Monday,
EU, Armenia Sign Common Aviation Area Agreement
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (L) and Chair of the Council of the
European Union Stanislav Raščan (C) and European Commissioner for Neighborhood
and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi sign a Common Aviation Area Agreement in
Brussels,
Armenia and the European Union have signed a Common Aviation Area Agreement, the
Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Monday. The document was signed on November 15 between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat
Mirzoyan and European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér
Várhelyi and Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Stanislav Raščan, who is currently the
chair of the Council of the European Union, representing the EU. In his remarks at the signing ceremony Mirzoyan described the event as “yet
another remarkable benchmark” in Armenia’s relations with the European Union and
its 27 member states. “The ratification and entry into force of this Agreement in the near future will
create new opportunities for the development of the aviation sector in Armenia,
making the connection to other European countries easier for the Armenian
citizens. “Joining the EU Common Aviation Area – a single market for aviation services
will foster the adoption of the EU aviation standards, the implementation of
aviation rules and will further develop cooperation in the field of aviation
security. It will in its turn, benefit the national airlines and, of course,
individual travelers,” Mirzoyan said as quoted by the Armenian Foreign
Ministry’s press office. “I am convinced that the Agreement will be instrumental in promoting trade,
tourism, investments, and economic and social development in general, as well as
boost people-to-people contacts, and provide increased opportunities for bigger
mobility,” the Armenian foreign minister concluded. Armenian PM Vows Efforts To Overcome ‘Strategic Challenges’
Նոյեմբեր 15, 2021
Armenian Prime Minsiter Nikol Pashinian (C) introduced newly appointed Defense
Minister Suren Papikian (L) in the presence of former Defense Minister Arshak
Karapetian, Yerevan,
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has pledged efforts of his government to
overcome what he described as current strategic challenges facing Armenia as he
introduced a newly appointed defense minister to his staff. Presiding over a Security Council session earlier on Monday, Pashinian said that
he had decided to dismiss Arshak Karapetian as defense minister after analyzing
what he described as Azerbaijan’s latest incursions into Armenia’s sovereign
territory in one of the sections of the eastern border. Speaking in the presence of both Karapetian and Papikian at the Ministry of
Defense hours after that, Pashinian said: “Our country is facing serious
strategic challenges. We simply have no right not to manage these challenges in
the interests of the Republic of Armenia, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh – ed.) and
the Armenian people.”
Pashinian stressed that the country’s leadership “has a clear idea of what steps
are needed to successfully bring the country out of the crossroads of these
strategic challenges, to pave the way for lasting and sustainable development.”
“We will take that way,” the Armenian leader added. Pashinian emphasized the political nature of his decision to replace the defense
minister. He thanked Papikian for agreeing to take “a politically more
vulnerable” post. At the same time, the prime minister vowed continued efforts of his cabinet to
solve any problems facing the military. “The Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces are the largest state body in our
country, and that body must be healthy, functionally efficient, and decisions
[there] must be profound, substantiated, based on our military and strategic
needs. In this regard, I want to emphasize this nuance, around which we must
continue to work,” Pashinian concluded. Pashinian Discusses ‘Azeri Incursion’ At Security Council Meeting
• Heghine Buniatian
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian holding a Security Council meeting,
Azerbaijani forces have invaded the territory of Armenia in one of the eastern
sections of the border, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said during a meeting of
the country’s Security Council on Monday. The Armenian leader did not provide details as to when, where and under what
circumstances the Azerbaijani military advancement took place. He only mentioned
that this issue has been discussed by Security Council members since yesterday. “Since yesterday we have had several meetings and discussions in this
composition as well as in different formats. The subject of discussions was the
fact of the incursion into the territory of the Republic of Armenia by the
Azerbaijani troops in one of the eastern sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border. The purpose of today’s meeting is to summarize our discussions, as well
as to give full information to our public about the events that have taken
place,” Pashinian said. A meeting of Armenia’s Security Council chaired by Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian,
The prime minister announced the dismissal of Arshak Karapetian as minister of
defense and his replacement with Suren Papikian, who prior to that held the post
of deputy prime minister. Pashinian said that the decision was made “as a result of the analysis of the
events unfolding since yesterday.”
Skirmishes at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border have been reported since the
weekend. Some reports suggested advancement of Azerbaijani troops into Armenian
territory. Official Yerevan, however, has not admitted any territorial losses
until today. During today’s Security Council meeting Pashinian said he had thanked Karapetian
for his work as defense minister, at the same time telling him that “at the
moment the situation has led me to the decision that there should be a change of
the defense minister.”
According to an official statement, the Security Council heard the report by the
chief of the General Staff of Armenia’s Armed Forces on the current situation,
after which, according to Pashinian, the Security Council members would “analyze
the situation and try to make a decision on our actions in several directions on
the protection of our security, territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Meanwhile, the Security Council of Armenia drew the attention of Russia, the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the international community
to “the ongoing aggressive actions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces”, emphasizing
that “these actions are against Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity,
regional security and stability, as well as the provisions of the November 9
trilateral statement.”
In its statement the Security Council said that at about 1 pm yesterday, in one
of the eastern sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, units of the
Azerbaijani armed forces invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia with the
help of armored vehicles, with four military positions of Armenia’s armed forces
being encircled. It said that as a result of negotiations the Azerbaijani
military equipment and personnel were withdrawn from the territory of Armenia. According to the statement, the units of the Armenian armed forces were
withdrawn from the above-mentioned four combat positions, “but the Azeri
servicemen, who invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia in May, continue to
be deployed in the mentioned area.”
Meanwhile, Baku has denied that its troops have invaded Armenia’s sovereign
territory, insisting that Azerbaijani soldiers are stationed in the territories
belonging to Azerbaijan. “Azerbaijani servicemen are serving in the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan,”
said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva, responding to statements
from official Yerevan. Defense Chief Replaced In Armenia
(Combined photo): Armenia’s fired Defense Minister Arshak Karapetian (L) and
newly appointed Defense Minister Suren Papikian
Armenian Defense Minister Arshak Karapetian has been dismissed from his post, it
emerged on Monday. The presidential press office said today that based on the proposal of Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian, Armenian President Armen Sarkisian signed a relevant
decree relieving Karapetian, who had held the ministerial position since August,
of his duties. By another decree proposed by Pashinian the president appointed Deputy Prime
Minister Suren Papikian new defense minister. Papikian was relieved of his
duties as deputy prime minister prior to that. The changes come after two days of reported skirmishes between Armenian and
Azerbaijani armed forces along the border between the two countries as well as
tensions within Nagorno-Karabakh where one ethnic Armenian civilian was killed
and three others wounded and three Azerbaijani soldiers were wounded in separate
reported incidents during last week. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian convened a Security Council meeting on
Monday during which he discussed “an Azeri incursion into Armenia’s territory at
one of the sections of the eastern border.” He also announced the replacement of
the defense minister, stressing that the decision was made “as a result of the
analysis of the events unfolding since yesterday.”
The escalation of tensions coincided with a two-day visit of Karapetian to
Nagorno-Karabakh reported by Armenia’s Defense Ministry early last week. Azerbaijan strongly condemned that visit by a senior Armenian official made
around the first anniversary of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped last
year’s Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Authorities in Baku claimed that the trip was a
violation of the terms of the ceasefire “aimed at destabilizing the situation in
the region.”
Major-General Karapetian’s successor Papikian has served in top positions in the
Pashinian government since the 2018 “velvet revolution.” The 35-year-old
politician has no military background. Ruling Party Loses Election In Another Syunik Town
• Karlen Aslanian
A voter goes through a fingerprint authentification process in Armenia’s
elections (file photo)
The political party of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has suffered another
setback in Syunik as its candidate lost a municipal election in the southern
province’s town of Kapan to a pro-opposition incumbent major over the weekend. According to preliminary results reported by the Central Election Commission,
Civil Contract’s David Danielian received about 29 percent of the vote in the
November 15 ballot. The winner, Gevork Parsian of the opposition Shant Alliance,
gained nearly 70 percent of the vote, according to the same official source. This is the third major town in Syunik where Civil Contract has suffered
setbacks in local elections this fall. While winning in several communities across Armenia, including in Syunik, in the
October 17 elections, the Pashinian party still lost in the southern province’s
key towns of Goris and Meghri to candidates representing different opposition
parties. Last month Civil Contract also failed to win in municipal elections in
Gyumri (Shirak province) where it eventually formed a coalition with the winning
pro-opposition alliance. In contrast, in the November 15 elections, Civil Contract’s candidates managed
to win by a large margin in Stepanavan (Lori province) and Ijevan (Tavush
province). Observers did not report major violations during Armenia’s local elections on
Sunday. On his Facebook account, Daniel Ioannisian, programs coordinator at the Union of
Informed Citizens who monitored the elections in Kapan, noted, however, a fairly
high voter turnout in the town, over 63 percent, which is not typical for local
elections in Armenia. Kapan is one of Syunik’s communities that became a border town as a result of
Azerbaijan’s regaining several Armenian-controlled districts around
Nagorno-Karabakh in last year’s war. Pro-opposition sentiments have been
observed to run high in most such areas. Armenians Barred From Another Azeri-Controlled Road
An Azerbaijani flag is seen on the Goris-Kapan road section controlled by Baku;
the photograph from the Armenian ombudsman's Facebook account,19Sep,2021
Azerbaijan has set up border controls and customs checks at another section of a
road linking two communities in southern Armenia. Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) said the measures were put in place at
midnight on November 15. Azerbaijan first took control of portions of a strategic road in Armenia’s
Syunik province, including the Kapan-Chakaten section, after last year’s war in
Nagorno-Karabakh as its troops advanced towards the Soviet-era administrative
border between the two former socialist republics. Last week Azerbaijan set up customs points at a 21-kilometer section of the road
linking Kapan and Goris. In a statement released late on Sunday the NSS said that like in the case of the
Kapan-Goris road Armenia will also set up border and customs points at the
Kapan-Chakaten section. It said that an alternative road for this section will
be ready before the end of the year. Azerbaijani forces set up a checkpoint on the Goris-Kapan road on September 12
to tax Iranian commercial trucks transporting cargo to and from Armenia. The
move caused serious disruptions in Armenian-Iranian trade operations and raised
tensions in Baku’s relations with Tehran. From November 11 Azerbaijan also announced border controls and customs checks
for all Armenian traffic, effectively barring Armenian drivers from using the
road. At a cabinet meeting in Yerevan the same day Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian said that continuing to use the Baku-controlled road section would
mean agreeing to a “corridor logic” advanced by Azerbaijan. He suggested that
Baku imposed the border checks because of Yerevan’s refusal to agree to a
special transport corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan
exclave via the portion of Syunik bordering Iran. All traffic from the relevant road section thereafter was redirected to an
alternative road bypassing the border area. The 70-kilometer bypass road has been mostly rebuilt in recent months. Pashinian
acknowledged that it is still not convenient enough for heavy trucks and needs
further upgrades. Issues related to the use of roads come amid another military escalation between
Armenia and Azerbaijan. Yerevan and Baku accused each other of attempting to
make advancements on the ground at different contested sections of the volatile
border. Azerbaijan also accused ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh of
firing at its military positions. An Armenian man in Nagorno-Karabakh was detained by Russian peacekeepers and
handed over to local ethnic Armenian authorities after allegedly throwing an
explosive device at Azerbaijani soldiers at a checkpoint along a
Russian-controlled corridor linking Stepanakert with Armenia. Authorities in Baku said three Azerbaijani soldiers were wounded in the incident
that took place near the town of Shushi (Susa) and led to a temporary closure of
the vital supply route for Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians. Baku described the
incident as a “terrorist act.”
De facto Armenian authorities in Stepanakert, for their part, said that a joint
investigation with Russian peacekeepers was under way to establish the
circumstances of the November 13 incident. But they added that their preliminary
findings suggested that the person who threw the explosive device was responding
to “provocative actions” by Azerbaijani soldiers. They also refuted Baku's
claims of casualties, insisting that no one was hurt by the explosion. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh last fall. The
hostilities in which nearly 7,000 people were killed were halted due to a
Russia-brokered ceasefire agreement signed on November 9, 2020, that granted
Azerbaijan control of parts of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as adjacent territories
that had been controlled by Armenians for nearly three decades. About 2,000
Russian peacekeepers were deployed in the region under the terms of the
ceasefire agreement. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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