Month: May 2021

Armenian MoD trying to solve the issue of returning 6 captured Armenian servicemen through negotiations

Lena Karagyozian

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 17:57,

YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The negotiations for returning the 6 Armenian servicemen captured earlier today by Azerbaijani forces still continue, ARMENPRESS reports Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia Edward Asryan told the reporters.

‘’The negotiations continue with the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in Artsakh, where the adversary has presented a condition for the withdrawal of Armenian and their own forces. And we have informed that our units that occupied their positions on May 27 will withdraw only with condition if Azerbaijanis return our soldiers that have been taken hostage. No other condition is acceptable for us'', the deputy Chief of the General Staff said, adding that the armed forces of Armenia are ready to implement their tasks.

''Anyway, in order to avoid more difficult situations, the military leadership is trying to solve the issue through negotiations'', Asryan said.

The Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia said that initially they had set a deadline of 1 hour for returning Armenian hostages, but after one hour passed, Russian partners called and notified that the General Staff of Azerbaijani armed forces is holding consultations and is discussing the issue of returning the captured Armenian servicemen, which is the reason why the Armenian Armed Forces has not carried out operations adequate for the situation so far.

''If our condition for returning our servicemen is not carried out, we are developing plans which I cannot present here'', Asryan said.

Pashinyan suggests withdrawing both Armenian, Azerbaijani forces from Sotk-Khoznavar section, deploy intl. observers

Vanyan Gary

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 18:25,

YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan suggested at the Security Council session that both Armenian and Azerbaijani forces should be withdrawn from Sotk-Khoznavar section of the border for easing border tensions, where international observers should be deployed with the involvement of representatives of Russia or the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries.  

''If the situation is not solved, the provocations can inevitably lead to large-scale clashes. For that reason I suggest a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the situation, addressing an open proposal to the international community and the leadership of Azerbaijan. The proposal is the following – we reach an agreement that units of the armed forces of both sides withdraw from the border very quickly and return to their permeant bases, and international observers are deployed in those areas with the involvement of representatives of Russia or the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries. After that delimitation works will take place under the auspices of the international community'', Pashinyan said. 

Armenpress: Nikol Pashinyan does not rule out large-scale clashes between Armenian, Azerbaijani forces if tensions do not ease

Vanyan Gary

Nikol Pashinyan does not rule out large-scale clashes between Armenian, Azerbaijani forces if tensions do not ease

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 18:33,

YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan emphasizes that the situation in some sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is tense and the tensions have the dynamic to increase further, ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan said during the Security Council session.

''The situation is not only extremely tense, but continuously escalates and in most probability, will continue to escalate. During the developments of the recent 15 days the Azerbaijanis that infiltrated into our territory and our servicemen are in a state of mutual penetration. And why has the situation escalated? Not only for the reason that it's already 15 days servicemen from both sides are facing each other, different incidents have occurred and finally, the situation can explode, but also after today's incident there are chances that our Armed Forces will try to take them hostage and they will try to respond and this will continue'', Nikol Pashinyan said.

He added that his assessment is that in case of not solving the situation, large-scale clashes can occur.

Pashinyan proposes moving Armenian, Azerbaijani forces to initial border positions

Aram Torosian
TASS, Russia
Armenian Prime Minister offered observers from Russia or the OSCE Minsk Group states to be deployed in the area
Acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

© Alexander Astafyev/POOL/TASS

YEREVAN, May 27. /TASS/. Acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan came up with a proposal on Thursday for the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops to move to their initial positions on the border and that observers from Russia or the OSCE Minsk Group states be deployed in the area.

The acting prime minister outlined a plan for peacefully settling the border situation in a speech that was broadcast on the politician’s Facebook.

"On behalf of the Armenian public, I offer to the Azerbaijani government to agree that the armed forces of both countries withdraw from the border area by several kilometers very quickly and simultaneously. We propose that the armed forces return to their initial positions and international observers from the Russian Federation or [the countries of] the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs be deployed there instead. This relates to the Sotk-Khoznavar section [in the Gegharkunik Province]," he said.

Following this move, the Armenian-Azerbaijani border should be drawn up under the aegis of the international community, Pashinyan said.

"This is the official proposal to Azerbaijan, Russia, and other countries that are co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. If we fail to go along this route, the situation may get out of control," Pashinyan cautioned.

The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the area of the Gegharkunik and Syunik border regions has remained tense since May 12. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported earlier on Thursday that six Armenian servicemen were captured during an attempt by reconnaissance and subversive group to cross into Azeri territory.

Armenia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the Armenian servicemen had been captured but noted that they had been taken prisoner during the engineering works in the border area of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. Pashinyan called the incident an abduction of Armenian servicemen. Yerevan applied to the European Court of Human Rights over the incident.

Azeri forces capture six Armenian soldiers

Emil Lazarian
Yahoo! News – Australian Associated Press

, 10:30 pm·

"The situation is tense and explosive," Armenian interim Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, alleging Azerbaijan seized the troops on Armenian soil.

But the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said the six Armenians had tried to cross the border towards the Kalbajar area in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Kalbajar was handed over to Azerbaijan after last year's conflict between the two ex-Soviet republics.

More than 6000 people died in the fighting between September and November 2020.

Russia brokered a ceasefire but there is international concern the conflict could escalate again.

Recently, large-scale military manoeuvres by Azerbaijan caused a stir, with Armenia accusing its neighbour of border violations which officials in Baku rejected.

Pashinyan has proposed that both countries withdraw troops from the border and that international observers are stationed there instead.

Detention of Armenian Soldiers – United States Department of State

Emil Lazarian
US Department of State

Press Statement

Ned Price, Department Spokesperson

The United States is concerned by recent developments along the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the detention of several Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani forces. We call on both sides to urgently and peacefully resolve this incident. We also continue to call on Azerbaijan to release immediately all prisoners of war and other detainees, and we remind Azerbaijan of its obligations under international humanitarian law to treat all detainees humanely.

The United States considers any movements along the non-demarcated areas of the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be provocative and unnecessary.  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. Specifically, we call on Azerbaijan to relocate its forces to the positions they held on May 11.  We also call on Armenia to relocate its forces to the positions they held on May 11, and welcome 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.

The United States urges the sides to return as soon as possible to substantive negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to achieve a long-term political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan Captures Six Armenian Soldiers in Border Dispute

Babken Chilingarian

By Reuters
|
, at 1:22 a.m.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Azerbaijan captured six Armenian servicemen in the early hours of Thursday morning, the defence ministries of both countries said, the latest twist in a simmering border dispute.

The Azeri defence ministry accused the Armenian soldiers of trying to cross into Azeri territory. Armenia's defence ministry said its soldiers had been carrying out engineering work in the border area of its eastern Gegharkunik region, which neighbours Azerbaijan.

"Necessary measures are being taken to return the captured servicemen," Armenia's defence ministry said.

The United States said it was concerned by the border incidents between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the detention of several Armenian soldiers, urging both sides to "urgently and peacefully" resolve the issue.

In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it considered any movements along the non-demarcated areas of Azerbaijan and Armenia border to be "provocative and unnecessary".

In separate comments, Armenia's acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called for international observers from Russia or other countries to be deployed to a portion of Armenia's border with Azerbaijan, where he said the atmosphere was tense.

Pashinyan also directed his proposal at the Azerbaijan leadership, Russian news agencies quoted him as saying.

"Let's agree that the military units from both sides rapidly move away from the border and return to their permanent bases, and station international observers from Russia or other countries in the OSCE Minsk Group."

The U.S. State Department also urged both sides to return as soon as possible to substantive negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to achieve a long-term political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenia earlier this month accused Azerbaijan of sending troops across the border, highlighting the fragility of a Russian-brokered ceasefire that halted six weeks of fighting between ethnic Armenian forces and the Azeri army last year.

That conflict saw Baku drive ethnic Armenian forces out of swathes of territory they had controlled since the 1990s in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Azerbaijan on Tuesday denied accusations by Armenia that it had fired across the border at Armenian positions, in a shootout in which Armenia said one of its soldiers had been killed.

(Reporting by Anton Kolodyazhnyy, Alexander Marrow and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Editing by Andrew Osborn, Toby Chopra and Grant McCool)

 

Armenia PM Suggests Putting International Observers on Azeri Border -Ifax

Zhanna Nahapetian
By Reuters
|









MOSCOW (Reuters) – Armenia's acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan suggested on Thursday that international observers from Russia or other Minsk Group countries be deployed to Armenia's border with Azerbaijan, the Interfax news agency reported.

Azerbaijan captured six Armenian servicemen in the early hours of Thursday morning, the defence ministries of both countries said, in the latest twist in a simmering border dispute. The Azeri defence ministry accused the men of trying to cross into Azeri territory.

(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-05-27/armenia-pm-suggests-putting-international-observers-on-azeri-border-ifax





Azerbaijan captures 6 Armenian soldiers at the border

Antranik Varosian
JAM News
    JAMnew, Yerevan, Baku

Six Armenian servicemen have been captured on Armenia’s border on May 27, press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry and Armenian officials have confirmed. However, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan claims that the incident took place in the Kelbajar region of Azerbaijan, while the Armenian Defence Ministry states that the Armenian soldiers were surrounded and captured while carrying out engineering work on the territory of Armenia.

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The official statement of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reads as follows:

“On May 27, at about 3 am, a reconnaissance and sabotage group of the Armenian Armed Forces tried to cross the state border in the direction of the Yukhari Ayrim settlement of the Kelbajar region.

The enemy was noticed while attempting to place mines on the support routes leading to the positions of Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the border, and, as a result of the measures taken, 6 enemy servicemen were surrounded and captured.

In the morning, an accumulation of military equipment was noticed, including tanks of the Armenian Armed Forces near the border. As a result of the urgent operational measures, the movement of the reconnaissance- sabotage group has been stopped”.

The head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said on her Twitter page that Azerbaijan regards the attempted infiltration of Armenia’s reconnaissance group into the territory of Azerbaijan as a violation of the trilateral Nagorno-Karabakh agreement of November 10, 2020.

An official statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry says that Armenia is pursuing a policy of deliberately increasing tension on the state border of the two countries:

“Although Azerbaijan has suffered damage from mines planted by Armenia for many years, sabotage and further attempts at mining carried out by an Armenian sabotage group on the territory of Azerbaijan may become a serious threat to the lives of Azerbaijani servicemen and civilians.

Azerbaijan is dedicated to resolving tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border by means of negotiations and supports the calls of the international community for the delimitation and demarcation of interstate borders.

Attempts to violate the state border of Azerbaijan are unacceptable. Armenia should refrain from actions aimed at increasing tension in the border area and respect the borders of the neighboring state”.

The Armenian Defense Ministry denies the reports of the attempted sabotage and states that the captured soldiers were carrying out engineering works in the Gegharkunik region of Armenia which borders Azerbaijan. The ministry said in a statement that measures are now being taken to release the captured servicemen.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement claiming that “Azerbaijani military units continue to carry out provocative actions” and calling for the immediate return of the captured soldiers:

“The provocative actions carried out by the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan pursue the goal of further aggravating the situation, which can seriously threaten peace and stability of the region”.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described the incident at the border as “the abduction of Armenian soldiers from the territory of the Republic of Armenia”:

“Our servicemen carried out work on the arrangement of the border with Azerbaijan, they were planting warning signs on the minefields, there was no sabotage. The incident took place on our territory”.

According to Pashinyan, such incidents occur because “someone wants us to come to terms with the presence of the Azerbaijani military on our territory, but this will never happen”.

PM Pashinyan believes the situation as Azerbaijan’s attempt to provoke a military conflict by all means necessary, however, Armenia will not respond to such provocations.

Head of the ruling My Step parliamentary faction Lilit Makunts also believes that the Armenian military were abducted from the territory of their own country.

She stated that the capture of the Armenian servicemen is a consequence of the delayed response of Armenia’s allies, specifically the Collective Security Treaty Organization of which Armenia is a member of and which operates under the auspices of Russia:

“In order to avoid further escalation and clashes, the security system of which Armenia is a part, those international partners who are worried about such impermissible actions in the South Caucasus, should provide clearer assessments [of the situation]”.

The Armenian authorities have turned to the Collective Security Treaty Organization to begin consultations on the provision of military assistance shortly after the events of May 12 events, when the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have advanced several kilometers deep into the territory of Armenia in the direction of the Syunik and Gegharkunik regions.

The servicemen of Azerbaijan refuse to retreat despite Armenia’s repeated calls, and the lengthy negotiations between the two countries failed to bring about any concrete results.

On May 26, Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia does not exclude the possibility of appealing to the UN Security Council if the CSTO mechanisms fail to resolve the tensions at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Pashinyan added that Armenia is not satisfied with the delays of the CSTO’s response, since the organization has not yet publicly expressed its clear position on this matter.

The Collective Security Treaty Organization is a regional organization created in 1992, immediately after the collapse of the USSR. Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan very soon left the ranks of the CSTO and now its only six members are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Party lists for Armenian elections offer some surprises | Eurasianet

Lara Antonian
EurasiaNet.org
Ani Mejlumyan

The new face of reform? Anti-corruption activists are not pleased. Gurgen Arsenyan (Facebook) and Khachatur Sukiasyan (Wikimedia Commons)

Political parties running in Armenia’s upcoming elections have released their lists of candidates, and nearly every major force caused some consternation with their representatives.

Gathering most attention was the list for Civil Contract, the party led by Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which polls show leading the race in the June 20 election despite his government’s deep loss in support following defeat in last year’s war with Azerbaijan. Some notable figures were missing, including the current deputy prime minister, Tigran Avinyan; Sasun Mikaelyan, the commander of the influential military veterans’ group Yerkrapah; and Hayk Marutyan, the mayor of Yerevan.

Avinyan’s absence was the most noteworthy given the prominent role he has played since Pashinyan took power in 2018. He posted on Facebook that he himself decided not to run, and that he remained a member of Civil Contract and encouraged followers to vote for them. “I will talk about the reasons behind me not being included on the list after the elections,” he wrote.

Instead, two men widely seen as oligarchs made it onto the Civil Contract list: Gurgen Arsenyan and Khachatur Sukiasyan. Arsenyan was an MP from 2000 to 2007: until 2003 as an independent and then as the head of the United Labor Party. He was among only a handful of businessmen who imported fuel to Armenia during that time, and also was involved in the tobacco business. His formal declarations of assets listed millions of dollars in cash. 

Sukiasyan was known as one of Armenia’s “robber barons” in the 1990s; he owned hotels, restaurants, factories, and a bank, among other businesses.

Both men have been strong supporters of Pashinyan and his government, but including them on the list struck many as out of tune with the principles of Pashinyan’s “Velvet Revolution,” which promised to stamp out sleaze.

“The government is breaking its promise again,” said Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the Bright Armenia party, which is in parliament now but is not taking part in the upcoming elections. “There will be a setback to some of their achievements [of the government so far]. There is already talk that there will be election bribes and they will give money. People are already talking.”

“In yet another self-inflicted wound for beleaguered Armenian democracy, PM Pashinyan embraces and elevates legacy oligarchs; so much for separating business and politics,” wrote Richard Giragosian, the head of the Yerevan think tank Regional Studies Center, on Facebook.

But Civil Contract was not the only party offering surprises.

The “I have honor” alliance, led by the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia, is not being headed by Serzh Sargsyan, the chief of the party and the leader whom Pashinyan toppled in 2018. Instead it is being led by Artur Vanetsyan, the first head of the National Security Service under Pashinyan who since became a strong critic. Other prominent Republicans including Armen Ashotyan and Eduard Sharmazanov aren’t on the list either.

Instead, the list includes figures like Taguhi Tovmasyan, who was an MP in Pashinyan’s My Step coalition until she stepped down following the war. “Do you have honor?” wrote filmmaker and government critic Hovhannes Ishakhanyan on Facebook: “Taguhi Tovmasyan from the treasonous My Step is in the list, who took part in the seizure of the courts and voted for the anti-state, anti-constitutional bill to remove the judges of the Constitutional Court.”

Another controversial inclusion on the “I have honor” list is former Yerevan mayor Taron Margaryan, who fled the country following the Velvet Revolution amid corruption allegations and has been little seen since.

The “Armenia” alliance, led by former president Robert Kocharyan, also includes the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun party and Reborn Armenia, the party led by former governor of the Syunik province, Vahe Hakobyan. Their list also includes a former My Step candidate, Anna Grirgoryan, who became a member of parliament in January when another MP stepped down. She had been next on the list in the 2018 elections, meaning by law she was appointed to take that MP’s place, but immediately on reaching parliament she left the bloc. She is third on the “Armenia” list. Others on the list are less surprising, like former defense minister Seyran Ohanyan.

The fourth major contender, the Armenian National Congress, is led by its head, the first president of post-Soviet Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosian, and its list also includes mostly longtime party leaders.

**Correction: This post previously listed former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan as a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun.

 

Ani Mejlumyan is a reporter based in Yerevan.