✓Armenia displays Turkish drones shot down in Karabakh.
✓The Armenian PM says that at the moment, no diplomatic solution is possible.
✓All the former presidents of Armenia and Artsakh have met to discuss the situation.
✓Armenia’s FM holds talks with the Russian Foreign Minister in Moscow.
October 13, 2020
What is said to be an Israeli-made Harop drone operated by Azeri forces crashed in Iran.
The drone crash could expose Israel’s military technology secrets to Iran
Resident of a village in northwestern Iran’s region woke up Tuesday to find a military drone had crashed in the vast farmlands in Parsabad-Moghan county of the country’s Ardebil province, reported Armenpress.
Behrouz Nedayi, the region’s deputy governor, told the IRNA state news agency that there were no damages as a result of the crash.
This is the second drone to land in Iran’s territory since Azerbaijan began aggressively attacking Artsakh on September 27.
Photos of the wreckage of the almost intact drone quickly surfaced on social media, prompting experts to assert that the UAV in fact was an Israeli-made Harop attack drone, which can be armed.
The Harop drone, manufactured by the state-run Israeli Aerospace Industries, has been widely—and indiscriminately—used by Azerbaijan forces, who, aided by Turkey-backed jihadists, have been attacking Artsakh for more than two weeks
Armenia’s military experts, including specialists at the military-analytical site razm.info, conducted their own study of the photos and confirmed that the drone that crashed in the farmlands of Iran was, in fact, a Harop kamikaze drone.
It seems Azerbaijan has gifted Iran Israel’s sough-after military technology.
Iran is known to be leading manufacturer of drones in the region. There is no doubt that Iranian expert will forensically study the crashed drone to glean its state-of-the-art technology.
While Iranian officials have expressed serious concerns about the recent military activity spilling into its territory, there is no doubt that Tehran will not kick a gift horse in the mouth.
✓Stepanakert once again comes under intensive shelling.
✓Artsakh forces strike the military airport in Azerbaijan’s second largest city of Ganja.
✓Armenia’s Defense Ministry published footage refuting claims that Azerbaijan has captured Mataghis.
Published Saturday, October 3, 2020 8:38AM EDT Last Updated Saturday, October 3, 2020 4:06PM EDT
STEPANAKERT, AZERBAIJAN — Armenian and Azerbaijani forces were engaged in fierce clashes Saturday as fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region intensified, with Armenia reporting heavy losses and its leader saying it was facing a historic threat.
Armenia’s defence ministry said separatist forces had repelled a massive attack by Azerbaijan, seven days after fighting erupted again in the decades-old dispute over the ethnic-Armenian breakaway province.
Armenian-backed separatist fighters in Karabakh destroyed a “huge military grouping,” of Azerbaijan’s forces, defence ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said, claiming to have inflicted “serious losses in manpower and military hardware”.
But Armenia also announced the deaths of 51 more separatist fighters, increasing the number of fatalities on both sides above 240 after nearly a week of fighting.
Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said its forces had “captured new footholds” and President Ilham Aliyev claimed that his forces took the village of Madagiz, a strategic hamlet within firing range of an important northern road.
In an address to the nation on Saturday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on Armenians to unite.
“We are facing possibly the most decisive moment in our millennia-old history,” Pashinyan said.
“We all must dedicate ourselves to a singular goal: victory.”
The clashes took place after the regional capital Stepanakert came under artillery and rocket fire Saturday, with local defence officials reporting further explosions later in the day.
‘FINAL BATTLE’
Residents hid in shelters and on Saturday were clearing wreckage and sweeping up the shattered glass windows of their homes and shops.
“This is a great sorrow for our community, for our people,” Nelson Adamyan, a 65-year-old electrician, told AFP outside his damaged residential building.
“But we will stand for our freedom, we will always be free.”
Both sides have been accused of hitting civilian areas, and Azerbaijan said Saturday that Armenian artillery had shelled 19 of its settlements overnight.
The new fighting erupted on September 27 and mounting international calls for a halt to the hostilities and a return to negotiations have gone unanswered.
The leader of Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, said he was going to join “intensive fighting” on the frontline.
“The time has come for the entire nation to become a powerful army,” he told reporters. “This is our final battle, which we will certainly win.”
Both sides have repeatedly claimed to be inflicting heavy losses.
The Armenian side has reported 209 military deaths and 14 civilian fatalities. Azerbaijan has reported 19 civilian deaths but has not confirmed any fatalities among its troops.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights registered the deaths of least 36 militants from Syria fighting alongside Azerbaijan’s forces in over the last 48 hours, bringing their reported deaths to 64.
The war monitor said 1,200 combatants from pro-Ankara Syrian factions had been dispatched to the conflict.
On a road between Armenia’s capital Yerevan and Nagorno-Karabakh, AFP journalists saw ambulances going in both directions and buses carrying families fleeing the fighting.
There was a heavy police presence near the border and volunteers were also travelling to bring Stepanakert residents to safety after shelling.
“We must come to their aid,” volunteer Ani said, adding that she had dropped everything to help.
CALLS FOR RECOGNITION
“We help our country as we can.”
Russia, the United States and France — whose leaders co-chair a mediation group that has failed to bring about a political resolution to the conflict — this week called on the warring sides to immediately agree to a ceasefire.
Armenia said Friday it was “ready to engage” with mediators but Azerbaijan — which considers Karabakh under Armenian occupation — has said Armenian forces must fully withdraw before a ceasefire can be brokered.
Karabakh’s declaration of independence from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union sparked a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives.
Talks to resolve the conflict have made little progress since a 1994 ceasefire agreement.
The breakaway province is not recognised as independent by any country — including Armenia — and Karabakh’s foreign ministry said Saturday that only receiving official status from world leaders could resolve the military flare-up.
International recognition, the ministry said, “is the only way towards peace and security in the region.”
The fighting has threatened to balloon into a regional conflict drawing in powerful players like Russia and Turkey.
Armenia is in a military alliance of former Soviet countries led by Moscow, which maintains a military base there, while NATO member Turkey has signalled its full support for Azerbaijan’s military operations.
Yerevan has accused Turkey of dispatching mercenaries from Syria and Libya to the conflict — an allegation confirmed and denounced by Russia and France.
Aliyev on Saturday informed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of civilian casualties and thanked Turkey for its support.
A residential area that were allegedly damaged by shelling is seen during a military conflict in self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, Azerbaijan, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. (David Ghahramanyan/NKR InfoCenter PAN Photo via AP)
The Greek minority living in Armenia, mostly descendants of genocide survivors from Pontus, are already fighting alongside the Armenian Army, said the president of the Greek community of Armenia, Maria Lazareva.
Speaking to Greek Riviera News, she emphasized that in Artsakh, or more commonly known as Nagorno-Karabakh, there is a small Greek community of about 40 people with whom she is in daily contact with.
“Several volunteers and soldiers of Greek origin are now in Artsakh, fighting for their homeland, where they were born and raised,” she said, adding that “the people are excited, optimistic. We trust our army and our heroic spirit.”
“This is not a war for a small piece of land, it is a war for our beloved homeland, freedom,” said Lazareva.
How critical is the situation?
“When we have a Turkish neighbor, we must be ready for war at any moment ․ Of course, hostilities are not new in recent years. We had a four-day war in April 2016, from which Azerbaijan did not achieve much. So we knew that revenge would not be long in coming. And of course the hostilities, because of the defeat of the Azeris in July this year on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, had to continue. What is happening now in our lands is not called mere hostilities, but war, because of its extent and methods of battle. The point is that the current war is not only taking place between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and is not only taking place in Nagorno-Karabakh, but also in Armenia.”
Is there any evidence of Turkish involvement in what is happening?
“A Turkish F-16 aircraft hit one of our Su-25 [fighter jet]. Even if the Azerbaijani army does not use Turkish weapons, Erdogan’s statements that Armenians must leave Azerbaijani territory are proof that Azerbaijan has an ally, Turkey. The Armenian side analyzed the events and noticed that the Azeri Air Force was operating under the command of the Turks.”
In addition to casualties, you also have injuries. Can hospitals cope?
“Hospitals in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia have several injured, but they are doing well. Many doctors and ordinary volunteers went to Artsakh to help the local doctors․ In severe cases, the injured are being transported to Yerevan, Armenia.”
What support does Armenia expect from the countries with which it has close relations?
“We have understood from our experience that Azerbaijan and Turkey do not know the language of negotiations, they are fighting unjustly and cunningly. “The international community has made it clear that the Azerbaijan-Turkey alliance is waging war against Artsakh and Armenia with the help of mercenaries and terrorists,” said Armenian Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Other countries must understand that the Turks are a danger, a catastrophe for all humanity. The issue now is not to help the Armenians defeat, but to protect humanity from the Turks,” she said, concluding the interview.
The Greek Riviera News report comes as Greek City Times exclusively revealed that around 80 Greek citizens are volunteering to fight in the Armenian-majority region of Artsakh, which although is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan, has been an integral part of the Armenian homeland for over 2,500 years.
Other sources, like Sputnik Hellas, claim that the contingent of Greek citizens who are preparing to leave to defend Artsakh from the Turkish and Azerbaijani invasion already numbers in the hundreds.
October 2, 202012:41
The discovery of Serbian ammunition among Armenian forces in July put Belgrade’s ties with Baku in serious trouble. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry summoned Serbia’s chargé d’affaires in Baku for a grilling. This episode was bad news for Serbia; Azerbaijan is one of the six countries with which Serbia has a strategic partnership agreement, alongside Russia, China, the UAE, France and Italy.
Over the past 12 years, Serbia and Azerbaijan have supported each other in their respective territorial disputes. Baku has supported the Serbian case on Kosovo, and Belgrade has supported Baku on Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan has also provided Serbia with infrastructural credit lines, and an Azerbaijani construction firm, AzVirt, completed the Ljig-Preljina section of the Corridor XI highway in Serbia.
AzVirt will also construct the Ruma-Sabac highway and the Sabac-Loznica expressway, as agreed in 2019. Azerbaijan donated more than 400,000 euros of aid to Serbia during the 2014 floods, and in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, donated medical equipment.
Belgrade was right to be worried about Baku’s reaction to the discovery of Serbian ammunition.
The man behind the arms transfer to Armenia, Slobodan Tesic, is one of Serbia’s largest arms dealers and a financier of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, SNS.
Tesic’s company, Vektura Trans, was supplying Armenia with ammunition manufactured by the Serbian ammunition factory, Krusik.
Last year, both Tesic and Krusik were caught up in a major scandal following claims that several companies owned by Tesic were buying ammunition from Krusik at a discounted price. These mortar shells were then sold to buyers in Saudi Arabia and transferred to Islamist militants in Yemen.
Tesic reached an agreement with Armenia in 2018 the same year that President Vucic visited Azerbaijan to sign the strategic partnership.
Serbia quickly mended ties with Azerbaijan, as Vucic considers his international contacts a significant asset. In early August, he had a telephone conversation with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev in which he expressed regret over the deaths of the Azerbaijani soldiers.
To repair relations, Vucic promised to send a high-level delegation to Azerbaijan to investigate the matter. He also invited Aliyev to visit Serbia.
However, Belgrade risked angering other geopolitical players engaged in the Caucasus who were then busy elsewhere, but who might not look kindly on the presence of Serbian arms in this unpredictable conflict zone.
One of those players in Russia. Moscow, although the main diplomatic and military backer of Armenia, is also supplying weaponry to Azerbaijan, in order to maximise President Putin’s role as kingmaker in the conflict.
Back in 2006 Serbia froze arms exports to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Moldova, taking into account the call for an arms embargo issued by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE.
Then, it needed to avoid entanglements with Nagorno-Karabakh, while burdened with the Kosovo dispute, and avoid angering Moscow on whose UN Security Council veto it relied vis-a-vis Kosovo.
Moscow is not fond of the idea of Serbia messing with its own backyard by delivering weapons there, particularly as the ammunition to Armenia was shipped through an offshore company in Moldova and then though Georgia.
Now, however, Serbia’s relations with Russia are past their prime, as was made evident in Serbia’s lukewarm reception of Russian medical aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. Belgrade is replacing Moscow with Beijing as its primary Eastern partner.
At the same time, Moscow is unhappy about Vucic trying to resolve the Kosovo issue under US President Donald Trump’s guidance, which would eliminate one of the few sources of Russian influence in the Balkans. The pro-government media in Serbia are now willing to smear Russia in connection with an alleged plot to overthrow the government in Belgrade.
Putin and Russia, of course, have bigger worries. Like other world leaders, Putin has to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Even before that arrived, a Russian economy reliant on energy exports had to deal with the global crash in oil prices.
Add to that Russia’s involvement in the Syrian and Libyan conflicts, as well as a brewing crisis on Russia’s western border in Belarus, and a Serbian arms dealer doing business in Armenia might merely look like a footnote.
However, with all the problems happening behind the scenes in Serbo-Russian relations, it would seem advisable for Belgrade to distance itself from the Armenian affair by the time Putin visits Belgrade again.
Turkey and Israel are also among Serbia’s partners who might not look benevolently on the Armenian affair.
Serbia’s partnership with Turkey has strengthened in the last couple of years. Economic and trade ties have grown. Serbia sees the partnership with Turkey as useful in engaging the Muslim communities in the Balkans, and Turkey is important for the Balkan countries because of its importance in controlling migration flows.
However, Turkey is also the main ally of Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia and has been increasing its involvement in the Caucasus to counter Russia’s engagement in Syria and Libya.
Turkey’s involvement with wars in Syria and Libya, the Kurdish issue, strategic rivalries in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the domestic crisis of Turkish regime stopped Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from raising the ammunition scandal with Belgrade.
Israel has also been quiet, but Serbia, while openly expressing its desire to improve ties with Israel, should not forget that Israel is supplying drones to Azerbaijan. Israel’s price in Serbia is also higher as it is an important gateway for Belgrade to access the White House.
Last but not least, the US has an uncomfortable history with Tesic. The former US diplomat and ranking official of the Arms Control Association Thomas Countryman told the Serbian media in 2019 that the US had been monitoring Tesic and his transactions for the past 20 years. In 2009, US diplomatic cables pointed to his arms sales in Yemen. The UN imposed a travel ban on Tesic for violating arms exports to Liberia that lasted ten years. In late 2019 the US Treasury Department placed nine individuals and three entities associated with Tesic under sanctions.
Serbia itself risks the prospect of US sanctions if news like the one on ammunition supplies to Armenia become more frequent. Belgrade fears the devastating effect of US sanctions; in 2019 it gave up on further arms purchases from Russia to avoid such sanctions. At the moment, the Trump administration is engaged in mediating the Kosovo dispute. Given that Trump is Serbia’s best chance of getting a less painful settlement on Kosovo, Serbia risks testing US patience by allowing arms exports to conflict zones.
In July, the big powers did not give Serbia a hard time over its arms deliveries to Armenia. Belgrade might not be so lucky this time. The frozen conflict in the Caucasus is no longer frozen. Since September the two nations of the South Caucasus have been engaged in the most dangerous level of combat since the fighting in 2016, with casualties rising daily.
Amid these renewed hostilities, the Azerbaijani defence portal Azeri Defence run the story of Armenian forces using Serbian-made 122mm G-2000 missiles to fire on the Azerbaijani city of Fuzuli. The portal claimed this as proof of Serbia’s insincerity, as the discovered rockets show that Armenia had imported not just Serbia ammunition and mortars but ordnance of a higher calibre.
Serbian dismisses such allegations. As President Vucic told the media: “I have heard the nonsense of various people about how they kill with Serbian weapons. There are no Serbian weapons there … Tanks, planes, drones… None of that is ours. … We wish them peace, they are our two brotherly peoples,” he said.
“We hope that they will be able to get out of the conflict,” he added. Both Serbian-based and international inquiries on the latest allegations have yet to be done.
However, unlike the July fighting, the world is now paying much closer attention to the conflict. The US, Russia and France who are co-chairing the Minsk Group, a conflict resolution mechanism within the OSCE, are demanding a ceasefire. Russia’s Putin is also engaged with his Turkish counterpart, Erdogan, in finding a solution.
This is the same Erdogan that Vucic met in Istanbul in September when Turkey was upset by Serbia’s decision to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Last time round, Serbia went unpunished. This time, Serbia should be careful not to stick its neck out, now the eyes of the world are looking at the Caucasus.
Vuk Vuksanovic is a Ph.D. researcher in international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and an associate of LSE IDEAS, LSE’s foreign policy think tank. He writes widely on modern foreign and security policy issues and is on Twitter @v_vuksanovic.
The opinions expressed in the Comment section are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN
16:28, 1 October, 2020
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Two of the three Azeri warplanes that were shot down by Artsakh on October 1 were SU-25s, while the other one was a newer generation aircraft, a military expert said.
Information about the third downed jet will be updated.
The Azeri air force has lost a total of 4 warplanes since they launched the offensive against Artsakh on September 27.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, September 29. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry’s claims that a military base has been destroyed in Nagorno-Karabakh are baseless, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, spokesman of the Armenian Defense Ministry told journalists on Tuesday.
“The claims of destruction of an Armenian military base in the town of Martuni do not correspond to reality. This did not and could not have happened,” he stressed.
On September 27, Baku said that Armenia had shelled the Azerbaijani army’s positions and Yerevan, in turn, claimed that Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces had launched an offensive in the direction of Nagorno-Karabakh, shelling the populated localities, including the capital, Stepanakert. Both parties reported casualties, including among civilians. The Armenian authorities declared martial law and announced a mobilization. Azerbaijan also declared martial law across its entire territory and announced partial mobilization.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs – Russia, France and the United States.
20:36,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan gave an interview to the Al-Akhbar newspaper, touching upon the relations between Armenia and Egypt, Armenia’s support to Egypt on signing a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, the Karabakh conflict and Armenia’s priorities in the Middle East.
Armenpress presents the FM’s interview:
Question: What is your evaluation of the progress of bilateral relations between Egypt and Armenia?
Answer: Armenian-Egyptian evolving bilateral relations have always been based on mutual respect and sincere friendship. You know Egypt was the first Arabic country to recognize the independence of Armenia and the first Arabic state to host the Armenian Embassy. Since the independence of Armenia, we have managed to achieve a broad range of relations with our Egyptian colleagues. The mere mention of the fact that Armenia and Egypt signed more than 50 agreements in different fields of cooperation. Joint Armenian-Egyptian intergovernmental commission is an effective platform to discuss issues related to our multidimensional cooperation and outline the perspectives of its further expansion and enhancement.
We are encouraged by the recently gained positive dynamics of our political dialogue. Meantime we have been able to outline perspectives of development for our economic and trade affairs: IT, pharmaceutics, creative education, agriculture, etc. The discussion and combining of the positions on regional processes and challenges hold a special place on our agenda.
Our interstate cooperation has been successful and together we achieved important results. However, we feel that our cooperation needs a fresh start to adjust to new global and regional realities, particularly in the situation when we are facing similar if not same challenges in regional security. Today as never before we see that the security between seemingly different regions of Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, North Africa and even South Caucasus are interrelated.
Question: How can Armenia support Egypt in signing a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Union?
Answer: Armenia expressed its full support to the intention of Egypt to join the free trade zone with the Eurasian Union. And yesterday during the joint press conference with my good friend, Foreign Minister of Egypt Sameh Shoukry I reiterated that support.
In January 2019, when the first round of negotiations kicked off, Mr. Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime-Minister of Armenia, expressed our determination to assist and support friendly Egypt to join free trade agreement. We believe that all sides will benefit from deeper partnership within the framework of the above-mentioned agreement. That’s why we strive for the soonest conclusion of all the procedures for signing the agreement.
Question: What role do Armenian Egyptians play in promoting relations between Egypt and Armenia?
Answer: Settling in Egypt in different historical periods, Armenians have made their significant contribution to the development and prosperity of the country.
In the very difficult part of our history when the survival of the Armenian people was at stake, Egypt along with other Arab countries received thousands of Armenians fleeing from the horrors of the Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. We will never forget the hospitality that the survivors of Genocide found in Egypt.
Today, the generations of those Armenians continue to live and create in Egypt, they made a significant contribution to the establishment and development of the state institutions of Egypt and we take great pride in that. Being devoted citizens of Egypt, they are at the same time endowed with all the necessary means to preserve their identity, language and traditions. Of course, we are deeply grateful to the Government and the people of Egypt for these efforts and the protection of our people.
The Armenian-Egyptian community, which has about ten thousand members, is an important bridge between the two friendly countries. The existence of the Armenian-Egyptian community became a fertile ground for the development of inter-state relations between the two countries.
Question: What are the reasons for the recent clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan?
Answer: There are many reasons, but the underlying reason is that this is a renewed attempt by Azerbaijan to impose unilateral concessions on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh through use of force and threat of force. But what is more important in this regard, is that it was a miscalculation by Azerbaijani side which showed that their current capacities do not match with their well known intentions.
It was an attempt by Azerbaijani side to show a military advantage over Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, which indeed was a failed one. The July battles demonstrated Armenia’s capacities to defend itself, its population and its borders. Moreover, the July battles vividly demonstrated that there can be no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Question: What is the Turkish role in fuelling the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan?
Answer: We have been witnessing Turkey’s destabilizing role not only in our region but in all other neighboring regions. The projection of power, intrusion and interference in the South Caucasian region do not contribute in any way to the peaceful resolution of the conflict and to regional peace, security and stability.
During the battles in July, Turkey has been the only country that was taking a one-sided supporting and fueling the maximalist approaches of Azerbaijan. That support was accompanied by a very aggressive approach toward Armenia and the Armenian people:
First, Turkey publically encourages Azerbaijan to take a harder stance against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh by openly communicating its support, including in military matters.
Second, Turkey came up with military posturing against Armenia by initiating large scale military exercises in the vicinity of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh with very provocative moves.
Third, there is ongoing Turkish military build-up in Azerbaijan, which is strengthening and expanding their presence thereon.
Fourth, there are reports of recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters in Syria with aim to be transferred to Azerbaijan.
We saw the outcome of similar behavior of Turkey in other regions which inflicted immense suffering on the people living in those regions. Thus, we have to be very vigilant in maintaining and strengthening regional peace and security.
Question: Do you consider Turkey’s statements in response to recognition of the Armenian Genocide from several countries, including the US Congress, the French Senate and others?
Answer: What we consider and what should be considered is the fact that Turkey’s policy of denial of the Armenian Genocide has failed particularly in recent times. The new wave of recognition of the Armenian Genocide has been marked by both continuity and change on the perception of this issue.
This struggle for truth, historic justice and human rights has been ongoing for several decades in all continents. However, there is new emerging important dimension in recognition of the Armenian Genocide and that is the security threats posed by Turkey to its neighboring regions and peoples. Nobody wants history to repeat itself again and again and we need to acknowledge not merely the past but to prevent recurrences of new atrocities today and in future. A state and its leadership who justifies Genocide and supports terrorist groups engaged in identity based atrocities is threat which needs to be clearly defined as such.
Question: Azerbaijan accused Russia of arming Armenia. What is your comment?
Answer: Armenia and Russia are allies and our relations are developing based on the logic of allied relationship. Russia is a main supplier of military equipment and armaments to Azerbaijan as well and thus these accusations neither justified nor sincere.
Question: This is your first official visit to the Middle East. What are your main priorities in the region?
Answer: Throughout the years Armenia has developed excellent relations with many countries in the region to which it is connected culturally and historically including via presence of the Armenian communities.
Economic, educational and cultural cooperation remain an important area which brings our people together in sharing values, generating knowledge and wealth.
Throughout these years, Armenia has established a strong tradition of humanitarian cooperation in the region. We expressed our readiness to build a secure environment by carrying out peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in the region.
Last but not least, security between the Middle East and the South Caucasus is interrelated. Therefore, we need stronger cooperation in this field including in countering transnational threats.
15:42,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. An Armenian lawyer attempted to challenge in court the coronavirus protocols in schools requiring children to wear face masks, maneuvering into technicalities of the lawful power of the protocols and whether or not the guidelines constitute a “legal act”.
A Yerevan court indeed found that the school guidelines are not technically considered a “normative legal act”, but at the same time returned the lawyer’s application citing errors.
After this, lawyer Gegham Simonyan issued a statement on his social media account claiming that the court’s stipulation that that the school guidelines are not normative legal acts is sufficient in order for children not to wear masks in schools. His statement was widely distributed and could potentially cause confusion.
Shortly afterwards the Healthcare Ministry issued a statement stressing that even if the guidelines aren’t technically considered “normative legal acts”, there is an order from a higher authority in place regarding mandatory face masks – the health minister’s order on mandatory face masks in all enclosed facilities, which is in force.
“The author, as a lawyer and attorney, should’ve been aware that the mentioned guideline was never a normative legal act, and disputing it in terms of contradicting the Law on Normative Legal Acts is senseless”, the health ministry said.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan