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The daily Capital writes that Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan referred yesterday in Vienna to the issue on Armenia's membership to the Customs Union. The paper says the intention of creation of the union was stated in July 2010. It includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan. The daily says Tigran Sargsyan stated "Currently it is not expedient for Armenia to join it". The paper says Tigran Sargsyan grounded it particularly with not having common border with these three countries. The world experience does not recognize such samples as according to the prime minister it neutralizes the usefulness of the absence of customs procedures, the paper stated.
The daily Hayots Ashkhar writes that the mutually exclusive statements of the representatives of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, connected with the regional visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs create new situation for the mediator countries cherishing "Kazan breakthrough" hopes. The paper says the first stop was Azerbaijan, which, on behalf of couple heads of the foreign ministry, has already refused to specify one of the core issues of two basic Madrid Principles – the time of legally obligatory polls or referendum in the NKR. Moreover, Azerbaijan does not want even to discuss any proposal violating its virtual "territorial integrity". The paper says after passing the line of contact the co-chairs faced just an opposite reality. President of Nagorno Karabakh Bako Sahakyan officially told the co-chairs that it is impossible to reach any settlement without participation of Karabakh in all the phases of talks. The paper says it is a clear message to the mediating states that the NKR will not recognize the principles adopted during its absence, thus will not implement the demand of handing part of the liberated territories.
The author of the article writes that the first results of the regional visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs do not testify about the possibility of "Kazan breakthrough" at all.
The daily Haykakan Zhamanak asked the leader of the Armenian National Congress Levon Ter-Petrosyan to comment on the negative position the ruling Republican Party of Armenia members have displayed on the ANC proposal to start talks in the format of delegations.
"Opinions of the people who have zero roles in decision making is of no significance in this case. And as far as Serzh Sargsyan has not voiced his opinion, it makes no sense to talk about it. It should be understood that the dialogue is more important to the authorities than to the ANC. If the dialogue fails, ANC would lose nothing; in fact, it may even win in terms of political dividends. It is the authorities that are going to lose. And in the long run – the country and the people are going to lose. We have made our move, and we have no slightest doubt that it was adequate – no matter what 'independent analytical skulls' think. The rest is up to the authorities", the paper cited him as saying.