Month: February 2021

Stepanakert Warns of ‘Neo-Fascism’ in Azerbaijani-Occupied Areas

Kajoyan Gevork

February 1,  2021



A man gives the salute of the far-right Grey Wolves organization behind a man who appears to be an Armenian POW.

The Artsakh Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed its deep concern over the “intentions of the ultra-right nationalist Turkish Nationalist Movement Party and its affiliated extremist neo-fascist organization ‘Grey Wolves’ to implement certain projects in the occupied territories of Artsakh, in particular, in the town of Shushi.”

“The presence of any kind of foreign forces in the occupied territories of Artsakh, promoting the ideology of pan-Turkism and neo-fascism and resorting to terror as the main means of achieving their goals, poses a great threat not only to the Republic of Artsakh, but also to regional and global security. The fact that these forces are supported by the top leaderships of Turkey and Azerbaijan for the implementation of their projects in occupied Shushi testifies to the plans of Ankara and Baku to create hotbeds of tensions in the region and the neighboring countries, as well as to undermine the efforts of the international community for the peaceful, comprehensive, and just settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict,” said the foreign ministry in its statement.

“The dispatch of ultra-right neo-fascist forces to the occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh, as well as the use of international terrorists during the period of armed aggression against Artsakh, are links in the same chain in Turkey’s expansionist policy towards not only Artsakh and the South Caucasus, but also to the neighboring regions,” added the foreign ministry.

“This policy of Turkey and Azerbaijan deserves the most severe condemnation and requires the international community, interested organizations and structures to take appropriate immediate actions aimed at preventing and suppressing such destructive initiatives,” said the Artsakh Foreign Ministry.

Asbarez: Rights of Citizens Must Guide Any Border Determination, Says Human Rights Defender

David Nargizian

February 1,  2021



Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan

Citing historical errors, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan on Monday said the rights of Armenia’s citizens should be the basis for any decisions involving the determination of borders.

“When in 1923, in order to artificially separate Armenia from Artsakh, ‘Red Kurdistan’ was formed, the border disputes with Zangezur of the Armenian SSR intensified. One of the main concerns consistently raised by the people of Zangezur at the time was the issue of the rights of the villagers to the lands, along with the winter and summer time pastures and gardens,” Tatoyan said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.
“For example, in October of 1925, a member of the State Committee of the Armenian SSR, A. Yerznkyan, by way of a reference, stated that the areas West of the border with Meghri and Karyagino (Jabrail) were mainly winter pastures, which were actually used by the residents of the villages of Kapan and Meghri without grasslands. One of the main reasons was that without these pastures, the livestock of the villages in the referenced regions would be paralyzed,” explained Tatoyan.

“In another case, the head of the local commission for demarcation of the borders of Zangezur ‘between the provinces of Kurdistan,’ Ya. Kochetkov, by way of an example, based his disagreement with the Azeri proposals on the village of Teghut on the fact that it is one of the districts of Shvanidzor, where the lands (gardens and pastures) are so intertwined that it will be impossible to separate them,” added Tatoyan. “The same disputes over the rights of the villagers took place between the villages of Kapan and Zangelan, Khoznavar and Azerbaijan.”

“In 1924, 1926, 1929, and 1935 sessions of the local commission of the USSR tasked with resolving the border disputes and relevant issues, it is clear from the materials memorializing the efforts of these years, that discussions pertaining to the rights of the villagers of the USSR have repeatedly been woefully inadequate. For example, Zangezur’s scarcity of “village-to-village” connections (administrative, economic, etc.) was ignored, and without an accounting of the difficulties that might arise for the rights of villagers,” said Tatoyan.

“All of these shortcomings once again confirm that the rights of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia should be the basis of decisions when engaged in the process of determining the borders; it is necessary to take into account all the mistakes made in the past; to learn the necessary lessons from them; and to not permit violations or disregard of rights,” the human rights defender urged.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 02/02/2021

Garik Boshkezenian 
                                        Tuesday, February 02, 2021

Armenian Official Confirms New Eurobond Issue
February 02, 2021
        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia - Martin Galstian, the governor of the Armenian Central Bank, speaks 
with journalists, February 2, 2021.

Central Bank Governor Martin Galstian confirmed on Tuesday reports that Armenia 
has issued its fourth Eurobond worth $750 million to manage its increased public 
debt and budget deficit.

Galstian said that the dollar-denominated bonds, repayable in 10 years at an 
annual yield of almost 3.9 percent, attracted strong interest from foreign 
investors.

“Never before has there been so much demand for bonds issued by Armenia,” he 
told reporters. “This has to do with a number of factors. International 
financial institutions and investors have accumulated large amounts of cash, and 
they are looking to see where to invest them.”

The Armenian government has not yet commented on the latest Eurobond issue. It 
is not clear whether it plans to use the proceeds to fully or partly buy back 
$500 million in similar bonds sold at a 4.2 percent yield in September 2019.

The government needs cash to finance its 2021 budget deficit projected at 341 
billion drams ($658 million) or 5.3 percent of GDP. Under its budget bill 
approved by the parliament in December, 60 percent of the deficit is to be 
covered from external resources.

The government already resorted to additional external borrowing last year to 
make up for a significant shortfall in its tax revenues resulting from an 
economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Armenia’s 
public debt rose by $647 million, to almost $8 billion, in the course of 2020. 
The debt is projected to pass the $9 billion mark this year.

According to the latest Central Bank estimates cited by Galstian, the Armenian 
economy contracted by 7.8 percent last year but should grow by about 2 percent 
in 2021. The government expects slightly faster growth.



Kocharian To Again Visit Moscow
February 02, 2021
        • Robert Zargarian

Armenia -- Former President Robert Kocharian attends his trial in Yerevan, 
February 2, 2021.

The judge presiding over the trial of Robert Kocharian has allowed the former 
Armenian president to visit Moscow for the second time in less than two months, 
it emerged on Tuesday.

A trial prosecutor, Gevorg Baghdasarian, revealed the permission and demanded an 
explanation from the judge, Anna Danibekian, during the latest court hearing on 
coup charges leveled against Kocharian and three other former officials.

“We don’t know the grounds on which Robert Kocharian is allowed to leave 
Armenia,” complained Baghdasarian. He said Danibekian should have consulted with 
the prosecution before making the decision communicated to the Armenian police.

“If you think that the court’s decision must be appealed you are not deprived of 
that possibility,” countered the judge.

Kocharian was allowed to be absent from the country from February 3-8. His 
spokesman Victor Soghomonian told the “Hraparak” newspaper that the ex-president 
will fly to Moscow to take part in a meeting of the board of directors of a 
major Russian corporation, AFK Sistema.

Kocharian has been a board member since 2009. He reportedly attended a board 
meeting during his previous trip to the Russian capital in mid-December.

The 66-year-old, who governed Armenia from 1998-2008, had not been able to 
attend any Sistema meetings since being first arrested in July 2018. He was most 
recently released from jail on bail in May 2020.

Sistema’s main shareholder, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, was reportedly one of four 
wealthy Russian businessmen who paid the bulk of the $4.1 million bail set by 
Armenia’s Court of Appeals.

Russia has criticized the criminal proceedings launched against Kocharian. 
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly made a point of congratulating 
him on his birthday anniversaries and praising his legacy.

Some Kocharian loyalists claimed that Putin spoke with his former Armenian 
counterpart by phone during the latter’s December trip to Moscow. Kocharian’s 
office did not confirm that.

The ex-president, his former chief of staff Armen Gevorgian and Armenia’s two 
former top generals, Seyran Ohanian and Yuri Khachaturov, stand accused of 
overthrowing the “constitutional order” after a disputed presidential election 
held during the final weeks of Kocharian’s decade-long rule. The charges stem 
from a deadly post-election unrest in Yerevan. All four defendants reject them 
as politically motivated.

Speaking during Tuesday’s court hearing, Kocharian insisted that he is tried for 
his handling of a “political process.”

Kocharian has been at loggerheads with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s 
government ever since it took office following the “Velvet Revolution” of 
April-May 2018. He has joined opposition groups in blaming Pashinian for 
Armenia’s defeat in the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh and demanding his 
resignation.

Kocharian said last week that that he and his political allies will participate 
in snap parliamentary elections even if they are held by Armenia’s current 
government. “We will participate and win,” he declared.



Azeri Soldiers Detained, Freed In Armenia
February 02, 2021
        • Nane Sahakian

Armenian -- Armenian army officers at a new border post in Syunik province 
bordering Azerbaijan, December 11, 2020.

The Russian military announced late on Monday that it has secured the release of 
two Azerbaijani army soldiers detained after crossing into Armenia at the 
weekend.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow said they were detained by officers of Armenia’s 
National Security Service (NSS) near the village of Tegh in Armenia’s 
southeastern Syunik province. It gave no details of the incident.

A ministry statement said the Azerbaijani servicemen were freed at the request 
of Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.

The NSS and the Armenian Defense Ministry did not comment on the incident on 
Tuesday. Tegh’s mayor, Nerses Shadunts, confirmed the detentions but said he is 
not allowed to disclose their circumstances.

“The situation here is not tense right now,” Shadunts told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
Service. “There is no panic among local people. Everything is normal.”

“As for our border guards and army, you can conclude that everyone was on duty 
and vigilant and properly did their job,” he said.

Tegh is located close to the so-called Lachin corridor that connects Armenia to 
Karabakh and is controlled by the Russian peacekeepers. The rural community also 
borders the rest of the Lachin district which was handed back to Azerbaijan 
under the terms of the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement that stopped the war 
in Karabakh on November 10.

During the six-week war Russia deployed soldiers and border guards to Syunik to 
help the Armenian military defend the region located southwest of Karabakh 
against possible Azerbaijani attacks. One of the Russian border guard posts was 
set up near Tegh.

Russian troops also patrol sections of the main regional highway straddling the 
Soviet-era Armenian-Azerbaijani border.



Armenian Central Bank Again Raises Key Interest Rate
February 02, 2021

Armenia -- A statue symbolizing the national currency, the dram, outside the 
Central Bank building in Yerevan.

The Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) raised its main interest rate on Tuesday for 
the second time in less than two months.

The CBA’s governing board set the refinancing rate at 5.5 percent, up by 0.25 
percentage points.

The board already raised it by 1 percentage point on December 15 following a 
nearly 6 percent depreciation of the national currency, the dram. The dram’s 
exchange rate has remained largely stable since then.

The CBA said on January 13 that it will again resort to currency interventions 
to ensure “the normal functioning of Armenia’s financial markets.”

In a statement issued later in the day, the bank attributed the latest rate 
increase to stronger inflationary pressures on the Armenian economy. It said 
that the increased cost of imported foodstuffs “considerably” pushed up consumer 
price inflation in the country in December.

CBA data shows that Armenia’s foreign exchange reserves fell from $2.6 billion 
in August 2020 to $2.2 billion in November before growing by over $360 million 
in December.

The Central Bank cut its benchmark rate for four times between March and 
September last year as the Armenian economy plunged into recession due to the 
coronavirus pandemic.

Armenia’s economic outlook worsened further following the ensuing outbreak of 
the war in Nagorno-Karabakh stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on November 
10. The country’s GDP shrunk by an estimated 8.5 percent in 2020.

In its 2021 state budget approved by the parliament in December, the Armenian 
government forecast a GDP growth rate of 3.2 percent for this year. The 
International Monetary Fund expects the Armenian economy to expand by only 1 
percent in 2021.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Turkish press: Turkey’s MHP briefs Azerbaijan’s Aliyev on school plan

Karapet Navasardian
Ruslan Rehimov   |02.02.2021

BAKU, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday received a delegation from a Turkish political party to discuss plans to build a school in the liberated Shusha city in Upper Karabakh.

According to a statement by the Azerbaijani presidency, the delegation included Mevlut Karakaya, deputy chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP); Yusuf Ziya Gunaydin, former mayor of Isparta; and Ahmet Yigit Yildirim, head of MHP-affiliated Grey Wolves.

Congratulating Aliyev over the victory in Nagorno-Karabakh, Karakaya informed Aliyev about the initiative to build a culture and art school in Shusha.

In late January, MHP leader Devlet Bahceli said his plan to build a school in recently liberated Azerbaijani lands has been approved by the leadership of both Turkey and Azerbaijan.

On Jan. 16, Bahceli announced plans for the education and culture foundation of the MHP-affiliated Grey Wolves, officially known as Idealist Hearths, to build a school in Shusha, which was liberated last November from the nearly 30 years of occupation by Armenian forces.

He had said that the school will be named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli – a Shusha-born composer who composed the music of Azerbaijan’s national anthem.

Thanking the delegation for the initiative, Aliyev said the subject would be taken into account as part of the restoration and urbanization work on the liberated lands.

Emphasizing that master plans of cities in the liberated territories have been developed, the president said he would give relevant instructions to choose a suitable place for the school building.

Last September, clashes erupted between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan when the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

During the 44-day conflict, which ended in a truce on Nov. 10, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages in Karabakh from a nearly three-decade occupation.

In November, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a Russian-brokered peace deal to end fighting.

Despite the cease-fire deal, the Armenian army several times violated the agreement and martyred several Azerbaijani soldiers and a civilian, according to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

On Saturday, Turkish and Russian troops started to monitor the truce in Upper Karabakh. It came after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding following the truce to set up a joint center on Azerbaijani territories liberated from Armenia’s occupation to monitor the cease-fire.


*Contributions and writing by Sena Guler

Armenpress: Spanish Aladina Foundation provides donation to City of Smile to help children suffering cancer

Rose Khoyetsian

Spanish Aladina Foundation provides donation to City of Smile to help children suffering cancer

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 09:00, 2 February, 2021

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. Donations to Armenia’s City of Smile Foundation aimed at assisting children and young people up to the age 25 suffering cancer and blood diseases have sharply declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent war. However, at the end of the year the Spanish Aladina Foundation has provided help to the City of Smile, in particular covering the treatment costs of beneficiary children for about two months, Director of the City of Smile Foundation Ester Demirchyan told Armenpress.

“The coronavirus pandemic led to huge decline in donations. It was followed by the war which further deepened the crisis situation. We hadn’t ever had such a low figure of donations since the opening of the Foundation which we had during the wartime – in October, November and December. Of course, there were objective reasons for this situation, as we all were focused only on one direction – to try to help, to do the utmost to win the war, to help our soldiers and the displaced people”, she said.

She considered normal the fact that when an issue of national identity arises, the foundations are left on the second plan. But she noted that children suffering cancer cannot wait long as each day, each delay of drugs and examinations leads to heavy consequences. Demirchyan, however, stated that no one was rejected by the Foundation during that days.

After the war the flow of donations has relatively activated. “We have received a number of small grants by different organizations. However, the only one organization which was the most inspiring for us that days was the Aladina Foundation which provided a donation of 160,000 USD”, she said, adding that this is the biggest donation received by one organization.

Aladina is operating mainly in Spain, is working with 15 different hospitals of Spain. This is their second experience of international transfer, the first one was provided to Lebanon’s child cancer center.

“It’s very honoring that we managed to attract its attention. This cooperation was the best New Year gift for us as it gave us strength and energy to continue the mission of the Foundation”, she said.  

Demirchyan calls this cooperation as a very good beginning of the year, stating that they need to attract more organizations. The Foundation’s monthly costs for children, young people comprise nearly 70-80 thousand dollars. The Aladina Foundation provided money for two months. Mrs. Demirchyan said the whole staff of the City of Smile Foundation expresses its deepest gratitude to the Aladina Foundation and directorate.

The Aladina Foundation is operating in Spain for about 15 years assisting children suffering with cancer. The Foundation is organizing various events, renovating rooms, providing psychological support, etc. Demirchyan hopes that the cooperation with this Foundation will continue.

She reminded that the treatment of children suffering cancer is quite expensive, adding that many people should unite around this issue. She called on the public to regularly make donations for this purpose. Ester Demirchyan said the website of their Foundation allows to choose the option of making monthly donations and become the supporter of it.

“I understand that currently many people are facing many difficulties, however, I believe that each of us can provide some help at least once a month to these children who really need it”, she said, calling on both individuals and various organizations not to forget about these children and provid their help.

The annual expenditure of the City of Smile Foundation comprises nearly 1 million USD: its beneficiaries are children, young people from Armenia, Artsakh and Javakhk. So far, the Foundation has provided help to nearly 370 children and young people. In 2020 the Foundation had 95 new beneficiaries. Demirchyan stated that nearly 70% of children suffering cancer in Armenia are completely recovering.

Interview by Anna Grigoryan

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

9 more bodies of fallen servicemen found during search operations, Artsakh says

Aram Torosian

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 10:18, 2 February, 2021

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. 9 more bodies of fallen servicemen have been found during the search operations in the direction of Varanda (Fizuli), official of the State Emergency Service of Artsakh Hunan Tadevosyan told Armenpress.

“According to the preliminary data, they are servicemen (either volunteers or reservists). Forensic examination will be conducted to identify them.

So far, a total of 1354 bodies have been found as a result of the search operations.

Today the search operations will be carried out in Hadrut region”, he said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

PRESS RELEASE: German-Armenian Society ZOOM talk "The Azerbaijani war crimes and their prosecution in Germany"

Albert Nalbandian 
PRESS RELEASE
German-Armenian Society
Contact: Dr. Raffi Kantian
E-mail: [email protected]

Web: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.deutscharmenischegesellschaft.de/__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!6lm62liD4DbnBddGRYdyTUZ6FAC11hlsXfLWi7CwI27qhBKyPLGOFif0twDH9Q$

After we discussed the "Second War over Nagorno-Karabakh and the Federal
Republic of Germany" with the Armenian Ambassador in Berlin, H.E. Ashot
Smbatyan, on January 14, another ZOOM talk will follow on Monday,
February 8, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. CET.

With Dr. Gurgen Petrossian, Chairman of the German-Armenian Lawyers
Association, we will discuss the topic "The Azerbaijani war crimes and
their prosecution in Germany".

Registration is necessary for participation. Interested parties are
kindly asked to send an e-mail with their first name, last name, and
affiliation to an organization by February 7 to
[email protected].


The language of the event is German.

Russian medical workers provide assistance to over 300 Nagorno-Karabakh residents

Emil Lazarian
TASS, Russia
Feb 3 2021
According to the Emergencies Ministry, people complain mainly of colds and cardiovascular diseases as well as the aftermath of shrapnel wounds

MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. The Russian Emergencies Ministry’s medical workers have provided assistance to more than 300 people since the start of the humanitarian mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, the ministry’s press service informed TASS on Wednesday.

"The Russian Emergencies Ministry’s medical professionals receive local patients, providing consultative and diagnostic assistance to the population. To date, medical assistance has been provided in more than 300 cases, including 200 cases of therapeutic assistance and 100 surgeries," the press service said.

According to the Emergencies Ministry, people complain mainly of colds and cardiovascular diseases as well as the aftermath of shrapnel wounds.

In addition, the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s specialists continue to patrol the Lachin Corridor to control the traffic situation as part of the humanitarian mission. "Assistance was provided in almost 100 cases," the press service added.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Baku and Yerevan have disputed sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh since February 1988, when the region announced its secession from the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. Under the agreement, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had held, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor that connects Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition, a number of districts came over to Baku’s control.

Russian peacekeepers monitor the situation round-the-clock, control compliance with the ceasefire, ensure conditions for refugees’ return to the region and conduct mine clearance operations.

Russia to resume air service with Azerbaijan, Armenia starting February 15 – Business & Economy

John Hovhannisian
TASS, Russia
Feb 3 2021
Two flights per week will be performed between Moscow and Baku, and four flights – between Moscow and Yerevan
© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. Russia will resume air service on a reciprocal basis with Azerbaijan and Armenia starting February 15, the government’s press service reported on Wednesday. Two flights per week will be performed between Moscow and Baku, and four flights – between Moscow and Yerevan.

"It has been decided to resume international air service on a reciprocal basis with Azerbaijan (Moscow-Baku, two flights per week) and Armenia (Moscow-Yerevan, four flights per week) starting February 15, 2021," the report said.

The number of regular flights to Kyrgyzstan (Moscow-Bishkek) will also be increased on a reciprocal basis from one to three per week starting February 8.

Russia suspended all commercial passenger flights to other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. A gradual resumption of international air service started last summer.

Fresh fears of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of violating ceasefire with machine gun volley

Emil Lazarian
RT – Russia Today
Feb 3 2021

3 Feb, 2021 07:15  

— RT Russia & Former Soviet Union

Just months after a Russian-brokered accord paused hostilities in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of restarting fighting, sparking concern for the fragile ceasefire.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Baku’s State Border Service said that “the provocations of the enemy on the frontier with Armenia are continuing.”

Earlier, they alleged, Armenia’s troops “violated the ceasefire by firing 20 machine guns at the border checkpoint.” However, Gevorg Altunyan, the head of the press service for the Defense Ministry in Yerevan, strongly denied the claims in comments to RIA Novosti. “This is an absolute lie,” he said.

On the same day, Armenian officials announced they had launched an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, insisting that Azerbaijan has violated the rights of the inhabitants of the disputed region.

— RT Russia & Former Soviet Union

“The complaint,” they said, “raises a number of issues, including protecting the rights of prisoners of war and civilians, the resettled population of [Nagorno-Karabakh], wounded citizens and relatives of the victims, people who have lost property, and representatives of local and international media.”

In November, the two sides agreed to a deal mediated by Moscow that saw an effective pause to the fighting. It entailed a package of measures that saw Russian peacekeepers deployed to prevent further escalations, as well as handing over swathes of territory previously held by pro-Armenian authorities to Azerbaijan.