Yesterday, the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch was hosted at the NATO Informational Center, which was dedicated to NATO-Armenia relations. She dwelt on the Armenian home political situation, saying that the U.S. welcomes the process of releasing people imprisoned after March 1. The Ambassador said that the U.S. commends both the amnesty of one and a half year ago, and the recent releases. Despite the fact that Yovanovitch amiably asked the journalists to ask questions regarding that theme the axis of the conference has become the internal political situation of Armenia. “The United States is closely monitoring political developments in Armenia but has no intention to mediate between its rival political factions, the U.S. ambassador in Yerevan,” Marie Yovanovitch, said. “How the internal political process in Armenia works, discussions between various parties or actors, I think that’s something for Armenians to work out among themselves,” she said. “I don’t think there is really a role there for the U.S. government.” At the same time, there have been some indications that the ANC and President Serzh Sargsyan’s administration are ready to negotiate over some opposition demands. A representative of Sargsyan’s Republican Party described opposition actions as “prudent” last week. “I know there is a lot of speculation about that dialogue,” Yovanovitch told a news conference at the NATO Information Center in Yerevan. “If, in fact, the internal political process in Armenia was less tense, shall we say, that’s something that we would only applaud.” In that context, she welcomed last week’s release of two more ANC loyalists who were imprisoned following Armenia’s disputed 2008 presidential election. “We encourage that process to continue to move forward,” she said. Yovanovitch stood by her statements and said they simply reflect Washington’s support for transparent and accountable governance around the world. “Ultimately, it’s for the people of each country to decide whether its government is moving forward and governing in an accountable way,” she said. When speaking of the Armenian-Turkish relations she said, “It would be great if Armenia and Turkey could register progress in the aspect of regulation of mutual relations and if they could refresh the protocols.” According to her the US support to the process continues and as long as this hasn’t taken place their efforts will continue. According to the U.S. Ambassador, the U.S. considers Azerbaijan’s threats to eliminate aircrafts flying to Stepanakert airport to be unacceptable. "Similar threats do not proceed from the principles, which should be observed by Azerbaijan in a peace resolution of the Karabakh conflict," said Yovanovitch. Marie Yovanovitch also reiterated the U.S. support for the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, saying the OSCE Minsk Group is the only international structure responsible for the negotiation process. Speaking about Armenia-NATO ties, the Ambassador said that the cooperation between Armenia and Alliance dates back to 1992. "As a NATO member state, the U.S. plauds the deepening of political and practical relations with Armenia," she said.
