Author: Lara Antonian

ArmInfo. During the parliamentary elections in 2021, Armenia expressed the will of the  people, reaffirming its commitment to the course of reforms and  democracy, and for this purpose, Armenia needs a responsible,  independent, pluralistic, reliable media. On May 19, speaking  at the "Armenian Democracy" Forum, EU Ambassador to Armenia Ms.  Andrea Wiktorin stated this.

In this vein, she underlined that the EU defends the freedom and  pluralism of the media as the basis of modern democracy, which  provides an opportunity for open and free debate.  At the same time,  Ms. Wiktorin also pointed out that Armenia needs a strong civil  society, which is a key component of a democratic system. "The active  involvement of civil society in the development of policy and  governance reforms is important for Armenia in terms of achieving  political transformations," the Ambassador stressed.  However, as she  noted, Armenian civil society is being condemned. Activists and civil  society organizations that promote democratic values and human rights  have been the target of attack and condemnation.  <The Universal  Declaration of Human Rights is not selective. You cannot choose only  what you like. You must have all freedoms without prejudice and  restrictions, such as racial, national, social, religious, skin  color, and others. Therefore, we all should support the human rights  defenders who are active in this country. We should have  comprehensive approaches to the issue of ensuring human rights. We  have a need for a legal framework, for the application of the law.  Everyone is equal before the law," she said.  She also noted the  importance of compromises, public discussions, joint search for  peaceful solutions, excluding various slogans and the language of  aggression. <Democracy is a continuous process. Within the framework  of the CEPA (Partnership Agreement), the EU assists Armenia in  strengthening democracy, the rule of law and human rights in order to  create together a favorable, safe and peaceful environment for all  the inhabitants of Armenia>, she concluded.  It should be noted that  law enforcement officers did not let opposition MPs and journalists  into the "Armenian Democracy" forum . The parliamentarians said they  intended to present the real situation with democracy in the country  at the forum. After negotiations with law enforcement officers, the  latter managed to enter the hotel building, but they were forbidden  to enter the hall where the event itself was held

ArmInfo. Maintaining the status quo in Artsakh and in relations with Azerbaijan will not improve Armenia's positions. Therefore, it is not in Armenia's interests, the  political scientist Stepan Grigoryan said in an interview with  ArmInfo. 

"I myself have for many years been for the status quo maintained  since 1994 – until the 44-day war.  However, the status quo was to a  great extent maintained due to an entirely different geopolitical  situation.  The most important factor was later transformation of  Russia's position," Mr Grigoryan said.  

According to him, in the 1990s Moscow's position on the status quo  was by and large in line with the Armenian side's interests, and that  position remained unchanged during thee first years of Vladimir  Putin's presidency. However, rapid changes were noticed in 2011 and  2012, and after the so-called Lavrov plan was circulated it came to  be in obvert conflict with the interests of Armenia and Artsakh. 

As regards the parliamentary opposition's calls against any  agreements with Azerbaijan amid the present geopolitical reality, Mr  Grigoryan questions the political advisability of this tactics given,  first of all, Moscow's present-day position. It is Moscow that doe  not allow the Armenian side to temporize. 

It is due to the West's efforts that Azerbaijan is being contained,  and evidence thereof is U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's  direct and outspoken criticism against Baku for escalating the  situation. However, prolonging the process will be seriously  complicated because of the absence of common approaches between  Yerevan and Moscow. 

"It is clear that the opposition forces prefer keeping silent about  it. Moreover, they are afraid of speaking of Russia's real position  on Artsakh now. It is not the opposition forces' concept, but their  insincerity. But the reality is that temporizing can only be possible  if Russia's position were at least neutral. It is Russia's not being  neutral that turns this prospect into idle talks," Mr Grigoryan said.