Monday, March 6, 2023
Karabakh Leader Warns Of More ‘Azeri Provocations’
• Astghik Bedevian
Nagorno-Karabakh - A Karabakh police vehicle riddled with bullets, March 5, 2023.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership on Monday warned local residents to brace
themselves for more Azerbaijani “provocations” following Sunday’s armed incident
near Stepanakert that left five people dead.
“The vast majority of our people agree that we will not deviate from our right
to self-determination and independence, and that means we are going to deal with
various developments and situations soon,” Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh
president, told an emergency meeting with other officials in Stepanakert.
Three of the victims were Karabakh police officers. According to the authorities
in Stepanakert, a car carrying them was ambushed by an Azerbaijani sabotage
group that was then repelled by Karabakh soldiers deployed nearby.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry claimed that the shootout broke out after
Azerbaijani troops tried to search the car allegedly smuggling weapons from
Armenia. The Armenian side strongly denied that, releasing a video of the
shooting and its aftermath.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Monday that the Azerbaijani forces
were the first to open fire at the Karabakh police vehicle and that two of them
were killed in the ensuing firefight which it said was stopped by Russian
peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh.
The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed “serious concern” at the incident but did
not blame either party for it.
“We strongly urge the sides to show restraint and take steps to de-escalate the
situation,” said Maria Zakharova, the ministry spokeswoman.
Nagorno-Karabakh - President Arayik Harutiunian chairs an emergency meeting in
Stepanakert, March 6, 2023.
Echoing a weekend statement by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian condemned the shootings as an act of “terrorism” which is part
of Baku’s efforts to drive the Karabakh Armenians out of their homeland.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov accused Armenia of continuing to
resort to “provocations” in the conflict zone despite Azerbaijan’s “peace
efforts.”
Speaking during the Stepanakert meeting, Harutiunian warned that Baku could
provoke more such violence in a bird to force the Karabakh Armenians into
submission.
“We must keep fighting for a long time and there will be such situations during
that struggle,” he said. “We need to be conscious of that and take preventive
steps.”
The Karabakh leader linked Sunday’s bloodshed to the March 1 meeting between
Azerbaijani and Karabakh officials which was mediated by the commander of the
Russian peacekeepers. He said during that meeting his representatives refused to
discuss Karabakh’s “integration” into Azerbaijan.
In his words, the Azerbaijani side warned afterwards that if Stepanakert
persists in opposing the restoration of Azerbaijani rule Baku will not only
continue to block Karabakh’s land link with Armenia but also take “tougher and
more drastic steps.”
It was not clear whether the Russian peacekeepers are planning more talks
between the two sides.
Armenian Agriculture Stagnates Despite Robust GDP Growth
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - A vineyard in Aragatsotn province, August 12, 2018.
Armenia’s agricultural sector remains in crisis despite double-digit economic
growth recorded by the government last year.
Government data shows that agricultural output stagnated in 2022 in sharp
contrast with other sectors of the Armenian economy that strongly benefited from
soaring trade with and cash flows from Russia.
The government’s Statistical Committee reported a 5.7 percent increase in
aggregate crop production despite significant decreases in the country’s
vegetable and grape output.
Meat and dairy production shrunk by 5 percent. The country’s livestock
population was down by about 10 percent, reflecting a widespread culling of
cattle by struggling farmers.
They include Samvel Matevosian, a once affluent resident of Berkashat, a village
in Armenia’s Armavir province bordering Turkey. Matevosian owns 60 hectares of
pastures and farmland and a large cattle farm that used to have several dozen
cows. Only four adult cows remain there now.
“In 2017, this and the adjacent barns were full [of cattle,]” Matevosian said
grimly. “I’ve culled them because [animal husbandry] is not profitable anymore.”
For the same reason, he stopped cultivating his 8-hectare vineyard last year and
is still no rush to grow other crops there.
Not surprisingly, Armenia’s imports of meat, dairy and even some vegetables rose
in 2022.
Armenia - A cattle farm in Margahovit village, 23Oct2019
“We can say that Armenia further reduced its food self-sufficiency in 2022,”
said Suren Parsian, an economist critical of the government.
Parsian acknowledged that “objective” factors such as fighting along Armenia’s
border with Azerbaijan, which seriously disrupted agricultural activity in
nearby communities, also contributed to this trend.
But he insisted that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government, which
controversially abolished the Ministry of Agriculture in 2019, is primarily
responsible for it. The official statistics testifies to the failure of limited
loan subsidies and other agricultural support programs promoted by the
authorities in recent years.
The Ministry of Economy, which is in charge of agriculture, declined to comment
on the lack of growth in a sector that generated about one-fifth of Armenia’s
Gross Domestic Product until recently. The sector’s share in GDP fell to below
12 percent last year, according to the Statistical Committee.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian has repeatedly stated that rural residents
unable to live off farming or cattle breeding should find other sources of
income instead of clamoring for government support.
But for farmers like Matevosian agriculture is much more than a business. “If
agriculture collapses we’ll all collapse too,” he warned.
Armenian, Indian Militaries Mull Closer Ties
India - Anil Chauhan (left), chief of India's Defense Staff, meets his Armenian
counterpart, Eduard Asrian, New Delhi, March 4, 2023.
India’s and Armenia’s top generals discussed growing military ties between their
countries during talks held in New Delhi over the weekend.
Major-General Eduard Asrian, the chief of the Armenian army’s General Staff, met
with General Anil Chauhan, the chief of the Indian Defense Staff, as he and
other senior Armenian officials visited India to attend an annual conference on
global security.
In a Twitter post, the Indian military headquarters said Asrian and Chauhan
discussed “identifying areas to augment defense cooperation, including
opportunities to leverage indigenous defense manufacturing industry.”
The Armenian Defense Ministry said, for its part, that they looked at the
“possibilities of expanding defense cooperation between India and Armenia.”
The two nations have stepped up that cooperation since the 2020
Armenian-Azerbaijani war in Nagorno-Karabakh during which India’s arch-foe
Pakistan strongly supported Azerbaijan. Last September, the Armenian military
reportedly signed contracts for the purchase of $245 million worth of Indian
multiple-launch rocket systems, anti-tank rockets and ammunition.
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikian explored more such deals during a
subsequent visit to India. Indian media reported during Papikian’s trip that
Yerevan is interested in acquiring air-defense systems and combat drones
manufactured by Indian companies.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said Asrian presented “security challenges” facing
Armenia during a roundtable discussion on Indian-Armenian relations organized by
India’s National Security Council.
New Delhi has effectively sided Armenia with in its ongoing border disputes with
Azerbaijan. It has also expressed serious concern over the Azerbaijani blockade
of the Lachin corridor.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Indian counterpart
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar also met on Saturday on the sidelines of the Raisina
Dialogue conference. Mirzoyan briefed Jaishankar on the humanitarian crisis in
Karabakh caused by the blockade as well as recent Armenian-Azerbaijani peace
talks.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the two ministers also reviewed
growing Indian-Armenian trade and bilateral cooperation on education, culture
and tourism.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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