Author: Chatinian Lara

Tehran: Iran, Armenia ink MOU on expansion of trade ties

Chatinian Lara
Tehran Times, Iran
Jan 24 2021
  1. Economy
– 11:46

TEHRAN – Iran, and Armenia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Saturday for the expansion of trade ties between the two countries.

The MOU was signed by Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Alireza Razm Hosseini and the Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan in Tehran.

Heading a trade delegation, Kerobyan arrived in Tehran on Friday to discuss the expansion of trade relations between the two countries.

Speaking on the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Razm Hosseini put Iran’s exports to Armenia at about $300 million and noted that the signing of this MOU will be a great step towards improving the level of trade between the two neighbors.

Pointing to Armenia’s position as one of the members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), with which Iran has recently signed a preferential trade agreement, Hosseini said Iran is seeking to become a permanent member of the EAEU and Armenia could be of significant help in this regard.

According to the Iranian minister, areas like the mining industry, foodstuff, and home appliances could be good opportunities for the two countries to develop mutual cooperation.

Kerobyan for his part expressed his government’s readiness for cooperation to boost mutual trade and produce joint products and to pave the way for Iran to enter the markets of third countries.

“We are ready to support Iranian traders to use Armenia for entering third countries,” he said.

Iran focusing on trade with neighbors

The Armenian minister also met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Abdolnaser Hemmati and discussed banking issues and ways of increasing the level of trade between the two sides.

In this meeting, Hemmati noted that Iran is currently focusing on enhancing its trade ties with the neighboring countries.

The official pointed to Armenia’s significant geographical position and noted that the country can have a tremendous impact on the development of trade relations between the two countries and also between Iran and the EAEU as a whole.

“Iran’s economic situation is improving despite the pressures imposed by the U.S. sanctions, and we have been able to achieve positive economic growth this year,” Hemmati said.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the current level of trade between the two neighbors, saying: “Unfortunately, the volume of trade relations between the two countries is not reflecting their long history of bilateral cooperation; therefore, we hope that by holding similar meetings, we will be able to further strengthen mutual relations and witness the development of economic relations.”

Kerobyan also called for the development of trade and economic relations between the two nations, especially the fields of investment and production.

Iranian trade with some partners resuming

Elsewhere in his remarks, Hemmati pointed to the ineffectiveness of the U.S. sanctions in disrupting Iran’s trade ties with its major partners and said: “We believe that the sanctions are not viable; Iran’s trade relations with some countries are currently resuming and it is a good time for Armenia, as a friend and neighbor, to expand its relations with Iran.”

He finally stressed the importance of resolving the banking issues of the two countries and proposed to travel to Yerevan to pursue specialized banking issues and financial exchanges with the governor of the Central Bank of Armenia.

During his five-day visit to Iran, Kerobyan is going to visit some of the major Iranian production centers, and he will also make a trip to Isfahan Province.

EF/MA

“Democracy is Precious” by Ambassador Lynne M. Tracy

Chatinian Lara
The Embassy of the United States in Yerevan
Jan 22 2021

On January 20, 2021 just before 12:00pm in Washington, D.C., President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. took the oath of office to become the 46th President of the United States.  His Vice President, Kamala Harris, was also sworn in, becoming not only the first woman, but also the first Black and Indian American to hold the office.

In his inaugural address, President Biden said of the moment, “We’ve learned again that democracy is precious. Democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”  As we have seen over the last few weeks, and as President Biden emphasized, democracy cannot be taken for granted, even after nearly two and a half centuries in the United States.

Since Armenia’s independence, the United States has supported Armenia in its fight for democracy – not because we have perfected it ourselves, but because we know how much work it takes to protect and defend.  Critical to this task are building and maintaining strong democratic institutions and advancing the rule of law, providing economic opportunity for all, and broadening access to education.  It is a process that demands unity, resolve and perseverance, often in the face of enormous challenges.

As the United States begins a new chapter in our own country’s history, we renew our commitment to partnering with the Armenian people, Government, civil society, media, and the private sector to support the aspirations of the Armenian people who voiced their choice for meaningful, tangible reforms to strengthen the institutions of Armenia’s democratic institutions and for a more prosperous future.

Democracy and the rule of law are cornerstones of the U.S.-Armenia relationship, but we have an even broader common positive agenda.  Supporting sustainable and inclusive economic growth, expanding trade and investment, promoting energy security, managing environmental resources responsibly, fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and investing in people through educational opportunities reflect a deep and wide U.S.-Armenia partnership that I am confident will continue to strengthen.

Above all, we recognize the urgent work to be done in moving forward following the devastating conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.  The U.S. government has responded to Armenia’s critical needs by providing clothes, food, child-friendly safe-spaces, and shelter to displaced peoples.  The United States continues to call for the swift and safe return of the remaining detainees.  We condemn the acts of atrocities connected with the conflict.  Those responsible must be held to account.  And, while the fighting has stopped, the need for an enduring political solution on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh is essential for securing regional peace and stability.

As I look ahead to the upcoming year, I acknowledge the many challenges we still face.  But I am confident that, together, we are up to the task.  We will continue to support Armenia as it rebuilds in the years to come.  As President Biden said on Wednesday – “We have never ever, ever failed in America when we have acted together.”  That emphasis on togetherness transcends our borders – together with our Armenian friends and partners, we will tackle the challenges before us, uphold our shared values, and ensure that democracy and the rule of law prevail, leading to a brighter future for us all.

U.S. Ambassador emphasizes importance of safe return of detainees

Chatinian Lara

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 20:01,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy met with a group of the think tank experts to discuss the commitment of the USA (as OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair country) for the sustainable and comprehensive settlement of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Facebook page of the Embassy.

Ambassador Tracy also underscored the importance of the safe return of remaining detainees.

Opposition MP on Armenia ex-education minister’s statements on loss of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute materials

Chatinian Lara
News.am, Armenia
Jan 19 2021
Opposition MP on Armenia ex-education minister’s statements on loss of Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute materials  

The anti-national and shameful statements that the former education and science minister made in parliament and that still haven’t been refuted must not go unnoticed. This is what deputy of the opposition Bright Armenia faction of the National Assembly of Armenia Anna Kostanyan said during today’s parliamentary session.

According to her, last year former Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Arayik Harutyunyan reported the loss of certain materials from the stock of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute. “Based on my statement, I am preparing to submit an application-proposal to Speaker of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan,” Kostanyan said, adding that, in response to her statement, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport sent a letter according to which the ministry has launched inventory of the museum stock in order to clarify the reasons behind and amount of damage incurred and that the process wasn’t complete as of May 2020.

Russian peacekeepers conduct demining works in Martakert

Chatinian Lara

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 11:16,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. The specialists of the International Mine Action Center of the Russian defense ministry continue demining works in the territory of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), the Russian defense ministry reports.

This time the demining works are being carried out in Martakert town.

In the course of demining and clearing the territory of explosive objects in Nagorno Karabakh, Russian peacekeepers use modern robotic systems.

The engineering units of the Russian peacekeeping forces have already cleared nearly 551 hectares of land, 205,3 km long roads. Over 23,7 thousand explosive devices were found and neutralized.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Turkish Press: Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia trilateral meeting ends

Chatinian Lara
Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Jan 11 2021
Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia trilateral meeting ends
 
Trilateral cease-fire agreement between Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia being consistently fulfilled, says Russian president
 
Emre Gurkan Abay, Ali Cura, Dmitri Chirciu   |
11.01.2021
MOSCOW
 
A trilateral meeting between Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders to discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh issue ended Monday in Moscow.
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the meeting, thanking Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for coming to the Russian capital.
 
Putin said Russia’s mediation efforts in Nagorno-Karabakh were aimed at establishing a stable cease-fire in the region.
 
“A trilateral cease-fire agreement between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia is being fulfilled consistently. The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is stable. Over 48,000 people already returned home after the cease-fire,” he said referring to a truce in November that ended fighting in the internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan that liberated it from decades of Armenian occupation.
 
 
“Russia follows the arrangement agreed by the OSCE Minsk Group in all its steps. We continue to constantly consult our steps with our partners,” he added.
 
 
Putin said that the leaders would discuss various issues including the activities of the Russian peacekeeping force currently deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as border lines, humanitarian problems and the protection of cultural heritage.
 
“The issue of opening economic, commercial and transportation links and borders is especially important. The work on this issue is planned to be carried out by the joint working group under the chairmanship of the deputy prime ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he said.
 
  
What happened in Karabakh?
 
Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as an Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.
 
When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and even violated humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
 
During the six-week-long conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages, while at least 2,802 of its soldiers were martyred. There are differing claims about the number of casualties on the Armenian side, which, sources and officials say, could be up to 5,000.
 
The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020 to end the fighting and work towards a comprehensive resolution.
 
A joint Turkish-Russian center is being established to monitor the truce. Russian peacekeeping troops have also been deployed in the region.
 
 
The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have withdrawn in line with the agreement.
 
 
Violations, however, have been reported in the past few weeks, with some Armenian soldiers said to have been hiding in the mountainous enclave.
  
 
*Writing by Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak in Ankara.
 

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Chatinian Lara

Estonian PM resigns amid corruption scandal

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 10:21, 13 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas resigns due to a corruption scandal related to issuing a state loan to the Porto Franco real estate developer.

“In politics tough choices have to be made in order to resolve difficult situations. In the current situation today, based on my values, I made a decision to resign the post of prime minister of the Republic of Estonia. This decision was made after consulting the board and the faction of the Centre Party as well as the closest colleagues. Different solutions seemed possible but only one of them is the right one”, he said in a statement on Facebook, reports TASS.

Anna Naghdalyan: The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is still far from being resolved,

Chatinian Lara
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 16 2021

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan on Friday reacted to the statement made by the representative of the Foreign Ministry of Russia who stated that the Russian side has always supported the implementation of the humanitarian contacts between the Armenian and Azerbaijani societies. Asked whether there are prerequisites for such programs, Naghdalyan said: “We highly commend Russia’s efforts aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region. The Armenian side has always supported the humanitarian contacts between the societies of the region, which should be based on mutual respect and tolerance and be aimed at creating mutual trust. Certainly, relevant prerequisites should be established for such programs.” 

The Armenian diplomat, however, noted that the statements of the leadership of Azerbaijan in recent days demonstrate that Azerbaijan is not yet ready for that. Furthermore, creating obstacles for the repatriation of the Armenian prisoners of war, issuing a stamp glorifying the ethnic cleansing of Armenians, as well as the consistent threats being voiced by President Aliyev attest to the fact that Azerbaijan is challenging the trust-building efforts of international mediators. 

“The provocative statements made by the President of Azerbaijan in Shushi, as well as the attempts to present the Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Church, which had been targeted during the war, as a “war prize and symbol of victory” are particularly deplorable,” Naghdalyan noted, adding: “These realities prove that the conflict is still far from being resolved, and the peace process is necessary to establish lasting peace in the region.” 

 

‘Without winners and losers’ – Ex-Soviet leader Gorbachev on potential resolution for NK conflict

Chatinian Lara

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 12:27,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 11, ARMENPRESS. The former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has spoken out about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, expressing hope that Russia will be able to assist in reaching a resolution.

“It’s a very difficult issue,” Gorbachev told RIA Novosti in an interview. “It’s an old issue with roots going into the past. When it started, we tried to help the two republics, the two nations, in finding a solution.”

Gorbachev, who ruled the Soviet Union when the Karabakh conflict began, said that now, when the military actions are halted, the conflict should not be left unresolved for another decade and further efforts should be made towards a resolution.

“I am hopeful that Russia will be able to assist, but the parties to the conflict have the primary role. Armenia and Azerbaijan have assumed obligations to hold talks in the direction of resolving this conflict. A resolution must meet the interests of both sides, without winners and losers,” Gorbachev said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

The 44-Day War: Democracy Has Been Defeated by Autocracy in Nagorno-Karabakh

Chatinian Lara
Modern Diplomacy
Jan 8 2021
January 8, 2021                   

By Anush Ghavalyan

The people of Artsakh are seen as pro-Russian. Is this Pro-Moscow assessment of people of Artsakh accurate, and why Russian peacekeepers are welcomed in Nagorno-Karabakh?

***

The Republic of Artsakh and its people developed the nation’s democracy for approximately three decades. Back in 1991, Artsakh held a referendum on its independence, as well as democratic elections under a barrage of Azerbaijani rockets. The people of Artsakh accomplished this step by themselves, being convinced that without freedom of the individual, there is no freedom for the country. The Artsakh National Liberation Movement was nothing but a struggle for freedom and the right to decide one’s own destiny.

The development of democracy was not easy for a war-torn country with ade-facto status, limited resources, lack of institutions, combined with the threat of resumption of hostilities and the temptation of using elements of authoritarianism in governance as well as in the public mood. 

Nevertheless, during the last three decades, the people of Artsakh have managed to develop working democratic institutions, ensure political pluralism, and form effective human rights institutions. The vivid examples thereof are the 2020presidential elections held on a competitive basis, a 5-party Parliament, and the constitutional mechanisms for the separation of powers.

It is noteworthy that the full spectrum of democratization in Artsakh has been carried out by the country alone, without the direct support of international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and despite the numerous appeals by the civil society of Artsakh made to them.

However, Artsakh’s democracy has been highly regarded not only by parliamentarians, politicians and experts who have visited Artsakh, but also by the international organizations, such as Freedom House in its Freedom in the World annual reports. In these reports Artsakh is on the list of partly free countries, making progress in ensuring political and civil liberties each year, while Azerbaijan holds on to a not free status all the while making regressive steps in every aspect.

The people of Artsakh believed that the development of democracy would inevitably strengthen the position on unimaginability of any vertical relationship with dictatorial Azerbaijan. The people of Artsakh believed that they were keeping the eastern gate of the European civilization and its set of values. The people of Artsakh believed that those in West involved in the conflict settlement process, particularly France and the United States would view the Artsakh struggle with an understanding that it was created by their examples and ideals of freedom.

And what did the people of Artsakh receive as a result of believing in the West? They faced a new war and a new bloodshed unleashed by the same Azerbaijan. They also faced a harsh reality in the form of gross violations of human rights, war crimes and destruction of their cultural heritage. The principle of equality and self-determination of peoples in general, and the notions of freedom and human rights in particular completely collapsed before the eyes of the people of Artsakh.

One doesn’t have to be a military expert to understand that Artsakh, a small country with limited resources and capabilities, could not on its own resist Turkey-backed Azerbaijan for long, especially given the direct involvement of Turkish command staff and thousands of mercenaries from the Middle East terrorist organizations in the conflict, and the use of advanced military technology likethe banned weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

What did the people of Artsakh need to prevent this war? The answer would have been the de jure recognition of Artsakh that at least would have dampened the possibility of a new war, put an end to the century-old conflict, and establish long lasting peace and security in the region.

Instead of recognizing their unalienable right to self-determination, a new war was imposed on the people of Artsakh. As a result of this war, the people of Artsakh were left with a devastated country, thousands of dead and wounded compatriots, a new generation of refugees and IDPs, dependence on the peacekeeping mission for physical security, a “neither peace nor war” situation, as well as an uncertain future.

Russia wanted to come to Karabakh and so it did. Russia is in Artsakh not because the people of Artsakh were dreaming of weakened sovereignty while they continued to think of what West would do, but Russia came to Artsakh because Russia, unlike the West, acts rather than speaks. When on the one hand there are European and American concerns expressed in empty statements and on the other hand there are Russian peacekeepers and tanks, there is no room left for thinking long.

Let’s look at the values in which European Union, United States, Canada, and the rest of the so called “civilized world” believe in: the ideas of human rights and freedoms which they been advocating for years across the world. Now let’s try to see what is left from them all. Maybe once can find an inspiration for writing new books and sharing ideas about the future of humanity vis-à-vis the civilized world. Perhaps, in the European Union, in the United States, in Canada, and in the rest of the so called “civilized” world, their population may enjoy the ideals of human rights, but the people living in small and unimportant countries are often deprived of such rights. Perhaps the Western intellectuals and authors will write books on how the West left the faith of the people of Artsakh to the hands of the terrorists while empowering the Turkish-Azerbaijani dictators with their indifference and inaction. Indeed, for the West, the lives of the people of Artsakh are not valuable just because they are from a ‘gray’ zone, because they live in a country that doesn’t officially ‘exist’. These discriminatory phrases are definitions time and again used by the Western officials. It is what it is. The West, however, should not forget to celebrate Zero Discrimination Day and quote articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Later, when Turkish expansionism and terrorism will knock on the Western doors, the West will remember those unimportant people from an unrecognized country that absorbed the first blow. At that juncture, the West will also remember how it admired the people of Artsakh’s endurance and collective resistance, but at the same time left them alone in their fight against terrorism and modern military technology. Perhaps, for the West it is just like watching a fun action movie with popcorn and cola.

Having 193 or 194 member-countries in the United Nations (UN)as a result of recognition of Artsakh would not change the existing international legal order, however, it could serve a textbook example for rising democracies and a lesson for the dictatorships and international terrorism. By not recognizing the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination, the West is burying the concepts of human rights, freedoms, and democracy, thereby paving a way for the next military-political adventures of dictators. The West should decide. The longer the West spends on thinking without any concrete action, the further the region will move away from it.