President Sarkisian with NATO's Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Brusseles Tuesday

BRUSSELES (Combined Sources)—Following a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, President Serzh Sarkisian said Tuesday that Azerbaijan rejected any confidence building measures on the road to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Azerbaijan turns down any confidence-building measure, be it targeted at promoting regional cooperation or relieving the tension at the line of contact. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan refuses to withdraw the snipers from the line of contact and stands against investigation of incidents,” said Sarkisian at a press conference at NATO Headquarters in Brussels after meeting with Rasmussen.

“Furthermore, Azerbaijan’s war-mongering never stops. The Azerbaijani leadership continues inciting hatred towards Armenians. Azerbaijan’s President declared just a few days ago that world-spread Armenians were number one enemy of Azerbaijanis. This fact should be properly evaluated by the international community,” added Sarkisian who is Brussels for meetings with NATO and European officials.

“We agreed with the Secretary General that the conflict should be solved exceptionally through peaceful means and negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. We are confident that the final resolution of the Karabakh conflict is possible only on the basis of respect for the right of peoples to self-determination and security guarantees,” explained Sarkisian.

“Armenia is actively cooperating with NATO in all spheres. We are successfully implementing reforms in the fields of defense, security and emergency situations,” said Sarkisian. “We are glad that the NATO and its Secretary General appreciate Armenia’s efforts towards ensuring international peace and security. We realize that only with combined efforts it is possible to withstand the challenges and threats. For that purpose we tripled the number of Armenian troops in Afghanistan.”

“NATO and Armenia share many political priorities and security interests,” the Secretary General said in his remarks at the press conference. ”And we have built up our cooperation and dialogue over many years. Our relationship contributes to regional security and Euro-Atlantic security. And we want to take it forward in that way.”

The meeting took place ahead of a North Atlantic Council summit scheduled to take place in Chicago later this month.