Author: Andres-Papazian

Armenia’s President introduces reasons of deliberate escalation of
situation by Azerbaijan to Putin

17:58, 9 August, 2014

YEREVAN, AUGUST 9, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the visit to
the Russian Federation, the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh
Sargsyan had a meeting with the President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin in Sochi. The Mass Media and Public Relations
Department of the Armenian President’s Office informed “Armenpress”
that at the course of the meeting the Presidents of the two countries
discussed a wide range of issues regarding the Armenian-Russian
bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The Presidents of Armenia and
Russia particularly touched upon the political, economic, and
humanitarian cooperation, as well as a number of actual issues of the
regional and international agenda, and the peaceful regulation of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict, in particular.

The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin welcomed
President Serzh Sargsyan and expressed his gratitude for accepting the
invitation and visiting Sochi. “There is no need to characterise the
Russian-Armenian relations; they are extremely friendly, strategic
relations, as evidenced by the recent decisions of the Armenian
leadership regarding the accession to the Customs Union and the
Eurasian Economic Union. The work is in progress, and I would like to
inform you about what has been done in this area so far.

We also have a number of issues on the bilateral agenda, and we will
talk about them today. This is also an opportunity to discuss the
Karabakh settlement. Therefore, our agenda today is very full and
rich,” Vladimir Putin noted.

In his speech, President Serzh Sargsyan thanked the President of the
Russian Federation Vladimir Putin for the invitation to visit Sochi
for this meeting and warm reception. Among other things, the President
of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan underscored: “Three months
have passed since our last meeting, and there is a need to take stock
of some of our agreements. In addition to our bilateral agenda, I
would also like to discuss some issues related to the integration
processes, specifically Armenia’s accession to the Treaty on the
Eurasian Economic Union.

Naturally, we are concerned about the situation in Ukraine. If you
wish, you could inform us about the measures being taken by Russia,
and I, in turn, will describe in detail the situation in our region
and the reasons behind Azerbaijan’s deliberate escalation of the
crisis on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the contact line.”

The President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan once again
expressed his gratitude to the Russian President for warm reception
and creating favorable working conditions.

From: A. Papazian

Grigory Ayvazyan: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be settled
peacefully as Azerbaijan is against this

ARMINFO
Thursday, August 7, 21:26

The growing tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone have proved
that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be settled peacefully as
Azerbaijan is against this, President of the Assembly of Armenians of
Azerbaijan Grigory Ayvazyan told journalists on Thursday.

“They think they are ready for war and are trying to prevent Armenia
from joining the Eurasian Economic Union. So, they must be forced to
accept peace. Only a preventive blow can sober them. Armenia is ready
for war and there will be war as this is exactly what Azerbaijan
wants,” Ayvazyan said, noting that his assembly does not approve of
Azerbaijan’s current actions.

From: A. Papazian

PEOPLE DO NOT WANT WAR IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Aug 8 2014

8 August 2014 – 7:27pm

Neither the Armenian nor the Azerbaijani people want a resumption of
war in Nagorno-Karabakh, experts from Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia
said, commenting on today’s peaceful rally in Yerevan against war.

Director of the Regional Studies Center, Richard Giragosian, confirmed
the fact that the Armenian people are very much against the idea of
war. “If war over Nagorno-Karabakh is resumed, Armenians will take
part in it. But none of them want to fight,” he said.

The Azerbaijani people also do not want war, the chairman of the
Writers’ Union of Azerbaijan, Anar said. “Sooner or later Karabakh
will return to Azerbaijan, and I, along with all the people, hope
that this will happen peacefully,” Anar said.

The peoples of Azerbaijan and Armenia are tired of the twenty-year long
war, the head of an analytical department for the study of post-Soviet
countries at Lomonosov Moscow State University, an expert of “Vestnik
Kavkaza”, Andrei Petrov said.

From: A. Papazian

Family: Karen Petrosyan had no heart problems

13:24, 09.08.2014

YEREVAN. – Representatives of the union of Karabakh war veterans have
visited the border, military outposts and border villagers.

Members of the union visited Chinari village where they met with the
family of Karen Petrosyan, local resident who died in Azerbaijan’s
captivity.

“We hope that young man’s body will be returned with the help of ICRC
in the near future. In any case Karen was killed, he had no heart
problems. He was very healthy,” head of the union Yuri Mikaelyan told
Armenian News-NEWS.am quoting family members.

Karen Petrosyan appeared in Azerbaijan’s captivity on Thursday. On the
next day Azerbaijani side reported about his sudden death of “a heart
failure”. At the same time Azerbaijani side tried to present a
civilian as a saboteur.

Azerbaijani media spread footage of Petrosyan dressed in a camouflage
vest. The video strongly contradicts the one shot during the first
minutes of his stay on the Azerbaijani side – Karen is sitting and
talking to villagers without a vest. By the logic of Azerbaijani
propaganda , “saboteurs” are coming to villages and talking to the
locals.

Armenia News – NEWS.am

From: A. Papazian

Karabakh president, Armenian PM vow joint efforts to secure border defense

12:57 * 09.08.14

The Nagorno-Karabakh president and the prime minister of Armenia have
discussed the situation in both countries border areas, promising to
joint efforts to secure the defense against Azerbaijani attacks.

Meeting in Stepanakert on Saturday, both officials reiterated the two
Armenian republics’ commitment towards reching a peaceful settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and expressed readiness for
collaboration over ensuring state independence and security.

According to a press release by the Nagorno-Karabakh presidential
press service, economic cooperation issues were also on the meeting
agenda.

The discussion was also attended by President of the Nagorno-Karabakh
National Assembly Ashot Ghoulyan and Prime Minister Ara Haroutyunyan.

From: A. Papazian

Claims that Turks are more civilized is only partially true ` opinions
from Armenia

12:29 ¢ 09.08.14

Tert.am has talked to Armenian Turkologists over Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s recent remark that being called an Armenian by the media has
been a big insult to him over the years of tenure.

Artak Shakaryan said he believes that the Turkish premier tried in
that way to attract the more nationalistically-disposed voters who
feel a kind of hesitant about electing Ekmeleddin Ä°hsanoÄ?lu, the joint
candidate of the Republican People’s Party.

`But I believe that apart from the pre-election campaign, Erdogan also
expresses the very idea of being an anti-Armenian. Our statements that
the Turkish society has changed, becoming more civilized, applies only
to a class of people in Istanbul, as a matter of fact. The
overwhelming majority, who predominantly reside outside of Istanbul,
still feel insulted about being called an Armenian,’ he explained.

Shakaryan noted that the phenomenon is observed mutually, with the
word Turk often provoking negative emotions in the Armenian society.
`If a politician here is accused of being an offspring of a Turk, it
will probably be viewed as a racist statement. But I think that it
will be an essential insult for the given politician,’ he added.

Commenting on Kurdish candidate Selahattin Demirtas’s promise to
recognize the Armenian Genocide in case of being elected, Shakaryan
said that politician, who is the first ever ethnic Kurd to join a
presidential campaign in Turkey, as little if any chances to be
elected.

The expert added that Turkey, which has never abandoned its
pan-Turkist ambitions, continues making paces in that direction.

`The Soviet Union’s collapse offered them an essential chance, but
Turkey was weak and unable to benefit from that then. Now Turkey is
just waiting for a better chance; it is more neo-Osmanist than
pan-Turkist,’ he added.

Addressing Erdogan’s statement, Hakob Chakryan said he expects it to
increase the incumbent premier’s electorate.

`It is insulting for our people, and expressions of the kind are not
becoming of not only a statesman but also an ordinary citizen. That
demonstrates that Erdogan ` sensible though he may be ` never gives up
the Armenophobia specific to nationalists when it comes to the
Armenians. It is insulting for not only the Istanbul-Armenian
community but also the other non-Turkish citizens,’ he added.

Asked about the Kurdish candidate’s pre-electoral pledge, Chakryan
replied, `He is a very smart personality, and he has spoken a lot in
favor of the Genocide recognition. He makes positive statements about
all nations. But that doesn’t bring him votes, as the Turkish society
and government are unanimous on the Armenian Genocide issue.’

Chakryan added that he doesn’t expect Erdogan’s strong anti-Armenian
views to essentially impact the country’s policies on Armenia. `Turkey
will change its policies when it faces pressures by the United States
and Europe. Erdogan pursues hostile policies in general,’ he noted.

From: A. Papazian

REVUE DE PRESSE
Le sud Caucase : prochaine zone de guerre ? par Jan Varoujan

D’abord la guerre en Ukraine, puis celle de Gaza, et enfin les chutes
successives d’avions, ont monopolisé l’attention des médias ces
derniers temps. L’émotion et la colère ont souvent embrumé les
esprits. Dans ce flot continu d’informations, certains événements,
comme l’élection présidentielle en Turquie, pourtant importante pour
la région, sont presque passés au deuxième voire troisième rang de la
hiérarchie médiatique, les rédactions ayant dû faire un choix
difficile quant aux sujets à traiter, ou pas. À cela s’ajoute la
pression exercée sur les médias traditionnels par les réseaux sociaux,
où chacun fait “sa une” tandis que les “suiveurs” la diffusent
instantanément, et vice versa.

Dans ce maelström d’informations, un conflit gelé a presque disparu
des radars. Pourtant des étincelles de plus en plus visibles,
fréquentes et accentuées s’approchent dangereusement du baril de
poudre sur lequel sont assis deux pays du sud Caucase : l’Arménie et
l’Azerbaïdjan. Adversaires autour du dossier de Haut-Karabagh (Artsakh
en arménien), les deux pays sont liés par un cessez-le-feu depuis la
guerre gagnée par les forces arméniennes en 1994. Les négociations
sont pilotées par le “groupe de Minsk” (Russie, États-Unis, France) et
les parties doivent trouver une solution politique et pacifique, sans
recourir à la force.

Or, les Azéris, depuis des années, violent le cessez-le-feu avec des
tirs de snipers près des lignes de contact. Le scénario est toujours
le même : les snipers azéris ouvrent le feu et parfois font des
victimes, militaires ou civiles. Dès qu’il y a des morts ou des
blessés, les Arméniens ripostent, blessant ou éliminant à leur tour
des militaires azéris. En outre, ont eu lieu plusieurs tentatives
d’intrusion de la part des Azéris, chaque fois repoussées rapidement
par la partie arménienne. Les déclarations de l’OSCE et des médias qui
les reprennent ne nomment pas clairement l’agresseur qu’est
l’Azerbaïdjan, les actions de l’Arménie n’étant qu’une riposte à ces
provocations.

Ilham Aliyev, qui dirige le pays sans partage avec sa clique, et dont
la dernière élection a été contestée, doit faire face au
mécontentement de sa population qui ne bénéficie pas des retombés de
la richesse du pays engendrée par les gisements de pétrole et du gaz
de la Mer Caspienne. Côté politique, l’opposition, la presse et les
ONG sont muselées d’une façon brutale. Récemment Leyla Yunus, rare
voix dissidente dans l’Azerbaïdjan du clan Aliev, a été encore une
fois arrêtée et jetée en prison.

Un budget militaire démesuré

Afin de détourner l’attention de ces oppositions, Aliyev a besoin d’un
ennemi extérieur, un bouc émissaire et dans ce cas le Haut-Karabagh
est une valeur sûre. Le discours belliqueux d’Aliyev depuis des années
(“Nous reprendrons le Karabagh par les armes”, “l’Arménie aussi
appartient aux Azéris”, etc.) étaient considéré par les autorités
arméniennes, à notre avis à tort, comme un discours inconséquent, “à
usage interne”. Cependant depuis quelques mois des signes de tension
graves sont constatés par les observateurs de la région, avec une
vingtaine de morts, le nombre de victimes le plus élevé depuis 1994,
et qui font craindre une reprise du conflit armé. Parallèlement
l’Azerbaïdjan augmente sa capacité militaire, tout du moins sur le
plan matériel, d’une façon exponentielle.

Grce aux revenus pétroliers, le budget de la défense azéri a
progressé de 45% entre 2010 et 2011, soit 2,2 milliards d’euros, un
cinquième du budget global du pays. Les achats d’armes de plus en plus
sophistiquées continuent auprès d’Israël, mais aussi de la Russie.
Selon un rapport de The Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute le budget de la défense de l’Azerbaïdjan aurait augmenté de
493 % entre 2004 et 2010. Un spécialiste et ancien héros de la guerre
de 1992-94, que j’ai pu rencontrer à Chouchi (Haut-Karabagh) en juin
dernier reste néanmoins serein et confiant. “Si les Azéris avaient la
moindre certitude de gagner la guerre, ils l’auraient déjà
déclenchée”, m’a-t-il assuré tout en savourant son thé vert à la
menthe. “Ils ont sûrement plus de matériel que nous, mais nous avons
une armée plus qualifiée et plus motivée. Nous les attendons de pied
ferme”.

Caucase, une région explosive

La région du Caucase est une des plus militarisées au monde. Sur la
ligne de front, un affrontement mineur “accidentel” peut à tout moment
dégénérer en une guerre. Si guerre il y avait, ses “conséquences
régionales seraient dévastatrices”, prédit l’International Crisis
Group. Au sud, l’Iran, qui entretient de bonnes relations avec
l’Arménie, et la Turquie, allié traditionnel de l’Azerbaïdjan,
menacent d’être entraînés dans le conflit. Au nord, la Russie liée par
un accord militaire bilatéral avec l’Arménie ne pourrait rester
inerte. L’Europe et des investisseurs occidentaux, notamment la BP qui
contrôle entre autres l’oléoduc BTC (Bakou-Tbilissi-Ceyhan), seraient
indirectement affectés par un conflit armé puisque les raffineries de
pétrole et les dépôts de gaz fournissant l’Europe pourraient être
visés par des missiles de l’armée du Karabagh dès le début d’une
guerre. Donc la faiblesse relative de l’armée arménienne sur le plan
matériel serait compensée par la menace réelle sur des cibles
stratégiques de l’Azerbaïdjan. Or, comme dans un jeu d’échecs, dans
lequel excellent les Arméniens, la menace est souvent plus efficace
que le coup à jouer.

Après les incidents qui ont fait 20 morts la semaine dernière, le
ministre de la Défense de la République d’Arménie, Seyran Ohanian a
déclaré à la presse : “L’adversaire doit faire attention à ne pas
mettre à l’épreuve notre patience”. Le 2 août, le ministre des
Affaires étrangères Edward Nalbandian, répondant à “Armenpress” a
déclaré : “Il est grand temps que la communauté internationale dégrise
le gouvernement azéri qui a perdu le sens des réalités et qui va à
l’encontre des règles et valeurs de la communauté internationale”.
Espérons pour la paix dans la région que Bakou changera rapidement son
attitude et que le président Ilham Aliyev cessera de jouer au Dr
Folamour du Caucase.

samedi 9 août 2014,
Stéphane (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

Disparition de Bédros Ter-Pétrossian le frère du Premier président de
la République d’Arménie

Bédros Ter-Pétrossian, frère du Premier président de la République
d’Arménie, Lévon Ter-Pétrossian est mort le 4 août à Erévan. Né le 16
février 1941 à Alep (Syrie), il était arrivé en Arménie en compagnie
de ses parents en 1946. Ingénieur en sciences techniques et
professeur, Bédros Ter-Pétrossian était correspondant de l’Académie
des ingénieurs d’Arménie et professeur à l’Université d’Etat d’Erévan
au département d’architecture et de construction. Le Congrès National
arménien a présenté ses condoléances à Lévon Ter-Pétrossian ainsi qu’à
la famille de Bédros Ter-Pétrossian.

Krikor Amirzayan

samedi 9 août 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan (c)armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijan threatens to “wipe Yerevan map of the world”

If the dam is endangered Minguetchour “Yerevan we will remove the
earth,” said the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has just 24 hours after
the statements Seyran Ohanyan, Armenian Defense Minister.

In their statement echoed by Haqqin.az site, Azeris threaten to give
Armenia a “harsh response and unprecedented in case of attack from the
power plant Minguetchour threatens promised by Ohanian (…) the
Azerbaijani Armed Forces are able to hit any target on the enemy
occupied lands and Armenia. If Armenians conduct a sabotage operation
dam Minguetchour the answer will be terrible! . ” Azeri defense
ministry also claims “if the order of command, missiles headed to
Armenia, Yerevan shave the world” …

Recall that Ohanian was at the government meeting yesterday had
mentioned that Azerbaijani forces were concerned about a possible
military operation against Armenians Dam Minguetchour. Destruction of
the dam would flood a large part of the territory of Azerbaijan, which
is below the level of the dam impoundments.

Krikor Amirzayan

Saturday, August 9, 2014,
Krikor Amirzayan © armenews.com

From: A. Papazian

Armenian, Azerbaijani civic activists call for peace in Karabakh

11:08 * 09.08.14

Civil society representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan and other world
countries have issued an open call urging for strong measures to end
the armed violence along the Contact Line of Nagorno-Karbakh and the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The statement is provided below:

We, the undersigned citizens of Azerbaijan, Armenia and other
countries demand that the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
stop the shooting and attacks on the Line of Contact and
Armenian-Azerbaijani border immediately.

We demand that, as a sign of good will, either side stop shooting
unilaterally and then ask the other side to do the same.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “An eye for an eye only ends up making the
whole world blind.” On the Karabakh front-line, a sniper shot for a
sniper shot, an attack for an attack will only make more young
Armenians and Azerbaijanis dead, wounded and disabled. A few meters of
territory or “strategic heights” gained are worth nothing if they put
young people under the ground and leave their loved ones traumatized.

The Karabakh ceasefire regime was agreed and signed in May of 1994. In
February 1995, the parties agreed to strengthen and monitor the
ceasefire regime. But that has not been enough to prevent dozens of
young people being killed each year. Many of them, some of them born
after the ceasefire agreement was signed, died over the last week. We
appreciate that the ceasefire in itself is not enough and that the
status quo inflicts harm on the lives of hundreds of thousands of
people across the region.

We demand that mediators and parties to the conflict find a new legal
and practical framework that will stop the violence. In 2008 in
Helsinki the foreign ministers of France, Russia and the United States
called for the removal of snipers from the ceasefire line. The UN
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon endorsed the idea in 2010. We regret
that that proposal, which could have saved dozens of lives, has never
been implemented.

Finally, we urge citizens, civil society leaders, state and
independent media to uphold ethical and professional standards as they
discuss the conflict, not to glorify or otherwise encourage violence,
to engage in sincere efforts towards peaceful conflict resolution and
demand from their respective governments that they halt the escalation
of the conflict and start real negotiations for peace.
Veronika Aghajanyan, Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation, Yerevan

Anar K. Ahmadov, Assistant Professor of Comparative Political Economy,
Leiden University, The Hague

Rashad Aliyev, freelance journalist, social media and conflict
resolution trainer, Baku

Zinaddin Babayev, Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation, Boston

Bayram Balci, visiting scholar, Middle East Program, Carnegie
Endowment, Washington

Sofie Bedford, researcher, Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies,
Uppsala University

Jean-Baptiste Blanc, University of Lausanne

Laurence Broers, Editor, Caucasus Survey and Research Associate,
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Michael Cecire, associate scholar, Foreign Policy Research Institute,
Philadelphia

Alexander Cooley, Professor of Political Science at Barnard College,
Columbia University, New York

Dzovinar Derderian, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

John Evans, former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia (2004-2006)

Arzu Geybullayeva, Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation, Istanbul

Philip Ghamagelyan, Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation, Washington

Natalya Ghurbanyan, International Development Expert, Washington

Richard Giragossian, Regional Studies Center, Yerevan

Hamida Giyasbayli, Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation, Baku

Sevil Huseynova, Institute for European Ethnology, Berlin

Ulvi Ismayil, Public Policy Expert, Washington

Irakly Kakabadze, Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy, Tbilisi

Maria Karapetyan, Rondine Cittadella della Pace, Arezzo

Richard D. Kauzlarich, former US Ambassador to Azerbaijan (1994-1997)
and Adjunct Professor School of Policy, Government and

International Affairs, George Mason University, Arlington

Armenian News – Tert.am

From: A. Papazian