Friday, November 3, 2023
Armenian Industrial Output Shrinks Amid Soaring Exports
Amenia - Workers at a textile factory in Vanadzor, August 28, 2023.
Armenia’s industrial production contracted in the first nine months of this year
despite continuing economic growth driven, in large measure, by re-exports of
various goods to sanctions-hit Russia.
The Armenian government’s Statistical Committee put its total amount at 1.84
trillion drams ($4.6 billion), down by 0.6 percent from the same period of 2022.
A downturn in the country’s export-oriented mining sector appears to have been
instrumental in this drop contrasting with double-digit increases in trade,
other services and construction.
The government data shows that wholesale and retail trade is the fastest growing
sector of the domestic economy at present, having expanded by over 23 percent in
January-September amid Armenia’s soaring trade with Russia.
Armenia’s imports and exports jumped by roughly 48 percent, continuing a trend
that began after last year’s Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting
barrage of Western sanctions against Russia. Goods manufactured in Western
countries and their allies and re-exported from Armenia to Russia clearly
accounted for most of this sharp gain. They mainly included second-hand cars and
consumer electronics.
Armenia - Car carrier trailers line up near a customs terminal outside Gyumri,
March 13, 2023
This explains why Armenian exports to Russia tripled in 2022 and doubled in
January-August 2023. During the eight-month period, Russia generated half of
Armenia’s overall export revenue worth $4.6 billion.
Used cars became Armenia’s number one export item in the first half of this
year, according to data from the national customs service reported by Hetq.am.
The South Caucasus country, which has no car industry, exported $311 million
worth of various vehicles, circumventing U.S. and European Union bans on their
shipments to Russia. Also, its first-half exports of mobile phones, TV sets and
other electronics totaled $332 million.
The re-exports, coupled with other cash inflows from Russia, are the main reason
why the Armenian economy expanded by 12 percent in 2022. The Armenian government
and the Central Bank have forecast a 7 percent growth rate for this year.
The re-exports prompted concern from EU and especially U.S. officials earlier
this year. They pressed the authorities in Yerevan to comply with the Western
sanctions. The authorities introduced in May mandatory government licenses for
shipments of microchips, transformers, video cameras, antennas and other
electronic equipment to Russia.
Armenian Leaders Hit Back At Moscow
Armenia - Parliament speaker Alen SImonian chairs a session of the National
Assembly, November 24, 2022.
Armenia’s political leadership rejected on Friday Russia’s latest claims that it
is systematically “destroying” relations between the two longtime allies.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, made the claims on
Thursday when she condemned a senior Armenian official’s participation in
Western-backed peace talks on the conflict Ukraine and meeting with the chief of
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s staff. She called it a “demonstrative
anti-Russian gesture of official Yerevan.”
Alen Simonian, the Armenian parliament speaker and a leading member of the
ruling Civil Contract party, scoffed at Zakharova’s criticism. He suggested that
Moscow does not want Yerevan to “communicate with partners on multilateral
platforms” and is trying to maintain Armenia’s “existential dependence” on
Russia.
“This is apparently the ‘right allied’ approach,” Simonian wrote in a Telegram
post.
Echoing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s recent statements, Simonian also
accused the Russians of not honoring their security commitments to Armenia and
recalled their past large-scale arms deals with Azerbaijan.
Another member of Pashinian’s political team, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan,
dismissed Zakharova’s complaints that Armenia’s state television and other
pro-government media outlets have been spreading “Russophobic” propaganda.
“We believe that what our Russian partners are surprised by is the consequence
of what we have seen on various [Russian] airwaves,” Mirzoyan told Armenian
lawmakers.
He also said that the Armenian government hopes to mend fences with Moscow and
“move on like partners.” “But not everything depends on one side,” added
Mirzoyan.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier deplored “a series of unfriendly steps”
taken by Pashinian’s administration. Those included his assertion Armenia’s
military alliance with Russia has proved a “strategic mistakes” and Yerevan’s
acceptance of jurisdiction of an international court that issued an arrest
warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March.
For its part, the Armenian side has held Moscow responsible for Azerbaijan’s
recent military offensive that led to the mass of exodus of Nagorno-Karabakh’s
ethnic Armenian population.
The deepening rift is raising growing questions about Armenia’s continued
membership in Russian-led defense and trade blocs. Pashinian said last week that
he is not considering demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Armenia
even if he it sees no “advantages” in their presence.
Armenia ‘Optimistic’ As Turkey’s Erdogan Insists On Corridor For Azerbaijan
• Aza Babayan
• Astghik Bedevian
Turkey - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from
his ruling AK Party, Ankara, October 25, 2023.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan sounded optimistic about the normalization of
Armenia’s relations with Turkey on Friday just as Turkish President Erdogan
Recep Tayyip again demanded that Yerevan open a special transport corridor for
Azerbaijan.
Speaking at a summit of the leaders of Turkic states in Kazakhstan, Erdogan
hailed Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 military operation that led to the exodus of
Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population and restored Azerbaijani control
over the territory.
“Azerbaijan put an end to the 30-year occupation of Karabakh and we are very
happy with and proud of this historic achievement,” he said. “Armenia must
fulfill its obligations to Azerbaijan. This includes the opening of a transport
corridor that will connect Nakhichevan to western regions of Azerbaijan.”
Erdogan said the corridor sought by Baku is important also because it would link
Turkey to Central Asia which he described as “our ancestral homeland.”
Ankara set this as a key precondition when it started normalization talks with
Yerevan in early 2022. The Armenian government has ruled out any
extraterritorial corridors to Nakhichevan that would pass through Armenia’s
Syunik province bordering Iran.
The normalization process essentially stalled last year even though the two
sides reached an agreement to open the Turkish-Armenian border for their
diplomatic passport holders and citizens of third countries.
“I want to express optimism that we may have some good news on this front in the
near future,” Mirzoyan told Armenian lawmakers. He did not elaborate.
Speaking in the National Assembly earlier this week, Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian similarly expressed hope that the border agreement will be implemented
soon.
Pashinian attended Erdogan’s inauguration in June. His domestic critics
denounced the move, saying that Ankara will not unconditionally normalize
Turkish-Armenian relations even after his unilateral concessions.
Another interim agreement reached by Turkish and Armenian negotiators last year
called for air freight traffic between the two neighboring nations. There have
been no signs of its implementation, even though the Turkish government
officially allowed cargo shipments by air to and from Armenia in January 2023.
German FM Calls For Renewed Armenian-Azeri Talks
• Nane Sahakian
Armenia - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at a news conference with
her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, November 3, 2023.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to
resume peace talks mediated by the European Union when she visited Yerevan on
Friday.
“Germany supports the territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and this
must be the basis for all peace negotiations,” Baerbock said after meeting with
her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan.
“I believe that European Council President Charles Michel’s efforts could serve
as a bridge for establishing peace between the two countries. Therefore, the
start of a new round of negotiations is important,” she told a joint news
conference.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
had been scheduled to meet, together with Michel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
and French President Emmanuel Macron, in Spain on October 5. Aliyev withdrew
from the talks at the last minute, citing pro-Armenian statements made by French
officials.
Michel said afterwards that the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders will likely
hold a trilateral meeting with him in Brussels later in October. That meeting
did not take place either.
A senior Armenian lawmaker suggested on Monday that Aliyev is now reluctant to
hold further talks with Pashinian to finalize an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
accord backed by the EU and the United States. The deal would commit Baku to
explicitly recognizing Armenia’s current borders.
“Unfortunately, we still have serious concerns that … Azerbaijan still has, in
one way or another, territorial claims to Armenia,” Mirzoyan said during the
press conference with Baerbock.
There are lingering fears in Yerevan that Azerbaijan could invade Armenia to
open a land corridor to its Nakhichevan exclave. Baerbock, who was due to
proceed to Azerbaijan on Saturday, declined to say whether Germany would support
a freeze on imports of Azerbaijani gas and oil or other EU sanctions against
Baku in the event of such invasion. She spoke out against any further
“escalation in this region.”
The German minister was also careful not to repeat her earlier condemnations of
Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh that forced the
region’s ethnic Armenian population to flee to Armenia. She said only that the
more than 100,000 Karabakh Armenians “left their homeland for security reasons”
and praised the Armenian government’s response to the exodus. Baerbock also
announced that Berlin will provide 9.3 million euros ($10 million) in additional
humanitarian aid to the refugees.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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