Author: Bedik Zaminian

 15:29,

YEREVAN, MAY 28, ARMENPRESS. The return of Armenian captives from Azerbaijan is a matter of time, it is one of the factors with which Azerbaijan wants to have an impact on the upcoming snap parliamentary elections of Armenia, Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the meeting with the members of the Civil Contract party in Kanaker-Zeytun administrative district.

“The issue of captives is our most painful matter. It is a matter of time. We are making daily efforts for the return of captives, without any exaggeration. Of course, every day for them and their family members is a very serious threat and trial. And my conviction is that it is a matter of time and I am mostly sure that this process will intensify after the elections because the factor of captives and other factors are being used for having an impact on the outcomes of the elections in Armenia. And this is also the reason why they are not returning [the captives]. I don’t say that this is the only reason, but is one of the reasons”, he said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 12:08,

YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. The chair of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs Ruben Rubinyan from the ruling My Step bloc doesn’t rule out that Armenia could potentially apply to the CSTO also by invoking Article 4 amid the Azerbaijani military encroachment against Armenia.

Speaking to reporters, Rubinyan commented on the opposition’s opinions as to why should allies step in and help if Armenia itself is not repelling the Azeri incursion militarily. “First of all, it is our allies themselves who’ve urged us and continue urging not to escalate the situation and attempt to solve the issue diplomatically and politically. And secondly, the allied formats in which we are involved have clear, envisaged articles for specific cases. And we aren’t asking for help by without doing anything, but we’ve rather applied based on specific documents, under a specific article. Moreover, I am talking about both the application to the CSTO on Article 2 and the prime minister’s letter based on the Armenia-Russia bilateral treaty. And we expect that our allies will support us in solving this issue. Taking into consideration the latest developments, I don’t rule out that we will reach Article 4 and not only,” he said, referring to the fatal shooting of an Armenian serviceman by Azerbaijani troops on May 25.

Rubinyan reiterated that the latest victim was not caused by an accident and that it was one of the manifestations of Azerbaijan’s aggression.

“Our position is the following – the Azerbaijani troops must withdraw from Armenian sovereign territories. Armenia is trying and will try to solve this issue first of all politically and diplomatically, which doesn’t mean that other solutions can’t happen if these fail,” he said, referring to a military solution.

“The current status-quo is definitely unacceptable for us, but the operational situation in those parts is under the control of our troops,” he said.

Armenia has so far only requested the CSTO for assistance under the treaty’s Article 2 – “The Member States shall consult with each other on all important issues of the international security affecting their interests, and coordinate positions on these issues.In case of menace to safety, stability, territorial integrity and sovereignty of one or several Member States or menace to international peace and safety of the Member States shall immediately launch the mechanism of joint consultations for the purpose of their positions coordination, develop and take measures for assistance to such Member States for the purpose of elimination of the arisen menace.”

Article 4 on the other hand says that an attack on a member state is an attack on all members. In the event of an attack, the member states must provide all necessary help, including military support, to the member state under attack in accordance to a formal request.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 16:29,

YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. The inter-agency commission coordinating the actions for ensuring the implementation of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and the Armenia-EU Partnership Priorities document held a session today chaired by caretaker deputy prime minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan, his Office told Armenpress.

The status of the 2020 and 2021 actions and their implementation process relating to migration, public services regulation, territorial administration, waste management, consumer rights protection, digital financing services and road security as envisaged by the CEPA roadmap were reported during the session.

The commission decided to discuss at its next session the draft roadmap over the provisions of the Agreement which entered into force from March 1, 2021, noting that the European side will soon provide its notifications over the draft.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 17:41,

YEREVAN, MAY 19, ARMENPRESS.  A consultation took place today chaired by caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on economic issues.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, before starting the consultation, Nikol Pashinyan referred to the situation in Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces.

‘’The Defense Ministry provides information to the public on daily basis. The situation is stable but tense, and I have to emphasize, unacceptable for us, because our position is clear and unequivocal – the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces must withdraw from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. Of course, our Armed Forces carry out tactical maneuver, but our position is that this situation should be solved by diplomatic means, peacefully. This is our priority approach and goal.

You know that we have applied to the Collective Security Treaty Organization for implementing some of its functions”, Pashinyan said, noting that though the processes do not go on at desired pace, the CSTO has the security tools and the Armenian side will continue making constant efforts for putting them into operation. ”We will also continue our diplomatic efforts for providing the international community complete information and increasing the international pressure on Azerbaijan”, Pashinyan said, adding that the works with Armenia’s strategic ally Russia will continue. ”You know that I have turned to the Russian President for assistance and consultations in this direction will also continue”, he said.

Speaking about the activities of Azerbaijan, Nikol Pashinyan named them unconstructive. ”They are taking measures for increasing regional tensions. Our assessment is that by this act they are trying to thwart the implementation of November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021 statements. I want to remind that the statements are about the opening of regional communications and solution of transit cargo issues. I want to emphasize that the Republic of Armenia is not only interested in the opening of the regional communications, but we consider this one of our economic priorities. But I want to emphasize once again that Armenia has never and will never discuss anything in the logic of the ”corridor”. We are speaking about the opening of regional infrastructures”, caretaker Prime Minister Pashinyan said, expressing surprise over the Azerbaijani provocation, which took place in a period when it seemed that the trilateral commission led by the Deputy PMs of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan was carrying out quite constructive and effective works.

 19:04,

YEREVAN, MAY 17, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Defense Minister of Armenia Vagharshak Harutyunyan held a phone conversation with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu on May 17.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Armenia, Harutyunyan presented to his Russian counterpart the situation created as a result of the Azerbaijani provocation. The Armenian Defense Minister informed that despite some Azerbaijani servicemen have returned to their initial positions as a result of the negotiations, some of them continue to remain in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, which means that the issue has not been solved yet. Vagharshak Harutyunyan assessed the encroachments on the sovereign territory of Armenia inadmissible, stressing that the future developments of the situation can lead to unpredictable developments.

The Russian Defense Minister assured that the issue is in the focus of the military-political leadership of Russia and that official Moscow will make all necessary efforts for a peaceful solution of the situation.

 15:20,

STEPANAKERT, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS. Deposits by companies and individuals in Artsakh’s banks and branches stood at 133 billion 536,4 million drams as of May 1 against the 128 billion 987 million drams of 2020’s May 1 (recording a 3,5% growth against last year, and 4,3% growth against last month, and 10,3% growth against February and March), according to the Artsakh National Statistical Service.

According to the data, the time deposit indicators in commercial banks (branches) grew 6,5% against February, 5,7% against March and 0,1% against April. Demand deposits also grew, with 37,5% growth recorded against last year, 31,2% growth against March of the current year, 34,3% and 24,6% against February and April.

As of May 1, credit investments stood at 121 billion 331,3 million drams against the previous year’s same period of 204 billion 122,7 million drams. The loan overdue indicator in the reporting period stood at 2 billion 284,5 million drams against the 547,6 million drams of 2020’s same period, and the 170,8 million drams of the previous month.

The volume of extended loans comprised 9 billion 686,7 million drams as of May 1, against April’s 12 billion 476,8 million drams and the 413,6 million drams recorded in May 1 of 2020.

The total volume of loans comprised 132 billion 637,2 drams as of May 1 against the 205 billion 83,9 million drams of 2020’s same period.

Editing by Stepan Kocharyan