Author: Emil Lazarian

ArmInfo.Hypothetical membership in the still hypothetical Union State will lead to the loss of not only Armenia’s sovereignty, but also new territories. Leader of the  “Republic” party, former Prime Minister of Armenia Aram Sargsyan,  expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.

“We have already gone through all of this once, with all the relevant  consequences. Accordingly, today the Armenian people must first of  all rely on themselves, namely, on the combined potential of the  Armenians of the whole world. It is necessary to make every possible  effort towards achieving consolidation around common for all  Armenians’ goals and only then, of course, to harmonize Armenia’s  foreign and economic policy through its diversification towards  democratic, technologically advanced states,” he stressed.

Commenting on the current situation, the politician expressed the  opinion that Turkey, with the support of Russia, is today trying to  force Armenia to sign the peace agreement proposed by Azerbaijan.  While the US and the EU continue to consider the establishment of the  status of Artsakh within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group as a  means of achieving peace in the South Caucasus.

In the light of the latest “gas” games of Baku, Sargsyan recalled  that these and other problems caused by Azerbaijan, according to the  document dated November 9, 2020, will first of all have to be solved  by Russian peacekeepers. And the fact that for a whole week the  Russian military were unable to finally restore the gas supply to  Artsakh, were unable to approach the pipe on neutral territory, in  his opinion, speaks of their unwillingness to resolve this issue.

“One call from Foreign Minister Lavrov would be enough for Baku to  restore the gas supply to Artsakh.  Even in the current geopolitical  situation. But if Moscow wants to resolve this issue, but cannot,  then this becomes a reason for drawing completely different  conclusions in Armenia” , he emphasized.  Commenting on the reasons  for the current aggressive behavior of the Aliyev regime towards  Artsakh and on the borders with Armenia, Sargsyan conditioned it by  the desire of the dynastic ruler of Azerbaijan to keep the Armenian  people in a state of anxiety and tension in order to snatch as many  concessions from Armenia as possible during the upcoming  negotiations. In any case, the politician does not believe that at  this stage, Aliyev is able to transform the tension he is whipping up  into full-scale military operations. First of all, due to the fact  that by doing so he will deal a final, already mortal blow to the  reputation of the Russian Federation, with all the attendant  consequences. 

ArmInfo. The issues voiced by the residents of Tsovagyugh and Semenovka communities of Gegharkunik region are in the focus of attention of the Human Rights Defender (RA). This is stated in the statement of the office of the RA Human  Rights Defender.  

The message received by ArmInfo notes that the Human Rights Defender  and representatives of the Gegharkunik regional department of the HRD  were informed about the problems voiced by the residents of the  abovementioned communities at today’s protest action.

“Today, from the very first moment of blocking the road by residents  and until now, we are closely following the voiced demands and are in  direct contact with representatives of the Ministry of Territorial  Administration, Infrastructure and Gegharkunik region.  Representatives of the HRD are also in touch with individual  residents on the spot.  The Human Rights Defender will continue to  keep the issues raised by the residents in the field of his immediate  attention, will contribute to resolving the situation within his  competence,” the RA Human Rights Defender  said in a statement.  

It should be noted that today, March 23, residents of the villages of  Tsovagyugh and Semenovka of the enlarged community of Sevan blocked  the Yerevan-Sevan highway and demanded a meeting with the Minister of  Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia Gnel  Sanosyan.  The villagers are against the enlargement of the  communities. In this regard, they demand that Sanosyan come  personally and solve their problems. The protesters say that the road  will be closed until Sanosyan himself arrives. Residents of the  community also asked for forgiveness from all citizens who suffered  today as a result of the road closure. “Our war is not with the  government, our war is with Sanosyan. Let him come personally and we  will open the road,” the protesters said, noting that Sanosyan had  already deceived them earlier. Sanosyan has not yet responded to the  demand, the road continues to be blocked.  It should be noted that  the residents of Semyonovka and Tsovagyugh on December 5, 2021,  boycotted the elections to local governments. It is also worth noting  that the inhabitants of the Armenian villages in the majority opposed  the enlargement of communities, assuring that this would lead to a  new outflow of the population. However, the opinion of the villagers  was ignored.