In an interview with “Hayk,” the foreign policy spokesman for the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK), Vladimir Karapetian, criticizes official Yerevan for agreeing to trilateral talks on Nagorno-Karabakh with Turkey and Azerbaijan. “As a result of that, one of the mediators welcomed Turkey’s role [in the Karabakh peace process] and even noted that Turkey can influence Armenia into adopting a more constructive stance,” says Karapetian. “All this is the consequence of our careless and miscalculated steps vis-à-vis Turkey.”
Also criticizing the Armenian government’s Karabakh policy is former parliament speaker Tigran Torosian. Writing in “Azg,” Torosian claims that in his speech at the UN General Assembly President Serzh Sarkisian said that application of the principle of self-determination has resulted in ethnic cleansings and even genocides. “It’s not the right to self-determination that leads to ethnic cleansing and genocide, but failure to recognize and apply that right,” counters Torosian.
Political analyst Richard Giragosian tells “168 Zham” that he is optimistic about the future of Turkish-Armenian relations. “The situation has changed a lot,” he says. “When we take into account the fact that the secret meetings held [by Armenian and Turkish diplomats] in Switzerland months before the invitation [extended by Serzh Sarkisian to Abdullah Gul,] it becomes obvious that the process is deeper than we think. Russia has supported this initiative more than the U.S. has, which is interesting. And maybe that’s why I’m optimistic. A week after Gul’s visit [to Yerevan] I was in Istanbul and saw that the Turks are in a more businesslike and sincere mood than they were before. The main reason for that is that Turkey has reached a point where it no longer wants to link its relations with Armenia to the Karabakh conflict.”
Lragir.am claims that Armenia may pay dearly for its current government’s “pro-active” foreign policy. “If somebody thinks that [Armenian-controlled Azerbaijani] territories are not Karabakh, they are probably wrong,” says the electronic paper. “Karabakh is those territories because without them Stepanakert’s fall would be a matter of time.” The current rulers of Armenia and Karabakh are not far-sighted enough to understand this, it says.
“Novoye Vremya” sees a “decline of the revolutionary enthusiasm” of Armenia’s top opposition leaders. The Russian-language paper says they are worried not only about poor attendance at their rallies but also their new agenda. “Nonetheless, the rally scheduled for this week is being advertised with the usual zeal,” it says. “They are promising another ‘unmasking’ speech by Ter-Petrosian and a new plan of actions.”
(Aghasi Yenokian)
Also criticizing the Armenian government’s Karabakh policy is former parliament speaker Tigran Torosian. Writing in “Azg,” Torosian claims that in his speech at the UN General Assembly President Serzh Sarkisian said that application of the principle of self-determination has resulted in ethnic cleansings and even genocides. “It’s not the right to self-determination that leads to ethnic cleansing and genocide, but failure to recognize and apply that right,” counters Torosian.
Political analyst Richard Giragosian tells “168 Zham” that he is optimistic about the future of Turkish-Armenian relations. “The situation has changed a lot,” he says. “When we take into account the fact that the secret meetings held [by Armenian and Turkish diplomats] in Switzerland months before the invitation [extended by Serzh Sarkisian to Abdullah Gul,] it becomes obvious that the process is deeper than we think. Russia has supported this initiative more than the U.S. has, which is interesting. And maybe that’s why I’m optimistic. A week after Gul’s visit [to Yerevan] I was in Istanbul and saw that the Turks are in a more businesslike and sincere mood than they were before. The main reason for that is that Turkey has reached a point where it no longer wants to link its relations with Armenia to the Karabakh conflict.”
Lragir.am claims that Armenia may pay dearly for its current government’s “pro-active” foreign policy. “If somebody thinks that [Armenian-controlled Azerbaijani] territories are not Karabakh, they are probably wrong,” says the electronic paper. “Karabakh is those territories because without them Stepanakert’s fall would be a matter of time.” The current rulers of Armenia and Karabakh are not far-sighted enough to understand this, it says.
“Novoye Vremya” sees a “decline of the revolutionary enthusiasm” of Armenia’s top opposition leaders. The Russian-language paper says they are worried not only about poor attendance at their rallies but also their new agenda. “Nonetheless, the rally scheduled for this week is being advertised with the usual zeal,” it says. “They are promising another ‘unmasking’ speech by Ter-Petrosian and a new plan of actions.”
(Aghasi Yenokian)