Sargsyan: Never before was our army so well-equipped and efficient

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan visited today Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he held a consultation with the top officials of the ministry, according to the presidential press service.

The foreign minister, the deputy foreign ministers, and the secretary general informed the president about the work done, as well as the tasks and programs.

Minister Edward Nalbandian presented the main directions of the Foreign Ministry’s activities since 2008.

Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian made a report about the measures taken to develop relations with Iran, Georgia and CIS countries and the measures taken as part of Armenia’s entry into the Customs Union. Deputy Minister Sergei Manasarian spoke about the steps aimed at deepening cooperation with countries of the Asian region, the Middle East and the Far East. Deputy Minister, chief negotiator with the European Union Zohrab Mnatsakanian presented the work on development of cooperation with the EU.

The Armenian president made remarks and proposals and gave instructions concerning a number of issues. Serzh Sargsyan also answered the questions of those present. The questions were related to the foreign policy, security, defense capacity, economy, regional problems, and the events in Ukraine.

When responding to the question about foreign policy and security, the Armenian president underlined the importance of the results of work done in that direction.

“Our task should consist in the following: a year later, have we managed to increase the guarantees of ensuring our security or not? Each of us has his duties. I have to ensure the territorial integrity and security of our country. I am responsible for it. Everything should be assessed by results. I think that in terms of the current international relations, our involvement and the quality of allies, the level of our security today is higher than 5 years ago. Never before was our army so well-equipped and efficient. Never before was the approach to the Karabakh problem so united – as far as I can remember. We have one quality – we do not try to deceive or mislead anyone. We say that this is in our interest and we are prepared to do it in the name of it, or vice versa,” Serzh Sargsyan said.

At the conclusion of the consultation, a number of ministry employees received letters of thanks of the Armenian president.