Armenian Party Seeks FM's Resignation Over Karabakh
July 15, 2009
YEREVAN -- A hard-line Armenian party says it will seek the resignation of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian over what it views as President Serzh Sarkisian's failed policy in the Nagorno-Karabakh talks, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), however, said it would not demand that Sarkisian resign.
Dashnaktsutyun has been in intensive discussions since the end of a pan-Armenian gathering held in the Karabakh capital, Stepanakert, last weekend to address concerns in Armenian society over the state of the Karabakh negotiations.
In its final resolution, the Dashnaktsutyun-hosted conference urged Armenia not to sign the framework agreement proposed by international mediators based on principles that imply an indefinitely delayed status for Karabakh.
It also called on official Yerevan to pave the way for Stepanakert's return to the negotiations.
After a plenary meeting in Yerevan, Dashnaktsutyun said it will stage a protest in front of the Foreign Ministry building on July 16 demanding Nalbandian's resignation.
Sarkisian will fly to Moscow the next day to hold talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Dashnaktsutyun's senior member and chief foreign policy spokesman, Giro Manoyan, told RFE/RL that Armenia could achieve "a fairer and more acceptable ultimate deal by engaging Karabakh in the negotiating format."