Epress.am News from Armenia
“I would like to stress that Armenia is a sovereign nation, and Armenia has [the] right to decide what kind of security arrangements [are] good for this nation and nobody doubts that,” said Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Grigol Vashadze, while at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in Yerevan today. Though Vashadze spoke in Russian during his last visit to Yerevan, today, he was speaking in English.
Responding to a question by a local journalist he said, “And of course I’m not going to discuss questions of Armenian security, but Georgia has the sovereign right to make comments about presence of Russian military base in the South Caucuses not withstanding where that base is placed. We have 5 bases in Georgia and trust me, it is the persistent threat to our security, independence and sovereignty.”
Furthermore, Vashadze said, “And when we’re discussing [the] fate of the South Caucuses and fate of three independent states, it would be very nice to remember 1921 when we, three of us, lost independence during one year.”
The Georgian FM was “very flattered” that the Armenian press was following his interviews, adding that “sometimes they are not described quite accurately, I should say, but I am very flattered that you are following my interviews and making comments on that, but what I have not heard, for example, is Armenian press comments on [Russian] State Duma Deputy’s interview where he said that opening Armenian-Turkish border represents a threat to Russian Federation.
“If we have rules of the game, they shall be observed by everybody. But what I would like to stress is that I’ve been never making comments about Armenians’ security, stability, independence or sovereignty.”