Signing of any document on Karabakh unlikely in Sochi

PanARMENIAN.Net - The probability of signing any document on Karabakh during the impending meeting between the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Sochi is too low, yet can't be fully precluded, Heritage party board leader Armen Martirosyan said during a joint news conference with RPA parliamentary group member Artak Zakaryan.



Artak Zakaryan, for his part, noted that the Presidents are unlikely to sign any document on January 25.



The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out in 1988 as result of the ethnic cleansing the latter launched in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, sealed by Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.



The Republican Party of Armenia is a national conservative political party in Armenia. It was the first political party in independent Armenia to be founded (2 April 1990) and registered (14 May 1991). It is the largest party of the centre-right in Armenia, and claims to have 140,000 members. The party controls most government bodies in Armenia.



At the 2003 parliamentary elections on May 25, the party received 23.5% of the popular vote, winning 31 out of 131 seats. At the last parliamentary elections on May 12, 2007, the party received 33.91% of the popular vote, winning 64 out of 131 seats. The former prime minister, Andranik Markaryan, was the leader of the party. Current President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, is the chairman of RPA board.



Founded in 2002, Heritage , a National Liberal Party, is national by its roots, liberal in its economic principle, and an advocate of the democratic system of governance and due process for its citizens.  The party's objective is the development of Armenia as a democratic, lawful, and rights-based country that anchors its domestic and foreign policies in the nation's sovereign interest. During the party's Third Congress on May 30, 2005, Raffi K. Hovannisian was elected chairman. The other eight members of the party board were elected by secret vote.