YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–"It’s not right to believe that the ‘oil card’ plays a decisive role for the United States. We attach more importance to ‘the democratic card’ rather than to ‘the oil card.’ In the long run–many countries have oil reserves," US Embassy official–DCM Michael Gfoeller said at a seminar "Covering the Elections and Other Political Campaigns."
Gfoeller noted the importance of free and fair parliamentary elections–stressing that the future of Armenia’s relations with the United States depends on these elections.
The same opinion was voiced by the Ambassador of the European Union to Armenia Denis Corboy: "The relations between Armenia and Europe will much depend on whether the forthcoming elections will be fair or not." He said that the media has an opportunity to provide unbiased information about parties and candidates and unbiased coverage of the voting.
The seminar was organized by the Yerevan Press Club in association with the Council of Europe and the European Center for Journalism under the European Union’s project "Mass Media in Transition