In Moscow the spokesperson of the secretary of the Security Council, Areg Kochinyan, participated in the roundtable discussion, headlined «Russia and Armenia in the new political realities»

02 / 02 / 2019

On February 6 of this year, in Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation, the spokesperson of the secretary of the Security Council, Areg Kochinyan, participated in the roundtable discussion, headlined «Russia and Armenia in the new political realities», which was organized by the «Dialogue» NGO and Russian Council of International Relations (РСМД). During the event spokesperson, Kochinyan gave a speech on a subject, named «Armenia and Russia. New Perspectives of Cooperation».
«Good day dear participants. First, on behalf of the SC Secretary of the Republic of Armenia and on my own let me personally welcome the idea of organizing this event, as well as all its organizers and participants.
We are deeply convinced that the events of this format are of paramount importance for the expansion, deepening and further development of the Armenian-Russian relations.
In my speech, I will touch on some aspects of the strategy of Armenia towards Russia in the new political context.
First, it should be noted that the Velvet Non-Violent Revolution in Armenia had an exclusively internal political context. Fundamental changes happened within the Republic have not changed the way we think about the security architecture, the geopolitical situation and our role in it, but also served as a stimulus for the development of these ideas and for intensifying efforts towards the further integration within the CSTO and EEU. The new Government of Armenia has repeatedly stated these facts at different levels. We clearly understand that we are in the same security zone with you.
I think that Armenian-Russian relations have a huge reserve for development, expansion and deepening. In this regard, it should be emphasized that our main task is to create all the conditions for the promotion of this process.
In this context I would like to quote Armen Grigoryan, the SC Secretary of the Republic of Armenia: ''Armenian-Russian relations have a great future and potential, since we are more interested than others in ensuring peace and stability in a region where Russia's geopolitical role is difficult to overestimate".
We consider that the basis of this potential are also in the sphere of public diplomacy. In this context, we have much to do to achieve a full understanding on the part of the Armenian and Russian societies.
In Armenia, a new Parliament was elected and a new Government was formed, naturally, it took some time, some pause for understanding the processes and organizing familiarization meetings.
However, together with you we have already recorded the tendencies for intensifying our cooperation. The cooperation between the Security Councils Staffs of the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation can serve as a vivid example. Cooperation plan was signed between the two institutions on the high-level at the end of the last year, which plays a key role in the mechanisms of bilateral security. Another example might be the purchase of the Russian Su-30-sm fighters by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia.
The level of the relationship and the number of meetings taking place on the highest level is also promising. It would be great if all the instances on both sides could maintain the pace set by Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Putin.
In this context, we are looking forward to the formation of new intergovernmental and inter-parliamentary cooperation committees and the beginning of their active work. We are confident that the active work of these structures will bring good results in a short period.
Currently the main task of the agenda of the bilateral relations should be the aspiration for the full and comprehensive implementation of the whole potential of the Armenian-Russian relations.
It should be noted that the system of the international relations is a continuous mechanism with constantly changing trends and challenges, and in this context the identification of the problems is a positive act indicating that the processes are continuing and developing.
It should be also mentioned that the gradually increasing confidence in Russia in the absence of ''colors'' in the Armenian Velvet Revolution is a very important circumstance.
As Prime Minister Pashinyan noted, “Our relations with Russia are of particular importance, and we hope that the effectiveness of these relations will significantly increase. Armenian-Russian relations should be at a higher level, more strategic, more cooperative and even more fraternal”.
As I have already noted, the system of the international relations is a continuous and moving mechanism and only with the daily and dynamic hard work we will be able to maintain, develop and deepen political relations, which in turn will lead to the strengthening of the centuries old, and fraternal relations established between our countries and societies. »