Jones statement result of Turkish and Azeri lobbying

19.01.2005 17:42

YEREVAN (YERKIR) – Speaking to Yerkir, Vahan Hovhannisian, Armenian
National Assembly vice speaker and a member of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Bureau said that outgoing US Assistant
Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones’ statement over the Karabakh
conflict was the result of the Turkish and Azeri lobbies.

Jones was quoted as saying that US President George W. Bush is
concerned that Russian president Vladimir Putin does not exert strong
enough pressure for resolution of post-Soviet conflicts in
Transdniester, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Nagorno Karabagh, and that
“It is in the interest of Russia that these four regions be stable,
clean of corruption and their corrupt separatist authorities removed.”

Hovhannisian told Yerkir that Jones’ statement is both obnoxious and
baseless. “For the beginning, Jones is an outgoing official, and had
never made such a statement before though she was in the office for
quite a long period.

This means that her bosses, including the top officials of the US
Administration, had not authorized her to make such statements.”
Hovhannsian said that this was not the official position of the United
States. Due to some reasons, people, who are about to resign, make
such statements, he added.

“Don’t forget Terry Davis’ report, which was made after he was no
longer a member of the parliament and the Council of Europe’s
Parliamentary Assembly rapporteur on Karabakh; the same goes for the
next rapporteur, David Atkinson,” Hovhannisian said.

“This is becoming a tradition, and we should not take this lady’s
statement seriously as it indicates she never understood the essence
of the Karabakh issue.”
From: Baghdasarian