A Russian political commentator, Vadim Dubnov, tells “Zhamanak” that the April 2 parliamentary elections in Armenia were not of particular interest to official Moscow. “The only important question for it was the political configuration [in the Armenian parliament] and the extent to which Serzh Sarkisian will prove his supremacy,” he says. “So Moscow has hardly discovered anything or drawn any in-depth conclusions.”
“Aravot” disagrees with those who think that opposition forces should boycott Yerevan’s municipal council if they fail to win many seats there in the elections scheduled for May 14. “You can achieve a lot in the council as well as in the parliament even while being in minority,” editorializes the paper. “You just have to not view your mandate as an appreciation of your merits … and to follow instead the real meaning of that word.” It says that this is what many opposition members of Armenia’s current and former National Assemblies have done.
Alexander Rahr, a German political analyst, is quoted by “168 Zham” as saying that the United States, Russia and other foreign powers should continue to press for a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He says that their lack of attention to the unresolved dispute could only facilitate its renewed escalation. “The big powers need serious diplomatic efforts to overcome the current Russian-American tensions, which could reflect negatively on their attention to other conflicts,” Rahr tells the paper.
“Zhoghovurd” reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has again warned of what he sees as a risk of Western-sponsored “color revolutions” in the former Soviet Union. Putin has told the Moscow-based MIR-24 TV station that his government will do everything to thwart such revolutions. “Thus, he is saying that dictatorial regimes in the Russian sphere of influence … can totally pin their hopes on Putin’s backing,” comments the paper. “That certainly applies to Serzh Sarkisian as well, even though Putin is not necessarily interested in extending the latter’s rule.”
(Tigran Avetisian)