President Serzg Sarkisian at the EU’s Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels on Nov. 24

BRUSSELS—Soon after attending the signing of the landmark Armenia-European Union Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on Friday in the Belgian capital, President Serzh Sarkisian addressed the Eastern Partnership Summit, where he said that any solution to the Karabakh conflict would be impossible without ensuring that the people of Artsakh are able to exercise their right to self-determination.

“The position of the international community on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is reflected in the statements issued by the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries. In this context, any solution to the conflict without the exercise of Nagorno-Karabakh people’s right to self-determination is simply impossible,” said Sarkisian.

He also pointed out that his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, continues to make statements, in which the realities of the Karabakh conflict resolution process are distorted, reminding the summit participants that the resolution of the Karabakh conflict is based on three principles of international law: non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity and the peoples’ right to self-determination, all of which he said were proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, “which is the only structure vested with an international mandate.”

Sarkisian also stressed that no other international body has made decisions regarding the resolution of the Karabakh conflict, a fact that Azerbaijan continues to skew in its statement by making reference to resolution by the United Nations on the matter. Sarkisian clarified that the only resolutions that were approved by the UN in 1993, centered on the ceasing of hostilities during the Karabakh war, adding that Azerbaijan continues to be hostile by continuously violating the cease fire agreement.

He began his remarks at the Eastern Partnership Summit by praising the hard work and the eventual signing of CEPA.

“This Agreement [CEPA] is not merely a legal document, but a reflection on the wealth of values of human rights and fundamental freedoms that we share. Important elements of the strengthening of democracy such as rule of law, consolidation of judiciary, development of public and social institutes, good governance are the core of this Agreement. The efficient realization of these elements is of vital importance for our nation in order to implement successfully the envisaged reforms. It is exactly the development based on these shared values that ensures the long-lasting and sustainable development for any responsible member of the international community. I thank the leadership of the European Union for the support provided throughout this process,” said Sarkisian.

“The importance of this Agreement is not limited to the Armenia-EU relations: many international counterparts of ours describe Armenia as a nation that brings various integration processes closer to each other, a nation that is led by desire to reconcile and complement interests in the spirit of cooperation and cohabitation, and it is something that seriously obliges us to meet the expectation. I would like to underline that throughout this process the objective Armenia pursued from the very outset was further deepening of our bilateral and multilateral relations,” added Sarkisian.