Category: 2019

                                        Friday, March 29, 2019
Armenian, Azeri Leaders Meet In Vienna (UPDATED)
March 29, 2019
        • Karlen Aslanian
Austria -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijan's President 
Ilham Aliyev meet in Vienna, 29Mar2019.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev 
met in Vienna on Friday for fresh talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Neither leader made public statements immediately after the talks which lasted 
for more than three hours.According to the TASS news agency, Pashinian said 
only that the meeting was “normal.”
The meeting held in a hotel in the Austrian capital began in the presence of 
the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers as well as the U.S., Russian and 
French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. Aliyev and Pashinian then spoke one 
on one for roughly two hours before being again joined by the ministers and the 
mediators.
Stephane Visconti, the Minsk Group’s French co-chair, described the summit as 
“positive,” saying that the two sides got a better idea of each other’s 
position. “We hope that a new meeting will be held soon,” Visconti told 
reporters.
Pashinian was expected to comment on the summit later in the day at a meeting 
with members of the Armenian community of Austria.
Aliyev and Pashinian previously met on January 22 on the sidelines of the World 
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. They also talked during the summits of 
former Soviet republics held in September and December.
Their foreign ministers similarly held a series of lengthy negotiations, 
fuelling more speculation about major progress towards a resolution of the 
Karabakh conflict. They also met in Vienna late on Thursday.
Pashinian sought to lower expectations from the Vienna talks when he spoke in 
the Armenian parliament earlier this week. He also made clear that he will 
continue to insist on Karabakh’s direct involvement in Armenian-Azerbaijani 
peace talks.
Aliyev and other Azerbaijani leaders have repeatedly rejected the Armenian 
leader’s calls for the Karabakh Armenians to become a third negotiating party.
World Bank Approves More Funding For Armenia
March 29, 2019
U.S. -- The World Bank building in Washington, April 9, 2008
The World Bank Group has pledged to provide Armenia with around $500 million in 
fresh loans and other funding over the next five years in support of its new 
government’s reform agenda.
The group’s executive board approved the 2019-2023 Country Partnership 
Framework (CPF) for Armenia at a meeting held in Washington late on Thursday. 
In a statement, it said the CPF is “fully aligned” with the Armenian 
government’s five-year policy program adopted earlier this year.
“The proposed World Bank Group strategy will capitalize on the momentum and 
political will for deeper reforms and renewed commitment to good governance 
sparked by recent changes in Armenia to support a rebalancing of the economy 
toward a new growth model,” said Sylvie Bossoutrot, the head of the World Bank 
office in Yerevan.
The bank’s previous, four-year assistance strategy for Armenia was approved in 
2013. It called for $873 million in total funding.
The latest CPF calls for more low-interest loans to Yerevan as well as 
investments by the World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance 
Corporation (IFC), and risk insurance division, the Multilateral Investment 
Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
The Armenian energy sector is understood to be a major beneficiary of the 
planned aid package. The bank said IFC, which specializes in equity purchases, 
will help to modernize the sector in order to reduce its reliance on imported 
fuel.
“IFC will also support the government’s efforts to increase competition and 
open the economy to foreign investment by providing direct financing to 
companies and supporting the development of export-oriented industries,” added 
its statement.
“IFC welcomes the opening of Armenia’s economy and the creation of new 
opportunities for investment,” said Jan van Bilsen, the IFC regional manager 
for the South Caucasus.
The World Bank has already been Armenia’s leading foreign creditor and donor, 
having provided it with over $2 billion in loans and grants since 1992.
The government program cited by the bank envisages that the Armenian economy 
will grow by at least 5 percent annually for the next five years. In its latest 
Global Economic Prospects report released in January, the World Bank forecast 
slightly lower growth rates for this year and 2020.
Armenia To Send Rescue Teams To Flood-Hit Iran
March 29, 2019
IRAN -- A general view of flooding in Golestan province, Iran, March 22, 2019
Armenia’s government said on Friday that it will send rescue teams and 
equipment to neighboring Iran to help authorities there deal with the 
consequences of deadly flash floods which hit the country last week.
The floods caused by heavy rain have reportedly left at least 37 people dead 
and tens of thousands of others displaced. Thousands of Iranians are being 
housed in emergency shelters provided by the government, according to state 
media.
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency quoted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as 
saying on Wednesday that the floods affected 25 of Iran's 31 provinces and that 
the scale of the disaster overwhelmed emergency services in some areas.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said he is “deeply shocked” by the loss 
of life. “At this difficult moment Armenia is ready to support the friendly 
people of Iran and provide necessary assistance to overcome the consequences of 
the disaster,” Pashinian tweeted in English and Farsi.
Armenia’s Minister for Emergency Situations Felix Tsolakian reaffirmed the 
offer on Thursday at a meeting with the Iranian ambassador in Yerevan, Seyyed 
Kazem Sajjad.
“We want to send humanitarian assistance to Iran,” Tsolakian told fellow 
members of the Armenian government the following day. “That will be organized 
through the Russian-Armenian humanitarian center.”
“We will be sending technical equipment, machinery and rescuers,” he said, 
according to the Armenpress news agency.
Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian, who chaired the cabinet meeting, welcomed 
the initiative, describing Iran as a “friendly country.”
Senior officials at the Armenian Rescue Service, which is part of Tsolakian’s 
ministry, discussed details of the relief effort later on Friday.
Armenia has maintained a cordial relationship with Iran ever since its 
independence. Pashinian and Rouhani pledged to deepen bilateral ties during the 
Armenian leader’s recent official visit to the Islamic Republic.
Armenian-Azeri Summit Described As ‘Positive’
March 29, 2019
Austria -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijan's President 
Ilham Aliyev meet in Vienna, 29Mar2019
Armenia and Azerbaijan described the latest meeting of their leaders as 
“positive” on Friday, saying that they again agreed to strengthen the ceasefire 
regime in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and continue their dialogue.
“The meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere and provided 
an opportunity for the two leaders to clarify their respective positions,” the 
foreign ministers of the two warring nations said in a joint statement issued 
hours after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian met with Azerbaijani President Ilham 
Aliyev in Vienna. “They exchanged views about several key issues of the 
settlement process and ideas of substance.”
“The two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment 
conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the 
negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict,” read the 
statement which was also signed by the U.S., Russian and French mediators 
co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group.
It said Aliyev and Pashinian “recommitted to strengthening the ceasefire.” 
“They also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian field,” 
it said, adding that the two leaders will “continue their direct dialogue.”
Pashinian also called the summit “positive.” “I cannot say that there has been 
a breakthrough, revolution or landmark event in the negotiating process,” he 
told members of the Armenian community of Austria. “But it is very important 
that a new process, which allows us to talk about our agendas, ideas and 
issues, has begun.”
“Obviously each of us strongly believes in his own position, but can we start 
talking not just about our own positions but also the other side’s positions?” 
said Pashinian. “What is logical in the opposite side’s position and what is 
not? I find the meeting positive in this sense.”
Pashinian did not say whether he and Aliyev narrowed their differences over a 
compromise solution to the Karabakh conflict that has long been advanced by the 
mediators. He implied that they discussed his repeated calls for Karabakh’s 
direct involvement in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks but did not report any 
understandings on this issue.
Aliyev and other Azerbaijani leaders have denounced those calls as an attempt 
to obstruct the negotiating process.
The Vienna summit was Pashinian’s and Aliyev’s fourth face-to-face encounter in 
six months. The two men spoke for the first time in September on the sidelines 
of a summit of ex-Soviet states held in Tajikistan. There has been a 
significant decrease in ceasefire violations around Karabakh and along the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border since then.
Pashinian stressed on Friday the importance of maintaining the “stable 
situation” on the frontlines and boosting the safety of residents of Armenian 
and Azerbaijani border villages.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

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                                        Saturday, 
Authorities ‘Still Hunting’ For Sarkisian’s Fugitive Brother
        • Naira Nalbandian
Armenia -- President Serzh Sarkisian awards a medal to his brother Levon, March 
22, 2016.
Armenian law-enforcement authorities have so far been unable to track down and 
arrest a fugitive brother of former President Serzh Sarkisian facing corruption 
charges, Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian claimed on Friday.
Levon Sarkisian was charged with “illegal enrichment” after tax inspectors 
discovered in June that he and his two children hold almost $7 million in 
undeclared deposits at an Armenian bank.
Under Armenian law, such asset declarations are mandatory for high-ranking 
state officials and their family members. This legal requirement applies to 
Levon Sarkisian because he worked as ambassador-at-large at the Armenian 
Foreign Ministry until his brother was overthrown in last spring’s “velvet 
revolution.”
Levon Sarkisian is thought to have left Armenia shortly before being indicted. 
One of his business partners, Gabriel Jemberjian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
service in December that Sarkisian is now living abroad but planning to return 
to Armenia because “his issues should be solved very soon.”
The head of the National Security Service (NSS), Artur Vanetsian, stated 
recently that the ex-president’s brother is in Lebanon at the moment.
Davtian downplayed Vanetsian’s statement, arguing that it has not yet been 
officially confirmed by Lebanese authorities. “We can start an extradition 
process only if he is found and arrested [in a foreign country] and we are 
formally notified about that,” the chief prosecutor told reporters. “That has 
not happened yet.”
Also prosecuted is Serzh Sarkisian’s second, more controversial brother, 
Aleksandr. He was charged with fraud in February several months after the NSS 
had his $30 million bank account frozen as part of a separate criminal inquiry.
The NSS announced early this month that it has allowed Aleksandr Sarkisian to 
“temporarily” leave the country after he donated $19.6 million of that money to 
the Armenian military.
Sarkisian, who is better known as “Sashik,” also paid $6.5 million in back 
taxes. The nearly $3.9 million remaining in his frozen account will also be 
transferred to the state to fully settle his tax debt, according to the NSS.
Press Review
Lragir.am quotes a former Azerbaijani foreign minister, Tofik Zulfugarov, as 
predicting that Friday’s meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian will end in failure. He says that the 
conflicting parties will fail to bridge their substantial differences on the 
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The online publication suggests 
that summit’s possible failure would lead to either a continued “imitation” of 
peace talks or an escalation of tensions of the Karabakh frontlines. “The 
Armenian side is reviewing the whole negotiating process and demanding a public 
interpretation [by Baku and the mediators] of the proposed principles [of the 
Karabakh settlement,]” it says.
“Zhoghovurd” describes as “quite sharp” Pashinian’s criticism of the United 
States which he voiced on Thursday. “It is the first time that Pashinian spoke 
about the United States in such a tough manner,” comments the paper. It notes 
that he also criticized the European Union during and after a July 2018 visit 
to Brussels and stressed the importance of respecting Armenia’s sovereignty in 
his first talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Why did at least 95 percent of the public support the revolution in April last 
year?” writes “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “Because at least 95 percent of the public 
felt that Armenia needs radical changes, and in all areas.” The pro-government 
daily does not exclude that Pashinian’s approval ratings have fallen since 
then. But it insists that even those Armenians who are now disappointed with 
the prime minister continue to demand radical changes. They are only unhappy 
with the pace of those changes, it says. Some of them may also not like 
government efforts to make every citizen pay taxes, the planned downsizing of 
the state bureaucracy or a perceived lack of individuals jailed for corruption, 
according to the paper.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2019 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org