UNITED STATES – READY TO SUPPORT ARMENIA
Lilit Poghosyan

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
03 Oct 2008
Armenia

Mary Jovanovich, US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in
Armenia, yesterday convened her first press-conference to introduce
her country’s viewpoints on the developments in and around Armenia.

The newly appointed Ambassador arrived in Armenia about a fortnight
ago, and is impressed by the "unprecedentedly favorable attitude"
towards her. "I have been in diplomatic service for 22 years now,
and this is the first country that gives me such a good reception,"
Ms. Jovanovich said, expressing satisfaction that she had had the
opportunity to participate in the events devoted to the independence
of Armenia and the ceremony of consecrating the chrism.

The new Ambassador was also pleased to announce that her tenure begins
in a historically important period when the ice in the Armenian-Turkish
relations is beginning to melt, and the Karabakh settlement issue is
returning to its normal course after the temporary rollback.

The United States highly appreciates "President Sargsyan’s bold
initiative of inviting the Turkish President to Armenia and Abdullah
Gul’s willingness of accepting the invitation and arriving in Armenia.

This also creates opportunities for the opening of the border, the
formation of diplomatic ties and the normalization of the relations.

We also ha ve certain hopes related to the settlement of the
Karabakh issue. These initiatives create opportunities for making
transformations in the region in terms of security and welfare. They
may be useful especially to the people of Armenia, from the point
of view of the opening of the borders, trade relations and economic
development, and may essentially impact on the population’s welfare."

The Ambassador assured the participants that the United States will
continue to assist in these developments to the best of its efforts
and promised "to do everything possible" on her part.

"The Armenian-American relations began 90 years ago when President
Wilson received the credentials of the first Ambassador to
Armenia. Those relations are based on such factors as the presence
of a great number of Armenians in the United States and the existence
of common values and interests. The United States is hereafter ready
to assist the Armenian people and the Armenian government in making
progress in the spheres of economy and democratic development.

The economic and democratic reforms, the formation of rule of law, the
implementation of all these principles by everybody and for everybody
are issues that require time. The people and the government of the
United States will support Armenia while passing through that path."

The first question addressed to the speaker concerned the
post-electoral developments, more specific ally – the issue whether the
"numerous pro-opposition figures" arrested after the mass disorders
of March 1 are political prisoners or criminal offenders.

"Every time there are people who are deprived of freedom on
account of their political views or political activities (such as
participating in rallies), there are always grounds for concerns. We
have expressed those concerns to the government and introduced our
considerations. But it is also necessary to make a distinction as to
whether the conversation is about the political freedoms, e.g. the
freedom of speech and the freedom of holding rallies, or whether those
people were involved in illegal activities. It is required for any
government to be able to make this distinction," the Ambassador finds.

In connection with Turkey’s initiative of establishing a Caucasian
platform, Ms. Jovanovich noted that the project is at the stage of
elaboration, and it is still early to make any comments in this
regard unless the details are clarified. "In general, the United
States welcomes all the initiatives aimed at achieving regional
security, stability and integration." According to some sources,
the initiative of the recent Armenian-Turkish contact and the agenda
of the "football diplomacy" were prepared in the United States. Can
the diplomat refute or confirm that information?

"I believe this initiative was proposed by Presidents Sargsy an and
Gul, as well as their advisors. Inviting the Turkish President was a
very bold step by President Sargsyan. And President Gul’s accepting the
invitation can also be estimated as a very bold and brave step. These
were steps towards the development of the relations between the two
countries, and the United States expresses its satisfaction that such
development is possible," the speaker answered.

With regard Turkey’s pretensions to being involved in the Karabakh
settlement process, the Ambassador said that "Turkey is already
involved in the Minsk Group process, like all the other member states
of the group apart from the Co-Chairs. The Turkish President proposed
a trilateral meeting on the level of the Foreign Ministers. Armenia,
Turkey and Azerbaijan are neighboring countries, and the trilateral
meeting of the Foreign Ministers is a positive phenomenon. And we will
naturally welcome such developments. Besides, a meeting was held in
New York within the frameworks of the Minsk Group, and the Co-Chairs
met with President Sargsyan and the two Foreign Ministers. This is
also a positive phenomenon."

The fact that the Sargsyan-Aliev meeting in St. Petersburg was held
in a constructive atmosphere, and the negotiation process continues
"in the same spirit" inspires the Ambassador with optimism that "it
is really possible to anticipate a certain progress with regard to
this impor tant issue."

The United States periodically makes statements that it protects the
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Is there any sense in continuing
the talks if it is already "predetermined" that the problem should be
solved based on the principle of territorial integrity? Why wasn’t
the clause on the "immunity of borders" considered prevalent for
the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Serbia but it is being considered
prevalent for Azerbaijan.

In response to this question of "Hayots Ashkharh", M. Jovanovich
said, "Any conflict has its specific features, and it is necessary
to find a specific kind of solution for each conflict. Yes, there
is the principle of territorial integrity, but there are also other
principles; for example, the principle of not using force or the
principle of self-determination. And it is necessary to view each
conflict as a separate case. As far as this particular case is
concerned, there is a progress in the conflict settlement process,
and it is possible to record a positive development."