LEVON TER-PETROSIAN: SERZH SARGSYAN SELLS BOTH NAGORNO KARABAKH AND ARMENIA FOR HIS OWN INTERESTS

Noyan Tapan

Se p 15, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 15, NOYAN TAPAN. "Over the 17 years of its
independence, Armenia has never been so vulnerable in the issue
of outside pressures as now, and there is only one explanation:
the illegitimacy of the authorities as legal authorities can
oppose any outside pressure," the leader of the opposition Levon
Ter-Petrosian stated at the September 15 meeting attended by thousands
of people. According to him, Serzh Sargsyan has chosen the policy
of adjusting the foreign policy to his interests. L. Ter-Petrosian
said there are two most important directions: the Armenian-Turkish
relations and the Karabakh problem. He considered S. Sargsyan’s
consent to create a joint Armenian-Turkish commission on examination
of the genocide problem as an evidence of his ignorance and political
immaturity. In the words of the first Armenian president, Turkey’s
goal is to suspend the process of international recognition of
the genocide, and by agreeing to create a commission, S. Sarsgyan
actually showed the weakness of his power. Besides, according to
the speaker, the Armenian authorities made a much more serious
mistake when they gave preliminary consent for holding a trilateral
Armenian-Turkish-Azerbaijani meeting. He noted that in case of a
trilateral meeting, the participation of Turkey as a mediator in the
Karabakh conflict would strengthen. In his words, this step endangers
the format of the OSCE Minsk Group, while the indicated format has been
the most opportune one for the Armenian side and a format balancing
the interests of all superpowers.

"Serzh Sargsyan sells the genocide problem, Nagorno Karabakh and our
homeland for his own interests. This is my last appeal to Armenian
authorities to be sensible". He underlined that Serzh Sargsyan’s
"curtseys to win favor of the West actually endanger the most important
issues of foreign policy."