Armenian News... A Topalian 6 editorials
RFE/RL Report
Armenia Hosts Eurasian Union Summit
October 01, 2019
Sargis Harutyunyan
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian praised the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) as he chaired a summit of the Russian-led trade bloc in Yerevan on Tuesday.
Pashinian, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of the other EEU member states -- Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan -- met in closed session
before being joined by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Moldova’s President Igor Dodon and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
“Our organization, which is already five years old, is getting stronger year after year,” Pashinian said in his opening remarks. “It has already proved its viability and attractiveness as an international integration grouping.”
“I am happy to note that Armenia is making its contribution to this process,” added the prime minister who criticized Armenian membership in the EEU when he was opposition to his country’s former government.
Putin likewise declared that the establishment of the EEU has sped up economic
growth and boosted living standards in its member states. “The EEU is developing steadily,” he said at the summit. “A vast common market has been created and it is functioning with success.”
Putin went on to announce that Russia and its ex-Soviet allies making up the bloc will create a “common electricity space” by 2025. He said they are also planning a common oil and gas market. That requires the “harmonization of member states’ legislations on gas supplies and transport,” added the Russian president.
Pashinian touched upon this issue in his speech. He said the prices of Russian natural gas traded within the EEU should eventually be set in the national
currencies of member states, rather than the U.S. dollar. Moscow is believed to have objected to this idea until now.
The session ended with the signing of a free-trade agreement between the EEU and Singapore. Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed a
similar deal with Iran last year. Rouhani’s presence at the summit underscored the deal’s importance to the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian president also used the summit to denounce the “inhuman” U.S. sanctions against his country. “We believe that the international community must counter the U.S.’s hostile and unilateral approach and take serious decisions and effective actions against it,” he said.
Rouhani also complained that some of Iran’s partners, notably Russia, have been “following the U.S.’s example” and ignoring international law and breaching bilateral agreements. He did not elaborate.
RFE/RL Report
Armenia Pays Tribute To France’s Jacques Chirac
September 30, 2019
Armenia’s leaders described Jacques Chirac as a “great man,” “global political giant” and friend of the Armenian people on Monday as France bade farewell to its former president who died last week aged 86.
Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian joined current and former world leaders in attending a funeral mass in memory of Chirac held at the Saint Sulpice church
in Paris.
In a weekend tweet, Mnatsakanian said he is leaving for Paris to “pay tribute to a great global political giant and big friend of Armenia.”
“His contribution to relations between our peoples and nations is monumental,” Mnatsakanian wrote. “We bow our heads in deep respect and gratitude.”
In Yerevan, President Armen Sarkissian and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian visited the French Embassy to leave messages in a book of condolences set up
there.
“France has lost a great statesman and a great man,” wrote Pashinian. “President Chirac was one of the symbols of the awakening of Armenian-French
interstate relations.”
“The Armenian people will never forget his sincere friendship and valuable contribution made to the process of international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide as well as the mediation efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” he added.
For his part, Sarkissian described Chirac, who led France from 1995-2007, as a “great politician of our times” and “one of the architects of the special
French-Armenian relationship.”
Chirac became in September 2006 the first French president and leader of a major Western power to visit Armenia. During his state visit he and then
Armenian President Robert Kocharian inaugurated a square in downtown Yerevan named after France. Thousands of Armenians gathered there to listen to a speech delivered by Chirac at the ceremony.
While in Yerevan, Chirac also declared that recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire should be a precondition for Turkey’s membership in the European Union. "Every country grows by acknowledging its dramas and
errors of the past,” he said.
It was Chirac who signed into law in 2001 a French parliamentary bill that recognized the genocide. The leaders of the CCAF coalition of leading French-Armenian organizations emphasized this fact when they offered their “sincere condolences” to his wife Bernadette and French President Emmanuel Macron on September 26.
1 October 2019
Pashinyan, Putin Discuss Strategic Alliance
President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Tuesday met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan, where leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union member-states and others have gathered for the annual summit of the economic pact.
The two leaders emphasized that their countries continue to be strategic partners to one another, which both said were the result of the historic Armenian-Russian ties.
“I want to emphasize the strategic nature of the Armenian-Russian relations. They are not based just on the period of the recent years or decades, but the centuries-old history of our peoples,” Putin said.
The Russian leader expressed his gratitude to Pashinyan for what was deemed to be a successful EEU summit, which convened earlier in the day.
“It [the EEU summit] was really positive, including in terms of developing our relations with our partners of the third countries. And what is not less important, or maybe the most important for us, is that all the agreements between the member states of the organization have been implemented. You are the individual who made the maximum effort for such a productive work. For that reason I not only congratulate you, but also want to thank you,” Putin told Pashinyan.
Pashinyan evaluated Armenia’s presidency of the EEU, which concludes at the end of 2019, as a positive step toward advancing the mission of the Eurasian economic alliance and told Putin that his government, while satisfied with the ongoing positive ties with Moscow, is ready and willing to expand and strengthen relations.
Oct 3 2019
Armenian prime minister finesses democratic intentions
Pashinyan has little choice but to curry Kremlin tolerance in order to give his reform efforts a better chance.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is proving to be skilled in the art of philosophical juggling. In late September, when he was in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, Pashinyan delivered a full-throated endorsement of liberal democracy. And less than a week later, back in Yerevan, he was acting as the convivial, selfie-taking host of a jamboree of authoritarian leaders.
The mixed optics are indicative of the unique challenge that Pashinyan faces in Eurasia; he wants to make the Armenian government more transparent while staying in the good graces of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who treats transparency like a dirty word. Given that Russia is Armenia’s chief strategic and economic patron, Pashinyan has little choice but to curry Kremlin tolerance in order to give his reform efforts a better chance of success.
Pashinyan swept to power in the spring of 2018 vowing to curb corruption and clean up Armenia’s political culture. In New York, he portrayed himself as an unabashed liberal in the Lockean sense of the term. During a September 25 policy address at Columbia University, he stressed “a need to develop inclusive” institutions in Armenia that make government more accountable to citizens.
“The world needs positive examples of [political] inclusiveness,” he said.
But when pressed during the question and answer segment of his Columbia appearance, Pashinyan made it clear that his liberal vision has glass walls. Asked to unequivocally condemn Russia’s territorial seizure of Crimea, he demurred, thus highlighting his conundrum of trying to mesh liberal ideals with geopolitical realities in Eurasia.
He described the simmering conflict over Ukraine/Crimea as “sensitive,” adding that “condemnation doesn’t always solve the situation.”
Pashinyan’s punt on the Crimea question is understandable. To call out Russia would doubtless invite Putin’s wrath, and that is something he can’t afford to do right now.
The Armenian prime minister’s relationship with Putin has been far from warm. But during a Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit in Yerevan on October 1, the two seemed to get along well enough. After a one-on-one meeting, Pashinyan announced that Armenian-Russian relations are on a “positive track.”
In his Columbia address, Pashinyan expressed a desire for members of the Armenian Diaspora to play an expanded role in promoting reforms. He asserted that previous administrations in Yerevan had sought to limit the role of Diaspora Armenians to several specific areas, in particular efforts to secure broader international recognition of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman-era Turkey. Getting Diaspora members more involved in all aspects of domestic reforms would be an important element in “making our democracy sustainable institutionally,” he said.
Pashinyan at Columbia described democracy and human rights as “universal values,” but added a qualifier that will reassure Moscow: Democratic institutions need to be home-grown and reflect the “nuances” of the country in question, he said.
“Democracy and freedom should be a choice for a country or people,” he said, going on to emphasize that they “should not be exported.”
War of Words at UN General Assembly
Between Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
The United Nations’ General Assembly held its annual session Sept. 24to 30, 2019 in New York City. The participants were heads of statesand high-ranking officials of UN member countries, including Armenia’s
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoganand Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. Surprisingly, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev was absent—a big mistake on his part.
The first speech was delivered by Erdogan on Sept. 24. After speakingabout the lofty notions of justice and equality, which are constantly violated by Turkey, Erdogan once again complained about the fact that
Turkey is not represented among the five Permanent members of the UNSecurity Council (US, UK, France, China and Russia) which have a vetopower. Long before Turkey is admitted to such an exclusive club,
India, Brazil, and possibly Germany should have a priority overTurkey. Erdogan also misrepresented Turkey as the country that “has inflicted the first and heaviest blow” to ISIS terrorists in Syria. In reality, Turkey has been the biggest supporter of ISIS terrorists.
Surprisingly, Erdogan blamed Greek Cypriots for Turkey’s continued occupation of Northern Cyprus. He also criticized Israel for itsmistreatment of Palestinians.
Turning to the Caucasus, Erdogan stated: “it is unacceptable that Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding areas, which are Azerbaijani
territories, are still occupied despite the [UN] resolutions adopted.”
Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, addressed the UN General Assembly on Sept. 25, condemning Azerbaijan for its unwillingness to resolve the “Nagorno Karabakh” (Artsakh) conflict. He
said that the solution to the conflict must be acceptable to all three populations of Armenia, Artsakh and Azerbaijan.
Regarding Turkey, Pashinyan stated that “by refusing to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia, overtly assisting Azerbaijan against Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, Turkey remains a serious threat
to Armenia and the Armenian people, who had experienced the deep tragedy of the genocide and continue to face the fierce denial of truth and justice.”
Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 28, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov stated that “rather than wasting time on attempts to mislead the international community and its own people,Armenia must drop its lousy attempts to prolong the unsustainable status quo and faithfully comply with its international obligations.”
The sooner Armenia gives up its “aggressive and hostile policy in the region,” the better it would overcome its “serious political, economic and social burden,” Mammadyarov said.
Armenia’s UN delegate exercised his “right of reply” to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Mammadyarov’s speech, accusing him of distorting the conflict of Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia’s representative then mentioned the Azeri massacres of Armenians in Sumgayit, Azerbaijan, in 1988. He added that Nagorno Karabakh was never a part of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s representative then responded with his own “right of reply.” The Armenian and Azerbaijani delegates proceeded to deliver a series of remarks replying to each other’s accusations.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu displeased with Erdogan’s criticism of Israel at the UN General Assembly, condemned him harshly
according to the Jerusalem Post: “Prime Minister Netanyahu slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday calling him a liar and saying that ‘he who doesn’t stop lying about Israel, he who kills
Kurds in his own country, he who denies the terrible crimes against the Armenians -- that person should not preach to Israel.’“
Netanyahu’s comments did not please Armenians around the world who pointed out that under his leadership Israel has rejected the veracity of the Armenian Genocide and blocked the acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide by the Knesset (parliament). Netanyahu’s words were
viewed as simply a disingenuous attempt to use the Armenian Genocide as a tool to bash Erdogan, while Israel itself has not acknowledged the Armenian Genocide. This is the height of hypocrisy by Netanyahu.
As I have repeatedly pointed out, the Israeli government, as the leadership of a nation that has suffered genocide itself, should have been the first country to recognize the Armenian Genocide, not the
last. At this late stage, even if Israel were to recognize the Armenian Genocide, it would be a pointless exercise as dozens of countries and international organizations have already acknowledged the Armenian Genocide. By continuing its shameless refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide, the Israeli government is simply tarnishing its own reputation in the international community.
Even the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi joined the political fray in New York by meeting with the President of Cyprus and the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Greece to indicate his displeasure at Turkish President Erdogan’s siding with Pakistan in his UN speech. Such a meeting is definitely in the interests of Armenia, Cyprus and Greece in order to counter Pakistan’s cozy relationship with Turkey and
Azerbaijan. In June, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Cyprus and Greece met in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia to discuss an expansion of their relations. All three countries share the common goal of opposing Turkish hegemony in the region.
To end on an amusing note, Pres. Erdogan refused to sit at Pres. Trump’s table with other heads of states at a banquet given by the U.S. President at the United Nations last week, since Egyptian Pres. Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, whom the Turkish President abhors, was sitting
at that table. Erdogan’s chair remained empty, depriving him of the golden opportunity to brainwash Pres. Trump during dinner.
Armenpress.am
30 September, 2019
For the first time, Armenia releases into the wild endangered species of birds after treatment
Several saved endangered species of birds have been released into the wild in Armenia after successfully passing a rehabilitation process, the Nature Protection and Subsoil Inspectorate said.
The agency said this unprecedented event was a success thanks to cooperation between the ministry of environment, the National Academy of Sciences Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydro-ecology, the Zoo Fauna Art Rehabilitation Center of Exotic Animals, Protection of Endemic and Endangered Species (PEES) and the Nature Protection and Subsoil Inspectorate.
Months earlier Nature Protection and Subsoil Inspectorate personnel had transferred the birds – which had sustained various traumas in the wild – to the above-mentioned rehabilitation center where veterinarians and zoologists assumed the care for the animals. The Nature Protection and Subsoil Inspectorate said it has regularly monitored the process.
The fully recovered birds have been released into the wild in the Ararat plain, an area nearby the Khosrov Forest and Akhuryan region. The birds are rosy pelicans, bearded vultures, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the tawny eagle.
In addition to the endangered animals, the inspectorate has also released into the wild 3 storks and 1 eagle.
Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
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