Friday,
Putin Again Talks To Armenian, Azeri Leaders
• Aza Babayan
RUSSIA -- Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attend a joint press conference
following a trilateral meeting at the Kremlin, January 11, 2021
In separate phone calls, Russian President Vladimir Putin has again discussed
with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan the implementation of a
Russian-brokered agreement that stopped last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Kremlin reported on Friday that Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian “noted with satisfaction” that the
ceasefire regime in the Karabakh conflict zone is holding and that “the
situation in the region remains by and large stable and calm.”
In a statement, it said both Aliyev and Pashinian praised Russian peacekeeping
forces that were deployed in and around Karabakh after the ceasefire agreement
entered into force on November 10.
“Also touched upon were issues relating to the unblocking of economic and
transport links in the South Caucasus,” the statement said, adding that the
three leaders praised a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani working group formed by
them for that purpose in January.
The group co-headed by deputy prime ministers of the three states has held a
series of meetings on practical modalities of opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border for commercial and other traffic.
It was supposed to submit by March 1 a timetable of “measures envisaging the
restoration and construction of new transport infrastructure facilities.” No
such document has been made public so far.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said earlier on
Friday that both Baku and Yerevan have taken a “constructive approach” to the
work of the trilateral task force.
The truce agreement commits Yerevan to opening rail and road links between the
Nakhichevan exclave and the rest of Azerbaijan that will presumably pass through
Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province. Armenia should be able, for its part, to
use Azerbaijani territory as a transit route for cargo shipments to and from
Russia and Iran.
Zakharova declined to comment on Aliyev’s recent threats to force Yerevan to
open a transport “corridor” between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. Aliyev also
described Syunik as “historical Azerbaijani lands.”
Pashinian Aide ‘Investigated’
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - Deputy Justice Minister Anna Vardapetian is interviewed by RFE/RL's
Armenian Service, July 28, 2019.
Law-enforcement authorities have pledged to look into allegations that an aide
to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is illegally directing a criminal
investigation into a fugitive businessman critical of the Armenian government.
Earlier this week the 168.am news service accused the official, Anna
Vardapetian, of issuing written instructions to the top investigator in the
criminal case opened against the businessman, Ruben Hayrapetian.
Hayrapetian left Armenia for Russia in March last year shortly before he and his
son were charged with kidnapping, violent assault and extortion. Both men deny
the accusations.
The controversial tycoon has long been affiliated with former President Serzh
Sarkisian’s Republican Party. He headed the Football Federation of Armenia from
2002-2018.
The online publication published on Wednesday what it described as screenshots
of an e-mail sent by Vardapetian to Artur Ayvazian, a senior Investigative
Committee official in charge of the high-profile case. It claimed that the
letter contained instructions regarding Hayrapetian’s indictment.
Hayrapetian’s lawyer, Amram Makinian, was quick to seize upon the allegations
and portray them as further proof that the charges leveled against his client
are politically motivated. He also said Vardapetian committed a crime and must
be prosecuted.
Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General responded by saying that it has
ordered the National Security Service (NSS) to investigate the 168.am claims.
Vardapetian has not commented on the allegations so far. She again could not be
reached for comment on Friday.
The 35-year-old lawyer served as a deputy minister of justice in 2019 and joined
Pashinian’s staff a year ago.
Pashinian’s press secretary, Mane Gevorgian, said on Friday that she will not
comment until the NSS completes the inquiry.
Ayvazian, the law-enforcement official at the center of the scandal, reportedly
told the prosecutors that unknown individuals accessed his e-mail account and
uploaded false information there.
Daniel Ioannisian of the Yerevan-based Union of Informed Citizens, expressed
concern at the allegations and said they must be “comprehensively” investigated.
“They should also confirm or rule out Anna Vardapetian’s possible interference
in other criminal cases and its consequences,” Ioannisian told RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service.
Foreign Minister Denies Coup Attempt In Armenia
UAE -- United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al
Nahyan meets with his Armenian counterpart Ara Ayvazian, Abu Dhabi, March 11,
2021.
Contradicting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian
insisted on Friday that the Armenian military’s unprecedented demands for the
government’s resignation did not amount to a coup attempt.
“Of course, the results of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan had a negative
impact on internal stability in Armenia, but I strongly disagree with the
characterization of the [recent events as an] attempted coup d’état in Armenia,”
Ayvazian told Al-Arabiya television during a visit to the United Arab Emirates.
“This was a kind of political positioning by some members of [the Armenian
army’s] General Staff,” he said in an interview publicized by the Armenian
Foreign Ministry. “They just made a political statement, which is not an
attempted coup in itself. This was also the assessment of different countries
and international organizations.
“There are no elements of a coup d’état in Armenia. Armenia continues to be a
democracy, and the current situation, as I said, will be dealt with according to
democratic standards in our society.”
In a February 25 statement, the Armenian military’s top brass demanded the
resignation of Pashinian and his government, accusing them of putting the
country “on the brink of destruction” after last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinian rejected the demand as an attempt to stage a military coup. He twice
held rallies in Yerevan to counter what he called opposition-backed attempts to
end “the people’s power.”
The prime minister also sacked General Onik Gasparian, the chief of the army’s
General Staff. Gasparian denounced the move as unconstitutional and said he will
challenge it in court.
Pashinian did not accuse the military of trying to seize power when he met on
Wednesday with other generals who signed the February 25 statement. Instead, he
thanked them for their military service.
“I trust in you and believe that you have served the country in good faith,”
added Pashinian.
Armenian Army To Hold Exercises
Armenia -- Smerch multiple-launch systems fire rockets during an Armenian
military exercise, May 21, 2020.
Armenia’s armed forces will hold major military exercises next week for the
first time since the war in Nagorno-Karabakh stopped by a Russian-brokered
ceasefire on November 10.
The Armenian Defense Ministry announced on Friday that the five-day exercises
will start on March 16 and involve 7,500 soldiers, about 100 tanks and armored
vehicles, some 300 artillery and anti-aircraft systems as well as warplanes and
helicopters.
A ministry statement said they will take place in “all operational directions of
the armed forces” in accordance with the Armenian army’s training plan for the
first half of this year.
The statement added that the drills are designed to “check the combat-readiness
of troops” and their ability to “rapidly act in the existing situation.”
Azerbaijan will also hold next week military exercises involving thousands of
soldiers. The Defense Ministry in Baku said earlier this week that they will be
held in unspecified mountainous areas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Friday that
the Azerbaijani war games scheduled for March 15-18 were planned beforehand and
will not jeopardize “stability and security in the region.”
Zakharova declined to comment on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s recent
threats to force Yerevan to open a transport “corridor” between Azerbaijan and
its Nakhichevan exclave passing through Armenia’s Syunik province. Aliyev
described Syunik as “historical Azerbaijani lands.”
During and after last year’s Karabakh war Russia deployed soldiers and border
guards in Syunik to help the Armenian military defend it against possible
Azerbaijani attacks. Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian did not
rule out last month the possibility of more Russian troop deployments to the
area that also borders Iran.
Armenia -- Soldiers at an Armenian military base lined up for inspection, March
9, 2021.
Harutiunian also said that Russia is now helping Armenia restructure and
modernize its armed forces. He said concrete “recommendations” have already been
made on how to rearm the Armenian army but did not give any details.
Incidentally, Harutiunian had another phone call with Russian Defense Minister
Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday. According to the Defense Ministry in Yerevan, they
discussed bilateral military ties and Russia’s ongoing peacekeeping operation in
Karabakh launched immediately after the November ceasefire.
Yerevan announced plans to further deepen Russian-Armenian military cooperation
following the six-week war.
Russian Set To Gain Official Status In Karabakh
• Marine Khachatrian
NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- Russian soldiers of the peacekeeping force man a checkpoint
on a road outside Stepanakert, November 26, 2020
Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have endorsed a proposal to make Russian the
Armenian-populated territory’s second official language.
The measure was proposed last month by three of the five political parties
represented in the Karabakh parliament. One of them, Free Fatherland, is led by
Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president.
Harutiunian’s administration approved this week a relevant bill drafted by the
three parties, paving the way for its passage.
The bill cites Karabakh’s history of “cultural, military and economic links”
with Russia and says that giving Russian an official status would deepen them.
Its proponents have also argued that this would facilitate communication with
Russian soldiers and aid workers deployed in Karabakh after last year’s
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
Some local lawmakers have voiced objections to the bill. They include Metakse
Hakobian of the opposition Artarutyun (Justice) party, one of the bill’s three
co-sponsors.
Hakobian reiterated on Friday that the proposed legislation must be amended to
guarantee the supremacy of the Armenian language. “Russian should have more of a
working than official status and the two languages should not be equated,” she
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Several Karabakh academics have also spoken out against making Russian an
official language. One of them, Yana Avanesian, said the bill in question is
“unfounded” in its current form.
Free Fatherland’s Aram Harutiunian, one of the authors of the bill, insisted
that Armenian will remain Karabakh’s main official language.
“We are not going to immediately switch to Russian,” he said. “We want to solve
a technical issue in the first instance. Namely, to use [Russian] when
necessary.”
Russia’s presence in Karabakh increased dramatically after Moscow brokered a
ceasefire agreement that stopped the six-week war on November 10. The deal led
to the deployment of about 2,000 Russian peacekeeping troops in Karabakh as well
as along a land corridor connecting the disputed territory to Armenia.
The peacekeepers have helped tens of thousands of Karabakh Armenians, who fled
the fighting, to return to their homes.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
