Month: June 2022

The Armenian authorities are now looking for excuses for the failure of their peace agenda, Tigran Abrahamyan, an MP from the opposition Pativ Unem bloc, said on Thursday.

“In fact, the “peace agenda” promoted by the government has no grounds whatsoever. Simply put, the desire for peace is there, but all paths leading to it are ‘mined’,” he wrote on Facebook.

Abrahamyan quoted Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan as saying in the parliament on Wednesday that “no one can guarantee that the peace agenda will succeed”.

“No one can guarantee that we will be able, will manage, because peace is not a one-sided movement, but the result of cooperation. We have no illusions, we see that the number of those who want to destroy us is greater than we can imagine. And the agenda of peace is an attempt to manage or neutralize the desires to destroy us that exist in the world,” Pashinyan noted.

“The authorities’ confession is an important indication, because the main reason why the public, disliking the authorities, supports them or takes a passive stance is because people thought that they could bring peace at any price,” Abrahamyan said.

“However, the authorities are gradually abandoning their former confident position and are now looking for excuses for the failure of the peace agenda, blaming it on the countries hostile to Armenia and the “international community”.

“The “era of peace” promoted by the authorities is actually an agenda for the surrender of Armenia and Artsakh, which must be stopped,” the MP said.

Iran stands with all its friends in hard times, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said hosting an Armenian parliamentary delegation led by Speaker Alen Simonyan on Thursday.

“We are there for all our friends in tough times. On our happy days everybody can be next to everybody, but the real companionship and friendship are displayed during the hardships,” the Armenian National Assembly quoted his as saying.

Raisi attached importance to the cooperation of the legislative bodies in strengthening of the current warm relations between Armenia and Iran.

The officials referred to the bilateral economic relations and the implementation of the joint infrastructure projects.

The Armenian side highly values the mutual agreements in the spheres of energy and transport, the parliament speaker said.

“I should also note that in the context of the development of transport communications the establishment of the railway link between Armenia and Iran is among issues high on our agenda,” Simonyan noted.

He briefed the Iranian leader on the situation in the wake of the war unleashed against Artsakh by the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem, the humanitarian problems and the issue of protection of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage fallen under Azerbaijan’s control. Alen underscored that Azerbaijani authorities destroy the valuable heritage, and Iran can serve as an example to Azerbaijan regarding the matter.

At the meeting, the consistent efforts made by Iran in establishing peace and stability in the region were highlighted.

Dozens of families, who were displaced from Artsakh during the 2020 war and took temporary refuge in Armenia, may become homeless. They have to leave the hotels, community and other buildings in different parts of Armenia where they live temporarily.

Presumably, those are the people who have been unable to live with their relatives or cannot afford to rent a house, thus the deprivation of shelter would cause serious social problems for them.

Deputy Head of the Operational Headquarters of Artsakh in Armenia Sasun Savadyan told Panorama.am that the idea of expelling the Artsakh people from these buildings originated earlier this year after it was decided to make the hotels and hostels serve their purpose.

As of June 1, there are 5,902 families or 20,016 people displaced from Artsakh living in Armenia.

“Most of them have rented houses or live with their relatives. There are Artsakh people living in hotels, state and community buildings who are now forced to leave them, waiting for the children to finish classes. I can’t provide an exact figure, but there are not many of them, some 100-150 families,” he said.

Savadyan said in the near future a decision will be made in Artsakh to provide each displaced family with 40,000 drams from July 1 for renting and other social problems. According to the official, it’s possible to rent a house for 40,000 drams, for example, in the villages near Masis.

“For example, I am a displaced person too. I rent a house from the very beginning. I work. These people may say they don’t work, but they may actually have a job. If five thousand families can rent an apartment or live with relatives, they can do it too, using the 40,000 drams in financial aid. In Azatashen and Khachpar villages, which are just 5-7 kilometers away from Yerevan, you can rent a house for 30,000 drams. Artsakh people have rented houses there and have been living there for over a year now,” Savadyan said.

He says no inventory of the needs for Artsakh people living in hotels and community buildings has been conducted.

“This deadline has been postponed since the beginning of the year. Now I can’t give a deadline when they have to vacate the buildings,” Savadyan added.