Author: Ara Felekian

Turkish press: Why setting a Caucasus peace platform is difficult?

Ara Felekian
By SERKAN DEMİRTAŞ 

With the cessation of armed conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region with the victory of Azerbaijan, which liberated its territories from Armenian occupation, ideas for constructing a cooperation mechanism with the participation of all Caucasus countries have frequently started being voiced.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was among international leaders who have proposed a six-way body in the region in a bid to leave the enmities behind and turn the region into a new basin of peace, stability and prosperity. Azerbaijan and Russia have endorsed this idea.

The Turkish proposal included a direct message to Armenia as well. Turkey said it would be ready to open the borders and establish diplomatic ties with Armenia should Yerevan accept to be a part of a regional cooperation forum.

The initiative was on the main agenda of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s five-day regional tour. He came to Istanbul on Jan. 29 after visiting Baku, Yerevan, Moscow and Tbilisi to discuss with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu how to proceed with the establishment of the regional body.

At the press conference after their talks, Zarif and Çavuşoğlu unveiled their proposal for a 3+3 format cooperation mechanism for the Caucasus with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Iran and Russia.

Although the ministers did not provide detail, it’s believed that the 3+3 format refers to forming two separate groups with Turkey-Russia-Iran in one group and Armenia-Azerbaijan-Georgia in the second.

It’s believed that this format can pave the way for Armenia and Georgia’s participation in the regional mechanism as both countries have their opposition against setting up a six-way platform in the Caucasus.

For Armenia, the post-Karabakh conflict is still a matter of national defeat and the nation is yet to absorb the new realities. Plus, it would be hard for the sitting Armenian government, which is having difficult days internally, to shake hands with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is severely criticized in Yerevan for his concessions towards Azerbaijan. Leaving the Nagorno-Karabakh trauma behind will sure take time for Armenia before it would be ready to open a new page.

Another very important obstacle before a regional initiative is Georgia’s opposition. Tbilisi says it will not take part in any regional body with Russia unless Moscow ends its occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

“Georgia will not be able to engage in the peace platform, where the country occupying Georgian territories is participating as well,” announced Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Khvtisiashvili last week, according to the local media.

Khvtisiashvili stated that any platform for cooperation should be based on mutual respect, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the participating countries, therefore, “Georgia will not be involved in the peace platform together with the country occupying its territories.” He also recalled that Georgia attaches great importance to the regional initiatives between the three South Caucasus countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

It will remain to be seen whether the aforementioned regional body can be realized in the coming period either under the 3+3 format or as a six-way body. Currently, Iran’s priority is to keep the transportation lines and corridors from Armenia and Nakhichevan to Iran open and to uninterruptedly continue its trade with these regions.

Turkey is planning to deepen its economic, energy, transportation and trade ties with Azerbaijan by taking advantage of the new realities on the field. Russia aims to exercise its influence in the region by pulling the strings in the context of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. All these show there is still a long way to go for genuine peace and regional stability.

Armenian opposition leader discusses key issues with political scientists, experts

Ara Felekian
Panorama, Armenia
Jan 29 2021

Vazgen Manukyan, the joint candidate of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement for interim prime minister, discussed a number of key issues, including the domestic political situation, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue and regional geopolitical developments, at a meeting with a group of political scientists and experts in Yerevan on Thursday, the coalition said in a statement.

“The meeting addressed the post-war political crisis in Armenia. The experts expressed different views on how to handle it. According to some views, the strategy and moves of the political field should be based on a serious sociological research and analysis of the Armenian society. In this context, they touched upon the issue that social media are often used to create an unreliable picture of reality,” the movement said.

“They exchanged views on the change of government in Armenia in 2018, the root causes of the subsequent events, the problems of the government, state system, opposition, political parties, as well as the need to develop those systems. The necessity to form a national agenda in Armenia, to make the issues of national identity a priority and to unite the people around them was highlighted.

“Referring to the Artsakh issue, the participants emphasized the need to clarify and enhance Armenia’s position on the matter and the country’s efforts, expressing concern over the recent attempts to push the issue into the background,” the statement said.

The attendees of the meeting also called for development of a clear strategy in the light of Turley’s active efforts in the region. They discussed the issue of forming a clear agenda of relations with the United States and the prospects of cooperation with Russia and Armenia’s other allies.

“They attached importance to the issue of pursuing a foreign policy in line with geopolitical developments and being in a favorable position in case of possible regional realignments, which is of vital importance for Armenia and can be resolved only if the crisis and problems within the country are handled,” the statement said.

Azerbaijan Ignores Armenian POWs

Ara Felekian
Jan 30 2021

01/30/2021 Nagorno-Karabakh (International Christian Concern) –  Media reports that only five Armenian prisoners of war have been returned by Azerbaijan following international attention to the status of Nagorno-Karabakh’s prisoners of war. Armenia has reportedly returned all Azeri captives from the 44-day war.

However, until January 28, no Armenian prisoners of war had yet been brought home. According to Article 8 of the Russian-brokered truce agreement this past November, there was supposed to be a  full “exchange of prisoners of war and other detained persons and bodies of the dead.” Though Armenian has proactively been fulfilling these obligations, Azerbaijan has not reciprocated.  

Russia had to broker the agreement to bring home the five Armenian captives held by Azerbaijan. A comprehensive plan for Armenian POW return was not completed during an earlier meeting this month. It was also reported that an additional 62 Armenian POWs talked with relatives on the phone.

Though not solely motivated for religious reasons, the war ignited by Azerbaijan and Turkey has strong religious freedom implications. The ethnic Armenian community in Nagorno-Karabakh is predominately Christian, and was indeed the first Christian nation in history. Azerbaijan and Turkey are united in their shared Turkic Muslim identity. Both the ethnic and religious elements factor heavily throughout this conflict. For more information, read ICC’s report on Nagorno-Karabakh, Anatomy of a Genocide. ICC’s petition for the return of Armenian POWs can be found at this link.

Iranian FM to meet with Armenia’s PM in Yerevan

Ara Felekian

Save

Share

 17:46,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif will arrive in Armenia as part of his regional visit on January 26, the Armenian foreign ministry told Armenpress.

On January 27 the Armenian and Iranian Foreign Ministers will hold a meeting.

During the visit the Iranian FM will be received by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Secretary of State Nominee Questioned on Turkey and Nagorno-Karabakh

Ara Felekian
Jan 20 2021

01/20/2021 United States (International Christian Concern) – This week, the U.S. Senate is holding confirmation hearings for President Joe Biden’s cabinet nominees, including his nominee for Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. During Blinken’s hearing, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) specifically questioned him regarding the U.S.-Turkey alliance amidst Turkish domestic abuses of human rights and its aggressions in Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenian: Artsakh).

The senator listed several human rights violations committed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government and concerning Turkish military aggressions in the Middle East. Senator Menendez asked Blinken if he was “clear-eyed” on the status of the Turkish alliance, to which Blinken said he was and that Turkey was an ally who has not been acting like an ally.

In his comments, Menendez heavily criticized the Trump Administration’s approach to Turkey, saying President Trump had “coddled” Erdogan.

Senator Menendez has long been an ally of Armenian Christians, advocating for the U.S. recognition of the Armenian genocide of 1915 and condemning Turkey’s aggressions in Nagorno-Karabakh, even going as far as to call out the war crimes of Turkish ally Azerbaijan in the conflict.

In accordance with Blinken’s comments during the hearing, the incoming Biden Administration is poised to take a harsher stance on the Turkish alliance. Especially with allies like Senator Menendez in Congress, a Biden state department headed by a Secretary Blinken will signal a staunch shift in U.S. attitudes towards Erdogan.

https://www.persecution.org/2021/01/20/secretary-state-nominee-questioned-turkey-nagorno-karabakh/

Artsakh commends European Parliament’s stance on Karabakh conflict

Ara Felekian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 22 2021

– Public Radio of Armenia

Artsakh’s Foreign Ministry has commended the position of the European Parliament on the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict, expressed in the resolutions on the Implementation of Common Foreign and Security Policy as well as on Common Security and Defense Policy of January 20, 2021 – the annual reports 2020.

“We share the assessments of the European Parliament related to the events caused by the use of military force by Azerbaijan, as well as the ways out of this situation. In particular, it is important to stress the viewpoint of the European Parliament on the need to ensure the security of the Armenian population in Nagorno Karabakh, to preserve the Armenian cultural heritage, to ensure the safe return of internally displaced persons and refugees to their former places of residence, and to exchange the prisoners of war and the bodies of the deceased without delay,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“We acknowledge the importance of duly investigating all the alleged war crimes and bringing those responsible to justice. It is noteworthy that the European Parliament also specifically called for an international investigation into the alleged presence of foreign fighters, terrorists and the use of cluster munitions and phosphorus bombs,” the Ministry added.

It welcomed the European Parliament’s support for the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict founded on the Basic Principles proposed by the international mediators.

“We join the European Parliament’s condemnation of the destabilizing role of Turkey, which seeks to undermine the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group for the sake of its ambitions of playing a more decisive role in the conflict settlement process,” the statement reads.

“We share the view of the European Parliament that a lasting settlement has not been found yet We are convinced that a comprehensive and just settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict can be achieved on the basis of the recognition of the right to self-determination realized by the people of Artsakh and the de-occupation of the territories of the Republic of Artsakh,” the Ministry stated. 

Asbarez: Armenian, Azeri Security Chiefs Meet Again

Ara Felekian

January 9,  2020



Alexander Bortnikov (right), the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service, hosts a meeting of his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts in Moscow on Dec. 28

YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—The heads of Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s main security services met again on Saturday to discuss the implementation of the Russian-brokered agreement to stop the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In a short statement, Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) said the meeting took place in no-man’s-land at a section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border about 70 kilometers south of Yerevan.

The statement said NSS Director Armen Abazyan and the chief of Azerbaijan’s State Security Service, Ali Nagiyev, discussed “the exchange of prisoners and the search for missing persons.” “Contacts on these topics are continuing,” it added without elaborating.

Abazian and Nagiyev already discussed these issues late last month at a meeting in Moscow hosted by Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service. The NSS said afterwards that they reached unspecified “understandings.”

The ceasefire deal brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 9 calls for the exchange of all prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians held by the conflicting sides. So far 54 Armenians have been freed and returned home. Dozens of others remain in Azerbaijani captivity.

They include 62 Armenian soldiers who were taken prisoner in early December when Azerbaijani forces seized the last two Armenian-controlled villages in Karabakh’s Hadrut district occupied by them during the six-week war.

In a letter to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres publicized earlier this week, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov branded the soldiers as “saboteurs” and indicated the Azerbaijani authorities’ intention to prosecute them on relevant charges.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned Baku’s plans as a gross violation of international law and the Karabakh truce agreement. It accused the Azerbaijani side of “using Armenian prisoners of war as hostages to advance its political agenda.”

COVID-19: Armenia confirms 60 new cases in past 24 hours

Ara Felekian

Save

Share

 11:26, 2 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. 60 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been confirmed in Armenia in the past one day, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 159,798, the ministry of healthcare said today.

285 more patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 143,640.

8 more patients have died, raising the death toll to 2836.

The number of active cases is 12,635.

The number of patients who had coronavirus but died from other disease has reached 687 (2 new such cases).

TURKISH press: UK to start new drone program following example of Turkey’s Bayraktar: Guardian

Ara Felekian
 ISTANBUL DEFENSE 
DEC 30, 2020 9:23 PM GMT+3
An Azerbaijan army Bayraktar TB2, a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle, is displayed during a military parade to mark the victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 10, 2020. (Turkish Presidential Press Office / Handout via Reuters)

The United Kingdom wants to embark on a new armed drone program after studying the success of Turkish Bayraktar drones in the recent Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Guardian newspaper reported late Wednesday, citing Ministry of Defense officials.

“Defence officials believe that Azerbaijan’s use of cheaper Turkish drones in the six-week autumn war was crucial in defeating the Armenians,” the paper said.

A Moscow-brokered truce was reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan, after more than six weeks of deadly clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that lies within Azerbaijan but has been illegally occupied by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. Following the truce Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, acknowledged that “had the hostilities continued at the same pace, we would have lost all of Artsakh (an Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh) within days.” Bayraktar TB2 drones operated by the Azerbaijani military proved extremely effective in the country’s success in taking back its territories.

The Guardian also touched upon the Bayraktar TB2 drones’ affordability, saying that each one of them costs between $1 million to $2 million while other drones previously procured by the British military cost around $20 million each.

The British defense secretary, Ben Wallace, also previously praised the Bayraktar drones.

“The roots of these drones are born out of Turkish innovation,” Wallace said in a webinar organized by the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI), a British security think tank.

“Prevented from gaining access to exquisite foreign programs, they (Turkey) did what we used to do so well – they innovated.”

Wallace said the Turkish drone has the capability to present “real challenges to the enemy.”

Turkey realized its program of developing and producing drones over a short span of 10 years. The Bayraktar TB2 armed drones, produced by the country’s leading unmanned aerial platform developer Baykar, have been operationally used since 2015. They have continued to support Turkey’s fight against terrorism in other regions while providing effective surveillance, reconnaissance and fire support.