9-minute read.
Pashinyan and Blinken spoke over the phone
Azerbaijan's April 19 agreement to launch the border demarcation and to use the 1991 Almaty as the main principle for the entire border could pave the way for the signing of a peace agreement. Baku previously insisted on not mentioning the rules for future demarcation in the peace document.
Pashinyan and Blinken spoke on Sunday. They discussed AM-US relations, the April 5 meeting in Brussels, and the AM-AZ peace process.
Pashinyan expressed satisfaction with the activation of AM-US bilateral relations and the agreements reached on April 5.
Pashinyan described the April 19 delimitation agreement as a positive development. The parties emphasized the importance of following the 2022 agreements reached in Prague.
Pashinyan's office says the recognition of territorial integrity based on the Almaty Declaration and a demarcation based on Almaty paves the way to a peace treaty.
Pashinyan and Blinken also discussed the Crossroads of Peace logistics project that aims to lift the decades-long blockade on Armenia. Pashinyan said the implementation of CoP would implement the agreements reached in July 2023 in Brussels regarding the unblocking of communications in the region with full respect for the sovereignty of states.
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Blinken and Aliyev spoke over the phone
Blinken commended Aliyev for the April 19 announcement that Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to use the 1991 Alma Ata declaration as the basis for border delimitation and emphasized its importance to the two sides concluding a durable and dignified peace.
Blinken urged Aliyev to keep up the momentum with Pashinyan, reiterating U.S. willingness to support those efforts.
Blinken welcomed Azerbaijan’s release of Gubad Ibadoglu to house arrest as a humanitarian gesture and called for his full, expeditious release. Blinken urged Azerbaijan to adhere to its international human rights obligations and commitments and release those unjustly detained in Azerbaijan.
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over 50% of the border marking is complete on parts of the Tavush-Gazakh border
Based on geodetic measurements on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, 35 border markers have been installed as of April 29.
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Kazakhstan will host the next bilateral AM-AZ meeting of foreign ministers
Armenia gave its approval on Monday to hold the next meeting in Almaty. Kazakhstan will be a host but not a mediator, said the Kazakh government.
Aliyev's offices expressed hope that the peace agreement will be signed "within months" but there are still "unresolved issues".
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Azerbaijani government commission expresses readiness to cooperate with Armenia to locate the remains of Azeris and Armenians who went missing during the 90s war
COMMISSION: We are ready to cooperate with Armenia to search for missing persons from both sides while maintaining an atmosphere of transparency and mutual trust.
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Azerbaijani parliament MP suggests returning the Artsvashen exclave to Armenia
Rasim Musabekov is a member of the parliamentary foreign relations committee. During an interview with Azerbaijan's public television, while discussing the AM-AZ border delimitation, he suggested returning Artsvashen to Armenia or exchanging it.
MUSABEKOV: The issue of exclaves requires some sort of compromise or trade-off because it's a mutual issue. If we give a road to Armenia [to Artsvashen] it must also come with gas, water, and electricity infrastructure. This is not an easy task so in my opinion exchanging exclaves is a better option. //
After the interview, an Aliyev-linked media outlet ran an online survey on Telegram regarding the idea of returning Artsvashen to Armenia [survey not ended yet].
One political analyst, Aziz Alibeili, criticized the Azeri MP for Artsvashen comments and accused him of giving a "pro-Pashinyan" speech.
AZIZ: The MP knows well that if Armenians gain control of Bashkend [Artsvashen], they will pose danger to 3 more [Azeri] villages along with 28 others, and the entire area that stretches all the way to Ganja. //
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opposition continues to shut down roads in Yerevan and other parts of Armenia in protest to the border delimitation process
ARF MP Gegham Manukyan was on the Armavir-Gyumri road where a group of protesters used a truck to block the road. An official gave them two minutes to open it "before the police comes." The MP Manukyan urged the police to arrest PM Pashinyan for "illegal processes" in Tavush.
Several drivers were unhappy about the closed road. One angry driver approached the MP and called him the "biggest inflictor of damage".
DRIVER: Ես բետոնի վարորդ եմ, որ բետոնը սառի, դու պատասխան կտա՞ս դրա համար:
ARF MP: եթե հիմա բետոնը կարողանում էս վաճառել, վաղը չես կարողանալու:
DRIVER: Քո գործը չէ, դո՞ւ ես փրկությունը հայ ազգի, դուք ամենամեծ վնաս տվողներն եք:
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the latest Russian laws on tightening migration rules will make it practically impossible for many Armenian and other migrants to reside in Russia without breaking the law: expert
More requirements to enter, and new requirements for more frequent steps to take while already in Russia. One legal expert believes many unsuspecting migrants, or those who do not hire a lawyer, won't even know they are violating the law. Many Armenians will be simply unable to enter Russia.
The expert advises the Armenian government to sign migrant workforce contracts with other states, including Russia, to regulate the outflow of Armenian migrant workers. The government can help groups of migrants to travel for work, while the labor attachés can take care of their rights abroad. Kyrgyzstan is doing something similar with South Korea, Poland, the UK, and the Netherlands.
According to Russian opposition outlet RainTV, a newly proposed Russian law would require migrants to sign a pledge of loyalty before entering the country. It would include a promise to respect Russian "traditional values" such as marriage being between a man and a woman.
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Armenian delegation visited Saudi Arabia
Armenia's labor & high-tech ministries sent delegations to discuss the development of human capital, workforce productivity, and the discrepancy between labor market demand and supply.
The Saudi government presented its 2030 Plan to develop the media industry with 140,000 new jobs.
The parties agreed to exchange experience.
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Armenian delegation visited Qatar
FM Mirzoyan and his envoy discussed the Crossroads of Peace, economic cooperation, AM-QA relations, etc. In 2023 Qatar established a resident embassy in Yerevan.
video, source, https://hetq.am/hy/article/166122
European Commission Director General for Neighbourhood & Enlargement Negotiations will visit Transcaucasian republics this week
In Yerevan, Gert Jan Koopman will discuss the results of the April 5 meeting and the strengthening of EU-AM relations, including stepping up sectoral cooperation and EU investments in the country, as well as EU support to reforms and to the integration of displaced people.
He will also launch a joint EU-German project to improve access to energy efficiency and sustainable energy solutions in rural communities in Armenia.
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Turkey is negotiating a liquid LNG gas deal with U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil to reduce reliance on Russia: Financial Times
They want to purchase 2.5 million tons annually as part of a long-term contract. Turkey is seeking to build a "new supply portfolio" that will make it less reliant on any single partner, Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told the FT in an interview.
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prosecutors sharply increased the number of cases sent to court in 2023
Year: Cases closed/Filed in court/Trials concluded
2021: xK/xK/2.9K
2022: 19K/4.4K/3.2K
2023: 33K/8.5K/5K
Tens of billions of drams were recovered, mostly during the investigation phase.
... Prosecutor General's office is taking steps to prevent unnecessary trial delays
There were instances of prosecutors not showing up to trials and delaying the process. The Prosecutor General's office reprimanded 2 prosecutors last year. To address the problem, an order was issued to form groups of prosecutors for complex trials to prevent disruption in the event one prosecutor is absent.
The Prosecutor General's office also urged the SCJ to investigate other causes of unjustified trial delays. They urged SCJ to reprimand 10 judges for causing delays. 5 of the petitions were turned down, a decision is pending on 2, and 3 judges are under investigation.
Prosecutors also fought against violations made by investigators; they filed 551 complaints against them. 41 were reprimanded and 7 were charged with felonies.
... 152 public officials were charged with corruption crimes in 2023
Last year the prosecutor's office heard 1,404 corruption cases (+56% YoY).
Public officials charged with crimes:
2022: 63
2023: 152 (mostly minor crime)
The Prosecutor General's office views the increase as a result of more efficient investigation.
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the international community has begun to more thoroughly cooperate and share data with Armenian law enforcement to investigate money laundering: Prosecutor General
VARDAPETYAN: Last week we hosted an 11-member delegation from the EU, Switzerland, and Luxemburg. These are the countries where Armenia's financial resources have flowed to; we have information about bank accounts tied to Armenia. Today we have contacts with these countries at the highest levels and I'm happy to inform you that they have begun to respond to our inquiries.
For example, Austria has transferred 12,000 pages of baking data as part of a large investigation. Switzerland... it seemed impossible yesterday, but thanks to our new communication approach, this is possible today.
We prefer not to publicly discuss cases when there is an active investigation behind closed doors. For example, in the case of the large narcotics bust, there is an ongoing international investigation. We are gathering information from the transit countries to build a solid case that can withstand the defense's counterarguments in court.
Regarding the right to a speedy trial. We are doing everything possible to maintain high intensity. There is an institute of plea and remorse that significantly simplifies the case so we are actively using those tools to close simple cases and send to court only the serious ones.
Still, we are not satisfied with the speed of trials, it's still not a matter of "months". We need to work on the session schedule and prioritize cases based on the severity of the crime. Years ago, when I was a student, I visited a U.S. federal court for practice to observe a massive fraud trial. The judge said he would finish the case in 6 months, by holding Monday to Friday sessions. I said there is no way you can finish it in 6. He insisted he could. I later checked and indeed the trial was done within 6 months. This was one of the eldest and strictest federal judges, so no corners were cut. We need to reform the trial schedule in Armenia to prioritize based on the severity of the crime.
... EU feels more comfortable with transferring wanted persons to Armenia: Prosecutor General
VARDAPETYAN: The ice is melting between Armenia and European countries. Many countries have been transferring persons, and we do the same for them; it's a process based on mutual trust. Trust is both strong and fragile, and we've taken steps over the past year to earn their trust by operating transparently. We have vowed to similarly transfer persons wanted by European countries.
It's different in the case of the US because we don't have a bilateral agreement. At my request, on April 15 we hosted a delegation from the US Justice Department and State Department to discuss the signing of this agreement to enable exchange. We have already transferred 5 persons to the US based on non-bilateral agreements, but the US has not yet transferred anyone to us. Their explanation for refusal is that there is no AM-US interstate agreement that would enable the transfer. [Dog is safe for now?]
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... why are some trials taking years with no justice at the end?
VARDAPETYAN: We recently investigated how one of the trials was held in court. There were 21 sessions for this case about a medium-severity crime. There were several defendants. The trial process was sabotaged because during each session one of the lawyers of one of the defendants would decide not to show up. The trial was delayed until the defendants qualified for the statute of limitation. What's missing here is a stricter work mechanism. We need to give judges more powers to address unjustified absences.
source, full session with Prosecutor General,
Prosecutor General presented the list of allegedly illegal properties and cash they want to seize from ex-President Kocharyan & family as part of an asset forfeiture case:
💰 25 real estate properties, many in central Yerevan
💰 5 vehicles
💰 Participation (shares) in 16 local and foreign legal entities (Toyota dealership, Orange-fitness, Nairi Insurance, Congress Hotel, Play City)
💰 Over $4 million in deposits and securities
💰 The transfer of loan ownership, worth around ֏10 billion ($25 million)
💰 Over ֏35 billion ($90 million) that originated from illegal activities //
... and the asset forfeiture case against Armenia's richest businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, according to Prosecutor General:
💰 72 real estate properties
💰 42 vehicles
💰 ֏348M ($0.9 million) worth of unidentified vehicles
💰 The sum of the market value of 10 real estate properties [Tsarukyan can keep the houses but must pay their value]
💰 Shares in 39 companies [value isn't mentioned]
💰 Loan ownership of ֏63.3B ($163 million)
💰 ֏16.8B ($43.3 million)
💰 ֏86.5B ($223 million) //
CAN I HAVE HIS BITCOIN GPUs?
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apartment prices continue to climb in Yerevan: Q1 2024
Number of apartment transactions +42%
Districts where the number of apartment transactions grew: Avan, Arabkir, Malatia, Shengavit.
Prices also increase (from most expensive to least):
Kentron +13%
Arabkir +15%
Zeytun +9%
Norq +16%
Erebuni +15%
Shengait +12%
Davtashen +16%
Ajapsandal +11%
Malatia +9%
Avan +13%
Nubarashen +10%
Land transactions in Armenia +12%
Land transactions in Yerevan -7%
Rent contracts in Armenia +21%
Rent contracts in Yerevan +46% (the sharp increase is possibly influenced by the new enforcement of rental income tax)
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video of an Azerbaijani man being rescued after his head got stuck in a water container
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Yerevan has signed the contract to deliver 171 more buses this year
The funds have been allocated. The buses should arrive within 180 days.
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a student performs on guitar during a bonfire meeting between PM Pashinyan and participants of a table tennis tournament: VIDEO
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Yerevan Marathon was held on Sunday after a 5-year hiatus: PHOTOS
It includes a "full" 42-kilometer run as well as 5-21 km runs for adults and a 1 km mini-marathon for children.
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