Speaking at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan hailed the continuous efforts of US President Barack Obama ever since the Washington Summit of 2010.

“Nuclear security has been and remains a priority issue for Armenia. We have been consistently implementing programs and taking concrete steps towards creating a viable control mechanism to reach expected results,” President Sargsyan noted.

He said that Armenia has adopted a new law on dual-use items, including the control of export and transit of nuclear and radioactive materials.

“Armenia, a producer of nuclear energy, is developing comprehensive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The secure exploitation of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP), the raise of its security level is among the priorities of our government. We are strongly committed to IAEA requirements for nuclear plants of that generation,” the President said, adding that “the full compliance of the exploitation of the ANPP to those norms has been confirmed by the OSART Mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency.”

Serzh Sargsyan touched upon the misinformation about the ANPP presented by the Azerbaijani President at the Seoul Summit. “The obvious misinformation of the Azerbaijani President regarding the functioning of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant does not surprise me, because slandering Armenia has long become a common practice for Azerbaijan. They have been presenting distorted information about Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh from most different podiums. They even distort UN Resolutions on Nagorno Karabakh, forgetting that they were the ones to launch military actions. They are making bellicose statements today and refusing to solve the Nagorno Karabakh issue on the basis of international law,” President Sargsyan stated.

Serzh Sargsyan said that it would be correct to consider the nuclear security issues along with other adjunct problems. He attached importance to the fight against the efforts of using the energy resources as a political capital, noting that the results of it are heavy especially for the countries, which are deprived of natural energy resources and have to search for alternative ways of energy independence.

“Two out of the four immediate neighbors of Armenia have been keeping our country in blockade for two decades, violating the norms of international law, thus leaving no alternative as regards the choice of the ways of energy independence,” Serzh Sargsyan stated.

At the end of the speech the President reiterated Armenia’s commitment to fighting the illegal trafficking of nuclear materials, as well as our country’s resoluteness to contribute to the international efforts of fighting terrorism.