Expert says Russia will further press Armenia on Karabakh issue

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian authorities pledged to have higher quality elections than those held in Russia, director of Regional Studies Center (RSC), political scientist Richard Giragosian said.

If elections in Armenia prove to be no better, the ruling coalition will face internal confrontation, he told a press conference on March 12.

“Unlike Russia, confrontation in Armenia will take place not between the opposition and the authorities,” the expert said.

According to Giragosian, Russia will continue to press Armenia to settle the Nagorno Karabakh issue; however, it will fail to do so because current President Serzh Sargsyan differs from Robert Kocharian.

Armenia's foreign policy has reached a high level which should be maintained, the expert said. “If elections in Armenia are not transparent, as it happened in 2008, the society will need to worry, since oligarchs’ attempts to penetrate into the governing bodies will prove successful, and this will bring irreparable consequences,” he said.