EU using Armenia to sideline Turkey – Armenian opposition leader

Arminfo
10 Jun 05

YEREVAN

The European Union will pay much more attention to Armenia within the
framework of the Wider Europe / New Neighbours programme, but the
president is not ready for making even cosmetic changes, the chairman
of the Democratic Party of Armenia [DPA], Aram G. Sarkisyan, told
journalists today.

The world powers have not developed a common approach towards the
Karabakh problem, however, the Council of Europe [CE] may be expected
to issue strict instructions in six months, he noted.

“Currently, the European community is interested in using Armenia as a
spiral preventing Turkey from entering the EU,” the DPA leader
said. He added that this situation cannot last for ever and Armenia
should give the Europeans new reasons to win their sympathy. He said
this impulse could be democratizing the country, bringing the Armenian
Constitution into conformity with European standards and decreasing
the risks of corruption.

Sarkisyan returned from the Netherlands yesterday, where Armenian,
Azerbaijani and Turkish parliamentarians and diplomats discussed the
problems of trilateral relations with the participation of CE
experts. During the discussions a diplomat from a Turkish embassy
said: “We cannot establish diplomatic relations with Armenia since
part of Turkey is described as Western Armenia in the Armenian
Constitution.”

“Our state is so weak today that they are even trying to deprive us of
our historic memory,” Sarkisyan said.

[Passage omitted: Arminfo reminder that there is no mention of
Turkey’s territory being Western Armenia in the Armenian Constitution]