Author: Ani Basmajian

Switzerland defines specific actions for extending humanitarian assistance in Armenia with 1.5 million Swiss francs

Ani Basmajian

 16:25, 6 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Switzerland is stepping up its support for civilians in Armenia and the region through the immediate release of 1.5 million Swiss francs to be distributed among key humanitarian actors on the ground, the Embassy of Switzerland in Armenia said in a press release.

“In less than a week, more than 100,000 people have fled Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia in search of security, food, shelter, and a future livelihood. The international community, the Armenian authorities and the civil society are working hard to create best possible conditions to receive and support these people, especially in view of the coming winter.

“In response to this urgent situation, Switzerland has taken initial decisions to release 1.5 million Swiss francs to support humanitarian efforts on the ground in a comprehensive manner. Distributed equally among three key actors WFP, UNHCR and the ICRC, the funds are directed towards addressing the immediate needs of the refugees. With their specificities, all three interventions will work on hosting, increasing food security, and building economic resilience of the refugees.

“The World Food Programme WFP of the UN will utilize a grant of 500’000 Swiss francs to extend the ongoing Swiss-funded REBCA (Resilience and Economic Recovery of Border Communities in Armenia) project launched back in November 2022. With the additional funds, the REBCA project will prioritize the most vulnerable refugees settled in rural areas of Syunik and Gegharkunik regions, as well as their host families, providing them with immediate humanitarian, psycho-social, and economic support. The project will also set-up integration mechanisms to build resilience.

“A contribution of 500’000 Swiss francs to the UN Refugee Response Plan (RRP) was approved earlier in October, with the UNHCR as the lead partner. The RRP will reinforce UNHCR’s emergency response to support the RA Government’s efforts to host the refugees and enhance resilience.  As an additional effort, a Swiss expert has been made available for UN organizations for communication and data analysis.

“The last portion of 500’000 Swiss francs will cover the efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC, jointly with the Armenian Red Cross Society, providing emergency psycho-social and economic aid. The ICRC will also continue to support the Armenian authorities in their endeavor to clarify the fate of missing persons. A specific attention will be put on the families of the missing. This funding is in addition to the one million Swiss francs already granted to the ICRC for its operations in the region in 2023,” the embassy said.

Ending The Karabakh Conflict Opens The Way For Peace In The South Caucasus – OpEd

Ani Basmajian
Oct 30 2023
   0 Comments

By Dr. Taras Kuzio

Azerbaijan launched a military assault on Armenian-controlled Karabakh not with the goals of genocide or committing ethnic cleansing, two common accusations in the Western media, but because it had exhausted other avenues. Azerbaijan resorted to military means after three years of Armenia dragging its heels on signing a peace treaty that accepted the Karabakh region is part of Azerbaijan, Russian obstruction, and Western negotiators taking a late interest in the South Caucasus only after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Armenians living in Karabakh were given the opportunity to remain and become citizens of Azerbaijan. This was the same offer given after the USSR disintegrated to millions living in other Soviet republics in January 1992. In Ukraine, some Russians, Jews, Poles, and other national minorities remained while others moved to other former Soviet republics or emigrated to Israel and Poland. 

Contrary to Western media reports, the United Nations recorded no instances of human rights abuses of the Armenian minority.  Azerbaijan’s military operation is very different to the early 1990s when three quarter of a million Azerbaijani’s were ethnically cleansed from Armenia and occupied Azerbaijani lands.

The closure of the separatist Karabakh republic completes the liberation of internationally recognised Azerbaijani territory that had been under Armenian occupation since 1994. The first stage of this process had taken place in 2020 when Azerbaijan defeated Armenia in the second Karabakh war.

The path is now open to Armenia and Azerbaijan signing a peace treaty that recognises the former Soviet republican boundary as their international border. The other Soviet republics underwent this process in the 1990s, but this escaped the South Caucasus because of Armenian nationalist irredentism and Russia playing off countries against each other.

A lasting peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will bring peace, security, and economic prosperity to the South Caucasus if four factors are taken into consideration.

Firstly, outside powers should not attempt to revive the OSCE Minsk Group, set up in 1992 with France, the US, and Russia, because it failed to negotiate a resolution to the conflict.  Members of the OSCE Minsk Group failed to give the peace process serious consideration and insufficiently condemned Armenian war crimes in the early 1990s and the Armenian occupation of twenty percent of Azerbaijan. 

Secondly, France cannot be involved in negotiations for a post-conflict peace treaty. With a large Armenian lobby, France has always, and continues to show, its bias towards Armenia by condemning Azerbaijan in 2020 and now for seeking the restoration of its territorial integrity. At the same time, France militarily supports Ukraine in the restoration of its territorial integrity.

Thirdly, during the last three decades the Kremlin has shown a preference for freezing conflicts in Moldova, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, to maintain a Russian military presence, and not to negotiate peace agreements. Russia’s duplicity was clearly seen over the last three years when it pretended to be a ‘peacekeeper’ in Karabakh but in fact satisfied neither Armenia or Azerbaijan.

Fourthly, the US, which ignored the OSCE Minsk Group under President Barack Obama and did not participate from 2010, would in an ideal world be a strategic negotiating partner but since the 1990s, US administrations have pandered to the large Armenian lobby. The Joe Biden administration has continued in this vein by condemning Azerbaijan in seeking to restore its territorial integrity. As with France, the US does not seem to understand how this represents double standards as Washington is the largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine which is fighting to also restore its territorial integrity.

With the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France, and the US unable to act as impartial or serious negotiating partners, the only viable negotiator for a post-conflict peace treaty is the European Union (EU). The EU began to take an interest in the South Caucasus quite late following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Throughout the last two years the EU has attempted to bring Armenia and Azerbaijan together and a peace treaty was close to signing but the obstacle was always the status of Karabakh. In 2022, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed an agreement under the auspices of the EU that recognised Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, but Russia intervened and sought to derail progress by sending Ruben Vardanyan, who became a billionaire oligarch in Russia, to Karabakh to challenge Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was not strong enough to take on pro-Russian Armenian nationalists led by the ‘Karabakh clan’. The hard-line pro-Russian ‘Karabakh clan’, led by former Presidents and Prime Ministers Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sargsyan, had ruled Armenia until the 2018 revolution (MerzhirSerzhin) brought Pashinyan to power.

Pro-Russian forces in Armenia supported Armenian separatist ‘self-defence forces’ and separatist political leaders in Karabakh by supplying them with military equipment and other forms of assistance. Karabakh Armenians feared terrible things that would happen to them if Azerbaijan took control of the region. 

The return of Karabakh to Azerbaijan’s sovereignty frees Pashinyan’s hands to negotiate a peace treaty which he has pledged to sign by the end of this year. The pro-Russian ‘Karabakh clan’ are now at their weakest point in the last three decades, Karabakh separatist structures are disbanded, and its political and military leaders are either detained by Azerbaijan or have fled; meanwhile, Russia is no longer the great power hegemon in the South Caucasus.

A peace treaty should codify the Soviet republican boundary between Armenia and Azerbaijan as their new international frontier. After taking Azerbaijani citizenship, Armenians living in Karabakh should receive national minority rights. 

There are multiple benefits to the South Caucasus of an end to three decades of conflict. This is especially the case for Armenia which could use the stability that will emerge from a peace treaty benefit to reduce its economic reliance on Russia, join regional energy projects, normalise relations with Turkey, and reduce spending on defence and security. Sensing regional stability and improving economic prospects, many of the Armenians living in Russia would return to live in Armenia.

For the last three years, Azerbaijan attempted to lobby for a peace treaty following the second Karabakh war, but the Karabakh question and Pashinyan’s domestic weakness prevented progress. The resolution of the Karabakh question, without a huge loss of life and human rights abuses, opens the way for a lasting peace in the South Caucasus that will be of benefit to all – but especially to Armenia.

Dr. Taras Kuzio is Professor in the Department of Political Science, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy and Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. Winner of the 2022 Peterson Literary Prize for "Russian Nationalism and the Russian-Ukrainian War: Autocracy-Orthodoxy-Nationality" (Routledge, 2022).

https://www.eurasiareview.com/30102023-ending-the-karabakh-conflict-opens-the-way-for-peace-in-the-south-caucasus-oped/

Prime Minister Pashinyan receives Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly

Ani Basmajian

 17:21,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, the Prime Minister's Office said in a readout.

In his welcoming speech, Prime Minister Pashinyan specifically stated: "Dear minister, dear friends, I welcome you to our country. Let me first express my satisfaction with the opening of the Canadian Embassy in our country, which I believe is a truly remarkable event for our bilateral relations. In particular, we will now have a resident ambassador, which means we will have a constant dialogue. This is very important, especially in the current circumstances.

It is very important to state that this is the result of a series of conversations, visits. I recall that the conversation about this started in 2018, when Prime Minister Trudeau visited us, during which we had a conversation, after which special representative Dion visited us, after which the report on supporting Armenia democracy was issued.

Of course, we greatly appreciate your personal imput and efforts. Welcome to Armenia".

In turn, Mélanie Joly thanked the Prime Minister for the warm reception and noted: "I am convinced that Mr. Prime Minister from Ottawa is celebrating the opening of the embassy together with us in his thoughts and heart. We are happy to have the first ambassador in Armenia who knows Armenia well, because he has been working over the question of Armenia for a long time in the foreign department. And he is also a close friend of your fantastic ambassador to our country, who is also with us now.

We are coming to you in a period that we know is quite difficult for Armenia. We have been following the events of September 19-20, and of course, our goal is to help Armenia to deal with this difficult situation, to help also to bring more peace and stability to the region. We are doing this by first of all engaging in the EU mission, we are the only country outside the EU participating in the EU mission. This is the first step in ensuring greater engagement in Armenia.

Today we announced more funding for EU humanitarian assistance to deal with the fact that such a large number of ethnic Armenians had to flee Nagorno Karabakh. We support the efforts of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross." The Canadian Foreign Minister added that she will visit the south of Armenia tomorrow to meet the local authorities and the affected Armenians.

Nikol Pashinyan referred to the forced deportation of more than 100,000 of our compatriots from Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing policy and the resulting humanitarian situation, emphasizing in this context the importance of international support in solving the existing problems.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, the possibilities of unblocking regional transport infrastructures based on the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, jurisdiction and reciprocity, as well as peace and stability in the region.

The sides exchanged ideas on issues of Armenia-Canada cooperation agenda.

Armenian Cultural Student Association hosts speaker panel to discuss historical context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Ani Basmajian
University of Virginia
Oct 18 2023
By Caroline Hagood

October 18, 2023

The Armenian Cultural Student Association hosted a speaker panel Monday at 7 p.m. to discuss the historical context of the century-long tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, following Azerbaijan’s recent reclaim of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. The panel included Politics lecturer Dr. Yuri Urbanovich, History Prof. Chris Gratien and History Prof. Kyrill Kunakhovich. 

Susanna Kharatyan, ACSA president and third-year College student, said the panel event was organized because of the importance for the University community to talk about the Nagorno-Karabakh situation, considering how underrepresented the conflict is at the University. 

“It is a very controversial topic, but I think it's important for us to create a space where we could get professors to talk about the topic and raise awareness,” Kharatyan said. 

Azerbaijan’s military captured the Nagorno-Karabakh region Sept. 19, which for the last several decades was under the control of a separatist, de facto government. Since then, over 100,000 Armenians have been displaced from the region.

Dozens of students showed up to the event, hosted in the Student Health and Wellness Building, to listen to the panelists present on the conflict’s historical context from the perspective of their various academic disciplines and specialties. The presentations were followed by audience questions at the end. 

Gratien, whose specialty is migration and the Middle East, focused on the displacement of Armenians, emphasizing the cultural significance and symbolism of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

“100,000 people leaving what they consider ancestral lands, leaving villages that have been there for a very long time, is a very big deal in world historical terms,” Gratien said. “It means losing everything.”

Gratien also said the current displacement is particularly traumatic because it is not the first time Armenians have been displaced on mass scale, referring to the Armenian Genocide in 1915 where nearly 1.2 million Armenians died in a conflict with the Ottoman Empire. 

Urbanovich then provided the historical context of the regional dispute in the context of relations with Russia. Urbanovich said, in his opinion, it is doubtful to expect military intervention in the region from Russian forces or Western forces.

Kunakhovich also discussed the geo-political background of the dispute and explained how control of the territory has changed over the last two centuries. After the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, the Soviet Union controlled the Nagorno-Karabakh region for most of the 20th century, until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 when the area became contested again between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

“We see the ethnic cleansing and un-mixing of populations that has been a consistent trap throughout the century,” Kunakhovich said. 

One audience member asked if the panel believed that there would be more presence from the United States in the conflict if Turkey was not a member of NATO, referencing Turkey’s support of the Azerbaijan military in the recent attack. Kunakhovich said he did not, considering how difficult it is to maintain American public support in more strategic zones. 

“It seems very hard for me to imagine the U.S. wanting to exercise much direct presence,” Kunakhovich said. 

Kharatyan said though the current situation is a deeply emotional and personal issue for many Amenians, she hopes they can work towards a more harmonious future through communication.

“We hope to humanize rather than politicize,” Kharatyan said. “We firmly believe that advocating for peace and the wellbeing of innocent civilians transcends any political boundaries or ideologies.” 

https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2023/10/armenian-cultural-student-association-hosts-speaker-panel-to-discuss-historical-context-of-the-nagorno-karabakh-conflict

Iran invites Armenia to 3+3 format meeting

Ani Basmajian

 16:42,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has received an invitation from Iran to a foreign ministerial-level meeting of the 3+3 format (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Türkiye, Iran), Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan told reporters.

“As you know, the possible meeting is to take place in Tehran and we’ve received an invitation from the Iranian side. At this moment discussions are taking place with our colleagues from Iran, and when a final decision is made we will announce it,” Kostanyan said.

Azeri media, citing diplomatic sources, earlier reported that a 3+3 foreign ministerial will soon take place in Tehran.

Earlier in October, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during an interview that Armenia is ready for the 3+3 format meetings.




300 medical workers, forced migrants from Nagorno-Karabakh, underwent training in Armenia

Ani Basmajian

 17:48,

There are 565 medical workers registered in Armenia who are forced migrants from Nagorno-Karabakh, of which 240 are senior, 325 are mid-level. According to Armenpress, Press Secretary of the Prime Minister Nazeli Baghdasaryan said this at a press conference at the Humanitarian Center.

As part of the state order, 300 medical workers underwent internships. In the regions of Armenia there are 273 vacancies for senior medical workers and 59 vacancies for mid-level medical workers. The list of specializations is published on the website of the Ministry of Health.

It was also noted that the number of patients injured as a result of the fighting and explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh and undergoing treatment in various medical centers of the capital is 180. The condition of 32 of them is serious, 9 is extremely serious. Over the past week, 75 patients were discharged, but they are still under outpatient supervision by doctors. At the moment, 35,550 internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh are attached to primary health care institutions.


[GOOGLE TRANSLATED]

There are 565 medical workers registered in Armenia who are forced migrants from Nagorno-Karabakh, of which 240 are senior, 325 are mid-level. As Armenpress reports , the Prime Minister’s press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan said this at a press conference at the Humanitarian Center.

As part of the state order, 300 medical workers underwent internships. In the regions of Armenia there are 273 vacancies for senior medical workers and 59 vacancies for mid-level medical workers. The list of specializations is published on the website of the Ministry of Health.

It was also noted that the number of patients injured as a result of the fighting and explosion in Nagorno-Karabakh and undergoing treatment in various medical centers of the capital is 180. The condition of 32 of them is serious, 9 are extremely serious. Over the past week, 75 patients were discharged, but they are still under outpatient supervision by doctors. At the moment, 35,550 internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh are attached to primary health care institutions.




RFE/RL Armenian Service – 10/05/2023

Ani Basmajian 
                                        Thursday, October 5, 2023
Putin Blames Yerevan For Azeri Takeover Of Karabakh
        • Aza Babayan
Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at the annual 
meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, October 5, 2023.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Thursday claimed that Russian peacekeepers 
could not have thwarted Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 military offensive in 
Nagorno-Karabakh and blamed it on Armenia’s recognition of Azerbaijani 
sovereignty over the region.
The Armenian government urged the peacekeepers to step in to protect Karabakh’s 
population hours after the start of the Azerbaijani assault. Russian officials 
ruled out such intervention, leading Yerevan to accuse Moscow of not honoring 
its obligations spelled out in a 2020 truce accord brokered by it.
“The peacekeepers only had the right to monitor the ceasefire regime,” Putin 
countered during an annual meeting of Russia’s Valdai Discussion Club.
He said that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian sharply downgraded the 
status of the Russian peacekeeping contingent when he recognized Karabakh as 
part of Azerbaijan during Armenian-Azerbaijani summits organized by the European 
Union in October 2022 and May 2023. Pashinian’s moves legitimized Baku’s 
military action that led to the mass exodus of Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian 
population, he said.
“I learned about Armenia's recognition of Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan from 
the press, they did not inform us separately,” Putin added in another stern 
rebuke of the Armenian leader.
Other Russian officials as well as the Foreign Ministry in Moscow similarly 
pointed to Pashinian’s decision, denounced by the Armenian opposition, in the 
months leading up to the Azerbaijani takeover. They used it to try to justify 
the peacekeepers’ failure to reopen traffic through the Lachin corridor blocked 
by Azerbaijan last December.
Many in Armenia feel that the peacekeepers could have also prevented Azerbaijan 
from arresting about a dozen current and former leaders of Karabakh, who are now 
facing long prison sentences in Baku. The authorities in Stepanakert have long 
been known for their pro-Russian views.
Putin expressed hope that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will show clemency 
for the jailed Karabakh Armenian leaders “now that all territorial issues for 
Azerbaijan have been resolved.” But in another jibe at Pashinian, he suggested 
that the Armenian authorities “don’t quite want to see them in Yerevan.”
European Leaders Voice ‘Unwavering Support’ For Armenia
Spain - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meet during an EU summit in Granada, 
October 5, 2023.
The leaders of the European Union and its key member states, France and Germany, 
expressed strong support for Armenia’s territorial integrity and promised more 
aid to refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh when they met with Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian on Thursday.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was also due to attend the meeting held on 
the sidelines of a European Union summit in the Spanish city of Granada. But he 
withdrew at the last minute, citing pro-Armenian statements made by French 
leaders and the rejection of his demands that Turkish President Recep Tayyip 
Erdogan be allowed to join the talks.
A senior aide to Aliyev said on Thursday that he is ready to hold a trilateral 
meeting with Pashinian as well as European Council President Charles Michel in 
Brussels “soon.”
A joint statement issued after the Granada talks said Michel, French President 
Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz “underlined their unwavering 
support to the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and 
inviolability of the borders of Armenia.”
“They also expressed their support to the strengthening of EU-Armenia relations, 
in all its dimensions, based on the needs of the Republic of Armenia. They 
agreed on the need to provide additional humanitarian assistance to Armenia as 
it faces the consequences of the recent mass displacement of Karabakh 
Armenians,” added the statement.
The EU allocated 5.2 million euros ($5.5 million) in humanitarian aid to the 
refugees shortly after the mass exodus of Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population 
resulting from Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 offensive. Ursula von der Leyen, the 
head of the European Commission, said earlier on Thursday that the EU’s 
executive body will double that sum in addition to giving the Armenian 
government 15 million euros in “direct budgetary support.” Von der Leyen held a 
separate meeting with Pashinian in Granada.
Spain - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets with European Commission 
President Ursula von der Leyen in Granada, October 5, 2023
The Azerbaijani takeover of Karabakh raised more fears in Yerevan that Baku will 
also attack Armenia to open an exterritorial land corridor to Azerbaijan’s 
Nakhichevan exclave. Michel, Macron and Scholz appeared to allude to such a 
possibility in their joint statement with Pashinian. It called for the “strict 
adherence to the principle of non-use of force and threat of use of force.”
Pashinian indicated on Wednesday that he and Aliyev were very close to signing 
in Granada a “framework document” laying out the key parameters of an 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty and the delimitation of the long border 
between the two South Caucasus states. He said he still hopes that it will be 
signed “at an opportune time.”
Baku and Yerevan have disagreed, at least until now, on the mechanism for the 
border delimitation. The Armenian side has insisted on using 1975 Soviet 
military maps for that purpose.
The European leaders clearly backed Yerevan’s stance during the Granada talks. 
Their joint statement cited the “urgent need to work towards border delimitation 
based on the most recent USSR General Staff maps that have been provided to the 
sides.”
Armenia’s First Foreign Intelligence Chief Named After ‘Training’
        • Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Human rights ombudswoman Kristine Grigorian attends a public 
discussion in Yerevan, March 2, 2022.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has appointed Armenia’s former human rights 
ombudswoman, Kristine Grigorian, as the first head of a foreign intelligence 
agency formally set up by his government about a year ago.
Armenia already had intelligence services operating within its National Security 
Service (NSS) and military when the National Assembly approved last December the 
creation of the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS). The NSS division is supposed 
to be fully replaced by the FIS within three years. The new agency directly 
subordinate to Pashinian has still not officially started its operations.
“The main task of the service is to forecast opportunities and external threats 
to the state and society and to provide political decision-makers with reliable, 
credible intelligence information about them,” Pashinian’s press secretary, 
Nazeli Baghdasarian told the Armenpress news agency following Grigorian’s 
appointment announced on Wednesday.
Grigorian unexpectedly resigned as ombudswoman in January after less than a year 
in office. She said at the time that she is planning to move on to another job.
The 42-year-old lawyer, who has never worked for security agencies before, has 
not been seen in public since then. A senior pro-government lawmaker, Gagik 
Melkonian confirmed rumors that she underwent relevant training before taking up 
her new post.
“He has been trained but I don’t know where,” Melkonian told the Hraparak daily. 
“She came back and got appointed.”
Citing another, unnamed source, the paper claimed that Grigorian was trained by 
“Western intelligence services.” It noted that the chief of Britain's foreign 
intelligence agency, Richard Moore, visited Yerevan and met with Pashinian just 
days before the Armenian government pushed a bill on the FIS through the 
parliament. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns visited 
Armenia in July 2022.
Grigorian could not be reached for comment, and nothing is known about the 
structure and size of her nascent agency. Nor have Pashinian and his political 
allies explained the choice of the FIS chief.
Grigorian’s appointment came amid mounting tensions between Armenia and Russia. 
The parliament controlled by Pashinian’s party added to those tensions on 
Tuesday when it approved a government proposal to ratify the founding treaty of 
an international court that issued an arrest warrant for Russian President 
Vladimir Putin in March. The move was condemned by Russia but welcomed by the 
European Union.
Former Defense Chief Vows To Fight For Pashinian’s Ouster
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia- Defense Minister Arshak Karapetian and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
visit the Yerablur Military Pantheon, Yerevan, September 21, 2021.
Arshak Karapetian, a former Armenian defense minister and national security aide 
to Nikol Pashinian, has blamed him for the fall of Nagorno-Karabakh and pledged 
to fight for his removal from power.
In a surprise video message circulated late on Wednesday, Karapetian charged 
that Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 military offensive and resulting takeover of 
Karabakh were “made possible by the Armenian authorities’ cowardice and treason.”
The retired general also blamed them for Azerbaijan’s arrests of about a dozen 
former and current leaders of Karabakh, including Armenian-born billionaire 
Ruben Vardanyan. He alleged that Pashinian himself asked Baku to jail Vardanyan 
because he regards the latter as a formidable political opponent.
Karapetian branded Pashinian’s political team as “a bunch of cowards and 
amateurs” who have also put Armenia’s independence and territorial integrity at 
serious risk. He said he has therefore set up a “political movement to liberate 
Armenia from internal and external enemies.”
“In the near future, you will see and feel the seriousness of my intentions,” he 
said in what was his first public statement in almost two years. He gave no 
details of his planned push for regime change.
Karapetian, 57, had served as chief of Armenian military intelligence until 
being fired in 2016 by then President Serzh Sarkisian. Pashinian appointed him 
as his national security adviser shortly after coming to power in May 2018. The 
premier promoted him to the post of defense minister in August 2021 only to 
dismiss him three months later.
Armenia - Defense Minister Arshak Karapetian visits a disputed section of the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border, November 17, 2021.
Karapetian claimed that he was sacked because he ordered the Armenian army to 
resist Azerbaijani attempts to seize more Armenian territory and visited 
Karabakh in his ministerial capacity.
The Armenian government did not react to the allegations on Thursday. Senior 
lawmakers from Pashinian’s Civil Contract party were likewise reluctant to 
comment on them at a news conference in Yerevan. Still, they made no secret of 
their contempt for the ex-minister who was for years thought to be a figure 
loyal to Pashinian.
“This question offends my common sense,” one of them, Arman Yeghoyan, said when 
asked for comment. He insisted that “nobody could be sacked for protecting 
Armenia’s borders.”
Another pro-government lawmaker, Artur Hovannisian, said that the Armenian media 
should not take Karapetian seriously because he has “offered his services to a 
concrete center.” It was not clear whether Hovannisian referred to Russia, whose 
relationship with Pashinian’s administration has been rapidly deteriorating.
In his Facebook video, Karapetian signaled support for Armenia’s continued close 
ties with Russia while effectively acknowledging the failure of the Russian 
peacekeeping mission in Karabakh.
“Together with our current authorities, the enemy is trying to redirect our 
national anger towards our Russian brothers,” he said before urging Moscow to 
“more resolutely counter attempts to destroy the Armenian people and our 
statehood.”
Significantly, Karapetian recorded and posted the same message in Russian. He 
did not clarify whether he is currently in Armenia.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Preserving principle of territorial integrity must be the basis of sustainable peace between Armenia, Azerbaijan –Scholz

Ani Basmajian

 14:28, 5 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Germany insists that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan around Nagorno-Karabakh should be resolved through diplomacy, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said during a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Scholz said that Germany rejects military violence.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the basis for sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan shall be the preservation of the principle of territorial integrity, the German government said in the readout of the call.

Scholz emphasized that Germany fully supports European Council President Charles Michel’s efforts aimed at the peaceful resolution in NK.

Chancellor Scholz also described the October 1 UN mission to NK as a “positive step that should be used for further work in that direction.”

The UN mission was  in Armenia.

Borrell hopes Armenia, Azerbaijan hold talks in Brussels

Ani Basmajian

 15:21, 5 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said he hopes to organize Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations in Brussels, Interfax reports.

“Hopefully, a meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be organized in Brussels. This must be done to make sure the conflict does not expand. It is also necessary to achieve political stabilization in Armenia,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell told reporters in Granada, Spain.

He regretted that the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey did not take part in the European Political Community summit in Granada.

“I regret that Azerbaijan isn’t here, I regret that Turkey, the main supporter of Azerbaijan, is also not here. Therefore, we can’t speak here about something as serious as the fact that over 100,000 people were forced to leave their homes,” Borrell said, referring to the forced displacement of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azeri attack. 

The EU condemns the use of military force to resolve conflicts, he added.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev were supposed to hold EU-mediated peace talks in Granada on October 5, but the Azeri leader cancelled his participation on October 4.

If Putin goes to Armenia he’d be arrested, as lawmakers back ICC entry

Ani Basmajian
POLITICO
Oct 3 2023

Russian president faces one more travel headache after parliamentarians in Yerevan accept International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction.

BY GABRIEL GAVIN
OCTOBER 3, 2023 12:14 PM CET
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Armenia has accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court after lawmakers on Tuesday ratified its founding documents, effectively obliging the former Soviet republic to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he ever returns to the country.

Parliamentarians voted in favor of the Rome Statute on Tuesday, with 60 MPs backing its ratification and 20 opposition lawmakers voting against. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said last week he was confident there was sufficient support for the move, despite fierce objections from Moscow, traditionally an ally of Yerevan.

Last Thursday, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that accepting the jurisdiction of the court in The Hague would be seen as “extremely hostile,” given it has issued an arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges over Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

“Armenia knows very well that we are not parties to the [Rome Statute], and Armenia is well aware of the difficult decision adopted on the basis of this statute,” Peskov said.

Pashinyan has insisted the decision is not aimed at Russia, but is necessary to ensure the country is protected by international law in its bitter dispute with neighboring Azerbaijan.

In March, the court published warrants for both Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of involvement in the abduction and forced deportation of children from Ukraine since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion last year. Ukraine is not a signatory to the Rome Statute but has granted the court jurisdiction to investigate war crimes committed during the war.

Despite Russia’s outright rejection of the warrants, they have caused problems for Putin’s travel plans. In July, the Russian president was forced to pull out of a summit with the leaders of developing economies in South Africa, which has itself ratified the Rome Statute.