CLEAN POLL ‘KEY TO CLOSER TIES WITH U.S.’
By Emil Danielyan

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 5 2006

The further development of U.S.-Armenian relations hinges on the
freedom and fairness of Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections,
a senior U.S. administration official was reported to tell Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian on Tuesday.

Daniel Fried, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for European and
Eurasian affairs, spoke with Oskanian in Brussels on the sidelines
of an annual ministerial conference of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said the meeting discussed "issues
relating to the development of democracy and the forthcoming elections
in Armenia." "The parties agreed that the proper conduct of the
parliamentary elections would contribute to the strengthening of
cooperation between Armenia and the USA and the implementation of
bilateral programs," read a ministry statement.

Julie Finley, the U.S. ambassador to the OSCE headquarters in Vienna,
also attended the meeting along with Fried’s deputy Matthew Bryza.

Finley visited Yerevan in October to discuss with senior Armenian
officials preparations for the elections slated for next spring. She
expressed concern about the Armenian authorities’ failure so far to
formally ask the OSCE to monitor the entire electoral process.

President Robert Kocharian assured European diplomats afterwards
that his administration will extend such an invitation in time for
the polls.

OSCE observers have strongly criticized just about every national
election held in Armenia over the past decade. Oskanian, who has had
to personally deal with the international fallout from those polls,
has warned that a repeat of serious vote irregularities would have
extremely negative consequences for Armenia.

U.S. officials have made it clear, in particular, that a clean vote is
a necessary condition for the release of $236.5 million in additional
economic assistance to Armenia promised by the Bush administration
under its Millennium Challenge Account program.