16 The <strong>Armenia</strong>n Reporter | May 2, 2009<strong>Armenia</strong>ARF leaves <strong>Armenia</strong>n government, citingdisagreements on Turkey policyby Vincent LimaYEREVAN – The <strong>Armenia</strong>n RevolutionaryFederation (Dashnaktsutiun)on April 27 withdrew from <strong>Armenia</strong>’sgoverning coalition, citing“insurmountable disagreementson matters of principle” regarding<strong>Armenia</strong>’s foreign policy. A partydeclaration referred specifically tothe timing <strong>and</strong> substance of a jointstatement of the foreign ministriesof <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Turkey on the eveof April 24.The withdrawal of the party,which controls 16 seats in the 131-seat parliament, will not cause thecollapse of the four-party coalition,but has significantly exp<strong>and</strong>ed theparliamentary opposition, whichuntil now included only the HeritageParty, with seven seats, <strong>and</strong>one or two unaffiliated members ofparliament.“The ARF can acquiesce in manythings, but not when it comes toissues <strong>and</strong> ideas it holds sacred,”Armen Rustamian, representativeof the ARF’s Supreme Body of<strong>Armenia</strong>, told reporters on April 27.Mr. Rustamian, a member of the<strong>National</strong> Assembly, has resigned aschairperson of the parliamentarySt<strong>and</strong>ing Committee on ForeignRelations.Also resigning from portfoliosallocated to the party through thecoalition agreement are Ministerof Education Spartak Seyranian,Minister of Agriculture AramaisGrigorian, <strong>and</strong> Minister of Labor<strong>and</strong> Social Affairs Arsen Hambartsumian.Deputy speaker of parliamentHrair Karapetian <strong>and</strong> thechairperson of the parliamentarySt<strong>and</strong>ing Committee on Defense,<strong>National</strong> Security, <strong>and</strong> InternalAffairs Artur Agabekiansubmitted their resignations onMonday.[Under a parliamentary rule adoptedsome months ago with ARFsupport, members of oppositionparties are to chair some parliamentarycommittees. The rule wasmeant to come into effect with thenext parliament, but the Speakerinvoked it on behalf of the coalition,“urging the <strong>Armenia</strong>n RevolutionaryFederation faction to withdraw,while being in opposition, ArmenRustamian’s <strong>and</strong> Artur Agabekian’sresignations.” The ARF agreed <strong>and</strong>the two men will retain their posts.]Turkey policyThe ARF has repeatedly expressedmisgivings about <strong>Armenia</strong>-Turkeytalks initiated by <strong>Armenia</strong>’s PresidentSerge Sargsian. It organizedstreet demonstrations to protestthe visit of Turkey’s PresidentAbdullah Gül to <strong>Armenia</strong> on September6, 2008.As the talks continued, <strong>Armenia</strong>nobservers, including the ARF,expressed concern that Turkeywas sticking to its preconditionsfor the normalization of relations.These preconditions have included<strong>Armenia</strong>n concessions in Nagorno-Karabakh <strong>and</strong> the removal of theinternational recognition of the<strong>Armenia</strong>n Genocide from <strong>Armenia</strong>’sforeign-policy agenda.Mr. Sargsian on April 20 told theWall Street Journal that his government<strong>and</strong> “the Turkish side in thenegotiations supported the ideathat we are negotiating withoutany preconditions.” But, he added,“I think already now the motivationof Turkey has decreased, because. . . Prime Minister Erdoganis now offering preconditions.”Indeed, on April 19 Mr. Erdoganhad announced, “If the <strong>Armenia</strong>noccupation of Azeri territory continues,Turkey will not open itsborder gate.”Nonetheless, two days later, <strong>Armenia</strong>’sForeign Ministry <strong>and</strong> itsTurkish counterpart issued a jointdeclaration claiming the “two partieshave achieved tangible progress<strong>and</strong> mutual underst<strong>and</strong>ing” inthe process of normalizing theirbilateral relations.The statement, coming on theeve of April 24, the day <strong>Armenia</strong>nsworldwide commemorate the <strong>Armenia</strong>nGenocide, was widely seen asintended to serve a single purpose:to allow President Barack Obamato cite progress in <strong>Armenia</strong>-Turkeydialogue as a reason to hold off onrecognizing the <strong>Armenia</strong>n Genocide.During his election campaign,Mr. Obama had pledged to recognizethe Genocide as president.“We find unacceptable <strong>and</strong> condemnthe issuing of a joint declarationof the Ministries of ForeignAffairs of <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Turkey onthe eve of April 24,” the ARF declarationread. It emphasized thatthe joint declaration came at a timewhen “the leaders of Turkey aremaking anti-<strong>Armenia</strong>n announcements<strong>and</strong> restating preconditionsfor the normalization of relations.”<strong>Armenia</strong>ns have succeeded overthe years in “internationalizing”the recognition of the <strong>Armenia</strong>nGenocide, Mr. Rustamian said, referringto the recognition of therace-extermination campaign of1915–17 as genocide by the EuropeanParliament <strong>and</strong> numerousgovernments <strong>and</strong> parliaments. TheTurkish government seeks to makethe <strong>Armenia</strong>n Genocide a bilateralissue between itself <strong>and</strong> the <strong>Armenia</strong>ngovernment <strong>and</strong> that is unacceptable,he added.Whereas the joint statementof the Turkish <strong>and</strong> <strong>Armenia</strong>n foreignministries did not refer to theGenocide, its timing, according toMr. Rustamian, was a major blowto <strong>Armenia</strong>n interests.Asked about the timing, ForeignMinister Edward Nalb<strong>and</strong>ian onMonday told Armenpress that hehoped Turkey’s leaders would oneday join <strong>Armenia</strong>’s leaders in layingflowers at the <strong>Armenia</strong>n Genocidememorial monument in Tzitzernakaberd,<strong>and</strong> he speculated thatthey might do so in the month ofApril. “There can be, I think, a symbolismin that. And in making thatstatement on the 22nd too, perhaps,there is that symbolism,” theforeign minister said.Healing the politicall<strong>and</strong>scapeThe ARF was in opposition duringthe presidency of Levon Ter-Petrossian (1991–97), who bannedthe party <strong>and</strong> arrested several of itsleaders. As soon as Robert Kochariantook over as <strong>Armenia</strong>’ssecond president, the party’s activitiesresumed <strong>and</strong> its leaders werereleased from prison.The ARF was in the governingcoalition that emerged from parliamentaryelections in 2003. After theArmenRustamian at thepress conferencein Yerevan.Photo: MelikBaghdasaryan/Photolure.2007 elections, it was a partner ingovernment but not formally partof the governing coalition. In theFebruary 2008 presidential election,it fielded its own c<strong>and</strong>idate.After the post-election violence ofMarch 1, the party agreed to enterthe coalition, announcing that itwas participating in a governmentof national unity to overcome thecrisis, which, it said, threatened theindependence <strong>and</strong> security of <strong>Armenia</strong><strong>and</strong> Karabakh.Party leaders have repeatedly saidthey felt they could be more effectiveadvocating their views withingovernment than they could be asan opposition party in <strong>Armenia</strong>’spolitical culture. Now the partyproposes to “become a full-fledgedalternative to the authorities.” Itpromises to reinvent the role of an<strong>Armenia</strong>n opposition party, actingin a way that will “heal <strong>and</strong> crystallizethe political l<strong>and</strong>scape,” so as“to form civilized relations betweenthe authorities <strong>and</strong> the opposition.”In his April 27 press conference,Mr. Rustamian spoke of the presidentwith respect, saying that hebelieved the president had good intentionsbut was taking steps thatwere ill-advised.fBy reratifying the Treaty of Kars <strong>Armenia</strong> would be giving uppotential claims to Western <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> NakhichevanIt would be adiplomatic victorynot only for Turkeybut also for its allyAzerbaijanCommentaryby Tatul HakobyanYEREVAN – Between 1918 <strong>and</strong> 1922,when <strong>Armenia</strong> was an independentrepublic, three treaties were signedbetween <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Turkey: onJune 4, 1918, in Batumi; on December3, 1920, in Gyumri (at that timeAlex<strong>and</strong>ropol); <strong>and</strong> on October 13,1921, in Kars. Before studying thesetreaties, it is important to note thatbetween December 1920 <strong>and</strong> December30, 1922, independent <strong>Armenia</strong>was Soviet, <strong>and</strong> its independencewas formal <strong>and</strong> symbolic. It is alsoimportant to stress that in Kars thetreaty was signed not only by Turkey<strong>and</strong> <strong>Armenia</strong>, but also by Georgia,Azerbaijan, <strong>and</strong> Russia, <strong>and</strong> alsothat the Treaty of Kars was derivedfrom another treaty signed in thesame year by Russia <strong>and</strong> Turkey, theTreaty of Moscow.The current <strong>Armenia</strong>n-Turkishborder was established by the Treatyof Kars. It is approximately 325kilometers long. Recognizing theindependence of its new neighborin 1991, <strong>and</strong> as of December 16 ofthe same year, Turkey has alwaysstrived to have <strong>Armenia</strong> once againrecognize <strong>and</strong> reaffirm the Treatyof Kars. In other words, it has asked<strong>Armenia</strong> to recognize the presentdayborders of Turkey. <strong>Armenia</strong>, forvarious reasons, has not done so.Open bordersFor its part, while talking about theTreaty of Kars, Turkey for the past16 years has been violating thatvery treaty by subjecting <strong>Armenia</strong>to a l<strong>and</strong> blockade. The 17th articleof the treaty states: “In order to ensurethe continuance of relationsbetween their countries, the ContractingParties agree to take, in acommon agreement, all the measuresnecessary to maintain <strong>and</strong>develop as quickly as possible railway,telegraphic, <strong>and</strong> other communications,as well as to assurefree transit of persons <strong>and</strong> commoditieswithout any hindrance.”However, since April 1993, by subjecting<strong>Armenia</strong> to a l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> airblockade (in the spring of 1995, Turkeyopened the H-50 air corridor),Turkey not only violated the Treatyof Kars, but also many internationalconventions. In this way, if Turkeyputs an end to its 16-year policy ofhostility, it will not have showed kindnessor expressed goodwill toward itseastern neighbor, but rather it willhave returned to the 1993 status quo.Current talksIt is still not clear what points <strong>Armenia</strong>n<strong>and</strong> Turkish diplomatshave been negotiating around forthe past year. It is, however, veryprobable that Turkey has sought,as in the past, a reratification of theTreaty of Kars.Because the last treaty signedbetween <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Turkey wasthe 1921 Treaty of Kars – which onSeptember 11, 1922, Yerevan wasforced to ratify – then it can be saidto follow that this treaty is still inforce today. As much as the Treatyof Kars may be painful for <strong>Armenia</strong>ns,today it is the de facto <strong>Armenia</strong>n-Turkishtreaty in force.Aside from this, by becoming amember of the United Nations onMarch 2, 1992, <strong>and</strong> also by signingthe OSCE Helsinki Final Act, <strong>Armenia</strong>has recognized today’s internationallyrecognized bordersof Turkey. It is important to notethat Turkey was doing everythingto obstruct <strong>Armenia</strong>’s membershipin the OSCE back in 1992.No <strong>Armenia</strong>n government hasthe right to reratify <strong>and</strong> rerecognizethis treaty. Of course, in its talkswith Turkey, <strong>Armenia</strong> cannot avoidmutual concessions – but not atthe price of once again recognizingor reratifying the Kars treaty.As much as the reality is painful,<strong>and</strong> as much as we acknowledgethat the provinces of Kars <strong>and</strong> Igdir(Surmalu) of Eastern <strong>Armenia</strong>, <strong>and</strong>all of Western <strong>Armenia</strong>, are todaypart of NATO-member Turkey’s territory,it is unacceptable that Yerevanaccede to Turkey’s dem<strong>and</strong>s.If Turkey really wants to establishrelations with <strong>Armenia</strong>, thenthey can do that by establishingdiplomatic relations. Georgia,which is one of the signatories ofthe Treaty of Kars, had territorialclaims, at the very least regardingthe province of Ardahan in Turkey;however Turkey never oncesaid that in 1992 Georgia shouldrecognize the Treaty of Kars <strong>and</strong>the modern borders of Turkey.Establishing <strong>Armenia</strong>n-Turkishdiplomatic relations is one thing;recognizing the Kars treaty is somethingtotally different, althoughboth steps would mean that Yerev<strong>and</strong>e jure recognizes Turkey’s internationalborders.Aside from that, when two countriesestablish diplomatic relations,they don’t reratify treaties signeddecades earlier. Yes, a recognizedmember of the international communityas a sovereign country canchoose whether to recognize anewly independent state, but it isunheard of for a newly independentcountry to recognize the independenceof longst<strong>and</strong>ing members ofthe international community.All three presidents of <strong>Armenia</strong>have stated or referred to the factthat today’s <strong>Armenia</strong> has no territorialdem<strong>and</strong>s or cannot havethose dem<strong>and</strong>s from modern Turkey.NakhichevanBy re-ratifying the Treaty of Kars,Yerevan would not only give Turkeya very serious diplomatic card,but would also have given one toAzerbaijan, which has kept <strong>Armenia</strong>under a blockade for almost20 years. It was with the Karstreaty that one of <strong>Armenia</strong>’s regions,Nakhichevan, was given toAzerbaijan. The 5th article of thetreaty reads: “The Turkish Government<strong>and</strong> the Soviet Governmentsof <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Azerbaijan areagreed that the region of Nakhichevan,within the limits specifiedby Annex III to the present Treaty,constitutes an autonomous territoryunder the protection of Azerbaijan.”Certainly, we cannot rule outthat the day will come when <strong>Armenia</strong><strong>and</strong> Turkey will have diplomaticrelations, <strong>and</strong> perhaps evensign a new treaty. Turkey wants<strong>Armenia</strong> to re-ratify the Treaty ofKars for two reasons: so that <strong>Armenia</strong>will today in writing resignfrom its historical rights, <strong>and</strong> alsofrom Nakhichevan. Aside fromthat, almost nine decades earlier,when the Treaty of Kars was beingsigned, the international situationwas completly different than todayas was <strong>Armenia</strong>’s condition, possibilities,<strong>and</strong> challenges. f
The <strong>Armenia</strong>n Reporter | May 2, 2009 17<strong>Armenia</strong>“A joint historians’ commission is a dangerous trap”Richard Hovannisianwould refuse to takepart in an <strong>Armenia</strong>n-Turkey commissionHistorian Richard Hovannisian ofthe University of California, Los Angeles,met with Tatul Hakobyan ofthe <strong>Armenia</strong>n Reporter on April 24in Yerevan at the <strong>Armenia</strong>n Centerfor <strong>National</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>International</strong> Studies(ACNIS), a think tank establishedby <strong>Armenia</strong>’s first foreign minister,Raffi Hovannisian.Tatul Hakobyan: Professor, inthe early morning hours of April23, <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Turkey, throughSwiss mediation, issued an optimisticjoint statement announcingthat they had charted a roadmaptoward normalized relations, <strong>and</strong>even though we don’t know thecontent of the roadmap, it hascaused serious criticism, especiallyin the diaspora. The reality is thatit was signed on the eve of April 24.How would you assess this?Richard Hovannisian: It wouldhave been good if the <strong>Armenia</strong>nside had found a way to wait untilSunday, April 26. Issuing the jointstatement on April 22, can clearlybe tied with U.S. President BarackObama’s address on April 24. It occursto me that the sides, especiallythe <strong>Armenia</strong>n side, were under extremepressure to give their consentto that document, the road map. Idon’t know how the <strong>Armenia</strong>n sidewas forced or gave itself the rightto sign, knowing full well that thatwould have a negative impact onPresident Obama’s statement.Now, I can no longer hope thatPresident Obama will clearly usethe word genocide. [This interviewtook place on April 24, butbefore the president’s statementwas released.] President Obamacould possibly get close to theGenocide word, but it will be justBako Sahakianproposes a meetingbetween leaders ofNagorno-Karabakh<strong>and</strong> Azerbaijan to cochairsby Tatul HakobyanYEREVAN – Georgi Petrossian,the foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakhsaid in the NKRparliament that President BakoSahakian had requested organizinga meeting between the leadersof Nagorno-Karabakh <strong>and</strong> Azerbaijanto the OSCE Minsk Groupco-chairs. Mr. Petrossian expressedthe opinion that the co-chairs, duringtheir last visit to the region, didnot travel to Stepanakert becausethey had to have an answer regardingthat meeting.The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairsduring a one week period (April 21–27) were in Yerevan twice <strong>and</strong> oncein Baku; however as the French cochairBernard Fassier said, “Wedidn’t go to Stepanakert because ofbad weather.” In its place, all threeco-chairs individually spoke withPresident Sahakian on the phone.After meeting with the leaders ofboth <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Azerbaijan, theco-chairs left the region with “hopesas important for him to say howmany victims there were, that the<strong>Armenia</strong>ns <strong>and</strong> Turks must find adialogue, at the same time praisethe <strong>Armenia</strong>n people, American-<strong>Armenia</strong>ns. A few days beforeApril 24, Turkey’s prime ministeronce again stated that <strong>Armenia</strong>n-Turkish relations could not be successfulas long as the Karabakh issuehas not been resolved. I mustadmit, that Erdogan’s statementsdid not affect me adversely. I believethat this can be a good incentiveso that President Obama willno longer have an excuse not touse the Genocide word.We don’t know the inside story;we don’t know what role <strong>and</strong> influencethe United States <strong>and</strong> Russiahad on the signing of the April22 document. I can only assumethat there was pressure both on<strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong> Turkey – if you don’tcome to an agreement, then weare going to recognize the <strong>Armenia</strong>nGenocide. Otherwise I cannotunderst<strong>and</strong> why Foreign MinisterNalb<strong>and</strong>ian <strong>and</strong> President Sargsianagreed to sign such a document onthe evening of April 22.TH: Can we say that <strong>Armenia</strong>knew that the date of issue was indeedApril 22, on the eve of April 24,<strong>and</strong> they went ahead <strong>and</strong> agreed tothe document?RH: Certainly. He wasn’t naïve,he knew. The question now is thefollowing - what will <strong>Armenia</strong> getin return? We don’t know. If youare really going to concede, thenyou better get something in return.I do not know what <strong>Armenia</strong>will receive. We know that Turkishdiplomacy has always beenflexible <strong>and</strong> shrewd; today theymight come to an agreement butthen find an excuse by saying thatthe <strong>Armenia</strong>ns are not willing toadopt a policy where they agree toconcessions, we are not guilty, the<strong>Armenia</strong>ns are guilty. The Turksare so flexible, that while theirprime minister will sign an agreement,their parliament will notof a reasonable progress,” toward theresolution of the Karabakh conflict.At a press conference at the FrenchEmbassy in Yerevan, the co-chairsstressed that progress hinges upon,first <strong>and</strong> foremost the two presidents,Serge Sargsian <strong>and</strong> IlhamAliyev.Mr. Fassier said that PresidentsSargsian <strong>and</strong> Aliyev had agreed tomeet in Prague on May 7. This willbe the fourth meeting between thetwo leaders. Previous meetingstook place in June 2008 in St. Petersburg,November, 2008 in Moscow,<strong>and</strong> January 2009 in Zurich.The U.S. co-chair MatthewBryza said that in the comingmonths a resolution of the Karabakhconflict could be forthcoming.The Russian co-chair YuriMerzlyakov was also optimistic,but more somber <strong>and</strong> moderate,as always.“The Madrid Principles continueto be on the negotiating table. Wecontinue to discuss them alongSargsian <strong>and</strong> Aliev to meet in PragueOSCE MinskGroup co-chairs,from left: YuriMerzlyakov,Bernard Fassier,<strong>and</strong> MatthewBryza. Photo:Hayk Badalyan/Photolure.with the presidents. Naturally, severalpoints [of the Madrid Principles]will be part of the discussionduring the Prague meeting,” Mr.Fassier said.Mr. Petrossian on April 29, said,“Karabakh has very clear disagreementsregarding several fundamentalpoints within the MadridPrinciples,” adding that Karabakhcould become more rigid in its position.Over the last years, Yerevan <strong>and</strong>Baku, without Stepanakert’s directparticipation, have been negotiatingon the basis of a document thatis called the Madrid Principles <strong>and</strong>which was passed to <strong>Armenia</strong> <strong>and</strong>Azerbaijan in November, 2007 inSpain’s capital city. The principalthrust is the following: with thepromise of holding a referendum atsome unknown time in the future,<strong>Armenia</strong>n forces would retreat fromthose regions which <strong>Armenia</strong>nsdeem liberated territories or a securityzone.fratify it, <strong>and</strong> in this way prolongthe issue.TH: When the April 22 documentwas issued, many analystsexpressed the opinion that <strong>Armenia</strong>n-Turkishdialogue had entereda stalemate. What do you think?RH: Israel <strong>and</strong> Palestine, in thepast, have signed such documents.But where are they now? Today,their relations are in much worseshape than before. Signing any kindof document doesn’t mean that youhave reached a certain level or thatthe borders will be opened tomorrow.Perhaps the opening of theborders will bring more benefitsto Turkey than <strong>Armenia</strong>. Of course,open borders will also be beneficialfor <strong>Armenia</strong>, because we need accessto the sea, toward the Westernworld; we will then have an alternativeto the Georgian routes. Openborders is also good for Turkey,because its eastern regions will develop.It is also good for the Turksbecause they will have access to exp<strong>and</strong>to the east; this pull will becomeeasier. The Turks have alwayshad their eye on the east. In 1991,Turkey’s politically <strong>and</strong> economicallymotivated expansion intoCentral Asia, believing that theycould be the “godfather” in thosecountries, wasn’t so easy. Realizingthat Turkey pulled out.TH: In June 2008, PresidentSerge Sargsian announced in Moscowthat if Turkey opens the borderwith Turkey, then the <strong>Armenia</strong>nside would not be opposed to thecreation of a historians’ commission,which Turkey’s prime ministerhad proposed to PresidentKocharian in 2005. Is this proposalacceptable to you?RH: It is acceptable only undercertain conditions. First of all, theGenocide must be accepted as afact, then we can study as to whythe Genocide happened, what werethe factors, etc. The Turks are relyingupon the 1948 UN Conventionon Genocide, where it statesthat genocides must be premeditated.The Turks will stress that,yes, there were <strong>Armenia</strong>n victims– 200 thous<strong>and</strong>, 300 thous<strong>and</strong>, butyou cannot prove that this was premeditated.Second of all, in their archives<strong>and</strong> at that time it was alreadyplanned, to send telegrams fromthe villayets, where supposedly <strong>Armenia</strong>nrevolts <strong>and</strong> desertion fromthe Ottoman army were recorded.Turkish historians can come withthese arguments <strong>and</strong> try, at leastin part, to place the blame on the<strong>Armenia</strong>ns. The Turkish side willnever accept that what happenedwas genocide. The creation of sucha commission is very dangerous.TH: If they asked you to be onthat commission, would you refuse?RH: Yes, I would refuse, I wouldn’tbe part of that commission. Whatis the Turkish side saying? It is sayinglet’s form a commission, let’ssee if the Genocide happened ornot. We know that what happenedwas genocide; the world acceptsProfessorRichardHovannisian.Photo: Photolure.that it happened; the <strong>International</strong>Association of Genocide Scholarsaccepts that it happened. In otherwords, if we agree to the creationof a commission, then that willbe a step backward <strong>and</strong> will createdoubt. I consider the commissionto be a dangerous trap, which I willnot be a part of. For example whenthey created Turkish <strong>Armenia</strong>nReconciliation Commission, I wasopposed to it.TH: But that committee had unexpectedresults.RH: Yes, unexpected mixedachievements happened. The <strong>International</strong>Center for TransitionalJustice, to which TARC had applied,passed a decision that what happenedat the beginning of the centurywas a genocide, but that the1948 Convention on Genocide wasnot retroactive. After that TARC fellapart. The historians representingthe Turkish side were putting forwarda denialist approach withinTARC. The same will happen withthis commission.fNATO Secretary General in <strong>Armenia</strong>Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero.Mkhitar Khachatryan/Photolure.Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero,NATO’s Secretary General, was in<strong>Armenia</strong> on April 28 <strong>and</strong> met withthe country’s leadership.During his meeting with PresidentSerge Sargsian, AmbassadorBisogniero said his visit illustratesthe importance NATO gives to itsrelations with <strong>Armenia</strong>. PresidentSargsian stated that <strong>Armenia</strong>’s cooperationwith NATO within theframework of the Individual PartnershipAction Plan program is animportant component of the country’snational security policy. Theinterlocutors agreed that IPAP providedthe opportunity for movingbilateral cooperation forward. Thecurrent phase of <strong>Armenia</strong>-Turkeytalks was also discussed.The NATO ambassador also metwith the country’s Foreign MinisterEdward Nalb<strong>and</strong>ian. f<strong>Armenia</strong>’s health ministry preparesitself for Swine FluOn April 29, <strong>Armenia</strong>’s Health MinisterHaroutyun Kushkian saidthat the ministry is getting readyfor a possible attack of the swineflue, Arminfo reported.<strong>Armenia</strong>n authorities have alreadybegun implementing measureswhich comply with WHOst<strong>and</strong>ards including preventivemeasures at the country’s airports.The minister made assurances thatthe situation in <strong>Armenia</strong> is undercontrol <strong>and</strong> there have been no reportedcases of the swine flu here.On April 30, <strong>Armenia</strong> imposeda temporary ban on the import ofpork from those countries whichhave been affected by the flu. AramaisGrigoryan, <strong>Armenia</strong>’s agricultureminister told the governmentthat even though there havebeen no reported cases in <strong>Armenia</strong>,the risk of infection remains high.The minister said that they are consideringplacing restrictions on theimport of fowl as well. f
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