Category: 2023

 14:34,

YEREVAN, 18 JULY, ARMENPRESS. Britain's Ministry of Defense will allocate £2.5 billion pounds (3,27 billion dollars) additional investment in their stockpiles and munitions to improve warfighting readiness.

Announcing the decision, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that the UK ‘must adapt and modernise to meet the threats we face, taking in the lessons from President Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.’’

Investments in the most modern defense technologies will continue to be a priority, Wallace added.

The recent increased investment of £5 billion (6.5 billion dollars) at the Spring Budget allows the Ministry of Defence to plan ahead, with the Defence budget – for the first time – over £50 billion a year.

 15:32,

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani government has been bribing European lawmakers in an attempt to conceal its poor human rights record.

Azerbaijan's infamous “Caviar Diplomacy” of systematic bribing to downplay its human rights record has led to investigations and convictions.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on July 13 on recommendations for reform of the European Parliament’s rules on transparency, integrity, accountability and anti-corruption.

The resolution mentions violations by various countries and organizations, including the Azerbaijani government’s actions. 

“…whereas Azerbaijan has conducted large-scale influence operations, involving strong suspicions of corruption, against members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; whereas Azerbaijan has managed to avert probes into its elections and whitewash its human rights record,” reads clause T of the resolution.

Speaking to ARMENPRESS, expert on Azerbaijan, former MP and former Armenian delegate to PACE Tatev Hayrapetyan warned that Azerbaijan will continue its practices of bribing European officials, but more cautiously.

“The scandalous reports prove that Azerbaijan’s actions in PACE involve a broad network and that the head of the Azerbaijani delegation Samad Seyidov is directly involved in criminal activity. When we were going to Strasbourg the Azerbaijanis were already acting very cautiously. Nonetheless, the facts remain and Seyidov continues to lead the Azerbaijani delegation,” Hayrapetyan told ARMENPRESS.

With the scandalous ousting of Pedro Agramunt as President of PACE in 2017 not stopping the practices of the Aliyev regime, the Caviar Diplomacy continues to this day, the expert on Azerbaijan warned.

Agramunt and many other officials served at PACE for a long time and their partiality contributed to pro-Azeri wordings which did not reflect the situation neither on Azeri domestic developments not around the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Eventually all packages are collected and Baku makes a tool out of it. The facts are disclosed, perpetrators are prosecuted, but the huge damage remains, she said.

“Azerbaijan isn’t criticized for its numerous political prisoners and human rights violations, whereas European countries get lambasted for the same occurrences. Turns out there are good and bad despots for Europe, with Aliyev being the so-called acceptable despot in this case, which in turn unleashes him even more in our region. Moreover, the Azerbaijanis show that the PACE resolutions mean nothing to them, they disregard the organizations where they themselves have membership. Should these organizations display principled approach, they would have considered ousting or suspending Azerbaijan, forcing Azerbaijan to respect the European resolutions,” Hayrapetyan said.

If the briber remains unpunished and those involved in scandals remain in office, then we are dealing with a unilateral punishment, when only those who are bribed are being punished. But this doesn’t mean that the bribers will stop, the expert said.

She warned that the Azerbaijanis will act more cautiously to try to find alternative sources.

On one hand the fact of bribery exists, but on the other hand the representatives of the democratic Europe travel to Baku to shake President Aliyev’s hand and describe him as a “reliable partner” in the context of diversifying gas supplies, whereas this is in parallel with the “gas bluff” topic, which to some extent impacts the EU policy in South Caucasus.

But facts show that Azerbaijan doesn’t even have the required gas reserves to supply the necessary volumes to entire Europe. Azerbaijan itself is buying gas from Iran, Turkmenistan, Russia, and is often re-selling Russian gas. Hayrapetyan said that this major deal involves the Europeans thinking that they are diversifying Russian gas by using Azeri gas, but are actually using Russian energy carrier, which is supplied via Azeri pipelines.

“It’s absurd that Europe is sanctioning Russia but is supporting the aggressor, dictatorial Azerbaijan in South Caucasus, showing that Azerbaijan is its partner in our region. EU has always had reforms agendas with Armenia and Georgia, and an energy cooperation agenda with Azerbaijan, whereas reforms have no effect in case of Azerbaijan,” the expert said.

Manvel Margaryan

 16:25,

YEREVAN, 18 JULY, ARMENPRESS: For the first time in decades, a US Navy nuclear-armed submarine has arrived in the port of Busan, South Korea, Kurt Campbell, coordinator for the Indo-Pacific at the US National Security Council, told reporters at a briefing in Seoul․

He noted that the move was intended to demonstrate Washington's commitment to agreements with Seoul regarding extended Korean deterrence.

Campbell participated in the first session of the Korea-US nuclear planning advisory group in Seoul. The parties discussed intelligence sharing on North Korea and the topic of nuclear deterrence.

The President of the United States Joe Biden and the President of Republic of Korea Yoon Suk Yeol, adopted the Washington Declaration in April, which listed a number of steps to upgrade extended deterrence. Within its framework, regular visits of American nuclear ballistic missile submarine, aircraft carriers to the Republic of Korea, as well as flights of American bomber aircrafts are planned.

On June 16, an American nuclear submarine armed with "Tomahawk" cruise missiles arrived at the port of Busan.

US and South Korean navies have conducted special operations training exercises.

 17:00,

BRUSSELS, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament has adopted a report on Turkey which also mentions the latter’s normalization process with Armenia.

The report supports the Armenia-Turkey normalization for reconciliation, regional stability and security. The report welcomes the progress achieved so far and commends the Armenian Prime Minister’s attendance of the Turkish President’s inauguration ceremony.

The report once again calls on Turkey to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide and preserve the Armenian cultural heritage in Turkey.

The MEPs urge the EU and Turkey to break the current deadlock and find “a parallel and realistic framework” for EU-Turkey relations.

Unless there is a drastic change of course by the Turkish government, Turkey’s EU accession process cannot resume under the current circumstances, the MEPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee said in the report adopted on Tuesday (by 47 votes in favour, no votes against and 10 abstentions).

Urging the Turkish government, the European Union and its member states to break the current deadlock and move towards a closer partnership, MEPs recommend starting a reflection process to find a parallel and realistic framework for EU-Turkey relations. They call on the Commission to explore possible formats for a mutually appealing framework.

In the report, MEPs confirm that Turkey remains a candidate for EU accession, a NATO ally and a key partner in security, trade and economic relations, and migration, stressing that Turkey is expected to respect democratic values, rule of law, human rights and abide by EU laws, principles and obligations.

The report urges Turkey to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership without any further delay, and underlines that the NATO accession process of one country can in no way be linked to the EU accession process of another. Each country’s progress on the path towards the EU remains based on its own merits, MEPs stress.
The report welcomes Turkey’s vote in favour of condemning Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in the UN General Assembly and its commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, regretting that Turkey does not support sanctions outside the UN framework. Turkey’s alignment rate with the EU’s Common foreign and security policy has slipped to an all-time low of 7 %, making it by far the lowest of all enlargement countries.

MEPs commend Turkey’s efforts to continue hosting the largest refugee population in the world of almost four million people. They welcome the continued provision of EU funding for refugees and host communities in Turkey, and express their strong commitment to sustain this in the future.

Expressing their heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of the devastating earthquakes of 6 February 2023, MEPs state that the EU should continue to support the people of Turkey in meeting their humanitarian needs and reconstruction efforts. They underline that European solidarity could lead to a tangible improvement in relations between the EU and Turkey.

The rapporteur Nacho Sánchez Amor(S&D, Spain) said : “We have recently seen a renewed interest from the Turkish government in reviving the EU accession process. This will not happen as a result of geopolitical bargaining, but when Turkish authorities show real interest in stopping the continuous backsliding in fundamental freedoms and rule of law. If the Turkish government is sincere in this they should show it with concrete reforms and actions.”

Turkey’s EU accession talks have been in a deadlock since 2018 due to the deteriorating condition of Turkey’s rule of law and democracy. The report will be sent to the European Parliament plenary session for voting.

Lilit Gasparyan

 17:09,

YEREVAN, 18 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 18 July, USD exchange rate up by 0.15 drams to 386.29 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.10 drams to 434.77 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 4.26 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.85 drams to 506.77 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 41.50 drams to 24213.08 drams. Silver price up by 0.62 drams to 308.13 drams.

 17:56,

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received former member of the French National Assembly, long-time chairman of the France-Armenia parliamentary friendship group Francois Rochebloine, ARMENPRESS was infomred from the Office of the Prime Minister. 

The Prime Minister welcomed Mr. Rochebloine's visit to Armenia and emphasized his important role in the continuous development and strengthening of relations between Armenia and France. The Prime Minister also emphasized his personal attitude towards Armenia's agenda and its promotion.

Francois Rochebloine thanked for the warm welcome and added that this day is symbolic for him. "Five years ago today, Mr. Prime Minister, you handed me a passport of the Republic of Armenia. I am happy for the opportunity to be in Armenia again and exchange ideas," said Mr. Rochebloine.

The interlocutors touched upon the Armenian-French interaction, as well as other issues of mutual interest.

 19:25,

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan made a statement for journalists after meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg in Vienna, touching on the relations between the two countries, Armenia-EU partnership, cooperation on international platforms, including the UN, OSCE, regional security and stability.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Mirzoyan noted that he presented to his colleague the security situation in the South Caucasus, Armenia's vision of establishing peace, the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the efforts made by Armenia and the international community to achieve results. He noted that stable peace in the region is possible only in the case of proper addressing of the rights and security issues of the people of Nagorno Karabakh under the international mechanism, through the Stepanakert-Baku dialogue.

“Dear Minister,

Dear attendees,

First of all, I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Schallenberg, for the invitation to Vienna and the warm welcome. The contacts between the two countries, between me and my counterpart, my dear friend, are quite intensive, and today as well, we had fruitful discussions on many issues of mutual interest.

We commended the high level of political dialogue between Armenia and Austria, touched upon the dynamically developing bilateral cooperation in recent years in areas of economy, trade, business ties, science, education, culture, people-to-people contacts and other spheres. In this context, we mentioned the role and activities of the Armenian-Austrian joint commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation as well as the prospects of effective use of the existing untapped potential in all mentioned areas.

Mr. Minister,

I am glad to mention the significant increase in bilateral trade turnover between our countries during the first half of this year. In this context I recall the Armenian-Austrian business forum that took place in Yerevan during your visit last year.

I give special importance also to the commitment of Austria to support the sustainable development efforts in Armenia. During your visit in 2022, the opening of the Austrian Development Agency coordination office in Yerevan, indeed, was a stimulus for the development of our relations.

Today we also exchanged views on our cooperation in various international platforms, including in the framework of the UN and the OSCE.

A wide range of issues related to the Armenia-EU partnership was on the agenda of our meeting. 

We touched upon the importance of the EU's consistent assistance to democratic reforms and the development of institutional capacities in Armenia. We attached particular importance to the activities of the EU civilian monitoring mission operating in Armenia since February. It makes an important contribution to reducing tensions and preventing escalations at international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I expressed my gratitude to my colleague and the Government of Austria for the participation of the Austrian observers in this mission.

I would like to note that we also discussed the possibilities of the Armenia-EU cooperation in the field of security, taking into account the inaugural meeting of the Armenia-EU political and security dialogue held in January this year.

Dear attendees,

Our discussion today also focused on developments on regional security and stability. I briefed my colleague on the security situation in the South Caucasus, Armenia's vision of establishing peace, the process of normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the efforts made by Armenia and the international community to achieve results.

We are confident, and I believe that Armenia is not alone on this, that stable peace in the region is possible if the issues of the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are properly addressed within the framework of an international mechanism, through the Stepanakert-Baku dialogue. In this context, it is regrettable to state that instead of engaging in such a dialogue, Azerbaijan is currently pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. A clear manifestation of it is the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh which has been going on for more than seven months now. Nagorno-Karabakh is now on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. This is happening in violation of international humanitarian norms and contrary to numerous appeals of international actors, resolutions and the legally binding Order of the International Court of Justice of February 22, which, by the way, the Court reaffirmed with its Order of July 6 this year. 

In the negotiation process with Azerbaijan, the key issue is to ensure maximum certainty regarding the interstate border. In this context, it should be emphasised that the borders of the former Soviet Republics, as recognized by the Alma-Ata Declaration, serve as the interstate border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

Armenia is also interested in unblocking the regional economic and transport infrastructure, which should be based on the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries and according to the principles of equality and reciprocity.

Of course, for reaching agreements to the mentioned issues, the general atmosphere is very important: the rejection of the use of force or threat of use of force as well as of hostile and aggressive rhetoric, the solution of urgent humanitarian issues, in particular, the release of all Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijan are important for creating an environment conducive for peace. 

In conclusion, I would like to note that in the above-mentioned issues and, as a priority, in lifting the blockade of the Lachin corridor, Armenia expects effective steps by international actors, especially by the members of the UN Security Council.

Mr. Minister, dear friend,

Thank you once again for the warm welcome and fruitful, comprehensive conversation. I am greatly interested in continuing this dialogue.

Thank you very much”, Mirzoyan said in his speech.