Friday,
Putin, Pashinian Fail To Agree On Russian Gas Price For Armenia
Russia -- Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian (L) in the Kremlin, .
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said that he and Russian President Vladimir
Putin did not reach an agreement on the price of Russian natural gas imported
by Armenia when they met in the Kremlin on Thursday.
“There is no decision on the gas topic and [Russian-Armenian] discussions on
gas will continue in a working regime,” Pashinian said in an overnight Facebook
transmission aired on his return to Yerevan.
“Of course, it was noted [at the meeting] that this is an extremely sensitive
issue for bilateral relations and the governments of both Armenia and Russia
are conscious of that sensitivity,” he went on. “But by and large I am
optimistic about this topic and hope that there will be desirable developments
for us here as well or that least there won’t be undesirable developments.”
Since 2016 Armenia has paid $150 per thousand cubic meters of Russian gas under
a bilateral deal that runs until the end of this month. The Armenian government
hoped in the run-up to Thursday’s talks that the Russians will not raise this
price, which is set well below the cost of Russian gas supplied to European
Union member states.
Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on Friday that Putin and
Pashinian agreed to “intensify” talks on the new gas price. “Unfortunately,
until yesterday we could not note active negotiations between our Gazprom and
Armenian colleagues,” he said, according to the TASS news agency.
Peskov also made clear that the talks cannot last long because “we are in time
trouble.”
Gazprom announced, meanwhile, that its chief executive, Alexei Miller, met with
Armenian Deputy Mher Grigorian in Saint Petersburg on Friday. A statement by
the Russian gas monopoly said they discussed gas supplies to Armenia in 2019
but did not give any details.
Putin and Pashinian also discussed the thorny issue of who should be the new
secretary general of the Russian-led Collective Security Organization (CSTO).
The vacant post was held by a retired Armenian army general, Yuri Khachaturov,
until last month.
Khachaturov was sacked after being controversially charged by Armenian
authorities in connection with the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan.
Moscow strongly criticized the charges.
Yerevan has been trying to ensure that another representative of Armenia is
allowed to complete Khachaturov’s three-year tenure which was due to expire in
2020. However, at least four other CSTO member states -- Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan -- want a Belarusian nominee, Stanislav Zas, to
become the next secretary general.
Pashinian said he and Putin had a “brief discussion on the situation in the
CSTO” but did not clarify whether they reached any understandings on who should
run the defense alliance. Instead, he stressed the need for amendments to the
CSTO statutes that would prevent “such disputes” in the future.
The Armenian leader also noted a “very positive atmosphere” in his meeting with
Putin. “I can conclude that we have a full understanding on the strategic
direction of development of relations between our countries,” he said, adding
that they did not discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Putin began the meeting by congratulating Pashinian on his My Step alliance’s
“convincing victory” in the December 9 parliamentary elections. The Russian
president has still not congratulated Pashinian in writing, fuelling Armenian
media speculation about his discontent with the new authorities in Yerevan.
In his opening remarks publicized by the Kremlin, Putin also praised the “truly
allied relations” between the two nations and growing trade between them. “I
think that the dynamic is good,” he said. “It must be maintained.”
Putin Again Congratulates Jailed Kocharian
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Armenian President Robert Kocharian
walk at the Bocharov Ruchei residence, January 24, 2007.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent New Year greetings to Robert
Kocharian, his former Armenian counterpart prosecuted on coup charges.
Kocharian’s office said on Friday that Putin wished him “good health, strength
of the spirit and grit” in a congratulatory message.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that the Russian leader
congratulated Kocharian in connection with the upcoming New Year and Christmas
holidays and wished him “all the best.”
Putin already made a point of telephoning Kocharian to congratulate him on his
64th birthday anniversary on August 31. Peskov said at the time that the two
men “have been maintaining warm relations that are not influenced by any events
taking place in Armenia.”
The phone call came just over a month after Kocharian was first arrested on
charges of illegally using the armed forces against opposition protesters in
Yerevan in February-March 2008.
In late July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced the prosecutions
of Kocharian as well as two retired Armenian generals facing the same charges.
An Armenian appeals court freed the ex-president from custody on August 13.
Kocharian, who denies the charges as politically motivated, described Putin’s
call a show of “serious support.” He was again arrested on December 7.
Kocharian ruled Armenia from 1998 to 2008. Putin has been Russia’s president
since 2000.
News of Putin’s congratulatory message to Kocharian came the day after the
Russian leader held fresh talks in Moscow with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian.
Pashinian was a key speaker at the 2008 protests and spent nearly two years in
prison because of that. He has strongly defended the criminal case against
Kocharian, denying any political motives behind it.
Armenian Judges Decry ‘Hate Speech’
Armenia - Angry residents of Echmiadzin block a nearby highway in protest
against a Yerevan court's decision to release retired General Manvel Grigorian
from pretrial detention, December 22, 2018.
A national association representing Armenia’s judges on Friday condemned what
it called growing insults and threats publicly voiced against some of its
members, saying that they pose a threat to judicial independence.
“Lately the hate speech against judges has surpassed the limits of
admissibility set by international legal documents,” the Union of Judges said
in a statement.
In particular, it claimed that in recent days “some members of the public” have
used the press and social media to insult and even threaten judges and demand
explanations for rulings handed down by them.
The union urged Armenian authorities, political and civic groups as well as
ordinary citizens to refrain from demanding that such explanations,
discrediting judges or exerting any pressure on them. It said that such
behavior undermines “the independence of the entire judicial system” and the
rule of law.
The statement did not specify rulings that triggered the hate speech. It most
probably referred to public reactions to high-profile court cases involving
former senior government or military officials accused of corruption.
One of them, former Deputy Defense Minister Manvel Grigorian, was freed from
pretrial detention by a Yerevan court last week. The court’s decision provoked
angry street protests in the town of Echmiadzin where Grigorian lived before
being arrested in June.
Ever since he came to power in May Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has
repeatedly stated that Armenian courts are no longer pressured by the
government or law-enforcement agencies. At the same time he has made a case for
“transitional justice” in the country, saying that the Armenian judiciary is
still rife with corruption.
Speaking at an August 17 rally in Yerevan, Pashinian said that many judges
execute “orders from representatives of the former corrupt authorities.” “Come
to your senses and don’t mess with the people,” he warned them.
The remarks prompted serious concern from Pashinian’s political opponents. Some
of them accused Pashinian of seeking to gain control over courts through new
and unconstitutional bodies.
Justice Minister Artak Zeynalian dismissed those concerns, saying later in
August that the possible introduction of new legal mechanisms would not
contradict the Armenian constitution or international conventions signed by
Armenia. “No courts will be dissolved and no courts of courts will be set up,”
he said.
Court Delays Decision On Kocharian’s Release
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - A court building in Yerevan, 27 July 2018.
A court in Yerevan on Friday postponed until January 9 its decision on whether
to grant bail to former President Robert Kocharian arrested this month for his
role in the deadly breakup of 2008 opposition protests.
Kocharian’s lawyers had asked the district court to release him on bail,
arguing, among other things, that he did not attempt to obstruct justice after
being set free in August.
One of the lawyers, Aram Orbelian, said the presiding judge suspended the
hearings shortly after they began late in the afternoon. He blamed the Special
Investigative Service (SIS), the law-enforcement body prosecuting Kocharian,
for the judge’s decision to resume them on January 9.
“It turned out that our investigative bodies are extremely busy and cannot
attend court hearings after work hours,” Orbelian told reporters. “The judge
granted the investigator’s request to delay the proceedings on the case.”
The lawyer dismissed the official rationale for the delay, saying that Armenian
courts routinely make decisions on pretrial arrests even during night hours.
Kocharian stands accused of illegally using Armenian army units against
opposition supporters who protested against alleged fraud in a disputed
presidential election held in February 2008. The SIS says that amounted to an
overthrow of the constitutional order.
Eight protesters and two police personnel were killed when security forces
quelled the protests on March 1-2, 2008.
The 64-year-old ex-president, who ruled Armenia from 1998-2008, vehemently
denies the charges, saying that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is waging a
political “vendetta” against him.
Pashinian played a key role in the 2008 protests and spent nearly two years in
prison because of that. He has strongly defended the criminal case against
Kocharian.
Press Review
“Zhamanak” reports that an Armenian court will consider on Friday releasing
former President Robert Kocharian from pretrial detention on bail.
Incidentally, the court granted on Thursday bail to Samvel Mayrapetian, a
businessman reputedly close to Kocharian. Also freed this week was retired
General Manvel Grigorian. The paper looks at a possible link between these
developments and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s latest visit to Moscow. “A
considerable part of analysts are convinced that until yesterday’s meeting …
Putin did not congratulate Pashinian [on his recent election victory] because
of Kocharian’s arrest,” it says, adding that the Russian president’s “friendly
rapport” with Kocharian seems to be weighing heavily on Russian-Armenian ties.
Lragir.am notes that Putin praised the current state of those ties in his
opening remarks at the meeting with Pashinian. The online publication
speculates that Moscow realizes that Armenia is an “irreplaceable ally for
Russia in the context of global realities.” It expects a “lengthy process” of
changing the character of Russian-Armenian relations.
“What will the year 2019 bring to Armenia and the Armenian people?” writes
“Haykakan Zhamanak.” “Optimistic expectations, uncertainty, alarm,
consciousness of inevitable difficulties, and a determination to overcome them.
In sum, a test of maturity for the authorities, the society and the state. The
status of a child, even an unloved and adopted one, is more stable and
predictable. But it’s impossible to live in that status forever as the phase of
maturity and sovereignty is inevitable.” “Whether or not we will manage to
overcome the difficulties depends on us,” concludes the paper edited by
Pashinian’s wife, Anna Hakobian.
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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