STILL NO AGREEMENT IN ARMENIAN COALITION TALKS
By Ruzanna Khachatrian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
May 30 2007
Leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun)
appeared to have failed to agree the terms for their party’s
continued presence in Armenia’s government during nearly two hours
of negotiations with President Robert Kocharian on Wednesday.
The meeting between Kocharian and two top Dashnaktsutyun leaders,
Armen Rustamian and Hrant Markarian, was part of ongoing talks over the
make-up of a new coalition cabinet which Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian
is trying to form as a result of the May 12 parliamentary elections.
"Negotiations are continuing and we have not yet reached agreement
on a number of issues," Rustamian told reporters after emerging from
the presidential palace in Yerevan.
Rustamian refused to give details, saying only that disagreements do
not center on the ministerial positions offered to Dashnaktsutyun. At
issue are the center-left nationalist party’s "new proposals and
approaches" on how the new government should function, he said.
In a Tuesday interview with RFE/RL, Markarian indicated that
Dashnaktsutyun is seeking a greater say in the formulation of
key government policies and does not want to be an "appendage" of
Sarkisian’s and Republican Party (HHK), the election winner.
Rustamian claimed that he and Markarian did not discuss with Kocharian
the possibility of Dashnaktsutyun support for Sarkisian’s participation
in next year’s presidential election. "Discussions have not yet reached
that point yet," he said. "There are very serious issues relating to
general issues, principles."
Local observers have speculated that Sarkisian, whose party won
an outright majority in parliament, is ready to share power with
Dashnaktsutyun only on the condition that the latter commits itself
to endorsing his 2008 presidential bid.
Rustamian said in that regard that his party stands by its earlier
statements that it will not back Sarkisian for the presidency and
will nominate its own presidential candidate instead. "That also
means retaining our political independence," he said. "That is the
most important thing for any political force."