Peace and security, as well as democracy and free market economy are of key importance for sustainable development, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an address the meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Heads of State and Government with Resolute Support Mission in Brussels.
“As you know, Armenia has recently undertaken abrupt change to create its democratic future. The victory of the velvet revolution in Armenia is a clear expression of the society’s maturity, a guarantee of its commitment to human rights and fundamental freedoms,” Pashinyan said.
Referring to Afghanistan, the Prime Minister said “we appreciate the Afghan government’s efforts of state-building and reinforcement of security. It would be impossible without the devotion and sacrifice of the people, army and security forces. Nevertheless, there is still much to do to make the progress irreversible.”
“As an advocate of collective security, Armenia will continue to promote international peace and security efforts,” he added.
“The peace process requires a constructive approach and and discussion of positions of all stakeholders. Therefore, we must unite efforts of the international community to reach an exceptionally peaceful settlement, which is of utmost importance for European security as a whole,” PM Pashinyan said.
He reminded that Armenia has been contributing to NATO mission in Afghanistan since. Pashinyan hailed the cooperation between Armenia and Germany, which he described “the best and brightest example of partnership between NATO member and partner states.” He pledged Armenia’s willingness to continue its engagement in the mission with up to 130 servicemen.
Nikol Pashinyan said as the topic of Nagorno Karaabkh was touched upon, he cannot but refer to the settlement of the conflict, although, as he said, the issue is incompatible with the format of discussions, which pursues completely different goals.
“As any democratic country, Armenia reiterates its commitment to the exceptionally peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict within the format of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. Any attempt to solve the conflict in a military way should be seen as an attack on democracy, human rights and peace,” the Prime Minister said.
He noted that the recent ceasefire violations and provocations of Azerbaijan at the Armenian border and the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh seriously question Baku’s commitment to peace process.
“We reiterate the importance of implementing the previous agreement, particularly those reached at the meetings in Vienna, St. Petersburg and Geneva, which, among other things, are aimed at creating conditions conducive to peace and implementation of confidence building measures,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
