Author: Emil Lazarian

                                        Tuesday, 
Russia, Armenia Vow To Boost ‘Privileged Alliance’
Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Armenian Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, .
Russia and Armenia pledged on Tuesday to strengthen their political, economic 
and security ties despite sweeping Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its 
invasion of Ukraine.
In a joint statement issued after their talks held outside Moscow, Russian 
President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said the 
“privileged alliance” of their states will grow stronger.
“Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinian expressed concern over the use of unilateral 
restrictive measures by a number of countries,” they said, clearly referring to 
the Western sanctions. “They expressed their intention to jointly overcome the 
challenges caused by these measures, including in the field of food and energy 
security of the two countries, logistics, etc.”
In particular, they said, the two sides will continue to “facilitate the flow of 
Russian investments in Armenia.”
Visiting Moscow last week, Armenian Economy Minister Kerobian said that 
Russian-Armenian trade, which totaled over $2.5 billion last year, began falling 
in March. He said the two governments should work together to “urgently 
eliminate the causes of the decline and restore growth.”
Because of its close economic links with Russia, Armenia is expected to be 
significantly affected by the Western sanctions. The Central Bank of Armenia 
(CBA), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have forecast that the 
Armenian economy will barely grow this year.
In another veiled reference to the conflict in Ukraine, Putin and Pashinian 
expressed serious concern over “the aggravating situation in the field of 
international security.”
“In this regard, the Parties intend to further strengthen cooperation in order 
to counter negative trends in this area,” reads their joint statement.
“The leaders proceed from the premise that no state, union or coalition can or 
should ensure its security at the expense of the security of other states,” it 
adds, echoing a Russian argument against Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
Putin, Pashinian Reaffirm Russia’s Role In Armenian-Azeri Talks
Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Armenian Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, .
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
reaffirmed Russia’s key role in efforts to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 
when they met outside Moscow on Tuesday.
They called for a “consistent implementation” of Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements 
brokered by Moscow during and after the 2020 war in Karabakh. They also agreed 
to speed up the planned creation of a commission on demarcating Armenia’s border 
with Azerbaijan with Russian assistance.
“The parties agreed to intensify trilateral cooperation between Armenia, Russia 
and Azerbaijan in order to foster the normalization of relations between 
Azerbaijan and Armenia and in the region as a whole,” Putin and Pashinian added 
in a joint declaration issued after their talks.
Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev agreed to start drafting an 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty and to set up the commission on the border 
demarcation during their April 6 talks in Brussels hosted by European Council 
President Charles Michel. The latter reaffirmed the European Union’s readiness 
to facilitate the opening of transport links between the two South Caucasus 
states.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted on April 8 that Putin had already 
laid the groundwork for these agreements during his frequent contacts with the 
Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders. Lavrov accused the EU of seeking to sideline 
Moscow and use the Karabakh conflict in the standoff over Ukraine.
A senior EU diplomat insisted shortly before Lavrov’s comments that the EU and 
Russian efforts are “not mutually incompatible.”
In their joint statement, Putin and Pashinian stressed the importance of 
“revitalizing” the work of a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani intergovernmental body 
dealing with practical modalities of reopening regional transport links. The 
working group has not met since December.
The statement made no explicit mention of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. 
Lavrov said that Moscow is ready to help Yerevan and Baku “create conditions” 
for concluding such an accord.
In his opening remarks at the talks held in his Novo-Ogaryovo residence near 
Moscow, Putin noted that “many problems remain” in the Karabakh conflict zone. 
He did not go into details.
The two leaders did not address the press in person after the talks.
Armenian Road Deaths Keep Rising
        • Nane Sahakian
Armenia -- A police car races through heavy traffic in Yerevan, November 27, 
2019.
The number of officially registered traffic deaths in Armenia rose by nearly 6 
percent to 368 last year, continuing a decade-long trend and underscoring the 
country’s poor road safety record.
Pedestrians accounted for about one-third of the victims of traffic accidents, 
according to the Armenian road police.
The police registered a sharper increase in overall vehicle accidents. They 
totaled 4,604, up by almost 15 percent from 2020.
A recent report released by the World Bank found that of the 32 countries of the 
European Union and the former Soviet Union involved in the EU’s Partnership 
Program Armenia has the second highest rate of traffic fatalities.
Arman Chilingarian, a deputy chief of the traffic police, blamed the growing car 
accidents and resulting deaths on a significant increase in the number of cars 
owned by Armenians. But he admitted that other factors have also been at play.
Experts believe those factors include a culture of reckless and dangerous 
driving as well as lenient policing. Some of them also point to the easing of 
traffic fines which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government initiated after 
taking office in the 2018 “velvet revolution.”
During the revolution and in the immediate aftermath of it, Pashinian repeatedly 
lambasted Armenia’s former government for aggressively enforcing traffic rules 
with fines. His government forgave thousands of car owners that had refused to 
pay such fines imposed on them in previous months and years. It also reduced 
most of the legal penalties for traffic violations.
However, Pashinian’s government toughened some of them after traffic deaths 
surged from 279 in 2017 to 343 in 2018. Under new rules introduced by it in 
2020, unruly motorists now risk not only fines but also points deductions that 
could result in the suspension of their driving licenses and even prosecution. 
The so-called a “credit system” has clearly not had desired effects so far.
Armenia’s National Innovation Center sponsored by the United Nations is now 
helping the government devise a comprehensive strategy of improving road safety.
“One of the reasons for what we now see in Armenia is that it has been quite 
difficult to diagnose the problem so far,” the head of the center, Tigran 
Chorokhian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Chorokhian and other experts cite a lack of details in police data such as the 
percentage of traffic accidents caused by drunk driving. They say such 
information is essential for tackling the problem.
Civic Activists Also Concerned About Pashinian’s Karabakh Policy
        • Sargis Harutyunyan
Nagorno-Karabakh - A man shepherds his cows near a rocket case left after the 
2020 war, January 6, 2021.
A group of Armenian civil society members on Tuesday expressed serious concern 
over Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s latest statements on the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict.
In a joint statement, they warned that Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population 
will be subjected to “ethnic cleansing and annihilation” if Azerbaijan regains 
control over the disputed territory.
Addressing the Armenian parliament on April 13, Pashinian said the international 
community is pressing Armenia to “lower a bit the bar on the question of 
Nagorno-Karabakh’s status” and recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He 
signaled Yerevan’s intention to make such concessions to Baku, fuelling more 
opposition allegations that he plans to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over 
Karabakh.
Karabakh’s leadership also deplored that declaration. In a resolution, the 
Karabakh parliament demanded that the Armenian authorities “abandon their 
current disastrous position.”
The statement issued by a dozen civic activists says Pashinian speech suggests 
that the Armenian government is involved in preparations for “a process which 
may have serious and dangerous consequences for the security of Armenia’s and 
Karabakh’s citizens.”
The signatories mostly affiliated with Western-funded NGOs also said that 
Pashinian’s conciliatory rhetoric is not and will not be reciprocated by 
Azerbaijan’s leadership. Baku is on the contrary continuing its “aggressive 
actions” against Armenia and Karabakh, they said.
“There are many reasons to think so,” Gayane Abrahamian, one of the signatories, 
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Eduard Aghajanian, a senior lawmaker and member of the ruling Civil Contract 
party, insisted late last week that Pashinian did not call for the restoration 
of Azerbaijani control of Karabakh. But he would not be drawn on what exactly 
“lowering the bar” on the territory’s status means.
EU Leader Voices Support For Pashinian Over Karabakh
France - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and European Council President 
Charles Michel hold an unofficial meeting in Paris, March 9, 2022.
European Council President Charles Michel has spoken with Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian and praised his position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the eve 
of his official visit to Russia.
In a Twitter post, Michel said Tuesday that he phoned Pashinian the previous 
evening to “follow up on our recent discussions in Brussels.”
“Full support to his and all efforts to promote a peaceful, stable and secure 
South Caucasus,” added the European Union’s top official.
A statement on the phone call released by the Armenian prime minister said the 
two men discussed “the situation in the region” and the implementation of 
agreements reached by Michel, Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
at their trilateral meeting in Brussels held on April 6.
At that meeting, the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders agreed to start drafting a 
bilateral peace accord and to set up a commission tasked with demarcating the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
On April 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the EU of trying to 
sideline Moscow and use the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for its “Russophobic 
line.” He said the EU wants to hijack Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements that were 
brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin after the 2020 war in Karabakh.
Moscow announced afterwards that the Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, 
Igor Khovaev, will now work as Lavrov’s special envoy on “fostering the 
normalization of relations” between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The group’s two other co-chairs, the United States and France, have not denied 
Lavrov’s claims that they have stopped cooperating with Russia on a Karabakh 
settlement because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian arrives in Moscow at the start 
of an official visit, 
The Karabakh issue was expected to top the agenda of Pashinian’s talks with 
Putin slated for Tuesday. The Armenian premier flew to Moscow in the morning.
Pashinian began the visit a week after declaring that the international 
community is pressing Armenia to “lower a bit the bar on the question of 
Nagorno-Karabakh’s status” and recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. 
Addressing the Armenian parliament, he signaled Yerevan’s intention to make such 
concessions to Baku.
The remarks fueled more opposition allegations that he has agreed to Azerbaijani 
control over Karabakh. Armenia’s leading opposition groups also responded by 
pledging to stage street protests aimed at toppling Pashinian.
By contrast, the EU’s special representative to the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, 
swiftly praised Pashinian’s “forward-looking” speech in the parliament.
“Armenia has the EU’s support in the search for a just peace,” Klaar tweeted on 
April 13.
The EU diplomat met with Aliyev in Baku on Tuesday. He described the meeting as 
“substantive.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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