ARMENIAN RULING PARTY PROMISES EUROPEAN-STANDARD ELECTION

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
May 7, 2007 Monday 09:34 PM EST

The ruling Republican Party of Armenia promised to hold a
European-standard parliamentary election on May 12.

"Our party is interested in holding the election according to European
standards. Democratic elections are the choice of the Armenian people,
and not only our international commitments," party council member
and lawmaker Armen Ashotyan told Tass on Monday.

He believes the new Armenian parliament will preserve the multi-vector
foreign policy and will not side either with the United States,
the European Union or Russia.

"It is no ßecret that parties with mutually-excluding guidelines –
from extreme pro-NATO to extreme pro-Russian – operate in the Armenian
political space. Therefore, it is clear that in parliament there
will be not only the parties, which advocate the present balanced
multi-vector policy, but also parties with clear foreign policy
priorities – be it Russia, the EU or the USA," he said.

"It cannot br allowed that Armenia faces the issue of the final
foreign pol²cy choice," AsÂotyan said.

The whole 8,000-strong Armenian police force will be engaged to
preserve order on the election day, according to national deputy
police chief Ovanes Varyan.

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