Mamijanyan: Diplomacy carried out by current leaders of Armenia can  be characterized by "Bazaar diplomacy" term

ArmInfo. The diplomacy carried out by the current leaders of Armenia can be characterized by the  "Bazaar diplomacy" term. MP from the opposition faction "I have the Honor" Hayk Mamijanyan stated on April 21 during a press conference, presenting his attitude to the government's report on activities for  2022.

In this regard, he stated with regret that in exchange for  maintaining his own power, the state and national interests of the  Armenian state were put up for auction.

The oppositionist drew attention to the fact that in 2022 Russia  signed a Declaration of Alliance with Azerbaijan, and Armenia did not  react to this fact in any way. "The Armenian Ambassador to Russia was  not dismissed for fruitless work. During the reporting period,  unprecedented events were recorded in the Armenian-Russian relations:  Russia sent an official note of protest to Armenia. The reason for  the note was the statement of a certain marginal public and political  figure, whose weight was disproportionate to the reaction RF. Hence  the conclusion that this statement was only a pretext for a note from  a strategic ally," he said, noting that this individual case actually  characterizes the general picture of relations between the two  countries.

At the same time, Mamijanyan noted that due to "Bazaar diplomacy" and  the lack of a clear vector for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict, the authorities could not keep on the agenda of the  negotiations the proposal made by Russia on the status of  Nagorno-Karabakh, and in the future the possibility of exercising the  right of the NKR to self-determination.

"Due to the simultaneous approval of at least two mutually negative  proposals, there is no question of the status of Artsakh on the  agenda of negotiations today," he said.

Moreover, according to the oppositionist, in the government's report  on activities for 2022, in the description of relations between  Armenia and the United States, there is no mention of section 907.   According to him, from this we can conclude that the Armenian leaders  are not making any efforts to stop the military assistance provided  by the United States to Azerbaijan.

Mamijanyan noted that in terms of EU-Armenia relations, it can be  stated that the bilateral dialogue on visa liberalization, envisaged  by the 2017 Enhanced and Comprehensive Partnership Agreement, has not  started this year either. According to him, there is no any  information  about 2.6 billion euros, which were trumpeted in Armenia  even from "turned off irons", and in the government's report, the  figures presented in the total volume do not exceed 300 million  euros.

Regarding relations with China, the oppositionist noted that the  document presented by the government only contains data on trade  turnover, and surprisingly there is no mention of the work of the  Armenian side within the framework of the One Belt, One Road project.

"There is no mention of the work on the recognition and condemnation  of the Armenian Genocide in the government report for 2022. Although  this issue was noted as a priority in the government's program. Let  me also remind you that in the reporting year, on December 9, the  International Day for the Prevention and Condemnation of Genocide,  the Armenian Foreign Ministry did not issue a statement, and then  itposted a message backdated, the text of which is  shameful in terms  of efforts to recognize the Armenian Genocide," he said.

At the same time, the MP stressed that he would not touch on the  point of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations without  preconditions, since in fact what was stated in the report is  actually a roadmap for the implementation of all Turkish-Azerbaijani  preconditions.

Regarding the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, Mamijanyan noted that the  government of Nikol Pashinyan by the government program for 2021, and  before that by the election program, actually promised to solve the  Karabakh issue according to the logic of recognizing Artsakh as part  of Azerbaijan. According to him, such a conclusion can be drawn from  his statement of April 18 from the rostrum of the parliament. "If the  fundamental principles for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict developed by the previous authorities are so bad, then why  were they included in all Pashinyan's election programs? I will add  that today's negotiation process on Artsakh is fundamentally  different from the legacy left by the previous authorities, and in no  way, does not even reflect Pashinyan's election promises," he said.

At the same time, the oppositionist stressed that the Republic of  Armenia should exclude any negotiation format, where the  Armenian-Azerbaijani relations are separated from the  Nagorno-Karabakh process. He stressed that for Armenia, the red line  should be the exclusion of Artsakh from joining Azerbaijan.

Mamijanyan also believes that Armenia should ensure that the OSCE  Minsk Group co-chairs reaffirm their commitment to the settlement of  the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of fundamental principles.

In conclusion, he pointed to the imperative to start negotiations  between Armenia and the CSTO on providing assistance. "The arguments  presented by today's authorities, who rejected the package of  military assistance from the CSTO and the deployment of peacekeepers,  are not commensurate with the risks that arise as a result of these  actions," he said, emphasizing also the need for attempts to revive  the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements of 2016 on the establishment  of control mechanisms border incidents.