16:21, 9 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The Governor of Ararat Province Razmik Tevonyan tendered his resignation, his aide Kristine Poghosyan told ARMENPRESS.
“The resignation can either be accepted or rejected within three days. As to the reasons of his resignation, I can’t say,” she said.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
18:07, 9 September, 2021
YEREVAN, 9 SEPTEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 9 September, USD exchange rate is down by 0.49 drams to 493.17 drams. EUR exchange rate is up by 0.31 drams to 583.52 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate is up by 0.03 drams to 6.75 drams. GBP exchange rate is up by 2.43 drams to 681.46 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price is down by 284.46 drams to 28318.43 drams. Silver price up by 0.72 drams to 385.53 drams. Platinum price is down by 237.91 drams to 15808.21 drams.
MINSK, 9 September (BelTA) – Belarus will take part in Armenia Expo 2021 with a Made in Belarus exposition. The event in Yerevan will be running from 16 to 18 September, BelTA learned from the website of the Belinterexpo exhibition enterprise at the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Made in Belarus exposition will feature 11 Belarusian manufacturers that will exhibit the best latest products adapted to the preferences and needs of Armenian consumers.
The Belarusian food industry concern Belgospishcheprom will have the largest stand featuring well-known Belarusian brands: Slodych and Kommunarka confectionery factories, Slutsk Sugar Mill, and Minsk Kristall Group, Belarus’ largest producer of alcoholic beverages in Belarus.
The Belarusian dairy industry will be represented by Slutsk Cheese-Making Plant and Kalinkovichi Dairy Plant. “Slutsk Cheese-Making Plant is the second largest dairy in Belarus. The company will showcase cheeses, milk powder and butter under the Yas Belous trademark. These types of Belarusian products are traditionally in demand in the Caucasus region. In 2020, they, along with cream and cottage cheese, prevailed in the Belarusian export to Armenia,” Belinterexpo said.
The products of Kalinkovichi Dairy Plant are familiar to consumers in the CIS countries, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In Armenia, the company will present skimmed milk powder, whole powder, butter, dry whey, hard and semi-hard cheeses under the Kalinka trademark.
The Made in Belarus exposition will also feature manufacturers of farm machines. For example, Gomselmash is one of the world’s leading producers of combine harvesters and other sophisticated agricultural machines. Two Palesse harvesters have been working on the fields of Armenia since last year.
Grodnooblselkhoztechnika, a major manufacturer of agricultural machinery in Belarus, will take part in the expo too. It incorporates 12 enterprises producing tillage, fodder harvesting, post-harvest handling equipment, and milking systems. Its products sell into Lithuania, Ukraine, Georgia, Russia.
The exposition will also feature Gomel Electromechanical Plant. For more than 20 years, the company has been producing locomotives and rolling stock, and other complex systems.
“In 2021 Belarusian exporters took part in Expo Food & Drinks in Yerevan in May. Then the Belarus – Taste of Nature exposition brought together seven enterprises of the food industry,” the exhibition company added.
The organizer of the Made in Belarus exposition is Belinterexpo at the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event will be held with the support of the Embassy of Belarus in Armenia.
18:09, 9 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. On September 9, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin hosted a conference entitled “Religious Freedom and Peace”, which brought together religious leaders, leading scholars and experts from different countries to discuss the importance of preserving global cultural and historical heritage, as well as to elaborate recommendations for the protection of religious freedom and cultural heritage around the world.
As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Catholicos of All Armenian Karekin II delivered a speech at the conference, speaking about freedom, peace and justice.
‘’The ideas of freedom and peace are the same age as in the history of mankind and continue to be relevant today, especially when the existence of violence, conflicts and wars in different parts of the world are often tried to be justified with false agendas of freedom or peace’’, the Catholicos said in his speech, adding that understandings of the idea of freedom, no matter what foundation they are built on, must be unquestionably called to serve the harmonious and peaceful coexistence of the people.
‘’Peace can bring fruits and remain alive if justice is in place. Forced peace, without justice, gives birth to pain and suffering instead of good, brings hatred and enmity in human life. Despite the universal realization and aspiration to the need of freedom and peace, violence, wars, ethnic hatred, and world-wide crimes based on them have not been overcome in the world to this day. Moreover, such actions continue to be carried out with the application of the latest modern scientific and technical achievements’’, Karekin II said, adding that the Armenian people have beared the consequences of the violation of freedom and ethnic hatred during its history. ” Such tragic events took place in the life of our people at the beginning of the 20th century, when one and a half million Armenians fell victim to the Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, the Armenian people suffered the greatest loss, being deprived of their historical homeland. The indifference to the first genocide in the history of mankind and the delay in the application of legal remedies led to other genocides, crimes against humanity, the tragic consequences of which were the Holocaust in the middle of the last century, the genocides of Cambodia, Rwanda and Darfur in the late 20th century. We encountered such tragic events also recently, when a large-scale war was unleashed by Azerbaijan against our people living in Artsakh. During the hostilities, which involved the Turkish Armed Forces and international terrorist groups, phosphorus weapon and other banned weapons were used against civilians and civilian settlements. Thousands of people died and became disabled as a result of these tragic events, settlements were destroyed, tens of thousands of families became refugees, many of them, both military and civilian, were taken captive even after the hostilities and are kept in cruel conditions in Azerbaijan to this day, with gross violations of international humanitarian law. We would like to once again express our appreciation to all the international humanitarian, ecclesiastical and inter-church institutions and organizations for their work on the release of Armenian prisoners of war and the preservation of religious and cultural values’’, the Catholicos of All Armenians said, adding that the bombing and destruction of religious sites during and after the war speak about the Azerbaijani policy of eradicating the Armenian trace from Artsakh, like it happened in 2003, when over 6 thousand cross-stones of the Armenian cemetery in Jugha were destructed, the territory of which was transformed into a shooting range.
At the end of the speech, Catholicos of All Armenians wished the participants of the conference productive work.
MINSK, 9 September (BelTA) – Chairman of Belarus’ Investigative Committee Dmitry Gora had a working meeting with a delegation of the Armenian Investigative Committee headed by Chairman Argishti Kyaramyan in Minsk on 9 September, BelTA learned from Investigative Committee.
The Armenian delegation arrived at the invitation of the Belarusian colleagues in the run-up to the tenth anniversary of the Investigative Committee.
“Dmitry Gora warmly welcomed the Armenian delegation stressing the importance of face-to-face meetings and also thanked the colleagues for accepting the invitation to visit Belarus,” the committee said.
The parties agreed to maintain working contacts in order to promptly resolve issues regarding the provision of legal assistance in criminal cases.
Armenian, Georgian PMs assess bilateral negotiations as productive
18:50, 9 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The official visit of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan to Georgia is over.
As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, in the sidelines of the visit, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, President Salome Zourabichvili, paid tribute at the “Heroes’ Square” in Tbilisi, participated in the dinner reception delivered on behalf of the Prime Minister of Georgia in honor of the Armenian Prime Minister.
Nikol Pashinyan held high-level talks with Irakli Garibashvili, discussing the agenda of Armenian-Georgian relations. A key topic of discussion was the prospect of opening an era of stability, peace and development in the region. The interlocutors agreed to expand the Armenian-Georgian cooperation, to promote the regional dialogue by joint efforts and programs. In this context, the Prime Minister of Armenia also had a productive meeting with the President of Georgia.
The official visit of the Prime Minister to Georgia ended in Batumi with an informal meeting with the Prime Minister of Georgia, during which the programs aimed at the development of tourism and measures aimed at improving infrastructure were presented to PM Pashinyan. The Armenian, Georgian
Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction with the negotiations and agreed to continue active contacts in both official and unofficial formats.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan returned to Yerevan this evening.
“Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich! I was deeply saddened by the tragic death of Russian Emergencies Minister Yevgeny Zinichev in the line of duty. On behalf of myself and the Armenian people, I ask you to convey our sincere condolences to the family and relatives of Yevgeny Zinichev”, the telegram reads.
On Wednesday, the Emergencies Ministry reported that 55-year-old Minister Yevgeny Zinichev died in the line of duty during drills in the northern city of Norilsk. He had worked in the state security agencies since 1987, including in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s security service. In late July 2016, he was appointed acting governor of the Kaliningrad Region. In October 2016-May 2018, he was deputy head of Russia’s Federal Security Service. He was appointed the emergencies minister on May 18, 2018.
By Emil Avdaliani
Potential Armenia-Turkey rapprochement could have a major influence on South Caucasus geopolitics. The opening of the border would allow Turkey to have a better connection with Azerbaijan beyond the link it already has with the Nakhchivan exclave. Moscow will not be entirely happy with the development as it would allow Yerevan to diversify its foreign policy and decrease dependence on Russia in economy. The process nevertheless is fraught with troubles as mutual distrust and the influence of the third parties could complicate the nascent rapprochement.
Over the past month Armenian and Turkish officials exchanged positive statements which signaled potential rapprochement between the two historical foes. For instance, the Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan said that he was ready for reconciliation with Turkey “without preconditions.” “Getting back to the agenda of establishing peace in the region, I must say that we have received some positive public signals from Turkey. We will assess these signals, and we will respond to positive signals with positive signals,” the PM stated. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara could work towards gradual normalization if Yerevan “declared its readiness to move in this direction.”
On a more concrete level Armenia has recently allowed Turkish Airlines to fly to Baku directly over Armenia. More significantly, Armenia’s recently unveiled five-year government action plan, approved by Armenia’s legislature, states that “Armenia is ready to make efforts to normalize relations with Turkey.” Normalization, if implemented in full, would probably take the form of establishing full-scale diplomatic relations. More importantly, the five-year plan stresses that Armenia will approach the normalization process “without preconditions” and says that establishing relations with Turkey is in “the interests of stability, security, and the economic development of the region.”
So far it has been just an exchange of positive statements, but the frequency nevertheless indicates that a certain trend is emerging. This could lead to intensive talks and possibly to improvement of bilateral ties. The timing is interesting. The results of the second Nagorno-Karabakh war served as a catalyzer. Though heavily defeated by Azerbaijan, Armenia sees the need to act beyond the historical grievances it holds against Turkey and be generally more pragmatic in foreign ties. In Yerevan’s calculation, the improvement of relations with Ankara could deprive Baku of some advantages. Surely, Azerbaijan-Turkey alliance will remain untouched, but the momentum behind it could decrease if Armenia establishes better relations with Turkey. The latter might not be as strongly inclined to push against Armenia as it has done so far, and specifically during the second Nagorno-Karabakh war. The willingness to improve the bilateral relations has been persistently expressed by Ankara over the past years. Perhaps the biggest effort was made in 2009 when the Zurich Protocols were signed leading to a brief thaw in bilateral relations. Though eventually unsuccessful (on March 1, 2018, Armenia announced the cancellation of the protocols), Ankara has often stressed the need of improvement of ties with Yerevan without demanding preconditions.
Beyond the potential establishment of diplomatic relations, the reopening of the two countries’ border, closed from early 1990s because of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Turkey’s solidarity with and military and economic support for Azerbaijan, could also be a part of the arrangement. The opening of the 300 km border running along the Armenian regions of Shirak, Aragatsotn, Armavir, and Ararat could be a game-changer. The opening up of the border is essentially an opening of the entire South Caucasus region. The move would provide Armenia with a new market for its products and businesses. In the longer term it would allow the country to diversify its economy, lessen dependence on Russia and the fragile route which goes through Georgia. The reliance on the Georgian territory could be partially substituted by Azerbaijan-Armenia-Turkey route, though it should be also stressed that the Armenia transit would need considerable time to become fully operational.
Economic and connectivity diversification equals the diminution of Russian influence in the South Caucasus. In other words, the closed borders have always constituted the basis of Russian power in the region as most roads and railways have a northward direction. For Turkey an open border with Armenia is also beneficial as it would allow a freer connection with Azerbaijan. Improving the regional links is a cornerstone of Turkey’s position in the South Caucasus. In a way, the country has acted as a major disruptor. Through its military and active economic presence Turkey opens new railways and roads, thus steadily decreasing Russian geopolitical leverage over the South Caucasus.
As mentioned, both Ankara and Yerevan will benefit from potential rapprochement. It is natural to suggest that the potential improvement between Turkey and Armenia, Russia’s trustful ally, would not be possible without Moscow’s blessing. Russia expressed readiness to help Armenia and Turkey normalize their relations, saying that would boost peace and stability in the region. “Now too we are ready to assist in a rapprochement between the two neighboring states based on mutual respect and consideration of each other’s interests,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said. Yet, it is not entirely clear how the normalization would suit Russia’s interests. One possibility is that the Armenia-Turkey connection would allow Russia to have a direct land link with Turkey via Azerbaijan and Armenia. However, here too the benefits are doubtful. The route is long and will likely remain unreliable. For Russia trade with Turkey via the Black Sea will remain a primary route.
Presenting a positive picture in the South Caucasus could however be a misrepresentation of real developments on the ground. The Armenian-Turkish rapprochement is far from being guaranteed because of ingrained distrust between the two sides. Moreover, there is also the Azerbaijani factor. Baku will try to influence Ankara’s thinking lest the rapprochement goes against Azerbaijan’s interests. Moreover, as argued above, Russia too might not be entirely interested in the border opening. This makes the potential process of normalization fraught with numerous problems which could continuously undermine rapport improvement.
Thus, realism drives Turkish policy toward Armenia. Ankara needs better connections to the South Caucasus. Reliance on the Georgian transit route is critical, but diversification is no less important. The results of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh war present Turkey and Armenia with an opportunity to pursue the improvement of bilateral ties. Yet, the normalization could be under pressure from external players and deep running mutual distrust. Moreover, the two sides will need to walk a tightrope as a potential blowback from nationalist forces in Turkey and Armenia can complicate the process.
This article was published at Caucasus Watch
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