Author: Kanayan Tamar

Other actors` positions account for Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations losing momentum – Vigen Hakobyan

Kanayan Tamar
ARMINFO
Armenia –
David Stepanyan

ArmInfo. The accents put at Armenian Premier Nikol Pashinyan’s last news conference in the context of the last signals in negotiations with Azerbaijan and  settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict suggest planned further  concessions to Azerbaijan rather than an imminent war, political  engineer Vigen Hakobyan said in an interview with ArmInfo. 

Commenting on Baku’s accusations against Yerevan that Armenia is  unwilling to start negotiations, Mr Pashinyan stated that Azerbaijan  is thus trying to legalize a new war, whereas Azerbaijan is  deliberately delaying the unblocking of regional transport links.

The Armenian premier’s statements are, in fact, his desire to justify  the planned further concessions to Azerbaijan. In other words,  Pashinyan is suggesting that a new war is the only alternative to  territorial concessions or concessions on Artsakh, Mr Hakobyan said. 

In fact, however, there is no insidious threat of resumed hostilities  now. And a permanent threat of a new war over the unsettled Artsakh  conflict does not at all justify the Armenian premier’s intention to  prepare Armenian society for new concessions. The expert does not  rule out local skirmishes, without seeing any conditions for a new  full-scale war, including due to the fact of Yerevan not opposing the  Baku-exerted pressure, which could have been a casus belli.

“We realize that no war breaks out at the warring sides’ pleasure.  Rather, a number of geopolitical, international and economic factors  account for wars, with the factors themselves often having nothing in  common with the warring sides. In this context, it is clear that a  new war in the Transcaucasus requires consensus among different  centers of power, which cannot be reached amid the ongoing Ukraine  conflict,” Mr Hakobyan said. 

In other words, the reason for the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations  losing momentum now is not Yerevan’s opposition. Rather, it is the  global or regional actors’ positions, which, in turn, are the result  of the ongoing confrontation between their interests in Ukraine. And,  of course, it has its, Mr Hakobyan influence on their positions in  the Yerevan-Baku negotiations said.

Armenian media outlets: Pashinyan’s insistence on virtual press conferences ‘non-democratic’

Kanayan Tamar
 

ByAni Avetisyan
Pashinyan holding an online press conference on 24 January, 2022. Photo via primeminister.am.

In two separate statements, over five dozen media organisations in Armenia condemned Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s continued holding of press conferences online, calling the format ‘non-democratic’. 

On Friday evening, the Armenian Times newspaper, which is majority-owned by Pashinyan’s mother-in-law, citing ‘their sources’ in the government, reported that Pashinyan was about to announce an press conference — with questions to the Prime Minister read by a presenter employed by Armenia’s Public Broadcaster. 

On Saturday, that information was confirmed by the Prime Minister’s staff. The press conference is to be held at 20:00 on 27 June.

Shortly after the Armenian Times published its news about the press conference, a group of news editors, primarily employed by pro-opposition or opposition-leaning media outlets, issued a statement declaring a boycott of the press conference and refusing to send questions.

‘The previous experience has proved that such “online contacts” take place in a prepared scenario; only the questions by the pro-government media, telegram channels, and bloggers are publicised during these events, who, apparently, agree in advance with the organisers of the event, and in the case of the questions by other media — they are either ignored, edited or distorted’, the statement reads.

As of publication, over three dozen editors have added their names to the joint statement declaring the boycott. 

In another statement, a small number of larger non-partisan media outlets, including Azatutyun, the Armenian service of RFE/RL, and Civilnet condemned the format of the press conference and reoccurring cases of questions that were submitted being edited or distorted. 

‘We deem this form of interaction with the media by the country’s ruler discriminatory, ineffective, and in contradiction with the core principles of democracy, transparency, and accountability’, the statement reads.

Hakob Karapetyan, the editor-in-chief of Armenian fact-checking platform Fact Investigation Platform and one of the initiators of the statement, told OC Media one of the reasons for initiating the statement was the ‘leak’ of the information by the Armenian Times and a concern that the questions sent to the Prime Minister would risk being edited and distorted again. 

‘So we, at the office, decided not to send questions at all and to even issue a statement expressing our attitude towards the press conferences in that format’. Later, a group of media organizations appeared to be willing to join the statement. 

‘The Prime Minister considers the democratization of the country and the transparency of his government as one of the main achievements’, Karapetyan told OC Media. ‘We wanted to send a warning or a signal to them that such actions do not support the democratisation of the country’. 

Karapetyan also warned that with ‘such regressive steps’ Armenia was returning to the days when ‘leaders of the country would not have press conferences for years’ or would only invite representatives from media outlets ‘dear’ to them. 

Pashinyan has been holding online press conferences since 2021, citing the COVID-19 pandemics as a reason for the new format instead of pre-covid and pre-war more often and open communication with the local media outlets. 

However, media organisations have repeatedly complained that the questions they sent to the Prime Minister’s staff were either edited and distorted or not given to Pashinyan.

Prior to the conference, several pro-Pashinyan politicians criticised the media outlets that signed the two statements. Taron Chakhoyan, the deputy head of Prime Minister’s staff accused the pro-opposition and opposition-leaning media outlets of not being professional and serving the interest of those ‘seeking revanchism’. 


Asbarez: Opposition Leader Resigns from Parliament

Kanayan Tamar
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Latest, News, Top Stories

Artur Vanetsyan


Armenia’s former national security chief-turned opposition leader Artur Vanetsyan on Tuesday announced that he is resigning his seat in parliament and is leaving the “I Have Honor” alliance, which he led since the group was elected to parliament last year.

Vanetsyan’s Homeland Party and the Republican Party of Armenia led by former president Serzh Sarkisian formed the small “I Have Honor” alliance, which together with the largest parliamentary opposition faction, the Armenia Alliance, has been holding protests calling for the ouster of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“Today, in the manner prescribed by law, I have submitted a petition to resign from my parliamentary mandate. (…). The reason is obvious: the RA citizen had voted for us to stop the destructive activities of these authorities and to bring the country out of the disaster. However, in my opinion, this parliament has ceased to be an effective platform for achieving the goal,” said Vanetsyan in an announcement he publicized on Tuesday.

“The Board of the Homeland Party has made a decision to continue [its] activities outside the parliament. By the decision of the party, the ‘With Honor’ bloc we formed with the [former ruling] RPA party [hereby] de jure and de facto ceases to exist,” added Vanetsyan.

Before the “Resistance” Movement began its more than month-long street protests, Vanetsyan began a sit in Yerevan in protest of the government’s policies toward Armenia and Artsakh. His one-man protest was overshadowed by the thousands of protesters who marched onto the streets in support of the opposition movement.

Last month, as the “Resistance” Movement protests were taking place on daily basis, Vanetsyan was observed on plane leaving Armenia.

Per Armenia’s Constitution, Vanetsyan has seven days to withdraw his resignation. If such a request is not submitted or articulated his resignation will go into effect.

Moscow Stock Exchange to start trading in Armenian drams

Kanayan Tamar
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia –
, 10:28

 1 minute read

On June 27, the Moscow Stock Exchange will begin trading in the foreign exchange market with the Uzbek sum, Armenian dram and South African rand, the trading platform said, RIA Novosti reports.

The statement said, “On June 27, 2022, the Uzbek sum, Armenian dram and South African rand will begin to be traded in the foreign exchange market of the Moscow Stock Exchange.”

“The new currencies will expand the trading opportunities of professional market participants, their customers – including subjects of foreign economic activity.”

Trading participants and clients will have access to spot and clearing tools for the following currency pairs: South African rand – Russian ruble (ZAR/RUB), US dollar – South African rand (USD/ZAR), Armenian dram – Russian ruble (AMD/RUB), US dollars – Armenian drams (USD/AMD) and Uzbek sums – Russian rubles (UZS/RUB).

The exchange will later announce the start of trading in the UAE dirham – Russian ruble (AED/RUB) and US dollar – UAE dirham (USD/AED) currency pairs.

In early June, Andrey Skabelin, Director of the Foreign Exchange Market Department of the Moscow Exchange, said in an interview with RIA Novosti that the Moscow Exchange plans to start trading in Armenian drams, Uzbek sums and Emirati dirhams in the coming months.

Pashinyan a ‘threat’ to national security, says opposition MP

Kanayan Tamar
Panorama
Armenia –


Nikol Pashinyan poses a threat to national security and thus must be ousted, MP Aram Vardevanyan of the opposition Hayastan alliance said at a protest outside the building of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) late on Monday.

“Scores of dignified officers serve here. I strongly believe that those officers, seeing the anger of the people, will come to the conclusion that Pashinyan poses a national security threat and such people must not stay in power, they must be ousted,” the lawmaker said.

He blamed the incumbent authorities for the fatal shooting in the village of Nigavan on Sunday, which left two people dead and five others wounded. Also, he condemned the “absurd” instructions given to NSS officers.

“We have a clear-cut plan to lead this struggle to victory peacefully but with determination,” Vardevanyan said.

He urged officers of the law enforcement agency to respond to the deadly Nigavan incident.

Russia vs West in South Caucasus – Opinion from Armenia

Kanayan Tamar

June 16 2022


  • Armine Martirosyan
  • Yerevan

Russia’s influence and the role of the West in the South Caucasus

The situation in the region is rapidly changing, and not in a safe direction. Amid the confrontation between the West and Russia, the South Caucasus is already turning into a bone of contention between the two power centres. While Russia is at war in Ukraine, the West is stepping up its actions in the South Caucasus, which unsettles Moscow and forces it to increase pressure on the countries of the region. Lavrov’s last visit to Yerevan again updated the somewhat forgotten “3 + 3” format, Moscow reminded Armenia that there was no alternative to its participation, both in the process of delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and unblocking communications in the region.

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Cartoon from Deutsche Welle

The situation that is currently developing not only in the South Caucasus, but throughout the entire post-Soviet space, except for its western part (Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine) can be called a “stand-by” situation.

Russia is heavily occupied with the conflict, moreover, the conflict means not only the actual war in Ukraine, but in general the format of Russian-Western relations. And Russia is trying to make sure that in the conditions of an unfinished conflict, there are no serious risks for it and some stability is maintained.

Russia has several main directions. These include relations with China, the situation in Central Asia, relations with China on Central Asian issues, relations with Turkey, the situation with Syria, where Turkey again plays its role, as well as the situation in the South Caucasus.

Russia does not want to get involved in difficult situations anywhere else, except for Ukraine. And Russia is working in this direction in the South Caucasus, including with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

There is no “3+3” format, but there is a system of pressure on Armenia. This is the pressure of the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem, the Russian-Azerbaijani format, the Russian-Turkish format.

The “3 + 3” format for resolving regional issues was put forward by Turkey. It involves the participation, on the one hand, of Turkey, Iran and Russia, on the other hand, of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Another question is, how well does it work? So far we see that it does not work.

Turkey’s influence in the South Caucasus region is growing, and the country is seeking legal ways to establish itself as a decision-maker, thus proposing 3+3 format, expert believes

The fact that there will be a road through the Armenian territory of Meghri, connecting Azerbaijan with its exclave of Nakhichevan, and how it will function, has been discussed since the 2020 war in Karabakh itself. And this is the only point in the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, which is not about stopping hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, but about some future. It is about communications, but no progress has been made yet.

The positions of the parties differ so seriously, are so tied up into in the context of the Karabakh problem itself and are so confronted with a complex of problems that it is very difficult to resolve this issue.

Lavrov cannot come up with a ready-made solution and impose it on someone. This decision should be made by everyone, first of all, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

No one can tell about Moscow’s plans better than Lavrov himself. Again there is an old trend – an attempt to squeeze the West out of the region, which has its own political and economic levers. One of these levers, and a completely new one, is the EU’s mediation in the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, of which Russia is very jealous.

In particular, the European Union is now acting as a mediator in the issue of delimitation of borders with Azerbaijan and unblocking communications.

EU mediation can lead to a significant weakening of Russia, because both of these issues Russia intends to use as leverage against both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

For example, in the case of border delimitation, every centimeter, every position will be negotiated by the parties from Russia, which will provide maps. Naturally, it will not provide them immediately, but piece by piece, and for each piece it will demand something from each side. These are Russia’s plans.

“It is not so easy to be a direct, honest, reliable partner for both Russia and the West, our duty is not to betray anyone” – Armenian PM Pashinyan’s interview to Al-Jazeera TV channel

EU mediation significantly weakens this prospect, because the process will follow international norms, procedural developments, including the delimitation of borders within Europe.

The same is true for unblocking of communications. Russia is trying to participate as much as possible in this process, including in the issue of providing escort services.

At the request of Azerbaijan, it plans to escort Azerbaijani cargo through the territory of Armenia. Armenia is not interested in this, because Russian troops (FSB) will not escort Armenian cargo through Nakhichevan. There are no Russian troops there, and Azerbaijan will not agree to their entry there.

As for the intentions of Russia and the use of the CSTO military bloc for its own purposes, on June 10 in Yerevan, at the summit of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSTO, Moscow raised the issue of forming some kind of peacekeeping forces of this organization, some new formats of cooperation and deepening of interactions. However, all this is practically sabotaged, primarily by Kazakhstan.

Armenia also resists and makes it clear that no troops with any peacekeeping mission will be provided to Donbass.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s visit to Yerevan sparked confusion in Armenia and Azerbaijan amid a controversial statement about the village of Parukh (Farukh)

Russia is trying to stop the advance of the West
Western involvement significantly weakens Russia. And it is no coincidence that Russia once again resurfaced the 3 + 3 format, which it seemed to abandon after the weakening in Ukraine and under the huge burden of Western sanctions.

But no, Russia is once again promoting this idea with the sole purpose of preventing the West from moving into the region.

Moscow does not consider Turkey to be the West. Turkey does not consider itself the West. Turkey is balancing, maneuvering, trying to take its piece from everyone. Turkey itself is worried that after the defeat of Russia and the actual victory of not just Ukraine, but the consolidated West, the entire region will gradually come under the control and influence of the West, which will significantly weaken its position in the region and its ability to maneuver.

Turkey has always relied on Russia when it opposed the West, when it tried to put pressure on the West. But when Russia is not strong, Turkey will have no one to rely on and will have to obey international rules, which it strongly does not want.

The same is with its henchman in the region, Azerbaijan, whose president on May 27 at a meeting with citizens said that the world order is changing, there will be no international law, all issues will be resolved by force, and Azerbaijan will continue to arm and live the way it wants.

“If we define the borders, then what status of NK can we talk about?” – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh has been resolved

Armenia is now showing quite a lot of maneuverability.

This is due to the proposals of the West and some security guarantees on the issue of Azerbaijani aggression. Yes, these are not the most ideal guarantees, not comprehensive, not unconditional, not 100%, but they exist.

We saw how the West – the US, the EU – reacted very harshly to Azerbaijan’s attack on the village of Parukh in Nagorno-Karabakh [Azerbaijanis call it Farukh – JAMnews]. Moreover, for the first time they reacted specifically, accusing Azerbaijan of violating the agreements. There was no such reaction from the West even during the war.

PM Pashinyan appealed to Putin amid escalation in Karabakh, as Yerevan continues questioning the efficency of the Russian peacekeepers stationed there

This means that the West’s position towards Azerbaijan is becoming tougher, despite the fact that Azerbaijan, it would seem, is a very important partner in the energy sector.

This means that Azerbaijan’s responsibility to the international community has not been cancelled. This means that the West treats Azerbaijan not only as an authoritarian regime, but also as a regime that constantly violates agreements.

For example, the head of the EU, Charles Michel, in his harsh statement, actually accused Azerbaijan and said that Aliyev in Brussels agreed on one thing, while in his country he declared the exact opposite.

Charles Michel’s statement on Brussels’ talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan expressed regret over the manipulation of the extraterritorial claims

No less harsh was the resolution of the European Parliament adopted on March 10 on the Armenian cultural heritage in the territories that came under the control of Azerbaijan. Only the word “genocide” was not used in the resolution. But if we sum up all the accusations that fell on Azerbaijan, we can easily conclude that Azerbaijan is purposefully carrying out cultural genocide.

We also have an interim resolution of the International Hague Court, in which Azerbaijan is accused of ethnic xenophobia at the state level towards Armenians.

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It is no coincidence that EU Special Representative Toivo Klaar said that without the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, no one can decide its fate. US Ambassador to Armenia Lynn Tracy made a similar statement.

“The sole interest of the European Union is to help this process and reach a lasting and comprehensive settlement” – EU Special Representative’s statement on Karabakh talks

In a word, storm is gathering over Azerbaijan and over Russia due to their capricious and aggressive policy in the region.

The West makes it clear that the world order has not changed, international law exists and the West will consistently implement this law, including in our region.

The EU and the US make it clear to Azerbaijan that its aggressive expansionist sentiments will not have any support, moreover, they will be very severely suppressed.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs to meet with Armenian PM in Yerevan

Kanayan Tamar

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 12:29,

YEREVAN, JUNE 18, ARMENPRESS. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried will meet with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and other government officials during the visit in Yerevan on June 18, the Embassy of the United States to Armenia said.

“Assistant Secretary Donfried will discuss U.S. support for the diplomatic efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan towards a lasting peace. She will engage on our strong partnership, based on shared values, and our mutual commitment to Armenia’s democratic development”, the Embassy said.

Yerevan moves closer to new metro station

Kanayan Tamar
PanARMENIAN
Armenia –
– 13:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Yerevan Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Metrogiprotrans Valery Abramson have signed a contract for the design of a new metro station in the Ajapnyak district of the Armenian capital.

During a meeting in Yerevan on Saturday, June 18, Sargsyan said the development of the metro is of special importance within reforms in the city’s transport system.

The Yerevan City Council had earlier approved AMD 554 million for the design of a new metro station in the city.

US Permanent Representative to NATO invites Sweden and Finland to attend NATO summit

Kanayan Tamar

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 20:32,

YEREVAN, JUNE 14, ARMENPRESS. Finland and Sweden can participate in the forthcoming NATO summit as invited countries, ARMENPRESS reports, citing Ria Novosti, US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said.

The NATO summit will take place on June 28-30 in the Spanish capital Madrid.

On May 18, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in the wake of the events in Ukraine, but Turkey, a NATO member, blocked the consideration of the Nordic countries’ applications, citing its reservations and preconditions.




Yerevan and Moscow assured that there can be no question of any corridor logic of unblocking regional communications voiced by Azerbaijan

Kanayan Tamar
ARMINFO
Armenia – June 9 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.The Foreign Ministers of Russia and Armenia, Sergei Lavrov and Ararat Mirzoyan assured there can be no question of any corridor logic of unblocking regional  communications voiced by Azerbaijan.

So, on June 9, at a press conference in Yerevan, answering a question  about the slow work of the commission to unblock communications,  Lavrov did not agree with such an assessment, saying that the work  was proceeding quite rhythmically.

“First of all, I see positive trends here, based on the results of  the meetings at the level of three vice- premiers on June 3. I do not  think the break is too long, they are working rhythmically. We have  reached the preparations for the issues to be resolved,” said the  head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

In this vein, Lavrov noted that the issue of  railway route has  already been agreed upon, and now the agreement on the road links and  the regime that will be established is being completed. “It will be  simplified, but it will absolutely be based on the recognition of the  sovereignty of the Armenian territory.  There can be no ambiguity  here. These are things related to practical actions on the ground,  which are associated with the creation of infrastructure for many  years, as they say. Therefore, we should carefully consider all this.  And we have a complete feeling that both Azerbaijani and Armenian  partners proceed from this,” the Russian Foreign Minister said. In  turn, the Armenian Foreign Minister also expressed his conviction  that the work was not delayed, and discussions continue at a working  pace. He once again stressed that there is a common understanding on  many issues.

According to him, this primarily concerns the fact that all the roads  that open will operate within the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the  countries through which they pass. “Naturally, there can be no  question any corridor logic, which I want to emphasize. This is a  common understanding,” Mirzoyan said.

At the same time, he acknowledged the presence of details on which  the parties have equal approaches, but work continues and the  minister hopes that a mutually acceptable solution will be found. 

It should be noted that on January 11, talks between the leaders of  Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol  Pashinyan were held in Moscow. After the talks, the Russian leader  announced the formation of a working group, which will be headed by  the vice-premiers of the three countries. The group deals with issues  of unblocking economic, trade and transport links in the region,  opening borders.

On June 3, the 10th meeting of the trilateral working group was held  under the joint chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia  – Mher Grigoryan, Russia – Alexei Overchuk and Azerbaijan – Shahin  Mustafayev.

“Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan have brought their positions closer  on border and other types of control, as well as on the safe passage  of citizens, vehicles and goods on roads and railways through the  territories of Armenia and Azerbaijan. The vice-premiers discussed  possible routes for the passage of the highway, which provides  transport links between the western regions of Azerbaijan and  Nakhichevan through the territory of Armenia. The parties will  continue to work on the implementation of the agreements between the  leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan regarding the unblocking of  transport links in the region,” it was said following the meeting.