2022 April 14

Daily news wrap-up

Daily news, Apr/14/2022. Pashinyan in Parliament: Nagorno Karabakh conflict; past & present negotiations __ MPs join conversation; history & ARF __ Russia gives up on OSCE MG, assigns Caucasus envoy __ "We will return Shushi and Hadrut" __ Ukraine Amb. denies fake news on Syrian mercenary transfer
by ar_david_hh

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16 minutes. 4189 words.

Parliament session continues

The opposition alliances were not present.

QP MP Lusine Badalyan: I know many people who voted for the Kocharyan-ARF alliance because they believed the theory that Russia was sending them to remove Pashinyan. The myth that Russia doesn't want to cooperate with the Pashinyan administration and that replacing it with Kocharyan-ARF would ensure better cooperation, was burst a few days ago, when Russia blocked the opposition MPs' entry to Artsakh, followed by the foreign ministry's statement.

In 1918, ARF achieved the Armenian people's biggest dream. That year was one of the most important in our history. The first Premier Hovhannes Kajaznuni presented the government program, which included:

1) Reinforce the truce with the Ottoman Empire and establish good neighborly relations. Fulfill all the obligations we have made, and ensure that the Ottoman Empire does the same.

2) Mutually agree with Georgia and Azerbaijan to resolve border issues.

3) Establish good relations with neighbors and restore trade.

Kajaznuni called it a program of the most necessary guarantees to ensure the existence of the state, and believed that Armenia had to pursue peace because it did not have the strength to wage war against the neighbors. Kajaznuni gave that speech during the Genocide. You don't think he felt pain for the human and land losses? Is it fair to call him a traitor and a "Turk"?

During an interview, another great ARF figure Simon Vratsyan recalled the days they went through during the First Republic's formation. He said not everyone was happy with Armenia's independence at the time because it was overshadowed by internal turmoil, pandemic, war, and famine. He said the rich Armenian elites from Tiflis (Tbilisi) played a big role in creating the turmoil; they were able to provoke certain sentiments in the country.

Our opposition colleagues' motives and sometimes the offensive language is understandable. There was a similar situation in Parliament during the First Republic. There were Right and Left benches, those who believed it would be best to pursue greater relations with Russia, and those who thought it was necessary to normalize relations with Turkey. What I would like to know is why today's ARF, who are the political successors of the great people I mentioned, are behaving like the "elites from Tiflis". //

QP MP Vigen Khachatryan: We are facing a serious dilemma today. I welcome Premier's decision to share the thoughts with the public. During the HHsH session in 1996, while promoting the idea that it's unacceptable for one group of people to forcefully control another group, Levon Ter-Petrosyan also promoted the idea that Karabakh could not have any status within Azerbaijan. Years later we can say it was a mistake. It was a mistake because it led to the losses we have today. Nobody besides Armenia and Karabakh supports Karabakh outside Azerbaijan. As Pashinyan stated, our partners want us to lower our status expectations so we won't be left alone against Turkey and Azerbaijan. Today, we cannot independently ensure Karabakh's independence from Azerbaijan. We need support. Instead of rejecting the international community's offer to lower the benchmark, we are telling them that we are ready to discuss it if they tell us what their security guarantees are. We cannot reject it outright without discussing it. As Pashinyan stated, our new primary goal is the security and rights of Karabakh Armenians. If the security guarantees are convincing enough, we can discuss it.

It was one thing to demand the transfer of Karabakh to Armenia during the USSR. But even then, we drew no conclusions from Sumgayit, Baku, and Kirovabad. We didn't analyze why 24 Armenian villages were emptied after the Soviet-Azeri operation.

The 80s movement resulted in the removal of Armenians from Lowland Karabakh. It resulted in 500,000 Armenians being unable to live in their historical homeland. And more recently, it led to a significant loss of Nagorno Karabakh, where Armenians no longer live today.

Where do we stop? Is our goal to get exterminated heroically, or to live and prosper? We are not betraying Karabakh. We want to ensure that Armenians in Karabakh can continue to live there. No country wants to help Armenia to achieve independent status for Karabakh. They offer to help only if we take an acceptable stance.

For 30 years we've lost people and lands because of wrong calculations. It's an Armenian land if Armenians live there. We have many historically Armenian lands no longer populated by Armenians. Our primary goal should be the preservation of Armenians in their homeland. //

QP MP Lena Nazaryan: Thanks for the honest thoughts yesterday, Mr. Premier. You mentioned a foreign diplomat who told you about his country's history, and that there aren't many countries in the world that are satisfied with their borders. The diplomat said he is grateful to the generation that found the courage to stop somewhere. It reminded me of another foreign diplomat's speech which resembles similarities.

UN Security Council was discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Kenya's representative said: Kenya and almost every African country were birthed by the ending of an empire. Our borders were not of our own drawing. They were drawn by colonial powers with no regard for the ancient nations. Today, across the border of every African country, live our countrymen with whom we share historical, cultural, and linguistic bonds. At independence, had we chosen to pursue states on the basis of ethnic, racial, or religious homogeneity, we would still be waging bloody wars these many decades later. Instead, we agreed that we would settle for the borders that we inherited, but we would still pursue continental political, economic, and legal integration. Rather than form nations that looked backward in history with a dangerous nostalgia, we chose to look forward. We chose to follow the rules of the UN Charter not because our borders satisfied us, but because we wanted something greater forged in peace. //

MP continues: The opposition continues to reject the government's offer to meet and receive answers. In reality, I don't think they miss a lot because the conversation is public and open. I understand them. Of course they can't have an honest conversation around a table and then continue to pretend to be clueless publicly. It's a way to avoid responsibility.

Two months ago, members of civil society, mostly women, gathered in front of the government building to rightfully protest the latest deaths on the border. They made several demands. They demanded deeper trenches be dug, to conduct border fortifications, and to use contractors on borders instead of conscripts, as if contractors' lives are less important. To my surprise, they never demanded peace. It's their right, but during a meeting with soldiers' families and the public, I can see that the pace agenda is widely supported. //

QP MP Vahagn Aleksanyan: For decades, today's opposition told the public they were going to achieve independence for Artsakh with a packaged resolution.

99% of our population is probably unaware that in 1997 there was one phased and one package document. The package envisaged Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan with a high level of autonomy. The Armenian side suggested for the ethnic Armenians to have not just Azeri citizenship, but a legal right to hold dual citizenship. This is what was discussed.

As for 1997's phased document, Levon Ter-Petrosyan supported it, but Kocharyan and Serj were against it. Then they become the negotiators. In 1998 there were negotiations about a union state between Azerbaijan and Artsakh. Artsakh's status would be lower than independence, but higher than autonomy, as they said. Artsakh Armenians would have the right to hold dual citizenship.

Then they negotiated the Meghri-Artsakh swap proposal.

Then came the Madrid Principles, which were quite good and led to Kazan in 2011, but Azerbaijan rejected it. Why? Because if the whole world supports you that it's your territory, and your economy is skyrocketing from oil despite being corrupt, why would you agree to the 2011 document?

The next major change took place in 2016 when the phased document is offered, something that Serj Sargsyan has long rejected. To save face, Serj Sargsyan simply asked to change the wording to call it a package resolution. But it's obviously a phased resolution in essence. Moreover, it no longer envisages interim status for Artsakh.

In other words, they were going to surrender the adjacent regions, leave the issue of final status hanging in the air, but without an interim status for Artsakh. This is what was negotiated by people who point a finger at us today. //

[full](https://youtu.be/vU8f4qEj1Wg) [source](https://allinnet.info/history/the-first-speech-of-the-first-prime/) [source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080646.html) [source](https://youtu.be/uo_zYFl-wSg) [source](https://youtu.be/yvanlkFDiu0) [source](https://factor.am/499418.html)

Pashinyan about phased vs package resolution; referendum in 50-100 years; border guards

Context: Pashinyan said Serj was negotiating around a phased resolution secretly despite speaking against it for years. In response, Serj accused Pashinyan of manipulating, and publishing the front page of the document which states that it's a "package" resolution. The ruling MPs responded saying its wording was intentionally chosen that way to help Serj save face, but the content was a phased resolution.

Pashinyan: Back in 1997, it was decided to split the issue into parts: the Karabakh issue and the peace treaty. It's the same in the 2016 and 2018 packages. It's clearly written that the sides agree on initial principles, followed by negotiations between the governments, with the participation of Nagorno Karabakh representatives, which would include ethnic Azeris. There would be no resolution unless the Azeri community of Karabakh agreed to the resolution, until the Shushi issue was resolved, which has been on the negotiation table since 1996. Was Serj going to give away Shushi [had he remained in power after 2018]? No. There would be war, and we would lose territories.

They tell myths about the width of the Lachin corridor. The width was supposed to be discussed at a later phase. Then another phase was added to this phase: UN Security Council would decide Nagorno Karabakh's ongoing status.

We are accused of surrendering Karabakh. If we wanted to surrender Karabakh, we would have proceeded with Serj's plan, because even if a referendum was to be held, it would still need to be agreed upon by both sides. However, Azerbaijan had clearly stated there would be no referendum for at least 50 years. They wanted Azeri civilians to return to Karabakh, live together for 50 years, populate Azeri settlements, then 50-100 years later "we will see if there is a referendum". //

people of Karabakh must have rights, freedom, and status in Karabakh: Pashinyan

Pashinyan: With yesterday's speech, we opened a space for Armenia and Artsakh, because during the whole negotiation process of the previous period Armenia and Artsakh were deprived of the political and diplomatic space. We are opening a path to protecting the statehood of Armenia and Artsakh.

What do I mean by "opening space" for Armenia and Artsakh? It must be us who bring forth debates. We must fill in the regional agenda. Enough being dictated by others. We've never imposed our agenda. Why and how did we keep certain lands? We kept them because it was beneficial to some. It's time to understand this. We're talking about the existence of Armenia and Artsakh today. We must manage the aggression around us.

Some opposition figures "threaten" that if things aren't resolved in a particular way, "we will remove people from Karabakh". There is an impression that these people dream that the people of Karabakh leave as soon as possible.

No, the people of Karabakh must not leave Karabakh. The people of Karabakh must live in Karabakh, they must have rights, freedoms, and status. The people of Karabakh must be Karabakhtsi, Artsakhtsi, and Armenian. The talk is about this. We have opened a path to get our people out of the status of a sacrificial lamb.

We did not choose war. We did not choose anything. Armenia is a sovereign state and must be able to make decisions. We are not someone's barn and cattle. We should not be lambs that are sacrificed after decisions made in certain places. We are a state and a nation. We are bloodied, but we have self-respect. We will not allow our rights to be taken away from us through manipulations and fake models of patriotism.

Our borders must be guarded by border guards and not army soldiers, and conflicts should be resolved through signs and not fortified trenches. As long as we have soldiers on the border, that means we don't have peace. Armenia lost around 1,000 soldiers [during the period the opposition says they were able to maintain peace]. That's not "peace". //

[full](https://youtu.be/JgS3_Rr96Zc) [source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080612.html) [source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080614.html) [source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080615.html) [source](https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1080611.html)

interview with political analyst Hakob Badalyan

Reporter: Pashinyan said that the international community wants Armenia to lower the benchmark for the status of Karabakh to ensure a greater consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh, and that the status is not an end in itself, but a means to ensure the security and rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Is the goal to ensure Karabakh Armenians' security at any cost now, because we don't have international allies and we need to take action to form a language that's acceptable by the international community?

Badalyan: By judging from Pashinyan's speech, Yerevan continues the process of "opening" the negotiations process. We've seen several interviews about the history of negotiations and documents. We went a step further today (Wednesday), the existing approaches around the status were discussed.

Experts who follow this process are not surprised that the international community isn't interested in seeing an independent Karabakh, especially under today's geopolitical developments. A new world is being drawn. An independent Karabakh was never seriously discussed even before these developments. Superpowers are drawing the borders of the new world today. No one knows for sure what the Caucasus -- its recognized and unrecognized republics, including Karabakh -- will look like tomorrow.

It's also a policy of opening the process. It alleviates internal pressure in Armenia. Everyone will have to express their stance, without populism.

Reporter: Does this mean leaving Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, receiving clear security guarantees including through peacekeepers, and freezing the conflict for a lengthy period while the relations normalize?

Badalyan: To put it simply, Armenia has no firm stance right now. Armenia's issue is to buy time and show a willingness to hold peace talks. Again, the main events are unfolding between superpowers at the moment. As long as there is this turbulence and we don't know what the world and international organizations (OSCE, etc.) will look like, it's difficult for Armenia to set its goals firmly. We must do everything to at least keep the status quo right now, and to win time. The best result would be full independence but it's another question whether there will be a favorable international atmosphere to achieve that.

Reporter: Pashinyan stated that the international community will resolve the conflict. He also cited Levon Ter-Petrosyan's 2017 speech.

Badalyan: He was referring specifically to the 2016 August document which envisaged that the status would be decided by the UN Security Council. We are all adults and understand that world powers play a decisive role here, and this has been the case in the past 30 years as well. And the 2020 war was...

Reporter: ... did we underestimate the importance of the international community?

Badalyan: Some people do. The negotiators, the leaders, who contributed to the formation of that impression, perhaps knew very well the importance of the international community.

The negotiation process also failed because the world powers had disagreements. The US couldn't get Key West done and realized that Russia could hinder the process here. The US gradually shifted the work to Russia, realizing that Russia, too, would be unable to achieve a resolution on its own. Turkey entered the game. Russia was forced to reconcile with Turkey amid tensions with the West. No one should underestimate the role of geopolitics.

Pashinyan changed the emphasis today. The status is not the end goal, but rather a tool to achieve security and sovereignty. This is a message that if there are other ways to achieve security and sovereignty, Yerevan could lower the benchmark. It's a message for the international community to tell us what guarantees they can provide. If the guarantees are convincing and sufficient, they could be placed for public discussions.

Reporter: But we aren't talking about self-determination anymore.

Badalyan: I could cite several recent statements from public officials and the Premier.

Reporter: But not in Brussels.

Badalyan: Doesn't have to happen during every meeting. It's a complex situation. In the past, they were publicly talking about self-determination every day. We saw that it didn't help. Setting goals is necessary, and if there is a retreat from that position, the public should discuss it. At this time, I do not see sufficient evidence of that. Armenia's main goal today is to adopt soft rhetoric and to win time to reduce the pressure. We see in Ukraine that borders are being drawn with wars today. Armenia must be extremely careful.

Reporter: Which world power is the main player in the negotiation process? EU's Michel made it seem it's the EU. Lavrov, in turn, said everything achieved in Brussels was already discussed in Moscow.

Badalyan: They are all fighting each other. Small countries are being used as tools. It will be great if Armenia could avoid becoming a part of another armed conflict. At the same time, the world powers have common interests. The EU and Russia have a common desire to establish peace in our region.

Reporter: Are we one step closer to peace, or two steps closer to war?

Badalyan: We're circling, and it doesn't depend on us. Our goal is to take steps to manage the risks.

[full](https://youtu.be/ZEDjlMGXl1Q)

the opposition says it can bring back Shushi and Hadrut

ARF Gegham Manukyan: We will bring back Shushi and Hadrut.

Reporter: How?

Manukyan: Look. It has been done once. It will be done again.

Reporter: How? Through war?

Manukyan: No. Should I sit here and make a political-military analysis?

Ruling party QP Aghazaryan believes it will be difficult to return Shushi, but Hadrut is a possibility, but he can't "open the parenthesis".

[source](https://armlur.am/1179201/)

French Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group visited Armenia

Pashiyan and cabinet members hosted France's Roquefeuil to discuss the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, OSCE's role, the efforts to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey, and humanitarian topics.

[source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080647.html) [source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080657.html)

Artsakh president Harutyunyan about Nagorno Karabakh status (Wednesday):

We understand that we must live as neighbors with Azerbaijan, but subordination is impossible. Russian peacekeepers will stay here indefinitely. We should protect the status quo, to have a de facto independence, while striving for a de jure change later. It could be independence, or joining Armenia which is less likely, but it could also be some relations with Russia. //

Harutyunyan held a meeting with former presidents of Artsakh and exchanged views. Artsakh Parliament President Tovmasyan said it would be unacceptable for Artsakh to become part of Azerbaijan. A message was shared, urging the Armenian government to refrain from making "catastrophic decisions", and for Russian peacekeepers not to allow anyone to endanger/question the security of the Artsakh people.

[source](https://youtu.be/qOu2y0F3jT0) [source](https://factor.am/499725.html) [source](https://factor.am/499739.html) [source](https://factor.am/499805.html)

Russia: opposition Armenian MPs were prevented from entering Artsakh because they had not contacted peacekeepers in advance

Russia said its peacekeepers had acted in accordance with the Nov. 9 AM-RU-AZ agreement, when they blocked opposition deputies from entering Artsakh.

[source](https://factor.am/499613.html)

Russian MFA: Armenia-Azerbaijan relations will be normalized based on the trilateral Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan agreements

The US and French Minsk Group Co-chairs are no longer cooperating with the Russian Co-chair, according to Russia. At the same time, Russia believes the Karabakh negotiations should not stop.

Russia's OSCE Co-chair Igor Khovaev has a new job. Lavrov assigned him as Russia's special envoy to normalize Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.

Khovaev will help prepare the peace treaty. Moscow hopes Armenia and Azerbaijan will support Khovaev's efforts.

[source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080671.html) [source](https://factor.am/499798.html) [source](https://news.am/arm/news/696486.html)

what's missing is a common border between Armenia and Russia: Russian trade expert

Sergey Mikheyev: You asked what's needed to deepen the cooperation between Armenia and Russia. A common border is missing, and land connections. No solutions in the near future. The problem could have been resolved years ago had the relations between Russia and Georgia been arranged differently. The Georgian government has rejected the proposals of the Russian side.

Our economic ties should develop. There should be more self-confidence in trade and security assistance. I can't make predictions about the Nagorno Karabakh negotiations process, but in any case, Russia won't abandon the Nagorno Karabakh issue because of "being distracted" in Ukraine. It's impossible to resolve the conflict without Russia. I didn't see anything new in Brussel's proposals. //

[source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080664.html) [source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080656.html)

Russia: the sanctions on Russia and Belarus have affected other EAEU members

Russia: The states are working on smoothing out the consequences of the unprecedented illegal sanctions. Import substitution plays a major role. //

[source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080603.html)

Economy Minister's Moscow trip continues

Kerobyan met Russia's Agriculture Minister to discuss food security and cooperation in agriculture. Agrifood trade turnover was $903m last year, +20% YoY. Armenia exported $534m agrifood to Russia, +25% YoY.

[source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080655.html)

Ukraine ambassador: the reports about Russia transferring Syrian fighters through Armenia, and Armenia sending SU jets to help Russia in Ukraine, were fake news

Denis Avtonomov: A marauder with Armenian nationality was caught in Ukraine. He wasn't a soldier but had a "vaenni bilet" on him. The Armenian community asked authorities to hand him over for "discussions". His fate is unknown.

Non-state-sponsored events were held in some locations in Armenia in support of the Russian army with a Z sign. These have nothing to do with Armenia and Armenian organizations. There is evidence that some people placed the Z, took a photo, rolled it back, and left, haha.

... 2,000 Ukrainian citizens have arrived in Armenia

Most of them are ethnic Armenians. 75 of them have applied for asylum.

... Ukraine has not shipped weapons to Azerbaijan since 2014

Fake news was circulated about Ukrainian Javelin in exchange for Azeri oil. I've also not seen any evidence regarding white phosphorus bombs. //

[video](https://youtu.be/4oq9Um-uXRk) [article](https://factor.am/499456.html) [source](https://factor.am/499478.html) [source](https://factor.am/499487.html)

IMAGES: company wants to build Armenia's longest zipline in Yenokavan

Apaga Project owns the Apaga Resort hotel and the Yell Extreme Park.

CEO Chibukhchyan: The village had a population of 480 in 1991. Today it's 630. We built hundreds of POIs and cottages for tourists. There are ATV tours, horse riding, wine tasting, etc.

This year we'll build a 2.5 km zipline in Yell Extreme Park. It should be ready in July. It will be a new thing, a unique service in the region.

18,600 peopled visited Yell Extreme Park in 2019. The numbers dropped in 2020. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine had no significant impact on us, but the Russians who moved to Armenia will positively change the daily life of the country.

I compare it to the migration from Syria. It led to significant growth in the service sector. Dozens of thousands of Russians are in Armenia today, and not all of them are ethnic Armenian. If 15% of them stay in Armenia, we'll see a similar process in 3-5 years. //

[source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080589.html)

Gagik Tsarukyan admits making a huge mistake in his journey to build a Jesus statue

He said he should have framed the question as "where do you want it" instead of "whether you want it" from the beginning. Tsarukyan also said he reads all the opinions and respects the critics, but he has 3 reasons why the statue should be built:

1) Փաստարկ առաջին: It will help overcome internal divisions and form public unity [X - doubt]. Millions of Armenians live around the wrold. It can unite Armenia and Diaspora.

2) Փաստարկ երկրորդ: Tourism. Are we rich enough to say no to this potential source of revenue?

3) Փաստարկ երրորդ: This will help develop infrastructure in neighboring areas. New roads, hotels, museums, housing, economy.

[source](https://factor.am/499361.html)

today in history

1849: Hungary gains independence from Austria.

1865: Abraham Lincoln is shot in a theater.

1909: Ottoman Empire organizes a massacre of Armenians in Cilicia.

1912: Titanic hits the iceberg.

1931: The Spanish Cortes deposes the king and proclaims the Second Spanish Republic.

1958: Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit. It was the first to carry a living animal, a dog named Laika, who likely lived only a few hours.

1978: [Protests in Tbilisi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_Georgian_demonstrations). Georgians are against Soviet attempts to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language. Georgian would no longer be the sole State language. Kremlin caves, triggering tensions in Abkhazia, who saw it as a capitulation to Georgian nationalism. Abkhazia demanded their autonomy be transferred from Georgia to the Russian SFSR. The request was rejected. April 14 is celebrated in Georgia as the Day of the Georgian Language.

[source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_14) [source](https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1080580.html)

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Link to original report and comments: https://www.reddit.com/r/armenia/comments/u3ri7u/daily_news_apr142022_pashinyan_in_parliament/