Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Aliyev Rejects U.S. Calls For Lifting Of Karabakh Road Blockade
March 21, 2023
Nagorno-Karabakh - Azerbaijani protesters block Nagorno-Karabakh's only land
link with Armenia, December 26, 2022.
In a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev reportedly dismissed on Tuesday U.S. calls for an end to
the three-month blockade of the sole highway connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to
Armenia.
“Secretary Blinken encouraged finding solutions to outstanding issues and
underscored that there is no military solution,” said Vedant Patel, a spokesman
for the U.S. State Department. “He reaffirmed the importance of reopening the
Lachin corridor to commercial and private vehicles.”
According to an official Azerbaijani readout of the call, Aliyev again claimed
that the corridor was not blocked by Azerbaijani government-backed protesters
and described reports to the contrary as “false Armenian propaganda.” He said
that Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross have
escorted thousands of vehicles through that road over the last three months.
Aliyev again accused Armenia of shipping military personnel and weapons to
Karabakh and said that an Azerbaijani checkpoint must be set up at the corridor.
Yerevan has rejected such demands, saying that they run counter to the terms of
the Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
It has also strongly denied any military supplies to Karabakh.
Armenia - U.S. Ambassador Kristina Kvien visits an Armenian border checkpoint
leading to the Lachin corridor, March 10, 2023.
The United States has repeatedly called on Baku to lift the road blockade that
has caused serious shortages of food, medicine and other essential items in
Karabakh. The U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, Kristina Kvien, made a point of
visiting an Armenian border checkpoint leading to the Lachin earlier this month.
“The Lachin corridor should be opened immediately,” Kvien tweeted during the
trip.
Blinken phoned Aliyev one day after speaking to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian. He told both leaders that Washington remains committed to helping the
two South Caucasus nations reach a “sustainable peace.”
The top U.S. diplomat organized and mediated the most recent meeting between
Aliyev and Pashinian held in Munich on February 18. Louis Bono, a U.S. special
envoy for Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks, visited Baku and Yerevan afterwards.
In a March 7 interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, Bono made clear that the
U.S. is not considering imposing sanctions on Baku because of the blockade.
During his phone conversation with Blinken, Pashinian expressed concern over
“Azerbaijan’s increasingly aggressive rhetoric.” He and other Armenian officials
have repeatedly accused Azerbaijan this month of planning a “new military
aggression” against Armenia and Karabakh.
Aliyev on Tuesday blamed the Armenian side for increased ceasefire violations
reported from the conflict zone in recent weeks.
Senior Prosecutor Set To Become Armenia’s Rights Defender
March 21, 2023
Armenia - Deputy Prosecutor-General Anahit Manasian.
The ruling Civil Contract party said on Tuesday that Deputy Prosecutor-General
Anahit Manasian will be its candidate for the vacant post of Armenia’s state
human rights defender.
The party’s parliamentary group revealed the nomination two months after the
unexpected resignation of the previous ombudswoman, Kristine Grigorian. The
latter said she is planning to move on to another job.
In line with the Armenian constitution, Grigorian’s successor will be appointed
by the parliament controlled by Civil Contract.
None of the two opposition groups represented in the National Assembly has
nominated its own candidate for the post so far.
Manasian, 34, was appointed as a deputy prosecutor-general less than five months
ago. She previously worked as a deputy rector of Armenia’s Justice Academy and
an adviser to two former chairmen of the Constitutional Court. She has also
taught constitutional law at Yerevan State University since 2015.
More Yerevan Officials Arrested
March 21, 2023
• Narine Ghalechian
Armenia - The Yerevan municipality building.
Two more senior local government officials in Yerevan were arrested on Tuesday
four days after the resignation of Mayor Hrachya Sargsian.
One of them, Davit Dallakian, is the acting head of the Yerevan municipality’s
architecture and urban development department, while the other, Seyran
Mejlumian, served as the chief of the municipality staff until this week.
Mejlumian tendered his resignation right after Sargsian, who had appointed him
to that position, stepped down on Friday.
Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC), which made the arrests, refused to
reveal what the two men are accused or suspected of. The law-enforcement agency
said only that the arrests are not connected with criminal proceedings launched
by it against Deputy Mayor Gevorg Simonian.
Simonian, who previously worked as a deputy minister of health, was arrested ten
days ago on charges stemming from what the ACC described as misuse of government
funds provided for the fight against COVID-19. Also arrested was the head of a
private clinic accused of defrauding the Armenian government of 119 million
drams ($305,000) in 2020 and 2021. Both men deny the charges.
It was not immediately clear whether ACC investigators have also questioned
Sargsian. The ex-mayor did not return phone calls or answer written questions
sent by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Armenia - Former Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian attends a session of
Yerevan's municipal assembly, September 23, 2022.
Sargsian’s resignation is widely seen as being part of the ruling political
team’s preparations for municipal elections that are due to be held in Yerevan
in September. Voters in the Armenian capital will elect a new municipal council
empowered to appoint the city’s mayor.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party has nominated Tigran
Avinian, another deputy mayor, as its mayoral candidate. According to some
observers, Pashinian and his entourage hope that Sargsian’s resignation will
boost Avinian’s chances in the upcoming elections.
In a Facebook post, Avinian commented on the ACC’s “recent actions in the
municipality,” saying that he expects a “full and comprehensive” inquiry. He
also urged all municipal employees to “sober up” and serve only “the interests
of Yerevan and Yerevan’s citizens.”
Armenia Sees Closer Ties With Iran
March 21, 2023
Iran - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian make statements to the press, Tehran, November 1, 2022.
Armenia hopes to broaden its relations with neighboring Iran, Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian said on Tuesday when he congratulated the top Iranian leaders on
Nowruz, the ancient Persian New Year.
Armenian-Iranian ties remain of “special importance” to the Armenian government,
Pashinian said in a congratulatory message to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei.
“I sincerely hope that in the near future we will witness the expansion of our
bilateral multi-layered agenda, which will become a stimulus for the further
deepening of our friendly relations for the benefit of the well-being of the
Armenian and Iranian peoples and regional peace,” he wrote.
In a separate message to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Pashinian expressed
confidence that Yerevan and Tehran “will give a new rise” to that agenda this
year.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani announced, meanwhile, that he is
heading to Yerevan for a two-day visit. He said Tehran is “strengthening the
neighborhood policy and prioritizing the Caucasus.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with his Armenian
counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Geneva late last month. Amir-Abdollahian
reaffirmed his country’s strong support for Armenia’s territorial integrity and
opposition to “geopolitical changes” in the region.
Iranian leaders have repeatedly made such statements over the past year amid
Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations on restoring transport links between the two
South Caucasus states.
Such links are envisaged by the Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the 2020
war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The deal specifically commits Yerevan to opening rail
and road links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regularly demands an exterritorial land
corridor that would pass through Syunik, the sole Armenian province bordering
Iran. Armenian leaders maintain that Azerbaijani citizens and cargo cannot be
exempt from Armenian border controls.
Iran has warned Azerbaijan against attempting to strip the Islamic Republic of
the common border and transport links with Armenia.
Armenian Parliament Refuses To Back Karabakh Self-Determination
March 21, 2023
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Deputies from the ruling Civil Contract party attend a session of the
National Assembly, Yerevan, March 21, 2023.
The Armenian parliament rejected on Tuesday an opposition proposal to speak out
against Azerbaijani control over Nagorno-Karabakh and to voice support for the
Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination.
The main opposition Hayastan alliance drafted a relevant parliamentary statement
on the 100th day of Azerbaijan’s continuing blockade of the Lachin corridor. The
document says Baku’s actions show that Karabakh cannot be a part of Azerbaijan
and that self-determination of its ethnic Armenian population is the only way to
ensure its security.
The parliamentary majority representing the ruling Civil Contract party refused
to even debate the opposition initiative during an ongoing session of the
National Assembly. According to Artsvik Minasian, a senior Hayastan lawmaker,
its leaders objected to the draft statement’s references to “the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” and self-determination.
The rebuff sparked bitter recriminations and insults between pro-government and
opposition deputies.
Armenia - Opposition deputy Andranik Tevanian addresses the parliament, Yerevan,
March 21, 2023.
Hayastan’s Andranik Tevanian accused the ruling party of breaking its 2021
election campaign pledge to strive for Karabakh’s self-determination in the
international arena.
“Dear compatriots, they have fooled you because in their pre-election program
they pledged to seek the realization of Artsakh’s right to self-determination,”
Tevanian charged, appealing to voters.
Civil Contract’s parliamentary leader, Hayk Konjorian, responded by alleging
that Hayastan’s top leader, former President Robert Kocharian, himself had been
ready to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
The pro-government majority already blocked in December a similar resolution put
forward by Hayastan and the second parliamentary opposition force, Pativ Unem.
Successive Armenian governments had for decades championed the Karabakh
Armenians’ right to determine the disputed region’s status. But a year ago,
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and other senior Armenian officials stopped
making references to the principle of self-determination it in their public
statements.
Since then they have spoken instead of the need to ensure “the rights and
security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh,” fuelling opposition allegations
that Yerevan is now ready to agree to Azerbaijani control over the
Armenian-populated region. Pashinian underlined that policy change during a news
conference held on March 14.
Nagorno-Karabakh - Demonstrators carry a huge Karabakh flag in Stepanakert,
September 2, 2022.
On March 13, Karabakh’s leading political groups issued a joint statement
demanding that Yerevan refrain from calling into question “the Artsakh people’s
right to self-determination.” They said Pashinian’s administration must comply
with a 1992 parliamentary act that bans Armenia’s government from signing any
document recognizing Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan.
Pashinian stated in January that the international community has always regarded
Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. The claim was denounced by the
Armenian opposition and Karabakh’s leadership.
Self-determination was one of the basic principles behind Karabakh peace plans
jointly drafted by the United States, Russia and France prior to the 2020
Armenian-Azerbaijani war. The opposition resolution blocked by Pashinian’s party
emphasized this fact.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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