POLICY OF INITIATIVE MET WITH COMPLETE FAILURE, ARTSVIK MINASIAN SAYS

NOYAN TAPAN
MARCH 23, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN. "It is obvious that the policy
of initiative has met with complete failure, causing much damage
both to Armenia’s international reputation and the opportunity
of domestic unification," the member of ARF parliamentary faction
Artsvik Minasian declared at the March 22 press conference. In his
words, if the Armenian authorities now again try to rouse Turkey’s
interest in ratification of the protocols, it means that "they did
not draw any lesson and grow wiser". A. Minasian noted that the unity
of the Armenians worldwide is endangered today, and if the Armenian
authorities do not see that, it means that they have no idea of
national ideology. The ARF deputy called for withdrawal from the
Armenian-Turkish process.

A. Minasian considered the acceleration of the Karabakh conflict
settlement as one of the negative consequences of the policy of
initiative. By his forecast, it will lead either to solution not in
favor of the Armenians or to the higher probability of war renewal.

According to him, the statements of some foreign figures about not
allowing Karabakh to return to the negotiation table are "situational
opinions rather than system ones".

In response to the question about why the ARF defends the second
president of Armenia, during whose tenure Karabakh was removed from
the negotiation process, A. Minasian replied that inappropriate
speculation over this issue has begun. He added that under Robert
Kocharian, the matter only concerned the competence of presenting
the Karabakh problem, and the president actually had such competence.

"Nagorno Karabakh was not forced out of the negotiation process,
there was no policy of forcing it out," A. Minasian said.