Tuesday,
Armenian Speaker Linked With Luxury Housing Project
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Parliament speaker Alen SImonian chairs a session of the National
Assembly, November 24, 2022.
Raising more questions about corruption in Armenia, an independent investigative
publication has suggested that parliament speaker Alen Simonian may be involved
in the ongoing construction of an expensive residential complex.
In an article published on Monday, Hetq.am revealed that a longtime friend of
Simonian, Edgar Avagian, has a 25 percent stake in the real estate project,
worth an estimated $40-50 million, despite not being known to be a wealthy man.
It wondered if Avagian, who now works for a TV channel officially run by
Simonian’s wife, is acting as a front for the influential member of Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political team.
Simonian, who had already been accused of helping his brother win lucrative
government contracts, was quick to strongly deny any connection to the sprawling
complex built in the resort town of Tsaghkadzor. In a Facebook post, he accused
the publication of failing to back up its implicit claims with any evidence.
The Pallada Tsaghkadzor complex occupying 1.6 hectares of land is projected to
consist of nine buildings with a total about 700 apartments, a number of shops,
a restaurant as well as a fitness center. The company building it also has three
other shareholders: one Georgian and two Armenian investors.
Armenia - The Pallada Tsaghkadzor residential complex plan.
The author of the Hetq article, Tirayr Muradian, insisted on Tuesday that he
asked legitimate questions about Simonian’s role in the project facilitated by
Tsaghkadzor’s mayor affiliated with the ruling Civil Contract party. He argued
that Avagian has never engaged in large-scale business in construction or other
sectors before and has only held managerial positions in various Armenian TV
stations.
“What is the logic behind his involvement in the construction project?” the
journalist told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “What does he have in common with the
other developers?”
The article pointed out that in 2017 a court in Yerevan declared Avagian
bankrupt after his failure to repay $44,000 in debts to two commercial banks.
Simonian’s friend still owes money to those banks, according to it.
Avagian could not be reached for comment. A lawyer representing him said that he
is currently not in the country.
Muradian said that it is only natural to speculate that Avagian used his close
ties with Simonian to gain the 25 percent stake in the project or that it might
actually belong to the speaker.
“These people came to power [in 2018] with little business experience or
capital, but within a very short period of time they got involved in large
business projects,” he said. “If they are so smart what kept from doing that
without power?”
Armenia -- Journalist Tirayr Muradian speaks to RFE/RL, .
The journalist referred to members of Pashinian’s entourage increasingly accused
by Armenian media of enriching themselves or their cronies and breaking their
anti-corruption promises given during the 2018 “velvet revolution.”
In March this year, hackers hijacked the YouTube channel of the Aravot newspaper
just as it was about to publish a video report detailing expensive property
acquisitions by several senior government officials and pro-government
lawmakers, including Simonian.
Earlier this year, Pashinian blamed such reports for a drop in Armenia’s
position in an annual corruption survey conducted by Transparency International.
He publicly urged senior officials to sue media outlets “falsely” accusing them
of illicit enrichment. The prime minister again claimed to have eliminated
“systemic corruption.”
There are also growing questions about integrity in public procurement
administered by Pashinian’s government. A road construction company managed by
Simonian’s brother Karlen won at least nine government contracts last year.
The controversial speaker has denounced independent and pro-opposition media
outlets for suggesting that the company called Euroasphalt enjoys privileged
treatment by the government. Pashinian has said, for his part, his brother does
not own Euroasphalt.
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service discovered in 2021, however, that one of Euroasphalt’s
two officially registered addresses matches that of a Yerevan apartment where
the Simonians’ mother lived at the time.
Prominent Karabakh General Prosecuted
• Artak Khulian
Nagorno-Karabakh - Vitaly Balasanian.
Vitaly Balasanian, a retired general who held a senior position in
Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership until recently, has been released from custody
after being charged with assault, illegal arms possession and embezzlement.
Balasanian was detained late last week while reportedly attempting to stop
police officers from searching his family’s home in the Karabakh town of
Askeran. His son, the main target of the police raid, and brother were also
taken into custody. They both were freed the following day.
Balasanian remained under arrest, with law-enforcement authorities pressing a
string of charges against him. Despite the indictment, a local court ordered
them to free him on Monday.
Balasanian’s lawyer, Rafael Martirosian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on
Tuesday that his client is accused of attacking the policemen, illegally keeping
weapons, ammunition and drugs in his home and embezzling public property.
Balasanian denies the accusations and has come up, according to Martirosian,
with “weighty arguments” disproving them.
No details of the embezzlement charge have been made public so far. Karabakh
prosecutors have only shed light on a separate case opened against Balasanian’s
son, who too denies any wrongdoing. They claim that he misused a 74 million-dram
($190,000) state loan provided for an agribusiness project.
Vitaly Balasanian, 64, was a prominent Karabakh Armenian commander during the
1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan. He became a vocal critic of Armenia’s Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian after the latter swept to power in 2018. The retired
general was also a major opposition candidate in Karabakh’s last presidential
election held several months before the outbreak of the 2020
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
Balasanian was appointed as secretary of Karabakh’s security council in the wake
of the six-week war. In that capacity, he regularly negotiated with the
commanders of Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in the region as well as
Azerbaijani officials on security and humanitarian issues.
Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, sacked Balasanian in January one
month after Azerbaijan blocked commercial traffic through the only road
connecting Karabakh to Armenia. Some opposition figures in Stepanakert have
described the criminal case against the prominent general as politically
motivated. But Balasanian himself has made no such claims so far.
Armenian Opposition Unimpressed By Karabakh Leader’s ‘Extreme’ Move
• Astghik Bedevian
Nagorno-Karabakh - A tent pitched by Arayik Harutiunian outside his office in
Stepanakert, .
Representatives of Armenia’s two main opposition groups on Tuesday criticized
Arayik Harutiunian, Nagorno-Karabakh’s president, for joining a sit-in in
Stepanakert organized by his administration in protest against Azerbaijan’s
blockade of the Lachin corridor.
Harutiunian said late on Monday that he is taking the “extreme” step to try to
draw greater international attention to the plight of Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian
population struggling with severe shortages of food, medicine and energy. The
Karabakh leadership will resort to “tougher actions” if the humanitarian
situation in the region does not improve within a week, he said without
elaborating.
Harutiunian spent the following night in a tent pitched in Stepanakert’s main
square, the scene of the sit-in that began late last week.
“There are other ways of presenting the situation in Artsakh [to the outside
world,]” Tigran Abrahamian, a senior member of the opposition Pativ Unem
alliance, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “I think that the Artsakh president’s
main task must be crisis management.”
In particular, Abrahamian said, the authorities should in Stepanakert do a
better job of presenting “factual information” about the humanitarian crisis in
Karabakh to foreign governments and international organizations and coordinating
with Armenian Diaspora groups.
Andranik Tevanian, a lawmaker representing the opposition Hayastan alliance, was
more scathing about Harutiunian’s decision, calling it a “cheap theater.”
“A sit-in is a demonstration of one's incompetence if it is done by the leader
of a country,” he wrote on Facebook. “But if you have taken that step, then you
should target the right addressee and give clear assessments.”
Tevanian said that Harutiunian should have first and foremost called Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian out on his recent recognition of Azerbaijani
sovereignty over Karabakh which the Armenian opposition believes only emboldened
Baku to tighten the screws on the Karabakh Armenians.
A top political ally of Harutiunian rejected the opposition criticism. “If they
can't help us with anything, they had better keep quiet,” he said.
Opposition leaders in Yerevan have for years accused Harutiunian of furthering
Pashinian’s agenda. They claim that the Karabakh leader still maintains close
ties with Pashinian despite the fact that his party joined Karabakh opposition
groups in condemning the Armenian government’s stance on the conflict with
Azerbaijan.
Karabakh Leader Joins Protests Against Azeri Blockade
Nagorno Karabakh - The Karabakh president, Arayik Harutiunian, joins a sit-in in
the center of Stepanakert, July17, 2023.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s president announced late on Monday that he is joining ongoing
protests in Stepanakert against Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor in
a bid to draw greater international attention to the worsening plight of the
region’s ethnic Armenian population.
Arayik Harutiunian said that the Karabakh Armenians are not only struggling with
severe shortages of food, medicine and energy but also facing a “real threat of
physical annihilation.” He said he expects Armenia, Russia, the United States
and the European Union to back up their calls for the lifting of the blockade
with concrete actions and to uphold Karabakh’s right to self-determination.
“If the plight of the people of Artsakh does not return within a week to a more
or less stable and normal state with international intervention, then we will
resort to tougher actions both in Artsakh and outside of it,” he warned before
joining a nonstop sit-in staged in Stepanakert’s central square.
Thousands of people rallied there on Friday at the start of the daily protests
organized by Karabakh’s leadership. They marched to the headquarters of the
Russian peacekeeping contingent to demand that it unblock Karabakh’s only land
link with Armenia and the outside world.
Azerbaijan further tightened the blockade on June 15, banning all relief
supplies to Karabakh carried out by the peacekeepers as well as the
International Committee of the Red Cross. This only aggravated the shortages of
food, medicine, fuel and other essential items experienced by the local
population.
The Russian Foreign Ministry “strongly” urged the Azerbaijani side on Saturday
to lift the blockade and unblock Armenia’s supplies of electricity and natural
gas to Karabakh. Baku rejected the call and criticized Moscow in unusually
strong terms.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko deplored Baku’s “incorrect”
reaction during a meeting with the Azerbaijani ambassador in Moscow on Monday.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Rudenko insisted on “the need for
complete and immediate unblocking of the Lachin corridor” and Baku’s compliance
with relevant provisions of the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire.
The U.S. and the EU likewise renewed last week their calls for the resumption of
traffic through the corridor. The issue was on the agenda of Saturday’s talks
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders hosted by the EU head, Charles
Michel, in Brussels. Still, an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty was apparently
the main focus of the summit.
Rudenko reiterated a Russian proposal to organized more talks on the treaty
which Moscow says must put in place security guarantees for Karabakh’s
population.
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.
Author: Emil Lazarian
“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS
Azerbaijan again spreads disinformation, warns Nagorno Karabakh
10:27,
YEREVAN, 19 JULY, ARMENPRESS: Azerbaijan has once again spread disinformation, Nagorno Karabakh authorities warned Wednesday.
Azerbaijan falsely accused the Defense Army of Nagorno Karabakh of carrying out reinforcement works in Askeran.
“The statement released by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan claiming that the [Nagorno Karabakh] Defense Army units attempted to carry out reinforcement work in the Askeran region around 21:25 on July 18, and which was allegedly disrupted by the Azerbaijani actions, is another disinformation,” the Nagorno Karabakh Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Austrian Foreign Minister calls for end to Lachin Corridor blockade
10:16,
YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg has said that Austria is “greatly worried” about the blockade of the Lachin corridor, describing it as a “humanitarian concern”.
Schallenberg called for an end to the blockade of Lachin Corridor.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with Schallenberg in Vienna on July 18.
The occasion of the meeting was the signing of the implementation protocol on the readmission agreement between Armenia and the EU. Additionally, the regional security situation in the South Caucasus was at the center of their discussions.
During the meeting, the two foreign ministers exchanged views on regional security, particularly the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Austrian foreign ministry said in a readout.
Recently, there have been talks mediated by the EU and the United States between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which the Austrian foreign ministry described as having "raised hopes for an easing of tensions."
Austria has previously advocated strongly for a civilian EU mission in Armenia to support the path towards stability and security. “Despite the rightful focus on Ukraine, other potential hotspots must not be overlooked,” the Austrian foreign ministry said in the readout.
“I am grateful for the strong commitment of the EU and the talks in Washington. It is going in the right direction and I hope that one day there will be a sustainable peace agreement. However, there are still many open questions that need to be discussed. Among them, there is a humanitarian concern that greatly worries us – the blockade of the Lachin corridor. This blockade must end,” Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said after the meeting.
Furthermore, the relations between Armenia and other neighbouring countries, particularly Russia and Turkey, were also addressed.
He also emphasized that Vienna is of course available as a venue for talks on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey.
Additionally, Schallenberg highlighted the important role of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), based in Vienna, in relation to security in the Caucasus and beyond.
Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.
North Korea launches two short-range ballistic missiles, says South Korea
10:03,
YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS. North Korea has launched two short-range ballistic missiles, which landed in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, CNN reported citing a statement from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).
The missiles were launched from North Korea’s Sunan area, JCS said, and were fired in the early morning on Wednesday local time. After flying about 550 kilometers each, the missiles landed in the sea, it added.
JCS condemned the launch, describing it as a “significant provocation” undermining peace around the Korean Peninsula, as well as for the entire international community.
The launches follow a period of heightened tensions on the peninsula.
On Tuesday, a nuclear-capable US Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine made a port call in South Korea.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior official in her own right, said in a statement Monday the deployment of a US ballistic missile submarine to the peninsula would damage already fractured lines of communication between the two sides, CNN reported.
Demonstrators in Yerevan ask UN intervention to save blockaded Nagorno Karabakh, call on Russia to take action
12:23,
YEREVAN, 17 JULY, ARMENPRESS։ Hundreds of demonstrators, including children, gathered on Monday outside the UN Office in Yerevan to call on the international community to help lift the blockade of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh).
The demonstrators included displaced residents of Nagorno Karabakh who lost their homes in the 2020 war.
"In 2020, when the war started, a week later I and my family realized that we could not stay there any longer and came to Yerevan. Now, with this rally, we demand to open the Lachin corridor and respect the rights of our peers," said 11-year-old Arman in an interview with journalists. Arman and his family are originally from Hadrut but are now living in Armenia.
One of the children participating in the rally said that he remembers his school, home, friends with whom he was playing every day. Gevorg's father is now in Artsakh, he is a police officer. Due to the blockade of Artsakh, he cannot meet his father.
The children participating in the rally wear T-shirts saying "No to the blockade of Artsakh", "We are Artsakh", "Open the way of life".
Dr. Aramayis Galumyan, a member of the professional council of the Artsakh Ministry of Health, noted in his speech that currently a ‘terrorist attack’ is being committed against Artsakh.
"It is terrorism by a state, which is not a private terrorist group, but a terrorist state. It is an unprecedented phenomenon; 120,000 people are surrounded, deprived of basic food and health services. What is this if not terrorism? All international organizations, all major powers that establish order in the world are responsible for this situation. We demand to provide the population of Artsakh with food, health services, free movement through corridor and everything [else]," Aramayis Galumyan told reporters.
Mariam Avagyan, coordinator of the Congress of Refugees from the Azerbaijani SSR mentioned in her speech that Armenians have not lost their hope that they can save Artsakh with soft power.
"The Yerevan office of the UN regularly reminds me personally that they do not deal with political issues. Now, I ask a question: Isn’t the death of 2 young children in the complete blockade a result of politics? Why has the Yerevan office of the UN not yet spoken out about the impending genocide against Artsakh, which is currently under complete blockade? Today, Artsakh is subjected to genocide through exhaustion." The UN office in Yerevan is obligated to act as a mediator between the UN office in New York and us and to convey to them that the UN needs to save its reputation. The UN should not forget that it is the successor of the League of Nations, which did not recognize Artsakh as a part of Azerbaijan. The UN should take control of its many conventions, according to which the Republic of Artsakh is a de facto and de jure established republic," Avagyan said.
He added that recently they sent letters to officials in charge at the UN, in which they reminded that at least 820 thousand Armenians became refugees from the first Artsakh war, and from the second war, as recorded by the UN, there are 26 thousand 750 refugees.
"We demanded the UN Commissioner for Refugees to come to Armenia and find out the concerns of Armenian refugees. With the second point, we requested that the Secretary-General’s adviser on the issue of genocide prevention provide information on what actions the UN is taking to stop the genocide carried out by Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Artsakh through exhaustion, and to prevent it in the future," said Mariam Avagyan.
The demonstrators then walked through downtown Yerevan to the Russian Embassy where they held the same rally.
The demonstrators called on Russia to take action to open the Lachin Corridor.
Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.
Nagorno-Karabakh authorities stage sit-in demanding end to blockade
Jul 18, 2023
On July 17, the de facto president of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, announced he was joining a sit-in protest in Stepanakert's central square demanding the end of the region's 7-month blockade.
"If within one week with international mediation the situation in Artsakh does not return to a more or less stable course, after that we will resort to tougher actions, both in Artsakh and outside," he said, using an alternative Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh.
After delivering the address from his office, Harutyunyan left the government building and headed toward the nearby camps set up in recent days. De facto Parliament Speaker Artur Tovmasyan also joined the sit-in after calling an emergency meeting with the leading parliament factions.
"Sit-ins are one of the extreme ways of struggle, but not the most extreme one," he said.
The sit-in started as thousands rallied in Stepanakert on July 14 to protest against the blockade, which has been in place to varying degrees since December 12 and has been total or near-total since June 15.
The region has endured severe shortages of food and fuel, especially in the last month. On July 18, public transportation services were cut to a bare minimum – only 2.4 percent of the pre-blockade volume, the authorities reported.
The Stepanakert protest was a response to Azerbaijan's move last week to ban Red Cross vehicles transporting critically ill patients and medication from using Lachin road connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Only Red Cross vehicles had been given access to the road since the June 15 intensification of the blockade. Before that date, Russian peacekeepers had been supplying the enclave with limited amounts of food, fuel, and medicine.
The chief addressees of the protest were the Republic of Armenia, who many Karabakhi Armenians feel is poised to abandon them for the sake of peace with Azerbaijan, and Russia, whose peacekeepers Karabakhis believe are failing to protect them in line with their mission.
The protesters set up tents both in central Stepanakert and at the local airport, where the Russian peacekeepers' headquarters is located. Col-Gen Alexander Lentsov, the commander of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Karabakh, later received the local authorities and told them that he would regularly convey information on the situation in the region to Moscow.
The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on July 15 in an apparent reply to the protest in Stepanakert. It called on Baku to unblock the Lachin road and lift the blockade. But it also asserted that Russia's peacekeepers could no longer be held responsible for the fate of the Karabakh Armenians.
The statement said that "by recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijani territory," Yerevan had "cardinally changed the fundamental conditions" under which the Russian-brokered cease-fire that ended the 2020 Second Karabakh War was signed.
(The statement misrepresents the actual situation in two ways: Armenia has not "recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijani territory," it has stated its willingness to do so. Plus, Armenia never recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as independent or claimed it as its own territory, and thus never officially claimed it was not part of Azerbaijan. Therefore there has been no "cardinal change" in its position.)
Shortly after the protest, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was granted permission to transfer 11 patients from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and eight people back to Karabakh who had received treatment in Armenia. It is unclear what this means in terms of ICRC's future ability to use the road.
EU negotiations
The Stepanakert rally was held a day before the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Brussels for the latest round of talks toward a comprehensive peace treaty.
By far the biggest sticking point in those negotiations is the fate of the Armenian population of Karabakh. Armenia has said it is willing to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over the region in exchange for internationally-backed guarantees for the Armenian population's rights and security. Baku, however, says the fate of the Karabakh Armenians is its own internal matter.
On July 15, a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was convened by EU Council Charles Michel, who characterized it as "frank, honest, and substantive."
The Armenian statement on the meeting said that topics discussed included the blockade of the Lachin corridor, Armenia-Azerbaijan border delimitation, unblocking regional infrastructure and transport links, and the rights and securities of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.
"An agreement was reached to intensify the work towards the solution of the issues discussed," the report said.
According to the Azerbaijani presidential website, the meeting agenda also included the "withdrawal of Armenian army units from Azerbaijani territory." This refers to Baku's demand for the disarmament and disbanding of the Artsakh Self-Defence Army, which before the Second Karabakh War of 2020 was well integrated with the armed forces of the Republic of Armenia.
Charles Michel called the round of talks "one of the most comprehensive and vigorous," though no breakthrough was made. One of his remarks raised particular ire in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, however.
"I emphasized the need to open the Lachin road. I also noted Azerbaijan's willingness to provide humanitarian supplies via Aghdam. I see both options as important and encourage humanitarian deliveries from both sides to ensure the needs of the population are met," he said during his closing speech.
For many Armenians, receiving humanitarian goods via the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam would amount to a legitimization of the blockade rather than a measure toward lifting it.
Tigran Grigoryan, a political analyst originally from Stepanakert, in a CivilNet column lamented that "Azerbaijan continues to dictate the agenda in the negotiations, imposing both its own vocabulary and its own ideas on all key issues."
"By putting the issue of delivering 'humanitarian' supplies from Aghdam to Nagorno-Karabakh on the same level as the issue of opening the Lachin corridor, Michel has actually legitimized Azerbaijan's blackmail and created a new opportunity for Baku not to make concessions," he said.
Some residents of Askeran, an Armenian town close to Aghdam, have reportedly vowed to install barriers on the Askeran-Aghdam road "in order to counter the so-called humanitarian aid predetermined by the Azerbaijani authorities."
Russia Losing Its Predominant Role In Negotiations On Karabakh Issue – OpEd
By Paul Goble
Given the increasing activity of the US and the EU in the Caucasus, “Russia is losing the exclusivity it used to have in talks about a possible Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement,” according to Sergey Markedonov, one of Moscow’s leading specialists on the Caucasus.
The director of the ethnic relations department at Moscow’s Institute for Political and Military Analysis says that most people have been so focused on the NATO summit in Vilnius that they have failed to pay attention to other events that should be attended to. Among those is what is happening in the South Caucasus about Karabakh (iarex.ru/news/103200.html).
One reason many have ignored this issue recently is that for a long time, they have viewed the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict as “hopeless” and thus think that Moscow need not do anything to maintain the status quo which for decades has worked to its advantage.
But a lengthy interview by Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of the Armenian Security Council, to the Voice of America on July 11 suggests that such confidence may be misplaced, that the situation around Karabakh is in motion, and Russia is being increasingly left behind and thus losing its influence.
The Grigoryan interview is in Armenian at amerikayidzayn.com/a/7176553.html and in English at jam-news.net/armen-grigoryans-interview-with-voice-of-america/. Because Grigoryan is a senior policy maker and often articulates new directions in Yerevan’s policies, it should be attracting more attention than it has so far, Markedonov says.
In his interview, Grigoryan makes four key points: first, talks between Aliyev and Pashinyan could take place far earlier than anyone thinks, second, the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh hasn’t lived up to expectations; third, “the problem of Karabakh Armenians is not about territory but about civil rights” within Azerbaijan; and fourth, Armenia’s relations with the US are especially important and must be strengthened in every possible way.
All this suggests that “a framework agreement mediated by the West is closer than ever before” and that it will be something that both Yerevan and Baku will be in a position to “sell” domestically. According to Markedonov, “for Russia this is not very good news.” Moscow can blame the Armenians but of late Russia has not devoted the attention to this issue it should.
Russians need to realize that Moscow “is losing its political exclusivity on an Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement every day and more and more. A framework agreement orchestrated by the US and the EU will alas intensify this trend.” Moscow must recognize that it has competitors and not assume that it can ignore them and what they are doing, Markedonov concludes.
Pashinyan honors fallen troops at military memorial in Ararat province
15:51,
YEREVAN, JULY 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited a military memorial on Monday during his trip to the Ararat Province.
In a video published by the Prime Minister’s Office, PM Pashinyan is seen honoring fallen troops at the memorial.
Pashinyan visited Artashat city in Ararat on July 17 for a briefing by provincial authorities on the 2022 report and ongoing programs.
Armenian Deputy Prime Minister meets new ADB Armenian office head
16:30,
YEREVAN, 17 JULY, ARMENPRESS: On July 17, the Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan met with Paolo Spantigati, the outgoing (Asian Development Bank) ADB Director of the Armenian Resident Mission, and his successor Donald Lambert.
During the meeting, Tigran Khachatryan thanked Spantigati for his ‘active and productive’ activities in Armenia and spoke about the important achievements within the framework of cooperation with the ADB, the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout posted on social media.
The Deputy Prime Minister and the newly appointed head of the ADB Armenian office noted that effective cooperation with ADB will continue.
During the meeting, ideas were exchanged regarding the implementation of the North-South Road Corridor Investment Program as well as issues related to the sustainable urban development and improving the seismic safety of schools.
The interlocutors also specifically referred to the need for the development of irrigation infrastructure and effective management of water resources, emphasizing the importance of expanding cooperation in this direction.
Turkish Consul General to L.A. Lobbies Elected Officials to Ignore Armenian-American Concerns
Turkish Consul General to Los Angeles, Sinan Kuzum, in June, disseminated a letter to California lawmakers in an attempt to highlight “positive developments in the Turkish and Armenian relationship,” referring to the ongoing negotiations between Armenia and Turkey, and the participation of Armenia’s Prime Minister in the inauguration of Turkey’s President.
In his inflammatory letter, Kuzum accused the Armenian Diaspora in Los Angeles of attempting to hamper the goodwill and spirit of peaceful negotiations between Armenia and Turkey, urging lawmakers to be mindful of the ongoing negotiations before they speak on matters concerning Armenian-Turkish relations.
The Turkish Consul General’s letter is just the latest example of the Turkish government’s efforts to silence the Armenian diaspora’s voice and effectiveness in advocating for a just US foreign policy in the region. Furthermore, the consul general’s letter is indicative of a larger problem that should be of grave concern to Americans and policymakers alike–a foreign principal actively engaged in efforts to bend local, state, and federal policymakers to the will of a foreign country, in direct conflict with their constituents’ interests and needs.
The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region responded to the Turkish Consul General’s letter, condemning their deception and distortion of facts. The Turkish government has a long history of denying the Armenian Genocide and, more recently, supplied Azerbaijan with weaponry and personnel during the 2020 Artsakh War.
“The Turkish Consul General’s letter is a desperate attempt to deflect attention away from the Turkish government’s own obstructionism on the path to normalization of relations,” said ANCA – Western Region Board Chair Nora Hovsepian Esq.
“Whitewashing its history of genocide and human rights violations is nothing new for Turkey. We will continue to hold the Turkish government accountable until it fulfills its historical obligations to the Armenian people. The Armenian diaspora will not be silenced, and we will continue to fight for justice for the Armenian Genocide and the crimes Turkey has been actively committing against Armenia, Artsakh, and the Diaspora as a whole. We trust that our elected officials will continue to prioritize the concerns of their own Armenian-American constituents over the shameless lobbying of a foreign government trying to dismiss those legitimate concerns,” added Hovsepian.
The Armenian National Committee of America Western Region is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.