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The Associated Press
February 18, 2008 Monday 8:14 PM GMT
Armenia to decide president as breakaway Caucusus territories eye
Kosovo declaration
By MARIA DANILOVA, Associated Press Writer
YEREVAN Armenia
Armenians vote for a new president Tuesday amid growing unease that
Kosovo's declaration of independence could increase secessionist
pressure in breakaway territories in the Caucuses and other former
Soviet regions.
The election could determine how far Armenia is willing to go to
avoid renewed conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over the territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The struggle over that region is one of several so-called "frozen
conflicts" which also include the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova
and Georgia's South Ossetia and Abkhazia territories that could heat
up after Kosovo's parliament declared independence from Serbia on
Sunday.
Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas in Azerbaijan have been
controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists since a 1994 cease-fire
ended six years of full-scale war. Some 30,000 people were killed and
more than 1 million driven from their homes in the fighting. There
are still sporadic clashes along Nagorno-Karabakh's borders.
The Armenian government says Nagorno-Karabakh should be recognized as
a sovereign state, while Azerbaijan says it will never cede its
territory.
The election pits Armenia's powerful prime minister, Serge Sarkisian,
against former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who led the country
through the first painful years of independence from the Soviet Union
and the devastating war over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The stern Sarkisian, 53, is expected to win after being groomed by
outgoing President Robert Kocharian as his preferred successor and
benefiting from the country's relatively strong economic growth. Many
voters here associate Ter-Petrosian, 63, with the economic collapse
of the 1990s.
Armenia's location between the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and
southern Europe, and its proximity to Iran, make it of strategic
importance for the West and Russia.
Moscow, traditionally Armenia's key partner in the region, has warned
that unilateral recognition of Kosovo's independence by the West
could encourage separatist regions elsewhere in the former Soviet
Union.
Although the Kremlin has tried to remain neutral in the dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it has close ties to separatist
governments in several breakaway regions, including Abkhazia and
South Ossetia.
The two candidates differ sharply in their approach to
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Sarkisian, a native of the region and a decorated war hero, appears
less flexible than Ter-Petrosian, who was forced to resign in 1998
after advocating concessions. Ter-Petrosian has hinted that he could
seek a compromise.
"My position is to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as soon as
possible having the political will to resolve this conflict as soon
as possible," Ter-Petrosian told a news conference Sunday.
With a population of about 3.2 million on a territory the size of
Belgium, Armenia has struggled to build an economy in the wake of the
1991 Soviet collapse and in the face of blockades by neighboring
Azerbaijan and its key ally Turkey.
Turkey has a stake in the dispute because it is outraged by Armenia's
efforts to win international recognition of the killing of 1.5
million Armenians by Ottoman Turks in the World War I-era as
genocide.
The blockades have slowed the country's economy by disrupting trade
and cutting Armenia out of lucrative energy and transport projects.
Despite economic progress over the last decade, more than a quarter
of Armenians still live in poverty.
"I am one of you. I'm someone who knows your problems and knows how
to solve them," Sarkisian told a rally of 40,000 Sunday, promising to
fight poverty and corruption.
The United States, whose large Armenian diaspora has a strong lobby
in Congress, has poured some $1.7 billion in aid into the country
since 1991, encouraging economic and political liberalization.
Armenia is eligible for more than $235 million in additional U.S.
aid. But the money is contingent upon political reforms, and a
questionable election could jeopardize Washington's support. A clean
vote would likely strengthen Armenia's ties with the European Union.
February 18, 2008 Monday 8:14 PM GMT
Armenia to decide president as breakaway Caucusus territories eye
Kosovo declaration
By MARIA DANILOVA, Associated Press Writer
YEREVAN Armenia
Armenians vote for a new president Tuesday amid growing unease that
Kosovo's declaration of independence could increase secessionist
pressure in breakaway territories in the Caucuses and other former
Soviet regions.
The election could determine how far Armenia is willing to go to
avoid renewed conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over the territory
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The struggle over that region is one of several so-called "frozen
conflicts" which also include the Trans-Dniester region of Moldova
and Georgia's South Ossetia and Abkhazia territories that could heat
up after Kosovo's parliament declared independence from Serbia on
Sunday.
Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas in Azerbaijan have been
controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists since a 1994 cease-fire
ended six years of full-scale war. Some 30,000 people were killed and
more than 1 million driven from their homes in the fighting. There
are still sporadic clashes along Nagorno-Karabakh's borders.
The Armenian government says Nagorno-Karabakh should be recognized as
a sovereign state, while Azerbaijan says it will never cede its
territory.
The election pits Armenia's powerful prime minister, Serge Sarkisian,
against former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, who led the country
through the first painful years of independence from the Soviet Union
and the devastating war over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The stern Sarkisian, 53, is expected to win after being groomed by
outgoing President Robert Kocharian as his preferred successor and
benefiting from the country's relatively strong economic growth. Many
voters here associate Ter-Petrosian, 63, with the economic collapse
of the 1990s.
Armenia's location between the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and
southern Europe, and its proximity to Iran, make it of strategic
importance for the West and Russia.
Moscow, traditionally Armenia's key partner in the region, has warned
that unilateral recognition of Kosovo's independence by the West
could encourage separatist regions elsewhere in the former Soviet
Union.
Although the Kremlin has tried to remain neutral in the dispute
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it has close ties to separatist
governments in several breakaway regions, including Abkhazia and
South Ossetia.
The two candidates differ sharply in their approach to
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Sarkisian, a native of the region and a decorated war hero, appears
less flexible than Ter-Petrosian, who was forced to resign in 1998
after advocating concessions. Ter-Petrosian has hinted that he could
seek a compromise.
"My position is to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as soon as
possible having the political will to resolve this conflict as soon
as possible," Ter-Petrosian told a news conference Sunday.
With a population of about 3.2 million on a territory the size of
Belgium, Armenia has struggled to build an economy in the wake of the
1991 Soviet collapse and in the face of blockades by neighboring
Azerbaijan and its key ally Turkey.
Turkey has a stake in the dispute because it is outraged by Armenia's
efforts to win international recognition of the killing of 1.5
million Armenians by Ottoman Turks in the World War I-era as
genocide.
The blockades have slowed the country's economy by disrupting trade
and cutting Armenia out of lucrative energy and transport projects.
Despite economic progress over the last decade, more than a quarter
of Armenians still live in poverty.
"I am one of you. I'm someone who knows your problems and knows how
to solve them," Sarkisian told a rally of 40,000 Sunday, promising to
fight poverty and corruption.
The United States, whose large Armenian diaspora has a strong lobby
in Congress, has poured some $1.7 billion in aid into the country
since 1991, encouraging economic and political liberalization.
Armenia is eligible for more than $235 million in additional U.S.
aid. But the money is contingent upon political reforms, and a
questionable election could jeopardize Washington's support. A clean
vote would likely strengthen Armenia's ties with the European Union.