Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Armenia-Azerbaijan Treaty Not Enough For Peace, Says Aliyev
• Siranuysh Gevorgian
Azerbaijan -- President Ilham Aliyev speaks at an international forum in Baku,
December 6, 2023.
An Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty would not be enough to preclude another war
between the two countries, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday.
“I hope that it will not take long to reach an agreement,” Aliyev said during a
forum in Baku organized by his administration. “But I want to point out that a
peace treaty does not fully guarantee peace. We know of many peace treaties that
were annulled and we know of countries that have lived without such treaties.”
“We know very well what is happening in Armenia and we know very well that
Armenia has bad advisers in European capitals … That is why we need to have
guarantees that there will be no more wars between the two countries and that
Armenia fully accepts the new status quo,” he added, according to Azerbaijani
media.
Aliyev did not elaborate on the safeguards against Armenian “revanchism” that
would satisfy him.
Armenian leaders have said, for their part, that they want clear international
guarantees for Baku’s compliance with the peace treaty. They have suggested that
Aliyev is reluctant to sign the kind of agreement that would preclude
Azerbaijani territorial claims to Armenia.
Aliyev twice cancelled EU-mediated talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian planned for October. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov
similarly withdrew from a November 20 meeting with his Armenian counterpart
Ararat Mirzoyan that was due to take place in Washington. Baku accused the
Western powers of pro-Armenian bias and proposed direct negotiations with
Yerevan.
Mirzoyan deplored Baku’s “refusal to come to meetings organized by various
international actors, including the U.S. and the EU” when he addressed last week
an annual conference of the top diplomats of OSCE member states. Bayramov
countered that Yerevan itself is dragging out talks on the peace treaty.
Aliyev echoed that claim on Wednesday. He said that the Armenian side took more
than two months to respond to most recent Azerbaijani proposals on contentious
provisions of the treaty made in September. He said the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry is now examining the written replies sent by Yerevan on November 21.
“After that, it would be appropriate for the foreign ministers to meet,” he said.
The Azerbaijani leader said nothing about his next meeting with Pashinian.
Pashinian Signals No Strategy On Karabakh’s Future
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian shares a word with Foreign Minister
Ararat Mirzoyan during a parliament session, December 6, 2023.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian insisted on Wednesday that his job is to secure
Armenia’s future as he was pressed by an opposition leader to explain his policy
on Nagorno-Karabakh following its depopulation and capture by Azerbaijan.
“What is Armenia’s strategy regarding the future of Artsakh within the framework
of your ‘There is a future!’ [pre-election] programs?” Seyran Ohanian, the
parliamentary leader of the opposition Hayastan alliance, asked during the
Armenian government’s question-and-answer session in the National Assembly.
Pashinian replied that he wants to strengthen Armenia’s security and
sovereignty. He again blamed former Armenian governments for the loss of
Karabakh and claimed that unspecified forces used the Karabakh conflict to
undermine Armenia’s independence.
“You are again trying to distort or manipulate things by not answering the
question,” countered Ohanian. “Whatever you say … it is during your rule that
Artsakh was depopulated and it is during your rule that negotiations [with
Azerbaijan] were stopped because of your contradictory statements and actions.
And now you are doing nothing to take back our historical territory of Artsakh
or at least negotiate for that purpose.”
“As prime minister of Armenia … my objective is the future of Armenia … The
Constitution of the Republic of Armenia gives me responsibility for the future
of the Republic of Armenia and I am focused on that issue,” said Pashinian.
He described as “ingratitude” critics’ claims that Yerevan “left Karabakh alone”
after the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.
Pashinian’s government stopped championing the Karabakh’s right to
self-determination in April 2022. A year later, Pashinian declared that it
recognizes Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan and will only strive to protect the
“rights and security” of the Karabakh Armenians through the Armenian-Azerbaijani
peace treaty and other international mechanisms.
Armenian opposition leaders say that this policy change paved the way for the
recent Azerbaijani military offensive that restored Baku’s full control over
Karabakh and forced its practically entire population to flee to Armenia. Alen
Simonian, the Armenian parliament speaker and a top Pashinian ally, said last
week that a peace treaty currently discussed by Baku and Yerevan should not
contain any special provisions on Karabakh and the return of its ethnic Armenian
residents.
Armenian Defense Spending Set For More Modest Rise In 2024
Armenia - Armenian soldiers stand at a military base against the backdrop of
Mount Ararat, December 31, 2022.
The Armenian government is planning to increase its defense expenditures by 7
percent to 554 billion drams ($1.38 billion) next year, Finance Minister Vahe
Hovannisian said on Wednesday.
“As a result, our defense spending will be equivalent to 5.3 percent of GDP,
down by 0.3 percentage points from 2023,” Hovannisian told the Armenian
parliament as he presented the government’s draft state budget for 2024.
He said that 42 percent of 695 billion drams in capital spending planned by the
government in 2024 will also be channeled into national defense. This presumably
includes the construction of new barracks, other military installations and
border fortifications.
Armenia’s defense budget was projected to soar by as much as 46 percent this
year. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on November 16 that his government
will keep increasing it for purely defensive purposes.
“I’m sure that all of our neighbors realize that we do not intend to attack
anyone,” he said in an apparent effort to reassure Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijani government spending on defense and national security is reportedly
due to total $3.5 billion this year. President Ilham Aliyev said recently that
Azerbaijan’s will continue its military buildup despite its victory in the 2020
war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Baku has denounced India, France and other foreign nations for selling weapons
to Armenia. Meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in
Moscow on Tuesday, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov reportedly said
that “efforts to arm Armenia pose a threat to regional peace and stability.”
Pashinian’s Party Scraps Power-Sharing Deal In Gyumri
• Satenik Kaghzvantsian
Armenia - The Mayor's Office in Gyumri.
Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party on Wednesday pulled out of a power-sharing
agreement with a political group that won most votes in municipal elections held
in Gyumri two years ago.
The country’s second largest city was run Samvel Balasanian, a local
businessman, until October 2021. Although Balasanian decided not to seek another
term in office, a newly created bloc bearing his name participated in the
elections and garnered 36.6 percent of the vote, giving it 14 seats in the
33-member city council empowered to elect the mayor.
In a serious setback for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Civil Contract finished
second with 11 seats. The remaining eight seats were distributed among three
opposition groups.
In line with the power-sharing deal, the new Gyumri council appointed the
Balasanian Bloc’s Vardges Samsonian as mayor and two Civil Contract members as
deputy mayors.
In a statement, Pashinian’s party said both vice-mayors will step down because
it has decided to end its alliance with the Balasanian Bloc. It said vaguely
that Civil Contract does not want to be part of what it called “shady
governance.”
Armenia - Vardges Samsonian attends a public discussion in Gyumri, October 15,
2019.
The statement did not clarify whether the party will try to oust Samsonian
through a vote of no confidence or force a fresh election in Gyumri. Civil
Contract representatives in Yerevan said the party will reveal its further steps
during a news conference on December 11.
The Balasanian Bloc and Samsonian did not immediately react to the development.
A spokeswoman for the Gyumri mayor told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the bloc
will make a statement in the coming days.
The three other groups represented in the city council also did not rush to
officially comment on Civil Contract’s move. One of them, the Zartonk bloc,
controls four seats in the council. Its leader, Vartevan Hakobian, did not rule
out the possibility of teaming up with Civil Contract or the Balasanian Bloc.
Armenia - A session of the municipal council of Gyumri, February 6, ,2023.
Narek Mirzoyan, a council member affiliated with former President Serzh
Sarkisian’s Republican Party, accused Armenia’s political leadership of seeking
to “destabilize” local communities run by elected opposition mayors. Mirzoyan
pointed to Tuesday’s controversial ouster of the head of a major community in
neighboring Lori province comprising the town of Alaverdi and two dozen other
towns and villages.
The mayor, Arkadi Tamazian, lost his narrow majority in the Alaverdi council
after one of its members representing his Aprelu Yerkir party defected to Civil
Contract in July. Pashinian’s party capitalized on the defection to replace
Tamazian by its local leader amid serious procedural violations alleged by the
Armenian opposition and some civil society members. Hundreds of police officers
were deployed in Alaverdi on Tuesday to help the party install the new mayor.
Levon Barseghian, a veteran civic activist based in Gyumri, linked the end of
the local power-sharing arrangement to the Alaverdi power grab, saying that
Pashinian and his political team are no longer willing to tolerate opposition
control of local governments across Armenia. He said they may now use “promises,
blackmail or political bribes” to try to co-opt other members of the Gyumri
council and gain a majority there.
“Everyone must bear in mind yesterday’s events in Alaverdi,” Barseghian told
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Yerevan Chided For Snubbing Russian-Mediated Peace Talks
North Macedonia - Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shares a word with
spokesperson Maria Zakharova at a news conference, during the OSCE Ministerial
Council meeting in Skopje, December 1, 2023.
Russia on Wednesday rebuked Armenia for ignoring its recent offers to organize
more negotiations with Azerbaijan and warned that Yerevan’s current preference
of Western mediation may spell more trouble for the Armenian people.
“We have sent invitations to the [two] countries to meet in Moscow and on the
sidelines of multilateral negotiations in third countries,” said Maria
Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. “Baku has always confirmed
to us their readiness to hold such negotiations. Unfortunately, we cannot say
the same about our Armenian partners. Perhaps they believe that their new
advisers from Paris, Washington and Brussels will be able to offer something
more interesting, better, more effective.”
Zakharova said that Armenian-Azerbaijani summits organized by the European Union
in October 2022 and May 2023 did not end well for the Armenian side.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian unconditionally recognized Azerbaijani
sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh during those summits. Moscow claims that he
thus legitimized Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 military offensive that forced
Karabakh’s entire population to flee to Armenia.
“There may be a repeat of that,” Zakharova told a news briefing. “Now, posing as
its best friends, they [the West] will give Armenia advice that will then lead
to another surprise.”
“We really don’t want the people of Armenia to be again deceived by their
purported Western friends,” added the Russian official.
Spain - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and
French President Emmanuel Macron in Granada, October 5, 2023.
The Armenian government has denounced Moscow for its failure to prevent, stop or
even condemn the Azerbaijani military operation. Pashinian said in October that
Russian peacekeepers were “unable or unwilling to ensure the security of the
Karabakh Armenians” contrary to the terms of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that
stopped the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
EU Council President Charles Michel similarly charged that “Russia has betrayed
the Armenian population” of Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani takeover of the region deepened a rift between Yerevan and
Moscow. Pashinian accused the Russians of not honoring their security
commitments to Armenia, while the Russian Foreign Ministry said that he is
systematically “destroying” Russian-Armenian relations.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Month: December 2023
Armenpress: Aras Ozbiliz seeks to bring back great players like Mkhitaryan to national team if elected FFA president
09:10, 7 December 2023
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Retired footballer Aras Ozbiliz has said he’s running for the Football Federation of Armenia presidency in order to utilize his experience and bring benefits to the Armenian football, and make sure that the best players, like Henrikh Mkhitaryan, return to the national team.
In an with Armenpress, the 33-year-old former Armenia midfielder said that the country needs a national development plan for football.
“I can bring huge benefits to Armenian football with the experience that I have amassed over the years. I see my work only through maintaining the principles of transparency and fairness,” he said when asked on his plans if elected FFA president during the December 23 vote.
“I will reveal my plans regarding the Football Federation during an upcoming press conference. I can’t say that I will be able to change everything in a couple of years, but I think that we need a national football development plan, which won’t be taken from some other country, but will rather be designed to match our uniqueness. Armenian football needs global changes,” Ozbilis added.
There’s been a lot of talk in the sports community that Inter Milan’s Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was formerly the captain of the Armenian national team, is endorsing Ozbilis for the FFA presidency.
“I am grateful to Henrikh Mkhitaryan for always supporting me both in word and deed. I’ll say this, if elected, I won’t spare effort to have players like Henrikh Mkhitaryan play in the Armenian national team until the end of their career. Perhaps we don’t fully realize that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a great football player. Small countries like Armenia must cherish players like Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Henrikh is the example and proof that it is possible to have global stars from Armenian football. We must do everything possible to use, for example, Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s experience, talent and connections for our development,” Aras Ozbiliz said when asked on Mkhitaryan’s support.
Reminiscing on his career in the Armenian national football team, where he played in over 40 matches, Ozbilis said he was honored to be part of the team. “It was a great honor to play in the Armenian national team. Our generation really brought together a good team, and we were like one big family. Playing with the national team’s shirt is a completely different feeling. I miss the team, but I am still by their side, but now as one of their top fans,” he said.
Asked on the toughest and best players he faced on the field during his career, Ozbilis mentioned Ricardo Quaresma, Adriano, Pepe, Costa, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan himself.
“Honestly, I didn’t like playing against smaller [built] players, because they were a lot faster,” Ozbilis said laughingly. “It was really difficult for me to play against Patrice Evra.”
Asked to name the greatest footballer of all time, Ozbilis said it’s Lionel Messi.
The full is available in Armenian.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1125662.html?fbclid=IwAR1jwJ-oWHTau4OItKFwz8c3BQHbRIcI3O72eNkd9TOAJ6hnz0Kt_gtot10
US Senate Republicans block Ukraine, Israel aid bill over border dispute
10:28, 7 December 2023
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. An emergency spending bill to provide billions of dollars in new security assistance for Ukraine and Israel was blocked in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday as Republicans pressed their demands for tougher measures to control immigration at the U.S. border with Mexico, Reuters reports.
The vote was 49 in favor to 51 against, leaving the $110.5 billion measure short of the 60 votes needed in the 100-member Senate to pave the way to start debate.
The bill would provide about $50 billion in new security assistance for Ukraine, as well as money for humanitarian and economic aid for the government in Kyiv, plus $14 billion for Israel as it battles Hamas in Gaza.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, also voted "no" so that he could introduce the measure again in the future. After the vote, Schumer noted the risks if Ukraine falls, saying it was a "serious moment that will have lasting consequences for the 21st century," risking the decline of Western democracy.
Republicans said it was essential to make their case for tighter immigration policies and control of the southern U.S. border.
"Today’s vote is what it takes for the Democratic leader to recognize that Senate Republicans mean what we say," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in a floor speech earlier on Wednesday. "Then let’s vote. And then let's finally start meeting America's national security priorities, including right here at home."
Even if the bill passes the Senate, it still would need to be approved in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where dozens of Republicans have voted against Ukraine aid, including Speaker Mike Johnson.
"Make no mistake, today's vote is going to be long remembered. History is going to judge harshly those who turned their backs on freedom's cause," President Biden said in remarks at the White House.
Republicans contend that excessive illegal immigration across the southern border with Mexico is a hugely important security concern, and say they want more accountability than they are getting from the Biden administration for U.S. taxpayer funds that go to Ukraine.
The emergency spending bill included $20 billion for border security.
Schumer said on Tuesday he would try to break the impasse by offering Republicans the chance to add an amendment on border policy to the legislation.
No such amendment had been announced by Wednesday evening.
Members of Parliament observe moment of silence commemorating Spitak earthquake victims
10:51, 7 December 2023
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Members of Parliament held a moment of silence on Thursday to commemorate the victims of the 1988 Spitak earthquake.
The Spitak earthquake occurred on December 7, 1988 with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (Devastating).
Over 25,000 people were killed and 20,000 others injured in the quake. Over half a million people became homeless. 17% of the entire housing stock of Armenia was destroyed.
Cabinet commemorates 1988 Spitak earthquake victims
11:17, 7 December 2023
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Cabinet ministers on Thursday observed a moment of silence during the Cabinet meeting on the occasion of the anniversary of the 1988 Spitak earthquake.
“Today is December 7th, it’s the anniversary of the devastating Spitak earthquake of 1988, which killed over 25,000 of our compatriots,” Prime Minister Pashinyan said and asked for a moment of silence.
Over 25,000 people were killed and 20,000 others injured in the quake. Over half a million people became homeless. 17% of the entire housing stock of Armenia was destroyed.
Armenian Speaker of Parliament accuses Azerbaijan of delaying signing of peace treaty
11:53, 7 December 2023
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is attempting to introduce certain items into the agenda to artificially delay the signing of the peace treaty with Armenia and make the process difficult, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said.
“I think Azerbaijan is trying to introduce certain issues into the agenda to perhaps artificially make the signing of the peace treaty difficult,” Simonyan said when asked to comment on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement that if Armenia wants to include the issue of the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians in the peace treaty, then the rights to return of Azerbaijanis who left Armenia must also be addressed.
“I assess this very negatively. We, and they, know very well what proposals we have conveyed and what we are negotiating about. Speaking about it all the time now creates artificial problems. It’s obvious that we are actually speaking about peace, and not just signing a paper or pretending,” Simonyan said.
The Speaker said that Azerbaijan must reduce its hate speech against Armenians.
“You can’t accuse Armenia of the same, because in Armenia, the opposition and the media are accusing us of being tolerant, of pouring water to their mill. It must be clear that, indeed, after some time, I don’t rule out that some Armenians will go and live in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijanis will come and live in Armenia, and trade with one another. Yes, we are heading towards peace, peace doesn’t happen anyway else. And the claims that we fought against each other and it is an unsolvable issue for us are unacceptable, because history knows multiple cases. England and France were at war against each other for 116 years, and today they are allies,” Simonyan said.
Peace treaty can be signed within days if Azerbaijan accepts latest proposals – Speaker
12:12, 7 December 2023
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The peace treaty can be signed with 5 days if Azerbaijan doesn’t delay the process, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said.
“The treaty can be signed within some ten, or five days in case of desire to do so. We’ve sent our sixth proposals, significant work has been done. If the Azerbaijani side doesn’t change anything and doesn’t present new proposals, of course it can be signed within a few days,” Simonyan said when asked on the likelihood of concluding the peace talks by yearend.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev recently said that peace can be established even without a peace treaty, and cited the example of Russia and Japan.
Speaker Simonyan commented on Aliyev’s remarks, saying that the Azeri leader brought a very bad example.
“I don’t think that the territorial issue which Japan is presenting to Russia, and the issue that we have, are identical. I don’t know why he brought that example, I am honestly surprised. Regarding the peace treaty, yes, peace can be achieved if the Azerbaijani president starts from positive steps, for example, by changing his rhetoric, and coming to the meetings that are being organized in various platforms, and reiterating what he had said during the meetings,” Simonyan said.
‘No sense’ in participating in CSTO meeting – Speaker of Parliament
12:24, 7 December 2023
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said that participating in the CSTO PA session would have made no sense and that’s why he opted out.
“There are outstanding issues, they are not implementing their obligations,” the Speaker said. “We only hear big talk against Armenia, whereas, if we look what happened after 9 November 2020, Azerbaijan, as an ally of Russia, numerously displayed very bad conduct, ranging from the killings of Russian troops, up to the violation of agreements. In other words, Azerbaijan did whatever it wanted in our region, and Russia either didn’t respond, or was unable to do so,” Simonyan said.
He recalled the discontent in Russia over Armenia sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine, whereas Azerbaijan has numerously sent aid to Ukraine, and the Russian authorities haven’t said anything about it.
“Unfortunately, in case of Armenia, Russia is reacting very painfully, but in case of Azerbaijan, it is either unable to respond or pretends not to have noticed it, in order to save its face during a bad game,” Simonyan said.
Simonyan was also asked to comment on Russia’s failure to deliver the armaments which Armenia has paid for.
The Speaker expressed hope that the issue will be resolved in a collegial atmosphere. He said it is a chance for Russia to show that it remains committed to the principles it has declared, and to the documents it has signed. “And the Russian side has a chance to show that nevertheless it continues to be committed to its declared principles and signed documents. If obligations aren’t being fulfilled, and it is a fact that they’re not fulfilled, Armenia must definitely protect its interests,” the Speaker said.
Speaker of Parliament responds to Azerbaijani President’s comments on alleged ‘revanchism’
12:26, 7 December 2023
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has responded to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s latest statement alleging that there is a ‘growing revanchism’ in Armenia and that Baku wants guarantees that such processes won’t happen.
Simonyan advised the Azeri leader to search for such guarantees in his own policy.
“He ought to search for those guarantees first of all in himself and his policy. A lot depends on the Azerbaijani side. You can’t shoot and kill an Armenian soldier, invade the territory of Armenia, and then say ‘I am afraid of revanchism.’ You can’t skip the meetings on the peace treaty and then say ‘I am afraid of revanchism.’ You are afraid of revanchism? Then establish normal relations with your neighbors, your direct neighbors, whom you can’t replace,” Simonyan said.
Cabinet appoints new governor of Vayots Dzor
13:13, 7 December 2023
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The government has appointed Kolya Mikayelyan as the new governor of Vayots Dzor province, replacing Ararat Grigoryan.
The decision was approved at the December 7 Cabinet meeting.