Category: 2023

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and government of Armenia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which lays the foundations for the 2024 EBRD Annual Meeting to take place in Yerevan on 14-16 May 2024.

The event will be the EBRD’s 33rd Annual Meeting and is the most important event in the Bank’s calendar. A central part is the meeting of the Board of Governors, the Bank’s highest decision-making body, assessing the Bank’s performance and setting future strategic directions.

The conference also includes the Business Forum, a gathering of business representatives, investors, government officials and media who engage in panel discussions and networking events. In addition, the Annual Meeting comprises a civil society programme, a donors’ meeting and other auxiliary events.

The event in 2024 is expected to attract up to 2,000 participants to Armenia.

The EBRD is one of the leading institutional investors in Armenia. It has invested around €2 billion across 206 projects, supporting private sector development and the energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, and financial sectors.

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Press release

PARIS, May 26 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan and Armenia could sign a peace settlement in their decades-old conflict over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh when their leaders meet at a European summit next week, Baku's envoy to France said on Friday.

Up to 47 heads of state, government and EU institutions are expected to attend the summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Moldova next Thursday, which brings together EU member states and 17 other European countries.

On the sidelines, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev are due to hold high-level talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, diplomatic sources said.

"On June 1 in Chisinau we hope that finally a peace treaty can be signed," Leyla Abdoullayeva told a small group of reporters in Paris.

"It's a historic moment and a momentum that can't be missed," she said.

The two leaders met on Thursday in Russia, traditionally the main power broker between the two countries on the southwest edge of the former Soviet Union which have fought two major wars in the last three decades.

But there was no accord at the meeting beyond agreeing to new trilateral talks between officials from the three countries next week.

Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated enclave inside Azerbaijan, has been a source of conflict since the years leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In 2020, Azerbaijan seized control of areas that had been controlled by ethnic Armenians in and around the mountain enclave, and since then it has periodically restricted access to the only access road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

There has been progress lately towards a settlement based on mutual recognition of each other's territorial integrity.

The European Union and the United States have made their own attempts to bring the sides together hoping to take advantage of Russia being distracted by the war in Ukraine.

- Aleksandar Srbinovski

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the major western countries levied a comprehensive package of sanctions on Russia, thereby challenging its financial and military capabilities to continue its war in Ukraine. What makes this time different from the reactions to Russia’s wars of aggression against Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 have so far been the broader scope of sanctions and more importantly, the firm commitment of western countries to keep the sanctions regime even if it also hurts their own economies. Not surprisingly, in a short period of time, Russia replaced Iran and North Korea as the most sanctioned country in the world. To break out of this isolation, the Kremlin invented a “parallel imports” strategy that envisions using the territory of close allies in the neighbourhood to gain access to goods and services that otherwise have been banned from export to Russia. Armenia, a small post-Soviet country with traditionally close economic links to Moscow, emerged as an optimal destination, providing Russia with breathing space given heightened international pressure.

Comparing the level of economic exchanges between Armenia and Russia with previous years, it is easily discernable that Yerevan is using the current momentum to extract economic benefits from the deepening Russia-West confrontation. In his meeting with his Russian counterpart in June 2022, Armenian President Khachaturyan expressed his certainty that the Russian economy would survive the sanctions and that Armenian-Russian economic relations would only grow. Recently, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin thanked Armenia for making operational decisions with regard to bolstering bilateral trade against the background of an “illegal” sanctions regime imposed by the West.

In 2022, Armenia’s total trade turnover grew 69 per cent year on year and reached 14 billion US dollars. Trade exchanges between the two countries increased by 92 per cent, amounting to more than five billion dollars. Armenia’s exports to Russia skyrocketed and increased by 2.4 times compared to their previous level. What is striking is that this all has happened against expectations that the economic crisis in Russia caused by western sanctions would also hit those countries in Moscow’s economic orbit, including Armenia. This economic miscalculation naturally raised the issue of Armenia’s involvement in helping the aggressor state to circumvent sanctions.

Armenia has neither the industrial capacity nor the resources to boost exports to Russia within a year. Instead, last year saw a significant increase in Armenia’s imports from major economies that seem to have used Armenia as a backdoor to reach the Russian market. Among others, Vietnam’s exports to Armenia rose 380 per cent, while those from Mexico grew 324 per cent and Japan 252 per cent. Citing a document from the US Bureau of Industry and Security, the New York Times recently reported that in 2022 Armenia “imported 515 percent more chips and processors from the United States and 212 percent more from the European Union than in 2021. Armenia then exported 97 percent of those same products to Russia.”

Considering Russia’s adeptness at using semiconductors from kitchen appliances in military equipment, Armenia’s “re-export” of these products to Russia makes it an accomplice in the Kremlin’s atrocities in Ukraine. The New York Times report says that US and EU officials have taken note of the flow of eight particularly sensitive categories of chips and other electronic devices that they have deemed as critical to the development of weapons, through Armenia territory. Thus, Moscow appreciates Yerevan’s strategic importance in this context despite Armenia’s anti-Russia tirades in recent months.

It should come as no surprise that Armenia’s assistance to Russia to bypass sanctions has ruffled feathers in the West, as the United States and the EU are gradually coming up with policy plans to punish those actors who breach the sanctions regime. The EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan said that they are aware of the sharp increase in exports to countries in Russia’s neighbourhood and that Brussels is going a long way to prevent partner countries and companies from evading sanctions. Latvia’s Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš also recently touched upon Armenia’s growing role in the export of sanctioned western equipment and technologies to Russia. Yerevan’s moves in the game, however, have not been limited to technology transfers. In only one year, money transfers to Armenia reached record highs. Compared to 2021, there was a 2.5 times increase and money transfers from Russia to Armenia specifically grew fourfold, amounting to 3.6 billion dollars. This unprecedented growth in money transfers was mostly caused by different countries’ continuing interest in trade exchanges with Russia, in which Armenia came in handy in bypassing the sanctions barrier.

This situation has caught the attention of other international media outlets such as Bloomberg, Financial Times, ABC News and New Eastern Europe many times. The Ukrainian press is also very critical of Armenia’s cooperation with Russia in evading western-imposed sanctions and re-exporting sanctioned goods. While Gazeta.ua has raised many questions about this relationship, 5.ua now refers to Armenia as “the economic rear of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”.

Moreover, since February 2022, Armenia has also become a preferred destination for Russians who want to relocate their businesses, especially in the information technology sector. The Pashinyan government is simplifying all registration, bureaucratic and housing issues related to the relocation of Russian enterprises to Armenia. The authorities in Yerevan are working hard to actively lure wealthy Russians to Armenia. They have even published a guide for Russian businesses, covering everything from physical relocation to cryptocurrency transfers, apartment rentals, and the transportation of pets.  

So far, few Armenian entities have been included in the West’s sanctions list. In September 2022, the US Treasury designated “TACO LLC” as a third-country supplier for “Radioavtomatika”, a major Russian defence procurement firm that specialises in procuring foreign items for Russia’s defence industry. The department subsequently added it to the sanctions list for aiding Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. Similarly, “Areximbank-Gazprombank”, Gazprom’s Armenia branch, faced sanctions due to it carrying out money transfers related to the purchase of Russian gas in roubles. Yet, the inclusion of some Armenian entities in the sanctions list does in no way mean that the punishment Yerevan faces is proportionate to what it has been doing overall to benefit from the situation.

The Armenian leadership has taken advantage of the fact that Yerevan is the only Eastern Partnership country that is both a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union and a signatory of a Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the EU. Having one foot in each camp affords Armenia many opportunities to conduct the transfer of goods and services from the EU to Russia or vice versa. However, this is not the first time Yerevan has served as a backdoor for a sanctioned aggressor state, as its banking sector has helped Iran to gain access to the international financial system for a long time. Armenia was also involved in the transportation of Iranian drones to Russia, which gave Moscow the ability to destroy Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure at a lower cost. Western countries should take note of this strengthening Russia-Armenia-Iran axis at the heart of wider Eurasia. If it is not carefully dealt with, it will only further undermine regional peace and stability in the long term.

Aleksandar Srbinovski is a journalist with over fifteen years of experience working in print and online media. He has worked for Nova Makedonija, Newsweek, Europa, Blic, Politika, ABC News, Vecher, TV Sitel and Skok. He holds a BA in journalism from the Saints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje and has pursued continued training with the University of Oklahoma.

Arch foes Armenia and Azerbaijan are advancing towards normalising ties following mutual recognition of territorial integrity, the two countries’ leaders said Thursday (25 May) as they held talks in Moscow.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met separately with Russian leader Vladimir Putin before the three held joint negotiations late on Thursday.

The talks were held following recent deadly border clashes between the two Caucasus neighbours, which have been locked in a decades-long conflict for control of Azerbaijan’s predominantly Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“There is a possibility of coming to a peace agreement, considering that Armenia has formally recognised Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan,” Aliyev said ahead of talks.

Pashinyan was quoted on Monday saying that his country is ready to recognise Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan if Baku guarantees the security of its ethnic Armenian population, 

“Azerbaijan has no territorial claims to Armenia,” Aliyev added.

Pashinyan said the two countries were “making good progress in normalising relationships, based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity.”

He said Yerevan was ready “to unblock all the transport links in the region that pass through Armenian territory”.

Putin said that “despite all the difficulties and problems that still remain, the situation is developing towards the settlement” of the Karabakh conflict.

He said the three countries’ vice prime ministers will meet in a week’s time in Moscow “to resolve the remaining issues,” regarding the reopening of transport links between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Caucasus neighbours have been seeking to negotiate a peace agreement with the help of the European Union and United States.

On 14 May, they agreed at a meeting hosted in Brussels by the European Council President Charles Michel on mutual recognition of territorial integrity.

But the West’s diplomatic engagement in the Caucasus has irked Moscow, the traditional power broker in the region.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two wars — in 2020 and in the 1990s — for control of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Six weeks of hostilities in autumn 2020 ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire that saw Armenia cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.

Armenia, which has relied on Russia for military and economic support since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, has accused Moscow of failing to fulfil its peacekeeping role in Karabakh.

Yerevan’s concerns have grown after Azerbaijani activists blocked in December Karabakh’s only land link to Armenia. In April, Azerbaijan set up a checkpoint manned by border guards along the route.

Last year, Yerevan also accused Azerbaijan of occupying a pocket of its land, in what it has said amounted to military aggression and demanded military help from Russia, which has never materialised.

With Russia bogged down in Ukraine and unwilling to strain ties with Azerbaijan’s key ally Turkey, the United States and European Union have sought to repair ties between the Caucasus rivals.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan. The ensuing conflict claimed some 30,000 lives.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/armenia-azerbaijan-optimistic-at-putin-mediated-talks/

BURBANK, Calif. – Dr. Jirair Ratevosian, announced Thursday that he has entered the race to replace Rep. Adam Schiff as a member of the U.S. House representing California’s 30th Congressional District. 

Ratevosian, 42, was born in Hollywood, CA, to a Lebanese mother and an Armenian father. He grew up in Sun Valley. Awarded a Johns Hopkins University post-graduate doctoral degree with concentration in public health policy, the Democratic candidate has devoted his life to his two passions: politics and physical science. 

In 2018, Ratevosian was selected as a “40 under 40 Health Leader” for his achievements in tackling health disparities in the United States and was one of 50 LGBTQIA+ experts in U.S. national security and foreign policy recognized by “Out in National Security” in 2021. 

BURBANK, Calif. – Dr. Jirair Ratevosian, announced Thursday that he has entered the race to replace Rep. Adam Schiff as a member of the U.S. House representing California’s 30th Congressional District. 

Ratevosian, 42, was born in Hollywood, CA, to a Lebanese mother and an Armenian father. He grew up in Sun Valley. Awarded a Johns Hopkins University post-graduate doctoral degree with concentration in public health policy, the Democratic candidate has devoted his life to his two passions: politics and physical science. 

In 2018, Ratevosian was selected as a “40 under 40 Health Leader” for his achievements in tackling health disparities in the United States and was one of 50 LGBTQIA+ experts in U.S. national security and foreign policy recognized by “Out in National Security” in 2021. 

Until recently, Ratevosian served as a Senior Advisor for Health Equity Policy at the U.S. Department of State and worked for the Office of U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy.

Ratevosian is proud of his heritage, attributing a part of his success to his early education through the Armenian school system in Los Angeles. If elected to Congress, he tells the Blade that he will continue to be an advocate for and amplifier of Armenian voices. 

“I stand here to tell you that I am running for Congress because I am a product of what I have learned thanks to the success of that education system and the family support around me. I have a strong desire to make an impact on the Armenian community. We are facing a war. We are facing all the same challenges as other communities here in the district are as well, he said.

“I know that nobody pushes more for Armenian issues than Armenian people. We have relied on the generosity of Adam Schiff and others who have carried Armenian issues, but it is time for an Armenian voice to lead on Armenian issues. I am excited about the opportunity to be the person that our community needs to be able to take those issues to Congress on day one and focus on them. I would love to be able to start an Armenian congressional caucus and to inspire more meeting Americas to run for public office,” he continued.

Ratevosian told the Blade that he is also motivated by the ideal “American dream” that his grandfather had when he immigrated here to start a new life for himself and his family, free from Soviet rule.

“I’m running because my grandfather’s American dream is far from reach for many people,” Ratevosian told The Blade.  

“Like many immigrant families, mine came to America for a second chance. My mom’s side was from Lebanon. My dad’s side was from Armenia. I was the first to be born here. My parents took whatever jobs they could to provide for us and put us through school. As soon as I was legally able to work, I did at the age of 15 as an ice cream scooper at Baskin and Robbins. Now my parents have watched their kid going from an ice cream scooper to the U.S. State Department as a senior political appointee.”

But, he explained, the streets he grew up on “are not the same streets anymore.” With housing prices and inflation surging, many in the county find it harder and harder to make ends meet. 

“That shot my grandparents had is no longer available to a lot of people,” he lamented.

“I am in this race because there is so much work to be done to ensure that everybody has a fair shot to choose their own dreams. My grandfather was a shoe cobbler. They were able to afford healthcare. My parents were able to put us through school. They lived a happy and normal life. I think if my grandfather were alive now, he would be disappointed in the way healthcare costs are going up, and the way we treat our planet, the way we treat people experiencing homelessness, the way housing costs have gone up. I don’t even know if they could afford that same Kingsley Street apartment that they had in Hollywood for 25 years before they passed away. These are the things that I think are making families struggle. 

“Of course, child care and student loans are also out of control. I still have $20,000 worth of student loans from my master’s degree 15 years ago. Even though I had a job in corporate America and was making good money and paying off my loans, I still have $20,000 in student debt. If we don’t fight to reverse and address these issues straight on, we won’t be able to bring that dream back to people.

I am also really looking forward to bringing the support that businesses need to get back on their feet post Covid and really flourish again. I want to work to be able to revitalize our city.”

Ratevosian is making it a point to run as an openly LGBTQ+ candidate – a choice that some of his advisors have cautioned against, fearing that the Armenian community might not accept his sexual orientation.

He has decided to forgo this advice, choosing instead to put his faith in the acceptance of the Armenian people. 

“I am confident people will see me for the work that I have done and the values that I have had. They will see me for the focus areas of my entire life, the focus on the most vulnerable and disenfranchised people all around the world in all corners of Africa and Asia. They will see me for my decency, for the way I treat people with honor and respect. I know the Armenian people will embrace me and that we can change hearts and minds along the way.” 

Ratevosian is additionally confident that he can change hearts and minds thanks to his own coming out journey, wherein his mother had tremendous trouble accepting him, at first. 

“It was one of those radio silent moments when you can hear your own heart beating,” Ratevosian said, recalling the moment he told his parents he was gay. 

After coming out, his mother would not speak to him for the longest period of time since he was born. 

“Before that, if I didn’t speak to my mother every day, she was worried the worst had happened to me. Then, not speaking to her for a few weeks felt like years.” 

Finally, his mother did find it in her heart to accept her son, and Ratevosian was proud to report that she stood hand in hand with his fiancé at Ratevosian’s graduate school commencement ceremonies. 

“I teared up,” said Ratevosian, recalling the moment that signified so much change in his mother and also the change he hopes to impart to others who might be like-minded in the district.

“I think together we can advance our culture’s beliefs. If people like me don’t come out, then how are we ever going to make change? 

“I want to fight for these issues that are very much still alive in Southern California and across the United States. There are a record number of Anti-LGBTQ bills passed by Republicans across the country. I don’t know why but for some reason, republicans are more concerned with banning drag shows that fighting climate change or reducing poverty. But even in our district, we know hate and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment are still alive and well. This is why I am fighting, and this is why representation matters.”

From 2011-2014, Jirair served as Legislative Director in the House of Representatives, overseeing budget, appropriations, foreign policy, and health portfolios for U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA). 

As co-chair and co-founder of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus, Rep. Lee leads the effort to advance legislation that addresses the HIV/AIDS pandemic while educating Members of Congress about the virus, its impact, and affected populations.

“I have always had an interest in HIV in all my jobs,” Ratevosian told the Blade. “When I came to Washington, I wanted to get more involved in HIV policy. She (Lee) was the champion for HIV policy. 

“I watched her in action. She was the best teacher anyone could have in terms of fighting for progressive values in fighting for healthcare and fighting poverty.” 

Jirair’s extensive work in HIV legislation took a personal turn when he met the love of his life and now fiancé, Michael Lghodaro, who is a person living with HIV. 

“HIV work is who I am,” Ratevosian told The Blade, “literally because of the work it has done to shape the way I live my life and the way I love the people I love.”

“The reason why I am healthy, and I am staying HIV negative, and we have a wonderful relationship is because he is able to access his HIV medication.”

This personal association with the disease fueled Ratevosian to fight in favor of the Repeal HIV Discrimination Act bill with Lee.

“The bill provided federal incentives for states to repeal their archaic laws that criminalize HIV transmission,” said Ratevosian.

He is also a backer of the U=U campaign, an informational campaign about how effective HIV medications are in preventing sexual transmission of HIV.

U=U he explained means “Undetectable = Untransmittable,” indicating that if a person with HIV is on HIV meds (antiretroviral therapy, or ART) with a consistently undetectable HIV viral load, the virus cannot be transmitted to a sex partner.

His contributions to the Biden-Harris administration led to the reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the signing of landmark foreign aid legislation to support Haiti, and the establishment of the bipartisan Congressional HIV/AIDS Caucus. 

“The job to fight HIV is far from over,” said Ratevosian. “I will be fighting to get more Ryan White money for our cities. We have amazing new technologies for HIV prevention that I want all communities to benefit from, including minority communities.” 

Editor’s Note:  The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, administered by the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration, provides grants to cities, states, counties, and community-based groups. The grants help provide care, medication, and essential support services to people with HIV, HIV-related health outcomes, and reduce HIV transmission.

He also regularly rides in the AIDS/LIFECYCLE ride, a 7 day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, co-produced by and benefiting the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. 

Ratevosian shared an important message of positivity to fellow ethnic LGBTQ+ aspiring leaders: 

“Your time is now. I am inspired that there are a record number of LGBTQ+ leaders in office, but those numbers are far from the true representation of diversity in our community and the diversity of our country. If anyone is reading this story and is inspired, then they should do the same. Pursue a place in office, whether it is federally or locally, or somewhere in between. I have seen the power of how an issue can advance when an LGBTQ+ person is in the room. That is what we need. That is how we make change.”