Armenian President Armen Sarkissian met with a small group of foreign journalists, including CNN Greece, at the Presidential Palace in Yerevan for a briefing on developments in Artsakh, or more commonly known as Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to Sarkissian, Turkey’s presence in the Caucasus region is a threat to energy security, as it will gain control not only Azerbaijan’s domestic policy but also the pipelines that reach the oil and gas in the Caspian Sea.
“Turkey wants to control the flow of energy to Europe,” Sarkissian said.
“Armenia during all these years of crisis has never hit the pipelines because it respects international law and trade rules. That is why Nagorno-Karabakh is currently fighting for Europe’s energy security,” the president said.
He also said that “if this time the ceasefire manages to create a climate of trust, it is perhaps time to think about the arrival of international peacekeepers and to start negotiations between the Armenian and Azerbaijani side but without Turkey on the table because it can not be mediator,” Sarkissian stressed.
CNN Greece asked the president of Armenia what he thinks about the way Europe has faced the crisis in Artsakh and what he thinks about the attitude of Greece in this crisis.
“In the current crisis, there is a direct Turkish involvement, which is a member of NATO and is involved in a conflict that has nothing to do with NATO. It uses its weapons and NATO-trained personnel to an adversary who has no differences with NATO. That is a question for Europe and also for NATO itself. So we ask them: Have you given the green light for Turkey to do what it does in the region? If so please tell us. If not, because whatever happens is allowed to happen,” he stressed.
Regarding Greece, the Armenian President stated that “we appreciate the attitude of the government, the Parliament and the Greek people to what is happening today and we call on them to raise their voices louder.”
“I know that Greece has similar problems with Turkey, which is harassing everyone. Greece, Cyprus, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Syria. Someone has to stop it and at this level we are allies. Not because we have traditional ties but because the key to stopping the war and starting negotiations is to stop Turkey’s involvement. Otherwise we will have uncontrollable situations,” he concluded to CNN Greece.
