YEREVAN. – “I think it’s fair to say that the quality of the presidential elections in Armenia was well below expectations,” Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Bildt, wrote this in his Twitter page, Haykakan Zhamanak daily reports. 

“The MFA of Armenia did not leave this [comment] without a response. Speaking about EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs [and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission] Catherine Ashton’s and [European] Commissioner for Enlargement [and European Neighbourhood Policy] Štefan Füle’s assessments on these elections [as they have particularly ‘welcomed further progress made by the Armenian authorities in their efforts to hold these presidential elections in line with international standards’], Bildt concluded that the EU expected more from Armenia.   

‘I was disappointed when I read the observers’ reports. I believe the Armenian government should consider very carefully what was said by a variety of observation missions; these concerns should not be ignored because the EU truly attaches great importance to democratic standards,’ Bildt responded [to Ashton’s and Füle’s evaluations].    

‘Carl Bildt seems to be lacking good advisors on Armenia, and therefore the quality of information he possesses is disappointing,’ the Armenian MFA responded [to Bildt in its Facebook page],” Haykakan Zhamanak writes.