Today we live in a society, which can not imagine life without expressing views on social media. Probably it does have certain advantages. Nevertheless, many participants of active discussions have already forgotten or do not even know about the developments, which unfolded in Armenia 5, 10 or 15 years ago.

To fill the gap Mediamax presents 5/10/15 project, which introduce developments in Armenia 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

•    15 YEARS AGO: MARCH 1-6, 2007

“The main issue remains”

On March 2 the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov stated that “the territorial integrity of Azerbaijani is not a topic for negotiations” and that it is “axiomatic.”

“We are talking about a step-by-step settlement of the conflict and about solving the problematic issues that is: the withdrawal of the Armenian forces from the occupied territories, the return of the Azerbaijani population, de-mining, reestablishment of the infrastructure, the start of economic cooperation. The issue of determining the political status of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan remains the topic of the talks. It is important that the Azerbaijani population returns, so that they can jointly determine the status of Nagorno-Karabakh – whether it is a republic, or an autonomous region within Azerbaijan,” Elmar Mammadyarov stated.

•    10 YEARS AGO: MARCH 1-6, 2012

“Armenia is our important partner”

On March 5 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with the NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and took part in the North Atlantic Alliance +Armenia session in Brussels.

Rasmussen thanked President Sargsyan for Armenia’s contribution to the Alliance’s ISAF operation in Afghanistan. “NATO and Armenia share many political priorities and security interests,” the NATO Secretary General said.

Serzh Sargsyan and Anders Fogh Rasmussen

 

“We have built up our cooperation and dialogue over many years and it contributes to regional security and Euro-Atlantic security. We want to take it forward in that way,” said the head of the Alliance.

“South Caucasus region is important for our Alliance, and Armenia is an important partner for NATO. At Chicago, we will review the progress of transition in Afghanistan and take decisions on our commitment beyond 2014, once the Afghan forces have full security responsibility throughout the country. As an ISAF contributor, Armenia will participate closely in the decision-shaping process,” said Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Meeting of the Armenian delegation with NATO Secretary General

 

Serzh Sargsyan, for his part, said that Armenia actively interacts with NATO in all the spheres.

“The process of reforms in the defense, security and emergency situations spheres which make an inseparable part of the internal reforms revving up in Armenia is going on effectively. The implementation of the Individual Partnership Action Plan with the NATO keeps being the cornerstone of our partnership. Last November, we approved our actions during the third phase of this program and demonstrated that we are committed to achieving its goals,” the President of Armenia said.

•    5 YEARS AGO: MARCH 1-6, 2017

“Azerbaijan is losing negotiations”

On March 2 Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian remarked that Azerbaijan is losing negotiations.

While speaking to the press in Stepanakert, Minister Nalbandian said this was the reason for Azerbaijan’s military assaults.

“That means Azerbaijan is losing the negotiations, and the Azerbaijani leadership have cornered themselves. Statements of the Co-Chairs with the international mandate and those of Azerbaijan contradict one another. Azerbaijan has driven itself into a corner in the negotiations and tries to apply force, thinking they could succeed in that manner. But our soldiers prove that to be a fruitless illusion,” Nalbandian said.

“No consensus on key issues”

Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov said on March 6 that it’s necessary to reduce tension on the borders in order to start substantive negotiations on the NK issue.

“We believe that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be settled. It’s evident in results of multiple meetings, which led to mutual understanding in the issues important for the settlement,” Lavrov said after the negotiations with Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarov.

Sergey Lavrov in 2017

Photo: REUTERS

He said he is speaking about issues such as “security, humanity, return of certain NK areas and determination of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

“We agree on most of those points. However, there are two or three topics, key parts of the final package, which are still being discussed. To be honest, we are far from the time when the conflict parties form a common approach to these aspects,” Lavrov said.

Ready to use “all capabilities”

On March 2 President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said, “If Azerbaijan proceeds with the same attitude and escalates the situation to a war, we won’t hesitate for a second before using all capabilities of our military to ensure security of the Artsakh people.”

Serzh Sargsyan and Edward Nalbandyan

 

“Yerevan and Stepanakert don’t want a war, while Baku has been giving speeches about war on the highest levels for a long time, increasing tension on the Line of Contact, and glorifying soldiers whose so-called “heroic deeds” are in fact war crimes. Today the main deterrent of large-scale war in the region is the Armenian soldier, who stands firm and understands clearly what he’s fighting for and what issues he’s solving,” Serzh Sargsyan said at the meeting with representatives from the MFA Central Apparatus and Armenian Ambassadors serving abroad.

“Every failure may become fatal”

On March 6 President of Armenia and Chairman of Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Serzh Sargsyan said that “we should organize these elections in a way that no one has doubts about their freedom, transparency or fairness.”

Speaking at the ceremony marking the launch of the RPA pre-election campaign, the President said:

“The last more than 25 years have been full of hard work and responsibility for me. I have lost a lot of friends along the way, who devoted their lives for the security of the Republic of Armenia. I can assure that there is nothing more important and vital than the security of the country; everything else is restorable. You can always complete the unfinished work, fill the gaps, correct mistakes, but there is no trifle in terms of security, since every failure may become fatal. We are going to provide the reliable safety in Armenia and Artsakh,” Sargsyan said.

Ara Tadevosyan