Thursday,
Pashinian Sends Condolences To Macron Over Terrorist Attack In France
Nice, France - French security forces are outside a church where a stabbing
attack took place on October 29
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian offered his condolences to French
President Emmanuel Macron over a terrorist attack on October 29 that left at
least three people killed and several injured in southern France.
One of the victims, a woman, was beheaded after a knife attack at a church in
Nice.
In his message Pashinian said that Armenia condemns terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations.
“It is more than obvious that extremism and fanaticism have no justification or
moral excuse,” Pashinian said.
“The people of Armenia share the pain and anger of the fraternal people of
France. We express our deep condolences and sympathy to victims’ families and
friends,” he added.
The latest terrorist attack comes amid increased tensions between France and
Turkey as well as other predominantly Muslim countries over the publication of
the Prophet Muhammad cartoons in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
About two weeks ago a French teacher was decapitated outside his school in a
Parisian suburb by an attacker who wanted to punish him for showing pupils
cartoons of the prophet in a civics lesson.
After that attack Macron and his government vowed a crackdown on Islamic
extremism, stressing that freedom of speech is one of the highest values in
France. This stance has drawn anger from the Muslim world where many leaders,
including Turkey’s Erdogan, have accused Macron of Islamophobia.
Armenia, Azerbaijan Trade Blame Over Stalled Talks
RUSSIA -- Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian (right) and Azerbaijani
Foregn Minister Jeyhun Bayramov (left) meet with their Russian counterpart
Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, October 9, 2020
Authorities in Yerevan and Baku have accused each other of torpedoing
negotiations aimed at finding ways of ending hostilities and de-escalating the
current crisis in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.
In an interview with Russia’s RIA Novosti on Thursday Armenian Foreign Minister
Zohrab Mnatsakanian claimed that Azerbaijan refuses to work constructively on
the parameters of a ceasefire, instead pressing ahead with military operations.
The Armenian minister said that his joint statement with his Russian and
Azerbaijani counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Jeyhun Bayramov, made on October 10
constituted a roadmap to achieve that goal. He said that the first two points
concerning the ceasefire and the need to agree on its specific parameters,
including the exchange of bodies of killed soldiers and prisoners of war, must
be fulfilled immediately and without preconditions.
“The main obstacle in the negotiations has been Azerbaijan’s unwillingness to
commit itself to a sustainable and verifiable ceasefire. Azerbaijan refuses to
create verification mechanisms, its long-standing position is to avoid a
sustainable ceasefire and leave room for mutual accusations,” Mnatsakanian said.
The Armenian minister said that consultations on verification mechanisms are
currently underway between the defense ministries of the Russian Federation,
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“For now, Azerbaijan refuses to constructively engage in the development of the
parameters of the ceasefire and continues large-scale military operations,” the
Armenian diplomat added.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the same news agency Bayramov accused Armenia of
torpedoing the talks. He claimed that Yerevan is not interested in a negotiated
settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Armenia grossly violated all agreements on an immediate humanitarian truce.
Obviously, Armenia is not interested in a negotiated settlement of the
conflict,” he said.
The top diplomats of Armenia and Azerbaijan made the remarks ahead of their
expected separate meetings with the Russian, American and French co-chairmen of
the OSCE Minsk Group, an international format spearheading international efforts
on resolving the long-running conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Meanwhile, speaking on the sidelines of an annual investment forum, Russia
Calling, in Moscow on October 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged
the intricate nature of the conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh, saying that “it
has no simple solutions.”
“What or where is the long-term settlement? It is in finding a balance of
interests that would suit both sides – both the Azerbaijani people, whom we
treat with unwavering respect, and the interests of the Armenian people,” Putin
said.
Last week Putin said that Moscow believes that the death toll from the fighting
in Nagorno-Karabakh that broke out on September 27 was nearing 5,000.
As of October 29, the de facto military authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have
confirmed the deaths of 1,163 ethnic Armenian servicemen. Azerbaijan does not
disclose its military losses.
Bodies Of 29 Killed Soldiers Handed Over To Armenia
The bodies of 29 Armenian servicemen killed in action during the ongoing
hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh have been handed over to the Armenian side,
Armenia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
According to Defense Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanian, the transfer took
place on October 29 “with the exceptional mediation efforts of the Russian
Federation, and with the participation of the field team of the Personal
Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC).”
She said that at the same time the ICRC efforts have resulted in one civilian’s
repatriation to Armenia.
“In its turn, the Armenian side, adhering to the arrangements reached within the
framework of the humanitarian ceasefire, once again reiterates its readiness to
hand over to the Azerbaijani side the bodies of Azerbaijani servicemen in the
territory of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh – ed.], and to start the process of
recovery of bodies in the inter-positional zone throughout the entire
Artshakh-Azerbaijan frontline of hostilities, as well as exchange of information
on POWs and their respective handover in future,” Stepanian wrote in a Facebook
post.
Earlier today the de facto Defense Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh confirmed the
deaths of 51 more ethnic Armenian soldiers, taking its military death toll to
1,116 since fighting with Azerbaijani forces broke out on September 27.
Azerbaijan does not disclose its military losses, but authorities in Baku say
the fighting has killed 69 civilians and wounded 322. Armenian authorities in
Nagorno-Karabakh have also reported dozens of civilians killed and wounded since
the start of the hostilities.
Iranian Official Calls Minsk Group ‘Inefficient’
• Gevorg Stamboltsian
Abbas Araghchi, a political deputy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran,
has been tasked by the Iranian president with unveiling a peace plan for the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to the warring side
A senior Iranian diplomat tasked by his government with unveiling a peace plan
for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to the warring side has described the efforts
of the current international group seeking a negotiated settlement as
inefficient.
“The Minsk Group [of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe]
has shown its inefficiency,” said Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister
and the Iranian president’s special envoy for Nagorno-Karabakh, in a statement
made in Moscow on October 29.
Earlier this week, Iran announced it had drawn up a plan to resolve the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the hope of stopping fighting between Armenian and
Azerbaijani forces continuing along its northwestern border.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif did not divulge any details of the
plan. Zarif’s deputy Abbas Araghchi reportedly travelled to Baku earlier this
week to submit the peace proposals to Azerbaijan’s leadership. Tehran said the
plan would be presented in Moscow and Yerevan as well.
“It has been 30 years since the Minsk Group was formed, but it has not been able
to find a long-term solution to the problem,” said Araghchi, as quoted by the
Iranian embassy in Moscow, speaking about the group co-chaired by the United
States, Russia and France.
Each country of the co-chairing troika tried to broker a ceasefire in the
conflict zone earlier in October, but in each case it collapsed within hours
after taking effect, with Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian
forces accusing each other of failing to live up to the agreement.
Araghchi arrived in the Russian capital from Baku, where he reportedly met with
the Azerbaijani leadership on October 28.
“My meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev lasted for about an hour and
a half. Azerbaijani officials have a positive attitude towards Tehran’s plan to
establish lasting peace in the region,” the Iranian official said, as quoted by
the IRNA news agency.
Araghchi added that according to the plan drafted in Tehran, ceasefire is to be
established after certain initial steps. The Iranian diplomat did not elaborate.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected to hold meetings
with the Minsk Group co-chairs this week in a fresh effort to reach ceasefire
and discuss further settlement of the long-running conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Moscow believes the death
toll from the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh that broke out on September 27 was
nearing 5,000.
Armenia, Azerbaijan Accuse Each Other Of Targeting Civilians
Nagorno-Karabakh - Aftermaths of a missile attack on the Stepanakert Maternity
Hospital, 28Oct,2020
Armenians and Azerbaijanis have again accused each other of targeting civilians
as deadly fighting continues unabated in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
Armenia and Armenia-backed ethnic Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said
that the region’s capital city, Stepanakert, and other towns, including nearby
Shushi (Shusha) and Martakert in the north-east, have come under bombardment and
rocket fire of the Azerbaijani military, causing casualties among the civilian
population in recent days.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian Defense Army said that Azerbaijan has used
Smerch multiple launch rocket systems in shelling the towns overnight.
“This is yet another war crime committed by the Azerbaijani leadership. The
criminal leadership of Azerbaijan bears the whole responsible for further
escalation of the situation,” it claimed in a statement released on October 29.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry in its turn claimed that Armenian forces
shelled the Azerbaijani districts of Barda and Goranboy located north of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The de facto Defense Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh said on October 29 that 51
more casualties have taken its military death toll to 1,116 since fighting with
Azerbaijani forces erupted on September 27.
Azerbaijan does not disclose its military losses, but authorities in Baku say
the fighting has killed 69 civilians and wounded 322. Armenian authorities in
Nagorno-Karabakh have also reported dozens of civilians killed and wounded since
the start of the hostilities.
The reports of fresh fighting and targeting of civilians came three days after
another ceasefire agreed by the warring sides collapsed.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected to hold meetings
with the co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Geneva, Switzerland, this week in a new effort
to reach ceasefire and discuss further settlement of the long-running conflict.
The United States, France, and Russia are the co-chairs of the Minsk Group,
which has been the main mediator in the conflict.
The Minsk Group said the meetings would be held “to discuss, reach agreement on,
and begin implementation, in accordance with a timeline to be agreed upon, of
all steps necessary to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.”
The meetings are originally scheduled for October 29. But through his
spokesperson today Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that his
meeting with the mediators had been rescheduled for October 30.
Biden Urges Trump To ‘Get Involved Personally’ To Stop War In Karabakh
• Harry Tamrazian
U.S. -- Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks
at a drive-in rally at Cellairis Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is the Democratic candidate in next week’s
presidential elections in the United States, has called on President Donald
Trump to “get personally involved” to put an end to the ongoing hostilities in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
In his fourth announcement on the war that broke out between Azerbaijan and
ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 27 Biden also stressed that
Washington should be leading a diplomatic effort to end the fighting.
“Following the collapse of the ceasefire announced by Secretary of State [Mike]
Pompeo on October 25, a large-scale humanitarian disaster is looming for the
people of Nagorno-Karabakh, who have already suffered too much and need to have
their security protected. After a month of fighting, it is long past time for
President Trump to directly engage the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Turkey to push for immediate de-escalation and stop the advance of Azerbaijani
troops into Nagorno-Karabakh,” Biden said on Wednesday.
He also called on the administration to enforce Section 907 of the Freedom
Support Act that bans direct aid to Azerbaijan, including military aid.
“While he brags about his deal-making skills at campaign rallies, Trump has yet
to get involved personally to stop this war. The administration must fully
implement and not waive requirements under section 907 of the Freedom Support
Act to stop the flow of military equipment to Azerbaijan, and call on Turkey and
Russia to stop fueling the conflict with the supply of weapons and, in the case
of Turkey, mercenaries,” said Biden.
“The United States should be leading a diplomatic effort to end the fighting,
together with our European partners, and push for international humanitarian
assistance to end the suffering; under my administration that is exactly what we
will do,” pledged Biden.
The Trump administration brokered a short-lived ceasefire between Armenia and
Azerbaijan when the two countries’ foreign ministers visited Washington late
last week.
The third Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire during the current hostilities
collapsed within hours after entering into force on the morning of October 26.
The next day, President Trump himself acknowledged that the ceasefire was not
holding. According to Reuters, Trump expressed optimism that the two sides will
work things out but offered no other details.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected to hold meetings
with the three co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe’s Minsk Group representing the United States, Russia and France in
Geneva, Switzerland, later today to discuss ways of de-escalating the fighting
in which hundreds of lives on both sides have already been lost.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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