Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Yerevan Still Vague On ‘Upcoming’ Armenian-Azeri Summit
October 27, 2021
• Naira Nalbandian
• Marine Khachatrian
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks during the Armenian government's
question-and-answer session in parliament, Yerevan, October 27, 2021.
The Armenian government sent mixed signals on Wednesday in response to reports
that the leaders of Armenia of Azerbaijan will meet in Moscow early next month
to sign more Russian-brokered agreements.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan did not explicitly rule out the possibility of
such a summit. But he denied that Yerevan is planning to make far-reaching
concessions to Baku.
“First of all, I want to say that no meeting in that format is planned for the
moment,” Mirzoyan told the Armenian parliament.
“Proposals for different meetings in different formats are being discussed.
Presumably an agreed text might be released as a result of possible meetings,”
he said during the government’s question-and-answer session in the National
Assembly.
Some Russian and Armenian media outlets reported late last week that that
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host fresh talks between Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Citing unnamed Armenian diplomatic sources, Aliqmedia.am claimed that Aliyev and
Pashinian will sign two agreements envisaging the demarcation of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the opening of transport links between the two
South Caucasus states. The publication said one of those documents will also
commit Baku and Yerevan to recognizing each other’s territorial integrity.
“The signing of those two documents with such content is definitely not
planned,” said Mirzoyan. He insisted that Pashinian’s administration will not
sign any deals contradicting its public statements on the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.
Pashinian was present at the session but did not comment on the matter. He
answered instead other conflict-related questions asked by opposition lawmakers.
Some of those deputies again expressed concern over the media reports. Armen
Rustamian of the opposition Hayastan alliance said he fears that Pashinian will
commit to fateful concessions to Aliyev.
Earlier on Wednesday Hayastan and the opposition Pativ Unem bloc tried
unsuccessfully to have the parliament adopt a statement saying that any
agreement referring to Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory is unacceptable to
Armenia and that Soviet-era maps alone can serve as a basis for
Armenian-Azerbaijani border demarcation.
The parliament majority representing Pashinian’s Civil Contract party blocked
the passage of the statement. The head of Civil Contract’s parliamentary group,
Hayk Konjorian, said the majority objected to the document because of its
“internal political” wording. Opposition lawmakers dismissed the explanation.
Vatican Opens Diplomatic Mission In Armenia
October 27, 2021
Armenia - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Archbishop Edgar Pena
Parra inaugurate the Vatican's Apostolic Nunciature in Yerevan, October 27, 2021.
The Vatican opened a diplomatic mission in Yerevan on Wednesday, underscoring
what a senior representative of Pope Francis described as the Roman Catholic
Church’s “good relations” with Armenia and its ancient church.
Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, the Vatican’s substitute of the Secretariat of
State, and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan inaugurated the Apostolic
Nunciature at a ceremony attended by diplomats and senior clergymen.
“The inauguration of this building demonstrates the solid bilateral relations
that already exist between the Republic of Armenia and the Holy See,” Parra said
in a speech. “Just a few years ago, Armenia made the welcome decision to open an
embassy to the Holy See and to appoint a residential ambassador. Today, the Holy
See gladly reciprocates that gesture in the hope that our diplomatic ties will
continue to deepen.”
“The good bilateral relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Holy See
are due in no small part to our mutual appreciation for the positive role that
religion plays in civil society,” he went on. “Armenians are a people of
profound faith and this country will always have the distinction of being the
first nation to have embraced the Christian faith.”
Armenia - Worshippers greet Pope Francis at the Echmiadzin cathedral of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, June 24, 2016.
“As a source of strength and perseverance through good times and bad, the
Christian faith helped form the rich spiritual and cultural heritage of Armenia
that remains a source of pride today and will continue to inspire and enrich the
lives of future generations of Armenians,” added the archbishop.
Mirzoyan, who held talks with Parra earlier in the day, spoke of the “beginning
of a new stage of cooperation between Armenia and the Holy See.”
“Armenia's relations with the Vatican have always been marked by a high-level
political dialogue based not only on Christian values but also on common
historical and religious heritage and similar approaches to the challenges of
the modern world,” he said at the ceremony.
Armenia - Pope Francis and Catholicos Garegin II visit the Echmiadzin cathedral
of the Armenian Apostolic Church, June 24, 2016.
Pope Francis and Catholicos Garegin (Karekin) II, the supreme head of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, met as recently as on October 6 during an
international conference of religious leaders held in Rome.
Garegin discussed with him the aftermath of last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
His office said he thanked the pontiff for his “support to the Armenian people
and Armenia during the war.”
Francis saluted Armenia for making Christianity an “essential part of its
identity” when he visited the South Caucasus nation in June 2016. He and Garegin
held an ecumenical liturgy in Yerevan’s central square which attracted thousands
of people. They praised the “growing closeness” between their churches in a
joint declaration issued at the end of the papal trip.
The Catholic and Armenian churches had essentially ended their long-standing
theological differences with a joint statement issued in 1996. In 2001, John
Paul II became the first Pope to have ever visited Armenia.
Successive Armenian governments have similarly sought closer ties with the
Vatican.
Lawmakers To Probe Pan-Armenian Charity
October 27, 2021
• Marine Khachatrian
Armenia - Artsvik Minasian, a senior lawmaker from the opposition Hayastan bloc,
at a news conference in Yerevan, October 25, 2021.
The National Assembly approved on Wednesday an opposition initiative to launch a
parliamentary inquiry into the use of funds raised by a government-backed
pan-Armenian charity for Nagorno-Karabakh during last year’s war with Azerbaijan.
The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund launched an international fundraising campaign
immediately after the outbreak of the war on September 27, 2020. Hundreds of
thousands of Armenians from around the world responded to its appeal for urgent
aid to Karabakh, donating roughly $170 million within weeks.
The charity headquartered in Yerevan redirected more than $100 million of those
proceeds to Armenia’s government. The Armenian Finance Ministry said the sum
will finance the government’s “infrastructure, social and healthcare
expenditures” necessitated by the six-week war.
President Armen Sarkissian and Armenian opposition leaders criticized the
donation, saying that it undermined donors’ trust in Hayastan. Sarkissian said
in December that the government should consider redefining the hefty
contribution as a “loan” and eventually reimbursing the fund.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian defended the donation, saying that it was used
for purposes defined by Hayastan’s statutes. He also suggested that lawmakers
scrutinize the donation.
Earlier this month, the two opposition groups represented in the Armenian
parliament demanded the creation of ad hoc commission tasked with doing that.
The parliament’s pro-government majority gave the green light for such an
inquiry.
The commission will be headed by Artsvik Minasian of the opposition Hayastan and
comprise ten other deputies to be named by the parliamentary forces. Minasian
promised an objective probe.
“Our main task is to determine whether there were abuses and illegalities, and
if so, hold the guilty accountable, recover funds and, most importantly, restore
the Armenian people’s trust in this instrument important for Armenia and
Artsakh,” he said.
President Sarkissian, who heads Hayastan’s board of trustees, has also demanded
an international audit of the fund’s activities. According to the fund’s
executive director, Haykak Arshamian, the results of the audit will be presented
to the board members next month.
Hayastan has implemented $400 million worth of various infrastructure projects
in Karabakh and Armenia since its establishment in 1992.
Armenian President Makes ‘Historic’ Visit To Saudi Arabia
October 27, 2021
Saudi Arabia - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman talks to Armenian
President Armen Sarkissian during the Future Investment Initiative forum in
Riyadh, October 26, 2021.
President Armen Sarkissian attended an international conference in Riyadh and
spoke with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on
Tuesday during what he called a historic visit to the kingdom that has no
diplomatic relations with Armenia.
“In the absence of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Saudi Arabia since
Armenia's independence, when no official from Armenia had ever visited that
country, the President of Armenia took a historic step, visiting for the first
time a country with a unique role and significance in the Arab and Islamic
world,” Sarkissian’s press office said in a late-night statement.
It emphasized the fact that Sarkissian was greeted at Riyadh airport “at the
highest state level” by Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Adel al-Jubeir.
“According to the official protocol, the state flag of the Republic of Armenia
was hoisted at the airport,” added the statement.
Saudi Arabia - Armenian President Armen Sarkissian is greeted by Saudi Arabia’s
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir on his arrival in Riyadh,
October 26, 2021.
Sarkissian sat next to Crown Prince Mohammed at the opening ceremony of the
Future Investment Initiative forum held later in the day and also attended by
other foreign leaders. The presidential press office reported on Wednesday that
the two men talked to each other during the event.
“The President of Armenia and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia talked about the
need to develop relations between the two countries and their future,” it said.
“It was noted that the rich historical ties between the two peoples are a good
basis for building future interstate relations.”
It was not clear whether the president, who has largely ceremonial powers,
discussed with Crown Prince Mohammed or other Saudi officials the possibility of
establishing diplomatic relations between the two states.
Saudi Arabia - Saudi and Armenian national flags fly at Riyad airport, October
27, 2021.
Like Turkey and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia has for decades refused to establish such
relations ties due to Christian Armenia’s conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The unresolved conflict has not prevented Armenia from developing ties with
other Gulf Arab monarchies, notably the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Both
nations have embassies in Yerevan. Also, successive Armenian governments have
maintained close links with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main regional rival.
The oil-rich kingdom’s relations with Turkey deteriorated significantly several
years ago and remain strained. The Saudi crown prince held talks in Riyadh on
Tuesday with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis of Greece, another country at
odds with Ankara.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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