Category: 2018

Tatevik Shahunyan. The epic of the provision of housing to the third Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has not ended yet.

As the head of the government’s office Eduard Aghajanyan told journalists, according to the law, the state is obliged to provide housing for the retired president, but all the options offered by the government have so far been rejected by Serzh Sargsyan, who, without waiting for the “proper” offer, left the “government mansions” and moved to the mansion of his son-in-law in the village of Jrvezh.

However, according to Agadzhanyan, the issue was not resolved by this, since the law obliges the state to provide housing for the retired president, and this requirement must be fulfilled. “I think that the question can be settled as follows – either Serzh Sargsyan refuses in written form the claims to receive housing from the state, or the state acquires housing for him, and then he himself decides whether to live in it or use it in any other way” Agadzhanyan explained.

To note, claiming the post of Prime Minister, the retired President Serzh Sargsyan also claimed the ownership of the mansion in the “government mansions” where he lived during the last 10 years of his presidency. However, after riots began in April, Sargsyan abandoned his idea, obviously thinking that this would calm the passions. After that, the government offered him various mansions, however, Sargsyan, under specious excuses, refused them, and eventually moved to the mansion of his son-in-law, without waiting for the coveted proposal. -l–

Tatevik Shahunyan. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America), together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, visited the region from 29 October to 2 November, the press statement of the Co- Chairs reads.

The main purpose of the visit was to discuss the results of the conversation between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the margins of the CIS summit in Dushanbe in September, outline next steps in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, and review the overall evolution of the situation on the ground.

The Co-Chairs met with Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on 29 October and with President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on 1 November. In both capitals, they held consultations with the respective foreign ministers and defense ministers. On October 30-31, Co-Chairs met with the de facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh and visited the districts of Kelbajar and Agdam. On October 31, they participated in an OSCE ceasefire monitoring mission along the Line of Contact near Agdam. In Baku, the Co-Chairs met with representatives of Azerbaijani communities affected by the conflict. While in the region, the Co-Chairs discussed the situation with representatives from the ICRC and UNHCR. In their meetings with the Co-Chairs, the leaders in both capitals confirmed that the level of violence has fallen significantly since they reaffirmed in Dushanbe their commitment to reduce tensions. In their consultations, the Co-Chairs received additional details about the implementation of the Dushanbe understanding, including with regard to the establishment of direct communication links. The Co-Chairs welcomed these developments, commended the sides for implementing constructive measures in good faith, and expressed support for the leaders’ readiness to continue their dialogue. The Co-Chairs stressed the importance of sustaining a climate of trust for intensive negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Foreign Ministers agreed to meet again before the end of the year. The Co-Chairs will soon travel to Vienna to brief the OSCE Permanent Council and the members of the Minsk Group.

Marianna Mkrtchyan. Until internal political processes in Armenia are completed, it will hardly be possible to work seriously, to consider concrete options for getting out of this crisis and ensuring a full-fledged Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. This was announced on November 2 in Moscow during a press conference with OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, commenting on the recent processes around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the agreement in Dushanbe, as well as appeals from Yerevan to draw Artsakh to the negotiating table.

He recalled that Russia is one of the three countries of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. According to him, it is in this format that quite intensive efforts have been made in recent years to find ways to unblock the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “As far as I know, the agreement of the Dushanbey meeting of the RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was that contacts should be continued, and that the foreign ministers would meet, and that, of course, both Armenia and Azerbaijan will work with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, we welcome such an agreement, although of course we understand that as long as the internal political processes in Armenia are not completed, such stormy ones that we are seeing now are hardly possible to work seriously, assmatrivat specific options out of the crisis, and to ensure full functionality of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict “, – Lavrov expressed his belief.

Although, according to the Russian minister, contacts are planned in the process of preparing for these extraordinary parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for December in Armenia, and the co-chairs visit the region, meet with the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the foreign ministers. According to him, the maintenance of such contacts, it is probably important that, as soon as circumstances allow, to engage in a serious consideration of issues related to the settlement.

“As for the announcements that Pashinyan made on several occasions about the need to involve the Nagorno-Karabakh party in the negotiations, we have already commented on these statements. This is an issue that should be resolved by the parties to the conflict In due time, the Karabakh representatives took part in the talks between Baku and Yerevan, at the suggestion of the Armenian leadership, this practice was changed and negotiations have been going on for many years only between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Of course, we proceed from the fact that Yerevan, in its negotiating positions, takes into account the approaches of Karabakh, but in order to change the current bilateral negotiation format, we need the consent of both parties. As far as we know, there is no such agreement. And I would not, frankly, put forward preliminary conditions in order to begin to consider the essential issues of the Karabakh settlement, “Lavrov concluded.

Marianna Mkrtchyan. Turkey’s position on Armenia is district and clear – there can be no talk about the normalization of relations without the liberation of the “occupied Azerbaijani territories”.

Ankara also stressed that, as before, she will support Azerbaijan and keep the Karabakh issue on its foreign policy agenda, Trend reports with reference to the presidential administration of Turkey.

“If Armenia wants to normalize relations with Turkey, then it should immediately release the ”occupied Azerbaijani territories””, the Turkish Presidential Administration said, adding that Armenia should renounce claims about the events of 1915 against Turkey.

“Despite all appeals by Turkey to open the archives and create a joint commission to investigate of 1915, Armenia has not yet taken any steps in this direction. Armenia’s refusal of Turkey’s proposal to open the archives and the creation of a joint commission itself speaks about that there was no Armenian Genocide in the history of Turkey, “the Erdogan administration said.

Yerterday, from the rostrum of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia is ready to settle relations with Turkey without preconditions. According to him, this position should not be tied to the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, which for Yerevan is a matter of national and international security, since it is aimed at preventing new genocides. “From Armenia’s side, the borders with Turkey are open, they are opened by Turkey itself, linking the unblocking of borders with the resolution of the Karabakh conflict in favor of Azerbaijan. This is an erroneous policy; the Prime Minister, adding that such a position leads to even greater cohesion of the Armenian and Artsakh societies.

Ani Mshetsyan. Pashinyan’s statement on the possible closure of the Armenian-Iranian border should be viewed in the context of the geopolitical situation in the world. This was announced on November 2 in the parliament by the Acting Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.

He noted that in any situation the interests of Armenia are of prime importance. “Armenia conducts its foreign policy on the basis of its interests, and international relations serve us to advance our interests. Sometimes we have to pursue foreign policy on the basis of the current situation when we need to make a serious choice. All issues related to foreign policy relations with Armenia’s neighbors are included in the program government “, – stressed Mnatsakanyan.

He stressed that relations with both Iran and Georgia are very important for Armenia. “The manifestation of this policy takes place in a situation in which there are many challenges. How events will develop and how this will affect our relations with Iran is the most important issue for us. Our main task is to defend the interests of Armenia, cooperating with those partners who play the main role for her “, – stressed. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Mnatsakanyan assured that in his statement Pashinyan appealed to the deep-seated challenges facing the republic about their possible negative consequences. “In our foreign policy, we work with all partners to solve problems through cooperation and dialogue in order to reduce risks,” said Mnatsakanyan. He noted that Armenia has developed friendly relations with Iran.

Note that yesterday and. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, speaking of geopolitical risks, said that “the de facto Armenian-Iranian border can be closed at any moment due to relations between Iran and the United States.”

Ani Mshetsyan. The visit of such a high-ranking US official as John Bolton to Armenia is very important, especially considering the geopolitical situation in the world. This was announced on November 2 in the Armenian parliament by the acting president. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.

“It is very important for us to discuss the geopolitical situation, to have support and understand each other on all the issues related to our national security. For us it was a very good reason to explain the logic of our actions with our partners from the United States,” said Mnatsakanyan.

He also stated that this was neither the beginning nor the end of the Armenian-American cooperation. “It was a good opportunity to discuss and compare our approaches on a number of issues that are of primary importance for us. Our policy is pro-Armenian and formed within reasonable assessments, and one of the most important goals for us is to explain this policy to our foreign partners. Bolton’s visit to Armenia is important. This is an opportunity to hear our colleagues, become a friend, become more understandable and continue our cooperation, “said Mnatsakanyan.

He noted that Armenia is a small country, and the issue of its security is a priority, since the republic faces various challenges. “We have a dialogue with Russia, with Iran. We have opportunities to develop our cooperation at all platforms where we can express our position. And when we talk about the importance of Bolton’s visit, we should note that this importance lies in the fact that touched a very rich foreign policy agenda. Our main goal was to make our policy understandable. The dialogue was very successful, and the US understood our logic of relations with the Russian Federation, Iran, our position on the Nagorno- Karabakh issue, relations with Turkey, etc. Moreover, we noted h for we do not build our relations with this or that country, at the expense of relations with other partners “, – concluded Mnatsakanyan.

Tatevik Shahunyan. During the February Munich Security Conference, the key issue will be the Karabakh settlement. The President of Armenia Armen Sargsyan said this in a conversation with journalists.

He noted that the initiative to discuss the Karabakh issue at the next conference belongs to him. “This will in no way hinder the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group, but rather contribute to it,” said Sargsyan, adding that the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan will also attend the conference. According to the president, the Armenian side is the initiator in the Karabakh settlement.

“After all, it’s in Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that offered to President Ilham Aliyev the agreements that provide for an armistice regime today,” Sargsyan said, adding that Armenia cannot stay away from global geopolitical processes. “At such conferences, we understand that our destiny is in our hands,” he stressed. During the conference itself, Sarkitsyan responded to the accusation of the Azerbaijani delegates that the second and third presidents of Armenia did not have the right to govern the country, since they were not its citizens: “Only the Armenian people have the right to raise questions of the legitimacy of the presidents of Armenia.” Further, Sargsyan expressed concern about the militarization of Azerbaijan. “With this in mind, it can be stated that time does not play for the benefit of the world. There is a possibility of a chain reaction. There will soon be elections in Armenia, after which a legitimate power will be fully formed in the country, people who sit at the negotiating table will be elected, everyone the hands of the people “, – said Sargsyan. Calling to listen to the will of the Artsakh people, Sargsyan thanked the OSCE Minsk Group for the peacemaking efforts. “There is no military way of the Karabakh conflict if the war resumes, everyone will suffer – – Artsakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan,” he concluded.