ADB President Commits Support For Armenia’s Long-Term Development Objectives

Nahapetian Samvel
Nov 28 2023

By India Education Diary Bureau Admin On Nov 28, 2023

YEREVAN  — Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa committed to helping Armenia realize its long-term development objectives in a meeting with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan today.

“We are enthusiastic to continue helping Armenia realize its long-term development objectives,” said Mr. Asakawa, who is on his first official visit to the Caucasus nation. “As your trusted partner, ADB will support Armenia’s pursuit of an export-oriented, knowledge-based, and inclusive economy. We stand alongside the government to help address the country’s key development challenges.”

The two leaders also attended the inauguration of a school in Yerevan that was renovated under ADB’s Seismic Safety Improvement Program, which aims to refurbish 46 schools across Armenia. Mr. Asakawa visited a second school to be reconstructed by ADB.

He is scheduled to meet with President Vahagn Khachatryan, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, and the Minister of Finance and ADB Governor Vahe Hovhannisyan on his 3-day trip.

Mr. Asakawa will witness the exchange of loan agreement for a second tranche of financing under the Seismic Safety Improvement program. He will also witness the signing of a $65.17 million loan to improve the urban environment, enhance the road network, and promote climate-resilient infrastructure in the capital. Under the Yerevan Urban Development Investment Project, a new 1.8 km road and bridge will help to cut congestion along a key route for commuter traffic in the city.

Tomorrow, Mr. Asakawa will join senior members of the government at an event to explore opportunities for Armenia to incorporate climate adaptation into its fiscal planning. Upstream engagement is critical to ensuring that climate risk is adequately accounted for in national budgets. As Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank, ADB is committed to supporting climate mitigation and adaptation projects in Armenia.

ADB is currently supporting six infrastructure investments in transport and urban development totaling $525 million. These initiatives are helping Armenia develop an efficient, safe, and sustainable road network that improves connectivity within the land-locked country and internationally.

Since Armenia joined ADB in 2005, the bank has provided more than $1.8 billion in support and become one of the country’s largest multilateral development partners. This includes projects in transport, energy, water, and urban infrastructure. In the private sector, ADB supports utilities and infrastructure, financial institutions, and agribusiness.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

https://indiaeducationdiary.in/adb-president-commits-support-for-armenias-long-term-development-objectives/

Turkish Press: Washington’s recent actions ‘seriously damaged’ relations with Baku: Azerbaijani president

Emil Lazarian
Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Nov 28 2023
Elena Teslova  |28.11.2023 – Update : 28.11.2023

MOSCOW

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the latest statements and actions taken by the US have “seriously damaged” relations between Washington and Baku.

According to a statement by the Azerbaijani presidency, Alivey said this during a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday night.

The Azerbaijani president said that the “remarks about our country, made by the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe hearing on November 15, 2023, were biased, failed to reflect reality and were rejected by Azerbaijan,” the statement said.

“With the aim of normalization of relationship, Secretary Blinken has asked to allow the visit of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien in December to Azerbaijan,” the statement said, adding: “Aliyev has agreed to this proposal on the condition that after this visit the unfounded ban on the visits of Azerbaijani high-level officials to the United States will be lifted. Secretary Blinken has accepted that.”

The two sides discussed issues of bilateral relations and efforts for normalization of ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Aliyev emphasized that Armenia's 70-day delay in responding to Azerbaijan's peace agreement draft “demonstrates again that Armenia misuses the text of the peace treaty as a pretext for the prolongation of negotiations process.”

Aliyev and Blinken also exchanged views on another meeting of a special commission on the border delimitation, which is scheduled for Nov. 30 at the Armenian-Azerbaijani "conditional border."

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and also opened the door to normalization.

Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after an "anti-terrorism operation" in September, after which separatist forces in the region surrendered.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/washington-s-recent-actions-seriously-damaged-relations-with-baku-azerbaijani-president/3066943

As Russia Relations Sour, Armenians Prepare to Defend Themselves

Talar Tumanian
Nov 28 2023
By Tom J. Bennett

SYUNIK PROVINCE, Armenia — “When I go to bed at night, I don’t think: ‘Is my phone on charge or have I brushed my teeth?’ I think: Do I know where my parents are and is my bag packed to evacuate?”

These are the nightly thoughts of Mariam, a 22-year-old teacher living in southern Armenia’s Syunik province, 10 kilometers from the border with Azerbaijan. She’s standing in the Soviet-era sports hall of Goris State University and has just finished a class on emergency first aid. Next up: Kalashnikov shooting techniques. 

Mariam is undertaking a three-month program run by VOMA, a paramilitary group that has variously been described as a survival school and a civil defense organization — or, if you’re a member of the Azerbaijani government, a terrorist group.

No matter how it is characterized, VOMA’s stated aim is a serious one: to prepare Armenian civilians to defend their country. 

The attendees here seemingly hail from every corner of the community, from young mothers to university students. Along with first aid and weapons training, they’ll also take lessons in mountaineering, a crucial skill in the rugged alpine terrain that flanks the 900-kilometer border with Azerbaijan.  

Of the 22 VOMA branches spread across Armenia, “the location of this branch is significant because of the vulnerability of this border area,” says Vartan, its 42-year-old head instructor. 

VOMA has seen a significant uptick in attendees since Azerbaijan launched its lightning military offensive on the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in September, taking it under in 24 hours and sending its 100,000-strong ethnic Armenian population fleeing into Armenia proper. 

Most, crammed into cars or the back of open-top trucks, passed through this very town, which over the past fortnight morphed into an international crisis center. The Red Cross, The World Food Program and a host of national aid missions, including USAID head Samantha Power, poured in to show support. Tents went up, food packages were delivered, and the international media showed up in droves. 

But for many of the residents of this region who feel abandoned by the international community, this display was too little, too late.

“Of course I’m let down,” Vartan said. “I was waiting for something that didn’t happen. But we just have to have hope.”

NEWSREAD MORE

According to many here, the bulk of the blame lies squarely at the feet of Armenia’s historic ally Russia, who, despite promises to mediate the conflict and the presence of 2,000 Russian peacekeepers in the region, did little to intervene.

Russia’s inaction marks a historic shift in its regional policy. In the past, Armenia has been able to rely on Russia to moderate disputes, supply arms and play politics. Though this hasn’t always been in Armenia’s favor, they’ve generally done enough to support Yerevan. 

To this day, Russian border guards patrol Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran. In Armenia’s second city of Gyumri, a vast Russian military base houses an estimated 3,000 soldiers. The vast majority of Armenia’s gas supply comes from Russia. 

These entanglements make any future split from Russia all the more difficult for Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. 

A VOMA first aid training. Participants' faces have been concealed due to concerns about being identified by the Azerbaijani authorities.Tom J. Bennett

Experts say the reasons for Russia’s cold shoulder are complex: the Ukraine war has left Russia internationally isolated, meaning that southern partners that provide a link to global markets — such as Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran — have become much more valuable. 

But it’s also likely that Armenia’s recent overtures to the West have angered the Kremlin. At the start of September, Yerevan carried out joint training drills with the U.S. military and sent an aid package to Ukraine personally delivered by Pashinyan’s wife Anna Hakobian. 

Armenia’s parliament strained relations further when, in a rebuke to Moscow, it voted to join the International Criminal Court — meaning that if President Vladimir Putin were to step foot on Armenian soil, Yerevan would be obliged to arrest him. 

Last week, Armenia was the only member of the Moscow-led CSTO alliance to skip a meeting of alliance leaders in Minsk, and Pashinyan said that Russia had failed to deliver weapons Yerevan had already paid for and accused Russia's media of destabilizing his country's political situation.

“Armenia cannot count at all on Russia in terms of its own security, so this ICC vote is a message to the West from the Armenian government that they are really willing to go further in distancing themselves from Russia,” Stefan Meister, head of the Center for Order and Governance in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia at the German Council on Foreign Relations, told The Moscow Times. 

“But I think it's a very dangerous bet they are doing because I don't see that the West will really support Armenia in a way that it needs. For the West, it’s a question of how you show support. Do you send soldiers? Peacekeepers? Do you build up leverage on Azerbaijan with sanctions?”

Rifles storedTom J. Bennett

According to Meister, that latter option appears unlikely. As a result of Western sanctions on Russia, many EU countries have turned to Azerbaijan as an alternate gas supplier. It’s unlikely that any country would want to sanction a key energy provider, leaving Armenia in a difficult negotiating position. 

As geopolitical moves are played out in capitals across Eurasia, the lack of a firm international response to the Nagorno-Karabakh situation has raised fears that Azerbaijan could attempt to create a land corridor to its exclave of Nakhichevan by capturing parts of southern Armenia.

“What’s worrying from the Armenian standpoint is this convergence of interests between Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkey to open this corridor. And in the region, the only power kind of opposing it is Iran,” Karena Avedissian, a senior analyst at the Regional Center for Democracy and Security, told The Moscow Times. 

For the VOMA trainees in Syunik province, the specter of war casts a long shadow. 

“I think we will see a growing instability of Armenia, which has lost orientation and has no one who supports it really in a serious way,” says Meister. 

The names of VOMA members have been changed to protect their identities.

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/11/28/as-russia-relations-sour-armenians-prepare-to-defend-themselves-a82716

Armenian trucks idle in Upper Lars. Russia’s response to the CSTO boycott?

David Nargizian
Nov 28 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Upper Lars

On the only land road connecting Armenia with Russia, 964 Armenian trucks are idle at the Upper Lars checkpoint. According to the official version, the road is closed due to unfavorable weather conditions. However, Armenian drivers report from the spot that other reasons have been announced. They were presented with claims concerning documents, sanitary issues.

In this regard, Armenia is now actively discussing whether there is no political context in the road closure related to the aggravation of Armenian-Russian relations.

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On November 23, Minsk hosted the regular summit of the Collective Security Council of the CSTO military bloc operating under the auspices of the Russian Federation. The Armenian Prime Minister did not participate in the meeting. He expressed hope that his CSTO partners would be sympathetic to his decision. Recently, both Pashinyan and other Armenian officials have boycotted meetings within the CSTO and with CIS partners. At the same time, they claim that “there is no intention to change the foreign policy vector.” However, at the beginning of the year official Yerevan announced that it would not host CSTO military exercises, then refused the quota of deputy secretary-general in the bloc, recalled its ambassador and did not appoint a new one.

Justifying these decisions, the Prime Minister and his team recall that in 2021 and 2022, during the advance of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces deep into Armenia’s sovereign territory, the country sought military assistance from the CSTO and Russia. However, it did not receive any assistance. Moreover, the CSTO announced that the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not delimited, which makes it impossible to understand whether there is an invasion into the territory of an ally of the bloc. According to Nikol Pashinyan, the statement that there is no border between Armenia and Azerbaijan means that there is no CSTO zone of responsibility: “And if there is no zone of responsibility, there is no organization itself.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry issued a call to use detours and avoid traveling in the direction of the Upper Lars checkpoint. It was reported that it was impossible to ensure “safe movement of vehicles”. On November 26, the traffic was restricted due to weather conditions, and from the next day the road was completely blocked.

However, Armenian vehicles could not heed the appeals of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and abandon this direction, as there is no other land route from Armenia to Russia.

In early October, 60 Armenian cars loaded with cognac stood at the same checkpoint for two weeks. At that time, the Russian side announced stricter customs control. All trucks had to wait at the checkpoint until the answers to the samples sent for laboratory testing were received.

Eventually, they were allowed to enter Russia. But the long wait increased transportation costs. By the way, about 95% of the cognac produced in Armenia is exported to Russia.

MP from the Hayastan opposition faction Artur Khachatryan believes that no matter how much Pashinyan denies the fact of strained relations with Russia, this fact is obvious. In this regard, he declares the situation in Upper Lars as “another manifestation” of the tension that has arisen in relations with Russia.

According to the deputy, this is how Moscow reacts to Armenia’s boycott of the CSTO summit:

“Russia is speaking with certain messages. Let’s recognize that it was not an accident. In response to Armenia’s policy, they are pursuing a certain counter-policy”.

Alen Simonyan, Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, told reporters that according to the information he has, “there was simply a change in the bodies carrying out service at the checkpoint”. He does not notice the overt political innuendo.

Simonyan does not think it is necessary to rush to conclusions, but does not rule out the factor of political context, as relations are “a bit tense.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff Araik Harutyunyan, referring to the incident at the Russian checkpoint, said:

“Now it is extremely important that Armenians both in Armenia and those living abroad buy exclusively Armenian goods. […] Such support for business is vital for strengthening independence and sovereignty. And the closure of some checkpoint near Lars will not affect us, if Armenian business finds new markets”.

Expert circles criticized this statement, considering it as a manifestation of “lack of state thinking”. In particular, political scientist Suren Surenyants wrote on his Facebook page that the government’s task should be to immediately solve the problems that arose at the Lars checkpoint, not to make speeches with patriotic texts.

“It would be more useful if the Armenian government would consistently promote the improvement of the quality and production standards of Armenian goods so that their exports are not limited exclusively to the Russian market,” the political scientist emphasized.

https://jam-news.net/armenian-trucks-idle-at-the-upper-lars-checkpoint/

Number of passengers through Yerevan airport has increased dramatically. What is the explanation?

Alex Jidarian
Nov 27 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Growth in the number of air passengers

The Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia reports an unprecedented increase in the number of passengers flying to Armenia and other countries through Yerevan airport, and by the end of the year a record of more than five million people is expected — the highest figure in the history of the country. The committee believes that both desire to travel and the tense situation in the world contributed to the rapid growth of passenger flow.

“Because of the Russian-Ukrainian war, there has been quite a large flow of passengers. A number of airlines have left these countries and redeployed to the south, including Armenia. In this context, we have become a natural hub,” Stepan Payaslyan, deputy chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee, says.

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For the first 10 months of 2023, they have already recorded substantial activity — 4.7 million people. Last year the number of passengers amounted to 3.7 million. And the previous year, 2021, the Civil Aviation Committee considered a “recovery” period after the coronavirus pandemic.

Stepan Payaslyan, deputy chairman of the committee, said that before the pandemic, in 2019, there were about three million passengers.

According to Payaslyan, the country is considered by passengers both as an independent destination and as a hub for traveling to other countries.

In his opinion, the growth of air transportation and passenger traffic in the last two years is due to

  • people’s desire to travel again after COVID restrictions
  • Russian-Ukrainian war.

Payaslyan believes that Armenia could become “a major hub if its own airlines managed passenger traffic.” And some Armenian airlines are already taking on that role to some extent, but are not yet able to take full ownership of the situation:

“There are many cases when, for example, citizens come to Yerevan from Russian destinations and from here fly to European countries using the services of other airlines, as these destinations are now closed to Russian airlines.”

Provision of privileges to airlines, such as air duty and various navigation services to new destinations, also contributes to the growth.

“The activity of Armenian airlines has also become an important factor. Never before have six Armenian air carriers flown from Yerevan at once. This also contributes to the formation of passenger traffic. And competitive conditions also lead to lower ticket prices,” Payaslyan explained.

The deputy chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee says that a “dynamic process” has started with new airlines appearing and after some time they may leave the market or temporarily stop their activities.

Now it is possible to fly from Yerevan to Rome, Milan, Venice, Frankfurt, Paris, Lyon and other cities, Payaslyan notes. In the fall, a Yerevan-Sri Lanka direct flight was launched.

“In spring 2024, Eurowings will launch a direct flight Berlin-Yerevan.”

According to him, Armenian airlines also make flights to various cities in Russia.

https://jam-news.net/increase-in-the-number-of-air-passengers-flying-through-armenia/ 

Strained Relations Between Azerbaijan and the West

Adrine Hakobian
Jamestown Foundation
Nov 27 2023

06:02 PM

On November 16, Baku canceled a meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan scheduled to take place on November 20 in Washington (Apa.az, November 16). The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry asserted that, under the current circumstances, it is not possible to proceed with US-mediated peace negotiations. The statement alluded to US Assistant Secretary of State James O’Brien’s comments during “The Future of Nagorno-Karabakh” hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on Europe on November 15 (YouTube, November 15). The hearing highlighted a growing break between Baku and Washington on how to proceed with the peace talks. Azerbaijan has called for “more regional solutions to regional problems,” while the United States and European Union hope to maintain influence over negotiations between Baku and Yerevan (see EDM, October 25).

O’Brien’s remarks raised eyebrows in Baku. The US official commented on the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process, bilateral relations between Azerbaijan and the United States, and regional transit projects in the South Caucasus. He stipulated that it cannot be business as usual with Azerbaijan without significant progress in the peace talks: “We’ve canceled a number of high-level visits, condemned [Baku’s] actions, and [canceled] the 907 waiver. We don’t anticipate submitting a waiver until such time as we see a real improvement in the situation” (YouTube, November 15). O’Brien was referencing Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act of 1992. The amendment, adopted on October 24, 1992, bars the United States from offering assistance to Azerbaijan unless Baku takes “demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh” (Congress.gov, October 24, 1992).

The United States has granted annual waivers for this amendment since 2002. That year, Baku permitted Washington to use its territory to supply US troops in Afghanistan. Hence, O’Brien’s statement stirred ire in Baku. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded, “It turns out that the US side has always considered the support of Azerbaijan as occasional, while it should be remembered that history has always repeated itself.” The government ministry also reminded Washington of Azerbaijan’s numerous contributions to US counterterrorist efforts following 9/11 (Mfa.gov.az, November 16).

The Azerbaijani government has long considered the 907 amendment a major setback in Azerbaijani-US relations. Baku has consistently criticized the measure because it was adopted when Azerbaijan, not Armenia, was under occupation. Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, recently posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Let’s recall that the 907 amendment was adopted on 24 October 1992—the year when the Azerbaijani city Shusha was occupied by Armenian forces” (Twitter.com/shafiyev_farid, November 16).

O’Brien’s comments on a possible trans-Iranian transit corridor suggest that the US State Department’s strong response may be connected to other regional developments in the South Caucasus (see EDM, November 3). The US official declared, “A future that is built around the access of Russia and Iran as the main participants in the security of the region, the South Caucasus, is unstable and undesirable, including for both the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia. They have the opportunity to make a different decision now” (YouTube, November 15). He further stressed that Washington prefers a land corridor passing through Armenia’s southern territory. The United States hopes to use such a passage to limit Russian and Iranian involvement in regional transit. Paradoxically, the State Department has not opposed the contract signed between Armenia and Iran on October 23 regarding the construction of a new road between the two countries. The new road is meant to “contribute to the implementation of the North-South project,” a priority for both Moscow and Tehran (Armradio.am, October 23).

Baku responded by emphasizing its focus on regional players taking the lead in peace negotiations. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that “it is the sovereign right of Azerbaijan to agree with neighboring countries on how to build communication lines, which also includes an agreement with Iran. … Against this backdrop, Azerbaijan also reconfirms the priority of the ‘3+2’ format (Türkiye, Russia, and Iran “plus” Azerbaijan and Armenia) for the security of the region” (Mfa.gov.az, November 16). The Azerbaijani government has supported revitalizing the “3+3” cooperation platform (that includes Georgia)—currently proceeding in the “3+2” format due to Tbilisi’s non-participation—to deal with regional conflicts.

The format is built on the “regional solutions to regional problems” approach and attempts to ensure that the power vacuum left by declining Russian influence does not transform the South Caucasus into a battlefield for great-power competition (see EDM, October 25). This presages a new security order in the region that is not dominated by any other extra-regional actor. In this, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia would gain an opportunity to diversify their foreign policy and prevent compromising their sovereignty.

Tensions continue to mount between Azerbaijan and the United States regarding differences in their regional policies. On November 21, Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy advisor to the Azerbaijani president, issued a response to a statement from United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power(Twitter.com/HikmetHajiyev, November 21). In a video posted on X, Power announced a package of $4 million in humanitarian aid for the Armenian people who, according to her, were forcibly displaced by Azerbaijan’s military operation in Karabakh (Twitter.com/PowerUSAID, November 21). Hajiyev criticized Power’s statement on multiple fronts. He highlighted her apparent indifference to the challenges faced by internally displaced persons and refugees in Azerbaijan and for supporting the Russian oligarch Ruben Vardanyan, who had served in a senior position in the separatist government in Karabakh. Hajiyev’s statement signaled that Azerbaijan may suspend USAID’s operations in the country.

The current tensions between Washington and Baku could have far-reaching implications for the South Caucasus. In this author’s opinion, it is crucial that both countries seek common ground on how to proceed in peace negotiations with Armenia and how best to handle the Armenians who left Karabakh. Additionally, the question of a transit corridor that connects Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave with the mainland—either through Iran or Armenia’s southern region—remains a key sticking point between the two sides. An inability to solve these issues along mutually beneficial terms will likely hamper any future efforts to establish peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan and risks straining regional tensions that could lead to a wider conflict.

https://jamestown.org/program/strained-relations-between-azerbaijan-and-the-west/

Azerbaijan’s Aliyev Scolds Blinken Over U.S. Backing for Armenia

Baghdasarian Karlen
US News
Nov 28 2023
By Reuters


BAKU (Reuters) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a call on Monday that recent American actions in support of Armenia had jeopardised U.S.-Azerbaijani ties, Baku said on Tuesday.

The two countries had enjoyed relatively cordial relations until Azerbaijani forces recaptured the largely ethnic Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in a lightning offensive in September.

The United States provided diplomatic backing for Armenia, which had supported Karabakh's separatist authorities, and U.S. officials visited Yerevan in the days after the offensive.

In a statement, Aliyev's office said Aliyev had told Blinken that "the latest statements and actions taken by the U.S. have seriously damaged Azerbaijan-U.S. relations".

It said Baku had taken note of comments by Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien during a congressional hearing that there was "no chance of business as usual" with Azerbaijan after the offensive in Karabakh.

However, it added that Aliyev and Blinken had agreed, in the interest of normalising ties, that O'Brien would visit Baku, and Washington would lift a ban on senior Azerbaijani officials visiting the U.S.

Baku's military victory in Karabakh prompted the exodus of almost all the territory's 120,000 ethnic Armenians. The United States and other Western countries have pledged aid to help Armenia cope with the influx.

Armenia, a traditional ally of Russia, has in recent months distanced itself from Moscow and sought closer ties with the West.

(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova in Baku; Writing by Felix Light in Tbilisi; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

 

Armenia, Iran intend to expand energy ties: Sanosyan

Hovik Karapetian
Mehr News Agency, Iran
Nov 28 2023

TEHRAN, Nov. 28 (MNA) – Armenia and Iran seek to increase their cooperation under the gas for electricity program, Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan said today.

As part of gas for electricity swap deal Armenia has been receiving natural gas from Iran since 2009, which is converted into electricity here and is shipped back to Iran- 3 kWh of electricity for one cubic meters of natural gas, local Armenian media ARKA news agency reported.

Armenia imports annually 365 million cubic meters of gas from Iran. In 2023 August Armenia and Iran signed a document to extend the Natural Gas for Electricity agreement until 2030.

Under the revised agreement Iran will increase exports of natural gas to Armenia while Armenia will increase exports of electricity to Iran, the Armenia media said.

Sanosyan noted today that the Iran-Armenia natural gas pipeline has the capacity to ship more gas from Iran and there is no need for a new pipeline as the existing one is not used to its full capacity.

MNA

Turkish Press: There is historic opportunity to forge peace in South Caucasus, says Turkish defense chief

Hambik Zargarian
YENI SAFAK, Turkey
Nov 28 2023

There is historic opportunity to forge peace in South Caucasus, says Turkish defense chief

Türkiye believes path to regional peace is through comprehensive peace agreement signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia, says national defense minister

There is an opportunity to establish peace in the South Caucasus, the Turkish national defense minister said on Monday, but added that so far Armenia has passed this up.

"Although they have a historical opportunity to establish peace, tranquility and cooperation in the South Caucasus, we see that Armenia has not been able to adequately utilize this historical opportunity," Guler said at a meeting with his Azerbaijani and Georgian counterparts in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital.

Guler met with Azerbaijan’s Zakir Hasanov and Georgia’s Juansher Burchuladze to discuss regional defense issues and defense cooperation.

Türkiye will continue its solidarity with Azerbaijan and Georgia for the sake of peace and stability in the region, Guler said.

"We have supported the negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia from the beginning and continue to do so," he stressed.

"We believe that the path to regional peace and stability is through a comprehensive peace agreement signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia."

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement and also opened the door to normalization.

This September, the Azerbaijani army launched an anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh to establish constitutional order in the region, after which illegal separatist forces in the region surrendered.

Having established full sovereignty in the region, Azerbaijan then urged the Armenian population in Karabakh to become part of Azerbaijani society.

Türkiye believes that a lasting peace in the South Caucasus can only be achieved through a comprehensive and permanent peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Turning to the Black Sea region, Guler said: "We believe that turning the Black Sea into an area of strategic competition and further escalation of tension should be avoided."

*Writing by Diyar Guldogan from Washington

How did Cyprus company that bought MTS Armenia shares gain Public Services Regulatory Commission’s trust?

Ani Tigranian
News.am, Armenia
Nov 28 2023
15:06, 28.11.2023

The Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia makes a purely technical decision regarding the sale of MTS Armenia—among the country's telecommunication operators. This was told to reporters Tuesday by the chairman of PSRC, Garegin Baghramyan, when answering the question what convincing argument did the PSRC have to change its decision after its negative conclusion in April, and how did the Cypriot company that bought the shares of MTS Armenia inspire confidence.

"When an application is made for the acquisition of shares, the [Armenian] law assumes that the package is examined by the [aforesaid] commission. That is, it is checked from a purely technical point of view, whether it can carry out the activity or not. The rest of the issues, related to safety and national interest, are presented to the authorized body, the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, which, after discussing with the NSS [(National Security Service)], submits a conclusion," said Baghramyan.

According to him, the NSS had submitted an initial negative position.

"The last package that was submitted, I guess, there was additional information, there is the conclusion of the NSS," added Baghramyan.

As for what has changed, he noted that he cannot say.

"I don't see the study, only the conclusion is that they don't have a problem," noted Baghramyan.

Earlier, we reported that the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia approved the sale of 100 percent of the shares of MTS Armenia CJSC to Cypriot company Fedilco Group Limited.