(Saturday, November 1)
“Golos Armenii” attacks former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian over his critical statements on the situation in Armenia, saying that he never disagreed with government policies while in office. “Remember that when he was [former President] Ter-Petrosian’s deputy foreign minister, he dealt with Karabakh negotiations and never expressed discontent with the course which was pursued by the former leadership and which eventually became the stated reason for Ter-Petrosian’s and the HHSh’s resignation,” says the paper. “But under [President] Kocharian he was appointed as foreign minister and became an advocate of a policy on Karabakh radically different from Ter-Petrosian’s.”
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” says President Serzh Sarkisian comes under attack “from all directions” whatever he does. “The reason for that is the lack of Serzh Sarkisian’s legitimacy,” writes the opposition paper. “It doesn’t matter what negotiations he is holding on a Karabakh settlement, what measures he is taking within the framework of the fight against corruption, what ludicrous steps he is taking to use the Diaspora’s potential and so on. The problem is that Serzh Sarkisian has no such right.”
“Hraparak” speaks out against international mediators’ proposals on Karabakh, saying that their acceptance by Armenia would mean that “our sacrifices of the past 20 years have been in vain.” “Has our 20-year struggle been about the presence of a huge peace-keeping army, whether Russian or Western, in Karabakh, about Armenia and Karabakh being connected by a small corridor, and about discussing joint use of that corridor with Azerbaijan?” asks the paper.
“Aravot” speculates that the Karabakh conflict may be resolved very soon if Russia and President Dmitry Medvedev in particular take over the peace process from the Minsk Group. The paper says Medvedev is intent on unilaterally imposing a solution on the parties. “It is clear why Medvedev is able to do that: the Americans are busy with the presidential elections and the financial crisis and, regardless of the election results, will not be able to address the Karabakh issue for at least six months,” it says.
“Russia does not want Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach agreement,” “Haykakan Zhamanak” quotes U.S. analyst Paul Goble as saying. He says that Medvedev hosted talks with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts to assert Russia’s superiority over the two other Minsk Group co-chairs.
“Hayots Ashkhar” defends President Serzh Sarkisian’s overtures to Turkey, saying that Armenia had to do that in the wake of the Russian-Georgian war. But, says the pro-government paper, Armenian diplomacy and the “external propaganda” machine were “not sufficiently prepared for coping with Turkey’s friendship play.”
(Aghasi Yenokian)
“Golos Armenii” attacks former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian over his critical statements on the situation in Armenia, saying that he never disagreed with government policies while in office. “Remember that when he was [former President] Ter-Petrosian’s deputy foreign minister, he dealt with Karabakh negotiations and never expressed discontent with the course which was pursued by the former leadership and which eventually became the stated reason for Ter-Petrosian’s and the HHSh’s resignation,” says the paper. “But under [President] Kocharian he was appointed as foreign minister and became an advocate of a policy on Karabakh radically different from Ter-Petrosian’s.”
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” says President Serzh Sarkisian comes under attack “from all directions” whatever he does. “The reason for that is the lack of Serzh Sarkisian’s legitimacy,” writes the opposition paper. “It doesn’t matter what negotiations he is holding on a Karabakh settlement, what measures he is taking within the framework of the fight against corruption, what ludicrous steps he is taking to use the Diaspora’s potential and so on. The problem is that Serzh Sarkisian has no such right.”
“Hraparak” speaks out against international mediators’ proposals on Karabakh, saying that their acceptance by Armenia would mean that “our sacrifices of the past 20 years have been in vain.” “Has our 20-year struggle been about the presence of a huge peace-keeping army, whether Russian or Western, in Karabakh, about Armenia and Karabakh being connected by a small corridor, and about discussing joint use of that corridor with Azerbaijan?” asks the paper.
“Aravot” speculates that the Karabakh conflict may be resolved very soon if Russia and President Dmitry Medvedev in particular take over the peace process from the Minsk Group. The paper says Medvedev is intent on unilaterally imposing a solution on the parties. “It is clear why Medvedev is able to do that: the Americans are busy with the presidential elections and the financial crisis and, regardless of the election results, will not be able to address the Karabakh issue for at least six months,” it says.
“Russia does not want Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach agreement,” “Haykakan Zhamanak” quotes U.S. analyst Paul Goble as saying. He says that Medvedev hosted talks with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts to assert Russia’s superiority over the two other Minsk Group co-chairs.
“Hayots Ashkhar” defends President Serzh Sarkisian’s overtures to Turkey, saying that Armenia had to do that in the wake of the Russian-Georgian war. But, says the pro-government paper, Armenian diplomacy and the “external propaganda” machine were “not sufficiently prepared for coping with Turkey’s friendship play.”
(Aghasi Yenokian)