Month: May 2021

U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier has reacted to the capture of six Armenian servicemen by Azerbaijani forces on Thursday.

In a tweet on Friday, the congresswoman stated Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has shown he has no interest in peace and diplomacy, but only aggression.

“Azerbaijan’s attack on Armenian territory and the capture of six Armenian soldiers is despicable. Aliyev has shown he has no interest in peace and diplomacy – only aggression. The U.S. must freeze all military aid to Azerbaijan!” she tweeted.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated the people of Azerbaijan on Republic Day on behalf of the Government of the United States.

“The United States values the thirty years of partnership with Azerbaijan on economic, energy, and security cooperation, and our ongoing dialogue on improving Azerbaijan’s respect for human rights and the rule of law.  We recognize Azerbaijan’s significant contributions to European energy diversification through the Southern Gas Corridor.  Strong institutions and processes that respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, rule of law, transparency, and accountability, are vital to us achieving our shared goals and building stronger and deeper ties,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“As a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States remains committed to helping the sides negotiate a long-term political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and address the humanitarian impact of the fighting, including the release of all detainees, accounting for those missing, and the full and expeditious exchange of remains,” Blinken said.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has received the appeal submitted by Armenia over six prisoners of war that had been captured by Azerbaijani forces in the morning of May 27, TASS news agency reported. 

"The Court has received the appeal which is now under consideration. We can not provide additional information over the case," the ECHR representative told the source. 

To remind, the Republic of Armenia applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) with the purpose to ensure respect of the fundamental human rights of the Armenian prisoners of war on Thursday. The Office of the Representative of Armenia before the ECtHR requested the Court to indicate interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court against Azerbaijan in the name of the individuals taken as prisoners of war while carrying out engineering works in the bordering area of Gegharkunik region early in the morning on .

Armenia's third president, the leader of Republican Party of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan laid flowers at the memorial to the Battle of Karakilisa in Vanadzor town. On the occasion of the Republic Day, the ex-president paid tribute to memory of heroes who had fallen during the battle. 

"During the Battle of Karakilisa in 1918, in these days of May, the advancement of Turkish raiders was stopped by glorious Armenian heroes. In the area known as "Broken church" of Vanadzor, near the ruins of the medieval church flowers are always laid on this day in memory of fallen heroes who struggled life and death against the enemy," the message issued by the Office of the third president said on Facebook. 

"Peace is given to those nations who know how to struggle for it with dignity," the message said. 

Armenian Grandmaster Levon Aronian will participate in the 2021 Grand Chess Tour, which returns after its cancellation last year due to the global pandemic. Aronian will play under the Armenian flag, according to the players' profiles on the official website of the tournament. 

Aronian  will join nine other world elite as full-tour participants in the 2021 GCT schedule, which  features two classical tournaments with prize funds of $325,000 each, including the kickoff event in Romania in June and the tour finale Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis in August.

To remind, in February GM Levon Aronian announced his decision to leave Armenia and switch to the U.S. due to “broken promises” by the current authorities. “After waiting for the fulfillment of the promises of the incumbent authorities for more than a year, I realized that I had to make a breakthrough decision to leave my native country,” he said, stating every year of expecting change is a waste of time in his career.

The European Union considers the recent developments on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as dangerous and worrying," Peter Stano, the Spokesperson of the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said in a statement on Friday, calling for immediate de-escalation. 

"The European Union urges both sides to refrain from any further military deployment and actions. All forces should pull back to positions held before 12 May and both sides should engage in negotiations on border delimitation and demarcation. We continue to call on Azerbaijan to release all prisoners of war and detainees without delay. We welcome all efforts aimed at decreasing tensions, including proposals for a possible international observation mission," the statement said.

It also expressed readiness to provide expertise and help on border delimitation and demarcation, as well as to support much needed confidence building measures, in order to move towards sustainable peace and prosperity for the South Caucasus.