Wednesday,
Stepanakert Official ‘Leaks’ Lavrov Proposals On Karabakh Hours Before UN
Discussion
• Tatevik Lazarian
A rally in Yerevan in support of Nagorno-Karabakh, July 25, 2023.
Official Yerevan neither confirms nor denies the authenticity of a document
published by Tigran Petrosian, head of an anti-crisis body affiliated with the
Karabakh president, which he said contained proposals made by Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov regarding Nagorno-Karabakh late last month.
The leakage of the document comes shortly before the UN Security Council is to
convene for an emergency meeting in New York at Armenia’s request to discuss the
ongoing humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh brought on by Azerbaijan’s de
facto blockade of the region.
On July 25, Lavrov met separately with the foreign ministers of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, in Moscow, and then the three
ministers’ tripartite meeting was also held. Receiving Bayramov in Moscow,
Lavrov announced that in addition to the already signed statements, a number of
documents were being prepared for discussion by the leaders of Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Russia, without providing details about their content.
The document published today by Petrosian and attributed to Lavrov is titled
“The fundamental principles and parameters of ensuring the rights and security
of the Armenian population in the territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh
Autonomous Oblast of Soviet Azerbaijan in accordance with the legislation of
Azerbaijan” and contains 14 points.
They state that the Armenian population should have equal legal protection and
should not be discriminated against on the basis of language, ethnicity or
religion, should not be forcibly or involuntarily displaced, Armenians should
not be persecuted for being part of the local government or armed groups, except
when they are found guilty of war crimes in a judicial order.
The proposals state that the Armenian population should be proportionally part
of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of power of Azerbaijan,
including the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police of Azerbaijan, and participate
in the decision-making concerning the Armenian population.
According to the proposals ascribed to Lavrov, the Armenian language should be
freely used along with the Azerbaijani language in official writing and in
public places. The inviolability of Armenians’ private property must be
guaranteed, the religious freedom of Armenians must be ensured, education in
Armenian from elementary grades to university, Armenian cultural and national
identity must be preserved, the published document says.
It is stated that a separate agreement should be signed between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, according to which close ties between the Armenian population of the
former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Soviet Azerbaijan and Armenia will
be ensured, and the unimpeded receipt of humanitarian and economic aid for the
Armenian population from outside should be ensured.
During the day neither the Foreign Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh nor the Foreign
Ministry of Armenia responded in any way to say whether the document published
by the Karabakh figure is authentic or not. The Russian side did not comment on
the leaked document either.
Petrosian himself also left phone calls unanswered. However, he accompanied the
publication of the document on Facebook with the following post: “I have to
publish it so that the public understands what is really happening... Today,
[Russian President Vladimir] Putin has the opportunity to change his attitude
and plans at the UN Security Council session... Let’s wait.”
Political analyst Alexander Iskandarian ascribed the leakage of the document to
“a very active process unfolding around Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“As for the text that was leaked, even if we assume that it is true and that
such a text really exists, and that it is really a proposal from the Russian
side, the main thing is missing here: the technologies as to how this writing
will be guaranteed, how these points will be implemented, who will monitor it
and what mechanism will be operated are not described. Without clarifying these
questions, this text does not make much sense,” he said.
“It is clear that there are a lot of documents circulating, but there is an
accepted principle among diplomats that nothing is agreed until everything is
agreed. Even if we accept that this text is true, it may not mean anything until
we see how the process develops, and the process will still take a long time to
develop,” Iskandarian added.
Political commentator Hakob Badalian voiced doubts regarding whether the
revealed document was a submitted proposal or just a draft. He said that in any
case the content of the presented proposals was unacceptable to both Yerevan and
Stepanakert as it meant Nagorno-Karabakh’s dissolution. He, however, considered
remarkable the timing of the leak – hours before the expected discussion at the
UN Security Council and after a phone call between Lavrov and Bayramov.
“The publication is accompanied with a post that Putin has the opportunity to
change the attitude at the UN Security Council session, that is, here at least
the following question arises: is it a hint that the [Russian] Ministry of
Foreign Affairs does not convey complete information to Putin and in this sense
different games are going on, and this way an attempt is being made to draw
[Putin’s] attention?... Naturally, there is also a question as to whether the
Russian Foreign Ministry can carry out any actions fundamentally different from
Putin’s approach or carry out any actions secretly from Putin? At the same time,
if there is a direct expectation, then the question arises: if, for example,
Russia’s policy does not change, then what does Nagorno-Karabakh do, or what
does the Armenian side do in general if it has to deal with such a proposal?”
Badalian said.
UN Security Council Set To Hold Emergency Meeting On Nagorno-Karabakh
A shop in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh where a blockade has
resulted in sever shortages of food, medicines, and energy.
The United Nations Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting
regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh on August
16.
The meeting at the UN headquarters in New York City comes after the Armenian UN
Ambassador Mher Margarian said in a letter to the Security Council that the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh are “on the verge of a full-fledged humanitarian
catastrophe.”
Both Armenia and ethnic Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have said that
Azerbaijan has blockaded the region since December, resulting in shortages of
food, medicines, and energy.
The situation had deteriorated to such a point that the office of
Nagorno-Karabakh’s ombudsman said on August 15 that a man around the age of 40
had died as a result of chronic malnutrition, protein and energy deficiency.
A former International Criminal Court prosecutor said earlier in August that the
blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the only link between Nagorno-Karabakh and
Armenia, may amount to a “genocide” of the local Armenian population. Baku has
rejected such an assertion.
Tensions sparked by the blockade escalated further after Azerbaijan in June
tightened a checkpoint installed in April on the road known as the Lachin
Corridor, claiming that “various types of contraband” had been discovered in the
Red Cross vehicles coming from Armenia.
Referring to the blockade, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on
August 11 that Azerbaijan’s moves could result in “nullifying a historic
opportunity for peace” between the two South Caucasus nations.
Azerbaijan denies blockading Nagorno-Karabakh and offers an alternative route
for supplies via the town of Agdam, which is situated east of the region and is
controlled by Baku.
However, Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian government has rejected that offer,
saying Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor is a violation of the
Moscow-brokered 2020 cease-fire agreement that placed the 5-kilometer-wide strip
of land under the control of Russian peacekeepers.
A group of UN experts issued a statement on August 7, expressing alarm over the
ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, which they said had led
to a dire humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“By lifting the blockade, the [Azerbaijani] authorities can alleviate the
suffering of thousands of people in Nagorno-Karabakh and allow for the unimpeded
flow of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population,” the experts said.
“It is essential to ensure the safety, dignity, and well-being of all
individuals during this critical time.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh. The most
recent war lasted six weeks in late 2020 and left 7,000 soldiers dead on both
sides.
As a result of the war, Azerbaijan regained control over a part of
Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. The war ended with a
Russian-brokered cease-fire under which Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops in
the region to serve as peacekeepers.
Yerevan Denies Baku’s Report On Attempted Armenian ‘Commando Raid’
The Armenian Defense Ministry building in Yerevan
Military authorities in Yerevan have denied a report by Baku claiming an
Armenian commando unit attempted to infiltrate into Azerbaijani territory on
Wednesday.
The Armenian Defense Ministry said the report was an “absolute lie.”
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said one of the members of the Armenian
commando unit that allegedly attempted the raid at 11:15 am was wounded and
detained by Azerbaijani forces in the Kelbajar region. The ministry said that
other members of the unit, whose number it did not specify, retreated.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry promptly issued a statement, strongly condemning
“continued military provocations” by Armenia on the day when the UN Security
Council was to hold an emergency meeting on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh
requested by Yerevan.
Meanwhile, the Armenian Defense Ministry reminded its earlier report that
according to preliminary data, an Armenian reservist participating in military
training assemblies had left his combat positions.
“A possible scenario of the reservist’s appearing on the Azerbaijani side and
related circumstances are being examined,” the Armenian ministry said.
Later the Armenian ministry confirmed that the Armenian reservist was detained
by Azerbaijani servicemen. It published a video showing a group of Azerbaijani
soldiers approaching and talking to the Armenian, who appeared in Azerbaijani
territory under yet unclear circumstances, before apprehending and taking him to
an unknown direction on a truck.
“This video disproves the false information spread by Azerbaijan’s Defense
Ministry about an attempted penetration by an Armenian commando unit,” it said.
Azerbaijan, meanwhile, said the video disseminated by Armenia’s Defense Ministry
had “nothing to do with the incident” and itself posted photographs of the
detained Armenian serviceman identified as Gagik Voskanian born in 1983.
Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated again in recent days amid a
reportedly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh that Yerevan
blames on Baku, accusing it of trying to force the local Armenian population out
by blocking access to all commercial and humanitarian supplies via the Lachin
corridor.
Azerbaijan denies blockading the region and offers alternative ways of supply as
part of its policy on the integration of Karabakh Armenians. Authorities in
Stepanakert have rejected such offers, considering them as a prelude to the
absorption of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have blamed each other for ceasefire violations
along their restive border in recent days. Armenia said on Monday that one of
its soldiers stationed at a border position was seriously wounded by fire coming
from the Azerbaijani side. Baku and Stepanakert have also traded accusations for
reported shooting incidents around Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russian Peacekeepers Unblock Entrance To Their Karabakh Base Amid Armenian
Protest
Russian peacekeepers dragging a car of Karabakh Armenian protesters blocking the
entrance to their base in Nagorno-Karabakh, . (Photograph from
Artur Osipian’s Facebook account).
Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh removed a car of Armenian
protesters to unblock the entrance to their military base in the region on
Wednesday morning.
A video posted on social media by one of the protesters demanding that the
Russians restore free traffic along the Lachin corridor that has now been closed
by Azerbaijani forces showed Russian peacekeepers led by a colonel using an
armored personnel carrier to threaten a group of Armenians who parked a car in
front of the main entrance to their base in Ivanyan (Khojaly).
“Why don’t Russian soldiers remove the Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin
corridor? Is the [Russian] empire trembling before Azerbaijan?” said Artur
Osipian, one of the Karabakh protesters, as several Russian servicemen were
carrying his car aside by hand.
Osipian, a member of Nagorno-Karabakh’s movement to unblock the Lachin corridor,
said their demand was for the Russian peacekeepers, who he said fail to carry
out their main duties, to at least guarantee the security of their trip by cars
to the Azerbaijani checkpoint in the Lachin corridor to hold a protest there.
The command of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh last week refused to
provide an escort to the protesters to the bridge over the river Hakari at the
border with Armenia.
It said that the terms of the deployment of the Russian military under a
trilateral statement signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in
November 2020 to end a six-week war in Nagorno-Karabakh did not provide for the
possibility of escorting protesters and ensuring the security of various
demonstrations and rallies.
The Russian side did not comment on the incident immediately, but a Russian
officer on the video was heard rebuking the protester as he asked him: “Who has
paid you for this?”
On the same video, turning to the Russian servicemen, Osipian said: “If you use
force against those whom you are supposed to protect from the enemy and do not
use force against the enemy, it shows who you are for here.”
Osipian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the protesters later returned to
Stepanakert and were planning what to do next.
“There is no other option, we cannot but fight,” he said.
Azerbaijan Slams France Over Karabakh Road Blockade Remarks
The building of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan in Baku (file photo)
Baku has strongly rejected “baseless accusations” regarding the Lachin road that
it said were made by the French foreign minister in her phone call with her
Armenian counterpart on Tuesday.
“Regarding the [French minister’s] claims that Azerbaijan keeps the Lachin road
‘under siege’, as a result of which ‘Armenian residents are facing a serious
humanitarian crisis’, we remind you once again that it is absurd to present as a
blockade the operation of a border checkpoint set up in accordance with the
obligation of Azerbaijan to guarantee the safety of citizens, vehicles and
cargoes on the Lachin road, as well as to prevent its misuse by Armenia for
military and illegal economic purposes,” Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said in a
statement.
The ministry repeated the offer to provide aid to ethnic Armenians via Agdam, an
Azerbaijani-controlled town east of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“Also, the French side is well aware that if the Armenian residents really need
daily necessities, then the Azerbaijani side has proposed the Agdam-Khankendi
(Stepanakert) road and other alternative ways for that,” the Azerbaijani
ministry said.
In her telephone conversation with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan,
Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, in
particular, said that Azerbaijan’s actions contradict the obligations that it
undertook under the terms of the ceasefire agreement and harm the negotiation
process.
Colonna also reportedly gave assurances about the willingness of France to
support the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, and also announced that France
intends to make an additional allocation of 3 million euros for the activities
of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the region.
Earlier on Tuesday Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry summoned a Spanish charge
d’affaires over Madrid’s official announcement of aid to ethnic Armenians
displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. It said that the decision announced in a post
on the X (formerly Twitter) account of Spain’s embassy in Russia amounted to
supporting “the separatist regime established by Armenia on the sovereign
territory of Azerbaijan.”
U.S. Again Urges Azerbaijan To Restore Free Transit Through Karabakh Road
Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State
(file photo).
The United States has again called on Azerbaijan to restore free transit through
the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia that
has been effectively blockaded by Baku in recent months.
During a press briefing in Washington on August 15, Vedant Patel, principal
deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, said that Washington
remains “deeply concerned about the continued closure of the Lachin corridor,
specifically its closure to commercial, humanitarian, and private vehicles.”
“The halting of this kind of humanitarian traffic, in our opinion, worsens the
humanitarian situation and undermines the efforts that have been in place to
build confidence in the peace process. And so we urge the Government of
Azerbaijan to restore free transit of commercial, humanitarian, and private
vehicles through this corridor,” Patel said.
He added that the United States expected “further discussions” to take place
during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Nagorno-Karabakh that
would be held at Armenia’s request in New York on August 16.
The U.S. Department of State official reiterated Washington’s position on
Armenian-Azerbaijan negotiations, saying that “direct dialogue is essential to
resolving this longstanding conflict [over Nagorno-Karabakh].”
“We think that any engagements that ultimately bring peace and stability to the
people of the South Caucasus would be a good thing and a positive step forward,”
Patel said.
The call from the U.S. official came as ethnic Armenian authorities in
Nagorno-Karabakh reported the first death from hunger among residents of the
region that they say has experienced severe shortages of food, medicines, fuel
and other basic supplies because of Azerbaijan’s effective blockade.
Baku denies blockading the region and offers an alternative route of supply via
the eastern town of Agdam, which is rejected by Karabakh Armenians who fear it
could be a prelude to their absorption into Azerbaijan.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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