Friday, Pashinian Meets Dashnaktsutyun Leaders • Ruzanna Stepanian Armenia - Supporters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation attend an election campaign rally in Yerevan, 30Mar2017. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has met with leaders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) less than two weeks after scrapping a de facto power-sharing deal with the party reached in May. In a statement, Dashnaktsutyun said four members of its decision-making Bureau discussed with Pashinian on Thursday the political situation in Armenia and “forthcoming developments.” “They agreed to continue meetings in the coming days,” the statement added without giving any details. The two sides almost certainly spoke about Pashinian’s plans to force snap general elections in December. Dashnaktsutyun has insisted until now that the elections be delayed until next May or June so that political forces have enough time to prepare for them. On October 2, its parliament deputies joined their colleagues from the former ruling Republican Party (HHK) in hastily passing a bill that could have complicated the early conduct of the polls. Pashinian reacted furiously to that development, accusing Dashnaktsutyun and another coalition partner, the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), of being involved in a “counterrevolutionary” conspiracy against his government. He also fired the six government ministers who represented the two parties. The BHK last week dropped its objections to Pashinian’s plans, signing a corresponding memorandum of understanding with the premier. The HHK leadership has indicated, for its part, that it will not attempt to scuttle those plans. Arsen Hambardzumian, one of the Dashnaktsutyun leaders who met with Pashinian, said on Friday that his party is inclined to take part in the anticipated December vote. But he said it is not planning to sign any joint statements with Pashinian. “Mutual trust among political forces is much more important than any signed document,” Hambardzumian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). Hambardzumian also expressed hope that the current parliament will swiftly enact major amendments to the Electoral Code which will change the electoral system and introduce more safeguards against fraud. A government task force formed by Pashinian this summer has drafted a package of such amendments. But it is not clear whether the National Assembly will debate them this month. Tsarukian’s Party Gears Up For Snap Elections • Ruzanna Stepanian Armenia - The Prosperous Armenia Party's mayoral candidate Naira Zohrabian speaks at an election campaign rally in Yerevan, 21 September 2018. Businessman Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) said on Friday that it has already started preparations for snap parliamentary elections expected in December. “The BHK will definitely take part in the upcoming pre-term parliamentary elections,” said Naira Zohrabian, the party’s secretary general. “Our regional chapters have already received clear instructions from Gagik Tsarukian to start organizational works.” “We have already started working with our regional chapters with clear instructions to get ready for the forthcoming parliamentary elections,” Zohrabian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. As recently as on October 2, the BHK opposed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to force the elections in December. But it dropped those objections a few days later, after Pashinian rallied tens of thousands of angry supporters in Yerevan and fired four government ministers affiliated with Tsarukian’s party. Under the Armenian constitution, such polls can be held only if the prime minister resigns and the parliament fails to replace him within two weeks. Tsarukian, whose party controls 31 seats in the 105-member National Assembly, pledged on Monday not to nominate or endorse any prime-ministerial candidates in case of Pashinian’s resignation. Pashinian said afterwards that he will tender his resignation by October 16 to ensure that the fresh polls are held in the first half of December. His political team is tipped to win them by a landslide. The popular premier’s My Step alliance won over 80 percent of the vote in municipal elections held in Yerevan on September 23. The BHK finished a distant second with just 7 percent. In Zohrabian’s words, Tsarukian’s party has not yet decided whether to contest the parliamentary elections on its own or in an alliance with other groups. Kosovo Leader Makes First-Ever Visit To Armenia • Emil Danielyan Armenia - Presidents Armen Sarkissian (R) of Armenia and Hashim Thaci of Kosovo meet in Yerevan, . Despite Armenia’s continuing reluctance to recognize his country’s independence, President Hashim Thaci of Kosovo was received by his Armenian counterpart Armen Sarkissian on Friday on the sidelines of a summit of the Francophonie organization held in Yerevan. Thaci was among the leaders of over three dozen French-speaking nations who arrived in the Armenian capital to take part in the two-day summit. It was his first-ever visit to Armenia. Thaci shook hands with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian at the start of the summit on Thursday. He described his ensuing meeting with Sarkissian as “good.” “I expressed our desire to increase our interaction within multilateral, cultural, economic spheres of influence,” he wrote on his Twitter page. A separate statement by Thaci’s office said he and the Armenian president “agreed to continue mutual communication in the future.” Sarkissian’s press service said the two men spoke about “challenges facing the humanity and possibilities of overcoming them.” It referred to Thaci as “the leader of a country that has received the status of an associated member in the International Organization of the Francophonie.” Serbia lost control over Kosovo in 1999 after a NATO bombing campaign to stop Serbian forces killing and expelling ethnic Albanians making up the vast majority of the territory’s population. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 and has since been recognized by more than 100 states. Armenia has still not recognized the former Serbian province as an independent state. Russia, its closest ally, continues to strongly support Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo. Kosovo - Armenian soldiers walk in riot gear to a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter during a training exercise at Camp Bondsteel, March 12, 2014. (Photo courtesy of www.army.mil) Even so, Yerevan reacted positively to a July 2010 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that upheld the legality of Kosovo’s secession from Serbia. Meeting with his Kosovar counterpart in New York in September 2010, then Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said the UN court thereby backed the principle of peoples’ right to self-determination. Armenia has championed that principle in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Its leaders hoped that the ICJ decision will strengthen their case for similar international recognition of Karabakh’s de facto secession from Azerbaijan. Also, some 35 Armenian soldiers have been serving in Kosovo as part of a NATO-led multinational force. Incidentally, Nalbandian’s successor, Zohrab Mnatsakanian, met on Friday with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, who represented his country at the Francophonie summit. According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the two men discussed ways of boosting Serbian-Armenian “interaction within international bodies” as well as “a number of pressing regional issues.” Francophonie Summit In Armenia Touted As Success • Karlen Aslanian Armenia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian congratulates Louise Mushikiwabo, new head of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), at a summit in Yerevan, . The leaders of over three dozen mostly French-speaking counties wrapped up on Friday a two-day meeting in Yerevan which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said has raised Armenia’s international profile. French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other participants of the summit adopted a joint declaration that was not immediately made public. They also appointed Rwanda’s Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo as head of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF). The summit, also attended by government delegations from over 40 other states, was the largest international forum ever held in Yerevan. It highlighted what the current and former Armenian governments have described as Armenia’s “privileged relationship” with France. “We can say for certain that this event has helped to boost the international standing of our country and to strengthen the International Organization of La Francophonie and its authority,” Pashinian said in a video address to the nation. “The summit was very well-organized.” “I want to thank all those people who were involved in organizing it,” he said, naming several senior Armenian diplomats and other government officials. Pashinian also acknowledged that Armenia’s former government and former Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in particular deserve credit for the Francophonie organization’s decision in 2016to hold its next summit in Yerevan. “Special thanks to Mr. Nalbandian for those efforts,” he said. ARMENIA -- French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian take part in a stamp cancellation ceremony, dedicated to French singer of Armenian origin Charles Aznavour, during the 17th Francophonie Summit in Yerevan, October The Armenian leader, who swept to power in a wave of mass protests in May, also used the forum to solidify his seemingly warm personal rapport with Macron. Private videos captured the two men as well as Trudeau and Prince Albert of Monaco dancing at an official dinner late on Thursday. Pashinian and Macron hugged each other before the latter left the Karen Demirchian Sports and Concert Complex, which served as the summit venue, for Yerevan’s Zvartnots international airport on Friday afternoon. The Francophonie grouping comprises 54 member states where French is spoken or where there is an affinity toward French culture. Many of them are former French colonies. Canada’s Trudeau Hails Democratic Change In Armenia Armenia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) gives his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau a pair of Armenian socks at a sate dinner in Yerevan, . Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was full of praise for what he described as Armenia’s ongoing transition to democracy when he met with the country’s leaders in Yerevan late on Friday. Trudeau held talks with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and President Armen Sarkissian during his first-ever official visit to the South Caucasus country timed to coincide with a summit of French-speaking nations held in the Armenian capital. The talks were followed by an official dinner given by Pashinian. “Right now around the world we see challenges in various democracies with the rise of populism, with politics of division, with challenges of countries moving further away from democracy,” Trudeau said at the dinner. “And here in Armenia you are moving strongly and proudly in the right direction, in the democracy direction.” “The focus you, Nikol, have brought on connecting with people, on serving people and on empowering people through democracy and economic opportunities, but mostly through pride and confidence in the future they are building, is truly extraordinary,” he added. According to the Armenian premier's office, Trudeau told Pashinian at their meeting earlier in the day that Canada, which has a thriving Armenian community, stands ready to help Armenia attract foreign investment and upgrade its public infrastructures. In his opening remarks at the talks, the Canadian leader said he was “overwhelmed” by a warm reception he received in Yerevan. “Over these past days it’s been just wonderful to be so warmly welcomed and it’s a real pleasure to be here,” he said. Armenia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (R) gives his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau the Armenian translation of his book, 12 October 2018. “The people of Canada & Armenia are at the heart of the special relationship between our two countries – and tie us together in so many ways,” Trudeau tweeted after the dinner with Pashinian and Sarkissian. For his part, Pashinian lavished praise on Trudeau, saying that Armenians have “positive attitudes towards your country and you personally.” “I hope that the personal relationship established between us will help to elevate the already warm relations between our countries to a new level,” he said. Pashinian, who came to power in May in what is widely regarded in Armenia as a democratic “velvet revolution,” then handed Trudeau a copy of the Armenian translation of the latter’s memoir published in 2014. Press Review “Zhoghovurd” quotes Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian as telling the France24 TV channel that Russia fully supports his government’s fight against corruption. The paper notes that Armenia’s former leaders have portrayed that fight as a Western-backed effort to undermine Russian political and economic influence on Armenia. It describes Pashinian’s remarks as a “nice gesture” addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Zhamanak” says that after hosting the Francophonie summit Armenia will enter a “period of turbulent political developments.” The paper is confident that the Armenian parliament will not appoint another prime minister after Pashinian resigns to pave the way for the holding of pre-term parliamentary elections in December. It says that not only Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) but also the Republican Party (HHK) have made assurances to that effect. It suggests that the HHK is “preparing ground” for its non-participation in the upcoming elections. “Regardless of the quality of the elections, the next parliament will not have flexibility and its stability will solely hinge on Nikol Pashinian’s approval rating,” continues “Zhamanak.” The paper claims that Armenia will face a “government crisis” two years later if Pashinian fails to convert his popularity into good and efficient governance. “Aravot” comments on former Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanian’s surprise pledge of allegiance to Pashinian. The paper recalls that as recently as in April Kostanian, who has long been regarded as Serzh Sarkisian’s protégé, condemned Pashinian-led protests as illegal and said the authorities have the legitimate right to end them by force. “Such pledges are only made in church during weddings,” it says tartly. (Lilit Harutiunian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org