ANC: ANKARA DOES NOT HAVE TO HURRY

news.am
March 1 2010
Armenia

Turkey has got all that it wanted from the Armenian-Turkish process
an does not have to hurry, the leader of the opposition Armenian
National Congress (ANC) Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated at a rally in
Yerevan on March 1.

According to him, all the talks about the "alleged stalemate" in the
Armenia-Turkey normalization process are ungrounded. "Another matter
is that it is the collapse of the so-called policy of initiatives by
Serzh Sargsyan," Ter-Petrosyan.

"By renouncing the Armenian Genocide, Serzh Sargsyan hoped to
legitimize himself somehow and relieve the international pressure
concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. But, as we can see
today, the situation is quite opposite now," Ter-Petrosyan said.

He pointed out five equally urgent problems facing the Armenia people:
Armenian-Turkish relations, Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, restoration
of democracy, rule of law and end to corruption.

However, the international community gives priority to the first two
tasks, as it is pursuing its own interests in the region.

Specifically, the international community underlines the need for
resolving the problems posing a threat to regional security.

"The only thing we expected from European agencies is an impartial
appraisal of the state of democracy in Armenia, but they give priority
to the resolution of the first two problems. We have to put up with the
fact that they will openly speak of human rights in Armenia only after
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem has been resolved and Armenian-Turkish
relations normalized. It is good that the resolution of the two
problems meets our people’s interests," Ter-Petrosyan said.

The ANC leader also said that the ANC must make efforts for Armenia
to sustain the minimal losses from the present foreign political
situation.