Monday,
Pashinian Sees No Rifts In Armenian-Russian Relations
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (L) meets with Russian President
Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, May 14, 2018
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has downplayed problems in Yerevan’s
relations with Moscow, describing them as a “work process in its natural
course.”
Answering questions from citizens in a live Facebook broadcast late on Sunday,
Pashinian also announced his upcoming visit to Moscow during which he will meet
with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He gave no indications of the date of
the planned meeting, but said it will take place soon.
“This will be our third meeting, and I am convinced that we will discuss
numerous issues that are on the agenda of our relations and will find solutions
to numerous problems,” said the head of the Armenian government, stressing that
contacts with the Russian side take place at different levels.
“Of course, I don’t mean to insist that all possible problems will be solved,
but I can surely say that our natural cooperation continues. And I am convinced
that it will be continued in its natural way.”
Some analysts have recently suggested that Russia was irked by several moves by
the new Armenian government that included the prosecution of former president
Robert Kocharian and several other senior former officials on charges related
to the deadly post-election crackdown on the opposition in 2008. Among those
charged with ‘overthrowing constitutional order’ is also Yuri Khachaturov, a
former deputy defense minister of Armenia who currently chairs the Russian-led
Collective Security Treaty Organization.
In July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced the prosecutions,
arguing that they run counter to the new Armenian leadership’s earlier pledges
not to “persecute its predecessors for political motives.” Lavrov repeated his
concern over “investigation in Armenia of events that happened 10 years ago”,
but added that he considered it to be Yerevan’s “internal affair.”
Pashinian, who played a key role in the 2008 protests as an oppositionist,
downplayed the Russian criticism on August 10. He said Moscow should “adapt” to
the new political realities of Armenia.
Speculation about souring Armenian-Russian relations increased last week when,
according to the Kremlin’s official website, Russian President Putin telephoned
Kocharian on August 31 to congratulate him on his 64th birthday anniversary.
The Kremlin reported no other details in its official readout of the phone call
that came two weeks after Kocharian pledged to return to active politics and
challenge the current Armenian government.
In another development the Russian Interfax news agency reported on Friday that
Moscow had refused to extradite another former Armenian defense minister Mikael
Harutiunian, who is thought to live in Russia, to Armenia on the grounds that
he is also a Russian citizen. A spokesman for Armenian prosecutors effectively
denied the report, however, saying that they are unaware of the whereabouts of
Harutiunian, who is wanted in Armenia on charges stemming from his alleged role
in the 2008 post-election crackdown.
Armenia ‘Willing’ To Take Part In Syria Rebuilding
Armenian Parliament Speaker Ara Babloyan (R) meets with Syrian ambassador
Mohammed Haj Ibrahim, Yerevan,03Sep,2018
Armenia is willing to take part in the reconstruction of friendly Syria,
Armenian Parliament Speaker Ara Babloyan said on Monday during a meeting with
Syrian ambassador in Yerevan Mohamed Haj Ibrahim.
Aided by the Russian military the Syrian government forces have managed to
restore control over much of the territory of the Middle Eastern country torn
by years of war and internal strife, but economic recovery and reconstruction
still appear to remain a vital concern for the authorities in Damascus.
Russia has recently sought a greater Western involvement in the rebuilding of
Syria. The United States and its allies, meanwhile, believe that reconstruction
assistance should be tied to a process that includes U.N.-supervised elections
and a political transition in Syria. Washington blames the regime of Bashar
al-Assad for Syria’s devastation.
Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011 hostilities have also affected
a sizable ethnic Armenian conflict in Syria. Tens of thousands of Syrian
Armenians fled their homes, with many of them given refuge in Armenia during
recent years.
During the meeting with the Syrian ambassador Babloyan expressed hope that
“peace, internal political stability and public solidarity will soon be
established in Syria.”
He also expressed his gratitude to the Syrian legislature for its activities
towards the recognition of the Ottoman-era massacres of Armenians as genocide.
Many of the Syrian Armenians are descendants of survivors of the 1915 massacres
who found refuge in Aleppo and other Syrian cities and towns.
Ambassador Haj Ibrahim attached importance to the role of the Syrian-Armenian
community, which he described as “an integral part of the Syrian society that
has vastly contributed to the country’s development.”
“What the Syrian people have seen during these recent years is like what
Armenians saw in Western Armenia [the part of historical Armenia, which is now
in Turkey],” the Syrian diplomat said, according to the Armenian parliament’s
official website.
Retired Armenian General Denies Embezzlement Charges
• Naira Bulghadarian
Artur Aghabekian (archive photograph)
Retired general Artur Aghabekian, who once served as Armenia’s deputy defense
minister and currently advises the ethnic Armenian leader of Nagorno-Karabakh,
denies charges of large-scale embezzlement from the fund where he has served as
chairman of the board of trustees.
The charges were pressed against Aghabekian over the weekend as part of a
criminal case initiated still in July.
The retired general is accused of misappropriating over $110,000 from the
Martik (Worrier) Foundation, which was set up for training and retraining of
officers of the armed forces of Armenia, assisting military science, providing
scholarships to talented students and some other education-related activities.
According to the Investigation Committee of Armenia, in separate cases Martik
directed funding for programs not related to the goals of the foundation. “In
particular, large sums of money were spent on organizing hospitality parties at
restaurants and hotels for individuals, purchasing premium-grade gasoline for
vehicles having nothing to do with the foundation, purchasing valuable presents
for different persons,” the Committee said. “Sufficient data were obtained to
show that some of the money were spent on the organization of hospitality
parties at restaurants in recreational zones where Aghabekian owns 40 percent
of shares.”
Investigators allowed Aghabekian to remain free, but confined him to country
limits pending investigation.
The retired general insisted on Monday that he has acted within the framework
of the charter of the foundation. “I think that during further investigative
actions the bodies conducting the investigation will also come to this
conclusion,” he said. “I myself wrote the charter [of the foundation] in 2002
and in doing so I realized what kind of programs I would be carrying out in the
future.”
Aghabekian’s is the latest in a series of prosecutions against senior former
officials launched after anticorruption campaigner Nikol Pashinian came to
power as prime minister on the wave of street protests in April-May. Pashinian
has vowed to root out corruption and carry out reforms in the South Caucasus
country.
Armenia, Japan See Potential For Stepping Up Cooperation
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian receives visiting Japanese Foreign
Minister Taro Kono, 3 September 2018
Armenia and Japan have real opportunities to bring their bilateral relations at
a new level, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Monday as he
received visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.
Kono arrived in Yerevan on Sunday on an official three-day visit during which
he also met with his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanian and President
Armen Sarkissian.
Pashinian described the diplomatic relations between the two countries as
“efficient and dynamically growing.” At the same time, he pointed out the
existing potential particularly for stimulating economic ties.
According to the Armenian prime minister’s official website, Pashinian spoke
about the new political and economic situation in Armenia and the reforms that
are being carried out in the country, in particular, the anti-corruption
campaign, efforts to improve the environment for investments and
entrepreneurship.
Minister Kono reportedly welcomed the democratic changes taking place in
Armenia and expressed readiness to assist the government in that process. The
top Japanese diplomat agreed about the presence of a great potential for
developing and deepening relations between Japan and Armenia in different
areas. He said he visited the Tumo center for creative technologies in Yerevan
and was “impressed by Armenia’s education model for the field of technologies.”
“Tumo is one of the places where we can also work together. We are ready to
discuss prospects of deepening our cooperation in the economic sphere,” he said.
Within the context of developing economic ties the two officials attached
importance to the signing and ratification of an agreement between the Armenian
and Japanese governments on liberalization, encouragement and protection of
investments. Among possible fields where Yerevan and Tokyo can develop their
cooperation Pashinian singled out information technologies and hi-tech,
tourism, infrastructure and innovations.
The Japanese foreign minister welcomed the offer of the Armenian prime
minister, expressing willingness to discuss steps in this direction. Both
officials stressed the need to hold culture days of the two countries in
Armenia and Japan and also attached importance to the development of
inter-parliamentary relations. The two agreed to form a joint agenda and
actively work to realize it.
Prime Minister Pashinian and Minister Kono also exchanged views on current
regional and international issues. The head of the Armenian government said he
highly appreciated Japan’s “balanced position in the issue of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
During an earlier joint press conference today Japanese Foreign Minister Kono
and his Armenian counterpart Zohrab Mnatsakanian also said that the two
countries will, in particular, seek to cooperate in the fields of innovations
and information technologies.
Press Review
(Saturday, September 1)
“Haykakan Zhamanak” lambastes former president Robert Kocharian, who is being
prosecuted on coup charges in Armenia, over his ‘provincialism’ revealed in his
purported attempt to seek political support from Moscow. The paper, in
particular, refers to Kocharian’s August 31 telephone conversation with Russian
President Vladimir Putin reported by the Kremlin in which the latter extended
his congratulations to the former Armenian leader on his 64th birthday.
“Kocharian, naturally, doesn’t care that such messages create some problems for
the sovereignty of Armenia, to some extent provoke more anti-Russian sentiments
and fuel unnecessary tensions within the Armenian society,” it writes.
“Hraparak” notes that a brief readout on the Kremlin’s official website about
Putin’s phone conversation with Kocharian has stirred a ‘big storm’ within the
Armenian society. “Some took it as a slap in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
face, others remembered that Putin sent such public congratulations to
Kocharian only during the latter’s presidency, still others noted that only two
months ago it was [another ex-president] Serzh Sarkisian’s birthday, but Putin
did not congratulate him at the time when he, perhaps, needed that support
most.”
“Zhamanak” suggests that Russia’s possible refusal to extradite Mikael
Harutiunian, a former Armenian defense minister wanted on charges related to
the 2008 post-election unrest, to Armenia on the grounds that he is also a
Russian citizen may trigger tensions in Armenian-Russian relations similar to
the ones that existed when in 2015 Moscow effectively refused to transfer a
Russian soldier charged with murdering a seven-member Armenian family in Gyumri
to Armenian jurisdiction. On August 31, the Interfax news agency, citing a
diplomatic source in Russia, reported that such refusal will be Moscow’s
response to the request received from the Armenian side. “The cases of [the
Russian soldier Valery] Permyakov and Harutiunian may not be comparable, but as
far as extradition is concerned, history may be repeated,” the paper comments.
The editor of “Aravot” believes Kocharian’s intention to participate in
expected early parliamentary elections can only be welcomed: “This is going to
be a good test that will enable the second president to check his real rating.
In the upcoming elections he will not possess any administrative levers, he
will not be able to threaten or pressure anyone, he will not be able to ban
media and buy votes. Consequently, the votes that Kocharian will receive will
truly be his ‘hard earned’ votes, the votes that he really deserves.”
(Tigran Avetisian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org