SARGSYAN HAILS OPPOSITION’S DECISION TO JOIN GOVERNMENT

Interfax News Agency, Russia
Russia & CIS Presidential Bulletin
February 29, 2008

Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, who won the recent presidential
election, hails the decision of his opponent at the election, leader
of the opposition party Artur Bagdasarian to become secretary of the
Armenian Security Council.

I am glad that Bagdasarian reacted to our appeal to joint govern the
country, Sargsyan told a news conference after a relevant cooperation
agreement was signed.

I offered Orinats Yerkir [party] to join the coalition of the
government and offered Artur Bagdasarian to become secretary of the
Security Council. This allows him to be involved in the structure of
governing the country, Sargsyan said.

This is the third or the fourth most important office in Armenia,
the PM said.

It is important that Bagdasarian will have both information and
a possibility to take part in all spheres of the country’s life,
Sargsyan said.

This does not mean that the Dashnaktsutyun party resents taking part
in the coalition. Probably and I will be very glad, if the coalition
will be four-sided, he said.

Bagdasarian noted at the press conference that about one million are
behind the cooperation agreement. This is about 70% of voters in the
country, he said. This means that the new president will be able to
more resolutely react to challenges and conduct positive reforms,
the Orints Yerkir leader said.

We shake the extended hand with dignity. We are certain that we have
begun decent cooperation, he said.

Bagdasarian also expressed certainty that our joint work will bring
brilliant results.

Earlier, Artur Bagdasarian, a centrist opposition leader who lost
Armenia’s February 19 presidential election to Prime Minister Serzh
Sargsyan, has signed a cooperation pact with the ruling coalition
and has accepted an offer to head the country’s Security Council,
his party’s spokeswoman said.

"Serzh Sargsyan has proposed that we join the agreement, and we have
done so. Bagdasarian has been offered the post of secretary of the
Armenian Security Council, which he has accepted," Susanna Abrahamian,
a spokeswoman for the Rule of Law Country party, told Interfax.

"So far no other post has been offered to any member of our party,"
she said.

The Security Council’s incumbent secretary is Armen Gevorkian, who
simultaneously heads the president’s staff.

At a recent rally in Yerevan, Sargsyan urged the opposition to
collaborate with the authorities.

Bagdasarian came third in the presidential election.

Supporters of ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian, who was second,
have been holding rallies in Yerevan since February 20, demanding
the annulment of the results of what they claim was a rigged election.

Meanwhile, Dashnaktsutyun earlier stated that it was ready to withdraw
from the cooperation agreement with the coalition and reject the
positions offered to it.

Being committed to the 2007 cooperation agreement, we express our
readiness to reject the jobs offered to the party and we ask the
political coalition to stop cooperating, the party said in a statement.

Multiple violations were registered at the February 19 presidential
election, it says.

Summing up the reports on election results received from regions
and given the final results published by the Central Elections
Commission (CEC), as well as the generally positive assessment of
the international community, Dashnaktsutyun does not challenge the
final results of the presidential election and wish success to newly
elected Armenian President Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, the
statement reads.

An agreement on the creation of a ruling coalition between the
Republican Party and the Prosperous Armenia party was signed after
the 2007 parliamentary election. The political coalition then signed
a cooperation agreement with Dashnaktsutyun.

In line with the agreement, Dashnaktsutyun secured three ministerial
posts, as well as the position of deputy parliamentary speaker, which
was to go to Vaan Ovannisian. Ovannisian, who lost the February 19
presidential election, has rejected the offer.

In last Thursday Sargsyan said that the Armenian government will be
tolerant toward the opposition but will be ready to take measures if
the latter abuses its patience.

"The Armenian authorities will demonstrate extreme tolerance until
attempts are made to abuse it and this may have serious consequences,"
Sargsyan said at a meeting with EU Special Representative for the South
Caucasus Peter Semneby discussing the domestic situation in Armenia.

The government’s press service quoted Sargsyan as saying that the
authorities will do their utmost for the situation following the
elections not to harm the citizens or the country’s reputation.

He reiterated his readiness to cooperate with all forces ready to use
their potential for the development and wellbeing of the country and
people, adding that certain positive comments have already been made.

In his turn Semneby congratulated Sargsyan on his election. He hailed
the fact that the election was competitive, which he said demonstrates
that there is real pluralism in Armenia.

Semneby also said that he met representatives of the government and
opposition forces last week. At those meetings, he conveyed to all
sides the message of EU High Representative for the Common Foreign
and Security Policy Javier Solana to refrain from steps leading to
violence, to act in the framework of the law.