At a press conference in Yerevan on Thursday, a senior representative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) did not rule out a demand for Sarkisian’s resignation if the latter signed a document based on the so-called Madrid principles that Dashnaktsutyun deems as running against the interests of both Armenia and Karabakh.
Sarkisian will fly to Moscow on Friday to hold talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev. The meeting in the Russian capital will come a week after the presidents of France, Russia, and the United States – the three countries that jointly co-head the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) leading international efforts on mediating a solution to the Karabakh conflict – issued a joint statement urging the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan “to resolve the few differences remaining between them and finalize their agreement” on the most recent draft of the Madrid principles.
These principles proposed by the mediators as a basis for further negotiations, in particular, call for the “return of the territories surrounding Karabakh to Azerbaijani control” and “future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will.”
Dashnaktsutyun Executive Council of Armenia representative Armen Rustamian said on Thursday that “if, God forbid, such a document is signed, our struggle will receive a completely different nature.”
“We have repeatedly said that no matter who the incumbent president is, we will oppose such a policy with all available constitutional means, including by demanding [the president’s] resignation,” said Rustamian.
Earlier this week, Dashnaktsutyun presented a demand for the resignation of the foreign minister in the Sarkisian cabinet.
The party had scheduled a picket near the Foreign Ministry building in Yerevan for Thursday afternoon, but canceled it after President Sarkisian declared July 16 a day of national mourning in Armenia over a deadly plane crash in Iran in which 168 people, including 36 Armenians, were killed while traveling from Tehran to Yerevan.
Among Dashnaktsutyun’s demands, which were also echoed by the participants of the party-hosted large forum in Karabakh capital Stepanakert last weekend, is that Yerevan paves the way for Karabakh to return to the negotiations with Azerbaijan as a full party.
A statement adopted by the Dashnaktsutyun Executive Council of Armenia earlier this week called for the resignation of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian because “Armenia’s foreign policy has deviated from the main provisions of the national security strategy.”
“For the purpose of eliminating the negative consequences that have emerged in the foreign policy domain and restoring the national-state course, we demand the resignation of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who is immediately responsible for the sphere,” said Rustamian, presenting the summary demand of the statement.
Rustamian explained that by not demanding President Sarkisian’s resignation, Dashnaktsutyun shows that it does not want to “disrupt the works”, but instead seeks a “drastic change” in the situation.
“The president still has an opportunity to make a drastic change in the situation and, most importantly, not to sign the document that is being proposed today,” he said.
Rustamian also announced that Dashnaktsutyun had prepared a letter addressed to the ambassadors of the United States, France and Russia to Armenia informing them of “the deepest disappointment of Armenians around the world with the unjustified and groundless pressure of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries on Armenia for the purpose of imposing unilateral and dangerous concessions in the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
Another Armenian party, Zharangutyun, also known as a vocal critic of Sarkisian’s policy on Karabakh, hinted at possible cooperation with Dashnaktsutyun in opposing a deal with Azerbaijan based on the Madrid principles.
Larisa Alaverdian, a member of the party’s parliamentary faction, emphasized at a separate press conference on Thursday that Zharangutyun was the first to declare they would demand Sarkisian’s resignation if he signed any document based on the Madrid principles.
“I am glad we have some ground for cooperation with such an old and established political force as Dashnaktsutyun,” said Alaverdian. “I have criticized Dashnaktsutyun on many occasions over domestic matters before. But it is good that [in this issue] our viewpoints match.”
Sarkisian will fly to Moscow on Friday to hold talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev. The meeting in the Russian capital will come a week after the presidents of France, Russia, and the United States – the three countries that jointly co-head the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) leading international efforts on mediating a solution to the Karabakh conflict – issued a joint statement urging the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan “to resolve the few differences remaining between them and finalize their agreement” on the most recent draft of the Madrid principles.
These principles proposed by the mediators as a basis for further negotiations, in particular, call for the “return of the territories surrounding Karabakh to Azerbaijani control” and “future determination of the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a legally binding expression of will.”
Dashnaktsutyun Executive Council of Armenia representative Armen Rustamian said on Thursday that “if, God forbid, such a document is signed, our struggle will receive a completely different nature.”
“We have repeatedly said that no matter who the incumbent president is, we will oppose such a policy with all available constitutional means, including by demanding [the president’s] resignation,” said Rustamian.
Earlier this week, Dashnaktsutyun presented a demand for the resignation of the foreign minister in the Sarkisian cabinet.
The party had scheduled a picket near the Foreign Ministry building in Yerevan for Thursday afternoon, but canceled it after President Sarkisian declared July 16 a day of national mourning in Armenia over a deadly plane crash in Iran in which 168 people, including 36 Armenians, were killed while traveling from Tehran to Yerevan.
Among Dashnaktsutyun’s demands, which were also echoed by the participants of the party-hosted large forum in Karabakh capital Stepanakert last weekend, is that Yerevan paves the way for Karabakh to return to the negotiations with Azerbaijan as a full party.
A statement adopted by the Dashnaktsutyun Executive Council of Armenia earlier this week called for the resignation of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian because “Armenia’s foreign policy has deviated from the main provisions of the national security strategy.”
“For the purpose of eliminating the negative consequences that have emerged in the foreign policy domain and restoring the national-state course, we demand the resignation of Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who is immediately responsible for the sphere,” said Rustamian, presenting the summary demand of the statement.
Rustamian explained that by not demanding President Sarkisian’s resignation, Dashnaktsutyun shows that it does not want to “disrupt the works”, but instead seeks a “drastic change” in the situation.
“The president still has an opportunity to make a drastic change in the situation and, most importantly, not to sign the document that is being proposed today,” he said.
Rustamian also announced that Dashnaktsutyun had prepared a letter addressed to the ambassadors of the United States, France and Russia to Armenia informing them of “the deepest disappointment of Armenians around the world with the unjustified and groundless pressure of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries on Armenia for the purpose of imposing unilateral and dangerous concessions in the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
Another Armenian party, Zharangutyun, also known as a vocal critic of Sarkisian’s policy on Karabakh, hinted at possible cooperation with Dashnaktsutyun in opposing a deal with Azerbaijan based on the Madrid principles.
Larisa Alaverdian, a member of the party’s parliamentary faction, emphasized at a separate press conference on Thursday that Zharangutyun was the first to declare they would demand Sarkisian’s resignation if he signed any document based on the Madrid principles.
“I am glad we have some ground for cooperation with such an old and established political force as Dashnaktsutyun,” said Alaverdian. “I have criticized Dashnaktsutyun on many occasions over domestic matters before. But it is good that [in this issue] our viewpoints match.”