Thursday,
Armenian Speaker Wants ‘More Active’ Iranian Role In Region
Iran - Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and his Armenian counterpart
Alen Simonian hold a news briefing, Tehran, .
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian has reportedly called on Iran to play a “more
active role” in the region during an official visit to Tehran.
During his separate meeting with Iran’s president, parliament speaker and
foreign minister held on Wednesday and Thursday, Simonian also reaffirmed
Armenia’s desire to deepen ties with the Islamic Republic.
He briefed the Iranian leaders on the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
zone in the aftermath of the 2020 war which he blamed, according to the Armenian
parliament’s press office, on “the Azerbaijani-Turkish duo.”
“We hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran will play a more active role in
developments in the region,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry quoted Simonian as
telling President Ebrahim Raisi. He praised Tehran’s “constructive position” on
those developments, reported the ministry.
Raisi discussed Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks with Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian in a phone call on June 1. Iran remains opposed to any change in the
“geopolitics of the region,” he stressed in an apparent reference to Azerbaijani
demands for a land corridor that would pass through Syunik, the only Armenian
province bordering Iran.
Raisi assured Pashinian earlier that Tehran supports Armenian sovereignty over
all roads passing through Armenia. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein
Amir-Abdollahian likewise said in October that any “changes in the region’s map”
are unacceptable to his country.
Meeting with Amir-Abdollahian, Simonian said that Armenia has always supported
“friendly Iran” in the international arena and expects a “corresponding
attitude” from the Islamic Republic.
“I think that Iran’s impartial approach to pro-Azerbaijani initiatives
circulated on international and regional platforms would seriously contribute to
the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the speaker said.
According to an Armenian parliament statement on the meeting, Simonian also
stressed the importance of “strategic dialogue” between Armenia and Iran, saying
that it will pave the way for “substantial progress” in bilateral ties.
The Armenian ambassador in Tehran, Arsen Avagian, reportedly said in April that
Yerevan wants to turn relations between the two neighboring states into
strategic partnership.
Pashinian Aide Set To Become Armenia’s Chief Prosecutor
• Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Deputy Justice Minister Anna Vardapetian addresses the parliament,
Yerevan, July 9, 2019.
The ruling Civil Contract party moved on Thursday to install an aide to Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian as Armenia’s next chief prosecutor.
The current prosecutor-general, Artur Davtian, will complete his six-year term
in office on September 15. He was appointed in 2016 by the country’s former
parliament dominated by then President Serzh Sarkisian’s loyalists.
Pashinian and his political allies, who control the current National Assembly,
decided not to appoint Davtian for a second term.
Their candidate for the post, Anna Vardapetian, served as a deputy minister of
justice in 2019 and became Pashinian’s assistant on legal affairs in March 2020.
Vardapetian refused to talk to reporters both before and after meeting with
Civil Contract’s parliamentarians behind the closed doors on Thursday. She did
not honor her promise to “answer all your questions after the meeting.”
The ruling party’s parliamentary leader, Hayk Konjorian, insisted that
Vardapetian will not act on government orders in her new capacity.
“I can express confidence that Ms. Vardapetian will definitely act within the
bounds of Armenia’s constitution and laws and her conscience,” Konjorian told
journalists.
Vardapetian became embroiled in a scandal last year after an Armenian media
outlet published purported evidence of her interference in a criminal
investigation into a fugitive businessman critical of Pashinian’s government.
The online publication, 168.am, posted what it described as screenshots of an
e-mail sent by Vardapetian to a senior law-enforcement officer leading the
investigation. It said that the letter contained instructions regarding
businessman Ruben Hayrapetian’s indictment.
Hayrapetian’s lawyer seized upon the allegation, saying that Vardapetian
committed a crime and must be prosecuted.
Armenia -- Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian (C) at the opening session of former
President Robert Kocharian's trial in Yerevan, May 13, 2019.
The Office of the Prosecutor-General cleared Pashinian’s aide of any wrongdoing,
however, saying that she advised, rather than pressured, the investigator.
Vardapetian has still not publicly commented on the scandal.
Davtian, the outgoing prosecutor, has also been accused by government critics,
including ex-President Sarkisian’s allies, of covering up government abuses and
bringing politically motivated cases against Pashinian’s foes. He has denied
such allegations.
Aliyev Warns Armenia Against Raising Karabakh’s Status
• Tatevik Sargsian
Azerbaijan -- President Ilham Aliyev speaks at the Global Baku Forum, June 16,
2022
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Thursday warned Armenia against bringing
up the status of Nagorno-Karabakh in peace talks with Azerbaijan and again
demanded a land corridor passing through Armenian territory.
“Armenia’s leadership must give up attempts to rewrite history,” Aliyev told an
international conference in Baku. “History has already been written and there is
oral agreement that nobody will talk about the status. Unfortunately, there is
talk about that, which could lead to very serious consequences.”
“If Armenia continues to call into question Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity
then Azerbaijan will have no choice but do the same [against Armenia,]” he said.
In that context, Aliyev again described Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province
as a “historically Azerbaijani territory.”
Baku has been pushing for a peace treaty with Yerevan that would commit the two
sides to recognizing each other’s territorial integrity. Yerevan says that
issues relating to the future of status of Karabakh and the security of its
population should also be on the agenda of planned talks on the treaty.
Aliyev already ruled out any discussions on Karabakh’s status and threatened to
lay claim to Armenian territory late last month. The Armenian Foreign Ministry
deplored his “bellicose” statements. It said that “negotiations on the
normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be held on the
basis of proposals of both sides.”
Aliyev on Thursday also reiterated his demands for a corridor that would connect
Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Syunik. He said it should be
similar to the existing Russian-controlled Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh
and Armenia.
Aliyev implicitly threatened to resort to military action if the Armenian side
continues to oppose such an overland link for Nakhichevan.
“If they don’t ensure that link for us it will be very hard to speak about
peace,” he warned.
Armenian leaders have repeatedly rejected such demands. They maintain that
Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements brokered by Russia and the European Union call
for only conventional transport links between the two South Caucasus states.
Visiting Yerevan last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted that
Armenia will control the planned road and railway that will connect Nakhichevan
to the rest of Azerbaijan. Lavrov said the Armenian side will only simplify
border crossing procedures for Azerbaijani cargo and travellers.
Armenian Opposition To Seek No-Confidence Vote In Pashinian
• Nane Sahakian
Armenia - Parliament deputies fromt the opposition Hayastan alliance attend a
session of the National Assembly, Yerevan, August 4, 2021.
A leader of the Armenian opposition said on Thursday that it will push for a
parliamentary vote of confidence in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in addition
to holding more street protests against him.
The country’s two main opposition forces tried unsuccessfully to topple
Pashinian during more than six weeks of virtually daily demonstrations launched
on May 1. They dismantled their tent camp in the center of Yerevan on Wednesday
after announcing that they will now rally supporters on a weekly basis.
“Nikol Pashinian’s removal continues to top our agenda,” said Ishkhan
Saghatelian, the main speaker at the anti-government protests. “Starting from
August, we will have a new tool in our arsenal: the process of deposing [the
prime minister.]”
“To that end, we need to work in two directions,” he told reporters. “First,
creating political and legal grounds for the impeachment … and demonstrating
popular, public demand for this. And second, nominating the people’s candidate
for prime minister.”
Under the Armenian constitution, the parliament cannot oust the prime minister
through a vote of no confidence during their first year in office. Pashinian was
formally reelected by the current National Assembly on August 2, 2021.
Pashinian’s Civil Contract party enjoys a comfortable majority in the
parliament. The opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem blocs hold just under
one-third of the parliament seats needed for filing a no-confidence motion
against the government.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attends his government's
question-and-answer session in the Armenian parliament, June 14, 2022.
Saghatelian did not clarify whether they are confident about provoking
defections from the parliament’s pro-government majority.
“We will start the impeachment process only when there are sufficient conditions
for its success,” he said vaguely.
Pashinian and his political allies have dismissed opposition demands for his
resignation. They say that the opposition has failed to attract popular support
for regime change.
Saghatelian again put a brave face on Hayastan’s and Pativ Unem’s failure so far
to unseat the prime minister. He reiterated that they have at least succeeded in
disrupting Pashinian’s “timetable for new concessions” to Azerbaijan.
The opposition blocs launched their campaign on May 1 two weeks after Pashinian
signaled his readiness to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and
“lower the bar” on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh acceptable to the Armenian
side.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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