Tweet
Armenia reiterates 'principled stance' on right to self-determination
amid Ukraine backlash
http://armenianow.com/news/52910/armenia_ukraine_ambassador_recalling_kukhta_serzh_ sargsyan
NEWS | 22.03.14 | 11:44
Photo: www.president.am
Armenia's principled stance on the right to self-determination is
unaltered and during years has been expressed on numerous occasions,
said Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan while receiving Ivan
Kukhta, Ambassador of Ukraine to Armenia, by the latter's request, on
Friday.
Earlier that day Kukhta was recalled by Kiev over Armenia's stance on
the Crimean referendum expressed during a telephone conversation
between President Serzh Sargsyan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin.
According to the presidential press service, during their March 19
telephone conversation the two leaders "shared opinions regarding the
crisis in Ukraine and the ways out of it." "In that context the
Presidents touched upon the situation after the referendum in Crimea
and stated that the latter constitutes another case of exercise of
peoples' right to self-determination via free expression of will. At
the same time the Presidents highlighted the importance of commitment
to the norms and principles of the international law, first and
foremost the UN Charter," the press release said.
As reported by the Foreign Ministry's official website, while
receiving the Ukrainian ambassador, Deputy Foreign Minister Kocharyan
also stressed that "the centuries-old relations between the friendly
peoples of Armenia and Ukraine form the solid basis on which the
interaction between the two countries are being built."
Earlier on Friday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, through
an official, warned Yerevan of "serious damage" to bilateral ties and
demanded an official explanation regarding its stance on Crimea's
secession from Ukraine and joining Russia. At the same time, Ukraine's
Deputy Foreign Minister Danilo Lubkivsky said that Armenia's
ambassador in Kiev had twice been summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign
Minister and handed an official note.
Meanwhile, President Sargsyan sought to reach out to the Ukrainian
people as he spoke during a ceremony of handing out annual
presidential awards to artists, writers and scientists.
Olena Fetisova, a Ukrainian screenwriter, producer and co-director of
a new feature film about Soviet-Armenian filmmaker Sergey Parajanov,
was among those who was supposed to pick up the presidential award.
The Ukrainian, however, decided not to arrive in Yerevan and not to
accept the award in protest against the Armenian president's de-facto
acceptance of the outcome of the internationally condemned referendum
in Crimea.
"Ukrainians are or brothers," President Sargsyan said in his remarks.
"For centuries, we fought shoulder to shoulder against aggressors. We
have thousands of glorious pages of common history. This has been the
case and this will be the case."
"It happens so that in the heat of time and events, different
phenomena are perceived in different ways," Sargsyan continued. "But
the great thing about time is that over time things clear up,
misunderstandings and disagreements disappear and everything returns
to normal. I want to repeat that the Ukrainians are our brothers."
From: A. Papazian
amid Ukraine backlash
http://armenianow.com/news/52910/armenia_ukraine_ambassador_recalling_kukhta_serzh_ sargsyan
NEWS | 22.03.14 | 11:44
Photo: www.president.am
Armenia's principled stance on the right to self-determination is
unaltered and during years has been expressed on numerous occasions,
said Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan while receiving Ivan
Kukhta, Ambassador of Ukraine to Armenia, by the latter's request, on
Friday.
Earlier that day Kukhta was recalled by Kiev over Armenia's stance on
the Crimean referendum expressed during a telephone conversation
between President Serzh Sargsyan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin.
According to the presidential press service, during their March 19
telephone conversation the two leaders "shared opinions regarding the
crisis in Ukraine and the ways out of it." "In that context the
Presidents touched upon the situation after the referendum in Crimea
and stated that the latter constitutes another case of exercise of
peoples' right to self-determination via free expression of will. At
the same time the Presidents highlighted the importance of commitment
to the norms and principles of the international law, first and
foremost the UN Charter," the press release said.
As reported by the Foreign Ministry's official website, while
receiving the Ukrainian ambassador, Deputy Foreign Minister Kocharyan
also stressed that "the centuries-old relations between the friendly
peoples of Armenia and Ukraine form the solid basis on which the
interaction between the two countries are being built."
Earlier on Friday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, through
an official, warned Yerevan of "serious damage" to bilateral ties and
demanded an official explanation regarding its stance on Crimea's
secession from Ukraine and joining Russia. At the same time, Ukraine's
Deputy Foreign Minister Danilo Lubkivsky said that Armenia's
ambassador in Kiev had twice been summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign
Minister and handed an official note.
Meanwhile, President Sargsyan sought to reach out to the Ukrainian
people as he spoke during a ceremony of handing out annual
presidential awards to artists, writers and scientists.
Olena Fetisova, a Ukrainian screenwriter, producer and co-director of
a new feature film about Soviet-Armenian filmmaker Sergey Parajanov,
was among those who was supposed to pick up the presidential award.
The Ukrainian, however, decided not to arrive in Yerevan and not to
accept the award in protest against the Armenian president's de-facto
acceptance of the outcome of the internationally condemned referendum
in Crimea.
"Ukrainians are or brothers," President Sargsyan said in his remarks.
"For centuries, we fought shoulder to shoulder against aggressors. We
have thousands of glorious pages of common history. This has been the
case and this will be the case."
"It happens so that in the heat of time and events, different
phenomena are perceived in different ways," Sargsyan continued. "But
the great thing about time is that over time things clear up,
misunderstandings and disagreements disappear and everything returns
to normal. I want to repeat that the Ukrainians are our brothers."
From: A. Papazian