Armenia: Foreign Minister Dismisses Calls for Resignation

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian is rejecting calls for his resignation in response to recent allegations that he made weighty concessions in ongoing talks concerning the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

Government critics, most notably the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun), claim that Nalbandian compromised Armenia's strategic interests in the recent discussions. Part of the criticism is connected to speculation about the so-called "road map" to reconciliation between Armenia and Turkey, Azerbaijan's closest ally. Details about the document have not been released, but the Armenian Revolutionary Federation left President Serzh Sargsyan's government in protest at the Turkish rapprochement policy. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

At a July 20 news conference, Nalbandian fired back at his critics, saying that they were confusing constructiveness with weakness. Denying the charge that Armenia will weaken its hold on Karabakh in exchange for better ties with Turkey, he called his opponents "naive" and self-serving. "Speculating on the Karabakh problem -- a matter of national security -- is not a worthy business," the Arminfo news agency quoted Nalbandian as saying.