Author: Elizabeth Jabejian

Azerbaijani Press: Baku says Nalbandian tries to justify Armenia’s failed foreign policy for internal audience

Elizabeth Jabejian
APA, Azerbaijan
March 2 2018
 
 
Baku says Nalbandian tries to justify Armenia’s failed foreign policy for internal audience
 
 
 
Armenia’s foreign minister, with his lies, tries to justify his country’s foreign policy for internal audience in the pre-election period, Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in response to APA’s inquiry.  
 
 
 
He noted that the ways and principles of settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are no secret to anyone; the conflict should be resolved within the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions and the Helsinki Final Act.  
 
 
 
In order to evade from the responsibility for military aggression and ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijan, Armenia abuses and distorts the principle of people’s right to self-determination, Hajiyev stressed.  
 
 
 
“This claim by the Armenian foreign minister has nothing to do with people’s right to self-determination prescribed in the UN Charter, the 1975 Helsinki Final Act of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (later OSCE) and other international documents,” he said.
 
 
 
The spokesman underlined that there is no basis for the application of the principle of self-determination in relation to cases of gross violation of international law, including mandatory rules that prohibit the threat or use of force against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
 
 
 
“Paragraph 8 of the Helsinki Final Act has determined the principle of self-determination in accordance with the UN Charter, the norms and principles of international law, particularly with territorial integrity. It would be more beneficial for Armenia to participate more seriously and responsibly in substantive and logical negotiations on the settlement of the conflict rather than engage in such unnecessary propaganda,” Hajiyev added.
 
 
 
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict entered its modern phase when the Armenian SRR made territorial claims against the Azerbaijani SSR in 1988.
 
 
 
A fierce war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of the war, Armenian armed forces occupied some 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory which includes Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts (Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan), and over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced people.
 
 
 
The military operations finally came to an end when Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in Bishkek in 1994.
 
 
 
Dealing with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group, which was created after the meeting of the CSCE (OSCE after the Budapest summit held in December 1994) Ministerial Council in Helsinki on 24 March 1992. The Group’s members include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belarus, Finland and Sweden.
 
 
 
Besides, the OSCE Minsk Group has a co-chairmanship institution, comprised of Russian, the US and French co-chairs, which began operating in 1996.  
 
 
 
Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the UN Security Council, which were passed in short intervals in 1993, and other resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, PACE, OSCE, OIC, and other organizations require Armenia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.
 

Gevorg Kostanyan as Chairman of Commission (video)

Elizabeth Jabejian
  • 17:04 | February 28,2018 | Politics
  • Հայ
  • Рус

Today, Gagik Melikyan, Head of the Ad-hoc Committee of the National Assembly, announced the results of the election of Gevorg Kostanyan, a member of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) faction, former Prosecutor General, as chairman of the Standing Committee on State, Legal and Human Rights.

He noted that 93 out of 105 deputies took part in the elections. Gevorg Kostanyan got 63 votes for and 30 against.

Gevorg Kostanyan thanked in his speech and assured that he would show a consistent principle approach.

Azerbaijani Press: Ukrainian expert: Armenia’s government wants population to fill budget gaps

Elizabeth Jabejian
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Jan 23 2018
11:19 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The new wave of price hikes, which started in Armenia from the beginning of 2018, continues causing resentment of broad masses in the country.

Last Friday, the opposition bloc “Yelk” (“Exit”) marched in Yerevan to protest against the rise in prices.

“It is clear that the price increases will take place throughout the year, and they will be especially acute in March and April,” MP from Yelk Aram Sargsyan told journalists. He stressed the need for liberalization of the economy in Armenia and for strengthening measures to reduce the shadow economy.

Alexander Okhrimenko, a well-known Ukrainian economist, believes the Armenian government is, most likely, more concerned about not hurting their friends doing business in the country. Therefore the authorities help them not to pay much tax, but to hide more money offshore, he added.

“A right-minded power should think not only about how to get more tax from the population, but about how to ensure that the business pays much tax rather than hiding profits offshore,” the expert said in an interview with Azernews on January 22.

Following the amendments to the Tax Code and the increase of excise taxes in the first days of 2018, the prices for gasoline, gas and diesel fuel rose in Armenia. Okhrimenko notes that it is very beneficial to the government to use excise for fuel to fill the state budget deficit, since everyone buys fuel "In fact, the population is filling the budget gap of Armenia," he noted.

“In addition, rising fuel prices lead to higher prices for food. There is a direct relationship – once fuel prices are increasing, food prices go up, since the cost of these products is growing,” the economist noted.

It is clear that the Armenian authorities are going to fill the budget gap and pay off the country's debts, which amount to almost $7 billion, from the pockets of ordinary population of the country. The interesting point is that overwhelming majority of the economic and social problems that today’s Armenia faces showed up after the occupation of Azerbaijani territories in early 1990s. Therefore, it is safe to say that Armenia’s withdrawal from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan would benefit Armenia itself.

 “War always means huge costs. In fact, the Armenian population with its money pays for excessive military expenses,” Okhrimenko mentioned.

The expert added that military spending is always ineffective and it comprises a lot of corruption. “Therefore, the state budget is always in deficit, while the generals’ acquire more and more houses,” he concluded.