TIGRAN TOROSIAN: EUROPEAN INTEGRATION HAS NO ALTERNATIVE FOR ARMENIA
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
May 05 2006
YEREVAN, MAY 5, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. Five years after the
membership to the Council of Europe we have a good opportunity to sum
up what we have done and to enter into a stage of more mature relations
that begin with the essential amendments to the Constitution. RA NA
Vice-Speaker, head of the Armenian delegation in PACE, declared this
on May 5, when receiving Director General on Political Affairs of
Council of Europe General Secretariate Jean-Louis Laurens. According
to NA Vice-Speaker, Armenia is a leading country in the region in
the respect of fulfilment of the commitments assumed towards CE and
it is important that the country also be leading as a country having
held elections corresponding to all international standards. In this
respect the 2007 parliamentary and 2008 presidential elections and
holding of these elections in correspondence with the international
standards are of great importance.
As Tigran Torosian affirmed, on the plane of multilateral
international relations European integration has no alternative
for Armenia. In connection with the issue of Nagorno Karabakh
settlement T.Torosian attached importance to establishment of
tolerance considering unacceptable bellicose appeals, propaganda
of war and hatred. The expectations of the international community
about settlement of the conflict will have a real basis only when
Azerbaijan’s conduct changes. As NA Vice-Speaker affirmed, if the
international organizations and, in particular, CE expresses an
exact position on this issue, Azerbaijan will feel a necessity to
reconsider its approach. As Noyan Tapan was informed from NA Public
Relations Department, Jean-Louis Laurens mentioned that the goal
of his visit to Armenia is to receive more information and this is
his first visit to Armenia after the country’s membership to CE. In
his opinion, implementation of the constitutional reforms are very
important for Armenia, which enabled to reform the judicial system,
local self-government, to fight corruption and to extend and deepen
democracy. Laurens attached importance to free and fair holding of
the coming parliamentary and presidential elections for Armenia and
expressed hope that Armenia will become the first country in the region
to hold free and fair elections and will receive a positive estimation.