I Believe That the Future of the Region Can Be Peaceful: Speech by Sarkis Khandanian at the OSCE PA Session

The pursuit of peace with neighbors is not a one-sided process, and Armenia’s constructive approach often does not find a similar stance from Azerbaijan. This was emphasized by the head of the National Assembly delegation, Sarkis Khandanian, at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

“Madam President, I believe that the future of the South Caucasus can be peaceful and stable if all countries in the region can find a formula for coexistence. This formula will help us secure and protect our independence, sovereignty, and democracy. The government of Armenia has received a strong mandate from its people to bring peace to my country and to make a peaceful era of coexistence possible for future generations. That is why Armenia is constructively engaged in peace talks with Azerbaijan. It goes without saying that the pursuit of peace with neighbors is not a one-sided process. Both sides of the process must be committed to it,” he noted.

“Unfortunately, Armenia’s constructive approach often does not meet with a similar position from Azerbaijan. I want to express my gratitude to the assembly for its stance in the Vancouver Declaration. As I said, we need to find a formula for coexistence with all our neighbors, and here I want to emphasize the importance of the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey. Armenia has taken several positive steps throughout this process, demonstrating its sincere commitment to establishing relations between the two countries without preconditions. We hope that Turkey will also invest greater efforts and show more commitment so that we can achieve positive results in the near future,” he added.

“There is no alternative to peace in our region, and confronting all challenges and difficulties, we will continue to maintain our political course for peace. Dear colleagues, I believe that we will be able to continue this dialogue on regional peace, security, and cooperation during the autumn session to be held in Armenia, and I am pleased to invite you all to my country. I hope that by then we will witness fewer military operations and violence in the OSCE region.”

It is noteworthy that the 30th Annual Session of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly was held in Vancouver, Canada, where the Armenian National Assembly delegation participated. Sarkis Khandanian delivered a speech in the plenary session on July 4, according to the official website of the National Assembly.