Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04YEREVAN2525
2004-11-23 13:48:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:  

Armenian Iraq Contingent: Speaker of

Tags:  PREL MARR MOPS AM IZ 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 002525 

SIPDIS

STATE/EUR FOR DAS LAURA KENNEDY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2014
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS AM IZ
SUBJECT: Armenian Iraq Contingent: Speaker of
Parliament Asks Our Help

Ref: Yerevan 2517

Classified by Amb. John Evans, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 002525

SIPDIS

STATE/EUR FOR DAS LAURA KENNEDY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2014
TAGS: PREL MARR MOPS AM IZ
SUBJECT: Armenian Iraq Contingent: Speaker of
Parliament Asks Our Help

Ref: Yerevan 2517

Classified by Amb. John Evans, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C ) Over lunch November 23, Armenian National
Assembly speaker Artur Baghdasarian shared with
Ambassador the likely time-line for parliamentary
consideration of the deployment of Armenia's non-
combatant contingent to the Iraq Coalition and asked our
assistance in mustering arguments to be deployed in the
expected debate.


2. (C ) The Speaker said the Constitutional Court was
expected to transmit the case for action to the National
Assembly on November 30. He confirmed that
technically, the issue before the Court and prospectively
before the National Assembly would be the narrow one of
the bilateral Armenian-Polish memorandum signed during
President Kocharian's September visit to Warsaw. He said
the National Assembly was expected to take up the issue at
its December 5-7 session.


3. C) In this connection, the Speaker noted that the
National Assembly had been receiving so many inquiries
about the proposed deployment that it had had to set up a
hot line to deal with them. Although the issue had
purposely been narrowly defined, once it reached the
National Assembly, the scope of the discussion would be
difficult to control. The Defense Minister would make the
Government's case for the deployment, but the Speaker
anticipated that he would bear the brunt of the hostile
debate, which could come from the opposition or even from
certain quarters within the parliamentary coalition. He
asked the Ambassador if he could provide whatever up-to-
date supporting materials might be available.


4. ( C ) Action request: Embassy requests guidance as to
what materials, in addition to the excellent fact sheets
available through State and CENTCOM websites, might
best assist the Speaker (and the Defense Minister, who has
not asked, but may) in making the case for the Armenian
non-combatant deployment. Facts and figures
demonstrating what other comparable countries are
contributing specially neighboring Georgia and
Azerbaijan, as well as Central Asian and East European
states ould serve this purpose best. We do not expect
anyone to generate new materials, but would appreciate any
guidance as to what is the best material currently available.
EVANS