ARMENIA IS NOT READY FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP: DEPUTY SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT

Regnum, Russia
June 15 2006

"NATO membership means rebuilding relations with that organization –
something Armenia is not ready for today," the vice speaker of the
Armenian parliament Vahan Hovhannissyan said during a roundtable with
NATO representatives. The press service of the Armenian parliament
has told REGNUM that, when asked about the future development of
Armenia’s relations with NATO and the EU and, in this context, with
Russia, Hovhannissyan said that since the Soviet times Armenia has
regarded NATO as some military organization – some alliance formed for
protecting the European democratic values. "It later turned out that
many countries join NATO not so much for adopting these values as for
feeling more protected, for gaining some cover," Hovhannissyan said.

"Obviously, the new NATO and EU members from Eastern Europe were not
ready for that. Unlike its neighbors, Armenia believes that the key
goal of NATO membership is to attain conformity with the European
standards so that this membership be natural rather than artificial."

Hovhannissyan noted that Armenia is signatory to the Collective
Security Treaty – an anti-terrorist rather than military organization,
whose key goal is to ensure security. Nevertheless, membership in
NATO means rebuilding relations with that organization – something
Armenia is not ready to do yet.

Asked by British delegate Franck Cook what challenges Armenia is
faced with today, Hovhanissyan said that for many years already
Turkey has been keeping Armenia in blockade and laying pre-conditions
for establishing diplomatic relations with it, which makes mutual
improvement impossible. "Turkey demands that Armenia should stop
efforts towards the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide,
that Armenian forces should be withdrawn from Nagorno Karabakh – which,
in fact, means that the whole Armenian population should leave Nagorno
Karabakh – and, finally, that Armenia should recognize the territorial
integrity of Turkey – something Armenia does not deny officially as
there is Kars Treaty, a document nobody disputes," Hovhannissyan said.

"Meanwhile, Turkey keeps violating Kars Treaty, particularly, its
points 17 and 19 saying that railroads and other routes should be
protected and free transit of people and goods should be ensured.

When Armenia proclaimed independence, Turkey refused to establish
diplomatic relations with our country and violated one more point
of the treaty saying that the two countries should have consular
conventions," Hovhannissyan said. He noted that by constantly demanding
compliance with Kars Treaty from Armenia Turkey is involuntarily making
more visible its own doubts concerning the treaty. Hovhannissyan said
that Turkey’s membership in NATO is not a guarantee for its neighbors
that they will not become victims of its aggression as there is a
vivid proof they may – the fate of Cyprus.