Wednesday,
Armenian, Chinese FMs Discuss Karabakh
CHINA -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivers his opening remarks at the
Lanting Forum on in Beijing, February 22, 2021
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan reportedly briefed his Chinese counterpart Wang
Yi on the current state of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process in a phone call on
Wednesday.
“Presenting Armenia’s position on the establishment of peace and stability in
the region, Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the importance of negotiations between
Armenia and Azerbaijan in different directions as well as the role of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,”
reported the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
“The two sides emphasized the viability of the existing internationally accepted
format of negotiations as well as the promotion of the peace process,” it said
in a statement.
The Minsk Group has for decades been co-headed by the United States, Russia and
France. Moscow says that Washington and Paris have stopped cooperating with it
within that framework because of the war in Ukraine.
Yerevan has expressed hope that the three world powers will resume their joint
mediation efforts.
Wang and Mirzoyan also stressed the importance of unblocking Armenia’s economic
and transport links with Azerbaijan. They agreed that this will help to boost
Chinese-Armenian commercial ties, added the Foreign Ministry statement.
China is already Armenia’s second most important trading partner after Russia.
Chinese-Armenian trade surged by over 30 percent, to $1.26 billion, last year.
The two foreign ministers also discussed Chinese-Armenian relations. They said
their governments are ready to “resolutely strengthen and deepen” them,
according to the statement.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his new Armenian counterpart Vahagn
Khachaturian made similar pledges earlier this month when they exchanged
congratulatory messages on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic relations between the two states.
Pashinian Upbeat On Russian-Armenian Trade
Russia - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian meet in Moscow, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian expressed confidence on Wednesday that Armenia
and Russia will deepen their economic ties despite what he called new “common
challenges” facing the two countries.
Pashinian discussed with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ways of
increasing Russian-Armenian trade and launching joint economic projects on the
second day of his official visit to Russia.
“We are certainly interested in expanding bilateral cooperation and launching
new joint projects in areas such as energy, mining, transport infrastructure,
pharmaceuticals, agro-industrial complex, digital economy, high technology, and
innovation,” Mishustin told Pashinian.
The Russian and Armenian governments should speed up preparations for the
signing of a new program of bilateral economic cooperation, he said in his
opening remarks at the talks.
“I think that we are facing common challenges in the current situation,”
Pashinian said, for his part. “But there are also opportunities which ... we
should try to use.”
“I am sure that in the future we will continue to cooperate very effectively and
find new ways and solutions for the further growth of mutual trade,” he added.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and other senior officials attend a
Russian-Armenian business forum in Yerevan, September 20, 2021.
The volume of Russian-Armenian trade grew strongly in 2021 and in January and
February this year, solidifying Russia’s status as Armenia’s number trading
partner. But it reportedly shrunk in March following the start of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine and the resulting Western sanctions imposed on Russia.
Visiting Moscow last week, Armenian Economy Minister Kerobian said the two
governments should work together to “urgently eliminate the causes of the
decline and restore growth.” He also announced that Armenia has started paying
for Russian natural gas in rubles.
Citing the “illegal sanctions,” Mishustin called for a greater use of the
Russian as well as Armenian national currencies in mutual commercial operations.
Pashinian and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the impact of the
sanctions during their meeting held outside Moscow on Tuesday. In a joint
declaration issued after the talks, they criticized “the use of unilateral
restrictive measures by a number of countries.” They also pledged to “jointly
overcome the challenges caused by these measures.”
Because of its close economic links with Russia, Armenia is expected to be
significantly affected by the Western sanctions. The World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund have forecast that economic growth in the South
Caucasus country will slow down considerably this year.
Former Foreign Minister Explains Resignation
• Sargis Harutyunyan
ARMENIA -- Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian at a meeting with his Russian
counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Yerevan, May 6, 2021
Former Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian has shed more light on his resignation last
year and signaled support for the Armenian opposition’s stated efforts to oust
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Ayvazian stepped down on May 27, 2021 following an emergency meeting of
Armenia’s Security Council which discussed mounting tensions on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The meeting came days after Azerbaijani troops
reportedly advanced into Armenian territory at several sections of the border.
Speaking at a farewell meeting with the Armenian Foreign Ministry officials on
May 31, Ayvazian hinted that he decided to quit because of disagreeing with
government decisions which he believes put the country’s sovereignty and
national security at risk. He did not go into details. His four deputies also
tendered their resignations.
Ayvazian said late on Tuesday that he objected to Pashinian’s calls for a mutual
withdrawal of Armenian and Azerbaijani forces from contested border areas and
the deployment of international observers there.
“I believe that the mutual withdrawal [proposal] was a serious tactical mistake
on our part,” he told journalists.
Ayvazian argued that the United States, France and other foreign powers stopped
telling Baku to pull back its forces from Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik
provinces after Pashinian voiced his proposal. He said the proposal meant that
Yerevan regards the border areas seized by Azerbaijani forces as disputed
territory.
Armenia - Opposition leader Artur Vanetsian holds a news conference in Liberty
Square, Yerevan, April 18, 2022.
Ayvazian, who was appointed as foreign minister in November 2020, spoke with
reporters as he visited Yerevan’s Liberty Square to talk to Artur Vanetsian, an
opposition leader who began a nonstop sit-there on Sunday.
Vanetsian’s Fatherland party and other major opposition groups have pledged to
stage coordinated street protests in a bid to topple Pashinian over they see as
unacceptable concessions to Azerbaijan planned by him.
Pashinian said last week that the international community is pressing Armenia to
“lower a bit the bar on the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status” and recognize
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He signaled Yerevan’s intention to make such
concessions to Baku, fuelling more opposition allegations that he has agreed to
Azerbaijani control over Karabakh.
Asked whether he supports the opposition push for regime change, Ayvazian said:
“I resigned because I thought that the policy pursued [by Pashinian’s
government] does not help to further our national interests.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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