Author: Antranik Varosian

Asbarez: Top U.S. Official Calls for International Presence in Artsakh

Antranik Varosian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

USAID Administrator Samantha Power speaks to reporters in Yerevan on Sept. 25


Samantha Power, the United States Agency for International Development administrator, said in Yerevan on Monday that there must be international presence in Nagorno-Karabakh to assess whether Azerbaijan is implementing its commitments.

Power said the world must be able to verify and ascertain that Azerbaijan is fulfilling its promise.

“All parties must allow an international humanitarian assessment and humanitarian presence to be there, to see whether Azerbaijan is fulfilling its commitments, and for these organizations to be able to report to the international community,” she added.

Power arrived in Armenia with U.S. Undersecretary of State Yuri Kim on mission on Monday to “deliver a message from President Biden,” she said, adding that she presented a letter from the U.S. President to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan when the two met earlier in the day.

Power said at a press conference that Azerbaijan must always ensure unimpeded passenger transport, commercial and humanitarian shipments along Lachin Corridor. The promises on protecting the population of Nagorno-Karabakh would be void as long as civilians are unable to freely travel and when food and medical supplies can’t reach the settlements.

“And organizations such as the USAID must have access in order to provide essential humanitarian assistance,” Power added.

“We call on Azerbaijan to adhere to the ceasefire and take concrete steps to protect the rights of civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh. President Aliyev has vowed to guarantee the rights of ethnic Armenians, and Azerbaijan must fulfill this promise,” Power told reporters.

Despite statements made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. State Department Acting Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim that the use of force in Nagorno-Karabakh was unacceptable, that force was used and now the United States is looking at what the appropriate response is, Power said at the press conference at the US Embassy in Yerevan.

“Secretary Blinken said the same thing when military force was undertaken. And we are looking at what the appropriate response is, as Assistant Secretary of State Kim mentioned the review of our security assistance and other forms of assistance, but I would not leap to any conclusions about American foreign policy or reaction to the events that have just transpired,” Power explained.

She said that they are considering a general circle of response to the developments.

“Most importantly, we want the ceasefire to hold, so that people are able to leave Nagorno-Karabakh, if that is their choice, and for their rights and dignity to be ensured,” Power said.
She did not specify what tools the U.S. could use in this context, but underscored that the U.S. has many levers. “Very high-level discussions are taking place in Washington on what would be the appropriate action to take,” Power said.

“We are once again very clearly stating, as it was done in the UN, we support Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and democracy. I can’t say what the consequences of violations in this regard will be. But together we want to emphasize that these are inviolable principles,” Power added.

As for the purpose of her visit, Power clarified that the trip was unplanned, explaining that Biden asked her to visit Armenia and convey his message that the U.S. supports Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and democracy.

“I am in Armenia because President Biden asked me to travel here. This was not a pre-planned trip. This is a trip being taken because President Biden wanted me to come and deliver a message on his behalf to the Prime Minister, which is that the United States supports Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and democracy,” Power said.

“I send my best wishes to you and the people of Armenia as you celebrate your Independence Day. This year, as we mark this proud occasion, we are also mourning the recent loss of life of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. I have asked Samantha Power, a key member of my cabinet, to personally convey to you the strong support of the United States and my Administration for Armenia’s pursuit of a dignified and durable regional peace that maintains your sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and democracy,” Biden said in his letter delivered by Power to Pashinyan on Monday.

“Armenia has demonstrated its commitment to that purpose by engaging in peace talks with Azerbaijan as well as implementing critical economic reforms, improving government accountability, and strengthening democratic institutions. I assure you the United States will continue to stand beside Armenia as you work to strengthen your democracy at home and seek stability in your neighborhood,” Biden added.

“The United States is committed to working with your government on addressing humanitarian needs emerging from the recent violence, which Administrator Power will discuss with you in depth. We will also continue to strengthen our cooperation on energy diversification, resilience and security, as demonstrated by our recent joint military exercises,” the U.S. President said.

“Armenia’s rich history has inspired nations and people everywhere to strive for liberty and justice. And the Armenian-American community continues to be a source of strength in my own country. In the year ahead, I hope to continue to further deepen and strengthen the bonds between our nations – and our people,” Biden said in his letter.

First group of Karabakh refugees enters Armenia

Antranik Varosian
RTE, Ireland
Sept 24 2023

The first group of Nagorno-Karabakh refugees since Azerbaijan’s lighting assault against the separatist region entered Armenia today, an AFP team at the border said.

The group of a few dozen people passed by Azerbaijani border guards before entering the Armenian village of Kornidzor, where they were registered by officials from Armenia’s foreign ministry.

The group was primarily comprised of women, children and the elderly.

Some said that they came from the border-area village of Eghtsahogh, while other said they travelled longer distances.

One man said that he had been part of the separatist resistance until Azerbaijan’s offensive forced the rebels on Wednesday to sue for peace and agree to disarm.

“Our families were in shelters,” said the man, who was in his 30s and came from the village of Mets Shen but did not give his name.

“Yesterday, we had to put down our rifles. So we left,” he said.

Meanwhile, Armenia has urged the United Nations to send a mission to ensure the safety of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Accusations of ethnic cleansing plans

For the second time since the swift Azerbaijani operation in the mountainous territory, the top diplomats of the adversaries clashed at the United Nations as Western powers voiced alarm.

Armenia has accused Turkish ally Azerbaijan of planning ethnic cleansing. It has stoked memories of mass killings in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire that Armenians, the US and many historians consider genocide.

“After failure of preventing genocide in Rwanda, the United Nations managed to create mechanisms for prevention, thus making the ‘never again’ a meaningful pledge,” Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said.

“But today we are at the brink of another failure,” he said in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

He called for the United Nations to send a mission immediately to Nagorno-Karabakh to “monitor and assess the human rights, humanitarian and security situation on the ground”.

Azerbaijan’s foreign minister, Jeyhun Bayramov, had accused Armenia of disinformation when the two top diplomats joined a special Security Council session Thursday.

Yesterday, Mr Bayramov also spoke at the General Assembly and said that Azerbaijan, which is mostly Muslim, would respect the Armenians, who are Christian.

“I wish to reiterate that Azerbaijan is determined to reintegrate ethnic Armenian residents of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan as equal citizens,” Mr Bayramov said.

“We continue to firmly believe that there is a historic opportunity for both Azerbaijan and Armenia to establish good neighbourly relations and coexist side by side in peace,” Mr Bayramov said.

US calls for protections

Russia, which sent peacekeepers after earlier violence in 2020, yesterday was supervising the disarmament of ethnic Armenian fighters.

If the surrender is completed, it could effectively end a conflict that has erupted periodically since the fall of the Soviet Union.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had led three rounds of talks seeking a diplomatic solution, voiced “deep concern” for the ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in a telephone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Mr Blinken told him that the US is pressing Azerbaijan “to protect civilians and uphold its obligations to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh and to ensure its forces comply with international humanitarian law,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Azerbaijan’s swift offensive, which killed some 200 people, has sparked protests in Armenia against Russia, which had been tasked with guaranteeing the truce after the 2020 fighting.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking to reporters at the UN, accused Western powers of “pulling the strings” to undermine Moscow but also said: “Unfortunately, the leadership of Armenia from time to time adds fuel to the fire itself.”

Mr Lavrov pointed to one senior Armenian politician who said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had handed Nagorno-Karabakh over to Azerbaijan.

“It is ludicrous to accuse us of this,” Mr Lavrov said, while adding that he expected Armenians to maintain in Moscow’s orbit and not ally with “those who swoop in from abroad”.

A declaration signed in 1991 in Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty, then known as Alma-Ata, stated that existing borders of newly independent countries that had been Soviet republics were inviolable.

The declaration “meant that Nagorno-Karabakh was part of Azerbaijan – pure and simple as that,” Mr Lavrov said.

Armenian, French foreign ministers discuss situation resulting from Azeri aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh

Antranik Varosian

 12:13,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. On September 22, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna on the margins of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York City.

As a follow-up to the previous discussions and the September 21 UNSC emergency meeting, Mirzoyan and Colonna discussed the situation resulting from the Azerbaijani aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

The overall security situation in the South Caucasus, partnership as part of international organizations and the Armenia-EU partnership agenda were also discussed.

Open Letter to the Rabbinical Center of Europe

Antranik Varosian
 Zoryan Institute Open Letters 0

Dear Rabbinical Center of Europe:
 
As a non-profit organization dedicated to genocide and human rights studies since 1982, the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (“IIGHRS,” A Division of the Zoryan Institute) is deeply concerned about and takes great issue with the open joint letter that was released by the RCE signed by 50 senior leading European Rabbis.
 
We recognize that we are currently living in a time where antisemitism is at historically high levels. We also condemn the recent trend in which Holocaust imagery and language have been misappropriated, especially regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to point out, however, that the word “genocide,” coined by Jewish scholar Raphael Lemkin in 1943/1944, was adopted into law in 1948, many years after the Armenian Genocide and as a result of the Shoah. Article II of the 1948 Genocide Convention states:
 
Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such:

  1. Killing members of the group;
  2. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
  3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
  4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
  5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Kindly note that the above definition of the crime of genocide does not include any reference to the number of people who perished, or the magnitude of suffering, but rather to the intent behind the destruction of a group. According to this definition, the Srebrenica massacres (8,000 victims), the Genocide in Rwanda (800,000 victims), the Cambodian Genocide (2 million people), the Shoah (6 million people) and the Armenian Genocide (1.5 million) are all widely understood as constituting genocide under the definition of the Genocide Convention. Applying this term to the current situation in Artsakh, or Nagorno-Karabakh, is fully in accord with the scholarly and legal understandings of genocide and in no way trivializes or diminishes the Holocaust or any other example of genocide. In fact, various legal scholars, such as former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo, as well as genocide scholars have described the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh as constituting genocide. The situation there is not a simple “political disagreement” as was described in your letter.

We hope that the RCE can appreciate that the phenomenon of genocide is not unique to any one group, nation, religion or ethnicity. The attempted destruction of an entire population is a crime against all humanity and must be recognized as such, no matter who the victim group may be. In our view, genocide is a shared human experience, and unfortunately, this heinous crime has impacted many groups throughout history, and continues to do so in various parts of the world today. This includes Nagorno-Karabakh, whereby a government is deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about another group’s physical destruction, which is one of the acts of genocide defined in Article II of the Convention listed above. 

The Zoryan institute, by teaching genocide comparatively and by recognizing the destruction, trauma and pain that this crime inflicts, seeks not to prioritize one case over another, but rather to deepen our understanding about the common patterns and dynamics that allow genocide to take place, which allows us to more effectively prevent future instances of genocide moving forward. Our goal is to educate and teach about genocide in order to work towards a safer and more just world.

We cordially invite you to better acquaint yourselves with the ongoing situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and encourage you to read the recently published edition of the Zoryan Institute academic journal, Genocide Studies International, published by the University of Toronto Press, that is devoted to this particular crisis: https://www.utpjournals.press/toc/gsi/15/1.

We would be happy to send you a physical copy of this issue for your reference.

Sincerely,

The Zoryan Institute (IIGHRS) Board of Directors
Editors of Genocide Studies International
Editors of Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies
Faculty Members of the Genocide and Human Rights University Program
Affiliates

SIGNATORIES

Dr. Maureen Hiebert, Chair of the Zoryan Institute’s Academic Board, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Calgar

Dr. Varouj Aivazian, Chair of the Zoryan Institute’s Corporate Board, Professor of Finance and Chair of the Economics Department at University of Toronto Mississauga
 
Dr. Alexander Alvarez, Vice-chair Academic Advisory Board, Zoryan Institute, Co-Editor Genocide Studies International, Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Northern Arizona University

Dr. Rouben Adalian, Board Member of the Zoryan Institute
 
Dr. Joyce Apsel, Clinical Professor, Liberal Studies, NYU, and President of the Institute for the Study of Genocide
 
Dr. Yair Auron, Professor of Emeritus, Open in University Israel
 
Mr. Diran Avedian, President, and Founder of Lactopur Inc.
 
Dr. Talar Chahinian, Co-editor of Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies and Lecturer in the Program for Armenian Studies at University of California Irvine
 
Dr. Doris Bergen, Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies, the University of Toronto
 
Dr. Bedross Der Matossian, Professor of History, the Hymen Rosenberg Professor in Judaic Studies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
 
Mr. Federico Gaitan Hairabedian, Esq., Lawyer and President of the Luisa Hairabedian Foundation, Argentina

Ms. Mari Hovhannisyan, the Zoryan Institute Armenia International Foundation for Research and Development  
 
Dr. Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Endowed Chair in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Keene State College (NH, USA)
 
Dr. Sossie Kasbarian, Co-editor of Diaspora: A Journal of Transnational Studies and Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Stirling
 
Ms. Arsinée Khanjian, Canadian actress, director, producer, playwright and human rights activist
 
Dr. Adam Muller, Co-Editor of Genocide Studies International and Director of the Peace and Conflict Studies Department, University of Manitoba
 
Dr. Jennifer Rich, Co-Editor of Genocide Studies International, Exec. Director of the Rowan Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights, Director of the MA Program in Holocaust and Genocide Education, and Associate Professor of Sociology at Rowan University
 
Dr. William Schabas, Professor of International Law at Middlesex University in London and Professor of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights at Leiden University

Ms. Kate Simola, the Zoryan Institute of Canada Inc. 
 
Dr. Lok Siu, Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley and Chair of the Asian American Research Centre

Dr. Amy Sodaro, Associate Professor and Deputy Chairperson of the Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice Department at CUNY
 
Dr. Henry Theriault, Co-Editor of Genocide Studies International, Past President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Worcester State University
 
Dr. Alan Whitehorn, Professor Emeritus, Royal Military College of Canada
 
Dr. Andrew Woolford, Professor and Department Head, Sociology & Criminology, University of Manitoba
 
Ambassador A. Yeganian, Chair of the Zoryan Institute Armenia International Foundation for Research and Development  
 
Ms. Megan Reid, Deputy Executive Director of the Zoryan Institute
 
Mr. K. M. Greg Sarkissian, Co-Founder and President of the Zoryan Institute

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Zoryan Institute and its subsidiary, the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, is a non-profit organization that serves the cause of scholarship and public awareness relating to issues of universal human rights, genocide, and diaspora-homeland relations. This is done through the systematic continued efforts of scholars and specialists using a comparative and multidisciplinary approach and in accordance with the highest academic standards.


Urgent Need for Humanitarian Supplies into Nagorno-Karabakh

Antranik Varosian
U.S. Department of State
Sept 10 2023

PRESS STATEMENT

THE SECRETARY OF STATE

SEPTEMBER 10, 2023

The United States is deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. We note that humanitarian supplies are positioned near both the Lachin and Aghdam routes, and we repeat our call for the immediate and simultaneous opening of both corridors to allow passage of desperately needed humanitarian supplies to the men, women, and children in Nagorno-Karabakh. We also urge leaders against taking any actions that raise tensions or distract from this goal. The use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable.

In light of the recent increase in tensions in the South Caucasus, the United States will continue to strongly support efforts by Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve outstanding issues through direct dialogue, with the aim of achieving a dignified and enduring peace. We reiterate that any peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan must protect the rights and security of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh. We also encourage dialogue between Baku and residents of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The United States further reaffirms the only way forward is peace, dialogue, and the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the basis of mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

https://www.state.gov/urgent-need-for-humanitarian-supplies-into-nagorno-karabakh/

Armenian PM, Iranian President discuss Azeri military buildup

Antranik Varosian

 15:05, 9 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke by phone on Saturday with President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi.

“Issues related to the situation in the region were discussed,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout.

“In particular, reference was made to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor, the accumulation of Azerbaijani troops around Nagorno-Karabakh, the tendencies of increasing tension on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border. Prime Minister Pashinyan once again emphasized the commitment to the agreements of Prague on October 6, 2022 and Brussels on May 14, 2023, as well as to the approach of solving all issues exclusively through diplomatic methods and in a constructive atmosphere. The Prime Minister expressed his willingness to hold urgent discussions with the President of Azerbaijan aimed at reducing tension. Issues related to Armenia-Iran bilateral agenda were also discussed,” Pashinyan’s office added.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 08-09-23

Antranik Varosian

 16:51, 8 September 2023

YEREVAN, 8 SEPTEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 8 September, USD exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 385.66 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.26 drams to 412.69 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 3.94 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.94 drams to 481.38 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 47.12 drams to 23786.11 drams. Silver price down by 5.78 drams to 285.31 drams.

Pro-Kremlin journalists detained in Armenia on suspicion of illegal arms trafficking

Antranik Varosian
Novaya Gazeta
Sept 8 2023

The Armenian security services have detained two journalists known for their pro-Kremlin views, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reported on Friday, citing Armenia’s Investigative Committee .

Ashot Gevorkyan, a columnist for the pro-Kremlin Sputnik Armenia news agency, and the pro-Moscow blogger Mikael Badalyan, both Armenian citizens, were detained Wednesday evening in the city of Goris on suspicion of illegal arms trafficking.

The Investigative Committee statement revealed that police searches of the pair’s apartments and cars had recovered “an AK assault rifle, live ammunition rounds, grenades, grenade detonators, pistols, bayonet knives” as well as “hemp plants”.

A lawyer representing the pair claimed that the weapons didn’t belong to them and were the property of a “third person”.

Five other people were also reportedly detained, though their names have not been disclosed.

Badalyan was arrested in July in connection to disinformation being spread about terrorist attacks being prepared in Yerevan, Sputnik Armenia reported. He was subsequently released on bail.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the journalists’ detention a “provocation” and suggested it was aimed at sowing “hatred, fear, and distrust”.

Azerbaijan will allow aid into Karabakh from Armenia if aid from its side is let in, official says

Antranik Varosian
Sept 8 2023
Reuters

Azerbaijan is ready to allow Red Cross aid from Armenia into the ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh enclave if Red Crescent aid from Azerbaijan is let in at the same time, Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to President Ilham Aliyev, told Reuters. Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenian authorities, is at the centre of a rancorous stand-off, with Azerbaijan restricting movement along the only road to it from Armenia to thwart what it says is arms smuggling.

Armenia says what it calls a blockade of the “Lachin corridor”, known as “the road of life” by ethnic Armenians in Karabakh, has caused acute shortages of food, medicines and other essentials. Baku says it has let the Red Cross evacuate people to Armenia for medical treatment and that its own information shows there is no shortage of basic food staples, but it has not allowed food and other supplies in for some time.

Hajiyev said in an interview on Thursday that Azerbaijan was now ready to let the Red Cross bring in humanitarian aid on condition that the Red Crescent also be allowed to bring in aid, on a different road from Azerbaijan. He said the two roads – the Lachin corridor and the Aghdam road – could be opened to aid simultaneously as part of a pilot scheme that could defuse tensions and spur long-running peace talks between Baku and Yerevan.

The idea had been discussed in a phone call between President Aliyev and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sept. 1, he said. “There was a suggestion for the simultaneous opening of the roads and Azerbaijan agreed and immediately agreed,” said Hajiyev, saying that part of the Aghdam road had been obstructed with concrete blocks by Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian authorities.

“Now one week has passed since the telephone call with Secretary Blinken and there is no movement.” Yuri Kim, acting assistant secretary of state for the United States, spoke on Thursday of “progress toward immediately & simultaneously opening Lachin and other routes to get humanitarian supplies into Nagorno-Karabakh”.

“Opening routes and direct talks are key to resolving outstanding issues,” Kim said on X. Ruben Vardanyan, a billionaire banker who was a top official in Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian administration until February, said Azerbaijan was wrong to try to attach preconditions to allowing aid to pass through the Lachin corridor.

Vardanyan, who has accused Baku of trying to “ethnically cleanse” the enclave by choking off supplies to it – something it denies – said a Russian-brokered 2020 ceasefire deal signed by Azerbaijan after a short war was meant to ensure that the Lachin corridor remained open to Armenia. “Their President signed a trilateral ceasefire statement on November 9th (2020) and took responsibility for providing a corridor for uninterrupted connection,” Vardanyan said on X on Wednesday.

“However, they now refuse to implement that commitment and are attempting to impose new preconditions for opening the Lachin Corridor.”

https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/health/2586636-azerbaijan-will-allow-aid-into-karabakh-from-armenia-if-aid-from-its-side-is-let-in-official-says

French humanitarian convoy arrives to entrance of Lachin Corridor

Antranik Varosian

 14:44, 30 August 2023

KORNIDZOR, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Armenian authorities have opened a humanitarian headquarters in the village of Kornidzor near the entrance to the Lachin Corridor as a venue for foreign journalists and guests who are visiting the area as part of joining the humanitarian aid.

Photos by Hayk Manukyan

Vardan Sargsyan, a member of the Armenian government’s humanitarian crisis response group for Nagorno-Karabakh, told reporters that the French humanitarian convoy led by the Mayor of Paris has already arrived to the border area and the Russian peacekeepers are aware of the arrival.

Sargsyan said he hopes that the increase in international awareness will boost the process and it will be possible to deliver crucial supplies and mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Like we said, our steps are continuous, and the only goal is to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh as soon as possible,” Sargsyan said, adding that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is deteriorating hour by hour.