Author: Christine Harutyunian

                                        Wednesday, 
Opposition Members Again Forced Out Of Armenian Parliament
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Opposition and pro-government deputies clash on the parliament floor, 
.
Two lawmakers representing the main opposition Hayastan alliance were forcibly 
removed from Armenia’s parliament on Wednesday after arguing and jostling with 
pro-government colleagues.
The incident followed a speech delivered by Hayastan’s Artur Sargsian during a 
parliament debate on the appointment of new members of Armenia’s Court of 
Cassation nominated by a state judicial watchdog. The nominees included Armen 
Danielian, a lower court judge who approved in 2021 Sargsian’s arrest declared 
by the Constitutional Court illegal a few months later.
“Speaking from this podium today, you proudly claimed that you made all your 
decisions within the bounds of the law,” Sargsian said, appealing to Danielian. 
“The fact is that you made an illegal decision to arrest me.”
After finishing his speech, he walked towards the judge, telling him to “look me 
in the eyes before I leave.”
Sargsian’s behavior angered deputies from the ruling Civil Contract party. One 
of them, Hovik Aghazarian, apparently shouted an insult at the oppositionist. 
The latter shouted back in anger, triggering a scuffle with other Civil Contract 
lawmakers.
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian responded by ordering security officers to 
forcibly remove Sargsian from the parliament auditorium. Another Hayastan 
deputy, Gegham Manukian, was also forced out after attempting to stop the guards 
from dragging away Sargsian.
Hayastan leaders condemned the use of force, saying that the incident was 
provoked by Aghazarian. The pro-government parliamentarian, who is known for his 
flamboyant behavior and statements, did not deny insulting Sargsian.
Simonian afterwards reprimanded both Sargsian and Aghazarian. Still, he blamed 
the opposition for the ugly scenes on the parliament floor.
A group of opposition lawmakers were similarly evicted from the chamber last 
month after occupying its podium in protest against Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian’s statements on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Pashinian Stands By Plans To Recognize Azeri Control Of Karabakh
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses the Armenian parliament, 
Yerevan, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Wednesday reaffirmed plans to formally 
recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan despite vehement objections 
from Karabakh’s leadership and the Armenian opposition.
Pashinian insisted that signing a relevant Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty is 
vital for Armenia’s own security and territorial integrity.
“Do we all realize that we have been living in our beloved homeland for 35 years 
without a land ownership certificate?” he claimed during his government’s 
question-and-answer session in the parliament. “Throughout its millennia-long 
existence Armenia has never had an ownership certificate.”
“If we manage to do what we want to do, then for the first time in our history 
we will get an ownership certificate and will be not only a de facto but also a 
de jure owner [of modern-day Armenian territory] … We want to have a land title 
called a state with internationally recognized delimited and demarcated 
borders,” he said.
Pashinian publicly confirmed on Monday that the peace deal currently discussed 
by Baku and Yerevan would uphold Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh. The 
statement drew strong condemnation from Armenian opposition leaders.
One of them, Armen Ashotian, was quick to decry the premier’s latest claims 
meant to justify his stance on the conflict with Azerbaijan.
“Never mind that international bodies and countries of the world had recognized 
Armenia’s territorial integrity … It’s the ‘ownership certificate’ signed by 
[Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev that counts,” he wrote sarcastically on 
Facebook.
A “death certificate for Armenia” is what Pashinian has been striving for, 
charged Ashotian.
Karabakh’s parliament expressed outrage at Pashinian’s plans in a statement 
unanimously adopted on Monday night. It said that any document ignoring the 
Karabakh Armenians’ self-determination would be “null and void” for Stepanakert.
The Armenian Apostolic Church added its voice to the uproar on Tuesday. It 
Supreme Spiritual Council said that restoration of Azerbaijani control over 
Karabakh “would inevitably leave our brothers and sisters in Artsakh facing a 
new genocide.”
Russia Warns Armenia Over CSTO Exit Talk
RUSSIA – Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attends the 
congress of the International Russophile Movement in Moscow, March 14, 2023.
Russia on Wednesday described as “dangerous” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s 
public threats to pull Armenia out of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty 
Organization (CSTO).
Earlier this year, the Armenian government cancelled a CSTO military exercise 
planned in Armenia and refused to appoint a deputy secretary-general of the 
military alliance over what it sees as a lack of CSTO support in the conflict 
with Azerbaijan. It also rejected a CSTO offer to deploy a monitoring mission to 
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
The tensions have called into question Armenia’s continued membership in the 
organization. Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safarian said on May 16 that an 
exit from the CSTO is “not on Armenia’s agenda now.” Pashinian claimed the 
opposite, however, during a news conference held on Monday.
“I don’t exclude that Armenia may make a de jure decision to terminate or freeze 
its membership in the CSTO,” he said. “But that will happen only if we conclude 
that the CSTO has left Armenia.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, claimed to be bemused 
by Pashinian’s remarks while warning of their potential consequences.
“If this is a figure of speech designed to promote a position on Armenia's 
withdrawal from the CSTO, then it seems to me that one needs to understand the 
whole danger of manipulating words,” she told a news briefing in Moscow. “How 
the CSTO could leave Armenia … it’s not quite clear what they are talking about.”
Russia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attends a military parade in 
Moscow, May 9, 2023.
The estrangement from the CSTO highlights Yerevan’s broader tensions with Moscow 
that also stem from the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. In January, Pashinian 
went as far as to declare that close military ties with Russia may be putting 
Armenia’s security and territorial integrity at greater risk. The Russian 
Foreign Ministry dismissed the claim as “absurd.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week accused the West of pressuring 
Armenia to end Russia’s military presence in the South Caucasus country and rely 
instead on the United States for defense.
Pashinian insisted on Monday that there is no such “agenda” in his 
administration’s dealings with the U.S. or the European Union. He said that 
Yerevan is only discussing security issues with the Western powers because the 
Russian-led “security architecture” comprising Armenia is “not working for 
objective or subjective reasons.”
U.S. Official Lauds Pashinian’s Karabakh Stance
Serbia - USAID Assistant Administrator Erin Elizabeth McKee speaks during a news 
conference in Belgrade, December 2, 2022
A senior U.S. government official has praised Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for 
agreeing to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh through an 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
Erin Elizabeth McKee, an assistant administrator of the U.S. Agency for 
International Development (USAID), pointed to Pashinian’s statement to that 
effect, made at news conference on Monday, when she spoke during a congressional 
hearing in Washington on Tuesday. She spoke of an “important first step” towards 
a U.S.-backed resolution of the Karabakh conflict.
“Prime Minister Pashinian asserted for the first time, sort of very publicly, 
Armenia’s recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity … This assertion is 
inclusive of Nagorno-Karabakh,” McKee told the U.S. House Subcommittee on Europe.
Pashinian’s statement drew strong condemnations from Karabakh’s leadership and 
Armenia’s leading opposition groups.
In a televised address aired late on Tuesday, Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh 
president, urged Yerevan to refrain from any “action or statement” that would 
help Baku restore control over the Armenian-populated region.
“Artsakh was not and will not be a part of Azerbaijan because that is the will 
of our people,” said Harutiunian. He urged Armenia’s citizens to show support 
for this position “in an active and resolute way.”
In Yerevan, some opposition leaders signaled plans to stage street protests to 
try to prevent Karabakh’s “surrender” to Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh - People protest against Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin 
corridor during a rally in Stepanakert, December 25, 2022.
In recent weeks, the United States has intensified its efforts to facilitate the 
signing of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord. The Armenian and Azerbaijani 
foreign ministers reportedly made progress towards the deal during four-day 
negotiations held outside Washington earlier this month.
Dereck Hogan, a U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state, revealed on Tuesday 
that Washington is now trying to help the two sides overcome the remaining 
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.”
“We put forward a number of ideas that help the two sides come together on these 
particular issues,” Hogan told the House Subcommittee hearing. “And so they are 
looking at, reviewing our ideas.”
Hogan added that Washington is looking forward to a fresh meeting between 
Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev which will be organized and 
mediated by European leaders in Moldova on June 1.
Aliyev and Pashinian are also due to meet in Moscow on Thursday for talks hosted 
by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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