Yesterday finally the first meeting of the ANC delegation and the ruling coalition delegation took place at 4 p.m. in Erebuni Plaza hotel, in the hall of the Public Chamber.
This meeting has not only become the tensest event of the hot summer days but was also considered a historical event because this was the first time since the presidential elections 2008 and the tragic events of March 1 the opposition and government come together. And a month and a half after the statement of the parties yesterday the representatives of the two camps shook each others’ hands and sat in front of each other to engage into a cordial dialog. Let us recall that on June 2 the ANC submitted the names of people to be included in its delegation – Levon Zurabyan, David Shahnazaryan, Felix Khachatryan, Vahagn Khachatryan and Manvel Abrahamyan. The delegation of the coalition was formed on July 9 – David Harutyunyan, Gagik Minasyan, Naira Zohrabyan, Vardan Bostanjyan, Mher Shahgeldyan and Khachik Harutyunyan. Yesterday after an over two-hour close-door discussion the representatives of the Congress and coalition told that this time they were only exchanging opinions about their views on the negotiation process. The agenda of the dialog is not developed and the parties haven’t discussed that either. Besides that they have clarified the mandates of each member of the delegation. The Congress reiterated that the subjects of the dialogue is snap elections, and if the ruling coalition has agreed to the meeting and even set the time and place of the meeting, it indicates that Serzh Sargsyan doesn’t mind snap elections. The question is what the coalition will be discussing with the Congress. To find this out, it is necessary to examine the goals of each of the sides of the dialogue. Prior to yesterday’s meeting there were no comments about the powers of the members of the coalition. And when on Saturday the NA chair mentioned the venue and time of the meeting the Congress responded that they didn’t mind meeting with the members of the ruling coalition but said that they had some reservations regarding the format of the meeting and the venue. “ANC was ready to be engaged into a dialog not with the party representatives but with delegates of the executive branch,” reads the Congress statement. And yesterday the head of the ruling delegation Davit Harutyunyan explained certain matters regarding their allegation that they represent both the coalition and the president. “What does the executive branch mean? It was formed by the coalition. We represent the president of the country as the head of the coalition,” he stated. And the head of the Congress delegation Levon Zurabyan said that during the meeting the coalition delegation has revealed some new details about their powers. And when they make these revelations the property of the society as well they will discuss and give concrete results whether they will negotiate or not. By saying revelation Zurabyan probably meant Harutyunyan’s statement, according to which they are also representing the president. As of yesterday the Congress has not given a clear answer there they are satisfied with the response of the coalition. At any rate the coalition delegation found yesterday’s meeting as a very positive one. "Today we simply exchanged opinions. We are positively disposed to the talks. Soon we shall be able to assess the process and decide on the continuation of the dialogue. Our group is optimistic about the talks," Republican representative David Harutyunyan said after the meeting. He says the dialogue is an attempt to establish a tradition of resolving problems through dialogue and cooperation. "However, it does not mean that the dialogue can smooth over all contradictions between the government and opposition but it will enable the parties to listen to each other and consult on certain issues," said Harutyunyan. He also added that the first and the key question of discussion was the acceptance of mutually agreed rules, which will allow to function in a more civilized environment. And to the question whether they have discussed the question of snap elections Harutyunyan said that indeed the opposition had presented its standpoint. He also expressed a hope that the outcome will be positive and that the coalition is optimistic about the future of the discussion. Zurabyan also stated that when the goals of the coalition become clear for them they will be able to assess the process of negotiations. The ANC’s sole demand is the holding of fresh presidential and parliamentary elections. The government camp has repeatedly rejected this demand. Still, in Zurabyan’s words, Harutyunyan’s delegation “does not exclude the discussion of any issue.” For its part, the ANC is ready to consider concrete “solutions” proposed by the authorities, he said. “They haven’t yet put any solution on the negotiation table,” added the opposition leader. Zurabyan also warned, “We have said that if there is no result before September, we will consider the possibilities of dialogue exhausted. We made this clear also during the meeting.” “We consider this format to be a supplementary format because it hasn’t created conditions for us to talk to authorized individuals representing the government,” Zurabyan told journalists after the meeting. The Congress reiterated that the subjects of the dialogue is snap elections, and if the ruling coalition has agreed to the meeting and even set the time and place of the meeting, it indicates that Serzh Sargsyan doesn’t mind snap elections. The question is what the coalition will be discussing with the Congress. To find this out, it is necessary to examine the goals of each of the sides of the dialogue. To the question as what the reasonable timeframe of a dialog is for the Congress Zurabyan said, “It is very clear. We have said that if there is no result by September or if the conduct of by-elections is not decided by then we will consider the chances of the dialog faded.” Let us also recall that the Congress didn’t like the venue of the meeting at all – the Public Chamber. So L. Zurabyan expressed a hope that the next meetings will take place in a mire neutral location. “The venue was connected with the Public Chamber, which we have always considered an imitation body and was never taken seriously by the Congress. In that regard we consider the Chamber an undesirable venue for the meetings. But we decided to close our eyes at this for the first meeting as the coalition had something to say,” said Zurabyan. By the way, the office of the former president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan is also located in the same building as the Public Chamber. And there were assumptions in the media that the venue wasn’t selected by accident. Hasn’t this fact intimidated the members of the Congress? “We didn’t know that we are next to him,” said Zurabyan and added that his ears are very long. So he might have heard what we were speaking about. The meeting of the coalition and the Congress was still continuing when the chair of the Public Chamber Vazgen Manukyan left the premises of the Chamber. Ta our question to what expectations he had from this meeting Manukyan responded none. He didn’t even know what they were speaking about. “The results of their dialog will not affect Armenia at all. That is not the problem of Armenia. There are numerous political and economic issues,” he added. Manukyan didn’t wish to respond to any other questions. He just got into his state-owned luxury vehicle from in front of the building and took off. Let us remember that before appointed head of the Public Chamber Manukyan was driving a white “Niva.”