Wednesday,
27 Parties, Blocs Seek To Run For Armenian Parliament
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia - Representatives of the ruling Civil Contract party submit election
registration documents to the Central Electoral Commission, Yerevan,
Twenty-three political parties and four alliances have applied to run in
Armenia’s upcoming snap parliamentary elections.
They all submitted the lists of their election candidates and other registration
documents to the Central Election Commission (CEC) by Wednesday’s legal deadline
for such applications.
The CEC has five days to process the applications. It has rarely barred
candidates from participating in elections in the past.
Political forces will be vying for at least 101 seats in Armenia’s new
parliament that will be elected on June 20 under the system of proportional
representation.
Under Armenian law, the parties need to win at least 5 percent of the vote in
order to be represented in the National Assembly. The vote threshold for blocs
is set at 7 percent.
Only three groups -- the ruling My Step bloc and the opposition Prosperous
Armenia (BHK) and Bright Armenia (LHK) parties -- cleared these thresholds in
the last general elections held in December 2018. My Step, which mostly
comprises members of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, won
70 percent of the vote at the time.
Civil Contract is running for the parliament on its own this time around.
Analysts believe that the party will struggle to retain its majority in the
parliament and keep Pashinian in power.
Among other major contenders are the political forces led by Armenia’s three
former presidents: Levon Ter-Petrosian, Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian.
Unlike Ter-Petrosian and Kocharian, Sarkisian is not on the list of candidates
of his opposition bloc. He has said that he will not seek to become prime
minister or hold any other government position in case of its victory.
By contrast, Kocharian makes no secret of his desire to return to power. He
heads the Hayastan (Armenia) bloc which he and two opposition parties set up
earlier this month.
Pashinian Criticizes Russian-Led Military Bloc
• Gayane Saribekian
KYRGYZSTAN -- CSTO leaders pose for a photo prior to a session of the Council of
the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Bishkek, November 28, 2019
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian criticized the Russian-led Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO) on Wednesday for not publicly siding with Armenia in
its ongoing border dispute with Azerbaijan.
Armenia appealed to the CSTO after Azerbaijani troops reportedly advanced into
some of its border areas two weeks ago. Yerevan asked the military alliance to
invoke Article 2 of its founding treaty which requires the CSTO to discuss a
collective response to grave security threats facing member states.
The foreign ministers of Armenia, Russia, and four other ex-Soviet republics
making up the bloc discussed the border dispute when they met in Tajikistan
later in May. They expressed concern over the continuing tensions but did not
issue joint statements in support of Armenia.
“The speed of CSTO actions does not satisfy us,” Pashinian said during his
government’s question-and-answer session in the Armenian parliament. “But we
will continue to … work with our partners and present further clarifications of
the situation.”
Pashinian complained that CSTO member states have not formulated “explicit
positions” on what Yerevan regards as Azerbaijani intrusion into Armenian
territory.
“Such a position is expressed at the working level but not publicly, and we want
clarity on this issue,” he said.
A CSTO spokesman, Vladimir Zaynetdinov, told the RIA Novosti news agency later
in the day that the bloc’s Moscow-based secretariat “took note” of Pashinian’s
remarks.
Zaynetdinov also cited a statement on the border crisis made by the CSTO’s
deputy secretary general, Valery Semerikov, earlier this week.
Semerikov called for urgent “political and diplomatic” measures to end the
crisis. He also stressed the need for a demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border.
Pashinian noted that Yerevan could turn to the UN Security Council “if it turns
out that the instruments of the CSTO or the treaty on the joint Russian-Armenian
military contingent are not enough to resolve this problem.”
Armenia Insists On Conditions For Border Deal With Azerbaijan
• Artak Khulian
Armenia - A view of an area in Armenia's Syunik province where Armenian and
Azerbaijani troops are locked in a border standoff, May 14, 2021. (Photo by the
Armenian Human Rights Defender's Office)
Armenia has set two conditions for embarking on a demarcation of its border with
Azerbaijan proposed by Russia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Wednesday.
It emerged last week that Moscow has drafted an agreement on the creation of an
Armenian-Azerbaijani intergovernmental commission tasked with delimiting and
demarcating the border.
The proposal is aimed at ending a military standoff triggered by Azerbaijani
troop movements at several sections of the frontier two weeks ago.
Azerbaijani troops reportedly advanced several kilometers into Armenia’s Syunik
and Gegharkunik provinces. Pashinian said on May 20 that his government will
sign the proposed deal if they withdraw from Armenian territory.
“Azerbaijani army units must pull back beyond our borders. No other option is
discussed and can be discussed,” he insisted on Wednesday.
Speaking in the Armenian parliament, Pashinian revealed that Yerevan also wants
Baku to release more than 100 Armenian prisoners remaining in Azerbaijani
captivity over six months after Moscow helped to stop the war in
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijani side has not accepted these conditions so far,
he said.
Baku says that its troops took up positions on the Azerbaijani side of the
border and did not cross into Armenia.
Armenian and Azerbaijani troops continue to face off at the contested border
portions. An Armenian soldier was killed on Tuesday in what was the first
shooting incident reported during the two-week standoff.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry claimed on Wednesday that Armenian army units
fired at its troops deployed along the border for the past three days. Armenian
Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian dismissed the claim as a ploy designed
to “cover up” the killing of the Armenian soldier.
In a statement issued earlier in the day, the Defense Ministry in Yerevan also
strongly denied the ceasefire violations alleged by Baku. It again threatened to
use force to drive out the Azerbaijani forces remaining within Armenia’s borders.
Pashinian told lawmakers that Russia and the Russian-led Collective Security
Treaty Organization (CSTO) are “urging us to resolve this issue by political
means.” He said Harutiunian will meet with Russian Defense Minister Sergei
Shoigu in Moscow later this week for further talks on the continuing border
crisis.
Immediately after the Azerbaijani advances Armenia formally asked Russia and the
CSTO for military support. So far Moscow has not publicly sided with Yerevan in
the dispute, offering instead to act as a mediator in the border demarcation
process sought by it.
Pashinian insisted that the Russians are committed to defending Armenia against
foreign aggression in line the CSTO statutes and bilateral Russian-Armenian
treaties. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly assured him
that “Armenia’s borders are a red line for Russia”
“The unfortunate fact is that Azerbaijan has crossed that red line and I think
it’s impossible that Russia will not fulfill its contractual obligations,” added
the prime minister.
Iran Seeks To Ease Armenian-Azeri Border Tensions
• Sargis Harutyunyan
ARMENIA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif gestures during his
meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Yerevan,
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reaffirmed Iran’s strong support
for Armenia’s territorial integrity on Wednesday during a visit to Yerevan
dominated by continuing tensions along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Zarif arrived in the Armenian capital from Baku where he discussed the border
dispute with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday.
“We are concerned about the escalations of the last two weeks,” he told Armenian
Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian during their talks. “We have repeatedly warned
that there needs to be restraint and respect for the sovereignty of [regional]
countries.”
Zarif said the purpose of his regional trip is to help Armenia and Azerbaijan
resolve the dispute peacefully.
“We have emphasized and continue to emphasize that internationally recognized
borders and territorial integrity is our red line,” added the chief Iranian
diplomat.
The tensions at several contested sections of Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan
rose dramatically after Azerbaijani troops deployed there advanced several
kilometers on May 12-14.
Yerevan maintains that they are stationed within Armenia’s internationally
recognized borders and must be withdrawn unconditionally. Baku says that its
forces only took up new positions on the Azerbaijani side of the frontier.
Azerbaijan -- President Ilham Aliyev meets with Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Baku, May 25, 2021
Zarif said that he and Aliyev had a “very detailed discussion” on the issue. “I
could feel his intention to ease these tensions and engage in a dialogue towards
peace,” he told reporters after the talks with Ayvazian.
“We highly appreciate the fact that the foreign minister of our centuries-old
friend and neighbor Iran and my good partner Javad Zarif has arrived in Armenia
on a regional visit in these alarming times and circumstances,” Ayvazian said
during their joint news briefing. “This testifies to Iran’s sincere intention to
try to strengthen security and stability in the region.”
Zarif met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian later in the day. An Armenian
government statement said they discussed “steps to resolve the existing
situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.” It gave no details.
In his opening remarks at the meeting, Pashinian said that relations with Iran
are of “strategic importance” to Armenia and that his administration remains
committed to deepening them. He said the Armenian-Iranian border has been vital
for his country’s national security.
Mojtaba Zolnour, the chairman of the Iranian parliament’s committee on national
security and foreign policy, also voiced strong support for Armenia’s
territorial integrity when he commented on the Armenian-Azerbaijan border
standoff last week.
The epicenter of the standoff is Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province
bordering Iran and Azerbaijan. Earlier this year, Aliyev threatened to forcibly
open a “corridor” connecting Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave via Syunik.
Yerevan accused him of laying claim to Armenian territory.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets with Iranian Foreign Minister
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Yerevan, .
Visiting Yerevan earlier this week, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban
Development Mohammad Eslami discussed the Armenian government’s plans to rebuild
or repair Armenian highways leading to the Iranian border via Syunik.
According to Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures
Suren Papikian, the two sides agreed to set up a joint working group that will
look into Iranian companies’ possible involvement in the planned roadwork.
The Iranian Mehr news agency on Wednesday quoted Eslami as saying that he is
satisfied with his “good meetings” held in Yerevan. Zarif likewise described
Eslami’s visit as “very successful.”
“I hope that we will manage to establish strong presence in Syunik,” the Iranian
foreign minister told Pashinian.
Both Zarif and Eslami also said they look forward to the opening of transport
links between Armenia and Azerbaijan envisaged by a Russian-brokered agreement
that stopped last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh. They said Iran expects to have
a rail link with Armenia passing through Nakhichevan.
27 Parties, Blocs Seek To Run For Armenian Parliament
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia - Representatives of the ruling Civil Contract party submit election
registration documents to the Central Electoral Commission, Yerevan,
Twenty-three political parties and four alliances have applied to run in
Armenia’s upcoming snap parliamentary elections.
They all submitted the lists of their election candidates and other registration
documents to the Central Election Commission (CEC) by Wednesday’s legal deadline
for such applications.
The CEC has five days to process the applications. It has rarely barred
candidates from participating in elections in the past.
Political forces will be vying for at least 101 seats in Armenia’s new
parliament that will be elected on June 20 under the system of proportional
representation.
Under Armenian law, the parties need to win at least 5 percent of the vote in
order to be represented in the National Assembly. The vote threshold for blocs
is set at 7 percent.
Only three groups -- the ruling My Step bloc and the opposition Prosperous
Armenia (BHK) and Bright Armenia (LHK) parties -- cleared these thresholds in
the last general elections held in December 2018. My Step, which mostly
comprises members of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, won
70 percent of the vote at the time.
Civil Contract is running for the parliament on its own this time around.
Analysts believe that the party will struggle to retain its majority in the
parliament and keep Pashinian in power.
Among other major contenders are the political forces led by Armenia’s three
former presidents: Levon Ter-Petrosian, Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian.
Unlike Ter-Petrosian and Kocharian, Sarkisian is not on the list of candidates
of his opposition bloc. He has said that he will not seek to become prime
minister or hold any other government position in case of its victory.
By contrast, Kocharian makes no secret of his desire to return to power. He
heads the Hayastan (Armenia) bloc which he and two opposition parties set up
earlier this month.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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