'There are no Christians to the east of us'

Jim Newton: So what brings you to Los Angeles?

Serzh Sargsyan: You are probably aware of the destiny of our people. We are spread all over the world. One-third of our people live in Armenia; two-thirds live abroad. And within the system of Armenian diaspora the role of Armenian-Americans is very important. And in California and Los Angeles most part of the Armenian-American community lives. [...] I have been to the United States many times, but I was in a different status: I used to be the defense minister of Armenia, and it was not mandatory for the defense minister to meet all the Armenian communities. But the prime minister is obliged to, so this is my obligation that I'm conducting.

Newton: How long are you here for?

Sargsyan: I leave tomorrow. But it's a sufficient time to meet my compatriots. You know Armenians are indeed one country with its diasporans, one country without. Without our diaspora we are just [a] three million-strong nation that is situated somewhere in Caucasus region. And about which most people in the world may even not be aware of. But with our diaspora, we're a totally different country.

Matt Welch: Do you feel some sense of responsibility for the diaspora in other countries?

Sargsyan: Of course. Of course, but we have some kind of national specifics. I don't know if it's good or bad, but it is that way. Wherever our compatriots live in the world, first of all they think of themselves of belonging to that very country, and then only to belong to the Armenian nation.

At some period when I was not really very informed about this, there was some curious situations happening. For example we have a compatriot, an Armenian-American who lives in New Jersey, [...] and we've been talking to him. And he was saying like, "Our president said this and that" and so on. And I was saying, "No, our president didn't say this, he couldn't say this!" And after having a long argument it turned out that he meant the United States president and not the Armenian president. And I meant the Armenian president!

Welch: Uh, can you characterize your discussions in Washington with Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Gates?

Sargsyan: Well we have discussed with Secretary Gates about Armenian-American relationship in the security area, in the area of military cooperation. In recent times our military cooperation has deepened a lot. And the United States assists us in reforming our armed forces. They assist us to increase our capabilities in peacekeeping. Of course we have serious problems in our region; we have unresolved issues, there is a probability of re-launching of military activities in our region, because there are some unresolved conflicts, but at the same time we are doing our best to increase our capabilities in peacekeeping.

Welch: Uh, just to interrupt, probability or "possibility"?

Sargsyan: Both. (Laughs.)

Welch: Fair enough. Go on.

Sargsyan: But in order to be able to take part in international peacekeeping activities our armed forces need to be compatible with the internatinal armed forces, need to be collaborative with them, and need not to be less prepared. We're taking part of [the] Kosovo mission with a small contingent, and another small contingent is participating in Iraq as well. And it's obvious that the defense secretary of the United States was curious to discuss this.

As regards meeting with the vice president, it's obvious that the range of issues was broader, because our cooperation with the United States is not limited to military or security issues. The United States has an invaluable role in developing democracy in our country. They have an important role in solving the social problems that exist in Armenia. Apart from the annual government assistance that is rendered from the United States to Armenia, we also have a very important area that's called the Millenium Challenge Account. And as you may know, the United States is never assisting any country with closed eyes. United States assists those countries that make their own effort to be better, that make everything possible to improve themselves. We have also spoken about regional issues with the vice president. I've told him about our problems, our issues in the region, and I asked him, I requested assistance from him. It's been my first meeting with the vice president, and if I may say so, I'm very glad for this meeting.

Welch: Did you discuss the Armenian genocide recognition resolution?

Sargsyan: No.

Welch: Can you characterize how important -- if at all -- such resolutions are from the standpoint of, uh, the foreign relations of Armenia?

Sargsyan: You know, it's extremely important. But first of all I wouldn't say that it's important from the point of view of the Armenian foreign policy -- it's extremely important from the Armenian perspective as a nation, as a people.