RFE/RL reports that the U.S. Deputy Assistance of State Matthew Bryza is in town and has praised the conduct of the recent parliamentary election in Armenia. Although the more radical elements in civil society and the opposition allege widespread fraud, falsification and intimidation, most local and international election observers instead believe that the vote marked a significant improvement over past elections.

However, it is important to note that this does not mean that the election met international standards or is on par with the conduct of elections held in the West, or even most recently, in neighbouring Turkey. Bryza also made it clear that there was still room for significant improvement, but the main point is that international bodies now consider Armenia to be on the right path in terms of democratization.

“I would like to recognize and congratulate Armenia for its success in holding what appears to be the freest and fairest election in this phase of Armenia’s independence,” Bryza told reporters, echoing the findings of Western election observers.

“These elections were a real step forward in the development of democracy in Armenia,” he said. “These elections brought the Armenian electoral process closer to international standards than any previous election. But there is still some room to go.”

As Bryza is also a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, it comes as no surprise to discover that he also spoke to the president, Robert Kocharian, on the current situation with regards to attempts to come up with a peaceful solution to the 19-year conflict with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh. Not surprisingly, presidential elections in both republics are likely to put the talks on hold until 2009, but the issue of Kosovo was also mentioned.

In a joint statement earlier this month, the three mediators expressed their disappointment with Kocharian’s and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev’s failure last month to iron out their “remaining differences” over a framework peace accord put forward by the Minsk Group. They urged the two leaders to meet again “in the coming months” and again try to achieve a breakthrough before the start of campaigning for presidential elections due in both Armenia and Azerbaijan next year.

Bryza indicated on Monday that this is unlikely to happen not only because of the approaching elections but the ongoing international talks on the status of Kosovo that look set to result in international recognition of the Albanian-populated territory’s secession from Serbia.

“I do sense that the political climate here is shifting its focus toward the elections,” he said. “I sensed that in my own discussions on Nagorno-Karabakh. I sense also that everybody involved with Karabakh … is wondering whether or not the Kosovo process will have an impact on Karabakh.”

“So maybe the leaders are going to decide that they want to themselves take some time to think things through and get a better feel for how the political situations play out over the next few months,” he added.

Well, it will be interesting if we now are about to enter a new phase in the South Caucasus. With all three republics experiencing significant economic growth, one can only hope that the next two most important issues left to settle in the near future will be quickening the pace of democratization and resolving outstanding frozen conflicts that hinder and prevent regional and European integration.