Friday, Putin Again Talks To Armenian, Azeri Leaders • Aza Babayan RUSSIA -- Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attend a joint press conference following a trilateral meeting at the Kremlin, January 11, 2021 In separate phone calls, Russian President Vladimir Putin has again discussed with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan the implementation of a Russian-brokered agreement that stopped last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Kremlin reported on Friday that Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian “noted with satisfaction” that the ceasefire regime in the Karabakh conflict zone is holding and that “the situation in the region remains by and large stable and calm.” In a statement, it said both Aliyev and Pashinian praised Russian peacekeeping forces that were deployed in and around Karabakh after the ceasefire agreement entered into force on November 10. “Also touched upon were issues relating to the unblocking of economic and transport links in the South Caucasus,” the statement said, adding that the three leaders praised a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani working group formed by them for that purpose in January. The group co-headed by deputy prime ministers of the three states has held a series of meetings on practical modalities of opening the Armenian-Azerbaijani border for commercial and other traffic. It was supposed to submit by March 1 a timetable of “measures envisaging the restoration and construction of new transport infrastructure facilities.” No such document has been made public so far. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said earlier on Friday that both Baku and Yerevan have taken a “constructive approach” to the work of the trilateral task force. The truce agreement commits Yerevan to opening rail and road links between the Nakhichevan exclave and the rest of Azerbaijan that will presumably pass through Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province. Armenia should be able, for its part, to use Azerbaijani territory as a transit route for cargo shipments to and from Russia and Iran. Zakharova declined to comment on Aliyev’s recent threats to force Yerevan to open a transport “corridor” between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. Aliyev also described Syunik as “historical Azerbaijani lands.” Pashinian Aide ‘Investigated’ • Robert Zargarian Armenia - Deputy Justice Minister Anna Vardapetian is interviewed by RFE/RL's Armenian Service, July 28, 2019. Law-enforcement authorities have pledged to look into allegations that an aide to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is illegally directing a criminal investigation into a fugitive businessman critical of the Armenian government. Earlier this week the 168.am news service accused the official, Anna Vardapetian, of issuing written instructions to the top investigator in the criminal case opened against the businessman, Ruben Hayrapetian. Hayrapetian left Armenia for Russia in March last year shortly before he and his son were charged with kidnapping, violent assault and extortion. Both men deny the accusations. The controversial tycoon has long been affiliated with former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party. He headed the Football Federation of Armenia from 2002-2018. The online publication published on Wednesday what it described as screenshots of an e-mail sent by Vardapetian to Artur Ayvazian, a senior Investigative Committee official in charge of the high-profile case. It claimed that the letter contained instructions regarding Hayrapetian’s indictment. Hayrapetian’s lawyer, Amram Makinian, was quick to seize upon the allegations and portray them as further proof that the charges leveled against his client are politically motivated. He also said Vardapetian committed a crime and must be prosecuted. Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General responded by saying that it has ordered the National Security Service (NSS) to investigate the 168.am claims. Vardapetian has not commented on the allegations so far. She again could not be reached for comment on Friday. The 35-year-old lawyer served as a deputy minister of justice in 2019 and joined Pashinian’s staff a year ago. Pashinian’s press secretary, Mane Gevorgian, said on Friday that she will not comment until the NSS completes the inquiry. Ayvazian, the law-enforcement official at the center of the scandal, reportedly told the prosecutors that unknown individuals accessed his e-mail account and uploaded false information there. Daniel Ioannisian of the Yerevan-based Union of Informed Citizens, expressed concern at the allegations and said they must be “comprehensively” investigated. “They should also confirm or rule out Anna Vardapetian’s possible interference in other criminal cases and its consequences,” Ioannisian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. Foreign Minister Denies Coup Attempt In Armenia UAE -- United Arab Emirates’ Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan meets with his Armenian counterpart Ara Ayvazian, Abu Dhabi, March 11, 2021. Contradicting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian insisted on Friday that the Armenian military’s unprecedented demands for the government’s resignation did not amount to a coup attempt. “Of course, the results of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan had a negative impact on internal stability in Armenia, but I strongly disagree with the characterization of the [recent events as an] attempted coup d’état in Armenia,” Ayvazian told Al-Arabiya television during a visit to the United Arab Emirates. “This was a kind of political positioning by some members of [the Armenian army’s] General Staff,” he said in an interview publicized by the Armenian Foreign Ministry. “They just made a political statement, which is not an attempted coup in itself. This was also the assessment of different countries and international organizations. “There are no elements of a coup d’état in Armenia. Armenia continues to be a democracy, and the current situation, as I said, will be dealt with according to democratic standards in our society.” In a February 25 statement, the Armenian military’s top brass demanded the resignation of Pashinian and his government, accusing them of putting the country “on the brink of destruction” after last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinian rejected the demand as an attempt to stage a military coup. He twice held rallies in Yerevan to counter what he called opposition-backed attempts to end “the people’s power.” The prime minister also sacked General Onik Gasparian, the chief of the army’s General Staff. Gasparian denounced the move as unconstitutional and said he will challenge it in court. Pashinian did not accuse the military of trying to seize power when he met on Wednesday with other generals who signed the February 25 statement. Instead, he thanked them for their military service. “I trust in you and believe that you have served the country in good faith,” added Pashinian. Armenian Army To Hold Exercises Armenia -- Smerch multiple-launch systems fire rockets during an Armenian military exercise, May 21, 2020. Armenia’s armed forces will hold major military exercises next week for the first time since the war in Nagorno-Karabakh stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 10. The Armenian Defense Ministry announced on Friday that the five-day exercises will start on March 16 and involve 7,500 soldiers, about 100 tanks and armored vehicles, some 300 artillery and anti-aircraft systems as well as warplanes and helicopters. A ministry statement said they will take place in “all operational directions of the armed forces” in accordance with the Armenian army’s training plan for the first half of this year. The statement added that the drills are designed to “check the combat-readiness of troops” and their ability to “rapidly act in the existing situation.” Azerbaijan will also hold next week military exercises involving thousands of soldiers. The Defense Ministry in Baku said earlier this week that they will be held in unspecified mountainous areas. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said on Friday that the Azerbaijani war games scheduled for March 15-18 were planned beforehand and will not jeopardize “stability and security in the region.” Zakharova declined to comment on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s recent threats to force Yerevan to open a transport “corridor” between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave passing through Armenia’s Syunik province. Aliyev described Syunik as “historical Azerbaijani lands.” During and after last year’s Karabakh war Russia deployed soldiers and border guards in Syunik to help the Armenian military defend it against possible Azerbaijani attacks. Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian did not rule out last month the possibility of more Russian troop deployments to the area that also borders Iran. Armenia -- Soldiers at an Armenian military base lined up for inspection, March 9, 2021. Harutiunian also said that Russia is now helping Armenia restructure and modernize its armed forces. He said concrete “recommendations” have already been made on how to rearm the Armenian army but did not give any details. Incidentally, Harutiunian had another phone call with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday. According to the Defense Ministry in Yerevan, they discussed bilateral military ties and Russia’s ongoing peacekeeping operation in Karabakh launched immediately after the November ceasefire. Yerevan announced plans to further deepen Russian-Armenian military cooperation following the six-week war. Russian Set To Gain Official Status In Karabakh • Marine Khachatrian NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- Russian soldiers of the peacekeeping force man a checkpoint on a road outside Stepanakert, November 26, 2020 Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have endorsed a proposal to make Russian the Armenian-populated territory’s second official language. The measure was proposed last month by three of the five political parties represented in the Karabakh parliament. One of them, Free Fatherland, is led by Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president. Harutiunian’s administration approved this week a relevant bill drafted by the three parties, paving the way for its passage. The bill cites Karabakh’s history of “cultural, military and economic links” with Russia and says that giving Russian an official status would deepen them. Its proponents have also argued that this would facilitate communication with Russian soldiers and aid workers deployed in Karabakh after last year’s Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Some local lawmakers have voiced objections to the bill. They include Metakse Hakobian of the opposition Artarutyun (Justice) party, one of the bill’s three co-sponsors. Hakobian reiterated on Friday that the proposed legislation must be amended to guarantee the supremacy of the Armenian language. “Russian should have more of a working than official status and the two languages should not be equated,” she told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. Several Karabakh academics have also spoken out against making Russian an official language. One of them, Yana Avanesian, said the bill in question is “unfounded” in its current form. Free Fatherland’s Aram Harutiunian, one of the authors of the bill, insisted that Armenian will remain Karabakh’s main official language. “We are not going to immediately switch to Russian,” he said. “We want to solve a technical issue in the first instance. Namely, to use [Russian] when necessary.” Russia’s presence in Karabakh increased dramatically after Moscow brokered a ceasefire agreement that stopped the six-week war on November 10. The deal led to the deployment of about 2,000 Russian peacekeeping troops in Karabakh as well as along a land corridor connecting the disputed territory to Armenia. The peacekeepers have helped tens of thousands of Karabakh Armenians, who fled the fighting, to return to their homes. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.