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VLADIMIR KARAPETYAN: AT A CRUCIAL TURNING POINT THE KREMLIN PREFERS NEGOTIATING WITH AZERBAIJAN, NOT ARMENIA
ArmInfo's Interview with Vladimir Karapetyan, Chairman of the Foreign
Relations Committee of the Armenian National Congress
by Ashot Safaryan
http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=B64CB060-FEAE-11E2-94BA0EB7C0D21663
Tuesday, August 6, 19:41
Mr.Karapetyan, what do you think of Armenia's possible signing of
the Association Agreement with the European Union? What benefits and
probably risks does the document contain?
The signing of the document on a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade
Area (DCFTA), as part of the Association Agreement between the EU
and the Republic of Armenia, contains certain risks. The thing is
that Armenia signed a similar agreement within the CIS last year. The
DCFTA can threaten the similar document within the CIS. That document
allows our exporters to obtain a big profit due to the customs regime
with Russia and other countries of the CIS. Russia is known to have
no free trade agreement with the EU, and we are going to sign such a
document with Brussels. I cannot imagine how we can have free trade
agreements with both Russia and the EU. I am sure neither of these
players will agree to such a state of affairs. We face big risks. I
think it would be quite reasonable to ask the Armenian Foreign Ministry
representatives, who were negotiating with the EU, to explain what
mechanisms the DCFTA has got to mitigate the specified risks. One
should take into account that the EU has already announced the
completion of the negotiations. So, all the possible inconsistencies,
discrepancies and risks must have been removed already. We have the
right to know how they have been removed.
What about the political aspect of the Association Agreement? Can
we expect any serious reforms in Armenia in terms of development of
democratic institutions, improvement of the electoral system, etc.?
I hope the Association Agreement contains all the aspects you have
mentioned. Though the Armenian National Congress is not familiar
with the document, it hopes that the Agreement will contribute
to development of our country, strengthening of our institutions,
adaptation of our legislation to the European standards. If there
are proper controlling mechanisms, this document should certainly be
welcomed in every possible way.
Recently the foreign ministers of Turkey and Azerbaijan have expressed
their discontent with the OSCE Minsk Group. How viable are Ankara's
efforts of political intervention in the South Caucasus and enhancement
of its role in the Karabakh peace process?
The OSCE Minsk Group can change its name, but the format, i.e. what
countries lead the Minsk Group, is the most important thing. So,
no matter how the name of the structure changes, Russia, the United
States and France will remain the mediators in the Karabakh peace
process. As regards Turkey, I do not think its active involvement in
the peace process is possible, because Armenia won't simply let it
do that. However, Ankara will have a certain impact on the conflict,
not least because of the "football diplomacy" of Serzh Sargsyan. It
is the so-called "self-motivated" foreign policy of Serzh Sargsyan
that speeded up Ankara's efforts in the South Caucasus. Moreover,
it is due to that policy that we have reached a deadlock today and
no one doubts that. There is no hope that the relations with Turkey
will improve in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, Turkey has
received Armenia's consent to set up a commission of historians to
study the facts of the Armenian Genocide. Though Turkey takes no
formal part in the Minsk process, nevertheless, during the high-level
meetings with the Russian or U.S. sides, Turkey's representatives
easily raise the Karabakh problem and blame Armenia for "occupying
the Azeri territories".
Back on the Karabakh topic, I should also recall that no high-level
meetings have been held for 1.5 years. These two key problems in
the foreign policy will unlikely be resolved in the near future. On
the whole, the uncertainty in the foreign policy of Armenia and the
socio-economic problems force dozens of thousands of our citizens to
leave the country to look for a better life abroad.
How realistic is the tension in Armenia-Russia relations in the light
of Armenia's negotiations with the European Union?
I think the Armenian authorities have no resources to conduct an
adequate policy to resist the foreign challenges. They are gradually
becoming inadequate in the eyes of the world community. Indeed,
Russia does not wait for Serzh Sargsyan. One can estimate Russia's
real attitude towards Armenia even by the fact that Russian President
Vladimir Putin is going to pay his forthcoming visit to Azerbaijan,
not Armenia, though the latter has been waiting for him for over a
year. Moscow is gradually losing confidence in its strategic partner.
Therefore, at a crucial turning point Russia prefers negotiating with
our rival on the key regional problems.
ArmInfo's Interview with Vladimir Karapetyan, Chairman of the Foreign
Relations Committee of the Armenian National Congress
by Ashot Safaryan
http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=B64CB060-FEAE-11E2-94BA0EB7C0D21663
Tuesday, August 6, 19:41
Mr.Karapetyan, what do you think of Armenia's possible signing of
the Association Agreement with the European Union? What benefits and
probably risks does the document contain?
The signing of the document on a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade
Area (DCFTA), as part of the Association Agreement between the EU
and the Republic of Armenia, contains certain risks. The thing is
that Armenia signed a similar agreement within the CIS last year. The
DCFTA can threaten the similar document within the CIS. That document
allows our exporters to obtain a big profit due to the customs regime
with Russia and other countries of the CIS. Russia is known to have
no free trade agreement with the EU, and we are going to sign such a
document with Brussels. I cannot imagine how we can have free trade
agreements with both Russia and the EU. I am sure neither of these
players will agree to such a state of affairs. We face big risks. I
think it would be quite reasonable to ask the Armenian Foreign Ministry
representatives, who were negotiating with the EU, to explain what
mechanisms the DCFTA has got to mitigate the specified risks. One
should take into account that the EU has already announced the
completion of the negotiations. So, all the possible inconsistencies,
discrepancies and risks must have been removed already. We have the
right to know how they have been removed.
What about the political aspect of the Association Agreement? Can
we expect any serious reforms in Armenia in terms of development of
democratic institutions, improvement of the electoral system, etc.?
I hope the Association Agreement contains all the aspects you have
mentioned. Though the Armenian National Congress is not familiar
with the document, it hopes that the Agreement will contribute
to development of our country, strengthening of our institutions,
adaptation of our legislation to the European standards. If there
are proper controlling mechanisms, this document should certainly be
welcomed in every possible way.
Recently the foreign ministers of Turkey and Azerbaijan have expressed
their discontent with the OSCE Minsk Group. How viable are Ankara's
efforts of political intervention in the South Caucasus and enhancement
of its role in the Karabakh peace process?
The OSCE Minsk Group can change its name, but the format, i.e. what
countries lead the Minsk Group, is the most important thing. So,
no matter how the name of the structure changes, Russia, the United
States and France will remain the mediators in the Karabakh peace
process. As regards Turkey, I do not think its active involvement in
the peace process is possible, because Armenia won't simply let it
do that. However, Ankara will have a certain impact on the conflict,
not least because of the "football diplomacy" of Serzh Sargsyan. It
is the so-called "self-motivated" foreign policy of Serzh Sargsyan
that speeded up Ankara's efforts in the South Caucasus. Moreover,
it is due to that policy that we have reached a deadlock today and
no one doubts that. There is no hope that the relations with Turkey
will improve in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, Turkey has
received Armenia's consent to set up a commission of historians to
study the facts of the Armenian Genocide. Though Turkey takes no
formal part in the Minsk process, nevertheless, during the high-level
meetings with the Russian or U.S. sides, Turkey's representatives
easily raise the Karabakh problem and blame Armenia for "occupying
the Azeri territories".
Back on the Karabakh topic, I should also recall that no high-level
meetings have been held for 1.5 years. These two key problems in
the foreign policy will unlikely be resolved in the near future. On
the whole, the uncertainty in the foreign policy of Armenia and the
socio-economic problems force dozens of thousands of our citizens to
leave the country to look for a better life abroad.
How realistic is the tension in Armenia-Russia relations in the light
of Armenia's negotiations with the European Union?
I think the Armenian authorities have no resources to conduct an
adequate policy to resist the foreign challenges. They are gradually
becoming inadequate in the eyes of the world community. Indeed,
Russia does not wait for Serzh Sargsyan. One can estimate Russia's
real attitude towards Armenia even by the fact that Russian President
Vladimir Putin is going to pay his forthcoming visit to Azerbaijan,
not Armenia, though the latter has been waiting for him for over a
year. Moscow is gradually losing confidence in its strategic partner.
Therefore, at a crucial turning point Russia prefers negotiating with
our rival on the key regional problems.