Armenia: Is Turkish Deal Reshuffling Armenian Politics?

Political observers in Yerevan are watching for signs of a political deal between President Serge Sargsyan and his most vocal critic, Levon Ter-Petrosian.

In surprise comments made on November 11, Ter-Petrosian said that the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement agreement, signed in October, presented Sargsyan as "a realistic and resolute statesman worthy of the 21st century," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Armenian service reported.

While taking issue with Sargsyan's agreement that a group of historians should investigate the 1915 slaughter of ethnic Armenians by Ottoman Turks, Ter-Petrosian accused the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)-Dashnaktsutiun, a vocal critic of the Armenian-Turkish deal, of throwing "non-existent sins" onto the tally of "numerous sins committed by Sargsyan," RFERL reported.

In response, Kiro Manoian, an ARF spokesperson accused Ter-Petrosian of trying to make backroom deals with Sargsyan while publically maintaining his image as the administration's sworn enemy, the Tert news agency reported on November 18.