Category: 2017

                                        Monday, 

Armenian Foreign Ministry Says Ukrainian Journalists Had No
Accreditation


Armenia - Tigran Balayan, a spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign
Ministry

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stresses that the group of
journalists from Ukraine that was reportedly banned from entering
Armenia last week had no accreditation.

Earlier, producer of the Ukrainian television company, ICTV, Oksana
Dykhnich claimed that their crew was not allowed to enter Armenia
despite "all arrangements made as required". She further claimed that
the entry ban was imposed at the request of Russia.

In a Facebook post Dykhnich said the company's crew went on a business
trip to Armenia, but upon arrival were denied entry because they were
blacklisted in Russia for their work in the east of Ukraine where
government forces are fighting Russian-backed separatists.

"This ban is valid for all countries of the [Russian-led] customs
union," Dykhnich claimed, recommending that her colleagues in Ukraine
consider this circumstance in planning their trips to countries of the
Eurasian Economic Union that besides Russia includes Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.

"The Ukrainian TV company did not apply for any accreditation to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and this fact was publicly admitted by
the producer of the TV station who made an appropriate post on
Facebook," Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan told
RFE/RL's Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am). "Our employee left a comment
to that post and the woman admitted that they did not apply for
accreditation," he added.

Balayan insisted that Armenia has no "black list" of journalists. At
the same time, the Foreign Ministry spokesman did not wish to answer
the question on why the Ukrainian television crew was not allowed to
enter Armenia. "Answering this question is not within my competence,"
he said.

Meanwhile, in a comment to Dykhnich's Facebook post a user named
Hovhannes Igityan (the name of an opposition politician in Armenia)
insists that the lack of accreditation cannot become a reason for
banning a Ukrainian citizen with a valid passport from entering
Armenia, since Armenia and Ukraine have a visa-free regime.



Lavrov Arrives In Yerevan After Talks In Baku


 . Aza Babayan
 . Gevorg Stamboltsian


Armenia - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visits the Armenian
Genocide Memorial in Yerevan, 20 Nov 2017

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in the Armenian capital
of Yerevan on Monday afternoon as part of his regional tour that
included talks in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Lavrov's two-day visit to Yerevan officially marks the 25th
anniversary of the establishment of Russia's diplomatic relations with
the South Caucasus nation. In Yerevan the Russian foreign minister is
expected to meet with President Serzh Sarkisian and Foreign Minister
Edward Nalandian, with their talks likely to focus on long-standing
efforts to settle the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh.

Lavrov discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh issue with Azerbaijani officials
when he visited Baku on November 19-20. During his meeting with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday the top Russian diplomat
reportedly reiterated Russia's interest in helping "find a solution
and ensure progress toward the settlement" of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.


AZERBAIJAN -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) meets with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (R) in Baku, 

Along with the United States and France Russia co-heads the Minsk
Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), which is the existing international mediation format
pertaining to the conflict.

While in Baku, Lavrov stressed that in the Karabakh settlement issue
Moscow has the same position as Washington and Paris and that the
rather serious differences in the U.S-Russian relations have not
affected the joint mediation efforts in the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict.

"The co-chairs meet with the ministers, regularly visit the region. I
hope that the meeting of the presidents [of Armenia and Azerbaijan]
that took place last month will contribute to progress in the
settlement of the conflict," Lavrov said.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart
Elmar Mammadyarov following their talks, Lavrov said that a continued
conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh is not in the interest of anyone. "It
is necessary to deal with the resolution of the Karabakh conflict,
especially that the main directions in which it is necessary to
register progress have already been outlined," Lavrov said. He also
said that no enlargement of the OSCE Minsk Group format is on the
cards. "All the states that could contribute to the resolution of the
problem are represented in the Minsk Group," he said.

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met separately with
the Russian, American and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group in
Moscow last week after which the international mediators said that
Nalbandian and Mammadyarov agreed to hold a meeting on the sidelines
of an OSCE Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria, next month.

Prior to his regional tour Lavrov told Russian state-run TASS news
agency that while in Yerevan and Baku "we will try to understand at
what stage our efforts on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement are after
the meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Geneva."

During their talks in the Swiss city on October 16, Armenian President
Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Aliyev pledged to intensify
the peace process and bolster the cease-fire regime in the region's
conflict zone.



Parents In Armenian Village Block Road, Demand School Repairs


 . Marine Khachatrian


Armenia- Rally in the village of Jrarbi, 20 Nov, 2017

Angry parents in a village in western Armenia briefly blocked a road
passing through their community on Monday morning in protest against
what they described as the lack of elementary conditions at a local
school attended by their children.

Scores of protesters in Jrarbi, a village situated some 30 kilometers
to the west of capital Yerevan, demanded a meeting with Armavir
Governor Ashot Ghahramanian to discuss the matter.

The demonstrators complained that the school attended by more than 260
students lacks a proper heating system and badly needs repairing. In
particular, they said that the windows of the school building are
broken, the walls have large cracks and there are no functioning
toilets. According to the parents, in cold classrooms heated with
kerosene burners children quickly get cold and frequently get sick in
winter.

"We want the government to do something to repair this school," one of
the angry parents told RFE/RL's Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am). "We
don't want land or anything from them, we just want them to replace
the old windows and install a proper heating system, that's not
something big for them."

Most of the students did not attend school today. Their parents say
they won't let them attend classes until proper conditions are ensured
in the school building.

Armavir Governor Ghahramanian arrived in Jrarbi to meet with the
protesters later on Monday. He promised that "changes will be noticed
in the school within 10 days." "We will try to install a heating
system that will heat both the corridors and the classrooms," the
official said.

The newly appointed headmaster of the school, ruling Republican Party
member Narek Zakarian, meanwhile, said he still had no idea about how
the problems of the school will be solved. "We need to do it so as not
to interfere with the classes. I don't know what we are going to do
and how. I have no idea," he confessed.



Soviet-Era Dissident On Hunger Strike In Armenia Over Constitutional
Provision


 . Sisak Gabrielian


Armenia - Politician Paruyr Hayrikian on huger strike in front of the
Central Electoral Commision building in Yerevan, 20Nov, 2017

Armenia's prominent Soviet-era dissident Paruyr Hayrikian, who
currently heads an extra-parliamentary political party, has gone on an
open-ended hunger strike in front of the Central Election Commission
(CEC) building in Yerevan over what he described as
"anti-constitutional" behavior of the body.

Hayrikian, the chairman of the Union for National Self-Determination
and a former presidential candidate, claims the CEC acted against the
amended Constitution by refusing to provide him with the necessary
documents for the start of a signature collection campaign for a
constitutional reform.

Article 202 of Armenia's new Constitution adopted in a 2015
referendum, in particular, entitles at least 200,000 citizens that are
eligible voters to initiate the adoption of a new or amendments to the
existing Constitution.

"We received a strange reply, which shows that they either do not
recognize the 2015 Constitutional referendum and therefore do not
accept the new Constitution or challenge the legality of the new
Constitution," Hayrikian claimed.

Not all of the chapters and articles of the amended Constitution have
been enforced yet. The article in question, according to transitional
provisions, is due to take legal force when the newly elected
president of Armenia assumes office next spring.

Still, Hayrikian insists on his right to start the collection of
signatures based on the mentioned article of the Constitution even in
the absence of proper legislation.

CEC Chairman Tigran Mukuchian explained to RFE/RL's Armenian Service
(Azatutyun.am) over the weekend that they did not provide Hayrikian
with the documents necessary for the collection of signatures because
the current law on referendums does not provide for such a procedure.

Hayrikian, who spent about 18 years in Soviet prison and was shot and
wounded during his bid for the presidency in 2013, has for years
sought changes in Armenia's Constitution that he says will enable the
country to switch to "absolute democracy" in which "no vote of a
citizen will be lost because of a faulty electoral system."

This is not the first time Hayrikian goes on hunger strike as a means
to support his political demands. The last time he resorted to this
form of protest was in 2014 when after Armenia's decision to join a
Russian-led trade bloc Hayrikian went on a weeklong hunger strike
demanding President Serzh Sarkisian's resignation and the transition
of power to pro-European forces.



Press Review



In the context of the recent student movement against the restriction
of the right to draft deferments "Hraparak" notes that while not all
of the youth civil initiatives in Armenia have been successful, the
authorities have tended to make some concessions and draw conclusions
from them. "As a result of these movements new civil leaders, people
of new quality and mentally have been born, people who may tomorrow
lead also the political struggle," the paper writes, adding that, in
the meantime, "politicians of the older generation have always tried
to spoil and discredit these young people, to turn them into what they
are themselves."

"Zhoghovurd" notes Armenia's high degree of militarization that has
given it the third rank in the Global Militarization Index for the
sixth consecutive year. "There is an opinion that as a result of the
steps proceeding from the implementation of the recently introduced
Nation-Army model Armenia can mount a serious challenge to Israel,
which is the leader according to this international report. Meanwhile,
according to the 2017 report on Armenia's national competitiveness, a
high degree of militarization limits economic development, draining
scarce resources. It turns out that the Karabakh issue, because of
which Armenia is forced to raise the level of its militarization,
hampers the country's development."

The editor of "Aravot" singles out the "large-scale offensive" of the
Tsarukian Alliance against the prime minister, the government and
especially the chairman of the State Revenue Committee during the
latest four-day session of parliament. He assumes the faction was
given such an assignment by its leader, wealthy businessman Gagik
Tsarukian. Yet, the paper's editor sees some healthy element in this
struggle, which, in his opinion, generally corresponds to the spirit
of parliamentarianism "when different groups in parliament represent
competing businesses." "It would be strange and unnatural if all the
lawmakers in all matters were unanimous. This would mean that there is
no competition in our economy," he concludes.

(Tatev Danielian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

                                        Tuesday, 

Armenian Government Cuts Major Reproductive Health Program


 . Narine Ghalechian


Armenia - Inside the Erebuni hospital in Yerevan

Couples with infertility in Armenia will not be able to benefit from a
major state-funded reproductive health program next year after the
government has excluded it from the 2018 state budget, casting doubts
on its cost efficiency.

Artificial fertility is an expensive medical treatment and procedure
that most families in Armenia cannot afford. In 2015, the government
decided to help couples who cannot conceive a child otherwise by
covering the costs of the treatment.

Initially, 35 couples were chosen as beneficiaries of the program and
50 million drams (over $100,000) were earmarked to finance it.

Speaking during budget discussions in the National Assembly last week,
Health Minister Levon Altunian suggested that on the average 12
million drams (some $25,000) were spent for one child that was
eventually born under that program.

"We have numerous other programs that are more effective for
infertility treatment and these programs are now being considered,"
the minister said.

Another reason for the suspension of the program, according to the
official, is difficulties in objectively assessing the couples that
really need it. "As soon as we can apply some principles of an
objective approach, we will think about restarting this program,"
Altunian promised.

In response to an RFE/RL Armenian Service inquiry the Armenian
Ministry of Health said that in the period of 2016-2017, eight
children were born under the state-assisted program of artificial
fertilization. Another woman who has benefited from the program is
currently pregnant. Data received from three Yerevan hospitals
involved in the program shows, however, that during the same period 37
children were born under the program in question.

A 38-year-old woman from Tavush in northeastern Armenia is one of the
beneficiaries of the program. The woman who asked RFE/RL not to
disclose her name five months ago gave birth to a child conceived
through an extracorporeal fertilization technique. She says before
that she spent years for treatment during which she had to frequently
travel capital Yerevan. She says her family could not afford
artificial fertilization and so she turned to a relevant state program
that covered the costs. "After receiving the treatment I went through
an extracorporeal fertilization procedure and now we have a baby," she
says.

In one of his recent policy speeches Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian called for an increase in the country's population from the
current 3 million to 4 million people by 2040. According to opposition
lawmaker Nikol Pashinian, cutting finances for programs like
artificial fertilization does not contribute to the cause. "Instead of
cutting this spending, the government should quadruple it," he said
during recent budget discussions in parliament.

Healthcare manager Arsen Torosian considers it a disaster that drastic
spending cuts are planned for the sector in next year's state budget.

"The entire state budget will be reduced by 14 billion drams (about
$29 million), of which a 5.9-billion-dram cut is foreseen for the
healthcare sector alone. It's like healthcare is an orphan," he
commented.



Armenia Supports Continued Talks On Karabakh Settlement


 . Sargis Harutyunyan


Armenia - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Armenian Foreign
Minister Edward Nalbandian during a joint press conference in Yerevan,
21Nov, 2017

Despite Azerbaijan's unconstructive position, negotiations on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement should be continued, Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said during a joint press
conference with his visiting Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in
Yerevan on Tuesday.

"Armenia is willing to continue with the Co-Chairs, in a constructive
manner, meetings at the level of foreign ministers and presidents,"
Nalbandian stressed following talks with Lavrov in the Armenian
capital. "We have never refused to meet at the level of ministers or
presidents," he added.

Lavrov arrived in Yerevan on Monday for talks with Nalbandian and
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian focused on bilateral relations as
well as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement. The top Russian
diplomat visited Baku on November 19-20 where he also discussed the
conflict settlement with the Azerbaijani leadership.

Speaking in Yerevan, Lavrov reiterated that all elements of the
settlement are on the table.

"There are all elements for a resolution of this problem. These
elements are summarized in numerous documents that since 2007, 2009
and 2011 have been deposited with the OSCE secretary general. Thus
they are fixed as the co-chairs' proposals, they are still fully on
the table and the only thing that I would like to underline, like I
did in Baku, is that these elements have been formed into one package
and it is very difficult to take one, two or three of them and say:
let's come to an agreement based on them. Because in that case their
balancing elements will be left out and there will be no result that
all of us expect," Lavrov said.

According to the Russian foreign minister, it is important that the
presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan spoke positively about their last
month's meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, organized by the OSCE Minsk
Group that Russia chairs jointly with the United States and
France. "It is very important that this positive attitude should help
us move forward in essence. The co-chairs are engaged in this. We,
along with Washington and Paris, will analyze where we have reached,
will try to make some active efforts to reach a settlement," Lavrov
said.

"I won't be too optimistic, it's a challenging task, and the whole
experience of our negotiations comes to prove that they will not end
quickly," the top Russian diplomat concluded.


Armenia/Russia - Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian receives Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Yerevan,21Nov,2017

Later on Tuesday Lavrov was received by Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian.

According to the press service of the Armenian president, the meeting
focused on bilateral relations that Sarkisian described as "genuinely
allied".

Lavrov also reportedly praised the current level of Russian-Armenian
relations and briefed Sarkisian on his talks with Armenian Foreign
Minister Nalbandian during which, he said, they "reviewed all
directions of our alliance and strategic partnership."



Opposition Member Installed As First Deputy Mayor In Vanadzor After
Power-Sharing Deal


 . Nare Stepanian


Armenia - Arkady Peleshian, newly elected First Deputy Mayor of
Vanadzor, 21Nov, 2017

An opposition party representative has been elected first deputy mayor
of Vanadzor after his faction struck a controversial deal with the
ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) to end a stymie in the work
of a local municipal council boycotted by its majority opposition
groups.

Following an offer from Vanadzor mayor Mamikon Aslanian representing
the HHK, the leader of the five-member faction of the Armenian Revival
party Arkady Peleshian agreed to sign a cooperation deal to share
"responsibility for the work" of the city's legislature.

The move changed the balance of forces in the 33-seat municipal
council of Armenia's third largest city in favor of the HHK and its
junior coalition partner, Dashnaktsutyun, which together with Armenian
Revival unanimously elected Peleshian first deputy mayor with 20
votes.

As a result of the October 2016 elections in Vanadzor the HHK and
Dashnaktsutyun were a minority in the legislature, but they managed to
install their candidate Aslanian as mayor of Vanadzor despite the
agreement among three opposition parties, Bright Armenia, Prosperous
Armenia and Armenian Revival, to have another candidate elected.

Aslanian then received 19 council votes cast in secret ballot, meaning
that four opposition councilors secretly broke the ranks amid
allegations of pressure put on the opposition parties.

Since that ballot all 18 opposition councilors have been boycotting
sessions of the Vanadzor legislature. But despite the lack of quorum,
the 15 other, pro-government councilors have held sessions of the
council and adopted decisions on its behalf since March. The Vanadzor
municipality has insisted that those decisions are valid, citing an
article of Armenia's Law on Local Government.

By its November 10 ruling Armenia's Constitutional Court, however,
backed the opposition claim that the article is unconstitutional and
effectively gave until March 31, 2018 to redress the situation.

Edmon Marukian, an opposition lawmaker and leader of the Bright
Armenia party, said the only way to comply with the Court's ruling was
holding new elections in the city, since the Court has effectively
recognized that the municipal council has not functioned for as long
as a year.

The opposition Yelk alliance in the Armenian parliament, of which
Marukian is a senior member, on Monday called on the central
government to terminate the powers of the Vanadzor municipal council
and appoint early elections. "Now, in fact, the government will show
how far it respects the decision of the Constitutional Court," he
said.

Pashinian called the deal reached between the pro-government forces in
the Vanadzor municipal council and Armenian Revival "an ineffective
attempt to revive a dead body." He also claimed that the signing of
the deal has exposed the force that ensured an HHK candidate's victory
in Vanadzor's controversial mayoral election in October 2016. Armenian
Revival denies breaking ranks in the vote a year ago.

Meanwhile, HHK parliamentary faction leader Vahram Baghdasarian said
on Monday that there is no need to turn to the government over the
situation in Vanadzor. He expressed an opinion that sessions of the
city's municipal council were held in accordance with the law. "It is
another question that [the Constitutional Court ruling] mentions a
contradiction between the Law on Local Government and the
Constitution. By March 31, this law should be brought in conformity
with the Constitution," he said, stressing that he sees no reasons for
holding pre-term elections in Vanadzor.



Armenian Ruling Party Rebuffs Russian Propagandist TV Channel


 . Ruzanna Stepanian


Armenia - Eduard Sharmazanov, a spokesman for the ruling Republican
Party of Armenia, giving a news conference in Yerevan against the
background of HHK banners, 15Feb2017.

Armenia's ruling party has dismissed as "ridiculous and ignorant" a
claim made by a Russian propagandist television channel that accused
the South Caucasus nation's government elites of glorifying Nazism.

Zvezda TV, which is known to be the propagandist arm of Russia's
Ministry of Defense, last week aired a program in which it, in
particular, compared the logo of the Republican Party of Armenia's
(HHK) to the emblem of the Third Reich and Armenian military commander
and thinker Garegin Nzhdeh, whose ideology the HHK espouses, to World
War II-era Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera, claiming that
"Armenia's ruling elites glorify Nazi collaborators."

The program, in particular, referred to the fact that a statue to
Nzhdeh was recently unveiled in the center of the Armenian capital,
Yerevan.

"Garegin Nzhdeh is one of the greatest heroes of the Armenian nation
and monuments to him should be erected not only in Yerevan, but also
in different parts of Armenia," HHK spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov, who
is also a deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament, told RFE/RL's
Armenian Service (Azatutyun.am) on Tuesday.

"Armenia is a sovereign country and will decide itself whose monuments
to erect," Sharmazanov added.

Sharmazanov described comparisons of the HHK's logo to a Nazi emblem
as "ridiculous and political blind", at the same time downplaying the
fact that Zvezda is a television channel patronized by the Russian
Ministry of Defense.

Armenia already heard serious allegations related to Nzhdeh from
official Moscow shortly after a monument to Nzhdeh was inaugurated in
Yerevan in May 2016 in a ceremony attended by President Serzh
Sarkisian and other senior officials affiliated with the ruling party.

"We cannot understand why that statue was placed," Zakharova said
then, stressing that the Russian government is strongly opposed to
"any revival, glorification or other manifestations of Nazism,
neo-Nazism and extremism."


Armenia - The statue of Garegin Nzhdeh in Yerevan

Born in the Russian Empire in 1886, Nzhdeh was one of the prominent
military leaders of a short-lived independent Armenian republic formed
in 1918. In 1920, he mounted armed resistance against the republic's
takeover by Bolshevik Russia in Zangezur, a mountainous region in what
is now southeastern Armenia. Nzhdeh and his supporters ended the
resistance and fled to neighboring Persia in July 1921 after receiving
assurances that the region will not be incorporated into Soviet
Azerbaijan.

Nzhdeh was one of several exiled Armenian leaders who pledged
allegiance to Nazi Germany in 1942 with the stated aim of saving
Soviet Armenia from a possible Turkish invasion after what they
expected to be a Soviet defeat by the Third Reich.

Nzhdeh surrendered to advancing Red Army divisions in Bulgaria in 1944
after reportedly offering Josef Stalin to mobilize Armenians for a
Soviet assault on Turkey. In 1948, a Soviet court sentenced him to 25
years in prison on charges that mainly stemmed from his
"counterrevolutionary" activities in 1920-1921.

Nzhdeh was rehabilitated in Armenia after the republic's last
Communist government was removed from power in 1990. He is widely
credited with preserving Armenian control over Zangezur. He is also
revered by many Armenians as the founder of a new brand of Armenian
nationalism that emerged in the 1930s.

The HHK has espoused Nzhdeh's Tseghakron ideology, which puts the
emphasis on armed self-defense and self-reliance, ever since it was
set up in the early 1990s. The HHK's current coalition partner, the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), which is one of
the oldest Armenian political parties, also espouses Nzhdeh's
teachings.

Senior HHK figures rejected the Russian criticism back in 2016,
downplaying Nzhdeh's collaboration with Nazi Germany and insisting
that he is an Armenian national hero. The Russian Foreign Ministry
later softened its stance on the matter, with its spokesperson
Zakharova saying that the Armenian authorities' decision to place
Garegin Nzhdeh's statue in the center of Yerevan was "Armenia's
internal affair."

In lambasting "certain ruling elites" in Armenia, Russia's Zvezda TV
specifically pointed to a new accord that Armenia plans to sign with
the European Union at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels on
November 24.

HHK spokesman Sharmazanov has refused to be drawn on whether the kind
of program on Russian TV may indicate some dissatisfaction existing
among the Russian leadership regarding Yerevan's planned deal with the
EU.

Officials in Armenia have repeatedly stated that their relations with
Brussels do not affect Yerevan's allied relations with Moscow or
jeopardize the South Caucasus nation's membership in the Russian-led
trade bloc.

Later on Tuesday Sharmazanov said that Zvezda TV had sent an official
letter to the Armenian side admitting that "incorrect statements were
made" in its program.



Press Review



Armenian newspapers focus on the visit of Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov to Baku and Yerevan.

"Zhamanak" comments on Lavrov's statements made in the Azerbaijani
capital ahead of his visit to Armenia: "In Baku Lavrov made a number
of remarkable and significant statements, saying that in the Karabakh
settlement issue Moscow has the same position as Washington and
Paris. In practical terms this means that Russia tells Azerbaijan to
have no expectations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked
about this earlier when after returning from his talks with Russian
President Vladimir Putin in Sochi he told reporters that he had raised
the issue of [Azerbaijan] regaining five districts [surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh], but the Russian president, while agreeing with this
option, did not express a hope that it was possible."

"Haykakan Zhamanak" considers Lavrov's visit to Armenia in the context
of Yerevan's upcoming signing of a new accord with the European
Union. "On November 14, [Armenian President] Serzh Sarkisian was on a
visit to Moscow where he held a meeting with Russian President
Vladimir Putin. According to experts, the visit could be connected
with the planned signing of a new EU-Armenia accord and Sarkisian was
to understand Russia's attitude towards this circumstance. It is
difficult to say what Putin said to Sarkisian, but a repeat of the
2013 about-face has not taken place yet# Three days before the planned
signing, however, pressure on Armenia is growing as Russia's foreign
minister is visiting Yerevan."

Talking to "168 Zham", Russian political analyst Vadim Dubnov insists
that Russia and its allies in the Eurasian Economic Union do not
consider the expected EU-Armenia accord to be a challenge like it was
in 2013 when Armenia was going to initial an association agreement
with the EU of a totally different quality.

(Tigran Avetisian)


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
www.rferl.org

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Sputnik News Service
 Sunday 8:28 PM UTC


Azerbaijan Intends to Increase Cooperation Between Moscow, Baku - President



BAKU, November 19 (Sputnik) - Azerbaijan will develop the potential of
bilateral cooperation with Russia in the future, Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev said Sunday during the meeting with Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"[Regular top-level meetings] show that our relations are on a high
level. We have been viewing these relations as relations between
strategic partners for a long time, and are convinced that we will
increase the potential of the cooperation in the future," Aliyev said.

Commenting on the agenda of the talks with Lavrov, the president said
that they will focus on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.

"Azerbaijan is especially interested in the quickest settlement of
this issue," the president said during the meeting.

On Monday, Lavrov will head to Armenia, where he is expected to meet
with country's leader Serzh Sargsyan and Armenian counterpart Edward
Nalbandian. He will also discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the
meetings.