Vahan Hovannesian

YEREVAN (Yerkir Media)—The joint statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict issued by presidents Obama, Sarkozy and Medvedev in Deauville, France last month is not in beneficial for Armenia, said Armenian Revolutionary Federation Parliamentary Bloc chairman Vahan Hovannesian at a press briefing Monday.

He added that it was impossible to make prediction on the outcome of scheduled talks later this month between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Kazan, Russia, saying that none of the documents that have emerged from the conflict resolution process represent the interests of Armenia.

Hovannesian recommended that Armenia should, at one point, withdraw from the negotiation process and insist on new talks with the participation of Karabakh.

He also added that Armenia missed an opportunity to restart talks under a new format when Azerbaijan called for revamping the format.

Hovannesian also stressed that Azerbaijan has never hidden its unwillingness to compromise and it has, on numerous occasions, spoken that it will not agree to Karabakh’s independence.

In discussing Armenia’s domestic political climate, Hovannesian touched on the so-celled “dialogue” between the Armenian National Congress and the president.

The ARF leader explained that Armenian National Congress leader Levon Ter-Petrosian succeeded in making the international community to exert pressure on Armenia’s authorities to engage in the dialogue.

He warned, however, that the exerted pressure is not meant to strengthen democracy in Armenia, but rather a way to influence the Karabakh peace process.

Hovannesian hinted that recent mounting “hysterical” criticism of the ARF by Ter-Petrosian and the president signals that the “dialogue” would be nothing but an agreement between the two leaders for greater Ter-Petrosian presence in the new parliament.

Members of the President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party ruled out the convening of snap elections—a high priority demand by Ter-Petrosian—when they unveiled their plan for the so-called “dialogue.” Hovannesian explained that Ter-Petrosian’s willingness to move forward with the “dialogue” despite the overt rejection of snap polls indicates that Ter-Petrosian is changing course.

“The Armenian Revolutionary Federation has also been talking to the authorities, but specifically within the framework of the amendments to the Electoral Code. The few ARF proposals that have been adopted were the result of dialogue,” explained Hovannesian who wanted to draw a distinction between dialogue that aims to reform the current situation and one that serves an individual’s self interests.