ARAM KARAPETIAN: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES FAILED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE INVOLVED IN GAME LAUNCHED BY TURKEY AND AZERBAIJAN

Noyan Tapan
June 16, 2009

YEREVAN, JUNE 16, NOYAN TAPAN. At present except the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) there is no other structure,
which Armenia could join. Nor Zhamanakner (New Times) party Chairman
Aram Karapetian expressed such an opinion at the June 15 press
conference. According to him, making part of CSTO is completely in
Armenia’s interests.

It is a different thing that there are serious disagreements inside
that organization, between Russia and Belarus. A. Karapetian said
that according to his information, the RF President has ordered to
restore the customs and frontier points between Belarus and RF. The
NZ leader did not exclude that these two countries will break out a
"gas war" against each other in the near future.

Speaking about the West-Armenia relations, A. Karapetian mentioned
that the jealousy of the West to Russian-Armenian contacts became
especially strong after RA refused to take part in the NATO exercises
held in Georgia.

According to him, the West did not like the circumstance, either, that
the issue of opening the Armenian-Turkish border remained unsolved.

As to Armenian authorities’ foreign policy, the latters, according
to A. Karapetian’s observation, failed to understand that they are
involved in a game launched by Turkey and Azerbaijan. He said that
as far back as in late 2008 and in early 2009 the head of Azeri
President’s staff in the internal order called the governors for
pretending as if their relations with Turkey are very bad. According
to A. Karapetian, it was done for a foreign eye, and Armenia swallowed
the bait thinking that separation of Armenian-Turkish relations and
Nagorno Karabakh problem is possible.