“Armenia, as a normal participant of the international community, should always respond to such disasters, especially disasters on such a scale, and offer aid and help in case of agreement. It was the first goal of Armenia. As for the effect of the move on the relationship, of course, there is that nuance. It is a positive impulse in a certain sense”, said Sargis Khandanyan, the Chairman of the NA Foreign Relations Committee, during the NA briefing, answering the question of whether sending humanitarian cargo to Turkey could have an impact on diplomatic relations, unblocking roads, and considering that 30 years opened the way for the first time, can it be continuous?
A question was raised: Will the earthquake in Turkey change the balance of power, and will there be any positive changes for Armenia and Artsakh? CC faction secretary Artur Hovhannisyan answered. “I would ask you not to look at the devastating earthquake in Turkey from another point of view. RA has taken a humanitarian step; we do not make any political-strategic analyses based on the devastating earthquake. I don’t want us to start making a political-strategic analysis based on this great human disaster; this cannot be considered humanitarian from our side.
Journalists inquired whether the Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Igor Khovaev, was in Armenia. On the same day, Mirzoyan also had a telephone conversation with Lavrov; there were calls to France and Washington. Is there a new document on the table? Khandanyan answered that the activity is due to RA’s foreign policy initiative. “As for the negotiations and documents, you know that the parties have presented proposals to each other in several stages of the peace treaty; Azerbaijan recently presented its proposals to Armenia. Armenia is working on these proposals; they will be sent to Azerbaijan when ready.”
To the question: if the Armenian side initiated Ararat Mirzoyan’s phone conversation with Lavrov, aren’t you trying to explain to the Russian side that the EU observation mission is not directed against Russia, taking into account Russia’s harsh reaction to European observers recently, Arthur Hovhannisyan answered. “There is no need to explain that the EU civilian observation mission is not directed against anyone. Thanks to its diplomatic efforts, RA agreed with the EU partners that the observation mission should be extended, which is solely in RA’s interests. It is not directed against anyone; it is a civilian mission.” The Russian side is preparing a meeting of the foreign ministers, the journalists asked whether the meeting is possible under the conditions of the closure of the Lachin Corridor, and Khandanyan answered. “The Armenian side does not have such a precondition.”
Read also
To the question: Armenia was able to reach an agreement with Turkey very quickly and send aid, so why can’t they reach an agreement so rapidly and send humanitarian cargo to Artsakh? Artur Hovhannisyan answered that the road between Armenia and Artsakh, the Lachin Corridor, is closed because the agreement of November 9 is not being implemented; it was closed by the so-called environmentalists of Azerbaijan in order to cause a humanitarian crisis in Artsakh. The road between Armenia and Turkey is unilaterally closed by Turkey. There was an earthquake in Turkey, and Armenia offered to help. “These are two incomparable realities that cannot be considered in the same dimension. Why was it possible to agree with Turkey faster? The number of victims in Turkey has reached 30 thousand at the moment, and for this, they are accepting help from all countries of the world. This is the simple logic.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
