Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan gave an interview to Ukrainian “Profil” magazine. Here we present that interview:

-Mr. President, this year the contacts between Armenia and Ukraine have been essentially activated. Which are the supremacies of the Armenian party in development of bilateral relations?

-Cooperation with Ukraine is primary for us in all the spheres – economic, political, and humanitarian. Our relations have a history of hundreds of years. We have always been bridged by thousands of ties and today we would really like to fulfill the unfinished tasks. In the first years of independence – at the beginning of the 1990s, we had quite good ties with Ukraine. Later on our communication was not very active for some reasons. But I am very happy that currently our relations are developing speedily. I am sure that in the upcoming several years we will manage to strengthen our political relations and of course, the cooperation in humanitarian sphere.

-How the commodity turnover is suggested to increase?

-It is not small at the moment, too, but first of all I approach this issue from the viewpoint of reserves. If currently the commodity turnover between us is 300 million USD, then the reserves are larger for several times. Many Ukrainian goods, which would be demanded in the Armenian market, and Armenian goods which would present interest for Ukraine, are not yet available. The reason is that we, as states, do not work enough in that direction. The inter-governmental commission is summoned rarely. The contacts between our businessmen are not of frequent nature, for we have not created political climate for such cooperation yet.

-Ukraine has intensive ties with other countries of South Caucasus and Black Sea Region. How can today our country support in consolidation of sustainable peace and stability in that part of the world?

-The only way is the objective and neutral position, as well as development of economic relations. Implementation of big economic projects will increase Ukraine’s reputation in our region even more. Your country has all the resources for it.

-You are the author of unprecedented initiative of regulation of relations with Turkey without preconditions. How difficult was it to take that step, realizing that you will be subject to criticism?How difficult was it to overcome the resistance of public opinion?

-It was really one of the most difficult steps in my life, but I took that step consciously. Yes, the Turks have committed genocide. Yes, they have taken away our vitally important territory. Yes, after hundred years of committing crime they denied it and go on denying. While perhaps denial of a crime is even a worse crime. But on the other hand, in the modern world, there are almost no states, which do not have historical issues, unsolved issues of mutual relations. Extensive cooperation without preconditions is the civil way of response to suchlike challenges.

Establishment of diplomatic relations, opening of borders will be profitable not only for Armenia and Turkey, but for Georgia, Azerbaijan, and for the whole region as well. So I did not find it right to take a position of an offended, humiliated country, to wait for the Turks to recognize the genocide themselves, and restore the relations only after it.

My decision was not accepted among society unequivocally, especially among the Armenians living outside from the borders of the country. And it is understandable, our people are emotional, and every Armenian family suffered during those years. I understand the people who sometimes went out to express their complaint against the policy of becoming friendly with Turkey. But I am happy that in the end our people understood that idea. I think now there are very few people, who consider we were not right.

Our initiative was dictated by sober mind and did not contradict our national profits even a bit. The wish to establish relations with Turks without preconditions does not mean that we stand back from the process of international recognition of the genocide or go to some concessions.

All the ways of making Turkey recognize the genocide have been tested, excluding the one of confrontation. After we undertook this process, processes may be not expectable for many people started in the Turkish society; young people went out and spoke of the genocide. Of course, our relations were not regulated this time. After we signed the well known bilateral protocols, the Turkish party refused to ratify them in the parliament. Currently we wait that a political force or a heads will appear in Turkey, who will be ready to manifest a political will.

-Azerbaijan, too, influences on relations of Armenia and Turkey. Are there ways of breaking the close chain, which does not allow solving the Karabakh issue for 16 years?

-I would not consider that chain close; the negotiations are running, aren’t they? Yes, they are running quite difficultly, but even the worst peace is better than the war. If there are negotiations, there is also an opportunity of reaching final results. The position of the Armenian party, I mean Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, is very simple. Karabakh became a part of Azerbaijan in 1921 on the decision of the bodies of the Communist Party. In 1988 the Karabakh movement started, and then by means of conduction of a referendum Nagorno Karabakh was self-determined.

Even when some people kept on saying that the self-determination right of peoples contradicts another basic right – territorial integrity, after the well known decision of the Hague Court everything was arranged in its right order.

We are full of hope that we will eventually arrive at a fair solution. Life would be very hard both for us and NKR people if we considered that there is no solution.

-What do you ascribe Armenia’s decision on term extension of the Russian military base to?

-Personally for me it was a great joy. You have probably listened for many times that no state, no matter how big it is, is able to ensure its security alone. We are allies with Russia, strategic partners and not only on bilateral basis, but within the frameworks of OSCE as well. We live in a region, where there are many threats and risks. Some countries in separate cases even doubt that Armenians have a right of living in their historical lands. The possibility of armed clashes is big in our region for historical and up-to-date reasons.

The profit of the Russian side – development of its armed forces with a long term, is the opportunity of planning its strategic profits. Our interest is the support in ensuring security. It is a serious factor of not restarting war and of preventing military actions, a good opportunity of rearming our army according to up-to-date standards. So I think that extension stems from our national profits.

-By Ukraine’s perception, the membership with the CSTO and the intensive cooperation with NATO are hardly compatible. How does Armenia manage to combine them?

-We really manage that. We manage to have very good relations with the USA on one hand and with Iran, Russia, and Georgia on the other, as we conduct a right policy. We do not try to make profits on conflicts or contradictions between other countries, NATO and CSTO are not opponents. They are security systems with their zones of profits, which let other countries make profits.

-How profitable is the cooperation of Armenia with NATO?

-We cooperate with NATO within the frameworks of the Individual Partnership Program, which enables us to use the huge experience of the organization, to participate in peacekeeping processes. The cooperation with NATO gives an opportunity to update our army, implement reforms. Find up-to-date ways of formation of security system.

-You head the Armenian National Chess Federation. Besides world achievements of professional Armenian chess players, everything is done in the country for development of chess in the state. Can we say that Armenia hopes on the intellect of its nation like on the strategic resource of its country?

-Yes, of course. Armenia is country with a small territory. We do not have large natural resources. So we are committed to pay attention to the serious resource, about which you say. Chess has been always present in the life of Armenians, Armenian families. Of course, interest in it increased especially after Tigran Petrosyan became a world champion. I am proud of our chess players, I am proud that I was the chairman of the chess federation before taking the office of president. We find that our biggest resource is our intellectual potential; it is the mental potential not only of our Armenian citizens, but of all Armenian people as well.