The need to leave Armenia’s children peace, not revenge, as a legacy and to allow no occasions for war is one of the most important guarantees of the country’s security. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Alen Simonian stated this during the third Global Armenian Summit, answering the question of why Armenia seeks normalization of relations with Turkey instead of focusing on its own strengthening.
According to Simonyan, Armenia needs a strong army that will make any attack on the country extremely painful for the adversary.
“I think we must have such an army that an attack on the Republic of Armenia will be so painful that the adversary will not even need to resort to it. But if we look deeper, I think we must act so that there will be no occasion at all to wage war against each other. And why should we wage war with the Turks. If they want to attack us, we will not manage to become stronger. That delusion with which they have fed us for 70 years, that we must cling to Russia’s tail, otherwise the Turk will devour us, has no connection with reality,” Simonyan said.
Simonyan also touched upon the significance of the TRIPP project, stressing that one of the important expressions of peace is trade and the formation of joint interests.
“One of the main expressions of peace is trade and having joint interests. TRIPP was one of the best expressions of peace. It also has its security significance. TRIPP is an Armenian-American economic project. Today, when there is effectively a war between the United States and Iran, the project will pass about 15 metres from the Iranian border. I want to consider its role and significance not only from our point of view, but also globally, in the context of the United States, Iran and the entire region. Underestimating the role and significance of TRIPP will lead to nothing good. This is an economic, diplomatic project, an instrument of peace. It is also a guarantee in economic terms,” Alen Simonyan concluded.
