ANCA: Biden proposes just $24M for Armenia; No figure for Karabakh aid

PanARMENIAN
Armenia,

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Biden Administration called for just $24 million in U.S. assistance to Armenia in the White House Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 budget proposal released on Monday, March 28 – $21 million less than what Congress allocated and the President approved for FY 2022 just weeks ago, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“We are disappointed that President Biden’s annual budget – released in the wake of a government watchdog report documenting over $164,000,000 in U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan – flat-lines U.S. aid to Armenia at just over $24 million and fails to include any specific dollar amount for U.S. assistance to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh – Ed.),” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We look to our Congressional allies, coalition partners, and community activists to work through the foreign aid appropriations process to dramatically boost U.S. aid numbers for both Artsakh and Armenia.”

Similar to his budget request for FY2022, the President’s FY2023 budget includes $23,405,000 in foreign aid and $600,000 in military assistance to Armenia. A separate line item in the budget calls for $6,050,000 in International Narcotics and Law Enforcement spending in Armenia. Following broad-based Congressional outreach by the ANCA and the Armenian American community last year, the final FY2022 aid package for Armenia was increased to $45 million and included an additional $2 million in U.S. demining assistance for those affected by the 2020 Azerbaijan and Turkey-led attacks on Armenia and Artsakh. The ANCA has already issued calls on the White House and Congress for $50 million in US aid to Artsakh, to help resettle the over 100,000 indigenous Artsakh Armenians ethnically cleansed by Azerbaijan in 2020. To join the nationwide call to action, visit anca.org/aid.

By comparison, President Biden requested approximately $9.7 million in U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan for FY2023. This does not include additional funds Azerbaijan receives from the Department of Defense under their Section 333 (Capacity Building) programs.

According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report release in March, Azerbaijan has received over $164 million in U.S. aid under the Section 333 account, the impact of which the Departments of State and Defense failed to disclose to Congress, as required by Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. The ANCA has called on the Biden Administration to enforce Section 907 restrictions on US aid to Azerbaijan in its fullest capacity.

Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh nervous of fresh Azerbaijan probes

Modern Tokyo Times, Japan

Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker

Modern Tokyo Times

The remaining Armenian Christian communities of Nagorno-Karabakh are getting nervous concerning fresh military probes by Azerbaijan. Thus with the Russian Federation embroiled in a conflict with Ukraine, the fear is that Azerbaijan and NATO Turkey will make fresh probes against the embattled Armenians. After all, the Russian Federation is also embroiled in military operations in Syria – and on high alert from European Russia to the Russian Far East related to the intrigues of NATO in Ukraine and America having military bases in Japan and South Korea.

During the conflict that broke out in 2020, it was NATO Turkey that supported the military of Azerbaijan to push into Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey also utilized Islamist mercenaries from the battlefield of Syria to support the military advancements of Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, sophisticated weapons purchased by Azerbaijan from an array of nations altered the military balance to the detriment of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Recent clashes are reverberating throughout the remaining areas under the control of Armenians. Newsweek reports, “… many Armenians fear the latest clashes may be just the beginning of something more ominous, especially as the international community’s sights are fixated on the explosive conflict in Ukraine.”

A deputy of the National Assembly in Armenia, Kristine Vardanyan, points the finger at Turkey. She said, Turkey “equally shares all the responsibility for what is happening.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said, “From March 24 to 25, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan, violating the provisions of the trilateral statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia of November 9, 2020, entered the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh and set up an observation post. Four strikes were carried out with an unmanned aerial vehicle Bayraktar TB2 against Nagorno-Karabakh’s armed formations outside Furukh.”

Clashes have broken out in recent months. However, the convulsions of Ukraine might be utilized by Azerbaijan, especially if Turkey encourages the political elites of Baku to further encroach into the remaining areas of Nagorno-Karabakh under Armenian control.

Azerbaijan denies all accusations. However, the modernization of the armed forces of Azerbaijan – along with the backing of Turkey – are powerful incentives for Azerbaijan to take the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region. Hence, with the Armenian Christians knowing the painful events of history that culminated in the genocide of Armenians in the early twentieth century – the Armenians face an uphill battle to survive in the remaining areas of Nagorno-Karabakh.

https://www.newsweek.com/war-ukraine-rages-russia-ally-armenia-sees-bloodshed-own-border-1692187

Drone attack leaves 3 Nagorno-Karabakh soldiers dead

Zyri


YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — A drone strike by Azerbaijan on Friday killed three Nagorno-Karabakh soldiers, the territory’s defense ministry said.

The incident raised concerns about the stability of a 2020 ceasefire that ended the Azerbaijani-Armenian war over Nagorno-Karabakh. More than 5,500 soldiers lost their lives in the six-week war, which ended with Azerbaijan’s recapture of areas around Nagorno-Karabakh that had been under Armenian control since the end of a separatist war in 1994.

Most of this territory remains under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, although it is within Azerbaijan. Russia mediated the ceasefire, then sent some 2,000 troops it called peacekeepers to the region.

The ministry did not give details of the attack. Gegam Stepanian, the Nagorno-Karabakh ombudsman, said 14 other people were injured.

An ethnic Armenian soldier walks with the Nagorno-Karabakh flag on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, towards a checkpoint near the town of Charektar, in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region, on a new border with the Kalbajar district handed over to Azerbaijan. . (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Support programs for displaced persons of Artsakh presented at UN CSW66

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 16:17,

YEREVAN, MARCH 24, ARMENPRESS. During the UN 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, the Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan delivered a speech, presenting the programs for the displaced residents of Artsakh.

Mkrtchyan told ARMENPRESS that he presented the challenges facing the people of Artsakh who were displaced as a result of Azerbaijan’s war of aggression.

“The majority of the more than 90,000 displaced people from Artsakh are women and children, and they have been included in different support programs. I presented the work aimed at overcoming the social crisis. I also spoke about what needs to be done to ensure dignified conditions for them,” Mkrtchyan said.

A significant part of the displaced persons have returned, but many have stayed in Armenia and they require assistance and dignified conditions. Accommodation remains a problem. As long as their housing issue isn’t solved in Artsakh they will stay in Armenia.

For government 7% remains the target for economic growth – Armenian Economy Minister

 

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 17:21,

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. For the Armenian government, the 7% target for economic growth continues to be maintained. The government still sees enough potential for achieving this target, Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said during a Q&A session in the Parliament today.

In response to the question of a lawmaker that the Central Bank has revised its forecast for the economic growth, lowering it from 5.3% to 1.6%, and what is the forecast of the economy ministry for the economic growth, Minister Kerobyan reminded that the government’s target for the economic growth is 7%.

“At the moment we are doing our work around this target, despite the fact that the International Monetary Fund, the Central Bank and Fitch have lowered their forecasts. We still see enough potential to achieve the targets put by the government as a result of the implementation of our economic policy. Of course, this became difficult in these new situations, but isn’t impossible. Our target is still the same as it was while drafting the budget in the beginning of the year”, he said.

However, the Minister noted that the inflationary pressures have increased. Last week the import tariffs for qa broad range of products in the Eurasian Economic Union were zeroed, which, according to him, will help to decrease these inflationary pressures. “But this is not the end yet, new lists are coming which again will help to decrease the inflationary pressures”, Kerobyan said.

State minister: All customers in Artsakh to be supplied with natural gas in next few hours

Panorama
Armenia –

Gas supply to more than half of the customers in Artsakh has now been restored, and natural gas will be delivered to the rest in the next few hours, State Minister Artak Beglaryan said on Saturday.

The repair and checking of the damaged gas pipeline was completed late on Friday, with natural gas delivered to the receiving point of Artsakhgaz CJSC at night.

“The people of Artsakh will now be able to resolve the heating and other problems in the current extremely cold weather conditions,” the minister wrote on Telegram.

“Some 30-40 cm of snow fell in Stepanakert today. The snowfall was even heavier in other settlements of Artsakh, which is unprecedented for March. In such conditions, the population of Artsakh was deprived of natural gas for more than 11 days in a row due to artificial and deliberate obstacles created by Azerbaijan,” Beglaryan said.

Zakharova: We note regular ceasefire violations on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

NEWS.am

We are concerned with the situation in the region and in some parts of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

"We have been noticing regular ceasefire violations since the beginning of March. Russian peacekeepers in its area of responsibility are taking appropriate measures to ensure stability and control the situation, and thanks to these efforts no armed incidents have been registered since 13 March. As far as the border is concerned, we advocate the speedy launch of the delimitation process, with the establishment of a relevant bilateral commission. We are aware of the grave humanitarian situation in connection with the accident at the gas pipeline, and we are in contact with both sides, Armenia and Azerbaijan, in order to resolve the problem. We should exclude steps which would create problems for residents and civilians and aggravate the already difficult humanitarian situation," she said.

The Azerbaijani armed forces have been periodically violating the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh over the past few days, using not only small arms, but also mortars towards the villages of Khnushinak and Khramort in the Martuni and Askeran regions.

The gas pipeline supplying Karabakh, which is under Azerbaijani control, was damaged since 8 March. Since then negotiations are held with Azerbaijanis, but they prevent the beginning of repair works. Despite numerous appeals about the urgency of solving the problem and assurances of the Karabakh authorities that it is being solved together with Russian peacekeepers, the people of Karabakh have been deprived of gas for over a week.


Nikol Pashinyan to Teresa Ribeiro: Most Armenia media, including television, are opposition-oriented

 NEWS.am 
Armenia –


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia received a delegation led by Teresa Ribeiro, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Prime Minister's Office informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The Prime Minister highlighted the cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the OSCE for effectively promoting democratic reforms in our country. Nikol Pashinyan noted that many reforms have been carried out in the recent years to develop and strengthen democracy in Armenia, including in close cooperation with European partners, and that agenda remains one of the Government's priorities. The Prime Minister underlined the consistent steps taken in the fight against corruption, noting that our country has made significant progress in the reviews of reputable international organizations. The Prime Minister also highlighted the positive changes in the field of press freedom since 2018, noting that in recent years most of the media in Armenia, including television, are opposition-oriented. The Prime Minister added that the reforms in the field of press freedom are carried out taking into account the international practice, experience and standards.

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Teresa Ribeiro noted that the steps taken by the Armenian government to strengthen democracy are encouraging and inspiring. Teresa Ribeiro stressed the importance of effective cooperation between the OSCE and the Government of the Republic of Armenia in the field of freedom of speech, including the introduction of new tools in the fight against misinformation. Ms. Ribeiro also noted that the OSCE is ready to facilitate the exchange of experience of journalists and the development of professional skills. The importance of close cooperation between the government and the civil society was also underlined.

The Russians Moving to Armenia

Business and private individuals hope to escape the consequences of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.


Friday,
Gayane Markosyan. CONTRIBUTOR

Armenian officials report growing interest from Russian citizens interesting in relocating to Armenia following the invasion of Ukraine, amid concerns that Western sanctions will soon impact their ability to work and travel.

Armenian minister of economy Vahan Kerobyan announced that “many [Russian] companies have applied and about a dozen companies have already relocated their businesses to Armenia” in the wake of the February 24 invasion.

Kerobyan explained that most of these businesses were from the IT sector.

“These are the companies that are directly linked to Western markets and due to current restrictions they are unable to work from their own country,” he said, adding that his department had set up a working group to support their relocation.  

Staff.am, Armenia’s largest Armenian employment platform, reported receiving enquiries about relocation from about 300 individuals and over 20 companies in recent days. Most applicants were from Russia and also worked in the IT sector.

"I am fully aware of the economic consequences my country is going to face."

IT developer Ivan Grebenshchikov is one of those who have already left Russia to move to Armenia.

“It's been [nearly] a year since Russia started building up its troops along the border [of Ukraine],” he said. “We have been following all the developments since December and actively discussing moving to other country since mid-February.”

Fearing that the new sanctions against Russia might include travel bans for its citizens, Grebenshchikov and his wife left for Armenia on March 1.

“The situation was changing fast, flights to many countries have already been banned,” he continued. “There were only a few countries left where we could fly. And if they banned travelling to these countries too, it would be a disaster, we would feel trapped.”

Grebenshchikov said that he also opposed the war, explaining, “It’s completely wrong and not worth all the lives that [are being] lost.”

Grebenshchikov said that both he and his wife continued to work remotely and that Armenia had so far been a pleasant experience.

“It is not expensive to live in Armenia, the prices are almost the same as in Russia,” he continued. “Almost everyone speaks Russian, people are very friendly. Armenians are ready to help even without asking. Besides, we have good friends here.”

Yulia, not her real name, also moved to Armenia immediately after the invasion of Ukraine. She asked to remain anonymous because her elderly parents remained in Russia.

“My country started the war – that is the reason I left Russia,” she said. “I think it was the wrong move… I am fully aware of the economic consequences my country is going to face in the next ten years.”

She has continued to work remotely from Yerevan and has no intention to return any time soon.

“My parents are retired, and I think today the best way to take care of them is to work and earn money in other countries, this was the main reason why I decided to move here,” she concluded.

Armenia is considered a convenient and affordable option for relocation, given the widespread use of Russian and the close ties between the two countries.

Government agencies in Armenia as well as private sector companies are working to reassure potential newcomers from Russia over concerns about issues including the banking system, living costs, medical care and Russian-language schools for their children.

Numerous groups have also been set up on Facebook and Telegram to assist those who are interesting in moving to Armenia.

“In recent days, many Russian partners of our company have been talking about moving to Armenia, said Anna Beklyarova, from the Armenian IT company IT City. “They choose it for several reasons: the IT sector is well developed, the banking and taxation policies are acceptable, it is possible to work remotely and finally, Armenia is a country with beautiful nature and people.”

She said that one of their partner companies had already moved to Armenia along with employees and their families who were currently staying in a Yerevan hotel in until they find appropriate accommodation and office space.  

Companies like IT City are welcoming the potential influx of IT companies and skilled labour from Russia, hoping that this will have a positive impact on the sector’s development and improve economic performance.

However, others warn that the ongoing conflict will be extremely damaging for the Armenian economy.

“The negative consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the sanctions imposed against Russia will be more obvious for Armenia than the possible benefits,” said Armen Ktoyan, an expert at the National Centre for Public Policy Research. He noted that most direct investment in Armenia came from Russian capital, and that the conflict might also affect decisions on foreign investments.

Problems with the Russian economy had a clear knock-one effect for Armenia, Ktoyan continued.

“It will affect the volume of remittance transfers to Armenia from our fellow citizens who work in Russia. The amount will decrease significantly – we are talking about 800-900 million US dollars. This will lead to a decrease in the purchasing power of Armenia’s population. It will also affect exports from Armenia to Russia, which is our major trading partner. Russia is a leading export market for Armenia and with the devaluation of the rouble the Armenian goods will become more expensive in Russia and the goods imported from Russia will become cheaper in Armenia. In both cases, Armenian products will become less competitive.”

Ktoyan said that much depended on the duration of the conflict, as well as its eventual resolution.

“Now everyone is in a state of expectation: if Russia is drawn into a longer military confrontation, this will imply completely different realities,” he said. “If solutions are found in the coming days, the list of sanctions might not be expanded further or might not be as painful as in the case of long-lasting conflict.”

Russia announces ceasefire, opens corridors for exit of civilians from Mariupol

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 11:39, 5 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 5, ARMENPRESS. The Russian side announces a ceasefire and opens humanitarian corridors for the exit of residents of Mariupol and Volnovakha, TASS reports citing the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry.

“Today, on March 5, a ceasefire is announced from 10:00 a.m. Moscow time and humanitarian corridors are opened for the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha”, the ministry said as quoted by TASS.

The humanitarian corridors and the exit routes were agreed with the Ukrainian side, it specified.