Armenian
News Network / Groong
Guests
Hosts
Introduction
Hello, and welcome to the
Armenian News Network, Groong, Week
in Review. This week we’re going to talk about the following major topics:
●
Russia-NATO escalation
●
Border escalation
●
Goodbye Moscow, Hello Brussels!
●
Protests in Yerevan
Today we’re joined by:
Dr. Pietro Shakarian,
who is a Lecturer in History at the
American University of Armenia in Yerevan. His research focuses on the history
of Eastern Armenia and the Caucasus, especially Soviet Armenia during the era
of Nikita Khrushchev’s Thaw.
Topics This Week
Russia-NATO Escalation
Let’s quickly talk about the heating rhetoric
between Russia and NATO recently. Pietro on this show we’ve talked about how
Turkey is supplying drones and other modern weaponry to countries encircling
the Russian borders. Can you talk a little about where this is going?
●
Ukraine and NATO build-up on Russia’s borders
●
Ukraine
received over 80 tons of ammunition from USA
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Putin says West taking Russia’s red lines “too
lightly”
●
Worth noting Turkey’s effect on the situation
Border Escalation
As we record today, we’re reading again of an escalation near Vardenis, on the border in Gegharkunik, which has resulted in a fatality on the Armenian side. Today’s shotilities are an escalation to last week’s escalation!
Goodbye Moscow, Hello Brussels!
This past week Azerbaijan launched the most
intense hostilities against Armenia since the end of 44-day War in Artsakh, by
attacking Armenian border posts in Syunik province. The current numbers stand
at a half dozen soldiers dead on each side, and dozens of Armenian soldiers
taken prisoner by Azerbaijan.
The hostilities come on the heels of a breakdown
of the secret talks between Russian president Putin, PM Pashinyan, and
President Aliyev to arrange a tripartite summit in Moscow, possibly on Nov 9 or
10, the 1-year anniversary of the capitulation agreement signed by the three
countries to end the war.
It’s not clear what led to the breakdown of
those talks, but on Saturday Azerbaijan and Armenia confirmed that they’ll be
meeting in Brussels on the sidelines of the EU Eastern Partnership summit on
December 15.
Pietro,
let’s first discuss: Why did the Moscow-mediated talks break down?
Is Azerbaijan trying to seal its gains in
Armenia’s territory as a fait-accompli? Because this week Russia-Iran released
a joint statement
crystal-clarifying the redline against any of Armenia’s border changes in the
region. Could this have driven Azerbaijan into this latest irresponsible and
terroristic incursion inside Armenia?
There are some analysts who
believe that the talks broke down more because of a disagreement between Baku
and Moscow, not Yerevan. This brought Azerbaijan back to the OSCE MG platform.
One of the most significant aspects of what’s
going on here is that with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan ditching
Moscow for Brussels, how is this affecting Russia’s status as a peacekeeper in
the region? And also, as a mediator with the power and influence to impose
peace as well?
Is Russia starting to distance itself from
Azerbaijan?
Where do you think Turkey is in all this? It has
made the regular statements of brotherhood and 100% support for Azerbaijan, but
it has been rather quiet about the past week’s turbulence. Is there distance
building between Azerbaijan and Turkey?
References:
●
Armenia not upbeat on trilateral meeting,
choosing bilateral?
○
On November 7, Peskov
(Putin’s spokesperson) had announced that a tripartite meeting is being
prepared sometime this month.
○
On November 8, Pashinyan responded to this by
saying that Armenia is not in favor of meeting just for the sake of meeting.
○
Then we had the mini war this week
○
Then Lavrov
repeated that there is a planned meeting between 3 parties (RU, AM, AZ) in Moscow,
but it requires consensus.
○
Then, surprise meeting announced in Brussels
between Aliyev and Pashinyan
●
Another thing that happened this week was that
Iran announced
that parties are close to approving the “Persian Gulf - Black Sea Transit
Corridor”.
●
Why did Europe suddenly activate? Is this an
affront to Russia?
●
Azerbaijan (and Armenia) have started work on
the “corridor”?
○
Azerbaijan is aggressively building something
○
In an interview
to Le FIgaro, Mirzoyan denied “corridors”
○
But is Armenia also
building a wide highway near Angeghakot?
○
○
Also reported on 5tv: https://youtu.be/JVeYuNdRHuU?t=466
○
If the rumors are true, then this would mean
that Azerbaijan is planning its corridor to run from Ganja -> Karvachar -> Kashatagh -> Hak -> Angeghakot -> Nakhijevan
Protests in Yerevan
OK, finally Hovik, you were at the
anti-government rally
in Yerevan today. Can you talk about it, and describe the mood and goals that
are brewing on the street? Who organized the event, who showed up?
--
The goal of the rallies are
intended to prevent another anti-Armenian declaration or agreement to be
signed. The organizers are also demanding that Pashinyan disclose what exactly
he’s going to sign.
The protests were organized by Zartonk (Ara Zohrabyan) and 5165
Movement (Karin Tonoyan). Prominent journalist Nairi Hokhikyan also spoke at the
event. These activities were also supported at least by some parliamentary
opposition members individually. Gegham Manukyan from
the ARF shared the announcement and Arthur Khachatryan was visiting detainees.
Traffic was stopped for 44 minutes throughout
the city. More than a dozen arrests and opposition alleges ill-treatment of
detainees.
At 14:00, the opposition gathered in front of
the government building at the Republic Square to hand their demands to the
prime minister’s office, then marched to the president’s office on Baghramyan St. and then to the National Assembly to hand in
similar demands.
The protesters returned to the Republic Square
at 17:00 to have a larger gathering. They promised to continue these protests
every day with the hope of improving turnout.
Topics from the Panelists
● Pietro - Both-sidism, destroying cultural monuments
Wrap-up
That was our Week in Review
show, and we hope it helped you catch up with some of the issues in and around
Armenia from this past week. As always, we invite your feedback and your
suggestions. You can find us on most social media and podcast platforms, or our
website Groong.org.
Thanks to Laura Osborn for
the music on our podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel on Youtube, Like our pages and follow us on social media. On behalf of
everyone in this episode, we wish you a good week, thanks for listening and
we’ll talk to you next week.
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Keywords
Pietro Shakarian,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, South Caucasus, Turkey, Russia, Corridors,
Borders, Peace Negotiations, Rearming, Military reform, Press Freedoms,
Politics, Military Procurement, United States, Iranian Gas, LNG, Pipelines, EU,
European Union, Cultural Monuments, Cultural Preservation, Cultural
Destruction,