Month: December 2023

Armenian soldier reportedly killed on Nakhchivan border

Emma Nadirian
Dec 5 2023
 5 December 2023

ByArshaluys BarseghyanandIsmi Aghayev

An Armenian soldier has been killed reportedly by Azerbaijani sniper fire near the border.

Armenia’s Ministry of Defence reported that Gerasim Avetik Arakelyan was fatally wounded by Azerbaijani gunfire in the Vayots Dzor Province in southern Armenia on Monday.

They accused Azerbaijan of attacking an Armenian position in the village of Bardzruni, which lies close to the border with the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan.

On Tuesday, Armenia’s Investigative Committee stated that Arakelyan died while being transported to the hospital after being wounded by Azerbaijani sniper fire. It added that the soldier was performing engineering work in Bardzruni.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the soldier’s death and accused Baku of trying to provoke ‘a new escalation’.

‘By such provocations on the border, as well as by continuously rejecting the offers of various international actors to continue the negotiations, the Azerbaijani side is trying to delay and deadlock the peace process’, read the ministry’s statement.

Edmon Marukyan, Armenia’s ambassador-at-large, called on Washington, Paris, and the EU to condemn the attack. He said Azerbaijan was ‘avoiding negotiations and initiating new border killings, disrupting the entire peace process’.

On Tuesday morning, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said it ‘vehemently rejected’ Yerevan’s accusations calling it ‘misinformation and bogus allegations’.

The Ministry also accused Armenia of having ‘delayed the peace agreement proposals for more than 70 days’ and of creating ‘artifical tension’.

‘With such statements, Armenia also intends to generate fake tension in border areas and attract the attention of third-party states’, read Baku’s statement.

Following the reported attack, Toivo Klaar, the EU’s South Caucasus representative, stated that it was ‘essential that calm prevails on the ground and decisive progress is achieved at the negotiating table’.

The killing comes as long-delayed peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan continue, with officials from both countries repeating claims that a deal was close to being struck.

In late October, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Yerevan and Baku were in agreement on the ‘three main principles of peace and normalisation of relations’.

However, Pashinyan had stated earlier that month that while Armenia was ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan by the end of the year, Baku was attempting to provoke a ‘new war’ in the region or stake claims to Armenian territory. 

Over the past few months, Azerbaijan has appeared to favour concluding a peace deal mediated by Russia, Iran, and Turkey; they sat out several Western-mediated meetings throughout October, leading Yerevan to raise doubts about Baku’s willingness to conclude the peace process.

In mid-November, Azerbaijan stated that Armenia had been ‘delaying’ presenting its own amendments to the proposed peace agreement for over two months, ‘despite the public statements about its readiness to sign a peace treaty by the end of this year’.

‘To what extent is Armenia ready for that is a subject of serious questions now. The text of peace agreement is not, by essence, nuclear physics’, wrote the Assistant to Azerbaijan’s President, Hikmat Hajiyev, on X.

‘The text of [the] peace agreement could be concluded sooner through intensive bilateral negotiations. The ball is in the court of Armenia!’ he concluded.

On 22 November, Armenia submitted its sixth amended version of the peace deal to Azerbaijan, with the Foreign Ministry stating that they ‘considered it more effective to present it to the Azerbaijani side during the scheduled meetings’.

‘However, to prevent attempts to deadlock the negotiation process and achieve lasting peace in our region, the Republic of Armenia constructively sent its comments on the draft agreement.’

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry also responded to Azerbaijan’s proposal to hold peace negotiations on a state border or in a ‘mutually acceptable area’, offering to hold a meeting of the countries’ state border delimitation committee, which took place on 30 November.

https://oc-media.org/armenian-soldier-reportedly-killed-on-nakhchivan-border/

Chair Cardin Presses Administration to Hold Azerbaijan Accountable for Violations in Nagorno-Karabakh

Yeghisabet Arthur
Dec 5 2023

“I write to ensure that we remain focused on holding the Aliyev regime accountable for its brazen campaign of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, recently sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to remain focused on holding the Aliyev regime accountable for ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and to continue the United States’ support for Armenians who were forced to flee the region.

As reported by Joe Gould of Politico, “Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin is upping pressure on Antony Blinken in a new letter urging that the Secretary of State get tougher on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev over Baku’s ‘brazen campaign of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.’”

“National Endowment for Democracy CEO Damon Wilson argued Cardin’s letter is not a clash with Blinken, but leverage for him to address those concerns,” reported Gould. “Not only are there still Azerbaijani troops on Armenian territory but Baku is, internally, cracking down on its critics.”

“That’s an important factor when we want to see Azerbaijan not overplay its hand and encroach on Armenian sovereignty and stand down,” Wilson told Gould of Chair Cardin’s letter. “Those are things that Baku has to hear directly from Washington on.”

“I remain deeply concerned that Azerbaijan could take further military action to achieve additional political gains, particularly in regards to the so-called Zangezour corridor,” wrote Chair Cardin to Secretary Blinken. “I strongly encourage you to continue to work with international partners and organizations to support accountability for the Aliyev regime’s actions.”

“It is critically important that the United States continues our commitment to prevent the commission of atrocities, protect vulnerable civilians, and hold those responsible for atrocities accountable for their actions,” continued Cardin in his letter. “We must send a clear message to those who believe they can operate with impunity.”

Politico’s reporting can be read here.

A copy of the letter can be found here and below:

Dear Secretary Blinken,

While terrible tragedies elsewhere have diverted the world’s attention, I write to ensure that we remain focused on holding the Aliyev regime accountable for its brazen campaign of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and continue to support Armenians who were forced to flee.

As you are well aware, in September 2023, President Ilham Aliyev launched a military campaign that drove around 100,000 Armenians out of their homes, and during which Azerbaijani forces reportedly killed and wounded civilians. These attacks were not only a clear violation of the November 2020 ceasefire but also reportedly involved heinous atrocities.

Prior to the military invasion, Azerbaijan was effectively imposing a humanitarian blockade on the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, preventing the delivery of food, medicine, and basic humanitarian supplies. Beyond the blockade, the State Department’s 2022 Human Right Report cites numerous reports of Azerbaijani forces committing extrajudicial killings of Armenians. Furthermore, both before and after September, Azerbaijan has continued its well-documented practice of seizing and destroying Armenian cultural property in areas it controls, in further pursuit of its efforts to erase Armenian history and culture.

While Azerbaijan thus far is abiding by the terms of the September 20, 2023 ceasefire, I remain deeply concerned that Azerbaijan could take further military action to achieve additional political gains, particularly in regards to the so-called Zangezour corridor.

I strongly encourage you to continue to work with international partners and organizations to support accountability for the Aliyev regime’s actions. Specifically, I would like to know what steps you have taken and plan to take regarding the following:

  • Supporting efforts to substantiate and collect evidence regarding the Aliyev regime’s potential commission of war crimes and other atrocities;
  • Holding Azerbaijani officials accountable for any such acts, including the application of potential sanctions and visa restrictions;
  • Urging appropriate international justice tribunals to pursue accountability for Azerbaijani officials;
  • Making clear to Azerbaijan that aggression against its neighbors is unacceptable;
  • Supporting Armenians displaced in the September 2023 assault;

It is critically important that the United States continues our commitment to prevent the commission of atrocities, protect vulnerable civilians, and hold those responsible for atrocities accountable for their actions. We must send a clear message to those who believe they can operate with impunity.

I look forward to your response.


Armenian Parliament rejects criminalization of recognition of NK as part of another country

Maral Takmazian
Dec 5 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Project “Hayakve”

The Armenian Parliament has voted against the inclusion in the agenda of a bill submitted by the Hayakve initiative on criminalizing the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of another state. “Twenty-six deputies representing the opposition voted in favo; 57 deputies of the ruling majority voted “against.” Nor was the draft was not approved by the commission on state-legal issues yesterday.

The authors of the initiative proposed to introduce an amendment to the Criminal Code, according to which violators of the law would face 10 to 15 imprisonment for recognizing NK as part of another state, as well as refusal of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century.

Political observer Armen Baghdasaryan believes that the project is not directly related to the future of Nagorno-Karabakh. He characterizes the process started by the “Hayakve” initiative as “another episode of internal political struggle”.

  • “Change strategy and fight” – political scientist’s proposal to Armenian authorities
  • The impact of the Israeli conflict on the situation in the region. Will Azerbaijan start a war?
  • “Yerevan should reject this proposal”: opinion on direct talks with Baku

According to the Armenian Constitution, in order to put an issue on the agenda of the National Assembly, a civic initiative had to collect signatures from 50 thousand citizens. Collection started at the end of June 2023, and the project was supported by 58 thousand citizens of the country.

As a result, the issue reached the Parliament, but did not receive a favorable opinion among the relevant commission of the National Assembly, and during the regular session it did not reach the stage of discussion.

The project can be submitted to a national referendum. However, for that the authors of the initiative will need to collect many more signatures — 300,000. “Hayakve” have not yet announced whether they will go this way.

Opinion on what steps the Armenian side should have taken after signing the 2020 statement on ceasefire in Karabakh, on the mistakes of the Armenian authorities and the unrecognized NKR

The opposition believes that the deputies from the ruling majority ignored the opinion of more than 50 thousand citizens of the country who supported the initiative. This was stated at the session by the secretary of the Hayastan opposition faction, Artsvik Minasyan. According to him, the ruling team has confirmed by its position that it refuses to fulfill its pre-election promises:

“‘Civil Pact’ [the ruling party] also wants to come out with a message: forget what we promised, what we told you, we are doing what we need to do to keep our seats”.

Aram Petrosyan, representative of the Hayakve initiative, also recalled the provisions of the ruling faction’s pre-election program, with which it won the 2021 snap elections:

“They promised to guarantee the security of the people of Artsakh, talked about the settlement of the problem on the basis of the right to self-determination, but did the exact opposite. This is nothing but usurpation of power. Citizens would not give their votes if their program says that Artsakh will be recognized as part of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia will not protect the people of Artsakh when Azerbaijan unleashes a genocidal war against them, and the issues of the so-called enclaves and the return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia will also be discussed.”

The authors of the initiative and the parliamentary opposition announced that the government deputies reject the draft “without any legal arguments”. While the draft fully complies with the provisions of the country’s constitution and declaration of independence.

What the Armenian government offers to the Karabakh Armenians, their views on it and experts’ comments

MP Vladimir Vardanyan responded to the opposition that the parliamentary commission on state-legal issues, which he heads, issued a negative opinion on the draft after “substantial discussion for 7 hours”.

Vardanyan said he sees problems in the submitted draft “from the point of view of legal certainty.” In particular, he emphasized that the country’s criminal code already has provisions related to the denial of the Armenian genocide.

Deputies of the ruling team asked the opposition members what benefit this amendment would bring “besides the fact that it may create many problems.”

Opposition MP Artsvik Minasyan did not give a direct answer regarding the benefits and risks of the bill, but stated that “there are many reasons” for its adoption:

“The draft is important from the point of view of ensuring Armenia’s security, establishing Artsakh’s subjectivity, as well as ensuring the unity of the Armenian people, delivering the right messages to the international community from the point of view that the Artsakh issue is not closed.”

Swedish anthropologist and expert on the Karabakh conflict Rasmus Kanback – on Russia’s role in the exodus of almost the entire Armenian population from Nagorno-Karabakh

Political observer Armen Baghdasaryan believes that the goal of the initiative’s authors was not to pass the bill at all. In his opinion, it was an attempt to show the society that “the authorities betray national and state interests, so it is necessary to get rid of them as soon as possible.”

“Even after there are no Armenians left in Artsakh at all, it becomes the main pretext for internal political struggle, struggle for power. Just a pretext.”

The analyst believes that the Armenian authorities also realize this and “conduct this not very meaningful discussion” simply because they cannot avoid it.

According to Baghdasaryan, at the session of the state-legal issues commission held a day earlier, the ruling team, once again, tried to prove that “the former authorities are to blame for everything.”

“Meanwhile, it would have been more serious if a much more urgent question had been discussed: will the adoption of this project somehow help to solve the Artsakh problem in the future, at least partially, or will it harm it?”

He emphasizes that instead of discussions about the future, debates with “accusations of each other’s actions in the past” continue in the political field of Armenia.

https://jam-news.net/hayakve-project-rejected-by-the-armenian-parliament/

Majority faction votes against putting HayaKve initiative bill on Armenia legislature agenda

Karlen Baghdasarian
News.am, Armenia
Nov 5 2023
11:01, 05.12.2023

The National Assembly (NA) of Armenia on Tuesday did not put on the agenda of its plenary session the draft law submitted by the HayaKve civil initiative, by which it is proposed to criminalize the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.

The NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs on Monday had not approved this law proposal to make a respective addition to the Criminal Code of Armenia.

The leader of the ruling majority faction in the NA, Hayk Konjoryan, announced that the faction will vote against this bill because the aforesaid committee had voted against it. He added that this draft law will not solve any problem, but will create many other problems.

And as a result of the voting, this bill was rejected—with 26 votes in favor, 57 against and 0 abstentions—and therefore was not put on the NA agenda.

https://news.am/eng/news/795999.html#google_vignette

U.S. official to visit Azerbaijan to support peace with Armenia

Jack Hunanian

 10:02, 5 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS.  U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James C. O’Brien will travel to Baku, Azerbaijan this week to support the peace talks with Armenia, the U.S. Department of State said in a press release.

“While in Baku, the Assistant Secretary will meet with Azerbaijani officials on strengthening bilateral relations and supporting the peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” the Department of State said.

60 Senators and Representatives call for U.S. security assistance to Armenia

Arbi Tashjian

 10:22, 5 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Sixty U.S. Senators and Representatives, led by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), called on congressional leaders to send security assistance to Armenia and provide additional refugee relief aid for the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the national security supplemental funding bill, set to be reviewed as early as next week, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Specifically, the Padilla-Eshoo letter calls for $10 million in U.S. foreign military financing (FMF) for Armenia and requests humanitarian assistance allocated in the supplemental aid bill to be made available to Armenia to meet the needs of over 100,000 forcibly displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Azerbaijan’s brutal, unprovoked military assault on Nagorno-Karabakh on the heels of their months-long blockade of the Lachin Corridor has created a horrific humanitarian crisis, forcing more than 100,000 ethnic Armenian refugees to flee their homes,” said Senator Padilla. “The U.S. must step up to address this emergency. I strongly urge Congressional leadership to include essential security and humanitarian assistance for Armenia in the foreign aid package.”

In the letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), legislators cite Azerbaijan’s September 19th attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and forced displacement of over 100,000 indigenous Armenians.

“We are particularly concerned that Azerbaijan will continue its aggression by invading the sovereign territory of Armenia. Ominously, Aliyev recently referred to southern Armenia as “western Azerbaijan” and called for the “liberation” of eight Armenian villages along the Azerbaijani border,” state the congressional lawmakers. They go on to stress, “At this inflection point for the Caucasus, U.S. leadership is needed to deter further Azerbaijani aggression and enable Armenians to defend their democracy.”

“As a small democracy in a region dominated by autocrats, Armenia is particularly vulnerable. This is especially true now that Armenia has distanced itself from Russia, Armenia’s traditional security guarantor, in pursuit of closer ties with western democracies,” the U.S. lawmakers said in the letter.

Armenian, U.S. security officials meet at White House

Tambiyan Samvel

 11:05, 5 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, has met with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the White House in Washington. 

Grigoryan and Sullivan discussed issues of mutual interest in the areas of security and the economy, and lauded the steady dynamics of development of Armenia-U.S. bilateral relations, Grigoryan’s office said in a readout.

The officials also discussed the regional security situation, and Secretary Grigoryan reiterated Armenia’s commitment to continue the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization and peace process.

EU ‘worried’ after Azeri forces kill Armenian serviceman on border

Zhanna Nahapetian

 11:19, 5 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, has expressed concern about the shootings on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which led to the death of an Armenian serviceman on December 4.

“Worrying report of shootings and death on Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The EU is constantly engaged with Baku and Yerevan. It is essential that calm prevails on the ground and decisive progress is achieved at the negotiating table,” Klaar said in a post on X.

A serviceman of the Armed Forces of Armenia was shot dead by Azerbaijani forces in a cross-border shooting in Vayots Dzor province around 14:35, on December 4.

Iran welcomes Armenia’s step towards peace and security

Emil Lazarian

 12:08, 5 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Iran welcomes the latest steps made by the Armenian government for peace and security, Ambassador of Iran to Armenia Mehdi Sobhani has said.

“We support Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we support lasting and sustainable peace in the region,” the Iranian Ambassador said at a forum entitled New Regional Reality and the Crossroads of Peace.

Ambassador Sobhani spoke about the historic relations between Armenia and Iran and the good-neighborly relations between the two governments which enable the side to further develop ties.

He said that Armenia and Iran have the shortest common border which has always been a border of friendship and peace.

Ambassador Sobhani mentioned the growing trade between the two countries, and that turnover is already reaching 1 billion dollars.

“Our two countries have mutually beneficial agreements in infrastructure development and energy. We are trying to reveal untapped potential for the benefit of the relations between the two countries. Undoubtedly, the opening of transit infrastructures and connection routes will contribute not only to the development of the economic and trade relations between the two countries, but will pave the way for regional participation. We believe that connection corridors from India up to the Chabahar Port, Armenia and the Black Sea, will provide a reliable road for shipping goods to the north, to Europe. The development of this route will safeguard our countries from foreign harm. In this context, we attach importance to India’s role in the development of the Chabahar Port, and we welcome the Armenian participation in this work. I believe that if the countries have more connection routes, they will acquire a more significant role in the international arena. This is the new concept of power,” the Ambassador said.

[see video]

Armenian parliamentary delegation will not participate in upcoming CSTO PA meeting

David Nargizian

 12:55, 5 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan will not participate in the upcoming CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Council meeting, the Armenian parliament’s press service said in a statement.

The 16th plenary session of the CSTO PA Council will take place on December 19 in Moscow.

The Armenian parliamentary delegation will not participate in the session.

Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has sent a letter to Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin notifying him about the decision on not attending the meeting.