Monday, Mediators `Satisfied' With Armenian-Azeri Summit In Geneva Switzerland - Presidents Serzh Sarkisian (R) of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan begin negotiations in Geneva, 16Oct2017. The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan reportedly agreed to intensify the protracted search for a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and bolster the ceasefire regime in the conflict zone when they met in Geneva on Monday. "The meeting took place in a constructive atmosphere," read a joint statement issued by the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers as well as the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the Minsk Group after the talks. "The Presidents [Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev] agreed to take measures to intensify the negotiation process and to take additional steps to reduce tensions on the Line of Contact," it said. "The Co-Chairs expressed their satisfaction with these direct talks, which took place after a long interval # As a next step, the Co-Chairs will organize working sessions with the Ministers in the near future," added the statement. The talks began at the official residence of Switzerland's permanent representative to the UN office in Geneva in the presence of the U.S., Russian and French mediators. They continued in a tete-a-tete format about an hour later. Aliyev and Sarkisian then spoke one-on-one for over 45 minutes, according to Vladimir Hakobian, the Armenian presidential press secretary. In a series of tweets, Hakobian also posted a photograph that showed the two presidents seated around a round table placed in the courtyard of the Swiss diplomatic compound. Switzerland - Presidents Serzh Sarkisian (R) of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan begin negotiations in Geneva, 16Oct2017. "We have no concrete agreements on variants of resolving the problem," Sarkisian told members of Switzerland's Armenian community shortly after the summit. "But we agreed to take measures to further ease tensions so that we have no casualties on the frontlines. I must say that both the president of Azerbaijan and I are deeply interested in that." "God willing, [Aliyev] will always think so," Sarkisian said. "He too realizes the complexity of the problem very well and obviously so do I, but the problem is such that there will never be an easy solution to it." Sarkisian went on to again rule out any solution that would restore Azerbaijani control over Karabakh. "No Armenian leader will ever take and implement such a decision," he said. Aliyev and other Azerbaijani officials did not make public statements immediately after the talks. Neither Sarkisian nor the joint statement by the two foreign ministers specified the agreed steps aimed at preventing ceasefire violations along "the line of contact" around Karabakh and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The two presidents previously met in May and June last year shortly after four-day deadly hostilities around Karabakh that nearly denigrated into an all-out war. The negotiation process again stalled later in 2016. Aliyev and Sarkisian blamed each other for the deadlock when they addressed the UN General Assembly in New York last month. EU Reveals Landmark Deal With Armenia . Emil Danielyan Belgium -- EU flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, October 30, 2014 The European Union has publicized an extensive agreement to deepen its political and economic relations with Armenia which is expected to be signed during an EU summit next month. Citing "common values" shared by the two sides, the draft Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) calls for "increasing the participation of the Republic of Armenia in policies, programs and agencies of the European Union." It commits the Armenian government to implementing political reforms and "approximating" national economic laws and regulations to those of the EU. Armenia controversially joined the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) less than two years ago, following an unexpected decision that was announced by President Serzh Sarkisian in September 2013. The volte face, widely attributed to Russian pressure, thwarted the signing of an Armenia-EU Association Agreement which had a far-reaching free-trade component. Most political provisions of that ill-fated agreement are thought to have been incorporated into the CEPA. "The Parties shall intensify their dialogue and cooperation in the area of foreign and security policy, including the common security and defense policy," reads the alternative accord, which is more than 350 pages long. It calls for joint efforts to combat international terrorism, prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction and promote conflict resolution. Another stated aim of the accord finalized in March is the "strengthening of democracy and of political, economic and institutional stability" in Armenia. The EU is to help the Armenian authorities prevent human rights abuses and reform Armenia's judicial and law-enforcement systems.A lack of independent courts and widespread corruption among judges and law-enforcement officers remain a serious obstacle to the rule of law in the country. Armenia - Armenian and EU officials initial the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement in Yerevan, 21Mar2017. The CEPA contains much more extensive and specific provisions on economic matters. Armenia, it says, will "gradually approximate its economic and financial regulations and policies to those of the European Union, as appropriate." Yerevan will regularly report to Brussels on "the progress made with regard to approximation" specified by several annexes to the agreement. This "regulatory harmonization" would cover a wide range of areas, including business regulation, agriculture, transport, environment, consumer protection and even energy. In particular, the CEPA envisages EU-Armenia cooperation on "the diversification of energy sources and routes." Armenia currently buys nuclear fuel and more than 80 percent of its natural gas from Russia. These energy resources generate more than two-thirds of its electricity. The CEPA also covers bilateral trade. "Each Party shall apply import duties and charges in accordance with its obligations established under the [World Trade Organization] Agreement," it says. Each side must also ensure "most-favored-nation treatment to goods" imported from the other. There is no reference to Armenia's membership in the EEU which means that import duties set by Russia and the five other ex-Soviet states making up the Russian-led bloc are largely identical. The EU and Armenia would also seek to ease non-tariff barriers to their trade such as technical regulations and licensing and labelling requirements. The CEPA contains even more detailed provisions on the enforcement of intellectual property rights and mutual recognition of patents. The draft agreement further makes clear that the authorities in Yerevan can count on greater financial assistance from the EU. It cautions, however, that the scale of extra aid will depend on "the pace of the reforms" promised by them. Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner for European neighborhood policy, hailed "the groundbreaking new agreement" with Armenia when he visited Yerevan earlier this month. He said it will not only deepen the EU's ties with Armenia but also serve as an "example" to other countries. Speaking after talks with Hahn, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian confirmed that the deal is due to be signed at the EU's November 24 summit in Brussels. Earlier, President Sarkisian dismissed suggestions that the CEPA, just like the Association Agreement, may collapse at the last minute. "We have no reason to not sign that document," he said. Government Vows To Tackle Election-Related Abuse Of Power . Sisak Gabrielian Armenia - Armenians vote in parliamentary elections at a polling station in Yerevan, 2Apr2017. Just months after being accused of forcing public sector employees to campaign for the ruling Republican Party (HHK), the Armenian authorities plan to introduce tougher penalties for abuse of administrative resources during elections. A government bill to be debated by the Armenian parliament soon would make it a crime for government agencies, public schools and other government-funded institutions or their personnel to participate in election campaigns using their state resources or positions. Individuals flouting this ban would risk up to five years in prison or heavy fines. Armenian law currently imposes such restrictions only on those public sector employees who run for the parliament or local government bodies. The Ministry of Justice drafted the package of amendments to various Armenian laws in response to domestic and international criticism of the authorities' handling of parliamentary elections held in April. Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe cited "credible information" about "pressure on civil servants and employees of private companies" exerted during the election campaign. According to various news reports, they were forced to campaign for the HHK or risk losing their jobs. The Union of Informed Citizens (UIC), a non-governmental watchdog, revealed in the run-up to the April 2 elections that its activists posing as HHK representatives telephoned 136 schools and kindergarten chiefs across Armenia. It said 114 of them admitted drawing up lists of children's parents as well as schoolteachers and kindergarten staff who pledged to vote for the HHK. The UIC said the lists were submitted to local government bodies or HHK campaign offices. It also publicized audio of those phone conversations. Armenian opposition forces portrayed the revelations as further proof of their allegations of HHK foul play in the parliamentary race. The HHK admitted that many school principals participated in its election campaign. But it claimed that they did so "beyond their work hours and work duties." None of them was fired or prosecuted. A UIC representative, Daniel Ioannisian, welcomed the government bill but said it is overdue. "I wish we had these changes before, not after, the elections," he told RFE/RL's Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). "Had we had this before the elections, then the case of the school principals exposed by us should have had much more serious legal consequences," said Ioannisian. Varuzhan Hoktanian of the Armenian branch of Transparency International likewise acknowledged the proposed toughening of punishments for election-related abuse of administrative resources. But he questioned the authorities' commitment to enforce the measure. Press Review (Saturday, October 14) In an interview with "168 Zham," a Russian military analyst, Vadim Yevseyev, comments on news of a fresh $100 million Russian loan to Armenia that will finance more acquisitions of Russian weapons by Yerevan. Yevseyev expects the Armenian military to buy more "attack systems" and air-defense weapons that will "protect Armenia's airspace against surprises." He also says that a Russian-Armenian joint military force could step in if Azerbaijan attacks the territory of Armenia proper. "Haykakan Zhamanak" quotes the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on defense and security, Koryun Nahapetian, as saying that the October 16 meeting in Geneva of Armenia's and Azerbaijan's presidents might result in "surprises." Nahapetian says at the same time that the run-up to the summit has been anything but encouraging as evidenced by continuing Azerbaijani truce violations. "This means that they will not revise their [Karabakh-related] political views anytime soon," he says. "In any case, we must wait and see how the negotiations shape up. It's possible that there will be some surprises." "Zhoghovurd" reports that Prime Minister Karen Karapetian chaired on Friday the latest meeting of the Armenian government's Anti-Corruption Council. A government statement said that the meeting focused on measures aimed at tackling "corruption risks" in tax collection and public healthcare. "Prosecutors, judges, road policemen and prison administration officials have been arrested on corruption charges lately," the paper says. "Given this context, maybe the Anti-Corruption Council headed by the prime minister should have started out by targeting this [area.] Especially considering the fact that the authorities like to speak of attracting investments in Armenia." (Anush Mkrtchian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org