Skip to main content

Author: Arsine Chaltikian

The California Courier Online, February 17, 2022

Arsine Chaltikian

1-         Armenia Needs Better Counterintelligence

            To Deter Foreign and Domestic Spies

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2-         February 13 earthquake in Armenia strongest after 1988,

            followed by 165 aftershocks

3-         NSS detects, neutralizes spy network operating in Armenia

4-         Damages caused to Armenia, Armenians by 2020 war in Artsakh

            estimated at $38 billion

5-         Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19

************************************************************************************************************************************************

1-         Armenia Needs Better Counterintelligence

            To Deter Foreign and Domestic Spies

            By Harut Sassounian

            Publisher, The California Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

Last week, we were all shocked by the news that Armenia’s National
Security Service (NSS) arrested 19 members of the Armenian military on
spying charges for Azerbaijan.

The NSS accused the arrested 19 Armenian soldiers of having
transferred classified military secrets to Azerbaijan in return for
money. The NSS explained that Azerbaijani agents had contacted the
Armenian soldiers by setting up fake Facebook pages with photos of
attractive females who communicated in the Armenian language. There
are plenty of Azeris who speak fluent Armenian since they were born in
Armenia and attended Armenian schools before they fled to Azerbaijan
after the civil unrest over Artsakh in the late 1980’s.

There are several serious security issues that the Armenian government
should pay immediate attention to and take special measures to
minimize the repetition of such spying cases. But even with improved
counterintelligence, such problems may not be eliminated, but simply
minimized, since almost all countries fall victim to foreign and
domestic spies.

Here are my thoughts and suggestions:

1) The Armenian government should take immediate steps to appoint
competent experts who know how to run an intelligent service. This
suggestion is made because Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has
appointed to almost all positions inexperienced and incompetent
officials purely based on their membership in his ruling party. The
most recent example of incompetence was the surprising announcement by
the NSS that they learned from reading a newspaper article that the
President of Armenia is a dual citizen which is a violation of
Armenian law. Imagine Armenia’s intelligence services learning about
such a critical issue from a newspaper after the President was in
office for four years, instead of being the first to uncover it.

2) The National Security Service, besides needing expert personnel,
must also have the most advanced counterintelligence technology.

3) The Armenian government must consult with ally governments on how
to improve the training, organization and activities of its
intelligence services.

4) The 19 Armenians who were arrested for spying are accused of
transferring to Azerbaijan secret information about Armenia’s military
personnel, weapons and military facilities. It remains to be seen if
they will be found guilty in a court of law since there have been many
Armenian officials arrested in the past four years for committing
various offenses, but were not convicted.

5) How can the Armenian military allow its soldiers to have Facebook
pages since everyone knows that they are vulnerable to hackers and can
be co-opted by outsiders?

6) Where was the oversight by Armenia’s intelligent services as the
compromised soldiers were transmitting national secrets to the enemy?
It would have been best to prevent the transfer of such secrets before
they happen, not after the damage is done.

7) It is highly concerning that such a large number of soldiers of
various ranks were arrested. The NSS announced that a total of 24
soldiers were involved in these spying activities which means that
there are several other suspects who have not been arrested either due
to a lack of evidence or because their identities and locations are
unknown. We also do not know how long this spy network has been
operating before their arrest.

8) Even if the remaining members of this spy network are arrested and
charged, it does not mean that the 24 suspects are the only ones
involved in this spying Network. There may be dozens or hundreds of
others whose identities and activities are unknown. As opposed to
Armenia, Azerbaijan seems to have a highly competent and experienced
cadre of agents who know what they are doing. They are most probably
trained and aided by the highly skilled Turkish intelligence services,
the MIT (National Intelligence Organization).

9) One serious aspect of this spying scandal is that some of the
arrestees reportedly sold national secrets for a few hundred dollars.
There must be something seriously wrong in Armenia’s educational
system if an Armenian, born, raised, educated, and serving in the
military, is willing to betray his nation to the enemy for a handful
of dollars. It is highly concerning that there seems to be a lack of
national pride and patriotic sentiments among some Armenians,
particularly soldiers.

10) This is not the first time that spies have been arrested in
Armenia. There have been several cases of Armenians spying for Turkey
in the past 30 years. Some of them were Armenian government officials.

11) Azerbaijan announced in the past the arrest of a number of
Armenians and Azeris who had allegedly spied for Armenia. It is not
known if they were really spies or not.

12) I fear that the spying problems in Armenia will get much worse
with the contemplated opening of the border with Turkey and
Azerbaijan. This will allow many more Azeri and Turkish spies to enter
Armenia via air and land as tourists or business people.

13) In addition to actual spies, Azerbaijan and Turkey will collect
valuable information about Armenia by debriefing their citizens after
their return from Armenia. Of course, spying is not limited to these
two countries, as other states are also engaged in gathering
intelligence on Armenia.

14) There have been several cases where Armenians, who have immigrated
to Turkey in recent years due to lack of jobs at home, have been
approached by Turkish intelligence to gather information on Armenia
upon their return home for which they were handsomely compensated.

In conclusion, antagonistic actions are carried out not only during
the war, but also at peacetime by recruiting domestic and foreign
agents. The Armenian government must approach this problem very
seriously and allocate the necessary resources and personnel to
counter such intelligence gathering activities.

************************************************************************************************************************************************
2-         February 13 earthquake in Armenia strongest after 1988,

            followed by 165 aftershocks

(Public Radio of Armenia)—The earthquake registered in Armenia on
February 13 was the strongest after the 1988 Spitak earthquake, Head
of the Regional Survey for Seismic Protection Sos Margaryan told a
press conference.

He said the 5.2 magnitude quake was followed by 165 aftershocks, the
strongest of which had a magnitude of 3.

According to Margaryan, aftershocks are typical of such earthquakes.
He reminded that in August 2021, an earthquake at the same epicenter
was followed by 69 aftershocks within a day, with the number reaching
223 on the 40th day.

He said the Sunday earthquake on the Armenian-Georgian border is
considered moderately strong, and could be followed by more
aftershocks.

Magnitude 5.2 earthquake hit 16 km northeast of the village of Bavra
near the Armenian-Georgian border on Sunday, February 13.

The quake was registered at 22:25 local time (18:25 Greenwich time)
and was felt across Armenia.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

3-         NSS detects, neutralizes spy network operating in Armenia

YEREVAN—The National Security Service (NSS) obtained evidence of a spy
network in Armenia by foreign special services, and the conduct of
inimical activities to the detriment of Armenia’s sovereignty,
territorial integrity, and external security. People serving in the
Armenian Armed Forces were included in this spy network. In exchange
for remuneration, individuals were offered to collaborate with the
aforesaid foreign special services, and provide information related to
the Armenian military.

The persons included about two dozen Armenian citizens in this spy
network. During the investigation, 19 people were detained on
suspicion of high treason, and some of them have confessed.

According to the NSS, recruitment took place via an online dating
service through which Armenian servicemen who possessed classified
data and documents would eventually join the spy ring. Once part of
the operation, the servicemen would receive payments for sending the
secret data to foreign intelligence services from mobile devices.

The statement said that investigators conducted more than 30 searches,
confiscated documents and other items that led to the launching of the
probe and that the spy ring's activities have been "disrupted."

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

4-         Damages caused to Armenia, Armenians by 2020 war in Artsakh

            estimated at $38 billion

YEREVAN (Arka)—By 2020, Artsakh was one of the drivers of Armenia’s
economy, economist at the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan Hrant
Mikayelyan said when speaking in the podcast of the Novosti-Armenia
telegram channel.

According to him, the consequences of the war in Artsakh in the fall
of 2020 and the loss of part of the Artsakh territory have had a
negative impact on the state of Armenia’s economy.

“Due to the defeat in the war, we lost 26% of the wheat crop area, 14
mines, 30 hydro plants and so on. By 2020 Artsakh had already become
the driver of the economy of Armenia, that is, for 30 years Armenia,
the Diaspora and the Artsakh people invested in Artsakh,” said
Mikayelyan.

According to him, in 2019, on average, Artsakh overtook the Republic
of Armenia in terms of economic development and even began to ferry
electricity back to Armenia (now it is no longer so), thanks to the
development of cultivated areas it was instrumental in solving food
security issues in Armenia.

Earlier it was reported that in 2022, the Armenian government will
provide budgetary support to Artsakh in the amount of about 144
billion drams (about $300 million). In 2021 the figure exceeded AMD
100bln.

In January 2021, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Military
Insurance Fund Mesrop Manukyan presented some calculations, according
to which, as a result of the defeat in the 44-day war in autumn 2020,
Armenia and the Armenian people suffered damages worth of at least
$38.4bln.

Particularly, according to his assessments, only the human losses (the
dead, disabled and physically healthy but already incapacitated
members of society) are estimated at $7 billion. The damage to the
defense system is about $2 billion and due to the loss of part of Sotk
gold deposit -about $8 billion. The cost of the lost HPP in Artsakh is
about $600 million.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************

5-         Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
Armenia continues the fight against COVID-19, as the country continues
promoting the vaccination phase. Armenia's Ministry of Health
announced on January 11 new restrictions to curb the fast spreading of
the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. From January 22, people above 18
must present either a vaccination certificate or a negative recent
test result prior to entering restaurants, hotels, cinemas and other
similar venues. As of January 30, 842,212 people have been fully
inoculated against COVID-19, or approximately 28-percent of the
population. About 64-percent of the population, or 1,883,413 people,
has received at least one dose of the vaccine. The highest rate of
inoculation is among people between the ages of 35-60. Only 18 to
19-percent of citizens over the age of 65 have received two doses of
the vaccine. The vaccination mandate for employees might be
responsible for the age disparity in vaccination rates. Since October,
employees have been required to provide proof of vaccination or a
negative PCR test every 14 days to their employer. Employees who
choose not to get inoculated against the coronavirus must take tests
at their own expense. A PCR test in Armenia costs roughly 10,000 drams
(about $20).

The MoH also instituted a coronavirus “green pass” in January to enter
cultural and entertainment venues. As of January 22, people can only
enter restaurants, hotels, gyms, libraries, museums, theaters, cinemas
and other cultural sites if they present proof of vaccination, a
negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours or an antibody test from
the previous 24 hours. The mandate, which was announced on January 9,
excludes children under the age of 18, pregnant women, people who
cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons and people who have been
previously infected with the coronavirus.

The U.S. State Department on July 26 warned American citizens to
reconsider travel to Armenia due to the increase in cases of the
Covid-19. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has
issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Armenia due to COVID-19,
indicating a high level of COVID-19 in the country.” The State
Department also urged U.S. citizens not to travel to the
Nagorno-Karabakh region due to armed conflict. “The U.S. government is
unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in
Nagorno-Karabakh as U.S. government employees are restricted from
traveling there,” the State Department added.

The Armenian government last week made changes in the COVID-19
response measures, shortening the recommended self-isolation time from
14 days to 7 days for vaccinated people and 10 days for unvaccinated
people starting the day of an administered PCR test. The
self-isolation period for the unvaccinated can be shortened down to 7
days in case of producing a negative PCR test result. The Armenian
government cited the policies of the United States CDC and a number of
European countries. The government changed airport regulations,
allowing visitors to enter the arrival hall by maintaining safety
guidelines. The decision took effect February 1. Armenian health
authorities recorded a peak number of positive COVID-19 cases on
February 2.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Armenia reported 3,956 new cases on
Wednesday, the highest number of positive cases registered in one day
since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus cases have
been steadily increasing in Armenia since mid-January.

There were 23,276 active COVID-19 cases in Armenia as of February 14.
Armenia has recorded 407,074 coronavirus cases and 8,186 deaths;
375,612 have recovered.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

************************************************************************************************************************************************

California Courier Online provides readers of the Armenian News News Service
with a few of the articles in this week's issue of The California
Courier. Letters to the editor are encouraged through our e-mail
address, . Letters are published with
the author’s name and location; authors are required to disclose their
identity to the editorial staff (name, address, and/or telephone
numbers for verification purposes).
California Courier subscribers can change or modify mailing addresses
by emailing .

Armenian Crossroads: PM Pashinyan presents details of North-South, East-West project

Arsine Chaltikian
Public Radio of Armenia
Feb 17 2022
, 13:45

 1 minute read

The North-South project has been redesigned and turned into a North-South, East-West project, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the government sitting today.

“This actually means that one of the branches of that road – the North-South, East-West, or the Armenian crossroads – will link the north to the south, i.e. Armenia to Iran. The other branch will stretch from Azerbaijan to Armenia and later to Nakhijevan and Turkey,” the Prime Minister noted.

PM Pashinyan said the pre-qualification tender for the Sisian-Kajaran section of the North-South road has been announced.

He voiced hope that by the end of the year there will be specific construction companies to carry out the work. Of course, the East-West project part has not been done, but in the context of political agreements, we will implement that part very quickly.”

The Prime Minister noted that id you know that concrete work is underway for the construction of the Armenian section of the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway.

“In fact, although the technical and design work has already started, we hope that in the near future the agreements reached will be enshrined in a document, and the process will be be developing at full pace,” he said.

The pre-qualification phase will last 70 days. “We hope that within 70 days companies will actively submit applications, after which the qualified companies will have the opportunity to participate in the tender announced for the construction works,” he said.

Ex-Transport Minister: benefits and drawbacks of Armenian-Azerbaijani railway are yet to be seen

Arsine Chaltikian

Feb 16 2022



  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Armenian-Azerbaijani railway

It will takes time to evaluate the effectiveness of the Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz railway connecting Armenia with Azerbaijan, and those who characterize it in advance as profitable or unprofitable are mistaken – this is the opinion of the former Minister of Transport Henrik Kochinyan. He is one of 10 members of a special working group, which is entrusted with assessing the situation and starting work on the restoration of the railway. The group is headed by Advisor to the Prime Minister, former Armenian Ambassador to Iran Artashes Tumanyan.

If this railway line is restored, it will not only connect Armenia and Azerbaijan – Armenia will also receive a railway connection with Russia and Iran, and Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhichevan. At the same time, experts explain that the Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz railway is not considered as a route for exporting goods to Azerbaijan, but as a transit road, in particular, for exporting products to other countries.

  • Armenia to begin work on reconstruction of the railway connection with Azerbaijan
  • Armenian opposition boycotts parliamentary commission to investigate 2020 war circumstances
  • Op-ed: Pashinyan is a politician, not Moses, his words are not commandments

According to the former Minister of Transport Henrik Kochinyan, there are enough specialists in Armenia who can participate in the work on the restoration of the railway on the Armenian side. According to him, both experienced Soviet-era specialists and young people will be involved in the work.

The Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz railway ceased to operate after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The agreement on the restoration of the railway was reached during a trilateral meeting of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia at the end of last year in Sochi and was reaffirmed at the Pashinyan-Aliyev talks in Brussels.

In order to restore the railway connection with Azerbaijan, Armenia must build an approximately 45-kilometer section of the road in the southern, Syunik region. According to various estimates, the construction will cost at least $200 million.

It is still unknown when the construction on the Armenian side will begin. It is only reported that in the coming days, detailed studies will be carried out on the ground, at the Yeraskh and Meghri sites, on the basis of which a project will be developed.

Specialists of the Russian Railways company are also involved in these works. Until 2038, this particular company will have the rights to the concession management of the Armenian railways.

The Armenian authorities have repeatedly stated that the opening of railway lines will open up new economic opportunities for the country. However, according to working group member Henrik Kochinyan, it takes time to assess the effectiveness of the project. The volume of freight traffic will change if other states also consider this railway safe and efficient.

“One can say that it is profitable, and the other can say that it is not, but, in my opinion, both are mistaken. It takes time, this is not a formula, which we can take, write on a piece of paper and say, “Look, I proved that this is good” or “I proved that this is bad”, Henrik Kochinyan said.

The Azerbaijani side began construction work in February 2021. The Azerbaijani authorities plan to complete the construction of their part of the road in the first quarter of 2023.

According to Prime Minister Pashinyan’s adviser, head of the working group Artashes Tumanyan, the construction of the railway will begin if the agreements are documented – in a bilateral agreement. He says that this is a necessary condition, because “infrastructures must come together, work together”:

“It is acceptable for the Armenian side to start such large-scale works if they are recorded in the format of any document. It can be either a bilateral agreement or an agreement involving a third party”.

According to Tumanyan, especially in the Meghri area, there is a need for a detailed “instrumental” study. The group will have such an opportunity during the upcoming business trip, it is planned in the next 10 days.

Tumanyan, an adviser to the prime minister, said that the restoration of the Yeraskh section of the railway, which is just over a kilometer long, will take months. The Meghri section, which is approximately 45 km long, will take three years.

Referring to the funds required for the construction, Artashes Tumanyan noted that it is not clear what amount will be required and where it will be raised from. At the same time, he emphasizes that funds will also be needed for the construction of adjacent structures, for example, customs points, otherwise “there will not be a working infrastructure”.

The building of the railway station in Meghri. Photo: JAMnews

Armenian parliament convenes special sitting over the ratification of Shushi Declaration by Turkey and Azerbaijan

Arsine Chaltikian

Save

Share

 17:30,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS.  A special sitting of the National Assembly will be convened on February 23 at 12:00 in connection with the ratification of the "Shushi Declaration" by the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Turkey, ARMENPRESS was informed from the website of the National Assembly.

“Hayastan” faction has initiated the special sitting. The opposition faction proposes to the National Assembly to make a statement condemning the ratification of the "Shushi Declaration" with the following content:

"The National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia expresses deep concern over the the ratification of the Declaration signed by the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan on June 15, 2021 by the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

By that declaration a Turkish-Azerbaijani military-political alliance was signed within the framework of the "One Nation, Two States" concept.

Although the document states that it is not created against a third party, its entire content is directed against the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh, the Armenian people. It records the strategic goals of the two states that carried out the 44-day aggression against the Artsakh Republic, against the self-determination of the people of Artsakh, the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia, territorial integrity and the rights of the Armenian people around the world who survived the genocide.

The wording on the Zangezur Corridor in the declaration indicates that Turkey and Azerbaijan are reaching public agreements on implementing joint expansionist policies.

The agreement of the two states to struggle against the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide by distorting the content of the issue and taking it to the field of historical study is condemnable.

The Shushi Declaration is based not on the UN Charter or the principle of security adopted by the OSCE, but on the “Tribal security” approach. It contradicts the basic norms of international law. According to the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, all the international agreements which contradict the imperative norms of general international law, are null and void and can have no international legitimacy.

The National Assembly declares that the Shushi Declaration, by its provocative and un-constructive nature, is unacceptable for the Republic of Armenia. It is a serious challenge to regional and global security, does not contribute to the peaceful development of our region, contradicts the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations on the principle of 'without preconditions' and raises serious doubts about the real behavior and intentions of official Ankara."

Yerevan Says UNESCO Mission to Artsakh is ‘Urgent Priority’

Arsine Chaltikian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Latest, News, Top Stories

The Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi is being dismantled by Azerbaijanis

Armenia said on Thursday that a UNESCO fact-finding mission to Artsakh is an urgent priority.

“We consider the implementation of a fact-finding mission in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, proposed by the UNESCO Director-General after the end of the 2020 Karabakh War, an urgent  priority,” Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said on Thursday, adding that this mission corresponds to the 1954 Hague Convention on protection of property in the event of an armed conflict.

“The cases of vandalism against the Armenian monuments, as well as the recent announcement of the Azerbaijani culture ministry on creating a working group aimed at distorting the identity of the Armenian historical-cultural heritage prove that such danger is more than real,” added Hunanyan.

“We view the proposal of the visit of the UNESCO delegation to Yerevan and Baku exclusively within the frames of the aforementioned mission proposed by the UNESCO Director-General”, the spokesperson said,” said Hunanyan.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 02/11/2022

Arsine Chaltikian 
                                        Friday, 


U.S. Envoy Reveals Meeting With Armenian Opposition Lawmakers


Armenia - U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy speaks with journalists, September 15, 
2021.


The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said on Friday that Ambassador Lynne Tracy met with 
Armenian opposition lawmakers earlier this week to “hear their concerns 
regarding recent judicial and political developments.”

“The Ambassador stressed U.S. support for Armenia’s democratic trajectory,” the 
embassy wrote on Twitter.

It did not name the deputies who met with Tracy. It said only that they are 
affiliated with the main opposition Hayastan bloc.

The bloc headed by former President Robert Kocharian did not issue any 
statements on the meeting held on Wednesday.

Hayastan and the other parliamentary opposition force, Pativ Unem, issued a 
joint statement on February 3 strongly condemning criminal proceedings launched 
against a judge who freed a well-known opposition figure on January 26.

The judge, Boris Bakhshiyan, was arrested on Monday on charges stemming from 
another decision made by him recently. He rejects them as government 
retribution. Armenia’s Union of Judges and outgoing human rights ombudsman, 
Arman Tatoyan, have also deplored Bakhshiyan’s arrest.

In their statement, Hayastan and Pativ Unem demanded that the international 
community react to the “collapse of democracy in Armenia” and be “conscious of 
their share of responsibility.”


Armenia - Opposition supporters protest outside the EU Delegation office in 
Yerevan, .

In recent months, representatives of the two opposition groups have repeatedly 
accused Western powers of turning a blind eye to what they see as government 
crackdowns on opposition figures and independent-minded judges.

U.S. and European Union officials have not publicly echoed the Armenian 
opposition concerns. They regularly voice support for “reforms” promised or 
implemented by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s administration.

On Thursday, Tracy met with Armenia’s Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian. She 
stressed, among other things, “the importance of judicial independence and 
integrity,” according to the U.S. Embassy.

The ambassador’s meeting with Davtian came the day after Pashinian’s Civil 
Contract party pushed through the Armenian parliament last-minute legal 
amendments that will make it easier for law-enforcement authorities to indict 
and arrest judges.

Opposition lawmakers denounced the amendments as another blow to judicial 
independence.



Ex-Official Sees Few Benefits From Armenia’s Rail Link With Azerbaijan

        • Karlen Aslanian

Armenia - Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian at a cabinet meeting in 
Yerevan, 16Jun2016.


Armenia should not anticipate significant economic benefits from a planned rail 
link with Azerbaijan that could give it a new trade route to Russia, former 
Deputy Prime Minister Vache Gabrielian insisted on Friday.

“It will definitely not hurt, but it will not be a game changer given the 
structure of our economy,” Gabrielian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service in an 
interview.

The two South Caucasus countries are due to establish transport links under the 
terms of a ceasefire that stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh and follow-up 
agreements also brokered by Russia. The agreements specifically commit Armenia 
to opening a transit road and railway that will connect Azerbaijan to its 
Nakhichevan exclave.

Armenia should in turn gain rail links with Russia, its main trading partner, 
and neighboring Iran via Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian regularly 
emphasizes this fact, predicting a massive boost to the Armenian economy.

“Shipping goods to Russia [by rail] through Baku doesn’t make much economic 
sense for us,” said Gabrielian, who served as deputy prime minister from 
2014-2018 and had held other senior positions in Armenia’s government and 
Central Bank since 1999. “This used to be our main trade route in Soviet times. 
But back then we transported metal ores and other heavy industrial output.”

“We don’t have such products [exported to Russia] now. Nor are we implementing 
large investment projects for which we need to import things from Russia,” he 
said.

Gabrielian argued that Armenian exports to Russia now mostly consist of 
beverages, prepared foodstuffs and fresh fruits and vegetables. It will be 
cheaper and quicker to deliver them through Georgia than Azerbaijan, he said.


Georgia - Armenian and other heavy trucks are lined up on a road leading to the 
Georgian-Russian border crossing at Upper Lars, 6May2016.

Most of Russian-Armenian trade, which totaled $2.6 billion last year, is carried 
out by trucks passing through the main Georgian-Russian border crossing at Upper 
Lars. Traffic through that mountainous pass is periodically blocked by bad 
weather, especially in winter months.

Gabrielian said that extensive road upgrades launched by the Georgian 
authorities in that area last year will eliminate this problem and make the 
Upper Lars road even more attractive to Armenian exporters and importers.

“So I don’t quite understand the economic rationale for that railroad,” added 
the 53-year-old economist, who is now the dean of the College of Business and 
Economics at the American University of Armenia.

Most Armenians appear to share this skepticism. According to a U.S.-funded 
opinion poll conducted late last year, only 5-6 percent of them think that the 
economic impact on their country of open borders with Azerbaijan and Turkey will 
be “definitely positive.”



Armenian Opposition To Boycott Karabakh War Inquiry

        • Astghik Bedevian

Armenia - Leaders of the opposition minority in the Armenian parliament talk 
during a failed session boycotted by the ruling Civil Contract party, Yerevan, 
November 15, 2021.


Armenia’s two main opposition forces have decided to boycott a parliamentary 
inquiry into the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, saying that it will be controlled 
by pro-government lawmakers and therefore cannot be objective.

The ruling Civil Contract party’s parliamentary group announced on Thursday the 
establishment of an ad hoc commission that will examine the causes of Armenia’s 
defeat in the war, assess the Armenian government’s and military’s actions and 
look into what had been done for national defense before the hostilities.

The parliamentary majority said it will appoint seven of the eleven members of 
the commission. The opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem blocs were offered to 
name the four other members.

Both blocs officially rejected the offer on Friday. In a joint statement, they 
argued that “the authorities cannot objectively investigate their own actions.”

“It is clear that the investigative commission will be engaged in staging the 
‘innocence’ of the authorities,” they said.

“Taking into account these and a number of other circumstances, the opposition 
Hayastan and Pativ Unem factions decided not to participate in the work of the 
investigative commission set up by the authorities,” added the statement.

Representatives of Hayastan and Pativ Unem said earlier that such a commission 
must be headed by an opposition lawmaker and that Civil Contract and the 
opposition must be equally represented in it.

Armen Khachatrian, a senior Civil Contract lawmaker, deplored the opposition 
boycott. “They are doing everything to question the legitimacy of the 
investigative commission,” Khachatrian told reporters.

“They are not interested in taking part in clarifying the objective reality,” he 
said. “They are interested in continuing to sling mud.”

Virtually all Armenian opposition groups hold Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
responsible for the outcome of the six-week war that left at least 3,800 
Armenian soldiers dead.

For his part, Pashinian has blamed former Presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh 
Sarkisian, who lead Hayastan and Pativ Unem respectively, for the defeat. 
Kocharian ruled Armenia from 1998-2008, while Sarkisian, his successor, lost 
power more than two years before the outbreak of the devastating war.



Court Extends Arrest Of Vanadzor Election Winner

        • Karine Simonian

Armenia - Former Vanadzor Mayor Mamikon Aslanian at an election campaign meeting 
with voters in Vanadzor, November 23, 2021.


An Armenian court has extended the pre-trial arrest of the former mayor of 
Vanadzor who defeated the ruling Civil Contract party in a municipal election 
held in the country’s third largest city two months ago.

A bloc led by Mamikon Aslanian essentially won the election with about 39 
percent of the vote. Civil Contract party finished second with 25 percent, the 
most serious of setbacks suffered by it in local polls held in 36 communities 
across Armenia on December 5.

Aslanian was thus well-placed to regain his post lost in October. But he was 
arrested on December 15 on corruption charges rejected by him as politically 
motivated.

The court on Thursday allowed law-enforcement authorities to hold Aslanian in 
detention for two more months. His lawyers denounced the decision as baseless 
and said they will appeal it.

Prosecutors deny any political reasons behind the case. They claim that Aslanian 
illegally privatized municipal land during his five-year tenure.

Vanadzor’s new municipal council has still not been able to hold its inaugural 
session and elect the community head. Visiting the city earlier this week, 
Minister for Territorial Administration Gnel Sanosian downplayed the fact that 
it has had no mayor for over two months.


Armenia -- A street in Vanadzor, November 5, 2018.

Four other communities where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party was defeated 
or failed to win outright on December 5 also remain in limbo.

In one such community comprising the town of Vartenis and surrounding villages, 
police cordoned off the municipal administration building in early January to 
prevent a local opposition figure, Aharon Khachatrian, from taking over as mayor.

Khachatrian was elected by 14 members of the 27-seat local council representing 
two opposition blocs. Armenia’s Administrative Court declared his election null 
and void last week following a lawsuit filed by the ruling party.

Khachatrian’s main ally was arrested shortly after the blocs led by two men 
reached a power-sharing agreement in December.


Armenia - Opposition supporters hold pictures of former Vanadzor Mayor Mamikon 
Aslanian and other arrested opposition members during a demonstration in 
Yerevan, December 17, 2021.

Opposition politicians and human rights campaigners in Yerevan have accused 
Pashinian of sabotaging the election of new heads of these communities to 
prevent them from falling under opposition control.

Arman Tatoyan, Armenia’s human rights ombudsman, similarly charged on December 
17 that opposition groups that did well there are being illegally pressured not 
to install their leaders or allies as mayors. Pashinian and his political allies 
deny this.

Last summer, the authorities also arrested the opposition-linked heads of four 
major communities of southeastern Syunik province. Two of them were set free in 
December after the Constitutional Court deemed their arrest illegal, saying that 
they were elected to the parliament and enjoy immunity from prosecution.

The two other Syunik mayors remain under arrest. A bloc led by one of them 
defeated Pashinian’s party by a wide margin in a local election held in October.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Armenian side handed over bodies of 108 persons missing since first Karabakh war to Azerbaijan over past year

Arsine Chaltikian

Save

Share

 17:18, 9 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. In the past one year the Armenian side has returned bodies of 108 people missing since the first Artsakh war to Azerbaijan, 2 more bodies will be handed over in coming days, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during a Q&A session in the Parliament.

When asked to inform whether agreements about solving the issue of captives and missing persons were reached during the recent remote meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders at the mediation of the French President Emmanuel Macron and President of the European Council Charles Michel, the Armenian PM said that one of the issues that was discussed at that meeting related to the solution of the humanitarian problems. He reminded that after that meeting 8 Armenian captives returned to Armenia. Pashinyan praised the efforts of Emmanuel Macron and Charles Michel in this process.

“We also talked about the fates of persons missing after the first war and the 44-day war. Azerbaijan constantly says that they have nearly 4000 missing persons after the first Karabakh war. I want to state that the Armenian side also has missing persons, 777 according to official data. An attempt is made to present that the Armenian side has not taken concrete actions also in this matter. I want to inform that over the past year bodies of 108 persons missing after the first war have been handed to the Azerbaijani side. We are going to transfer 2 more bodies in coming days”, the Armenian PM said, adding that Armenia hasn’t published that it has returned so many bodies because it believes that it’s a humanitarian issue.

The Armenian side has returned these 108 bodies without preconditions. “Because we do not consider it right for it to become a subject of any bargaining, because the humanitarian issues should not be a subject of bargaining. We did the same with the minefield maps, by returning them without conditions so that it would not become a subject of bargaining. Because we don’t think that we should bargain by people’s fate”, he said.

Pashinyan assured that Armenia started the work on this topic back in early 2020 when they discussed it during the Security Council session at the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and he tasked to solve these humanitarian problems. “And we expect that we will manage to establish cooperation in clarifying the fates of not only the persons missing after the first Karabakh war, but also those missing in the 44-day war. We have 217 missing persons after the 44-day war. And yes, an agreement has been reached to cooperate to find out the fates of the missing persons”, he said, expressing hope that the Azerbaijani side will also take concrete steps on this direction.

Pashinyan also reminded the clear position of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that captured persons must be returned.

Putin likely to visit Turkey, but no specific dates agreed yet — Kremlin spokesman

Arsine Chaltikian

Save

Share

 15:20, 8 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. Moscow and Ankara have agreed on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Turkey, but no specific dates have been reported so far, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, reports TASS.

“Indeed, such a visit will likely take place in the future. As we have repeatedly stated, President Putin and [his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip] Erdogan agreed <…> that this visit would take place as soon as the president’s schedules and epidemiological situation allowed. There are no exact dates yet, but they will be agreed through diplomatic channels in a timely manner”, the Kremlin spokesman noted.

On Monday, Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin revealed that the date of Putin’s visit to Turkey would likely be announced in the next few days.

Armenian court orders arrest of judge Boris Bakhshiyan

Arsine Chaltikian
panorama.am
Armenia – Feb 7 2022

A first instance court in Armenia’s southernmost Syunik Province has ordered the arrest of judge Boris Bakhshiyan.

Presiding judge Davit Arghamanyan granted a motion of the National Security Service (NSS) to arrest him on Monday, Pastinfo news site reported.

Earlier last week, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) approved a request of Prosecutor-General Artur Davtyan to allow the law enforcement authorities to prosecute and arrest Bakhshiyan, a judge of the Syunik Court of General Jurisdiction.

The decision came days after Bakhshiyan ruled to release jailed opposition figure and war veteran Ashot Minasyan on bail. He had also ordered the release of opposition Kajaran Mayor Manvel Paramazyan and Deputy Mayor of Goris Menua Hovsepyan.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office claims that the criminal case has nothing to with the release of Minasyan and is related to Bakhshiyan’s “baseless” order to arrest a defendant in a case he is dealing with. However, his lawyers reject the charges as “political persecution”.

Azerbaijani press: Baku rejects Turkish MP’s "baseless" claims, urges apology

Arsine Chaltikian
4 February 2022 17:55 (UTC+04:00)
834

By Vugar Khalilov

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva has rejected as "baseless" Turkish MP Aykut Erdogdu’s claims on the alleged "tangled and dark ties" between the Azerbaijani and Turkish leaders.

“We reject the completely baseless accusations made by the CHP [Republican People's Party] MP about the allegedly 'tangled and dark ties' between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey.  Relations between President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan are fraternal and based on the two countries' national interests,” Abdullayeva said in a statement published on the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry website.

In response to the Turkish MP's unfounded accusations about Azerbaijani-Turkish energy relations and the two leaders, the spokesperson emphasized that Azerbaijan and Turkey have open, completely transparent, and mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas, including energy.

She went on to say that as a result of these relations, the strategic partnership between the two countries has been strengthened even further, reaching the level of alliance with the historic Shusha Declaration, and the bonds of brotherhood between the two peoples have been strengthened like never before.

"Unfortunately, this is not the first time a CHP representative has taken an anti-Azerbaijani stance and attempted to confuse baseless allegations. These efforts, however, have no chance of success because the manipulation of any pro-Armenian politicians cannot overshadow Turkish-Azerbaijani relations," Abdullayeva emphasized.

Azerbaijan is expecting the CHP to apologize for the allegations made by the deputy. Otherwise, Baku reserves the right to take the issue to court, Abdullayeva said.

In response to claims about bilateral energy relations, she emphasized that the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP), as a strategic infrastructure project, is based on strong cooperation and friendship between Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as the strong political will of the two countries' leaders to address energy security issues.

The TANAP project has a total investment of $6.3 billion. At its peak, the project provided 15,000 jobs, with the majority of the investment coming from local producers. It should be noted that the TANAP project has added a significant amount of value to the Turkish industry and related sectors, Abdullayeva said.

"We want to emphasize that the tariffs used in this project fully comply with all international standards. The Turkish side earns the same amount of transit revenue because it is a 30 percent partner in the project via BOTAS," she added.

The diplomat noted that along with Azerbaijan, Turkey imports natural gas from Russia, Iran, Qatar, Nigeria and other countries and that Azerbaijan has the lowest natural gas price among these producers.

On the other hand, the TANAP project creates new economic and social opportunities for Turkey and ensures the sustainability of its energy security at a time when natural gas prices are at their peak and gas shortages are growing, Abdullayeva stressed.

SOCAR Turkey, a subsidiary of Azerbaijani State Oil Company in Turkey, won a completely open and transparent tender in 2008 with an investment of $ 2.04 billion, she said of Petkim, one of Turkey's largest enterprises.

Abdullayeva added that additional investments in Petkim totaled $ 1.2 billion over the next few years.

Furthermore, with SOCAR's multibillion-dollar investment, the construction of the STAR refinery and its integration with the Petkim petrochemical plant has created opportunities for Turkey to produce an additional $ 2 billion worth of products. Turkey previously spent $ 2 billion on the import of these products, the spokesperson reminded.

Abdullayeva emphasized that the friendly and fraternal relations established by the leaders of the two countries have allowed Azerbaijan to invest more than $ 19 billion in Turkey to date.

On February 1, Erdogdu alleged on his Twitter post that there was corruption in Turkey's natural gas purchase and that the country had lost billions of dollars due to a change in the natural gas agreement signed with Azerbaijan.

He claimed that the TANAP project provided no benefit to Turkey.

"While these confused and dark relations between Erdogan and Aliyev continue, 51 percent of Petkim was transferred to SOCAR and after this transfer, SOCAR received significant benefits," he claimed.

It should be noted that the aforementioned tweet has been removed from the MP's Twitter account.