation is called Turkey’s imperialistic ambitions. And its existence makes resolution of this equation impossible. Another problem emerges here which I am asked about often: is it possible to engage other players? Our position is very clear: there is already a third player which only messes things up. Engagement of the fourth, fifth players will make the equation absolutely insoluble and the tension will get to another level and dimension which will be impossible to solve tomorrow, moreover, to stop. It means instability in the entire Caucasus. Engagement of new players will turn this region into a new Syria, with hundred times more dangerous aspects. It means that it must not be allowed and steps must be taken to decrease the level of confrontation rather than increase.”
In this context, President Sarkissian stressed the importance of the three OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries’ role. “The United States is a NATO member state, so is Turkey. When Turkey was signing agreement on NATO accession, was there a provision that it could participate to the conflicts of third countries? Certainly not. Thus, the US through NATO and other organizations should press Turkey to get out of the game and allow the negotiations to resume because this conflict has no military solution.”
The President assessed highly the mediating opportunities of Russia, “Russia can step in as a mediator because it has normal relations with Azerbaijan, can exercise influence on Turkey while our and Russia’s history is that of friendship.”
President Sarkissian noted that Armenians of Artsakh view Russia as a country which can through its influence be a real mediator and stop military activities.
In response to the question on mediation opportunities of the co-chair countries in different formats, President Sarkissian said that any proposal, which could result in practical outcome, is acceptable.
The Office to the President of the Republic of Armenia
