Friday,
EU Hails Armenian Proposal To Ease Tensions With Azerbaijan
BELGIUM - European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in
Brussels, May 5, 2021
The European Union on Friday expressed serious concern about mounting tensions
on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and backed the deployment of international
monitors there proposed by Armenia.
The EU called for an “immediate de-escalation” of the border dispute and the
release of all Armenian prisoners held by Azerbaijan.
“The European Union urges both sides to refrain from any further military
deployment and actions,” Peter Stano, an EU foreign policy spokesman, said in a
statement. “All forces should pull back to positions held before 12 May and both
sides should engage in negotiations on border delimitation and demarcation.”
“We welcome all efforts aimed at decreasing tensions, including proposals for a
possible international observation mission,” Stano said, adding that the EU is
ready to “provide expertise and help on border delimitation and demarcation.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian proposed on Thursday that Armenia and
Azerbaijan withdraw their troops from the disputed border areas and let Russia
and/or the United States and France, the two other countries co-chairing the
OSCE Minsk Group, deploy observers there. He said that should be followed by a
process of “ascertaining border points” supervised by the international
community.
Pashinian floated the idea hours after six Armenian soldiers deployed on the
border were captured by Azerbaijani troops. “If the situation is not resolved
this provocation could inevitably lead to a large-scale clash,” he warned.
Baku did not respond to the proposal as of Friday evening. It denies that its
troops crossed several sections of the frontier and advanced a few kilometers
into Armenian territory two weeks ago.
Russian, Armenian Defense Chiefs ‘Agree’ On Border Crisis
Russia - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu meets with his Armenian
counterpart Vagharshak Harutiunian, Moscow, .
Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian and his Russian counterpart Sergei
Shoigu agreed on how to deal with Armenia’s ongoing border dispute with
Azerbaijan when they met in Moscow on Friday, according to the Armenian Defense
Ministry.
A statement on the talks released by the ministry said Harutiunian briefed
Shoigu on “details of Azerbaijani army units’ intrusion into Armenia’s
territory” and measures taken by the Armenian military in response.
“The sides looked into possible ways of resolving the situation and reached
agreement on necessary steps,” it added without elaborating.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not report such understandings in its statement
on the meeting, which was also attended by other senior Russian and Armenian
military officials. It only publicized Shoigu’s opening remarks at the meeting.
The Russian defense minister said the two sides will discuss “all acute problems
that have arisen lately” in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone but did not
comment on them. He also praised Russia’s close military ties with Armenia and
said the two nations are “reinforcing our military cooperation.”
Shoigu also spoke of a “successful implementation” of Russian-Armenia defense
treaties and stressed the importance of Russian military presence in Armenia.
Harutiunian likewise said that Russian-Armenian military cooperation is
“developing very successfully.”
The two ministers twice spoke by phone earlier this month shortly after
Azerbaijani troops reportedly advanced several kilometers and crossed some
sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, triggering an Armenian military
buildup in those areas.
Armenia formally asked the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization
(CSTO) to help it restore its territorial integrity. It also requested separate
military aid from Russia.
So far Moscow has not publicly sided with Yerevan in the dispute, offering
instead to act as a mediator in a delimitation and demarcation of the border.
Pashinian, Ter-Petrosian Trade Barbs
• Anush Mkrtchian
Armenia - Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian (L) and Nikol Pashinian at an
opposition rally in Yerevan, May 31, 2011.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and former President Levon Ter-Petrosian have
traded accusations over their handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In an interview with Armenian Public Television aired late on Thursday,
Ter-Petrosian again blamed Pashinian for the autumn war with Azerbaijan and its
outcome. He also accused the current authorities of failing to understand and
cope with post-war security challenges facing Armenia.
“I’m sure that Russia is frankly telling Pashinian what it is going to do in
this region and about the future of Armenia and Karabakh in general,” said the
76-year-old ex-president. “Pashinian’s problem is that he doesn’t understand
what the Russians are telling him.”
Pashinian hit back at his former political mentor when he met with members of
his Civil Contract party in Yerevan on Friday. In particular, he charged that
Ter-Petrosian stood for placing Karabakh back under Azerbaijani control when he
ruled Armenia from 1991-1998 and continues to favor the same policy.
“What he is saying is, ‘Karabakh is Azerbaijan. Period,’” claimed Pashinian.
Ter-Petrosian’s spokesman, Arman Musinian, laughed off the claim, saying that
the prime minister is accusing the ex-president of something which he himself
has effectively brought about.
“Pashinian has proved that he really has no clue about politics,” Musinian said
in a statement.
In his televised remarks, Ter-Petrosian again defended his strong support for a
compromise solution to the Karabakh which was proposed by the United States,
Russia and France during the final months of his rule. He insisted that it did
not call for the restoration of Azerbaijani control over the Armenian-populated
territory.
Ter-Petrosian was forced to resign in 1998 by more hardline members of his
administration, including Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian, who opposed that
peace plan. He said earlier this week that Kocharian and Sarkisian, who served
as Armenia’s presidents from 1998-2018, are also responsible for the Karabakh
war.
Pashinian played a major role in Ter-Petrosian’s 2008 opposition movement. He
subsequently fell out with the ex-president and set up his own party, which will
try to keep him in power during the parliamentary elections slated for June 20.
Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress party will also participate in the
snap elections.
U.S. Urges Armenia, Azerbaijan To De-Escalate Border Dispute
U.S. -- U.S. State Department Spokesman Ned Price speaks during a press briefing
at the State Department in Washington, February 8, 2021
The United States has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to pull back their troops
from contested portions of their border, saying that a continuing military
standoff there must be resolved “urgently and peacefully.”
The U.S. State Department also called for the immediate release of all Armenian
prisoners held in Azerbaijan, including the six soldiers who were captured by
Azerbaijani forces on the border early on Thursday.
“The United States considers any movements along the non-demarcated areas of the
international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be provocative and
unnecessary,” the department spokesman, Ned Price, said a statement released on
Thursday evening.
“We reject the use of force to demarcate the border and call on both sides to
return to their previous positions and to cease military fortification of the
non-demarcated border and the emplacement of landmines,” he said.
Price said that Armenian and Azerbaijani troops should retreat to the positions
which they held as of May 11. He welcomed Armenia’s “statements of intent to
this effect.”
“These actions will de-escalate tensions and create space for a peaceful
negotiation process to demarcate the border on an urgent basis. The United
States is prepared to assist these efforts,” added the official.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian proposed earlier on Thursday that both
sides withdraw their troops from the disputed border areas and let Russia and/or
the United States and France, the two other countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk
Group, deploy observers there. He said that should be followed by a process of
“ascertaining border points” supervised by the international community.
Pashinian told members of his Civil Contract party on Friday that one of the
co-chair countries has already “tentatively reacted” to his proposal. “I hope
that the two other co-chair countries will also react,” he said without naming
any of them.
There has been no public reaction to Pashinian’s initiative from France, Russia
and Azerbaijan so far.
The French, Russian and U.S. diplomats co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group echoed
Washington’s calls for a troop disengagement and the release of the Armenian
prisoners in a joint statement issued later on Friday.
“We call on both sides to take immediate steps, including the relocation of
troops, to de-escalate the situation and to begin negotiations to delimitate and
demarcate the border peacefully,” read the statement. “The Co-Chairs stand ready
to assist in facilitating this process.”
Moscow proposed last week the creation of an Armenian-Azerbaijani commission on
border demarcation in a bid to end the escalating border tensions.
The standoff began after Azerbaijani troops advanced several kilometers into
Armenia’s Gegharkunik and Syunik provinces on May 12-14. The Armenian military
responded by sending reinforcements to those areas.
The U.S. State Department urged Baku to “pull back all forces immediately and
cease further provocation” on May 14. Three days later U.S. National Security
Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed the issue with Pashinian and Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev in separate phone calls.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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