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    Categories: 2022

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/01/2022

                                        Tuesday, March 1, 2022


Macron, Pashinian Again Discuss Karabakh


FRANCE -- French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Armenian Prime minister Nikol 
Pashinian give a press briefing following their working lunch at the Elysee 
palace in Paris, June 1, 2021


French President Emmanuel Macron and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
discussed the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone in a phone call on 
Tuesday.

“The sides touched upon the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh and the 
strengthening of security and stability in the South Caucasus region,” reported 
the Armenian government’s press office. It did not give any details.

A statement released by the office said the two men also discussed the agenda of 
Pashinian’s upcoming visit to Paris which will be timed to coincide with a 
“French-Armenian cooperation forum” to be held there.

Macron and Pashinian further “exchanged views on processes taking place in the 
international arena,” the statement added in an apparent reference to the 
escalating war in Ukraine.

Like other Western leaders, Macron has strongly condemned Russia’s invasion of 
Ukraine and backed the European Union’s tough sanctions against Moscow. He 
phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in another attempt to stop the 
hostilities.

Armenia has still not officially reacted to the large-scaled military assault 
launched by its main ally.

Pashinian spoke with Putin by phone on Saturday. Official Russian and Armenian 
sources did not mention Ukraine in their statements on the call. The Kremlin 
said they continued to discuss “practical aspects” of implementing 
Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements brokered by Moscow during and after the 2020 war 
in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Macron too has sought to facilitate their implementation. As recently as on 
February 4, he and European Council President Charles Michel held a video 
conference with Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The French presidential Elysee palace issued no statement on Macron’s latest 
call with Pashinian.



Yerevan Defends Opposition To Council Of Europe Action Against Russia

        • Naira Nalbandian

France – A session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. 
Strasbourg, October 2, 2008


A senior official in Yerevan defended on Tuesday Armenia’s decision to vote 
against the effective suspension of Russia’s membership in the Council of Europe 
over Moscow’s military assault on Ukraine.

The Council of Europe decided on February 25 to suspend all representatives of 
Russia from participation in the pan-European rights body’s decision-making 
Committee of Ministers and its Parliamentary Assembly (PACE).

“Suspension is not a final measure but a temporary one, leaving channels of 
communication open,” the Strasbourg-based organization said in a statement.

The decision was backed by 42 Council of Europe member states. Armenia was the 
only member state that joined Russia in opposing it.

Eduard Aghajanian, the pro-government chairman of the Armenian parliament 
committee on foreign relations, said Yerevan objected to the suspension because 
it stands for a “diplomatic” solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

“The more the diplomatic channels are severed, the lower the likelihood of 
resolving the issue by diplomatic means,” Aghajanian told reporters. “It is in 
this context that Armenia voted against.”


Armenia - Eduard Aghajanian talks to journalists, September 18, 2019.

Armenia’s stance was consistent with its voting record in the United Nations. 
Both the current and former Armenian governments had voted against UN General 
Assembly resolutions condemning Russia’s annexation of Crimea and upholding 
Ukrainian sovereignty over the Black Sea peninsula.

Russia has long been Armenia’s main military and political ally. The South 
Caucasus state’s dependence on Moscow for defense and security deepened further 
following the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.

Yerevan has still not officially reacted to the Russian invasion strongly 
condemned by the international community. In a statement issued on February 23, 
the day before the invasion began, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said it regards 
both Russia and Ukraine as “friendly countries” and hopes that they will resolve 
their conflict through “diplomatic dialogue.”

Tigran Abrahamian, a senior lawmaker representing the opposition bloc Pativ 
Unem, on Tuesday criticized the Armenian leadership for not openly backing 
Russia’s military action.

“If you are demonstrating neutrality and not showing any support for your ally 
Russia … you must accept that in another situation Russia will act [vis-à-vis 
Armenia] just like you do in the current circumstances,” said Abrahamian.



Russian Firms Relocating To Armenia, Says Minister (UPDATED)

        • Artak Khulian

Armenia - Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian speaks with journalists during a 
Russian-Armenian business forum in Yerevan, September 20, 2021.


Armenian Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian claimed on Tuesday that Russian tech 
companies are moving operations to Armenia to evade crippling Western sanctions 
imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

“About a dozen companies have already effectively relocated, while several 
others are on their way,” he said, adding that many others want to do the same.

Kerobian did not name any of those Russian firms or give details of their 
alleged relocation. He said only that most of them are involved in the tech 
sector and oriented towards “the Western markets.”

“The latest restrictions do not allow them to do the job from their country,” 
said the minister.

Russian tech professionals interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service confirmed 
Kerobian’s claims. One of them, Samson Karapetian, is a 25-year-old system data 
analyst who moved from Moscow to Yerevan recently.

“I have friends, not just ethnic Armenians, who are planning to move to 
Armenia,” said Karapetian. “There are also many companies that are fully 
relocating from Moscow to Yerevan because things are quieter and more stable 
here and the [Armenian] dram is more stable than the [Russian] ruble.”


GERMANY – A demonstration against Russia's military operation in Ukraine, at 
Rathenauplatz square in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, February 26, 2022.

An engineer working for a Russian tech firm has already booked flight to 
Yerevan. She said he decided to emigrate from Russia not only for economic 
reasons but also in protest against her country’s attack on Ukraine.

“Our company promised to help those employees who are planning to leave but they 
didn’t say how,” said the young woman, who did not want to be identified. “That 
is why I’m leaving on my own.”

Yevgeny, a Russian software engineer, is also planning to relocate in Armenia. 
He said he is confident about finding a job in the country's burgeoning 
information technology (IT) sector employing an estimated 20,000 people.

“My choice was between Armenia and Serbia,” he explained. “In both countries 
attitudes towards Russians are good … There is no language barrier and local 
cultures are understandable. But my guess is that Armenia is now more inclined 
to receive technology specialists.”


Armenia -- Young people at the annual Digitec Expo exhibition in Yerevan, 
October 6, 2018.

The sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union include 
measures aimed at restricting Russia’s access to high technology and 
complicating Russian companies’ financial transactions abroad.

Kerobian claimed that some Ukrainian firms are also showing an interest in 
setting up shop in Armenia but did not name them either. He said the Armenian 
Ministry of Economy has already set up a working group tasked with facilitating 
the relocation of Russian, Ukrainian and other foreign entities.



Gas Prices Raised In Armenia

        • Robert Zargarian
Armenia - The Public Services Regulatory Commission meets in Yerevan, November 
20, 2019


Armenia’s energy regulator on Tuesday raised the retail prices of natural gas by 
an average of 4.1 percent, a move that should further increase the cost of 
living in the country.

The national gas distribution network owned by Russia’s energy giant Gazprom 
requested sharper price rises last month. In particular, it sought an end to a 
more than 30 percent price discount enjoyed by low-income families.

In line with promises given by Armenian government officials, the Public 
Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) said, however, that the preferential 
tariff for the poor will remain unchanged at 100 drams (21 U.S. cents) per cubic 
meter. The gas price for other households will rise by 3.4 percent, to 143.7 
drams per cubic meter, from April 1.

The PSRC approved more drastic tariff increases for businesses, including power 
plants, greenhouses and food-processing enterprises. Even so, they will continue 
to pay less than most individual consumers.

The PSRC chairman, Garegin Baghramian, acknowledged that the nominally 
independent regulatory body consulted with the government before setting the new 
gas tariffs. He said the authorities are keen to protect the poor and support 
Armenian firms using gas mostly imported from Russia.

Greenhouses, which now account for a sizable share of fruits and vegetables 
grown in Armenia, are especially dependent on the cost of gas. Some of their 
owners have warned that they will struggle to remain afloat if it does go up.


Armenia -- A large greenhouse belonging to the Spayka company, April 19, 2017.

The PSRC signaled impending price hikes in a statement released in December. It 
cited the need to repay $270 million in loans used for the recently completed 
modernization of the Metsamor nuclear plant. The commission also pointed to 
Armenia’s contractual obligation to enable Gazprom to recoup investments made in 
a large thermal-power plant located in the central town of Hrazdan.

The prices of electricity and drinking water were likewise raised in January 
following a highest inflation in many years recorded in the country. Analysts 
believe that that the PSRC’s latest decision will add to the rising living costs 
increasingly felt by Armenians.

“As if they paid us good salaries and pensions, they are now making gas more 
expensive,” complained one middle-aged man interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian 
Service in Yerevan.

“Of course, we don’t like it, especially now that there are no jobs,” said 
another Yerevan resident. “The state is wrong. It should not have raised the 
prices.”

International gas prices have skyrocketed over the past year. They are now much 
higher than Russia’s existing wholesale tariff for Armenia set at $165 per 
thousand cubic meters.


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