U.S. Embassy in Armenia: Parliamentary Elections, Statement by Ned Price, Spokesperson

U.S. Embassy in Armenia
June 22 2021
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesperson
For Immediate Release

STATEMENT BY NED PRICE, SPOKESPERSON

June 21, 2021

Armenia’s Parliamentary Elections

The United States congratulates the people of Armenia on their June 20 parliamentary elections. We welcome the overall positive assessment by the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission. We are pleased that ODIHR’s preliminary conclusions noted voters’ human rights and fundamental freedoms were generally respected, contestants were able to campaign freely, and that ODIHR assessed election-day vote counting as positive. We share ODIHR’s concern regarding intense polarization and inflammatory rhetoric among key contestants.  We urge Armenians of all political affiliations to respect the results of these elections once certified, employ the legal election grievance process to address issues of concern, and avoid political retaliation as Armenia continues to pursue a sovereign, democratic, peaceful, and prosperous future.

The United States is committed to strengthening our partnership with Armenia based on shared democratic values. We commend Armenia for the progress it has made with respect to reforms and anti-corruption efforts and encourage Armenia to continue along this path, in line with the aspirations of the Armenian people, as expressed in the spring of 2018. We urge all parties to respect the rule of law and democratic principles and look forward to working with the new Government to grow our bilateral relationship and cooperation.

We commend Ambassador Lynne Tracy and U.S. Embassy Staff in Yerevan for their strong, ongoing support for Armenia’s democratic development. Through their dedication and hard work, we will continue to advance the U.S.-Armenia partnership.

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Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS