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Press Review


Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s last-minute condition for Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is the central theme of Friday’s Armenian press commentary.

“Zhoghovurd” seizes upon Nazarbayev’s statement to claim that President Serzh Sarkisian’s foreign policy has “failed in all directions.” The paper says that Sarkisian’s resignation may be the only way to shore up Armenia’s international standing. A formal recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh is another option. “But since there have long been no real political processes and independent political actors in Armenia the situation is becoming almost critical,” adds the paper.

“What happened [in Astana] on May 29 can truly be considered a post-holiday shock for Armenia,” writes “Zhamanak.” The paper says the Astana summit of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan demonstrated that Armenia has become “a toy in the hands of not only the Russian Empire but also an artificial khanate like Azerbaijan.”

“The scandal which was talked about quietly until yesterday exploded powerfully in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana yesterday,” writes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “For the past six months Serzh Sarkisian and representatives of his regime have been saying that the customs and Eurasian unions are the foreign policy tools with which we need to solve our numerous economic problems. It turns out now that in case of joining the Eurasian Economic Union Serzh Sarkisian will need a visa to travel to his native Stepanakert. If we follow Nazarbayev’s logic, Sarkisian will have to ask for and receive that visa from the Azerbaijani authorities. It’s hard to call this anything but disgrace.”

“Has Armenia ever declared that it wants to join the Eurasian Union together with Karabakh, with borders not recognized by the UN?” “Aravot” asks in an editorial. “No, as far as we know.” Government representatives have only hinted that membership in that union will solve the Karabakh problem. “That is either disinformation or delusion,” says the paper. “The Artsakh problem can be solved only through negotiations with Azerbaijan. It is naïve to pin hopes on any union.” The paper believes that the issue of putting border checkpoints between Armenia and Karabakh would have also inevitably arisen if Yerevan had signed an Association Agreement with the European Union.

(Tigran Avetisian)
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