OSKANIAN: "LEVON TER-PETROSIAN WILL STAND IN FRONT OF NOTHING ON WAY OF BECOMING PRESIDENT"

Noyan Tapan
Feb 13, 2008

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 13, NOYAN TAPAN. "There has been no word with
regard to handing over Meghri as a territory to Azerbaijan in any
official or semi-official document concerning the regulation of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict," Vardan Oskanian, the RA Minister of Foreign
Affairs, who was the guest of the Shant TV company, stated on February
12. According to him, the recent statements of Levon Ter-Petrosian,
the RA first President and a candidate running for the post of the RA
President, and the proclamings appeared in press about the variant of
handing over Meghri by the authorities were, all in all, the program
of political scientist Paul Goble, an American analyst, which was
put into circulation at the beginning of the 90s and was finally and
flatly refused in 2000. Vardan Oskanian specially stressed that the
co-Chairmen of the OSCE MInsk Group, who are officially involved in the
regulation of the conflict, have never come up with such a suggestion.

"What Levon Ter-Petrosian is doing in connection with this issue, is
really a cheapest method. That is not right, that is a speculation. I
should say with sorrow that this is a real immorality, as this
is the speculation of one of the most important issues for us,
especially, when that issue is linked with the October 27 cases. If
he could speculate that issue this way, I am really sure that he
will stand in front of nothing in order to implement his political
program, which is to become president of the Republic of Armenia,"
the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated. He also mentioned that he
consideres the "most sorrowful side of immorality" the fact that Levon
Ter-Petrosian is speaking on behalf of late Vazgen Sargsian and Karen
Demirchian. According to him, the first President of the country has
not met with Vazgen Sargsian after his resignation, whereas Vazgen
Sargsian and Robert Kocharian, the current President of the country,
"had fine relations up to the end." "Let us not abuse, let us leave
the dead alone, let us argue with each other, with those, who are
alive," Vardan Oskanian called.

By the way, he mentioned that still in 1994 the RA authorities
discussed the program of Paul Goble within narrow frameworks, at
which Vardan Oskanian was present as the Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs. Levon Ter-Petrosian expressed opinion that "if we add to it
and they give us the northern part of Nakhijevan, that is the directly
adjacent part of Armenia up to the border of Iran, that will be a good
variant for us. That is the continuation of the Ararat field and that
can be more useful for us than the stony region of Meghri." However,
Vardan Oskanian mentioned that he will not allow himself to declare
that "Levon Ter-Petrosian wanted to hand over Meghri to Azerbaijan,
in spite of expressing such an opinion, as it is not that way, that
will be absurd, that will not be correct, Levon Ter-Petrosian would
not do such a thing," the RA Minister of Foreign Affairs declared.

Attaching importance to Meghri for Armenia, he mentioned that the very
region has currently become a symbol of Iran-Armenia cooperation:
the Iran-Armenia gas main, the interstate road pass here, in the
near future there will also be the oil refinery. Those programs are
10 years old.

"We really live in a very critical period and if the people makes a
wrong decision, we, at least, I even do not know what losses will
suffer," the Minister made assertions mentioning that "the people
should have a right idea of the situation: who says what, what kind
of speculations there are."

Not doubting the wisdom of the people, Vardan Oskanian, however,
considered a number of the statements made recently by Levon
Ter-Petrosian as preoccupying, particularly, that they have already
won, that, all in all, ten days are left, as well as "all the
preparations that are being made, and applying to the Constitutional
Court." According to him, all this brings to the conclusion that
nothing good expects us on February 20." "I call to our people for
being sober," Vardan Oskanian declared.