Monday, July 4, 2022


Moscow Deplores ‘Anti-Russian’ Rationale For Canadian Embassy In Armenia


RUSSIA -- A woman looks at her phone as she walks across a bridge with the 
Russian Foreign Ministry building in the background, Moscow, October 12, 2021.


Russia denounced on Monday a key official reason for Canada’s decision to open 
an embassy in Armenia.

The Canadian government announced the decision last week, saying that it wants 
to deepen Armenian-Canadian relations in view of the ongoing “profound 
geopolitical shift” in the world resulting, in large measure, from the Russian 
invasion of Ukraine. A government statement said the diplomatic presence in 
Armenia as well as four Eastern European states will help Ottawa “counter 
Russia’s destabilizing activities.”

Reacting to the development, the Russian Embassy in Yerevan said: “One is 
surprised by such an overtly arrogant and dismissive attitude towards a state 
with which they seem to be going to strengthen bilateral ties. One cannot but 
wonder how such a line will affect the well-being and security of the Armenian 
people.”

In a statement, the embassy said it is indicative of the West’s “arrogant 
attitude towards other countries and peoples that underlies many tragic events 
taking place in the modern world.”

Like other Western powers, NATO member Canada has strongly condemned the Russian 
invasion and provided Ukraine with military and economic assistance. By 
contrast, Armenia has refrained from criticizing the “special military 
operation” launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24.

The South Caucasus state has long maintained close military, political and 
economic ties with Russia. Its heavy dependence on Moscow for defense and 
security deepened further after the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Armenian government welcomed the planned opening of the Canadian embassy in 
Yerevan, with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan calling it “another milestone in 
progressively developing Armenian-Canadian relations.”



Armenian Judicial Watchdog Fails To Elect New Head

        • Naira Nalbandian

Armenia - The Supreme Judicial Council holds a hearing in Yerevan, July 26, 2021.


A supposedly independent body overseeing Armenia’s courts failed to elect a new 
chairman on Monday nearly two weeks after ousting its previous head who had 
fallen foul of the government.

The key position became vacant on June 23 when the Supreme Judicial Council 
(SJC) formally dismissed Ruben Vartazarian as its chairman and member because of 
a recent newspaper interview in which he attacked another SJC member, Gagik 
Jahangirian.

Jahangirian became the acting head of the judicial watchdog in April 2021 after 
Vartazarian was charged with obstruction of justice and suspended as SJC 
chairman amid rising tensions with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. He was widely 
expected to succeed Vartazarian on a permanent basis.

However, Vartazarian publicized on June 20 secretly recorded audio of his 
February 2021 conversation with Jahangirian in which the latter appeared to warn 
him to resign or face criminal charges. The 14-minute recording caused uproar in 
Armenia. Jahangirian announced his resignation from the SJC on Friday.

The seven remaining members of the body -- which nominates judges, monitors 
their integrity and can also dismiss them -- met on Monday to elect a new 
chairman. Three of them ran for the vacant post. None received enough votes in 
two secret ballots.

One of the candidates, Grigor Bekmezian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that 
another ballot will likely be held in the coming days or weeks.

In line with Armenian law, the SJC was due to be run by its oldest member, 
Stepan Mikaelian, in the interim. However, Mikaelian ceded the temporary role to 
another judge, Sergei Chichoyan.

It was not clear whether the decision was connected with the fact that Mikaelian 
also participated in Jahangirian’s secretly recorded dinner meeting with 
Vartazarian.

Meanwhile, Armenia’s Investigative Committee announced on Monday that it has 
opened a criminal case in connection with the recording. A spokesman for the 
law-enforcement agency said it is conducting a criminal investigation into abuse 
of power and obstruction of justice. He did not clarify whether the 
investigators consider Jahangirian a suspect in the case.



Another Opposition Member Resigns From Parliament

        • Astghik Bedevian

Armenia - Parliament deputy Artur Ghazinian, September 22, 2021


Another opposition lawmaker announced his resignation on Monday amid growing 
questions about continued opposition presence in Armenia’s parliament.

“I can no longer imagine my further work in this National Assembly under any 
agenda,” Artur Ghazinian of the main opposition Hayastan alliance wrote on 
Facebook.

Ghazinian attributed his decision to “political and tactical considerations” but 
did not clarify whether he has disagreements with the alliance headed by former 
President Robert Kocharian. He said he will continue to take part in 
antigovernment protests staged by Hayastan and the other parliamentary 
opposition force, Pativ Unem.

Ghazinian could not be reached for further comment.

His resignation came three days after the parliament controlled by the ruling 
Civil Contract party voted on to dismiss one of its deputy speakers and the 
chairman of its economic committee affiliated with Hayastan. The parliamentary 
majority blamed the decision on a continuing opposition boycott of parliament 
sessions.

Hayastan and Pativ Unem condemned the decision. All but one of the other 
opposition parliamentarians holding leadership positions in the National 
Assembly resigned in protest.

Ghazinian is the second oppositionist to resign his parliament seat in the last 
two weeks.

Artur Vanetsian, who co-headed Pativ Unem with former President Serzh Sarkisian, 
said on June 21 that the National Assembly has “ceased to be an effective 
platform” for challenging the Armenian government. Unlike Ghazinian, Vanetsian 
made clear that he is parting ways with the other opposition forces that have 
been jointly trying to topple Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian with street 
protests.

The resignations may increase pressure on the 33 other opposition members of the 
107-seat parliament. A growing number of opposition supporters in the country 
think that they too should resign from a legislature that routinely refuses to 
even debate opposition initiatives.

Hayastan and Pativ Unem leaders have not ruled out the possibility of such a 
mass exit. But they say they still think that they can use their parliamentary 
mandates in their push for regime change.

“If you manage to use your mandate for your political goals and activities, that 
mandate is certainly necessary,” Gegham Manukian, a Hayastan deputy, told 
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

Asked about the opposition’s inability to push through bills, Manukian said: “By 
that logic there must be no [parliamentary] opposition in any part of the world 
because the incumbent authorities reject most opposition initiatives.”



Armenian Opposition Again Slams EU

        • Robert Zargarian

Armenia - Opposition supporters demonstrate outside the EU Delegation building 
in Yerevan, July 4, 2022.


Opposition leaders accused the European Union of turning a blind eye to what 
they see as Armenian government efforts to control the judiciary and stifle 
dissent as they again rallied supporters outside the EU Delegation in Yerevan on 
Monday.

They singled out the EU’s failure to publicly react to a scandal that led to the 
resignation late last week of Gagik Jahangirian, a controversial former 
prosecutor who had headed Armenia’s judicial watchdog since April 2021.

Jahangirian stepped down following the release of secretly recorded audio in 
which he appeared to blackmail Ruben Vartazarian, the previous chairman of the 
Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) who fell out with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

Critics of Pashinian’s administration have portrayed the recording as further 
proof that Jahangirian was installed as acting head of the SJC to increase 
government influence on courts. They say his leadership of the powerful state 
body made mockery of judicial reforms declared by the Armenian government and 
backed by the EU.

Some of the protesters who marched to the EU Delegation building held a big 
photograph of the delegation head, Andrea Wiktorin, sitting next to Jahangirian 
at a an international conference on those reforms held in Yerevan last month.

Armenia - Opposition leader Aram Vartevanian addresses protesters outside the EU 
Delegaton in Yerevan, July 4, 2022.

“For almost one and a half years, that man [Jahangirian] carried out all 
judicial reforms and was behind all arrests [of opposition members and 
supporters,]” said Aram Vartevanian, one of the opposition figures leading the 
crowd. “Doesn’t the EU ambassador have anything to say? Doesn’t the EU 
ambassador want to say whether this was the kind of reform that she imagined? If 
not, she shares responsibility for all of Gagik Jahangirian’s deeds.”

“They are turning a blind eye to all illegal practices, political persecutions 
and attacks on courts,” charged Gegham Manukian, another lawmaker representing 
the main opposition Hayastan alliance.

The EU mission did not immediately react to what was the second opposition 
demonstration held outside its offices in a month.

The opposition staged the previous protest on June 7 to deplore the EU’s failure 
to condemn Armenian security forces for using what it regards as excessive force 
against protesters demanding Pashinian’s resignation.

Armenia - Opposition supporters demonstrate outside the EU Delegation in 
Yerevan, June 7, 2022.

Wiktorin said in May that riot police should not be allowed to “operate with 
impunity.” She also stressed: “There can be different perceptions of what 
peaceful gatherings are, and if there are provocations I would personally ask 
myself where does it end.”

The U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Lynne Tracy, also expressed concern over the use 
of force against protesters in Yerevan. Still, Tracy angered the opposition when 
she effectively welcomed on May 18 the outcome of last year’s parliamentary 
elections won by Pashinian’s party.

Vartevanian was asked by journalists on June 7 why the opposition does not voice 
similar criticism of Russia, which has not publicly commented on the Armenian 
authorities’ response to the protests. He argued that unlike the Western powers, 
Moscow does not portray Armenia as a democracy or claim to promote democratic 
reforms in the country.

Both Tracy and Wiktorin addressed on May 20 a “forum for democracy” in Yerevan 
attended by Pashinian and other senior government officials. Opposition 
representatives were not allowed to participate in the event.



India, Armenia Mull Defense Cooperation

        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia - Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan meets with Sanjay Verma, an Indian 
Ministry of External Affairs secretary, Yerevan, July 4, 2022.


India and Armenia are exploring “long-term” military cooperation as part of 
their efforts to deepen bilateral relations, a senior Indian official said 
during a visit to Yerevan on Monday.

Sanjay Verma, a secretary at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, arrived in 
Armenia to co-chair with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan a session of an 
Indian-Armenian intergovernmental commission tasked with facilitating closer 
ties between the two countries sharing common geopolitical interests.

“On the defense side, we have begun looking at concrete cooperation,” Verma said 
at the start of the meeting. “We are looking at a long-term relationship in that 
area.”

In his opening remarks, Mirzoyan likewise listed “defense and military-technical 
cooperation” among the areas that are “very promising for our countries.”

“The ongoing discussions in these directions will turn into practical agreements 
and into new opportunities for our governments and businesspeople,” he said.

It was not clear whether the commission discussed any defense-related issues and 
reached understandings on them.

Mirzoyan and Verma met separately before the session. According to the Armenian 
Foreign Ministry, Mirzoyan again praised the Indian government’s position on the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and “reaffirmed Armenia’s support for India” in its 
long-running dispute with Pakistan.

Pakistan staunchly supports Azerbaijan, refusing to not only establish 
diplomatic relations with Armenia but also formally recognize it. Islamabad 
underscored that support during the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Karabakh. 
But it denied claims that Pakistani soldiers participated in the six-week war on 
the Azerbaijani side.

By contrast, India has backed international efforts to settle the Karabakh 
conflict spearheaded by the United States, Russia and France. It has also 
effectively sided with Armenia in an Armenian-Azerbaijani border dispute that 
broke out in May 2021. In a statement issued at the time, the Indian foreign 
ministry called on Baku to “pull back forces immediately and cease any further 
provocation.”

Armenia - India's Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar speaks at 
a joint news conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, Yerevan, 
October 13, 2021.

Mirzoyan held talks Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in April 
this year on the sidelines of an international conference held in India. It was 
their third face-to-face meeting in eight months.

Jaishankar visited Armenia last October. He and Mirzoyan approved a “roadmap for 
future cooperation and mutual visits at different levels.” The top Indian 
diplomat singled out closer economic ties between the two nations.

According to Armenian government data, Indian-Armenian trade soared by over 40 
percent but still stood at a modest $181 million last year.

“These figures do not reflect the full potential of our bilateral trade and 
economic cooperation, and we expect a drastic increase in trade turnover volumes 
in the coming years,” Mirzoyan said on Monday.

Verma said, for his part, that New Delhi is encouraging Indian entrepreneurs to 
“look at investing in Armenia because the possibilities and potentials are 
immense.”


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