Highly appreciative of the deeply-rooted ties of friendship that bind our countries, I hope that through joint efforts we will be able to advance the Armenian-Egyptian agenda in all areas of mutual interest to the benefit of our two peoples.
Despite the fact that the Georgian direction of Armenia's foreign policy was constantly considered as a priority, and in recent years there has been a significant warming in relations, nevertheless, the potential of interaction between the two countries remains not fully realized.
In essence, the parties have concluded contracts with the Swiss company in order to complete the procedures required for the launch of the 2011 agreement.
The so-called Karabakh conflict negotiation process, which should be assumed by the new prime minister, as well as the foreign minister appointed by him, is rather complicated one and containing many nuances.
The second problem, according to the expert, was to ensure high participation of citizens in the elections. Taking into account the fact that a number of opposition forces boycotted the elections in general, it was more important for Aliyev's clan to have high level of participation.
The ratification of the Agreement also has a practical significance, given that it has a special provision for the temporary implementation of the Agreement. Last year in December the European side informed Armenia that after the ratification of the Agreement by the National Assembly the provisions that are under the jurisdiction of the EU (as a structure) may temporarily enter into force.
At the same time let as note that Armenia has a range of opportunities to counteract to the Azerbaijani-Turkish initiatives and to use the regional transit opportunities, which have not been completely used yet.
Large-scale military exercises in Azerbaijan began to be organized in the last few years. Through such exercises, Azerbaijan is trying to solve various tasks: military, political and propaganda.
The Turkish side, which at the time adopted the thesis of regulating all the problems with the neighbors, could not essentially reject the Armenian side's proposal, as a result of which the Zurich Protocols were signed.
In the propaganda arsenal of Azerbaijan a special place is occupied by the events in Khojalu, which in recent years official Azerbaijan has been trying to present to the world community as "genocide of Azerbaijanis".
It should be noted that the activation of the atmosphere of trust building and the efforts to reduce tension at the moment are quite natural.
In the current situation a question arises, which made Aliyev to go for snap elections, changing the terms of the game. If we try to clarify the main motives for appointing snap presidential elections by Aliyev, we can name two types of internal and external factors.
Taking into account these changes and the new situation in the PACE, one can assert that for the Armenian delegation of PACE both opportunities and challenges are being created.
The most important achievement of Georgia's foreign policy during the year has been the liberalization of the EU visa regime. The decision came into force on March 28, allowing Georgian citizens to stay up to 90 days in the Schengen area without a visa.
Perhaps the key event in 2017 was the constitutional reform aimed at strengthening the parliamentary system of governance. Georgi Margvelashvili, the president of the country, and some opposition forces, spoke out strongly against the bill submitted to the Georgian Parliament in May, declaring their disagreement with separate provisions.
At the same time, the political scientist noted that the opening of alternative routes to Upper Lars does not stem from the interests of Azerbaijan, as it directly destroys the isolation policy towards Armenia.
The delay of the implementation of the agreement for more than five years was due to various nuances and elements of the agreement (indirect participation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the scope of eligibility, etc.), concerning which the parties had different approaches.
In the current situation, among the Armenian side actions (in case of an official rejection of the Armenian goods transportation) it is possible to consider the issue in the context of international law.
Nevertheless, as one would expect, this meeting was not productive in terms of reaching new agreements on the political settlement of the conflict (since there are no prerequisites for this). As President Sargsyan stated during the meeting with representatives of the Armenian community in Switzerland, there is no concrete agreement on options for solving the problem.
Summarizing, we can conclude that Karabakh conflict settlement process can be conditionally divided into two parts: directly the political process and actions aimed at forming an atmosphere of trust, including those fixed in Vienna and St. Petersburg. It is impossible to state with certainty that only the political process will be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the presidents.
As for the parallels between the referendums in Catalonia, Iraqi Kurdistan and the referendum held in Artsakh in 1991, it can be definitely argued that the legal basis of the referendum in Artsakh and its process are incomparably strong.
In all this the surprising thing was not only the fact that a political force with nationalist views entered the German parliament for the first time after World War II, but also the large number of votes it received. Such a success can be explained by a considerable activation of the right-wing forces in Europe.
The following question is also circulated in the issues raised: why now?
It should be noted that the Armenian-Iranian political relations, in contrast to the economic relations that have great potential for development, are already at a high level
In fact, a situation has emerged, when the ruling party is actively promoting a draft constitutional reform initiated and then amended by the party. At the same time, the president, the main opposition forces, and a significant part of civil society are against that project.
As for the statement of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, it can be assessed as a certain toughening of the position of the Armenian side, which is very commendable. Armenia expects not only statements from the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
First, the case speaks about the fact that the persecution of Azerbaijani oppositions and journalists is passing to a regional level. There is a fairly logical question: is this the first case of kidnapping? Maybe earlier too, various personalities were moved to Azerbaijan in an incomprehensible way, but those cases did not get public attention.
The resignation of Agramunt probable should become a reason for the real struggle against corruption and for the actions to save the reputation of the institute.
Considering the growing pressure of Azerbaijan on the international arena and new capabilities set by new institutions of government, it is necessary to fundamentally transform the parliamentary diplomacy, putting on the basis clearly defined principles.
According to the observers, quite a great progress in these elections was that gender quota now applied also to the distribution of obtained and vacant seats.
Moscow and Baku transactions also have a psychological component. When Armenian soldier standing on the border realizes that he is being fired by Russian weapons, it certainly cannot but leave its mark on the perception of the Armenian-Russian relations.
In the created situation the main efforts of the Armenian sides should be directed towards failing the threats of Baku. Moreover, we should create an opposite precedent and use the incident of Lapshin towards increasing the international visits to Artsakh, engaging famous actors of different spheres as well.
Visa-free regime is available only for those citizens of Georgia who have biometric passports. At the same time during a visit to any country in the Schengen area they should have all documents justifying their visit.
It is noteworthy that during April war, the Georgian side had quite balanced, neutral position, while the Georgian government proposed mediation.
The attention of the public and political circles was also focused on the legislative initiative by "Georgian Dream" on holding a referendum concerning marriage definition which aimed at excluding the possibility of same-sex marriages.
Aliyev however broke this rule in sociology. Only 800 out of 9.7 million people in Azerbaijan have a negative attitude towards the government. It sounds quite funny, though.
Unlike the 2012 parliamentary elections, where the Georgian Dream coalition was made up of 6 parties, during these elections Georgian Dream did not resort to such a step.
Relative silence in the Karabakh issue can also be connected with an increase in joint efforts towards the Syrian issue, which has an important place in the joint Russian-American agenda.
Neither the Armenian, nor Azerbaijani communities in the parliamentary elections in Georgia have a united position on this or that political force.
To fully understand the problem, it should be mentioned that Tinatin Khidasheli’s decision does not refer to cancelling the compulsory military service and consequently to the abolition of army recruitment.
If the economic and other interests in relation with Germany become a deterring factor for Erdogan, then he has no limitation in using all the "tools" available in his own country.
Today, Germany, or rather, the EU, are both in a serious confrontation with Turkey. Making the migration crisis a serious playing card, the Turkish authorities have had the opportunity to demand something from the EU, expecting a variety of concessions, including the issue of accelerating the European integration processes.
The fact that in this situation it is not realistic to expect the resumption of active negotiations, is obvious for the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs as well.
RA-NKR agreement on mutual military assistance, it is logical that regardless of the recognition of the NKR, it must contain a point under which an attack on one of the parties is also an attack on the other party.
It is noteworthy that for the settlement of the situation and for reducing tensions the Georgian side made a proposal for mediation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
However, as the four-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan showed that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries - the US, France and Russia - in fact were unable to take the necessary steps to stop the escalation of the conflict.
Though there is not any data published yet about the participation of mercenaries in the four-day war, t is more than obvious that these groups of Islamists and Turkish nationalists have enough reasons for involving in hostilities.
The attack along the entire NKR borders began when the plane of the RA President Serzh Sargsyan, who was returning from the United States, was in the sky and, of course, Sargsyan was unable to give a quick response. It is hardly a coincidence.
The main topic of discussion in the meetings between the Georgian Foreign Minister and the Armenian senior officials was the implementation of the earlier reached sectoral agreements.
It is noteworthy that in terms of the issue of liberalization of visa regime Georgia got ahead of Ukraine.
As for Georgia, due to the real increase in the supply of gas, Tbilisi will be able to close its deficit. Moreover, through the same "gas" game Georgia managed to "force" Azerbaijan make concessions: in gas stations, gas prices will fall by 35-40 dollars for 1000 m3.
In fact, both the definition "historic" in relation to the visit and the discussions about the possible Azerbaijani diplomatic victory are quite controversial.
It seems that Georgian authorities also realized that the exaggerated expectations affect not only their reputation but also on public perceptions. This perception led to changes in Georgia's policy regarding membership as well.
The company's statement is impressive, but another issue is whether it is true.
The fact that PACE, which did not and does not have any mission for conflict settlement, for finding political solutions and mediation, now tries to interfere in the Karabakh conflict settlement process by the initiative of parliamentarians serving various interests, is rather problematic.
Deceiving the public for years with the legend that Azerbaijan has the region's largest economy, Aliyev has fallen today into his own trap because he can control neither the devaluation of manat nor the ongoing inflation rate.
The negotiations that were labeled "treason of the strategic ally", however, were quite pragmatic from the economic point. Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze has declared that "Gazprom" offers more affordable gas than SOCAR.
In the context of European integration a serious achievement can also be considered the progress recorded in visa liberalization (Georgia with the EU). According to the decision adopted in December by the European Commission, Ukraine and Georgia are ready for a visa-free regime and will get it in early 2016.
The situation was further exacerbated when the opposition, especially the "United National Movement", started to manipulate with the existing problems. All this, of course, affected the public mood, and as a manifestation of this, we witnessed mass rallies organized by the opposition.
We can say that the current process shows that Yerevan and Tbilisi are passing from the so called “toast friendship” to the practical partnership, which will realize the entire potential of bilateral relations.
The thing is that since the "Rose Revolution" "Rustavi 2" supports the party "United National Movement" headed by Mikheil Saakashvili. Even during the rule of Saakashvili, the opposition repeatedly boycotted the channel because of the biased and subjective approach.
The Georgian authorities have begun to seriously work on the diversification of the energy sector, particularly trying to obtain alternative sources of gas supply.
It was obvious from the beginning that the West in the face of regional partners and NATO, to put it mildly, would get nervous because of Russia's presence. A clear indication of this was the incident of violation of Turkish border by Russian jets. Taking into account quite good Russian-Turkish partnership, the noise raised by the Turkish side about the violation can be estimated as artificial.
Reading the article of "shadow CIA" - as they like to call Stratfor in Azerbaijan - it becomes obvious that the analysts of the American private research company do not have a full perception of the realities in the South Caucasus.
The current session of the Collective Security Council is of great interest for us in some aspects: 1. development of the military component of the organization; 2. Armenia assuming the presidency of the CSTO; 3. internal reforms of the structure.
There is only one peaceful way to suppress Azerbaijan's aggressive tactics and to eliminate various incentive factors - the objective and strict reaction (including the tools of pressure) by the international community on illegitimate steps of Azerbaijani authorities, otherwise the Armenian army, for nearly two decades later, again will have to give a solution to this problem, but this time it will...
In connection with the visit, it is desirable to set aside two main aspects; the problem of Georgia's Euro-Atlantic prospect and the opening of Georgia - NATO Joint Training Center.
The confrontation between Russia and West worsened in recent years in different parts of the world, and the South Caucasus with its strategic position could not be an exception, the expert of the analytical center "Insight" Narek Minasyan.
The other possible reason of Georgia's tough response, is that the new frontier is located only 500 meters from the Georgia's East-West highway, which through which both local and international transit traffic passes. Indeed, for a country with ambitions of becoming a major hub for international transit, such developments are rather risky and seriously undermine the reputation of the country.
The sale of "Iskander-M" systems is not only a financial transaction, but also a result of a political decision.
Despite the experience gained during the Russian agitation, they still lack flexibility, which should should have been expressed in working with different societies. It is this lack of flexibility that today we are witnessing a situation, when some Russian media cover the Armenian events using the same mechanisms and terminology as it was used during the Ukrainian events.
Georgia and France signed an agreement on procurement of an advanced air defense systems. There is not enough information on the content of the agreement. According to the defense Ministry it was signed by Georgian Minister of Defense and the director of American-French joint company ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS).
Of course, such a prospect has already become the basis for many countries and companies, wanting to cooperate with Iran on developing various projects and business negotiations.
The basis for the differentiated approach in the EaP framework should have probably become of "3-1-2" or "3-1-1-1" formula.
The exaggerated and unjustified noise of the Georgian government is at least illogical, if we take into consideration the fact that Armenia has not once closed its eyes on open (or at least potential) anti-Armenian steps.
Taking into consideration the level of today’s national unity it is important to take all possible measures for its continuation, at the same time reestablishing once again the priorities of the national agenda.
In this respect, there is a clash between international human rights norms and the reality. It is no secret that the legal hierarchy of human rights is a priority, but in the current geopolitical realities the citizens of unrecognized states are not able to fully enjoy their rights as enshrined in various acts.
The Armenian side should from now on take actions in parallel with the changing situation to take maximum advantage from the creating opportunities, to even more strengthen the Armenian-Iranian relations.
It is noteworthy that if previously mainly Republicans were demanding to provide military assistance to Ukraine, then in the case of this resolution a great number of Democrats also joined. Such interest of the Republicans is conditioned by their close links with the military-industrial complex of the country.
During the official visit of the president of Armenia to China a joint declaration was adopted. That document has a strategic importance for further development of bilateral relations.
The analyst stressed the fact that Georgian authorities are now facing hard choice concerning the level of representation during the April 24 events in Yerevan and Istanbul.
Taking into consideration the ambiguous attitudes of the Russian society on the Ukrainian crisis, as well as some economic difficulties derived from sanctions, it would be in the Russian authorities' interests to avoid unnecessary activeness from the society or any kind of protests.
The existence of “Debaltsevo pot” increases the possibility of the failure of the whole process hour by hour. Besides, the armed groups that are under no control should be viewed as a separate factor potentially able to destabilize the situation, incite provocations and cause new escalation.
Coming to the President's speech again, I should mention, that probably its rough nature is due to the long years of experience, which indicate that the only way to keep Aliyev and his supporters sober and retrain them, is a tougher response. I think there is no doubt that if Azerbaijan continues its short-sighted activities Armenia's response should be pretty tough to bring the opponent "back to the...
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