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    Categories: 2017

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 08/24/2017

                                        Thursday, 

Armenia, Turkmenistan Pledge To Boost Ties


 . Emil Danielyan


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (R) and his Turkmen counterpart
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov meet in Yerevan, 24Aug2017.

President Serzh Sarkisian called for the launch of "large-scale" joint
economic projects by Armenia and Turkmenistan after meeting with his
visiting Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on Thursday.

The two leaders pledged to deepen economic, political and cultural
ties between their ex-Soviet states and presided over the signing of
several Turkmen-Armenian agreements after talks held in Yerevan.

"Our relations date back to the Middle Ages," Berdimuhamedov said in
his opening remarks at the talks. "We are happy that we are continuing
that today and serving as an example for younger generations in our
countries."

Sarkisian, for his part, described Turkmenistan as a "reliable
partner" with which Armenia would like to forge closer relations in a
wide range of areas.

"The [Turkmen] president and I paid special attention to promising
avenues of developing economic cooperation," he told reporters after
the talks.

"I am convinced that with joint efforts we can advance large-scale
projects underpinned by modern manufacturing and new jobs, and a
broader development of the national economies," Sarkisian went
on. "Mr. President [Berdimuhamedov] said during our negotiations that
he is now thinking about projects worth not millions but billions [of
dollars.] We are buoyed by that and will definitely work in that
direction."

Berdimuhamedov did not mention any concrete projects in his statement
to the press. He said only that his official visit to Armenia, the
second in five years, will lay the groundwork for closer bilateral
ties in areas such as energy, transport and agriculture.


Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (R) and his Turkmen counterpart
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov meet in Yerevan, 24Aug2017.

Sarkisian also cited the energy sector. "We agreed to continue
developing productive cooperation in this area," he said without
elaborating.

Hydrocarbon-rich Turkmenistan was Armenia's principal supplier of
natural gas until the Armenian government signed a long-term deal with
Russia's Gazprom monopoly in the late 1990s.

Early this year, the Armenian government indicated its desire to
resume imports of Turkmen gas via neighboring Iran. Prime Minister
Karen Karapetian discussed such a possibility with Turkmenistan's
Energy Minister Charymyrat Purchekov in Yerevan two weeks before
visiting the Turkmen capital Ashgabat in March. Karapetian met with
Berdimuhamedov during that trip.

The issue was also on the agenda of Sarkisian's August 6 meeting in
Tehran with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani. Visiting Yerevan last
December, Rouhani said Iran is ready to serve as a transit route for
Turkmen gas supplies to Armenia.

Sarkisian and Berdimuhamedov already pledged to boost bilateral
commerce when they met in Ashgabat in 2014. Turkmen-Armenian trade,
which stood at a modest $22.7 million in 2013, has continued to shrink
since then, however. According to Armenian government data, it
plummeted by 33 percent to $12 million in 2016.

Sarkisian blamed this decline on "unfavorable developments in global
markets." "We hope that the implementation of today's agreements will
help to rectify the situation," he said.

Turkmenistan has maintained cordial relations with Armenia under both
Berdimuhamedov and his late predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov. By
contrast, its rapport with Armenia's arch-foe Azerbaijan has long been
strained due to a dispute over a big oilfield in the Caspian
Sea. Berdimuhamedov sought to ease those tensions when he visited Baku
two weeks ago.

The autocratic Turkmen leader, in power since 2006, was full of praise
for Armenia on Thursday, thanking Yerevan for supporting his country
in the international arena. A joint communique issued by him and
Sarkisian, makes a veiled reference to the Nagorno-Karabakh. It calls
for "solely peaceful solutions to existing conflicts."



U.S. Names New Karabakh Envoy


 . Artur Papyan


Armenia - The U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Richard Hoagland,
at a news conference in Yerevan, 27 March 2017.

Richard Hoagland, the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, announced
late on Wednesday that another career diplomat will replace him next
week as Washington's chief mediator in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
talks.

The new envoy, Andrew Schofer, has previously held a senior position
in the U.S. mission to the Vienna headquarters of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe. He will formally start performing
his new duties on Monday.

Speaking to Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists in Washington,
Hoagland insisted that Schofer's appointment does not indicate any
change in U.S. policy towards the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Hoagland was named by the State Department to serve as Minsk Group
co-chair "on an interim basis" in late December. He replaced another
career diplomat, James Warlick, in that position.

As well as announcing Schofer's appointment, Hoagland publicized the
six key elements of a framework Karabakh peace accord which has been
advanced and repeatedly modified by the U.S., Russian and French
mediators over the past decade.

The proposed settlement calls for Armenian withdrawal from virtually
all seven districts around Karabakh that were fully or partly occupied
by Armenian forces in 1992-1993. In return, Karabakh's predominantly
Armenian population would determine its internationally recognized
status in a future referendum. The conflicting parties continue to
disagree on some crucial details of this peace formula.

The statement circulated by Hoagland says that "the sides should
commit to determining the final legal status through a mutually agreed
and legally binding expression of will in the future." "The occupied
territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh should be returned to
Azerbaijani control," it adds.

It also says: "There should be a corridor linking Armenia to
Nagorno-Karabakh. It must be wide enough to provide secure passage,
but it cannot encompass the whole of Lachin district."

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Thursday downplayed the
significance of Hoagland's statement. According to the Armenpress news
agency, Nalbandian said that the U.S. mediator simply reaffirmed what
has for years been stated by the three mediating powers.

Nalbandian also dismissed suggestions that Hoagland's move was timed
to coincide with Wednesday's talks between the Armenian and Russian
presidents, which touched upon the Karabakh issue as well. He said
that Hoagland simply gave a farewell interview to Armenian and
Azerbaijani reporters.



Armenian Lawyers To Go On Strike


 . Astghik Bedevian


Armenia - Lawyers for arrested radical opposition members argue with
security guards at the entrance to a district court in Yerevan,
26Jul2017.

More than a hundred Armenian lawyers will go on strike next month to
protest against controversial security checks on attorneys
representing radical opposition members in three ongoing trials.

The lawyers for Zhirayr Sefilian, the jailed leader of the Founding
Parliament movement, and his three dozen loyalists who seized a police
station in Yerevan last year have been required to not only walk
through metal detectors but also show objects kept their bags to
security guards before entering courtrooms.

The lawyers say this procedure amounts to a search not allowed by
Armenian law. Many of them have repeatedly refused to comply with it
and been barred from attending court hearings. They have accused the
authorities of deliberately subjecting them to such checks to ensure
that the trials continue in the absence of defendants and their
attorneys.

Armenia's Judicial Department insists that the security "inspections"
do not constitute searches and are therefore legal.

Still, the head of the department, Karen Poladian, and the chairman of
the national bar association, Ara Zohrabian, said earlier this month
that the procedure will be changed to address the lawyers'
concerns. In particular, their bags will now be checked by court
guards in a separate room if a metal detector repeatedly signals the
presence of metal objects in them.

The defense lawyers involved in the high-profile trials rejected this
supposedly compromise solution as inadequate. They said on Thursday
that they and dozens of other lawyers have decided to go on a one-day
strike on September 13 to demand a more radical change of the security
procedure.

"We won't attend court sessions scheduled for that day," one of them,
Yervand Varosian, told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azautyun.am).

Hayarpi Sargsian, who represents one of the arrested opposition gunmen
standing trial, said the lawyers could take more strike action if the
authorities reject their demands on September 13.

The Chamber of Advocates, which regulates the legal profession in
Armenia, comprises more than 1,800 lawyers. Its spokesperson, Tsovinar
Khachatrian, said the bar association is ready to provide logistical
assistance to its protesting members despite not endorsing their
demands.



Government Considers New Firefighting Equipment After Wildfires


 . Anush Muradian


Armenia - Minister for Emergency Situations Davit Tonoyan coordinates
firefighting efforts at the Khosrov nature reserve, 14Aug2017.

Minister for Emergency Situations Davit Tonoyan said on Thursday that
his agency may receive new and more powerful firefighting equipment
after this month's wildfires that burned hundreds of hectares of
forests in Armenia.

The fires erupted in a wooded area in the Vayots Dzor province and the
Khosrov Forest State Reserve southeast of Yerevan in the space of two
days. The Khosrov blaze was particularly serious, with the Armenian
government asking Russia for urgent assistance after firefighters and
other emergency workers failed to contain it on their own.

A heavy water-dropping plane sent by the Russian Ministry for
Emergency Situations played a key role in the firefighting efforts.

Tonoyan admitted that the Armenian Rescue Service, which is part of
his ministry, was not well equipped to quickly extinguish the
fires. "Of course, technical equipment, special vehicles transporting
personnel and army helicopters used [in the operation] did not allow
us to respond adequately," he said. "Rugged terrain and strong winds
were also a factor."

"Certain conclusions regarding increasing the extent of our equipment
have been drawn and presented to the president and the prime
minister," Tonoyan told a joint news conference with Environment
Minister Artsvik Minasian. He did not specify the type of machinery
requested by his ministry.


Armenia - A wildfire in the Khosrov Forest Reserve, 14Aug2017.

Rescue Service officials complained during the forest fires that it is
practically impossible to deploy their fire engines on steep mountain
slopes forming the Khosrov reserve and Vayots Dzor landscapes.

Tonoyan dismissed environmentalists' claims that his emergency
services did not react to the fires fast enough, while acknowledging
shortcomings in their work. "Only those who don't work make no
mistakes," he said.

One of Tonoyan's deputies, Davit Karapetian, promised last week that
the Ministry for Emergency Situations will "learn lessons" from what
were the worst forest fires in Armenia in decades.

Minasian said, meanwhile, that the United Nations Development Program
has already pledged to help Armenia acquire some firefighting
devices. He did not elaborate, saying only that a corresponding
agreement will be signed in Yerevan on September 1.

"As regards heavy equipment, Mr. Tonoyan and I have a good idea which
we won't make public now," added Minasian. "God willing, we will
succeed and you will attend the opening ceremony."

According to the latest government estimates released by Minasian, at
least 250 hectares of woodland were burned in the Khosrov reserve.

The environment minister announced that he will initiate personnel
changes in the reserve administration and set up "rapid-reaction
teams" tasked with preventing fire outbreaks in various Armenian
forests.



Government Considers New Firefighting Equipment After Wildfires


 . Anush Muradian


Armenia - Minister for Emergency Situations Davit Tonoyan coordinates
firefighting efforts at the Khosrov nature reserve, 14Aug2017.

Minister for Emergency Situations Davit Tonoyan said on Thursday that
his agency may receive new and more powerful firefighting equipment
after this month's wildfires that burned hundreds of hectares of
forests in Armenia.

The fires erupted in a wooded area in the Vayots Dzor province and the
Khosrov Forest State Reserve southeast of Yerevan in the space of two
days. The Khosrov blaze was particularly serious, with the Armenian
government asking Russia for urgent assistance after firefighters and
other emergency workers failed to contain it on their own.

A heavy water-dropping plane sent by the Russian Ministry for
Emergency Situations played a key role in the firefighting efforts.

Tonoyan admitted that the Armenian Rescue Service, which is part of
his ministry, was not well equipped to quickly extinguish the
fires. "Of course, technical equipment, special vehicles transporting
personnel and army helicopters used [in the operation] did not allow
us to respond adequately," he said. "Rugged terrain and strong winds
were also a factor."

"Certain conclusions regarding increasing the extent of our equipment
have been drawn and presented to the president and the prime
minister," Tonoyan told a joint news conference with Environment
Minister Artsvik Minasian. He did not specify the type of machinery
requested by his ministry.


Armenia - A wildfire in the Khosrov Forest Reserve, 14Aug2017.

Rescue Service officials complained during the forest fires that it is
practically impossible to deploy their fire engines on steep mountain
slopes forming the Khosrov reserve and Vayots Dzor landscapes.

Tonoyan dismissed environmentalists' claims that his emergency
services did not react to the fires fast enough, while acknowledging
shortcomings in their work. "Only those who don't work make no
mistakes," he said.

One of Tonoyan's deputies, Davit Karapetian, promised last week that
the Ministry for Emergency Situations will "learn lessons" from what
were the worst forest fires in Armenia in decades.

Minasian said, meanwhile, that the United Nations Development Program
has already pledged to help Armenia acquire some firefighting
devices. He did not elaborate, saying only that a corresponding
agreement will be signed in Yerevan on September 1.

"As regards heavy equipment, Mr. Tonoyan and I have a good idea which
we won't make public now," added Minasian. "God willing, we will
succeed and you will attend the opening ceremony."

According to the latest government estimates released by Minasian, at
least 250 hectares of woodland were burned in the Khosrov reserve.

The environment minister announced that he will initiate personnel
changes in the reserve administration and set up "rapid-reaction
teams" tasked with preventing fire outbreaks in various Armenian
forests.



Press Review



"Haykakan Zhamanak" is unhappy with the fact that President Serzh
Sarkisian's latest visit to Russia coincided with the 27th anniversary
of a declaration of independence that was adopted by Soviet Armenia's
parliament in 1990. The paper points to speculation that Russian
President Vladimir Putin deliberately invited Sarkisian to his summer
retreat in Sochi on that day in order to "humiliate Armenia and
emphasize its not being independent."

Lragir.am reports that the outgoing U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group, Richard Hoagland, on Wednesday publicized the key elements of a
framework peace agreement on Nagorno-Karabakh which Armenia and
Azerbaijan have been discussing for more than a decade. "The elements
publicized by him are not new," comments the online publication. It is
nonetheless surprised by the timing of Hoagland's statement, saying
that it came as Putin and Sarkisian discussed the Karabakh conflict in
Sochi.

In an interview with "Aravot," a pro-Western Armenian analyst, Anush
Sedrakian, claims that Russia will try to thwart an agreement on
"enhanced partnership" between Armenia and the European Union which is
due to be signed in November. "Russia cannot fail to try to scuttle
the signing of the agreement between Armenia and the EU," she
says. But, she says, Russia is now weaker than it was in 2013 when
Sarkisian decided to make Armenia part of the Russian-led Eurasian
Economic Union at the expense of an Association Agreement with the
EU. Sedrakian specifically cites economic sanctions that have since
been imposed on Moscow by the EU and the United States. She is also
hopeful that a statement on the issue made by Prime Minister Karen
Karapetian this week means that Yerevan is really determined to sign
the new deal with the EU.

(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.
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