Tuesday, June 14, 2022 Armenian Opposition Scales Back Protests June 14, 2022 Armenia - Opposition supporters demonstrate in Yerevan, June 14, 2022. More than six weeks after the start of their “resistance movement,” Armenia’s main opposition groups announced late on Tuesday their decision to scale back virtually daily demonstrations aimed at toppling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. In what they called a change of tactics, they said they will dismantle tents pitched in the center of Yerevan, switch to weekly rallies and try to attract a larger following. Ishkhan Saghatelian, one of the opposition leaders, admitted that many Armenians unhappy with Pashinian’s government have avoided participating in the protests. “We have not yet managed to get all those people to the streets and to bring them to this square. There are still people who think this is s fight for power, for the return of former rulers to power,” Saghatelian told thousands of supporters rallying in Yerevan’s France Square, the site of the opposition tent camp. Armenia - Opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelian speaks at a rally in Yerevan, June 14, 2022. The two opposition alliances represented in the Armenian parliament launched their campaign there on May 1 two weeks after Pashinian signaled his readiness to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and “lower the bar” on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh acceptable to the Armenian side. They accused Pashinian of helping Baku regain full control of Karabakh. Opposition supporters have since regularly marched through the city center, closed roads and blocked the entrances to government buildings, repeatedly clashing with riot police. The most serious of those clashes, which broke out on June 3, left dozens of protesters and police officers seriously injured. Pashinian and his political allies have dismissed the opposition demands for his resignation. They say that the opposition has failed to attract popular support for regime change. Armenia - Former Armenian President Robert Kocharian (center) participates in an opposition rally in Yerevan, June 14, 2022. Saghatelian, who has been the main speaker at the protests, put a brave face on the failure to unseat the prime minister. He claimed that the opposition has managed to “awaken the society” and scuttle a “new capitulation agreement” with Azerbaijan. The protests have showed that Pashinian lacks a popular “mandate to lead Armenia to vital concessions” to Baku, he said. “We will definitely oust Nikol but we will do that bloodlessly,” Saghatelian told the crowd. The opposition forces, he went on, have to “change the structure and tactic of our resistance movement in a way that will allow us to give it new impetus.” They will now hold major rallies on a weekly basis and set up, in the meantime, new structures in and outside Yerevan, he said. Saghatelian said they will also keep fighting for the release of over three dozen opposition activists and supporters arrested during the protest movement. The vast majority of them were charged with assaulting police officers or government loyalists. Opposition leaders reject the accusations as politically motivated. Russia Set For Key Role In Azeri Transit Through Armenia June 14, 2022 • Sargis Harutyunyan Armenia - Russian border guards stationed in Syunik province are inspected by Russian Ambassador Sergei Kopyrkin, May 24, 2022. Russian border guards are expected to carry out border checks on Azerbaijani travellers and goods that will transit Armenia’s territory as part of Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links facilitated by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan are to reopen their border to commercial and passenger traffic under the terms of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped their six-week war for Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2020. The agreement specifically commits Yerevan to opening rail and road rinks that will connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said last week that the Armenian side has agreed to simplify border crossing procedures for those who will use the planned transit routes. He did not elaborate. The Armenian government has still not commented on the arrangement announced by Lavrov. Sources familiar with the arrangement divulged some of its details to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. According to them, Azerbaijani cargos and travellers will be checked by Russian border guards and then Armenian customs officers when crossing the Armenian border. Armenian security personnel will then escort them to the nearest Azerbaijani border checkpoint. A Russian officer will be embedded with each armed escort, the sources said. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in December that passage through that “corridor” must be exempt from Armenian border controls. Yerevan rejected his demands. In an interview with the Al Jazeera TV channel aired on Tuesday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian insisted that the Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements call for only conventional transport links between two countries. “We have only one corridor in our region,” Pashinian said. “It’s the Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.” Areg Kochinian, a Yerevan-based political analyst, suggested that the “simplified” border control regime would compromise Armenia’s full control over the transit road and railway leading to Nakhichevan. “If Russian border guards, escorts are deployed there and the whole thing has a special status, it will function as a corridor,” Kochinian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Especially if no such arrangement is put in place for our passenger and cargo traffic through Azerbaijani territory.” A Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani commission discussing practical modalities of the transport links met in Moscow earlier this month. A Russian government statement said its Armenian and Azerbaijani members “brought closer their positions on issues of border, customs and other types of control.” Armenian Central Bank Ups 2022 Growth Forecast June 14, 2022 Armenia - Martin Galtsian, the chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia, speaks at a news conference in Yerevan, June 3, 2021. The Central Bank significantly upgraded its 2022 growth forecast for Armenia on Tuesday, saying that Russia’s economy is doing better than expected after crippling sanctions imposed by the West. It also made clear that it will not intervene to reverse or stop a sharp appreciation of the national currency, the dram, which began a few weeks after Russian troops invaded Ukraine on February 24. The bank predicted in mid-March that economic growth in Armenia will slow down to 1.6 percent this year due to anticipated fallout from the conflict. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank forecast even lower growth rates, pointing to the South Caucasus state’s close economic ties with Russia. The Central Bank governor, Martin Galstian, said the Armenian economy is now on course to expand by 4.9 percent in 2022. “This has mainly to with the presence of foreign visitors in Armenia and the Russian economy’s short-term performance which is not as bad as we expected earlier,” Galstian told a news conference. Armenia - Russian nationals are seen in downtown Yerevan, March 7, 2022. The visitors mentioned by him presumably include thousands of Russians who moved to Armenia and/or opened bank accounts there following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. About 27,000 foreigners, most of them Russian citizens, opened Armenian bank accounts from February 24 through the end of March. This seems to explain why hard currency inflows to Armenia doubled, according to the Central Bank, in April. Armenian government data shows that GDP growth accelerated to 8.6 percent in the first quarter of this year and continued unabated in April on the back of sharp gains in the services and construction sectors. “A considerable influx of foreign visitors and rising internal private spending are helping to boost the services sector and overall consumer demand,” said Galstian. He also cautioned: “The Central Bank Board reckons that macroeconomic prospects remain highly uncertain due to geopolitical developments.” RUSSIA - An oil pumpjack is seen near the village of Yamashi in the Republic of Tatarstan, April 5, 2020: Armenia is also very dependent on multimillion-dollar remittances from hundreds of thousands of its citizens working in Russia. The Russian ruble is now stronger than it was before the war, having more than regained its value lost in late February and early March. The Armenian dram has similarly strengthened against the U.S. dollar by almost 24 percent since the middle of March. Its continuing appreciation is prompting growing concerns from Armenian export-oriented firms and fuelling calls for Central Bank intervention. Galstian said that the bank will not cut interest rates or intervene in the domestic currency market to cut the dram’s value. He argued that the stronger dram is somewhat easing external inflationary pressures aggravated by the Ukraine war. “By artificially weakening the dram we would create an even worse inflationary situation which would hit all citizens, including exporters,” said Galstian. Earlier in the day, the Central Bank board decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 9.25 percent. According to the bank, consumer price inflation in Armenia continued to rise in May, reaching an annual rate of 9 percent. 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.
Author: Edgar Tavakalian
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf: North-South corridor construction is necessary to ensure security of Iran, Armenia
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 15 2022
16:42, 15.06.2022
The construction of the north-south corridor is a necessity for Iran and Armenia to establish national and regional security and develop bilateral cooperation, the Iranian Parliament Speaker stressed, Mehr reported. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated this Wednesday during a meeting in Tehran with his Armenian counterpart, Alen Simonyan.
During the meeting, Ghalibaf described the visit of his Armenian counterpart to Iran as a good opportunity to develop bilateral cooperation.
Saying that relations with neighbors play important role in the foreign policy of the Iranian Government, Ghalibaf underlined, "As we are at a critical juncture in the regional situation, it is necessary to develop bilateral and regional cooperation."
The importance of West Asia and the Caucasus region has given a special sensitivity to bilateral relations, Iranian Parliament Speaker said, stressing that in this regard, Iran-Armenia relations are very important.
The Islamic Republic's firm stance towards neighboring countries, especially Armenia, is maintaining peace, tranquility, and stability, Ghalibaf further noted.
The Zionist regime—i.e., Israel—and the United States are seeking to disrupt regional security to achieve their own interests, thus, the neighboring countries must pay attention to these issues, he explained.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Ghalibaf also described the economy as the most important issue in Iran-Armenia ties.
Transportation is the most important economic issue between the two countries, which leads to the exchange of goods and energy and communication between the countries, he said.
According to him, the construction of the north-south corridor is a necessity for Iran and Armenia to establish national and regional security and develop bilateral cooperation.
Ghalibaf concluded his remarks by expressing hope that the issues and disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be resolved through principled dialogues.
Armenia's President of the National Assembly also stressed using the opportunities and capacities of both countries to establish trade and develop economic relations.
Armenia has made every effort to accelerate the completion of the North-South Corridor in recent years, he also said, stressing that the President of Armenia put a great emphasis on the issue of the North-South Corridor.
The 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) war in the fall of 2020 had many consequences for Armenia, he also said, appreciating Iran for its stance and its support for maintaining the territorial integrity of the countries.
Media revealed some details of opening of Armenian-Azerbaijani roads
NEWS.am
Armenia –
18:21, 14.06.2022
Five days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's statement on the "simplified regime" of the road through the territory of Armenia, which should connect Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan, it is not officially specified what this means.
However, some details about the ongoing negotiations became known. Azatutyun.am reported.
"So, Azerbaijani cargoes and passengers entering the territory of Armenia will first be checked by the Russian border service and then by the Armenian customs service. Then the crossing will be accompanied by an Armenian patrol, which will include at least one Russian officer. Will the same conditions be applied in case of Armenian cargoes and passengers entering the territory of Azerbaijan? According to the same sources the negotiations are still going on. Journalist Tatul Hakobyan wrote about it the other day, according to whose information Baku demanded a Russian patrol.
Official Moscow and Yerevan published different information after the meeting of the three countries' vice-premiers in Moscow about ten days ago. According to the Russian government, the sides have brought their positions closer on border, customs and other controls. Meanwhile, according to the Armenian government, the sides clarified their approaches. The approaches have not been officially clarified yet," the media reported.
RFE/RL Armenian Report – 06/07/2022
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
Armenian, Karabakh Oppositionists Meet In Yerevan
June 07, 2022
• Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Karabakh flags on empty seats of opposition lawmakers boycotting a
session of the Armenian parliament, Yerevan, May 25, 2022.
Leaders of Armenia’s and Nagorno-Karabakh’s main opposition groups met late on
Monday amid continuing anti-government protests in Yerevan sparked by Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian’s conciliatory policy towards Azerbaijan.
An Armenian opposition statement on the meeting said they discussed security
challenges facing Armenia and Karabakh and agreed to strive to “expand” the
opposition campaign in Yerevan.
“We agreed to jointly fight for an Armenian future for Artsakh and Armenia,”
Davit Galstian, who leads one of the three opposition parties represented in the
Karabakh parliament, said on Tuesday.
“This was the kind of a meeting which the Armenian authorities refuse to hold,”
Galstian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “That is to say that there is no
cooperation between the two parliaments and other state bodies.”
He said that Karabakh’s opposition forces are not staging “large-scale protests”
in Stepanakert because the authorities there continue to reject any settlement
that would restore Azerbaijani control over the territory. By contrast, he said,
the Armenian government is reluctant to make clear that “Artsakh was, is and
will remain Armenian.”
Pashinian declared on April 13 that the international community is pressing
Armenia to “lower the bar on the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status” and
recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. He signaled Yerevan’s intention to
make such concessions to Baku.
Armenian opposition leaders portrayed the statement as further proof that
Pashinian has agreed to Azerbaijani control over Karabakh. The authorities in
Stepanakert also deplored it. In a resolution, the Karabakh parliament demanded
that the Armenian authorities “abandon their current disastrous position.”
Pashinian insisted afterwards that he will not cut any peace deals with
Azerbaijan without consulting with the Karabakh leadership.
Armenian Opposition Blasts EU’s ‘Double Standards’
June 07, 2022
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - Opposition supporters demonstrate outside the EU Delegation in
Yerevan, June 7, 2022.
Armenian opposition leaders accused the European Union on Tuesday of turning a
blind eye to the excessive use of force by police against protesters demanding
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s resignation.
They singled out the failure of the EU Delegation in Yerevan to condemn security
forces for firing stun grenades during violent clashes with opposition
supporters which broke out on Friday at a street intersection adjacent to the
diplomatic mission.
Dozens of protesters and police officers were injured in the clashes. The two
sides blamed each other for what was the worst violence since the country’s main
opposition groups launched on May 1 a “civil disobedience” campaign aimed at
ousting Pashinian.
Lawmakers representing those groups condemned the EU Delegation’s “silence” as
they led several hundred opposition supporters demonstrating outside the
delegation building. One of them, Aram Vartevanian, said the EU was far more
concerned about police actions during the 2018 mass protests that brought
Pashinian to power.
“But it is silent now,” Vartevanian told the crowd. “And with this silence it is
encouraging the police brutality.”
“You must make a choice in Armenia,” another lawmaker, Anna Grigorian, said,
appealing to the EU mission. “Do you support European values, democracy and the
rule of law or Nikol’s rule?”
Armenia -- Andrea Wiktorin, head of the EU Delegation in Armenia, attends a
seminar in Yerevan, March 6, 2020.
The head of the EU Delegation, Andrea Wiktorin, said last month that Armenian
riot police should “follow rules” and not be allowed to “operate with impunity.”
Wiktorin also said: “There can be different perceptions of what peaceful
gatherings are, and if there are provocations I would personally ask myself
where does it end.”
The U.S. ambassador to Armenia, Lynne Tracy, also expressed concern over the use
of force against protesters in Yerevan. Still, Tracy was condemned by the
opposition after she effectively welcomed on May 18 the outcome of last year’s
parliamentary elections won by Pashinian’s party.
Vartevanian was asked by journalists why the opposition does not voice similar
criticism of Russia, which has not publicly commented on the Armenian
authorities’ response to the protests. He argued that unlike the Western powers,
Moscow does not portray Armenia as a democracy or claim to promote democratic
reforms in the country.
Both Tracy and Wiktorin addressed on May 20 a “forum for democracy” in Yerevan
attended by Pashinian and other senior government officials. Opposition
representatives were not allowed to participate in the event.
Armenian Government Seeks Tighter Control Of Army Top Brass
June 07, 2022
• Nane Sahakian
Armenia - Defense Minister Suren Papikian and General Kamo Kochunts, acting army
chief of staff, hold a meeting in Yerevan, May 30, 2022.
Defense Minister Suren Papikian has indicated that the post of Armenia’s top
military general will remain vacant until the government makes sure that its
next holder is directly subordinate to him.
“We are going to have a new model whereby the chief of the [army’s] General
Staff will be the first deputy minister of defense,” Papikian told Armenian
Public Television in an interview aired late on Monday.
“The armed forces will deal only with the country’s defense and military
training,” he said, adding that the General Staff will no longer be in charge of
arms procurements and rear services.
The last chief of the General Staff, Artak Davtian, and six other senior
generals were sacked in February through presidential decrees initiated by Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian.
The sackings came one year after Davtian’s predecessor, Onik Gasparian, and four
dozen other high-ranking officers accused Pashinian’s government of incompetence
and misrule and demanded its resignation. The unprecedented demand was welcomed
by the Armenian opposition but condemned as a coup attempt by Pashinian.
Pashinian has still not handpicked a new army chief of staff. Opposition leaders
regularly express concern at this fact, saying that it is having adverse effects
on national security and defense.
Armenia - Armenian soldiers taking part in a military exercise are pictured
against the backdrop of Mount Ararat, May 26, 2022.
Papikian again dismissed the opposition concerns, reiterating that the acting
head of the General Staff, Kamo Kochunts, is in a position to properly lead the
armed forces for now.
The minister made clear that the country’s next top general will be installed
after the structural changes planned by the government are approved by the
Armenian parliament. He did not specify when a relevant government bill will be
submitted to the National Assembly.
Pashinian promised a major reform of the military shortly after Armenia’s defeat
in the 2020 war with Azerbaijan. He has replaced three defense ministers since a
Russian-brokered ceasefire stopped the six-week hostilities in November 2020.
Opposition forces blame Pashinian for the disastrous war that left at least
3,800 Armenian soldiers dead. They also say that his administration is doing
little to rebuild the armed forces.
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.
Protest staged outside Armenian Foreign Ministry
Panorama
Armenia – May 31 2022
A protest was held outside the Armenian government building housing the Foreign Ministry and several other ministries in downtown Yerevan on Tuesday as part of the opposition campaign to topple Nikol Pashinyan.
Opposition leader and deputy parliament speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan urged protesters to refrain from clashes with the police.
Opposition lawmakers wanted to enter the government building and to talk to the ministers about the issues raised by the opposition, including Artsakh’s status and Armenian-Turkish relations.
They negotiated with police officers guarding the building for an hour to be let in. Eventually, no meeting took place between the minsters and the MPs.
“The ministers avoid meetings with parliament deputies. They are simply afraid and are hiding behind police cordons,” Saghatelyan said before they marched through the city.
Response from Javakhk to Georgian president’s statements
Panorama
Armenia – June 1 2022
Armenia’s President Vahagn Khachaturyan paid an official visit to Georgia in late May. At a private meeting with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, issues concerning Armenian-Georgian relations and the prospects for their development were discussed. Zourabichvili highlighted that the visit took place on the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia. Also, she made statements regarding Georgia’s Armenian community.
Panorama.am has reached out to Eduard Ayvazyan, Director of the Samtskhe-Javakhk (Javakheti) Media and Analysis Center, for comments on the Georgian leader’s statements.
Panorama.am: At a meeting with Vahagn Khachaturyan, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said that "all conditions have been created in Georgia to preserve the national identity, language and culture of Armenians living there. Georgian Armenians can actively participate in the public life of the country. Efforts in this regard continue unabated. Peaceful coexistence of ethnic Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Georgia indicates the tolerant environment created in the country and is a good example for the Caucasus region.”
Is the situation as the president of Georgia has presented it? What problems pending settlement for years have you identified? Are any steps being taken to solve them?
Eduard Ayvazyan: In fact, the problem of preservation of the Armenian language has always been. Years ago, before Zourabichvili took office as president, the number of Armenian language classes in Armenian schools decreased from five to three. True, school principals can add an extra class, but not everyone does it.
Armenian language teachers need refresher courses, which should be organized jointly by the Armenian and Georgian authorities. In general, there are no serious obstacles to teaching Armenian, but there is no encouragement either. Young people have no desire to become teachers of the Armenian language and literature, thus their number is falling. The Armenian authorities should work hard to tackle the issue.
As for textbooks, the problem has not yet been completely solved. There is a shortage of textbooks, which also affects the teaching of the Armenian language. In addition, there is an issue of raising the qualification of teachers. Teachers are required to pass an exam and get the status of a senior teacher so that their salaries are increased. Armenia should help Armenian language teachers to pass these exams for raising their qualification and, as far as I know, it's all under consideration. To the best of my knowledge, Shirak Torosyan, who represents Javakhk in the Armenian parliament, is dealing with these issues and results are already visible.
As far as the involvement of Armenians in the internal life of Georgia is concerned, the Georgian authorities need to work on it. I believe there is a very serious problem here: Armenians are not integrated into Georgian society, they are not involved in the processes taking place in the country. It’s for the state to deal with the issue, but whether they want it or not is another question.
The claims about peaceful coexistence of Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Georgia is also only partially true. Before the 44-day war [in Artsakh in 2020], when tensions escalated in Tavush Province in summer, the Azeris held a rally and then a group of them attacked an Armenian. After the 44-day war, Armenian drivers passing through the Azeri-populated areas were stoned. Finally, last year in Adjara, chanting slogans like "Karabakh is ours or yours", Azerbaijanis attacked with knives the schoolchildren from Akhalkalaki, who were on an excursion in Adjara. You know, Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs did not properly respond to these incidents, while our requests were almost always left unanswered.
We know that an arrest has been made, but no one knows anything about the punishment, which suggests that such incidents may reoccur because they will not be afraid of law enforcement.
However, in general, Armenians and Azerbaijanis live peacefully in Georgia, but I reiterate that such incidents must be punished so that the others are not tempted.
Panorama.am: Is there a problem of Turkification of the Samtskhe-Javakheti region? If yes, what is being done to solve or alleviate the issue?
Eduard Ayvazyan: The threat of Turkification exists not only in Samtskhe-Javakheti, but also in the entire region. Look at the number of Azeris and Turks in our region. Armenia and Georgia have become small islands in the Turkic world, and we should all draw conclusions from it. It seems that very good relations are now being formed between Armenia and Georgia, which inspires fresh hope that the countries, being aware of the common challenges, will solve these problems together.
Interview by Tatev Manukyan
AW; ANC of MI meets with Wixom City Manager
Dzovinar Hatsakordzian, Kristen Bagdasarian, Wixom City Manager Steven Brown and Raffi Ourlian
WIXOM, Mich.—Armenian National Committee (ANC) of Michigan members and activists met with Wixom City Manager Steven Brown on May 26 to discuss issues relevant to the Armenian American community. Residents highlighted the actions of Turkish nationalists in the city of Wixom. In 2019, the Turkish American Cultural Association of Michigan (TACAM), which has its community center located on Beck Road in Wixom, inaugurated a park to Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Atatürk Park was created with the intention to serve as a celebratory hub for Turkish Americans and, according to TACAM’s website, “All over the world, there are several designated areas named after Atatürk. But TACAM’s Atatürk Park is the largest such park in the US and outside the Turkic world.”
The meeting with Brown was held to discuss the dangerous implications of this park created in the memory of a man responsible for the deaths of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Kurds and Assyrians, all of which have diaspora communities in the metro-Detroit area. Beck Road is one of the busiest main roads in Wixom, where Armenian residents have to drive by the sign on their daily commutes. Brown heard the concerns of Armenian American residents of Wixom and was provided with educational materials including articles and books in order to supplement his knowledge on Atatürk’s responsibility in the ethnic cleansing of minorities from the Republic of Turkey.
Brown also promised further steps that can be taken by the city in order to determine future decisions regarding the “Atatürk Park” sign located on the edge of Beck Road, as well as seeking legal counsel regarding the park. He also noted that members of TACAM have been pushing for the space to gain the status of a public park within the city of Wixom and have pressured the local government to pass problematic proclamations.
ANC of MI thanks City Manager Brown for the meeting and welcomes further actions by the city.
Dzovinar Hatsakordzian, Kristen Bagdasarian, Wixom City Manager Steven Brown and Sarkis Arakelian
2021 budget revenues are 147 billion drams higher than initially projected, says PM
11:29,
YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. The revenue section of the 2021 government budget was outperformed by 147 billion drams, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told lawmakers during debates of the 2021 budget’s performance report.
He reminded that in 2021 economic growth comprised 5,3% whereas preliminary projections were 3,1%.
“I’d also like to remind the year of 2021, in what situations we appeared, and in this context it is important to underscore that we have outperformed the revenue part with 147 billion drams."
He said that one of the reasons of having collected more revenue than projected are legislative changes, such as the copper concentrate export duty, which alone brought 24 billion drams in revenue to the budget.
Turkish press: Baykar CTO Bayraktar flies over Baku in Azerbaijani MiG-29 during Teknofest
Selçuk Bayraktar, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) flew the Mikoyan MiG-29, a Russian-made warplane belonging to the Azerbaijan Air Force to Baku to attend the Teknofest, Azerbaijan, May 25, 2022. (AA Photo)
Selçuk Bayraktar, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the Turkish drone magnate Baykar, flew over Baku during the Teknofest Azerbaijan – the first foreign edition of the leading Turkish aviation, space and technology festival – in a Mikoyan MiG-29 belonging to the Azerbaijani Air Force.
Bayraktar's MiG-29 flight has been carried in the accompaniment of the Turkish combat drone Akıncı, developed nationally and originally by Baykar.
Selçuk Bayraktar performed the flight with the deputy commander of the Azerbaijani Air Combat Forces, Air Pilot Col. Zaur Rustamov.
Both holding special pilot licenses, Bayraktar and Col. Rustamov received a briefing from the first pilot of the Turkish aerobatics team SoloTürk, Air Pilot Col. Murat Keleş, before taking off from the Haydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku. They later switched to the Russian-made twin-seated MiG-29.
Air Pilot Col. Zaur Rustamov and Selçuk Bayraktar pose for a souvenir photo with the Azerbaijan Air Force personnel at the airbase, Teknofest, Azerbaijan, May 25, 2022. (AA Photo)
The formation flight of MiG-29 and Akıncı over Baku was watched with excitement from the city. Bayraktar commanded the MiG-29 during maneuvers and part of the formation flight.
Akıncı will also perform a show flight at Teknofest Azerbaijan.
The flight of Col. Rustamov, who received the Karabakh Medal for his duties in the 2020 war, and Bayraktar, who was awarded the Karabakh Order from the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for his contribution to end the 30-year occupation, took about one hour. After the flight, Bayraktar and Rustamov posed for a souvenir photo with the Azerbaijani Air Force personnel at the airbase.
Saghatelyan: From now on Pashinyan will see people only from behind iron curtain
NEWS.am
Armenia – May 26 2022
18:24, 26.05.2022
From now on Pashinyan will see the people only from behind the iron curtain, vice-speaker of the National Assembly, member of the Armenia bloc Ishkhan Saghatelyan said.
His remarks came during a meeting in front of the government building.
"I look at the windows of the first floor – there appeared a metal shutter. That's how he got scared. Remember the guy in the cap? That's him. Don't be afraid, we're not going to go into the building. We've more than accomplished our goal. But he will now always see the people from behind the Iron Curtain," Sagatelyan promised.
As previously reported, Pashinyan is meeting with the President of Montenegro today in the government.
The resistance movement came to the government building to show the President of Montenegro that Pashinyan no longer represents the people of Armenia.