Tuesday,
Ruling Party Denies Forcing Public Workers To Attend Rallies
• Narine Ghalechian
• Karlen Aslanian
Armenia - The ruling Civil Contract parrty's mayoral candidate, Tigran Avinian,
campaigns in Yerevan's Erebuni district, August 24, 2023.
The ruling Civil Contract party has denied growing reports that it is forcing
public sector employees in Yerevan to attend election campaign rallies of its
mayoral candidate Tigran Avinian.
Avinian on Tuesday specifically dismissed a video suggesting that entire staffs
of schools, kindergartens and local government bodies participated in one such
rally that was held in the city’s Nor Nork district on Friday.
The video posted on social media shows an activist posing as an Avinian loyalist
talking to many of the participants and writing down large numbers of attendees
from their respective entities duly given by them. The activist, Artur
Chakhoyan, accused the party headed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of
ordering them to rally for Avinian in hopes of boosting his chances in the
municipal elections scheduled for September 17.
“I’m not sure that the numbers or other facts given [to Chakhoyan] are true,”
Avinian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service in an interview.
Avinian, who has been widely regarded as Yerevan’s de facto mayor since March,
said the schoolteachers, kindergarten personnel and other public workers
interviewed by Chakhoyan may have lied because of a lingering fear of their
superiors “left over from the past.” He suggested that many of them genuinely
support him because the current municipal administration is renovating dozens of
schools and kindergartens in the Armenian capital.
“We categorically reject the use of administrative resources and call on
law-enforcement bodies receiving such reports to conduct a thorough
investigation,” said Avinian.
Pashinian also called for such inquiries in an interview with Armenian Public
Television aired late on Monday. He claimed at the same time that any abuse of
administrative resources contradicts the “essence” of his party and values
espoused by it.
Armenia - Daniel ioannisian, 7Sep2023.
Daniel Ioannisian, a leader of a coalition of civic groups monitoring the
upcoming polls, dismissed Pashinian’s explanation as “not convincing.” The
Avinian campaign’s recourse to the illegal practice has been “systematic,” he
said, adding that the Independent Observer coalition has already sent to
prosecutors two “crime reports” about public workers being forced to go to Civil
Contract rallies.
“There has been no reaction from the prosecutors yet,” Ioannisian told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service. “Our reports are based on both what our observers heard and
saw and videos posted on the Internet.”
“Most participants of the [Nor Nork] rally work for local or central government
bodies,” he said. “Why was there such disproportion?”
Russia Again Blames Pashinian For Karabakh Crisis
Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during an economic forum in
Vladivostok, .
The humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh is a result of Armenian Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian’s decision to recognize the region as part of
Azerbaijan, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted on Tuesday.
Echoing statements by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Putin said Yerevan is
therefore wrong to criticize Moscow for not unblocking the Lachin corridor
effectively shut down by Baku in December.
“The president of Azerbaijan is now telling me, ‘Well, you know that Armenia has
admitted that Karabakh is ours, that the issue of Karabakh’s status is closed’ …
What should we say? There is nothing we can say,” he told an annual economic
forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok.
“If Armenia recognized that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan … then what
are we talking about? This is the key component of the whole problem. The status
of Karabakh was decided by Armenia itself,” added Putin.
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, made the same point
on August 30 in response to the Armenian criticism. She cited Pashinian’s and
Aliyev’s joint statements on mutual recognition of each other’s territorial
integrity that were issued after their talks organized by the European Union in
October 2022 and May 2023. The Armenian Foreign Ministry hit back at Zakharova
in an extensive written response.
Czech Republic - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev talk during a European summit in Prague, October 6, 2022.
Tensions between the two longtime allies deepened further in the following days,
with Pashinian declaring that Armenia’s reliance on Russia for defense and
security has proved a “strategic mistake.” Moscow condemned Pashinian’s remarks.
The Russian Foreign Ministry listed them among “a series of unfriendly steps”
taken by Yerevan, in a note of protest handed to the Armenian ambassador on
September 8.
Those steps include a joint U.S.-Armenian military exercise that began on
Monday, a visit to Ukraine by Pashinian’s wife, and Armenia’s plans to accept
the jurisdiction of an international court that issued an arrest warrant for
Putin in February. Pashinian insisted in televised remarks aired late on Monday
that they are not directed at Moscow.
Putin on Tuesday also said that there are “humanitarian issues” in Karabakh
require urgent solutions. He expressed hope in that regard that Baku is not
planning any “ethnic cleansing” in the Armenian-populated territory where Russia
deployed about 2,000 peacekeeping troops following the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani
war. The Armenian government maintains that the Azerbaijani blockade is aimed at
forcing the Karabakh Armenians to flee their homeland.
Russian Humanitarian Aid Sent To Karabakh
• Susan Badalian
Azerbaijan - A Russian Red Cross truck carrying humanitarian aid for
Nagorno-Karabakh is headed to Aghdam, September 9, ,2023.
A truckload of Russian humanitarian aid reached Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday in
what Moscow described as a “first step” towards the restoration of relief
supplies to the region blocked by Azerbaijan.
A truck carrying 15 tons of food and other essential items provided by the
Russian Red Cross entered Karabakh from the Azerbaijani town of Aghdam, a supply
route which Baku has been promoting as an alternative to the Lachin corridor
connecting Karabakh to Armenia.
The authorities in Stepanakert have opposed that route until now, saying that it
would legitimize the nine-month Azerbaijan blockade of the Lachin corridor. They
indicated at the weekend that they agreed to accept the Russian aid through the
Aghdam road in return for an Azerbaijani pledge to allow Russian peacekeepers
and the International Committee of the Red Cross (IRCR) to resume humanitarian
supplies through the corridor.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Baku is ready to do that
“parallel” to the opening of the second, Azerbaijani-controlled supply line.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reported later in the day an agreement on the
“parallel unblocking of the Lachin and Aghdam routes.” The ministry spokeswoman,
Maria Zakharova, said Moscow expects that “humanitarian aid will flow to the
region unhindered in both directions on a regular basis.”
Such a compromise arrangement is also favored by the United States and the
European Union. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed support for it
in a weekend statement that expressed serious concern at the “rapidly
deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
It is not clear whether Karabakh’s leadership remains adamant in rejecting any
aid offered by the Azerbaijani government. Scores of Karabakh Armenians have
been blocking a local road leading to Aghdam to prevent two Azerbaijani trucks
loaded with 40 tons of flour from entering the region.
Azerbaijan tightened the blockade in mid-June by halting all humanitarian
traffic through the Lachin corridor. The move seriously aggravated shortages of
food, medicine and other basic necessities in Karabakh, forcing the authorities
there to start rationing bread in Stepanakert last week. Each local resident has
since been able to buy only half a loaf of bread a day.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Heavy responsibility rests upon new leader of Nagorno-Karabakh – PM
23:13,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Very heavy responsibility rests upon Samvel Shahramanyan, the new elected leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.
In an interview with Public Television on Monday, PM Pashinyan said he regrets that Arayik Harutyunyan resigned.
“I regret Arayik Harutyunyan’s resignation. I can say that during the whole time we had a very good working environment and mutual-understanding. I can express regret over his resignation. Regarding the new elected leader of Nagorno-Karabakh, Samvel Shahramanyan, I think the situation is such that there’s not much to congratulate. Very heavy responsibility rests upon him,” Pashinyan said.
PM Pashinyan said that Armenia must be guided by the logic of combining the stances and approaches with the international community, and not contrasting them. He said that the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh must not be politicized.
“We must focus our efforts on overcoming the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. We shouldn’t allow the issue’s humanitarian essence to transform into a political one by unnecessary politicization. Our approaches stem from this logic,” the Armenian PM said.
Asked whether he maintains contact with the NK authorities, the PM said, “Yes, there’s contact, it has been, it is important for the authorities of Armenia to get first-hand information to get acquainted with the situation.”
Azerbaijan’s military buildup has caused tension on border – Pashinyan
23:24,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is tense because Azerbaijan has amassed troops there, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday.
“The situation is tense because Azerbaijan has amassed troops on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border and around Nagorno-Karabakh. And the assessments that I gave at the Cabinet meeting haven’t changed,” Pashinyan said in an interview with Public Television.
Putin is certainly aware of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border tension, says PM Pashinyan
23:36,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that the first phone call he had on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border tension was with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Actually, my first phone call was with the Russian President,” Pashinyan said during an interview with Public Television when asked why he didn’t call President Putin on Saturday but instead held calls with leaders of other regional countries. “He [Putin] is certainly aware of the situation, the Lachin Corridor has been blockaded since December last year, and since then I’ve had dozens of conversations with the Russian President. Unfortunately, the situation hasn’t changed since our last conversation,” Pashinyan said.
The Armenian PM said the purpose of all phone calls was to inform his counterparts about certain nuances which they were unaware of.
On September 9, Pashinyan spoke by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi and Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz.
Armenpress: Armenian PM describes phone call with Erdogan as ‘substantial and useful’
23:44,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has described his phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as “substantial and useful.”
“The conversation with Erdogan was strictly official. I can say that the conversation was substantial and useful. There are a number of nuances, and it’s important for a constant conversation to take place around these nuances, positions and assessments,” PM Pashinyan said in an interview with Public Television on Monday.
Armenpress: Russian aid delivered to Stepanakert
09:36,
STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS/ARTSAKHPRESS. A truck carrying Russian humanitarian aid for Nagorno-Karabakh has reached Stepanakert through the Akna (Aghdam)-Askeran road, ARTSAKHPRESS reported.
ARTSAKHPRESS quoted Askeran mayor Hayk Shamiryan as saying that concerned citizens who had gathered near the Tank Memorial initially protested and did not allow passage to the vehicle, but eventually agreed. The Russian Red Cross vehicle carrying the aid then reached Stepanakert with police escort.
Passenger plane crash-lands in Russia
09:57,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. An Airbus A320 en route from Sochi to Omsk declared a mid-flight emergency on Tuesday morning and was redirected to an alternate airfield in Novosibirsk, but failed to reach it, RT reported citing emergency services.
The aircraft operated by Ural Airlines, with 159 passengers, including 23 children, and 6 crew members on board was forced to perform an emergency landing in a field 180km away from Novosibirsk International Airport. The incident was reportedly caused by a hydraulics malfunction, according to preliminary reports.
Early reports noted that none of the passengers or crew suffered any serious injuries. The authorities said the aircraft remained in one piece upon landing, there was no fire on board, and that everyone safely evacuated the plane using emergency slides.
The Russian aviation authorities have launched a probe into the circumstances of the incident, according to RT.
In 2019, another Ural Airlines plane performed a similar miracle landing in a cornfield near Moscow, after the airliner hit a flock of birds upon takeoff. Having no time to dump its fuel, the pilots decided to land the heavy-loaded aircraft with its wheels up, and the crew managed to safely evacuate all 226 passengers.
Nagorno-Karabakh authorities issue statement on Russian aid supplied through Askeran
10:48,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The humanitarian aid sent to Nagorno-Karabakh by the Russian Red Cross contains essential goods of Russian production, the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said Tuesday.
“As previously announced, the Russian government initiated the provision of humanitarian aid to the Republic of Artsakh. Today, on September 12, the humanitarian cargo entered the Republic of Artsakh through the town of Askeran, with the permission of the republic’s authorities, through the Russian Red Cross and on board the vehicles of that organization. The aid contains Russian-made essential products,” the official InfoCenter of Nagorno-Karabakh said in a statement, adding that the Nagorno-Karabakh Public Television will report more details.
U.S. repeats call for immediate and simultaneous opening of Lachin and Aghdam routes
10:59,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. is deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at the September 11 press briefing.
“We are deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. We repeat our call, as the Secretary did in a statement over the weekend, for the immediate and simultaneous opening of the Lachin and Aghdam routes to allow passage of desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the men and women and children in Nagorno-Karabakh. We urge the leaders, as the Secretary did in his calls, against taking any actions that raise tensions or distract from this goal. And I will say, in addition, we have consistently stressed this need for open – to open routes in Nagorno-Karabakh and for a dialogue between the parties. While it is important that Nagorno-Karabakh have credible representatives for this process, as we have said in the past, we do not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent and sovereign state, and therefore we do not recognize the results of those so-called presidential elections that were announced over the last few days. So, I will say that the United States will continue to strongly support efforts by Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve outstanding issues through direct dialogue, and that’s why Secretary Blinken and Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Lou Bono have been consistently engaged, and we will stay consistently engaged on this question,” Miller said.
Armenia ratifies Protocol N. 13 Concerning the Abolition of Death Penalty in All Circumstances
11:15,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliament on Tuesday ratified the Protocol N. 13 to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Concerning the Abolition of the Death Penalty in All Circumstances.
The protocol was ratified with 87 votes in favor and 7 abstentions.
Deputy Minister of Justice Karen Karapetyan told lawmakers earlier on Monday that the protocol was signed by Armenia in 2006 but hasn’t been ratified since. “Whereas, this protocol is one of the unique international documents for which every year, as part of the universal campaign for abolition of death penalty, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers is making written inquiries to Council of Europe member countries who haven’t ratified it, to clarify the reasons for delay,” he said.
“The ratification of the protocol is in line with Armenia’s policy as a country that is in favor of full abolition of death penalty. Moreover, death penalty is already prohibited by the Armenian constitution. The number 13 protocol is in line with the international obligations already assumed by Armenia,” Karapetyan added.