ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
May 12, 2006 Friday

Armenian speaker calls for North Atlantic integration

by Tigran Liloyan.

The Orinats Yerkir (country of law) party headed by Artur
Bagdasaryan, who announced his resignation from the post of the
Armenian parliamentary speaker, comes out for deeper North Atlantic
integration.

“Armenia’s European integration is the prospect that has no
alternative,” Bagdasaryan declared, outlining a political position
of his party that declared on Thursday that it quit the ruling
coalition and was joining the opposition.

“Our political team has unanimously decided to quit the ruling
coalition, and we shall resign from all the posts, including the
ministerial posts,” Bagdasaryan said.

The Armenian speaker attaches importance to the development and
persistent deepening of Armenia’s North Atlantic integration,
simultaneously upholding the development of friendly relations with
Russia.”We should not seek to have the Russian values opposed to the
Western values,” Bagdasaryan said.

“Tomorrow, Armenia should be in the European Union and be Russia’s
friend. We should go ahead and deepen our relations with NATO,” the
speaker said.

Bagdasaryan has been Speaker of the Armenian parliament since June
12, 2003. The Chairman of the National Assembly announced his
decision to quit his post at a press conference in Yerevan on Friday.
“Staying on in this post is unacceptable,” the Speaker said.

Bagdasaryan heads the Centre-Right Coalition “Orinats Yerkir”
translated from the Armenian as the Country of Law. The resolution
made by this coalition actually means the disintegration of the
ruling pro-presidential coalition that exists in Armenia since 2003.

Nonetheless, observers believe that Bagdasaryan will not abandon the
political arena, but will seek to become leader of the opposition and
even run for presidency.