V:Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was on a working visit to Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, on May 28-29, where he participated in the session of the Eurasian Higher Economic Council. It is jubilee. The 5th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the establishment of the organization has passed. As part of the visit, Nikol Pashinyan had official meetings with the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, as well as with the current president, Kasim-Jomart Tokayev. Pashinyan and Nazarbayev exchanged thoughts on Armenian-Kazakh relations, referred to the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, emphasized regional peace and stability.
The Prime Minister then visited the Armenian Embassy in Kazakhstan, and also met with local Armenian business circles.
… The fact that the Prime Minister of Armenia was met at Nur-Sultan International Airport by the second-ranking figures of the state is telling in itself. Sometimes this is how many people judge the official attitude of the host towards the given country. Kazakhstan and its long-time leader did not stand out for their kindness towards Armenia. Being included together with our country in the same security system, CSTO, Kazakhstan, in the person of Nazarbayev, always unilaterally supported Azerbaijan in Artsakh, and openly represented its national interests. We had the opportunity to write about it and now we think that the discussion of the topic has no mind. Instead, let’s consider two key points of view related to the current visit to Kazakhstan: the agenda of the session in question and the traditional meeting of the Prime Minister with Armenian businessmen.
The agenda of the meeting of the Supreme Economic Council was obviously full. 2018 of the EAEU were discussed. to international activities, development of cooperation with third countries, 2019-2020. The macro-economic policy of the member states of the Union, the implementation of the EAEU digital agenda, the steps taken to ensure the free movement of goods and services and a number of other issues. Jubilee event of EATU Summarize the work of the summitl e:n:in the structure this year chairman՝ Q:Q: the prime minister and: Head of Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan. The idea of the Eurasian Union was voiced 25 years ago by the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbaand:uh which and is considered the godfather of this union. On this occasion, the President of Kazakhstan Kasim-Jomart Tokaand:Nazarbaand:awarded medals in the name of Russia, Belarus and: To the presidents of Kyrgyzstan. The summit decided to adopt the next session of the Eurasian Higher Economic Councilthe On October 1, 2019, Yerand:about spending.
Coming to Nikol Pashinyan’s meetings with Armenian business circles, in general, it should be noted with pain that they are not in a hurry to invest in the historical homeland. And that is understandable. capital has no nationality – it is guided by common sense, not emotion. For any investor, including Armenians, Armenia is valued, first of all, by the attractiveness of the investment environment. Two important factors – the instability of the new government and the danger of the Armenian-Azerbaijani war due to the Artsakh conflict – are today a serious obstacle for potential businessmen who want to invest in Armenia. Another no less important factor, which is also far from perfect, is the arrangement of the investment policy, particularly the favorable legal framework. The legislative base regulating the sector has cracks, which is talked about a lot, but, as they say, “the cart does not move”. That is why, during almost all visits abroad, the meetings of Nikol Pashinyan and other high-ranking officials of the country with Armenian business circles do not go beyond promises. “In my deep conviction, big investors go after talented people, and our task is to show that there are talented people living in RA, who can not only realize their dreams, but also create an environment for the dreams of others,” Pashinyan said at the conference on investment business programs held on May 27 in Syunik region.
Well, if so many talented people lived in Armenia, perhaps we wouldn’t need any investors, Armenia would simply become a country that exports high technologies and modern artificial intelligence devices, and that’s it.
M:On May 27, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as the personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Andrzej Kaspszyk, who visited the region on a visit to the region. As “Armenpress” was informed by the information and public relations department of the Prime Minister’s office, the interlocutors discussed the process of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, including issues related to the formation of an atmosphere conducive to peace. In this context, the implementation of the agreements reached at the Vienna summit was emphasized. The necessity of strengthening the ceasefire regime and avoiding tension-causing actions was emphasized. Prime Minister Pashinyan and the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group discussed the possibilities of taking steps in the field of humanitarian and people-to-people contacts. The mediators also met with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Armenia. The next day, May 28, they left for Stepanakert, and from there to Baku.
… The mediators held discussions in Karabakh for the last time on October 30, 2018. This time at the meeting with the Artsakh president in Stepanakert the situation at the borders and the latest developments were discussed. Bako Sahakyan, according to the official report, stressed the issue of restoration of full negotiation format and participation of Artsakh in all stages of conflict settlement. The issues related to the full involvement of Artsakh in the negotiation process, as well as the formation of an environment of peace, humanitarian interaction, and the establishment of people-to-people contacts were also discussed yesterday during the meeting of the co-chairs with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia in Yerevan. According to Davit Babayan, the spokesman of the NKR President, apart from the conflict from the topics of peaceful settlement and restoration of the full negotiation format,Official Stepanakert presented a number of other issues at the meeting, especially the issue of military exercises frequented in Azerbaijan. And indeed. This is illogical behavior for a country committed to preparing its own society for peace. According to Babayan, two weeks ago, Azerbaijan again held a large military exercise jointly with Turkey. “This, if I am not mistaken, is the fifth or sixth military exercise that Azerbaijan is conducting, which shows the real goals of that country. They don’t even hide it. During the last military exercises, the soldiers were lined up and written: “We must capture Shushi”“, the spokesman of the President of Artsakh told the journalists.
Azerbaijan, as is known, accepts with bayonets the demands of the Armenian side of Karabakh’s participation in the negotiations. Referring to the Armenian Prime Minister’s position that Karabakh should be involved in the negotiation process, Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov once again noted that the current format of negotiations was decided back in 1992, the rest, according to him, is an attempt to delay the negotiation process. According to some observers, not only the official Yerevan and Stepanakert, but also the OSCE Minsk Group and even Azerbaijan should be interested in involving Artsakh in the negotiation process, if its desire for a fair solution to the problem is sincere. The statement of the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan proves the opposite. it can be assessed as a lack of will and readiness to solve the problem in a political way. On the other hand, the fear of Azerbaijan can be understood. Sitting at the negotiating table with Artsakh will mean indirectly recognizing the subjectivity of NKR. Probably, official Baku approaches the problem from this point of view, and there is some sense in it.
In any case, sooner or later, Baku will have to sit face to face and talk with the immediate side of the conflict, if, of course, it strives for peace and really intends to get out of the impasse.
Gevorg Lalayan commented
On May 28, Armenia celebrated the Republic Day. Exactly 101 years ago, the creation of the Republic of Armenia was announced, and after a nine-century break, Armenian statehood was restored in the Armenian Highlands. On the occasion of the holiday, the presidents of Armenia and Artsakh, the Catholicos of All Armenians, high-ranking officials, public and political figures, organizations delivered congratulatory messages. The leadership of Armenia, headed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, visited the Sardarapat Memorial, where ceremonies dedicated to the Republic Day took place.
On May 29, another four-day session started in the National Assembly, the agenda of which includes 41 issues, including the issue of electing a judge of the Constitutional Court. Artur Vagharshyan is the candidate for judge of the Supreme Court, his candidacy was presented by President Armen Sargsyan. On the same day, the National Assembly rejected Vagharshyan’s candidacy for the post of judge of the Constitutional Court with a ratio of 53 votes to 30 votes. The latter was the fourth candidate presented by RA President Armen Sarkissian. The National Assembly did not approve the three previous candidates presented by the president: Gor Hovhannisyan, Vahe Grigoryan and Emil Babayan.
Judge Davit Grigoryan, who released the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, made a decision to suspend the proceedings in his case and sent the case to the Constitutional Court, took back the case materials from the Supreme Court in order to copy them and send them to the Court of Appeal. According to Judge Grigoryan’s office, the case materials are now being copied. Let’s remind that on May 18, the judge of Yerevan Court of Common Jurisdiction, Davit Grigoryan, made a decision to replace Robert Kocharyan’s preventive detention with a personal guarantee, and on May 20, he suspended the case and sent it to the Constitutional Court.
France24 reports that Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has restored former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili’s Ukrainian citizenship, nearly two years after he was stripped of his citizenship and deported.
BBC writes that Saakashvili renounced his Georgian citizenship when he assumed the post of governor of Odesa. However, after more than a year in office, he came out against Poroshenko and, joining the opposition, held anti-corruption demonstrations against his former ally.
According to The Guardian, Israel’s parliament voted for self-dissolution after Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government. The Knesset voted to hold new elections in September. As the periodical notes, the coalition negotiations were stopped because the former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman refused to support the prime minister. For a majority in Israel’s parliament, Netanyahu needed the support of Lieberman’s ultra-nationalist party.
The New York Times reports that after weeks of negotiations, Netanyahu’s attempts to form a coalition with secular ultra-nationalist and ultra-Orthodox factions failed as the factions refused to compromise on proposed military service legislation that would have banned ultra-Orthodox conscription.
Prepared by Marina Muradyan