Author: Bedik Zaminian

Armenpress: Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan deputy prime ministerial task force clarifies approaches on customs and other control issues

Bedik Zaminian

Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan deputy prime ministerial task force clarifies approaches on border and other control issues 

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 11:48, 4 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS. The 10th meeting of the trilateral working group chaired by Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan – Mher Grigoryan, Alexei Overchuk and Shahin Mustafayev, dealing with the unblocking of regional communications, was held in Moscow on June 3, the Armenian government’s press service said. 

The sides discussed and clarified their approaches on border, customs and other types of control, as well as the secure passing of citizens, vehicles and cargo through the territories of Armenia and Azerbaijan, through the roads and railways.

Views were exchanged also on the possible routes of the road ensuring transportation communication between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic via the territory of Armenia.

The sides will continue working towards the implementation of the agreements reached by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan over the unblocking of transportation ties in the region.

Iran attaches importance to good-neighborly relations with Armenia

Bedik Zaminian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – June 2 2022
June 2, 2022, 11:14

 1 minute read

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told his Armenian counterpart that Iran considers Armenia a friendly and close country and attaches importance to good-neighborly relations with Armenia.

Speaking in a phone call with the President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan on Thursday, Raisi described the continuous consultations between Iran and Armenia a sign of the importance and depth of friendly relations between the two countries.

“Protecting the geopolitics of the region, including international borders, respecting the national sovereignty of countries, and strengthening communication infrastructure between the regions is the principle of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian President added.

He also called for expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Iran and Armenia in the fields of energy and transportation, saying that these ties will strengthen peace, stability, economic and trade prosperity in the region.

“Iran supports the progress in the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he pointed out, expressing hope that the remaining issues in this regard would be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the principles of international law and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries.

The President of Armenia, for his part, presented a report on the implemented agreements and appreciated the principled positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran on regional developments, describing Iran’s role in the region as important and effective.

Expressing his country’s interest in expanding economic, trade, political, and cultural cooperation with Iran, Khachaturyan said that the regular meetings of the joint commission on economic cooperation between the two countries will definitely facilitate and accelerate the expansion of relations between Iran and Armenia.

He also welcomed the holding of the 3+3 summit in Tehran as soon as possible.

Stepanakert does not comment on reports about Harutyunyan and Pashinyan meeting

Bedik Zaminian
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 2 2022
17:10, 02.06.2022

The press secretary of the President of Artsakh Lusine Avanesyan in conversation with the reporter of NEWS.am neither refuted, nor confirmed that President Arayik Harutyunyan had a meeting with the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan today.

“Such rumors have no comment,” Lusine Avanesyan said.

According to the rumors circulated in the media, Artsakh President arrived in Armenia and met with Prime Minister Pashinyan in the government building.

According to these sources, the reason for the meeting was a crowded rally in Stepanakert on 28 May, where Artsakh people chanted “Nikol the traitor,” and Pashinyan found the speeches and appeals made during the rally in connection with the defense of Artsakh problematic.

Second meeting of Armenian, Azerbaijani border commissions could take place in Moscow next week

Bedik Zaminian
Public Radio of Armenia
May 25 2022

The second meeting of the commissions of Armenia and Azerbaijan on border delimitation will be held in Moscow next week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told journalists of Wednesday.

“It will take place next week, we hope,” he said, TASS reports.

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan’s Office has confirmed that the second meeting will take place in Moscow but the date is yet to be determined.

The meeting of the trilateral working group on opening of regional communications could also take place in Moscow next week, the Deputy PM’s Office said.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev was held on the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday.

The sides reiterated their readiness to work on delimitation and other relevant issues, including border security issues within the commissions.

Putin sees no problem with IT specialists moving to Armenia

Bedik Zaminian
PanARMENIAN
May 26 2022
May 26, 2022 – 18:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he does not see a problem with IT specialists moving to Armenia, TASS reports.

Speaking at the first Eurasian Economic Forum, Putin recounted how he discussed the development of high technologies with colleagues from Kazakhstan and Armenia, but not because “some section of [Russia’s] IT community have moved to Armenia.”

“Well, they moved, and thank God, let them work,” Putin said.

At the same time, he believes that such a situation is “to a certain extent a challenge” for Russia. “We must create better conditions,” Putin explained.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the unprecedented Western sanctions against Russia have made many Russian businesses flee their home country and settle in Armenia. The Ministry of Economy has published a guide for businesses seeking to relocate to Armenia, also setting up a working group to answer queries.

PM Pashinyan highlights clear position of United States in NK conflict settlement

Bedik Zaminian

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 13:42, 26 May 2022

YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting with United States Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy.

During the meeting the Prime Minister underscored the intensification of the Armenia-United States cooperation and strategic dialogue and attached importance to the clear position of the United States as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairing country in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement issue, which contributes to regional stability, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

PM Pashinyan said that the Armenian Government is guided by the agenda of establishing peace and highly values the continuous support to this process by international partners, including the United States.

Ambassador Tracy thanked the Prime Minister for the appreciation and reiterated the readiness of the United States to continue supporting the democratic reforms in Armenia, the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and establishing regional stability. In this context Ambassador Tracy mentioned the recent call between the Armenian PM and the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and praised the Armenian Ambassador to United States Lilit Makunts’ efforts for intensifying the bilateral relations.

The sides also exchanged views over the Armenia-United States relations agenda.

Armenia urges Azerbaijan against "warmongering, expansionist" rhetoric

Bedik Zaminian
PanArmenian
Armenia –
– 15:23 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia has urged Azerbaijan against disrupting discussions between the two countries with “warmongering, expansionist rhetoric”.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Friday, May 27 made more territorial claims against Armenia, claiming that “the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic handed over our ancient city – Yerevan – to Armenia in 1920.”

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday Aliyev’s statements demonstrate the non constructive approach, the arbitrary, false interpretation of the agreements, and the continuation of aggressive and warmongering policy by the Azerbaijani side.

“The aspirations towards the sovereign territory of the neighboring country and standing from the position of use of force to achieve these goals are nothing but a contempt for the norms of international law, which seriously question the sincerity of Azerbaijan’s intentions to achieve peace in the region,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia considers it necessary to reiterate its principled position, namely that the negotiations on normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be held on the basis of proposals of both sides, which should address the whole agenda of the issues, including the final settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“With its speculations, the Azerbaijani side attempts to present the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as a territorial dispute while it is about the realization of the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh and the exclusion of the threat of ethnic cleansing.”

The statement reminded that the international mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship received in 1995 to support the comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict does, in fact, exist.

“We call on the leadership of Azerbaijan not to disrupt the discussions conducted in the existing formats with warmongering, expansionist rhetoric,” the statement reads.

“At the same time, we draw the attention of the international community to the statements made by official Baku, and expect the unequivocal attitude of our international partners, which will make it possible to achieve stability and peace in the South Caucasus.”

Turkish press: Armenian protesters block Foreign Ministry in Yerevan

Bedik Zaminian
Ali Murat Alhas and Nuri Aydin   |24.05.2022

FILE PHOTO


ANKARA

Anti-government protesters in the Armenian capital blocked the entrances to the Foreign Ministry.

According to a news report by the Armenian news outlet Armenpress, the protesters led by the vice speaker of parliament, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, gathered in Yerevan’s France Square in the morning to march toward the ministry, chanting slogans.

They blocked the building’s entry and exit ways and then returned to the square after opposition lawmakers Saghatelyani Hayk Mamijanyan and Aram Vardevanyan entered the ministry and conveyed the demonstrators’ message.

Protesters have been holding demonstrations in the capital since May 1. Police authorities had announced earlier that 426 protesters have been taken into custody in the following days.

The opposition members criticize the government for its foreign policy in the region and called on premier Nikol Pashinyan to step down after Azerbaijan’s victory in the Karabakh region and the following negotiations.

Relations between the two former Soviet countries have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

New clashes erupted in September 2020, and the 44-day conflict saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.

A tripartite agreement was brokered by Russia to bring an end to the war in November 2020.

Owner of fire-bombed queer bar wins ECHR case against Armenia

Bedik Zaminian
May 17 2022
 17 May 2022

ByAni Avetisyan
The entrance to the former DIY bar in Yerevan was defaced with Nazi graffiti after it was set on fire. Photo: NG, via ianyanmag.

The former co-owner of a queer-friendly bar in Armenia which was fire-bombed in 2012 has won a case against the government in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The court ordered Armenia to pay Armine Oganezova, who co-owned and managed the DIY bar in Yerevan, €12,000 ($12,600) in compensation plus legal costs for failing to protect her from homophobic abuse.

The ruling on Tuesday coincided with International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, marked annually on 17 May.

DIY bar was set alight in 2012. In the weeks that followed, Oganezova was subjected to a campaign of harassment and intimidation by nationalists, who protested in front of the pub and vandalised what remained after the fire.  After receiving death threats, Oganezova sought asylum in Sweden. 

Two brothers who were members of a neo-Nazi group called Black Ravens Armenia were found guilty of setting the fire. A court in Armenia sentenced them to a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2013, and they were subsequently granted an amnesty.

Oganezova had appealed to the ECHR complaining that the authorities failed to protect her from harassment, attacks, and threats because of her sexual orientation or to investigate her complaints effectively.

She also claimed that the attack was backed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), a nationalist  Armenian party․

The lawyer of one of the men convicted was a member of the party, while ARF MP Artsvik Minasyan paid his bail.

The court noted that the attack on the bar was publicly condoned by leading political figures in Armenia.

‘The importance of the judgement is that it sets a precedent for Armenia’, said Mamikon Hovsepyan, a Yerevan-based queer rights activist. He added that the decision may be significant for the whole of Europe. 

‘We hope that this will force the state to adopt new and relevant laws and the courts to consider the possible consequences before trying to ignore or cover up such cases’, Hovsepyan told OC Media.

Ten years since the arson attack, minority groups in Armenia continue to lack legal protections while queer people are regularly discriminated against and subject to violence and hate speech.

Hovsepyan said that the current government’s pledge to make human rights a priority and to amend laws to this end could at least improve the legal environment for queer people in Armenia. 

The adoption of an anti-discrimination law would be a ‘proper’ response to the European court’s decision, he said. 

‘At present, the overall situation in Armenia is not good [for queer people]’, Hovsepyan said. ‘It’s still very hard for LGBTQ people to live in this society. But we still hope that changes will come with more communication and awareness’. 

‘DIY was a unique place’, he said, adding that more such safe spaces for queer people could make a positive change in the country. 

https://oc-media.org/owner-of-fire-bombed-queer-bar-wins-echr-case-against-armenia/

Azerbaijani press: Vicious circle: Armenian revanchist forces asking for another war

Bedik Zaminian
 19 May 2022 15:37 (UTC+04:00)

By Sabina Mammadli

Armenia’s revenge-seeking opposition forces, made up mainly of the Karabakh clan that are on the streets nowadays, are doing everything possible to derail a possible peace deal with Azerbaijan, thus pushing it into a potential third war.

Since mid-April, Yerevan’s streets have been overwhelmed by protesters, accusing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of plotting to “surrender Karabakh” after he called for the signing of a peace treaty with Baku.

The blood-thirsty opposition is completely rejecting Azerbaijan’s attempts to normalize relations and sign a peace treaty that would pave the way for a new chapter in the region.

Another act of Armenian provocation designed to undermine any effort toward normalization of the ties was the recent discourse of the ex-head of the Main Directorate of Training of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Maj-Gen Valerik Kocharyan. He claimed that Azerbaijan had suffered heavy losses during the second Karabakh war, and therefore, there was no need to hurry for the signing of a peace deal.

As no victory is possible without victims, Azerbaijan’s losses during the 44-day war were inevitable. However, Armenia’s official losses were several times more and the aggressor country cannot yet explain to its own people why seas of blood were shed for the war that was and will always be described as aggressive and go down in history as the war of occupation.

“Why is Azerbaijan in a hurry to sign a peace deal now? They know very well that when Armenians unite, they cannot fight with us. Today we unite around the idea of defending our country and people,” Kocharyan alleged.

It would seem that the 44-day war convinced the opponents of the Pashinyan government about Azerbaijan’s readiness to protect itself and fight for its territorial integrity. However, if that was not persuasive enough to those who want a third war, Azerbaijan is ready for it.

By liberating Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Gubadli, and Shusha, five settlements, about 300 villages, strategic heights, as well as Aghdam, Kalbajar, and Lachin, demonstrating a high-level combat readiness, the Azerbaijani army set an example during the patriotic war.

The mere parallel of the liberated Azerbaijani territories resurrected from the ruins and the ongoing demonstrations of the Armenian opposition demanding revenge, which means new blood and new suffering, convincingly proves that Azerbaijan is after creation, and Armenia is for destruction.

The reality is simple – Azerbaijan is ready for another war but what will the cost of it be for Armenia?

Video chronicles of the 44-day war are documentary evidence of the poor training of the Armenian servicemen. Moreover, any losses suffered by a country during the war must be assessed against the real state of its economy, GDP, and strategic foreign exchange reserves.

In all macroeconomic indicators, Azerbaijan by far outclasses Armenia, whose economy, is on its last leg, having long lost its independence.

Kocharyan is right about one thing: Azerbaijan is really in a hurry to sign a peace deal that opens up the way for achieving a full-fledged peace between the two Caucasus states.

The reason behind this is far different from what the Armenian general implies, the country looks into the future, and wants to work on peaceful construction and ensure further economic development.