Armenia's political arena is controlled by external forces, mainly Russia and the USA, a member of the Sardarapat civic movement has said.
Veteran field commander Jirayr Sefilyan told a press conference that Russia was concerned at the wave of revolutions in the Arab world, since it did not want similar scenarios in the South Caucasus, especially in Armenia.
Russia is doing its utmost to maintain the status quo in Armenia and it is in this light that the emergence of a new coalition memorandum in Armenia should be viewed, he said.
At the same time, the opposition is controlled by the USA to a certain extent, Sefilyan continued. The United States does not execute revolutionary scenarios, but is trying to reconcile the opposition, in the shape of the Armenian National Congress, with the authorities. The Armenian National Congress has softened its position and expressed readiness for dialogue with the authorities under the dictation of the USA, he believed.
Sefilyan said the main strategic aim of the West over the past 20 years had been to weaken Russia in the region and, in particular, to exclude the Russian military presence. Aware that there is no difference in the political positions of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and the leader of the Armenian National Congress, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, on Turkey and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the West is trying to make sure one of them is in power. “It is obvious that on the day when Armenian-Turkish relations are improved, there will be no need for the presence of a Russian military base in Armenia," he said.
Sefilyan said that any program, reached through cooperation with the authorities, could not be positive and was against the people’s interests. In this regard, Sefilyan urged the leadership of the Armenian National Congress to disavow its decision to hold a dialogue with the authorities, as “it is not yet late to do this”.
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