Friday,
Yerevan Insists On Ex-Soviet Common Energy Market
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (C) and other Armenian officials
participate in a virtual summit of the Eurasian Economic Union, Yerevan, May 21,
2021.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian again called on Friday for the creation of a
single energy market that could lower the cost of Russian natural gas imported
by Armenia and other members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
The gas price is currently significantly lower for consumers in Russia than
other ex-Soviet states making up the Russian-led trade bloc. Two of them,
Armenia and Belarus, have said that this puts their manufactures reliant on gas
in a disadvantaged position vis-à-vis their Russian competitors. Over the past
year they have pressed Moscow to agree to uniform EEU energy tariffs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly opposed that in May 2020, implying
that Yerevan and Minsk should agree first to deeper economic integration with
Moscow which would result in a “single budget and system of taxation” for all
EEU member states.
Pashinian insisted on the idea when he spoke at a virtual EEU summit attended by
Putin. “We attach great importance to the formation of the union’s common gas
market,” he said.
He added that Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan should also
agree on “nondiscriminatory” transit fees for gas imported by them from third
countries.
Pashinian noted that the creation of a “full-fledged common market for goods and
services” is hampered not only by differences among the EEU member states but
also “some objective difficulties.” “We continue to look for constructive
solutions,” he said.
Armenian Official Denies Secret Concessions To Baku
• Naira Nalbandian
• Aza Babayan
• Artak Khulian
Armenia - Yerevan-based foreign military attaches visit an area in Armenia's
Syunik province where Armenian and Azerbaijani troops are locked in a border
standoff, .
A senior pro-government lawmaker insisted on Friday that Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian has not secretly agreed to cede any Armenian territory to Azerbaijan
as part of a demarcation of the border between the two states proposed by Russia.
Pashinian admitted on Thursday Moscow drafted earlier this week an agreement on
the creation of an Armenian-Azerbaijani intergovernmental commission tasked with
delimiting and demarcating the border. But he flatly denied the existence of any
secret protocols to the agreement that would commit Yerevan to making major
territorial concessions to Baku.
Opposition leaders and other critics of the Armenian government remained
unconvinced by these assurances, renewing their demands for Pashinian’s
immediate resignation.
Ruben Rubinian, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign
relations, also dismissed allegations about secret border deals with Baku.
“I want to make it clear to you that there is no agreement, including an oral
one, on the return or exchange of villages or surrender of territory,” he told
reporters. “Such an issue has not been a subject of discussions.”
Rubinian also stressed that Yerevan will continue to make the signing of the
Russian-drafted agreement conditional on the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces
from Armenian border areas occupied by them last week.
Armenia - Ruben Rubinian, the chairman of the parliament committee on foreign
relations, speaks with journaists, .
Russia proposed the creation of the commission on the borer delimitation and
demarcation as part of its efforts to end a continuing Armenian-Azerbaijani
military standoff caused by the Azerbaijani troop movements at several sections
of the frontier.
In remarks that seemed primarily addressed to Armenian factions, Kremlin
spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday urged all stakeholders to ignore unconfirmed
reports about the border crisis and possible solutions to it.
“This issue is so sensitive and efforts to resolve this situation are so serious
that one must react to such frivolous reports in a very restrained manner and to
follow only official sources,” Peskov said, according to Russian news agencies.
Yerevan maintains that Azerbaijani forces advanced several kilometres into
Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces on May 12-13. The Armenian military
sent reinforcements there in a bid to stop and reverse those advances. No
gunfights or skirmishes between the two sides have been reported so far.
The Azerbaijani side has denied crossing into Armenian territory, saying that
its troops simply took up new positions on the Azerbaijani side of the border.
Pashinian said on Thursday that between 500 and 600 Azerbaijani soldiers remain
stationed within Armenia’s internationally recognized borders. The Armenian
Defense Ministry reported the following day that the situation there remains
largely unchanged but “stable.”
The epicenter of the standoff is a mountainous area about 10 kilometers north of
the Syunik town of Goris. According to Syunik Governor Melikset Poghosian, three
dozen Azerbaijani soldiers advanced on Thursday towards the Armenian village of
Khoznavar located just east of that area.
Khoznavar residents confirmed the information. They said children and elderly
persons living in the village were evacuated for security reasons.
Local shepherds said they were the first to notice the Azerbaijani servicemen
while grazing cattle on nearby hills.
“We approached them, thinking that they are our guys,” one of them told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service. “We then saw that they are not wearing [Armenian] uniforms and
not saying anything. One them signaled me to go away.”
The locals said that Khoznavar, which has about 400 inhabitants and is heavily
dependent on animal husbandry, now risks losing most of its pastures.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said on Friday that the Azerbaijani troops
were forced to retreat from those pastures late on Thursday after brawling with
Armenian soldiers guarding Khoznavar. Eleven Armenians were injured in that
clash, the law-enforcement agency said, adding that it occurred on the Armenian
side of the local border section.
Azerbaijani authorities did not report violent incidents or comment on troop
movements in that area as of Friday evening.
EU Parliament Demands Release Of Armenian Prisoners Held In Azerbaijan
France - European Union flags fly in front of the European Parliament building
in Strasbourg, October 6, 2020.
The European Parliament has demanded the “immediate and unconditional” release
of all Armenian prisoners held by Azerbaijan more than six months after a
Russian-brokered ceasefire stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In a resolution overwhelmingly passed on Thursday, the European Union’s
legislative body also expressed serious concern over “credible reports” that
they have been tortured and held in “degrading conditions.” It said at least two
Armenian civilians have died in Azerbaijani captivity as a result.
The resolution calls on both Azerbaijan and Armenia to fully comply with the
November 2020 truce agreement that requires the unconditional release of all
prisoners held by the conflicting sides.
The Russian peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh have arranged several prisoner
swaps in recent months. No Azerbaijani prisoners are known to be held in Armenia
or Karabakh at present.
A total of 73 Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians have been freed to
date. More than 100 others are believed to remain in Azerbaijani captivity.
Azerbaijan says that they are not covered by the truce agreement because they
were captured after it took effect on November 10. Azerbaijani officials have
branded them as “terrorists” and said Baku does not intend to release them.
Yerevan regards this as a gross violation of the accord brokered by Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
The EU called for the release of the remaining Armenian prisoners in a statement
released in late April. It also said Baku must also provide the European Court
of Human Rights (ECHR) with information about their whereabouts and detention
and health conditions
The European Parliament resolution notes that the Azerbaijani authorities have
failed to comply with relevant “interim measures” issued by the Strasbourg-based
court with regard to at least 112 Armenians. It urges them to “cooperate fully
with the ECHR on the issue of Armenian prisoners.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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