Special Representative Of NATO Secretary General Described As "A Ver

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF NATO SECRETARY GENERAL DESCRIBED AS "A VERY POSITIVE SIGNAL" THE FACT THAT THE ELECTIONS IN ARMENIA BECAME AN IMPROVEMENT AS COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS ONES

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
May 21 2007

Yerevan, May 21. /Mediamax/. Special Representative of the NATO
Secretary General in Central Asia and the South Caucasus Robert
Simmons stated in an exclusive interview to Mediamax that "democratic
institution building is an essential part of Armenia’s Individual
Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) with NATO and I am pleased that
an important step in the right direction was taken" during the
parliamentary elections of May 12.

"But, like the Secretary General, I would like to stress that there
remains significant work to do. The international observers have
noted a number of shortcomings and these will need to be addressed
effectively", Robert Simmons stated.

The Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General reminded
in an interview to Mediamax that "the Individual Partnership Action
Plan sets out ambitious objectives in a number of areas, including
democratic reforms".

"Even before the elections, in April 2007, we conducted an assessment
of Armenia’s progress in the implementation of the IPAP, which was
largely positive, though we also noted many areas where further work
is required. In this context, it is a very positive signal that
the parliamentary elections last weekend were an improvement over
previous ones. It makes me confident that further progress can be
achieved in the many areas we work on with our Armenian Partners and
we look forward to continuing this work", Robert Simmons stated in
an exclusive interview to Mediamax.