Author: Hovik Karapetian

Armenia’s second president says authorities cannot solve issues they created themselves

Hovik Karapetian
Aysor, Armenia

The incumbent authorities cannot solve the issues they created themselves, Armenia’s second president, leader of Armenia bloc Robert Kocharyan stated today at the meeting with residents of Talin.

“I think it is impossible and this is the reason why after the long break I stated about returning to big politics and applying for power,” Kocharyan said.

He said they will do everything to restore people’s right to work.

“We want to build water reservoirs as we understand that in this region without small water reservoirs it will be difficult to move forward. I cannot tell exact date because time is necessary for working out the project, and I cannot speak just in the air. I can say for sure that I will solve the issue in one electoral cycle. If you want to collect and use the snow water melting on Aragats we are simply obliged to catch and keep the water wherever it is possible. You will see a concrete result in three years,” Kocharyan said.

Armenia 1st President recalls his "remedial secession" formula for Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement

Hovik Karapetian
News.am, Armenia
23:02, 10.06.2021

Back in 2016, I had written an article stating that the only way to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is “remedial secession”, and Nikol Pashinyan stole this phrase from me.

This is what first President of Armenia, candidate of the Armenian National Congress political party for Prime Minister Levon Ter-Petrosyan said during today’s press conference. “This means that if there is a national minority in a country and that national minority faces the threat of genocide, the given territory needs to be separated from the big state. This worked in Kosovo, but the situation was different back then. Back then, the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh comprised 12,500 square kilometers. According to the proposed formula, the whole territory of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and the whole Lachin corridor would remain. There is no point in talking about remedial secession now. Azerbaijan has solved almost all of its problems,” he added.

Two bailiffs of Armenian nationality shot dead in Russia’s Adler town

Hovik Karapetian
Panorama, Armenia
June 9 2021

A man in Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Adler has shot dead two bailiffs as they attempted to evict him and his family from their home, Interfax news agency reported. 

Officials at the interior directorate told the Interfax news agency that the incident took place on June 9/ 

‘Two bailiffs came to evict a family from a house, in accordance with a court decision. The man took a hunting gun and shot the bailiffs to death,’ the officials said.

Reports by other media outlets quoted sources in Sochi law enforcement as saying that the shooter was detained and investigators are working at the site.  The killed bailiffs are identified as Andronik matevosyan and Albert Aghozyan.  

Armenia’s President Sarkisyan vows to prevent strife after parliamentary elections

Hovik Karapetian
TASS, Russia
June 8 2021
Earlier, Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan promised to carry out “civil vendettas, revenge and staff purges”

YEREVAN, June 8. /TASS/. Armenian President Armen Sarkisyan has pledged to do everything possible in order to prevent any violence or unrest after the June 20 snap parliamentary elections, the presidential press service announced Tuesday.

“Today, the public is occupied by the elections, and I hope that they will bring some stability and clarity about our country’s future, that the June elections will solve our problems. As president, I will do everything I can, I will use my main tools – those being my words, because I have no other tools – so that the country had more humane, stable elections, without strife or riots,” Sarkisyan said during the online meeting with the US Armenian Lawyers’ Association.

Earlier, Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan promised to carry out “civil vendettas, revenge and staff purges.”

In June, campaigning for the snap parliamentary elections kicked off in Armenia, after Prime Minister Pashinyan and leaders of parliamentary factions struck an agreement. On May 10, the lawmakers carried out all necessary formalities to make the dissolution of parliament legally possible. Later, President Sarkisyan named the election date – June 20. Pashinyan and his cabinet remain in office as acting ministers until the elections. Pashinyan’s party, the Civil Contract, is also running in the elections.

According to experts, one of Pashinyan’s main rivals will be ex-President Robert Kocharyan and his political alliance, dubbed the Armenia Bloc. Other contenders include ex-President Serzh Sargsyan and his Republican Party, currently in a bloc with the Homeland, led by the ex-National Security Service head Artur Vanetsyan. The country’s opposition parties – Prosperous Armenia and Enlightened Armenia – will also run in the elections without entering any blocs.

France concerned by increase in incidents on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

Hovik Karapetian
Public Radio of Armenia
 

France expresses its deep concern at the increase in incidents on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the most recent of which is the capture of 6 Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces on the night of May 26 to 27, 2021, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“France calls on the parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to refrain from any provocation. The demarcation and delimitation of the border between the two countries must be done in the framework of a negotiation between the parties without any fait accompli on the ground,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The Ministry also recalled the declaration of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron dated May 13th.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 25-05-21

Hovik Karapetian

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 17:30,

YEREVAN, 25 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 25 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 520.57 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.28 drams to 638.01 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.03 drams to 7.10 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 2.43 drams to 738.22 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 70.53 drams to 31467.53 drams. Silver price down by 2.60 drams to 462.69 drams. Platinum price down by 402.07 drams to 19648.9 drams.


Armenian soldier killed in armored personnel carrier crash

Hovik Karapetian

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 15:00,

YEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. A conscripted serviceman of the Armenian military has died after suffering fatal injuries when his armored personnel carrier crashed 100 meters into a gorge while en route to a deployment location, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said. The incident took place around 19:00, May 20.

The serviceman who died is Arman Hambaryan, the driver-engineer of the vehicle.

An investigation was launched to determine the cause of the crash.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia-Azerbaijan border standoff continues, talks expected to resume

Hovik Karapetian
Public Radio of Armenia

As of the morning of May 18, no changes were registered in the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border after the provocations carried out on May 12 and 13.

The situation is relatively calm, the units of the Armenian Armed Forces prevent attempts to provide logistical support to Azerbaijani servicemen that have entered the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

The situation in both Syunik and Gegharkunik regions is fully controlled by the Armenian armed forces. It is envisaged that the negotiations on the full resolution of the current situation will continue tomorrow, on May 19.

The Armenian Armed Forces emphasize the need of peaceful settlement of the issue, but note that they are ready for any development of events and stress that encroachments on the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia are absolutely unacceptable.

“The Azerbaijani military is obliged to leave the territory of the Republic of Armenia without preconditions and to refrain from such provocations from now on,” the Defense Ministry stated.

Armenia hails France’s principled stance on inadmissibility of Azerbaijan’s encroachments on Armenian sovereign territory

Hovik Karapetian
Public Radio of Armenia
 

Armenia’s acting Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian had a telephone conversation with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Discussions focused on the situation in the border regions of Armenia incited by Azerbaijani armed forces tand the steps taken to reduce the tension.

In this regard, the Armenian Foreign Minister praised France’s principled position on the inadmissibility of Azerbaijan’s encroachments on the Armenian sovereign territory.

Armenia says Azerbaijan fails to fully withdraw after border incident

Hovik Karapetian
Pakistan,

Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of sending troops across the frontier

Reuters 

An ethnic Armenian soldier looks through binoculars as he stands at fighting positions near the village of Taghavard in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, January 11, 2021. Picture taken January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Artem Mikryukov

Armenia said on Friday that Azerbaijan had failed to fulfil a promise in full to withdraw troops that had crossed the border in a disputed incident, and that it had sought Russia’s military help.

Six months after the worst fighting in decades between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces, the border incident this week has demonstrated the fragility of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that halted the conflict.

Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of sending troops across the frontier. Azerbaijan has denied this and said its forces only defended their side of the frontier.

“Yesterday an agreement was reached that today Azerbaijan’s armed forces should leave Armenian territory,” Interfax news agency quoted Armenia’s caretaker prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, as saying at a meeting about the border.

“This agreement has been partially fulfilled; there are territories that the Azerbaijanis did indeed leave. But, since the agreement was not fulfilled completely, today I have approached the president of Russia…for military assistance.”

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said the leadership of its border guards had met with the Armenian side on Friday to discuss tensions at the border. It gave few further details. While such a meeting would not be extraordinary – border guards from the two sides met as recently as Wednesday – it would be a sign that communications remain open.

Armenia’s Pashinyan called Russian President Vladimir Putin late on Thursday. In a statement about the phone call, the Kremlin said Putin had told Pashinyan that the ceasefire agreement should be strictly upheld, and that Pashinyan had in turn backed “solving all problems that arise through peaceful, political and diplomatic means”.

“Of course, the Armenian side expressed extreme concern over the situation at the border. This concern was shared by President Putin,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

US State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter said Washington expected Azerbaijan to immediately pull back its forces and “cease further provocation.”

“Military movements in disputed territories are irresponsible and they’re also unnecessarily provocative,” Porter said on a call with reporters, adding that border demarcation issues should be resolved through negotiation and discussion.

Last year’s fighting saw Azeri troops drive ethnic Armenians out of swathes of territory they had controlled since the 1990s in and around Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region. It was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a victory, while viewed in Armenia as a debacle. Pashinyan resigned after a stand-off with his military, remaining in office as a caretaker until elections next month.

Russia sent peacekeepers to the area last year to help enforce the ceasefire, and also has a military base in Armenia. It has strong ties and a mutual defence pact with Armenia, but is also on friendly terms with Azerbaijan.