Tuesday,
Armenian, Azeri Leaders Talk Again
• Rikard Jozwiak
• Karlen Aslanian
BELGIUM -- Participants pose for the photograph during the 10th EU-Eastern
Partnership council meeting, in Brussels,
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
have briefly discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during their latest visits
to Brussels.
The two men attended a dinner which was hosted by European Council President
Donald Tusk late on Monday for the leaders of six former Soviet republics
involved in the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program. It was part of
official celebrations of the tenth anniversary of the program.
Pashinian revealed his conversation with Aliyev when he spoke to RFE/RL at the
EU headquarters in the Belgian capital. “It was a little talk about the current
situation,” Pashinian told RFE/RL. He gave no details.
It was Pashinian’s and Aliyev’s fifth face-to-face contact in about eight
months. Their first meeting held in Tajikistan in September was followed by a
significant decrease in ceasefire violations in the Karabakh conflict zone.
Pashinian said that there are “no plans yet” for another Armenian-Azerbaijani
summit. “But I am sure that negotiations will continue,” he added. “And it is
very important to bring back Nagorno-Karabakh to the negotiation table. It is
impossible to resolve this conflict without Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Brussels -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks to RFE/RL in
Brussels, .
Ever since he came to power one year ago, the Armenian premier has regularly
called for Karabakh leaders’ direct involvement in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
talks. He told RFE/RL that Azerbaijan’s refusal to negotiate with them is the
main hurdle to a peaceful settlement.
Speaking to Armenian reporters, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov
reiterated Baku’s strong opposition to any change in the format of the
negotiating process mediated by the United States, Russia and France.
“I think the key issue is not [Karabakh’s] participation or non-participation,”
Mammadyarov said. “We need to show a serious political approach. We need to sit
down and complete what I call substantive negotiations … because everyone knows
very well what document is on the table. Why should we deceive ourselves.”
Mammadyarov insisted that a Karabakh peace is more important for Armenians than
his country. “What have the Armenian people gained as a result of the 30-year
war with Azerbaijan?” he said.
Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanian also briefly spoke
in Brussels on Monday. They previously met in Moscow on April 15 for talks
mediated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. A joint statement released
by them said the warring sides reaffirmed their stated intention to strengthen
the ceasefire regime around Karabakh and along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border
and to take other take confidence-building measures.
Mammadyarov said that the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group are planning visit the region later this month to prepare for another
meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers. He confirmed that
the meeting would take place in Washington.
China’s Xi Sees Closer Ties With Armenia
China -- Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian in Beijing, .
Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly reaffirmed China’s desire to deepen
political, economic and cultural ties with Armenia when he met with Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian in Beijing on Tuesday.
“Xi Jinping expressed confidence that bilateral cooperation will develop soon
in the areas of trade, industry, transport and culture,” Pashinian’s press
office said in a statement on the talks. “The Chinese president added that his
country will continue to support projects that will contribute to Armenia’s
development and enhance the well-being of the Armenian people.”
“We are united by the common goals of cooperation of civilizations,” the
statement quoted Xi as saying. “We are well aware of momentous events in the
history of Armenia. We believe that tragic events that befell the Armenian
people must be prevented in the future.”
“Our peoples represent ancient civilizations,” Pashinian said for his part.
“Already in the 5th century Armenian manuscripts described ties between the two
peoples.”
“Constructive and productive relations with China are very important for us,”
he added.
Armenia - Senior Armenian and Chinese officials break ground on the site of a
new Chinese embassy bulilding in Yerevan, 9Aug2017.
Chinese-Armenian relations have been cordial ever since Armenia gained
independence in 1991. Xi and former Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian reported
“mutual understanding on issues relating to pivotal interests and concerns of
the two countries” after holding talks in Beijing in 2015.
China underscored its interest in the South Caucasus country in 2017 when it
started building a new and much bigger building for its embassy in Yerevan. It
will reportedly be the second largest Chinese diplomatic mission in the former
Soviet Union.
Chinese aid to Armenia has totaled at least $50 million since 2012. In
addition, the Chinese government has spent over $12 million on building and
equipping a school in Yerevan where hundreds of Armenian children study the
Chinese language.
Pashinian attended the inauguration of the Chinese-Armenian Friendship School
in August last year. Speaking at the opening ceremony, he said that having many
Chinese speakers is an “economic necessity” for Armenia.
Armenia - The newly constructed Chinese-Armenian Friendship School in Yerevan,
22 August 2018.
China is Armenia’s second largest trading partner. According to official
Armenian statistics, Chinese-Armenian trade soared by over 29 percent in 2018,
to $771 million. Exports of Chinese goods to Armenia accounted for 86 percent
of that figure.
Xi was reported to tell Pashinian that China is ready to participate in major
infrastructure projects in Armenia such as the ongoing reconstruction of the
country’s highways stretching from Iran to Georgia. A Chinese company is
already carrying out highway upgrades in the northwestern Shirak region.
Pashinian said Yerevan is interested in the implementation of “joint projects”
as part of Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road program to re-create the old Silk
Road.
According to the Armenian government statement, the two leaders also discussed
international security issues and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
As part of his working visit to Beijing, Pashinian will attend and address on
Wednesday the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations organized by the
Chinese government.
Kocharian Again Rejects ‘Political’ Charges
• Naira Bulghadarian
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Supporters and critics of former President Robert Kocharian
demosntrate outside a court building in, Yerevan,.
Armenia’s imprisoned former President Robert Kocharian continued to deny on
Tuesday corruption and coup charges brought against him as politically
motivated on the second day of his trial.
Kocharian claimed that a criminal investigation into the 2008 post-election
violence in Yerevan has been “directed” by the current government.
“A deliberate, biased, premeditated investigation is conducted,” he told a
district court in the Armenian capital. “Your honor, this is how the whole case
has been handled. This is the essence of the case.”
Kocharian, 64, spoke as he and his lawyers made a fresh attempt to have him
freed from custody pending the outcome of what promises to be a lengthy trial.
Prosecutors continued to oppose Kocharian’s release, however. One of them,
Petros Petrosian, argued that he expressed a desire to leave the country after
being set free in August.
Also asking the presiding judge, Davit Grigorian, to free Kocharian were
Nagorno-Karabakh’s President Robert Kocharian and his predecessor Arkadi
Ghukasian. According to the lawyers, they are ready to not only post bail but
also guarantee in writing that the ex-president would not obstruct justice if
set free.
Grigorian responded by saying that both Sahakian and Ghukasian must come to the
court and personally offer such guarantees. He said that this is a legal
requirement.
Sahakian and Ghukasian already urged Kocharian’s release in a letter to
Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian sent last week. Davtian’s office said he is no
longer in a position to grant such requests because the case has already been
sent to the court.
The current and former Karabakh leaders cited Kocharian’s “huge contribution”
to the Armenian victory in the 1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan. The latter ran
Karabakh before becoming Armenia’s president in 1998.
ARMENIA -- Armenian ex-president Robert Kocharian attends a hearing at a court
in Yerevan, .
Earlier in on Monday, Grigorian rejected the lawyers’ demand that another judge
preside over the trial. They claimed that Grigorian is susceptible to pressure
from the prosecution.
The judge’s decision on whether or not Kocharian should remain under arrest
will be followed by the main hearings in the trial of the ex-president as well
as his former chief of staff Armen Gevorgian and retired Generals Seyran
Ohanian and Yuri Khachaturov.
They stand accused of overthrowing the constitutional order in the wake of a
disputed presidential election held in February 2008. All four defendants deny
the charges.
Kocharian and Gevorgian have also been charged with bribery. They deny these
accusations as well.
As the high-profile trial entered its second day dozens of supporters and
detractors of Kocharian rallied outside the court building, shouting insults at
each other. Riot police kept the rival groups apart.
The anti-Kocharian protesters included Vardges Gaspari, a prominent activist
who was attacked inside the building on Monday after displaying a poster that
branded the ex-president a “murderer.” One Kocharian supporter ripped up the
poster while another hit Gaspari with a bottle.
Several Kocharian supporters were briefly detained and questioned afterwards.
Among them was the official owner of a pro-Kocharian TV channel. It was not
clear whether the police will move to prosecute any of them.
“I regret everything, I’m against violence, any violence,” Kocharian’s son
Levon told RFE/RL’s Armenian service when asked to comment on the incident. He
at the same time condemned Gaspari for trying to bring the “offensive” poster
into the courtroom.
Press Review
“Haykakan Zhamanak” is worried about increasingly visible friction between the
leaders of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. “It is hard to tell whether this
process is being steered from abroad or whether [Armenia’s] former rulers are
using the Karabakh factor to achieve a revanche,” writes the pro-government
paper. “But the fact is that all this is not only dangerous but also
illogical.” It says that since Armenia and Karabakh have a common defense,
financial and economic systems “radical changes” taking place in Armenia should
also spread to Karabakh. “Or else, a rift would be inevitable,” it warns.
“That the current authorities in Artsakh mirror Armenia’s former ruling regime
is not only not a secret but also an obvious truth,” writes “Zhamanak.” The
only difference, the paper says, is that the Karabakh leadership has enjoyed
“warms attitudes” by the people of Armenia. “However, the latest events leave
the impression that some people or groups are trying waste or misappropriate
that warm association,” it says. “Counterrevolution cannot enter or even look
for a chance in Artsakh for the simple reason that it cannot occur in Armenia
either. An undesirable event that cannot happen in Armenia also cannot happen
in Artsakh.”
“Zhoghovurd” quotes Pashinian as telling a Russian TV channel that he and his
associates spent only around $200,000 on last year’s “velvet revolution” in
Armenia. “We asked people [to donate cash,] we had an electronic wallet, and
Armenians from around the world, mostly from Russia, sent us money,” he said.
“With this statement the Armenian prime minister effectively put an end to
manipulations that have been consistently carried out over the past year,”
comments the paper. “During and after the velvet revolution the former
authorities saved no efforts to tell the Russians that what happened in Armenia
is a ‘color revolution’ and that the West is behind it. Right from the
beginning, the revolution leader, Nikol Pashinian, made clear that this
struggle has no geopolitical context. Furthermore, his one-year premiership has
demonstrated that … Armenia’s friendship with Russia has deepened further.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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