Month: May 2021

Karabakh conflict must be resolved under OSCE aegis — Armenia’s Ayvazyan

Meline Chalian
TASS, Russia
May 6 2021
The country's acting foreign minister expressed readiness to discuss the implementation of the January 11 statement as regards the unblocking of transport communications

YEREVAN, May 6. /TASS/. Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Ayvazyan underscored the importance of restoration of the peace process for Nagorno-Karabakh under the OSCE Minsk Group aegis during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Thursday.

"During your visit, we have already started and will continue to discuss the issue of settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh. In this context, we have underscored the importance of the establishment of conditions for restoration of the peace process under the aegis of the OSCE Minsk Group trio – Russia, France and the US – which enjoys the mediator format," Ayvazyan said.

He expressed his readiness to discuss the "implementation of clauses of the January 11 statement regarding the unblocking of transport communications."

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. On January 11, the trio agreed to establish a working group at the level of Deputy Prime Minister, which will focus on the establishment of transport and economic ties in the region.

Moscow is confident that prisoners will shortly return to Karabakh, says Lavrov

Lilit Nahapetian
TASS, Russia
May 6 2021
The sides understand the symbolical and emotional meaning of the move, the Russian top diplomat said

YEREVAN, May 6./TASS/. Russia is confident that it will soon be possible to resolve the issue of returning prisoners captured during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at talks with Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday.

Together with the other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia "continues seeking the settlement of all humanitarian issues, including finalizing the process to return the detained persons," he said.

"We understand the symbolical and emotional meaning of this move, and we are confident that we will be able to solve this problem shortly. This will create a positive, constructive atmosphere for advancing on all other issues of the final settlement," he went on to say.

"We will be facilitating in every way the settlement of these issues in all forms, formats, through the implementation of trilateral settlements. And we will, of course, encourage in every way the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group to create a maximally positive atmosphere for the resolution of all remaining issues," the top diplomat added.

He said that Russia supported the activity of the trilateral working group of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan at the level of deputy prime ministers, that is engaged in "practically important, and maybe even most significant at the current stage issues of unblocking economic, transport communication that will make it possible to end the blockade in practice and ensure mutually advantageous interaction of all countries of the region," Lavrov stressed.

"We will go on with the efforts of our peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh. Our peacekeepers will be doing their best to settle the remaining issues, related to determining the exact line of contact, ensuring mutually arrangements on its passage. Of course, delimitation and demarcation of the boundary between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be possible only once these moves have been put into practice," Lavrov summed up.

Armenia ready to exert maximum effort for dialogue of Yerevan, Baku, Moscow — Pashinyan

Alex Nanijanian
TASS, Russia
May 6 2021
The acting PM vowed that Baku will continue to take measures to implement the agreements, achieved in the November 9, 2020, and January 11, 2021 trilateral statements
YEREVAN, May 6. /TASS/. Yerevan is ready to exert maximum effort in order to maintain the trilateral dialogue with Russia and Azerbaijan, Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Thursday.

"I would like to assure you that Armenia will continue to take all measures in order to implement the agreements, achieved in the November 9, 2020, and January 11 [2021] trilateral statements. We are also ready to exert maximum effort in order to ensure the constructive dialogue of the sides in the trilateral format," Pashinyan noted.

On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. On January 11, the trio agreed to establish a working group at the level of Deputy Prime Minister, which will focus on the establishment of transport and economic ties in the region.

Pashinyan lauds Russia for giving Armenia ‘a helping hand’ during pandemic, Karabakh war

Emil Lazarian
TASS, Russia
May 6 2021
According to the country's acting PM, thanks to Moscow's efforts it became possible to stop the hostilities and achieve substantial de-escalation in the region

YEREVAN, May 6. /TASS/. In Armenia’s time of difficulty, Russia helped solve the problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. This was reported by the press service of the Armenian government, in wake of the Thursday meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia.

"During a difficult moment, the Russian Federation extended a helping hand to us, assisted in solving the problems caused by the pandemic and aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh. Thanks to the efforts of the Russian Federation, it was possible to stop the hostilities and achieve substantial de-escalation in our region. The presence of Russian peacekeepers is a solid guarantee of Nagorno-Karabakh’s security. I want to note the role of President [Vladimir Putin] of the Russian Federation in achieving peace in the region," he emphasized.

On November 9, 2020, 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. According to the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had maintained, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachin Corridor that connects Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. It also envisages an all-for-all exchange of prisoners of war.

After the deployment of peacekeepers, the situation stabilized. Thousands of Nagorno-Karabakh residents who left their homes during the hostilities, returned with the support of the peacekeeping force.

In April, the first batch of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine was delivered to Armenia. Later on, the parties reached an agreement on the purchase of 1 million doses of the vaccine. Yerevan also said it was in talks with Moscow about launching the production of the vaccine domestically with a view to manufacturing up to 100,000 doses per month.

Russian FM Lavrov’s visit to Armenia leaves many questions unanswered

Parkev Tvankchian
JAM News
May 6 2021
    JAMnews, Yerevan

On May 6, during a press conference which was held shortly after the latest talks with his Armenian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov again highlighted the important contribution of the signed document to cooperation in the field of biological security.

It is also reported that during the talks with Sergey Lavrov Armenia raised the issue of returning the Armenian prisoners of war who remain in Azerbaijan after the second Karabakh war. The parties also discussed the issue of boosting the negotiation process on Karabakh and the role of Russian peacekeepers.

Armenian society was expecting more concrete answers and decisions to be made on these issues.

Below, we address what biological laboratories were being talked about, why they are important for Moscow, as well as what Armenia thinks about the process of resolving the Karabakh conflict.

  • Two reinforced Russian military points created in southern Armenia
  • Biological laboratories created by Pentagon in Armenia one of topics of Russian FM visit to Yerevan

In 2019, when Sergey Lavrov was in Yerevan on an official visit and back then negotiations were held on the signing of a memorandum on biological safety and the admission of Russian specialists to the bio laboratory of Armenia.

The Foreign Ministers of Russia and Armenia signed a memorandum on biological safety, Photo by JAMnews

The biological laboratories were created in Armenia in 2008 with the participation of the Pentagon and they are now working on the American defense Biological Participation Program. These laboratories are the property of Armenia.

Modernized biological laboratories of this type and funded by the US operate in Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan. They carry out biological research, such as the study of viruses.

In 2019, the Russian Foreign Minister spoke about the existence of a convention prohibiting the development of biological weapons and stated that the United States is categorically opposed to this convention and is trying to use bilateral status in order to create biological laboratories around the world.

From this statement by Lavrov, local experts concluded that Russia assumes the possibility of the existence of laboratories in Armenia that create biological weapons.

The Armenian authorities have always reinstated that local biological laboratories are used exclusively for medical purposes.

Armenian journalists were more interested in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and Russia’s position on this issue.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan, when asked this question at a press conference, said that the Karabakh conflict is far from being resolved:

“Only by means of peaceful negotiations can a comprehensive political settlement be achieved, one that takes into account the rights of all and brings peace and stability to the South Caucasus. The basis for such a settlement should be, first of all, the determination of the status of Artsakh within the boundaries within which the people of Artsakh have determined themselves”.

Another question, the answer to which was expected by the entire Armenian society was the return of prisoners who still remain in Azerbaijan following the cessation of hostilities in Karabakh. The head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry stated that this issue remains highly relevant for the country’s authorities:

“Almost six months after the end of hostilities, Azerbaijan, in violation of international humanitarian law, refuses to return all prisoners of war and civilians with hostage status”.

Ara Ayvazyan also stated that Armenia is interested in strengthening the mediation mission of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, under whose auspices the negotiations were held before the start of the war in autumn of 2020.

Sergey Lavrov called the work of the Minsk Group co-chairs “needed”, but immediately criticized the co-chairing partners in the OSCE Minsk Group:

“Russia, having played a decisive role in stopping the war, is more interested than anyone else in seeing everything done in practice. We have no doubt that when the Armenians and Azerbaijanis begin to feel the benefits of a peaceful life and when all sanctions and blockades are lifted, they will begin to treat the issues that today some of our colleagues are trying to bring to the fore in a different way.

There is no need to politicize the process today while the issues of the opening of communications in the region and the delimitation of borders are being discussed. These are practical and understandable things that need to be resolved in order for the region to breathe freely. Those who propose leaving these issues for later and those who are now engaging in political discussions are turning the process upside down. Political issues are easier to solve when people begin to live a normal life”.

Foreign Ministers of Russia and Armenia at a joint press conference, Photo by JAMnews

The Russian Foreign Minister also commented on the statement of Ilham Aliyev about a “corridor” that should connect Azerbaijan with its exclave – Nakhichevan.

In April, in an interview with the State TV and Radio of Azerbaijan, President Aliyev stated that Baku “will fulfill the task of implementing the Zangezur corridor, whether Armenia wants it or not,” and threatened to resolve the issue by force, if necessary.

Answering the question of whether these statements were discussed at the talks in Yerevan, Sergey Lavrov said that all problems of settlement in the post-conflict period, economic, humanitarian, and many other issues were discussed with his Armenian counterpart.

Sergey Lavrov added that the agreement signed by the heads of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia and the mechanism that it provides for reopening communications in the region allows for an exclusively voluntary principle of implementation – on a mutually beneficial basis:

“This mechanism in no way presupposes anything other than diplomatic agreement and decisions that will completely unblock economic ties”.

Armenia convicts two Syrians for fighting for Azerbaijan

Greg Madatian
EurasiaNet.org
May 6 2021
Ani Mejlumyan May 6, 2021

Yusef al-Haji, a Syrian convicted in an Armenian court for charges stemming from his fighting for Azerbaijan in last year's war. (screenshot, public television)

Two Syrians have been convicted in Armenia for fighting as mercenaries on Azerbaijan’s side during last year’s war.

In a closed trial that took only a single day, the Court of General Jurisdiction of Kapan in southern Armenia convicted the two men, identified as Muhrab al-Shkheri and Yusef al-Haji, on several charges including terrorism, international terrorism, serious violations of international humanitarian law during armed conflicts, and working as mercenaries. They were given life sentences.

The two had a public defender, Mushegh Vardanyan, who told local media that his clients pleaded guilty only to the charges of being mercenaries. “The defendants only partially admit their guilt, only the mercenary charges, they do not accept the rest of the charges and the verdict will be appealed,” Vardanyan told aravot.am.

After the trial one witness, Armen Vaghunts, told reporters that the Syrians attacked his village, which was not named, but that Armenian forces managed to repel the attack. He said that half the 150-member detachment of Syrian mercenaries fled, seven were killed and two others, al-Shkheri and al-Haji, wounded. "First they shouted Allahu Akbar, their clothes were different, and they spoke Arabic,” Vaghunts said. “We left them alive to prove to the world that Syrian mercenaries are fighting against us.”

In spite of widespread evidence gathered by international media and researchers that Turkey recruited hundreds of mercenaries from Syria and transported them to Azerbaijan to fight, both Azerbaijani and Turkish officials continue to deny it. Figures vary on the numbers of mercenaries involved in the conflict, but a report in April from the NGO Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) said 2,580 were recruited and 293 died. 

Both Syrians testified that they had been recruited by a man they called Abu Amsha. That refers to Mohamed al-Jasem, a senior member of a militia group known as the First Legion of the Syrian National Army-Suleiman Shah Brigade, an Istanbul-based Syrian researcher who asked not to be identified told Eurasianet. The group earlier fought for Turkey in its 2018 offensive in Afrin, Syria, and the group gained a reputation for crimes including torture and rape, the researcher said. “Then, they were later sent to Libya and Azerbaijan."

The Armenian court also identified 30 other people of interest and put them on a wanted list, from groups including the Sultan Suleiman Shah, Suqur, Al-Hamza, and Sultan Murad brigades. The researcher said that there were two other groups, Al-Moutasem Brigade and Levent Front, which also sent fighters to Azerbaijan.

While the Armenian court charged al-Shkheri and al-Haji with “terrorism,” the militia they were in was not an Islamist one, the researcher said. “These groups can't be called terrorists like ISIS because the violations they commit come from being corrupt militias not from a jihadi dogmatic belief,” the researcher said. “They didn't go to Azerbaijan to fight against ‘infidel Christians’ but simply for money. Jihadis would never fight outside their country, especially for a Shia-majority country like Azerbaijan.”

A report from Syrians for Justice and Truth (SJT) did claim that about 150 fighters from Syrian jihadi groups made up of people from the Caucasus were sent to Azerbaijan in July, the same month that serious clashes broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan. That fighting proved to be a prelude for the bigger war that began in September. “They [the Caucasian jihadist fighters] were taken to Azerbaijan by Turkish military aircraft in three flights on 5, 18 and 23 July 2020,” the report says.

“Most probably they [the Caucasian jihadist fighters] did take part in the Nagorno-Karabakh war but we don’t have information regarding their participation,” SJT’s co-founder and executive director, Bassam Alahmad, told Eurasianet.

As in Armenia, the term “terrorist” is used loosely in Azerbaijan. And the day after the trial of al-Shkheri and al-Haji took place in Armenia, Azerbaijan’s general prosecutor’s office announced that it was charging a Lebanese-Armenian man with being a “terrorist” and “mercenary.” The man, Vicken Euljekjian, was captured following the ceasefire announcement while trying to return to Shusha, where he had recently moved with his fiancée. His fiancée, Maral Najarian, also was captured and became a cause célèbre. Azerbaijan released and repatriated her to Lebanon in March.

The Azerbaijani prosecutors say that Euljekjian was paid $2,500 to fight as a mercenary on the Armenian side.

The Syrian authorities have been silent about the mercenaries’ convictions. They are “sweeping the issue under the rug,” Alahmad said. The trial and conviction also were ignored by official Baku and the Azerbaijani media.

 

Ani Mejlumyan is a reporter based in Yerevan.

Azerbaijan Commits War Crimes Against Armenians.

Tania Jagharian

May 6 2021

Azerbaijan Commits War Crimes Against Armenians 

05/06/2021 Azerbaijan (International Christian Concern) –  According to lawyers at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), 19 Armenian prisoners of war were tortured and killed by Azerbaijani servicemen. Artak Zeynalyan and Siranush Sahakyan, who are representing all Armenian captives, accused Azerbaijan of war crimes and appealed to the ECHR. The list of 19 killed includes 12 civilians and seven servicemen.

Azerbaijan also continues to degrade Armenian heritage through the demolition of religious sites. Photos and videos confirm the vandalism against Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi. Angels sitting atop pillars at the main entrance were destroyed and a fence running along the perimeter of the property has been taken down. Just a few days later, photos indicate that the domes had been removed from the church as well.

Satellite imagery also shows the destruction of an Armenian cemetery in Mets Tagher. The site was in use when Armenians evacuated in late 2020. In the same village, not too far away from the destroyed cemetery, sits Surb Amenaprkitch church. Nearby construction appears to be threatening the 175-year-old church as land next to it has been leveled and trucks remain parked in the clearing.

In one incident of justice, two Syrian mercenaries were given life sentences in Armenia for criminal charges including terrorism. The two men, Muhrab Muhammad Al-Shkheir and Yousef Alabed Alhajj, pleaded guilty to the charges that took place during the Nagorno-Karabakh war. According to the court, the Syrians underwent military training from June to September 2020 before being sent to fight. Investigators claim they were recruited by pro-Turkish militant groups to “terrorize civilians” and commit war crimes. In addition to a fixed salary of $2,000, recruiters also promised an additional $100 for every Armenian killed. Some sources report different numbers, but regardless the Turkish-hired mercenaries were given incentives to mutilate or kill Armenians. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey deny the presence of any foreign mercenaries and Azerbaijan responded to the confessions claiming fraud.

Armenians are a predominately Christian community who have suffered multiple genocides because of their combined ethnic-faith identity. The events in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 were reminiscent of the 1915 genocide which almost eliminated them from their native lands.


CoE: Increasing fiscal autonomy and fiscal capacity of local authorities in Armenia

Emil Lazarian
Council of Europe
May 6 2021
Increasing fiscal autonomy and fiscal capacity of local authorities in Armenia              
Increasing fiscal autonomy and fiscal capacity of local authorities in Armenia – Democratic Governance newsroom

How can states promote decentralisation of powers and competences to local authorities while ensuring a fair distribution of resources and adequate service provision without increasing the fiscal burden on citizens? This is the essence of the question being discussed by senior officials from Austria, Albania, Finland, Italy, and Ukraine in the context of a Peer Review by the European Committee of Democracy and Governance (CDDG) in Armenia this week.

The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure (MTAI) of the Republic of Armenia is currently preparing amendments to the legislative framework pertaining to local self-government in order to further fiscal and financial decentralisation, support the reorganisation of tax administration for local self-government units, and promote adherence to Article 9 of the European Charter of Local Self-Government – Financial resources of local authorities.

In successive monitoring reports, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has raised concerns about the level of financial autonomy and access to adequate financial resources of local authorities in Armenia. It has also noted discrepancies in the financial equalisation system.

Organised by videoconference, the Peer Review team will meet with a broad range of officials and stakeholders, and participate in a public roundtable discussion on possible reforms to the equalisation system and measures to improve fiscal capacity and enhance local taxes. This type of intergovernmental exercise falls at the intersection of Council of Europe monitoring, standard-setting and cooperation activities.

The Council of Europe, through the Democratic Development, Decentralisation and Good Governance in Armenia project implemented by the Centre of Expertise for Good Governance, has been supporting this process. Project activities have included the provision of legal and policy advice and the preparation of a baseline assessment of standard expenditure needs and a pilot benchmarking of municipal services. The project is implemented in the context of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia and funded by the Austrian Development Agency.

Saeima [Latvian Parliament] passes declaration on Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire

Jhanna Virabian
Baltic Times
May 6 2021
  • 2021-05-06
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA – The Saeima on Thursday passed a declaration on the Armenian genocide that was committed in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

The declaration drafted by the Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee was passed after the parliament rejected a declaration proposed earlier by a group of several dozen MPs. 

In the debate about the declaration, MP Romans Naudins (National Alliance) said that parliaments should carefully weigh such declarations before adopting them because they entail certain consequences. He said that none of the declarations was discussed with historians and that they deal with matters that Latvian lawmakers have not analyzed thoroughly enough. 

Naudins called on the Saeima to vote against the declarations and to draft new one by the fall. Naudins believes that the declaration should also mention people of other ethnic backgrounds who died during these tragic events. 

At the same time, the MP urged the Armenian parliament to denounce the genocide committed against Latvians and the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states. 

MP Aleksandrs Kirsteins (National Alliance), who spoke in detail about the historic events, also called against passing the declaration, adding that he did not understand the necessity to adopt such a declaration now. 

Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Committee chair Rihards Kols (National Alliance) informed that the Saeima committee has been debating a statement on the Armenian genocide for several 

months already and that all sides of the story have been heard in the process. 

The document says that it is important to remember the lives of people who perished in the Armenian genocide organized by Ottoman authorities – mass killings and deportations, which started on April 24, 1915 with arrests of ethnic Armenian intellectuals and activists in Constantinople (now Istanbul).

In the declaration, the Saeima denounces the crimes committed by the Ottoman Empire against Armenians – killings and forced deportations.

The Latvian parliament refers to the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) and the European Parliament's resolution recognizing these World War I events as genocide as defined in the UN Genocide Convention.

The lawmakers underline that Latvia condemns all crimes against humanity and realizes its duty to recognize and remember these crimes to prevent their repetition in the future.

The parliament says in the document that as a result of the Ottoman authorities' actions, many ethnic Armenians were forcibly deported to other regions of the empire, which resulted in the loss of many lives due to famine, physical violence and killings.

The Saeima underlines that Latvia honors the memory of all Armenian genocide victims and shows respect for the survivors, as well as points out that open and free discussions on historical events are indispensable for the development of a healthy and mature democracy.

The Latvian parliament calls on the international community to assess these historical events and set sights to the future, which should be built free from violence and intolerance – a future where human rights are honored and each individual can feel free, unthreatened and secure.