Thursday, Armenian Man Detained In Azerbaijan . Hovannes Movsisian Azerbaijan - A screenshot of video of an Armenian man paraded on Azerbaijani television. An Armenian civilian was paraded on Azerbaijani television on Wednesday after apparently crossing into Azerbaijan from Armenia in unclear circumstances. The Azerbaijani military claimed to have captured the 43-year-old man identified as Zaven Karapetian while thwarting an Armenian incursion into Azerbaijani territory. A televised video circulated by it shows the man wearing a camouflage vest over plain clothes presenting himself as a resident of Dovegh, a border village in Armenia's northern Tavush province, and saying that he works for an Armenian army unit stationed in the area. The Armenian Defense Ministry was quick to deny that Karapetian is a serviceman. "This is complete disinformation in the form of a cheap performance," the ministry spokesman, Artsrun Hovannisian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Hovannisian argued that his vest is very different from Armenian army uniforms. For his part, Dovegh's mayor, Samvel Gorginian, said that Karapetian is not a resident of his village. Nor is he known to the locals, according to Gorginian. A man of the same name and age is included on the electoral lists of Vanadzor, an Armenian city around 130 kilometers southwest of Dovegh. The Vanadzor mayor, Mamikon Aslanian, confirmed that he is the Armenian captive paraded by the Azerbaijani military. The mayor described Karapetian as a homeless person who "made a living collecting garbage in the city." He too insisted that the captive did not serve in the Armenian army. An Azerbaijani Facebook user based in Azerbaijan's western Qazakh district bordering Tavush wrote late on Tuesday that a middle-aged Armenian man was detained by residents of a local village, Kemerli, and handed over to Azerbaijani military officials. Three residents of Tavush strayed into Azerbaijan and were captured there in 2014. Two of them were branded Armenian "saboteurs" by the authorities in Baku and died shortly afterwards. Karen Petrosian, a 33-year-old resident of Chinari village, was pronounced dead in August 2014 one day after being detained in an Azerbaijani village across the border. The Azerbaijani military claimed that he died of "acute heart failure." Many in Armenia believe, however, that Petrosian was murdered or beaten to death. The United States and France expressed serious concern at Petrosian's suspicious death and called on Baku to conduct an objective investigation at the time. A 77-year-old resident of another Tavush village, Verin Karmiraghbyur, died in May 2014 three months after being apprehended on the Azerbaijani side of the frontier in similar circumstances. Doctors in Yerevan said the man, Mamikon Khojoyan, suffered serious injuries during his month-long captivity. Another Armenian civilian died in Azerbaijani custody in 2010. The 20-year-old Manvel Saribekian, whose Tutujur village is also very close to the Azerbaijani border, was paraded on Azerbaijani television following his capture. Saribekian was found hanged in an Azerbaijani detention center shortly afterwards. The Azerbaijani authorities claimed that he committed suicide. The Armenian side said, however, that Saribekian was tortured to death or driven to suicide. Armenian Government Gets Vote Of Confidence From Parliament . Ruzanna Stepanian Armenia - Prime Minister Karen Karapetian is about to address the parliament in Yerevan, 21Jun2017. In what amounted to a vote of confidence, Armenia's parliament formally approved on Thursday a new policy program of Prime Minister Karapetian's cabinet that promises faster economic growth and poverty reduction. The more than 100-page document commits the government to ensuring that the Armenian economy grows at an average annual rate of around 5 percent for the next five years. It says that this will cut Armenia's poverty rate, which currently stands at around 30 percent, by 12 percentage points. The document was debated by the National Assembly more than two months after parliamentary elections won by President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party of Armenia (HHK). Karapetian's cabinet was practically not reshuffled as a result of the April 2 vote. "Speaking of the program, we have worked on it a lot # and know clearly what we have to do," the premier told lawmakers remarks at end of the debate. He insisted that the program, which calls for wide-ranging reforms, will transform Armenia. Karapetian also rejected opposition criticism of his government's plan of actions. "There are emotional evaluations that this program is not a step forward and will lead to stagnation, but they are not quite founded, in my opinion," he said. The parliament backed the action plan by 64 votes to 31.Voting against it were deputies representing businessman Gagik Tsarukian's bloc, the second largest parliamentary force, and another opposition group, the Yelk alliance. Deputy parliament speaker Mikael Melkumian, a senior Tsarukian Bloc member, said that the Sarkisian administration has failed to achieve its socioeconomic objectives that were set in previous government programs. "If the previous programs failed, what is the guarantee that this one will not fail?" Melkumian said. Armenia - Opposition leader Nikol Pashinian attends a parliament session in Yerevan, 21Jun2017. Yelk's Nikol Pashinian said the 9 lawmakers affiliated with his bloc will reject the proposed plan because it is "Serzh Sarkisian's and the Republican Party's program." Pashinian claimed that the Armenian president is planning to become prime minister after completing his final term in April next year despite being chiefly responsible for "all of Armenia's failures." Other Yelk deputies also pounced on the HHK's reluctance to shed more light on Sarkisian's political future. Answering their questions on Wednesday, Karapetian reiterated that he is "ready" to remain prime minister after April 2018. The ruling party's parliamentary leader, Vahram Baghdasarian, denounced Yelk's harsh criticism, saying that the opposition bloc itself cannot be sure that it will not fall apart next year. He also seemed to imply that Yelk's young parliamentarians should now beware physical attacks by government loyalists. The apparent threat prompted a furious reaction from Pashinian, triggering a shouting match between the two men. The outspoken opposition leader went as far as to "remind" the HHK leadership of the fate of Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania's notorious Communist leader who was deposed and executed in 1989. India `Open' To Closer Defense Ties With Armenia . Artak Hambardzumian India - Indian Air Force soldiers rehearse for the Republic Day parade on a cold and foggy winter morning in New Delhi December 30, 2014 Armenia and India are continuing to discuss ways of forging military ties based on the existing "excellent" relationship between the two states, the Indian ambassador in Yerevan said on Thursday. "The two sides are discussing cooperation in this area," Yogeshwar Sangwan told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "I don't have a clear timetable [for Indian-Armenian defense cooperation] but it will happen in due course on the basis of bilateral negotiations." Sangwan said India is interested in deepening relations with "friendly" Armenia "in all areas." "Even in the area of defense, we are open to cooperation with Armenia," he added. "The issue has already been discussed by the Armenian and Indian governments and we will move forward. Whatever is possible we will definitely do." Visiting Yerevan in late April, India's Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari said that military cooperation is on the agenda of Indian-Armenian intergovernmental dealings. He said the two sides intend to "further our cooperation in the areas of common interest." Armenia - Indian Ambassador Yogeshwar Sangwan, . Just three weeks later, an Armenian Defense Ministry delegation travelled to India for talks with senior Indian defense officials which a ministry statement said were aimed at "exploring opportunities and reaching agreements." The delegation was headed by Levon Ayvazian, head of the ministry's defense policy department. According to the May 20 statement, the two sides affirmed their "mutual interest in utilizing as the great potential for cooperation in the area of defense." It said they reached unspecified agreements on "military-technical" cooperation and joint training programs between the two militaries. While in India, the Armenian delegation also visited a number of Indian army bases and defense enterprises. It familiarized itself with items manufactured by them and discussed with Indian officials "mutually beneficial variants of developing cooperation in this direction," according to the Defense Ministry in Yerevan. India's arch-foe Pakistan staunchly supports Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, refusing to not only establish diplomatic relations with Armenia but also formally recognize the latter as an independent state. Speaking after talks in Baku with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last October, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said they agreed to boost defense ties between their nations. In particular, Azerbaijan would like to buy sophisticated Pakistani weapons, Aliyev said. Sangwan insisted that Pakistan is not a factor behind India's desire to reinforce its already "very strong" rapport with Armenia. "Our relationship with Armenia is independent of any outside influence," the Indian ambassador said. "We don't allow third parties to influence our relations." U.S., EU Urge Karabakh `De-Escalation' Nagorno-Karabakh - An Armenian soldier shoots during a military exercise, 20Nov2015. The United States and the European Union have expressed serious concern at the latest deadly fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh, saying that the parties to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict should urgently take measures to bolster the ceasefire regime there. "The United States is deeply concerned over the recent violations of the ceasefire, which have resulted in multiple casualties on the Line of Contact over the last week," the U.S. State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said in a statement issued late on Wednesday. "We urge the sides to avoid escalation and encourage immediate consideration of measures to reduce tensions along the Line of Contact and the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan," she said. "The European Union expects de-escalation and restraint in deeds as well as in words," read a separate statement released by an EU spokesperson on Thursday. The EU statement came shortly before Karabakh's Armenian-backed Defense Army claimed to have killed four Azerbaijani soldiers while thwarting an overnight commando attack on its frontline positions at an unspecified section of "the line of contact." It said its troops suffered no casualties. There was no immediate reaction to the claim from the Azerbaijani military. The Karabakh Armenian army promised a "targeted and disproportionate" retaliation after three of its soldiers were killed by Azerbaijani forces on June 16. Another Armenian soldier was killed at a different frontline section the following morning. Earlier on June 16, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported that one of its soldiers was shot dead by the Armenian side. The warring sides blamed each other for the escalation that coincided with the latest visit to the conflict zone by U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group. In a joint statement issued at the end of their regional tour on Monday, the three mediators said they "appealed to the leadership of Azerbaijan to avoid further escalation." "The Co-Chairs are sending the same message to the leadership of Armenia and de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh," they added. The co-chairs also urged the sides to take confidence-building measures that would reduce tensions on the frontlines. The U.S. and EU statements called for "immediate consideration" of such safeguards. The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents agreed to let the OSCE deploy more field observers in the conflict zone and work out a mechanism for investigating truce violations there at their face-to-face talks held a year ago. Baku has been reluctant to implement those agreements, saying that they would cement the status quo in the absence of progress towards a resolution of the Karabakh conflict. The U.S. and the EU also echoed the mediators' calls for the conflicting parties to "re-engage in negotiations on substance, in good faith and with political will." Press Review Parliamentary debates on the Armenian government's five-year plan of actions lead "Hraparak" to conclude that the recently elected National Assembly is "weak." "There is a surplus of populism but a lack of economic thinking, experience and knowledge [among deputies,]" claims the paper. It says that lawmakers failed to thoroughly examine the 120-page program submitted by the government. It says the opposition minority was wrong to focus instead on the question of whether or not Prime Minister Karen Karapetian will retain his post in April 2018. In an interview with "Aravot," a parliament deputy from the Tsarukian Bloc, Ararat Zurabian, defends European Union Ambassador Piotr Switalski's criticism of Armenia's recent parliamentary elections. "Mr Switalski noted something that is the case in Armenia," says Zurabian. "He said that there is a lack of trust in electoral processes." He also says that Armenian officials were wrong to accuse the envoy of meddling in the country's internal affairs. "Haykakan Zhamanak" reports that a hailstorm and violent winds caused considerable devastation in a number of communities in Armenia's northern Tavush province on June 20. The paper quotes the mayor of one of those villages, Rafik Ohanian, as saying that many residents of Ptghavan are now coping with not only a loss of their crops but also serious damage inflicted on their homes. Also, he says, about 20 percent of the local households were left without electricity. Power supplies have still not been restored. "For a fourth or fifth year running, we are not earning any revenue," complains Ohanian. "We take tons of loans and invest them in land only to see our crops frozen or wrecked in this fashion." (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org