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

Yerevan Mayor receives French Ambassador

Emil Lazarian

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 15:13, 6 May, 2022

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Mayor of Yerevan Hrachya Sargsyan had a meeting with Ambassador of France to Armenia Anne Louyot, the press service of the Yerevan City Hall said.

Highly valuing the role of France in the programs implemented in Yerevan so far, the Mayor expressed confidence that the warm relations with the Embassy will continue, which in its turn, he said, will contribute to the further expansion of the friendly and practical relations between Yerevan and French cities.

The French Ambassador thanked for the readiness to expand the partnership and said that she will do the utmost within her powers to assist all the initiatives aimed at strengthening the bilateral ties.

Today the Yerevan City Hall is cooperating with Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Nice and Île-de-France. The sides highlighted expanding this partnership.

Touching upon the next conference of decentralized cooperation to take place in Lyon this year in June, the Mayor of Yerevan and the French Ambassador expressed confidence that it will serve as a good occasion to discuss the vision and programs of future cooperation.

Security Council Secretary comments on possibility of new Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting

Emil Lazarian

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 13:08, 5 May, 2022

YEREVAN, MAY 5, ARMENPRESS. Commenting on the question whether a new meeting is planned between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan told reporters today that there are still issues, and they will start discussing the potential meeting of Pashinyan and Aliyev only after having the answers to these questions.

Before the meeting with the assistant to the Azerbaijani president Hikmet Hajiyev in Brussels on May 2, Mr. Grigoryan said that if the meeting is held in a constructive environment, it will be followed by the meeting of Pashinyan and Aliyev.

“There are issues, and we will start discussing the possible meeting of the leaders of the countries only after their answers. We still continue the discussions. And when the discussions reach some stage and the possible meeting is outlined, a public statement will be made”, he said.

Armenian Security Council chief says Azerbaijan,international partners have understanding on 5+6 proposal package talks

Emil Lazarian

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 14:12, 5 May, 2022

YEREVAN, MAY 5, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan says he hasn’t seen Azerbaijan publicly rejecting Armenia’s 6-point proposal.

Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Grigoryan reminded that Armenia submitted to Azerbaijan a 6-point proposal in response to Baku’s 5-point proposal.

“Azerbaijan’s proposed points were not unacceptable for Armenia. With its 6 points Armenia proposed that there should be a resolution also to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in order for comprehensive peace to be possible. Now, our approach is that these two packages, 5+6 points must be joined with each other and start negotiations over a peace treaty in order to find a long-term solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” Grigoryan said.

He reiterated Armenia’s position on prioritizing a solution to the security, defense and rights of Armenians living in Artsakh and that the status of Nagorno Karabakh should be developed in accordance.

“I haven’t seen a public rejection of this package. There is an understanding in our discussions that these two packages should be joined and that negotiations should start. Both the Azerbaijani side and all other international partners have this understanding. Starting negotiations over the 5+6 points is a legitimate approach and we’ve seen that understanding,” Grigoryan said.

Criminal case on Karabakh war transferred to Investigative Committee

Emil Lazarian
PanARMENIAN
Armenia – May 5 2022
May 5, 2022 – 13:22 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The criminal case related to the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) has been transferred from the Anti-Corruption Committee to the Investigative Committee, according to Gor Abrahamyan, an Adviser to Armenia’s Prosecutor General, Sputnik Armenia reports.

Abrahamyan noted that the prosecutor made such a decision in order to ensure an objective and comprehensive investigation of the case.

The parents of the servicemen killed in the war asked the Prosecutor General’s Office on April 18 to initiate a criminal case to investigate allegations about Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan handing over the territories of Artsakh.

The families of deceased servicemen have been demanding an answer to their application since April 25.

Armenian Foreign Minister holds discussion at Atlantic Council

Emil Lazarian
Public Radio of Armenia
May 5 2022

Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in the United States on a working visit, participated as a keynote speaker in a roundtable discussion held at the prestigious US think tank – Atlantic Council.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia touched upon the main agenda and emphases of the working visit to the USA, the Armenia-US Strategic Dialogue, the documents signed during the visit and the prospects of the development of the Armenian-American relations.

Reference was made to the process of reforms aimed at democratic development, protection of human rights, strengthening the rule of law and the fight against corruption.

Ararat Mirzoyan presented the situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenia’s position on the negotiations on a comprehensive peace agreement with Azerbaijan, and the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in these processes.

The humanitarian issues resulting from the 44-day war and need to be urgently addressed were presented.

During the meeting reference was also made to the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey.

Blinken tests positive for COVID after meeting with Armenian FM

Emil Lazarian
Panorama
Armenia – May 5 2022

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested positive for COVID-19 via a PCR test on Wednesday afternoon, two days after a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, the Department of State reported.

“The Secretary is fully vaccinated and boosted against the virus and is experiencing only mild symptoms. He tested negative on Tuesday and again as recently as this morning. The Secretary has not seen President Biden in person for several days, and the President is not considered a close contact according to guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” it said.

Blinken hosted Mirzoyan in Washington, D.C., to launch the U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue (USASD) on Monday. “During the Dialogue, the United States and Armenia reiterated their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties across the breadth of the bilateral relationship,” the State Department said.

Saghatelyan: Tomorrow from 12:00 we will completely paralyze Yerevan from four directions

Emil Lazarian
NEWS.am
Armenia – May 5 2022
22:00, 05.05.2022

We’ll gather at this square tomorrow at 12:00, divide into four parts and totally paralyze the city, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, deputy speaker of the parliament from the “Armenia” bloc said.

His remarks came at the large rally of the Resistance Movement on France Square in Yerevan on Thursday.

“Tomorrow there should be numerous disobedience marches so that the police do not have the opportunity to apprehend our compatriots.

Those who want to get actively involved in concrete actions, please come up to the tents and give your names and phone numbers. On Saturday we will go to one of the regions of the country to support our citizens. After that we’ll come back to Yerevan and continue the actions here,” Saghatelyan added.

‘You can’t step into the same river twice’: Oppositionist says Pashinyan must leave

Emil Lazarian
Panorama
Armenia – May 4 2022

The spokesman of the opposition Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), Eduard Sharmazanov, believes Armenia’s ruling political team led by Nikol Pashinyan is actually alarmed by the large-scale civil disobedience campaign to oust them.

“The authorities see everything perfectly well, they just try to convince themselves that everything is fine and the situation is under their control,” he told reporters during an opposition march in Yerevan on Wednesday.

He says that the authorities realize there is an “imminent threat” to their stay in power, adding they enjoy no popular trust and have no legitimacy.

“They can talk as much as they want, but this is a popular nationwide movement. Pashinyan can’t step into the same river twice. He has already deceived the people once, he cannot deceive them twice. He must leave,” Sharmazanov stressed.

The oppositionist states that the movement is not led by any political party, although various parties and politicians are involved in it, adding the existence of Armenia is at stake.

“We have to drive out the gang of capitulators, who turned our 30-year victories into defeats and brought war,” he said, again holding Pashinyan responsible for the start of the 2020 war with Azerbaijan and thousands of Armenian casualties in it.

“He has ceded Shushi and Hadrut, he has surrendered Armenia. I do not understand why he should stay in power.

“If he does not want to step down voluntarily, the people should tell this man and his junta through peaceful acts of disobedience that they have nothing else to do, they must leave,” Sharmazanov said.

Edgar Ghazaryan: Can ‘valiant’ police also unblock Goris-Kapan, Kapan-Chakaten or Berdzor-Shushi roads?

Emil Lazarian
Panorama
Armenia – May 4 2022

Public figure Edgar Ghazaryan, a former chief of the Armenian Constitutional Court staff and ex-ambassador to Poland, has reacted to a police statement that traffic has been restored across Yerevan after being blocked by anti-government protesters on Wednesday morning.

“The police have said that all roads in Yerevan are unblocked. I wonder whether our “valiant” police can also unblock the Goris-Kapan, Kapan-Chakaten, Berdzor-Shushi, Stepanakert-Hadrut, Vardenis-Karvachar and other roads?” he wrote on Facebook.

“If these roads are open for travel, there will definitely be no blocked roads in Yerevan. The roads in Yerevan are closed off temporarily in order to unblock our main roads once and for all,” Ghazaryan said.

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Emil Lazarian
News.am
Armenia – May 4 2022
13:53, 04.05.2022

The opposition will not achieve its goal. Vladimir Vardanyan, a member of the ruling majority “Civil Contract” Faction in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia,  stated this at Wednesday’s session of the NA—and referring to the current protest actions that were launched by the opposition.

According to him, one of the functions of the NA deputy speaker is to ensure the normal and stable activity of the parliament.

“We have a situation when that normal activity is not only not ensured, but everything is being done to disrupt it; this is done with various statements. It feels like those people have nothing to do with the parliament,” said Vardanyan, referring to the opposition’s Resistance Movement coordinator Ishkhan Saghatelyan, who is the NA deputy speaker from the opposition “Armenia” Faction and a representative of the Supreme Body of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun Party of Armenia.