Armenia will take necessary steps to ensure Karabakh’s safety: President

PanARMENIAN.Net - President Serzh Sargsyan delivered a speech at the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, September 29.

Below is the President’s message with slight reductions:

“I congratulate Mogens Lykketoft on election to the honorable post of the President of the United Nations General Assembly. I am confident that this jubilee session will meet all our expectations.

I also congratulate all of us on the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. The establishment of this Organization had been one of the greatest achievements of the humankind that united nations around shared aspirations and principles. The past 70 years have been characterized by the most important positive developments: colonialism, racial discrimination and apartheid ceased to exist. Many people around the world implemented their right to self-determination, took charge of their own fate by establishing and building independent states of their own, thus increasing the number of the UN member states from 51 to 193.

Amid all these achievements, however, the world faces new challenges such as terrorism, extremism, intolerance, economic crises, climate change, human trafficking and organ trade, as well as drugs and arms, migration crisis among other issues.

Last year, on the eve of the Armenian Genocide centennial, I expressed gratitude from this very podium to the nations that recognized the Genocide and named them all individually. I called upon the international community to support the struggle against the recurrence of the crime of genocide through recognition and condemnation.

Today, from this very podium, I thank Pope Francis, and acknowledge the historical Mass he celebrated; the European Parliament, and recall the Resolution it adopted. I thank the German President: believe me, his well-known statement will be included in our history textbooks. I thank the legislative bodies of Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, numerous provincial and city councils, as well as hundreds of political and non-governmental organizations.

I thank the Presidents of Russia, France, Cyprus, and Serbia, as well as delegations of numerous other countries that paid tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide on April 24 in Yerevan.

Our determination to keep genocide prevention on the international agenda is asserted by the Resolutions we periodically table at the Human Rights Council, with the latest one adopted this year. Just a few days ago this Assembly passed a resolution establishing December 9 as “the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.”

The peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict remains one of the most salient issues in our region. I should note that Azerbaijan’s aggressive policy resulted in the absence of any meaningful progress of negotiations for the conflict settlement, and the escalation continues. I would like to draw the Assembly’s attention to the fact that Azerbaijan, besides various provocative actions, has now started to use large caliber artillery, opening fire on the peaceful settlements of the bordering districts of both Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

Just a few days ago three women fell victim to Azerbaijani bombardment in an Armenian border village. I wonder if there is any reasonable person that can demonstrate such cruelty. Obviously, the Azerbaijani leadership has irreversibly lost both the sense of reality and of norms of human conduct.

Azerbaijan completely disdains 5 joint statements issued by the Presidents of the U.S., Russia and France, and the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group. In case Baku continues its aggressive policy, Armenia will have no other choice but to take necessary legal, political and military steps for Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh to develop in safety and peace.

Although everybody knows which party is to blame for the ceasefire violations, I still would recall some facts.

Isn’t it strange that Azerbaijan has for years been stubbornly refusing to withdraw snipers and establish incident investigation mechanism, that the OSCE Minsk Group proposed to us? The question is: what is Azerbaijan afraid of?

Isn’t it strange that Azerbaijan almost never violated the ceasefire during the European Games when the country needed to have an image of stability? The shootings renewed immediately after the Games.

Isn’t it strange that in the 21st century our neighbor relentlessly and indefatigably takes pride in excessive arms buildup and manifold expansion of military budget?

I think you know now why Armenia has consistently been urging the international community to make unambiguous statements concerning the ceasefire violations.

Today we witness unspeakable cruelty taking place in the Middle East. The religious intolerance brought irreversible repercussions. We have been most directly affected by the atrocities unfolding there, since they led to the destruction of the Armenian spiritual artefacts and cultural heritage, murder and expulsion of the numerous Armenians residing in Iraq and Syria. We are trying to help the refugees the best we can: Armenia has accommodated more than 16.000 refugees from Syria so far.

Armenians know how those refugees feel. The Armenian Genocide could have claimed many more lives, and the survivors could have gone through much more hardship unless a number of nations, our friends had given us a helping hand during those difficult times. Today, Germany, Sweden, and other countries deserve praise for humanism they display.

This year we all witnessed how joint and adequate actions paved the way for addressing a difficult international issue. Iran nuclear agreement was initiated, which is undoubtedly going to contribute to the global settlement of the conflicts and the establishment of mutual trust.

All this comes to prove that the existence of political will makes it possible to find solutions for the most complicated issues. I would like to once again stress the importance of taking diplomatic efforts to eliminate any closed borders. Armenia has been blockaded by its neighbors, and we deem unacceptable such an improvident policy that in the 21st century establishes artificial obstacles disrupting intercultural, human to human and trade contacts. In this context, we hail the periodic review in the framework of UN Conferences on Landlocked Developing Countries.

To conclude, I would like to join all speakers who have called for efforts to struggle against the darkness, vandalism and hatred. Large and small countries alike have a role to play here. Armenia stands ready to make its contribution to this joint struggle.”