11:11, 21 December, 2021
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. 137 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours, raising the total cumulative number of confirmed cases to 343,845, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention said.
5932 tests were administered.
329 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 329,128.
11 patients died, bringing the death toll to 7914.
As of December 21, the number of active cases stood at 5309.
11:28,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. 152 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 343,997, the ministry of healthcare reports.
6756 COVID-19 tests were conducted on December 21.
153 patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 329,281.
The death toll has risen to 7921 (7 death cases have been registered in the past one day).
The number of active cases is 5301.
12:11,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The meeting of Armenian and Russian Ministers of Health Anahit Avanesyan and Mikhail Murashko in Moscow on the sidelines of the 6th Russian-Armenian forum gave a new impetus to the partnership between the two countries, the Armenian ministry of healthcare said in a statement.
The next Russian-Armenian healthcare forum will take place in Armenia, and the Russian minister of health is expected to visit Yerevan for this purpose.
Wednesday,
Iran Reaffirms ‘Red Line’ On South Caucasus Borders
Armenia - Mahmoud Ahmadi-Bighash, a member of an Iranian parliamentary
delegation visiting Armenia, at a meeting with Armenian lawmakers, Yerevan,
.
Iran remains strongly opposed any redrawing of borders in the South Caucasus, an
influential Iranian parliamentarian was reported to say during a visit to
Armenia on Wednesday.
The conservative lawmaker, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Bighash, arrived in Yerevan earlier
this week together with several other members of an Iranian parliamentary group
promoting closer ties with Armenia.
They held a series of meetings with Armenian parliament deputies before being
received by Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council.
A statement released by the council cited Ahmadi-Bighash as saying that the
region is very important to the Islamic Republic.
“In particular, he stressed that regional peace and stability and inviolability
of the borders are the red lines for Iran and Tehran will not tolerate any
territorial change in the region,” the statement said.
Other Iranian lawmakers as well as Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
made similar statements in early October amid Iran’s mounting tensions with
Azerbaijan that followed Baku’s decision to levy hefty fees from Iranian trucks
transporting goods to and from Armenia.
The vehicles use a road mostly passing through Armenia’s southeastern Syunik
province which is sandwiched between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave and
also borders Iran. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly threatened
to forcibly open a “corridor” to Nakhichevan, drawing strong condemnation from
Armenia.
Mojtaba Zonnouri, a senior Iranian parliamentarian and cleric, accused Aliyev on
October 3 of trying to “cut Iran’s access to Armenia” with the help of Turkey
and Israel. Zonnouri was apparently among 165 members of Iran’s parliament who
issued a joint statement warning against “any geopolitical change and alteration
of the borders of neighbor countries.”
Armenia’s government regularly expresses readiness for conventional transport
links with Azerbaijan. Grigorian told Ahmadi-Bighash and other visiting Iranian
lawmakers that the Armenian government’s position “matches Iran’s foreign policy
priorities.”
The tensions between Tehran and Baku have eased in recent weeks.
Amir-Abdollahian visited the Azerbaijani capital on Wednesday.
Yerevan Mayor Slams Armenia’s Ruling Party Over His Ouster
• Narine Ghalechian
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutian leaves an emergency session of the
municipal assembly before it approves a motion of no confidence in him, December
22, 2021.
Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutian accused Armenia’s political leaders of betraying the
goals of the 2018 “velvet revolution” that brought them to power as he was
ousted on Wednesday by the municipal assembly controlled by the ruling Civil
Contract party.
He charged that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his political team have
sought to stifle dissent and enrich themselves or their cronies instead of
tackling poverty in the country.
Marutian voiced the allegations during a session of the city council that
approved, by 44 votes to 10, a motion of no confidence in him tabled by the
pro-government My Step bloc. The council also elected one of his deputies,
Hrachya Sargsian, as Yerevan’s new mayor.
The bloc controlled by Civil Contract officially announced its decision to
replace the mayor after meeting with Pashinian on Friday. It said Marutian quit
Civil Contract in December 2020 and is not running the Armenian capital “with
sufficient efficiency.”
The move followed months of growing friction between Pashinian and Marutian. The
latter actively participated in the Pashinian-led mass protests that toppled
Armenia’s former leader, Serzh Sarkisian, in May 2018. The protests were sparked
by Sarkisian’s attempt to prolong his decade-long rule and fuelled by popular
discontent with widespread corruption and injustice.
Speaking shortly before the vote of no confidence, Marutian accused the ruling
political team of having “deviated from the revolution’s values.”
“I thought that a [true] revolutionary’s supreme goal must be to improve the
lives of other people,” he said. “In reality, as soon as they came [to power]
they started improving their own lives, despite the fact that the country’s
poverty rate continued to hover at around 30 percent.”
Armenia -Armen Galjian, the leader of the pro-government majority in Yerevan's
municipal council, votes for a motion of no confidence in Mayor Hayk Marutian,
.
The former TV comedian singled out the Pashinian government’s “secret” decisions
to sharply raise the salaries of ministers and other senior government
officials. He claimed that during his tenure he routinely received phone calls
from unnamed “various officials” asking for privileged treatment of their
cronies doing business in Yerevan. He did not name any of them.
Marutian said this was a key reason for his subsequent rift with Pashinian. “I
didn’t expect such phone calls when I was joining the team,” he said.
“And now these people are saying that Hayk deviated from the revolution,” he
went on. “This is said by people who at this difficult moment for the country
are buying cars worth $200,000 and spending a whole month justifying, together
with the entire team, that decision.”
Marutian further alleged that Armenia’s “most high-ranking officials” have
repeatedly pressured him to fire municipal employees criticizing the government
on social media. “I said in response: ‘My dear friends, we did the revolution so
that people are not fired and persecuted for their views like they were in the
past,” he said.
Senior members of the municipal council loyal to Pashinian hit back at Marutian.
One of them, Armen Galjian, rebuked the ousted mayor for not countering what he
called opposition attempts to stage a “counterrevolution” after Armenia’s defeat
in last year’s war with Azerbaijan.
“Where was the Yerevan mayor during the counterrevolution?” he said. “Was he
locked down in his office with a mask on his face or busy preparing to leave the
party?”
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (L) and his My Step bloc's mayoral
candidate Hayk Marutian attend an election campaign rally in Yerevan, 20
September 2018.
Galjian also said that Marutian has never told council majority leaders about
the privileged treatment allegedly sought by senior officials.
Armenian parliament deputies representing Pashinian’s party responded to the
accusations with harsher criticism and personal insults. Parliament speaker Alen
Simonian, whose new expensive limousine has raised eyebrows in the country, said
Marutian is slandering the country’s leadership to “justify his treason and
ineptness.”
“You must instead recall the names of your more than two dozen friends whom you
have deceived and betrayed,” Simonian wrote on Facebook.
Pashinian himself has not publicly commented on the dramatic falling-out with
his erstwhile political ally.
The prime minister had chosen Marutian to lead My Step’s list of candidates in
the last municipal elections held in September 2018 and won by the
pro-government bloc. Relations between the two men deteriorated after the 2020
war over Nagorno-Karabakh. Marutian increasingly distanced himself from
Pashinian’s team in the following months and pointedly declined to support it
during snap parliamentary elections held in June.
Earlier this month, the Haykakan Zhamanak daily belonging to Pashinian’s family
alleged that Marutian has defected to the Armenian opposition and even secretly
met with former President Robert Kocharian. The mayor categorically denied that.
Armenia - New Yerevan Mayor Hrachya Sargsian addresses the municipal council,
.
Marutian on Wednesday defended his track record and insisted that he is still
supported by the majority of Yerevan residents.
Most of the residents randomly interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service in the
streets praised him. Some condemned the ruling party’s decision to replace the
mayor.
“I am very saddened by his removal from his post because he has delivered on
everything that he promised during the election campaign,” said one middle-aged
woman.
Others were unimpressed with Marutian’s three-year tenure. “What has changed [in
Yerevan?] Not much,” said a young woman.
Virtually no respondents had ever heard about Hrachya Sargsian, Yerevan’s new
mayor. Sargsian, 36, told reporters that he is “happy with Mr. Marutian’s work”
and plans to “complete the programs that we launched in 2018.”
Russian Official Again Discusses Armenian-Azeri Transport Links In Yerevan
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk at a meeting with
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Yerevan, November 5, 2021.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk discussed with Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian ongoing efforts to restore transport links between Armenia and
Azerbaijan during a fresh visit to Yerevan on Wednesday.
The main official purpose of the visit was to attend a regular session of a
Russian-Armenian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. Overchuk
met with Pashinian ahead of the session.
Pashinian’s press office said the two men discussed Russian-Armenian economic
ties as well as “prospects for restoring transport links in the South Caucasus
region.” In particular, it said, they “exchanged views” on the work of a
Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani working group dealing with practical modalities of
opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani border to passenger and cargo traffic.
The working group co-headed by Overchuk and his Armenian and Azerbaijani
opposite numbers last met in Moscow on December 1. It had been expected to
formalize relevant understandings reached by Pashinian and Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev at their November 26 talks in Sochi hosted by Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
The group announced no deals on the transport links, however. Armenian Deputy
Prime Minister Mher Grigorian’s office said its meeting will “resume” in the
coming days.
The trilateral task force has not met again since then. Grigorian on Wednesday
attributed the delay to unspecified “issues subject to expert evaluations.”
Aliyev and Pashinian met again in Brussels last week. Speaking just before those
talks, Aliyev said Yerevan must not control a land “corridor” that would connect
Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave via Armenia’s Syunik province. Pashinian
rejected the demand.
During the ensuing talks, the two leaders appear to have failed to patch up
their differences on the status of the Armenian section of the planned
Azerbaijan-Nakhichevan highway. But they reported further progress towards
establishing a rail link between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan.
Echoing Pashinian’s statements made in Brussels, Grigorian insisted that Armenia
will retain full control over a 45-kilometer section of the railway passing
through its territory.
“It will function as an infrastructure facility under Armenia’s jurisdiction in
a manner defined by the law,” he told journalists.
Overchuk refused to comment on the issue after the session of the
Russian-Armenian commission. The Russian official visited Baku and met with
Aliyev last week.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Clashes between the opposition and police officers overseeing the complex of government buildings have begun in Sukhumi, Interfax reports.
The rally organized by the People’s Patriotic Union of Abkhazia is taking place at the square facing the Abkhazian drama theater and located near the complex of government buildings and the President’s administration.
The supporters of incumbent leader of the republic Aslan Bzhania are standing in front of the presidential palace, and representatives of pro-government political parties and non-governmental organizations are giving speeches every now and then.
The complex of government buildings is blocked with metal barriers. The demonstrators are trying to break through the chain of police officers and enter the square. Gunshots are heard. Police officers used smoke bombs.
As reported Apsnipress, after the opposition’s meeting with the Abkhazian president, Advisor to the President for Science and Culture Nugzar Logua came to the square and informed that the President is ready to start negotiations with the opposition and discuss all the issues of the latter’s concern in a few days when the situation calms down.
For decades, Turkish-Armenian relations have been very hostile due to various reasons. The bilateral historical mistrust, negative perceptions, geopolitical confrontations during and after the Cold War and the lack of trade cooperation were significant hurdles. There are no official diplomatic ties between the two countries, and their land border has been sealed since April 1993 because of the Armenian occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the surrounding Kalbajar district.
The negative influence of the Armenian diaspora, international political actors that instrumentalized the hostile relations and the Armenian allegations against Turkey about the 1915 events were some other problems that further damaged relations. The deep rift is beyond the political level. Except for a few minor initiatives, no serious efforts to normalize diplomatic relations were attempted.
In 2008, “football diplomacy” facilitated the opening of communication channels between the then-leaders of the two states. On Sept. 6, 2008, the then Turkish president accepted the invitation of the then Armenian president and attended a FIFA World Cup qualifier football match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams at Hrazdan Stadium in Yerevan.
In 2009, following busy traffic of consultations in Switzerland and the encouragement of the Minsk Group members (France, the U.S. and Russia), both sides’ foreign ministers signed the Zurich Protocols that signaled a normalization era. The protocols were however never ratified by the parliaments of the two states. Armenia’s continuing illegal occupation of Azerbaijan territories was the main reason behind Turkey’s unwillingness to ratify the Zurich Protocols. No progress had been therefore achieved in the normalization. All the relevant parties were frustrated for different reasons after signing the protocols.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was at the epicenter of the obstacles preventing the normalization. Both societies were also unprepared for such a normalization, not to mention the further steps through reconciliation. Baku was skeptical about Ankara’s efforts to normalize ties with Yerevan before resolving the conflict. That’s why the earlier normalization efforts could not find popular support on both sides. There were also too many domestic and international spoilers on both sides that challenged the potential for progress.
The occasional military escalations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Karabakh before Azerbaijan’s military victory in the 44-day war last year was another potential setback in the normalization. Both domestic and international contexts were more suited for prolonging the stalemate and even further escalation of tensions rather than taking bold steps in the direction of transformation.
After the failure of the Zurich Protocols, Turkey aligned more openly and closely with Azerbaijan. Military, economic and political relations between the two brotherly states strengthened, particularly in military cooperation. Azerbaijan paid more attention to influencing Turkish public opinion after signing the Zurich Protocols. The Turkish-Armenian relations were more closely linked with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In a sense, Turkish-Armenian concerns were more closely and reversely correlated with the Armenian-Azerbaijan relations.
Turkey’s foreign policy took a defensive turn starting at the end of 2011 due to the instability across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Turkey’s relations with its Western allies also deteriorated during this period. There were no pressing incentives from Brussels and Washington to promote the idea of normalization of Turkish-Armenia relations. There was limited opportunity and motivation to improve connections.
There are still significant hurdles on the practical and perceptual levels. Yet, the change in the status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s victory in the recent war generated a new momentum in the region. Leaders from Ankara, Yerevan and Baku signaled their desire to engage more constructively. Despite the occasional skirmishes along cease-fire lines between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the post-war stalemate has been restored. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian also survived the resilience test and won elections after the war. While Baku was satisfied with the victory, the Armenian side recognized the futility of trying to return to the prewar status quo. After all, the 30 years of preparation for a war, which made the country more vulnerable economically and politically and isolated it from the region, ended in a tragedy for the Armenian side. This new situation provided Pashinian with opportunities to change the official discourse in Yerevan. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Pashinian’s encouraging signals after the war paved the way for a new era in constructive dialogue and diplomacy.
Turkey appointed its former Washington ambassador, Serdar Kılıç, as a special envoy to normalize diplomatic relations with Armenia. The spokesperson of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Vahan Hunanyan, also mentioned that Armenia is ready for normalization with Turkey without preconditions. The official statements and steps from Ankara, Yerevan and Baku confirm the strong signals of a new and more constructive era in the relationships between the three countries. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also mentioned that Ankara would establish normalization with Armenia in consultation and close communication with Baku.
The normalization of Turkish-Armenian diplomatic relations is the right path to overcome decades of trouble. It will support a more comprehensive peace and stability in the entire region. It would be unrealistic to expect a resolution of all the problems in the short term. Yet, the coordinated efforts of all the key stakeholders may help the acceleration of the normalization. A concrete road map and mutual and coordinated confidence-building steps with the external actors may help to overcome the existing hurdles gradually. All of the parties must take on the responsibility of maintaining this fragile process. There are lots of lessons from earlier failed initiatives. Preparing the public for such a constructive dialogue and peaceful change is a step that needs to be prioritized at this stage. There should also be a crisis communication mechanism that may prevent unexpected escalations.
The Armenian government plans to restore 45 km of the Yeraskh – Julfa – Ordubad – Meghri – Horadiz section of the railway and spend $200 mln, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan has told TASS news agency
“According to preliminary estimates of experts, the indicative price of restoring sections of the railway passing through the territory of Armenia will be about $200 mln. The length of the section will total about 45 km, and the total length of the track is around 340 km,” he noted, as quoted by the source.
According to tgrigoryan, the railway route connecting Armenia and Azerbaijan will operate “under the accepted international rules for railway transportation, on the principles of reciprocity, and within the framework of the sovereignty and jurisdictions of the countries through whose territories it will pass”.
10:19,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades has expressed his country’s unconditional support to Armenia during the meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels on the sidelines of the Eastern Partnership Summit.
“I had a friendly meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, expressing the unconditional support of Cyprus to Armenia and the Armenian people. Our countries have close relations, in which the role of the Armenian community of Cyprus is undeniable”, the Cypriot President said on Twitter.
The officials also discussed the further development of the cooperation between Armenia and Cyprus in political, economic and humanitarian spheres.
Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr.’s (NJ-06) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The amendment would help advance human rights around the world by requiring the Department of Defense to review existing requirements for conducting human rights training of foreign national security forces participating in security cooperation programs like the Section 333 Building Partner Capacity Program. It also calls for a review to the current Department of Defense (DOD) data collection practices and procedures for accessing, monitoring, and evaluating human rights training programs. The amendment will ensure compliance with U.S. law that prohibits use of funds for assistance to foreign security forces that have committed gross human rights violations.
The NDAA also includes language from an amendment led by Congressman Adam Schiff (CA-28) that Congressman Pallone co-sponsored and calls for the immediate release of the prisoners of war, including civilians, who Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev continues to hold hostage as bargaining chips. This language further requires a report from DOD on the deadly 44-day war initiated by Azerbaijani and Turkish forces in the fall of 2020. The report will include an assessment of U.S. weapons systems or technology used in the conflict, a description of the involvement of foreign actors – which were heavily used by Azerbaijan – and any violations of the November 9, 2020 statement that ended most of the fighting.
“The United States has long stood as a beacon for the rights of every person, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or nationality. We must continue to lead by example and ensure that American tax dollars do not contradict our values at home or abroad,” Pallone said. “My amendment sends a clear signal that the United States takes seriously its democratic norms and commitment to peace by ensuring oversight of our security assistance.
“Azerbaijan continues to threaten Armenia’s safety and sovereignty, which makes these amendments especially urgent. The United States should not be aiding and abetting reckless, autocratic states with appalling human rights records for any reason. Because of our efforts, the Department of Defense is now required to undergo a thorough investigation that will bring attention to the gross human rights abuses committed by Azerbaijan during last year’s war and focus on their deadly actions in Armenian territory that are still taking place to this day. Data from this report will help us to finally bring an end to U.S. funding for the murderous Aliyev regime and instead urge strong support of fellow democracies like Armenia,” Pallone concluded.
The amendment is an important step in creating oversight for the Defense Department’s Section 333 Building Partner Capacity Program that has sent enormous sums of money to human rights abusing regimes and dictators, including that of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, which has numerous documented human rights violations. The Department has spent nearly $4 billion over the last four years on the program. Even though the State Department has singled out Azerbaijani border units for committing human rights violations, those forces received over $100 million in security assistance in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 through the program.
11:38, 1 December, 2021
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian sent a congratulatory letter to Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis on the country’s national day – the Great Union Day, the Presidential Office reports.
“Armenia attaches importance to the deepening of friendly relations with Romania, which are based on mutual trust and common values.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Romania. On the eve of this important event for our friendly nations, I reaffirm our country’s readiness to strengthen the inter-state ties with Romania and my invitation to you to visit Yerevan when appropriate.
I am confident that with joint efforts we will develop and expand the bilateral partnership for the benefit of our peoples”, the Armenian President said in his letter.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan