IN BAKU THEY WANT TO SEE LEVON TER-PETROSYAN AND HIS SON IN POWER OF ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net - Not hiding their feelings for the young man whom they do not know, the mass media of Baku believe that his participation in the elections ''may be interesting in the context of possible settlement of the Karabakh conflict''. The Echo newspaper, for example, has expressed such a strange opinion. How can the political ambitions of David Ter-Petrosyan affect the negotiations on Karabakh settlement? ''David Ter-Petrosyan may become an influential political figure,'' the newspaper reads. ''He will continue the policy of the Armenian National Movement and his father. In that case the foreign policy of Armenia may change and become more constructive,'' the observer concludes.

Among these senseless statements and naive conclusions one thing is true: Azerbaijan is extremely interested in coming to power of the Armenian National Movement and its ideological leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Baku believes that thus it may gain control over Nagorno Karabakh. Such hopes are based on the opinion expressed by Levon Ter-Petrosyan before his resignation concerning the so-called ''stage-by-stage'' settlement of the Karabakh conflict. The ideological leader of the ANM did not participate in the presidential elections. However, in Baku they believe that he will come back. For example, political scientist Elhan Mehtiyev, who heads the Center of Peace and Conflicts' Settlement, forecasts: ''Ter-Petrosyan will run the elections after 5 years''. As far as his son is concerned, according to the political scientists, ''it will not be difficult for him to start a political career, as he is married with the daughter of the former minister of National Security David Shahnazaryan''.

The co-chairman of the social-democratic party of Azerbaijan, Zardusht Alizade also hopes tha David Ter-Petrosyan will come to power: ''If David Ter-Petrosyan decides to use the political knowledge of his father, he will succeed''. Alizade wants to believe that the son of the ex-president will continue the policy of his father in the Karabakh issue, but he does not see any ground to state this: ''We do not know yet the program of David Ter-Petrosyan. Everything will become clear later, when he starts to express his opinion and to do certain things,'' the Azeri social-democrat says. At the same time, he hopes that David's father will make his presence felt: ''Levon Ter-Petrsyan continues to have weight in certain circles of the Armenian elite,'' Alizade says suggesting that ''the resignation of the ex president was not motivated by the negative attitude of the majority of Armenians towards his policy''. Representatives of the official authorities of Azerbaijan also do not hide their warm feelings for Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Azerbaijani President apparatus, Novruz Mamedov, commenting recently on the rumors about the return of the former leader of Armenia, said: ''The being in power of a person like Ter-Petrosyan would be desirable. The government of our country believes that it would be positive''.

Evidently, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and his son are more popular in Azerbaijan than in Armenia. But, does it do them credit?