Author: Emil Lazarian

ArmInfo.The salaries of all civil servants of Artsakh in 2021 were paid from taxes paid by the people of Armenia. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated this on  May 31 during the discussion of the report on the implementation of  the state budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2021.

Pashinyan recalled that after the end of the 44-day war, from  November 2020 to the end of 2021, Armenia allocated a total of 136  billion drams ($280 million) to Artsakh and does not intend to stop  there. Within the framework of the financing, the costs of utility  bills for the population of Artsakh were covered. All salaries of the  Artsakh state employees were also paid by the Government of the  Republic of Armenia. “This means that in 2021 the salaries of all  civil servants, from the members of the National Assembly to the  government of Artsakh, teachers and others, were paid by the  government of the Republic of Armenia, including healthcare expenses  of Artsakh, at the expense of taxes paid by the people of the  Republic of Armenia”, the prime minister said.  

In 2019, the state budget of Artsakh amounted to about 118 billion  drams (about $250 million), of which about 58 billion was transferred  from the Republic of Armenia. In 2021, the revenue part of Artsakh’s  budget amounted to 174 billion drams, of which 128 billion drams was  also received from Armenia. “That is, the support of the Republic of  Armenia to Artsakh in 2021 increased by 122% or 70 billion drams,  while the budget of Artsakh as a whole increased by 48% or 45 billion  drams. 73% of Artsakh’s budget for 2021 was transferred by the  Government of the Republic of Armenia”, he noted.  

In accordance with the budget for 2022, financial assistance has been  increased to 144 billion drams (about 300 million US dollars). In  addition, Armenia will provide Artsakh with an additional 50 billion  drams (over $100 million) for housing construction programs. Of  these, 20 billion drams (slightly more than 40 million dollars) in  2022, the RA Prime Minister said.  

ArmInfo.Yerevan is in vain relying on Washington for Ankara unblocking the borders, Viktor Nadein-Raevsky, Researcher of the Institute of World Economy and  International Relations (IMEMO), said in an interview with ArmInfo. 

“No doubt, the United States is attentive to the Armenian-Turkish  process. Another question is that Turkey is not at all a state under  the U.S. overwhelming influence despite its being a NATO member and  its other ties with the United States. In this context, I do not  think the Armenian leadership’s hopes are in line with the reality  and trends inside Turkey, and one of the reasons is that Turkey is  coordinating its policy toward Armenia with Baku,” he said. 

Ankara is not expected to make independent steps toward Armenia  without preconditions at least until the process of signing of an  Armenian-Azerbaijan peace agreement shows progress, and Azerbaijan is  clearly stating it is holding great expectations, Mr Nadein-Raevsky  said. 

For Azerbaijan, any Armenian-Turkish negotiations and Ankara’s steps  toward Yerevan are instruments for ensuring progress in its own  negotiations with Armenia, especially with Turkey itself not  expecting any preferences from normalizing its relations with  Armenia. So Turkey has no need to hurry. 

“The result is the present uncertainty over the prospects for  normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. See, the process has  been continuing for nearly six months, with three meetings of the  Special Envoys. But even experts and analysts do not know anything  about the results – to say nothing of the public. Moreover, to create  an atmosphere of confidence, Yerevan is not voicing any of its  demands to remedy historical injustice. In its turn, Ankara is  dragging time in Baku’s interests and can, in necessary, put forward  its own preconditions at any moment,” Mr Nadein-Raevsky said.