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: JUNE 18-24, 2003

Armenian troops ready to train with NATO in Azerbaijan

Armenia is ready to take part in Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercise in Azerbaijan within NATO PfP program, Assistant to Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia, Colonel Murad Isakhanyan said on June 20, 2003.

Isakhanyan pointed out Armenia would send its troops to the exercise in Azerbaijan in case the NATO Command invites them to attend.

•    10 YEARS AGO: JUNE 18-24, 2008

Daniel Fried urges Azerbaijan to “avoid the temptation”

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said on June 18 that the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents took an “important step forward” by agreeing to continue talks on Karabakh conflict settlement on the “Basic Principles” developed under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group.

While speaking at “The Caucasus: Frozen Conflicts and Closed Borders” hearings at the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Fried said.

Daniel Fried

Photo: REUTERS

“As Azerbaijan’s income from its rich oil and gas resources rises dramatically, we continue to urge its leadership to use these revenues wisely for both current and future generations.  We hope that the Azerbaijani government will avoid the temptation of thinking that renewed fighting is a viable option.  In our view, it is not.  We have noted our concern with persistent bellicose rhetoric by some Azerbaijani officials.”

The start of “football diplomacy”

On June 23, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with the Armenian community of Moscow and said he was considering the possibility of inviting his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to Yerevan.

“I intend to take new steps to stimulate Armenian-Turkish relations in the nearest future. Most likely, I will invite the Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan and suggest watching together the match between the Armenian and Turkish football teams,” said Serzh Sargsyan.

•    5 YEARS AGO: JUNE 18-24, 2013

The joint statement by Putin, Obama and Hollande

On June 18 Presidents of Russia, U.S. and France made a joint statement on Nagorno-Karabak conflict, noting that “renewal of military actions will have catastrophic consequences for the people of the region and entail casualties, further demolition, growth of number of refugees and huge financial expenses”.

“We will keep supporting the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in reaching a stable and peaceful settlement. Unfortunately, the parties kept striving to snatch one-sided benefits instead of trying to find a solution based on the mutual interests during the negotiation process.

As before, we are firmly convinced that the provisions contained in the statements of our countries over the past 4 years should be the basis for the fair and stable settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. These provisions have be considered as a whole, as any attempt to give preference to one of them against others rules out the possibility of making a balanced decision.

Leaders of Russia, Great Britain, U.S. and France at G8 Summit in 2013

Photo: REUTERS

Renewal of military actions will have catastrophic consequences for the people of the region and entail casualties, further demolition, growth of number of refugees and huge financial expenses. We urge the leaders of all the sides to reiterate their commitment to Helsinki Principles, particularly the principle of non-use of force or threat of using force, territorial integrity, equal rights and peoples’ right for self-determination. We also address to them an urgent request to refrain from any actions or statements which may aggravate the tension in the region and entail escalation of the conflict. The leaders should prepare their peoples for peace, not war,” read the joint statement issued by Vladimir Putin, Barak Obama and Francois Hollande at G8 Summit.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian commented that the statement “might boost progress in the negotiation process if the Azerbaijani leadership understands correctly the accents made by the co-chairing countries’ presidents”.

Ara Tadevosyan