Month: June 2022

Asbarez: Artsakh Blasts Aliyev, Says ‘Artsakh Republic Exists’

Emil Lazarian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan


Following more threats by President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, who said that discussion of the status of Karabakh will lead to more military aggression, Artsakh’s State Minister Artak Beglaryan said on Thursday that the Artsakh Republic exists based on international law.

“Yes, Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist, because there exists the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic, in accordance with international law, although not formally recognized at the international level,” said Beglaryan in a post on the Telegram social media platform.

“The Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict has not been and will not be resolved until Azerbaijan takes into account the inalienable right of the indigenous people of Artsakh to self-determination,” asserted Beglaryan. “The issue of international recognition (hence, the status) of the Republic of Artsakh will be solved sooner or later, and Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan.”

The Artsakh official called Aliyev to task about the treatment of minorities in Azerbaijan, as is guaranteed by that country’s constitution, in conclusion, asking whether there are any Armenians allowed to live in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan as a result of the 2020 war.

AW: Hovnanian School, We Thank You

Emil Lazarian
 Simone` Aynilian Reflections 0

Aynilian twins jumping for joy outside Hovnanian School

As I sit to write this, our boys (age 5 – how did they become so big so fast) are off to their last day at Hovnanian School here in New Milford, New Jersey. For the last three years, Hovnanian School has given us an extended family, a rich school experience and the foundation upon which our sons will build their Armenian identity. The teachers and faculty, PTO and volunteer committee members, administration and staff have had a profound effect on our children. Our children head off to school each morning with excitement and anticipation for what the school day will bring: gardening, cooking, dancing, singing, visits from professional soccer players and music artists from near and far. One thing for sure, they will leave each day even better than they were. 

Hovnanian students with musical artist Arthur Khachents

Each day our children come home singing songs in English, French and Armenian, telling us about the things they learned and the high expectations their teachers have for them. They lay in bed before bedtime talking about their friends and the silly and fun things that happened during the day. On the weekends, they tell us how much they miss and love their teachers, and we assure them they will see them in just a few short days. The impact the teachers and staff have had on our children is profound. We are so grateful. For establishing a strong academic foundation and a love for school, we thank you! 

Hovnanian School’s sense of community is second to none. The school continues to envision new, innovative and fun ways to bring its community together. Families feel welcomed and included. Events like Field Day, the Mother’s Day Luncheon and Family Night allow families to be a part of the community. These gatherings have breathed new life into the school and make us so hopeful for the future of Hovnanian School. For friends who have become family, thank you! 

Field Day 2022 at Hovnanian School

Despite the challenging circumstances over the last few years, Hovnanian School remained a constant for our family. We felt safe sending our boys to school each day, knowing the school would care for our children as their own. As a public school teacher, I was acutely aware of the willingness of the school to make this challenging time one of consistency, security and safety. During scary and uncertain times, the courage and care did not go unnoticed. For keeping our children safe and in school, we thank you! 

In a world where so much changes so fast, it is challenging, to say the least, to hang on to our roots. Through the efforts of Hovnanian School, our boys strongly identify with their rich Armenian culture. Our boys can be heard soulfully singing “Mer Hayrenik,” reciting “Hayr Mer” and “Jashagestsook” before meals and energetically dancing and clapping to “Hey Jan Ghapama.” The school embodies a celebration of vibrant Armenian culture and instills in the future generation the importance of holding on tight to those roots. It is an honor to be an Armenian, and from such a young age, our boys fully feel this. For keeping the Armenian spirit alive, we thank you, Hovnanian School! 

Hovnanian preschoolers, 2022

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Simone` Aynilian is an instructional math coach for Ridgefield Park Public Schools. She graduated from Wheelock College, Boston with a degree in elementary education and has since earned a degree in education leadership. She is currently working on a second master’s degree in curriculum and teaching from Boston University. Simone` grew up and currently resides in Bergen County, New Jersey with her husband and two sons. She spent much of her youth at Camp Haiastan, Armenian dance group practices and volunteering at Sts. Vartanantz Church. She hopes to be able to create many of these rich Armenian experiences for her own family and instill the same sense of Armenian pride in her children.


AW: Border demarcation has “nothing to do” with Artsakh, Pashinyan says

Christine Harutyunian
 Lillian Avedian News 1

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan pictured during his interview with Al Jazeera (Photo RA Prime Minister’s Office, June 14, 2022)

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the delimitation of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border will not resolve the Artsakh conflict in a June 13 interview.

“The commission for border delimitation has nothing to do with the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) issue,” Pashinyan said during an English-language interview with Al Jazeera during an official visit to Qatar, calling the settlement of the conflict the “most important and urgent issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan for peace in our region.”

He expressed his “hope that we will be able to establish diplomatic relations and open the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which is closed for 30 years.”

In addition to border delimitation and demarcation, Pashinyan identified the normalization of bilateral relations and the opening of regional transport and communication links as the “three tracks” between Armenia and Azerbaijan that are not connected to the Artsakh conflict. 

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in ongoing negotiations toward a peace treaty for the past six months. The peace agreement will include mutual recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a set of principles proposed by Azerbaijan and accepted by Armenia. Armenia has also said that securing the rights and freedoms of the Armenian population of Artsakh is fundamental to a peace treaty. 

Yet Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly stated that the Artsakh conflict has been resolved. Following the first meeting of a bilateral commission to demarcate the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on May 24, Aliyev said that the border demarcation process will recognize Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Artsakh. 

“It automatically puts an end to the territorial claims made against Azerbaijan by revanchist, fascist forces in Armenia, because if we define the borders, what kind of ‘Nagorno-Karabakh’ status can we talk about?” Aliyev told the press on May 27. “This is the territory of Azerbaijan, and the whole world accepts it. Therefore, the first meeting of the commissions on the delimitation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border is of great importance.” 

Pashinyan and Aliyev agreed to create a trilateral commission to demarcate and delimit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border during a November 26 summit in Sochi hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the commission was not launched until the spring, following a trilateral meeting with European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels on May 23. 

Armenian deputy prime minister Mher Grigoryan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Shahin Mustafayev were appointed the heads of the commission and held their first meeting on May 24 at an undisclosed location along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The commission heads agreed to hold a second meeting in Moscow and a third meeting in Brussels. 

During the interview with Al Jazeera, Pashinyan also responded to Aliyev’s repeated call for the establishment of a corridor free of passport or customs controls connecting Azerbaijan to its exclave the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. 

“The narrative of the wording of a so-called corridor is unacceptable for us. It is a red line for us,” Pashinyan said. “We have one corridor in our region, and this is the Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.”

The trilateral group working on opening transport and communication links held its first meeting in six months on June 3. Grigoryan, Mustafayev and Russian deputy prime minister Alexei Overchuk “discussed and coordinated positions on borders, customs and other types of control, as well as safe travel by residents, vehicles and cargo on automobiles and railroads.”

While commenting on the meeting one week later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the control process governing the highway route connecting Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan will be “simplified.” 

“The railway route has been agreed upon. Now they are close to agreement on the highway route and the control process there to be established. It will be simplified but certainly based on the recognition of the sovereignty of Armenian territory. There can be no ambiguities here,” Lavrov said during a joint press conference following a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan.

Aliyev has repeatedly called for the creation of a Zangezur corridor. On the morning of a December 14 trilateral meeting in Brussels hosted by Michel, Aliyev said that the Zangezur corridor should operate similarly to the Lachin corridor connecting Armenia and Artsakh. Russian peacekeepers have been deployed along the Lachin corridor since the signature of the November 9, 2020 ceasefire declaration to guarantee secure passage between Armenia and Artsakh. 

While speaking with the press on May 27, Aliyev said that while “Armenia has always tried to prevent” the opening of the Zangezur corridor, the outcome of the trilateral meeting in Brussels endorsed its launch. 

The statement released after the meeting stated that the leaders had “agreed on the principles governing transit between western Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan, and between different parts of Armenia via Azerbaijan” regarding “border administration, security, land fees but also customs in the context of international transport” without identifying what those principles are. 

On May 31, Michel’s spokesperson released a statement clarifying the position of the European Council. 

“Connectivity was specifically discussed in Brussels on May 22 to advance opportunities for unblocking the region. In this context, both parties confirmed there were no extraterritorial claims with regard to future transport infrastructure. Speculation to the contrary is regrettable,” the statement reads. 

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Lillian Avedian is a staff writer for the Armenian Weekly. Her writing has also been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Hetq and the Daily Californian. She is pursuing master’s degrees in Journalism and Near Eastern Studies at New York University. A human rights journalist and feminist poet, Lillian’s first poetry collection Journey to Tatev was released with Girls on Key Press in spring of 2021.


RFE/RL Armenian Report – 06/16/2022

Parkev Tvankchian 
                                        Thursday, 
Armenian Speaker Wants ‘More Active’ Iranian Role In Region
Iran - Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and his Armenian counterpart 
Alen Simonian hold a news briefing, Tehran, .
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian has reportedly called on Iran to play a “more 
active role” in the region during an official visit to Tehran.
During his separate meeting with Iran’s president, parliament speaker and 
foreign minister held on Wednesday and Thursday, Simonian also reaffirmed 
Armenia’s desire to deepen ties with the Islamic Republic.
He briefed the Iranian leaders on the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 
zone in the aftermath of the 2020 war which he blamed, according to the Armenian 
parliament’s press office, on “the Azerbaijani-Turkish duo.”
“We hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran will play a more active role in 
developments in the region,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry quoted Simonian as 
telling President Ebrahim Raisi. He praised Tehran’s “constructive position” on 
those developments, reported the ministry.
Raisi discussed Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks with Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian in a phone call on June 1. Iran remains opposed to any change in the 
“geopolitics of the region,” he stressed in an apparent reference to Azerbaijani 
demands for a land corridor that would pass through Syunik, the only Armenian 
province bordering Iran.
Raisi assured Pashinian earlier that Tehran supports Armenian sovereignty over 
all roads passing through Armenia. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein 
Amir-Abdollahian likewise said in October that any “changes in the region’s map” 
are unacceptable to his country.
Meeting with Amir-Abdollahian, Simonian said that Armenia has always supported 
“friendly Iran” in the international arena and expects a “corresponding 
attitude” from the Islamic Republic.
“I think that Iran’s impartial approach to pro-Azerbaijani initiatives 
circulated on international and regional platforms would seriously contribute to 
the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the speaker said.
According to an Armenian parliament statement on the meeting, Simonian also 
stressed the importance of “strategic dialogue” between Armenia and Iran, saying 
that it will pave the way for “substantial progress” in bilateral ties.
The Armenian ambassador in Tehran, Arsen Avagian, reportedly said in April that 
Yerevan wants to turn relations between the two neighboring states into 
strategic partnership.
Pashinian Aide Set To Become Armenia’s Chief Prosecutor
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Deputy Justice Minister Anna Vardapetian addresses the parliament, 
Yerevan, July 9, 2019.
The ruling Civil Contract party moved on Thursday to install an aide to Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian as Armenia’s next chief prosecutor.
The current prosecutor-general, Artur Davtian, will complete his six-year term 
in office on September 15. He was appointed in 2016 by the country’s former 
parliament dominated by then President Serzh Sarkisian’s loyalists.
Pashinian and his political allies, who control the current National Assembly, 
decided not to appoint Davtian for a second term.
Their candidate for the post, Anna Vardapetian, served as a deputy minister of 
justice in 2019 and became Pashinian’s assistant on legal affairs in March 2020.
Vardapetian refused to talk to reporters both before and after meeting with 
Civil Contract’s parliamentarians behind the closed doors on Thursday. She did 
not honor her promise to “answer all your questions after the meeting.”
The ruling party’s parliamentary leader, Hayk Konjorian, insisted that 
Vardapetian will not act on government orders in her new capacity.
“I can express confidence that Ms. Vardapetian will definitely act within the 
bounds of Armenia’s constitution and laws and her conscience,” Konjorian told 
journalists.
Vardapetian became embroiled in a scandal last year after an Armenian media 
outlet published purported evidence of her interference in a criminal 
investigation into a fugitive businessman critical of Pashinian’s government.
The online publication, 168.am, posted what it described as screenshots of an 
e-mail sent by Vardapetian to a senior law-enforcement officer leading the 
investigation. It said that the letter contained instructions regarding 
businessman Ruben Hayrapetian’s indictment.
Hayrapetian’s lawyer seized upon the allegation, saying that Vardapetian 
committed a crime and must be prosecuted.
Armenia -- Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian (C) at the opening session of former 
President Robert Kocharian's trial in Yerevan, May 13, 2019.
The Office of the Prosecutor-General cleared Pashinian’s aide of any wrongdoing, 
however, saying that she advised, rather than pressured, the investigator. 
Vardapetian has still not publicly commented on the scandal.
Davtian, the outgoing prosecutor, has also been accused by government critics, 
including ex-President Sarkisian’s allies, of covering up government abuses and 
bringing politically motivated cases against Pashinian’s foes. He has denied 
such allegations.
Aliyev Warns Armenia Against Raising Karabakh’s Status
        • Tatevik Sargsian
Azerbaijan -- President Ilham Aliyev speaks at the Global Baku Forum, June 16, 
2022
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday warned Armenia against bringing 
up the status of Nagorno-Karabakh in peace talks with Azerbaijan and again 
demanded a land corridor passing through Armenian territory.
“Armenia’s leadership must give up attempts to rewrite history,” Aliyev told an 
international conference in Baku. “History has already been written and there is 
oral agreement that nobody will talk about the status. Unfortunately, there is 
talk about that, which could lead to very serious consequences.”
“If Armenia continues to call into question Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity 
then Azerbaijan will have no choice but do the same [against Armenia,]” he said.
In that context, Aliyev again described Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province 
as a “historically Azerbaijani territory.”
Baku has been pushing for a peace treaty with Yerevan that would commit the two 
sides to recognizing each other’s territorial integrity. Yerevan says that 
issues relating to the future of status of Karabakh and the security of its 
population should also be on the agenda of planned talks on the treaty.
Aliyev already ruled out any discussions on Karabakh’s status and threatened to 
lay claim to Armenian territory late last month. The Armenian Foreign Ministry 
deplored his “bellicose” statements. It said that “negotiations on the 
normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be held on the 
basis of proposals of both sides.”
Aliyev on Thursday also reiterated his demands for a corridor that would connect 
Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Syunik. He said it should be 
similar to the existing Russian-controlled Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh 
and Armenia.
Aliyev implicitly threatened to resort to military action if the Armenian side 
continues to oppose such an overland link for Nakhichevan.
“If they don’t ensure that link for us it will be very hard to speak about 
peace,” he warned.
Armenian leaders have repeatedly rejected such demands. They maintain that 
Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements brokered by Russia and the European Union call 
for only conventional transport links between the two South Caucasus states.
Visiting Yerevan last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted that 
Armenia will control the planned road and railway that will connect Nakhichevan 
to the rest of Azerbaijan. Lavrov said the Armenian side will only simplify 
border crossing procedures for Azerbaijani cargo and travellers.
Armenian Opposition To Seek No-Confidence Vote In Pashinian
        • Nane Sahakian
Armenia - Parliament deputies fromt the opposition Hayastan alliance attend a 
session of the National Assembly, Yerevan, August 4, 2021.
A leader of the Armenian opposition said on Thursday that it will push for a 
parliamentary vote of confidence in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in addition 
to holding more street protests against him.
The country’s two main opposition forces tried unsuccessfully to topple 
Pashinian during more than six weeks of virtually daily demonstrations launched 
on May 1. They dismantled their tent camp in the center of Yerevan on Wednesday 
after announcing that they will now rally supporters on a weekly basis.
“Nikol Pashinian’s removal continues to top our agenda,” said Ishkhan 
Saghatelian, the main speaker at the anti-government protests. “Starting from 
August, we will have a new tool in our arsenal: the process of deposing [the 
prime minister.]”
“To that end, we need to work in two directions,” he told reporters. “First, 
creating political and legal grounds for the impeachment … and demonstrating 
popular, public demand for this. And second, nominating the people’s candidate 
for prime minister.”
Under the Armenian constitution, the parliament cannot oust the prime minister 
through a vote of no confidence during their first year in office. Pashinian was 
formally reelected by the current National Assembly on August 2, 2021.
Pashinian’s Civil Contract party enjoys a comfortable majority in the 
parliament. The opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem blocs hold just under 
one-third of the parliament seats needed for filing a no-confidence motion 
against the government.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attends his government's 
question-and-answer session in the Armenian parliament, June 14, 2022.
Saghatelian did not clarify whether they are confident about provoking 
defections from the parliament’s pro-government majority.
“We will start the impeachment process only when there are sufficient conditions 
for its success,” he said vaguely.
Pashinian and his political allies have dismissed opposition demands for his 
resignation. They say that the opposition has failed to attract popular support 
for regime change.
Saghatelian again put a brave face on Hayastan’s and Pativ Unem’s failure so far 
to unseat the prime minister. He reiterated that they have at least succeeded in 
disrupting Pashinian’s “timetable for new concessions” to Azerbaijan.
The opposition blocs launched their campaign on May 1 two weeks after Pashinian 
signaled his readiness to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and 
“lower the bar” on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh acceptable to the Armenian 
side.
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.

CivilNet: Civil Contract says no decision yet on terminating opposition lawmakers’ mandates

Hunanian Jack
CIVILNET.AM

16 Jun, 2022 10:06

 The ruling Civil Contract party said it has not yet made a decision on stripping opposition lawmakers of their mandates due to excessive absenteeism.

 Alen Simonyan, the head of the Armenian parliament, traveled to Tehran to meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

 Moscow doubled down on a clarification of an earlier comment by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggesting the Armenia-Azerbaijan border commission will also take on issues in Karabakh.

 Marija Pejčinović Burić, the head of the Council of Europe, arrived in Yerevan for an official visit, with plans to meet with a number of high-ranking Armenian officials.

 The head of Armenia’s Tourism Committee, Sisian Boghossian, sat down with CivilNet to talk about how she and her term are working to turn Armenia into the next big travel destination.

Source: Ruptly

CoE Secretary General honors memory of victims of Armenian Genocide

Parkev Tvankchian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.On June 16, the delegation headed by Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejcinovic Buric, accompanied by RA Deputy Foreign Minister  Paruyr Hovhannisyan, arrived in Armenia on an official visit to the  Tsitsernakabert Memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

According to the press service of the Armenian Genocide  Museum-Institute, Deputy Director for Museum Affairs of the  Museum-Institute Lusine Abrahamyan introduced the guests to the  history of the creation of the memorial and spoke about three  khachkars installed on the territory of Tsitsernakaberd, which are  dedicated to the memory of Armenians who died during the ethnic  cleansing of the Armenian population in Azerbaijan at the end of the  last century.

Members of the CoE delegation laid flowers at the eternal fire and  honored the memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide  with a minute of silence.  They also got acquainted with the  permanent and temporary expositions of the Armenian Genocide Museum,  after which Mrs. Marija Pejcinovic Buric made an entry in the Book of  Honored Guests. 

State Minister of Artsakh replied to Aliyev

Aram Torosian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Naira Badalian

ArmInfo.Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan reacted to the speech of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the World Baku Forum.  

Thus, Aliyev, in particular, stated:  There is no “Nagorno-Karabakh”.  The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region was abolished at the end of  1991 by the decision of the Azerbaijani Parliament. There is no such  administrative structure in our territory”.  “Yes, There is no  “Nagorno-Karabakh”., because there is the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)  Republic, and it is a subject of international law, although not  formally recognized at the international level,” Beglaryan wrote in  his Telegram channel.  

As the state minister noted, the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict has  not been resolved and will not be resolved until Azerbaijan takes  into account the adamant right of the indigenous people of Artsakh to  self- determination.  “The issue of international recognition (hence,  status) of the Republic of Artsakh will sooner or later be resolved,  and Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan,” he stressed.  

Beglaryan advised Aliyev instead of “worrying” about the rights of  Armenians, to think more about the conscientious exercise of the  powers granted to him by the Constitution of Azerbaijan, guaranteeing  the rights of his own citizens (including Lezgins, Talysh, Avars,  Tatars, Tats and other minorities).

“Maybe Aliyev suddenly remembers what happened to more than 500,000  Armenians in Soviet Azerbaijan, or is there at least one Armenian in  the territories of Artsakh occupied by Azerbaijan?”, he said.

Azerbaijan president blackmails Armenia

Emil Lazarian
NEWS.am
Armenia –
12:27, 16.06.2022

If the Zangazur [(Zangezur)] corridor is not opened, it will be very difficult to talk about peace. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said this at the IX Global Baku Forum under the motto “Challenges to the Global World Order,” APA reports.

“The soonest decision to open the Zangazur corridor is one of the basic elements of future peace in the region. If we are not given that entry-exit, it will be very difficult to talk about peace, and all the efforts of Azerbaijan aimed at normal coexistence, normal neighborhood with Armenia will be in vain. This is another important issue, and Azerbaijan has the right to demand it. The Armenian government has signed a corresponding statement.

Second, Azerbaijan, as a country that won the war and suffered from the occupation, has a moral right to demand,” Aliyev said.

https://news.am/eng/news/707576.html

Markedonov: West has stopped working with Russia within framework of Armenia-Azerbaijan settlement process

Liana Toganian
NEWS.am
Armenia –
16:22, 16.06.2022

The West has stopped working with Russia within the framework of Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement  and the process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Russian political scientist Sergey Markedonov stated this Thursday during a conference held in Yerevan.

According to the analyst, the Karabakh conflict has always been very different from the other conflicts in the post-Soviet expanse.

“Unlike other problematic cases, Russia and the West have always cooperated in the Karabakh issue. But today we see a change in this logic. The OSCE Minsk Group has ceased to function at the level of co-chairs. The West does not want to work with Russia. Stigmatization occurs in many directions. The formation of a new—Brussels—format for the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations is visible,” Markedonov said, referring to the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders’ meeting mediated by the head of the European Council.

From the point of view of the Russian political scientist, it is paradoxical that Moscow does not deny everything the head of the European Council says.

“The important thing is something else: Moscow said all this in the beginning. However, there is an impression that Russia does not exist at all and has not been in the negotiation process, whereas Russia has developed many more options for a settlement,” Markedonov assured.