SERGE SARGSYAN: WE WANT TO BECOME PART OF THE EUROPEAN FAMILY

ArmRadio.am
09.04.2007 17:24

The newly appointed Prime Minister of Armenia Serge Sargsyan gave an
interview to the popular "Financial Times" today, where he turned to
the economic development and democratization processes in the country
and the geopolitical views of Armenia.

The Financial Times writes that despite double-digit economic growth
in the past few years, a third of the 3m-strong population of the
landlocked Caucasian republic lives below the poverty line. In this
regard Serge Sargsyan noted: "It is hard to talk about democratic and
human rights when you need to solve the social and economic needs of
the population," the prime minister said during a trip to Brussels. "We
would not like to be a state stuck in our transition."

He said the huge Armenian diaspora – estimated at up to three times
the native population – should get more involved in the country. Only
1 per cent of investment came from them, he said, and he was looking
at ways they could be encouraged.

However, Mr. Sargysan said the government in Yerevan would keep pledges
made to international bodies after criticism of its rights record and
he was hopeful that the May 12 parliamentary elections would be the
first to be pronounced free and fair by the Organisation for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the European security watchdog.

"We have made commitments to different programmes and we think
compliance is in our interest. We want to become part of the European
family," he said.

Mr. Sargsyan said his top priority was to conclude a peace treaty
with its Muslim neighbor.

The oil-rich state has been rearming recently but Mr. Sargysan said
that was sabre-rattling. Turkey closed its border with Armenia during
the war and the Premier said he would strive to restore relations
and sign a peace deal.

Armenia could grow far faster if rapprochement was reached with its
bigger neighbors, he said.

Mr. Sargysan said that, despite ties to influential exiles in the
US, Yerevan would remain friendly to Moscow and would not support
a US base in the volatile Caucuses. "One can either exploit their
differences between superpowers or work with them. We prefer to work
with them. There are many conflicts in our region."

Mr. Sargysan said Armenia would one day like to join the European
Union but had no desire to join the NATO defense alliance, although
it was working closely with it.