2021 November 23

Daily news wrap-up

Nov/23/2021: Pashinyan blasts Aliyev's "corridor" rhetoric, discusses Armenia's stance on 3+3 platform; upcoming border dermacation efforts: maps & enclaves; the 80-page Artsakh conflict details he chose not to "declassify"; direct contact between MODs; importance of lifting the blockade __ and more
by ar_david_hh

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This is your 16-minute Tuesday briefing in 4000 words.

Pashinyan held a lengthy Q&A today. Here are some notable parts:

What will be discussed in Brussels during the AM-AZ meeting? Will the POW issue be addressed?

Pashinyan: we will try not to mix the agendas discussed in different formats. Yes, POWs will be one of the topics, and in general, our relations within the framework of EU Eastern partnership. There will be a general contextual discussion. You should not expect rapid results after every single meeting.

Another meeting is scheduled for November 26 in Sochi. The region is tense. We should negotiate. News about such meetings should receive a positive response.

It's important that internally and externally we do not create an atmosphere of over-expectation or "doomsday" over this or that meeting. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068940.html

Pashinyan: we need to increase the frequency of meetings

Reporter: why is a meeting being held as part of the EU Eastern Partnership summit?

Pashinyan: increasing frequency of meetings is necessary to find solutions and avoid escalations. As I've said in the summer, we're ready to hold high-level talks with Azerbaijan within the OSCE Minsk Group framework. The MFAs recently held a meeting. We're waiting for OSCE to organize a similar meeting soon.

As for the December 15 meeting in Brussels, the idea was proposed by EC president Charles Michel during his summer visit to Armenia. He offered to organize a meeting. Both parties agreed. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068939.html

Pashinyan, Putin, and Aliyev will meet on Friday in Sochi

The emphasis will be on lifting the blockade and the establishment of stability and peace.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068917.html

Pashinyan about why Armenia rejected a meeting on November 9:

We were prepared to hold a teleconference if there were guarantees that a specific problem would be resolved, such as the release of POWs. Otherwise, we proposed changing the traumatic date and holding it on November 15 instead. But before the November 15 date, there was a proposal to meet on November 26. Then we decided to meet in person on November 26 instead of the teleconference.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068942.html

Pashinyan about the first-ever direct MOD contact with Azerbaijan:

Armenia does not avoid direct contact. There is an agreement to establish MOD-MOD direct contact after international mediation. The contact has already been established. This is the first-ever such direct contact between MODs.

We will exchange info about ceasefire violations and see how the other side responds. These efforts will make it more obvious who is more interested in causing provocations. It is much better if it turns out that neither side is interested in provocations. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068941.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068947.html https://factor.am/445183.html

Pashinyan about the POWs taken on November 16:

Per unconfirmed reports, the 24 missing soldiers are POWs, and that some of the soldiers who were believed to be dead are actually alive. Let's emphasize that this is an unconfirmed report.

We have 6 confirmed deaths and 24+8 POWs. This needs to be confirmed. We know that one of the POWs is heavily wounded, which means he exhausted all the means to struggle before falling captive.

A criminal investigation is launched to study the circumstances that led to the soldiers becoming captives. Shouldn't we understand what the circumstances were? It's regulated by law.

We have cases when a soldier becomes POW after fighting heroically and becomes POW after losing consciousness or the ability to resist. There are other situations, too. There is a procedure to investigate a loss of a weapon [that can lead to becoming POW]; it implies criminal liability. All of this should be investigated. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068948.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068949.html https://factor.am/445205.html

Pashinyan: Azerbaijan must withdraw from Armenian territories after the May 12 encroachment

This aggression must be eliminated. We must voice the fact of this aggression in all international instances, pursue it, demand that international pressure be exerted on Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is still in post-war euphoria and has territorial ambitions against Armenia. We are very patient, consistent, we try to make every constructive effort but Azerbaijan also has to behave as a member of the international community, and the international community must keep tabs on it, otherwise, there is a risk of deterioration of international relations.

What does "Zangezur corridor" mean? What deos "eastern Zangezur" mean? Who made up those terms? As we've said in the past, we never discussed and will not discuss any "corridors".

If my administration was the type to give a "corridor", you wouldn't see all these clashes on the borders. We are protecting Armenia's interests with all possible means. That's why sometimes we receive blows from all sides.

That doesn't mean we reject the unblocking of regional communication routes. Azerbaijan is trying to derail these efforts. We will try everything not to allow that to happen.

Azerbaijan is violating the international order by claiming it can place its troops wherever it wants. This should be a topic of international discussions.

We have filed a lawsuit against Azerbaijan in the Hague court, which is one of the platforms. Azerbaijan's behavior must become more and more widely discussed, and not just within CSTO, UN, OSCE, or ECHR.

I will soon participate in [Joe Biden's] democracy summit, where I will raise the topic. The actions of Azerbaijan and its allies are an attack against democracy. We are going to purpose this issue on all possible international platforms, we will not limit ourselves. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068943.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068944.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068952.html

Pashinyan about Azerbaijan's "corridor" claims / unblocking of regional routes / link to EU, Russia, Iran:

Armenia decides how Azerbaijan will connect to Nakhijevan. There is no "corridor". Azerbaijan is twisting the November 9 statement to claim it implies "sovereign corridor", but if that was the case, it would state "sovereign corridor", especially since the term [Lachin] "corridor" was mentioned elsewhere in the document. If anything, the document means "no corridor" for Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan never uses the term "corridor" during the tripartite meetings. The tripartite group has also confirmed there is no "corridor".

Per Nov 9 and Jan 11 statements, each country will maintain sovereignty over the roads. And the use of roads must take place on a parity basis.

It is Armenia that will decide how and where Azerbaijan connects to Nakhijevan. Otherwise, if it's not up to us to decide, then where is the "sovereignty"? Azerbaijan will not decide where the entry and exit it. There will be no such thing.

Azerbaijan must receive a road and railway connection. In reality, we aren't talking about Nakhijevan, we are talking about the Azerbaijan-Turkey connection: a big international route. It is in Armenia's best interest for an international route to pass through Armenia.

The whole world is competing for international routes and pipes to pass through their territory. It is in our best interest for the Turkish railway to reopen. We want the Kars-Gyumri railway to reopen and gain a bigger context so Armenia can connect to Europe, and not just Russia and Iran.

Azerbaijan understands what this means, so they are trying to divide the Armenian public and make them believe that lifting the blockade is somehow bad for Armenia. Azerbaijan is stoking pro-blockade sentiments within Armenia with a hope to derail the process so they can claim it's Armenia that's against lifting the blockade. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068951.html https://factor.am/445202.html

Tags: #corridor #roads

Pashinyan about the 3+3 regional platform:

3+3 must not discuss topics that are already being discussed on other platforms. For example, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. That's what OSCE Minsk Group is for. We wouldn't discuss that within 3+3.

The next is the unblocking of regional communication routes because we already have a tripartite AM-RU-AZ format. This cannot be discussed within 3+3.

3+3 should be about key issues that are not already being discussed as part of other platforms. Are there such issues? Time will tell.

Part of our government program is to activate regional political relations. Our relations are important with Russia, the EU, and the US, but we also want to activate it in our region. If we see an opportunity for positive development, maybe we should discuss that opportunity. //

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068946.html

Tags: #3+3

Pashinyan about border demarcation

Reporter: Will the demarcation of the AM-AZ border return the 40 km^2 that was occupied by Azerbaijan since May? Does demarcation mean Armenia is recognizing Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and giving up on Artsakh's independence?

Pashinyan: regarding territorial integrity, in 1991 when our republics gained independence [and joined CIS], we mutually recognized each other's territorial integrity. Did that mean Armenia gave up on Artsakh's rights? Yes or no?

The next question about demarcation... It's a process that needs to be meticulously negotiated. Armenia must protect its interests and territorial integrity. Demarcation is necessary.

Armenia should not be a fluid borderless object. Armenia must have specific borders with millimeter accuracy. This is important for protecting our sovereignty. We are an international legal subject within those specific borders.

For example, the parts of Goris-Kapan road that are under Azeri control. There are claims about those sections being part of Armenia, per Soviet maps from a certain period. But I must say that none of the de jure maps indicate that it's within Armenia.

We aren't saying this because we are pro-Azerbaijan. We are saying this to point out that Azerbaijan is an aggressor. We know where our borders are. Armenians who claim otherwise are pouring water on the Azeri mill, by bolstering their rhetoric of "well, we don't know where Armenia ends and where it starts". We have de jure maps. We view our territorial integrity within those borders. //

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Reporter: what about enclaves and the Armenian roads that pass through them?

Pashinyan: [Pashinyan earlier proposed for each country to maintain control of enclaves, no changes] We know where our borders are. The rest will be discussed during negotiations. It's important to hold demarcation talks because countries can reach mutually acceptable solutions. Overall, we don't see unresolvable road issues. Some roads [in Syunik] were sadly not taken care of in time, but we're working on it today.

We need to understand how these enclaves were drawn. Does it have a legal basis, or was it a decision by two Soviet-era kolkhozs to gift lands to "brotherly nations"? We have major doubts about the legality. All these border issues will be discussed by the delimitation commission.

There are examples when enclaves were exchanged and they remained under the control of the host country. We have studied all these topics. We won't reveal all our cards right now. We know where our borders are with millimeter precision.

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Armenia has taken a constructive stance. We want to resolve problems. But we will not allow anyone to take advantage of that and threaten us.

Today critics claim "they want to give Karabakh, they want to give this and that". If we wanted to give Karabakh, there would be no 2020 war. If we were the type that gives away lands, Azerbaijan would try not to provoke on borders in order to strengthen our position within Armenia. Every shot fired towards us is a testament to our efforts aimed at protecting our best interests. //

Reporter: if changing borders requires a referendum, doesn't Russia's proposal to launch the demarcation process go against our constitution? Shouldn't the public be made aware of the details?

Pashinyan: I'm under the impression that some people believe we're talking about meeting and signing a document that includes demarcation results. This is impossible. We're talking about meeting and agreeing about the formation of a commission that will then work on the borders. That document isn't going to say "here is where the borders are".

I studied the OSCE advisory documents about demarcation. It was created by Lithuania and Belarus based on their positive demarcation experience. Delimitation and demarcation are incredibly difficult. How do you imagine we agree where the borders are without even forming a commission?

We need a methodology, a legal basis. A map is just an image. It has no value without legal backing. We're actively engaged with the public. Every time we see someone show a Soviet-era map with a claim that a specific area is within Armenia, we kindly invite that person and ask them to present the legal power of that map.

Today we know where the de jure Soviet Armenian borders are with millimeter precision. //

https://factor.am/445232.html https://factor.am/445234.html https://youtu.be/WVFgkWxYZoE https://factor.am/445236.html https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068958.html

Pashinyan on whether Armenia will officially recognize Artsakh's independence:

We need to restore the OSCE Minsk Group negotiation process ASAP. They released a statement saying the conflict should be resolved based on the known principles [no force, territorial integrity, self-determination].

Recognition of Karabakh's independence won't give us anything if it's only done by us. This has been discussed for 30 years. What will it give us? Could it actually cause harm?

Karabakh issue is an international issue. It cannot be solved solely based on Armenia's stance. Our goal is to synchronize Karabakh's interests with the international stance. //

https://factor.am/445253.html

Pashinyan about Karabakh's legal status & opening many secrets about negotiations history

Reporter: would you accept Artsakh as de jure part of Azerbaijan with some kind of status?

Pashinyan: as I've said before, if we were the type to recognize Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, then the 2020 war would not have happened.

Then critics say why we didn't stop the war early. On the first day of the war, I said from the Parliament floor that I can stop the war on day one. But it was under the condition that Artsakh will gain some type of autonomous province within Azerbaijan.

What mistake did I make? There were many nuances about the negotiations that the public was not made aware of, and to this day it's being kept secret.

I'll open one secret. I don't know if I should [smiles] but every time we restrict information nothing good comes out of it. Anyways, I planned to give a comprehensive speech this November 9 and open many "secrets" regarding the conflict, war, etc.

As I was writing it, I reached half of the story that I intended to reveal, before realizing that I had written 80 pages. This was half the story. I discussed it with several colleagues and they advised me not to reveal this because that could harm Armenia's and Artsakh's interests right now.

The strongest and justified criticism is that I failed to reveal details in 2018-2019. What was the whole negotiation process leading to? What were our options?

An official statement was made in 2017 about Armenia's willingness to exit from 7 adjacent regions. But Azerbaijan would make new demands every time. Do you understand what this means?

I spoke about this on a surface level in my December-January article. Leaving Karabakh from the negotiation table was the "tochka ne vozvrata", a turning point. People should have been made aware of events, no matter how shocking they are. Perhaps I should have done that.

But we chose to continue with the struggle. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. In retrospect, knowing what we know today, perhaps we should have come forward [in 2018] and told the public that we must give up on certain things because of the multiple reasons [which I had planned to reveal on November 9].

How did Armenia use its time to improve its resilience to withstand blows? I get blamed for "provoking" the war by making certain statements. But tell me what statements were made in 2016 when the war resumed?

They say I made a mistake by calling for Artsakh to return to the negotiations table, and that it allegedly led to OSCE removing the topic of Artskah's provisional status. Tell me what "incorrect" statements were made by Armenia in 2015-2016 when OSCE made three proposals with none of them mentioning provisional status for Artsakh?

https://factor.am/445264.html https://factor.am/445270.html

Tags: #ReleaseTheKraken

Pashinyan met UN Deputy Secretary-General

Miguel Moratinos, who leads the Alliance of Civilizations [BIG title, eh?], visited Premier's office on Tuesday, the first such high-profile visit to Armenia.

Moratinos said they are ready to help promote tolerance in the region and the protection of cultural-religious sites.

Pashinyan emphasized the need for an adequate response by the international community to Azerbaijan's aggressive actions. They spoke about Shushi's St. Ghazanchetsots church and Dadivank monastery. Pashinyan urged UNESCO to visit Nagorno Karabakh amid Azerbaijan's uncooperative stance.

They also discussed POWs and the UN efforts.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068911.html

Parliaments of Armenia and France sign a cooperation memorandum

Speaker Alen Simonyan met his French counterparts yesterday and thanked the Fench legislature for pro-Armenian resolutions "that can be used to promote Armenia's stance during the Karabakh negotiations".

Simonyan met the French Senate leader Gérard Larcher to discuss post-war developments. Simonyan urged the international community to make statements targeted specifically at Azerbaijan.

The two signed a memorandum to cooperate in multiple areas.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068893.html

Economy Ministry is "knocking on the doors" to promote products made in Armenia

Did you know that you can buy a bunch of stuff made in Armenia? The Ministry's creatively-named "Made in Armenia" initiative has a new program to promote the products.

They've been in touch with large supermarkets to have these products placed on special shelves to make them more visible.

Ministry official: we've come to the realization that the public is largely unaware of the products made in Armenia. Many don't know about the existence of Armenian perfume, for example.

www.Madeinarmenia.online lists some of them and tells success stories. The latter is important because the consumer must know the producer by face.

Many people were interested in the Armenian "smart house" service. A group of ethnic Armenian programmers released products to control lights and heaters in a way that can save 40% energy. They are exporting 9 models to the EU, EAEU, and Singapour today.

Another example is a platform for studying machine learning and programming. Also interesting is an app for gardeners or home growers. To sum it up in one sentence, we are trying to serve as a bridge between the producer and the consumer. //

A festival will be organized next year to promote the Armenian producers.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068872.html

Kocharyan's candidate for deputy Parliamentary Security Commission chief fails for 13th time

HD MP Arthur Ghazinyan is a household name and needn't an introduction. Today the Commission held another session. The ruling party again rejected his candidacy. They believe Ghazinyan lacks basic knowledge and skills about the army, while Ghazinyan believes his rejection is politically motivated.

The opposition MPs got into a heated argument with ruling members about topics relating to how/when the sessions are organized, the November 16 incident and casualties. The argument led to opposition MPs threatening to sue ruling members for "misinformation and accusations of treason". HD MP Artsvik Minasyan wants prosecutors to launch a case to find the "real traitors".

Ghazinyan was rejected for the 13th time.

Video: 🤡 https://youtu.be/4aJH6J4t1eQ https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068887.html

Artsakh citizen winds up in Azeri-held territory, negotiations underway to return him

The resident of Martuni's Ashan village got disoriented and ended up on the other side of the border. They are currently negotiating with Russia and Azerbaijan for the villager's safe return.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068915.html

MOD Papikyan met Russian ambassador and military attaché to discuss defense cooperation

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068906.html

Global Democracy Report 2021, by Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

>The world is becoming more authoritarian as non-democratic regimes become even more brazen in their repression and many democratic governments suffer from backsliding by adopting their tactics of restricting free speech and weakening the rule of law, exacerbated by what threatens to become a "new normal" of Covid-19 restrictions.

...

>not all countries have been experiencing the shrinking of space for fair, multiparty competition. Since 2015, the top advancing countries for Free Political Parties are Armenia, the Gambia, Moldova, Thailand and Solomon Islands

Armenia, among nine other states, upgraded from a "Hybrid Regime" to "Weak Democracy".

>A number of democratization processes have also been halted or challenged in 2020 and 2021. [...] Armenia’s conflict with its authoritarian neighbour, Azerbaijan, in Nagorno-Karabakh, and a military rebellion in early 2021, added strain to a fragile democratization process.

>Parliamentary strength has been improving in several countries since 2015, with new democracies, such as Armenia

The U.S. was among the countries listed as "backsliding" democracy for the first time by the think tank, largely due to "Trump’s factually baseless questioning of the legitimacy of the 2020 election results".

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/22/united-states-backsliding-democracies-list-first-time/ https://www.idea.int/gsod/global-report#chapter-2-democracy-health-check:-an-overview-of-global-tre https://www.idea.int/gsod/

lower court rejects election fraud suspect HD MP Armen Charchyan's petition to escalate the "immunity" dispute to Constitutional Court

Kocharyan-ARF candidate Charchyan, a prominent hospital director, was arrested months earlier after an audiotape was leaked in which he allegedly threatened to retaliate against subordinates if they voted for Pashinyan during June elections.

Charchyan wanted the Lower Court to escalate the case to the Constitutional Court. The complaint is that although the law gives MPs an immunity, there is no immunity for an MP's candidate, and if a criminal case is launched before the candidate becomes an MP, the protections don't apply.

The Lower Court did not find valid reasons to escalate the case to the top court.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068905.html https://factor.am/444885.html

judge agrees to release "Droi Gorts" convict Arsen Artsruni on parole

Shit used to be wild, way wilder than today. Ranking ARF members were found guilty of forming a terror cell and organizing murders.

Piece from the indictment: with the intent to retaliate against several fellow ARF members who "betrayed" the party, to commit terrorism, and to traffic narcotics, Hrant Margaryan (nicknamed 03 Saddam) and Arsen Artsruni formed the secretive "Dro" intelligence structure within ARF. The armed gang recruited others. Fake passports were used.

The two main operations carried out by Dro were codenamed "Kerob" and "Top-1".

Kerob: Dro members murder citizens Ashot Nersisyan and his wife Nune Marukyan on October 13, 1993.

Top-1: Dro members murdered ARF member Gagik Sahakyan on May 2, 1994.

Hrant Margaryan was convicted but released in 1998 among several other figures. //

Arsen Artsruni, on the other hand, has spent the past few decades in prison. The court has agreed to release him on parole.

More: http://tert.nla.am/archive/NLA%20TERT/PHM/2020(87).pdf https://fip.am/1192 https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068912.html

infant mortality rates are declining in Armenia thanks to hard work by doctors

This year, deaths under age 1 (total 183) have declined by 10% compared to 2017-2020.

Under 4, the decline was 8% from last year, and 14% from the average of the past four years.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068902.html

COVID stats

7.4k tested, 0.5k infected, 1.4k healed, 48 deaths, 17.2k active.

12.5% are fully vaccinated in Armenia

Russia 36%

Turkey 60%

Azerbaijan 45%

Iran 51%

Georgia 26%

thousands have died despite vaccines being readily available

3,500 people have died since April of this year. That's almost half [???] of all deaths, according to Medical University rector Muradyan.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068883.html https://factor.am/444996.html

Turkey news

Erdogan promised not to hold snap elections, saying he has successfully won all previous elections [MEME OR REAL?]. The next elections are scheduled for 2023. There were protests and calls for resignation amid lira inflation and product prices going up.

Meanwhile, in the Turkish parliament, nationalist MP called Kurdish HDP MP a "terrorist". It escalated into a fistfight.

https://factor.am/444958.html https://factor.am/445117.html

Yerevan launches an auction to choose a company that will implement the unified electronic payment system as part of public transport reforms

Municipality: this is necessary so we can implement the new transport route network [recently analyzed and mapped by a foreign firm].

This will give us a better quality service, a modern program to obtain and use tickets, the ability to monitor revenues generated from ticket sales, an increase in ridership, less time wasted in bus stops, and faster transport. //

Companies can apply within the next 10 days.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068879.html

World Military Wrestling Championship

70kg Arman Andreasyan wins gold in the international competition held in Tehran.

Additionally, two silver and five bronze medals. The team finished 3rd with the medal count.

https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1068931.html

end of report

The accused are innocent unless proven guilty in the court of law, even if they "appear" guilty.

News archive: http://www.armeniapedia.org/wiki/Daily_Anti-Corruption_Reports

Donations: soldiers' families, humanitarian aid, US tax-deductible donation.

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/r0ndlr/nov232021_pashinyan_blasts_aliyevs_corridor/