Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian President Serzh Sargsian stated that “only regional cooperation and dialogue may lead to realization of our common vision – consolidation of peace and stability in the region”.

Mediamax special correspondent reports from Munich that the Armenian President said this on February 7 during his speech at the session “Managing Instability - Transcaucasian Region and Eastern Balkans” panel at Munich Security Conference.

Armenian President stressed that peace, cooperation and stability in the South Caucasus will become possible only in case there is no opposition, but integration of the interests of all the states and organizations, which have obvious and definite roles in the region”. According to Serzh Sargsian, in the region “the internationally recognized political maps of states differ from reality, stability is extremely vulnerable, and resumption of peace requires huge joint efforts”. 

Armenian President noted three lessons, which the countries of the region and the external players should learn from August 2998 events in the South Caucasus. The first lesson, according to Serzh Sargsian, is the necessity to realize the fact that “any reckless word or unreasonable step are pregnant with unpredictable consequences, and the armament race, the abrupt increase of military budget and the militant statements strain the atmosphere”.

The second lesson is that one should think about the end of the “cold war” and the political logics and behavior characteristic to it, Armenian President stated. What concerns the third lesson, Serzh Sargsian stated that the lesson is the importance of developing alternative transit ways to the region. Moreover, the Armenian President stated, the global financial-economic crisis “will force to take up more efficient models for energy and transport development of the region”.

“There was time when high price for energy carriers allowed in certain cases making economically non-optimal decisions, forgetting about the fact that in any case the shortest way between two points is the straight line”, Serzh Sargsian stated, expressing opinion that in conditions of the crisis, “elaboration of irrational regional projects will become less likely”.

The times of “political railways” and “political pipelines” have passed. One should accept one simple truth – one cannot talk about stability in the South Caucasus, if the policy of isolating each other from regional processes continues in the region”, Armenian President stated.