Thursday, 6 March 2008
RA Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan received a delegation led by head of mission of observers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe John Prescott.
During the meeting John Prescott noted that as a European body, the structure represented by him has already assessed the elections. "I confirm our assessment. I hope that our opinion will not be used as a proof for the reasons of one or another side and will be perceived as a sincere estimation," Mr. Prescott said and added that the mission of observers was preparing another report to reflect the results of the recount and the decision of the Constitutional Court. He emphasized once again that his election assessment remains the same. John Prescott further said that he stands ready to present certain proposals in order to overcome the public mistrust in elections and stimulate dialogue between political forces. He also noted that he is ready to continue such assistance so as cooperation was carried out on a regular basis and not only from one election to another.
Concerning the state of emergency declared in the capital, Mr. Prescott said that any government has the right and is obliged to establish law and order in the country. He also discussed with Serzh Sargsyan questions associated with some restrictions applicable in this situation. John Prescott welcomed Serzh Sargsyan's offer concerning his readiness to create a coalition, the realization of dialogue and cooperation. Prioritizing constructive approaches, the head of PACE mission of observers said that should the side which has approached the Constitutional court not accept the decision of the court, it would be extremely difficult to maintain the dialog.
Speaking about overcoming the atmosphere of mistrust still available in the society, Serzh Sargsyan noted that the authorities are prepared to further improve the electoral process that will help build up public trust in electoral processes from poll to poll. In this respect, he highly appreciated the role of international observers. According to the Prime Minister, the authorities of Armenia will do their utmost to lift the state of emergency as soon as possible well realizing that they are responsible for safety and public order. However, as he said, it will be possible only if the situation is stabilized and threats are removed. Serzh Sargsyan emphasized that people need some time to think over and weigh out what happened so as it becomes possible to differentiate criminal elements from peaceful protesters and to find out the true reasons of those events.
