Oct 18, 2023

Baku and Saakashvili Respond to Pashinyan’s European Parliament Address

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan © Official photo 2023

On 17 October, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg. He was the first Armenian leader to do so. From the region, only then Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili had done so in 2010. The invitation stemmed from last month’s blitzkrieg operation in Karabakh.

With Armenia now faced with 100,000 refugees from Karabakh, the European Union was quick to promise humanitarian assistance and the distribution of up to €2.6 billion in economic assistance announced in July 2021. The European Parliament also adopted a resolution condemning Azerbaijan.

Pashinyan’s invitation also came as he increasingly seeks to escape Moscow’s orbit. “Armenia is ready to be closer to the European Union, as much as the European Union considers it possible,” he said in his address.

Accusing Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) of inaction, he also effectively accused Moscow of collusion in opposition protests held last month in Yerevan.

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The full article can be read here.

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Tbilisoba 2024

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Earlier this month, Tbilisi celebrated Tbilisoba, the city’s annual harvest festival. Over the years it has changed significantly and seems smaller than before. I first covered the event in 2011 but the best so far remains 2014 when there was more representation of traditional Georgian folk dance and music as well as by ethnic minorities such as the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities. This year, that was held relatively far away from Tbilisi’s Old Town and Rike Park with very little publicity or in some media any at all. Nonetheless, those that attended appeared to enjoy themselves sufficiently and I managed to photo stories.

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