Wednesday,
No Talks Yet On Turkish-Armenian Border Opening, Says Yerevan
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Turkey -- Dogu Kapi border gate to Armenia, in Kars, Akyaka province, 15Apr2009
Three months after Russia brokered the Armenian-Azerbaijani agreement to stop
the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Turkey are holding no talks on opening
their border, Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian said on Wednesday.
Ayvazian signaled Yerevan’s desire to see the border opened soon when he spoke
in the Armenian parliament.
“As you know, the [Turkish] blockade, the closure of the [Turkish-Armenian]
border was the result of the Nagorno-Karabakh status quo, which has changed
through a use of force. Turkey therefore no longer has any reason to keep its
border with Armenia closed,” he told lawmakers.
“At the moment no [Turkish-Armenian normalization] process is underway,” he
said. “But Armenia and our diplomacy will be making meaningful efforts so that
our neighborhood becomes more favorable for Armenia’s security.”
Armenia -- Newly appointed Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian, November 19, 2020.
Turkey completely shut down the border between the two neighboring states in
1993 and has refused to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia since then
out of solidarity with Azerbaijan. It has also maintained a ban on all imports
from Armenia via third countries.
During the recent Karabakh war the Armenian government similarly decided to ban
the import of all Turkish goods. The government cited Ankara’s “inflammatory
calls,” arms supplies to Azerbaijan and “deployment of terrorist mercenaries to
the conflict zone.” It said the six-month ban, which went into force on December
31, is meant to neutralize “various kinds of dangers” emanating from the
“hostile country.”
Ankara has yet to clarify whether a Karabakh settlement acceptable to Baku
remains a precondition for normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations after the
six-week war that resulted in the restoration of Azerbaijani control over all
districts around Karabakh.
Some Armenian analysts have speculated that it may now also demand that Yerevan
stop seeking greater international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in
Ottoman Turkey.
The Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire agreement also calls for the restoration of
transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan. A trilateral “working group”
formed by the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani governments for that purpose
held its first meeting in Moscow late last month.
Ruling Bloc ‘Still Open To Discussing Elections With Opposition’
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia -- Deputies from the ruling My Step bloc attend a session of the
Armenian parliament, Yerevan, January 22, 2021.
Armenia’s political leadership may again consider holding fresh parliamentary
elections if the idea is backed by the parliamentary opposition, pro-government
lawmakers said on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian offered to hold such elections on December 25 in
response to anti-government protests sparked by the outcome of the war in
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian opposition dismissed the proposal, insisting on
its demands for his resignation and the formation of an interim government.
The ruling My Step bloc pointed to the opposition stance when it stated on
Sunday that Pashinian and his allies see no need to dissolve the current
parliament. It also claimed that most Armenians do not want snap elections.
Opposition leaders scoffed at the statement, saying Pashinian has simply
realized that he stands no chance of winning the vote.
“Let them not blame the parliamentary opposition for not holding pre-term
elections or attribute that to [a lack of] ‘public demand,’” said Iveta Tonoyan
of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), which has the second largest
group in the National Assembly.
Arman Boshian, a lawmaker representing My Step, said, meanwhile, that the
conduct of snap polls will be back on the government agenda if the BHK or the
other parliamentary opposition party, Bright Armenia, agrees to discuss its
practical modalities.
“If not a single parliamentary opposition faction is prepared to discuss and
work out a roadmap to holding pre-term parliamentary elections we will take note
of that fact and move on,” said Boshian.
“Our opposition colleagues are now trying to make everyone believe that they did
not speak out against pre-term elections,” said Babken Tunian, another
pro-government lawmaker. “They can now reaffirm that once again and make a very
concrete proposal, in an appropriate format, as to how, when and through what
mechanisms they see the conduct of those elections.”
Tonoyan ruled out such a possibility and made clear that the BHK and its
opposition allies making up the Homeland Salvation Movement will continue to
campaign for Pashinian’s resignation.
The opposition alliance has scheduled its next anti-government rally for
February 20.
Armenia, Azerbaijan Exchange More Prisoners
• Artak Khulian
Armenia -- Lieutenant-General Rustam Muradov (R), the commander of Russian
peacekeepering forces stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, meets with Armenian Defense
Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian, Yerevan, .
Armenia and Azerbaijan have exchanged more prisoners in line with the
Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh on November
10.
Five Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) were flown to Yerevan by a Russian plane
and immediately taken to a military hospital for examination late on Tuesday.
According to Lieutenant-General Rustam Muradov, the commander of Russian
peacekeeping forces stationed in Karabakh, Armenia repatriated an Azerbaijani
captive earlier in the day.
Armenian Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian thanked Muradov for
facilitating Armenian-Azerbaijani prisoner exchanges and assisting in the
continuing search for missing Armenian soldiers when they met in Yerevan on
Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian told RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service that two of the Armenian servicemen freed on Tuesday were taken prisoner
during the war. The official said the three others were among 62 soldiers
captured in early December when the Azerbaijani army seized the last two
Armenian-controlled villages in Karabakh’s Hadrut district.
Azerbaijani officials branded those soldiers as “saboteurs” and “terrorists”
last month, signaling Baku’s intention to prosecute them on relevant charges.
Yerevan condemned those plans as a gross violation of international law and the
Karabakh ceasefire agreement.
The latest exchange brought to 64 the total number of Armenian POWs and
civilians freed by Azerbaijan to date. More than 100 others are believed to
remain in Azerbaijani captivity.
For its part, the Armenian side has released 16 Azerbaijanis.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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