An excerpt from Serzh Sargsyan’s statement, 12 February, 2016
It is certainly impossible to speak about the situation in Armenia without giving a precise evaluation of the influence of the outer world. However it is necessary to give an exact assessment of the place and the role of the signals coming from without. It is true that our immediate external environment is rough, intricate and very often extremely contradictive; the situation is aggravated by the fact that very often it is also unpredictable. Besides, Armenia is part of the global economic system which means that we cannot evade tendencies coming from the global market. But it doesn’t mean that we have to simply accept the situation. The notion that we cannot live well as long as the Karabakh issue is not resolved or the blockade imposed by Turkey is not lifted is simply unacceptable. Deficiencies in our state governance don’t result from that.
We all know too well the approaches of the authorities in Turkey and in Azerbaijan, and we learned them long ago. But the matter of the fact is that their years-long policy didn’t yield the results they yearned to see. They tried to talk to us from the position of threat, coercion, and force. It is quite unpromising to talk to us that way and will not produce results, just as didn’t produce so far.
Negotiations on Artsakh issue continue. Our position is unchanged: the Artsakh issue will be resolved through the free self-determination of the people of Artsakh. All other issues are subordinate to that and will find their logical and fair solution parallel to the resolution of the problem. As long as the main problem remains, as long as the status of Artsakh remains obscure, the problem will not find its solution.
With regard to the relations with Turkey; at this point I see no possibility for progress.
We have been living in these conditions for 25 years. We got used to these conditions and adjusted to them. We do not and will not strap the possibilities for our advancement with these problems.
We should get used to the idea that to the East from Martakert and Martuni and to the West from Gyumri and Armavir we don’t have real partners. We have lived without them until now, maintaining more or less our speed of development. Let’s imagine that there is nothing but a bottomless and unsurpassable swamp.
Image (archive) – Serzh Sargsyan and Abdullah Gul, October, 2009, Bursa, Turkey
