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Press Review


“Haykakan Zhamanak” says that when asked about the main characteristics of Armenian politicians every journalist will list “the absolute lack of principles and a highly predictable political behavior.” The paper draws such a conclusion from the Armenian governing coalition’s response to constitutional amendments that were put forward by the opposition. It says President Robert Kocharian showed that he is no longer worried about opposition threats to force him to resign.

“The key question after the coalition’s statement yesterday is whether the opposition, having received no clear guarantees that its proposals will be accepted, will still take part in constitutional discussions,” writes “Aravot.”

“Ayb-Fe” says that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s report on the Karabakh conflict has led to renewed friction between the Republican Party of Armenia and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). But their coalition partner, the Orinats Yerkir Party, has been remarkably silent on the issue. “This party is not even trying to express an opinion on the Atkinson report, anxious to avoid getting in trouble. Whatever they say will not please everyone.” No wonder that none of the members of the Armenian delegation at the PACE represents Orinats Yerkir.

“With Western pressure on Armenia growing, Moscow is not in a hurry to help out its strategic partner and has adopted an indifferent wait-and-see approach,” writes “Iravunk.”

But “Hayots Ashkhar” assures readers that Russia’s position on Karabakh has not changed despite an apparent Russian-Azerbaijani rapprochement recorded after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visit to Baku earlier this week. “One needs to take a final step to drive Russia out of the South Caucasus: to sour Russian-Armenian relations,” it says. The easiest way of achieving that is to accuse the Russians of favoring a pro-Azerbaijani solution to the Karabakh conflict. The paper adds that the West is pushing for a quick settlement of the conflict in order to scuttle “Russia’s growing pressure toward the south.” Moscow therefore has no other option but to woo Azerbaijan and present itself as an impartial mediator.

“Yerkir,” however, notes that the lack of Russian support for Armenia is increasingly evident. “Frankly, it is hard to recall in which international organization Russia defended Armenia in recent years, especially on the Karabakh issue.” The paper concludes the commentary with an old saying, “You can’t hold two water melons in one hand.”

(Vache Sarkisian)
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