“Kapital” claims that controversial amendments approved by the Armenian parliament on Thursday could eventually lead to the opening of Turkish-language schools in Armenia. “Just imagine us starting to nurture and develop the Turkish culture, language, ideas, and, most importantly, Turkish language mentality,” says the paper. “And at the elite level.”
“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” dismisses a conspiracy theory that big powers have agreed to provoke a new Armenian-Azerbaijan war, with Yerevan’s and Baku’s consent, to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict more easily. “That’s almost impossible,” says the paper. “Why? Because big powers can very easily provoke a new war without agreeing with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan beforehand.” The paper finds more credible speculation that the mediating powers are already discussing the composition of a peace-keeping force to be deployed in the conflict zone. It points to statements by the Iranian ambassador to Armenia, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s recent visit to Baku and Armenia’s ongoing “discussions” with NATO.
“Iravunk” quotes the spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, Eduard Sharmazanov, as saying that Russia should react strongly to and draw “very serious conclusions” from the June 18-19 armed incident in Karabakh. “I think that Russia’s slap will not be late in coming,” he says. “We just need to take into account the fact that there are visible and invisible slaps.”
“Hayots Ashkhar” says the modified peace proposals made by the international mediators can not contradict the key provisions of the original “basic principles” of Karabakh peace. “This means that a working document called ‘updated principles’ … carries some risks,” writes the paper. “It is natural that this working documents, just like other ones, may not be accepted as a basis for negotiations,” says the paper. “Furthermore, since the Madrid document was already accepted as a basis for negotiations in 2007 … by rejecting the updated principles, Armenia does not scuttle the Madrid process.”
“I would refrain from speaking of Madrid proposals or updated Madrid proposals,” Igor Popov, the Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, tells “Zhamanak.” “The main thing is that there exists a set of certain principles of the settlement. But there is no common understanding on its continuity and algorithm for the realization of those principles.” “An updated version of the settlement proposals does not exist as such,” adds Popov. “That is, we are constantly working. Some elements are acceptable, some are not. That’s what we are working on now.”
(Aghasi Yenokian)