Monday,
Russian Border Guards Beef Up Deployment In Armenian Region
• Nane Sahakian
A Russian military post on a highway running along the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border.
Russian border guards reportedly set up an additional post on Armenia’s border
with Azerbaijan at the weekend after what Armenian officials described as
gunshots fired by Azerbaijani forces.
Authorities in Armenia’s Syunik province said on Monday that Azerbaijani
servicemen deployed near Agarak, an Armenian village several kilometers east of
the provincial capital Kapan, continuously fired small arms in the air on
Saturday for unknown reasons.
According the provincial administration, Russian border guards deployed in the
area documented the sporadic gunfire and established an additional outpost at
the border section in response to the incident.
The village chief, Hayk Sahakian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that there was
no further shooting there on Sunday and Monday. Despite the relative calm many,
villagers remain concerned about their security, he said, arguing that the
nearest Azerbaijani position is only about 1 kilometer from Agarak.
The office of the Armenian human rights ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan, released what
it described as a mobile phone video shot by an Armenian border guard deployed
outside Agarak. The short video caught the sound of intense automatic gunfire.
In a statement, Tatoyan said that such gunshots are a regular occurrence in
Syunik villages bordering three districts southwest of Nagorno-Karabakh which
were retaken by Azerbaijan during and after the autumn war. He condemned the
incidents as a security threat to the local population.
“They shoot sporadically,” said Sahakian. “When they use tracer bullets we can
see that they fire towards the village.”
During the six-week war Russia deployed soldiers and border guards to Syunik to
help the Armenian military defend the region against possible Azerbaijani
attacks. Russian troops currently also patrol sections of the main regional
highway running along the Armenian-Azerbaijani frontier.
Opposition Leader Favors Election Boycott
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia -- Opposition leader Vazgen Manukian talks to supporters at Liberty
Square, Yerevan, .
The Armenian opposition must boycott fresh parliamentary elections if they are
held by the current government, a leader of an opposition alliance campaigning
for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s resignation said on Monday.
Vazgen Manukian, whom the Homeland Salvation Movement alliance has nominated as
a caretaker prime minister, said any opposition participation in such elections
would be a “disgrace.”
“That would mean legitimizing this continuing treason,” Manukian told reporters
after holding another meeting with supporters at Yerevan’s Liberty Square.
The remarks contradict the position of some of the 17 opposition parties making
up the alliance. The largest of them, Prosperous Armenia (BHK), has made clear
that it would participate in possible snap polls organized by the current
government. BHK leader Gagik Tsarukian reaffirmed this stance in an interview
with the “Hraparak” newspaper published over the weekend.
Former President Robert Kocharian, who is reportedly cooperating with the
Homeland Salvation Movement, has also spoken out against an election boycott.
Pashinian offered to hold elections on December 25 in response to
anti-government protests sparked by the outcome of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Opposition forces dismissed the proposal, insisting on his resignation and the
formation of an interim government.
The ruling My Step bloc pointed to the opposition stance when it stated on
February 7 that Pashinian and his allies see no need to dissolve the current
parliament. It also claimed that most Armenians do not want snap elections.
A senior member of the bloc, Ruben Rubinian, said on Monday that Pashinian’s
team could consider the possibility of such a vote only if there is an agreement
with the opposition.
“They can’t even reach agreements among themselves,” he said, pointing to
Manukian’s remarks. “Some of those forces say one thing while others another.”
Ishkhan Saghatelian, the movement coordinator, downplayed the election-related
differences within the opposition alliance.
“We have a 100 percent consensus on the ouster of this government of evil,”
argued Saghatelian. “The forces making up the movement have rallied around this
agenda. Apart from that, they have no obligations and agreements.”
He said that the opposition push for Pashinian’s resignation “will continue with
fresh momentum.”
The Homeland Salvation Movement is scheduled to resume its anti-government
demonstrations on February 20.
Chinese-Armenian Trade Grows Despite Global Recession
Armenia -- Armenian President Armen Sarkissian (R) visits China's newly built
embassy complex in Yerevan, September 23, 2020.
China solidified last year its position as Armenia’s second largest trading
partner after Russia due to a sharp increase in Armenian exports to the People’s
Republic, government data shows.
According to the Armenian government’s Statistical Committee, Armenia’s overall
exports and imports fell in 2020 amid a global recession caused by the
coronavirus pandemic.
Chinese-Armenian trade bucked this trend, rising by 2 percent to $965 million on
the back of an almost 50 percent surge in Armenian exports to China, which
totaled $290 million. That offset a more than 10 percent drop in the import of
Chinese goods to the South Caucasus country.
China thus accounted for 13.6 percent of Armenia’s foreign trade, compared with
Russia’s 30.3 percent share in the total.
The official figures released by the Statistical Committee also show that
Armenia’s trade with European Union member states shrunk by as much as 23
percent to around $1.3 billion. The latter accounted for 18 percent of Armenian
import and export operations.
Both the current and former Armenian governments have maintained a cordial
relationship with Beijing and sought to cement it with closer commercial ties.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian reaffirmed this policy when he congratulated
China’s President Xi Jinping on the Chinese New Year last week.
“Armenia is eager to consistently develop and strengthen the traditionally
friendly relations with China,” Pashinian wrote to Xi.
Xi praised bilateral ties and called for “joint efforts to elevate our
multifaceted cooperation to a new level” in a congratulatory message to
President Armen Sarkissian sent in September.
President Returns To Armenia After COVID-19 Infection
Armenia - President Armen Sarkissian (C) returns to Yerevan more than one month
after being infected with the coronavirus.
President Armen Sarkissian returned to Armenia at the weekend more than one
month after testing positive for the coronavirus during a private tip to Britain.
“At doctors’ urging, the president is continuing treatment in Yerevan too,”
Sarkissian’s office said in a short statement issued on Monday. It gave no
details.
Sarkissian reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus days after travelling
to the United Kingdom in late December to spend New Year’s Eve with his sons and
grandchildren living in London.
The presidential office announced on January 13 that the 67-year-old head of
state was hospitalized there after developing double pneumonia and showing other
symptoms of COVID-19. It said on January 26 that he has been discharged from
hospital but has not yet fully recovered from the disease.
During his absence from Armenia, Sarkissian has performed his largely ceremonial
duties remotely, signing decrees, issuing statements and sending letters to
foreign leaders.
It remains unclear whether the president was infected with COVID-19 in Armenia
or Britain. Both countries have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Armenian health authorities have confirmed more than 169,000 coronavirus cases
in the country of about 3 million. The real number of cases is believed to be
much higher.
The daily number of new COVID-19 infections registered by the authorities has
fallen sharply over the last three months.
The Ministry of Health reported on Monday that six more Armenians have died from
COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 3,147.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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