Tweet
EU SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE VISITS ARMENIA
Economic News
December 21, 2007 Friday
Yerevan. ">OREANDA-NEWS . December 20, 2007. RA Prime Minister Serzh
Sargsyan received EU Special Representative to South Caucasus Peter
Szemnebi who is in our country to attend the parliamentary hearings
devoted to the Armenian-Turkish relationship, hosted by RA National
Assembly standing commission on external ties.
First, the Prime Minister greeted the guest in connection with his stay
in Yerevan with the above-stated mission and said that it is always
pleasant and important to meet with those EU representatives playing
a key role in the development of EU-Armenia relations and to discuss
questions of mutual interest. Mr. Szemnebi expressed regret that,
having been away on mission, he was unable to meet with the RA Prime
Minister during his recent visit to Brussels and Strasbourg and that
he was glad that this important meeting was held shortly thereafter.
The EU special representative said that the current hearings in
the RA National Assembly were extremely important and thanked the
initiators of this action for invitation. At the same time, he said to
be highly sensitive to the atmosphere existing in Armenia concerning
the Armenian-Turkish relationship. According to him, as a partner to
both Armenia and Turkey, the EU was ready to encourage discussions
like this with a view to stimulating the dialog and serving as a
bridge between the two countries.
Peter Szemnebi took the opportunity to ask the Prime Minister about his
vision and expectations of these relations. He asked for information
the forthcoming presidential elections, inquired upon the possibility
of having observer missions to arrive in this connection, as well as
the Prime Minister's approaches as to the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict.
Expressing his position concerning the above matters, Mr. Szemnebi
agreed with the Prime Minister in that the presence of observer
missions would be much appreciated. Serzh Sargsyan informed that he
had used the latest meeting in Strasbourg to ask the speaker of the
European Parliament to send observers from the European Parliament
and that the speaker of the RA National Assembly has already sent an
invitation to that effect.
With reference to the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Mr. Szemnebi
said that his meetings with the President of Azerbaijan had led
him to conclude that President Aliyev thought the conflict might be
addressed only after the presidential elections in both Azerbaijan
and Armenia. The EU representative further noted that the EU wishes
that the two sides should conserve what has been reached during the
negotiations so as to build up a solid groundwork for future talks.
In this context, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan reaffirmed his position
concerning the question at hand by noting that the presidential
elections in the two countries should not be tied up with settlement of
the conflict. "Why presidential candidates should conceal their vision
of the settlement? It appears to be pointless, even if the problem lies
in persuading the citizens in the correctness of respective approaches
and there is an apprehension that by signing a specific document
either of the candidates will lose part of votes. Any candidate may
suffer, but the two States will benefit in case the positions are
clearly defined,"- Serzh Sargsyan said and added that once the poll
is complete, the president-elect will be free to tell the voters that
he is going to put into effect the program which has been voted for.
The head of the Armenian government stressed that the possibilities
for a negotiated settlement are not exhausted yet and, as a basic
principle, it is important that Armenia recognizes the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan acknowledges the right of the
people of Artsakh to self-determination.
Speaking about the Armenian-Turkish relationship, Serzh Sargsyan,
first of all, pointed out the importance of the forthcoming hearings
hosted by the National Assembly of Armenia and emphasized that he had
told the initiators of this action to possibly involve the Turkish
side as well. The Prime Minister further said that he looked forward
to being assisted by the European Union in the matter of involving
Turkey in initiatives like this. "They provide a forum for people to
express their points of view. I have always been confident that we
have to establish relations with Turkey without any preconditions to
the benefit of both Armenia and Turkey,"- Serzh Sargsyan said.
Then, the Prime Minister spoke about the importance of Turkey's
membership to the European Union. He said to be confident that should
Turkey adhere to the Union, where common game rules are applicable, the
settlement of the Armenian-Turkish relationship would be facilitated.
What you have told is very important. I know you have emphasized it
during your interviews in Brussels and Strasbourg. Irrespective of
the outcome of EU-Turkey talks, I feel it sounds as quite a good
signal on the part of a top-ranking official from Armenia and it
is appreciable that such a high-ranking official is exact in his
attitudes. I believe that we should support those people advocating
improvement of relationships between Armenia and Turkey,"-the EU
Special Representative has replied.
In connection with the next question prioritized during the meeting -
the forthcoming presidential elections in Armenia - Serzh Sargsyan
said that to be deeply convinced that the results of these elections
are crucial to the development of our country. According to the
Prime Minister, while the latest parliamentary elections were given
a favorable consideration, yet they are perceived as an exception
rather than a rule. No effort should be spared so as the presidential
elections change this perception. In this context, the Prime Minister
said to be supportive of any initiative implying objectivity and
confidence and that he was attaching a great value, for instance, to
the US proposal about the holding of a post-election survey. Serzh
Sargsyan suggested that different international organizations
should work in parallel to this end in order to preclude all
doubts concerning the outcome of these elections. "When a European
official expresses opinion about the biased approaches of mass-media,
one should not ignore that such an opinion may be based on biased
materials available to him. If any structure or its representative
is interested in having the real situation, I think they can well
hire a specialized organization to carry out full monitoring of both
online and printed press. In this case, nobody will make objections
about impartiality,"- Serzh Sargsyan has said adding that it would
be necessary to negotiate with such an authoritative international
organization in order to ensure high-quality monitoring of media
coverage of the elections. Considering it to be natural for the general
public to keep track of the activities of the head of government as
recommended by European officials, the Prime Minister emphasized that
the authorities of Armenia are interested in proper organization of
elections and will do their utmost to that effect.
Economic News
December 21, 2007 Friday
Yerevan. ">OREANDA-NEWS . December 20, 2007. RA Prime Minister Serzh
Sargsyan received EU Special Representative to South Caucasus Peter
Szemnebi who is in our country to attend the parliamentary hearings
devoted to the Armenian-Turkish relationship, hosted by RA National
Assembly standing commission on external ties.
First, the Prime Minister greeted the guest in connection with his stay
in Yerevan with the above-stated mission and said that it is always
pleasant and important to meet with those EU representatives playing
a key role in the development of EU-Armenia relations and to discuss
questions of mutual interest. Mr. Szemnebi expressed regret that,
having been away on mission, he was unable to meet with the RA Prime
Minister during his recent visit to Brussels and Strasbourg and that
he was glad that this important meeting was held shortly thereafter.
The EU special representative said that the current hearings in
the RA National Assembly were extremely important and thanked the
initiators of this action for invitation. At the same time, he said to
be highly sensitive to the atmosphere existing in Armenia concerning
the Armenian-Turkish relationship. According to him, as a partner to
both Armenia and Turkey, the EU was ready to encourage discussions
like this with a view to stimulating the dialog and serving as a
bridge between the two countries.
Peter Szemnebi took the opportunity to ask the Prime Minister about his
vision and expectations of these relations. He asked for information
the forthcoming presidential elections, inquired upon the possibility
of having observer missions to arrive in this connection, as well as
the Prime Minister's approaches as to the settlement of the Karabakh
conflict.
Expressing his position concerning the above matters, Mr. Szemnebi
agreed with the Prime Minister in that the presence of observer
missions would be much appreciated. Serzh Sargsyan informed that he
had used the latest meeting in Strasbourg to ask the speaker of the
European Parliament to send observers from the European Parliament
and that the speaker of the RA National Assembly has already sent an
invitation to that effect.
With reference to the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Mr. Szemnebi
said that his meetings with the President of Azerbaijan had led
him to conclude that President Aliyev thought the conflict might be
addressed only after the presidential elections in both Azerbaijan
and Armenia. The EU representative further noted that the EU wishes
that the two sides should conserve what has been reached during the
negotiations so as to build up a solid groundwork for future talks.
In this context, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan reaffirmed his position
concerning the question at hand by noting that the presidential
elections in the two countries should not be tied up with settlement of
the conflict. "Why presidential candidates should conceal their vision
of the settlement? It appears to be pointless, even if the problem lies
in persuading the citizens in the correctness of respective approaches
and there is an apprehension that by signing a specific document
either of the candidates will lose part of votes. Any candidate may
suffer, but the two States will benefit in case the positions are
clearly defined,"- Serzh Sargsyan said and added that once the poll
is complete, the president-elect will be free to tell the voters that
he is going to put into effect the program which has been voted for.
The head of the Armenian government stressed that the possibilities
for a negotiated settlement are not exhausted yet and, as a basic
principle, it is important that Armenia recognizes the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan acknowledges the right of the
people of Artsakh to self-determination.
Speaking about the Armenian-Turkish relationship, Serzh Sargsyan,
first of all, pointed out the importance of the forthcoming hearings
hosted by the National Assembly of Armenia and emphasized that he had
told the initiators of this action to possibly involve the Turkish
side as well. The Prime Minister further said that he looked forward
to being assisted by the European Union in the matter of involving
Turkey in initiatives like this. "They provide a forum for people to
express their points of view. I have always been confident that we
have to establish relations with Turkey without any preconditions to
the benefit of both Armenia and Turkey,"- Serzh Sargsyan said.
Then, the Prime Minister spoke about the importance of Turkey's
membership to the European Union. He said to be confident that should
Turkey adhere to the Union, where common game rules are applicable, the
settlement of the Armenian-Turkish relationship would be facilitated.
What you have told is very important. I know you have emphasized it
during your interviews in Brussels and Strasbourg. Irrespective of
the outcome of EU-Turkey talks, I feel it sounds as quite a good
signal on the part of a top-ranking official from Armenia and it
is appreciable that such a high-ranking official is exact in his
attitudes. I believe that we should support those people advocating
improvement of relationships between Armenia and Turkey,"-the EU
Special Representative has replied.
In connection with the next question prioritized during the meeting -
the forthcoming presidential elections in Armenia - Serzh Sargsyan
said that to be deeply convinced that the results of these elections
are crucial to the development of our country. According to the
Prime Minister, while the latest parliamentary elections were given
a favorable consideration, yet they are perceived as an exception
rather than a rule. No effort should be spared so as the presidential
elections change this perception. In this context, the Prime Minister
said to be supportive of any initiative implying objectivity and
confidence and that he was attaching a great value, for instance, to
the US proposal about the holding of a post-election survey. Serzh
Sargsyan suggested that different international organizations
should work in parallel to this end in order to preclude all
doubts concerning the outcome of these elections. "When a European
official expresses opinion about the biased approaches of mass-media,
one should not ignore that such an opinion may be based on biased
materials available to him. If any structure or its representative
is interested in having the real situation, I think they can well
hire a specialized organization to carry out full monitoring of both
online and printed press. In this case, nobody will make objections
about impartiality,"- Serzh Sargsyan has said adding that it would
be necessary to negotiate with such an authoritative international
organization in order to ensure high-quality monitoring of media
coverage of the elections. Considering it to be natural for the general
public to keep track of the activities of the head of government as
recommended by European officials, the Prime Minister emphasized that
the authorities of Armenia are interested in proper organization of
elections and will do their utmost to that effect.