United States expects upcoming elections to meet international standards
By Jeffrey Thomas
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – The United States expects Armenia’s parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007 and 2008 to meet international standards for free and fair elections, the State Department’s Daniel Fried said March 27 in a speech that also touched on such regional issues as the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, energy security and the war against terrorism.
Fried, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said the Bush administration is “taking at face value” assurances from the Armenian government that the elections will be free and fair. The elections are “key tests” of whether Armenia is meeting its commitments under the terms of the Millennium Challenge Compact it signed March 27, he said.
“We must achieve this goal [elections that meet international standards] to sustain our relations,” Fried told the Armenian Assembly of America National Conference in Washington.
Armenia signed a Millennium Challenge Compact — or bilateral aid agreement – worth $235 million over five years at a ceremony March 27 at the State Department. The money will be targeted at improving the country’s rural roads and an irrigation-and-drainage project that will increase water supply to rural areas. (See related article.)
Millennium Challenge money is granted to countries judged to be encouraging economic freedom, ruling justly and investing in their people. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian acknowledged in his remarks at the signing ceremony that “much remains to be done” to make Armenia’s democratic and economic reforms “comprehensive.”
“We know that corruption must not be tolerated and that law must rule, that the principles of democracy must be transformed to traditions of democracy in our country,” Oskanian said.
Fried referred to the compact as “a testament to Armenia’s progress and its commitment to do more on good governance, economic freedom, and investment in its people.”
Armenia, he said, “has the potential to be a leader in the region by showing progress on democratic reforms to keep pace with its economic expansion.”
AZERBAIJAN
Turning to Nagorno-Karabakh, Fried said finding a solution to the conflict over the predominantly ethnic Armenian region within Azerbaijan remains a “key focus” of U.S. foreign policy. He said the United States was “disappointed” at the lack of progress when the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan met at Rambouillet, France, in February. But on recent meetings with Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, he believes “there is a possibility for progress in 2006.” (See related article.)
Fried said the United States does not intend to impose a settlement on either Armenia or Azerbaijan. “But it is our intention to support a solution if both governments arrive at it,” he added.
When questioned, Fried declined to reveal details of any possible settlement under discussion except to say that “the will of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh has to be respected” and that “there are issues of territorial integrity.”
A solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, which dates to the last years of the former Soviet Union, should result in an open border with Turkey, Fried said. After his visit to Armenia, he went to Turkey, he said, and pressed the Turkish government to open its border with Armenia as soon as possible.
Turkey closed its land border with Armenia during the 1990-94 armed conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh to show solidarity with Azerbaijan and has not reopened it.
Fried also said the United States hopes to see the Caucasus region integrate economically even before a solution to the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. “It’s good not only for Armenia; it would be good for Turkey and Azerbaijan as well,” he said.
SECURITY CONCERNS
Regarding U.S. security cooperation with Azerbaijan, Fried said U.S. assistance was meant to help Azerbaijan handle such security threats as Iran, not to be used against Armenia.
“Our assistance to Azerbaijan does not undermine our support for Armenian security, and it is not designed and will not be used for offensive purposes against Armenia,” he said.
Fried expressed concern about increased energy ties to Iran, saying the United States is looking at ways in which it can support energy security for all the countries of the south Caucasus.
He concluded by addressing the tragic events of 1915, when more than 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were killed while Armenia was still part of the Ottoman Empire.
“The U.S. position on events of 1915 has not changed,” Fried said. “We want to foster reconciliation and peace based on an understanding of history, not a denial of it. We believe that the tragedy of 1915, the killings, is of enormous human significance and its historical assessment should be determined not on the basis of politics, but introspection among civic leaders and scholars. This process has begun in Turkey where it needs to take place.”
Turkey, Fried said, “will have to go through what many other countries such as the United States have had to go through in our own history, which is looking back at the darker spots in our past.”
A href=”http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/63791.htm”>transcript of Fried’s speech is available on the State Department Web site.
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=March&x=200603291507551CJsamohT0.8416254&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html
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