“Zhoghovurd” quotes a senior Nagorno-Karabakh official, Davit Babayan, as flatly denying rumors that the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are pressuring the Armenian side to make more concessions to Azerbaijan. “There is and, I think, there can be no such pressure because these states have repeatedly stated that they can’t impose any decision [on the conflicting parties] and can only assist in the acceptance of a compromise solution,” says Babayan. He rules out the possibility of “unilateral” Armenian concessions.
“Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” speculates that Azerbaijan will be ready to join the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) if Russia helps it reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh. “Kazakhstan and Belarus are delighted with this offer,” writes the paper. “Russia, for its part, does not seem to be unhappy with it. After all, it will not lose anything as a result.”
A senior member of the Orinats Yerkir party, Mher Shahgeldian, tells “Hayots Ashkhar” that it is in opposition to President Serzh Sarkisian but will not take “extreme” positions or actions to challenge the Armenian government. “After all, being in opposition is not an end in itself,” says Shahgeldian. “An opposition force should not only voice criticism but also present its programs and approaches,” he adds.
“Haykakan Zhamanak” sees political motives behind the shock resignation of Sepp Blatter, the president of FIFA, which followed the arrests of several senior executives of international football’s governing body. The paper claims that while the corruption allegations levelled against them may well be substantiated their ultimate purpose is to thwart the holding of the 2018 football World Cup in Russia. “In the last several months there have been frequent calls in Europe and America for a boycott of that tournament because of the events in Ukraine,” it says, predicting that chances of Russia hosting the World Cup have become slim after Blatter’s resignation.
(Hovannes Shoghikian)