Interviews and press conferences
Press conference of the SC Secretary
26 / 07 / 2019
Today Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan held a press conference in the "Press Conference Hall" of the Security Council's office.
During the press conference, Secretary of the Security Council made a speech and then answered the questions of journalists.
Next, find the speech.
“Dear journalists, first of all I would like to thank you for accepting the invitation and participating in the press conference.
As you know by the decree of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan the interdepartmental commission coordinating the process of developing the National Security Strategy was established, the personal composition of the commission and the order of activities were approved. According to the decree, the Secretary of the Security Council was tasked to submit the National Security Strategy draft to the discussion of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia within one year and then to the approval of the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
The Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia will coordinate and control the work.
We are ready to take the leadership of that process with all responsibility and high level creating a relaxed atmosphere of the multifunctional discussions of professional, expert, civil, political and academic community and an open platform for the cooperation in the entire process of drafting the document. In our times, generally speaking, there is much talk about the importance of strategies, especially when it comes to national security. We have done a huge amount of preparatory work to begin this process attaching importance to the need to develop such document.
The question often arises: what is the National Security Strategy? Its simple and accessible answer is that it is a document in which the main challenges and threats to the national security and how the state is going to face these challenges and neutralize the threats are mentioned. The New National Security Strategy will become a fundamental document for the development and implementation of the national security policy.
First of all, I will speak about one of the most important questions. Why did we decide to develop a new strategy? There are many reasons. First, the ongoing strategy was adopted 12 years ago, after which fundamental changes took place in Armenia, in the region and in the world.
Since 2007, new trends of the development have been recorded in the Russia-West relations, the Russian-Georgian war broke out straining the relations between those countries, because of the strained relations between Iran and the United States new challenges for overcoming sanctions have been proposed for Iran. The issues related to the Middle East region have undergone considerable changes.
It is a serious problem for us to exclude the recurring events of April 2016 that have not yet been properly assessed.
The fundamental changes have been registered in Armenia, in 2018, I mean the velvet, non-violent revolution.
The economic integration policy of Armenia has undergone major changes. Armenia became a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and signed the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with EU.
Along with these developments there are realities that remain unchanged. In particular, the main challenge of Armenia continues to remain the processes around the Artsakh issue because of the rejection policy of Azerbaijan on resolving the issue through the compromises. The Armenian-Turkish border remains closed.
Taking into account the above mentioned and other facts out of the list, we will develop a new national security strategy, the implementation pillar of which will be the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. The multilateral and multilayered discussions are underway to improve and increase combat readiness. We see the need to expand the concept of security, which should also include the effectiveness of the management system and the development of the strategic infrastructures.
We are convinced that our power comes not only from the security structures and from economic capacities, but also from the ideas we have, our country leaders and the reputation of the country. In this regard, the revolution of 2018 brought a great qualitative progress to Armenia and there is a need to develop it and to make more efforts in this direction. Soft strength is our security component.
The new strategy of the National Security, in its nature, must also reflect the historical and cultural thinking that lies in the past of the given state and people. In this regard, we look back at our past to understand the roots of our strategic thinking and what can be useful.
Yes, we live in the conditions of the 21st century’s geopolitical new realities, but there is a great heritage of strategic thinking, military art, statehood consciousness and moral values in the Armenian thought, which were manifested in the crucial episodes of our history in the form of collective will and leadership.
The strategic vision of Artaxias I to build a powerful and vibrant statehood is memorable, that is the idea of a single state, as well as the implementation of military, economic and administrative and political reforms.
The legacy of our strategic mind is a life experience gained during the millenniums. This helped to have glorious victories in Sardarabad, Bash Abaran and Karakilisa. These victories are one of the brilliant manifestations of our strategic and military thought that lay in the basis of the formation of 20th century Armenian statehood.
The same can be said in case of the victory in the Artsakh war. The strategic thought, glorious battle path and libertarian breath that won in the Artsakh war provided a new level of self-assessment and thinking.
It is undeniable that the security issues of Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora are interconnected and that logic will be reflected in the New National Security Strategy. The Diaspora is viewed not only as a scattered segment of the Armenian people, but also a real and reliable partner. At the same time, the preservation of the Armenian identity abroad and the security of the Armenian people continue to remain one of the agenda issues of the policy of Armenia. Our efforts will be directed to the disclosure of the pan-Armenian potential, consolidation and effective realization for the sake of the stable and secure progress of the Armenian people.
Under the conditions of the continuity of the security environment and treats diversity, the development of the idea of resistance is crucial in the strategic thinking, which implies high capacity to be prepared for the military and non-military security challenges, to resist and, if necessary, to recover rapidly. It requires both civilian, institutional preparedness and military capability. The strengthening of the resistance provides an opportunity to control the dynamics of changing the security environment, to effectively prevent many challenges, and if necessary, to use rapid response measures.
Taking into account the above-mentioned facts, the New National Security Strategy should reflect the security environment of our country, predict the political developments in that environment and formulate the objectives of the Republic of Armenia and the main directions of their achievement. We need to formulate a document that will be flexible, will record and respond to the changes and developments in our country, in the region and in the world. The strategy is a roadmap for state building in a classical sense to reach the country's political goals and dreams.
The best strategies can neutralize the enemy’s strategy. For that it is necessary to study deeply the enemy's thinking and activities and we are doing a great job in that direction. In this context, we consider it important to break the blockade due to our thought, will and policy.
According to the Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu "If you do not have any interest, do not go ahead, if you cannot get it, then do not take the army into action, if there is no danger, do not war”. These are the tried-and-tested approaches of the centuries, which are still relevant today.
Recently, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan citing the Chinese military strategy has recorded in the Ministry of Defense "Talented generals win without war." This is our strategic vision.”