Month: September 2021

Russian emergencies minister dies at drills in the Arctic when saving life

Ani Basmajian

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 14:53, 8 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Russian Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev died during the drills in the Arctic city of Norilsk as he was saving other person’s life, TASS reports citing the ministry.

“We regret to report that the head of the Emergencies Ministry, Yevgeny Zinichev, tragically died rescuing a human life as he was fulfilling his duty in Norilsk during the inter-agency drills on protecting the Arctic zone from emergency situations”, the ministry stated.

Effective cooperation established between Armenian and Georgian governments – Pashinyan tells Garibashvili

Garik Boshkezenian

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 15:20, 8 September, 2021

TBILISI, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan is convinced that as a result of his meeting with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili the cooperation between the Armenian and Georgian governments will become more effective and closer.

“Dear Mr. Prime Minister, please let me thank you for the invitation and warm welcome. It has always been a great honor and pleasure for me to visit the capital of brotherly Georgia, because this is a good chance first of all to communicate with friends, and secondly, to discuss issues relating to the bilateral, regional and international relations.

I am happy that quite an effective cooperation has been established between our governments and I am convinced that as a result of our meeting this cooperation will become more effective and closer”, Pashinyan said during the meeting with his Georgian counterpart in Tbilisi.

In turn the Georgian PM congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on the convincing victory in the recent snap parliamentary elections of Armenia.

“I am happy that my dear colleague has been hosted today in Tbilisi. I want to once again congratulate my colleague on the convincing victory in the parliamentary elections. I am convinced that he will bring success and development to the Armenian people and Armenia”, he said.

Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Georgia on September 8 on an official visit.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian-Georgian high-level talks completed in Tbilisi

Rose Khoyetsian

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 16:39, 8 September, 2021

TBILISI, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian-Georgian high-level talks have been completed in Tbilisi.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili discussed a number of issues relating to the bilateral relations during their meeting in Tbilisi, Pashinyan’s spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan said on social media.

They also touched upon the regional developments and highlighted the efforts of the two countries in establishing and strengthening peace and stability.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Georgia on September 8 on an official visit.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

PM Pashinyan pays homage at Heroes Square in Tbilisi

Hagop Kamalian

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 16:55, 8 September, 2021

TBILISI, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan paid homage at the Heroes Square in Tbilisi after his meeting with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.

The state orchestra played the Armenian and Georgian anthems at the event.

PM Pashinyan will then have a meeting with President Salome Zourabishvili.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia’s stability in political and economic areas very important for Georgia – PM Garibashvili

Ani Tigranian

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 17:08, 8 September, 2021

TBILISI, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili discussed the regional cooperation and a number of other issues during their meeting today in Tbilisi.

At the press conference after the meeting, the Georgian PM said that the stability of Armenia in both political and economic areas is very important for Georgia.

“This is directly linked with the stability of our country. Respectively, our regional goals are three – peace, stability and welfare. Georgia has always supported peaceful cooperation and coexistence in the South Caucasus, we have proved this with our work some times before. Several months ago, we have achieved success with the leaders of the three countries – Georgia and especially with my mediation, with the direct participation of Mr. Prime Minister, as well as with the efforts of the Azerbaijani President. It was connected with the return of the Armenian captives and the handover of key documents, the maps, to Azerbaijan. This successful precedent gives us an opportunity for optimism. I once again reiterated my readiness to the Prime Minister that Georgia will continue to play the role of the active mediator in order to restore trust which is very important”, the Georgian PM said.

He noted that Georgia is ready to discuss new cooperation ideas and projects.

At their meeting the Armenian and Georgian PMs have also discussed issues connected with economy, trade, transport and communication, as well as talked about Pashinyan’s large-scale programs.

“We have also talked about the fields of tourism, energy and culture with the Armenian Prime Minister. These are the issues which we discussed and share completely the same visions over it. I want to state that our country has an interesting transit potential, which we have also discussed. This potential must be used fully”, he stated.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Georgia on September 8 on an official visit.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenpress: Armenian, Georgian PMs express readiness to boost trade turnover

Jack Hunanian

Armenian, Georgian PMs express readiness to boost trade turnover

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 18:10, 8 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. At the invitation of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has arrived in Georgia on an official visit.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, David Zalkaliani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, met the Armenian PM at Shota Rustaveli International Airport of Tbilisi. Nikol Pashinyan headed to the Government of Georgia from the airport, where Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili met him.

The official welcoming ceremony of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia took place. The state anthems of Armenia and Georgia were performed in the presence of the Prime Ministers of the two countries, performed by a military orchestra. Nikol Pashinyan and Irakli Garibashvili, accompanied by the Commander of the Guard of Honor, inspected the military orchestra and Guard of Honor, after which introduced each other to the members of the official delegations of Armenia and Georgia.

Afterwards, Nikol Pashinyan and Irakli Garibashvili held a private conversation.

In his welcoming speech, the Prime Minister of Georgia said,

'' I would like to greet the Prime Minister of Armenia, Mr. Nikol Pashinyan. I am glad that my dear colleague visited Tbilisi today.

I would like to congratulate my colleague once again on his convincing victory in the parliamentary elections. I am confident that he will bring success and development to the Armenian people and Armenia.

Welcome!’’.

 

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said,

‘’ Honorable Mr. Prime Minister,

First of all, let me thank you for the invitation and the warm reception.

It has always been a great honor and pleasure for me to visit the capital of fraternal Georgia, because this is a good opportunity to first communicate with friends and second, to discuss issues of our bilateral, regional and international relations.

I am glad that quite effective cooperation has been established between our governments. I am sure that based on the results of our meeting, the cooperation will become more effective and closer’’.

The private conversation between the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Georgia was followed by an extended-format meeting of the governmental delegations of the two countries. Nikol Pashinyan and Irakli Garibashvili discussed a wide range of issues of the agenda of Armenian-Georgian friendly relations.

The Armenian Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Georgian side and the Georgian Prime Minister for the efforts made by Georgia for returning 15 Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan, emphasizing that it was a significant contribution to peace and stability in the region. In this context, Nikol Pashinyan highlighted Georgia's balanced position on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which should be based on the principles proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. The Prime Minister referred to Azerbaijan's unconstructive policy, anti-Armenian rhetoric, which is a threat to regional stability and security.

The Prime Ministers of Armenia and Georgia noted with satisfaction the significant intensification of high-level bilateral official visits in the last three years, which has given a new impetus to the Armenian-Georgian cooperation.

The parties exchanged views on the domestic political situation in the two countries. Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that for the second time in the history of Armenia the elections are recognized by international observers as completely transparent, free and fair, as a result of which it was possible to overcome the domestic political crisis in Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan noted that the strengthening of the rule of law, including the fight against corruption, opening the era of peace and development for the Armenian people, as well as for the region are the priorities of the Armenian Government's Action Plan.

The interlocutors discussed the ways for further development of economic ties. The sides expressed mutual readiness to increase trade turnover. In this regard, the work of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between Armenia and Georgia was highlighted, the next sitting of which is scheduled to be held in Georgia at the end of this year. An agreement was reached to continue the ongoing programs, as well as to develop new initiatives in the fields of transport, energy, high technologies and other spheres.

The sides highlighted the five-sided format of cooperation between Armenia-Georgia-Bulgaria-Greece-Iran and the continuous work on the draft agreement on the establishment of an international transport corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 09/08/2021

Adrine Hakobian 
                                        Wednesday, September 8, 2021


Armenian Authorities Accused Of Covering Up Assault On Opposition Lawmakers

        • Astghik Bedevian

Armenia - Deputies from the ruling Civil Contract party clash with their 
opposition colleagues, August 25, 2021.


The main opposition Hayastan alliance accused the Armenian government on 
Wednesday of ordering a law-enforcement agency not to prosecute pro-government 
lawmakers who physically attacked their opposition colleagues on the parliament 
floor last month.

The violence broke out on August 25 when a senior Hayastan member, Vahe 
Hakobian, criticized the government’s five-year policy program during a heated 
session of the National Assembly attended by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

Hakobian interrupted his speech before being approached by three deputies from 
Pashinian’s Civil Contract party and kicked by one of them.

Hakobian and five other Hayastan parliamentarians, including deputy speaker 
Ishkhan Saghatelian, were hit by a larger number of Civil Contract lawmakers in 
an ensuing melee that was not swiftly stopped by scores of security personnel 
present in the chamber. One of the oppositionists, Gegham Nazarian, suffered an 
eye injury and required medical aid.

The Special Investigative Service (SIS) pledged to look into the ugly scenes 
filmed by various media outlets and questioned a number of deputies in the 
following days. It said on Tuesday that it will launch a formal criminal 
investigation into the beating of only one Hayastan deputy, Gegham Manukian.

One of the video clips circulated on the Internet shows that Manukian was 
assaulted by Hayk Sargsian, a controversial Civil Contract member. The SIS said 
on Wednesday nobody has been charged in connection with that that assault yet.

A senior Hayastan figure, Artsvik Minasian, condemned the SIS’s decision, saying 
that the law-enforcement agency is carrying out a “political order.” He said 
that is further proof that Armenia’s political leadership orchestrated the 
violence to bully the opposition and create an atmosphere of impunity in the 
country.

Daniel Ioannisian of the Yerevan-based Union of Informed Citizens also 
criticized the SIS’s stance. He said his Western-funded civic group, which has 
closely examined the August 25 violence, will likely complain to the Office of 
the Prosecutor-General.

In a detailed analysis and a video clip posted on his Facebook page last week, 
Ioannisian named nine pro-government lawmakers involved in the violence and even 
counted the number of punches thrown by each of them.

“It is evident to any sensible person that a number of deputies … carried out 
actions banned by the Criminal Code in front of the whole country,” Ioannisian 
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Failure to prosecute them would send the public 
a message to effect that one can solve political issues by force and get away 
with that.”

The civic activist also emphasized the fact uniformed security officers waited 
for about a minute before stepping in to stop the brawl. He said they acted far 
more quickly when a less serious scuffle broke out on the parliament floor 
earlier on August 25 after Hayastan’s parliamentary leader, Seyran Ohanian, 
threw a plastic bottle at Civil Contract’s Sargsian.

“The actions of the State Protection Service on that day … show that its 
officers present in the chamber at that point were carrying out a political 
order or satisfying the ruling team’s political wishes,” charged Ioannisian.

Civil Contract’s Artur Hovannisian, one of the pro-government parliamentarians 
who punched vice-speaker Saghatelian, defended the SIS’s decision. Hovannisian 
also blamed the opposition bloc -- and Ohanian in particular -- for the violence.



Stability In Armenia ‘Very Important’ For Georgia

        • Karlen Aslanian

Georgia - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili (R) meets with his 
Armenian counterpart Nikol Pashinian, Tbilisi, September 8. 2021.


Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili stressed the importance of 
political stability in Armenia after holding talks with his Armenian counterpart 
Nikol Pashinian in Tbilisi on Wednesday.

Gharibashvili praised Pashinian’s “vision” for restoring peace and strengthening 
stability in the South Caucasus after last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The Karabakh war was a tough challenge for our region,” he told a joint news 
briefing. “But after familiarizing myself with Prime Minister Pashinian’s new 
vision I believe this challenge will turn into a new opportunity that will bring 
prosperity to Armenia and the Armenian people.”

“I also want to make clear that political and economic stability in Armenia is 
very important for us. It is directly connected with stability in our country 
and the region as a whole,” he said.

Pashinian similarly spoke of new “regional opportunities” that emerged after the 
Karabakh war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire last November. He 
reaffirmed earlier in the day support for reopening transport links between 
Armenia and Azerbaijan.

An Armenian government statement on his meeting with Gharibashvili cited 
Pashinian as saying that Azerbaijan’s “unconstructive policies and anti-Armenian 
rhetoric” poses a threat to regional peace and stability. It said he also 
praised Georgia’s “balanced position” on the Karabakh conflict.

According to the statement, economic issues were also high on the agenda of the 
talks, with the two premiers pledging more efforts to expand Georgian-Armenian 
trade and explore joint “initiatives” relating to energy, transport and 
information technology. That includes a multilateral deal on a transport 
corridor that would connect Iran’s Persian Gulf ports to the Black Sea via 
Armenia and Georgia.

Gharibashvili told reporters that both sides are open to “new projects.” He did 
not go into details.

The Georgian leader visited Baku and Yerevan in May.



Health Minister Defends Armenia’s Slow Vaccine Rollout

        • Marine Khachatrian

Armenia - Minister of Health Anahit Avanesian holds a news briefing in Yerevan, 
September 2, 2021


Health Minister Anahit Avanesian downplayed on Wednesday the slow pace of 
coronavirus vaccinations in Armenia, saying that it does not testify to her 
government’s failure to contain the spread of COVID-19.

According the Armenian Ministry of Health, only 7 percent of the country’s 
population received at least one dose of a vaccine as of September 5. The figure 
indicates that Armenia has the lowest proportion of citizens inoculated against 
COVID-19 in the region.

“Yes, our indicators still have a lot of room for improvement,” Avanesian told 
reporters. “But I do not consider this a failure [of the government] because we 
opted for providing accurate information to the people and dispelling their 
doubts first. I believe that we have succeeded in doing that.”

Avanesian again cited a recent opinion poll showing that the proportion of 
Armenians ready to get vaccinated has risen to over 40 percent from just 10 
percent in March.

In a bid to significantly speed up the vaccine rollout, the government is 
resorting to administrative measures. Avanesian decided late last month to 
require virtually all public and private sector employees refusing vaccination 
to take coronavirus tests twice a month at their own expense. The new 
requirement will come into effect on October 1.

The health minister said people not complying with it should not only face heavy 
fines but also risk losing their jobs.

The daily number of officially confirmed coronavirus cases in Armenia has been 
slowly but steadily rising since June. The Ministry of Health reported on 
Wednesday morning 645 new cases and 15 deaths caused by the disease.



Pashinian Encouraged By Erdogan’s Statements


Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during a government meeting, 
Yerevan, September 8, 2021.


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday described as encouraging Turkish 
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent statements on normalizing 
Turkish-Armenian relations and said his government is ready for a dialogue with 
Ankara.

“I must note that the president of Turkey has publicly commented on relations 
with Armenia,” he said. “We see in those statements an opportunity to talk about 
normalizing Armenia-Turkey relations and reopening the Turkish-Armenian railway 
and roads, and we are prepared for such a conversation.”

“I am happy to point out that the Russian Federation has publicly expressed 
readiness to actively assist in that process. The European Union, France and the 
United States are also interested in that process,” Pashinian added during a 
weekly session of his cabinet.

Pashinian already spoke on August 27 of “some positive signals” sent by the 
Turkish government of late and said Yerevan is ready to reciprocate them. 
Erdogan responded by saying that regional states should establish 
“good-neighborly relations” by recognizing each other’s territorial integrity 
and sovereignty.

“If Yerevan is ready to move in that direction Ankara could start working on a 
gradual normalization of relations with Armenia,” he said.

In that context, Erdogan pointed to Azerbaijan’s desire to negotiate a 
comprehensive “peace treaty” with Armenia after last year’s war in 
Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku is understood to seek Armenian recognition of Azerbaijani 
sovereignty over Karabakh through such a treaty.


Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
attend a signing ceremony in Shusha, in Nagorno-Karabakh, June 15, 2021.

Armenian opposition leaders and some analysts say Ankara continues to make the 
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations conditional on a Karabakh settlement 
favorable to Baku. They say the Turks also want Yerevan to stop campaigning for 
a greater international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman 
Empire.

Pashinian put a possible Turkish-Armenian dialogue in the “broader context” of 
ongoing Russian-mediated talks on opening transport links between Armenia and 
Azerbaijan which he said would be “very important” for Armenia. He also 
reaffirmed Yerevan’s commitment to demarcating the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Hayk Mamijanian, a senior Armenian opposition parliamentarian, denounced 
Pashinian’s remarks, saying that the prime minister is intent on making 
far-reaching concessions to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called late last week for the 
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations. “We are ready to assist in that in 
the most active way,” he said.

Turkey provided decisive military assistance to Azerbaijan during the six-week 
war stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
again thanked Ankara for that aid when he and Erdogan visited in June the 
Karabakh town of Shushi (Shusha) captured by the Azerbaijani army.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Armenpress: Russia realized it was deceived by cooperating with Turkey and Azerbaijan, says political analyst

Emil Karabekian

Russia realized it was deceived by cooperating with Turkey and Azerbaijan, says political analyst

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 08:52, 7 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. A senior analyst says that Russia is lately gradually changing its emphases over the Artsakh issue towards a more pro-Armenian position after realizing that it has been deceived by Turkey and Azerbaijan by cooperating with them.

Doctor of political science, Professor Garik Keryan at the Yerevan State University told ARMENPRESS in an interview that this is happening despite the fact that Moscow has serious disagreements with its Western colleagues of the OSCE Minsk Group – France and the United States, including over the status of Artsakh.

“Russia launched its drift towards a pro-Armenian position. That is, Russia is also saying ‘you know the issue isn’t solved, we still have to determine the status’ and so on. A question arises here, why did Russia start to drift to a more pro-Armenian side, and in this regard some consensus was created between Russia, France and the United States over revitalizing the OSCE Minsk Group process. There is an answer to this question too. The Russians had made a very gross and primitive mistake by cooperating with Turkey and Azerbaijan over the Artsakh issue,”

Keryan, the head of the Chair of Political Institutes and Processes at the YSU says that as a historian and political scientist he is unable to understand how Turkey is succeeding in finding formats of cooperation with Moscow when for 300 years it has continuously deceived Russians, acted against Russian interests and backstabbed Russia every time. According to Keryan, Moscow realized this only after Ankara – without taking into account what it had received from Russia – namely the nuclear power station, the South Stream pipeline, the S-400 missile systems, as well as concessions in Syria – sent foreign minister Cavusoglu to Kiev to take part in the Crimean Platform, where the Turkish FM claimed “Crimea is an integral part of Ukraine”.

“The Crimean issue is very painful for Russians, like the Artsakh issue is for us. Crimea is sacred for them. And after so many years, when Russia finally succeeded in returning Crimea, some Cavusoglu reserves the right to announce that ‘Crimea doesn’t belong to Russia and Turkey will do everything for Crimea to return to Ukraine’. This is where Russia’s counterinfluence began, and the Russians realized that they have made a mistake when first of all they allowed the war to end with such results, and second of all allowed the infiltration of Turkish influence into South Caucasus. And they’ve been deceived in the matter of Azerbaijan also. Moscow’s main goal was to pull Azerbaijan towards the Eurasian integration zone. And every time Aliyev was bargaining by saying ‘solve the Karabakh issue and I will come’. Now they saw that after ‘solving’ it, not only didn’t he come but on the contrary they lost Azerbaijan,” Keryan said.

As paradoxical as it may seem, he continued, today there are more favorable conditions for a fundamental discussion of the Artsakh issue than before the war. The only problem is that it would be very difficult to bring Azerbaijan to the negotiations table.

“Since the only item left on the negotiations table is the issue of Artsakh’s status, it seems to me that Azerbaijan will not sit down for talks under any condition. And if suddenly the Co-Chairs were to mention the item of restoring the NKAO [Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast] territorial integrity, which would make Hadrut and Shushi come under some kind of common administrative unit, this would mean a loss of influence for them. That is why Azerbaijan and Turkey won’t go to negotiations. They will talk, delay, like the negotiations process was protracted for 26 years,” the analyst said.

Professor Keryan ruled out Azerbaijan recognizing Artsakh’s status without getting under some serious sanctions. Moreover, he argues, there are “very interesting and effective sanctions” that would give results in a few days.

Whether or not Azerbaijan would agree to restart talks under the Minsk Group format depends on Turkey’s stance, because, as professor Keryan says, the Azerbaijan Republic isn’t an independent country for a long time now, it is rather a Turkish protectorate.

“If you want to know whether or not Azerbaijan will sit down for negotiations, you ought to change your question – will Turkey sit down for negotiations or not? And Turkey, as you know, doesn’t give a damn about anything. When needed, they even go against the Americans, and America is unable to do anything. That’s why I assume that they’d either delay the talks, or deceive, or simply opt out at all,” he said.

Moscow announced on September 2 that it is supporting the activation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs work over the Karabakh settlement based on the existing mandate. The new Russian co-chair of the Minsk Group then visited Baku and Yerevan for talks.

 

Interview by Aram Sargsyan

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

French national arrested in Yerevan on suspicion of cocaine smuggling

Emma Nadirian

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 10:14, 7 September, 2021

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. A French national has been arrested by Armenian law enforcement agencies on suspicion of cocaine smuggling and intent to distribute.

The National Security Service said the suspect smuggled over 221 grams of cocaine on board the Nice-Paris-Yerevan flight and intended to sell the narcotics in Armenia. Customs agents found the drugs in the suspect’s belongings at the Yerevan airport.

The suspect was remanded into custody.

The NSS said they are investigating to determine whether the suspect had accomplices.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan