ARMENIAN PREMIER UNHAPPY WITH AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENT’S "BELLIGERENT" RHETORIC

Arminfo
15 Jun 07

Yerevan, 15 June: The 12 May parliamentary election in Armenia was
mostly free and fair, the special representative of the EU in the
South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, said during his meeting with [Armenian]
Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan today.

The Armenian government’s press service reported that Semneby
congratulated Sargsyan on the successful election. Semneby said
that in comparison with the previous elections in Armenia, progress
is apparent. He expressed the hope that this positive trend will
continue in the 2008 presidential election. "The European Union is
watching election processes in Armenia with a great interest. Their
results are quite important from the point of view that Armenia was
the first country in the region where elections were held after the
Armenia-EU partnership programme was adopted," Semneby said.

[Passage omitted: Semneby congratulated Sargsyan on the victory of
his party]

Thanking him for his assessment of the election results, Sargsyan
assured Semneby that positive trends will not only be maintained but
will develop further ahead of the forthcoming presidential election,
and that more efforts will be made for democratic processes on the
whole. He voiced his assurance on behalf of the president, too.

Sargsyan and Semneby discussed the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict
settlement as well. Semneby detailed Sargsyan about his discussion
with the Armenian foreign minister, saying that the EU continues
to show growing interest in the settlement of the conflict not only
because Armenia and Azerbaijan are important partners of the EU, but
also to establish an atmosphere of trust and cooperation. Sargsyan
said with regret that in contrast to the belligerent rhetoric of
the Azerbaijani president and the increase in Azerbaijan’s military
budget every year, Armenia maintains its position on the peaceful
settlement of the conflict. "If Azerbaijan is really interested in
a compromise and peaceful settlement of the conflict, why does not
it make relevant public statements, but acts in the opposite way,
thinking it can use force to sign a document quickly and in its
favour? This kind of approach leads nowhere," Sargsyan said. He added
that it would be hard to imagine how the Azerbaijani president is
going to explain the essence of his statements to his nation if a
compromise document is signed.

Semneby, who shared Sargsyan’s concerns, tried to explain it by the
methods that the Azerbaijani media use in their work, adding that
the Azerbaijani president has not been making such statements in
the recent period. He emphasized the importance of establishing an
atmosphere of trust again and presented the EU’s approaches to the
peaceful settlement of the conflict.

For his part, Sargsyan stated Armenia’s willingness to make a
compromise, saying that a compromise does not mean a one-sided
concession.