YEREVAN—The joint statement on the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict issued last month by Presidents Obama, Sarkozy, and Medvedev in Deauville, France is not beneficial for Armenia, said Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Parliamentary Bloc Chairman Vahan Hovannesian at a press briefing on June 6, reported Yerkir.
He said that it would be impossible to make a prediction on the outcome of talks scheduled later this month between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Kazan, Russia, adding that none of the documents that have emerged from the conflict resolution process represent the interests of Armenia.
Hovannesian recommended that Armenia withdraw from the negotiation process and insist on new talks with the participation of Karabagh. He also added that Armenia missed an opportunity to restart talks under a new format when Azerbaijan called for revamping the format.
Hovannesian stressed that Azerbaijan has never hidden its unwillingness to compromise and that it has, on numerous occasions, said that it will not agree to Karabagh’s independence.
In discussing Armenia’s domestic political climate, Hovannesian touched on the so-called “dialogue” between the Armenian National Congress and the president. The ARF leader explained that Armenian National Congress leader Levon Ter-Petrosian succeeded in pushing the international community to exert pressure on Armenia’s authorities to engage in the dialogue. He warned, however, that the exerted pressure is not meant to strengthen democracy in Armenia, but it is rather a way to influence the Karabagh peace process.
Hovannesian hinted that recent criticism of the ARF by Ter-Petrosian and President Serge Sarkisian signals the “dialogue” would be nothing but an agreement between the two leaders for a greater Ter-Petrosian presence in the new parliament.
Members of the Sarkisian’s Republican Party ruled out snap elections—a high-priority demand by Ter-Petrosian—when they unveiled their plan for the “dialogue.” Hovannesian explained that Ter-Petrosian’s willingness to move forward with dialogue despite the overt rejection of snap polls indicates the latter is changing course.
“The Armenian Revolutionary Federation has also been talking to the authorities, but specifically within the framework of the amendments to the electoral code. The few ARF proposals that have been adopted were the result of dialogue,” explained Hovannesian, who wanted to draw a distinction between dialogue that aims to reform the current situation and one that serves an individual’s self-interest.
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