Thursday,
Pashinian Reports ‘New Proposals’ On Peace Deal With Azerbaijan
• Nane Sahakian
Belgium - EU Council President Charles Michel meets the leaders of Armenia and
Azerbaijan in Brussels, July 15, 2023.
Armenia has presented Azerbaijan with new proposals regarding a bilateral peace
treaty discussed by the two countries, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on
Thursday. He did not disclose them.
The treaty has been the main focus of Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations held
over the past year. Despite reportedly making major progress, the two sides
still disagree on a number of key issues. Those include mechanisms for
delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and providing security guarantees for
Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population.
In May, Pashinian pledged to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh
through the treaty. He complained on August 3 that Baku is seeking to sign the
kind of peace deal that would not preclude Azerbaijani territorial claims to
Armenia.
The far-reaching concession offered by Pashinian was followed by the tightening
of Azerbaijan’s blockade of Karabakh which aggravated severe shortages of food,
medicine, fuel and other essential items there. In recent days, Baku has allowed
groups of civilian residents of Karabakh to leave the region through an
Azerbaijani checkpoint set up in the Lachin corridor.
“We have received reliable information that plans are being made to open the
Lachin Corridor in one direction: that is, to allow exit from Nagorno-Karabakh
and not to allow entry,” Pashinian said on Thursday at the start of a weekly
cabinet meeting in Yerevan.
Pashinian claimed that the Azerbaijani government’s “main aim” is to drive the
Karabakh Armenians out of the region “whether by famine, military operation or
other means.” He also accused Baku of “torpedoing” direct talks with Karabakh’s
representatives encouraged by Western powers.
“At the same time, I want to emphasize Armenia’s commitment to the peace
agenda,” Pashinian went on. “I must inform you that we have passed on to the
Azerbaijani side our new proposals on a peace treaty between Armenia and
Azerbaijan.”
The Armenian premier shed no light on those proposals. In recent months, the
United States and the European Union have stepped up their efforts to broker the
peace treaty. The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers held two rounds of
intensive U.S.-mediated negotiations outside Washington in May and June.
Meanwhile, the EU’s top official, Charles Michel, hosted a series of
Armenian-Azerbaijani summits in Brussels.
By contrast, Russia warned early this month against attempts to “artificially”
speed up the signing of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord, pointing to
lingering differences between Baku and Yerevan.
Armenia Again Touts Soaring Trade With Russia
• Anush Mkrtchian
Armenia - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his Russian counterpart
Mikhail Mishustin meet in Tsaghkadzor, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian hailed on Thursday a continuing sharp increase in
Armenia’s trade with Russia which results in large measure from Western economic
sanctions against Moscow.
Meeting with his visiting Russian counterpart Mikhail Mishustin, Pashinian said
it shows that Russian-Armenian relations remain “very strong” despite
“problematic issues” causing friction between the two nations.
Russian-Armenian trade doubled last year and in the first half of this year as
the South Caucasus country took advantage of the barrage of sanctions imposed on
its main trading partner following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This,
coupled with other cash inflows from Russia, is the main reason why the Armenian
economy grew by over 12 percent in 2022.
“It must be said that our commercial exchange reached $5 billion in 2022 and
this growth is continuing. This year we have already passed the $3 billion mark
and hope that this year we will surpass last year’s volume,” Pashinian told
Mishustin in his opening remarks.
“We have a very strong and durable relationship,” he added during talks held in
the Armenian resort town of Tsaghkadzor on the sidelines of a meeting of the
prime ministers of Eurasian Economic Union member states.
“Despite the difficult foreign economic situation, Russia’s trade and economic
ties with Armenia are growing stronger … and this makes us happy,” Mishustin
said for his part.
In line with Russia’s broader efforts to reduce its dependence on the U.S.
dollar, Mishustin called for greater use of the Russian and Armenian currencies
in bilateral trade. He also proposed that Moscow and Yerevan “accelerate work”
on joint investment projects in Armenia.
The soaring trade is primarily driven by Armenian exports to Russia that tripled
in 2022 and January-June 2023. Goods manufactured in third countries and
re-exported by Armenian firms are thought to have accounted for most of that
gain. They include consumer electronics as well as other hi-tech goods and
components which Western powers say could be used by the Russian defense
industry.
The Armenian government has faced in recent months strong pressure from the
United States and the European Union to curb the re-export of these items. It
announced in late May that Armenian exporters will now need government
permission to deliver microchips, transformers, video cameras, antennas and
other electronic equipment to Russia. Pashinian said at the time that despite
its “strategic” relations with Russia, Armenia “cannot afford to be placed under
Western sanctions.”
Washington has so far blacklisted only on one functioning Armenian company for
allegedly helping Russia evade the sanctions.
Ruling Party Candidate Confident Of Yerevan Election Win
• Karlen Aslanian
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - The ruling Civil Contract parrty's mayoral candidate, Tigran Avinian,
campaigns in Yerevan's Erebuni district, .
The ruling Civil Contract party expects to score a landslide victory in the
upcoming municipal elections in Yerevan, its mayoral candidate, Tigran Avinian,
said on Thursday.
Avinian predicted that the party headed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian will
win more than 50 percent of the vote and retain control of the city council
empowered to appoint the Armenian capital’s mayor.
“We are confident that we will manage to garner the majority [of votes,]” he
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“We have delivered on what we promised [in 2018,] and we are proposing a new,
more ambitious five-year plan,” he said.
Civil Contract fell short of the outright majority in Yerevan during Armenia’s
last general elections held in June 2021. Official vote results showed it doing
much better in other, especially rural parts of the country. But the party
should benefit this time around from the decision by the two main opposition
alliances to boycott the local polls slated for September 17.
Armenia - Andranik Tevanian, an opposition mayoral candidate, addresses a
campaign rally in Yerevan, .
Andranik Tevanian, a lawmaker representing one of those alliances, Hayastan,
disagreed with the boycott and set up his own electoral bloc to join the mayoral
race. Tevanian insisted that his victory would pave the way for Pashinian’s
removal from power as he and his allies campaigned in Yerevan’s northern Arabkir
district on Thursday.
“Our participation in the municipal elections in Yerevan is an opportunity to
effect regime change at the national level,” he told local residents. “Regime
change is the key precondition for ensuring the security of Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Another opposition contender, the Aprelu Yerkir party, has also described the
mayoral race as an opportunity to precipitate Pashinian’s ouster.
Avinian indicated that unlike in the last Yerevan elections held five years ago,
Pashinian will not actively participate in the ruling party’s election campaign
because of “much tougher” challenges facing his government.
Avinian also denied illegally using his administrative resources to gain unfair
advantage over his rivals and facilitate his victory. A coalition of civic
groups that will monitor the September 17 vote again accused him and Civil
Contract of foul play in an extensive report released this week.
Belgian FM ‘Snubbed By Aliyev’
Armenia - Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib attends a joint news conference
with her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, Yerevan, August 22, 2023.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has reportedly refused to meet Belgium’s
visiting Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib after she urged Azerbaijan to lift its
blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and recognize Armenia’s borders.
Lahbib proceeded to Baku on Thursday two days after holding talks with Armenian
leaders in Yerevan. She was expected to meet Aliyev during the trip.
The Azerbaijani government-linked news agency APA cited an unnamed government
source as saying that the meeting will not take place because Lahbib made in
Yerevan “pro-Armenian statements that are far from reality.”
Speaking at a joint news conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat
Mirzoyan, Lahbib called on Baku to reciprocate Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
recent recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. She also expressed
serious concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Karabakh, warning
of a risk of famine in the Armenian-populated region.
“It is incumbent on Azerbaijan to ensure the security of Karabakh’s population
and free traffic through the Lachin corridor,” said the top Belgian diplomat.
The Azerbaijani leadership has repeatedly dismissed similar appeals from the
European Union, the United States and Russia. It denies blocking Karabakh’s sole
land link with Armenia and says the international community should instead
facilitate the region’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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