Armenian
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Introduction
Hello,
and welcome to the Armenian News Network, Groong,
Week in Review. This show was recorded on Monday, April 25, 2022.
We
took last weekend off to give everyone time to celebrate Easter, but Armenian
politics never sleeps. So now we have a full slate of topics to discuss. If we
have enough time, we’ll talk about:
● April 24, Never Forget
● Pashinyan, Aliyev, in Brussels
● Pashinyan in Moscow
To talk about
these issues, we have with us:
Benyamin Poghosyan, who is the Chairman of the Yerevan based think
tank Center for Political and Economic
Strategic Studies,
Topics This Week
April 24
Events in Armenia and Diaspora
This year is the
107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The traditional events both in the
diaspora and Armenia were held to commemorate this event.
Impressions from
Yerevan, Stepanakert, and the Diaspora.
Armenian Government’s commitment
Even before the
war, Pashinyan’s administration was criticized for
being more conciliatory on the issue of the Armenian genocide. In 2019, the
motto for the Armenian Genocide institute in Tsitsernakaberd was proposed to be
changed from “I remember and demand” to just “I remember”, essentially
de-emphasizing Armenian demands for reparations and restoration of justice.
After a very loud
controversy at the time, especially amid the academic community, some of whom
were subjected to ad-hominem attacks, the motto was restored to “I remember and
demand”. However, in hindsight, can we say that this move was consistent with Pashinyan’s overall policy on the Armenian Genocide?
Brussels and Aftermath
Meeting in Brussels
On April 6,
Pashinyan and Aliyev met in Brussels under the auspices of EC president Charles
Michel. Aliyev wouldn’t have gone there unless Pashinyan’s
proposals were acceptable to him, although we continue to see differences in their views. For example, about “Corridors”
through Armenia without any Armenian customs or control.
● Can you say what the results of the discussions
were in Brussels?
● What is Pashinyan hearing in Brussels?
The Russian MFA
has accused the EU of inserting itself in the peace process between Armenia and
Azerbaijan in order to steal the credit for any potential peace deal, and has
even signaled a possible parallel thread of
Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations. In Moscow a few days ago, Pashinyan reaffirmed
Moscow’s “key”
role in the ongoing negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan has
been in almost daily touch with Charles Michel, in April. The press just says that they talked
about the implementation of agreements they discussed in Brussels, EU-Armenia
relations, situation in the region, etc.
● Is there an element of big power competition
going on here, to claim “peace credits” and of course
skew the final arrangement to their interest? What are the diverging objectives
of the big powers?
Pashinyan in Parliament
After Pashinyan
returned he made some sensational, and offensive statements in parliament. He
began to address
longtime questions and criticism by the opposition with his own alternative
narrative.
● What points stood out, of the various statements
Pashinyan made in parliament?
Pashinyan was
building his “Peace Agenda” thesis to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, and compromising Artsakh’s right to
self-determination. Specifically he informed lawmakers in parliament that the international
community urges us to “lower the bar on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh”,
otherwise it will not be able to help the Armenian side.
Is Pashinyan
being honest in his characterization of the international community? For
example, Vaycheslav Volodin
said that nothing predetermines the possible status of Nagorno Karabakh.
The response from
both the Armenian opposition and civil society, the Diaspora, as well as Artsakh has been so loud that even Pashinyan,
who is usually deaf to popular sentiment and feedback, heard clearly that his
direction is unacceptable to Armenia and Artsakh.
Edmon Marukyan, who was appointed special rep in
foreign affairs by Pashinyan last month, is now walking the “we’re not lowering
the bar” narrative for Pashinyan, while
Edward Aghajanyan, a Civil Contract member,
has been walking the “Pashinyan has been misunderstood” narrative.
Benyamin,
● What did you think about Artsakh’s reaction to Pashinyan’s speech in parliament? Many parliamentarians and
the Artsakh Foreign Ministry rejected Pashinyan’s
defeatism and fake narrative, and rejected any
possibility of returning to a status within the state of Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan in Moscow
In a first-ever official visit to Moscow, Pashinyan met with Russian president
Putin at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside of
Moscow. They pledged to boost
the “Privileged Alliance” between Russia and Armenia.
Benyamin,
● What is this “Privileged Alliance”?
● Is this a de-facto downgrade from the “strategic
alliance” the two countries have said they’ve had in the past decade?
● Some Russian analysts have said that Aliyev in
February, and now Pashinyan’s meetings have not
yielded anything new on paper. Do you think that there is nothing new? If so,
then why all the activity for nothing?
● What is Pashinyan hearing in Moscow?
Lots of other
meetings. Besides Putin, Pashinyan also met with:
● Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, discussing
economy, finance and trade issues.
● RF Council Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko, who praised
the Russia-Armenia interparliamentary ties vital.
● Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, discussed Russia-Armenia inter parliamentary
commission and activities.
Pashinyan and
Putin signed multiple documents
● Memorandum on Cooperation in the social-labor
sphere between the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of
Armenia and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian
Federation
● Cooperation Program for 2022-2023 between the
Compulsory Enforcement Service of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of
Armenia and the Federal Bailiff Service of the Russian Federation
● Armenian-Russian comprehensive program of
cooperation in the field of energy and non-energy projects
● Protocol on integration of information systems
in the field of plant quarantine between the Federal Service for Veterinary and
Phytosanitary Control of the Russian Federation and the Food Safety
Inspectorate of the Republic of Armenia
● Cultural cooperation program between the
Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, Sports of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian
Federation for 2022-2025
● Cooperation program between the Ministry of
Justice of the Republic of Armenia and the Ministry of Justice of the Russian
Federation for 2022-2023
● Agreement between the Government of the Republic
of Armenia and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in the
Field of Information Security
● What were the main takeaways?
○ Artsakh:
■ No mention of Artsakh conflict.
■ No mention of status of Artsakh.
○ Biolabs
○ Sanctions evasion?
● The pro-Western wing of Pashinyan's
supporters have criticized this as a step toward "Belarusization"
meaning a step closer to the Union State, and loss of sovereignty. Would you
agree with this?
● Both Aliyev and Pashinyan, in their speeches,
seem to be prioritizing the urgency of signing a peace agreement soon. Why? Is
Moscow interested in rushing a peace agreement as well?
● Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow, while being criticized by some
of his supporters, is also being presented by others as a sign of Putin’s
partnership with Pashinyan. How will this be reflected in internal politics?
○ How will the “pro-Western” camp react to
Armenia’s generally pro-Moscow position?
○ Some in the opposition camp believe that Putin
hates Pashinyan and would welcome a power change in Armenia. How will this
visit affect the perception of the Putin-Pashinyan relations among the
opposition?
● Former FM Ara Ayvazyan mentioned this week that
even today there are options and possibilities for pro-Armenian outcomes in the
negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. What could these options be?
Protests Movement Rising
The Armenian
opposition started protests in the streets of Armenia. All of last week, the Hayreniq party led by Arthur Vanetsyan
conducted a sit-in at Freedom Square in Armenia. This week, other opposition
parties such as the ARF, Reborn Armenia, and Republican Party of Armenia all
conducted de-centralized action.
Hovik, you have
been following the protests in Yerevan, what can you tell us about the
protests?
Topics from the Panelists
1. Benyamin
- Karabakh inside Azerbaijan means Karabakh with no Armenians.
2. Hovik
- Pashinyan’s “mea culpa”
just “alternative facts”.
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
Benyamin Poghosyan, Armenian Genocide, April 24,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Brussels, Moscow, Charles Michel, Vladimir
Putin, Artsakh, Nagorno Karabakh, Stepanakert, Torchlight Procession, Armenian
Opposition, Arthur Vanetsyan, ARF, AYF,