ARMENIA SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN SYRIAN TALKS, RETIRED AMBASSADOR SAYS
Posted on February. 8. 2016
A retired Armenian diplomat argued today that Armenia should also be involved in the talks on Syria, ‘as the war in that country affects the national interests of Armenia and the interests of the Syrian Armenian community.’
Speaking to a news conference, ambassador Arman Navasardyan said military actions in Syria are unfolding just 280 kilometers from the Armenian border, while the 70,000 or so strong Armenian community has dwindled to about 8 thousand people. He said according to international procedures, Armenia must appeal to the UN to obtain observer status in the Syrian talks.
Navasardyan said he was skeptical about the success in the talks ‘as part of the negotiating parties want the talks to fail.’
He said Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are not interested in the resolution of the Syrian crisis, adding also that the crisis can not be solved without the participation of the Kurds.
Scheduled to last for several months, the negotiations aim to agree on a nationwide cease-fire except for offensives targeting Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, and on forming by midyear a transitional government that includes the opposition. A year after that, elections should follow under a new Constitution.
