Armenia's elections met international standards, Solana says

PanARMENIAN.Net - EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, praised the Armenian people for showing political maturity through the largely fair elections held on Saturday.



"I congratulate the people of Armenia on the improvements in the conduct of the parliamentary elections yesterday, which were conducted largely in accordance with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments, and I encourage the Armenian government to rapidly address the shortcomings identified by international observers," said Solana in a statement Monday.



"This is good news for EU-Armenia relations, in particular as they were the first elections after Armenia and the EU agreed last year on a wide-reaching Action Plan. The Armenian people have demonstrated greater political maturity through these elections. I am confident that Armenia and the EU will continue to develop relations in a spirit of partnership. This will also be a positive signal to other countries in the region," he said.



The Republican Party of Armenia led by Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan, Prosperous Armenia party led by entrepreneur Gagik Tsarukyan, AFR Dashnaktsutyun, Orinats Yerkir party led by former RA NA speaker Artur Baghdassaryan and Heritage party led by Armenia's first Foreign Minister Raffi K. Hovannisian garnered over 5% of votes in May 12 parliamentary election.