Wednesday,
Pashinian Defends Concessions To Azerbaijan
• Nane Sahakian
• Tatevik Sargsian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses parliament, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday reaffirmed his government’s
readiness to formally recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and said
Armenia is facing international pressure to scale back its demands on
Nagorno-Karabakh’s status.
“Today the international community is clearly telling us that being the only
country in the world that does not bilaterally recognize the territorial
integrity to Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan is very dangerous for not only Artsakh
(Karabakh) but also Armenia,” Pashinian told the Armenian parliament.
“Today the international community is again telling us, ‘Lower a bit your bar on
the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status and we will ensure a great
international consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh.’ Or else, says the
international community, please do not pin your hopes on us. Not because we
don’t want to help you but because we can’t help you,” he said in an hour-long
speech.
Pashinian said he is therefore keen to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan “as
soon as possible.” He reiterated that Baku’s proposals regarding such an accord,
including a mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity, are
acceptable to Yerevan. He again stated that a “clarification of the final status
of Nagorno-Karabakh” must also be on the agenda of upcoming Armenian-Azerbaijani
talks on the treaty.
Nagorno-Karabakh -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian holds a rally in
Stepanakert, August 5, 2019
Pashinian did not explicitly say whether his administration is also ready to
formally recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh. He noted only that
Yerevan will put the emphasis on “security guarantees for the Armenians of
Karabakh and their rights and freedoms.”
Armenian opposition leaders were quick to strongly condemn the remarks. Ishkhan
Saghatelian, a senior member of the main opposition Hayastan alliance, said
Pashinian openly expressed his intention to place Karabakh back under
Azerbaijani control.
“This means that we would finally lose Artsakh because Artsakh will be left
without Armenians if we go down that path,” he told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“This is absolutely unacceptable to us.”
Saghatelian said that regime change in Armenia is the only way to prevent such a
scenario.
Hayastan and the other parliamentary opposition bloc, Pativ Unem, jointly
rallied thousands of supporters in Yerevan on April 5 to warn the Armenian
government against making far-reaching concessions to Baku. They signaled plans
to stage more such protests in the coming weeks.
Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Brussels on April 6 for
talks hosted by Charles Michel, the European Union’s top official. Michel
described the trilateral meeting as “productive,” saying that the two leaders
agreed to “move rapidly” towards the peace deal.
Belgium - European Council President Charles Michel, Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev begin a trilateral
meeting in Brussels, April 6, 2022.
Aliyev sounded satisfied with the Brussels talks when he addressed members of
his government on Tuesday. He said it became clear to him that “Armenia is
renouncing territorial claims” to Azerbaijan.
Aliyev also emphasized the fact that Michel’s written statement issued after the
talks made no mention of the Karabakh conflict or the Armenian-populated
territory itself.
The Azerbaijani president regularly says that his country’s victory in the 2020
war with Armenia put an end to the conflict. Armenian leaders disputed that
claim until recently.
Pashinian on Wednesday did not specify whether the pressure on the Armenian side
emanates only from the West or Russia as well.
Russia, the United States and France have for decades co-headed the OSCE Minsk
Group tasked with brokering a Karabakh settlement. Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov said last week that Washington and Paris have stopped cooperating
with Moscow on the Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute because of the war in Ukraine.
U.S. and French officials have not denied that.
Pashinian is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 19
during an official visit to Moscow.
Karabakh Armenians Concerned About Pashinian’s Statement
Nagorno-Karabakh - President Arayik Harutyunyan meets with representatives of
Karabakh non-governmental organizations, Stepanakert, .
Arayik Harutiunian, the Nagorno-Karabakh president, held an emergency meeting
with the leaders of local political groups on Wednesday to discuss what he
called serious concerns raised by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s latest
statement on the conflict with Azerbaijan.
Speaking in the Armenian parliament earlier in the day, Pashinian said Armenia
is facing international pressure to scale back its long-standing demands on
Karabakh’s status and recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He signaled
Yerevan’s intention to make such concessions to Baku, stoking Armenian
opposition allegations that he has agreed to Azerbaijani control over Karabakh.
Harutiunian discussed Pashinian’s statement with Karabakh civil society members
at a meeting in Stepanakert. His press office said they “expressed outrage” at
the remarks and demanded that Karabakh’s leadership formulate a “clear political
position” on them.
The Karabakh leader assured them that the authorities in Stepanakert will
continue to assert the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination.
Harutiunian went on to hold a separate meeting with other Karabakh officials and
the leaders of the territory’s main political parties. He said he convened it
because Pashinian’s statement has “caused serious concern among the public.”
“Our society presents very clear demands which we must meet by organizing
meaningful and comprehensive discussions,” added Harutiunian.
Harutiunian’s foreign minister, Davit Babayan, insisted late last month that the
Karabakh Armenians will never agree to live under Azerbaijani rule.
“This is the red line which we will never cross regardless of anything,” Babayan
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Armenian Authorities Deny Responsibility For Karabakh Travel Ban
• Gayane Saribekian
• Karlen Aslanian
Russian peacekeepers guard an area in the town of Lachin (Berdzor), December 1,
2020.
Armenia’s leadership again indicated on Wednesday that it did not ask Russian
peacekeepers to bar a group of Armenian opposition lawmakers from entering
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian added his voice to the Armenian Foreign
Ministry’s criticism of the unprecedented ban.
The several dozen deputies representing Armenia’s two main opposition groups
headed to Karabakh on Tuesday as part of their campaign against far-reaching
Armenian concessions to Azerbaijan. They announced earlier in the day a four-day
boycott of sessions of the National Assembly.
Russian peacekeepers manning a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor connecting
Armenia and Karabakh did not allow the lawmakers to proceed to Stepanakert after
checking their documents.
The Foreign Ministry in Yerevan expressed concern over the peacekeepers’
actions, saying that they run counter to the terms of the Russian-brokered
ceasefire that stopped the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in November 2020.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian echoed the criticism when he spoke in the
parliament on Wednesday. He called the ban a “cause for bewilderment.”
“The Russian side has clarified that provocations could have occurred and that
their entry to Nagorno-Karabakh was deemed not expedient in order to prevent
those provocations,” Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said for his part.
Opposition leaders continued to claim, however, that the Armenian authorities
engineered the travel ban as part of their secret agreements with Azerbaijan.
Armenia - Opposition deputy Gegham Manukian at a parliament session in Yerevan,
October 27, 2021
“Our attempted visit yesterday accidentally exposed some secret agreements to
restrict Armenian deputies’ and other officials’ trips to Artsakh,” Gegham
Manukian of the Hayastan alliance told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Manukian again argued that shortly before reaching the Lachin checkpoint he and
the other opposition parliamentarian were stopped by Armenian border guards and
had their personal data collected. He suggested that it was immediately passed
on to the Russians.
“We were told yesterday that this is the first day of such an [Armenian]
checkpoint operating there,” he said. “We found out today that the checkpoint is
no longer there. The border guards probably set up the checkpoint because of our
trip to Artsakh.”
Manukian also pointed out that lawmakers representing Pashinian’s Civil Contract
party condemned the trip when it was announced by Hayastan’s parliamentary
leader, Seyran Ohanian, on Tuesday morning.
One of the pro-government lawmakers, Vigen Khachatrian, dismissed the opposition
allegations. “I have the impression that they expected that [travel ban,]” he
said.
Pashinian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev agreed to start preparing for
an Armenian-Azerbaijani “peace treaty” when they met in Brussels on April 6.
Armenian opposition leaders portrayed this as a further sign that Pashinian is
ready to help Azerbaijan regain control over Karabakh.
Armenian Minister Hopes To Reverse Drop In Trade With Sanctions-Hit Russia
Russia - Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov (second from right)
meets with Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian, Moscow, .
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian called on Wednesday for urgent measures to
reverse a decrease in Armenia’s trade with Russia which followed the Russian
invasion of Ukraine and the resulting Western sanctions against Moscow.
Kerobian discussed the matter with Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis
Manturov during a visit to Moscow.
Official Armenian and Russian press released on their talks noted that
Russian-Armenian trade rose last year by 12.7 percent to over $2.5 billion.
Russia thus solidified its status as Armenia’s number one trading partner.
Kerobian was reported to express concern at the fact that bilateral trade began
falling in March. According to the Armenian Ministry of Economy, he suggested to
Manturov that the two sides work together to “urgently eliminate the causes of
the decline and restore growth.”
It was not clear whether Kerobian proposed any specific measures for that
purpose.
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade reported, for its part, that the two
ministers discussed “a number of joint projects in various sectors.”
“Denis Manturov stressed the importance of developing cooperation in the
following spheres: mining, metallurgy, chemical industry and agricultural
engineering,” it said in a statement.
The close economic ties between the two countries are the reason why Armenia is
expected to be significantly affected by the Western sanctions. The Central Bank
of Armenia (CBA), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have
forecast that the Armenian economy will barely grow this year.
“The impact of the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia is likely to be
significant given Armenia’s strong economic links with Russia,” the World Bank
said in a report released on Monday.
The CBA warned earlier that Russian-owned companies operating in Armenia will
experience major “difficulties and disruptions” because of the crippling
sanctions.
One such company, the Teghut mining giant, suspended operations on March 14. The
company employing 1,100 people is controlled by Russia’s VTB bank sanctioned by
the United States and the European Union.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.