Author: Boshkezenian Garik

                                        Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Armenian FM Phones New Turkish Counterpart
Turkey - New Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stands during a press conference where 
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced the new cabinet, Ankara, June 3, 2023.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his newly appointed Turkish counterpart 
Hakan Fidan discussed efforts to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations in a phone 
call on Wednesday.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry said Mirzoyan congratulated Fidan, who had been 
Turkey's intelligence chief since 2010, on the appointment.
“The sides expressed their readiness to continue working on the full 
normalization of relations between the two countries,” it added in a short 
statement.
No other details were reported. The Turkish Foreign Ministry did not immediately 
issue a statement on the call that took place four days after Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian attended the inauguration of Turkey’s reelected President Recep 
Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.
Mirzoyan visited Turkey and met with Fidan’s predecessor Mevlut Cavusoglu in 
February in the wake of a powerful earthquake in the country’s southeast. He 
said after that trip that Yerevan and Ankara agreed speed up efforts to 
normalize bilateral ties.
The Turkish government has since continued to voice full support for Azerbaijan 
and make the establishment of diplomatic relations with Armenia and the opening 
of the Turkish-Armenian border conditional on Yerevan meeting Baku’s key demands.
Ankara reacted angrily after municipal authorities in Yerevan unveiled in late 
April a monument dedicated to Armenians who had assassinated masterminds and 
perpetrators of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey. It banned Armenian 
airlines from flying over Turkey to third countries and threatened “new 
measures” against Armenia if the monument is not removed soon.
Pashinian described the erection of the monument as a “wrong decision” when he 
spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service last month. Armenian opposition leaders 
condemned his presence at Erdogan’s inauguration ceremony and accused him of 
humiliating Armenia.
Armenia Tightens Controls On Electronics Exports To Russia
        • Robert Zargarian
A silicon wafer containing chips made with IBM Corp's 2-nanometer transistor 
technology, May 6, 2021.
Bowing to apparent Western pressure, Armenia’s government has moved to seriously 
restrict the re-export of electronics products and components to Russia which 
has skyrocketed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Armenia’s trade with Russia, its longtime ally and main trading partner, doubled 
last year and in the first four months of this year amid a barrage of sanctions 
imposed on Moscow by the United States and the European Union. This is the main 
reason why the Armenian economy grew by over 12 percent in 2022.
According to Armenian government data, Armenia’s exports to Russia almost 
tripled in 2022 and nearly quadrupled in January-April 2023. Goods manufactured 
in third countries and re-exported by Armenian firms are believed to have 
accounted for most of that gain.
They include consumer electronics as well as other hi-tech goods and components 
which the Western powers believe could be used by the Russian defense industry. 
The New York Times reported last fall that Armenian imports of processors and 
microchips from the U.S. and the EU rose sharply in January-September 2022. As 
much as 97 percent of those items were re-exported to Russia, it said.
Also, Armenian companies shipped some 53,000 smartphones to Russia in the first 
half of 2022, up from only 745 in the year-earlier period.
U.S. - U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo mees Armenian Deputy Prime 
Minister Mher Grigorian, Washington, April 11, 2023.
These re-exports appear to have prompted serious concern from EU and especially 
U.S. officials. The latter pressed the Armenian government to comply with the 
sanctions during a series of meetings held earlier this year.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on May 22 that despite its “strategic” 
relations with Russia Armenia “cannot afford to be placed under Western 
sanctions.” “Therefore, in our relations with Russia we will act on a scale that 
allows us to avoid Western sanctions,” he told a news conference.
A few days later, Pashinian’s government announced that local exporters will now 
need government permission to deliver microchips, transformers, video cameras, 
antennas and other electronic equipment to Russia. The Armenian Ministry of 
Economy, which proposed the measure, cited the need to prevent the use of such 
items by foreign defense industries.
The Moscow daily Kommersant reported on Wednesday that for the last two weeks 
commercial banks in Armenia as well as Kazakhstan and Hong Kong have frequently 
blocked payments for such supplies wired by Russian buyers.
The Armenian Central Bank essentially confirmed this, saying that the “terms for 
foreign transactions set by all regional banks are being significantly 
tightened.” It claimed that Armenian banks are doing that “on their own.”
“As part of that process, the number of refusals to carry out a certain type of 
transactions may increase if commercial banks … assess those transactions as 
risky,” the Central Bank said in a statement to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Russia - Russian Prime Ministers Mikhail Mishustin meets his Armenian 
counterpart Nikol Pashinian in Sochi, June 7, 2023.
Pashinian and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin made no mention of these 
restrictions in their opening remarks at a meeting held in Sochi on Wednesday. 
They praised the soaring Russian-Armenian trade.
“It is important to maintain this positive momentum and achieve new record 
levels in mutual trade,” Mishustin told Pashinian.
“And this, by the way, helps the Armenian economy a lot because we are having a 
very good economic activity,” Pashinian said for his part.
Armenian Official Warns Azerbaijan
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia -- Parliament deputy Arsen Torosian.
There will be no peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan unless Baku agrees to 
address “the rights and security” of Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian 
population, a senior member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party said on 
Wednesday.
Arsen Torosian, a former health minister who now represents the ruling Civil 
Contract party in the Armenian parliament, responded to Azerbaijani Foreign 
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov’s claims that Yerevan maintains military presence in 
Karabakh and hampering Baku’s dialogue with the Karabakh Armenians.
Bayramov said on Tuesday that these are the main remaining obstacles to the 
signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. The Armenian Foreign Ministry 
did not react to those claims made ahead of a new round of negotiations which 
Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan will start in Washington 
on June 12.
Torosian brushed aside them, insisting that Armenia has no troops in Karabakh 
and is on the contrary pressing for an “international mechanism” for the 
dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert. He said that Armenian and Azerbaijani 
sides have still not agreed on the “parameters” of that mechanism despite making 
major progress towards the peace deal.
“If we, the mediators and Azerbaijan want a lasting peace, then this issue has 
to be addressed,” Torosian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “If the rights and 
security of our compatriots are not ensured in their homeland before or after 
the peace treaty, there will simply be no peace.”
Asked whether or not the planned treaty will make reference to that mechanism, 
Torosian said: “I can’t answer this question. But one thing is clear: if that 
issue is not addressed, then … what’s the point of signing it?”
Pashinian has made clear that Yerevan is ready to recognize Azerbaijani 
sovereignty over Karabakh through the treaty. The Armenian opposition and 
Karabakh’s leadership have denounced this policy change. They maintain that the 
Karabakh Armenians cannot live safely under Azerbaijani rule and would leave 
their homeland in that case.
Kocharian Trial Prosecutors Resign
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- Former President Robert Kocharian and three other former officials 
stand trial in Yerevan, September 17, 2019.
The two lead prosecutors in the marathon trial of former President Robert 
Kocharian have stepped down for unknown reasons.
Gevorg Baghdasarian and Petros Petrosian on Wednesday gave no reason for their 
resignation. Baghdasarian refused to say whether they have disagreements with 
Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetian, who was installed by Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian last September.
Baghdasarian and Petrosian have presented evidence in support of coup and 
corruption charges leveled against Kocharian throughout the trial that began in 
2019.
Kocharian and three other former officials were first prosecuted in connection 
with the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan. Anna Danibekian, a district court 
judge presiding over their trial, acquitted them of “overthrown of the 
constitutional order” in early April 2021 ten days after Armenia’s 
Constitutional Court declared these charges unconstitutional. The prosecutors’ 
appeals against her decision were rejected by higher courts.
Danibekian also ruled at the time that Kocharian and his former chief of staff, 
Armen Gevorgian, will continue to stand trial on separate bribery charges which 
they reject as politically motivated. Court hearings on that case are still 
going on.
Vardapetian has not yet named the new trial prosecutors. One of Kocharian’s 
lawyers, Hayk Alumian, pointed out that they will need some time to familiarize 
themselves with details of the criminal case.
“That’s a great deal of work,” Alumian said, adding that the resignations could 
therefore further drag out Kocharian’s trial.
Kocharian, who is highly critical of Armenia’s current leadership, was first 
arrested in July 2018 shortly after the “velvet revolution” that brought 
Pashinian to power. He was set free on bail in June 2020.
The 68-year-old ex-president is the top leader of the opposition Hayastan 
alliance that finished second in parliamentary elections held in June 2021.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
 

                                        Friday, 
Armenia To Seek U.S.-Based Blogger’s Extradition
        • Naira Bulghadarian
A screenshot of YouTube video posted by Vartan Ghukasian, .
An Armenian law-enforcement agency has decided to ask authorities in the United 
States to extradite a controversial Armenian video blogger charged with 
extortion, calls for violence and contempt of court.
The blogger, Vartan Ghukasian, is a former police officer nicknamed Dog who 
emigrated to the U.S. about a decade ago. Ghukasian has attracted a large 
audience in recent years with his hard-hitting and opinionated comments on 
events taking place in Armenia. Videos posted by him on YouTube have been 
watched by hundreds of thousands of Armenians living in and outside the country 
of about 3 million.
Ghukasian is notorious for routinely using profanities, highly unusual in the 
Armenian public discourse, to attack both Armenia’s current leaders and their 
political foes. He signaled political ambitions when he set up last year a party 
called the Public Voice.
The Investigative Committee claimed recently that Ghukasian demanded $110,000 
from Tigran Arzakantsian, a businessman and fringe politician, in return for not 
making damaging allegations about him and his wife. Arzakantsian refused to pay 
up and complained to law-enforcement authorities instead, according to the 
committee.
The blogger allegedly made similar threats to try to extort at least $60,000 
from the owner of a night club in Yerevan. He was also charged with making 
public calls for violence against various politicians and public figures and 
disrespecting the Armenian judiciary.
A group of Ghukasian’s friends and like-minded individuals in Armenia are facing 
the same charges. At least one of them is held in detention.
The Armenian police issued this week an international arrest warrant for 
Ghukasian approved by a Yerevan court. The Investigative Committee said it will 
ask Interpol to place him on its most wanted list and help arrange his 
extradition from the U.S.
Ghukasian strongly denied the accusations in a YouTube video posted on Thursday. 
He specifically dismissed purported screenshots of text messages exchanged by 
Arzakantsian and a blackmailer and publicized by investigators. He said he can 
prove that a phone number shown in that correspondence is not his.
The blogger also accused the Armenian authorities of trying to discredit him and 
mislead the public.
Red Cross Resumes Medical Evacuations From Karabakh
        • Susan Badalian
Nagorno-Karabakh - A convoy of Red Cross vehicles is seen outside Stepanakert, 
January 4, 2023.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) resumed the evacuation of 
critically ill patients from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia on Friday after a 
one-month hiatus caused by the tightening of Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin 
corridor.
The ICRC has transported scores of such persons to Armenian hospitals since Baku 
effectively blocked Karabakh’s land link with Armenia in December. Only Red 
Cross vehicles as well as convoys of Russian peacekeepers have been able to pass 
through the road.
The ICRC suspended the medical evacuations in late April due to Azerbaijani 
checkpoints that were set up on the road in what Armenia considers a gross 
violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement.
The health authorities in Stepanakert announced on Friday that the ICRC helped 
to transport 15 Karabakh patients to Armenian hospitals. They said 12 other 
Karabakh Armenians were escorted back to Karabakh after undergoing urgent 
medical treatment in Yerevan.
Several dozen other Karabakh residents are still awaiting transfer to Armenia. 
Three of them are in an “extremely severe” condition, according to the Karabakh 
health ministry.
Dozens of others were transported to Yerevan by the Russian peacekeepers this 
month. They included Stepanakert resident Narine Danielian and her 10-year-old 
son suffering from multiple illnesses.
Danielian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that they reached Armenia earlier this 
week in a convoy of three ambulances escorted by Russian servicemen. She said 
they were stopped and had their passports checked at two Azerbaijani checkpoints.
Azerbaijan claims that the checkpoints were set up to stop the transfer of 
weapons from Armenia to Karabakh.
The Armenian side has strongly denied any arms supplies. Russia and the United 
States have also criticized Baku’s move.
U.S. Envoy Again Visits Armenia, Azerbaijan
Armenia - U.S. envoy Louis Bono (left) at a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian, Yerevan, March 7, 2023.
A U.S. special envoy for Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations has again visited 
Armenia and Azerbaijan for further discussions on a planned peace accord between 
the two nations.
The diplomat, Louis Bono, met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Foreign 
Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s 
Security Council, on Friday.
Pashinian’s office said he presented “the Armenian side’s approaches to 
resolving the key outstanding issues.” It did not elaborate.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry reported, for its part, that Mirzoyan and Bono 
reviewed the Armenia-Azerbaijan “normalization process” and the remaining 
differences between the parties. It cited Mirzoyan as stressing the importance 
of non-use of force, “border security” and an “internationally guaranteed 
mechanism for dialogue” between Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership.
Bono met with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Baku on Wednesday. 
According to an Azerbaijani readout of the meeting, they discussed the draft 
peace deal and the results of recent Armenian-Azerbaijani talks organized by the 
United States and the European Union.
“As we’ve said, we believe that an agreement is in reach, and we continue to 
press the two parties to work together to reach an agreement on the issues that 
remain outstanding,” the U.S. State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, told 
reporters on Thursday.
Dereck Hogan, a U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, revealed earlier this 
week that Washington “put forward a number of ideas” designed to help the two 
sides overcome those sticking points. He said they relate to the delimitation of 
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, “the distancing of Armenian and Azerbaijani 
forces” deployed along the frontier, and “the rights and security of ethnic 
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
During the recent talks, the sides made major progress towards the bilateral 
treaty that would commit them to recognizing each other’s territorial integrity. 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian confirmed on Monday that Yerevan would thus 
recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh. Another senior U.S. official 
hailed Pashinian’s statement condemned by the Armenian opposition and Karabakh’s 
leadership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted fresh talks between Pashinian and 
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Moscow on Thursday. The two leaders are 
scheduled to meet again in Moldova’s capital Chisinau on June 1. They will be 
joined by EU chief Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German 
Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Reuters news agency on Friday quoted Azerbaijan’s ambassador to France as 
saying that the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty could be signed during the 
Chisinau summit. The Foreign Ministry in Yerevan essentially denied this, 
however, saying that the signing of the landmark document is “not included on 
the agenda” of the summit.
“As we have noted many times, the Armenian side will be ready to sign the 
agreement when the key issues are addressed,” the ministry said in written 
comments to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “We believe that discussions on them will 
continue during and after the meeting scheduled within the framework of the 
European Political Community [summit] in Chisinau on June 1.”
Putin Hosts Fresh Talks Between Pashinian, Aliyev
Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meet in Moscow, .
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted late on Thursday fresh talks between the 
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan which focused on the restoration of transport 
links between the two South Caucasus nations.
No final agreement to that effect was reported as a result of the trilateral 
meeting. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s office said deputy prime 
ministers of the three countries will meet in Moscow next week to “continue 
work” on opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani border to commercial traffic.
Speaking at the start of the talks, Putin said oustanding differences between 
Baku and Yerevan on the issue are “purely technical” and “surmountable.” He said 
the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani vice-premiers should iron out them.
“On the whole, in my opinion, despite all difficulties and problems, which still 
abound, the situation is developing towards a settlement,” stated Putin. “One of 
these areas is work on transport communications.”
Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev openly argued about the matter 
during a Eurasian Economic Union summit held in Moscow earlier in the day.
Pashinian objected to Aliyev’s use of the term “Zangezur corridor” in reference 
to planned road and rail links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave 
that would pass through Armenia’s Syunik province. He said it runs counter to 
the Russian-brokered ceasefire that stoped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh and 
amounts to Azerbaijani territorial claims to Armenia.
“The word ‘corridor’ does not constitute a claim to anybody’s territory,” 
countered Aliyev.
Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian meet in Moscow, .
At a separate meeting with Pashinian held shortly afterwards, Putin assured the 
Armenian leader that Baku unequivocally recognizes Armenian sovereignty over 
Syunik and that “any dual or triple interpretation of everything related to the 
possible unblocking of transport communication is baseless.”
Pashinian reiterated, for his part, that Armenia is interested in conventional 
transport links with Azerbaijan.
“I want to reaffirm that both the border and services of Armenia are ready to 
ensure the normal transit of all vehicles and trains through Armenian 
territory,” he said.
It was not clear whether the issue of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty was 
also on the agenda of the trilateral talks in Moscow. Yerevan and Baku 
reportedly made significant progress towards such a deal during a series of 
negotiations organized by the United States and the European Union earlier this 
month.
Aliyev told Putin during their separate meeting that Pashinian’s pledge to 
recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh through the treaty made things 
“much easier.”
The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders are scheduled to meet again in Moldova on 
June 1. They will be joined by EU chief Charles Michel, French President 
Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.