Monday, October 13 2014

Armenia has joined the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) for economic reasons, President Serzh Sargsyan said in a briefing with his Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolic in Yerevan, on 12 October.

He said the given integration project will give a new impetus to the local economy and make it more competitive. The Armenian president said the decision to join the EEU will not run counter the relations with the EU, which official Yerevan will continue to develop. Sargsyan said that Armenia assigns high priority to democratic reforms.

He informed his Serbian opposite number of the situation around the Karabakh peace process. President Nikolic, in turn, presented Belgrade'a stand on Kosovo. 

"I'd like to outline that fact that despite the unrecognized status, Serbia still directly negotiates with Kosovo. We believe it unreasonable making believe that the authorities elected in the conflict zones are illegitimate.  The only alternative to it is chaos," the Armenia president said. He reaffirmed Armenia's stand on the Kosovo issue. In this light, Serzh Sargsyan highly appreciates Serbia's weighted stand on NK conflict and the support to the OSCE Minsk Group's efforts.  The president also welcomed Serbia's upcoming chairmanship of the OSCE and expressed Armenia's support to Belgrade in that responsible mission.

The president said the visit of his Serbian counterpart to Yerevan is symbolic as it was timed to the 20th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations.  He welcomed the bilateral relations and said that together with President Nikolic they discussed all the issue of the bilateral agenda, came out for summing up the results of the 20-year-old cooperation and enhance the relations. 

"We believe the opening of the embassies in Yerevan and Belgrade is of great importance and will enable the two countries enhance the bilateral relations," Serzh Sargsyan said. In this light, he came out for maintenance and promotes of the political dialogue, inter-parliament contacts, cultural ties and mutually advantageous cooperation at international organizations.  He said negotiations for visa facilitation for the citizens of Armenia and Serbia are underway. The president said that together with his Serbian counterpart they discussed also the economic relations and further development of the contractual base. The president said that agreements were signed in the field of tourism, economy, science and techniques.   
"The urgent international issues, including the joint efforts of the international community aimed at putting an end to the terrorist barbarities in Iraq and Syria were also included in our negotiation agenda. We expressed out concern about the violence exercised by extremists against national and religious minorities in the Middle East, as well as about the annihilation of Christian monuments. We touched upon the Ukrainian crisis and the steps being taken to deal with it," the president said at the briefing.

President Tomislav Nikolic, in turn,  thanked President Serzh Sargsyan for his invitation and warm hospitality, as well as for the official and unofficial meetings and discussions held over the two days of his visit. At the outset the Serbian President noted that he totally agrees with the points of view set forth in the statement of the Armenian President and underscored that the Armenian-Serbian friendship has always existed and will continue to exist. President Nikolic mentioned numerous common traits of the Armenian and Serbian peoples and stressed that the two peoples are firmly tied together through the same fate, historical difficulties and misfortunes and the fight for preserving their civilizations. In the contemporary changing world, the Serbian President attached great importance to maintenance of traditions which, according to him, bind the friendly peoples.

The Serbian President placed great importance on trade and economic relations in strengthening the bilateral ties. Nevertheless, he emphasized that Armenians and Serbs have not promoted trade relations for friendship; they are friends, that is exactly why they have to intensify trade relations.  On behalf of his country, President Nikolic expressed support to the Madrid Principles developed in the course of the peaceful negotiation process aimed at the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and wished Armenia success in realizing and protecting its rights.  Talking about the future of his country, the Serbian President noted that Serbia seeks to become a member of the European Union simultaneously striving to acquire friends all over the world. Tomislav Nikolic underlined that Serbia will not forget its friends after joining the European Union, but it will not leave the European Union due to its friends putting neither side at risk. He noted that Serbia wants to provide better living conditions for its citizens. The current economic crisis in Serbia, according to President Nikolic, is the consequence of Serbia's certain mistakes made in the past when it forgot its old friends pursuing only its own interests. President Nikolic underscored our present interest is friendship.  Besides the mutual establishment of diplomatic missions in Armenia and Serbia, he talked about the opportunity of launching a Belgrade-Yerevan direct flight.

Tomislav Nikolic attached great value to encouragement of reciprocal business contacts and cooperation and urged the governments to work on introduction of a visa-free regime in order to facilitate travel and people to people contacts.

The Serbian President stressed the need for harmonizing the positions of Armenia and Serbia in international organizations. He thanked Armenia for not recognizing the independence of Kosovo and Metohija and for the involvement of Armenian servicemen in international peace-keeping operations in Kosovo. President Nikolic underlined that those soldiers have also protected Serbs and have done their best to maintain peace and stability.

As for the football match between Armenia-Serbia, President Nikolic noted that during the game it was easier for President Serzh Sargsyan to express his emotions than it was for himself, because he was a guest, but according to him, the Serbian experience and the Armenian heart yield the same result. Tomislav Nikolic underscored he was personally very happy for that result because otherwise one of the parties would have been defeated. He noted that the same way neither of the two friendly countries should be defeated in international relations.

Concluding his speech, the Serbian President stressed that despite their small number, what the Armenian and Serbian peoples have to exhibit at museums concerning their civilization, religion and history is more important and valuable. Tomislav Nikolic emphasized that the peoples of the two countries live in their own territory and not in a colonized one.