President holds consultation in culture ministry

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan visited today the Ministry of Culture. He familiarized himself with the working conditions of the ministry’s departments and the work done and spoke to employees, after which he held a consultation with ministry officials, the presidential press service reported.

Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosian presented the main directions of the ministry’s work: preservation of the cultural heritage, development of contemporary art, and formation of the esthetic culture of the younger generation. Reports were made by the chief of the ministry staff and the deputy ministers.

President Sargsyan and consultation participants discussed the issues voiced. Then the president answered the questions of those present.

Asked to assess the November 19 meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Vienna and to say if there was any progress in the talks on the Karabakh conflict settlement, Serzh Sargsyan said: “I find it difficult to speak about progress, but following the summit, in response to a question about my assessment of the meeting, I briefly said that I assess it as normal. I indeed assess that meeting as normal – in the sense that the meeting means that in all likelihood there will be a new stage in the talks and a new start. We have not met in the past two years, which means that the negotiations at the high level were in fact suspended”.

“I saw Azerbaijani president’s desire to solve the problem, but it is not enough. We also have such a desire. Personally I want the problem to be settled as soon as possible. But the question is: On what conditions does the Azerbaijani president want the conflict to be resolved and what are my conditions? I repeat: I assess the meeting positively. We already instructed the foreign ministers to start a new round of talks in early December on the basis of our latest instructions. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs will visit the region in December and perhaps the agreement about the new meeting, which was reached with Azerbaijani president, will be carried out soon - also based on the results of those meetings,’ the president noted.

Addressing those present, S. Sargsyan said that the Armenian people have for centuries created a rich cultural heritage. He stressed that the goal of everyone, first of all the ministry employees, to preserve and promote that cultural heritage.

At the conclusion of the consultation, Serzh Sargsyan handed letters of thanks to employees of the ministry in recognition of their fruitful activities.