Armenian opposition leaders hail president’s address to Council of Europe

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
24 Jun 04

[Presenter] The reaction to [Armenian President] Robert Kocharyan’s
speech in Strasbourg and his news conference have become a subject of
discussion in Armenia. According to our correspondent, irrespective of
their political views, people are talking with admiration about the
president’s speech and his answers during the news conference.

[An unidentified woman in the street] I felt proud that Robert
Kocharyan is the president of our country. He gave clear, correct
answers to all the questions, especially, to the Azerbaijani
journalist’s question on Nagornyy Karabakh. I was simply astonished.

[Another unidentified woman in the street] As a citizen of Armenia, I
was very pleased with the president’s speech and it seems to me that
today there is no other statesman in our political field who could
deliver such a speech in Strasbourg. He is a well-established
politician in our political field.

[Chairman of the Union of Armenian Writers Levon Ananyan in his
office] I think that the republic’s president gave clear, distinct
answers to all the questions concerning our foreign policy,
Turkish-Armenian relations and the genocide. I hope that it will
increase our country’s rating in the international community.

[Presenter] The Armenian president’s speech from the rostrum in
Strasbourg has had a positive influence on the country’s political
field. Even Robert Kocharyan’s political opponents highly spoke of his
speech. For example, speaking about Armenia’s position on the
settlement of the Karabakh problem, Artashes Gegamyan [the leader of
the National Unity Party], said that he was satisfied with Mr
Kocharyan’s assessments and approaches.

The leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia, Aram Sarkisyan, said
that one of the main parts of Mr Kocharyan’s speech concerned the
legal aspect of the Karabakh problem. According to Sarkisyan, the
president expressed the opinion that Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity has nothing in common with the Nagornyy Karabakh Republic
[NKR].

Representatives of the [ruling] political coalition have also said
that after Robert Kocharyan’s speech in Strasbourg, the international
community will have a more accurate impression about Armenia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress