Sarkisian says Armenia ready to implement Karabakh Agreements

By Asbarez | Wednesday, 10 August 2016

President Serzh Sarkisian meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Wednesday

President Serzh Sarkisian meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Wednesday

MOSCOW—After meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday at the Kremlin, President Serzh Sarkisian said Armenia is ready to implement agreements reached for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.

Sarkisian emphasized the importance of the implementing previous agreements reached on the Karabakh conflict resolution, saying: “It is very important to implement the agreements reached; we are ready for this, reported the Russian TASS news agency.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tigran Balayan told Asbarez that Sarkisian was referencing agreements reached in Vienna in May and reinforced in a St. Petersburg in June.

During talks held between Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev in Vienna, mediated by Secretary of State John Kerry, the participants reached an agreement to take steps toward implementing the provisions of the 1994 cease fire agreement, establishing mechanisms to investigate border incidents, expanding the authority of the team of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office to conduct more frequent monitoring of the border and the possible resumption of the peace talks.

In June, during a meeting mediate by Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sarkisian and Aliyev, once again, pledged to implement the aforementioned agreements.

On Wednesday, Putin said that Russia wants to reduce tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan and hopes that the two countries will be able to find a compromise in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“During the talks, we focused on the Nagorno-Karabakh resolution in light of the trilateral Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan summit held in St. Petersburg on June 20 and my recent meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev in Baku,” Putin told a joint news conference.

Putin added that Russia would give all possible assistance to finding a solution to the “Karabakh knot”. He also expressed the hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan would be able to find a compromise without the losers and winners.

Putin also announced that he briefed Sarkisian on the details of talks he held with Aliyev on Monday in Baku. Ahead of the Aliyev meeting, Putin told reporters that Russia was helping Armenia and Azerbaijan to come up with compromise solutions to the Karabakh conflict, which he called a remnant of the Soviet Union.

Sarkisain and Putin also discussed the Eurasian Economic Union, of which both Russia and Armenia are members.

Putin said that Armenia is Russia’s strategic partner in the South Caucasus, saying the Armenia’s membership in the EEU has had a great economic impact.

“Armenia for us is a strategic partner in the Caucasus and we systematically build our relations of alliance along the most sensitive lines and in the international arena, first and foremost within the CIS,” the Russian TASS news agency quoted Putin as saying.

Putin also said that after reviewing statistics, he was pleased to see Armenia’s gross domestic product growth of 10 percent since joining the EEU.

Sarkisian added that during the first six months of the year, turnover of goods between Russia and Armenia has grown 12 percent, with exports to Russia reaching a historic high. The Armenian president attributed this growth to the EEU.

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