Author: Emil Lazarian

 13:14,

YEREVAN, JUNE 18, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received today U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried, the foreign ministry reports. 

The sides touched upon the Armenian-American bilateral relations that are based on common values of human rights, democracy and rule of law, as well as the prospects of expanding the cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Highlighting the positive dynamics in the mutual visits and contacts at an official level, the Armenian FM praised the visit of the delegation of Armenia to the United States this May and the meetings held there, as well as the launch of the activities within the Armenia-U.S. Strategic Dialogue. 

Issues relating to regional security and stability were also discussed. 

Minister Mirzoyan presented the current developments in the activity of the delimitation and border security commission between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the unblocking of economic ties and transportation communications in the region.

Touching upon the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, FM Mirzoyan highlighted the need for fully resuming the peaceful negotiations for the comprehensive and lasting settlement of the conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, in this context emphasizing the efforts of the U.S. as a Co-Chair country.

FM Mirzoyan also presented the current humanitarian problems caused by the 2020 Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh, particularly the issues on immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in Azerbaijan, and the preservation of Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the territories under the Azerbaijani control.

FM Mirzoyan briefed the guest also on the developments in the Armenia-Turkey normalization process. The necessity of taking concrete steps for the normalization was emphasized.

 17:11,

YEREVAN, JUNE 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili arrived in Armenia on a working visit. 

The two PMs said that the high-level intensive contacts show that the Armenian-Georgian relations are dynamically developing and the political dialogue is at a high level. 

They discussed issues and prospects on the Armenia-Georgia cooperation agenda.

Views were exchanged also on the regional situation and developments. 

The sides reaffirmed the readiness to consistently deepen the friendly ties and agreed to continue the active dialogue.

 15:27,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. The Council of Europe is among Armenia’s main partners in the implementation of reforms in the fields of human rights, democracy and rule of law, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with CoE Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić.

“We highly appreciate the support provided by the Council of Europe to Armenia’s democratic development and are confident that we will continue the productive cooperation with the organization. In this respect I also want to express my gratitude for the contribution made by the observer missions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to the holding of free and competitive elections in Armenia and state that the 2018 and 2021 snap parliamentary elections in Armenia have been recognized by the Council of Europe as meeting the highest democratic standards”, the Armenian FM said.

He said that the CoE’s action plan with Armenia is an important cooperation tool with the organization, adding that this format of cooperation is vital not only for the effective implementation of a number of strategic programs of the Armenian government, but also for the fulfillment of Armenia’s commitments assumed within the CoE.

“Today I and Mrs. Secretary General praised the achievements registered within the ongoing program and I am glad to inform that we both expressed readiness to continue the cooperation in this format, by forming the new 2023-2026 action plan”, Ararat Mirzoyan said.

He said that in 2018 the people of Armenia chose and reaffirmed in 2021 the path of democratic development, strengthening of democratic institutions, protection of human rights, rule of law and the fight against corruption, adding that they will not deviate from it.

“Armenia is determined to move forward with the agenda of reforms and pass through this path by closely cooperating with its international partners, including with the Council of Europe”, the FM said.

 15:52,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Mining raises many issues for communities. What minerals are being developed? Where are the mines? Who owns these mines? What kinds of ore are produced? In what form and to which countries are they exported? Armenia’s accession to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) helped bring the answer to these kinds of questions and more public and transparent, the World Bank said in an article entitled “Armenia’s Journey Towards Responsible Mining”.

As in many countries, mining can be a sensitive topic in Armenia, the article says. It notes that civil society follows mining developments closely to demand better protection of the environment.

The World Bank says that the Armenian government hoped to improve the management of natural resources by making it more transparent, accountable, and participatory. It grew interested in the EITI and, in 2015, announced its intention to join. “Within a year, Armenia met all the preconditions for joining the EITI, and its membership application was approved in 2017”, it says.

The WB says that the country’s legislation did not ensure full transparency and accountability from the sector. The National Assembly made legislative changes to require the publication of large amounts of financial information, such as tax payment data by companies as well as data on extraction and exports, charitable activities, and socio-economic support projects in communities — reporting this information annually became legally required. This information is reflected in the EITI annual national reports.

According to the article, in 2019, Armenia took on responsibilities beyond the scope of mandatory requirements, which ensured even greater transparency.

“Armenia made remarkable achievements in its implementation of the Standard. At the 2019 EITI Global Conference in Paris, Armenia received the EITI Chair’s Award for implementing the Standard in an innovative and resolute manner, as well as for effective multi-stakeholder governance”, the article says.

“I have personally followed the process with great interest. Armenia has achieved remarkable progress. Out of the 54 countries, Armenia is among the nine that have received the highest possible assessment, and it has only been three and a half years since Armenia began implementing the EITI; in that regard, its accomplishments are really commendable”, Mark Robinson – Director of the EITI International Secretariat, said.

For civil society representatives and journalists, the new requirement to disclose the beneficial owners of metal extracting companies was a unique opportunity, the WB said. In Armenia, it had often been quite difficult to obtain information regarding beneficial ownership, it added.

“Armenia`s success story is ongoing and there is still more that can be done.  Future reforms are going to be geared at mitigating environmental impact. The Government is continuing to develop a strategy for the sector by engaging all interested parties”, the article says.

 16:47,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. During their meeting in Yerevan today, the Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić discussed also the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the consequences of the aggression against Artsakh in 2020, and the issues of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“I particularly emphasized the fact that by attempting to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict by the use of force in 2020, as well as by invading the sovereign territory of Armenia, Azerbaijan has grossly violated its commitments undertaken with the accession to the Council of Europe, and this must be properly addressed by the Council of Europe and its member-states”, the Armenian FM said during a joint press conference with the CoE Secretary General following their meeting.

The FM said he reaffirmed the readiness of the Armenian government to put efforts towards the establishment of stability and peace in the region. “In this context, the addressing of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is fundamental, which should include the provisions of ensuring the security and all the rights of the people of Artsakh, and final determination of the status of Nagorno Karabakh”, he noted.

“The people of Artsakh have the same rights as everyone and the fact of being in the conflict zone cannot deprive the Armenians of Artsakh of their universal fundamental rights”, Mirzoyan highlighted. “The humanitarian issues resulting from the aggression unleashed against Artsakh – the issues of the return of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan and the humanitarian access to Artsakh remain unresolved, the politicization of which is unacceptable. The Anti-Armenian and warmongering rhetoric, physical and psychological terror against the civilian population are unacceptable in the same way.

We believe that the Council of Europe, its relevant bodies and leaders should be more determined at least in the issues of Armenian prisoners of war and the humanitarian access to Artsakh, and put utmost effort so that the the interim decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, PACE Resolutions and the provisions of the memorandum of the Commissioner for Human Rights issues on November 8, 2021, be respected”, he added.

 17:20,

YEREVAN, JUNE 17, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received members of the sitting of the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO): Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Alexander Volfovich, Secretary of the Security Council of Kazakhstan Gizat Nurdauletov, Secretary of the Security Council of Tajikistan Nasrullo Makhmudzoda, Secretary General of the CSTO Stanislav Zas, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

In his opening remarks, PM Pashinyan said,

“Dear friends,

I welcome you on the occasion of the regular sitting of the Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member states in the Republic of Armenia, which is taking place in our country within the framework of Armenia’s chairmanship in the CSTO.

This is really a double jubilee year for our organization. We are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty, the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and it is a great honor for us to chair our organization in this jubilee year. You know, we have discussed it many times, increasing the efficiency of the CSTO is one of the most important priorities of our presidency, we thought and still think that the rapid and crisis response mechanisms in specific situations should be improved.

I would like to note that, in principle, we also have a legal framework in this regard, On December 10, 2010, by the decision of the  Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a provision was adopted regulating CSTO’s response to crisis situations, and I think this document quite clearly defines the mechanisms that exist in our Organization. In particular, it outlines what we should consider a crisis situation and how we should respond to it.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that there is such a concept in that provision – “mission”, which is defined as follows: A group of experts from the member states appointed by the CSTO member states in accordance with this provision, to be temporarily sent to the crisis zone to monitor the situation, understand the situation on the spot, develop proposals on the further measures of the Organization aimed at preventing the crisis situation and solving it, as well as for fulling other functions defined by the CSTO Collective Security Council.

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that in the second chapter of this document there is a chapter called “Monitoring”, and the CSTO Secretariat regularly collects information and conducts analysis of the situation in the area of responsibility of the organization and on its development trends in order to identify the preconditions for crisis situations.

Why am I talking about this? You know that the Azerbaijani armed forces invaded our territory in May last year, and we applied to the CSTO. I have spoken about it many times, and as the Chairman, I want to emphasize that this issue should be discussed properly. Why? Because we see that aggressive statements by Azerbaijan continue, we should discuss this issue, especially considering that Armenia has applied to the CSTO, as it is a very fundamental issue for both us and the Organization.

I would also like to mention the following: After the invasion into our territory by the Azerbaijani troops, there were some comments that there is no demarcated border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Frankly, this is a very dangerous wording, because here we are, saying the area of responsibility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. If we say that the borders along which the demarcation and delimitation processes have been carried out should be taken into account, it may confuse the notion of the CSTO area of responsibility, because the question arises: where does the CSTO area of responsibility begin, where does the CSTO area of responsibility end?

Our position is that there is a concrete border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, because in 1991, when the Commonwealth of Independent States was established, an interstate agreement was signed, which clearly states that the countries mutually recognize each other’s existing borders.  This refers to the administrative boundaries of the Soviet period, and I think we should have this as a starting point. The opposite interpretation of this situation, I think, will reduce the effectiveness of the CSTO.

I hope that the nuances mentioned during this meeting and during your sitting will also be discussed. I recently raised this issue during the informal CSTO summit in Moscow. We have started a discussion, once again, as the Chairman, I would like to instruct the CSTO Secretary General to organize this issue in accordance with our charter documents, as the situation in our region is stable but tense. And the statements made by Azerbaijani officials should be a warning sign, I think we should discuss this issue in the CSTO format.

Let me welcome you once, I’m so glad to see you. And I am very happy for the dynamics that occurred in the CSTO in the post-Covid period, because in the last two years we have actually had very little contact with the existing’s formats. Of course, we have continued to work online, but I think we all agree that such meetings and contacts are very important for our work. I am glad that we returned to this regime, it happened in the year of our presidency, in this important jubilee year.

Thank you”.

The Prime Minister discussed issues related to the agenda and activities of the Organization with the Secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member states. The participants of the sitting exchanged views on regional and international security challenges.