President Clinton yesterday condemned the armed attack in Armenia in which the prime minister and leading members of parliament were killed. "I am shocked and saddened by today's armed attacks in the Armenian parliament," he said in a statement.
"I condemn this senseless act against individuals actively engaged in building democracy in their country. "The United States has built strong ties with Armenia, focused on helping the Armenian people build a prosperous, secure and democratic future. At this time of tragedy we renew our support for the Armenian people and their leaders, as they continue to build on the principles that today's victims have so courageously embodied," he said.
The White House spokesman, Mr Joe Lockhart, said the US Deputy Secretary of State, Mr Strobe Talbott, who had been in Armenia for meetings with the leadership, had left an hour before the attack. He said Mr Talbott's presence was not believed to have had anything to do with the attack. Mr Talbott met the Turkish President, Mr Suleyman Demirel, in Ankara only hours after leaving Armenia. There was no statement after the meeting, but a Turkish diplomat said the talks did not have a special agenda and consisted only of an "exchange of ideas".
Mr Talbott has been meeting officials in Yerevan and Baku in the past days for talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and is expected to go to Moscow today for further meetings.
The Russian President, Mr Boris Yeltsin, expressed his "profound indignation" yesterday at the shootings, Interfax news agency reported, quoting the Kremlin.
Mr Yeltsin condemned the "terrorist actions" and told the Russian ambassador to Yerevan to pass on his condolences to the families of the victims, the President's office said.
He stressed the need to oppose all terrorism wherever it happened.