Change of power according to the ARF
"In 2010, we saw the results of the complete failure of "football diplomacy"," said ARF MP, Chairman of the International Relations Committee Armen Rustamyan as he summed up the year.
The only thing he considered positive was the decision of the Constitutional Court which corroborated the concerns of parties joining the "no" movement.
Rustamyan says there was no other progress and is not even content with Armenia suspending the ratification of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols.
"We suspended the process of ratification of the Protocols and thought that we took a huge step, but in reality, we are suspending a process that Turkey had suspended a long time ago."
Rustamyan says the right thing for Armenia to do would be to call back its signature under the Protocols and return to the baseline.
The ARF sees no progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution and says all processes are pro-Azerbaijani, except for the three principles which Armenia has always attached importance to.
Rustamyan liked Serzh Sargsyan's speech in Astana, but he sees a huge difference between his words and actions.
"Speaking is one thing and the reality is another. If Armenia says it can't substitute Karabakh in the negotiations process that includes the issues of status, refugees, territories and security, it shouldn't even sign under the documents without the participation of Karabakh."
Rustamyan doubts that the Armenian government or the political majority listens to and is guided by Serzh Sargsyan's announcements.
"The government has failed not only in foreign policy, but domestic policy as well and, first of all, in the spheres of society and economy," says Rustamyan.
In terms of democracy, Armen Rustamyan is not satisfied. "Plutocracy is in place of democracy in Armenia. Money is power, and power is more money and the authorities are reproducing with this logic."
The ARF sees the solution through structural reform. "It is change of content and not just change of people," says Rustamyan, adding that "the entire structure must change in order for the country to get back on track and develop without ceding".
