Month: December 2023

Washington Must End Its Support for Azerbaijan’s War Crimes

Babken Chilingarian
 JACOBIN 
Dec 18 2023
BY
ALEX GALITSKY, 
SHAHED GHOREISHI

The US has long offered unconditional military assistance to Azerbaijan even as it carries out ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. It’s consistent with Washington’s support for brutal human rights violators from Saudia Arabia to Israel.

The other week, Azerbaijan’s president scolded US secretary of state Antony Blinken over efforts to curtail military assistance to the Caspian dictatorship in the wake of its assault on the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. While US arms and assistance to Azerbaijan have largely been overlooked, they are representative of how Washington’s security assistance has facilitated war crimes and perpetuated a global system built on the selective application of human rights and international law. In the case of Azerbaijan, US assistance enabled ethnic cleansing on a shocking scale.

However, amid public outcry over the nonenforcement and rollback of human rights conditions on military assistance to US allies from Turkey to Saudi Arabia to Israel — a recent decision by the Senate to suspend military assistance to Azerbaijan marks an unprecedented step toward the enforcement of human rights standards and congressional oversight long absent from US foreign policy.

Last month, Azerbaijan invaded Nagorno-Karabakh (also known as Artsakh), forcibly expelling its entire indigenous Armenian population, aided by US security assistance. As a direct consequence of the impunity Washington has granted Baku, Azerbaijan, is now threatening further military action against Armenia — a risk recently acknowledged by Secretary Blinken.

Azerbaijan hasn’t always enjoyed the kind of impunity other recipients of US military assistance do. In the early 1990s, Azerbaijan was prohibited from receiving US aid pursuant to Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, which suspended all forms of aid to Azerbaijan in light of its aggression against Armenian civilians during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

While this prohibition is still in effect, following the September 11 attacks it has been subject to a national security waiver — an all-too-familiar tool that has granted the US president far-reaching discretion over military assistance, unbeholden to congressional oversight and the long-ignored human rights conditions mandated under the Leahy Laws and Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act.

In an attempt to garner Azerbaijan’s support for the United States’ 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, the waiver of Section 907 saw hundreds of millions of dollars funneled to the government through lucrative defense contracts and security assistance. This has only escalated in recent years as Washington now justifies its uncritical support for Azerbaijan as necessary to secure its role as an alternative energy supplier for Europe and a regional bulwark against Russia and Iran.

Despite President Joe Biden’s campaign pledge to cut military aid to Azerbaijan after its assault on Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, his administration has twice reauthorized assistance to Baku, even in the face of strong congressional opposition. These waivers have continued despite the Azerbaijani government’s torture and execution of Armenian prisoners of war, human rights abuses, and war crimes against civilians, and a humanitarian blockade that precipitated the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh. Washington had every opportunity to prevent this unfolding humanitarian and security crisis but instead chose to embolden Azerbaijan by rewarding its behavior with security assistance.

Azerbaijan is an instructive case in the abject failure of current US policy. Not only did unconditional assistance to Azerbaijan grant the United States little-to-no ability to influence or constrain Baku’s behavior — the lack of conditions on assistance to Azerbaijan sent a green light to its government that it would face no material repercussions for its human rights abuses, emboldening its behavior. US arms sales haven’t even deterred Azerbaijan from engaging with US rivals, as Baku continues to expand its energy partnerships with Russia and Iran.

Washington’s support of Azerbaijan will signal to other recipients of US military assistance that they will continue to face zero accountability for their actions, despite Biden’s pledge to ensure autocrats “pay the price” for their aggression. Furthermore, Washington’s reckless policy threatens to destabilize the region further by encouraging war profiteers to take a page from Washington’s playbook, with Turkey closing a major arms deal with Saudi Arabia in July, and Israel selling weapons to Azerbaijan used to perpetrate horrific human rights abuses against Armenians in Artsakh at the same time it perpetrates unconscionable war crimes of its own in Gaza.

Immediately before Azerbaijan’s assault on Nagorno-Karabakh, US officials affirmed that they “would not countenance any attempt at ethnic cleansing” by Azerbaijan. Washington’s failure to hold Azerbaijan accountable after it breached this red line will only embolden further aggression as Baku eyes Armenia’s sovereign territory. It will also undermine whatever confidence anyone might still have had in Washington’s willingness to uphold human rights. It sends a clear signal to other recipients of US military assistance engaged in human rights abuses, from Turkey’s relentless assault on Kurdish communities in Northern Syria and Iraq, to Saudi Arabia’s crackdowns at home and its mass murder of refugees and destruction of Yemen, to Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza — heightening the risk of conflicts that could engulf the entire region.

Facing considerable congressional and public pressure, the Biden administration has now publicly stated that it does not intend to waive restrictions on military assistance to Azerbaijan. But the unanimous passage of the Armenian Protection Act by the Senate last month takes that one step further, prohibiting the executive from exercising its waiver authority for a two-year window. If enacted by the House of Representatives, this would mark an unprecedented step toward enforcing human rights standards and congressional oversight of US security assistance in a rare rebuke of US foreign policy, driven by grassroots action.

Washington’s Faustian bargain with some of the world’s most abusive governments has produced the very outcomes it purportedly seeks to avoid and recklessly enables the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh’s Armenians. The unanimous Senate vote to enforce human rights conditions on assistance to Azerbaijan is not just a step toward justice for the victims of Azerbaijan’s genocidal aggression — it marks an important victory in the effort to curb executive overreach, end the practice of fueling raging regional fires, and stop material US support for war crimes.

https://jacobin.com/2023/12/washington-biden-administration-azerbaijan-war-crimes-armenia-us-military-aid

Armenia’s Energy Security Faces Frosty Relations with Russia

Eduard Nalbandian
UK – Dec 18 2023

Lacking fossil fuels, Armenia leans on Russian gas and oil for most of its needs.


Armenia’s strained relations with Russia, its traditional strategic ally, may have an impact beyond political and security alliance, affecting the country’s energy security as Moscow supplies most of Yerevan’s gas needs.

Armenia is officially considered a self-sufficient country in terms of its volume of electricity, generating up to 98 per cent of its needs in-country. Experts, however, warn that the reality is more complex.

“Our self-sufficiency depends on the countries from which we import the gas and the uranium that operate our thermal and nuclear power plants. And when our government officials speak about our self-sufficiency, why do they forget to say how we maintain it?” energy expert Armen Manvelyan told IWPR, noting that in fact over 70 per cent of Armenia’s electricity depended on Russia.

According to Armenia’s statistical committee, in 2021 thermal power produced 42.9 per cent of the country’s electricity, while 25.4 per cent was provided by nuclear plants with uranium imported from Russia. Internal resources produce about 31.6 per cent of Armenia’s electricity: 27.9 per cent from hydropower and 3.7 percent from solar power plants. 

In addition, Armenia imports natural gas and oil for most of its energy needs, predominantly from Russia. According to data from the Ministry of Territorial Administration, Russia supplies 87.5 per cent of Armenia’s gas needs via pipeline through Georgia, while Iran covers 12.5 per cent through a barter agreement under which it exports electricity in exchange.

Armenia also trades electricity with Georgia, though volumes are low since the countries’ networks are not synchronised. Energy interconnections with Azerbaijan and Turkey are inactive for political reasons.

In an interview on November 15, Iran's newly appointed ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, hinted that Tehran might help Yerevan reduce its energy dependence on Russia. Since 2009 Armenia has provided Iran with electricity in return for natural gas supplies; the arrangement was due to end in 2026, but in August the two countries agreed to extend and expand it until at least 2030. Russia, however, could turn the tap off as gas giant Gazprom owns the pipeline bringing the gas from Iran to Armenia.

According to the Statistical Committee of Armenia, in 2021 natural gas accounted for 76.2 per cent of imported energy resources and oil products for 21.9 per cent.

Armen Manvelyan, an energy expert, noted that amid the strained relations with Russia in the wake of the situation in Nagorny Karabakh, this dependency was problematic. 

“Armenia is not in the best energy situation right now,” he continued. “Yes, the nuclear power plant is working, thermal power plants are working, but their activities depend on the energy resources supplied from Russia. And if their prices increase, Armenia may face serious problems.”

While a spike in prices is not imminent, the widening rift between Yerevan and Moscow meant that it cannot be ruled out.

“Until now, the existing favourable tariffs were determined by the quality of political relations between the two countries,” Manvelyan said. “If you have good political relations, you get a good price. When you start to spoil your political relations, the situation may become dicey and prices may increase.”

Other experts are more optimistic.

“I think that the problems associated with the dependence on Russian gas are not as acute and existing issues can be mitigated by diversifying the country’s energy system, for example developing further nuclear and solar energy,” Avetisyan told IWPR, adding that supplies from Russia and Iran were mutually beneficial. 

“In the case of Iran, this is done within the Gas for Electricity scheme, while in case of Russia, we buy the gas, we do not receive it as a gift.”

Manvelyan noted that rates were certainly lower for Yerevan. 

“Armenia pays Russian gas at a low price, 175 dollars per 1,000 cubic metre while Azerbaijan sells gas to its ally Turkey at 290 dollars,” he said, adding that Armenia was short of options in terms of friendly neighbours and should hence “make every effort to ensure good relations with Russia”. 

“An increase in gas prices will trigger a chain reaction across the country’s economy as prices of our goods will increase, affecting our export opportunities because our products will become uncompetitive,” he concluded.

OPENING THE ENERGY MARKET

To increase its self-sufficiency, the Armenian government has embarked on a path to liberalise the energy market as a way to boost its electricity export capacity and diversify sources. 

“We support the government of Armenia in implementing reforms in the energy sector. We are working with the Armenian government in three main areas – liberalisation of the electricity market, diversification of energy supplies and development of interstate trade with Georgia,” said Abgar Budagyan, chief of party at Tetra Tech, which implements USAID’s energy programme in Armenia.

For Prime MInister Nikol Pashinyan, the gradual liberalisation of the electricity market which started in 2022 has opened up new opportunities and created favourable conditions for interstate trade. 

“We are developing production capacities, carrying out large-scale reconstruction of substations and power lines, and building Armenia-Iran and Armenia-Georgia high-voltage lines, which contribute to the formation of the North-South Electricity Corridor and create new opportunities for increasing exports, imports, transit or seasonal power exchange. Thus, Armenia can become a kind of regional electricity hub,” he said in June. 

The open market means that consumers can choose an electricity supplier, depending on the offered tariffs. It also means that the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) no longer has the monopoly over the electricity supply, although new suppliers still have to use ENA’s distribution network, meaning that the company remains the only guaranteed distributor.

“Since the introduction of the new market model, the Commission approved the licence for 14 suppliers and seven wholesalers are already operating,” Sergey Aghinyan, a member of the Public Services Regulatory Commission, told IWPR.

According to official statistics, in the first six months of 2023, 13.1 per cent of consumers chose new electricity suppliers, up from 5.3 per cent in the whole of 2022. The government forecast the share to reach 23 per cent in 2024. 

Experts and officials noted that the reform contributed to the development of interstate imports and exports.

“In 2022, Armenia exported 365 million kWh to Georgia; in 2012-2021 the amount remained constant at 242 million. This happened mainly because of market liberalisation,” Vardanyan said. Iran remained the main recipient of Armenia’s electricity, with 1178.3 million kWh of electricity supplied in 2022. 

But experts remain divided over the benefits of liberalisation. Avetisyan’s assessment one year on is positive as it is “an important process that provides opportunities for free competition for existing market players not only within the country, but also abroad”.

Manvelyan maintained that authorities should have strengthened state control rather than open the market.

“Energy is one of the few industries that should be very seriously controlled by the state, it is the only one in the position to build large systems and high-voltage networks," he said. "If Armenia were a large country, we could also talk about the private sector, but this is not the case of our country.”

https://iwpr.net/global-voices/armenias-energy-security-faces-frosty-relations-russia

Guiness World Records: Armenian teen breaks record performing pull ups between moving trucks

Ani Basmajian
Dec 18 2023
By Sanj Atwal
Published 

18-year-old Grigor Manukyan (Armenia) has broken the world record for the most consecutive pull ups on a bar positioned between two moving trucks.

The trucks were required to maintain a minimum speed of 5 km/h (3.1 mph) while Grigor did as many pull ups as possible without falling.

Performing a total of 44, Grigor smashed the previous record of 35, which was set last year by “The Italian Butterfly” Tazio Gavioli.

“This record was not difficult for me due to my rigorous training,” Grigor said.

“I think I could have brought the number up to 50, but I decided to stop at 44 and dedicate my record to the bright memory of the heroes who were martyred in the ill-fated 44-day Artsakh war, in which thousands of Armenians died.”

Grigor is no stranger to performing incredible feats of fitness from vehicles – in November last year, he set a record for the most chin ups from a helicopter in one minute with a total of 36.

He is currently preparing to set a similar record for the most pull ups from a plane in one minute.

Grigor also holds the record for the most four finger pull ups with a 20 lb pack in one minute (31), and he used to hold a record for the most towel pull ups in one minute (33), but this was later broken by Matthew Caruana (Australia), who beat Grigor’s total by one.

Grigor trains for his record attempts at the Dutsaznatun Regional Center of the Hi-Am Foundation, a sports centre in the Armenian town of Talin, which has a population of around 8,000 people.

Despite the town’s small size, it boasts an astonishing number of world record holders, all coached by Roman Sahradyan, who has achieved multiple Guinness World Records titles of his own over the past decade. One of his most impressive record attempts, for the most consecutive gymnastic high bar giants, can be seen in the below video.

Roman’s record-breaking students include:

  • Hamazasp Hloyan - most pull ups from a helicopter in one minute (32)
  • Narek Nikoghosyan - longest static hold on parallel bars carrying a 100 lb pack (2 min 46 sec)
  • Hayk Ghazaryan - most hula hoop rotations around the neck in 30 seconds (104)
  • Vardges Aghabekyan - longest duration four finger hang (3 min 35.59 sec)
  • Artak Saroyan - longest duration rope hang with one finger (47 seconds)
  • Suren Aghabekyan - heaviest deadlift with the little finger (110 kg; 242 lb 5 oz)
  • Sasun Barseghyan - most hula hoop rotations around the elbow in 30 seconds (118)
  • Miasnik Mkhitaryan - longest static hold on parallel bars carrying a 60 lb pack (6 min 13 sec)
  • Rita Khachatryan - most extended Russian Twist sit ups in one minute (female) (16)

With over two dozen students vying to break as many records as possible, this list looks likely to get bigger and bigger throughout 2024 and beyond.

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/12/armenian-teen-breaks-record-performing-pull-ups-between-moving-trucks-762502


Armenian teen does 44 pullups between two moving trucks

Karapet Navasardian
UPI
Dec 18 2023

By Ben Hooper

Dec. 18 (UPI) — An Armenian teenager showed off his upper body strength by performing 44 pullups on a bar positioned between two moving trucks.

Grigor Manukyan, 18, was awarded the Guinness World Records title for the most consecutive pullups on a bar positioned between two moving trucks when he achieved the feat after training with Roman Sahradyan, a coach with multiple GWR titles of his own.

The trucks were required to maintain a speed of at least 3.1 mph during the attempt.

Manukyan broke the previous record of 35, which was set in 2022 by Tazio Gavioli, aka The Italian Butterfly.

"This record was not difficult for me due to my rigorous training," Manukyan told GWR officials. "I think I could have brought the number up to 50, but I decided to stop at 44 and dedicate my record to the bright memory of the heroes who were martyred in the ill-fated 44-day Artsakh war, in which thousands of Armenians died."

Manukyan said he is currently training to take on a similar record for performing pullups from a plane.

Talakvadze Stresses Vital Importance of Peace Agreement Between Armenia and Azerbaijan for the Region

Emil Lazarian
The Messenger, Georgia
Dec 13 2023
By Liza Mchedlidze

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Archil Talakvadze positively assessed the visit to Azerbaijan. According to Talakvadze, the Georgian delegation engaged in significant meetings with key figures, such as the president, the chairman of the parliament, and the prime minister, as well as their colleagues. Talakvadze also highlighted the active nature of the friendship group between the parliaments and mentioned plans for future collaboration.

Parliament Deputy Speaker believes that the future of the entire region, including economic and infrastructural projects, trade relations, and tourism connecting the two countries, significantly depends on the friendship and cooperation between Georgia and Azerbaijan. According to his assessment, the two governments are making every effort to strengthen and enhance relations with their strategic partner for the benefit of their people.

"Georgia supports long-term peace in the region and is prepared to contribute to future negotiations and agreements. Both the leader of this country and our Prime Minister are genuinely committed today, and the government is actively working to facilitate this agreement. Georgia has always been the space where Azerbaijan and Armenia could engage in dialogue.

Today, our mediation and participation are genuinely necessary, and we have once again heard from our partners in Baku that they appreciate and welcome Georgia's involvement in the process of reaching a peaceful agreement.The region, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia all need this agreement," said Talakvadze.

The Deputy Speaker also expressed gratitude to the government of Azerbaijan for supporting Georgia's European integration. According to him, the message and support President Ilham Aliyev announced in the international arena were once again acknowledged in Baku.

"At this point, of course, we really appreciate the support of our friends. The European integration of Georgia is in the interests of the region as a whole, as well as in the interests of Azerbaijan, and of course it will further strengthen our positions in the international political arena.

There is very little time left before the final decision is made, but it is important that we are focused not only on the candidate status but also on the future when our country is already moving to the final accession stage.

Georgia should be accepted; it deserves its rightful place in the European family, and it is in the interests of both Georgia and Europe.

I believe that a fair decision will be made, one determined by the vision of the European future, the security architecture in Europe, and, most importantly, the function and value of Georgia in the common European policy," Talakvadze said.


IWSC 2024 Wine Judging in Georgia: judges’ impressions of Armenian wines

Emil Lazarian
IWSC
Dec 13 2023
This year, our Wine Judging in Georgia grew into a regional event, with entries beyond Georgia itself. We were delighted to welcome wines from the neighbouring Armenia – a country with ancient wine traditions and an impressive collection of indigenous grapes. Out of around 50 Armenian entries more than a half were awarded with medals.

Following the tasting, our judge, Journalist and Broadcaster David Kermode caught up with Cat Lomax, IWSC judge and Independent Drinks Retail Consultant. Cat shared her opinion of the Armenian wines she tasted and highlighted several important tips and takeaway points for Armenian producers.

Watch the video below to hear judge Cat Lomax' feedback

UK encourages British investment in Azerbaijan’s reconstruction of Karabakh

Adrine Hakobian
eurasianet
Dec 13 2023
James Dowsett Dec 13, 2023
British ambassador Fergus Auld surveys work by the UK-headquartered Mines Advisory Group in Agdam, Azerbaijan (X, Fergus Auld)

The UK government is encouraging British businesses to get involved in the reconstruction of regions of Azerbaijan – chiefly outside Nagorno-Karabakh – that Baku recovered from Armenian control in recent years. 

The distinction between the traditionally Azerbaijani-populated areas surrounding the former Soviet autonomous region and the lands that have been emptied recently of their Armenian residents is not a clean one, however. And it's not a distinction being made by the Azerbaijani government, whose "Great Return" program envisages the settlement of the entirety of the reclaimed lands. 

In early November, the British Embassy in Baku held an online event for businesses interested in investing in the rebuilding drive, which it called the "biggest commercial opportunity outside of oil and gas" in Azerbaijan. The event was held about six weeks after Azerbaijan's military takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh triggered the displacement of the territory’s population of about 100,000 Armenians.

The embassy told Eurasianet that it is "not currently involved in reconstruction efforts in the area recently recovered by Azerbaijan in September 2023," and that it supports the return of the Karabakh Armenians to their homes.  

The First Karabakh War of 1991-94 ended with de facto Armenian control over the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), as well as seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan. 

The NKAO's population, according to the last Soviet census in 1989, was 77 percent Armenian with a substantial Azerbaijani minority. The surrounding regions were almost entirely populated by Azerbaijanis. The first war resulted in the displacement of the entire Azerbaijani population – upwards of 620,000 people - from both the former NKAO and the surrounding regions. Azerbaijan retook the surrounding regions and several parts of the former NKAO in the 2020 Second Karabakh War, with the remaining rump territory left under de facto Armenian administration until Baku's September 2023 offensive. 

 

Image

Webinar promotes British investment in reclaimed territories

The registration-only webinar on November 6 featured an embassy presentation referring to the UK as "a favored partner" in Azerbaijan's "National Rebuilding Project," indicating that British energy, architectural and demining companies have either secured contracts or are actively pursuing commercial projects. 

One UK embassy official told the 50 or so attendees present – mostly British executives – that the region "was just an empty land ready to be filled in from scratch." 

Indeed, the Azerbaijani regions around the former NKAO have been largely uninhabited since the Azerbaijani population fled in the early 1990s, though there were scattered attempts at Armenian settlement over the years. Azerbaijan’s resettlement process has been slow due in large part to the presence of as many as a million landmines. 

There was scant mention at the webinar of the Armenian refugee crisis from Karabakh after Azerbaijan's September offensive, which followed a nine-month blockade of the region. 

British Embassy Baku told Eurasianet in an emailed statement that "the UK will continue to assess where we can provide further support and assistance as reconstruction efforts continue," and that it is "assisting in regions including Tartar, Shusha, Fuzuli, Aghdam and Goranboy." 

The embassy said that it is "not currently involved" in reconstruction efforts in areas brought under Azerbaijan's control in September, but that the UK Government "will continue to keep our policy under review as the domestic and regional situation develops."

"During [UK] Minister for Europe Leo Docherty's visit to Baku on 22 November, the Minister underlined the UK's desire to see both Karabakhi Armenians and Azerbaijani IDPs return and a sustainable peace with Armenia," the embassy statement added.

Rebuilding Shusha

At a separate online event in early November, British Embassy Baku highlighted architectural opportunities for UK businesses in the reclaimed territories.  

In his remarks to participants, the UK's deputy country director in Baku, Eden Clayton, stressed the distinction between supporting reconstruction works in historically "Azerbaijani dominant" lands recovered in the 2020 war, and majority Armenian areas in Karabakh, like "Khankendi." Khankendi is the Azerbaijani name for the town known to Armenians as Stepanakert that served as the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's capital throughout its three-decade existence.

As the diplomat spoke, photos on-screen showed visits by British ambassador Fergus Auld in October to construction works in Jabrayil and UK-led demining efforts in Agdam (both in areas surrounding the former NKAO).

The UK official was joined by Adrian Griffiths, the owner of the British firm Chapman Taylor, which in 2021 won contracts in Azerbaijan to plan cities in the recovered territories, namely Jabrayil and Shusha.

The town of Shusha is a special case for the UK initiative. It was one of several areas inside the former NKAO that was retaken by Azerbaijan and emptied of its Armenian population in the 2020 war. Unlike most parts of the former NKAO, Shusha’s population was traditionally majority-Azerbaijani – 85 percent according to the latest available figure from 1979. 

Shusha – or Shushi as it is known in Armenian – holds symbolic significance for both nations.

In 2022, Azerbaijan criticized the United States and France (both co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, a body created in the 1990s to mediate between Azerbaijan and Armenia) after their embassies refused an invitation to visit a reconstruction conference in Shusha. 

The challenge of doing business in Azerbaijan

Doing business in Azerbaijan is not without challenges, UK embassy officials acknowledged, flagging a "lack of transparency in the tender process, [with] concept designs generally approved by senior [Azerbaijani] officials." All the same, UK officials at the architectural event offered to introduce British businesses to Azerbaijani government representatives and firms, and to share opportunities from President Ilham Aliyev's special representative for the returned territories, with whom the embassy is "constantly in touch."

One of the embassy's presentation slides displayed a list of "key [Azerbaijani] market players . . . [who] have all shown willingness to work with British firms", including Pasha Construction, which is part of a holding company associated with Azerbaijan's ruling family.

During the talk, Chapman Taylor's owner Adrian Griffiths spoke about his firm's collaboration with Pasha Construction on shopping malls and hi-rise projects in the Azerbaijani capital. He also discussed ongoing work since 2017 on planning a historic quarter in Baku at the behest of Azerbaijan's State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture (SCUPA).

Griffiths went on to say that Chapman Taylor, given its planning work in Baku, “got a call in November [2020] after the [second] war had just come to an end for the reclaimed regions and [SCUPA] wanted a new master plan for Shusha." Representatives of the firm were invited to go to Shusha in February 2021. "We spent a week with the Urban State Committee, and we agreed a contract to produce a masterplan."

Eurasianet previously reported on concerns over a lack of transparency and public consultation about Shusha's reconstruction, noting that no official tender for the revitalization of Shusha appeared to have been published online in the months following Azerbaijan’s recovery of the town.

Chapman Taylor did not respond to Eurasianet's request for comment. In January 2024, a new law will come into force in Azerbaijan envisaging greater transparency in the public procurement process.

UK support for demining

UK embassy officials also highlighted a "market challenge" for British firms – the fact that the broader Karabakh region remains covered with landmines. Landmines and other unexploded ordnance have killed and maimed hundreds of Azerbaijanis since the 2020 war’s conclusion, mainly in the reclaimed territories. They also pose a major obstacle to Azerbaijan's resettlement plans. In 2022, President Aliyev estimated that it will take 30 years and $25 billion to completely clear them.

UK firms operating in the region have also grappled with disruptions due to landmines. In March, local media reported that the site of energy giant BP's planned solar power plant in Jabrayil had been completely cleared of mines – almost two years after the company signed the contract with Azerbaijan's Energy Ministry.

“The UK government has provided over £1.5 million to support Mine Action in Azerbaijan to prevent injuries, save lives and support the safe return of families to their homes. […] UK firms are actively supporting this process including in Jabrayil, Fuzuli and Agdam," British Embassy Baku said in its written statement to Eurasianet.

James Dowsett is a freelance journalist from the UK

Armenia-EU alliance. How to reach this level of relations? Opinion

Ani Tigranian
Dec 13 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Deepening Armenia’s ties with the European Union

“We intend to get as close to the European Union as the EU deems possible,” Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at the Eastern Partnership ministerial meeting in Brussels. Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made the same statement at the European Parliament.

Mirzoyan welcomed the decision to grant Georgia the status of candidate country and to start membership talks with Moldova and Ukraine, and said that the people of Armenia have also chosen this path. Armenia will continue the “irreversible path of democratization and reforms” with the support of the EU, Mirzoyan assured.

Meanwhile, political analyst Hrachya Arzumanyan believes that as long as there is a Russian military base and Russian FSB officers in Armenia, the West will be suspicious of the country’s inclusion in the European family. In his opinion, in order to become a “potential ally” of the European Union, Yerevan must “break out of the Eurasian camp” and end its national security relations with Russia.

  • “By providing a corridor, Armenia can request a road to the Black Sea.” Opinion
  • “A deal between Washington and Baku”. On the joint statement of Armenia and Azerbaijan
  • Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement: Opinion from Yerevan

The number of EU civilian observers monitoring the Armenian-Azerbaijani border will increase from 138 to 209, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said.

“The increase in the number of the observer mission is important. It is an opportunity to contribute to stability on Armenia’s international border with Azerbaijan.”

He believes that the decision can be considered a “first step” in deepening Armenia-EU cooperation.

As expected, the Russian side reacted negatively to the EU decision.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin called it a “completely useless step” and the expansion of the mission will not contribute to the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, but only increase tensions in the Transcaucasus.

“We are convinced that the expansion of the EU mission will not yield any result in terms of promoting the Azerbaijani-Armenian settlement, the basic principles of which were worked out in November 2020 by the top leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia and enshrined in several trilateral joint statements.”

Recently, EU officials have often said that the possibility of assisting the Armenian army in a “non-lethal format” through the European Peace Facility is being considered.

The European Peace Facility is a mechanism through which Brussels provides funds to non-EU countries to improve their defense capabilities, prevent conflict and promote peace. Through this mechanism, the EU has supported Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

The support is being discussed by member states taking into account Armenia’s “most pressing needs,” EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano said.

“It could be a field hospital, defense equipment, but it could also enhance the ability to fight cyberattacks and disinformation. The spectrum is very wide,” he explained.

A technical mission in Armenia is expected to develop concrete proposals for “non-lethal format” assistance.

Armenia cannot afford the “luxury of small steps” and must decide to make big, systemic changes, says national security expert and political scientist Hrachya Arzumanyan. Otherwise, the country will not be able to withstand military actions threatening it.

According to the political scientist, the first step should be to cut military ties with Russia. He warns that Armenia has little time for that. Arzumanyan believes that with the announcement of a truce on the Russian-Ukrainian front, the South Caucasus will become the target:

“The potential that operates on the Ukrainian front will be directed at us, we will feel this force immediately in diplomatic, military and other spheres. We should take steps as soon as possible, try to convince Europe that we can join Georgia, so that the process that started in Georgia will continue in Armenia”.

The political analyst emphasizes that the path will not be easy, Armenia will need at least 5-10 years to reform the military sphere, and that if this path is not followed, it will not be possible to preserve the country’s sovereignty.

In his opinion, it is necessary to take advantage of the created “window of opportunity” and strengthen ties with the European democratic camp, as long as the interests of Armenia and the West coincide.

The expert cites the example of Finland, which was able to become a NATO member, arguing the danger the country faces due to the war in Ukraine.

“We should realize that we have very little time to end our military ties with Russia in the easiest and softest way possible,” he said.

https://jam-news.net/deepening-armenias-ties-with-the-european-union/

Foreign minister: Estonia should recognize Armenian genocide

Raffi Khondkarian
err.ee, Estonia
Dec 13 2023

Minister of Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said Estonia should take steps to recognize the Armenian genocide during a visit to Yerevan on Wednesday (December 13).

"Estonians owe it to the Armenians to recognize the genocide against their people," Tsahkna said at the meeting with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.  

"In today's world, where there is an aggression against another country in Europe and Russia is deporting Ukrainian children, we must not forget and neglect history and accept this kind of behavior," Tsahkna said in a statement.

The Armenian genocide took place in 1915 when the Ottoman Empire systematically destroyed and deported Armenians, causing the death of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians.

Data from the Armenian National Institute shows 32 countries have recognized the killing of Armenians as genocide, including the USA, Russia and 17 European Union countries, including Latvia and Lithuania.

However, Turkey does not believe the claim and some countries have allegedly not recognized the genocide to keep up good relations.

Last year, representatives of the Association of Estonian National Minorities called on the Riigikogu to recognize the Armenian genocide.