“Hayots Ashkhar” says that Armenian parliamentarians are well prepared for Tuesday’s debate in Strasbourg on a Karabakh report submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. “Apart from that, the Armenian delegation … is in combative spirits and united, at least on the Karabakh issue.” The paper says that even though PACE resolutions are not binding for member states they are taken into consideration by Western governments. It advises the Armenian lawmakers in Strasbourg to concentrate on “making a number of unacceptable provisions [of the report] uncertain, ambiguous and unclear.”
“Iravunk” expects “grim consequences” from the PACE resolution drafted by British MP David Atkinson. The paper puts the document against the backdrop of “anti-Armenian” remarks made by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones. It also points to the reiteration of Washington’s support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity contained in a statement that was issued by the U.S. embassy in Yerevan last week. “A fairly unfavorable background has been created for Armenia,” it claims.
“If the notion that history periodically repeats itself is right, then it is about time Armenia’s ruling elite were again replaced by the Stepanakert regime,” writes “Aravot.” “Speaking in favor of such a conclusion is the fact that there is a renewed rift in Yerevan’s and Stepanakert’s Karabakh [conflict] perceptions.” The paper says such a regime change would not be very painful for “the Karabakh clan that holds sway in Armenia.” “As a result we will get two tangible ‘benefits’. First, a different leader … a more or less acceptable and bearable to Armenian society. And then, an objective dragging out of the Karabakh peace process which is increasingly unfavorable for us.”
“Hayastani Hanrapetutyun” says the scandal caused by Elizabeth Jones’s statements may be over, but there is still a need to “analyze the behavior” of some Armenian opposition figures during that scandal. “During all this time there has not been a single oppositionist who would dare oppose the statement by the assistant state secretary and find such formulations unacceptable by demanding that she retract what she said.”
According to “Haykakan Zhamanak,” the U.S. State Department is “bewildered” by Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian’s claims that Jones phoned him and apologized for the Karabakh gaffe on Friday. “The thing is that in reality Elizabeth Jones did not apologize to Oskanian. She simply said she regrets that her statement caused such a reaction,” says the paper.
(Vache Sarkisian)
“Iravunk” expects “grim consequences” from the PACE resolution drafted by British MP David Atkinson. The paper puts the document against the backdrop of “anti-Armenian” remarks made by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones. It also points to the reiteration of Washington’s support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity contained in a statement that was issued by the U.S. embassy in Yerevan last week. “A fairly unfavorable background has been created for Armenia,” it claims.
“If the notion that history periodically repeats itself is right, then it is about time Armenia’s ruling elite were again replaced by the Stepanakert regime,” writes “Aravot.” “Speaking in favor of such a conclusion is the fact that there is a renewed rift in Yerevan’s and Stepanakert’s Karabakh [conflict] perceptions.” The paper says such a regime change would not be very painful for “the Karabakh clan that holds sway in Armenia.” “As a result we will get two tangible ‘benefits’. First, a different leader … a more or less acceptable and bearable to Armenian society. And then, an objective dragging out of the Karabakh peace process which is increasingly unfavorable for us.”
“Hayastani Hanrapetutyun” says the scandal caused by Elizabeth Jones’s statements may be over, but there is still a need to “analyze the behavior” of some Armenian opposition figures during that scandal. “During all this time there has not been a single oppositionist who would dare oppose the statement by the assistant state secretary and find such formulations unacceptable by demanding that she retract what she said.”
According to “Haykakan Zhamanak,” the U.S. State Department is “bewildered” by Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian’s claims that Jones phoned him and apologized for the Karabakh gaffe on Friday. “The thing is that in reality Elizabeth Jones did not apologize to Oskanian. She simply said she regrets that her statement caused such a reaction,” says the paper.
(Vache Sarkisian)