Month: March 2023

                                        Thursday, March 2, 2023


German Leader Backs Karabakh’s Right To Self-Determination

        • Astghik Bedevian

Germany - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz meets with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian, Berlin, March 2, 2023.


German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday advocated a peaceful resolution of the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict that would respect Nagorno-Karabakh residents’ 
right to self-determination.

“We are concerned about instability on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the 
worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Scholz said after talks 
with Armenia’s visiting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. “The status quo cannot 
continue and there needs to be a long-term solution to the benefit of people.”

“There needs to be a peaceful settlement in terms of the territorial integrity 
of Armenia and Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh citizens’ right to 
self-determination. These principles are equally applicable,” he told a joint 
news conference.

Peace plans jointly drafted by the United States, Russia and France prior to the 
2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war upheld the Karabakh Armenians’ right to 
self-determination, which would be exercised through a referendum. Successive 
Armenian governments for decades championed that principle.

Over the past year, Pashinian and other senior Armenian officials have made no 
references to it in their public statements. They have spoken instead of the 
need to ensure “the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Pashinian stated in January that the international community has always regarded 
Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. The claim was denounced by the 
Armenian opposition and Karabakh’s leadership. The latter urged Yerevan to 
continue to champion “the Artsakh people’s right to self-determination” in the 
international arena.

Scholz also voiced support or European Union chief Charles Michel’s ongoing 
efforts to facilitate an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal. He noted in that 
regard that German observers account for a large part of a monitoring mission 
launched by the EU along Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan last month.

Russia has denounced the mission requested by Armenia, saying that it is part of 
the West’s efforts to squeeze Moscow out of the South Caucasus. Yerevan has 
dismissed the strong criticism voiced by its traditional ally.

Speaking at the press conference in Berlin, Pashinian revealed that Armenia and 
the EU are planning to sign a “document regulating the monitoring mission.” He 
did not go into details.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan visited the German capital last month. 
During that trip, his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock added her voice to 
calls for an immediate end to Azerbaijan’s blockade of Karabakh’s land link with 
Armenia. Baerbock pointed to “disastrous” humanitarian consequences of the 
blockade.



Armenia Backs India’s Bid For Permanent UN Security Council Seat


India - A panel discussion held as part of the the Raisina Dialogue, an 
international conference in New Delhi, March 2, 2023.


A senior Armenian official voiced support on Thursday for India’s efforts to 
become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, underscoring deepening 
ties between the two countries.

“Armenia appreciates India's balanced and stabilizing stance in these times of 
global upheaval,” deputy parliament speaker Hakob Arshakian said during a panel 
discussion on Indian-Armenian relations held as part of an international 
security conference in New Delhi.

Arshakian described India as a “major pillar of regional and international 
stability.” The world’s largest democracy is right to aspire to a larger role in 
global affairs, he said.

India’s arch-foe Pakistan strongly supported Azerbaijan during the 2020 
Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Nagorno-Karabakh. It has for decades refused to 
establish diplomatic ties with Yerevan.

By contrast, India has backed Karabakh peace efforts spearheaded by the United 
States, Russia and France. Its relationship with Armenia has become even more 
cordial since the 2020 war. The Indian and Armenian foreign ministers met 
regularly in 2021 and 2022.

USA - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan meets his Indian counterpart 
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at UN headquarters in New York, December 14, 2022.

New Delhi has effectively sided Armenia with in its ongoing border disputes with 
Azerbaijan. It has also expressed serious concern over the Azerbaijani blockade 
of the Lachin corridor.

In September, the Armenian military reportedly signed contracts for the purchase 
of $245 million worth of Indian multiple-launch rocket systems, anti-tank 
rockets and ammunition. Defense Minister Suren Papikian explored the possibility 
of more such deals during a subsequent visit to India.

Arshakian praised the Indian government’s position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani 
government.

“The last three years have been marked by a tremendous development trend in our 
relations,” he said.

The official, who is a senior member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party, 
also hailed growing commercial ties between the two countries. Indian-Armenian 
trade rose from $216 million in 2021 to over $315 million in January-November 
2022, he said.



New Rights Defender Still Not Named

        • Gayane Saribekian

Armenia - Kristine Grigorian addresses the National Assembly shorly before being 
elected Armenia's human rights defender, Yerevan, January 24, 2022.


More than one month after the unexpected resignation of Armenia’s state 
ombudswoman, Kristine Grigorian, the ruling Civil Contract party has still not 
nominated a new human rights defender.

Grigorian stepped down on January 23 after less than a year in office. She said 
she is planning to move on to another job.

Under the Armenian constitution, Grigorian has to be replaced by the Armenian 
parliament within three months from her resignation. Civil Contract, which 
controls the current National Assembly, has given no indication yet who could 
replace her.

Vigen Khachatrian, a senior member of the party’s parliamentary group, said on 
Thursday that he and his colleagues were encouraged by their parliamentary 
leader to propose candidates for the vacant post. They have shown little 
interest in doing that,” he said.

“There are probably two reasons,” Khachatrian told reporters. “Either there is 
no [suitable] candidate or there are too many of them.”

Taguhi Tovmasian, an opposition deputy chairing the Armenian parliament’s 
standing committee on human rights, criticized the delay.

“This is indicative of how the state treats the protection of human rights,” 
charged Tovmasian. “If they found that important, they would not display such a 
disdainful attitude towards this [state] institution.”

“We are now witnessing processes to which the ombudsperson’s reaction is 
extremely important. And yet the office of the ombudsperson is now headless,” 
she said, singling out Azerbaijan’s continuing blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh’s 
land link with Armenia and its humanitarian consequences for Karabakh’s 
population.

The two opposition groups represented in the National Assembly have not 
nominated any candidates either. Tovmasian said they realize that the 
parliament’s pro-government majority would almost certainly reject their choice 
of the human rights defender. In these circumstances, she said, the opposition 
also has trouble convincing potential candidates to run for the post.

The opposition lawmakers voted against Grigorian when the parliament elected her 
in January 2022. They described her as a government loyalist who will not take 
serious action against human rights violations in the country.

Unlike her outspoken predecessor Arman Tatoyan, Grigorian rarely criticized the 
government and law-enforcement bodies during her tenure.



Karabakh Downplays Talks With Baku


Nagorno-Karabakh - The main government buildings in Stepanakert, September 7, 
2019.


Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership has accused Azerbaijan of misrepresenting a 
meeting of Azerbaijani and Karabakh officials hosted by the commander of Russian 
peacekeeping forces on Wednesday.

The two sides gave differing accounts of the agenda and purpose of the meeting 
held amid the continuing Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin corridor.

The authorities in Stepanakert said its participants discussed the restoration 
of “unimpeded” traffic thorough the corridor and Armenia’s electricity and 
natural gas supplies to Karabakh also blocked by Baku.

An official Azerbaijani readout of the talks said, however, that they focused on 
the Karabakh Armenians’ “integration into Azerbaijan.” One of the Azerbaijani 
negotiators, Ramin Mammadov, told Azerbaijani media that this is the key 
objective of the “dialogue.”

“The participants of the meeting did not discuss issues related to the political 
status of the Republic of Artsakh,” read a statement released by the Karabakh 
foreign ministry late on Wednesday. “The comments made by the Azerbaijani side 
regarding the results of the meeting do not correspond to reality.”

“Such discussions organized for the purpose of solving urgent issues and, in 
particular, the lifting of the blockade of Artsakh cannot be a substitute for 
full-fledged peace negotiations which are necessary for the comprehensive 
settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict,” added the statement.

It also said that the Russian peacekeepers have repeatedly organized such talks 
before.

Azerbaijan has been trying to regain full control of Karabakh since its victory 
in the 2020 war with Armenia. Speaking after his February 18 talks with Armenian 
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Munich, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
said Baku is ready to negotiate with the Karabakh Armenians over their 
“minority” rights.

The Karabakh president, Arayik Harutiunian, reiterated on Wednesday that 
Stepanakert will continue to resist Azerbaijani rule.


Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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