PRESS RELEASE
The National Citizens’ Initiative
75 Yerznkian Street
Yerevan 375033, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 1) 27.16.00, 27.00.03
Fax: (+374 – 1) 52.48.46
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
March 31, 2005
National Citizens’ Initiative Points to Old Realities or New Imperatives
Yerevan–The National Citizens’ Initiative (NCI) today convened a roundtable
on “Armenia’s Foreign Policy: Old Realities or New Imperatives?” The meeting
brought together public figures, policy makers, media representatives,
academic circles and NGO members to address historical facts and modern
developments in an open and genuine manner.
Karapet Kalenchian, the administrative director of the Armenian Center for
National and International Studies (ACNIS), welcomed the audience with
opening remarks and wished the participants fruitful work. “At the beginning
of our foreign political activity in 1991-1992 we managed to pursue an
economic, political, and security policy based on our national interest.
However later Armenia began to withdraw step by step with inadequate
responses to foreign threats, and subsequently we lost the dividends gained
during the Karabagh conflict,” Kalenchian said.
“Where has Armenia Reached with its Foreign Policy?,” was the topical focus
of the presentation of Ashot Manucharian, Political Secretary of the Union
of Socialist Forces. Mr. Manucharian detailed the weaknesses of the sphere
which are particularly reflected on the Karabagh peace process in the
international arena. In view of the process of Karabagh conflict resolution,
the speaker attached importance to Armenian foreign policy’s Caucasian
dimension which has been overlooked for the last decade. As a result
Mountainous Karabagh case is less potent. In Manucharian’s opinion the issue
should be resolved not only within the framework of OSCE Minsk Group but in
a comprehensive and multidimensional policy which we lack. Armenia has not
developed a systemized foreign policy in the following five important
directions: European, American, Russian, Indochinese, and Islamic.
ACNIS research coordinator Stepan Safarian discussed “The South Caucasus in
the Dynamics of European Integration.” “Armenia’s foreign policy of the
recent years has been doomed to failure since it has no relations with
regional and world realities. The lack of consideration of flexible and
movable balance of the United States-European Union-Russian Federation
triangle has diversely affected nearly all the possibilities of favorable
solution for Armenia’s security challenges–Armenian-Turkish relations, the
Karabagh issue, Armenia’s representation in regional programs. To solve the
key issues of Armenia’s foreign policy we must promote the process of
European integration. Our public has sufficient potential and capacity to
realize this,” he said.
Albert Baghdasarian, chairman of the National Progress Club, delivered a
paper on “The Karabagh Issue in the Context of Armenia’s Foreign Policy.”
Mr. Baghdasarian pointed to the major dimensions–political,
legal-historical, demographic, economic-integration and
religious-cultural–which are the inalienable parts of the Karabagh agenda
and should be developed in parallel. “We may succeed if we move not towards
contrast but synergy of solutions and ideas,” Baghdasarian maintained.
The remainder of the session was devoted to exchanges of views and policy
recommendations among the public figures and policy specialists in
attendance. Noteworthy were interventions by Albert Bazeyan of Hanrapetutiun
Party; former state minister Hrach Hakobian; ACNIS analyst Alvard
Barkhudarian; Edward Antinian of the Liberal Progressive Party; Edgar
Hakobian of Heritage party; Noyan Tapan news agency political analyst Davit
Petrosian; Tamar Gevorgian of the United Labor Party; Mihran Hakobian of
Yerevan State University’s student council; and many others.
The majority of the speakers opine that Armenia’s foreign policy has
considerably lagged behind over the last years, sometimes being unable to
express the interests of its own country, to raise and evaluate vitally
important public issues in light of new regional and world realities, and to
voice Armenian interest in the international arena.
The National Citizens’ Initiative is a public non-profit association founded
in 2001 by former minister of foreign affairs Raffi K. Hovannisian, his
colleagues, and fellow citizens with the purpose of realizing the rule of
law and overall improvements in the state of the state, society, and public
institutions. The National Citizens’ Initiative is guided by a Coordinating
Council, which includes individual citizens and representatives of various
public, scientific, and educational establishments. Five commissions on Law
and State Administration, Socioeconomic Issues, Foreign Policy, Spiritual
and Cultural Challenges, and the Youth constitute the vehicles for the
Initiative’s work and outreach.
For further information, please call (3741) 27-16-00 or 27-00-03; fax (3741)
52-48-46; e-mail [email protected]; or visit