YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–For three months "The Armenian National Initiative Russia – Belarus-Armenia" has reportedly collected more than one million signatures in favor of creating the union.
Summing up the results of that action–member of the Executive Committee of the National Initiative Aghasi Arshakian said that such a number of signatures testified to the will of the whole nation.
According to him–the survey not only reflects the urban opinion of the Republic’s–but also the opinion of some 88 percent of villagers of the country–as well as Armenian citizens living in Russia.
Public and public-political organizations of Armenia rendered their share of assistance in collecting those signatures. Among them are the Democratic Party of Armenia–Zartonk–the Social-Democratic Party of Armenia–the Communist Party of Armenia–the Scientific & Civil Union–the Slavonic House–the Armenian Sakharov Fund for Progress–Human Rights and Charity.
According to Russian parliamentarian Telman Gdlian–the nation has shown its will and no bureaucrat is entitled to disregard it. In that connection he opined that the Constitution of Armenia could not serve the grounds for the abolishment of the Referendum Law.
It was mentioned at the news conference that Armenia’should make its final choice in determining priorities in its national policy and that no agreement–including the Russia-Armenia Agreement recently concluded in Moscow could ensure the development of stable relations between the two countries unless an union with Russia is established. Journalists raised the issue of Karabakh–towards which Russia had assumed a tough position. In that connection Gdlian opined that Armenia’s joining the union can make Russia change its stance on that matter.
The need for unification of all public and political forces interested in a Russia-Belarus-Armenia union was also highlighted.