Monday, November 27, 2023
Russia Tightens Border Controls For Armenian Trucks
November 27, 2023
• Narine Ghalechian
• Shoghik Galstian
RUSSIA - Cars and heavy trucks are lined up near the Upper Lars border crossing
with Georgia, November 21, 2023.
Hundreds of Armenian trucks were stuck at the main Russian-Georgian border
crossing on Monday after Russia reportedly tightened import and export controls
on them amid its unprecedented tensions with Armenia.
Truck drivers said that the Russian customs service is subjecting them to
stricter sanitary and other checks, causing long lines of the heavy vehicles on
both sides of the Upper Lars crossing vital for the Armenian economy.
“I’m stuck at Lars for a second day,” one driver told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“There is a problem with paperwork. It’s not just me but also other Armenian
trucks.”
“According to our information, several trucks have already returned [to Armenia]
and about 200 others are waiting in line,” Garnik Danielian, an opposition
parliamentarian, wrote on Facebook.
Deputy Economy Minister Arman Khojoyan confirmed that Russian customs officers
have turned away some of the Armenian trucks carrying goods for the Russian
market. But he did not give any numbers.
“As the head of the State Revenue Committee told me yesterday, it’s not that
they are turning away all goods or entire categories of goods,” he told
reporters. “We also have cargo crossing the border.”
Khojoyan would not say whether he believes there is a political reason for the
stricter border checks introduced by the Russians.
RUSSIA -- An Armenian truck passes through the newly expanded Upper Lars border
crossing with Georgia, June 21, 2023.
Artur Khachatrian, another Armenian opposition lawmaker, suggested that Moscow
is retaliating against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s decision to boycott last
week’s Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) summit in Minsk which
highlighted a significant deterioration of Russian-Armenian relations.
“I think that Russia is sending certain messages [to Yerevan],” said
Khachatrian. “Let’s acknowledge that this is not accidental.”
The truck driver, who did not want to be identified, also felt that he and his
Armenian colleagues remain stuck at Upper Lars because of the tensions between
Moscow and Yerevan.
“The [Armenian] government picked a fight with the Russians and the Russians are
now retaliating in this way,” he said.
Russia is Armenia’s leading trading partner, accounting for more than one-third
of the South Caucasus nation’s foreign trade. It has long been the main export
market for Armenian agricultural products, prepared foodstuffs and alcoholic
drinks.
The total volume of Russian-Armenian trade, mainly carried out through Upper
Lars, has skyrocketed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting
barrage of Western sanctions against Moscow.
Armenian entrepreneurs have taken advantage of those sanctions, re-exporting
various goods manufactured in Western countries to Russia. This explains why
Armenian exports to Russia nearly doubled to $2.6 billion in January-September
this year.
Yerevan Won’t Rule Out CSTO Exit
November 27, 2023
• Shoghik Galstian
Belarus - The presidents of Russia and other CSTO member states meet in Minsk,
November 23, 2023.
Armenia could leave the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) due to
the Russian-led alliance’s reluctance to openly support it in the conflict with
Azerbaijan, a leading member of the ruling Civil Contract party said on Monday.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian also did not rule out such a possibility on
Friday one day after boycotting a summit of the leaders of Russia and other CSTO
member states held in Minsk. He again accused the CSTO of not honoring its
security obligations to Armenia.
“There is a defined situation in which we would definitely leave [the CSTO,]”
Gevorg Papoyan, the deputy chairman of Civil Contract’s governing board, told
journalists. “We don’t have that situation yet.”
“But there is also a situation where we would definitely participate in those
[CSTO] meetings. There is no such situation either,” he said, alluding to an
effective freeze on Armenia’s participation in the alliance’s activities.
Papoyan did not specify those “situations.” Nor did he say if Pashinian’s
government wants to obtain security guarantees from Western powers before
officially reorienting Armenia’s towards the United States and the European
Union.
The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Yerevan of planning such a reorientation in
late September as tensions between the two longtime allies rose further
following Azerbaijan’s military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh which Moscow did
not prevent, stop or even condemn.
In recent months, Pashinian has repeatedly said that the alliance with Russia
cannot guarantee Armenia’s national security. His refusal to attend the CSTO
summit in Minsk stoked speculation about the South Caucasus state’s imminent
exit from the alliance.
Alen Simonian, the Armenian parliament speaker and another senior Civil Contract
member, said last week that he will not attend an upcoming session of the CSTO’s
Parliamentary Assembly.
CSTO Head Downplays Armenian Boycott Of Summit
November 27, 2023
Armenia - CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov at a meeting with
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikian, Yerevan, March 16, 2023.
The secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on
Monday downplayed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s refusal to attend last week’s
summit of the leaders of ex-Soviet states making up the Russian-led military
alliance.
Imangali Tasmagambetov, who is due to visit Yerevan soon, claimed that Pashinian
did not fly to Minsk for the summit last Thursday for merely “technical” reasons.
“In my view, it makes no sense to draw any categorical conclusions from this
situation,” Tasmagambetov told the TASS news agency. “Armenia was and remains
our ally.”
Pashinian’s boycott of the summit highlighted his government’s mounting tensions
with the other CSTO member states and Russia in particular. Pashinian on Friday
again accused the CSTO of not honoring its security commitments to Armenia. What
is more, he did not rule out the possibility of eventually pulling his country
out of his alliance.
Speaking on the eve of the Minsk summit, the Russian Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said that Pashinian’s administration is planning a
“radical change” of Armenia’s traditional geopolitical orientation at the behest
of Western powers. The ministry had earlier accused it of “ruining”
Russian-Armenian relations.
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed over the weekend the
criticism of the CSTO voiced by Pashinian as well as other Armenian leaders.
Peskov expressed hope that Yerevan will soon resume its “full-fledged
participation in the organization.”
Earlier this year, Armenia also refused to participate in CSTO military
exercises and boycotted a meeting of the defense ministers of the bloc’s member
states.
Armenian Authorities Seek To Dispossess Tsarukian
November 27, 2023
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian speaks at an election
campaign rally in Aragatsotn province, June 15, 2021.
The Armenian authorities have moved to confiscate hundreds of millions of
dollars worth of assets belonging to Gagik Tsarukian, one of Armenia’s richest
men leading a major opposition party.
The assets include the largest of Tsarukian’s companies and about 90 properties
owned by him or members of his family. The authorities are also seeking to seize
over 86 billion drams ($213 million) in revenue generated by them. All this may
well account for most of the vast fortune made by the tycoon since the early
1990s.
The Office of the Prosecutor-General announced late last week that it has asked
an Armenian court to approve the seizures in accordance with a controversial law
that allows the authorities to confiscate assets deemed to have been acquired
illegally. It said the court has already agreed to freeze them pending a verdict
in the case.
A statement released by the law-enforcement agency did not publicize any
evidence in support of its claims that Tsarukian and his family have amassed
their wealth illegally. The tycoon’s lawyers were quick to reject the claims and
insist that “the origin of Gagik Tsarukian’s assets is illegal.”
“There is weighty evidence of that, which will be presented to the court and the
Office of the Prosecutor-General as soon as possible,” they said in a statement.
The lawyers declined to comment further when contacted by RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service at the weekend. It thus remained unclear whether they see any political
motives behind the case.
Armenia -- Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukian arrives for a court
hearing on his pre-trial arrest, September 25, 2020.
Tsarukian is the founding leader of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party
(BHK) that had the second largest group in the country’s former parliament. It
challenged Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and demanded his resignation even
before the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Tsarukian was charged with vote buying and arrested in September 2020 just days
before the outbreak of the war. The BHK leader, who rejected the accusations as
politically motivated, was freed on bail one month later.
Like other opposition groups, the BHK blamed Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in
the six-week war and tried to topple him. It failed to win any parliament seats
in snap general elections held in June 2021. Tsarukian has kept a low profile
since then.
The law invoked by the prosecutors allows them to seek asset forfeiture in case
of having “sufficient grounds to suspect” that the market value of an
individual’s properties exceeds their “legal income” by at least 50 million
drams ($100,000). Armenian courts can allow the nationalization of such assets
even if their owners are not found guilty of corruption or other criminal
offenses.
Over the past two years the prosecutors have petitioned courts to dispossess
dozens of former officials, including ex-Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Robert
Kocharian, and their relatives. So far there have been no court verdicts in any
of those cases. Tsarukian is apparently the first person who risks losing his
assets despite having never held any executive posts in government.
Armenia - A screenshot from an Aravot.am report on expensive property
acquisitions by current Armenian officials, March 15, 2023.
Pashinian has repeatedly portrayed the law in question as a major
anti-corruption measure that will help his administration recover “wealth stolen
from the people.” Opposition figures counter, however, that Pashinian is simply
keen to suppress dissent and cement his hold on power.
In November 2021, opposition lawmakers appealed to the Constitutional Court to
declare the law unconstitutional. They said that it contradicts articles of the
Armenian constitution guaranteeing the presumption of innocence and property
rights. The court, dominated by judges installed by the current government, has
still not ruled on the appeal.
Also, Pashinian is facing growing media allegations that members of his
entourage themselves are enriching themselves or their cronies. In February this
year, the prime minister publicly urged senior officials to sue publications
“falsely” accusing them of illicit enrichment. In March, hackers hijacked the
YouTube channel of an Armenian newspaper just as it was about to publish a video
report detailing expensive property acquisitions by several senior government
officials and pro-government lawmakers.
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: Blinken reaffirms United States’ ongoing support for Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity
10:00, 28 November 2023
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has spoken by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Secretary Blinken reaffirmed U.S. support for Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the U.S. State Department said in a readout of the November 27 call.
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan. They discussed U.S. support for efforts to reach a durable and dignified peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ongoing support for Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and outlined efforts to increase bilateral cooperation with Armenia as we work to support its vision for a prosperous and democratic future,” the U.S. State Department said.
Blinken also spoke by phone with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the same day.
In a readout of the call with Aliyev, the State Department said that Blinken noted “recent points of concern” in the U.S.-Azeri relations.
“The Secretary welcomed President Aliyev’s commitment to conclude a durable and dignified peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Secretary recognized the suffering that this long-standing conflict has caused Azerbaijanis and Armenians alike and underscored the benefits that peace would bring to everyone in the region. The Secretary discussed our enduring relations with Azerbaijan, noted recent points of concern in the relationship and also spoke about opportunities to strengthen cooperation, especially around the peace process, and the importance of high-level engagement,” the State Department said.
Armenian Prime Minister, U.S. Secretary of State discuss humanitarian issues of NK forcibly displaced persons
10:23, 28 November 2023
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has spoken by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss issues related to the regional agenda and bilateral relations, the Prime Minister’s Office has said.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process was discussed, the Armenian Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout.
The humanitarian issues of over 100,000 forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Armenian government’s steps aimed at overcoming these issues were also discussed. The importance of support by the international community was underscored.
U.S. welcomes Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s reforms
10:37, 28 November 2023
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien has praised Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s courage for making clear that he wants Armenia to move forward in opening its borders and in opening its relations with the West.
Speaking at an online press briefing, O’Brien noted the encouraging reforms undertaken by the Pashinyan Administration.
The U.S. official was asked to assess the prospects of supporting Armenia through the European Peace Facility mechanism and whether it may enhance Armenia’s cooperation with NATO.
“I’ll leave any discussion of the European Peace Facility to my EU colleagues. What I’d say is Prime Minister Pashinyan has been very courageous, has made clear that he wants Armenia to move forward in opening its borders and in opening its relations with the West, that it doesn’t want Armenia to be wholly dependent on Russia in the way that previous leaders sought to have it be. And he’s undertaken a number of reforms that are – should be very encouraging for Armenian citizens as they look to continue the sort of quick economic growth that they’ve had over the last year or two. And I think Prime Minister Pashinyan has also been a bold voice for a peace agreement with Azerbaijan as a way of allowing Armenia to focus on its economic development, to build out its security relationships, and to expand trade from Central Asia through to Türkiye, and all of which is something we would very much like to see. So any package that is supportive of Armenia is something to be welcomed; exactly how the EU chooses to get there will be its business. But we are committed to working with our European partners and with the government in Armenia to see that the people of Armenia are able to benefit from the reform policies that the Pashinyan government has undertaken,” O’Brien said.
I am impressed to see high growth rates in 2023 in Armenia – ADB President
11:19, 28 November 2023
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts 2,6% average annual inflation for 2023 in Armenia, which is quite low compared to 2022 when inflation reached 8.6%, Masatsugu Asakawa, the President of the Asian Development Bank , said in an interview with Armenpress.
In terms of Armenia’s economic indicators, one of the key factors contributing to this success is the implementation of structural reforms, Masatsugu Asakawa said. The ADB President arrived to Armenia on a two-day visit on November 27.
First of all, I would like to ask You to present the purpose of Your visit to Armenia, what meetings and new agreements are expected?
Our visit to Armenia is multifaceted and has a comprehensive agenda. We aim to strengthen our collaboration and support for ongoing projects in the country, explore new partnership opportunities, and meet high-level officials.
During our visit, we have had the privilege to meet esteemed leaders, including the Prime Minister and the President of Armenia. One of the most significant highlights is the loan signing for the Yerevan Urban Development Investment Project, or YUDIP, which will construct a 1.8 km road and bridge over the Hrazdan River. This will greatly improve connectivity, reduce traffic congestion, and enhance green spaces for people living in Yerevan.
YUDIP is aligned with Armenia's climate goals and the Paris Agreement, and we’re excited about the prospects for this and other ongoing ADB projects to improve connectivity, boost productivity, and ultimately reduce poverty. We look forward to working together to ensure smooth implementation.
What programs is the Asian Development Bank currently implementing in Armenia and how much financial support has it provided to the government and the country?
Since Armenia joined the ADB in 2005, the bank has supported the country to diversify its economy and increase opportunities for all Armenians to benefit from economic growth.
Since the beginning of our partnership, ADB has provided financial assistance worth more than $1.8 billion, supporting government priorities in the transport, energy, water, and urban infrastructure sectors.
ADB is currently implementing six projects with the government totaling $525 million in transport and urban infrastructure development. These initiatives are helping land-locked Armenia improve its regional and international connectivity to boost growth and development. Under the new country partnership strategy, ADB will continue supporting Armenia’s regional cooperation and integration.
Our private sector portfolio comprises six projects totaling more than $230 million in the energy, finance, and agriculture sectors. Going forward, ADB will continue to expand its private sector operations and maximize the synergies between sovereign and private sector operations.
What are the forecasts of the Asian Development Bank for the economic growth and inflation of Armenia for 2023, how does the Bank assess the economic situation in Armenia in general? What factors greatly influenced that prediction? What are the predictions for 2024?
I commend the government for achieving impressive economic growth in 2022, despite facing various global and regional challenges. I am also impressed to see high growth rates in 2023. Our latest forecast for this year's growth is 7%, which I believe is in line with the government's target.
In terms of average annual inflation, our forecast for this year is 2.6%, which is quite low compared to 2022 when inflation reached 8.6%. This reduction is partly due to proactive monetary policy being implemented by the Central Bank of Armenia.
One of the key factors contributing to this success is the implementation of structural reforms. The government has an ambitious reform agenda in several areas, including public administration, governance, anti-corruption, public financial management, tax administration, and digitalization.
Private sector development and domestic resource mobilization are also critical for economic growth and job creation. I am happy to note that the government continues to prioritize investments in infrastructure development – which is crucial for sustaining growth over the long term and ensuring that this growth is more inclusive.
As ADB and the Government of Armenia are working together on the new Country Partnership Strategy for the country, how will the new CPS support the government's development priorities?
We are committed to supporting Armenia in achieving its long-term development goals. We aim to help Armenia build an export-driven, knowledge-based, and inclusive economy.
We are currently finalizing our new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for 2024–2028, which we plan to submit to ADB's Board of Directors in January 2024. The CPS is in line with Armenia's long-term strategy and the government's program for 2021–2026.
Through the CPS, we aim to help Armenia strengthen private sector-led growth with the ultimate goals of reducing poverty and inequalities and improving connectivity and productivity. These will be achieved by creating job opportunities, improving governance, and enhancing the effectiveness of reforms. ADB will continue supporting the government’s efforts to promote gender equality and gender-inclusive growth by improving the enabling environment and capacity of women. We also aim to help improve the quality of education and healthcare, and address climate and disaster risks.
What new projects is the Asian Development Bank preparing to implement in Armenia, in which areas, and at what cost?
ADB recently approved an additional financing of $72.3 million for the Seismic Safety Improvement Program which supports the seismic safety and resilience of 46 schools in Armenia. The program is crucial to the country's School Strengthening and Renovation Program and National Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction. This support is testament to the government’s and ADB’s commitment to securing a safe and resilient future for Armenia's children.
As Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank, we are also helping Armenia mitigate and adapt to climate change. Today, I joined senior government members at the launch event of a new ADB report that explores opportunities for Armenia to incorporate climate adaptation into its fiscal planning. We’re also preparing a proposal to help improve food security for vulnerable communities by providing them with climate-sensitive energy solutions which will help to reduce their dependence on the national grid. Through technical assistance, we are helping Armenia build the institutional knowledge needed to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement.
ADB actively collaborates with counterparts in Armenia to invest in sustainable infrastructure, advance the digital agenda, address fiscal needs, and foster private sector partnerships. This underscores the potential for remarkable growth in this nation and the promise of our partnership.
United States sees ‘real opportunity’ for Armenia and Azerbaijan to make peace
11:56, 28 November 2023
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The United States sees a real opportunity for Armenia and Azerbaijan to make peace, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien has said.
“As I’ve said publicly, we see a real opportunity for Azerbaijan and Armenia to make peace. We’re encouraged that the two sides are speaking with one another directly and with mediators. And with that, we see a real opportunity for the entire region to benefit. For example, if trade from Central Asia is able to flow through Azerbaijan and Armenia into Türkiye, then it would be a substantial boost for all the countries on that trade route. And we’d welcome the opportunity to be part of that. At the same time, if the decision is made not to pursue that by peaceful means, then we would have to use whatever tools we could to avoid having that kind of trade route created. So we’ve been very clear with the parties about what we hope to see and about the consequences of moving forward otherwise. So we’ll look forward to seeing where the parties come out. We know they’ve expressed an interest in concluding a peace agreement very soon, and we would love to see that happen,” O’Brien said at a press briefing.
Delegation from EU briefed on security situation around Armenia
13:48, 28 November 2023
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. On November 27, the Joint Delegation of the European External Action Service and the European Commission Directorates-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Migration and Home Affairs, Research and Innovation, International Partnership commenced its visit to Armenia. During the first day of the visit the members of the delegation had a meeting with Paruyr Hovhannisyan, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.
During the meeting, an in-depth discussion was held on a wide range of issues of the Armenia-EU partnership agenda, including the implementation of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, prospects of expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest and realizing the existing potential, the Foreign Ministry said in a readout.
Deputy FM Paruyr Hovhannisyan presented in detail the security situation around Armenia, the steps undertaken towards normalizing relations with Azerbaijan, the efforts to unblock the regional communication channels, and highlighted the importance of the EU monitoring mission in Armenia.
Did Azerbaijan target Christians for its dictator’s personal profit?
Nov 29 2023
OPINION
Just five days after Yuri Kim, the acting assistant secretary of state, told a Senate committee that the United States would not tolerate any military action against the Christian community in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan's dictator ordered his army to attack. Thus ended one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, as Azerbaijani forces pushed the region’s 120,000 men, women, and children into flight.
Certainly, dictators from Beijing to Baku interpret President Joe Biden’s weakness and confusion as a green light for aggression. Diplomacy has no credibility when red lines are ephemeral. While the State Department may believe in the power of dialogue, viewing conflict only through the lens of honest disagreement often leads to failure. Ideology matters. There is ample evidence that racism colors Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s attitude toward Armenians. Now, it appears greed does as well.
WHY GOOGLE IS KILLING OFF MILLIONS OF ACCOUNTS STARTING THIS WEEK
Here, the case of Gubad Ibadoghlu, an Azerbaijani academic, is instructive. Arrested on Aliyev’s orders last summer, Ibadoghlu languishes in prison, denied basic medical care to treat both his diabetes and heart condition. Ibadoghlu was no gadfly oppositionist; rather, he was a careful researcher whose writings hint at why Aliyev has been desperate to silence him.
Ibadoghlu runs the Economic Research Center, a think tank he established to study macroeconomic policy and good governance. Ibadoghlu’s reports document how Aliyev seized prime agricultural land in Nagonro-Karabakh for personal benefit. While Aliyev complains about mines for propaganda purposes, this is cynical. He has forced the U.S.-funded HALO Trust to cease its own mine-clearing operations and instead demands donors channel all demining money through him. He has then directed his own deminers to clear only land his interests would farm, leaving ordinary Azerbaijanis unaided.
His goal is monopoly. Ibadoghlu documents how the Azerbaijani government does not allow other farmers to work in Karabakh. As he reveals, “All the companies that rent land in Karabakh either belong to the President's family … or to high-ranking officials.” Aliyev’s propaganda that he liberated Karabakh for ordinary Azerbaijanis is simply false.
Personal enrichment also guides construction. As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did in Turkey, Aliyev profits double, first by channeling billions of dollars into his own construction companies and then by forcing those seeking to win Azerbaijani contracts to pay exorbitant rent. Aliyev and his propagandists may repeat, “Karabakh is Azerbaijan” as a mantra, but Azerbaijan has never before fully controlled the region. This historical reality is the reason why the Azerbaijani leader has such difficulty getting Azerbaijanis to live in Karabakh.
While Azerbaijan and its proxies sponsor lavish trips to show reconstruction to gullible Westerners, the reconstruction Azerbaijan shows off, contracts awarded to Turkish and Azerbaijani companies with close ties to the ruling regimes of both countries, represent corruption as they build empty shells to launder money.
Corruption comes in many forms. Many dictators are not satisfied with $100 million or $1 billion but want more. They might address Nagorno-Karabakh in terms of sovereignty, but the devil is in the details. A desire to profit colored the decision to go to war and drive the oldest Christian populations on Earth off their land. This just makes Washington’s silence more shameful.
One day, Armenians will return, and Turks and Azerbaijanis will reclaim the money their rulers have stolen. Until that time, the shame is on those who facilitate such schemes, not only in Ankara and Baku but also in Washington, London, and Jerusalem.
Michael Rubin (@mrubin1971) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/did-azerbaijan-target-christians-for-its-dictators-personal-profit
Peaceful coexistence and international grievances: Understanding Jewish-Armenian relations
eurasianet
Nov 30 2023
Arpine Hovhannisyan Nov 30, 2023
Israeli weapons played a pivotal role in Azerbaijan's defeat of Armenia in the 2020 Second Karabakh War.
Same with Baku's military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh two months ago that triggered the exodus of the region's entire Armenian population.
And a property dispute in Jerusalem threatens to undermine Armenians' roughly 1,600-year-long presence in the Holy Land.
Against that background, a series of acts of vandalism against the country's lone synagogue led to talk – particularly in Azerbaijan – about a possible rise of anti-Semitism in Armenia.
Members of Yerevan's small Jewish community categorically reject this notion. They see the attacks as aimed at discrediting their chosen country of residence.
Synagogue attacks
One of the first attacks on the Jewish Mordechai Navi Synagogue in Yerevan took place on October 3. It did little physical damage as a Molotov cocktail hurled into the synagogue failed to ignite.
But it did prompt one of the most senior rabbis in Azerbaijan, Armenia's archrival and neighbor, to declare the country unsafe for Jews.
"I repeat my call to the Jews in Armenia: Leave, and if you need help, I'll take care of it. Leave before it's too late…" Rabbi Zamir Isayev, head of the Baku Jewish School, posted on X.
In another attack on November 15, an unknown person set fire to the doors on the first and second floors of the building.
Video of the attack, alongside a claim of responsibility for both attacks appeared on a small and newly created Telegram channel whose name suggested affiliation to the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), a now largely inactive militant group. ASALA representatives denied any involvement.
The video quickly found traction among Azerbaijani social media accounts, which proclaimed Armenia a den of anti-Semitism.
Armenia's Investigative Committee reported two days later that the culprit was a citizen of a foreign country who left Armenia immediately after the attack. It gave no further information.
Gershon Meir Burstein, Armenia's chief rabbi, told CivilNet that the attacks were acts of "provocation" rather than an _expression_ of Armenian anti-Semitism.
Nathaniel Trubkin, a prominent member of Yerevan's Jewish community, echoed that sentiment in an interview with Eurasianet.
"The attack on the synagogue was not against Jews, but against Armenia's image of a tolerant country," he said.
Trubkin is one of several hundred Jews who moved to Armenia from Russia at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian War. He is the art director at Mamajan, a cafe in Yerevan that has become a center of Jewish community activities. He also runs Yerevan Jewish Home, a group that helps Jews moving to the city find housing and grapple with local bureaucracy.
There is widespread resentment in Armenia against Israel, which, according to estimates cited by AP, provided 70 per cent of the weapons Azerbaijan acquired between 2016 and 2020.
And Israel's offensive on Gaza following the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilian targets on October 7 has given rise to further expressions of anti-Israeli sentiment on Armenian social media.
But Trubkin says none of that has translated into anti-Semitism: "The Armenian community distinguishes between their attitude towards the government and the people. And even if Armenians don't like Israel or Russia, we don't feel that about ourselves."
Turmoil in the Cows' Garden
Meanwhile, in Israel, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem released a statement warning that the Church is facing "the greatest existential threat of its 16-century history."
As one of the oldest Christian nations, Armenians have been living in Jerusalem for centuries and own a part of the Old City. This community is considered the oldest Armenian diaspora and has around 2,000 people.
The dispute began after Armenian Patriarch Nourhan Manougian signed an agreement with Israeli businessman Danny Rothman's Xana Capital in 2021. The details of the agreement became public only in June of this year. As it turned out, the patriarch agreed to give XANA Capital a 98-year lease on a plot of land popularly known as the Cows' Garden (so named for its historical use for livestock grazing) to build a luxury hotel.
The situation escalated after the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, under pressure from the Armenian community, declared it was canceling the deal on October 26. On November 5, representatives of XANA Capital entered the Cows' Garden in order to lay claim to "their land." Some of the men were armed and some held barking dogs on leashes.
The Patriarchate then criticized the company for resorting to "provocation, aggression, and other harassing, incendiary tactics including destruction of property."
After the incident, local Armenians have been staging a "round-the-clock sit-in on our land," Setrag Balian, one of the leaders of the Save the Armenian Quarter movement opposing the transfer, told Eurasianet.
"This deal is illegal, as according to Patriarchate internal law deals for over 25 years have to be approved by the Holy Synod and the General Assembly of St. James Brotherhood. So the patriarch didn't have the legal authority to sign such a contract on behalf of the community," Balian said.
He praised his community for rising up against the transfer. "Now, we are all united together with the church to fight for our land that was acquired with sweat and blood," said Balian.
Armenians' and Jews' shared trauma
Back in Yerevan, Nathaniel Trubkin says he hopes Armenians and Jews can find common ground in their shared trauma. Both peoples were victims of campaigns of genocide in the 20th century, the Armenians by the Ottoman Empire during World War I and the Jews at the hands of the Nazis during World War II.
Trubkin points to the Jewish lawyer Rafael Lemkin as a possible unifying figure. Lemkin coined the term "genocide" in the early 1940s after studying the atrocities against Armenians and Jews and worked to establish international legal mechanisms for its prevention.
https://eurasianet.org/peaceful-coexistence-and-international-grievances-understanding-jewish-armenian-relations
Armenia creates convenient environment for investments in energy sector – Vice Speaker of Parliament
12:21, 28 November 2023
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has been creating a convenient environment for investments in the energy sector, which has led to an increasing level of energy security and independence of the country, Vice Speaker of Parliament Hakob Arshakyan said at the Armenia Energy Week 2023.
"The economically substantiated, productive and responsible use of the renewable energy potential, development of atomic energy for peaceful means, regional integration of electrical energy system, diversification of energy carrier supply routes and types, introduction of energy efficiency and energy saving actions and digital energy transformation are the sustainable guarantees for the development of the electrical energy sector of Armenia. All steps are aimed at this,” Arshakyan said, adding that sustainable energy is an essential condition for economic development.
“We can underscore that a convenient environment is being created for investments in the energy sector, and as a result the level of the country’s energy security and energy independence is growing further,” Arshakyan said.
President Vahagn Khachaturyan also attended the event.
In his speech, the president attached importance to the elimination of monopolies in all branches of market economy. He said that steps have already been taken in the energy sector.