Author: Alex Jidarian

Azerbaijan trying to justify its gross violation of trilateral statement – Armenian MFA Spox

Alex Jidarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 16 2020

Azerbaijan is tying to justify its gross violations of the provisions of trilateral statement, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anna Naghdalyan said in comments to Aysor.am.

The statement comes after the representative of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan, in his comment to the “Kommersant” newspaper, stated that “the Armenian armed forces must withdraw from Karabakh.”

“The Statement of November 9 clearly and unequivocally indicates the regions from which the Armenian armed forces have already been withdrawn,” Anna Naghdalyan said.

“It is obvious that the one-sided comments of the Azerbaijani side have an aim to justify its gross violations of the recent days on the Artsakh-Azerbaijani line of contact, which contradict the provisions of the above-mentioned statement,” she added.

Alexey Miller and Mher Grigoryan, Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister, discuss gas supply issues

Alex Jidarian
EIN News
Dec 18 2020

Russian peacekeepers ensure safe return of more than 40,000 refugees to Artsakh

Alex Jidarian

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 11:32,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The Russian peacekeepers have ensured as of December 16 the safe return of more than 40,000 refugees of Artsakh who had fled their homes during the second Nagorno Karabakh war which began on 2020 September 27 with a massive Azeri onslaught. 

Russian sappers have cleared 195 hectares of territory and 60km of roads of mines. More than 6000 explosive items were discovered and disposed of. The Russian medics of the peacekeeping contingent treated nearly 600 locals in two field hospitals, one in Stepanakert and another in Martakert, the Russian Defense Ministry said. 

The Russian Defense Ministry added that the exchange of bodies between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues jointly with the ICRC. The search operations for those missing in action also continues.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

There is still no information about Armenian servicemen besieged in Atsakh’s Hin Tagher, Khtsaberd

Alex Jidarian

There is still no information about Armenian servicemen besieged in Atsakh’s  Hin Tagher, Khtsaberd

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 19:58,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. 9 reservist soldiers of the Defense Army of Artsakh have appeared in blockade by Azerbaijani forces as a result of the resumption of the military operations in Atsakh’s  Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd villages, former MP of Artsakh Hayk Khanumyan told ARMENPRESS, adding that the last time they established contact with them they were informed that one of them is injured.  

‘’The command staff of the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh will clarify their status today whether they have been taken hostage of not. They have started making efforts in that direction. We will inform if we have any new information’’, Khanumyan said.

Police apprehend head of Armenian Revolutionary Freedom party during protests in Yerevan

Alex Jidarian
TASS, Russia

Dec 12 2020
Currently, several processions follow towards the Liberty Square in the center of Yerevan from several different points, the he protesters plan to begin a “dignity March,” demanding PM Pashinyan’s resignation

YEREVAN, December 11. /TASS/. The Armenian police apprehended Ishkhan Sagatelyan – the leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) political party – and other opposition activists during protests at the Yerevan’s Liberty Square, says Artur Vanetsyan, head of the Homeland political party and former National Security Service chief.

“What has Sagatelyan done to be forcefully apprehended?” Vanetsyan said.

Currently, several processions follow towards the Liberty Square in the center of Yerevan from several different points. The protesters plan to begin a “dignity March,” demanding Pashinyan’s resignation. Due to streets blocked by protesters, traffic got jammed in various parts of Yerevan. Local news websites conduct livestreams from the streets. The police apprehend some activist from time to time.

The opposition blames Pashinyan for economic and social problems the republic suffers. The also claim that the November 9 trilateral joint statement on cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh effectively was a capitulation. Amid the protests, the President of Armenia proposed to hold snap parliamentary election, and until then to hand over the power to the government of national accord.



Iran not a fan of Erdogan’s ‘ill-recited’ Karabakh poem

Alex Jidarian
Free Malaysia Today
Dec 11 2020
By AFP
 

11:25 PM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at a joint news conference with Azerbaijan in Baku yesterday. (AP pic)

TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for an “ill-recited” poem, seen as implying Iran’s northwestern provinces were part of Azerbaijan.

Erdogan spoke in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku on Thursday during celebrations marking Azerbaijan’s military triumph over Armenia, in six weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

“Pres. Erdogan was not informed that what he ill-recited in Baku refers to the forcible separation of areas north of Aras from Iranian motherland,” Zarif wrote on Twitter.

Iran is home to a large Azeri community, mainly in the northwest in provinces next to Azerbaijan and Armenia, with the Aras River as a border.

“Didn’t he realise he was undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan?” Zarif added.

“NO ONE can talk about OUR beloved Azerbaijan.”

According to Iran’s Isna news agency, the poem recited is “one of the separatist symbols of pan-Turkism”.

It said the verses point to Aras and “complains of the distance between Azeri-speaking people on the two sides of the river”.

Iran’s foreign ministry said it had summoned Turkey’s ambassador in Tehran over Erdogan’s “interventionist and unacceptable remarks”, and demanded an “immediate explanation”.

The envoy was told that “the era of territorial claims and warmongering and expansionist empires has passed”, according to an official statement.

It added that Iran “does not allow anyone to interfere in its territorial integrity”.

Top Armenian diplomat lauds Russia’s role in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Alex Jidarian
TASS, Russia
Dec 10 2020

PARIS, December 10. /TASS/. Russia’s efforts to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict helped to save thousands of lives, Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian said in an interview with Le Monde.

“In the 44 days of conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made a lot of effort to achieve a ceasefire. There were three attempts to establish it. Their interference helped to save thousands of lives,” he underlined.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27 in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would maintain the positions that they had held, and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region.

Azerbaijan accused of ethnic cleansing as horrifying footage appears to show elderly Armenian man being beheaded by soldiers

Alex Jidarian
RT – Russia Today
Dec 9 2020
9 Dec, 2020 11:31


Shocking video purporting to show Azerbaijani troops executing a civilian has gone viral online, with Armenia alleging that it’s just one of a series of war crimes committed during the recent Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In the unauthenticated footage, shared widely by social media users, a man reported to be an elderly ethnic Armenian living in the contested province is seen pinned down by a man in army fatigues, before his throat is cut.

The incident comes as Armenia’s foreign minister used a meeting with his French counterpart in the capital, Yerevan, to allege that “ethnic cleansing” was taking place in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to reports by Russian news agency Sputnik. He also warned that the terms of the current ceasefire may not hold, saying that “by launching military aggression against the self-determination of [the province], Azerbaijan and Turkey have violated their international obligations. Azerbaijan has also violated its obligations in the peace process.”

In October, another viral video sparked fears that war crimes were being committed in the conflict. The footage showed two Armenian men being captured before being shot with their hands tied behind their backs. Armenian authorities identified them as Benik Hakobyan, 73, and Yuri Adamyan, 25. The Council of Europe, the continent’s top legal watchdog, confirmed that it would look into the video as an alleged abuse of human rights. However, the following day, Azerbaijan’s top legal official announced that an investigation into the videos had concluded that they were fake.

At the time, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told reporters that deep-seated ethnic tensions underpinned the conflict. He claimed that “Turkey [which provided support to Azerbaijan] has returned to the South Caucasus a hundred years later to continue its policy of genocide against Armenians.”

Baku has also accused Yerevan of committing similar violations of the laws governing warfare. In November, the Azeris announced that they would open an inquiry into potential crimes committed by both sides during the fierce fighting over the disputed province. Another clip shared on social media was said to show Armenian troops executing and beheading an Azeri prisoner of war.

In November, both sides announced a ceasefire agreement after talks brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. As part of the deal, Moscow announced that it would deploy troops to the region, in order to act as a barrier between the two sides, as well as to protect civilians.

Fact checkers have issued warnings over a number of shocking videos arising from the fighting in Nagorno-Karbakh, which they claim are part of an ongoing “information war.” One video, which attracted more than a quarter of a million views on Twitter, purported to show Iranians watching Azerbaijani and Armenian troops clash, as though it were a sporting event. However, it has since emerged that the video was taken from a military re-enactment in Russia in 2019.


Court session over the case of Robert Kocharyan and others to take place on December 8

Alex Jidarian

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 20:28, 7 December, 2020

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMEPRESS. The court session over the case of 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and others will continue on December 8, chaired by judge Anna Danibekyan, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Facebook page of the lawyers of Robert Kocharyan.

‘’The examination of the case on overthrowing the constitutional order will continue of December 8 at 13:00’’, the lawyers said.

Former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan, who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in 2008, as well as retired general Yuri Khachaturov, a former CSTO secretary general who served as Deputy Minister of Defense and head of the Yerevan garrison in 2008, and former Secretary of the Security Council Armen Gevorgyan are also charged in the March 1 case (overthrow of constitutional order).