Category: 2023

Opposition MP: Armenian authorities have long turned into a ‘regime symbolizing war, catastrophe’

Arsine Chaltikian
Panorama
Armenia – Feb 17 2023

Armenian opposition MP Tigran Abrahamyan claims the proposed draft peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan does not represent the vital interests of Armenia and Artsakh.

“The Armenian-Azerbaijani talks on the “peace treaty” have once again entered an active phase,” the deputy from the Pativ Unem bloc wrote on Facebook on Friday.

“Although the text of the document under discussion has not been publicized yet, its underlying principles presented by the parties indicate that the vital interests of Armenia and Artsakh are not reflected in it.

“And there is another important circumstance: Armenia’s top leadership claims that even if the document is signed, it does not mean that Azerbaijan will implement its provisions or there will be no more war.

“The Armenian authorities have long turned into a regime symbolizing war, catastrophe and insecurity,” Abrahamyan stated.

At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Armenia had completed the next stage of work on a peace treaty and establishment of relations with Azerbaijan and submitted its proposals to Baku. 

No Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting planned in Munich, Armenian government says

Vicken Chmshkian
Panorama
Armenia – Feb 17 2023

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are not expected to hold a meeting on the sideline of the Munich Security Conference to discuss the normalization of relations between the two countries, the Armenian government’s press office told TASS on Friday.

"There is no such information at the moment," it said.

Pashinyan travelled to Munich to attend the Security Conference on Thursday. The Armenian prime minister's delegation includes Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and other officials. On the sidelines of the Munich conference, Pashinyan has already held a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel.

‘New tragedy’: Ex-PM warns against signing peace deal without Armenian-Azeri border delimitation

Jack Hunanian
Panorama
Armenia – Feb 17 2023

Armenia’s former Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan has warned of dire consequences if Armenia’s leadership agrees to sign a peace deal with Azerbaijan without delimitation and demarcation of the border between the two countries.

“The signing of a peace treaty without border delimitation would amount to a new national tragedy. It would untie Azerbaijan’s hands to launch fresh aggression against Armenia,” he wrote on Facebook on Thursday, referring to the latest statements of Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the peace agreement.

“Moreover, Armenia will have to forget forever about the lands in Vardenis, Jermuk and Sisian, as well as the Goris-Kapan-Chakaten roadway it lost in 2020-2022.

“Azerbaijan will take control over the enclaves it has laid claims to and will close the currently operational Yerevan-Meghri highway. Artsakh will cease to exist within a few months if the peace treaty includes no clause about its status,” the former PM charged.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 02/17/2023

Arpi Talalian 
                                        Friday, 


Opposition Leader Unimpressed By Turkish-Armenian Dialogue

        • Ruzanna Stepanian

Armenia -- Opposition leader Gegham Manukian at a news conference in Yerevan, 
December 20, 2021.


A senior member of the main opposition Hayastan alliance downplayed on Friday 
the significance of the latest Turkish-Armenian negotiations, saying that Ankara 
is sticking to its preconditions for normalizing relations with Yerevan.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan visited Turkey on Wednesday as the Armenian 
government sent more humanitarian aid to residents of a Turkish city ravaged by 
last week’s catastrophic earthquake. Mirzoyan said on Thursday that he and his 
Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu agreed to speed up efforts to normalize 
bilateral ties which began a year ago.

Parliament speaker Alen Simonian claimed on Friday that the two neighboring 
states are now “quite close” to establishing diplomatic relations and opening 
their border.

“If the Turkish side demonstrates sufficient will and resolve, I think that we 
will solve that issue,” Simonian told reporters.

Gegham Manukian, a lawmaker representing Hayastan, insisted, however, that 
Ankara only made “symbolic gestures” to Yerevan.

“The Armenian authorities are trying to present those gestures to their citizens 
as historic developments,” he said. “But as the joint news conference of 
Cavusoglu and Mirzoyan showed, Turkey is continuing to condition its relations 
with Armenia by negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and to speak in the 
same language of preconditions.”

Manukian also dismissed Mirzoyan’s announcement that the Turkish-Armenian border 
could be opened to citizens of third countries before this summer. He argued 
that Turkish regions bordering Armenia are sparsely populated and attract few 
foreign tourists.

“Who is going to cross the entire territory of Turkey to reach Gyumri through 
the Margara bridge and then go to, say, Georgia, with their third-country 
passport?” he asked at a news conference.

Cavusoglu said after his talks with Mirzoyan that the assistance provided by 
Armenia could facilitate the normalization process. But he appeared to link that 
process to the outcome of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks.




Chief Of New Armenian Police Force Sacked

        • Narine Ghalechian

Armenia - Officers and vehicles of the newly established Patrol Service, 
Yerevan, July 8, 2021.


The chief of a Western-funded major division of the Armenian police has been 
sacked following an extraordinary traffic incident at Yerevan’s main square 
which sparked accusations of incompetence directed at its officers.

Colonel Artur Umrshatian has headed the Patrol Service since it was set up in 
2021 with financial and technical assistance provided by the United States and 
the European Union.

The new police force was meant to introduce Western standards in road policing, 
street patrol and crowd control in Armenia. Armenian and Western officials have 
described its creation as a key element of police reforms announced by Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian’s administration.

The Armenian Interior Ministry gave no reasons for Umrshatian’s sacking 
announced on Thursday. The ministry’s press service refused to comment on it 
afterwards.

The development came six days after a car raced chaotically through Yerevan’s 
central Republic Square, driving on its sidewalks and nearly running over 
pedestrians. On-duty Patrol Service officers reportedly took more than 20 
minutes to stop the large SUV despite firing gunshots at its wheels. Its 
apparently intoxicated driver managed to flee the scene but was arrested a few 
hours later.

The incident was caught on mobile phone cameras and widely circulated on social 
media, prompting a wave of criticism and ridicule from many users. Critics of 
the government claimed that it exposed a lack of professionalism within the 
Patrol Service whose officers reportedly have much higher wages than other 
security personnel in Armenia.

Armenia - Colonel Artur Umrshatian.

The Armenian police did not respond to the criticism. Still, two Patrol Service 
officers were fired earlier this week. One of them, Roman Mirzakhanian, was hit 
and injured by the car during the February 10 incident.

Daniel Ioannisian, a civic activist monitoring the police, deplored the ensuing 
sacking of Umrshatian. Ioannisian said that the latter was at the forefront of 
police reforms and prevented nepotism and other corrupt practices within the 
Patrol Service.

“There is resistance [to reforms] because Patrol Service officers treat officers 
of other security bodies and ordinary citizens equally on the streets of 
Yerevan,” he said. “Just recently, for example, a National Security Service 
lieutenant-colonel was stripped of his driving license.”

Ioannisian also claimed that for the same reason the Patrol Service personnel 
are subjected to disciplinary action more frequently than officers of other 
police divisions.

Ioannisian’s Union of Informed Citizens (UIC) and two other non-governmental 
organizations strongly criticized last month Pashinian’s decision to appoint 
Vahe Ghazarian, the national police chief and his reputed childhood friend, as 
interior minister. They pulled out of a government body coordinating police 
reforms in protest.

Over the past year, the Patrol Service has also faced allegations of 
ill-treatment of citizens. In particular, its officers clashed last November 
with several residents of Vanadzor after accusing them of interfering with 
Pashinian’s motorcade. One of those residents was hospitalized as a result.




Armenian Speaker Lauds Council Of Europe After Russian Criticism


Armenia - Parliament speaker Alen Simonian (right) meets Council of Europe 
Parliamentary Assembly co-rapporters, Yerevan, .


Just days after Russia spoke out against European involvement in efforts to 
resolve the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, parliament speaker Alen Simonian 
praised Council of Europe officials on Friday for seeking an end to Azerbaijan’s 
blockade of the Lachin corridor.

Simonian met with Kimmo Kiljunen and Boriana Aberg, co-rapporteurs of the 
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), at the start of their 
fact-finding visit to Armenia. They are tasked with monitoring Armenia’s 
compliance with its membership commitments to the Strasbourg-based organization.

The PACE did not specify the purpose of the visit in a statement issued earlier 
this week. It said only that Kiljunen and Aberg will meet with senior officials 
in Yerevan and visit three Armenian towns close to the Azerbaijani border.

The press service of the Armenian parliament said the PACE representatives 
arrived in Armenia to “familiarize themselves with the situation created as a 
result of the illegal blockade” of Karabakh’s land link with Armenia.

“We highly appreciate the work and involvement of the Assembly and you as 
co-rapporteurs,” it quoted Simonian as telling them.

Simonian praised the co-rapporteurs for urging an immediate end to the blockade 
just days after Azerbaijani government-backed protesters halted traffic through 
the corridor on December 12. He also noted with satisfaction that a PACE 
committee will release on soon a report on “humanitarian consequences” of the 
blockade.

Russia - Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin meets Armenian 
parliament speaker Alen Simonian in Moscow, October 10, 2022
Simonian’s Russian counterpart, Vyacheslav Volodin attacked the PACE and the 
European Parliament on Monday, saying that these and other Western bodies can 
only fan tensions in the South Caucasus.

“And those who make statements in the direction of European institutions may 
simply lose the country,” Volodin, who is a close ally of Russian President 
Vladimir Putin, said in what appeared to be a stern warning to Yerevan.

The European Parliament urged Azerbaijan to “immediately reopen” the Lachin 
corridor in a January 19 resolution hailed by Armenian officials. The resolution 
also condemned the “inaction” of Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh and 
called for their “replacement with OSCE international peacekeepers.”

The European Union also irked Moscow last month when it agreed to deploy more 
than 100 monitors on Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan. The Russian 
Foreign Ministry accused the EU of seeking to “push back Russia's mediation 
efforts at any cost.”


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.

Opposition lawmaker: Armenia allocated more than 2 billion drams to repair closed Margara bridge road back in 2020

Emil Lazarian
News.am
Armenia – Feb 17 2023
13:28, 17.02.2023

Today, the entry of Armenian humanitarian aid to the territory of Turkey through the Margara bridge and the return of Armenian rescuers through the same bridge are considered historic. Emphasis is made in such a way that the Armenian side no longer mentions that the Armenian-Turkish border was closed by Turkey in 1993 as a tool of pressure, Armenian opposition MP Gegham Manukyan told a press conference on Friday.

He reminded that back on July 9, 2022, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan visited the Margara bridge section on the Armenia-Turkey border and said that he got acquainted with the progress of the M3-Turkey border-Margara-Vanadzor-Tashir-Georgia border motorway repair work with the funds of the Armenian state budget.

According to him, on June 25, 2020, when there was no 44-day war yet, there were no Armenian-Turkish processes, and there was no talk of reopening the border at all.

"On those same days, Armenia's national security strategy is published where Turkey is seen as a dangerous state for Armenia, and in case of a possible conflict, Turkey can intervene and assist Azerbaijan. And in the [Armenian] government session of June 25, 2020, a change is made in the budget, with which it is planned to repair the Turkey border-Margara-Vanadzor-Tashir-Georgia [motorway] section, as well as the Talin-Karakert-Turkey border road. In fact, back then the [Armenian] government allocated more than 2 billion drams to repair the closed border road," said Manukyan.

When asked what these facts indicate, he said: "I must remind that at that time there were unofficial conversations that there are shadow discussions between Armenia and Turkey. Later, when journalists ask [then] Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian if there is an Armenian-Turkish dialogue, he does not deny, but says ‘I’m not aware of such a dialogue.’ There is no justification why more than 2 billion [drams] should be spent on the road starting from Margara bridge. That part has been considered an ‘appendix’ section for 30 years."

"My conclusion is as follows: In the current Armenia-Turkey relations, the Turkish side is limited to small, symbolic gestures which have no practical results for Armenia. The Armenian authorities are trying to present these gestures as historical events. But as evidenced by the [Turkish and Armenian FMs] Cavusoglu-Mirzoyan [joint] news conference [in Ankara on Wednesday], Turkey continues to condition all its relations with Armenia through negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and continues to speak in the language of preconditions. Turkey will continue its pressure until Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on the document which, although Armenia calls it a ‘peace treaty,’ is actually a treaty that creates the basis for [a new] war," Gegham Manukyan emphasized.

Opposition MP: Armenia will not get any economic benefit if Turkey border is reopened

Jane Topchian
News.am
Armenia – Feb 17 2023
14:40, 17.02.2023

Back in the days of "football diplomacy," when there was a lot of talk about the reopening of the Armenian-Turkish railway, there were quite a few studies that proved that Armenia does not receive any economic benefits from it, Armenian opposition MP Gegham Manukyan told a press conference on Friday

"That is, Armenia cannot carry out such amount of cargo transportation to the Black Sea, taking into account the width of our railway tracks and the narrowness of the Turkish one. Through the territory of Turkey, cargoes reach the Black Sea through mountainous regions; that’s why the speed of trains and the number of train cars are limited, and such cargo transportation will not take place. (…) There is no substantiated economic assessment of what benefit Armenia can have. Moreover, when the Minister of Economy of Armenia spoke about multi-billion [US dollars of] investments, when he was asked on what basis this was based, it was found out on the basis of the study of the World Bank in 1999," said Manukyan.

Presidential advisor: Karabakh is so sensitive now that I don’t think anything can be provoked or happen from outside

Emil Lazarian
News.am
Armenia – Feb 17 2023
Presidential advisor: Karabakh is so sensitive now that I don't think anything can be provoked or happen from outside
17:57, 17.02.2023

Constitutional amendments are a vital necessity in Artsakh. David Babayan, Advisor to the President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), stated this in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

"If we do not make these amendments, our state may face a disaster. Choosing the time is another issue; here we have to make a very deep analysis, show a wise approach. Suddenly any sensitivity, settling some issues hurriedly can also lead to disaster. That's why we need to think carefully. Perhaps as a result of the discussions it will be found that it should be postponed for some time; but that this provision should be changed, in my opinion, this cannot be doubted in any way," he said.

Regarding the remark that there are rumors that there are intra-governmental disagreements in Artsakh, and that it is also stated in a direct text from Artsakh that this is instigated by Armenia’s authorities, Babayan said. "Reforms cannot be instigated by anyone in any way. We are really in a difficult situation. It turned out that as a result of the constitutional reforms of 2017, we have the new Constitution, which is generally good, not bad; but the institute of the President and the National Assembly have become Siamese twins. According to the Constitution, if something happens to the president, the National Assembly must be dissolved after 45 days. Now will we be able to make an election or not? How will it be? After the dissolution of the National Assembly, the state system of Artsakh is generally delegitimized. What does it matter who is instigating? No one is instigating; this is vital. It is necessary to do everything to preserve the legitimacy of Artsakh in the political sense as well, to preserve the power structure, the pyramid as well."

According to David Babayan, if it is possible to implement the constitutional amendments and a referendum will take place in Artsakh, the presidential institute and the National Assembly will be separated from each other.

Regarding the rumors that Armenia’s PM Nikol Pashinyan wants to have his desired power in Artsakh, Babayan emphasized: "Artsakh is so sensitive now that I don't think that anything can happen from outside or whether it is appropriate for someone from outside to interfere. You know there is an unwritten law: Artsakh does not interfere in the internal political life of Armenia, and neither does Armenia in Artsakh. It does not mean that we are indifferent to each other. Elections were held in 2021; this is the people's election. I do not accept the approach that the people do not make mistakes. No. The biggest mistake is made by the people; but this is a different issue. We have a government system and no one has the right to undermine it. The government system, the pyramid can be changed only in a civilized way, through normal elections."

And asked whether he saw an unhealthy atmosphere within the governmental arena, David Babayan answered. “Depends on what we mean by saying ‘unhealthy.’ The fact that there should be competition in the government, in society in general, is unequivocal. What is unhealthy is when people try to abuse their authority, when they try to take illegal steps. Such manifestations should be directly suppressed; whoever he may be. In this difficult situation, no one has the right to make Artsakh an object of their own ambitions or a springboard for resolving other issues. This is unacceptable by anyone."

Armenia’s Foreign Minister makes ‘historic’ visit to Turkey

Jhanna Virabian

Feb 15 2023


 

ByAni Avetisyan

Armenian and Turkish flags flying in Ankara on Wednesday. Photo: Armenpress.am

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan visited Ankara on Wednesday to meet his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. The visit came just over a week after Armenia sent humanitarian aid to Turkey via land borders that had been closed for thirty years. 

Mirzoyan arrived in Ankara on Wednesday morning, along with deputy minister Vahan Kostanyan, and Armenia’s special envoy for the normalisation of relations with Turkey, Ruben Rubinyan. 

‘I consider it symbolic that on Saturday, the Armenian-Turkish border, which has been closed for thirty years, was opened for Armenian lorries loaded with humanitarian aid heading to Adiyaman’, Mirzoyan stated during a joint press briefing following the meeting. 

Mirzoyan also announced that the two countries had agreed to jointly repair the Ani bridge and ‘take care of the relevant infrastructure ahead of the full opening of the border’. 

Following the meeting, Armenia’s Foreign Minister visited the city of Adıyaman, which was devastated by last Monday’s earthquake, and met with a team of Armenian rescuers working in the area.

Last week’s announcement that Armenia would provide Turkey with aid following the disaster was met with surprise from some.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries have long been hostile, as Turkey denies that a genocide of Armenians took place under the Ottoman Empire. Relations were formally halted in 1993 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, and have continued to be tense in recent years, particularly in light of Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2021.

The two governments previously held negotiations aimed at normalising relations in 2008. Negotiations broke down after Armenia refused to link the talks with the peace process with Azerbaijan, or to allow Turkey a role in their discussions with Baku. 

Following Wednesday’s meeting, Çavuşoğlu thanked Armenia for its support in the wake of last week’s earthquake. He recalled that Turkey supported Armenia after the 1988 Spitak earthquake, and Armenia had sent aid to Turkey after the earthquake in İzmit in 1999. 

Çavuşoğlu added that they had discussed the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Armenia, and believed that the countries’ humanitarian cooperation would ‘support’ the process. The minister noted that they had also discussed the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia sent a team of rescuers to earthquake-stricken areas of Turkey and Syria on 6 February, and has since sent a second round of humanitarian aid. 

For the first time since 1993, the two countries’ land border has been opened for lorries carrying humanitarian aid. 

Turkey’s special envoy for the normalisation of relations with Armenia, Serdar Kiliç, tweeted that he would ‘always remember’ Armenia’s provision of aid to Turkey. 

‘We all […] put our ethnicities, nationalities and religions aside and decided to [display] the highest level of humanity and human to human solidarity’, he added, in response to his Armenian counterpart’s tweet about Armenian rescue work in Adıyaman. 

Mirzoyan’s visit is the second in two years. In spring 2022, the Armenian Foreign Minister took part in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, meeting there with Çavuşoğlu. Earlier this year, Mirzoyan stated that he had received an invitation for this year’s forum and would ‘most likely’ take part in it. 

The special representative of the EU in the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, called Mirzoyan’s visit ‘historic’, expressing hopes that it was a ‘harbinger of developments’ in the countries’ bilateral relations. 

The current phase of normalisation began after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, when Armenia and Turkey appointed special envoys to carry out negotiations. In early 2023, Turkey lifted a ban on cargo flights between the two countries and the countries agreed to open their land border for citizens of third countries. 

Yerevan’s officially stated position is that normalisation with Turkey should be ‘unconditional’, implying that issues relating to Nagorno-Karabakh or recognition of the Armenian genocide would not be a part of the discussion. 

However, Turkey has suggested that normalisation of relations was contingent on the normalisation of Yerevan’s relations with Baku, and has pushed for Armenia to sign a peace treaty offered by Azerbaijan.

https://oc-media.org/armenias-foreign-minister-makes-historic-visit-to-turkey/

Armenian Economist Proposes Iran as Tourist Destination for Compatriots

Kevo Kalantarian
FINANCIAL TRIBUNE
Iran – Feb 15 2023
Armenian Economist Proposes Iran as Tourist Destination for Compatriots

Iran can become one of the main destinations for tourists from Armenia, Armenian economist Suren Parsyan said in an article published by News.am, the full text of which follows: 

I was in Tehran on a one-week visit, which was my second trip to one of the largest countries in the Middle East, with which Armenia has had historical and land connectivity extending over millennia.

In Tehran, I had the opportunity to get acquainted with the history, culture, tourism and economy of Iran close up. I had the honor of participating in the 16th International Tourism and Related Industries Exhibition held in Tehran on Feb. 7-10, during which Iranian provinces individually presented their attractions, hotel and recreational facilities, cultural heritage, customs, souvenirs, etc.

The signs and booklets of some Iranian companies representing Tabriz also contained Armenian information, clearly highlighting the Armenian cultural heritage and diaspora of that region.

The Armenian cultural heritage in Iran is always under the care of the state, which further increases Iran's tourism potential and makes it even more interesting. It can become one of the best examples in the world of how it is possible to preserve Islamic and Christian cultural heritages side by side. 

The centers of Iranian culture and tourism are Shiraz, Qazvin, Tabriz, Kerman, Isfahan, Qom, Sanandaj, Khorasan, etc.

International Tourism and Related Industries Exhibition is organized on a regular basis. It is an effective platform for finding new partners, sharing experience and evaluating trends in the tourism sector, to which Armenian tourism companies should also be invited. 

Within the framework of the exhibition, Iran's Minister of Tourism Ezzatollah Zarghami met with experts from Armenia at the invitation of Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts and the Iran-Armenian Friendship Association NGO.

It is noteworthy that 116,430 tourists from Iran arrived in Armenia in 2022, which is 27.5% more than last year. Although the total number of tourists departing from Armenia increased by 2.6 times during 2022, the tourist flows of Armenia to Iran are very small, which is mainly due to the lack of and sometimes incorrect information about Iran, the passivity of Iranian and Armenian travel companies, and other reasons.

However, in recent years, Kish (in Hormozgan Province), a small Iranian island in the Persian Gulf, has become a new and active tourist destination for Armenian tourists. It is one of the largest and most famous beach resorts in Iran and the Persian Gulf. The entire territory of the island is a free economic zone where you can buy goods of various importance at very affordable prices.

Cheap airline tickets can contribute to the growth of tourist flows [from Armenia] to Iran. I should mention that Armenian and Iranian airlines have several regular flights a week.

Iran implements its foreign policy on the principles of dignity, wisdom and expediency, which allows developing and expanding Armenian-Iranian trade and economic ties in all directions.

Armenian-Iranian political-economic relations have not been and cannot be to the detriment of third countries; Armenia and Iran have no alternative for development.

Currently, in this region, Iran is the only country that conducts a policy of stabilization and prevention of new conflicts, which is also in the interests of Armenia.

Yerevan Responds to Russia’s Warning on EU Involvement in Armenia

Jhanna Virabian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 February 14, 2023

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

EU monitors in Armenia in November, 2022


Yerevan on Tuesday responded to a stern warning to Armenia’s leadership from a close ally of President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who said on Monday that European bodies must not be involved in efforts to settle the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Singling out the European Parliament and the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, Russia’s State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin claimed that they can only fan regional tensions. Armenia and Azerbaijan should stick to their agreements brokered by Russia during and after their 2020 war, he told Azerbaijani parliament speaker Sahiba Gafarova during talks held in Moscow.

“And those who make statements in the direction of European institutions may simply lose the country,” warned Volodin.

He said that the European Parliament, the PACE and other Western bodies have never settled any conflict and have caused instead the breakup of Yugoslavia and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“Therefore, while wishing to involve the European Parliament and the PACE, they should think ten times and weigh up how that could end, using the example of Ukraine, Yugoslavia and other countries,” Volodin went on. “Anyone who wants peace, who wants to resolve the situation, must not only stay away from these quasi-parliaments — both the PACE and the European Parliament — but clearly understand that their involvement will aggravate the situation, create more and more problems. And if they do that, they must be held accountable for the consequences.”

Volodin and Gafarova on Monday signed a cooperation agreement, which was hailed by the two as the first such agreement between the legislatures of the two countries.

”Relations between our countries are developing dynamically. I must say a word of gratitude to our presidents, who ensure this dynamics, lay a strong foundation for the development of relations,” Volodin said, adding that the agreement will “usher a new level of cooperation between the State Duma and the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

Volodin’s warning was the latest salvo by official Moscow, which has accused the European Union, and the West in general, of attempting to hijack the peace process in the Caucasus from Russia. The EU has announced that it will deploy a 100-person civilian mission to Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan for a two-year period.

Armenia’s National Security Chief Armen Grigoryan claimed on Tuesday that the West has not imposed anything Armenia, in response to Volodin’s criticism of the EU mission.

“No one can impose anything on us,” Grigoryan told reporters. “In this context, the West hasn’t imposed anything on us. The deployment of that [the EU] mission was Armenia’s decision.”

“In May and November of 2021 an attack against the sovereign territory of Armenia took place, a large-scale attack also took place in September of last year. And given our experience that the existing security guarantees are not working, Armenia invited an EU civilian mission with the purpose of creating some security guarantees,” Grigoryan added.

“Naturally we are regularly speaking with our Russian partners on all existing issues, and we are presenting Armenia’s approaches, explaining why we have taken made these steps,” Grigoryan said.

Both the European Parliament and the PACE discussed at recent plenary sessions Azerbaijan’s continuing blockade of the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

The European Union legislature urged Azerbaijan to “immediately reopen” the Lachin corridor in a resolution approved on January 19 and hailed by Armenian officials. The resolution also condemned the “inaction” of Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh and called for their “replacement with OSCE international peacekeepers.”

Late last week, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs released a report accusing Russia of conducting “disinformation campaigns” against the West in Armenia. It also demanded the immediate withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Armenian territory seized during deadly border clashes last September.

Russian-Armenian relations have soured lately also because of the Azerbaijani road blockade. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly accused Russian peacekeepers of doing little to unblock the vital road. Moscow has rejected the accusations.