VARDAN OSKANYAN RECALLS 1998 CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT

Lragir.am
19/03/10

March 18, the former Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanyan gave
interviews to A1+ news web portal and Capital paper expressing his
opinions about the situation over the Karabakh issue settlement.

He said that it is evident that completely other conditions are formed
over the NKR issue settlement. Changes are evident on two levels –
changes of situation and content. As a result of the Armenian and
Turkish process, much is changed, which brought about changes of
content. Turkey got involved in this process and this circumstance
could not but be reflected in the negotiating document.

In his interview to A1+, Oskanyan noted that if in reality Azerbaijan
said its `yes’ and Armenia keeps silent, this means that this document
is not in our favor and a serious change of NKR conflict situation is
present. Vardan Oskanyan notices some danger in the NKR negotiation
for Armenia determined by not only the Armenian and Turkish process
and the quality of the negotiation, but also by the home situation in
Armenia and the economic-political tension.

Oskanyan says during the last two years, we made steps back and so it
may continue other 10 years. The second possible script is to survive
with 1-2 percent of economic increase. The third scenario is the
elimination of economic monopolies eliminating at the same time the
political ones.

According to Vardan Oskanyan, there are two things to do to come out
of the situation- concrete- indirect and conceptual – ideological.

`If the reality is the way I suppose, Armenia must refuse any document
contradicting its interests. On the other hand, it has to present a
constructive proposal’, says Oskanyan attaching importance to the fact
that the proposal has to be perceivable for the mediators and be in
accord with our interests.

`We do not need to wait for the development of the process, but we
need to take up sharp steps. We need change of stresses and stances
which is to be grounded. Such a change happened in 1998 as a result of
the change of government’, Vardan Oskanyan tells Capital.