RUSSIA URGES ‘DIALOGUE’ BETWEEN ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT, OPPOSITION

Radio Liberty
March 10 2008
Czech Republic

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin joined U.S. and European officials
on Monday in urging Armenia’s government and opposition to resolve
their bloody post-election standoff through a "dialogue."

Putin was reported to make the appeal in a phone call with Prime
Minister and President-elect Serzh Sarkisian. Both the Kremlin and
the Armenian government said he again congratulated Sarkisian on his
victory in last month’s disputed president and invited him to visit
Moscow soon.

"Vladimir Putin attached importance to the need to overcome the
political situation in Armenia that arose during the post-election
period by political methods, by means of a dialogue with the
opposition," Sarkisian’s press office said in a statement. In
Putin’s view, the statement added, such dialogue is important not
only for restoring political stability in Armenia but also "further
strengthening" Russian-Armenian relations.

Putin’s reported remarks are quite noteworthy given the strong Russian
support which Armenia’s current leadership has enjoyed throughout
his eight-year presidency. While recognizing the outcome of the
Armenian presidential vote, the Kremlin has stopped short of publicly
endorsing the authorities’ post-election crackdown on the opposition
led by Sarkisian’s main election challenger, former President Levon
Ter-Petrosian.

Calls for a dialogue between the two mutually hostile camps have also
been made by senior U.S. and European diplomats who visited Armenia
following the March 1 violent clashes in Yerevan between security
forces and thousands of Ter-Petrosian supporters protesting against the
official vote results. The diplomats, among them U.S. Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, also pressed the authorities in
Yerevan to lift a state of emergency imposed by outgoing President
Robert Kocharian.

"We recognize that at a certain point when violent events were
developing, however they developed, there needed to be order restored,"
said Joseph Pennington, the U.S. charge d’affaires in Yerevan who
accompanied Bryza during his talks with Kocharian, Sarkisian and
Ter-Petrosian late last week. "But we believe that now the state of
emergency should be lifted, that press restrictions should be removed
and that the sooner those things happen, the sooner Armenia can get
back on the democratic path we want to see Armenia on."

Kocharian made it clear last week that the state of emergency will
remain in force at least until March 20. Statements by his and
Sarkisian’s pres services implied that Bryza did not press for the
lifting of emergency rule. Furthermore, Bryza was quoted as praising
Sarkisian as a "special leader" who can count on U.S. support.

Pennington told RFE/RL that the comments were "taken out of context"
and "do not reflect the entire message of Mr. Bryza’s visit." The
diplomat, who had a separate follow-up meeting with Ter-Petrosian
on Saturday, also said both he and Bryza urged the opposition leader
to embark on a "constructive political dialogue." But he declined to
reveal Ter-Petrosian’s response to those calls.

Ter-Petrosian, meanwhile, had a phone conversation on Monday with
Peter Semneby, the European Union’s special representative to the South
Caucasus who has also been mediating between the Armenian government
and opposition. A statement by the ex-president’s office quoted him
as telling Semneby that the government failed to take "any steps
aimed at overcoming the political crisis and easing tensions in the
country." Ter-Petrosian claimed that police officers in some parts
of the country have teamed up with "criminal elements" to harass and
attack his active supporters.