Solana Congratulates Armenian People

Mediamax reports that the Secretary General of the European Union, Javier Solana, congratulated the Armenian people “on holding orderly and competitive presidential elections.” The statement must come as another blow to former president Levon Ter-Petrossian who allegedly hoped to come to power through staging post-election street protests supported by the international community.

“I would like to congratulate the people of Armenia on the conduct of a competitive presidential election on 19 February and the high turn-out. I am also pleased at the preliminary findings and conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission which has assessed the elections to be mostly in line with Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Council of Europe commitments and standards.

I expect all political forces continue to act in a responsible way after the elections. Complaints should be thoroughly investigated and all shortcomings as identified by International Election Observation Mission should be addressed. Any differences should be resolved through dialogue.