State's Fried Discusses Armenia Democratization, Nagorno-Karabakh
29 March 2006
Washington File
By Jeffrey Thomas 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.
[...]
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.”
[...]
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.[...].
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.”
[...]
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.
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.
[...]
“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.”
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Washington File
By Jeffrey Thomas 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.
[...]
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.”
[...]
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.[...].
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.”
[...]
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.
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.
[...]
“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.”
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
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