October 18, 2005 - 17:13 AMT
J. Evans: D. Fried Visit to Armenia Confirmed US Interest in Region Peace and Prosperity
US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried and US Special Delegate for Nagorno Karabakh, Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Steven Mann paid a short-term visit to Armenia. They met with Armenian President Robert Kocharian, Speaker Artur Baghdassaryan, MOD head Serge Sargsyan and Minister of Justice David Harutyunyan. D. Fried and S. Mann are also expected to visit Georgia and Azerbaijan. In Armenia they met with representatives of the civil society and political parties. The US diplomats addressed Armenian-American relations, democratic reforms in Armenia, bilateral defense cooperation, as well as the NK conflict during their visits. US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans organized special round tables titled Constitutional Amendments and Political Posture and Making Political Society Ready for Post-Conflict Reality. When commenting of D. Fried's visit, Mr. Evans stated, it «confirms US interest in assisting Armenia to make the South Caucasus peaceful and prospering. The visit took place when Armenia is preparing to a historical referendum on constitutional amendments and starts getting ready to fair and free election in 2007 and 2008,» Mediamax reported.