October 23, 2007 - 18:05 AMT
Binding Ahmadinejad's departure with Sargsyan's U.S. visit stupid
Sometimes domestic circumstances demand presence of the President. The agenda of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit was reconsidered by this reason, RA National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian told reporters today.

According to him, suppositions that Mr Ahmadinejad left Armenia over unwillingness to attend the memorial to Armenian Genocide victims are illogical. During yesterday's meeting with YSU students the Iranian leader represented his standpoint on the issue," the Speaker said.

"They could also presume that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doesn't respect Islam, since he didn't attend Blue Mosque in Yerevan," he noted.

The Armenian Speaker described journalists' suppositions that Mr Ahmadinejad's departure was conditioned by RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan's visit to the United States as "masochistic and stupid."

Mr Torosian also informed that he accepted the invitation of his Iranian counterpart and will visit Iran till the yearend, IA Regnum reports.

A new round of the EU-Iran talks has opened in Rome today. The Iranian delegation is led by Saeed Jalili, who is close to President Ahmadinejad and is considered a hard-line diplomat.

As reported earlier, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad interrupted his formal visit to Armenia and returned to Tehran. Informal sources said the schedule was changed over unforeseeable consequences in Iran.

Mr Ahmadinejad was expected to attend the Memorial Complex to Armenian Genocide victims and Blue Mosque in Yerevan. He was also scheduled to address the RA National Assembly.

"Today's program was cancelled and the Iranian leader is departing for Tehran," the RA President's press office said.