Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and his governing coalition have formed a team to hold talks with the Armenian National Congress (HAK) in what is seen as another concession to the opposition alliance, Radio Liberty's Armenian Service reports.

Sarkisian's spokesman, Armen Arzumanian, has said that the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) and its two junior coalition partners, the Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and Orinats Yerkir parties, will each appoint two members to the working group.

"The first working discussion [with the HAK] could be organized already in the next 10 days," Arzumanian said.

The potentially significant development is part of an unfolding dialogue between Armenia's political leadership and its largest opposition force, which was made possible by a series of concessions from Sarkisian in April and May.

Those included the release of all HAK supporters remaining in prison.

The two sides have not held any face-to-face meetings on ways to ease political tensions. The HAK insists that the dialogue should take the form of formal negotiations between special delegations formed for that purpose.

Sarkisian and the HHK rejected this format until recently.

But in a June 17 statement, the president said that the two rival sides could discuss pressing issues facing Armenia "through specially designated individuals."

He said representatives of the HHK, the BHK, and Orinats Yerkir could "sit down at the negotiation table" with an HAK delegation set up in early June.