Wednesday,
More Armenian POWs Freed
Armenia - A road sign in Syunik near the scene of deadly fighting between
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, November 17, 2021.
Azerbaijan set free on Wednesday another group of Armenian soldiers captured
during deadly fighting on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border last month.
An Azerbaijani government commission said the five soldiers were repatriated
“with Hungary’s mediation” but gave no other details.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry confirmed their release. A ministry spokesman also
identified them.
It was not clear whether the handover followed a direct contact between Armenian
and Hungarian authorities.
Armenia froze diplomatic relations with the central European nation in 2012
after the Hungarian government extradited to Azerbaijan an Azerbaijani army
officer who hacked to death a sleeping Armenian colleague in Budapest in 2004.
The officer whom a Hungarian court sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006 was
pardoned, rewarded and promoted by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Unlike other European Union member states, Hungary has openly supported
Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Hungarian Foreign Ministry
reaffirmed that support three days after the outbreak of last year’s
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
A total of 32 Armenian soldiers were taken prisoner during the November 16
fighting on the border which left at least 13 troops from both sides dead.
Azerbaijan freed eleven POWs on December 4 and ten others on December 19.
For its part, the Armenian military detained two Azerbaijani servicemen on
December 18. They both were freed two days later.
Iran To Open Consulate In Strategic Armenian Region
Armenia - Mount Khustup overlooking the town of Kapan, June 4, 2018. (Photo
courtesy of Kapan.am)
Iran announced on Wednesday that it will open a consulate in Kapan, the
administrative center of Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province bordering the
Islamic Republic.
The Iranian Embassy in Yerevan said on its Twitter page that Iran’s government
approved a relevant proposal made by the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. It gave no
reasons for the decision.
The embassy posted several photographs of Syunik’s historic monuments and other
landmarks.
Reacting to the development, an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman told the
Armenpress news agency that Yerevan is planning to open a consulate in an
unspecified Iranian city. He did not comment further.
Sandwiched between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave, Syunik connects the
rest of Armenia to Iran through mountainous roads used not only for
Armenian-Iranian trade but also cargo shipments to and from other parts of the
world.
Armenia lost control over one of those roads after a controversial troop
withdrawal ordered by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian following last year’s war
over Nagorno-Karabakh. In September this year, Azerbaijan set up checkpoints
there to tax Iranian trucks and other vehicles. The move triggered unprecedented
tensions between Tehran and Baku.
An influential Iranian cleric accused Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in
October of trying to “cut Iran’s access to Armenia” with Turkey’s help. More
than 160 members of Iran’s parliament likewise issued a joint statement warning
against “any geopolitical change and alteration of the borders of neighboring
countries.”
Visiting Yerevan last week, a conservative Iranian lawmaker, Mahmoud
Ahmadi-Bighash, reportedly warned that Tehran is strongly opposed to any
redrawing of borders in the South Caucasus. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein
Amir-Abdollahian made similar statements this fall.
Aliyev has repeatedly threatened to forcibly open a “corridor” to Nakhichevan,
drawing strong condemnation from Armenia.
Yerevan says that Azerbaijani troops advanced a few kilometers into Syunik in
May and November. The Azerbaijani side denies crossing the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border.
Minister Noncommittal About Resignation Pledge
• Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian speaks with journalists during a
Russian-Armenian business forum in Yerevan, September 20, 2021.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian signaled on Wednesday that he has no plans to
step down despite Armenia’s failure to achieve double-digit economic growth
promised by him earlier this year.
Kerobian offered a rosy outlook for the Armenian economy in April as it began
recovering from last year’s deep recession primarily caused by the coronavirus
pandemic.
“I’m not quite happy with month-on-month economic growth in March,” he told
reporters at the time. “Instead of 7-7.5 percent projected by us, only 3.8
percent [growth] was registered, according to preliminary data. But that will
still be enough to ensure our double-digit economic growth by the end of this
year.”
He declared that he will resign if the Armenian economy does not expand at a
double-digit rate in 2021.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in July that the economy is on course to
grow by 6 percent. Earlier this month, the Central Bank of Armenia forecast a
GDP growth rate of just 4.2 percent.
Kerobian was asked about his resignation pledge when he spoke with journalists
on Wednesday.
“Clearly, if the prime minister or his political team is unhappy with my work
they won’t wait for my resignation,” he replied.
Pashinian appointed the 45-year-old businessman as economy minister in a cabinet
reshuffle in November 2020. Kerobian was the chief executive of Armenia’s
largest food delivery company until then.
Kerobian has repeatedly put an optimistic spin on economic developments in the
country over the past year, prompting criticism from opposition members and
media commentators. He claimed on December 16 that economic growth this year has
been “faster than expected” and that Armenians are now “better off than one or
two years ago” despite a significant increase in the cost of living.
According to government data, annual inflation in Armenia rose to 9.6 percent in
November, the highest rate in many years.
Electricity Prices In Armenia Raised
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - A newly constructed electrical substation, October 24, 2019.
Public utility regulators raised electricity prices in Armenia by an average of
about 10 percent on Wednesday amid higher-than-expected inflation.
The Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) signaled the impending price
hikes earlier this month. It warned that the Armenian energy sector will operate
at an annual combined loss of 23.8 billion drams ($49 million) if the existing
tariffs are not revised upwards.
In a December 20 statement, the PSRC cited the need to repay $270 million in
loans used for the recently completed modernization of the Metsamor nuclear
plant. It also pointed to Armenia’s contractual obligation to enable Russia’s
Gazprom energy giant to recoup investments made in a large thermal-power plant
located in the central town of Hrazdan.
The statement revealed that the Armenian and Russian governments have reached an
agreement that commits Yerevan to providing the Hrazdan plant with $31.8 million
annually for the next ten years.
“Those obligations must be fulfilled,” Ashot Urikhanian, a senior PSRC official,
said on Wednesday. “Or else, we will have very serious problems.”
Urikhanian also stressed that in exchange for this subsidy Russia’s Gazprom
giant will keep the wholesale price of its natural gas for Armenia “stable” for
the next ten years. The gas price currently stands at $165 per thousand cubic
meters, which is well below the international levels.
Armenia -- A thermal power plant in Hrazdan.
The PSRC’s decision means that electricity tariffs will rise by 4.7 drams (about
1 U.S. cent) per kilowatt/hour on average on February 1. The daytime price paid
by most Armenian households currently stands at almost 45 drams (9 cents) per
kilowatt/hour.
The regulatory body said low-income families making up 11 percent of the
population will not pay more for electricity. Other individual consumers will
see their electricity bills rise by between 3 and 7 percent depending on the
monthly amount of energy use. The steepest price rise was set for businesses.
The new tariffs and their knock-on effects could further push up the cost of
living in the country. According to government data, consumer price inflation
there rose to 9.6 percent in November, the highest rate in many years.
Little wonder then that many Armenians are reacting angrily to the PSRC’s
decision.
“They should just hand out ropes to people and tell them to hang themselves,”
said one woman in Yerevan. “We can barely afford food, and they are now making
electricity more expensive.”
“We should hope for the better but there is no future,” said another.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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