Armenian Foreign Minister at UN Security Council emphasizes the  importance of international efforts to counter terrorism

ArmInfo. This meeting is  an important opportunity to recommit to effective cooperation in  countering terrorism, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Minister of Foreign  Affairs of Armenia, stated this at the UN Security Council meeting on  "Cooperation of the United Nations with Regional and Sub-Regional  Organizations for the Maintenance of International Peace and  Security: The Contribution of CSTO, CIS and SCO in Countering  Terrorism Threats".

The full text of the Foreign Minister's speech particularly reads: "I  would like to thank the Russian Federation for convening today's  debate. This meeting is an important opportunity to recommit to  effective cooperation in countering terrorism, the scourge of which  has become more diffuse with an increase of terrorist acts, including  those motivated by intolerance or extremism?  No country in the world  is immune to terrorism. The international community should stand  united and work hand in hand to counter terrorism in all its  dimensions. Any attempts to justify inspirers or perpetrators of  terrorism or violent extremism, as well as those inciting hate crime  and violence, especially in conflict environment, should be  decisively and unequivocally condemned, at all levels.  Armenia  remains a staunch advocate of enhanced international collaboration to  combat terrorism, regardless of geography, underlying motives or  narratives. It is our deep conviction that terrorism should not be  associated with any particular civilization, religion, nationality or  ethnic group. We are gravely concerned by the instances whereby  entire communities are deliberately targeted for the mere fact of  belonging to a particular ethnic or religious community. The  meticulously planned acts of barbarism and vandalism against cultural  monuments as well as annihilation of several world heritage sites in  Iraq and Syria represent a case in point and a matter of serious  concern for the humanity. 

Armenia was among the first member states to resolutely condemn  persecution of civilian population perpetrated by ISIL, Al-Nusra  Front, Al-Qaida and their affiliates. The brutal crimes against the  Armenian population in the Syrian cities of Kessab and Deir-ez-Zor,  the deliberate destruction of cultural and religious monuments and  mass atrocities committed by ISIS and Al-Nusra terrorists have  demonstrated that terrorism is, essentially, a manifestation of  fundamental denial of human rights. Armenia has demonstrated  consistent commitment to help bring lasting change in the areas  affected by the crisis, as reflected through the deployment of our  national humanitarian mission in Syria, in response to the request of  the Syrian authorities and the Armenian community in Syria. 

Armenia remains firmly committed to the global fight against  terrorism and is actively engaged in international and regional  activities to this end. We highly value the existing cooperative  platforms aimed at amplifing our national efforts and improving  bilateral dialogue to prevent and counter terrorism. Armenia  continues its thorough implementation of the counter-terrorism  conventions and their additional protocols, as well as the relevant  resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council. 

The recent visit conducted by the Counter-Terrorism Committee  Executive Directorate (CTED) to Armenia highlighted our country's  progress in addressing terrorism-related challenges, including  through effective international cooperation. Following the  recommendations contained in the report of the CTED, the process of  establishing and applying Advance Passenger Information System has  been launched already  in Armenia.  The regional and sub-regional  organizations have a pivotal role to play in promoting and  facilitating cooperation, including through sharing best practices  and building stronger capacities to effectively address the threats  of terrorism.  We place significant priority to the ongoing  activities conducted in partnership with the Antiterrorism Center of  the CIS and the relevant structural units of the CSTO.

The competent authorities of Armenia continue to contribute to the  effective implementation of the CIS Programme of Cooperation for  2017-2019 on countering terrorism and other violent manifestations of  extremism.  Representatives of national security agencies, special  services and law enforcement bodies have consistently participated in  the joint counterterrorism exercises of the CIS under the general  coordination of the Anti-Terrorism Center of the CIS. As we speak,  the two final stages of the "Ararat-Antiterror 2019" exercise are  being carried out in Armenia, with the participation of the competent  state security agencies from seven countries of the CIS including  Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and  Uzbekistan). Armenia is actively engaged in the regularly conducted  joint operations of the CSTO Member States <Љ ­ «>, <ЌҐ«ҐЈ «> and  <Џа®ЄбЁ> as well as in the joint counter-terrorism exercises of the  CIS conducted under the coordination of the Anti-Terrorism Center of  the CIS.

Armenia attaches equally high importance to its work within other  regional and sub-regional organisations to which it is member, or  with which it has close co- operation. As a dialogue partner of the  Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), we are looking forward to  further expanding the agenda of our partnership and taking our  dialogue forward. Against the backdrop of the current international  agenda with proliferating threats, challenges and conflicts,  co-operation among states from sub-regional to regional to global  levels has been and remains relevant as ever in helping identify  common solutions and sustainable dialogue for the maintenance of  international peace and security.