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March 29
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YEREVAN. – Yes, the "football diplomacy" with Turkey was initiated by our government, and at that time Armenia was a factor in the region, at that time Armenia was taken into account, and a country like Turkey could not impose its whims, plans on the Armenian side. Eduard Sharmazanov, National Assembly ex-deputy speaker, former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) vice-chairman, and a member of the "I have the honor" bloc that will run in the snap parliamentary elections on June 20, told this to a press conference Wednesday.

"The clear proof of that was the failure of [then Turkish FM] Davutoglu in 2009. They wanted to put a point about Karabakh [(Artsakh)] in the statement, but the [then] Armenian authorities sharply refused. Armenia was so strong, so in partnership with the world powers that when [then] US Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton visited Tsitsernakaberd [the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan], she simply quoted [then President and RPA leader] Serzh Sargsyan and noted that the ball was in Turkey's court. But who is quoting our woeful authorities today? They mock [them] in Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkey use them like a piece of cloth. Armenia has become a political outsider. Our number one task should be to stop the defeat," he said.

Sharmazanov stated that the reproduction of acting PM Nikol Pashinyan's government is fraught with new wars, new territorial losses, new casualties, and new captives. "Our [the ‘I have the honor’ bloc] coming to power is full only on ensuring long-term peace through negotiations," he added.

As for the Artsakh issue, he emphasized: "Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan. We must see to it that the Azerbaijani occupiers leave the occupied territories of Artsakh through negotiations."

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This text available in   Հայերեն and Русский
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