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Izvestiya, Russia
Jan 11 2013
New Armenian President Will Choose Between EU and Customs Union.
Country's Central Electoral Commission Has Completed Registration of
Candidates for Presidential Election
by Tigran Oganesyan
[Translated from Russian]
The Armenian Central Electoral Commission has completed registration
of the country's presidential candidates. In the 18 February election,
eight people will compete for the position, including the favorite,
incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan. Armenia considers that the Kremlin
will back him as the most viable candidate.
Many analysts in Armenia consider, however, that if Sargsyan is
reelected, he is unlikely to abandon a Euro-Atlantic course. Doctor of
Political Science Amayak Ovannisyan, president of the Armenian
Association of Political Analysts, told Izvestiya that many presidents
of countries in the post-Soviet space gave assurances of loyalty to
Russia, but forgot about this after their reelection, as happened with
Ukrainian leader Yanukovych, for example.
"And then, why should the incumbent president be thankful to Russia,
if he has no competitors in the coming election? And consequently has
no need for support from outside," he explained.
The lack of alternatives to Sargsyan's election as head of state arose
after the unexpected withdrawal from the race of Gagik Tsarukyan,
leader of the Prosperous Armenia party, the second political force in
parliament. At 68 years old, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president
of Armenia [from 1991-1998], heading the opposition Armenian National
Congress, also declined to participate in the coming election because
of his age.
The recent visit to Yerevan by foreign ministers from Poland, Sweden,
and Bulgaria also confirmed the fact that Armenia does not intend to
reject close relations with Europe; during a meeting with the
ministers, President Sargsyan noted that "relations between Armenia
and the EU within the framework of the Eastern Partnership are
developing intensively and have moved onto a qualitatively new plane."
Significant progress has also been achieved in negotiations on an
association agreement and on the question of creating an extended and
comprehensive free trade zone. Both parties hope that the negotiations
will be completed by November of this year, before the Eastern
Partnership Summit in Vilnius. And on 17 December a visa facilitation
agreement was signed, which will give Armenia's young people and
cultural figures the opportunity to visit EU countries according to a
simplified procedure.
Armenia refuses to join the Customs Union, justifying this by the
absence of common borders with the structure's member countries, and
is currently pondering the expediency of joining the Eurasian Union.
In this connection, Richard Kirakosyan, leader of the Regional Studies
Center, suggested that Russia will try to "punish" Armenia by
increasing gas prices. Armen Arzumanyan, press secretary to the
Armenian president, denied to Izvestiya rumors that Vladimir Putin is
preparing for a visit to Yerevan in the near future.
"If issues regarding joining the Eurasian Union are clearly set out in
the incumbent president's election platform, then this will
undoubtedly create certain guarantees of Armenia's progress along the
path of Eurasian integration in the postelection period," the head of
the Armenian Association of Political Analysts considers.
At the same time, many people in Armenia consider that Russia
currently has very limited opportunity to influence the outcome of the
presidential election, which is why Russia will prefer to back the
"viable" candidate -- incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan.
[Translated from Russian]
Jan 11 2013
New Armenian President Will Choose Between EU and Customs Union.
Country's Central Electoral Commission Has Completed Registration of
Candidates for Presidential Election
by Tigran Oganesyan
[Translated from Russian]
The Armenian Central Electoral Commission has completed registration
of the country's presidential candidates. In the 18 February election,
eight people will compete for the position, including the favorite,
incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan. Armenia considers that the Kremlin
will back him as the most viable candidate.
Many analysts in Armenia consider, however, that if Sargsyan is
reelected, he is unlikely to abandon a Euro-Atlantic course. Doctor of
Political Science Amayak Ovannisyan, president of the Armenian
Association of Political Analysts, told Izvestiya that many presidents
of countries in the post-Soviet space gave assurances of loyalty to
Russia, but forgot about this after their reelection, as happened with
Ukrainian leader Yanukovych, for example.
"And then, why should the incumbent president be thankful to Russia,
if he has no competitors in the coming election? And consequently has
no need for support from outside," he explained.
The lack of alternatives to Sargsyan's election as head of state arose
after the unexpected withdrawal from the race of Gagik Tsarukyan,
leader of the Prosperous Armenia party, the second political force in
parliament. At 68 years old, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president
of Armenia [from 1991-1998], heading the opposition Armenian National
Congress, also declined to participate in the coming election because
of his age.
The recent visit to Yerevan by foreign ministers from Poland, Sweden,
and Bulgaria also confirmed the fact that Armenia does not intend to
reject close relations with Europe; during a meeting with the
ministers, President Sargsyan noted that "relations between Armenia
and the EU within the framework of the Eastern Partnership are
developing intensively and have moved onto a qualitatively new plane."
Significant progress has also been achieved in negotiations on an
association agreement and on the question of creating an extended and
comprehensive free trade zone. Both parties hope that the negotiations
will be completed by November of this year, before the Eastern
Partnership Summit in Vilnius. And on 17 December a visa facilitation
agreement was signed, which will give Armenia's young people and
cultural figures the opportunity to visit EU countries according to a
simplified procedure.
Armenia refuses to join the Customs Union, justifying this by the
absence of common borders with the structure's member countries, and
is currently pondering the expediency of joining the Eurasian Union.
In this connection, Richard Kirakosyan, leader of the Regional Studies
Center, suggested that Russia will try to "punish" Armenia by
increasing gas prices. Armen Arzumanyan, press secretary to the
Armenian president, denied to Izvestiya rumors that Vladimir Putin is
preparing for a visit to Yerevan in the near future.
"If issues regarding joining the Eurasian Union are clearly set out in
the incumbent president's election platform, then this will
undoubtedly create certain guarantees of Armenia's progress along the
path of Eurasian integration in the postelection period," the head of
the Armenian Association of Political Analysts considers.
At the same time, many people in Armenia consider that Russia
currently has very limited opportunity to influence the outcome of the
presidential election, which is why Russia will prefer to back the
"viable" candidate -- incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan.
[Translated from Russian]