Saturday, November 7, 2020

Putin, Macron Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict


Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron meet 
at the Fort de Bregancon, a presidential residence in Bormes-Les-Mimosas, August 
19, 2019

Russian President Vladimir Putin has discussed the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh 
with French President Emmanuel Macron as Armenia reported "fierce fighting" near 
a key city in the region.

During a November 7 phone call, Putin and Macron expressed serious concern over 
the large-scale clashes between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in the 
region and the involvement of fighters from Syria and Libya in the conflict, the 
Kremlin said in a statement.

The presidents said they would continue coordinated mediation efforts, including 
through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Minsk 
Group, set up in 1992 to seek a peaceful resolution.

Earlier in the day Armenian military authorities said that numerous overnight 
attacks by Azerbaijani forces outside the town of Shushi (Shusha), a key 
stronghold in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, had been thwarted. They said fierce 
battles near the town continued during the day.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry called the claims it was shelling 
Shushi "completely untrue."

The hilltop town of Shushi is located on a main road that links the region's 
capital of Stepanakert with the territory of Armenia, which backs ethnic 
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

At least 1,200 people and possibly many more have died in nearly six weeks of 
fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Attempts by Russia, France, and the United States, which co-chair the OSCE Minsk 
Group, to help reach a lasting ceasefire have so far failed.



Armenia Considers Tripling Compulsory Payments To Army Insurance Fund

        • Artak Khulian

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian visits a military hospital in Yerevan 
where soldiers wounded during fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh are treated. October 
23, 2020.

Citing an increase in the number of military casualties due to the ongoing war 
in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s Ministry of Defense has proposed raising the size 
of monthly compulsory payments to the Army Insurance Fund.
Since 2017 every working Armenian has been required to pay 1,000 drams (about 
$2) per month to a special fund set up for compensations paid to the families of 
soldiers killed or seriously wounded in action.

Under the compensation schemes, in addition to one-off payouts of between 5 
million and 10 million drams ($10,000 and $20,000), the families of killed or 
maimed army officers, contract soldiers and conscripts receive monthly pensions 
ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 drams ($200-$600) for 20 years.

The ministry suggests that compulsory payments to the Army Insurance Fund be 
tripped – from 1,000 to 3,000 drams ($6) beginning in January 2021.

The amendment is yet to be submitted to parliament for approval. Before that it 
was put to public discussion in Armenia earlier this week.

Since the outbreak of ongoing hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians in 
Armenia and around the world have also been urged to increase their 
contributions to the Army Insurance Fund on a voluntary basis or make donations 
to it to help the families of soldiers killed or wounded in action.

So far, Armenian authorities have confirmed the deaths of 1,177 servicemen in 
battles against Azerbaijan. The death toll is only expected to rise as 
hostilities continue. Authorities have not provided statistics for the number of 
wounded soldiers, but it is believed there may be several thousands of them.

Artak Manukian, a member of the pro-government My Step faction in parliament, 
said on Friday that raising compulsory payments to the Army Insurance Fund is 
needed “to mitigate the [compensation] problem and fix it in the future.”

The opposition Prosperous Armenia and Bright Armenia factions have not yet 
presented their final positions on the bill, but representatives of both 
factions said they consider it unfair that all workers should be taxed evenly 
regardless of their incomes.

“It would be unfair if I, as a member of parliament with a high salary, 
contributed the same amount as those who receive a minimum or average salary,” 
Prosperous Armenia’s Naira Zohrabian said.

Bright Armenia faction leader Edmon Marukian also spoke in favor of gradating 
the payments for workers with different incomes.

But director of the Army Insurance Fund Varuzhan Avetikian explained that the 
proposal of opposition lawmakers cannot be implemented in a situation where many 
citizens do not fully declare their real incomes.

Avetikian said that the fund has already started paying compensations to the 
families of those killed or wounded in the current fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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