17:29,
YEREVAN, 12 DECEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 12 December, USD exchange rate up by 0.05 drams to 403.59 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.07 drams to 435.84 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.04 drams to 4.48 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.06 drams to 507.43 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price down by 275.10 drams to 25778.21 drams. Silver price down by 11.25 drams to 297.40 drams.
21:04,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Russia is always ready to host negotiations on the Azerbaijani-Armenian settlement process and hopes that Baku and Yerevan take into account the relevance of the corresponding proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Galuzin has said, Tass reports.
Our proposals for holding negotiations on a peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow are open to our partners for Armenia and Azerbaijan," said the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, expressing hope that Yerevan and Baku remember and understand it.
When asked whether the meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries in Moscow is currently being arranged through diplomatic channels, Galuzin affirmed that they are always ready for such work.
19:14,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna will arrive in the Republic of Armenia on a working visit on December 13-14, the Foreign Ministry of Armenia said.
The meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Estonia will take place on December 13 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, which will be followed by the joint press conference of the ministers.
21:44,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 12, ARMENPRESS. By the decision of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on December 12, High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan, will be sent to Ukraine on December 12-20, where he will meet with representatives of the structures of the Armenian community, business circles and cultural figures.
The PM’s decision is posted on .
Zareh Sinanyan will visit four cities: Odessa – December 12-14; Dnieper – December 14-15; Kharkiv – December 15-16; Kyiv – December 16-20.
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Tuesday,
Armenian, Azeri Prisoners Not Yet Exchanged Despite Deal
• Astghik Bedevian
ARMENIA -- A freed Armenian captive is escorted off a Russian military plane
upon arrival at a military airport outside Yerevan, December 14, 2020
Armenia and Azerbaijan did not exchange prisoners as of Tuesday afternoon almost
one week after reaching an agreement to that effect welcomed by the
international community.
Under the agreement announced on December 7, Azerbaijan is to free 32 Armenian
soldiers and civilians in exchange for Armenia’s release of two Azerbaijani
servicemen and support for Baku’s bid to host the COP29 climate summit next
year. A senior Armenian lawmaker suggested on December 8 that the prisoner swap
will be carried out within “hours or days.”
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian on Tuesday declined not give possible dates for
the repatriation of the captives. He said only that the deal struck as a result
of direct Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations remains in force.
“We are waiting,” Simonian told reporters. “I think that we will have
information very soon.”
Vagharshak Hakobian, another lawmaker representing Armenia’s ruling Civil
Contract party, said he hopes that the deal will not be scrapped.
The United Nations officially announced on Monday that Azerbaijan will host next
year’s global climate summit. In line with the December 7 deal, Armenia did not
object to that decision.
The Azerbaijani government publicized late last week the list of the 32 Armenian
captives that will be repatriated by it. Most of them were taken prisoner in
Nagorno-Karabakh in December 2020 just weeks after a Russian-brokered ceasefire
stopped the last Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
Also on the list is Gagik Voskanian, an Armenian army reservist who was
mobilized a few weeks before straying into Azerbaijani territory in August this
year in unclear circumstances. An Azerbaijani court convicted Voskanian of
“terrorism” just hours before the announcement of the prisoner swap.
Voskanian’s mother, Ashkhen Avetisian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that she
also does not know when he will return home.
“I contacted a Defense Ministry official and was told, ‘Keep waiting, we too
don’t know anything, everything will be alright,’” she said.
The Azerbaijani soldiers to be freed by Yerevan were detained in April after
crossing into Armenia’s Syunik province from Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave.
One of them was charged with murdering a Syunik resident the day before his
detention. Armenia’s Court of Appeals sentenced him to life imprisonment last
week.
Azerbaijan’s prosecutor-general expressed confidence on Tuesday that they will
be set free. But he did not give any dates.
Armenia Revives Amnesty-For-Cash Option For Draft Dodgers
• Artak Khulian
Armenia - Soldiers march at an Armenian military base, December 24, 2022.
Armenia’s parliament approved on Tuesday a bill allowing men who illegally
evaded compulsory military service to buy an amnesty.
Armenian law requires virtually all male citizens aged between 18 and 27 to
serve in the country’s armed forces for two years. Refusal to do so is a crime
punishable by five years in prison.
The bill drafted by Hayk Sargsian, a parliament deputy from the ruling Civil
Contract party, and passed by the National Assembly in the first reading will
give fugitive draft dodgers aged between 27 and 37 a range of options.
In particular, they will be able to turn themselves in and perform a
two-and-a-half-year service or legally evade it by paying the state 15 million
drams ($37,000). They could also serve in the armed forces for shorter periods
in exchange for smaller fees.
Sargsian said that about 5,000 fugitive Armenian men will be eligible for these
options. As things stands now, they cannot serve in the army “even if they want
to,” complained the lawmaker.
“I don’t want us to again declare an amnesty in order to exempt these
individuals from prosecution, but nor do I want to see 5,000 citizens sentenced
to five years in prison,” he added during a debate on the parliament floor.
The parliament declared such an amnesty in 2021. More than 1,300 draft dodgers
took advantage of it.
Sargsian also insisted that the new legal arrangements will not encourage draft
evasion among draft-age men. He argued that it applies only to citizens aged 25
and older.
Opposition deputies and even some of Sargsian’s pro-government colleagues were
not fully convinced by his assurances. Civil Contract’s Hovik Aghazarian was
concerned that the bill will foster “wrong behavior” in the country.
“I’m quite uneasy about this idea,” said Sona Ghazarian, another Civil Contract
deputy. “I think that we kind of undermine social justice and social equality
with this bill.”
“We can’t tell people that if they don’t have money … they must serve the
homeland or go to jail but if they have money they can pay up and move on,” said
Tadevos Avetisian of the opposition Hayastan alliance.
Nevertheless, the parliament’s pro-government majority voted for the bill, while
Hayastan and the other opposition bloc, Pativ Unem, abstained, instead of voting
against it.
Armenia already had a similar amnesty-for-cash arrangement from 2004-2019.
Officials say that some 10,000 draft evaders used it to avoid prosecution during
those years.
EU Details Expansion Of Border Monitoring Mission In Armenia
Armenia - European Union monitors patrol Armenia's border with Azerbaijan.
The European Union has decided to deploy an additional 71 observers and experts
to Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan.
The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced the decision late on Monday
following a meeting of the foreign ministers of EU member states held in
Brussels. He said they agreed to “increase our presence on the ground from 138
staff to 209.”
“The fact that we have decided to increase by such an important number our staff
on this mission shows our clear commitment to stability on the border between
Armenia and Azerbaijan and an important contribution to the peace efforts,”
Borrell told a news briefing.
He said the expansion of the monitoring mission, approved by the ministers in
principle last month, also reflects the EU’s deepening relations with Armenia.
“Armenia clearly sees the benefits of increasing cooperation with us and we are
ready to respond positively,” added the EU foreign policy chief.
The mission was launched in February at the request of the Armenian government
and with the stated aim of preventing or reducing ceasefire violations along the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Russia, Armenia’s increasingly estranged ally, has
opposed it from the outset, saying that it is part of U.S. and European Union
efforts to drive Moscow out of the South Caucasus.
Moscow has pressed Yerevan to agree to a similar monitoring mission proposed by
the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian has repeatedly declined those offers, accusing the military
alliance of not honoring its security commitments to Armenia.
The recent Azerbaijani takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh has raised more fears in
Yerevan that Azerbaijan will invade Armenia to open a land corridor to its
Nakhichevan exclave. Pashinian urged Western powers to prevent Baku from
“provoking a new war in the region” when he addressed the European Parliament in
October.
Both the EU and the United States regularly voice support for Armenia’s
territorial integrity. Unlike Russia, they have condemned Baku’s September 19-20
military offensive that forced Karabakh’s practically entire population to flee
to Armenia.
Yerevan Backs Further EU Expansion Into Former Soviet Union
Belgium - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan arrives for a meeting in
Brussels, .
Amid its growing rift with Russia, the Armenian government has voiced support
for Georgia’s, Ukraine’s and Moldova’s membership in the European Union and
reaffirmed its desire to deepen ties with the EU.
“My government warmly welcomes the European Commission’s [recent] decision to
recommend the European Council to open accession talks with Moldova and Ukraine
and to grant candidate status to Georgia,” Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said
late on Monday. “This decision is welcomed not only by the government of Armenia
but also people of Armenia, who also have European aspirations.”
Yerevan is committed to “coming closer to the European Union to the extent the
EU will deem it possible,” Mirzoyan added in a speech delivered during a meeting
in Brussels of the foreign ministers of EU member states and five ex-Soviet
republics involved in the 27-nation bloc’s Eastern Partnership program.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian expressed that commitment when he addressed the
European Parliament in October. He stopped short of announcing plans to seek
Armenia’s eventual membership in the EU.
In his speech, Pashinian also accused Moscow of using the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict to try to topple him. A Russian official responded by saying that the
Armenian premier is helping the West “turn Armenia into another Ukraine.”
Mirzoyan and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met in North Macedonia late
last month as a team of EU officials wrapped up a visit to Yerevan during which
they explored ways of bringing Armenia closer to the bloc.
Borrell also met with Mirzoyan in Brussels earlier on Monday. He said they had a
“good exchange of views … on concrete ways to enhance EU-Armenia relations” but
did not elaborate.
Armenia Keeps Up Contacts With Ukraine
Beglium - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Ukrainian
counterpart Dmytro Kuleba meet in Brussels, .
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba met
in Brussels on Monday, continuing diplomatic contacts between their counties
that were denounced by Russia this fall.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry said the two ministers discussed “bilateral
cooperation on issues of mutual interest” and “regional issues” relating to the
South Caucasus. Kuleba tweeted, for his part, that they talked about the
“advancement of Ukraine-Armenia dialogue.”
That dialogue appears to have begun in early September amid a further worsening
of Armenia’s relations with Russia, its longtime ally. Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian’s wife visited Kyiv at the time to attend the annual Summit of First
Ladies and Gentlemen held there. Anna Hakobian also delivered Armenia’s first
humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion.
The Russian Foreign Ministry listed Hakobian’s trip among “a series of
unfriendly steps” taken by Yerevan against Moscow when it summoned the Armenian
ambassador a few days later. The strong criticism did not stop Pashinian from
talking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during an EU summit in Spain
on October 5.
Spain - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy meet in Granada, October 5, 2023.
Three weeks later, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, Armen Grigorian,
participated in a multilateral peace forum in Malta initiated by Ukraine.
Grigorian also met with the powerful chief of’Zelenskiy’s staff, Andriy Yermak,
during what Moscow described as a “blatantly anti-Russian event.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, called Grigorian’s
trip to Malta a “demonstrative anti-Russian gesture of official Yerevan” and
linked it with Pashinian’s conversation with Zelenskiy. She accused Pashinian’s
government of “persistently destroying our allied relations.”
The Armenian leaders’ attendance of those events contrasts with their boycott of
recent months’ meetings of top officials of ex-Soviet states making up the
Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization as well as the Commonwealth
of Independent States.
Pashinian embarked on the apparent rapprochement with Ukraie despite its stong
support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In particular, Kyiv was
quick to condemn the September 9 election by Karabakh lawmakers of the region’s
new president, saying that it is “contrary to the rules and principles of
international law.” The election came ten days before the Azerbaijani military
offensive that forced Karabakh’s practically entire population to flee to
Armenia.
“I reiterated Ukraine’s support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity within
its internationally recognized borders,” Kuleba wrote after meeting with
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov earlier on Monday.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Monday,
Karabakh Leaders Vow Continued Fight For ‘Rights’
• Shoghik Galstian
Nagorno-Karabakh - People gather outside the parliament building in Stepanakert
during the election of a new Karabakh president, September 9, 2023.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s exiled political leadership has balked at attempts to
“finally close the Artsakh issue” while signaling its desire to discuss them
with the Armenian government.
The Karabakh parliament made the offer in a weekend statement issued on the 22nd
anniversary of a referendum on the region’s secession from Azerbaijan which it
said reaffirmed the Karabakh Armenians’ “will to have an independent state.”
“Taking into account the intensity of the steps taken by the parties interested
in the final closure of the Artsakh issue and the aggressive behavior of the
parties interested in it, the National Assembly reaffirms its commitment to
stand up for the rights of the people of Artsakh and expresses its readiness to
discuss all contentious issues with the interested parties,” it said.
Although the statement did not name those parties, it seemed primarily addressed
to the Armenian government.
“All those individuals who do not want Artsakh’s state institutions to operate
stand for the destruction of the Artsakh statehood,” said Davit Galstian, the
leader of the Artarutyun (Justice) bloc represented in the Karabakh legislature.
But he too did not name names.
Political allies of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian have said in recent weeks
that Karabakh government bodies should be dissolved following the recent
restoration of Azerbaijani control over the territory and the resulting exodus
of its ethnic Armenian population.
Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonian declared on November 16 that their
continued activities would pose a “direct threat to Armenia’s security.” Gevorg
Papoyan, a deputy chairman of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, on Monday echoed
that warning condemned by the Armenian opposition.
“This is would be a bomb planted under the Republic of Armenia,” Papoyan told
journalists. He also pointed to Karabakh President Samvel Shahramanian’s
September 28 decree which said that the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, set up in September 1991, will cease to exist on January 1.
Shahramanian implied in October that the decree is null and void. He said he was
forced to sign it in order to stop the hostilities and enable the Karabakh
Armenians to safely flee their homeland.
The Karabakh parliament’s statement likewise said that Shahramanian’s decision
forced by Baku helped to prevent a “genocide.”
Pashinian’s government stopped championing the Karabakh Armenians’ right to
self-determination in April 2022. A year later, Pashinian declared that it
recognizes Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan. Armenian opposition leaders say
that this policy change paved the way for Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 military
offensive in Karabakh.
Simonian said later in November that a peace treaty currently discussed by Baku
and Yerevan should not contain any special provisions on Karabakh and the return
of its ethnic Armenian residents.
Ruling Party Vague On Next Steps In Gyumri
• Satenik Kaghzvantsian
Armenia - Civil Contract leaders in Gyumri hold a news conference, December 11,
2023.
Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party gave no indications on Monday that it will
try to oust the mayor of Gyumri through a no-confidnce vote after pulling out of
a power-sharing agreement with his political force.
The agreement was reached two years ago following a municipal election in which
a bloc linked to the city’s longtime former mayor, Samvel Balasanian, garnered
most votes but fell short of a majority in the local council. The Balasanian
Bloc teamed up with Civil Contract, which finished second.
In line with that deal, the new Gyumri council appointed the Balasanian Bloc’s
Vardges Samsonian as mayor and two Civil Contract members as deputy mayors.
Seveal other members of the party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian were
also given posts in the municipal administration.
All those officials stepped down after Civil Contract unexpectedly announced
last week the end of the power-sharing arrangement. It said vaguely that it does
not want to be part of what it called “shady governance.”
Local Civil Contract leaders shed little light on their discord with the
Balasanian Bloc when they met the press to explain the decision. They accused
the bloc and the incumbent mayor of a lack of transparency but did not elaborate.
Knarik Harutiunian, who leads the Civil Contract group in the city council,
complained about “outside forces meddling in municipal governance.” It was not
clear whether she referred to ex-Mayor Balasanian.
“I will now refrain from giving any names,” said Harutiunian.
Pashinian’s party scrapped the coalition deal in Gyumri one day after
controversially ousting the head of a major community in neighboring Lori
province comprising the town of Alaverdi and two dozen other towns and villages.
The mayor, Arkadi Tamazian, lost his narrow majority in the Alaverdi council
after one of its members representing his opposition Aprelu Yerkir party
defected to Civil Contract in July. Civil Contract capitalized on the defection
to replace Tamazian by its local leader amid serious procedural violations
alleged by the Armenian opposition and some civil society members.
Commenators have suggested that Pashinian’s political team may attempt a similar
power grab in Armenia’s second largest city. Harutiunian said, however, that
such a scenario is “not realistic” because Civil Contract controls only 11 of
the 33 seats in the Gyumri council. She insisted that her party has not urged
any council members to defect to it or reeived such offers from any of them.
Meanwhile, the Balasanian Bloc and the Gyumri mayor remained reluctant to
comment on Civil Contract’s accusations and reveal their next steps. The
collapse of their alliance with Pashinian came as a surprise also because
Balasanian’s son Misak was appointed as Armenia’s ambassador to Iraq just two
months ago.
Argentina’s New President Vows Closer Ties With Armenia
Argentina - Argentina's President-elect Javier Milei meets Armenian President
Vahagn Khachaturian, Buenos Aires, December 9, 2023.
Argentina’s new President Javier Milei met with his Armenian counterpart Vahagn
Khachaturian and called for closer ties between their countries ahead of his
inauguration ceremony held on Sunday.
Khachaturian was among a handful of foreign leaders, including Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who attended the ceremony held in Buenos Aires.
According to the Armenian presidential press office, he was the first of those
dignitaries to be received by Milei in his new capacity.
“I have been to Armenia and am familiar with Armenia,” the office quoted Milei
as saying. “I am confident that we will further deepen our relations.”
The Armenian president, who has largely ceremonial powers, likewise expressed
confidence that the two governments “will do everything to raise the
Armenian-Argentinian relationship to a higher level.” He thanked Argentina for
its “support that has been shown to Armenia in recent years.”
Khachaturian held a separate meeting with the South American country’s outgoing
President Alberto Fernandez and gave him an Armenian state medal, the Order of
Honor. Fernandez has repeatedly denounced Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin
corridor that preceded its September military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia has long maintained warm relations with Argentina as well as neighboring
Brazil and Uruguay cemented by the existence of influential Armenian communities
in the three nations. There are an estimated 120,000 ethnic Armenians living in
Argentina. Most of them are descendants of survivors of the 1915 Armenian
genocide in Ottoman Turkey.
Armenia - Argentine-Armenian businessman Eduardo Eurnekian speaks to reporters
in Echmiadzin, 14Sep2017.
The most prominent Argentinian of Armenian descent is Eduardo Eurnekian,
Argentina’s fourth-richest person whose Corporacion America group runs 53
airports in and outside the country and also has a wide range of other business
assets.
Milei, who is known for his libertarian and far-right views, worked for the
conglomerate from 2008-2021, eventually becoming its chief economist. Eurnekian
reportedly backed his former employee’s presidential bid. An Argentinian
lawmaker quoted by the Financial Times in September described the 90-year-old
billionaire as Milei’s “intellectual father.”
“I think Milei would be a very good president,” Eurnekian told the London-based
paper at the time.
Corporacion America’s holdings also include Yerevan’s Zvartnots international
airport. Eurnekian also invested in other sectors of the Armenian economy in the
early 2000s. In particular, he purchased an Armenian commercial bank and set up
what is now one of the South Caucasus country’s largest wine companies.
In 2017, then Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian bestowed the highest state
award, the title of National Hero, on Eurnekian.
Armenian Official Looks Forward To Peace Deal With Azerbaijan
• Karlen Aslanian
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, March
10, 2023.
Armenia and Azerbaijan moved closer to signing a bilateral peace treaty by
agreeing to exchange prisoners and take other confidence-building measures, a
senior Armenian official said over the weekend.
“We believe that this is a very positive, important step towards signing the
peace treaty,” Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council,
told Armenian Public Television.
“To a certain extent, this is the kind of step which shows that there is a
desire to follow the logic of solving problems, and the peace treaty is the
biggest opportunity to solve problems,” he said.
The Armenian government is ready to sign the treaty before the end of this month
even if that time frame “seems a bit difficult” now, added Grigorian.
The agreement on the prisoner swap announced last Thursday is the result of
direct Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations. Azerbaijan is to free 32 Armenian
captives in exchange for Armenia’s release of two Azerbaijani soldiers and
support for Baku’s bid to host the COP29 climate summit next year.
A senior Armenian pro-government lawmaker, Sargis Khandanian, cautioned on
Friday that implications of the prisoner swap should not be overestimated. The
two sides have only solved a “humanitarian issue” and it remains be seen whether
they can make similar progress on other fronts, he said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev twice cancelled talks with Armenian Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian which the European Union planned to host in October.
The peace accord was due to be their main focus.
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov similarly withdrew from a November
20 meeting with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan that was due to take
place in Washington. Baku accused the Western powers of pro-Armenian bias and
proposed direct negotiations with Yerevan.
Mirzoyan deplored later in November Baku’s “refusal to come to meetings
organized by various international actors, including the U.S. and the EU.”
Bayramov claimed that Yerevan itself is dragging its feet on the peace treaty.
Aliyev likewise accused the Armenian side of “artificially dragging out the
process” in an interview with the Euronews TV channel recorded on November 23
but aired on December 9. He said at the same that Azerbaijan’s recent recapture
of Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to the mass exodus of the region’s ethnic
Armenian population, removed the main obstacle to the Armenian-Azerbaijani
treaty.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
12:02,
BRUSSELS, DECEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. “Present trends are racing our planet down a dead-end three-degree temperature rise,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres recently warned. He is right. Unless we act decisively – beginning at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) underway in Dubai – the threat that climate change poses to humanity will become nothing short of existential.
Already, climate change is a major risk multiplier for conflict and instability. Extreme weather events like floods and heatwaves have led to the forcible displacement of more than 20 million people each year since 2008. By 2050, more than one billion people may have insufficient access to water, and more than 200 million may be forced to migrate.
Water scarcity and food shortages are fueling violent conflicts in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and other parts of the world. Of the 20 countries that are most vulnerable to climate change, 12 are mired in conflicts. Authoritarian countries are taking advantage of the turmoil, attempting to gain influence over fragile governments and secure access to raw materials. Unless our mitigation and adaptation efforts are equal to the climate crisis, these trends will accelerate and spread, with truly catastrophic results.
The European Union is doing its part to avoid such an outcome. With the European Green Deal, we are aiming, by 2030, to reduce our greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 55%, ensure that more than 42.5% of our energy comes from renewable sources, and increase energy efficiency by at least 11.7%. We strive to become climate-neutral by 2050.
Central to our strategy for achieving these goals is putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions. But imposing a carbon price only on EU production risks simply pushing carbon-intensive activities beyond our borders. Such “carbon leakage” would mean losing jobs in the EU without achieving any reduction in global emissions.
That is why we implemented the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which ensures that the most carbon-intensive imports are subject to a carbon price in line with that put on European goods. This is not protectionism. Rather, it is a necessary step to ensure that our ambitious decarbonization measures are helpful for the global climate.
We also want to take responsibility for the greenhouse-gas emissions caused outside the EU by our consumption of imported goods, which why we are “greening” our trade policy. In particular, we want to ensure that the products we import no longer contribute to deforestation – one of the greatest threats to the climate and biodiversity. We know that the requirements stemming from this EU law are causing tensions with some of our partners. We are ready to support them in implementing these measures and to address together the challenge of deforestation.
The green transition will shake up the global balance of power. For the EU, this process implies both benefits and risks. On one hand, it will reduce our dependence on fossil fuels – a dependence that, as Russia’s war against Ukraine has demonstrated, carries high political and economic costs. On the other hand, it could create new dependencies, such as on producers of critical raw materials. Avoiding that outcome – and bolstering our security – requires us to ensure diversity of supply. To that end, we must strengthen our ties with Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, developing tailor-made partnerships that allow for value-addition and job creation in our partner countries.
While Europe bears an important historical responsibility for climate change, we account for just 7.5% of global emissions today, meaning that the actions we take at home can have only a limited impact on the world’s climate. The only solution to climate change is a global one. At a time when multilateralism is under growing pressure, agreement on how to meet the targets set at COP21 in Paris would not only ensure a safe future for our children, but also would show that multilateral institutions can still deliver.
COP28 must shift the world into higher gear. The EU is committed to pushing for the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels and all fossil-fuel subsidies, the doubling of energy-efficiency measures, and the tripling of renewable-energy capacity worldwide. But to make this happen, we need the buy-in of the other industrialized economies, as well as China, which, despite its tremendous progress in renewables, still burns more coal than the rest of the world combined.
The green transition will succeed only if it is just and benefits all. The most climate-vulnerable countries have contributed little to climate change but risk bearing the brunt of it. While they must be part of the global race to net-zero emissions, they need and deserve greater support when it comes to climate adaptation and the green-energy transition. The EU is prepared to deliver such support – and help our partners avoid repeating our past mistakes.
The EU, its member states, and the European financial institutions are already the largest contributors of public climate finance to developing economies, having delivered €28,5 billion ($30 billion) in 2022. Moreover, the developed economies are finally on track to meet the goal of mobilizing $100 billion annually for climate adaptation and mitigation in the developing world. But we must think beyond this pledge, which ends in 2025.
It is time to align both public and private financial flows with the goals laid out in the Paris climate agreement, and take climate finance from billions to trillions. At the same time, the international financial institutions and multilateral development banks need to be reformed, so that they can do more to support the delivery of global public goods. And the new Loss and Damage Fund needs the appropriate financial firepower. The first substantial pledges are encouraging. Here, too, China will be an indispensable partner.
In an increasingly multipolar world, shaped by the return of great-power politics, concerted international cooperation might seem far-fetched. But in the face of such a global existential challenge, we must succeed.
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is Vice President of the European Commission for a Stronger Europe in the World
Wopke Hoekstra is European Commissioner for Climate Action
Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, on Monday received Bertrand Bouyx, the head of the French delegation at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the NA informed.
Welcoming the guest, the NA speaker lauded the warm relations and effective cooperation established between the Armenian and the French delegations at PACE. Also, Simonyan thanked the France-Armenia friendship group consisting of 97 MPs, of which Bouyx is also an active member, for the pro-Armenia activities.
The interlocutors reflected on the deepening and strengthening relations between Armenia and the EU, their dialogue on the liberalization of visas, the possibilities of intensifying their bilateral economic ties, and the steady implementation of democratic processes in Armenia. According to Bertrand Bouyx, it is inspiring that despite the difficult events that took place, democracy in Armenia is strong and visible. Also, the head of the French delegation in the PACE said the ratification of the Rome Statute by the Armenian parliament was an important step.
Speaking about the challenges in Armenia’s region, the parties exchanged views on the progress of negotiations on the peace treaty to be signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the immediate return of Armenian captives held in Azerbaijan, and the normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations.
The French guest reaffirmed that his country is committed to Armenian-French friendship and stands with Armenia at this difficult moment.
Dec. 8 (UPI) — Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to exchange prisoners as they recommit to normalizing relations with intentions of reaching a peace treaty, their two governments said.
The announcement comes months after Azerbaijan violently seized the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region from Armenia in a resumption of fighting that threatened to restart the deadly war of 2020.
A joint statement Thursday from the Office of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and the Office of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan states that following talks between the Caucasian nations, they have agreed to take "tangible" confidence-building steps, including the exchange of prisoners.
The countries said that "driven by the values of humanism and as a gesture of goodwill" Azerbaijan will release 32 Armenian military servicemen and Armenia will release two Azerbaijani soldiers.
"The Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan share the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace in the region," the statement said.
"[The] two countries reconfirm their intention to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."
In another gesture of goodwill, Armenia said it will also support Azerbaijan's bid to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties, better known as the COP29 United Nations climate change conference, by withdrawing its own candidacy.
And in turn, Azerbaijan said it will support the Armenia's candidacy for Eastern European Group COP Bureau membership.
The development was welcomed by the United States, which commended Aliyev and Pashinyan in for their efforts "to lay the groundwork for a more peaceful and prosperous future for the people of the south Caucasus," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Charles Michel, the European Union's top diplomat, said he was "delighted" to welcome the "major breakthrough" in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
"Establishing and deepening bilateral dialogue between sides has been a key objective of the [EU]-led Brussels process: today's progress is a key step," he said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I now encourage the leaders to finalize the [Armenia-Azerbaijan] peace deal ASAP."
EU chief Charles Michel on Thursday hailed a "major breakthrough" in relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan after the arch-foe Caucasus neighbours agreed to exchange prisoners of war and work towards normalising ties.
"Delighted to welcome a major breakthrough" in relations, Michel wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Welcome in particular release of detainees and unprecedented opening in political dialogue."