Today we live in a society, which can not imagine life without expressing views on social media. Probably it does have certain advantages. Nevertheless, many participants of active discussions have already forgotten or do not even know about the developments, which unfolded in Armenia 5, 10 or 15 years ago.
To fill the gap Mediamax presents 5/10/15 project, which introduce developments in Armenia 5, 10 and 15 years ago.
• 15 YEARS AGO: MARCH 25-31, 2004
The meeting in Prague is canceled
On March 24, 2004 Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Yuri Merzlyakov revealed in the interview to Azerbaijani TV channel ATV that the meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers, scheduled for March 29 in Prague, would not take place.
The mediator said that the decision to cancel the meeting was made taking into account “the desire of one of the sides”. “Those who accuse the mediators of inactivity should pay attention to the efforts of the parties themselves to settle the conflict,” Merzlyakov added.
Yuri Merzlyakov and Vardan Oskanyan Photo: Photolure
On March 26 Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan said he regretted that the official Baku decided to cancel the Prague meeting. “We regret that Ilham Aliyev is missing yet another opportunity to resume the negotiations,” he noted.
EU Special Representative in the South Caucasus Heikki Talvitie spoke at the joint press conference with Oskanyan and said that the decision on cancelation could testify to “Azerbaijan’s not being ready for such a meeting”.
“Not a single positive step”
On March 25 President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated he assessed the OSCE Minsk Group’s activity negatively.
“I cannot assess it positively as the OSCE Minsk Group has not taken a single positive step for 12 years. Today, the OSCE Minsk Group’s position cannot play positive role, as it is expressed not in solving the problem but in observing it,” he said.
“Azerbaijan will lose a very important lever of influence”
He also said on the same day that Turkey would not open its border with Armenia until the Karabakh conflict was settled.
Aliyev revealed that “Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Foreign Minister Gul assured me that Turkey will never open its borders with Armenia until the Karabakh conflict is settled”.
According to him, “it is not a secret that the European Union and other countries with substantial influence in global affairs exert serious pressure on Turkey in this issue”.
“Turkey opening its borders with Armenia would mean that the settlement of the Karabakh conflict becomes impossible, as Azerbaijan will lose a very important lever of influence,” said the Azerbaijani leader. He stressed that in that case “the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan will become impossible and will be halted with all the subsequent unpleasant consequences”.
Vardan OskanyanPhoto: Photolure
On March 26, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan stated that ““Turkish authorities should draw corresponding conclusions from recent remarks of Ilham Aliyev”.
He described as “at least strange” the fact that the leader of “the small Azerbaijan” calls Turkey “a lever of influence in its hands”. Oskanyan added that the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, on the contrary, would have a positive effect on the situation in the region on the whole and the settlement of the Karabakh conflict in particular.
“Up to the level of Baltic countries”
On the same day Armenian Deputy Minister of Trade of Economic Development Tigran Davtyan said that Armenia planned to bring its economy up to the level of Baltic countries by 2015.
He added that “the GDP volume makes USD 900 per capita in Armenia, while in Baltic countries this figure totals USD 2500-3000”.
Armitage visits Yerevan
Also on March 26, visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said in Yerevan that “Armenia has extraordinary importance for the USA”.
Richard Armitage and Robert Kocharyan in Yerevan on March 26, 2004Photo: Photolure
“By this visit we wanted to express our interest to the South Caucasian region and the important role that Armenia has for the USA,” said the U.S. diplomat, adding that he hoped for intensification of the political dialogue with Yerevan.
• 5 YEARS AGO: MARCH 25-31, 2014
“We trust each other”
On March 28, 2014 Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania highlighted “the importance” of relations with Armenia”.
“We have important, good-neighborly relations. We trust each other,” he told the press in Yerevan.
Georgian and Armenian Defense Ministers Irakli Alasania and Seyran Ohanyan in YerevanPhoto: Photolure
“We know that Armenia does its best so as not a single threat is posed to Georgia’s interests by the Russian military base stationed there,” noted Alasania.
The attack on Kessab
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan spoke in The Hague on March 24, noting that "eviction of Kessab Armenians is a serious challenge to mechanisms of protection of ethnic minorities in the 21st century”.
The President said he was deeply concerned about the developments around Kessab. “This is the third eviction of Kessab Armenians and it is a serious to mechanisms of protection of ethnic minorities in the 21st century,” he noted.
Armenian church in KessabPhoto: REUTERS
On the same day Armenia sent a delegation of MPs to Syria. Samvel Farmanyan, Naira Karapetyan, Levon Martirosyan, Arman Sahakyan, Tevan Poghosyan and Edmon Marukyan met with President of Syria Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.
On March 27, Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Traian Hristea stated that the EU condemned the attack on Syria’s Armenian-populated town of Kessab.
Save Kessab event in IranOn March 31, Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan urged international structures engaged in human rights protection to launch an investigation into “whether neighboring countries such as Turkey or other states had effective control of the operations and gross human rights violations committed in Kessab”.
Ara Tadevosyan
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