“Zhoghovurd” reacts to the official confirmation that former Defense Minister Mikael Harutiunian, who is facing coup charges in Armenia, is a Russian citizen. The paper says it may also be confirmed that Harutiunian received a Russian passport in 2002 when he was defense minister. That would mean “another disgrace,” it says, urging the Armenian authorities to ascertain when he was granted Russian citizenship and whether the former Armenian authorities were aware of that.
“Aravot” says that Armenia is also to blame for its dependence on Russian natural gas. “We have done everything to deepen that dependence, gasifying everything since the early 2000s and depriving ourselves of the Iranian [gas] alternative,” writes the paper. “The fact is that all leaders of Armenia -- Robert Kocharian, Serzh Sarkisian and now presumably also Nikol Pashinian – have had to go to Moscow and try to convince [Vladimir] Putin not to raise the gas price or at least delay its increase until next spring. The issue is solved through a political decision by Putin. It’s not a pure business.” It suggests that Putin always demands “something” in return for making gas price concessions to Yerevan. It also claims that Pashinian has a stronger hand in gas talks with Moscow because he is far more legitimate and popular than Kocharian and Sarkisian were.
Lragir.am reports that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has again sounded optimistic about progress in the long-running efforts to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He at the same time warned of “problems” which he said Armenia will have if the conflict remains unresolved. “The statements by Azerbaijan’s leaders mean that Azerbaijan is abandoning the Madrid Principles of a Karabakh settlement which envisage a popular vote on Karabakh’s status and [Armenian] territorial concessions,” comments the publication. “Azerbaijan is effectively saying that it will not care about the opinion of the Karabakh people and is only ready to grant them self-rule within the framework of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
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