BBC Monitoring Trans Caucasus Unit, UK

Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Thursday

 

 

By BBC Monitoring

 

Acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has addressed several issues that have been widely discussed in public, including concerns about Russian pressure on Armenia and territories lost to Azerbaijan.

 

Pashinyan said that his government had not held talks with Russia regarding the biological laboratories in Armenia, that the country is not under US influence and has not lost any territories to Azerbaijan since May, and that he had responded appropriately to the Belarus leader's criticism at a CSTO summit.

 

The prime minister made the remarks while speaking to journalists in the town of Dilijan on 19 December. The presser was live streamed on Facebook by the Armenian service of RFE/RL.

 

US 'pressure', bio-labs

 

Pashinyan dismissed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin's comment that Armenia should have the courage to resist blackmailing and pressure from the USA and to make independent decisions.

 

"I have said it before that the Republic of Armenia pursues its own sovereign policy and I think many can see that, if not everyone. And Armenia will continue this policy," Pashinyan said.

 

He went on to say that it is not clear what Karasin was basing his statement on.

 

Pashinyan also denied any discussions with Russia about the biological laboratories in Armenia or an agreement on foreign military presence in the country.

 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this week that the two countries were working on an agreement that would guarantee non-presence of foreign military in Armenia.

 

"Our government has never discussed this issue with our Russian partners," Pashinyan said, adding that Lavrov should clarify what he meant.

 

Pashinyan added that such talks might had been held with the former government.

 

Responding to a question on possible acquisition of US weapons, Pashinyan said that there was "no concrete proposal or possibility" at this moment.

 

No progress on Karabakh peace

 

Pashinyan said that no progress has been achieved in the Karabakh peace talks. He was commenting on Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov's recent remarks about a "mutual understanding" reached during the recent bilateral talks in Milan.

 

Pashinyan said that a joint statement was the only thing the parties had agreed on in Milan.

 

"In Milan, the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers, together with the co-chairmen [of the OSCE Minsk Group that mediates in the Karabakh peace talks], agreed on a joint statement and it was noted that for quite some time, it had not been possible to reach an agreement on such a statement," he said.

 

Pashinyan went on to advise commentators in Armenian against looking for conspiracies when Azerbaijan makes "optimistic" reports on the Karabakh talks.

 

"No government in Armenia has been as transparent on the Karabakh issue as our government," he said.

 

Pashinyan also said that the recent reshuffles in the Karabakh defence ministry could in no way affect the army's combat potential.

 

No territory loss in recent months

 

He underscored that Armenia has not lost any territories since his team came in power in May 2018.

 

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev recently said that Azerbaijani troops managed to take under their control 11,000 sq m of land on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the Azerbaijani exclave of Naxcivan. Pashinyan said that both sides had simply moved their positions in that area. He added that this occurred in February-May 2018, when he was not prime minister.

 

"I officially announce that the territories, which have been under the control of the Armenian Armed Forces as of 8 May, continue to remain under the control of the Armenian Armed Forces," he said.

 

Arms sales spat with Belarus

 

Pashinyan said that he had given Belarus President Alyaksandr Lukashenka "comprehensive answers" when the two spoke at recent CSTO summit.

 

Lukashenka said recently, using rather rude language, that he had asked Pashinyan why he criticised Minsk for selling missiles to Azerbaijan but did not dare to criticise Russia, which is Baku's main arms supplier.

 

"My spokesperson has clarified that this issue has periodically been raised during my contacts with the Russian president. I can assure you that all the questions raised by Lukashenka received concrete and comprehensive answers on the spot. Frankly speaking, I had the impression that Mr Lukashenka was satisfied with the answers and in my opinion, everyone present there [at the summit] had the same impression. I cannot say what happened later," he said.

 

Source: Facebook in Armenian 1218 gmt 19 Dec 18