VARDAN OSKANIAN ESTIMATES SITUATION IN ARMENIA AS ALARMING

Noyan Tapan
March 13, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 13, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian
will meet with OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on March 14 in Vienna,
during which the issue on resumption of the negotiations on the Nagorno
Karabakh settlement will be discussed. Vardan Oskanian reported this
at the March 13 press conference.

The same day Oskanian will leave for Brussels to take part in the
annual forum organized by the Marshall Fund. The Minister said that
within the framework of that event he is to meet with all leaders of
the European Union. It is supposed to discuss issues connected with
the domestic situation in Armenia, including the issue of repeal of
the state of emergency introduced on March 1. As the Minister classed
it, state of emergency no doubt indicates that the situation is not
normal. At the same time, in his words, it was a compulsory measure for
establishing stability in the country and normalizing the situation.

Estimating the domestic situation in Armenia as alarming, Vardan
Oskanian pointed out to the necessity to conduct a dialogue between
the authorities and the opposition. In his opinion, the possibility
of such a dialogue has been lost once, when Prime Minister Sargsian
called the sides for a dialogue and himself expressed readiness to
conduct negotiations with the opposition.

The Minister called the sides for taking steps in the direction of a
dialogue and emphasized that today much depends on Levon Ter-Petrosian.

As regards the statement of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
about the possibility of suspending assistance programs to Armenia,
including the Millennium Challenge program, Vardan Oskanian stated
that he does not exclude such a possibility. In his opinion, he sees a
real danger that the U.S. can freeze the Millennium Challenge program,
and the solution of that issue will completely depend on the fact
to what extent Armenia will be able to solve the dilemma faced by
it. V. Oskanian emphasized that the whole Armenian society will appear
in a grave condition in case of suspension of the assistance programs.

Oskanian did not exclude the possibility that a meeting between newly
elected Armenian President Serge Sargsian with Azeri President Ilham
Aliyev can be held within the framework of the forthcoming NATO summit
to be held on April 3-4 in Bucharest.