28
07, 2009

Joint statement of President Serzh Sargsyan and the President of Serbia Boris Tadic for the press

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Joint statement of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the President of the Republic of Serbia Boris Tanic for the press

President Serzh Sargsyan,

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Today we are honored to host in Armenia the President of the Republic of Serbia, my dear colleague Boris Tanic.

Our two nations have been maintaining friendly relations for centuries. Serbia is one of those countries which genially welcomed many survivors of the Armenian Genocide and particularly those who had fled the Izmir massacres of 1922.

Our people also remember with gratitude indispensable spiritual and material aid of the friendly Serbian people in the aftermath of the devastating Spitak earthquake of 1988. We will forever hold sacred the memory of the Yugoslav pilots who perished in the name of their mission – to give a helping hand to a friendly nation in the direst time.

We have discussed with the President of Serbia in a congenial and constructive way the current stage of the Armenian-Serbian relations and their prospects, exchanged views on a number of international and regional issues of mutual interest, and spoke about cooperation in the framework of international organizations.

Facilitation of the political dialogue, establishment and strengthening of interparliamentary relations, development of trade and economic relations between Armenia and Serbia are important components of our partnership.

Not so distant experience of our two countries brought the President of Serbia and me to the same conclusion that use of force in the settlement of regional conflicts must be ruled out; conflicts must be solved exclusively through peaceful means and peace negotiations based on the principles and norms of international law.

We are confident that one universal mode for the conflict resolution simply does not exist. Each conflict has its own origins, causes, and unique course. It is impossible to get to a fair and long-lasting solution without taking them into consideration.

I also told President Tadic about the developments which followed my initiative on the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations. I also informed him on the details of the current phase of the process. As you know, little time is left till the return match of the national football teams of Armenia and Turkey, which I have been invited to attend by the President of Turkey Abdullah Gule. In the existing circumstances we, certainly, anticipate to witness in the nearest future some constructive steps, through which our partners will try to create a corresponding milieu for the reciprocal visit of the President of Armenia. I reiterated for President Tadic my previous statements that I will only accept the invitation only if the agreements are observed and visible steps are taken, i.e. I will go to Turkey if the border is open or if we are on the threshold of Armenia’s deblockading.

Mr. President, I am confident that your delegation will have very productive meetings here, in Yerevan, which will give a momentum for elevating our relations to a qualitatively new level.

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