Epress.am News from Armenia
Armenian National Congress (HAK) external affairs spokesperson Vladimir Karapetyan, speaking with Epress.am, said that he believes that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s recent visit to Armenia was a very significant event. According to him, the visit served the Armenian government’s PR aims.
“The visit, I believe, obscured Russia’s July 26 statement in which it recognized the territories under Nagorno-Karabakh’s control as being occupied. Also negative, of course, was the news that it’s going to sell the ultramodern C-300 system to Azerbaijan. I believe our concerns weren’t dispersed during the visit, and extending the contract’s term 10 years before it ends also raises certain questions. The tenets of that agreement also don’t provide any provisions for the expansion of functions. As confirmed by Kyrgyzstan’s foreign affairs minister, let’s hope that at least in the economic sector we’ll see a spark and a stimulation in Armenia-Russia contact,” said Karapetyan.
As for the CSTO’s recent unofficial summit in Yerevan, in the HAK representative’s opinion, that was an event in which no decisions were made.
“An event which takes place in Harsnakar [a hotel complex on the shores of Lake Sevan]… I believe it’s better that the presidents give [their] evaluations, how they relaxed, how they passed their time in Armenia. Basically, it was an informal meeting; the presidents have attended such meetings five, six times a year,” said Karapetyan, assuring that, from the onset, discussing any particular issue in Armenia wasn’t planned.
The HAK member also said that a number of participants only attended the first day of the summit and left before the summit ended.