IT IS HARD TO SPEAK ABOUT DEMOCRACY IN ARMENIA WHEN 1/3 OF THE COUNTRY LIVES IN POVERTY
Arminfo
2007-04-09 23:11:00
It is hard to speak about democracy and human rights in Armenia
when it is necessary to satisfy social and economic needs of the
local population, Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan says in an
interview to Financial Times.
RL reports Sargsyan to say during his visit to Brussels that despite
two-digit economy growth in the last years 1/3 of Armenia’s population
lives in poverty. He assures that the Armenian Government, who is
criticized for the human rights situation in the country, will keep the
promises given to the international structures. He hopes that the OSCE
will recognize the May 12 parliamentary elections as free and fair.
Concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Sargsyan says that he
gives top priority to peace agreement with Azerbaijan. That country
keeps arming itself but this is just rattling the sabre. Turkey has
closed its border with Armenia and Armenia will seek to restore its
relations and to conclude a peace agreement. Armenia will develop much
more quickly if it attains good relations with its neighbors. Armenia
will continue developing friendly relations with Russia and will not
support the idea of US military base deployment in the South Caucasus.
Sargsyan says that Armenia would like to integrate into the EU in the
future but it does not seek to join NATO despite tight cooperation
with the alliance.