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PM Pashinyan meets with citizens protesting against Amulsar mine commissioning and Lydian Armenia representatives

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Pashinyan meets with citizens

On July 6, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan left Kapan for Jermuk. Onboard of an helicopter together with Levon Galstyan, a representative of the Armenian Environmental Front, and Lydian Armenia CEO Hayk Aloyan, the Prime Minister followed the ongoing Amoulsar mine development activities, after which he met with local residents and environmentalists protesting against the exploitation of Amoulsar mine in Kechut.

Nikol Pashinyan said his visit had a fact-finding purpose. During the meeting, the Head of Government suggested holding a meeting with the protesters and Lydian Armenia representatives in order to take note of each other’s positions and come to a decision. The Premier’s proposal was accepted unanimously. Then the meeting continued in Jermuk. Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that the mine exploitation process started 12 years ago, if it had been initiated under the current government, he would have declined the idea of commissioning a mine like that near Jermuk.

“We have a situation when a huge amount of investment has already been made de jure with the permission of the Armenian government; at this point at least, we do not have information about any breach of environmental standards. Checks are underway and will continue in connection with the exploitation of this mine. We must answer two questions: firstly, we must determine the potential impact on water resources and, secondly, find out the impact on the development of Jermuk as a resort town,” the Prime Minister said.

Nikol Pashinyan reminded that from the very beginning he used to say that all mine-related decisions should be based solely on facts, and not on emotions, since emotional decisions in the system of public administration are not so useful. Any solution will lead to its own developments.

“If we allow any illegality in this situation, at least from the point of view of international relations, we can face serious problems. We must understand the following: can we accept experts’ answers on the above issues? Decisions should be based on facts. I hope that the attendees are convinced that we all, including me, do not have any other interest in this matter except Armenia’s balanced interests,” Nikol Pashinyan emphasized.

The Prime Minister suggested establishing a trustworthy trilateral mechanism with the involvement of government officials, environmentalists and Lydian Armenia representatives to look into the aforementioned issues in order to have a final and irrevocable response.

Nikol Pashinyan stressed that his opinion will be based on expertise, justified and proven answers to these two questions. Each decision has its cost; no decision shall be made without a basis.

In this connection, the protesters said they were ready to develop such a mechanism in case Lydian Armenia suspends its activities during the survey. For their part, the representatives of Lydian Armenia said the Prime Minister’s proposal was acceptable to them, but they opposed to the idea of suspending their activities during the checks.

Prime Minister Pashinyan concluded that after collecting all the relevant facts, the government will state its position on the matter hand.

On the way back to Yerevan, the Prime Minister called at Gndevaz to talk with village residents who had gathered on the road to meet him.

Pashinyan sends Canada Day message to Trudeau

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Pashinyan sends Canada Day message

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia has addressed a congratulatory message to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the occasion of Canada Day.

The message, released by the prime minister’s official website, reads in part:

“Armenia and Canada have forged strong and multifaceted partnership ties, based on mutual respect and trust. I am convinced that Armenia’s democratic developments have created more favorable conditions for the further strengthening and deepening of our friendly relations. I am hopeful that in the near future they will be reflected in the political dialogue and economic cooperation between our two countries.

A special role in our relations is reserved to the Armenian community in Canada, which is can set an example to the entire Armenian Diaspora by virtue of those sustained efforts aimed at building new bridges between the two countries.

We are looking forward to seeing you in Armenia. I am confident that your visit will go a long way toward raising the level of bilateral cooperation.”

Armenian prime minister attends unveiling of Hamazasp Babajanyan’s bust in Moscow

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Hamazasp Babajanyan’s bust

As part of his official visit to Moscow, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the ceremony of unveiling the bust of Marshal Hovhannes Babajanyan, a Soviet-Armenian military leader and the chief commander of the USSR armored troops in the World War II period.

In his public speech addressing the guests and organizers, the premier said he felt extremely proud to be present at the historic event to laud the legendary commander and the great son of the Armenian nation.

“Throughout the [Great Patriotic] War, Hovhannes Babajanyan and his troops liberated cities and towns,” he said.

“Marshal Hamazasp Babajanyan’s name is written in the heroic chapters of the Armenian nation’s history – along with the names of all those people who fought in Bash Aparan and Sardarapat, heroic battles whose 100th anniversary Armenia celebrated about a month ago.

The ceremony of donating the bust symbolizes the Armenian and Russian peoples’ respect for war heroes, and their willingness to hand down the memory about them from generation to generation, the prime minister added.

The commander’s daughter, Larisa Babajanyan, also delivered a speech, thanking the leadership of Armenia and the Armenian Embassy to Russia for the remarkable initiative .

Pashinyan is in Moscow to attend the opening of the 21st World Football Cup in the city’s Luzhniki stadium.

On Wednesday, the prime minister met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier today, he visited an Armenian church and the Grigor Narekatsi Armenian School.

Armenia PM says he cannot negotiate on Karabakh’s behalf

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YEREVAN. – The talks on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict cannot be considered productive unless the leadership of Artsakh participates in them.

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday said the abovementioned at the special session of the National Assembly, as he presented the program of the new government of the country.

In his words, many people viewed this position as a novelty in the negotiation process, whereas there is nothing new in it.

“What is considered a novelty is just the well-forgotten old,” Pashinyan stated. “The fact that Artsakh is a full-fledged party to the negotiations was confirmed at the OSCE summit in Budapest in 1994. The negotiation process took place in that very format until 1998.

“The people of Karabakh don’t participate in the elections of Armenia. Instead, they have their own authorities, and the people of Karabakh can be represented [in these peace talks] solely by their [own] legitimate authorities. “

The Armenian PM noted that every time when such a matter is raised, Azerbaijan says representatives of the “Azerbaijani community of Karabakh” also must partake in these talks.

“This is a false argument because the legal status of the Azerbaijanis who lived in Karabakh underwent no change due to the conflict,” he explained. “They remain Azerbaijani citizens and continue to participate in Azerbaijani elections, as Azerbaijani citizens. It means that [Azerbaijan President Ilham] Aliyev is participating in the negotiations also with the mandate given [to him] by those people. It means that those people are already engaged in the negotiations, in the person of the Azerbaijan president.”

Also, Pashinyan said those who interpret these views of theirs as an attempt to terminate the Karabakh peace talks do not assess the situation correctly.

“I’m ready to negotiate with the Azerbaijan president, within the framework of the OSCE [Minsk Group] co-chairmanship,” he added. “But bringing the previously made arrangements to fruition is important in terms of increasing the effectiveness of the negotiations. It’s inconvenient to negotiate on new matters if the previous arrangements are not fulfilled. Each and every adventurism by the adversary will be met by our crushing counterstrike.”

 

Armenian prime minister comments on national security service’s disclosures

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YEREVAN, May 29. /ARKA/. There will be no ‘vendettas’ in Armenia, but there will also be no lawlessness in the country, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told journalists on Tuesday commenting on the Armenian national security service’s recent detection of corruption schemes.

According to Novosti-Armenia, the national security agency has disclosed multimillion criminal schemes, where the State Revenue Committee’s officials are involved.

“If someone thinks that our statements about inadmissibility of ‘vendettas’ is some display of weakness, these people will face a crushing defeat. It’s for sure,” Pashinyan said.

The prime minister also called on everybody to be serious in fulfilling their duties.

“Let nobody think he can deceive the state,” he said. “Everybody should voluntarily come to the tax field.”

In his words, old corruption schemes are no longer active.

Pashinyan also urged all those having unpaid taxes to review calculations without waiting for the national security agency

“The national security service can do everything in due way – they will solve all the problems very quickly and in a rough style, but it would be better not to drive things to that,” he said. -0–

‘Take A Break,’ Armenia’s PM Pashinyan Tells Protesters, to stop their protests at 3 p.m. local time

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YEREVAN — New Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, brought to power by mass demonstrations, has called on Armenians who have been holding strikes and civil-disobedience protests in recent days to interrupt their protests.

Dozens of demonstrators rallied in Yerevan on May 17, demanding the resignation of Prosecutor-General Artur Davtian after a Yerevan court rejected the release of 10 members of the Sasna Tsrer group from pretrial detention.

The 10 are charged with the armed, two-week occupation of a Yerevan police station in 2016, a standoff with authorities that led to the deaths of two police officers.

The May 17 protests came after dozens of people rallied in Yerevan for days demanding the resignation of Mayor Taron Markarian, whom they accuse of corruption, misusing state funds, and illegally cutting down trees in a park in the capital.

Markarian is an ally of longtime former President Serzh Sarkisian, who stepped down as prime minister on April 23 after weeks of peaceful street protests led by Pashinian.

In a live video stream on Facebook, on May 17, Pashinian called on all citizens to stop their protests at 3 p.m. local time (1100 GMT/UTC).

“When we closed roads [during the protests in April led by Pashinian] we did so because there was no government in Armenia that enjoyed the people’s trust. Today there is a government that enjoys the people’s trust,” Pashinian said.

Pashinian asked all those who have complaints and grievances to formulate them and present them to the government in written form.

“Confrontation between the government and society should be replaced by cooperation between the government and society,” he said.

Pashinian’s call came amid speculation that the protests staged by various groups demanding the resignations of local authorities, pay rises, or protesting job cuts made by the previous authorities may have been “orchestrated” by former government loyalists in order to “sabotage” the work of the Pashinian government.

However, Pashinian told RFE/RL on May 17 that he did not see any elements of “sabotage.”

Talking to journalists earlier in the day, Pashinian called on the protesters “to take a break.”

“We will fail if we try to solve all problems at once. It is good that citizens are using their right to freely express their grievances, but we have to understand that it is impossible to solve all the problems right away,” he said.

Pashinian also said “it does not make sense at this point to demand the resignation of Markarian and Davtian.”

Pashinian was voted in as prime minister of the South Caucasus country on May 8.

Opponents of Sarkisian, who had been president for 10 years and moved to the newly powerful post of prime minister in mid-April, see him as part of a long-entrenched ruling elite that is unresponsive to the interests of many Armenians.

Trump congratulates Pashinyan on election – embassy

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YEREVAN, MAY 16, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump has congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his recent election through a letter sent via the Armenian Embassy in Washington. The letter is dated May 14.

“Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

Congratulations on your recent election. I look forward to working with you on the many areas of mutual interest for our two countries, including strengthening trade ties, democratic institutions, and regional security. Progress on fighting corruption, bringing all political parties together, and peacefully solving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will help these efforts and ensure Armenia’s bright future.

Best wishes to you and the people of Armenia”, the letter says.

Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister by the Armenian parliament on May 8 in the second round of voting.

Pashinyan Mobbed By Armenian Supporters In Russia

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Russia – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is greeted by supporters outside an Armenian church in Sochi, 13 May 2018.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian pledged to strive for a “great repatriation” of Armenians living abroad as hundreds of them greeted him at the start of his first visit to Russia late on Sunday.

Pashinian was mobbed by ethnic Armenian supporters after arriving in the Russian city of Sochi to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and attend a summit of five former Soviet republics. Many of them shook hands and took selfies with the 42-year-old premier in and outside a local Armenian church where he prayed and lit candles.

Pashinian thanked many members of Russia’s large Armenian community for supporting his protest movement when he addressed the jubilant crowd chanting “Nikol!” in the church courtyard.

He also said: “I want to thank brotherly Russia for having created such conditions for the Armenian people. But I also want to say that our aim is a great repatriation. Our aim is to concentrate a considerable portion of the human, financial, economic, spiritual and scientific potential of the [Diaspora] Armenians in Armenia and to ensure its security and sustainable development.”

“I am calling on Russian and Armenian businessmen from Russia to come to Armenia and invest and create jobs there because it’s now a new Armenia where every investment will be protected and no investment will be at risk,” he said in an impromptu speech.

“I am happy to see your happy eyes and proud of seeing your proud eyes,” added Pashinian. “I am serving each of your and let nobody doubt that our struggle will earn Armenia, the Armenian people and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) new victories every day, every week and every year.”

Pashinian has repeatedly pledged to speed up economic growth in Armenia by breaking up de facto monopolies, separating business from politics and improving the broader investment climate. His newly formed cabinet is due to present a comprehensive policy program to the parliament by the end of this month.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians have left their country since the 1990s in search of employment abroad and Russia in particular.

Putin-Pashinyan meeting kicks off in Sochi, Russia

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SOCHI, MAY 14,  The meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin has kicked off in Sochi, Russia.

The discussion focused on issues of mutual interest.

The meeting is being held ahead of the Supreme  Eurasian Economic Council sitting, ARMENPRESS correspondent reports from Sochi.

Armenia’s deputy PM Tigran Avinyan, foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Armenia’s Ambassador to Russia Vardan Toghanyan, assistants to the Premier Varuzhan Nersesyan, Ruben Rubinyan and FM advisor, head of the CIS department Armen Ghevondyan are also participating in the meeting from the Armenian side.

During the visit the Armenian PM is also expected to meet with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko and Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.

The ongoing EEU summit in Sochi is the first meeting of leaders of member states of the union in 2018.  The EEU – Eurasian Economic Union – was established on January 1, 2015 and includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was first to congratulate Nikol Pashinyan on his election as Prime Minister of Armenia. Pashinyan and Putin both expressed willingness to continue joint work aimed at further development of the Armenian-Russian strategic and allied relations and deepening of integration processes. Pashinyan and Putin agreed to have a more detailed discussion during their May 14 meeting in Sochi.

Reporting by Ani Nazaryan, ARMENPRESS, Sochi

Merkel congratulated Pashinyan on taking office

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel has congratulated Nikol Paschinyan on being elected as Armenia’s Prime Minister.

“As a reliable partner, Germany will continue to assist Armenia in its drive for modernization and implementation of reforms and will make efforts for the deepening of bilateral friendly relations, as well as for the peaceful development of the region.,” Mrs. Merkel said.

“I very much welcome the fact that all those involved in the political processes of recent days and weeks have shown a great sense of responsibility for the benefit of the Armenian people. I wish you every success and all the best in the formation of the new government and throughout your tenure,” the Chancellor added.