Tuesday,
Armenian Lawmaker Fined Over Beach Party
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- Parliament deputy Hayk Sargsian is seen sitting behind the bar at a
beach club, July 26, 2020.
Armenian authorities have fined a pro-government parliamentarian and shut down a
lakeside resort where he partied at the weekend in breach or coronavirus safety
rules set by the government.
The late-night party featuring live music took place at a beach club located on
the northern shore of Lake Sevan. Photographs and videos posted on social media
showed Hayk Sargsian, a 27-year-old lawmaker affiliated with Armenia’s ruling My
Step bloc, and dozens of other young people wearing no face masks and not
observing social distancing there.
This caused a media uproar in the country which has had one of the highest
coronavirus infection rates in the world. The Armenian government has for months
been trying to curb the spread of the disease by enforcing strict anti-epidemic
rules. Sargsian himself urged Armenians earlier this summer to comply with the
rules requiring them wear masks in all public spaces.
The lawmaker, who is no stranger to controversy, said on Monday that police have
fined him and the other revelers. He also apologized to the government for
causing “such a big and unnecessary rumpus.”
Sargsian claimed that he only briefly failed to put on a mask. However, the
widely publicized images suggest that he was not masked throughout the beach
party.
A pop singer who performed at the event said he was told that it was allowed by
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian, who coordinates the government’s response
to the coronavirus outbreak. A spokesman for Avinian insisted, however, that his
office did not issue such permission.
The office shut down the Spitak Shorzha beach club for two weeks on Tuesday,
saying that it violated a government ban on live performances and mass
gatherings and failed to enforce other coronavirus safety rules.
The club manager, Vartan Simonian, denounced the measure as disproportionate,
saying that he will appeal against it. He said that the controversial party was
organized by another private firm.
Some media outlets claimed that Spitak Shorzha is owned by Sargsian. They seized
upon a Facebook photo of the young lawmaker sitting behind the club bar and
using what looked like a computer cash register.
Sargsian, whose twin brother Nairi is an aide to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian,
denies fully or partly owning the resort.
The chief of the Armenian police, Vahe Ghazarian, has also faced media
accusations of breaking the government rules. The “Hraparak” daily reported that
Ghazarian and dozens of other police officers dined late last week at a
restaurant outside Yerevan.
“It was a protocol event, not a restaurant party,” a police spokesman insisted
on Tuesday.
Ghazarian’s predecessor was sacked by Pashinian less than two months ago for
failing to properly enforce the coronavirus-related state of emergency in the
country.
Thousands of Armenians have since been fined by the police for not wearing face
masks. The authorities have also temporarily shut down scores of restaurants,
manufacturing firms and other businesses not following the anti-epidemic rules.
In early June, Pashinian also fired Armenia’s top army general, Artak Davtian,
one day after the latter hosted his son’s wedding party attended by dozens of
guests.
Pashinian Rejects Harsh Criticism From Kremlin Media Chief
• Heghine Buniatian
Russia -- President Vladimir Putin and Russia Today (RT) editor-in-chief
Margarita Simonyan attend an exhibition marking the 10th anniversary of RT,
December 10, 2015.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has rejected allegations by one of the most
influential figures in Russia’s state-run media that he has been undermining
Russian-Armenian relations and supporting Western-funded groups hostile to
Moscow.
Margarita Simonyan, the ethnic Armenian chief editor of the television network
RT and several other Kremlin-funded media outlets, accused Pashinian last week
of turning Armenia into a “bridgehead of anti-Russian forces in the Caucasus.”
In a social media post, Simonyan pointed to Yerevan’s failure to formally
recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and controversial coup charges brought
against former Armenian President Robert Kocharian. She charged that Pashinian
“spat in the face of your Russian friends” by having “Russia’s perennial ally”
jailed two years ago.
Simonyan also claimed that Pashinian has “inundated” Armenia with
non-governmental organizations that are “training young people how to overthrow
the government in Russia.”
Pashinian rejected the accusations in an interview with RBC, a private Russian
TV channel, aired on Tuesday.
The prime minister argued, in particular, that most Armenian NGOs funded by
Western governments or private donors were set up when he Armenia was governed
by Kocharian or his successor Serzh Sarkisian. “If [Kocharian and Sarkisian]
were so pro-Russian why did they not shut down those organizations?” he asked.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is interviewed by Russian RBC TV,
Yerevan, July 25, 2020.
Turning to the high-profile case against Kocharian, Pashinian said: “They should
realize in Russia that Russia’s [main] ally in Armenia is not Pashinian,
Petrosian, Poghosian, Kocharian or Sarkisian. Russia’s ally and partner is the
Armenian people. This is a very importance nuance.”
Russia and Armenia, Pashinian went on, have long maintained close political,
economic and military ties because of their “common strategic interests,” rather
than certain individuals. He said that contrary to some gloomy Russian forecasts
he has not changed his country’s geopolitical orientation since coming to power
in the “Velvet Revolution” of April-May 2018.
Kocharian, who ruled the South Caucasus state from 1998-2008, was first arrested
in July 2018 on coup charges strongly denied by him. The Russian Foreign
Ministry denounced the criminal case as politically motivated at the time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly signaled support for Kocharian
since then. During an October 2019 visit to Yerevan, Putin made a point of
meeting with the ex-president’s wife Bella.
Armenia -- Former President Robert Kocharian speaks during his trial, Yerevan,
.
Armenia’s Court of Appeals released Kocharian from custody on bail late last
month. Prosecutors appealed against the ruling.
Speaking to the Russian broadcaster, Pashinian also praised Russia’s “absolutely
constructive” role in international efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. In that context, he implicitly urged Moscow to counter what he
described as Turkey’s efforts to fan Armenian-Azerbaijani tensions and
eventually “take control of the Caucasus.”
“If that becomes a reality, I think it is first and foremost clear to the
Russians what geopolitical consequences that would have,” he said.
“Russia cannot stay away from these events [in the conflict zone] because at
stake are vital interests of not only Armenia but also the Russian Federation,”
added the Armenian leader.
Armenian Military To ‘Closely’ Watch Turkish-Azeri Drills
• Sargis Harutyunyan
• Aza Babayan
Armenia - An Armenian soldier stands guard on the border with Azerbaijan's
Nakhichevan exclave, 14 May 2016.
The Armenian military said on Tuesday that it will closely watch joint
Turkish-Azerbaijani war games that will start on Wednesday two weeks after
deadly fighting on Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan.
“Armenia’s Defense Ministry and Armed Forces will be very attentively monitoring
the course of and trends in joint Azerbaijani-Turkish military exercises
scheduled for July 29 to August 10,” the ministry spokeswoman, Shushan
Stepanian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan told the Russian ambassador in Yerevan, Sergei
Kopyrkin, later in the day that Armenian army units as well as a
Russian-Armenian military contingent are “continuing to constantly monitor and
analyze” Turkish-Azerbaijani military activities “with all reconnaissance means”
at their disposal. They remain “prepared for any development of the situation,”
Tonoyan said, according to his press office.
The exercises will reportedly involve heavy artillery, warplanes and helicopter
gunships and take place in various parts of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani and
Turkish militaries have not specified the number of participating troops.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Monday that ground forces of the two
states will simulate joint operations in Baku and Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan
exclave from August 1-5. It said separate drills involving the Turkish and
Azerbaijani air forces will be held in these and three other locations from July
29 through August 10.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the drills. A ministry
spokeswoman said they are part of Baku’s “provocative actions” aimed at
obstructing international mediators’ efforts to de-escalate the situation at the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border and kick-start talks on resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
At least 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including a general, and five Armenian
soldiers were killed during several days of heavy fighting that broke out at a
western section of the volatile frontier on July 12.
Azerbaijan -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, poses for photos
with Azeri and Turkish army commanders during a summit of Turkic states in Baku,
October 15, 2019.
Turkey has blamed Armenia for the flare-up and vowed to boost its military and
diplomatic support for Azerbaijan. Yerevan has responded by accusing Ankara of
trying to destabilize the region.
Hours after the announcement of the Turkish-Azerbaijani exercises, Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan telephoned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin
to discuss the Armenian-Azerbaijani border clashes. According to the Kremlin,
Putin “stressed the importance of preventing any steps that could cause an
escalation in tensions” in the Karabakh conflict zone.
Arkady Dubnov, an independent Russian political analyst, said on Tuesday that
Russia continues to regard the region as its geopolitical backyard and would
therefore not tolerate Turkish military intervention in the long-running
conflict.
“Erdogan certainly realizes that this would be simply unacceptable to Moscow,”
Dubnov told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.
Dubnov suggested that Erdogan assured Putin on Monday that the upcoming
exercises are not a prelude to Turkish military presence in Azerbaijan and will
not degenerate into a Turkish-Azerbaijani offensive against Armenia. The war
games are first and foremost a publicity stunt designed to cement Erdogan’s
self-image as “the supreme Islamic leader of the world,” speculated the pundit.
Russia is allied to Armenia and has thousands of troops stationed in the South
Caucasus state. The current and former Armenian governments have regarded the
Russian military presence as a vital safeguard against possible Turkish
aggression.
Turkey refused to establish diplomatic relations and open its border with
Armenia at the start of the 1991-1994 war in Karabakh. Erdogan and his
predecessors have made the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations
conditional on a Karabakh settlement sought by Baku. Yerevan has always rejected
this precondition.
Putin, Erdogan Discuss Armenian-Azeri Tensions
RUSSIA -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan
leave after their joint news conference following the talks in Moscow, March 5,
2020
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned against attempts to further heighten
tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone when he spoke with his Turkish
counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan by telephone on Monday.
The two men discussed the recent deadly clashes on the border between Armenia
and Azerbaijan during the phone conversation which the Kremlin said took place
“at the initiative of the Turkish side.”
“Vladimir Putin stressed the importance of preventing any steps that could cause
an escalation in tensions,” the Kremlin reported in a statement.
“Both presidents spoke in favor of resolving the conflict through peaceful
means, through talks.They expressed their readiness to coordinate efforts to
stabilize the region,” it said.
Erdogan’s office also said the two leaders talked about the “Armenia-Azerbaijan
tension” but gave no details.
Turkey has blamed Armenia for the hostilities on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border
which broke out on April 12 and continued for several days, leaving at least 17
soldiers from both sides dead. It has pledged to continue to strongly support
Azerbaijan in the Karabakh conflict, including with military assistance.
Meeting with senior Azerbaijani military officials on July 16, Turkish Defense
Minister Hulusi Akar vowed that Armenia will be “brought to account” and “will
be drowned under this plot.” Erdogan’s National Security Council said afterwards
that Ankara “will support any decision by Azerbaijan.”
Armenia has condemned these unusually strongly-worded statements that raised the
possibility of Turkish intervention in the Karabakh conflict. It has branded
Turkey a “security threat to Armenia and the region.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Ankara to exercise restraint in its
reaction to the Armenian-Azerbaijani skirmishes in a July 23 phone call with his
Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Russia is allied to Armenia and has thousands of troops stationed in the South
Caucasus state. By contrast, Turkey has close ties with Azerbaijan cemented by
ethnic and cultural affinities between the two Turkic nations.
Erdogan phoned Putin hours after it was announced that the Azerbaijani and
Turkish armies will begin on Wednesday joint military exercises in various parts
of Azerbaijan. A short video released by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry showed
a convoy of Turkish military trucks carrying soldiers and heavy weapons entering
Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan region in advance of the drills.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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