In an interview on October 14 with the Armenian Reporter's Washington Editor Emil Sanamyan, Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian of Armenia spoke about the impact of the global financial crisis and unresolved conflicts on Armenia. What follows is an English translation of most of that conversation.
Armenian Reporter: In your meeting with Vice President Dick Cheney on October 10, you referred to the recent tendency by U.S. officials to prioritize Azerbaijan's territorial integrity; you called it "extremely dangerous." What was the vice president's reaction to that?
Tigran Sarkisian: I thought the reaction was a positive one and that the vice president agreed that the peace process that is taking place in the Minsk Group framework [co-mediated by France, Russia and the United States] is the way for the problem's resolution. I also focused on the dangerous statements made by Azerbaijan's foreign minister [Elmar Mammadyarov] at the United Nations last month. [Mr. Mammadyarov said] that they view the Karabakh settlement within the framework of the [nonbinding] UN General Assembly resolution [adopted last March], which certainly does not help us move forward toward a settlement. [In the meeting with Vice President Cheney,] I once again noted that we have a constructive position. Azerbaijan is aware of this, as are the mediators, and we hope that after Azerbaijan's [presidential] election [on October 15], there will be a new stage of constructive dialogue. In our meeting earlier today, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also said she expects new momentum in the negotiations after these elections.
AR: But could this momentum be built on this new American policy language that prioritizes Azerbaijan's territorial integrity?
TS: If territorial integrity is prioritized, the peace process - all of the work the mediators have done - becomes meaningless, since negotiators should take into account the positions of both sides. And this also provokes [Azerbaijan] toward war.
Monitoring Azerbaijan's arms buildup
AR: Does Armenia seek to expand the peace process from the current efforts to develop "settlement principles" to other measures such as strengthening of the cease-fire, a nonaggression pact, and disarmament?
TS: We raise these concerns in various organizations. We are concerned that Azerbaijan is intensively and aggressively arming itself. They are spending unjustifiably huge amounts on their military, and this undermines the peace process. And certainly we have brought this to the attention of our American and European colleagues, as well as NATO experts.
Moreover, international arms treaties must be respected. [Under the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty], there is a verification mechanism in which Armenia takes part. Our officials visit Turkey, and Turkish colleagues visit Armenia to monitor our forces.
Resource : Armenian Reporter
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