Thursday,
Putin Again Talks To Armenian, Azeri Leaders
Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian make statements to the press after
talks in Sochi, November 26, 2021.
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed heightened tensions in
Nagorno-Karabakh with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in separate phone
calls on Thursday.
Putin phoned Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev the day after the announcement of fresh face-to-face talks between
them that will be hosted by the European Union’s top official, Charles Michel,
in Brussels on April 6.
The Kremlin made no mention of the upcoming talks in its readout of the phone
conversations.
“The development of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh was discussed with an
emphasis on solving practical problems to ensure security and stability in the
region,” it said in a statement.
Putin stressed the importance of implementing Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements
brokered by him during and after the 2020 war over Karabakh, added the statement.
Russia accused Azerbaijan of violating the ceasefire regime after Azerbaijani
forces seized a village in eastern Karabakh and surrounding territory on March
24. They reportedly withdrew from the village on Monday but continue to occupy
nearby hills.
According to the Armenian government’s press office, Pashinian told Putin that
the Azerbaijani side may be planning “new provocations” in Karabakh.
“The prime minister conveyed to the Russian president the Armenian side's
expectation that the Russian peacekeeping contingent would take measures to
remove the invading Azerbaijani army units from the area of responsibility of
the Russian peacekeeping contingent,” read a statement released by the office.
“The leaders of the two countries agreed to take measures to quickly resolve the
situation,” it added without elaborating.
Putin and Pashinian spoke twice by phone late last week.
Both Pashinian and Aliyev said earlier on Thursday that they plan to discuss in
Brussels a comprehensive “peace treaty” between their nations. The Azerbaijani
leader said he is encouraged by Yerevan’s apparent readiness to accept the key
terms of such a deal offered by Baku.
Karabakh Armenians Rule Out Return To Azeri Control
• Artak Khulian
Nagorno Karabakh - Davit Babayan, the Nagorno Karabakh foreign minister, talks
to RFE/RL, Stepanakert,
Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian leadership and population will never agree to
live under Azerbaijani rule, a senior official in Stepanakert reiterated on
Thursday.
“This is the red line which we will never cross regardless of anything,” Davit
Babayan, the Karabakh foreign minister, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“Whatever promises Azerbaijan could give us, those promises won’t be serious,
they won’t be fulfilled.”
“For us, there is no chance of survival within Azerbaijan,” he said. “We would
either be turned into a concentration camp or there would be a genocide and
ethnic cleansing of Armenians.”
Therefore, the Karabakh Armenians will not even discuss any status of their
region within Azerbaijan, added Babayan.
The remarks came as Armenia and Azerbaijan geared up for talks on a “peace
treaty” meant to end their border disputes and the conflict over Karabakh. Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian said on Thursday that Yerevan is ready to formally
recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity through such a deal.
Other Armenian officials have made similar statements of late, prompting serious
concern from opposition leaders and other government critics. The latter
maintain that Pashinian’s government is ready to recognize Azerbaijani
sovereignty over Karabakh.
Pashinian’s statement followed deadly fighting in Karabakh sparked by an
Azerbaijani incursion into a village in Karabakh’s east. Azerbaijani forces
fired at other Karabakh villages and blocked supplies of natural gas to the
territory in early March.
The authorities in both Yerevan and Stepanakert say these actions are part of
Baku’s efforts to bully the Karabakh Armenians and cause them to emigrate.
Babayan said that the Karabakh leadership is making “intensive” efforts to
stabilize and improve the security situation with the help of Russian
peacekeeping forces stationed in Karabakh.
“We must stay strong, make the right geopolitical choices and understand that we
have no right to make mistakes at this historic moment,” he said.
Armenian Minister Arrested In Bribery Case
• Naira Nalbandian
Armenia - Minister of Emergency Situations Andranik Piloyan.
Minister of Emergency Situations Andranik Piloyan was arrested on corruption
charges late on Wednesday two days after law-enforcement officers raided his
ministry’s headquarters in Yerevan.
Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) said on Thursday that it also detained
five other senior officials in an ongoing criminal investigation into “numerous
cases” of bribery and other corrupt practices in the Ministry of Emergency
Situations.
In a statement, the ACC said it charged Piloyan on three counts of large-scale
bribery and asked a court to remand him in pre-trial custody.
In particular, the law-enforcement agency claimed that he received this year a
hefty kickback in return for making decisions that benefited a private
contractor. It did not elaborate.
The ACC said the minister was also bribed by an unnamed person who was appointed
to a senior position in the ministry’s Rescue Service in January.
A total of eight individuals have been indicted in the corruption probe so far,
the ACC statement said, adding that ten others currently have the status of
suspects. The detainees include an adviser to Piloyan.
It was not clear whether the minister will confess to the accusations or protest
his innocence in the court.
The ACC and the National Security Service (NSS) jointly searched some offices in
the ministry building in Yerevan on Monday. Piloyan went on a two-week vacation
hours after the raid.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian commented on Piloyan’s arrest during a weekly
cabinet meeting on Thursday. He said it underscores his government’s “zero
tolerance of corruption.”
Piloyan is a retired army general who participated in the 2020 war with
Azerbaijan. During the six-week hostilities, he received Armenia’s highest state
award, the title of National Hero, for leading what Pashinian called a
successful Armenian counteroffensive southwest of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The award proved highly controversial seeing as Azerbaijani forces continued
their advance in that area in the following days.
Pashinian went on to appoint Piloyan as minister in November 2020 less than two
weeks after a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the devastating war.
Pashinian Says Ready For Peace Deal With Azerbaijan
Armenia -- PM Pashinian Addresses the Government. 31March, 2022
Armenia stands ready to negotiate a comprehensive peace deal with Azerbaijan
based on mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity, Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian insisted on Thursday.
Pashinian at the same time accused Baku of seeking to fully reconquer
Nagorno-Karabakh and drive out its ethnic Armenian population.
“I once again express Armenia’s readiness to sign a peace treaty with
Azerbaijan. Armenia is prepared for an immediate start of peace negotiations,”
he said in a lengthy speech delivered at the start of a weekly session of his
cabinet.
Pashinian indicated that the issue will be high on the agenda of his talks with
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that will be hosted by European Council
President Charles Michel in Brussels on April 6.
“I hope to discuss and agree at that meeting with the president of Azerbaijan
all the issues related to the start of peace talks,” he said.
Yerevan formally proposed such negotiations on Monday. Baku responded by saying
the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal must be based on five elements that were
presented by it to Yerevan on March 10. Those include, among other things, a
mutual commitment to recognize each other’s territorial integrity.
Pashinian said the Armenian side has already notified Baku that “there is
nothing unacceptable for us in Azerbaijan’s proposals.”
“This reply means that the principle of mutual recognition of territorial
integrity and inviolability of the borders is acceptable to Armenia,” he
stressed.
Similar statements made by Pashinian and members of his political team earlier
this month drew strong condemnation from Armenian opposition leaders. The latter
maintain that Pashinian’s administration is ready to recognize Azerbaijani
sovereignty over Karabakh.
Meanwhile, Aliyev expressed the hope that the upcoming talks in Brussels will
pave the way for the signing of the Armenian-Azerbaijani treaty “as early as
possible.” He was reported to describe Armenian leaders’ responses to the
Azerbaijani proposals on the peace deal as “good news.”
Meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau in Baku, Aliyev also
reiterated that Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 war with Armenia put an end to
the Karabakh conflict. “The conflict is already settled,” he said.
Pashinian complained on Thursday that despite his conciliatory stance Azerbaijan
is ratcheting up tensions in Karabakh and trying to “legitimize” a possible
large-scale assault not only on the disputed territory but also Armenia. He
pointed to last week’s Azerbaijani incursion into a Karabakh village, saying
that it was part of Baku’s broader attempts to “terrorize” the Karabakh
Armenians and force them to flee the territory.
“The apparent purpose of these actions is to finish the policy of ethnic
cleansing of Karabakh’s Armenians,” charged the Armenian premier.
Azerbaijani troops captured the Karabakh village of Parukh and advanced towards
a strategic mountain to the west of it on March 24, meeting with stiff
resistance from Karabakh Armenian forces. Russian peacekeepers stationed in
Karabakh intervened to stop deadly fighting there.
Azerbaijani forces reportedly withdrew from the village on Monday. But they
continue to occupy a section of the Karaglukh mountain.
Pashinian, Aliyev To Meet Again In Brussels
• Heghine Buniatian
Belgium - European Council President Charles Michel meets with Armenian Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev, Brussels,
December 14, 2021.
European Council President Charles Michel will host fresh talks between the
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels next week, it was announced on
Wednesday.
A spokesman for M
ichel gave no details of the agenda of his trilateral meeting with Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian and President Ilham Aliyev, saying only that it is
scheduled for April 6.
A senior European diplomat, who asked not to be identified, told RFE/RL that the
three men will review recent developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone
and continue discussions on achieving regional peace and stability. They will
specifically focus on practical modalities of opening transport links between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, said the diplomat.
Michel and French President Emmanuel Macron held a virtual meeting with Aliyev
and Pashinian on February 4. The video conference came about two months after
Pashinian’s two face-to-face talks with Aliyev which were separately hosted by
Macron and Michel in Brussels.
The fresh meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders was announced two days
after Armenia offered to “immediately” start negotiations with Azerbaijan on a
bilateral peace treaty sought by Baku. The offer in turn followed deadly
fighting in Karabakh sparked by an Azerbaijani incursion into a local village
and surrounding territory.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Baku is prepared for such
negotiations but expects the Armenian side to take unspecified “concrete steps”
first. It said the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal must be based on five
elements that were presented by it to Yerevan on March 10. Those include, among
other things, a mutual commitment to recognize each other’s territorial
integrity.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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