Armenian opposition refuses to negotiate with coalition forces

At a joint press conference on May 13, representatives of the opposition Justice bloc and National Unity party told journalists that the opposition would not negotiate with the coalition forces. To remind, the next round of political consultations between the coalition and the opposition was to be held at 4 p.m. on May 13. According to a joint decision made by the Justice bloc and National Unity party, the opposition will consider the proposal of the coalition to place extra items on the agenda of the dialogue only when the coalition forces agree to consider the issue of the internal political crisis that has arisen after the 2003 presidential election.

The opposition believes that the issue of searching for ways out of the crisis is the main subject matter of the discussion, said Shavarsh Kocharian, a board member of the Justice bloc. The opposition flatly objects to the proposal of the coalition to draw out a schedule to fulfill the requirements of Resolution 1374 passed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), he noted. Representatives of the opposition stated they considered the dialogue possible only after the authorities took immediate measure to fulfill the requirements of the PACE resolution.