Author: Tatoyan Vazgen

How could Jews have any status in Nazi Germany? Artsakh reiterates unacceptability of Azeri control

Tatoyan Vazgen

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 11:33,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 13, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Minister of Artsakh Davit Babayan reacted to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s recent remarks on Armenians living in Nagorno Karabakh.

Aliyev said on August 12 that “Armenians living in Karabakh will have no status, no independence and no special priviledges.”

“Well, what can be said here,” Babayan said in a statement. “There is no sense in going into details. I can only say the following. First of all I’d like to thank Aliyev for his sincerity. Indeed, neither Azerbaijan nor its leadership have never concealed their plans regarding Artsakh. Second, indeed Karabakh will not have anything as part of Azerbaijan because Karabakh itself will not exist. Besides, any status within Azerbaijan is unacceptable for Artsakh. How could the Jews have any kind of administrative-territorial status in Nazi Germany?” Babayan concluded in a statement on social media.

Iran weighing EU’s proposal on safeguards, sanctions, assurances: Diplomat – IRNA

Tatoyan Vazgen

Iran weighing EU’s proposal on safeguards, sanctions, assurances: Diplomat – IRNA

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 16:51,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, ARMENPRESS. An Iranian diplomat, who is informed of the process of the ongoing talks in Vienna, told IRNA news agency that the European proposals would be acceptable if it makes credibility in various matters, including political claims linked to issues of IAEA safeguards, sanctions, and guarantees.

He went on to say that the Islamic Republic is considering European proposals to make sure its demands are fulfilled, IRNA reports.

Iran must analyze whether these proposals will ensure Iranian demands in different fields, including political claims pertaining to issues of IAEA safeguards, sanctions, and guarantees to achieve a durable agreement, the source noted.

The Wall Street Journal had cited hours earlier quoting a European diplomat that the EU has presented ‘Final Text’ to Iran for Reviving Nuclear Deal.

Ali Bagheri Kani who had met the EU’s JCPOA negotiations coordinator Enrique Mora in Qatar, arrived in Vienna on Wednesday as the head of the Iranian delegation to continue the Vienna nuclear negotiations to terminate the sanctions.

Mohammad Jamshidi, in a tweet on Friday night, wrote that in entire phone talks between President Raisi and the French, Russian and Chinese presidents, his definite stand was that the final agreement can be reached only after the NPT claims are resolved and their files are closed.

Artsakh Security Council Secretary visits Berdzor to inspect construction of new route

Tatoyan Vazgen

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 12:50,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 10, ARMENPRESS. The Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh Vitaly Balasanyan visited Berdzor together with representatives of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the Azerbaijani military, his office confirmed to ARMENPRESS when asked to comment on reports about the trip.

Asked to explain the reason of the visit, Balasanyan’s office said: “The visit of the Secretary of the Security Council to Berdzor was conducted to get acquainted with the course of construction of the new route linking Artsakh with Armenia envisaged under the November 9, 2020 trilateral statement, and the visit took place jointly with the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed in the Republic of Artsakh, as well as representatives of the Azerbaijani side.”

Balasanyan’s office said he did not visit Aghavno or Nerkin Sus.

Armenpress: Armenian soldier shot, wounded by Azerbaijani forces on border

Tatoyan Vazgen

Armenian soldier shot, wounded by Azerbaijani forces on border

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 12:48, 7 August 2022

YEREVAN, AUGUST 7, ARMENPRESS. A soldier of the Armenian Armed Forces was shot and wounded by the Azerbaijani military in the evening of August 6 while on-duty at a military position in the eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said.

20-year-old Private Nver Gevorgyan, a conscripted serviceman, suffered the gunshot wound.

His life is out of danger.

EU Calls For Immediate End To Karabakh Hostilities: Borrell Spokesman

Tatoyan Vazgen
BARRON’S
Aug 3 2022
By AFP – Agence France Presse

August 3, 2022

The European Union on Wednesday called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“It is essential to de-escalate, fully respect the ceasefire and return to the negotiating table to seek negotiated solutions,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s spokesman said in a statement.

Azerbaijan announced earlier on Wednesday it had taken control of several strategic heights in the disputed region in a new escalation that killed three soldiers.

Six weeks of fighting in the autumn of 2020 claimed more than 6,500 lives and ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement.

“The European Union remains committed to help overcome tensions and continue its engagement towards sustainable peace and stability in the South Caucasus,” Borrell’s spokesman added.

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EU calls for immediate end to Karabakh hostilities: Borrell spokesman – Times of India (indiatimes.com)

Because of unclear mandate and limited number of Russian peacekeepers, relative peace is threatened

Tatoyan Vazgen
NEWS.am

Armenia – Aug 3 2022

19:57, 03.08.2022

Peace is not properly established in Artsakh, and the Azerbaijani side does not fulfill the obligations undertaken by the declaration, using every opportunity to force concessions on this or that issue, Artsakh human rights defender Gegham Stepanyan wrote on his Facebook page today.

Since August 1, the Azerbaijani side has conducted aggressive military operations in various directions of the Republic of Artsakh, using weapons of various calibers, grenade launchers, and attack drones.

All this is happening in the event that since November 2020, a ceasefire has been established by the agreement of the parties and Russian peacekeeping forces have been deployed in Artsakh to ensure the peace of the people of Artsakh.

This indicates that peace has not been properly established in Artsakh, and the Azerbaijani side does not fulfill the obligations assumed by the declaration, using all kinds of opportunities to force concessions on one or another issue.
Azerbaijan combines any of its demands with the use of force or the threat of use of force, grossly violating the fundamental provisions of international law.

During the negotiations on various issues, the Armenian side is forced to make concessions, as a result of which the most basic rights of people, including the right to life, are violated. Due to the unclear mandate and a limited number of Russian peacekeepers, fragile and relative peace is regularly endangered. And the people of Artsakh are again fighting alone for the protection of their rights.Statements supporting the establishment of peace are regularly made by various international actors. Where is that support? Where are the real steps taken by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries to protect people’s rights, save people’s lives, and ensure people’s peaceful life? Where are the actions of the UN, CoE, or OSCE? Or is everything just at the level of empty words?

The international media is not silent for a minute regarding the conflicts taking place in other parts of the world, the international organizations make statements, they show indescribable amounts of support, but the people of Artsakh, who have been directly fighting against the Azerbaijani dictatorship for tens of years, are ignored.

Is it acceptable to be guided by such explicitly double standards and blinded by political interests, fully ignoring people and their rights?” the statement said.

Azerbaijan constantly reminds Armenia that war is not over, MP says

Tatoyan Vazgen
Panorama
Armenia – July 29 2022

MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition Pativ Unem bloc says Azerbaijan’s recent increased ceasefire violations in Artsakh and on the border with Armenia are attributed to a number of factors.

“In the post-war period, the parties are forming new borderlines, which implies a race for gaining favorable positions,” he wrote on Facebook on Friday.

“By and large, immediately after the war Azerbaijan, taking advantage of the political connivance and silence of the Armenian authorities, has solved its main task, gaining tactical and strategic advantage at the key points. There are some areas where the positional struggle is still going on, which is marked by changes in the situation,” the MP said.

Abrahamyan insists that Azerbaijan is using its positional advantage and constantly reminding the Armenian authorities that in case of non-compliance with their promises and agreements it will resort to force again.

“Due to the so-called seasonal nature of engineering work, the activity on the frontline has increased, which inevitably leads to various escalations,” he said.

“Azerbaijan views any movement of the Armenian troops, from internal redeployments to infrastructure changes on the border, as an attempt of revenge and shows that it is ready to stop it at any cost.

“Azerbaijan constantly reminds us that the war is not over, its ambitions are far from being met, and regardless of the Armenian authorities’ conciliatory policy, the pressure will continue, while the demands put forward to them will expand,” the lawmaker charged.

Report on Azerbaijani Crimes Submitted to the UN

Tatoyan Vazgen




07/26/2022 Azerbaijan (International Christian Concern) – This month, a report submitted to the United Nations by a nonprofit human rights organization indicted Azerbaijan for crimes against historically Christian Armenians. The report documented recent Azerbaijani violations of an international treaty against racial discrimination. The Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ), which assembled and submitted the report, compiled the testimonies of returned Armenian prisoners of war, provocative comments by top Azerbaijani officials, accounts of forceable Armenian displacement, and other violations. Miriam Nazaretyan, a lawyer and board member for CFTJ, told CivilNet that the evidence demonstrates that Azerbaijan has continued “to treat Armenian detainees in the most depraved and inhuman ways, incite racial hatred against Armenians, and destroy, demolish, and vandalize Armenian cultural sites including churches and cemeteries.” These human rights abuses are direct breaches of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, a treaty to which Azerbaijan is a signatory. The UN committee in charge of overseeing the implementation of the treaty will review Azerbaijan’s compliance next month.

These ongoing concerns over human rights abuses come as Azerbaijan and Armenia approach the two-year anniversary of skirmishes that escalated into the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, fought between the two beginning in September of that year. Unfortunately, in the post-war period, levels of animosity between the two sides have remained high, and human rights violations have continued. The International Court of Justice already explicitly mandated Azerbaijan’s compliance with international law in a December 2021 ruling, but no enforcement mechanism exists to ensure Azerbaijan commits to change. Despite the lack of practical international enforcement, CFTJ hopes that reports like the one it submitted this month will serve to establish an impactful public record of human rights abuses. Haig Ter-Ghevondian, head of CFTJ’s translation team, explained their goals to CivilNet, “It’s like throwing pebbles in a pond. It’s not noticeable at first, but at some point, you’re going to notice that there’s a mound in the middle of the lake, and that’s what this is about.” While change is slow in coming, the efforts of organizations like CFTJ are indeed critical to bringing ongoing violations of human rights into the light.


 

Forecast: The war in Ukraine will lead to a redistribution of the zones of influence of global centers of power

Tatoyan Vazgen
ARMINFO
Armenia –
David Stepanyan

ArmInfo. The war in Ukraine will eventually lead to a redistribution of the zones of influence of global centers of power. It is also possible to forecast significant  transformations in the weight of these geopolitical actors. Professor  of Political Science at YSU Faculty of International Relations Garik  Keryan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.

The professor, in particular, forecasts the expansion of the zones of  influence of the conditional pole of the United States and Great  Britain due to the reduction of influence of the European Union,  moreover, the dependence of the latter on them. Keryan explained his  forecast about the likelihood of Brussels losing its own weight and  influence in world politics by the huge financial losses of the EU as  a result of the sanctions applied against the Russian Federation.  Which, in his opinion, directly leads the EU to an energy crisis.

“Against the background of the prospects for a significant reduction  in the production of any energy- intensive products in the EU, the  current hegemony of Germany and France on the continent is being  questioned and begins to fluctuate. At the same time, strengthening  the possibilities for expansion into the European market of the  United States and Canada. Not to mention the strengthening of the  competitive positions of China, Japan, India, Brazil and Turkey.  This, in turn, is explained either by their refusal to join the  anti-Russian sanctions, or by their too little participation in this  process,” he emphasized.

Keryan largely links Russia’s prospects to the final results of the  Ukrainian war and China’s policy, which is still maneuvering between  the US and the Russian Federation, which the professor explains as  huge costs for Beijing in the event of an aggravation of relations  with the USA and the problem of Taiwan.  “One way or another, today  it seems possible to forecast gradual new transformations in the US  hegemony that replaced the bipolar world as a result of the end of  the Cold War. And the losses that the EU bears from all this  processes make the UK’s timely withdrawal from the European Union  quite understandable,” summed up Keryan. 

Higher inflation in Armenia speaks about additional inflation influenced by Russian economy- America

Tatoyan Vazgen

25.07.2022 19:55

YEREVAN, July 25, /ARKA/. The impact of foreign trade and remittances along with high rate of dollarization in savings makes exchange rate very important factor for the Armenian economy, according to the quarterly macroeconomic report ‘Impact of Regional Exchange Rates on Inflation’ released by Ameria advisory firm.

According to the report, in 2015-2019 AMD had the most stable exchange rate to USD among regional currencies (standard deviation to mean was less than 1%). During 2020, due to Covid-19 and Artsakh war and uncertainty after, AMD depreciated by 8.9% vs USD which was still one of the lowest indicators in the region: GEL: 15%, RUB: 20%, BLR: 24%, TRL: 25%, KZT: 10%.

AMD appreciated against USD up to pre-Covid level exchange rate in 2021. More or less stabilized economy and expectations (slowdown of post-war shock) along CBA measures (to mitigate inflation) and increased remittances and export (also due to copper price increase) supported AMD.

Another instability period for exchange rates started in 2022 after the start of Russian-Ukrainian conflict in late February. Most currencies in the region faced depreciation in February-March, mainly brought by depreciation of ruble, but since March 2022, the currencies have appreciated against USD.

There is linear trend between exchange rate and inflation change indicators: the higher depreciation of a currency, the lower inflation.

The largest outlier is Russia, where the largest appreciation of the currency accompanies with comparably large inflation. This is because other factors such as sanctions limited import and created deficit.

Without considering Russia (regression is stronger: R2=0.75), Armenia’s inflation is much higher taking into account the trendline for the region. In all other equal, current appreciation of AMD vs USD should have brought to much lower inflation. Higher inflation in Armenia (also in other countries which are above the trendline), speaks about additional inflation influenced by Russian economy. -0-