“ARFD did not know what Kocharyan had on his mind”
Giro Manoyan, Head of the Hay Dat office for political affairs, Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD) today had to comment on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's message on Karabakh issue - a theme he was not well informed about.
"The content of the message is not known but the fact is that Serzh Sargsyan did not look happy after his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who recently arrived in Yerevan to convey Medvedev's message to Sargsyan. I think that Azerbaijani President's response did not differ greatly from that of Armenia. I think that both Armenia and Azerbaijan gave a negative reply to President Medvedev," Manoyan told journalists on August 1.
Manoyan thinks that Russia should reveal the content of the message.
"For two months we are speaking about something we do not have the slightest notion of. Mevedev himself should decode the message and explain the reasons for denial by the Armenia and Azerbaijani sides."
ARFD strongly condemns authorities' policy in the issue of Karabakh conflict and in relations with Turkey.
In reply to a journalist's observation that the acting regime came to power with the slogan "we shall not yield an inch of land," while today they are going to cede the liberated territories, the ARFD senior official said, "Serzh Sargsyan did not pledge anything. During his tenure of office as the country's defense minister, Sargsyan said that the disputed territories would be returned. On the other hand, official Stepanakert does make any statement about the possible surrender of the territories, which shows that they are inclined to return them. The worst is that Armenia was to first to speak about surrender in the name of Serzh Sargsyan. But we have never demanded any compensation for them," Manoyan told A1+.
Head of ARFD's Hay Dat office says it is wrong to say that Serzh Sargsyan is continuing Robert Kocharyan's policy in the Karabakh issue.
"Kocharyan never said that "we would yield any territory" or "it was a security zone when we seized it." He may have had some idea on his mind, but he did not express it," he said.
Manoyan does not expect breakthrough in the Karabakh issue, saying Azerbaijan will linger the peace process with its demeanour. The mediators are only attempting to reduce the risk of war.
Regarding Armenian-Turkish peace deal, Manoyan says it is time Armenian authorities understood that the talks have failed and withdrew their signature from the protocols.
