Robert Kocharyan’s defenders did not manage to prepare a motion for self-withdrawal, so the court gave them up to 17.45 hours to do so. Shortly before, the defense lawyer Hayk Alumyan told the journalists that they were given extra time, the motion will be submitted tomorrow at 12:00.
According to Kocharyan’s lawyer, the motion for self-withdrawal is conditioned by one fact.
“Tomorrow, when we decide, we will present it in detail,” he said without revealing any fact.
President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian answered the question of an Azerbaijani student referring to Nagorno Karabakh conflict during his meeting with the professors and students of Otto von Guericke University in German Saxony-Anhalt State.
President Sarkissian said, “From the viewpoint of mankind it was a tragedy what happened in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh. I don’t wish to go back to historical details.
What happened in Armenia may create an environment where the conflict can be resolved. Armenia has a new Government and new Constitution. I am the Head of State, but I am not the Head of the Government. Now Armenia is like Germany. According to the Constitution, the Head of the Government has to negotiate with Ilham Aliyev. My role can be limited by offering advice.
I want to emphasize a very important point. People have dies not only in Azerbaijan, but also in Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia. I think we should spare no efforts to create a fair and peaceful atmosphere for finding a solution to the issue. Will it be easy? No. But we have to try to do it today, otherwise your and our children will have to ask the same question after years.
Therefore, it’s time to solve the issue.”
Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 9
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
Strategic height on the border of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and Armenia came under Azerbaijani control in August-September 2018, Researcher at the Australian Institute Masis Ingilizian said in his article published on open investigation portal Bellingcat.
Ingilizian also said that Azerbaijani armed forces are currently carrying out engineering works on the Nakhichevan border into what was once considered neutral territory. Satellite imagery reveals Azerbaijan has constructed new roads towards unmanned strategic points along the mountains, leading towards the frontline and Armenian positions.
According to him, Planet Labs’ satellite imagery of the region suggests that over the summer and early autumn of this year, Azerbaijan has moved troops into new positions along the mountain which oversees the Armenian first line of defence in the area and a vital Armenian military road (highlighted in yellow in the first satellite image).
When considering satellite imagery since May 2018, it becomes clear that Azerbaijan has shifted even closer to the unofficial demarcation line on the same roads that were being built around May of this year. Ingilizian noted that the mountain northwest of the Arpa River, which now connects to the aforementioned roads, was not fully taken by Azerbaijani forces in May 2018; however, fresh satellite imagery from Planet Labs showing new roads suggests that the mountain is now under Azerbaijan control.
Such a move, according to Ingilizian, could push Armenia off its first implemented line of defence due to increased vulnerability of its positions. In fact, one such post may have already been abandoned due to new Azerbaijani maneuvers (the eastern trench highlighted in red in the second satellite image). Such a turn of events would constitute a new threat in which a seized, neutral territory could pose a threat to Armenian infrastructure and settlements.
As a result of successful actions in May 2018, the village of Gunnut of the Sharur district and the strategic heights of Khunut (2,065 meters), Gyzylgaya (1,683 meters), and Mehridag (1,869 meters), located around the village, came under the control of Azerbaijani units.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Naira Badalian. The issue of providing high-quality medical services to retirees can be resolved as part of the introduction of Compulsory Medical Insurance s. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia Mane Tindilian stated this at a press conference on November 9.
According to her, no matter how much the pension rises, she will not be able to provide them with the right to use the whole range of necessary medical services. Thus, according to the head of the social department, the issue will be resolved only after the final implementation of the medical insurance system. To note the process of phased introduction of the Compulsory Medical Insurance system started in Armenia on October 1, 2017, and state employees became the beneficiaries of the first stage of the social package.
However, on November 7, Acting Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan stated that the Compulsory Medical Insurance ssystem in Armenia can be implemented within 3-4 years. According to him, at present the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Armenia is preparing a legal framework for the introduction of the new system.
The system will be regulated by the National Fund, which will issue insurance policies. “The state is interested in ensuring that citizens are healthy and apply for medical assistance as little as possible. The state apparatus does not depend on insurance payments, while the revenue of private companies is directly related to insurance policies and the number of patients (the more, the better)” noted Arsen Torosyan. At the same time, if there is a single insurance agency, it will be possible to save on administrative expenses, which will not exceed 2% of the total budget. At the same time the Minister stressed that at present there are discussions on the question of who will be the beneficiary of the future system, all working or all citizens of the country, including children and pensioners. However, today the question remains with non-working citizens, as well as pensioners and children, since the budget is not able to take on additional burdens. Earlier, the former Minister of Healthcare Levon Altunyan stated that according to preliminary expert calculations, the compulsory health insurance policy for working citizens of Armenia who are not state employees and are not listed in the lists of the most needy citizens of the ”Paros ”social program montly will cost 6 thousand drams – sh –
Alexander Avanesov. Former Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan can join the council directors of the Russian ”Zarubezhneft” company.This was reported by the newspaper Kommersant on October 25.
According to the source, this appointment can be both a political gesture and a consequence of Karen Karapetyan’s long career in Russian state-owned companies in 2000-2010. Russia has previously invited loyal politicians from abroad: for example, German former chancellor Gerhard Schroder is on the board of directors of Rosneft. According to the newspaper’s sources, Karen Karapetyan can take the place of an independent director who is currently occupied by Hrayr Simonyan, advisor to the head of Inter RAO Boris Kovalchuk. Zarubezhneft and the Federal Property Management Agency did not respond promptly to the request. The representative of the Deputy Prime Minister for Fuel and Energy Dmitry Kozak Ilya Dzhus told Kommersant that the directive on the appointment did not come out, but did not deny its possible preparation.
Karen Karapetyan became the Armenian Prime Minister in September 2016, when Serzh Sargsyan was the country’s President, and finally left the government this spring after the mass protests that brought Nikol Pashinyan to power. At the end of June, Karen Karapetyan also withdrew from the leadership of the Republican Party of Armenia, whose chairman is Serzh Sargsyan. After the May events in Armenia in the public policy, the former Premier was not noticed, about any claims to him by the new government is unknown.
“Karapetyan is well-known in business circles in Russia, and he could have received such a proposal (to join Zarubezhneft’s Board. -” Kommersant “),” the source’s correspondent added, “Karen Karapetyan’s friends are Russian friends businessmen Ruben Vardanyan and Samvel Karapetyan (owner of the Tashir holding, not a relative of the former prime minister). Karen Karapetyan has extensive experience in Russian companies, in particular, in the fuel and energy sector. In 2011-2012, he was the first vice-president of Gazprombank, since 2012 – deputy general director for strategy and development of Gazprom Mezhregiongaz, in 2015, he became deputy general director for international projects of Gazprom Energoholding. In the 2000s he headed the structure of Gazprom in Armenia ArmRosgazprom. Sources from the Gazprom system characterized Mr. Karapetyan as a man of “very energetic” and with an “innovative spirit”, but impulsive, and noted that he had good relations with Gazprom’s board member Kirill Seleznev.
Zarubezhneft is a relatively small oil company against the background of industry leaders in the Russian Federation. In 2017, it produced 5.3 million tons of oil equivalent, the main assets are located in the Russian Federation and in Vietnam. In this case, the board of directors of six people traditionally includes former major officials. So, it is headed by the ex-head of the FSO Yevgeny Murov, and already this year the ex-minister of transport Maxim Sokolov joined the council. The membership in the board of directors of Zarubezhneft is well paid: the amount of remuneration in 2017 amounted to 38.8 million rubles. Artur Shamilov from TopContact believes that the inclusion of Karen Karapetyan on the board of directors of “Zarubezhneft” should be interpreted as recognition of the development of bilateral cooperation. Trying to build good relations with the new government of Armenia, the government of the Russian Federation gives a signal to the Armenian elites that they do not forget the previous political leaders, he said. This is a consistent policy, adds Mr. Shamilov, citing the example of German ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who is on the board of directors of Rosneft.
First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan today met with the Republican Party of Armenia in parliament. The Electoral Code was discussed during the meeting.
In a conversation with journalists following the meeting, former RA Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan stated that the discussion is late, formal and imperfect since the issues related to the elections of the National Assembly are a topic for discussion in the political field and, in particular, in a republic in which the model of governance is parliamentary governance, the elections of the National Assembly are first and foremost a topic for discussion with parliamentary forces.
“I regret to state that the governmental commission that had been created to develop the Electoral Code, failed to work intensively with the task force created by the four factions in parliament. Moreover, the proposals of that task force which included the consensus recommendations drafted by the four factions, were not taken into consideration in the draft Electoral Code. The discussion on this Electoral Code is a step back from the previous discussion on the Electoral Code, which led to the emergence of the 4+4+4 format which, in its turn, led to a consensus vote in parliament and to great confidence and support of the international community in and to the electoral process in Armenia. This is also missing,” V. Sargsyan mentioned.
He also noted that the draft was just recently sent to the Venice Commission and that even the sent document was not the final version.
In this regard, during the meeting, RA First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that he was certain that the government wouldn’t manage to receive the response of the Venice Commission on time and that it is likely that someone will express an opinion in the form of an interview.
According to Vigen Sargsyan, all this is a sign of disrespect toward the Venice Commission, and it would be better, if the government didn’t send the draft to the Venice Commission this way and then justified itself by saying that new Armenia is in a state of emergency and this is why they are not sending it, etc.
“The only reason for hastiness for the snap parliamentary elections is that the current political party in power believes that the conditions for holding elections are politically favorable, and it is taking this step, which is actually causing great harm to democracy and to the functioning of political parties in Armenia, and I am sorry for this,” Sargsyan stated.
In his turn, First Deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan informed that the concept paper and the draft of the new Electoral Code had been sent to the Venice Commission and that the final version was also officially sent today.
According to him, the interactions with the Venice Commission will continue, but he assumes that there will not be an expert opinion.
Before this, 168.am had informed that on October 19, Ararat Mirzoyan is going to participate in the plenary session of the Venice Commission and will present the package of amendments to the RA Electoral Code. 168.am had also informed that the draft hasn’t even been sent for an opinion, and so the Venice Commission isn’t going to express any opinion. The acting authorities, under the leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, are simply trying to ensure at least a formal process in order to create a demonstrative illusion of cooperation with the Venice Commission.
This cooperation with the Venice Commission is not going to go any further than the visit of Ararat Mirzoyan and the other formalities that are part of the protocol because the Venice Commission isn’t going to express an opinion.
“But the authorities are rushing. They are rushing so much that the only thing that they can do is to “blow dust in the eyes” of the Venice Commission at the level of the Deputy Prime Minister,” 168.am informed prior to the statement made by Mirzoyan today.
Zvart Khachatryan
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian held a meeting today with outgoing US Ambassador Richard Mills.
Sarkissian thanked Mills for his significant contribution in developing the Armenian-American ties during his tenure as ambassador. The president wished good luck to Mills.
The ambassador said he will always remain a friend to Armenia and the Armenian people.
The only way for resolving the Armenian domestic political developments is the path of dialogue, negotiations and agreements, in conditions of law, rule of law and the Constitution, President Armen Sarkissian told reporters during a visit today to the Charles Aznavour Home in Yerevan.
Reporters asked whether the president plans to sign the controversial bill into law. “After returning [from abroad] I began meetings with the prime minister, the Speaker of Parliament, and political parties, with the goal to achieve what we are speaking about, in order for the transition to once again happen within the framework of the Constitution and law,” he said.
The controversial bill is an amendment to the Rules of Procedure law of the parliament, whereby in the event of a parliament session being unable to be held because of lack of quorum, or if lawmakers are anyhow prevented from participating, it will be considered interrupted rather than failed, with a possibility of resuming at a later date. The aim of the bill is apparently a limitation of possible circumstances of dissolution of parliament. The bill was adopted on October 2 by the parliament which is dominated by Republicans [HHK], which sparked demonstrations. Adopted bills should be signed into law by the president to come into effect.
By Trend
Information about foreign citizens who illegally visited the occupied Azerbaijani territories by grossly violating Azerbaijan’s laws is being investigated, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a message on Oct. 8.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry was commenting on a visit of Armenian prime minister’s spouse Anna Hakobyan together with a group of women from Russia to Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by Armenia.
“As soon as these foreign citizens are identified, the decision on adding their names into the list of foreigners whose entry to the Republic of Azerbaijan is denied will be made,” the message said.
“Further to our already stated position on the “Women for peace” initiative of Armenia, we would like to reiterate that those who want peace would not continue the war, those who want to prevent the loss of lives would not keep the territories of other states under military occupation and those who invite women and mothers to peace would not send their sons to the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan for military service,” the message said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Sputnik News Service Azerbaijan Calls for International Pressure on Armenia Over Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict UNITED NATIONS, September 29 (Sputnik) - Azerbaijan is urging the international community to put pressure on Armenia to ensure the implementation of the United Nations Security Council's resolutions on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said. The minister delivered a speech on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York late on Friday. "We call upon the international community to send a strong message to and exert pressure on Armenia to ensure its fill compliance with international law and to immediately and unconditionally start implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions adopted with regard to the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict," Mammadyarov was quoted as saying by the UN official website. Mammadyarov stressed that if Armenia considered itself a democratic country, it should act in conformity with democratic values and should withdraw its troops from Azerbaijan's occupied territories. "Azerbaijan sincerely believes that there is no alternative to peace, stability and mutually beneficial regional cooperation and is the most interested party in the earliest political settlement of the conflict," the minister added. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dates back to 1988, when the Armenian-dominated autonomous region announced its secession from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1991, the Armenia-backed region proclaimed independence from Azerbaijan and the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which triggered an armed conflict and led to Armenia seizing control over most of the region. In 1994, the two sides reached a ceasefire agreement, however, tensions escalated again in 2016. The sides soon reached a new truce but clashes continued. In 2008, the United Nations adopted a resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh and reaffirmed its support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.