Category: 2022

                                        Monday, 
Ex-President’s Undeclared Assets ‘Investigated’
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Switzerland - Switzerland's national flags fly beside the logo of Swiss bank 
Credit Suisse in Zurich, April 24, 2017.
Armenian prosecutors on Monday pledged to look into reports that former 
President Armen Sarkissian had failed to declare millions of dollars stashed in 
a Swiss bank.
According to an international journalistic investigation conducted by the 
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), Sarkissian is among 
current or former officials from around the world and their relatives who have 
held hidden accounts in Switzerland's second-largest bank, Credit Suisse.
The OCCRP, a nonprofit journalism consortium that partners with dozens of media 
outlets, released the findings of the investigation, based on a massive data 
leak, in a weekend report.
The reported said in particular that Sarkissian and his sister Karine kept more 
than 10 million Swiss francs ($11 million) in Credit Suisse from 2006 through 
2016. Sarkissian served as Armenia’s ambassador to Britain from 2013-2018, 
meaning that he had to declare his assets to an anti-corruption state body. He 
only admitted having 8 million euros ($10 million) held elsewhere.
Hetq.am, an Armenian media outlet that also took part in the OCCRP 
investigation, said that Sarkissian confirmed that the money belonged to him and 
his sister but denied any wrongdoing.
“At that time [Armenian income] declarations were not done electronically and 
did not require officials to declare concrete bank accounts,” he told the 
investigative publication. He claimed that he was only obliged to disclose his 
cash assets.
Haykuhi Harutiunian, the head of the Commission on Prevention of Corruption, 
denied the claim. “All kinds of financial assets had to be declared,” she told 
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
A spokesman for the Office of the Prosecutor-General, Gor Abrahamian, said that 
law-enforcement authorities will closely examine the information. He argued that 
inaccurate or incomplete asset declarations are a criminal offense in Armenia.
France - Armenian President Armen Sarkissian takes part in the Summit of Minds 
in Chamonix,17Sep2021
Sarkissian, 68, had lived and worked in London for nearly three decades before 
becoming Armenia’s largely ceremonial president in 2018. He made a fortune in 
the 2000s, working as an advisor and middleman for Western corporations doing 
business in the former Soviet Union.
Sarkissian unexpectedly resigned on January 23, citing a lack of powers vested 
in the presidency. Hetq.am, claimed that he stepped down because it emerged that 
he violated a constitutional provision stipulating that the president must have 
been a citizen of only Armenia for at least six years before taking office.
The publication said that an ongoing investigation conducted by it jointly with 
the OCCRP has revealed that Sarkissian was a citizen of the Caribbean island 
country of Saint Kitts and Nevis “not long before being elected president in 
March 2018.”
Prosecutors instructed Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) to investigate 
that report. The NSS has not publicized any conclusions so far.
Sarkissian left the country several days before his resignation. In a January 25 
statement, the presidential press office reaffirmed the stated reason for the 
resignation and accused the independent publication of trying to “divert public 
attention with a false agenda.”
Azerbaijan Issues Arrest Warrants For Kocharian, Sarkisian
Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian (L) and his predecessor Robert Kocharian 
visit Gyumri, 7 December 2008.
The Azerbaijani authorities have issued international arrest warrants for 
Armenia’s former Presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian.
An Azerbaijani military prosecutor said on Monday that the two men born in 
Nagorno-Karabakh have been indicted for helping to launch in 1988 demonstrations 
for the Armenian-populated territory’s secession from Azerbaijan and unification 
with Armenia. He said they are also wanted for their role in the 1991 creation 
of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
Kocharian and Sarkisian, who led Karabakh during its 1991-1994 war with 
Azerbaijan, were quick to scoff at the accusations.
“The filing of accusations against Serzh Sarkisian by the Aliyev regime is in 
itself a caricature,” his office said in a statement.
It said that Sarkisian, who ruled Armenia from 2008-2018, will continue to use 
his “extensive connections and experience” to fight for the Karabakh Armenians’ 
“right to a free, independent and secure life.”
The statement also stressed that Sarkisian and Kocharian, who now lead Armenia’s 
two main opposition groups, are also prosecuted by the “capitulator authorities” 
in Yerevan which it claimed are now effectively allied to “Azerbaijan’s ruling 
clan.”
A spokesman for Kocharian likewise linked the Azerbaijani arrest warrants with 
separate corruption charges leveled against both ex-presidents and strongly 
denied by them. Bagrat Mikoyan said they come amid Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian’s continuing “flirtation” with Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev.
“The Armenian authorities, who are begging for peace from Azerbaijan at the cost 
of national dignity, are receiving help from their ‘educated and constructive’ 
friends,” he said tartly.
Armenia - Tens of thousand of Armenians demonstrate in Yerevan in support of 
Nagorno-Karabakh's unification with Soviet Armenia, February 1988.
Baku already issued international arrest warrants for Karabakh’s current leaders 
shortly after the 2020 war. Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General condemned 
the move at the time, saying that it has “taken measures” to prevent them from 
being placed on Interpol’s most wanted list. It did not immediately react to 
Baku’s latest move.
During his nearly two-decade rule Aliyev held numerous face-to-face meetings 
with Kocharian and Sarkisian aimed at ending the Karabakh conflict. Over the 
past year he has repeatedly lambasted his former Armenian counterparts. The 
verbal attacks mostly followed their harsh criticism of Pashinian and his 
handling of the disastrous war.
The arrest warrants came the day after Armenia’s current and former leader 
issued statements marking the 34th anniversary of the start of the popular 
movement for Karabakh’s unification with Armenia.
“The movement was the first step in restoring our statehood,” read a statement 
released by Pashinian.
“Today Artsakh (Karabakh), though wounded, is still standing,” he said. “Today 
our steps are aimed not only at solving the socio-economic problems of the 
Armenians of Artsakh and overcoming security challenges but also at protecting 
their rights.”
“Artsakh will always be ours,” Kocharian said for his part.
Iranian FM Hails ‘Expanding’ Ties With Armenia
Germany - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (left) and his Iranian 
counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian meet in Munich, February 19, 2022.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian praised Iran’s relations with 
Armenia and reaffirmed his government’s strong opposition to any “geopolitical 
change” in the region when he met with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan 
at the weekend.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of an annual conference on international 
peace and security held in the German city of Munich.
“Amir-Abdollahian described bilateral relations between Tehran and Yerevan as 
deeply expanding,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the talks.
He said that senior Armenian and Iranian diplomats should build on this positive 
dynamic by negotiating a new “document on bilateral cooperation,” the statement 
added without elaborating.
Amir-Abdollahian was also reported to hail the planned opening of an 
Armenian-Iranian “transit route” for regional trade. He clearly referred to an 
ambitious project to create a transport corridor that would connect Iran’s 
Persian Gulf ports to the Black Sea through Armenia and Georgia.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mirzoyan and Amir-Abdollahian agreed 
on the need to finalize an agreement on that corridor that would pass through 
Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province bordering Iran as well as Azerbaijan.
The Iranian ambassador in Yerevan, Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri, said last month 
that Syunik must remain “the principal transit route” for cargo shipments 
between Armenia and Iran even after the anticipated launch of 
Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links. The Iranian side is therefore looking 
forward to further highway upgrades in the strategic Armenian region, he said.
Armenia - A cargo terminal at a border crossing with Iran, November 29, 2018. 
(Photo by the State Revenue Committee of Armenia)
The Armenian government last week announced its first step towards attracting 
potential contractors for the multimillion-dollar construction of a new highway 
in Syunik that will significantly shorten travel time between Armenia and Iran.
“We hope that by the end of the year we will have [selected] a company that will 
carry out that work,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said during a session of 
his cabinet.
Armenia lost control over a 21-kilometer stretch of an existing Syunik road 
leading to the Iranian border after a controversial troop withdrawal ordered by 
Pashinian following the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Last September, Azerbaijan 
set up checkpoints there to tax Iranian vehicles, triggering unprecedented 
tensions with Tehran.
An influential Iranian cleric accused Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in 
October of trying to “cut Iran’s access to Armenia.” More than 160 members of 
Iran’s parliament issued a joint statement warning against “any geopolitical 
change and alteration of the borders of neighboring countries.”
Meeting with Mirzoyan, Amir-Abdollahian likewise “emphasized Tehran's opposition 
to any geopolitical change in the region,” according to the Iranian Foreign 
Ministry.
Armenian, Saudi FMs Hold First-Ever Talks
Germany - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his 
Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan meet in Munich, February 19, 2022. (Photo 
by the Saudi Foreign Ministry)
Saudi Arabia signaled more overtures to Armenia as the foreign ministers of the 
two countries having no diplomatic relations met for the first time over the 
weekend.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Armenian 
counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan held talks on the sidelines of the annual Munich 
Security Conference in Germany.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said they “reviewed bilateral relations in various 
fields of cooperation and ways to support and enhance them.” They also explored 
“opportunities to enhance bilateral coordination” and discussed “many regional 
and international issues,” it wrote on Twitter.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mirzoyan discussed with Al Saud 
“prospects for establishing relations and cooperation” between their nations and 
expressed readiness to work on setting “bilateral and multilateral agendas.”
“During the meeting, the Foreign Ministers emphasized the importance of 
promoting trade and economic ties, implementing investment programs, and 
establishing contacts between business circles,” read a statement released by 
the ministry.
Saudi and Armenian foreign ministers are not known to have met in the past.
Saudi Arabia - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman talks to Armenian 
President Armen Sarkissian during the Future Investment Initiative forum in 
Riyadh, October 26, 2021.
Saudi Arabia has for decades refused to establish diplomatic relations with 
Armenia due to its conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. The 
oil-rich kingdom signaled a change in that policy after its relations with 
Armenia’s arch-foe and Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey deteriorated significantly 
several years ago.
The policy change was highlighted last October by then Armenian President Armen 
Sarkissian’s visit to Riyad. Sarkissian sat next to Saudi Arabia’s de facto 
ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at the opening ceremony of an 
international conference held there.
“We spoke about our diplomatic relations, and we agreed that in reality our 
diplomatic relations started with that visit,” Sarkissian told the Saudi 
newspaper Arab News in December.
The Karabakh conflict has not prevented Armenia from developing relations with 
other Gulf Arab monarchies, notably the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Both 
nations have embassies in Yerevan.
Successive Armenian governments have maintained closer ties with Iran, Saudi 
Arabia’s main regional rival.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
 

NBC News
By Alexander Smith
Feb. 14, 2022
[“It may not be totally stupid and wrong if they say that ‘the East is
rising and the West is declining,’” one academic said.]
One defied diplomatic boycotts over its human rights record and
welcomed the world to its first Winter Olympics. The other massed
troops on its neighbor’s border and issued demands to the United
States and its allies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin
stood side by side during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter
Olympics on Feb. 4. Their joint appearance not only delivered the most
forthright display of Sino-Russian unity for decades, but also what
observers saw as the clearest signal yet that the two are intent on
shaping a new world order — one in which America’s postwar global
dominance is in retreat and autocratic regimes can thrive in the space
left behind.
“They see this as a post-Trump world where the Americans pulled out of
Afghanistan in disarray, they don’t seem to be able to deter the
Russians and they can’t even manage Covid,” said Steve Tsang, director
of the China Institute at SOAS University of London. “So it may not be
totally stupid and wrong if they say that ‘the East is rising and the
West is declining.’”
With democracy backsliding globally, the resolve of Russia and China
has been particularly strengthened by the perceived U.S. retreat from
the global stage and the erosion of its own values at home, he said.
This has created a void, in the eyes of some in Beijing and Moscow,
into which the two countries are only too happy to step.
That idea is not entirely new.
Since at least 2008, government officials and intellectual elites in
China and Russia have been predicting or advocating the end of
America’s postwar dominance. But a 5,000-word joint statement was the
first time these countries have together spelled out their vision so
comprehensively for this “multipolar” future.
“A trend has emerged towards redistribution of power in the world,”
the statement said. This “new era” will “ensure peace, stability and
sustainable development,” it added, rather than the “power politics”
and “bullying” of U.S. supremacy where “the weak fall prey to the
strong.”
Crucially, the end of American dominance would stop the West from
trying to “interfere in the internal affairs of other states,
infringing their legitimate rights and interests,” the statement said,
repeating a long-standing complaint used to push back against Western
calls for democratic, legal and economic reforms.
Without naming names, the message was clear: Washington does not have
the might or the right to act as the world’s police.
For China, this would mean less criticism over alleged human rights
abuses against its Uyghur Muslim minority, which the U.S. and others
say is being subjected to cultural genocide, its crackdown on freedoms
in Hong Kong, and its threats to invade Taiwan, all of which China
denies.
Russia wants to hush criticism of its meddling in other countries’
elections, its invasion of neighbors, such as Georgia and Ukraine, and
its silencing of political opposition and freedom of speech at home,
all of which it also denies.
The extent of American decline has been debated for years within
Chinese circles of power, said Kingsley Edney, who teaches politics
and Chinese international relations at the University of Leeds in
England. Articulating it so strongly last week is “maybe a sign and
this is something that’s becoming more of a consensus view within the
establishment,” he said.
Indeed, the rise of the East and the decline of the West have become a
common refrain for Xi and his top officials — and not without
evidence. China is projected to become the world’s largest economy
this decade and is building the equivalent of the French navy every
four years, German and French officials have said.
The same cannot be said for Russia, which, though punching above its
weight thanks to its large gas reserves and nuclear arsenal, is still
a midsize economic power whose gross domestic product is smaller than
that of Italy. But in China, it now has a powerful partner which last
week fell in behind several of its demands, including effectively
barring Ukraine from ever joining NATO.
Beijing is also now Moscow’s largest trading partner, with nearly $150
billion of imports and exports last year.
Some academics believe the world has already moved on from being
“unipolar” in which Washington’s dominance was built on what it likes
to call the “the rules-based order.” That system of values is
predicated, in theory at least, on democracy, human rights and
international free trade.
In reality, America has often contradicted these ideals, from its own
history of slavery and segregation to funding right-wing regime change
in Latin America. But it’s only relatively recently that foreign
powers have seriously questioned its economic, cultural and military
supremacy.
When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, some thinkers believed that the
Western liberal model had prevailed for good: Democracy had won a
global victory and it was only a matter of time before the
authoritarians of the world fell in line.
“It gave the United States the ability and the possibility to do
whatever it saw fit on the world stage,” Fyodor Lukyanov, a Russian
foreign policy analyst who heads a body that advises the Kremlin,
wrote last year. “There were no external restraints left.”
Fast forward 30 years — through financial crises, several heavily
criticized U.S.-led invasions and  administrations that departed from
many foreign policy norms — and Washington’s place in the world looks
quite different.
In 16 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Center in spring 2021, on
average just 17 percent of people said the U.S. was a good model for
democracy, and 57 percent said it used to be.
International faith in the Western model took a hit following the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the financial crisis of 2008.
But Donald Trump’s election dismayed long-standing allies and shocked
enemies in a way few previous events had done, particularly his
criticism of the very institutions on which postwar American power had
been built, and his promotion of the conspiracy theory that he won the
2020 presidential election, which he lost.
President Joe Biden was seen by many as a relief. But America’s
continued struggles to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, its chaotic
withdrawal from Afghanistan and the false belief of many Republicans
in Trump’s baseless claim that he won has only deepened these theories
of declinism abroad.
It’s unclear what the Sino-Russian partnership means for this standoff
on the fringes of Europe. China backed Russia’s demand that Ukraine
should never join NATO, but experts believe it would not want a war
because of its trading links to Kyiv.
Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday an
invasion by Russia could begin “any day now,” something Moscow has
always denied despite its massive troop buildup.
With tensions at an all-time high and Russia holding military drills
in the nearby Black Sea, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met
with Putin on Monday and suggested that the Kremlin should continue
its diplomatic route with the U.S. and its allies. The Kremlin also
said Putin has approved his latest response in the back-and-forth with
the U.S. over Moscow’s sweeping security demands, which would reshape
the post-Cold War landscape in Europe.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday relations between
Moscow and Washington were “on the floor” despite a call between Biden
and Putin on Saturday.
Russia shifting so much military resource to its European flank is a
sign of how comfortable it feels leaving its east side relatively
undefended, according to Michael Kofman, the research program director
in the Russia Studies Program at CNA, a Washington-area think tank.
Many experts say it’s also a mistake to link the Ukraine crisis with
Taiwan, which China sees as a breakaway province and has threatened to
invade.  Taiwan is far more important to the U.S. than Ukraine both in
terms of trade and strategically, so it shouldn’t be seen through the
same foreign policy lens.
But Tsang at SOAS University says it’s certain that officials in
Beijing will be closely watching the Western response to Ukraine.
Though Washington and its European allies have stressed they are all
on the same page, there have been hints of division, with Germany in
particular favoring a more moderate approach toward the Kremlin.
“If the Western democratic response over Ukraine is in complete
disarray,” he said, “then it is not unreasonable for the Chinese to
assume that it would also be a shambles over Taiwan.”
 

Asia Times
[Turkey is exploring multiple fighter jet options in its quest for
strategic independence]
By Gabriel Honrada
February 14, 2022       
Turkey is looking at alternatives to the F-35 fighter jet after US
sanctions and its disqualification from the F-35 program.
Turkey had previously announced plans to acquire 100 F-35 jets, but
the US removed the country from its program in 2019 after it bought
S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Russia.
Turkey insisted it had turned to Russia after failing to reach an
agreement with the US over acquiring the Patriot missile systems, and
that the S-400 poses no risk to the F-35.
However, US officials warned that operating the S-400 near the F-35
could allow Russian intelligence services to learn about its
capabilities, helping Russia and other S-400 operators to develop
counter-measures against it.
Despite US sanctions, last year Turkey made a formal request to the US
for 40 F-16 fighters and 80 modernization kits for its existing units.
If the US chooses to grant Turkey’s request, such a move may repair
frayed relations between the two countries.
However, the US has significant reservations in approving Turkey’s
request, among them Turkey’s human rights record and the US pro-Greece
lobby.
Turkey has also embarked on an indigenous fighter jet program that
aims to produce a working aircraft by 2025 to be put into deployment
by 2029. Turkey’s TF-X fighter program was started in 2016 and aims to
replace the country’s aging F-16 fleet.
The TF-X fighter is envisioned to be a twin-engine multi-role
aircraft, focusing on air-to-air capabilities, but will also have
air-to-surface roles.
The TF-X will feature both US and Russian technologies. It is planned
to be powered by a license-produced General Electric F110 jet engine.
However, analysts say this choice is too optimistic, as the US
Congress will most likely block jet engine technology transfers to
Turkey.
Russian alternatives
Turkey is also looking at Russia as an alternative source of key
fighter technologies, such as jet engines, avionics, propulsion
systems, radars, sensors, ejection seats and data link systems.
In line with developing its own fighter, Turkey is already producing
its own light fighter jet trainer aircraft. Last month, Turkey
announced it was beginning mass-production of its TAI Hürjet
supersonic jet trainer, an advanced jet trainer and light attack
aircraft in the class of the Boeing T-7, the KAI T-50 and Yakovlev
Yak-130.
Turkey has also offered this type of trainer jet to Malaysia’s light
combat aircraft program.
Another option for Turkey is to buy Russian jets. After the US removed
Turkey from the F35 program, Turkey threatened to buy the Su-35 and
possibly the newer Su-57 jets from Russia.
Russia has already said it was willing to sell its Su-35 fighter jet
should Turkey want to buy it.
However, Turkey may face interoperability and cost concerns if it
decided to buy Russian fighters. Turkey’s air force is built around
the F-16 jet and shifting to another type would entail replacing
entire training programs, supply and logistics chains and maintenance
regimes.
Plus, the prospect of harsher US sanctions, antagonizing NATO and the
poor state of the Turkish economy could serve as a further deterrent
to such plans. Also, the cost of this major shift may prove to be
prohibitive.
Apart from buying Russian jets, Turkey may also look at acquiring
Chinese fighters. Turkey may look into acquiring China’s J-10C
Firebird fighter, which Pakistan previously ordered. In addition,
Turkey and China already have a substantial defense relationship, with
Turkey developing its Bora missile based on China’s B-611 ballistic
missile.
However, buying Chinese fighters would present the same
interoperability, cost and sanctions issues with Russian aircraft,
although the J-10C would cost substantially less than Russian
airframes. Western analysts have speculated about the Turkish
acquisition of Chinese fighters for some time.
Paul Iddon, an analyst for Forbes, wrote last month: “The J-10C is a
considerably cheaper and arguably more advanced 4.5-generation jet
than the Russian Sukhoi Su-35 since it has active electronically
scanned array (AESA) radar.
“The Su-35 still relies on less advanced passive electronically
scanned array (PESA) radar. The J-10C is also compatible with China’s
PL-15 long-range beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM).”
The China connection
This purchase would deepen Turkey’s drift into China’s sphere of
influence. Considering Turkey’s frayed political and military
relations with the West, China is poised to position itself as an
alternative partner in view of its geopolitical interests.
Under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Turkey-China cooperation
covers transportation, energy, telecommunications, intelligence and
cyberwarfare.
Just as China’s money helps shore up Turkey’s economy, Turkey’s
potential purchase of China’s J-10C might provide a substitute for
domestic or Russian fighters. China’s J-10C fighters can also deepen
the already substantial Turkish-Pakistan defense relationship.
Turkey is building four MILGEM corvettes for Pakistan and has
modernized the latter’s Agosta 90B submarines. These jets could
facilitate further training and modernization programs between Turkey
and Pakistan.
By hedging its fighter options between competing parties and
developing its own fighter program, Turkey has signaled its desire to
play an independent role in strategic affairs.
 

BoingBoing
Turkey to change official name to Türkiye in hopes of ending
association with hapless yet delicious bird
By Rob Beschizza
Feb. 14, 2022
Türkiye, as it is known in Turkish, plans to use that name
internationally henceforth instead of the English word Turkey. The
connotations with the bird of plate and plight are too much for
president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said the new name "represents and
expresses the culture, civilisation, and values of the Turkish nation
in the best way".
 The Turkish government is planning to change its internationally
recognised official name in English to Türkiye by registering it to
the United Nations in coming weeks, two Turkish officials told Middle
East Eye. The government could change the name with a simple
notification to the UN registry but the letter "Ü", which isn't in the
nominal Latin alphabet, could be a problem. Türkiye means Turkey in
Turkish. One senior Turkish official said Ankara hadn't discussed the
"Ü" issue with the UN yet, but the source was hopeful that a solution
could be found. Some observers said one such remedy could be using "U"
instead of "Ü" in the new name.
Phonetically, in English, it becomes "Turkeer" or "Turkeyer"—easier
than Czechia, at least.
 

The Youredjian siblings, Haig and Renee.jpg
JPEG image

The Youredjian family Renee, Jack, Zarig, Haig.jpg
JPEG image