Interfax, Russia
Russia & CIS
February 20, 2008

Russian expert fears clashes between authorities, Ter-Petrosian
supporters

MOSCOW Feb 20

Supporters of former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who came
second at the February 19 presidential elections in Armenia, could
incite the current authorities into forced confrontations, CIS
Studies Institute Director, Russian MP Konstantin Zatulin said.

"The most negative consequence of this election could be that a part
of the Armenian political elite and some supporters of Ter-Petrosian
will be looking for confrontation," Zatulin, who is visiting Armenia
as a member of an electoral monitoring mission, told Interfax on
Wednesday.

"[Armenian Prime Minister] Serzh Sargsyan, who according to
preliminary information won the election, and Robert Kocharian, who
still remains in the office of the president, are not the people who
will allow the situation to destabilize and entrusts the destiny of
the country’s authorities to street protest actions," the political
expert said.

"The camp of Ter-Petrosian understands this and probably hopes that
by provoking forced confrontations on behalf of the authorities, it
will compromise them before the West and the international arena,"
Zatulin said.

"Clashes between Ter-Petrosian and the authorities could happen
sooner or later," he said.

Observers noted provocative actions on behalf of some representatives
of Ter-Petrosian’s headquarters, the expert said.

"Apparently, they try to ‘crack down’ on the situation and to
escalate it," Zatulin said.