Pryakhin: Armenia should be Compared with Baltic States, not Neighbors

PanARMENIAN.Net - Independent statehood is Armenians major achievement within 14 years. The process of creation of democratic institutions is hard: there are achievements, however there are many problems and sometimes retrogression. Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan Vladimir Pryakhin stated it during a conversation with journalists. He expressed concern over Reporters without Borders organization statistics on the press freedom in Armenia decreasing from 83rd to 119th place. «I think these figures are not absolute,» he remarked. He also stated there had been problems in the course of election of local self-government bodies in Armenia. «I do not think these had an impact upon the final returns, but there were problems,» he remarked. He also considered comparing Armenia with its neighbors incorrect. In his words, Armenia deserves comparison with Baltic States, as in 1991 the starting-point was the same, however the situation started changing since then. He cited Estonia's example, which is 25th on level of struggle against corruption, while Armenia is 89th in that list.