April 2, 2008 - 15:56 AMT
AGO Group: allegiance to democratic values often demands tough approaches
Armenia's Prime Minister and President-elect Serzh Sargsyan met today with delegation of AGO group led by Ambassador Per Sjogren , the RA government's press office reported.

"The AGO group includes ambassadors from 9 states. This testifies of friendly attitude toward Armenia and interest of the Council of Europe in cooperation with your republic," Mr Sjogren said, assessing the process of Armenia's integration into European structures as friendly and constructive.

The Ambassador pointed out to progress in legislative sphere and submitted some proposals based on European principles and standards. "Allegiance to democratic values often demands tough approaches. Our proposals are meant to ease tensions, establishment of talks with opposition and restoration of popular consent," he said.

"We never rejected dialogue. We negotiated with various political forces before the presidential election," Mr Sargsyan said, for his part. "Although the Republican Party gained votes sufficient for a sole government, a coalition was formed. The authorities will proceed with reforms engaging various strata of society. Armenia will remain true to the policy of European integration."

The President-elect answered a number of questions regarding struggle against corruption, reforms, Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement and perspectives of the Armenian-Turkish relations.