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- By RFE/RL
Gorbachev, Last Soviet Leader Whose Rule Changed History, Turns 90
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev turned 90 on March 2, receiving greetings from the world leaders as well as the Kremlin.
Gorbachev is considered one of the greatest reformers of the 20th century.
After taking over the Soviet leadership in 1985, Gorbachev introduced his reform policies known as "glasnost" (openness) and "perestroika" (restructuring), which opened up the Soviet Union to the world, and ultimately led to the collapse of the communist regime and the end of the Cold War with the United States.
"Your commitment to freedom and your courage over the decades to make the tough, albeit necessary, decisions, have made the world a safer place," U.S. President Joe Biden wrote in a letter released by Gorbachev's staff.
The letter said that the agreed extension to the U.S.-Russian New START nuclear-arms treaty was proof that the two countries would continue Gorbechev's "legacy."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel congratulated Gorbachev, who was instrumental in the German reunification in 1990.
"I take your day of honor as an opportunity to thank you once more for your personal commitment for the peaceful overcoming of the Cold War and the completion of German unity," Merkel wrote in a letter to the former leader.
"Your important contribution to a reunification in freedom remains as unforgotten in Germany as your constant personal engagement for friendly relations between our two countries," Merkel said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also congratulated Gorbachev, despite cool relations between the Kremlin and the former Soviet leader.
Gorbachev also owns a political foundation and co-owns the Kremlin-critical newspaper Novaya gazeta.
"You rightly belong to those bright, unconventional people, extraordinary statesmen of our time, who have had a significant impact on the course of national and international history," Putin wrote in a congratulatory letter to Gorbachev, published by the Kremlin.
Gorbachev's "great professional and life experience" still allowed him to "actively participate in popular social and educational work" as well as "international humanitarian projects," Putin wrote.
Many Russians also say he is responsible for the ensuing downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Putin himself has called the Soviet Union's collapse the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the previous century.
A poll conducted by the All-Russia Opinion Research Center had 51 percent of respondents saying that he brought the nation more harm than good, while 32 percent said it was about equal, 7 percent viewed his action as mostly positive, and the rest were undecided. The nationwide poll of 1,600 was conducted on February 28 and had a margin of error of no more than 2.5 percentage points.
Pro-democratic forces, however, see him as a symbol of freedom, as he has criticized repression under Putin and warned against falling back into a dictatorship.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa
- By RFE/RL
Lukashenka: There Will Be 'No Transfer Of Power' In Belarus
Autocratic leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka says there will be "no transfer of power" in Belarus, where thousands have demonstrated across the country since early August demanding his resignation over an elections they say was rigged.
"No transfer [of power] is possible in Belarus.... Everything will be in accordance with the constitution," Lukashenka said in Minsk on March 2 as he spoke about his talks last month with President Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of Sochi.
"The [new] constitution, as I said before, we will adopt in January-February next year. And that is all that the transfer of power will be about," Lukashenka said, adding that a transfer of power was not on the agenda when he met with Putin.
Lukashenka has been under pressure to step down for months after claiming he won an August 9 election by a landslide, while his main challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has said she was the rightful victor.
Thousands of protesters have been arrested by Belarusian security forces at the anti-government rallies that have continued since August, and beatings at the hands of police have been widely documented.
The EU, which considers the election that extended Lukashenka's 26-year authoritarian rule fraudulent, has progressively imposed sanctions on Belarus in response to the violent repression of peaceful protesters, the opposition, and media.
Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
Tsikhanouskaya has called for the EU to take a tougher stance against Lukashenka's regime.
Lukashenka has long sought to portray himself as a brake on Moscow's pressure to merge Belarus with Russia. But seven months of unprecedented street protests and the resulting EU sanctions have put the Belarusian leader on the defensive and seemingly more reliant on Putin's support.
In recent years, Russia has pressured Belarus to take steps toward integration in order to cement a 20-year-old agreement to form a union state, only to be rebuffed by Lukashenka's defense of the nation's sovereignty.
However, the situation began to change after Russia helped prop up Lukashenka in the wake of the presidential election, bringing the two sides closer over common threat perceptions.
Lukashenka acknowledged the close relationship but also emphasized on March 2 that Belarus remained "a sovereign and independent state."
Putin himself has been under pressure from the West in recent months.
The EU and Washington announced new sanctions against Russian officials on March 2 over the detention of opposition politician Aleksei Navalny and evidence that the anti-corruption campaigner was poisoned with a Novichok-like nerve agent. Navalny blames his poisoning on Putin and Russian agents, which the Kremlin denies.
Navalny's detention in January upon his return from life-saving treatment in Germany and a subsequent crackdown on some of Russia's largest anti-government protests in a decade have prompted international outrage.
With reporting by BelTA
Russian Journalist's Pretrial Detention Extended In Treason Case
MOSCOW -- A court in Moscow has extended the pretrial detention of former journalist Ivan Safronov, who is charged with high treason, an accusation he has rejected outright.
The Lefortovo district court on March 2 ruled that Safronov must be held until at least May 7. The hearing was held behind closed doors, as the case is classified.
The 30-year-old Safronov, who has worked since May last year as an adviser to Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Roskosmos space agency, was previously a prominent journalist who covered the military-industrial complex for the newspapers Kommersant and Vedomosti.
He was arrested on July 7 amid allegations that he had passed secret information to the Czech Republic in 2017 about Russian arms sales in the Middle East.
Safronov has repeatedly denied the accusations and many of his supporters have held pickets in Moscow and other cities demanding his release.
Human rights organizations have issued statements demanding Safronov's release and expressing concerns over an intensifying crackdown on dissent in Russia.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax
Belarus Physician, Journalist Convicted For Sharing Information On Dead Protester
MINSK -- A physician and a journalist in Belarus have been convicted of disclosing information that contradicted official statements about the death of a protester killed during a crackdown on demonstrations against authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
On March 2, a district court in Minsk sentenced journalist Katsyaryna Barysevich to six months in prison and fined her 2,900 rubles ($1,110) for disclosing medical data and instigating a crime by pushing a first responder to share the information.
Doctor Artsyom Sarokin was handed a suspended two-year prison term and ordered to pay a fine of 1,450 rubles ($555) for disclosing the data to Barysevich.
The two were arrested on November 19, 2020, after Barysevich cited Sarokin in an article she wrote for the online media outlet Tut.by about Raman Bandarenka, who several days earlier died from injuries sustained in a beating by a group of masked assailants -- whom rights activists claim were affiliated with the authorities.
Belarusian officials have said that Bandarenka's attackers had nothing to do with authorities or riot police, adding that he was drunk at the time of the attack.
Contradictory Account
Barysevich contradicted that account, writing that no alcohol had been found in Bandarenka's blood, information she obtained from Sarokin, whose ambulance team provided Bandarenka with medical attention and took samples for tests right after he was found severely beaten.
In late November 2020, Amnesty International recognized Sarokin and Barysevich as prisoners of conscience and demanded their immediate release.
Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
Bandarenka is one of several people to have been killed during the protests demanding Lukashenka's resignation after he was announced as the winner in an August presidential election.
Outrage over what was seen by both the opposition and by many Belarusians as a rigged vote to hand Lukashenka a sixth term in office brought tens of thousands onto the streets.
Security officials have cracked down hard on the demonstrators, arresting thousands, including dozens of journalists who covered the rallies, and pushing most of the top opposition figures out of the country.
Some rights organizations say there is credible evidence of torture being used by security officials against some of those detained.
Lukashenka, who has run the country since 1994, has denied any wrongdoing with regard to the election and refuses to negotiate with the opposition on stepping down and holding new elections.
The European Union, United States, Canada, and other countries have refused to recognize Lukashenka, 66, as the legitimate leader of Belarus and have slapped him and senior Belarusian officials with sanctions in response to the “falsification” of the vote and postelection crackdown.
Notorious Kyrgyz Crime Boss Released From Pretrial Detention
BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz organized-crime figure Kamchy Kolbaev, who was added by Washington to a list of major global drug-trafficking suspects in 2011, has been released from pretrial detention and ordered not to leave Bishkek.
Aisulu Jaasynova, spokeswoman at the Bishkek City Court, told RFE/RL that the decision to change Kolbaev’s pretrial restrictions was made on March 2. She did not say why the decision was made.
Kolbaev, who is known as a "thief-in-law," a title traditionally given to kingpins among criminal groups in former Soviet republics, was detained on suspicion of organizing a criminal group and participating in the activities of an organized criminal group on October 22, 2020.
The U.S. Embassy in Bishkek welcomed Kolbaev's detention at the time it was announced and expressed hope that Kyrgyz authorities would "prosecute and continue to detain this dangerous criminal leader in the interest of public safety.”
In late 2012, Kolbaev was extradited to Kyrgyzstan from the United Arab Emirates at Bishkek's request and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison on extortion charges. His prison term was later shortened to three years without explanation.
In June 2014, Kolbaev was granted an early release, which Kyrgyz officials explained by saying that each day spent by an inmate in a detention center is equal to two days in a penal colony.
Weeks before his early release, the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Kolbaev's criminal network, which it described as being "part of the broader Brothers' Circle transnational criminal organization composed of leaders and members of several Eurasian criminal groups."
EU Envoy In Pristina To Discuss Kosovo-Serbia Normalization Process
PRISTINA -- The European Union’s special envoy for talks between Serbia and Kosovo, Miroslav Lajcak, says there is a “clear understanding” among Kosovo's leaders of the importance of EU-mediated normalization talks with neighboring Serbia.
Lajcak made the comments at a press conference in Pristina on March 2, two weeks after the leftist-nationalist Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party won parliamentary elections.
Speaking after talks with acting President Vjosa Osmani, Lajcak said he believed a comprehensive agreement between Kosovo and Serbia could be reached “within several months” but that it was up to the two countries to “decide how quickly they want to proceed.”
Osmani said that the upcoming administration will be ready to resume dialogue with Belgrade but she warned that Pristina “can by no means accept that the issue of borders, sovereignty, constitutional regulation of Kosovo become part of the negotiations."
The EU envoy kicked off his three-day visit to Kosovo’s capital on March 1, meeting with Kosovar Prime Minister-designate Albin Kurti, who said that dialogue with Belgrade is important but that the resumption of talks won’t be his top priority, according to local media.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, a decade after a 1998-1999 war between ethnic Albanian rebels and Serb forces. The war ended after a 78-day NATO air campaign drove Serb troops out and an international peacekeeping force moved in.
Most Western nations have recognized Kosovo, but Serbia and its ally Russia do not.
Kosovo-Serbia relations have remained tense despite the ongoing EU-led negotiations on normalizing ties. Dialogue between the two neighbors have stalled since a White House summit and talks in Brussels in September 2020.
Osmani suggested that the final goal of the dialogue should be membership for both Kosovo and Serbia.
"It is not a question of what Kosovo can give again, but how the EU can give the benefit to Kosovo and Serbia for EU membership," he said.
Lajcak also met on March 1 with the U.S. ambassador to Pristina, Philip Kosnett, who “reaffirmed U.S. support for a collaborative, EU-led dialogue process.”
“Our goal: a comprehensive settlement and deeper Euro-Atlantic integration that benefits all Kosovo and Serbian citizens,” the U.S. ambassador tweeted after the talks.
During his March 2 press conference, Lajcak said cooperation between the EU and the new U.S. administration of President Joe Biden in the normalization process was “as close as it could be.”
“We are working very closely on a daily basis with our U.S. partners and friends and we share the same goal, which is a European future, for Kosovo and for the entire region of the Western Balkans,” he said.
The EU envoy will head to Belgrade after departing from Pristina.
Prominent Russian Rights Group Shuts Down Over 'Foreign Agent' Laws
MOSCOW -- Veteran Russian activist Lev Ponomaryov has shut his well-respected human rights organization due to the country's controversial laws on "foreign agents."
Ponomaryov announced his decision to shut down his For Human Rights NGO in a televised interview on March 1, the day laws increasing fines for violating the so-called "foreign agent" law took effect.
Ponomaryov's organization was established as an unregistered group in 2019 after a Supreme Court ruling to liquidate his movement with the same name, which had conducted rights monitoring and advocacy for more than two decades.
The original group was shut down because Ponomaryov refused to register it as a foreign agent, a requirement of a 2012 law on nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign assistance and that the government deems to be engaged in political activity.
At the end of 2020, the legislation was modified to allow the Russian government to include individuals on its “foreign agents” list and to impose restrictions on them.
Ponomaryov said on March 1 that the law also now targets unregistered organizations, and therefore it is impossible for his group to continue its activities.
"We have a major problem here," Ponomaryov said. "We are in a situation where thousands of experts working for my organization across the country...may be fined en masse now."
Ponomaryov, 79, is a former Soviet-era lawmaker and State Duma deputy who helped found the Memorial human rights group. In 1991, he headed the legislature's investigation into the August coup attempt against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
On December 28, 2020, he was added as an individual to the Russian Justice Ministry's list of media accused of carrying out the functions of a "foreign agent." The government gave no explanation for including Ponomaryov on the register.
Russia's "foreign agent" legislation has been widely criticized by Western governments and Russian and international rights groups as an effort by the government of President Vladimir Putin to stifle dissent. Human Rights Watch has described the laws as “restrictive” and intended “to demonize independent groups."
- By RFE/RL
U.S., EU Slap Sanctions On Russia Over Navalny Poisoning, Arrest
The United States and the European Union have announced coordinated sanctions against Russian officials over the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, as the White House sets a firmer tone with Moscow while also demonstrating a united front against Kremlin aggression.
Washington said on March 2 it was placing sanctions on seven senior Russian officials after a U.S. intelligence assessment concluded "with high confidence" that officers from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) were behind the activist's August poisoning.
A U.S. Treasury statement later named the Russian officials as FSB chief Nikolai Bortnikov, deputy chief of presidential staff Sergei Kiriyenko, Deputy Defense Ministers Aleksei Krivoruchko and Pavel Popov, Prosecutor-General Igor Krasnov, Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) chief Aleksandr Kalashnikov, and Andrei Yarin, chief of the Kremlin's domestic policy directorate.
The announcement came on the heels of EU sanctions against four senior officials: FSIN chief Kalashnikov, Investigative Committee chief Aleksandr Bastrykin, Prosecutor-General Krasnov, and National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov.
The four would be the first individuals to be targeted under the EU's new human rights sanctions regime, which came into effect in December 2020.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States wanted to coordinate the timing of the sanctions with the EU to "send a powerful message" to the Kremlin.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said Washington was also imposing export restrictions on 14 parties involved in biological and chemical production, including nine commercial entities in Russia.
"The Kremlin's use of chemical weapons to silence a political opponent and intimidate others demonstrates its flagrant disregard for international norms," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
"We join the EU in condemning Aleksei Navalny's poisoning as well as his arrest and imprisonment by the Russian government," she added.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the United States shared the EU's concerns regarding Russia's "deepening authoritarianism."
He called the jailing of Navalny "politically motivated" and reiterated Washington's call for his release "immediately and unconditionally."
'Quite Different'
Psaki said the Biden administration was currently carrying out a review of the United States' relationship with Russia.
That review includes determining whether Russia was behind the Solar Winds hack that compromised government agency networks and whether it paid bounties to Afghan fighters to kill U.S. soldiers.
"We of course reserve the right to take additional steps and additional actions at the conclusion," she said, referring to possible additional sanctions against Russia.
She declined to say whether they would include limitations on purchases of ruble-denominated debt, which would potentially impact Russia's economy.
Critics say U.S. sanctions against Russian officials, like those imposed today, have little impact on the Kremlin's behavior.
The sanctions block any property owned by the officials that comes into U.S. possession, such as dollar bank accounts, and also prevent U.S. individuals from conducting business with them.
The United States put sanctions on Russia following a chemical-weapons attack against double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain nearly three years ago.
Psaki said the sanctions were not a "silver bullet" and that the Biden administration expected the Russia relationship to remain "a challenge."
"We are prepared for that. And we are neither seeking to reset our relations with Russia nor are we seeking to escalate," she said.
However, she said the "tone and the tenor" of the U.S. relationship with Putin will be "quite different" compared with the Trump administration.
Former President Donald Trump had a friendly relationship with Putin and repeatedly failed to call out the Kremlin for malign activities, including the poisoning of Navalny.
In a major foreign-policy speech in February, Biden said he warned Putin during their first call in January that the days of the United States "rolling over" to Russia's "aggressive actions" have come to an end.
"We will not hesitate to raise the cost on Russia and defend our vital interest and our people," Biden said February 4.
Kremlin Response
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shrugged off the threat of sanctions, saying on March 2 that they "don't achieve their goals," while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow will certainly respond to any new sanctions.
"Of course, we will respond. Nobody canceled one of the rules of diplomacy -- reciprocity," Lavrov told a press conference in Moscow where he was meeting his Uzbek counterpart, Abdulaziz Kamilov.
Navalny was detained in Moscow in January immediately upon returning from Germany, where he had recovered from what several Western labs determined was poisoning with a Novichok-type nerve agent that saw him fall ill on a flight in Siberia in August.
A Moscow court in February ruled that while in Germany, he had violated the terms of parole from an older embezzlement case that is widely considered politically motivated. He was ultimately ordered to serve 2 1/2 years in prison.
Russia has denied involvement in the poisoning but Navalny claims the assassination attempt was ordered by President Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, UN human rights experts on March 1 called for an international investigation into the poisoning of Navalny, Putin's most vocal critic, saying evidence points to the "very likely involvement" of Russian government officials.
The EU already slapped sanctions on Russia following the poisoning attack on Nalvany last year. But former U.S. President Donald Trump let the incident slide without punitive action.
A senior U.S. official said the sanctions imposed by Washington on March 2 were playing "catch-up" with those announced by Brussels.
With reporting by AFP, CNN, dpa, Reuters, and Interfax
- By RFE/RL
Pentagon Announces $125 Million Defense Aid Package For Ukraine
The Pentagon has announced a $125 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes two armed patrol boats to help the country defend its territorial waters.
In addition to the two Mark VI patrol boats, the package also consists of radars for countering artillery, support for satellite imagery and analysis capability, and equipment to support military medical treatment and combat evacuation procedures.
The Pentagon also said that the remaining $150 million in military aid approved by the U.S. Congress for the 2021 budget year will not be provided until the departments of State and Defense are able to certify to lawmakers that Ukraine has made “sufficient progress on key defense reforms this year.”
“The Department encourages Ukraine to continue to enact reforms that strengthen civilian control of the military, promote increased transparency and accountability in defense industry and procurement, and modernize its defense sector in other key areas in line with NATO principles and standards,” the Pentagon said in a statement on March 1.
Ukraine has been locked in a dispute with Russia, which annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and threw its support behind separatists in eastern Ukraine. The conflict, now in its seventh year, has killed more than 13,200 people and devastated Ukraine's industrial heartland.
"This action reaffirms the U.S. commitment to providing defensive lethal weapons to enable Ukraine to more effectively defend itself against Russian aggression," the statement said.
The impeachment in December 2019 of former President Donald Trump centered on allegations that he withheld military assistance to Ukraine as part of a scheme to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate Joe Biden, who at the time was challenging Trump for the White House and in November defeated him in the presidential election.
Trump was acquitted by the Senate in February last year.
With reporting by AP
Slovakia Receives First Delivery Of Russian COVID Vaccine
Slovakia has received its first shipment of 200,000 Sputnik V doses, the second European Union member state to obtain the Russian-made coronavirus vaccine.
Slovakia has had the world's highest per-capita death rate related to COVID-19 in the past week, according to the Our World in Data website.
The country follows Hungary in rolling out the Russian vaccine even though it lacks approval by the EU drug regulator, the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
"It is right to buy the Russian vaccine as COVID-19 does not know anything about geopolitics," Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic said on March 1. "I do not have a problem getting a Sputnik [injection] myself."
Slovakia is buying 2 million Sputnik V vaccines and expects the first half to arrive this month.
Health Minister Marek Krajci said Sputnik V's use would be approved on March 1 and vaccinations could begin in several weeks.
In the neighboring Czech Republic, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said the country could use the Sputnik V vaccine to battle the world’s highest per capita infection rate.
In August, Russia approved Sputnik V, the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine, prompting scientists around the world to question its safety and efficacy because it was registered before the results of Phase 3 studies were made available.
But in early February, peer-reviewed, late-stage trial results published in The Lancet medical journal showed the two-dose regimen of Sputnik V was 91.6 percent effective against symptomatic COVID-19, about the same level as the leading Western-developed vaccines.
The vaccine has now been approved for use in some 30 countries.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Tsikhanouskaya, Navalny Among More Than 300 Nominees For Nobel Peace Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee says it has received 329 nominations for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Oslo-based organization said that it was the third-highest number of candidates ever. The record of 376 candidates was reached in 2016.
This year's total includes 234 individuals and 95 organizations.
"It reflects a lot of international interest in the Nobel Peace Prize," said Norwegian Nobel Committee Secretary Olav Njoelstad. "It probably also reflects that there are a number of unsolved conflicts, wars, and human rights problems around the world."
The committee does not reveal who is nominated. But nominators, who range from politicians to former winners, can choose to reveal their choices.
Those known to be on the list include Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, as well as Russian anti-corruption campaigner and Kremlin foe Aleksei Navalny.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and U.S. politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams are among the other nominees for the 2021 prize.
The list also includes ex-U.S. president Donald Trump; his son-in-law, Jared Kushner; and Kushner's White House deputy, Avi Berkowitz, for their roles in brokering agreement to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab countries.
The organizations nominated include the World Health Organization, the International Fact-Checking Network, and media watchdogs Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The 2021 laureate will be announced in October.
The World Food Program was awarded last year's prize.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
Son Of Jailed Tajik Opposition Leader Given Six Years In Prison
A court in Tajikistan's western city of Hisor has sentenced the son of jailed opposition leader Mahmurod Odinaev to six years in prison.
The Hisor City Court's official told RFE/RL of the decision on condition of anonymity because he said he was not authorized to comment.
The official said on March 1 that the court had found Shaikhmuslihiddin Rizoev guilty of hooliganism and attempted rape and sentenced him to six years. The court made the ruling on February 25.
Officials have not released any detailed information on the case and the trial.
Rizoev's father, Mahmurod Odinaev, a deputy head of the Social Democratic Party, was sentenced on January 28 to 14 years in prison on charges of hooliganism and "calling for extremism."
Another son of Odinaev, Habibulllo Rizoev, was also convicted of hooliganism and fined 58,000 somonis (more than $5,000) at the time. Both men pleaded not guilty during the trial, rejecting the charges as politically motivated.
Mahmurod Odinaev went missing on November 20 after he asked Dushanbe Mayor Rustam Emomali in a Facebook post to allow him and supporters of the Social Democratic Party -- the only opposition party functioning in Tajikistan -- to stage a demonstration over food-price hikes.
On December 5, the Tajik Prosecutor-General's Office acknowledged that Odinaev had been arrested in Dushanbe.
According to the authorities, he allegedly conducted an act of hooliganism in late October in a military draft office where prosecutors say he confronted officials over the conscription of Rizoev.
That came after the Interior Ministry said in November that Shaikhmuslihiddin Rizoev was charged with hooliganism over his alleged involvement in a brawl.
Odinaev said that unknown attackers had severely beaten his son Shaikhmuslihiddin as part of a pressure campaign that was waged against him for his political activities.
The mother of the Rizoev brothers, Mehrinigor Rizoeva, told RFE/RL that all the charges against her sons were politically motivated and linked to the political activities of their father.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, who has tightly ruled the former Soviet republic since 1992, has been criticized for cracking down on opposition political groups, rights defenders, and independent journalists.
- By RFE/RL
Top Sports Court Cancels Iranian Judo Federation Suspension
Iran's suspension from international judo tournaments for refusing to allow its athletes to compete against Israeli opponents was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on March 1.
The case was prompted by former world champion Saeid Mollaei leaving the Iranian team in August 2019.
Mollaei walked off the Iranian team in Tokyo in protest, saying he was ordered to throw his semifinal rather than risk facing an Israeli opponent in the final of the 81-kilogram class.
Mollaei lost the semifinal and then went on to lose his third-place fight.
He said he had been instructed to withdraw from the competition by the presidents of Iran's Judo Federation and Olympic committee.
The Iranian federation has denied that pressure was applied to force Mollaei to withdraw from the championships.
In its March 1 decision, CAS acknowledged the Iranian judo federation was responsible for "severe violations" of International Judo Federation (IJF) rules on discrimination and should be punished, though within the world governing body's rules.
But the court said its judges hearing the Iranian judo federation's appeal decided the IJF overstepped its own authority with such a severe ban, which was imposed in October 2019.
"The CAS Panel determined that the [Iranian judo federation] I.R.I. JF committed severe violations of the IJF rules and that sanctions compliant with the IJF regulations should be imposed on it. However, the CAS Panel concluded that the kind of sanction (unlimited suspension) imposed in the challenged decision of 2 October 2019 had no legal basis in the IJF regulations," CAS said in a statement.
The federation said it welcomed the decision to lift the international suspension.
The IJF had accused Iranian government officials of putting pressure on athletes, including Mollaei, who later fled to Germany.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year approved Mollaei’s switch to compete for Mongolia.
The IOC said the change did not need permission from Iranian Olympic officials because the judoka was technically a refugee.
The IJF has said any action taken against Iran would not apply directly to the Tokyo Olympics, because athletes are technically entered by the Iranian Olympic Committee and not the national judo body.
With reporting by AFP and AP
- By RFE/RL
Ukrainian Diplomats Accused Of Smuggling Gold, Cash, And Goods
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says it has disrupted a ring of former and current Ukrainian diplomats accused of smuggling hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of goods -- including gold and foreign currency.
In a statement on March 1, the SBU said the diplomats, whose identities were not disclosed, used the diplomatic mail system and diplomatic documents to smuggle excise goods to and from the European Union.
According to the statement, the group of diplomats illegally moved foreign currency, gold, and tobacco items across the border.
The SBU said its counterintelligence officers, along with investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR) stopped a truck with diplomatic license plates at the Yahodyn customs point on the Ukrainian-Polish border.
Officials of the Foreign Ministry had tried to use the truck to smuggle to the European Union $140,000, 67,200 euros ($81,100), 11,600 Polish zlotys ($3,060), 16 kilograms of gold worth some $530,000, tobacco goods worth of $53,000 at black market, it added.
The statement added that a probe has been launched into the affair, saying the suspects, the number of whom was not made clear, have not been officially charged.
"It is important to shine light on such cases, make them public. We need to break the shameful approach of not taking the trash out of the house. It needs to be taken out or we will be living in trash," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a post on Facebook.
- By RFE/RL
UN Rights Experts Urge International Inquiry Into Navalny Poisoning
Two UN human rights experts have called for an international investigation into the poisoning of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny, saying evidence points to the "very likely involvement" of Russian government officials.
In a joint statement on March 1, Agnes Callamard, the UN's top expert on extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary executions, and Irene Khan, an expert on freedom of opinion and expression, demanded Navalny's "immediate release" from prison.
"Given the inadequate response of the domestic authorities, the use of prohibited chemical weapons, and the apparent pattern of attempted targeted killings, we believe that an international investigation should be carried out as a matter of urgency in order to establish the facts and clarify all the circumstances concerning Mr. Navalny's poisoning," they said.
Navalny, 44, Putin's top critic, was arrested on January 17 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was treated for a nerve-agent poisoning that he says was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin has denied.
Navalny's poisoning was part of a trend of unlawful killings and attempted killings of critics at home and abroad, meant to send a "sinister warning" to quash dissent, Callamard and Khan said.
The detention sparked outrage across the country and much of the West, with tens of thousands of Russians taking to the streets in rallies on January 23 and 31.
A Moscow court last month sentenced Navalny to 3 1/2 years in prison after ruling that, while in Germany, Navalny had violated the terms of parole from an older embezzlement case that is widely considered politically motivated.
Given time already spent in detention, the court said Navalny, who was transferred last week to the No. 2 Penal Colony in Pokrov, will serve around 2 1/2 years.
Callamard and Khan also released the text of a December 30 letter to Russian authorities, notifying Moscow that they were looking into the poisoning.
The letter said that, if allegations were confirmed, Russian officials may be subject to criminal liability "both for participating in or ordering attempted murder or for failing to ensure that subordinates do not engage in these actions."
Fresh Sanctions 'Approved'
Meanwhile, diplomatic sources said on March 1 that EU member states have approved sanctions that will be imposed on four senior Russian justice and law enforcement officials involved in Navalny's detention.
According to two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to the French news agency AFP, the names would be published in the bloc's official journal on March 2.
The sources -- confirming earlier reports -- said the targeted Russians are Aleksandr Kalashnikov, the federal prisons administrator; Aleksandr Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee of Russia; Igor Krasnov, the prosecutor-general; and Viktor Zolotov, the director of the National Guard.
The four would be the first individuals to be targeted under the EU's new human rights sanctions regime, which came into effect in December.
Reacting to the reports, Russia's Foreign Ministry said the endorsement of new sanctions by the EU would lead to "an impasse" in bilateral relations.
"This is not a surprise for us. We have commented on this repeatedly," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grushko told journalists on March 1.
"The European Union keeps following an absolutely unlawful way, and this way certainly leads to an impasse," Grushko said.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Interfax
Kyrgyz Ex-President's Relative Faces 'Illegal Enrichment' Probe
BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz authorities have launched an investigation against the father-in-law of former President Sooronbai Jeenbekov's daughter on a charge of "illegal enrichment."
The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said on March 1 that Aliyar Abjaliev is suspected of "using his relationship with then-President Sooronbai Jeenbekov to interfere in the activities of state entities."
"While in public office, Abjaliev hid information about his properties, namely more than 20 luxurious apartments, a private house in Bishkek's elite VIP residential area, and a recreational compound near Lake Issyk-Kul. He also owns plots of land in the [northern] Chui region, and properties in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates," the UKMK said in a statement, adding that work to find more properties belonging to Abjaliev continues.
The 54-year-old has not commented on the UKMK's statement.
Abjaliev's father-in-law, Jeenbekov, resigned from his post as president after thousands demonstrated in Bishkek to protest the official results of October 4 parliamentary elections that also toppled the government.
President Sadyr Japarov, who took over the Central Asian nation after Jeenbekov's resignation and was officially announced the winner of January 10 presidential election, has pledged to fight corruption.
NOTE: This article has been amended to clarify the nature of Aliyar Abjaliev's family ties with ex-President Sooronbai Jeenbekov.
Moscow Court Finds Arrest Warrant For Navalny Associate Lawful
The Moscow City Court has upheld an arrest warrant issued by a lower court last month for Leonid Volkov, a close associate of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
The warrant for Volkov, the head of the network of Navalny's teams across Russia, was issued on February 10 at the request of the Investigative Committee.
Volkov, who is currently based in Lithuania, is accused of calling on minors to take part in unsanctioned mass rallies in late January.
Navalny, 44, Putin's top critic, was arrested on January 17 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was treated for a nerve-agent poisoning that he says was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the Kremlin has denied.
The detention sparked outrage across the country and much of the West, with tens of thousands of Russians taking to the streets in rallies on January 23 and 31.
Police cracked down harshly on the demonstrations, putting many of Navalny's allies behind bars, and then detaining thousands more -- sometimes violently -- as they gathered on the streets.
Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS
IAEA Chief Says Iran Nuclear Inspections Should Not Be 'Bargaining Chip'
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog says the agency’s inspection work in Iran cannot become a "bargaining chip" in talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers.
"The inspection work of the IAEA must be preserved…[and] should not be put in the middle of a negotiating table as a bargaining chip," International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi told a press conference on March 1 at the start of the agency’s quarterly board of governors meeting in Vienna.
Last week, Tehran began restricting some international inspections in a move aimed at putting further pressure on the United States and other parties to the nuclear agreement to get Washington to lift U.S. sanctions on Iran.
However, under a temporary deal worked out during a trip to Tehran by Grossi, some access was preserved.
Grossi on March 1 described the suspension of the inspections as a "huge loss."
When asked if the IAEA could still reassure the international community that the Iranian nuclear program was exclusively peaceful, he replied: "So far, so good."
Tensions have soared since the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear accord with Iran in 2018 and reimposed crippling economic sanctions to force Iran to renegotiate the pact.
Iran retaliated by rolling back a number of key commitments to the deal.
The new administration of President Joe Biden has expressed intent to rejoin the agreement, but it insists Tehran must return to full compliance.
Iran, which has always denied pursuing nuclear weapons, first wants sanctions to be lifted.
With reporting by AFP and AP
Rights Group Asks Questions After Inmate Found Dead In Prison In Siberia
IRKUTSK, Russia -- Rights activists are questioning official reports that an inmate committed suicide after he was found dead in a prison in Russia's Siberian region of Irkutsk.
Relatives of Adygzhy Aimyr-Ool, an ethnic Tuvinian, told RFE/RL on February 28 that they had found out about the death from other inmates who had managed to get word to them.
Vladimir Osechkin, the founder and coordinator of the Gulagu.net human rights group, told RFE/RL that Aimyr-Ool was found dead on February 26 during an evening roll call.
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"There are traces of violence on [his] body. However, the prisons's administration says it was a suicide," Osechkin said, adding that it was not clear why the 26-year-old Aimyr-Ool was transferred from a medium-security penitentiary to a maximum-security prison for especially dangerous convicts.
Aimyr-Ool's daughter-in-law, Anaikhal Aimyr-Ool, said that no one from the family was informed of the prison transfer.
"Other inmates told us that Adygzhy started having problems with the guards after he officially filed complaints about conditions at the prison. He refused to withdraw the complaints. According to the inmates, 'two guys' entered his cell a day before his death. We do not believe it was a suicide," Anaikhal Aimyr-Ool said.
On February 25, Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said probes had been launched against an unspecified number of guards and 10 inmates who allegedly tortured an inmate, Tahirjon Bakiev, at another penitentiary in Irkutsk.
The FSIN has rejected allegations by some rights groups that the incident carried any ethnic motives. Bakiev had Central Asian roots.
Gulagu.net reported in December that another inmate, Kezhik Ondar, a Tuvinian, was tortured in Detention Center No. 1 in Irkutsk.
On February 22, the FSIN said that wardens at Detention Center No. 1 and the Correctional Colony No. 6 had been suspended as preliminary investigations began into the reports.
Osechkin told RFE/RL on February 25 that some of the inmates had confessed to beating and torturing other inmates and testified that they did so on commands from guards at the facility.
Bakiev and Ondar initially served their terms at Correctional Colony No. 15 in the city of Angarsk in the Irkutsk region. Last April, inmates at that penitentiary staged a large riot, after which many inmates were transferred to other prisons in the region.
Human rights groups cited some of the inmates as saying that they had faced beatings and torture after they were transferred to other prisons, where guards used other inmates who agreed “to cooperate” with the administration to force them to confess to organizing the riot.
- By RFE/RL
Kyrgyz President Says Parliamentary Elections Will Be Held In Autumn
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov says parliamentary elections in the Central Asian nation will be held in the autumn.
Japarov made the announcement during an interview with Kazakhstan's Kazinform news agency that was published on March 1, a day before he embarks on an official trip to the country's northern neighbor.
"We will hold local elections soon. We also plan to hold the referendum [on constitutional amendments]. And in the autumn, parliamentary elections will be held," Japarov said.
It has been unclear when exactly the next parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan would take place, as the country has been in a political crisis since the last parliamentary elections in October led to protests that triggered the toppling of the government and the resignation of then-President Sooronbai Jeenbekov.
Japarov, who will be making his second trip abroad as president when he heads to Kazakhstan for the two-day trip, was among several prominent politicians freed from prison by protesters during the unrest.
He had been serving a 10-year prison sentence for hostage-taking during a protest against a mining operation in northeast Kyrgyzstan in October 2013. He has denied the charge.
The 52-year-old's landslide victory came in an election that international observers said "generally respected" fundamental freedoms, even though the vote was not "fully fair."
Japarov's first presidential visit was to Moscow on February 24-25, where he discussed bilateral ties between Kyrgyzstan and Russia with President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, and other top of officials.
With reporting by Kazinform
Top EU Official Urges Dialogue To Defuse Georgia's 'Worsening Crisis'
TBILISI -- During a visit to Georgia, European Council President Charles Michel has called on the country’s political parties to engage in a dialogue to defuse an ongoing crisis sparked by last year’s general elections and exacerbated by the recent arrest of a top opposition leader.
Raising concerns about the "worsening crisis," Michel said in Tbilisi on March 1 that the EU is calling on “all parties to step up their efforts to defuse the situation and come together to find common ground.”
Speaking at a joint news conference with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, he said that "political stability reinforced by an open democracy, by an efficient and independent judiciary, is essential to deepen the partnership" between Tbilisi and the bloc.
Georgia, a former Soviet republic, is a close U.S. ally and has aspirations of joining NATO and the EU, although membership in either organization is not imminent.
Michel also held talks with Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili as part of his February 28-March 2 trip to the Georgian capital. He was also expected to meet with parliament speaker Archil Talakvadze and opposition leaders.
After Tbilisi, the EU official will head to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. He earlier visited Chisinau, Moldova’s capital.
Georgia's opposition parties have refused to enter the new parliament to protest what they call the rigging of the October 31 parliamentary elections.
The crisis deepened after a court ruled last month to send Nika Melia, the leader of the United National Movement (ENM) party, to pretrial detention after he refused to pay an increased bail fee in a case denounced by the opposition as a political witch hunt.
Melia's arrest on February 23, along with several opposition activists, has sparked mass anti-government protests in Tbilisi demanding their release and snap parliamentary elections.
Melia is accused of organizing "mass violence" during 2019 anti-government protests, a charge he rejects as politically motivated. The ruling Georgian Dream party denies that.
The 41-year-old politician faces up to nine years behind bars if convicted.
Siberian Journalist Flees Her City After Attack, Threats Against Her Children
KISELYOVSK, Russia -- A journalist in Siberia whose critical articles often target local authorities says she has fled her city with her daughters amid fears for their safety.
Natalya Zubkova, the chief editor of the Novosti Kiselyovska (News of Kiselyovsk) online newspaper, said in a statement on YouTube that an unknown man attacked her late on February 25 as she was walking her dog.
According to the journalist, the attacker pushed her down and pressed her face against the snow and threatened that she and her daughters would face further violence if "you open your mouth again."
Zubkova said in the video issued over the weekend that she is currently at an undisclosed location. She said that "if something happens to me or my children," Russia's Prosecutor-General Igor Krasnov, the governor of the Kemerovo region, Sergei Tsivilyov, and the mayor of Kiselyovsk, Maksim Shkarabeinikov, "will be fully responsible.”
Last month, Zubkova was summoned for questioning in a libel case. She said at the time that the case was about her article on possible corruption by the city's education officials.
In August 2020, lawyer Anton Reutov physically attacked her in a courtroom during a hearing based on Zubkova's report about alleged fraud involving Reutov that led to an elderly woman losing her apartment.
Zubkova said she received several death threats following that incident.
In August 2019, Shkarabeinikov accused Zubkova of inciting social discord for interviewing Kiselyovsk residents who had asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to provide them with asylum after local authorities were unable to solve environmental problems they faced.
There was no official statement from the authorities of Kiselyovsk or the Kemerovo region regarding Zubkova's statement on YouTube.
Armenian PM Says He's Ready For Early Elections If Opposition Agrees To Conditions
YEREVAN -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has said that he is prepared to hold snap parliamentary elections provided the opposition agrees to certain conditions.
Political tensions in Armenia are high, with supporters of Pashinian and the opposition each staging massive rallies at separate sites in the capital.
Pashinian is confronted with an ongoing political crisis after the army demanded that he quit last week, a move he said amounted to a coup attempt.
"If the parliamentary opposition agrees to early elections, we will agree to early elections," Pashinian told thousands of supporters gathered in Yerevan's central Republic Square on March 1.
He also proposed holding a referendum in October on adopting a new constitution that would expand presidential powers to avoid future crises, and suggested parliamentary factions sign a memorandum promising not to elect someone else as prime minister if he steps down to clear the way for early elections.
Pashinian has faced mounting protests and calls from the opposition for his resignation following a six-week conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh last year. Many Armenians see the deal as a humiliating loss.
At the heart of the turmoil is the Russian-brokered deal Pashinian signed in November that brought an end to 44 days of fierce fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, where Armenian forces suffered territorial and battlefield losses from Azerbaijan's Turkish-backed military.
The prime minister was forced to cede control over parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan that had been occupied by Armenian forces since the early 1990s.
Last week, the discontent spilled over into the military after Pashinian dismissed Tiran Khachatrian, the first deputy chief of the general staff, who mocked the prime minister’s analysis of Russian weapons used in the war against Azerbaijan.
In response, several dozen high-ranking military officers signed a letter accusing Pashinian and his government of bringing the country “to the brink of collapse” and said it “will no longer be able to make adequate decisions in this critical situation for the Armenian people."
Pashinian said the move amounted to "an attempted military coup" and immediately fired Onik Gasparian, the chief of the military's General Staff.
President Armen Sarkisian, however, has refused to sign the order, prompting some members of Pashinian’s My Step alliance to call for the president’s impeachment.
Addressing the rally of his supporters, Pashinian on March 1 again urged Sarkisian to endorse the dismissal of the General Staff chief for meddling in politics.
At the same time as Pashinian's rally, thousands of opposition supporters held a competing demonstration outside the National Assembly building, calling for the prime minister's resignation.
"We must reaffirm that we will not tolerate the dismantling of all state institutions by one person, we will stand by our army and the president of the republic, we will defend our statehood until the end, demanding the same from other structures," the organizers of the rally said in a statement.
"The removal of this government is inevitable. Let us unite our forces and resolutely achieve the departure of the traitor," it said.
Earlier on March 1, a group of protesters demanding Pashinian's resignation broke into a government building in the capital.
Dozens of protesters invaded the building on March 1, warning that there was no building in the country where Pashinian could hide.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Interfax
Israel's Netanyahu Blames Iran For Explosion On Cargo Ship
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Iran of carrying out an attack on an Israeli-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, a charge rejected by Tehran.
"This was indeed an operation by Iran. That is clear," Netanyahu told state radio Kan in an interview aired on March 1.
“Iran is the greatest enemy of Israel. I am determined to halt it. We are hitting it in the entire region,” Netanyahu said in response to a question about whether Israel would retaliate.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh “strongly rejected” the claim that the country was behind the attack and said Netanyahu was “suffering from an obsession with Iran.”
The Israeli-owned MV Helios Ray, a vehicle carrier, was traveling from the Saudi port of Dammam to Singapore when it was struck by an explosion on February 25.
The blast did not cause any casualties but the ship’s Israeli owner said it left two 1.5-meter-diameter holes in the side of the vessel.
The Bahamian-flagged vessel, registered in the Isle of Man, is currently docked in Dubai, where an Israeli team has been sent to investigate.
Iran or its regional proxies are believed to be behind a number of attacks on shipping in the strategic Persian Gulf in recent years, including incidents involving two Saudi oil tankers in May 2019. Iran has denied carrying out those attacks.
Iran blamed Israel for the assassination of its top nuclear scientist in November and vowed to retaliate.
Meanwhile, overnight Syrian state media reported suspected Israeli air strikes south of Damascus. Israeli media reports said the alleged strikes were on Iranian targets in response to the ship attack.
Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on Iranian and affiliated forces in Syria, where Israel says it seeks to prevent Tehran from entrenching on its doorstep.
The explosion on the Israeli vessel occurred around the same time as U.S. air strikes on February 25 targeted Iran-backed militia groups in eastern Syria believed to be behind a spate of recent rocket attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq.
It also comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran over the fate of the 2015 nuclear deal. U.S. President Joe Biden says his new administration is open to diplomacy with Tehran after his predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew from the nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions, prompting Iran to gradually breach its commitments.
But the two sides remain locked in disagreement over which country must move first, with Iran wanting immediate sanctions relief and the United States demanding Iran first return to compliance with its nuclear commitments.
Israel has been one of the most vocal opponents of the nuclear accord.
In the interview aired on March 1, Netanyahu said Iran "will not have nuclear weapons -- with or without a [nuclear] agreement. I said that to my friend Biden as well."
Iran has always denied pursuing nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes.
With reporting by AP, Kan, and Reuters
- By RFE/RL
EU-Armenia Partnership Pact Enters Into Force
An agreement between Armenia and the European Union designed to deepen relations across an array of issues entered into force on March 1.
The European Union-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) represents an “important milestone” in relations between the two sides, the EU said.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the agreement “sends a strong signal” that the EU and Armenia are committed to supporting democratic principles, the rule of law, and a broad reform agenda.
“Across political, economic, trade, and other sectoral areas, our agreement aims to bring positive change to people’s lives, to overcome challenges to Armenia’s reforms agenda,” Borrell said in a statement.
The EU said the pact will strengthen ties on such issues as the economy, transport, digitalization, green energy, and the judicial system.
“The agreement plays an important role for the modernization of Armenia, in particular through legislative approximation to EU norms in many sectors,” it said.
Both sides signed the agreement in November 2017 and it was subsequently ratified by Armenia, all EU member states, and the European Parliament.
The agreement is a less ambitious alternative to an Association Agreement negotiated by Armenian and EU officials in 2013.
Former Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian unexpectedly scuttled that deal in 2013 after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Yerevan.
Armenia went on to join the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) trade bloc in 2015.
CEPA does not include the removal of tariff barriers between Armenia and the EU due to Armenia’s membership in the EEU.
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