Yervant1 Posted September 13, 2023 Report Share Posted September 13, 2023 New Indian ExpressSept 12 2023 Putin says 'no problems' in Russia's ties with Armenia Frustration has been mounting in Armenia recently over what officials say is Russia's failure to act as a security guarantor amid mounting tensions with its historic rival Azerbaijan.By AFP MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday dismissed that Russia's ties with Armenia were strained, days after Moscow summoned its ambassador following Armenia's decision to host US forces for peacekeeping drills.Frustration has been mounting in Armenia recently over what officials say is Russia's failure to act as a security guarantor amid mounting tensions with its historic rival Azerbaijan.Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recently said Armenia's historic security reliance on Russia was a "strategic mistake" and his country is currently holding peacekeeping drills with US forces."We have no problems with Armenia or Prime Minister Pashinyan," Putin said at an economic forum in Vladivostok.He added that Armenia and Azerbaijan could reach a lasting peace agreement now that Armenian authorities had recognised Azerbaijan's sovereignty over the separatist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the mountainous territory and in 2020 Putin brokered a ceasefire that saw Armenia relinquish swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.Moscow deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers to police the Lachin corridor, the sole road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.Pashinyan however recently said Moscow was either "unable or unwilling" to control the route.The peacekeepers' "mandate is still in force, but humanitarian issues, and the prevention of some ethnic cleansing there, of course, have not gone anywhere, and I fully agree with this," Putin said.Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of spurring a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh by closing the Lachin corridor.On Tuesday, Russia delivered humanitarian aid to the region via Azerbaijani-controlled territory, which experienced shortages of food and medicine.https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2023/sep/12/putin-says-no-problems-in-russias-ties-with-armenia-2614157.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted September 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 5, 2023 Report Share Posted October 5, 2023 Reuters Oct 4 2023 Russia says it held talks with US, EU on Nagorno-Karabakh before crisis Reuters MOSCOW, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Russia exchanged views with the United States and the European Union on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh ahead of the lightning military operation by Azerbaijan last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. Politico reported earlier that top officials from the United States and the EU met their Russian counterparts in Turkey for emergency talks about Karabakh just days before Azerbaijan launched its operation in the breakaway region. "The U.S. and EU approached us and asked us to hold a meeting," Zakharova told reporters. She said the sides exchanged views on the situation in Karabakh. "There was nothing secret about this meeting; it was an ordinary exchange of views. We shall see how the West will present all this now." U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters the meeting was not a secret and "came together to address specifically urgent humanitarian issues and the provision of potential humanitarian aid in Nagorno-Karabakh." "The U.S. remains deeply engaged on the situation and we continue to be committed to helping the parties achieve a lasting peace in the South Caucasus," he said. Reporting by Filipp Lebedev; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis Editing by Andrew Osborn and Paul Simao https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-says-it-held-talks-with-us-eu-nagorno-karabakh-ahead-crisis-2023-10-04/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 7, 2023 Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 Armenpress.am Russia begins work around opening consulate in Kapan 16:44, 6 October 2023YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. A Russian government official has met with the Mayor of Meghri in Armenia to discuss the upcoming opening of the Russian consulate-general in Kapan. The head of the delegation in charge of the works from the Russian side and the Meghri mayor discussed the prospects of swiftly opening the consulate ‘which will significantly simplify access to consular services for Russian citizens living in Armenia’s south,” the Russian embassy said in a readout.“In addition, it was noted that the new consulate-general will contribute to the further strengthening of Armenian-Russian relations and stabilization of the situation in the region, and will contribute to the expansion of cultural, humanitarian, trade, economic and inter-regional cooperation,” the Russian embassy in Armenia said. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1121384.html?fbclid=IwAR3-kp1xHUSQpe4MLOZsSMxTCwUjykvUDRzZdyPacs8RTYQOCFx4P6GKgiE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted October 7, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 9, 2023 Report Share Posted October 9, 2023 Armenpress.am Moscow considers possibility of organizing Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan foreign ministerial meeting 10:49, 9 October 2023YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Moscow considers the possibility of organizing a meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan within the framework of the upcoming CIS summit on October 12 in Kyrgyzstan, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin told RBC in an interview.“The dialogue between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia around the entire complex of the issues of resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict never stopped. We hope such contacts continue. We are discussing the possibility of holding such discussions at the foreign ministerial level within the framework of the upcoming CIS summit in Bishkek on October 12 this year. The Azerbaijani side has already given its principled agreement. And we expect the Armenian side to also approach this issue responsibly and agree to participate in such negotiations,” Galuzin said. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1121507.html?fbclid=IwAR1F1QrWqxRmORBfKC-4mLsMzbxouoMJrW_6RqJi_Ns1mWOgItdjaXNMMlI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 9, 2023 Report Share Posted October 9, 2023 Armenpress.am Russia says ready to work with EU, US around Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization only if its mediation is respected 11:54, 9 October 2023YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Russia, the EU and the United States could work together in the direction of normalization of the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations only if the West takes into account the agreements that have been reached at Russian mediation, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Mikhail Galuzin has said.“We could work together in the direction of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization, but with an understanding that the EU and US won’t take our developments and misrepresent them as their proposals, but that their actions would fit into the formats of the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization that have already been developed between the parties at Russian mediation. We approach the contacts with the EU and US over this issue from this perspective,” Galuzin said in an interview with RBC.Galuzin said that the 2020 ceasefire deal and the following agreements between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are the formats for the peace process.“And if the EU and US want to help with their implementations, then certainly we will not counter it. But if it’s about using Russian developments and acting without Russia, then understandably such approach can’t be acceptable to us. The EU isn’t as concerned about normalization as it is by pushing Russia out of the region,” Galuzin said. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1121514.html?fbclid=IwAR1avdicq_1hzmchMSk8rN_cZ_wPDRkq2p0DTcAxX6QZEoFgF71pCiwV368 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 10, 2023 Report Share Posted October 10, 2023 Just like the peace keeping you did in Artsakh? How can we trust you! Armenpress.am It’s time for peace in the South Caucasus, says Russia 11:46, 10 October 2023YEREVAN, OCTOBER 10, ARMENPRESS. The Russian peacekeeping contingent is ready to contribute to the strengthening of trust in the South Caucasus, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.“Now, when leaders in Yerevan and Baku have resolved the issue of mutual recognition of the sovereignty of the two countries, the time has come to establish peaceful life and strengthen trust,” Lavrov said in an article. “The Russian peacekeeping contingent is ready to maximally contribute to this,” he added.The Russian FM accused the West of destabilizing the situation in the South Caucasus and imposing its mediation upon Armenia and Azerbaijan. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1121597.html?fbclid=IwAR0WVgva6kOC7husgtUSJNj_DAVpIuvZSUKfwbMz1m6s3lMlryouxmkiVPc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2023 Report Share Posted October 19, 2023 ForbesOct 18 2023 The ‘Evil Empire’ Strikes Back: Ukraine, Kosovo, Armenia, IsraelMelik KaylanContributorI cover conflicts, frontiers and upheavals mired in history. Oct 18, 2023,03:50am EDT Suddenly we have hit a historical fulcrum where all the predicted disastrous conflicts, having built up for decades, erupt simultaneously. Russia-Ukraine, Armenia-Azerbaijan, Israel-Palestine and the like flaring up across borders but also within borders, threatening even Western countries where supporters of each side now live in large numbers. Several of the latent ethnic, tribal, religious and imperial flashpoints have come alive. Why is it all happening almost simultaneously; is there a thread that binds it together? In this column and years back in the Wall Street Journal I warned, along with many others, that Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia would lead to the same in Ukraine. (Georgia's President of the time, Mikheil Saakashvili, subsequently went on every possible media outlet in the US and Europe warning of the threat.) The Israel-Gaza eruption was also anticipated by many, though few expected the ensuing torrent of horrors . Nagorno-Karabakh smoldered for decades too. Let us not forget, also, the near-eruption of the Balkans recently when Serbian militants attacked across the border in Kosovo. Meanwhile, many also predicted that, with the immigration policies or lack of them currently in place, Western countries would be as conflicted by the same longstanding inter-ethnic hatreds as the source countries. It should be noted that this scale of bloody discord, these days, is not plaguing East Asia. There's a reason. And it fits the picture. More about that later. These were 'frozen conflicts', as the saying goes. They stayed frozen this long and only re-inflamed completely with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The West, for example, has no trigger to pull in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Karabakh face-off. In truth, both the US and EU stopped thinking geo-strategically years ago. Washington stood down from the global Cold War after the Soviet collapse, only to get bogged down in the 'war on terror'. Moscow, however, never stopped but rather grew in might, wealth and pugnacity while the West was distracted. And this includes the area of cyber and propaganda wars. Where the West is now vulnerable to internal division on any major topic, not infrequently amplified by Moscow's cyber warriors, Russia's information space shows no sign of such exposure. In an earlier column, we dwelt on how the Kremlin, for decades and even centuries, maintained the habit of planting minefields of division within its empire, and beyond, as a threat to local independence efforts – or to rival powers that try to maintain peace elsewhere.So how do recent events fit that picture? In Armenia, properly independent leadership finally won power democratically with current PM Nikol Pashinyan in 2018. The Kremlin took it as an intolerable provocation. Pashinyan was virtually a product of a latter-day 'color' or democracy revolution, a particular bette noir of Putin. Which is why the great author of color revolutions, Saakashvili of Georgia, now lies poisoned and imprisoned in his own country under the Moscow-friendly regime in Tbilisi. It was the color-revolution movement in the 2000s that sparked the overthrow of post-Soviet style corrupt leaders in several countries. So Pashinyan had to be punished.Pashinyan's achilles heel was the political power of the Karabakh enclave and its militants in Armenian politics. Indeed, he won office by defying their sway over Yerevan. Armenia's citizenry was sick of their corrupt, pseudo-nationalist, populist, Kremlin-aligned dominance over the mother country. Pashinyan pushed all of Putin's buttons, as Saakashvili had once done, by winning through real democracy and booting out the Kremlin's puppets. So the Kremlin made it clear during the smaller 2020 Karabakh conflict that Russia wouldn't defend its client Armenia. Result: Azerbaijan fully cleared out the enclave this year with a bigger war. Moscow didn't lift a finger to defend Armenia. So, manifestly, Russia had a hand in that conflict erupting. And just recently Russia's Lukoil signed a deal to invest $1.5 billion with the Azeri oil giant SOCAR's oil refinery in Turkey. Another blow to Armenia and Pashinyan.Now, follow me closely here. Azerbaijan's biggest security backers are Turkey and Israel. For the former, Azerbaijan is the last footstep on the newly arising land-continuum to Central Asia's Turkic states. This will eventually present a flanking threat to Russian hegemony over its old colonies there. Putin has decided to meet the threat paradoxically by taking a share in it, thereby retaining leverage. Thus far, Moscow's message to the Azeris is, we helped you take over Karabakh and build arteries between Turkey and the Stans. That's the carrot, if you play along. We can all get rich in Moscow's commonwealth of top-down states. Where's the stick? See Ukraine? And now Israel. As this column has reiterated often, Israel's interest in helping Baku is all about creating another regional power to challenge the mullahs in Iran's backyard. Moscow didn't interfere with that project... until Iran became a cornerstone military ally of Russia's war in Ukraine. Suddenly, Moscow is too dependent on Iran to keep playing all sides, especially to keep helping Israel. You don't hand a victory to Iran's rivals in the Caucasus without giving Iran something elsewhere. Which is where we come to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Moscow giveth and it taketh away. The extensive network of tunnels and the amount of ordinance deployed by Hamas suggests not months but years of build-up with tiny graduated accretions so as to stay below the radar. An operation so horrifically atrocity-laden had to trigger a massive Israeli response, so massive as to engender geo-strategic shake-ups. Iran no doubt calculated just such an outcome. The Mullahs hated the Abraham accords and this was one sure way to scuttle them. But beyond that, the shock-waves threaten to redivide the region into Israel vs Islam – with Iran in the vanguard. Any calculation aiming for a seismic regional shake-up... well, Tehran had to inform Moscow of the plan. You can't help concluding that, therefore, the Russians certainly knew ahead of time, if they didn't actually help plan the scenario. Because, in the end, shredding the rival's umbrella of protection anywhere in the world will divert its resources from Ukraine. And cause divisions among minority groups within the rival countries or their spheres of interest. Hence Armenia, Kosovo, Israel. All flash-points susceptible to Russian provocation. They exist in Asia too but Moscow dare not impinge on China's sphere of interest. Except to visibly signal Beijing that, at a pinch, instability could erupt there too right on China's doorstep. Hence the theatrical antics between Putin and Kim Jong Un.https://www.forbes.com/sites/melikkaylan/2023/10/18/the-evil-empire-strikes-back-ukraine-kosovo-armenia-israel/amp/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 20, 2023 Report Share Posted October 20, 2023 Oct 19 2023 Moscow calls Armenia a “Ukraine 3” after Pashinyan’s speech at European Parliament By Ani Avetisyan October 19, 2023The war of words between Armenia and Russia appears to be worsening as Yerevan becomes more and more vocal about its disappointment with Russia and Moscow reacts fiercely. The latest incident took place after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s speech in the European Parliament, where he, once again, complained about Armenia’s “allies” that abandoned the country in its conflict with Azerbaijan. "When hundreds of thousands of Armenians were fleeing from Nagorno Karabakh to the Republic of Armenia, not only did our allies in the security sector refuse to help us, but they also made public calls for a change of power in Armenia to overthrow the democratic government", Pashinyan said, adding that the “conspiracy” against Armenia failed thanks to the unity in the country.An anonymous high-ranking source told Russian state news agency TASS that Pashinyan was following Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s footsteps by “quantum leaps”. "We consider Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's speech at the European Parliament on October 17 as absolutely irresponsible and provocative, especially as far as Russia and Russian-Armenian relations are concerned," the source told TASS, adding that “Armenia is trying to turn into Ukraine No. 3”, calling Moldova a “Ukraine No. 2”. Armenia has been voicing criticism about Russia and the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty organisation (CSTO) since 2021, when Azerbaijan captured lands inside Armenia, but it became more vocal following the 2022 September attack when Azerbaijan captured a number of military positions inside Armenia, leaving hundreds dead. Armenia’s requests to Russia and CSTO for military assistance remained unanswered, making Armenia reconsider its strategic allies. In a September 24 speech, Pashinyan stated that the “security systems” – meaning CSTO and the alliance with Russia – of which Armenia was part were not effective and that Armenia was seeking to diversify its security architecture. Armenia has recently been more eager for Western-led initiatives and peace negotiations with Azerbaijan. Refusing a number of events with the CSTO and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Armenia hosted a short-term military training with US troops days before Azerbaijan’s September 19 attack on Nagorno-Karabakh.Armenia has been looking for new possible partners, among them, India and France. India and Armenia already have a number of contracts on arms supplies, while with France Armenia has just agreed to co-operate militarily, which includes delivery of weapons. Russia is still the main supplier of weapons, but with its war in Ukraine, the country struggled to send promised weapons to Armenia, nor has it returned the $400mn Armenia pre-paid for the weapons. Along with security issues, Yerevan faced a test of loyalty when initiating the ratification of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court. Armenia decided to join the court despite Russia’s warnings and threats that the ratification could affect the two country’s relations. The West has also become one of the leading facilitators of talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan. While the talks are facing a standoff over the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders keep repeating that the peace agreement between the two countries is within reach. Pashinyan stated in Strasbourg that Armenia is ready to sign the peace treaty with Azerbaijan by the end of the year. https://www.intellinews.com/moscow-calls-armenia-a-ukraine-3-after-pashinyan-s-speech-at-european-parliament-297501/?source=armenia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted October 27, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted October 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2023 so much Armenians have done for Russia & CCCP and even today in moden russian federation, all we have got from putin is betrayal backstabbing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 29, 2023 Report Share Posted October 29, 2023 so much Armenians have done for Russia & CCCP and even today in moden russian federation, all we have got from putin is betrayal backstabbing.. I wonder if these contributors (Armenians) to Russia ever asked anything in return. This is the case for us in any other country that we live in, get the personal praise and ask nothing in return for the greater good of Armenia. We love personal success over the collective one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted October 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2023 must was during CCCP time. it was all for CCCP for the Mother Soviets.. no ethnicity we was all soviets... just like Mikoyan the must powerful person after stalin... did so much for cccp and must nothing for Motherland Armenia.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 2, 2023 Report Share Posted November 2, 2023 eurasianetNov 1 2023 Russia's powerful economic levers over Armenia As political relations deteriorate, Armenia's economy is more closely linked to Russia than ever.Arshaluis Mgdesyan Nov 1, 2023Armenia's relations with its strategic partner Russia are getting worse and worse and its leaders seem to desire a shift in geopolitical orientation towards the West. But a look at Russia's powerful levers over the country makes that kind of thinking seem delusional. And Moscow has begun dropping hints of how much economic pain it can inflict on Armenians. Armenian officials offer assurances that all is fine on the economic front, but economists and businesspeople are increasingly worried about possible consequences of the political tensions.About 40 percent of Armenia's exports go to Russia, and Yerevan's dependence on Russia for basic goods is overwhelming. Gazprom Armenia, the local subsidiary of the Russian state gas company, owns all of the country's gas distribution infrastructure. Imports from Russia of grain and petroleum products also enjoy a near monopoly. Armenia's economy is heavily dependent on migrant laborers sending their wages back home from Russia. In 2022 money transfers from Russia accounted for 3.6 billion dollars out of the total 5.1 billion entering the country.Warning shot firedOn 24 October the lower house of the Russian legislature, the Duma, postponed debate on a bill that would have recognized Armenian driver's licenses for business and labor purposes. The move was widely seen in Armenia as politically motivated and a hint of the economic sanctions that Moscow could implement in a bid to bring its wayward junior partner to heel. In fact, Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin all but directly said that the decision was linked to what he called the Armenian government's failure to take steps toward granting official status to the Russian language. Many Armenian labor migrants find work in Russia in the service industry, including as taxi drivers. They have long sought relief from bureaucratic headaches through the recognition of Armenian driver's licenses. Now that seems less likely than ever. Economist Suren Parsyan believes the Russian MPs' decision amounts to a "warning shot.""This is just a gesture for now, one that could be followed by harsher measures if political relations deteriorate," Parsyan told Eurasianet. Economic dependency growsThe steady worsening of political ties between Armenia and Russia has had an inverse relationship with the two countries' growing economic cooperation over the past year and half or so. (Eurasianet reported on the same trend in April.)After the U.S. and EU imposed sanctions against Moscow over its war on Ukraine, Armenia became one of several countries through which Western products have been entering Russia. In 2022 the volume of trade between Armenia and Russia nearly doubled, reaching 5.3 billion dollars, according to Armenia's state statistics agency. Armenia's exports to Russia nearly tripled, from 850 million dollars in 2021 to 2.4 billion dollars the following year. Imports from Russia were up 151 percent, reaching 2.87 billion dollars. The trend continues apace. The total trade volume for January-August, 2023 surpassed 4.16 billion dollars, a record level since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Exports from Armenia to Russia in this period totaled 2.3 billion dollars and for the first time exceeded the import figure, which stood at 1.86 billion dollars.Unsurprisingly, most of Armenia's exports to Russia these days are in fact re-exports of Western products that Moscow is no longer able to get directly. Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan recently framed the centrality of re-export in the structure of trade with Russia in stark terms: He said that while exports to Russia were up 215 percent for the first half of 2023 compared to the same period last year, re-export accounted for 187 percentage points of this growth while exports of Armenian products accounted for just 28 percentage points. The overall effect is that, since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has greatly strengthened its positions in Armenia's economy. And many worry that this growing dependence on Russia could greatly limit Armenia's room for maneuver in the political arena."The fact that 55-56 percent of exports to Russia are not raw materials but finished goods, speaks to Armenia's high degree of dependence. And in these conditions, if Moscow introduces sanctions, they will be very painful for Armenia," said Suren Parsyan, the economist, adding that there is little prospect for redirecting these goods to Western markets. "Quality standards are different there. It would require overhauling whole sectors of the economy, which is a complicated and time-consuming process. And during this time many businesses would close, which would cause growth in unemployment and a worsening of the overall social-economic situation," Parsyan said.He added that he has not seen any real attempts by the Armenian authorities to diversify the country's economic relations and reduce its dependence on Russia. Economics not influencing politicsThere is no sign that Armenia's increased economic cooperation with Russia is having any influence on the growing political crisis between the two countries, according to analyst and director of the Caucasus Institute, Aleksandr Iskandaryan.He pointed to Prime Minister Pashinyan's recent statement that Armenia does not intend to change its foreign policy vector despite its displeasure with Moscow's refusal to support Yerevan in the conflict with Azerbaijan as well as Pashinyan's recent remark to The Wall Street Journal that Armenia does not benefit from the presence of roughly 10,000 Russian soldiers on its territory. "The thing is that, so far, this crisis has not gone beyond the level of discourse. There have been no institutional changes in Armenian-Russian relations. They [such changes] are spoken about, they're discussed, but Armenia remains a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, Commonwealth of Independent States and Eurasian Economic Union. If and when relations deteriorate at the institutional level, interactions will deteriorate at the institutional level as well," Iskandaryan told Eurasianet. Arshaluis Mgdesyan is a journalist based in Yerevan.https://eurasianet.org/russias-powerful-economic-levers-over-armenia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 y! news Nov 4 2023 Ukrayinska Pravda Armenia rejects Russia's claims to participate in meeting on Ukrainian Peace Formula Ukrainska Pravda Paruyr Hovhannisian, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister, commented on Russia's dissatisfaction with Yerevan's participation in the Ukrainian Peace Formula summit in Malta. Source: European Pravda with reference to News.am Details: Hovhannisian said the Russian Federation incorrectly qualified the meeting in Malta between Armen Grigoryan, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, and Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukrainian President's Office. Quote: "This platform is a platform for secretaries of security councils. I wouldn’t say that it was devoted to the issue of Ukraine, there was a broader agenda. I think that this description does not correspond to reality." Background: Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said that Moscow considers Armenia's participation in the summit on the Ukrainian Peace Formula in Malta to be a "demonstrative anti-Russian gesture". The third meeting on the Ukrainian Peace Formula in Malta, which occurred on 28-29 October, focused on questions of nuclear, food and energy security, as well as the release of prisoners and deportees and the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The meeting was attended personally or remotely by representatives of 66 countries – over 20 more than in the previous meeting in Saudi Arabia. Armenia took part in the meeting for the first time. However, China did not participate. In September of this year, Armenia handed over humanitarian aid to Ukraine for the first time – it was brought during the visit of Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenia Prime Minister's wife. Subsequently, Pashinyan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met for the first time on the sidelines of the European political community summit in Granada in early October. https://news.yahoo.com/armenia-rejects-russias-claims-participate-184639460.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 5, 2023 Report Share Posted November 5, 2023 Armenpress.am All prerequisites exist for Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty, says Russian official 15:58, 4 November 2023YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, ARMENPRESS. All prerequisites are in place for the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolay Patrushev has said.“All prerequisites exist for this,” RIA Novosti quoted Patrushev as saying about the prospects of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.He made the remarks during the Russia Expo Forum. He added that the preparations for the conclusion of the peace treaty are ongoing. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1123533.html?fbclid=IwAR0LXFDrum1J8TDKEXOL47E3sPps75hGeLuLCVlf5WP0zaR6Ts48CQ2NMTs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 6, 2023 Report Share Posted November 6, 2023 The Local, GermanyNov 5 2023 Politics EU mediation best way to Azerbaijan-Armenia peace: German minister German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Saturday insisted that European mediation was the best option for arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a lasting peace agreement.German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Saturday insisted that European mediation was the best option for arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a lasting peace agreement.The Caucasus neighbours have been locked in a decades-long conflict for control of Azerbaijan's Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Baku reclaimed in a lightning offensive in September.Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have held several rounds of peace talks under EU mediation. Both leaders have said a peace treaty could be signed in the coming months.On a visit to Azerbaijan, Baerbock said she had "expressed concern that with certain actors, doubts can be raised whether they really negotiate as honest brokers for peace on the ground".Last month, Aliyev refused to attend a round of peace talks with Pashinyan in Spain over what he said was France's "biased position".French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had been scheduled to join EU chief Charles Michel as mediators at those talks. So far, there has been no visible progress in EU efforts to organise a fresh round of negotiations."The European efforts for peace offer the most concrete path," Baerbock told journalists in Baku, speaking alongside her Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov.She said she hoped that European-led peace talks could begin "as soon as possible".Bayramov confirmed Azerbaijan's willingness to negotiate "regardless of geography". He said Baku has tabled "peace proposals to Armenia and if Armenia acceptsthem, negotiations can continue".Baerbock arrived in Baku from Yerevan where she also said that European moderation efforts "are a bridge and the fastest way to peace". She has also urged Baku to ensure "a secure and dignified return" of ethnic Armenian refugees to Karabakh.Almost the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh -- more than 100,000 people -- fled to Armenia after Azerbaijani troops recaptured the mountainous enclave.Bayramov said that "Armenian residents of Karabakh are full-fledged citizens of Azerbaijan, and all their rights will be respected."Until Aliyev refused to attend the Spain talks in October, the European Union and United States had played a lead role in mediating Azerbaijani-Armenian normalisation talks.The traditional regional power broker Russia -- bogged down in its Ukraine war -- has seen its influence waning in the Caucasus.https://www.thelocal.de/20231105/eu-mediation-best-way-to-azerbaijan-armenia-peace-german-minister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 11, 2023 Report Share Posted November 11, 2023 Armenpress.am Russia expresses readiness to host Armenian-Azeri foreign ministerial talks 15:10, 10 November 2023YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Russia has reiterated its readiness to host a foreign ministerial meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan with its mediation.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin confirmed readiness to host such a meeting but did not mention possible timeframes.“We’ve numerously confirmed our readiness to provide the Moscow platform for further dialogue on the level of foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, around issues of normalization of bilateral relations and signing of a peace treaty. Our readiness remains unchanged. Whenever we agree upon the timeframes of such an event, we will announce about it,” Galuzin told reporters. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1123888.html?fbclid=IwAR0I5E5UdQOndj2NiFNgZt8X8SFFIYb-cj7AhdsC8EOsaIMCuBGxIsRM9Fw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 25, 2023 Report Share Posted November 25, 2023 Reuters Nov 24 2023 Armenian PM says Russia has not delivered weapons Yerevan has paid for -TASS Reuters Nov 24 (Reuters) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday that Russia had not yet delivered weapons his country had paid for and that talks were underway to try to find a solution, Russian state news agency TASS reported. Relations between Russia and Armenia, treaty allies, have soured in recent months, with Pashinyan accusing Moscow of failing to support his country in its conflict with longtime rival Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku's forces in September recaptured Karabakh, which is viewed internationally as part of Azerbaijan, prompting more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee the territory into Armenia as Russian peacekeepers largely stood by. "As for the non-provision of weapons and equipment in exchange for payments, of course, there are problems," TASS quoted Pashinyan as saying during a press conference broadcast online. "Consultations are underway on mechanisms for solving these problems," he said, adding that one option might be to reduce Armenia's outstanding debts to Russia in exchange for the payment already made, given that Moscow also needed weapons. He gave no details on the arms that Armenia had bought or how much it had paid for them. Pashinyan also accused Russian state television channels broadcasting in Armenia of violating local rules, saying that consultations with Moscow on that issue were also needed. Russian state television has repeatedly blamed Pashinyan for Armenia's loss of Karabakh. The Armenian premier referred to a bilateral accord between Yerevan and Moscow which stipulates "that no steps should be taken to interfere in the internal affairs of the country, to destabilize the internal political situation in the country". Pashinyan has annoyed Moscow in recent months by calling into question Armenia's alliance with Russia and seeking to deepen ties to Western countries, while also purchasing arms from new suppliers including France and India. Reporting by Reuters Writing by Felix Light Editing by Andrew Osborn and Gareth Jones https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/armenian-pm-says-russia-has-not-delivered-weapons-yerevan-has-paid-tass-2023-11-24/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 25, 2023 Report Share Posted November 25, 2023 Nov 24 2023 Armenia PM Criticizes Russia as Rift With Moscow Grows Wider AFP - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Friday that Russia had failed to deliver weapons Yerevan had already paid for and accused Russia's media of destabilizing his country's political situation. The remarks highlighted Armenia's growing rift with its powerful ally after Russian peacekeepers failed to prevent Azerbaijan's offensive to retake its Armenian-controlled separatist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. "There is a problem related to the delivery of (Russian) weaponry and equipment for which we have already paid," Pashinyan said in televised remarks. "Discussions are currently underway on the mechanisms to resolve this problem." "We know that the Russian Federation itself needs weapons," he said, in an apparent reference to Russia's war on Ukraine. NEWS Kremlin Says ‘Regrets’ Armenia Snubbing Defense Summit READ MORE He also said there were "certain problems" with respecting a bilateral agreement "stipulating that no efforts should be made to interfere in internal affairs or destabilize the domestic political situation in the country" by the two countries' broadcast media. Pashinyan said Yerevan had invited Moscow to hold consultations "so that we can resolve this issue in a friendly and normal atmosphere." Armenia is part of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) which obliges Russia to defend Armenia in the event of a foreign invasion. Pashinyan has accused the CSTO of failing to fulfill that obligation, including when Armenia said its neighbor and arch-foe Azerbaijan had seized small pockets of its territory over the past three years. On Thursday, Armenia refused to participate in a CSTO summit in Belarus, the latest _expression_ of Yerevan's growing discontent. In a lightning military operation in September, Azerbaijan reclaimed its breakaway region of Karabakh from Armenian separatist forces which had controlled the mountainous territory for three decades. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/11/24/armenia-pm-criticizes-russia-as-rift-with-moscow-grows-wider-a83215 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted November 28, 2023 Report Share Posted November 28, 2023 Nov 27 2023 "There are no Armenians left in NK, though Russians have taken to defending them". Opinion about reasons JAMnews Yerevan Russia’s role in the Armenian exodus “Russia’s role in ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh indicates a weakening of its influence in the region,” says Rasmus Kanback, a Swedish anthropologist and expert on the Karabakh conflict. His article on Russia’s role in the exodus of almost the entire Armenian population from Nagorno-Karabakh was published by Insider. We publish the expert’s opinion on Russia’s role, its position in the region in recent years and the resulting situation – with slight cuts. Baku has won, Armenians are leaving NK: Opinions of all sides of the conflict The unrecognised NKR will cease to exist on 1 January by its own decision “Armenia will receive our brothers and sisters leaving NK” – Pashinyan Reintegration of Karabakh Armenians. “This is fantastic!” The story of a betrayal: Why Russia acquiesced in the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh The images of Russian military vehicles being transported by train from Azerbaijan are circulating on social media. Formally, the Russian military states that the vehicles are to be repaired in Russia. In practice, most observers of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh understand that these vehicles are not needed there. Russia’s presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, or in Azerbaijan for that matter, was shorter-lived than anyone could have anticipated when a trilateral ceasefire agreement was signed between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia three years ago. On paper, Russia was to have a five-year mandate with a clause for extension, deploying 1,960 troops to Nagorno-Karabakh. The mission was intended to monitor the ceasefire, guarantee the safety of the local population, and ensure passage between the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Three years later, none of the hundreds of thousands of Armenians that the Russians were supposed to protect remain in Nagorno-Karabakh. It took less than a week for the entire population to flee in horror of Azerbaijani oppression while Russian troops stood quietly on the sidelines. Azerbaijani authorities say that Armenians voluntarily left their homes in NK. The Armenian government calls the exodus of compatriots “forced resettlement” and believes that Baku has brought its policy of ethnic cleansing to its conclusion. Yerevan says that the safety of Karabakh Armenians’ residence in their homeland could not be guaranteed. Assessment of the situation by Armenian experts A recurring theory in Armenian discourse is that the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 was allowed by Russia. One argument maintains that Armenia, being in several formal alliances with Russia, approached the West, and Russia directly or indirectly lost interest in maintaining the prevailing security balance in the Southern Caucasus. Another argument holds that Russia, through military presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, advanced its geopolitical ambitions, also against Azerbaijan. As much as the peacekeeping forces were seen as a security function for the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, they also served as a tool of power against both Baku and Yerevan. With the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh and the withdrawal of the Russian peacekeeping force, a vital part of Moscow’s leverage has disappeared. Russia’s position as a geopolitical actor in the region is weaker today than it was before the 2020 war. Azerbaijan fills the vacuum after Armenia But let’s rewind before the question of Russia’s role in the ethnic cleansing is fully answered. As the Armenian relationship, at least diplomatically, deteriorated with Russia, it steadily improved for Azerbaijan. Likelythe country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, quickly understood that the security vacuum left by Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in recent years could be filled by Azerbaijan. Just prior to Russia’s major invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev met in Moscow to sign a new alliance agreement consisting of 43 points. Particularly interesting for this article are the points on deepened military cooperation and cooperation in the energy sector. At a meeting in early summer 2022, the leaders of the countries once again emphasized the validity of the agreement. A year later, in May 2023, Ilham Aliyev strengthened the rhetoric, calling Russia not only an informal ally but also one “de jure” – an ally in a legal sense. Note that this happened just a couple of months before Azerbaijan, on September 19–20, launched the final offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh. The fact that Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev are authoritarian leaders who, to some extent, understand each other in a way that Nikol Pashinyan does not, adds to the course of events. The weeks before the offensive The weeks before the ethnic cleansing happened, the Armenian-Russian relationship deteriorated rapidly. The Russian side likely claims that it is due to Armenia’s actions. There are three significant events. The first was when Armenia sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine on September 7. It was the first time it happened. Additionally, Russia was further irritated when Nikol Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakobyan, made a formal state visit to Kyiv. In Moscow, the Armenian ambassador to the Kremlin was summoned not only to present a protest but a sharp warning. The second event is when Armenia held a ten-day joint military exercise with the United States on September 11. While it wasn’t the first military exercise Armenia conducted with the U.S. or NATO, the Armenian government made a big deal of conveying the exercise to the world. Once again, the Armenian ambassador was called for talks in Moscow, and this time the rhetoric escalated further. The third event took place on September 13 when Nikol Pashinyan, in a lengthy address to the nation, declared that Armenia can no longer rely on Russia as a security guarantor. He referred to Russia’s war in Ukraine, stating that its presence in the Caucasus has proven unreliable. As this happened, images and videos of Azerbaijani troop movements were published on pro-Azerbaijani social media channels. “It’s all Armenia’s fault” The air raid sirens in the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, began sounding around 1:00 PM local time on September 19. While EU representatives, lacking physical presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, took a critical stance on what was happening, Russia assumed a considerably more passive position. In the days before the offensive, Vladimir Putin stated that Armenia had itself to blame for “recognizing” Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. “If Armenia itself recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, what do we have to do with it?” When the offensive began, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement in a similar vein. Armenia was accused of not only recognizing Azerbaijan’s territory but also of moving closer to Europe rather than maintaining loyalty to Moscow. According to leaked documents to the Russian news outlet Meduza, the message in Kremlin’s instructions to Russian media is reflected. Russian regime-friendly media were instructed by the Russian leadership to emphasize that it is Armenia’s fault that Azerbaijan has been given the opportunity to attack Nagorno-Karabakh. This narrative should be seen as an attempt by Vladimir Putin to legitimize an upcoming change in course rather than a truth. Civil population without Russian protection Now we’ve come to Russia’s practical part of the ethnic cleansing. On the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh, events unfolded rapidly. After almost ten months of blockade, the Armenian population had run out of almost all necessities. In the weeks before the offensive, there were talks that if nothing changed, the population was heading towards a famine. Multiple independent testimonies from border villages suggest that the Russian troops, in connection with the Azerbaijani attacks, began to withdraw or stayed quietly on the sidelines. One of them, a Karabakh-Armenian soldier who fought in the city of Martuni, claimed that the Russian troops had already withdrawn from the frontlines in the morning. If true, this adds to the evidence that the Russian peacekeeping forces were aware of what was about to happen. In cities and villages at the front, the civilian population tried to seek safety, mostly on foot or with animal transports as fuel had run out during the blockade. Thousands of people flocked to the airport outside Stepanakert, controlled by Russia since November 2020. The Russian troops are said to have urged the fleeing population to leave, causing them to gather in terrible conditions in Stepanakert. During the critical days before the escape began, the blockade to the west towards Armenia was still active, and Azerbaijani armed forces were approaching from the east. It was not until Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership, under Russian surveillance, signed an agreement to dissolve the army two days later, on September 23, that the blockade was lifted. More than 100,000 Armenians fled the region within a week. Not to forget, already as many as 50,000 Armenians had already been displaced from the war in 2020. Armenia’s relations with Russia expand in trade sphere Russia’s role in the South Caucasus is undergoing a shift after the ethnic cleansing. The Russian relevance for the region can be seen through two different filters: one from a military perspective and the other from trade in the region. The hasty withdrawal of most Russian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh, announced just weeks after the ethnic cleansing, shows how Russia is reducing its physical presence. In contrast to the diplomatic disputes between Armenia and Russia, trade continues to increase between the two countries. Due to sanctions against Russia, Armenia has become an intermediary for high-tech equipment that Russia lacks. In 2022, Armenia imported 515 percent more circuit chips from the US and the EU than the previous year. Most of these were later exported to Russia. Additionally, trade from Armenia to Russia continues to increase rapidly, despite the political rhetoric. Azerbaijan’s gas cooperation with Russia grows stronger A similar trend has been noted from Azerbaijan to Russia, where trade, according to dubious Russian and Azerbaijani sources, is increasing more than in many years, although not as dramatically as in the Armenian case. What is more interesting is trade from Russia to Europe. Just as the Caucasian states are used to circumvent sanctions against Russia, the detour is also allowed by Europe to circumvent its own sanctions. The need for gas is so great that the EU overlooks Azerbaijan’s diluting its gas exports with shares of Russian gas and that Russia benefits from the gas trade with Azerbaijan. In 2015, the same year the European Commission made the final decision to fund a new gas pipeline from Azerbaijan to Europe, Russian Lukoil invested in long-term contracts in Azerbaijan’s gas fields. Today, Lukoil owns 20 percent of Shah Deniz, the largest gas field. Furthermore, Russia and Azerbaijan signed new short-term gas agreements in the fall of 2022. Formally, they were supposed to expire in the spring, but EU diplomats lack transparent answers about how much of the Azerbaijani gas is actually Russian, which the European Parliament has reacted to. Russia’s role in the ethnic cleansing In the end, it is difficult to see what Russia has gained geopolitically from the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh. What can be observed is that while the diplomatic relationship between Azerbaijan and Russia is in better shape today than two months ago, it is significantly worse between Armenia and Russia. However, Russia’s leverage has decreased with both countries. Azerbaijan has proven to be a more reliable partner for Russia than Armenia, despite public opinion in Azerbaijan being against Russia. The peacekeeping forces that entered Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia are now leaving the region through Azerbaijan. Appropriately, it symbolizes the shift in relations that has occurred in the last three years. In practice, it can be argued that if Russia had fulfilled the ceasefire agreement from November 2020, the ethnic cleansing would not have taken place in September. Even though Vladimir Putin tries to blame the Armenian leadership for the humanitarian catastrophe, it was, in fact, the Russian troops that were both present in Nagorno-Karabakh and responsible for safety — not Armenian. The decision to let the Russian troops passively watch as Azerbaijan, an authoritarian state, displaced over a hundred thousand people in flight was made by no one else but Moscow. https://jam-news.net/russias-role-in-the-armenian-exodus/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 Dec 9 2023 Armenia, Azerbaijan breakthrough signals end of Russia’s South Caucasus influence Armenia and Azerbaijan’s milestone conciliatory announcement caught Russia flat-footed, threatening to end Moscow’s long-held influence as the key power broker in the strategic South Caucasus region. BYALYA SHANDRA In a dramatic development, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan issued a surprise joint statement on 7 December, outlining a prisoner exchange and mutual confidence-building measures, while committing to continue negotiations on normalizing relations and reaching a long-elusive peace treaty. The joint statement by the offices of the Armenian Prime Minister and Azerbaijani President opens the path to a full-fledged peace treaty, as European and American diplomats have indicated. Most notably, “for humanitarian reasons” and as a “gesture of goodwill,” Azerbaijan agreed to release 32 Armenian military personnel, while Armenia will free two Azerbaijanis. This will be the first mass prisoner-of-war exchange in years, especially on terms so favorable to Armenia. The countries also concurred on reciprocal symbolic gestures. Yerevan will withdraw its bid to host the next UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in favor of Baku, and even calls on other Eastern European states to back Azerbaijan’s application. In return, Baku endorses Armenia’s candidacy for membership in the COP Eastern European States Bureau. This agreement was a sensation, as just days prior there was no indication of such a breakthrough in relations. On the contrary, there were good reasons to expect a sharp deterioration of relations and intensified fighting on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The “one-day war” of 19 September that allowed Baku to regain control of Nagorno-Karabakh had nearly buried peace talks between the countries, according to European Pravda editor Yuriy Panchenko. For years since the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population but located within Azerbaijan, ended in a precarious ceasefire in 1994, negotiations occurred simultaneously in two formats: Western and Russian. The Western dialogue was important for Baku since Yerevan, which gained control of Nagorno- Karabakh, had to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. It was also important for Yerevan as security guarantees for Karabakh Armenians were discussed. Russia, meanwhile, proposed postponing Karabakh status issues (ideal for Armenia but unacceptable to Azerbaijan) while raising the issue of a transport corridor through Armenia (favorable to Baku but completely unacceptable to Yerevan). Regaining Karabakh completely changed these dynamics. Now, the Russian track lost all value for Yerevan – one reason for the current freeze in Armenia-Russia relations. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan lost interest in Western mediation, especially amidst accusations of “ethnic cleansing in Karabakh.” As a result, Baku’s statements became increasingly aggressive, raising the likelihood of a new regional conflict. So why did Baku pivot from bellicose rhetoric towards conciliation? American pressure seems the impetus. Recent weeks saw multiple forceful warnings from Washington about the unacceptability of coercion toward Armenia. Significantly, US State Department sanctions coordinator Jim O’Brien visited Baku the very day this statement emerged, later tweeting about resumed Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks. The text itself also spotlights “discussions regarding the implementation of more confidence building measures.” Both sides call for international backing to build “mutual trust” and “positively impact the entire South Caucasus region.” This likely constitutes the key passage, with adversaries confirming readiness to restart dialogue. The immediate result is drastically reduced regional war risks. But the omission of Moscow from this significant process, despite decades of Russian mediation attempts, constitutes the developments’ sharpest rebuke for the Kremlin. Perhaps consequently, initial official Russian reactions to the agreed statement proved remarkably restrained and understated, with Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova offering routine approval of progress while insisting upon Russia’s past useless “assistance” contributions regarding negotiations. “We are ready to continue providing all possible assistance in unblocking transport communications, border delimitation, conclusion of a peace treaty, and contacts along the line of civil society,” she claimed. However, Russia’s mediation appears no longer necessary – further peace talks will occur under EU and US auspices. A signed peace agreement will end Russia’s South Caucasus influence. Theoretically, the Kremlin can still sabotage talks, given its military presence in both countries. But without political backing in either Armenia or Azerbaijan this is clearly insufficient to change the course of the countries, Panchenko stresses. “So, if the West is persistent, signing a peace agreement in the coming months-by the middle of next year-is a very realistic scenario, snd this will be a foreign policy disaster for Russia. Hopefully, not the last,” Panchenko sums up. https://euromaidanpress.com/2023/12/08/armenia-azerbaijan-breakthrough-signals-end-of-russias-south-caucasus-influence/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted December 22, 2023 Report Share Posted December 22, 2023 Dec 21 2023 Armenia Suspends License of Russian Broadcaster Sputnik By AFP Russia's Embassy in Yerevan denounced Thursday the temporary suspension of Russian broadcaster Sputnik's local branch over "offensive" comments a presenter made about Armenia on air. The commission responsible for television and radio announced late Wednesday that the license of Tospa, the broadcaster of Sputnik Armenia, was being suspended for 30 days after remarks by the Russian TV personality Tigran Keosayan in November. His opinions do not befit what a "political commentator, presenter and citizen of another country" has the "moral right" to say, it said. Keosayan also encouraged "illegal acts," the commission said without elaborating. The pro-Kremlin presenter is married to Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the RT broadcaster and a loyal supporter of President Vladimir Putin. The Russian Embassy in Yerevan criticized the decision, saying the measure was being taken to push Armenia further from Russia. NEWS Armenia PM Criticizes Russia as Rift With Moscow Grows Wider READ MORE "This step cannot but look like a concession to those who are increasingly vociferous in favor of severing the long-standing, mutually beneficial and respectful allied relations between Russia and Armenia," the embassy said in a statement. Sputnik is a state-run Russian media organization operating in several countries through radio channels or websites, and has been accused of spreading Kremlin "disinformation." The European Union, Britain and Canada banned it shortly after Russia sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022. In a separate case, the commission inflicted a fine of $1,200 on the channel for comments that "did not correspond to reality" and were likely "to cause panic" in Armenia. The Caucasus country is a traditional Russian ally but relations have soured since its historic enemy Azerbaijan seized the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh in September. Yerevan says Moscow did not do enough to stop the lightning Azerbaijani offensive, where Baku seized territory it had not controlled for decades from Armenian separatists. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/12/21/armenia-suspends-license-of-russian-broadcaster-sputnik-a83513 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted December 22, 2023 Report Share Posted December 22, 2023 Business Insider Dec 21 2023 A Russian ally's purchase of French and Indian weapons is another sign Moscow is losing influence in its neighborhood Paul Iddon Armenia has been ordering more weapons, turning to France and India for air-defense systems. Armenia is a longtime ally of Russia, but it has leaned away from Moscow in recent years. With its focus on Ukraine, Russia has offered Armenia little help in its conflicts with Azerbaijan. In recent weeks, Armenia has ordered air-defense systems and radars from France and was reported to have ordered anti-drone systems from India. Those orders come amid heightened tensions with neighboring Azerbaijan, with which Armenia has fought several conflicts, including a short clash in September that ended with Azerbaijan conquering the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, causing its 120,000 ethnic-Armenian residents to flee. The acquisitions are notable not only for their timing but also because they show Armenia is taking tangible steps to lessen its dependency on military hardware from Russia, a longtime ally that has offered Yerevan little support against mounting pressure from Azerbaijan. Armenia's six-week war with Azerbaijan in 2020 captured worldwide attention for Azerbaijan's use of aerial drones. At a press conference to announce the sale in October, France's defense minister said air defenses were "absolutely key" and that Paris was aiding Yerevan with sales of three Thales GM 200 radars and an agreement on the future delivery of short-range Mistral air-defense missiles. "Armenia's choice to order air-defense systems from France is a significant one," James Rogers, an expert on drones and precision warfare, told Business Insider. "Not only does it highlight to Russia that Armenia has options when it comes to defense cooperation, but it marks a major leap forward in Armenia's attempts to modernize its military." Reports in early November indicated Yerevan was also buying more weaponry from India, including Zen anti-drone systems, which are designed to detect and bring down enemy drones. Armenia previously bought four Indian-made Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers in 2022, the first foreign order of that system. Nicholas Heras, the senior director of strategy and innovation at the New Lines Institute, told Business Insider that Armenia was advancing its foreign and national security policies on two tracks. "One track is to build defense alliances with more powerful outside actors in Eurasia, and the second track is to improve the Armenian military's ability to defend against Azeri airpower in tactical engagements," Heras said. "India, in particular, is a prized defense partner with Armenia because India has a large defense industry that can also arm and improve Russian weapons platforms which Armenia deploys." Armenia's military arsenal has long been predominantly Russian, but Yerevan has attempted to change that as its relations with Moscow have soured, especially after its devastating defeat in the 2020 war, during which Azerbaijan used Israeli- and Turkish-made weapons. Russia has failed to aid Armenia despite Yereven's membership in the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. In addition to being tied down by the war in Ukraine, Russia is most likely irked by Armenia moving closer to Washington and the West under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has long questioned the value of CSTO membership. "Armenia's partnership with Russia is at a low ebb, and Pashinyan is pushing forward, slowly but surely, to bring Armenia closer to NATO, including the prospect of normalizing Armenia's relations with Turkey," Heras said. Heras added that over the past two years, the US had been sending "a strong signal" that it "would like to test out the prospect for a more strategic US-Armenian security relationship." Washington and Yerevan seemed to demonstrate mutual interest in closer defense relations in September when Armenia hosted a bilateral exercise focused on training for peacekeeping operations. Eighty-five US troops trained alongside 175 Armenia personnel during the drill, which was "a testament to our longstanding partnership with Armenia and builds upon decades of successful peacekeeping and security cooperation," the US Embassy in Armenia said in a statement. Russia, predictably, opposed the exercise, and Yerevan has kept its distance since then. Pashinyan skipped the organization's summit in mid-November, a move Russia accused the West of orchestrating. Armenia under Pashinyan has tried to move away from Russia "by building a web of strategic partnerships," Heras said. "Fundamentally, Pashinyan does not want to depend on Russia to ensure Armenia's territorial integrity and security, and his effort to build the relationship with the United States works toward this goal." Acquiring weaponry from other countries serves a similar purpose, but Armenia's recent purchases also reflect the sensitivity of its international position. The Mistral missile has a relatively short range of 4 miles, suggesting the sale is meant to bolster Armenia's arsenal but was made with potential political backlash in mind. Turkey has criticized French arms sales to Yerevan. (Azerbaijan has also criticized the recent French and Indian arms sales to Armenia.) Rogers said that "range is important in war" and that it enabled strikes on a wider set of targets. "In order not to destabilize the region or risk an outbreak of hostilities, therefore, Armenia and France have agreed to these short-range yet effective air-defense systems." Heras said that the main quandary facing Armenian foreign policy was it could not afford to sever ties with Russia despite recent tensions, but it also could not trust Russia to intervene on its side if there's another war with Azerbaijan. The need to strike a balance between Russia and new partners while bolstering its small military with limited resources complicates Armenia's task. "Armenia needs to purchase weapons that improve its ability to pursue a 'porcupine strategy,'" making itself a more threatening target for Azerbaijan if the two countries go to war again, Heras said. Buying French and Indian short-range air-defense weapons that could be used by small infantry units is "a potentially cost-effective way to impose higher costs on Azerbaijan's drone airpower," Heras added. Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region. https://www.businessinsider.com/armenia-buying-french-indian-weapons-drifting-away-from-ally-russia-2023-12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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