“Zhoghovurd” quotes Armen Rustamian, a leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), as saying that his party’s main mistake was to enter Serzh Sarkisian’s coalition governments in which it had no decisive say. “It’s good that Dashnaktsutyun representatives have decided to revise their actions and admit mistakes,” comments the paper. “But this admission by Rustamian is very artificial.” It argues that Dashnaktsutyun leaders have made similar statements in the past but have never acted on them.
“Aravot” says that many leading members of Armenia’s former ruling parties believed to have engaged in corrupt practices have switched sides after regime changes in Yerevan. And yet this, the paper says, has not changed negative popular perceptions of those parties. “It is very hard to make the masses change their views,” editorializes the paper. Therefore, it says, what those parties should do in these circumstances is to admit their mistakes and disavow the actions of their corrupt figures. In particular, the paper goes on, Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) should now name the individuals who “plundered the people” when it was in power and are not linked to the HHK anymore. “But this is certainly easier said than done,” admits “Aravot.”
Lragir.am reports that Belarus indicated plans to sell more weapons to Azerbaijan during Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to Minsk on Monday. Aliyev said after talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko that Azerbaijan is satisfied with the quality of Belarusian-made military hardware bought by it. “Aliyev’s statement is addressed to Russia,” comments the online journal. “Minsk and Baku each annoy [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.” It speculates that Aliyev is specifically seeking Russia’s approval of fresh Azerbaijani offensive operations in Nagorno-Karabakh. Moscow is reluctant to give such a green light, it says.
(Lilit Harutiunian)