Thursday, Russia `Not Acting Separately' In Karabakh Settlement . Sargis Harutyunyan Armenia - Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian, 16Nov, 2017 The Russian foreign minister's upcoming Karabakh-related discussions in Yerevan and Baku will be "within the format" of the Organization for Security and Cooperation's Minsk Group co-chairmanship, a senior Armenian official said on Thursday. Speaking to reporters following a government session, Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian acknowledged some recent activity in the Karabakh talks that included the announcement earlier this week that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will tour the region early next week and his meetings in the Armenian and Azerbaijani capitals will also focus on the Karabakh conflict settlement. When asked by reporters whether Lavrov's planned trips mean that he will bring with him some fresh Russian settlement proposals, Kocharian said: "The Russian foreign minister is not acting separately. He is acting within the format of the [OSCE Minsk Group] co-chairmanship. In this sense, it is a bit strange when constant attempts are being made to separate [Lavrov's activities]. Moreover, he [Lavrov] himself publicly denied it on several occasions." This week has brought some diplomatic activity to the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement as regional issues were, in particular, discussed at the November 13 meeting in Sochi between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The following day, on November 14, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met in Moscow with the Russian, American and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. And on Wednesday Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian held a meeting with Putin. The Armenian president's press office said the parties also addressed the Karabakh issue during their meeting, but gave no details. Finally, an upcoming visit of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to the region was announced. "You know, on the one hand, the visits that you mention are scheduled ones# The same is true about Lavrov's visit, which is connected with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. On the other hand, it is obvious that there is certain activity on the part of the co-chairs connected with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Armenia's Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian said. "It is natural that during such meetings foreign ministers are always free to discuss issues that are important." According to Russian state-run TASS news agency, Lavrov said on Tuesday that during his meetings in Yerevan and Baku "we will try to understand at what stage our efforts on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are after the meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Geneva." During their talks in the Swiss city on October 16, Armenian President Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev pledged to intensify the peace process and bolster the cease-fire regime in the region's conflict zone. In a statement issued today on the results of their November 14 and November 16 meetings with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov, of Russia, Stephane Visconti, of France, and Andrew Schofer, of the United States, said that Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov have agreed to hold a meeting on the sidelines of an OSCE Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria, in December. Eastern Partnership Summit Declaration Again Stymied Over Karabakh Wording . Heghine Buniatian EU, Eastern Partnership logo The final declaration of the Eastern Partnership summit, which is due to be held in Brussels next week, has again reached a deadlock because of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. While the rest of the document is fully agreed, official Yerevan and Baku have yet to come to terms on the conflict-related wording, RFE/RL correspondent Rikard Jozwiak reports from Brussels. On Wednesday, the ambassadors of all 28 European Union member states agreed on a declaration apart from one paragraph, which has to do with regional conflicts. The ambassadors left this paragraph open as Armenia and Azerbaijan want to include language on Nagorno-Karabakh that is obviously very conflicting. The declaration is basically now ready, but Armenia and Azerbaijan are still fighting over wording on Nagorno-Karabakh. According to RFE/RL's correspondent, officials in Brussels are now quite worried. Differences over Karabakh-related wording nearly derailed the adoption of a similar declaration at the Eastern Partnership summit two years ago. After failing to achieve a desired wording, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev refused to attend the summit, and Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov for hours would not sign the declaration and even left the session hall, leaving EU leaders in uncertainty. "The reason why the EU is very afraid now is that in 2015 at the Riga summit there were fights about this throughout the whole summit. Aliyev even threatened not to sign the declaration and it was delayed by lots of time. So this is something that can lead to a drama on the actual day. It might happen again that [Armenian President Serzh] Sarkisian and Aliyev will refuse to sign this document because of Nagorno-Karabakh wording or non-wording," RFE/RL's correspondent reports from Brussels. European diplomats talking to RFE/RL on condition of anonymity said that this time in order to avoid a similar scenario Brussels has decided not to separate the existing conflicts by name and limit itself to a general wording. The preliminary version of the Declaration that has become available to RFE/RL, in particular, without addressing one issue or another, calls for "renewed efforts to promote the peaceful settlement of conflicts in the region on the basis of the principles and norms of international law." "The resolution of conflicts, building trust and good neighborly relations are essential to economic and social development and cooperation," the document reads, in particular. It is not clear what specific wording Azerbaijan and Armenia oppose or what they are seeking to add. Responding to RFE/RL's inquiry, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tigran Balayan said that "negotiations on this issue are still ongoing, so I cannot give details." Two years ago, after the summit in Riga, the Armenian foreign minister did give some details to RFE/RL. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL Armenian Service Director Harry Tamrazian Edward Nalbandian, in particular, insisted that Baku opposed the European Union's referring in the joint declaration to the statements of the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries -- Russia, the United States and France -- that the conflict should be resolved on the basis of non-use of force, territorial integrity and the right to self-determination. Opposition Criticizes Government Over 2018 Draft Budget . Astghik Bedevian MP Naira Zohrabian (Tsarukian Alliance) Members of the opposition factions in parliament leveled harsh criticism at the government over the draft budget for next year, claiming that it falls short of the ruling party's promise of increased pensions and salaries in 2018. Lawmaker Lena Nazarian from the opposition Yelk faction said: "The public must know that the Republican Party of Armenia and the government have failed to live up to their promise of raising pensions and the minimal salary." The opposition lawmaker reminded that while speaking in a television show ahead of the April parliamentary elections Prime Minister Karen Karapetian said that pensions and the minimal salary will be raised in 2018 "if everything continues at the same rate." Naira Zohrabian representing the Tsarukian Alliance's parliamentary faction also mentioned the failture to raise pensions and salaries among the reasons for not voting against the government-drafted budget. "Besides, this budget does not curb disgraceful inflation, it cuts more than 5,500 jobs in the public sector, reduces spending for education and health," she said. The oppositionist also described the country's demographic situation as "catastrophic". She disagreed with Prime Minister Karapetian's statement that how people feel economic growth is an immeasurable factor. "No, Mr. prime minister, this is quite a measurable factor. If you and your team felt at least for one day what an ordinary Armenian citizen feels, then you would surely not say that economic growth is an immeasurable factor," Zohrabian charged. The government promises to ensure a 4.5-percent growth of the Gross Domestic Product in 2018. It expects the industrial and services sectors to provide the bulk of this growth. Deputy Parliament Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov, who represents the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, responded to the opposition's criticism. "Instead of giving fish to our people we should teach them how to fish. With our contribution we should enable people to create conditions for themselves to catch that fish," he said. Press Review "168 Zham" talked to Polish analyst Konrad Zasztowt on the November 15 visit of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to Moscow. According to the analyst, now it is quite a hard time for Russia as despite the desire to restore full relations with Turkey, the Russian president does not want Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to participate in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process, since it is Russia's monopoly. "Russia already considers it a concession that in this issue it takes into account the positions of the United States and France," the paper quotes the Polish analyst as saying. "Zhamanak" notes a sharp rise in military spending proposed in the 2018 draft budget: "The government explains this rise very easily as it plays on society's patriotism as well as fear. The thing is that during the 10 years of President Serzh Sarkisian's rule not only the army's funding has increased, but the funding of police and other silovik structures has also increased# We have all grounds to assume that what motivated the authorities to increase that spending was not the desire to raise the country's security and defense capabilities, but to strengthen their own support base." "Zhoghovurd" comments on the decision by students protesting against a controversial law restricting the right to draft deferments to suspend their protests pending a roundtable discussion with government representatives and other stakeholders. "The government took advantage of the fact that the protesting students are inexperienced and convinced them to at least temporarily halt their struggle. Even if this struggle is resumed after a pause it will hardly gain momentum," the daily suggests. (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