Monday,
Russian, Armenian Defense Chiefs Again Discuss Border Crisis
Armenia - Armenian soldiers take up positions on the border with Azerbaijan, May
17, 2021.
Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutiunian warned of “unpredictable consequences”
of Armenia’s border dispute with Azerbaijan when he again discussed it with his
Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on Monday.
The two men spoke by phone for the second time in five days amid a continuing
standoff between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces deployed on the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, Harutiunian told Shoigu that most of
the Azerbaijani troops that crossed into Armenia’s border areas last week have
still not pulled back in breach of an “agreement” brokered by the Russian
military.
“Vagharshak Harutiunian found the infringements of Armenia’s internationally
recognized territory inadmissible, emphasizing that further developments of the
situation could lead to unpredictable consequences,” the ministry said in a
statement.
Shoigu assured Harutiunian that Moscow “will make all necessary efforts to
resolve the existing situation peacefully,” added the statement.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported no details of the phone call.
Russian military officials have been involved in Armenian-Azerbaijani talks held
on the border in recent days. No agreements have been officially announced as a
result of those talks so far.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov seemed to downplay the gravity
of the border standoff which Yerevan says could reignite the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.
“There have been no gunshots, no clashes there,” Lavrov told reporters in
Moscow. “They sat down and started calmly talking about how to de-escalation
that situation. They asked us for assistance and our military officials provided
such assistance. An agreement was reached.”
“I see no reason to whip up emotions on this issue which is not ordinary but can
be settled easily,” he said, adding that Moscow is ready to help Armenia and
Azerbaijan demarcate their border.
Late last week Armenia formally asked the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty
Organization (CSTO) to help it deal with the Azerbaijani incursions and restore
its territorial integrity. It also requested separate military aid from Russia,
citing bilateral defense agreements.
Another Opposition Bloc Formed
• Satenik Hayrapetian
Armenia - Former President Serzh Sarkissian and former National Security Service
Director Artur Vanetsian look on as their political parties officially set up an
electoral alliance at a ceremony outside Yerevan, May15, 2021.
The opposition parties led by former President Serzh Sarkisian and former
National Security Service (NSS) Director Artur Vanetsian have officially joined
forces to participate in Armenia’s parliamentary elections scheduled for June 20.
The two men presided at the weekend over the signing of a memorandum on the
creation of their electoral alliance comprising their Republican (HHK) and
Fatherland parties. They said the alliance named Pativ Unem (I Have the Honor)
will strive to oust Armenia’s current government blamed by them for what they
see as existential threats facing the country after last year’s war with
Azerbaijan.
“We will remove and hold accountable the capitulators who have discredited and
humiliated our state and knelt before the enemy and will stop the decline of the
state,” Sarkisian declared in a speech delivered during the signing ceremony.
“We need to realize that we are faced with a real threat of losing statehood and
even being wiped out,” Vanetsian said for his part.
The former ruling HHK announced plans to team up with Vanetsian’s Fatherland
late last month. Both parties were key members of a coalition of opposition
forces which tried to force Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to resign over his
handling of the war.
Vanetsian, 42, was appointed as head of the NSS immediately the 2018 “Velvet
Revolution” that toppled Sarkisian and brought Pashinian to power. He quickly
became an influential member of Pashinian’s entourage, overseeing high-profile
corruption investigations into former government officials and Sarkisian’s
relatives. He fell out with Pashinian and resigned in September 2019.
“Artur Vanetsian understood the whole real essence of the new jackals, decided
to stop and urged others to do the same. Alas, they did not listen to him,” said
Sarkisian.
The ex-president stressed that “there will be no return to the past” if the new
bloc succeeds in coming to power. He also seemed to admit that the two parties
alone cannot unseat the current government, saying that regime change requires
the consolidation of “all healthy forces.”
Former President Robert Kocharian, who handed over power to Sarkisian in 2008,
leads another bloc comprising two opposition parties. He has said that it will
be Pashinian’s main election challenger.
Unlike Kocharian, Sarkisian made clear that he will not be seeking to become
prime minister or hold any other government post as a result of the upcoming
elections.
“The reason is very simple: I believe that I have finished my service to Armenia
and the Armenian people in high-level state positions,” he said.
Accordingly, Vanetsian will top the list of Pativ Unem’s election candidates and
will be its prime-ministerial candidate.
Armenian-Azeri Border Standoff Continues After Fresh Talks
• Artak Khulian
• Gevorg Stamboltsian
Armenia - A view of an area in Armenia's Syunik province where Armenian and
Azerbaijani troops are locked in a border standoff, May 14, 2021. (Photo by the
Armenian Human Rights Defender's Office)
Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian military officials announced no agreements
after holding more talks over the weekend in a bid to end a military standoff at
disputed sections of Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian did not comment on their results in his opening
remarks at a meeting of Armenia’s Security Council held on Monday morning.
“The negotiations will continue on Wednesday,” he said. “The negotiations have
one theme: Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenian territory.”
The weekend talks took place in Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province where
Azerbaijani troops reportedly advanced several kilometers into Armenian
territory early on May 12. The Armenian military alleged similar Azerbaijani
advances at two other sections of the long border.
Armen Khachatrian, an Armenian pro-government lawmaker representing a Syunik
constituency, described the talks as “quite productive” but refused to go into
details.
“The negotiations will continue. There are still issues,” he told RFE/RL’s
Armenian Service.
Khachatrian confirmed reports that General Rustam Muradov, the commander of
Russian peacekeeping troops deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh after last year’s
Armenian-Azerbaijani war, personally participated in the negotiations.
According to Pashinian, the situation on the border remains largely unchanged
even though some Azerbaijani soldiers have withdrawn from Armenian territory
since May 14.
“This means that we must continue to activate mechanisms of the Collective
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and continue to work on activating
Russian-Armenian allied mechanisms,” he said.
Shortly after the Security Council meeting Pashinian wrote on his Facebook page
that tensions at “some portions” of the Armenian-Azerbaijani frontier have risen
in the last few hours due to increased “aggressiveness of Azerbaijani forces.”
He did not elaborate.
Late last week Armenia formally asked both the CSTO and Russia to help it deal
with the Azerbaijani incursions and restore its territorial integrity. It wants
the Russian-led military alliance to invoke Article 2 of its founding treaty
which requires the CSTO to discuss a collective response to grave security
threats facing member states.
Armenia - Human rights ombudsman Arman Tatoyan talks to Armenian soldiers
deployed in Syunik province, May 14, 2021. (Photo by the Armenian Human Rights
Defender's Office)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow remains in “constant
touch” with Yerevan and Baku and is making “energetic efforts to defuse the
tensions and correct the situation.”
Azerbaijan has denied sending troops across the border and said its forces only
took up new positions on the Azerbaijani side of the frontier.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev described the Armenian appeal to the CSTO as
“completely baseless.”
“There have been no armed clashes on the border, the situation is stable and
negotiations are going on,” Aliyev was reported to say in a phone call with
President Kasim-Zhomart Tokayev of CSTO member Kazakhstan.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, for its part, that Baku and Yerevan
should resolve the border crisis through “bilateral contacts.”
Pashinian countered, however, that the two South Caucasus states have no
diplomatic relations and that they had agreed to demarcate and delimit their
border in a “trilateral format” involving Russia.
The Armenian premier claimed late last week that Baku may be trying to “provoke
a large-scale military clash” six months after a Russian-brokered ceasefire
stopped the war in Karabakh. He pointed to large-scale Azerbaijani military
exercises that began on Sunday.
The border standoff has also prompted serious concern from the United States and
France, which co-chair the OSCE Minsk Group together with Russia. Both countries
have urged Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from Armenia’s border areas.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le
Drian appeared to have discussed the border crisis in a phone call on Sunday.
According to the U.S. State Department, they “spoke about their cooperation as
OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries and emphasized the need for a long-term
political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
Ter-Petrosian Set To Join Parliamentary Race
• Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian speaks at a congress of his
Armenian National Congress (HAK) party, Yerevan, .
Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian signaled at the weekend plans to
participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections despite his failure to form
an alliance with Armenia’s two other ex-presidents.
Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress (HAK) party held a congress in
Yerevan to formulate a position on the elections slated for June 20. HAK
representatives said the final decision will be made this week by a new party
board chosen by the delegates.
“If the board decides to participate in the elections … then it’s clear that the
duty to top the Congress’s electoral list will be imposed on me,” Ter-Petrosian
said in a speech at the congress.
“It’s going to be difficult but the truth is that the Congress’s presence in the
[new] parliament is necessary not least for ensuring … that the lantern of
reason is not extinguished in the atmosphere of widespread cacophony,” he said.
He said the HAK’s key objective is to scuttle Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
reelection and at the same time prevent former President Robert Kocharian from
returning to power.
The HAK did not participate in the last parliamentary elections held in December
2018 six months after a “velvet revolution” that brought Pashinian to power. It
had failed to win any parliament seats in the previous polls held in 2017.
Earlier this month Ter-Petrosian publicly called on Kocharian and the other
former Armenian president, Serzh Sarkisian, to lead together with him a
broad-based opposition alliance and try to unseat Pashinian. He said they also
must also pledge not to seek the post of prime minister in the event of their
bloc’s victory.
Both men turned down the proposal before Ter-Petrosian suggested that the
political parties led by him and Sarkisian set up an electoral bloc without
Kocharian’s participation. Sarkisian did not accept that proposal either.
Ter-Petrosian hit out at the fellow ex-presidents in his speech at the HAK
congress, saying that they are motivated by parochial, rather than national
interests. The 76-year-old claimed that Kocharian is keen to “take revenge” on
Pashinian.
Ter-Petrosian’s readiness to join forces with Kocharian and Sarkisian came as a
surprise given the long history of mutual antagonism between them. For many
years, he was highly critical of his successors’ policies and track records.
Like other opposition figures, all three ex-presidents blame Pashinian for
Armenia’s defeat in last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Ter-Petrosian said on
Sunday that Kocharian and Sarkisian are also responsible for the war and its
outcome. He claimed that they opposed compromise solutions to the Karabakh
conflict during their rule.
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.
Month: May 2021
CivilNet: EU Increases Humanitarian Aid To Nagorno-Karabakh By €10 Million
CIVILNET.AM
02:05
By Emilio Luciano Cricchio
The European Union will provide an additional €10 million in humanitarian aid to those affected by the Second Karabakh War, bringing their total aid since the end of the war to over €17 million.
This latest increase will be used to provide food, hygiene, medical and other household items to those affected.
Funding will furthermore be used to ensure demining of explosives in populated areas and provide mine risk education to the local population.
“As pledged at the end of last year, we are today delivering additional assistance to the people most affected by the conflict. Our support will not stop there: the EU continues to work towards a more comprehensive conflict transformation and long-term socio-economic recovery and resilience of the region,” said Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement.
During the war, the EU allocated €900,000 to Nagorno-Karabakh, primarily to support the mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Following the November 9 ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the funding was increased by another €3 million.
Soviet-Era Maps In Conflict With One Another Concerning Armenian-Azerbaijani Border – OpEd
Eurasia Review
<style id="rocket-lazyload-nojs-css">.rll-youtube-player, [data-lazy-src]{display:none !important;}</style>
By Paul Goble
Soviet-era maps don’t provide a clear answer to just where the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan lies in the Syunik district which Baku refers to as Zengezur. Instead, a Soviet military map assigns territory to Azerbaijan that a Soviet topographic map says belongs to Armenia (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/363912/).
There haven’t been any maps prepared since 1991, and Baku and Yerevan have not held negotiations on the delimitation and demarcation of their borders because of the Qarabagh conflict. As a result, some of the supposed violations Armenia has claimed in the last week may not have looked like violations to Azerbaijani forces.
Three days ago, Yerevan said that Azerbaijani forces had penetrated its territory, but Baku responded by saying that its 250 troops were only changing their dislocation within Azerbaijani territory, a difference of opinion that appears to reflect the difference in the maps the two sides rely on.
Yerevan appealed to the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty and to Vladimir Putin for assistance in repelling what it labelled an incursion by Azerbaijan, and Armenian residents of Syunik Oblast blocked roads and demanded that Armenian officials provide the residents of border villages with guns so they could defend themselves.
The issue of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border has arisen now because as a result of last fall’s clashes, Azerbaijani forces expelled Armenian forces that had been occupying Azerbaijani territory since the mid-1990s. Now, Azerbaijani forces are up against the border. And the question is just where does that border lie.
According to Aleksey Gunya, a geographer at the St. Tikhon University of the Humanities, Armenia is in the right as far as the Black Lake is concerned. Most of it, he says, is in fact on Armenian territory. But he acknowledges that “it is difficult to define the precise borders of the two countries.”
“This territory was not controlled by Azerbaijan until the recent war,” Gunya continues. “On the maps of the USSR General Staff of 1,000,000 to 1 the lake is shown on the territory of Azerbaijan.” But a Soviet topographic map with a scale of 100,000 to one shows 80 percent of the lake to be within the borders of Armenia.
Gunya and the Armenians naturally favor the topographic map, while Azerbaijan gives primacy to the official Soviet General Staff maps. And that is the problem. As Aleksandr Skakov, deputy director of the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies, puts it, “there is no one Soviet map which would allow for defining the borders.”
Skakov says the two sides should begin negotiations on the border with the mediation of the Russians, but there is a problem there as well: Syunik Oblast is in the area where Russian border guards have responsibility rather than the peacekeeping troops in Qarabagh. Just who will play intermediary is thus unclear.
———————-<style id="rocket-lazyload-nojs-css">.rll-youtube-player, [data-lazy-src]{display:none !important;}</style>
https://www.eurasiareview.com/17052021-soviet-era-maps-in-conflict-with-one-another-concerning-armenian-azerbaijani-border-oped/
CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers to discuss situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia’s acting Defense Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan had a telephone conversation with the Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Stanislav Zas.
Vagharshak Harutyunyan presented the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, noting that despite the fact that according to the agreement reached, several groups of Azerbaijani servicemen returned to their starting positions today, some of them are still in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, and the problem, actually, has not been solved.
The Armenian Defense Minister noted that taking into account the fact that the Azerbaijani military is under the full control of the Armenian units, as well as the fact that large forces are accumulated on both sides of the border, the consequences may be unpredictable if the situation is not resolved quickly.
Stanislav Zas noted, in turn, that they are closely following the developments, and added that the issue will be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers in Dushanbe.
Armenian authorities treacherously failed all opportunities of organization of Armenia’s self-defense – expert
Aysor, Armenia
Syunik is external border for Iran, political analyst Suren Sargsyan wrote on Facebook.
“It is an entry to the EAEU (which [Iran] wants to join to). The only land border with the EAEU. If Iran loses this border it becomes fully dependent on Turkey (NATO). Iran also looses the road to Europe independent from Turkey (through Armenia and Georgia),” Sargsyan wrote, adding that above he also described the interest of the USA and Israel.
The expert writes that Syunik gives Turkey opportunity to implement its “Big Turan” project which will essentially raise Turkey’s influence in the Islamic and Turkic world – Turkey will become global super power (like the USA and China).
“Apart from it the oil-gas resources of Middle Asia countries (and not only Middle Asian) will pass through Syunik (which could become part of Azerbaijan or Turkey) as a result of which in the issue of energy bearers Europe will depend not only on Russia like it is now, but exclusively on Turkey,” the analyst wrote, adding that it is about Russia’s interest.
“Together with it Russia’s influence will essentially reduce not only in Europe but in the Middle Asia. Alongside, Russian base in Syunik means military base under Turkey’s nose with all the stemming consequences,” Sargsyan wrote.
"Here is a historical reference. Back in 1992 Turkey’s President Ozal Bush was convincing to exchange Karabakh with Syunik. “Karabakh – to Armenians, Syunik to Azerbaijan. All the pipelines are going to Russia or are passing through Russia’s territory. Even now Turkmen gas passes through Russia. With the help of my plan we can unite this pipeline through Azerbaijan to Turkey and take to Europe. These states need to go out to Europe not through Russia’s territory.”
The most painful in all this is that the Armenian authorities have treacherously failed all the opportunities of organization of Armenia’s self-defense,” Sargsyan noted.
US Secretary of State Blinken, French FM discuss Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Panorama, Armenia
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in a phone call on Sunday.
“Jean-Yves Le Drian and I discussed our concern over the violence between Israelis and Palestinians. We also discussed the need for a long-term political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” Blinken said in a tweet.
As reported earlier, Armenia’s caretaker Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian also held a telephone conversation with Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday, highlighting the active role of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.
.@JY_LeDrian and I discussed our concern over the violence between Israelis and Palestinians. We also discussed the need for a long-term political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. pic.twitter.com/widxLQUqih
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken)
https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2021/05/17/Blinken-French-FM/2503232
Save Armenian Monuments launches in New York
Panorama, Armenia
Culture 12:11 17/05/2021Region
Following Azerbaijan’s acquisition of approximately 1,500 antique and medieval Armenian cultural sites and monuments as a result of its late 2020 military offensive on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), a group of concerned Armenian American community leaders and specialists have launched Save Armenian Monuments, which will operate under the auspices of the Eastern Prelacy, The Armenian Prelacy reported.
“Given Azerbaijan’s record in eradicating the entire Armenian heritage of the region of Nakhichevan in 1997-2006, there are credible fears for the erasure of the medieval Armenian cultural heritage of Artsakh under Azerbaijan’s control,” remarked Dr. Virginia Davies, founding president of Save Armenian Monuments. “In order to safeguard the in-situ indigenous Armenian material heritage of Artsakh, Save Armenian Monuments will liaison with relevant stakeholders to document, raise awareness about and preserve the physical existence of the monuments, to advocate for Armenians’ right to worship at these religious sites, and to teach Armenian communities, particularly our diasporan youth, about these sacred sites through pilgrimages and other educational tools,” continued Davies.
Launched in 2020 in New York as an initiative of The Armenian Apostolic Church of America, Inc. (Eastern Prelacy), Save Armenian Monuments is comprised of officers, consultants, and advisors, including entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr. Davies, Tufenkian Foundation director Dr. Antranig Kasbarian, Denver-based researcher Simon Maghakyan, Boston-based Professor Christina Maranci, Manhattan-based lawyer Chris Parnagian, London-based entrepreneur Raffi Tanielian, as well as liaisons in Armenia.
“I was pleased last year to discuss with Dr. Davies her creative ideas in respect to preserving our sacred Christian landmarks which are in harm’s way,” remarked Archbishop Anoushavan Tanielian, Prelate of the Eastern Prelacy. “Today more than ever — in light of ongoing reports of the confiscation and destruction of Armenian sacred sites in Artsakh — this initiative is critical to preserving the Armenian nation’s legacy for future generations.”
The Eastern Prelacy, Archbishop Anoushavan added, “is pleased to embark on the noble mission of Save Armenian Monuments.”
Currently, Save Armenian Monuments is pursuing four projects: organizing an Artsakh pilgrimage in 2021; producing educational Artsakh church puzzles for children; supporting Research on Armenian Architecture (RAA), a Yerevan-based NGO that has meticulously documented Artsakh’s heritage, to update its technological infrastructure; and exploring mechanisms for the enforcement of Armenians’ religious rights to worship at sacred sites.
“We are excited to learn of the launch of Save Armenian Monuments and appreciate its proactive leadership in supporting documentation efforts of Artsakh’s heritage,” remarked Raffi Kortoshian, Co-Director of RAA. “Given the monumental threat facing Artsakh’s heritage, we need all Armenians to unite in fighting for the preservation of our churches and cross-stones,” continued Kortoshian. “A special thank you to Dr. Virginia Davies for her continuous involvement in preserving Artsakh’s past.”
Save Armenian Monuments is currently supporting the modernization of RAA’s visual archiving practices.
“I am encouraged and excited by the launch of Save Armenian Monuments,” remarked London-based entrepreneur Raffi Tanielian. “Our threatened cultural heritage needs documentation, up to date monitoring, ongoing awareness and protection by a multitude of stakeholders, and Save Armenian Monuments is the answer to filling the void in this critical effort to preserve our millennia-old past. I am thrilled to be a part of this work and I look forward to measurably impactful different projects to save our monuments,” concluded Tanielian.
On November 17, 2020, days before it came under the control of Azerbaijan, a final pilgrimage was made to St. Minas church in Hak village, Northern Kashatagh. The 17th-century church was restored in 2009 by the Tufenkian Foundation through a generous donation from Dr. Davies. She was among the pilgrims who gathered in St. Minas in November, where she shared her thoughts with the pilgrims and local and international journalists, expressing a deep concern about the possible desecration, destruction and erasure of Armenian cultural heritage at the hands of Azerbaijan, as had been done by Turkey in the aftermath of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Upon her return to New York City, together with Dr. Kasbarian and Mr. Parnagian and with the Eastern Prelacy, Save Armenian Monuments was launched.
“Historic Armenian monuments are not just stones: they are history, faith, identity — the very fabric of our culture, and our past, present, and future,” remarked Prof. Maranci. “Scholars, foremost among them the RAA, dedicate their lives to preserving the life and health of this precious archive,” Prof. Maranci said. “Supporting this endeavor is crucial to the preservation and scholarly interpretation of Armenian monuments.”
Founded in 2020, Save Armenian Monuments LLC, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and subsidiary of the Eastern Prelacy, pursues the sustained safeguarding of in situ Armenian Christian heritage at risk, in particular protection and awareness-building of at-risk churches, monasteries, gravesites, stone crosses, and other sacred sites and structures located in Artsakh and Azerbaijan, through activities including monitoring and education. Based in New York, Save Armenian Monuments operates in collaboration with relevant institutional and individual stakeholders. For additional information, visit .
https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2021/05/17/Save-Armenian-Monuments/2503306
Dutch MEP: Azerbaijan again playing with fire by crossing Armenian border
Panorama, Armenia
Dutch Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Vice Chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, Kati Piri, has denounced the Azerbaijani incursion into the sovereign territory of Armenia.
“Azerbaijan is again playing with fire by crossing the Armenian border. This provocation cannot be left without the condemnation of the Netherlands,” she said in a tweet on Monday.
Famous Dutch human rights activist, former MP Sadet Karabulut on Saturday urged the European Union and the Netherlands to condemn Azerbaijan’s act of aggression against Armenia.
“Many Armenians have been holding their hearts after another act of aggression by President Aliyev. Azerbaijan's incursion into southern Armenia must be condemned. However, the EU and the Netherlands still remain silent,” she tweeted.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan: Not a day goes by without lies and falsehood
Panorama, Armenia
Society 13:09 17/05/2021Armenia
Not a day goes by without lies and falsehood, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, said during a sermon on Sunday.
“We should not look elsewhere for the causes of our problems, we should not blame the world. Nobody will resolve our problems instead of us,” the Tavush Diocese quoted him as saying.
“In our life, not a day goes by without lies and falsehood. I just wish that we were not a tool for it and did not succumb to temptation.
“Our entire country is in temptation, our entire people are in temptation,” the archbishop said.
Georgian Ministry of the Interior launches investigation into clashes between ethnic Azerbaijanis and Georgians in Dmanisi
Panorama, Armenia
The Ministry of the Interior of Georgia issued on Monday a statement regarding the fighting that erupted on Sunday between local ethnic Georgians and ethnic Azerbaijanis in Dmanisi town. As Jam News reported, additional police forces have been called up in the city as the situation remains tense
“At this stage, the investigative measures carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs established that local residents in Dmanisi clashed with each other on domestic grounds, and the clashes later escalated into group violence,” the ministry said. The statement also says that the police have already identified the persons involved in the clashes.
The Interior Ministry says that police officers have been mobilized in the region to maintain public order and “in order to prevent a recurrence of the conflict and an artificial escalation of the situation”.
As the source reminded, the conflict between ethnic Azerbaijanis and eco-migrant settlers from the Svaneti region began with a dispute at one of the shops and escalated into a violent brawl between the two groups.
The footage of the fighting captured by surveillance cameras, was shared on media and online on May 16. The footage shows young people beating each other with sticks. The conflict continued the next day. The Palitranews agency reported that several people were injured as a result of another brawl, including one policeman, and paramedics were called to the scene.