Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Danilo Türk held joint press conference in the framework of the official visit of the President of Slovenia to Armenia

Introductory remarks by President Danilo Türk at joint press conference with the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan

Thank you, Mr. President. Allow me to say that my delegation as well as thirty-five leading Slovenian businessmen are happy to be here in Yerevan to discuss possibilities of cooperation, including economic cooperation, between our two countries. Armenia is greatly admired in Slovenia as a country with rich culture and ancient civilization, a country with present-day ambitions and as a country which can have significant input to regional cooperation in the Caucasus.

In our bilateral relations, I would like to underscore importance of culture. Experience shows that culture can become not only a source of inspiration and admiration but also a tool and means of practical cooperation. Earlier this year at the main cultural center of Slovenia “Cankarjev Dom” organized were a series of events dedicated to Armenia and Armenian culture which provided the Slovenians as well as the guests of our country an opportunity to familiarize with the Armenian culture and artistic heritage. Next year, here in Armenia we will organize days of Slovenian culture in Armenia. Today, President Serzh Sargsyan awarded the Movses Khorenatsi medal to the Director of Cankarjev Dom Mitya Rotovnik; it can be viewed as a symbol of our relations and testifies to the seriousness of our intentions. This is very important for us since culture brings peoples closer and facilitates international cooperation. I am also looking forward to the Business Forum – President Sargsyan and I are going to be there. I believe that there are many areas of cooperation which can be very promising for the businessmen, among them for instance, chemical and pharmaceutical production, medical services, and many other areas.

This morning President Sargsyan and I held a very interesting and useful discussion on security issues. I believe that in recent years international security environment has considerably improved. I believe there are new initiatives which should be given due consideration and which have potential to strengthen security all over the world. A good example of such an initiative is the latest initiative by President Medvedev regarding new European security architecture.

NATO is developing a new strategic security concept which will be adopted in November in Lisbon. And judging from the ongoing process, it could be expected that the new strategy will provide a new framework, new opportunities for further strengthening of security in Eurasian and Euroatlantic regions. EU has announced its policy regarding cooperation with the member states of the Eastern Partnership program. Slovenia believes that in the future Eastern Partnership will become a priority for the European Union. Europe’s cooperation with Russia and countries of Eastern Partnership can provide a new touch and new substance to Europe’s future security policy in Eurasian and Euroatlantic regions. Armenia is an important part of that strategy and in this region one of the countries in the most sensitive situation. In order to solve all regional problems, security problems the world should listen to Armenia, the world should understand Armenia, and should work with Armenia and in name of future should launch extensive cooperation. Obviously, for practical implementation of all these various steps could be taken. Particularly, it will require a certain decree of liberalization of people’s movement. We should achieve progress. Slovenia subscribes to the principle of visa facilitation for this entire region. Today’s signing of the agreement on visa free regime for the holders of diplomatic passports is a step in that direction. It’s a modest but considerable step, and I hope that similar steps will be taken in the future as well. We have also spoken about a number issues related to regional security, and I am grateful to President Sargsyan for the most exhausting and comprehensive clarifications regarding the problem of Nagorno Karabakh. Based on his analyses and observations, I conclude that it is crucial to move forward down the road of peaceful resolution of the conflict, I repeat – peaceful resolution of the conflict, together with confidence building measures which should be undertaken immediately. The definition “Frozen conflict” is delusive and misleading. “Frozen conflicts” mustn’t be left frozen, they must be defrosted and solved. And one of the main bridges leading toward the resolution is confidence building.

In the end, we spoke about the possibility of creating regional mechanisms in the Caucasus. As the President of Slovenia, I am sure that there are examples of such mechanism in any European subregion, which allow neighboring states to unfold efficient and peaceful cooperation.

Ladies and Gentlemen, these introductory remarks have been probably a bit longer than usual but only because our talks were multifaceted since the prospects of our cooperation are very promising.