AVET ADONTS MEETS WITH EUROPEAN JOURNALISTS
armradio.am
04.09.2008 17:12
On September 4 the Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing
Committee on European Integration Avet Adonts met with representatives
of popular mass media of 15 EU member states.
At the beginning of the meeting Mr. Adonts presented the composition
of the National Assembly, the activity of the committee headed by him,
and later responded to the journalists’ questions.
German journalist Barbara Gruberie asked what can be expected from
Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s visit. Mr. Adonts said he welcomes
Gul’s visit. This is the first ever visit of the Turkish leader to
Armenia. He expressed hope that it will mark the start of a dialogue
between Armenia and Turkey. The zero agenda that exists between
Armenia and Turkey does not correspond to the logic of the 21st
century. Armenia has declared many times that it is ready to launch
dialogue with Turkey without any preconditions.
He expressed the opinion that it’s high time for the two countries to
speak without the mediation of third parties. Nevertheless, Mr. Adonts
noted that Guls’s visit will take place under the conditions of
Armenia’s blockade, closed Armenian-Turkish border and absence of
diplomatic relations between the two countries.
In response to a question from Czech reporter Lyubos Palata whether
Armenia will recognize the independence of Abkhazia a nd South Ossetia,
Mr. Adonts said Armenia has not even recognized the independence
of Nagorno Karabakh. Nether it has recognized the independence of
Kosovo, and in these circumstances the recognition of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia would be illogical.
During the meeting the foreign journalists asked questions
about Armenia-NATO cooperation and the Karabakh conflict
settlement. According to Mr. Adonts, Armenia-NATO cooperation is
on a very high level, but the question of joining NATO is not on
Armenia’s agenda. Armenia is a member of the CSTO. Armenia tries to
combine the active cooperation with NATO and the membership in the
Collective Security Treaty Organization.
Turning to the Karabakh issue, Mr. Adonts noted that unlike
Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transniestria, the Karabakh issue
is unique. It differs with both its essence and the technology of
settlement. Attempts are made to resolve the Karabakh conflict through
cooperation. Russia, the US and France are cooperating to help settle
the issue. This is the main difference from the processes that were
taking place in case of the other conflicts. The developments in South
Ossetia showed that the resolution of conflicts in a military way is
unacceptable and there is no alternative to peaceful solution.