Only guarantee for security is peace, says PM

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Only Armenia can ensure security for itself in case of securing peace in the region, PM Nikol Pashinyan has said.

“There is no country or military bloc in the world that can ensure security for Armenia,” he said at the Global Armenian Summit when asked about the domestic and foreign security environment. “Only Armenia can create security for itself in case of securing peace in the region.”

“There is only one guarantee for security, peace, there is no other guarantee. Our government’s policy is to create that guarantee, understanding its difficulties,” he said.

He said that in terms of security the processes in Armenia and around it ought to be viewed in broader and long-term perspective. 

“In the past, our perception of the security architecture was that we could have conflicts in our region in all possible directions, with closed borders, tense relations, but we would have distant or not so distant allies and friends who would support us, so that we’d be able to speak to whoever we want in the region with whatever tone we want. It didn’t occur to us, or it did but we didn’t raise this, that be it allies or friends, these countries have their own interests, and in this context, if the Armenian factor has a place in the given country’s foreign or domestic policy, then this place is neither primary nor secondary, nor tertiary. It didn’t occur to us that there is a structural error in that architecture, that those countries, pursuant to their interests, would treat first of all us however they want to resolve their relationship with third countries. I think when we speak about security we should first of all speak not about weapons and ammunition, which is obviously very important, but about the rules of living in our environment,” he said.