“Armenia, and not only Armenia, is interested in the neighbors, which have taken the democratic path of development. Thus, when it comes to a neighbor, especially to a partner in negotiations, Armenia is invariably interested in a democratic Azerbaijan. However, if we disregard this fact for a moment, the answer to the question is the following: we’d rather see President Ilham Aliev win.”- so expressed his opinion the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan in response to the question raised by the members of ” Bazeh” Youth gathering during its closing ceremony as to whose candidacy elected at the presidential elections in Azerbaijan is beneficial for Armenia.
Armen Martirosyan, Deputy Chairman of “Heritage” party does not share the opinion of the President of Armenia on this issue. Commenting on the statement of Serzh Sargsyan, Mr. Martirosyan stated,- “Perhaps it is beneficial in the sense that most likely Aliyev, to some extent, is a predictable figure for them; they have met and, perhaps, there are some contacts.”
Continuing the idea, the Deputy Chairman of “Heritage” said- “Globally, I do not think Aliev’s reelection is beneficial. For Armenia, democratic Azerbaijan is beneficial, which adopts international norms, the right of peoples to self-determination, and it would be also easier to establish a definite relationship with the kind of political figure. In this case, I don’t think that the contacts that exist between incumbent Presidents are going to be effective in the long term. Both presidents were elected approximately by the same non-democratic elections, in that sense, both countries probably understand each other easier, but they are not sufficient grounds for solution of problems and establishment of normal relations between the two countries in the long term.”
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Gurgen Yeghiazaryan, a political and public figure, also does not share the opinion of the President of Armenia. He evaluates Serzh Sargsyan’s statement “zero,” noting that “it is a sentence of the moment.”
Then he details,- “Only Aliyev succeeds to suspend the powerful national liberation struggle in Azerbaijan, I mean Talysh, Lezgins, who would immediately divide Azerbaijan into three parts and they would forget about Nagorno-Karabakh forever. So, it’s just the opposite, God forbid, Aliev becomes the president of Azerbaijan.”
We inquired whether Serzh Sargsyan does not understand all of this, Mr. Yeghiazaryan replied,- “What can I say, may be he understands, that’s why we are in this situation.” Gurgen Yeghiazaryan sees inconformity in RA President’s statements, and details. “Azerbaijan has never been a democratic country, neither Armenia was and is. The elections both in Armenia and Azerbaijan are falsified in a very mean way. And the statement that reelection of Aliev is beneficial looks like the naive arrogance that strong people are always willing to deal with the strong. But they are not of the same weight categories. Today, Aliyev has multiplied budget, multiplied standard of living, maximum reduction of poverty, and Armenia – the opposite. Therefore, I would recommend staying away from those dreams, even on the level of being proud of.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
