Author: Babken Chilingarian

Putin, Armenian PM focus on Nagorno-Karabakh during phone call — Kremlin

Babken Chilingarian
TASS, Russia
Aug 24 2022
Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan also touched on some relevant issues on further cultivating the strategic partnership and alliance between Moscow and Yerevan

MOSCOW, August 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan by phone, with the conversation taking place at the initiative of the Armenian side, the Kremlin press service reported on Wednesday.

“The discussion on the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh continued. The importance of the consistent implementation of the trilateral agreements reached by the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, was confirmed. The role of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in ensuring stability in the region was also noted,” the press service said.

Putin and Pashinyan also touched on some relevant issues on further cultivating the strategic partnership and alliance between Moscow and Yerevan.

In early August, Pashinyan noted that a number of events that have taken place in Nagorno-Karabakh since 2020 raise questions among the Armenian public about the content and nature of the peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh. In this context, he pointed out, there is an urgent need to agree on the details of the peacekeeping operation. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that the situation in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh was deteriorating. According to the ministry, the ceasefire regime was violated by Azerbaijani Armed Forces near Sarybaba heights. The peacekeeping command, together with representatives of the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides, are taking measures to stabilize the situation.

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, 2020. On November 9, 2020, Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities. The sides stopped at their positions at that moment, a number of districts went under Baku’s control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed at the contact line and at the so-called Lachin corridor.

Yerevan Mayor demands bomb shelters for capital city

Babken Chilingarian
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 22 2022
15:07, 22.08.2022

The basements of schools and kindergartens should be cleaned of unnecessary and obsolete property, Hrachya Sargsyan, the mayor of the Armenian capital, said during a working meeting at Yerevan City Hall today.

According to the mayor, basements must be re-equipped into bomb shelters. The progress report, however, did not satisfy Sargsyan. In the mayor’s opinion, the responsible bodies didn’t follow up on the assigned task.

“You didn’t follow up on anything, and that’s why nothing was done. This problem came to light back during the war. Back then we were looking for bomb shelters and hiding places. In the end, it turned out that the property from the 1970s, which turned out to be unusable, had never been written off. For some reason they decided to put this property in basements,” complained Sargsyan and called for the problem to be solved as soon as possible.

Armenia extends condolences to Turkey over deadly road accidents

Babken Chilingarian
PanARMENIAN
Armenia – Aug 22 2022
– 14:15 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia’s special envoy for the normalization of relations with Ankara, lawmaker Ruben Rubinyan has expressed his condolences over the deadly traffic accidents in Turkey over the weekend.

At least 32 people were killed and dozens were injured in two separate road accidents Saturday, each in places where collisions took place earlier in the day, local media reported.

“My deepest condolences to the families & friends of those who lost their lives in traffic accidents in Gaziantep and Mardin. Speedy recovery to the injured,” Rubinyan wrote in a tweet.

Serdar Kilic, Turkey’s special envoy, extended condolences over the massive explosion that tore through Yerevan on August 14 and left over 20 people dead.

Newspaper: What does Armenia PM think about assets of his deputy chief of staff?

Babken Chilingarian
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 20 2022
11:16, 20.08.2022

YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd newspaper of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: (…) back on July 20, Zhoghovurd daily turned to RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and asked him about the assets of Bagrat Badalyan, Deputy Chief of Staff of RA Prime Minister, and his wife.

The latter, let’s remind, bought a house in the US city of Marysville for 584 thousand 950 [US] dollars in May 2021. In this regard we had asked Nikol Pashinyan if he is aware that his deputy chief of staff, in parallel with serving in a public position, has engaged in business activities. Also, we had asked whether buying a house for 584 thousand 950 dollars is a vivid example of corruption.

Also, we had asked the Prime Minister whether or not he is going to fire Badalyan.

It is interesting that, instead of answering our questions personally, Pashinyan sent the letter to Bagrat Badalyan himself, and the latter wrote in self-defense: “In response to your inquiry, I inform that I am not engaged in business, I have handed it over to fiduciary management, in accordance with the legislation, which is also noted in my declaration [of assets].”

But we were not interested in Badalyan’s justification, but in the question of whether or not the case is an example of corruption, and most importantly, whether the prime minister intends to dismiss the person who got rich in suspicious ways. In any case, we have sent the request again.

Market explosion death toll climbs to 6

Babken Chilingarian

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 08:58,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. The death toll in the Surmalu market explosion reached 6, the Ministry of Emergency Situations spokesperson Hayk Kostanyan said.

“One more body was recovered from the rubble. As of this moment the death toll stands at 6. The search and rescue operations continue,” he said.

2 of the 6 victims are yet to be identified.

16 people are missing.

UPDATED: Yerevan market explosion: Death toll climbs to 15

Babken Chilingarian

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 07:50,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS. The death toll in the Yerevan Surmalu market blast reached 15, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said.

Search and rescue operations still continue.

9 of the 15 victims are yet to be identified.

Of the 60 people who sought medical treatment 12 continue being treated at various hospitals while the others were discharged.

171 firefighter-rescuers, search and rescue teams from Shirak and Tavush, teams from the Russian-Armenian Humanitarian Response Center, volunteers from the VOMA survival-training organization, more than 100 volunteers from the Red Cross are involved in the efforts.

Yerevan City Hall dispatched multiple tractors, trucks and water tanks, as well as other special equipment.

The firefighting efforts are personally coordinated by Minister of Emergency Situations Armen Pambukhchyan.

18 people are presumed missing the explosion. Those unaccounted for include a citizen of Russia and a citizen of Iran.

UPDATES:

08:51 – Death toll reaches 16 




Armenpress: Artsakh also declares August 17-18 mourning days

Babken Chilingarian

Artsakh also declares August 17-18 mourning days

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 21:29,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS. By the decision of the President of the Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, August 17-18, 2022 are declared public mourning days in connection with the explosion in the “Surmalu” shopping center, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the President of Artsakh.

“The heads of all state departments and local self-government bodies of the Republic of Artsakh have been instructed to lower the state flag of the Republic of Artsakh and in the representations of the Republic of Artsakh in foreign countries on days of mourning,” says the President’s decree.

Any status within Azerbaijan unacceptable for Artsakh – Foreign Minister

Babken Chilingarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – Aug 13 2022
, 13:20

 

Any status within Azerbaijan is unacceptable, Artsakh’s Foreign Ministr David Babayan says.

The comments come after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that “within Azerbaijan the Armenians living in Karabakh would have neither status, nor independence, nor any special privileges.”

“Well, what can be said here? There is no point in going into details. Let me just say the following. First of all, I want to thank Aliyev for his sincerity. Indeed, neither Azerbaijan nor its leadership has ever misled or deceived about their plans for Artsakh.” David Babayan said in a Facebook post.

Secondly,he added “Karabakh will not have anything as part of Azerbaijan, because there will be no Karabagh at all.

“Moreover, for Artsakh itself, any status within Azerbaijan is unacceptable. How could the Jews have any kind of administrative-territorial status within Nazi Germany?” the Foreign Minister concluded.


Situation around Lachin Corridor must be resolved based on terms of trilateral statement – Moscow

Babken Chilingarian

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 15:57,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. The situation around the Lachin Corridor connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia must be resolved based on point 6 of the 2020, November 9 trilateral statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry Department of Information and Press Deputy Director Ivan Nechayev said at a press briefing.

He reminded that on August 4 they released a statement regarding the escalation in Nagorno Karabakh, calling on the parties to display restraint and adhere to the ceasefire.

“We reiterate the need to resolve all issues in accordance with the 2020 November 9, 2021 January 11 and November 26 statements of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. This pertains also to the Lachin Corridor, the situation around which must be solved based on point 6 of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement, which defines that as agreed by the parties in the next three years a plan to construct a new route along the Lachin Corridor will be determined to provide connection between Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, with the subsequent re-deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent to protect this route,” Nechayev said.

He said that all abovementioned issues, including the issue of the Lachin Corridor, are subject to consultations with the purpose of finding solutions satisfying the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides.  

“Parallel to intense political discussions, the Russian peacekeepers are actively working, who are making necessary efforts in the direction of stabilizing the situation on the ground. Earlier both in Baku and in Yerevan the important role of the Russian peacekeeping contingent was emphasized not once. We find separate criticisms towards the peacekeepers to be unjustified,” Nechayev said.

CivilNet: The Armenian government hides the fact it agreed to hand over Lachin ahead of schedule

Babken Chilingarian
CIVILNET.AM

08 Aug, 2022 03:08

The photos below show the section of the road bypassing the city of Lachin in the Berdadzor region of Artsakh. I took the first photo on July 24, on my way to Karabakh, and the second on July 30, on my way back from Karabakh. The second photo shows that the road is already paved and ready for use.

Let’s summarize what happened last week and why.

On August 1, Azerbaijan breached the line of contact in the northwestern part of the Martakert region and in the south, in the direction of the Lachin Corridor. After three days of clashes, the Armenian side had at least two dead and about two dozen wounded.

On August 2, Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan announced that Azerbaijan has made a demand to organize traffic through the Lachin Corridor using a new road. Earlier, on June 30, Harutyunyan said “we have to leave Berdzor (Lachin), and we will continue negotiations and the struggle to keep Aghavno.”

According to the November 9, 2020 statement between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, “to ensure the connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, a plan for the construction of a new route along the Lachin Corridor will be approved in the next three years, after which Russian peacekeeping troops will be redeployed to protect this route.” In other words, it was not about building a new road within a three-year period, but just deciding on a new route.

At a cabinet meeting on August 4, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan criticized the Russian peacekeeping troops in Karabakh, stating that “cases of physically and psychologically intimidating the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in the presence of peacekeepers are simply unacceptable.” He also said that, currently, there is no trilateral plan for the construction of a road by Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, despite the fact that Armenia has proposed it several times and continues to do so. Pashinyan noted that the Armenian side has not agreed to any plan for the new road, but has already started rebuilding the road that lies within Armenia and runs from the village of Tegh to the village of Kornidzor and on to the border, which, he says, will connect to the new route.

I already asked the Armenian government a number of questions in a previous column (Was there an agreement to hand over Berdzor early? Questions to the Armenian government). Let me repeat some of those questions.

  • If there was no agreement to hand over the city of Lachin earlier than the three-year period stipulated in the November 9 statement, why did Azerbaijan build a 30-kilometer bypass road on its territory that should be handed over to Armenians?
  • Why and based on what agreement did Azerbaijan build the road not only in territories under its control, but also in the Armenian-controlled territory, near the villages of Hin Shen and Mets Shen?
  • Why did Azerbaijan demand Lachin immediately after the completion of the road, and why did the Armenian side immediately agree to Azerbaijan’s demand to hand over the city of Lachin and the villages of Aghavno and Nerkin Sus, all located along the existing corridor, by August 25?
  • If there was no agreement on handing over the city of Lachin early (read: in July 2022), why does the Armenian government cave in to Azerbaijan’s demand and announce that it will build an 8-kilometer road in the Kornidzor section by the spring of 2023?
  • Is it true that, before the construction of the Tegh-Kornidzor section, Armenia will also build a 3-kilometer road that will connect the beginning of the existing Lachin corridor to the 30 km road built by Azerbaijan, but that also bypasses the city of Lachin? Is it possible that this road, too, will be handed over to Azerbaijan in the future?

The statements of the Armenian government contradict the logic of its actions and the situation. It can be firmly stated that Pashinyan’s government had given a certain agreement to hand over the city of Lachin to Azerbaijan, or at least to agree to the new route connecting Artsakh and Armenia before the three-year stipulation.

CivilNet columnist Benyamin Poghosyan considers it controversial that the Armenian authorities are trying to blame their new concessions to Azerbaijan on the Russians.

By analyzing last week’s events, we can make the following conclusions:

  • The Armenian authorities were unable to stay within the framework of the November 9 statement, caved into Azerbaijan’s demands in the negotiations, and agreed to both the new route bypassing Lachin and to hand over the city of Lachin and the villages of Aghavno and Nerkin Sus after the route is build. Here, it is especially important to note that Pashinyan’s government was not able to get the road connecting Armenia and Artsakh built in parallel with the rebuilding of the infrastructure passing through it: electric power lines, a gas pipeline and Internet cable. Now road traffic will be organized via a new route, while the infrastructure will remain under the control of Azerbaijan.
  • Having agreed to the route of the new road, as well as to hand over Lachin, Aghavno, and Nerkin Sus after its construction, Armenia has not done anything in the meantime to build its own section of the road, which would connect to the road already built by Azerbaijan. Now the Armenian government is taking hasty and random actions, which deepen the uncertainty for the people living in Artsakh.
  • Most importantly, Pashinyan’s government, by not taking practical steps to fulfill its infamous pledge (regardless of if it was verbal or written), has sparked a new border escalation, which resulted in at least two casualties and about two dozen injured on the Armenian side.

One can endlessly blame Azerbaijan, whose international importance, by the way, for both the Russians and the West has significantly increased after the Ukrainian war. One can blame Russia, which, according to Armenia’s claims, does not properly fulfill its duties to protect the security of the Armenians of Artsakh.

The fact, however, is that the Armenian government has failed to make a sober assessment of the situation, and that has led to the current deadlock and loss of human life.