Author: Boshkezenian Garik

Asbarez: ANCA Announces Congressional Endorsements

Boshkezenian Garik

October 28,  2020



The ANCA announced its Congressional endorsements and report cards

Releases Final 2020 Congressional Report Cards

WASHINGTON—The Armenian National Committee of America on Tuesday announced its Congressional endorsements and shared final Congressional Report Cards rating each sitting U.S. Senator and Representative on a broad array of Armenian American policy priorities.

“The ANCA stands by those who stand with Artsakh and Armenia,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “Our merit-based endorsements are earned through strong and steady support for Artsakh, robust U.S-Armenia relations, and justice for the Armenian Genocide – all core elements of our ANCA360 pro-Armenian advocacy agenda.”

Each ANCA endorsement is backed up by detailed Report Cards documenting the track-record of every incumbent Senator and Representative across a broad array of Armenian American issues – with a heavy focus on Artsakh’s security and the ongoing threats that Turkey and Azerbaijan present to the survival of the Armenian nation. This year’s Report Cards cover an unprecedented range of legislative, community, social media activities – including resolutions, letters, events, and public statements in support of the ANCA’s advocacy priorities.

ANCA Report Cards include a point by point overview of the Senator’s / Representative’s support on legislation, Congressional letters, and participation in Capitol Hill events advancing Armenian American priorities.  The overview also includes “Congressional Notes” and “Social Media Posts” spotlighting additional statements, social media posts, and community outreach efforts on issues of Armenian American concern.

ANCA Report Cards also include previous grades and links to previous Report Cards for each Senator and Representative, offering constituents the opportunity to review their progress on Armenian American concerns. A “Congressional Bio” link offers information about the elected official’s background, education, prior occupation, committees they serve on, and methods to contact their Senate/House offices.

ANCA Report Cards are prepared in close consultation with ANCA regional offices and local chapters across the country. The ANCA Eastern Region and ANCA Western Region are in the process of announcing state and local candidate endorsements.

ANCA Western Region announced its endorsements for federal, state and local elections last week.

Erdogan Pitches Putin on Karabakh Peace After U.S. Bid Fails

Boshkezenian Garik
Bloomberg
Oct 28 2020
By

Selcan Hacaoglu

and

Ilya Arkhipov
‎October‎ ‎28‎, ‎2020‎ ‎1‎:‎57‎ ‎PM Updated on ‎October‎ ‎28‎, ‎2020‎ ‎3‎:‎49‎ ‎PM
   
  • Turkish president says he proposed joint initiative to Putin
  • Three truce accords failed to stop Armenia-Azerbaijan fighting


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he proposed a joint effort with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to halt fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan days after a U.S. initiative collapsed.

“I held detailed discussions with Putin and said let’s put an end to this in the Caucasus,” Erdogan told lawmakers in parliament Wednesday about a phone call the previous evening with the Kremlin leader. “If you want, we can solve this together, you can hold talks with Pashinyan and I can talk with my brother, Aliyev.”

The Kremlin denied the two leaders discussed Turkey’s participation in negotiations to settle the worst fighting in decades over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. “It did not figure on the agenda” of the call, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call, in response to a question on the subject.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Monday that a U.S.-brokered truce agreement with Azerbaijan had collapsed hours after it came into force. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said the same day that his country would “carry on to the end” until Armenians announced a withdrawal from territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Each side blamed the other for the collapse of the truce after U.S. President Donald Trump had hailed the State Department for securing the agreement. It was the third failed attempt by international mediators including Russia and France to stop the violence that erupted Sept. 27.

Civilians away from front line on both sides are also paying a heavy price. Azerbaijan said 21 people were killed Wednesday by an Armenian missile attack on the town of Barda about 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) from Nagorno-Karabakh, the largest single death toll among civilians since the fighting began.

Armenia denied its forces fired on Barda. Azerbaijani rockets struck Nagorno-Karabakh’s capital, Stepanakert, and the nearby town of Shushi 15 times Wednesday, killing one civilian and injuring two others, according to Artak Beglaryan, the human rights ombudsman in the unrecognized republic.

Putin isn’t likely to accept Erdogan’s offer, since Russia and Armenia oppose a bigger role for Turkey in Moscow’s former Soviet backyard. Still, after the failure of the U.S. initiative, the proposal underlines the West’s limited leverage in ending the conflict.

Armenians took control of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan in a war that killed 30,000 and displaced 1 million people amid the collapse of the Soviet Union before Russia brokered a 1994 truce. Azerbaijan says it’s fighting to regain its territory after nearly three decades of failed mediation, while Armenia says it’s defending Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination.

Putin has struggled to rein in the warring sides, in part because of Erdogan’s vocal support of Aliyev’s military campaign. The Russian leader said last week that some 5,000 had already been killed on both sides.

Russia has a defense pact with Armenia, though it doesn’t cover Nagorno-Karabakh, while Aliyev said Monday that as many as six Turkish F-16 fighter jets are in Azerbaijan and would be deployed if his country came under foreign attack.

Why Stakes Are Raised in Azerbaijan-Armenia Conflict: QuickTake

“It was a good talk, I hope we can finalize this,” Erdogan said of Tuesday’s call with Putin. “But if our red lines are crossed” then Turkey won’t hesitate to respond, he said without elaborating.

Putin expressed “deep concern about the continued military action and the greater and greater involvement of terrorists from the Middle East in the fighting” in Nagorno-Karabakh on the call with Erdogan, according to a Kremlin statement.

Russia has raised the alarm about Islamist extremists from Syria fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh after Turkey was accused of funneling thousands of miitants to join with the Azerbaijani military. Erdogan and Aliyev have denied the allegations.

— With assistance by Firat Kozok, Zulfugar Agayev, and Sara Khojoyan

Forcing Armenians of Artsakh to live under Azerbaijani rule violates international law – Pashinyan

Boshkezenian Garik

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 21:08,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan underlines that the European Court of Human Rights has confirmed Azerbaijan is governed by racist regime that glorifies ethnic violence against Armenians and implants ethnic hatred into society, ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan wrote in his Twitter micro blog.

Forcing Armenians of Artsakh to live under Azerbaijani rule violates international law’’, he wrote, calling on international community to recognize Artsakh’s independence.

Turkish F-16 fighter jets continue coordinating UAV attacks of Azerbaijan

Boshkezenian Garik

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 22:16,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The Turkish F-16 fighter jets continue coordinate the UAV attacks of Azerbaijani armed forces, representative of MoD Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan said in a press conference on October 11.

‘’The Turkish air forces continue to control the activities of the Azerbaijani air forces. Particularly, with the support of air control points, 6 Turkish F-16 fighter jets accompany Turkish and Israeli-made combat UAVs that strike Artsah’s infrastructures, communication channels and armed forces. These acts are prevented by the air defense units of the Defense Army’’, Hovhannisyan said.

On September 29 a Turkish F-16 fighter jet downed an Armenian SU-25 jet in the Armenian air space. The pilot did not survive.

Azerbaijan unleashed war against Artsakh on September 27. In addition to the military and political support of Turkey to Azerbaijan, Turkey has also deployed thousands of mercenary-terrorists in Azerbaijan to fight against Artsakh.

On October 9 a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs mediated by Russian FM. Aetsakh has voiced about numerous cases of the ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan since the agreement entered into force, including launching missile strikes against cities and settlements of Artsakh.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

France affirms that Azerbaijan started the fighting in Karabakh

Boshkezenian Garik

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 17:25, 8 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has affirmed that Azerbaijan was the one who initiated the ongoing fighting in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone.

“The Karabakh conflict is very serious now, and that is why our political unity is also very strong. The OSCE MG Co-Chairs have issued a joint statement calling upon the parties for a ceasefire because there are numerous civilian casualties,” the French FM said at the French parliament’s foreign affairs committee. He firmly stressed that it was Azerbaijan who launched the attack.

The French FM said the sides must be interested in establishing ceasefire without preconditions.

“You can’t say “we want ceasefire, but….”, this won’t happen. Hostilities halt, negotiations begin, in order for them to achieve agreement around a specific situation that will enable the sides to live normally,” he said, reminding about Azerbaijan’s precondition voiced days earlier.

Jean-Yves Le Drian had earlier announced that Turkey has interfered from the Azeri side in the Nagorno Karabakh military operations, and threatens to internationalize the conflict.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Azerbaijan no longer can make decisions over its fate, it’s Turkey who decides.

Boshkezenian Garik

From now on Turkey decides Azerbaijan’s fate – PM Pashinyan

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 18:40, 8 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan gave an interview to German ‘’Spiegel’’. ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan stated that Armenia sees a task for Turkey to swallow Azerbaijan, and

Question – In fact, you claim that Turkey is not interested in the territory of Nagorno Karabakh, it just aims to create a corridor through the Armenian territory.

Answer – Yes, and we see Turkey is solving the task of swallowing the Azerbaijani state. From now on, it’s not Azerbaijan that decides its own fate, but Turkey does it.

Turkish foreign minister visits Baku

Boshkezenian Garik

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 13:52, 6 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, he said on Twitter.

It’s already 10 days the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against Artsakh and Armenia continues.

On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack against the Republic of Artsakh, targeting also the civilian settlements, including the capital Stepanakert and the city of Shushi. In addition, the Azerbaijani armed forces have also targeted Armenia’s military and civilian infrastructures.

From the very first days Armenia has voiced about Turkey’s direct engagement to the Azerbaijani military operations. In particular, Turkey has sent mercenaries, terrorist fighters from Syria to Azerbaijan in order to attack Artsakh.

Leaders of a number of countries expressed their concern over the involvement of Turkey in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that he has facts about Syrian Islamists from Turkey participating in the military operations against Artsakh.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has also confirmed that Turkey is sending jihadists from Syria to fight against Karabakh.

Russia has also announced that it possesses facts about the involvement of Syrian mercenaries in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

This information has also been confirmed by an official in 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

ANN/Armenian News Conversations – The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict in Regional Context – 10/03/2020

Boshkezenian Garik

Armenian News Network / Armenian News

Conversations on Armenian News: The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict in Regional Context

ANN/Armenian News

October 3, 2020

Hello and welcome to Armenian News Network, Armenian News. I’m Hovik Manucharyan.

It has now been 7 days since Azerbaijan initiated a wide-scale attack against Armenia and Artsakh. The tragic news of deaths and destruction continue to stream in every hour.


In today’s conversation on Armenian News, we talk to Jirair Libaridian and Thomas DeWaal about the regional geopolitics that helped create a ripe environment for renewed fighting and various potential scenarios that may develop as a result of it.

To help guide this conversation, we have Asbed Kotchikian, who is a senior lecturer of political science and international relations at Bentley University in Massachusetts where he teaches courses on the Middle East and former Soviet space.

Before we begin however, we appreciate your help in reaching a wider audience. So please hit the pause button and make sure to subscribe and like us on whatever platform you listen to us on and help spread the word by sharing this podcast on your social media channels. Thanks in advance!

YouTube           Apple           Google         Spotify       Facebook

  • Thomas de Waal

  • Jirair Libaridian

  • Asbed Kotchikian

  • Hovik Manucharyan

  • Asbed Bedrossian

Tom de Waal is a senior fellow with Carnegie Europe, specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region.

He is the author of numerous publications about the region, the most relevant to the current developments being Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War.

From 2010 to 2015, de Waal worked for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC. Before that he worked extensively as a journalist in both print and for BBC radio. From 1993 to 1997, he worked in Moscow for the Moscow Times, the Times of London, and the Economist, specializing in Russian politics and the situation in Chechnya. He co-authored (with Carlotta Gall) the book Chechnya: Calamity in the Caucasus (NYU Press, 1997), for which the authors were awarded the James Cameron Prize for Distinguished Reporting.

Prof. Jirair Libaridian is the former Director of Armenian Studies Program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor where he also held the Alex Manoogian Chair in Modern Armenian History until 2012. 

From 1991 to 1997 he served as an advisor and then a senior advisor to Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrossian and was the chief negotiator on Karabakh.

He is the author of numerous books and articles on modern and contemporary Armenia. 

Hello everyone!

Just two and a half months ago, in July 2020, we witnessed border skirmishes between Armenia and Azerbaijan on their border. Last Sunday the conflict between the two countries escalated into what all observers agree to be the deadliest round of hostilities since the 1994 ceasefire. Since 1994 the uneasy “no war, no peace” state between the two countries around the future state of Nagorno Karabakh is no more.

There’s been a deluge of coverage around the war itself, the weaponry, the tactics, casualty lists and ongoing outcomes. We wanted to step back from the day to day of this conflict and examine the meta-alignments in the region.

One major outcome of the July skirmishes has been the activation of the Turkish foreign policy in the direction of Armenia and the South Caucasus. Regardless of any statements by anyone, Turkey has de-facto become party to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Meanwhile and puzzling, Russia has been slow in reacting and pointing to its “red line” in the Caucasus throughout Turkey’s activation. Russia and Iran’s slow reactions have allowed the current war to gain in intensity over the past week.

Iran is another regional actor that must be watching the developments closely and has called for restraint. From your experiences knowing Iranian foreign policy on this specific issue, what do you think the drivers are, in their approach and potential actions in the region?

Prof. Libaridian recaps the meta-politics that have led to this round of the war. 

Tom de Waal discussed what is going on behind the scenes in Baku and Yerevan and the indicators preceding the renewed large-scale conflict.

That concludes this week’s Conversation On Armenian News on Armenia’s debate on Armenia’s IT Industry. We’ll continue following this discussion and keep you abreast on the topic as it progresses.

We hope this Conversation has helped your understanding of some of the issues involved. We look forward to your feedback, including your suggestions for Conversation topics in the future. Contact us on our website, at Armenian News.org, or on our Facebook Page “ANN – Armenian News”, or in our Facebook Group “Armenian News – Armenian News Network”.

Special thanks to Laura Osborn for providing the music for our podcast. I’m Hovik Manucharyan, and on behalf of everyone in this episode, I wish you a good week. Thank you for listening and we’ll talk to you next week.

Nagorno Karabakh, Turkey,  Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Artsakh, Stepanakert

Additional: Nikol Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev, Levon Ter-Petrosyan

Pakistan Has Deployed Its Soldiers In Azerbaijan To Fight Armenia – Armenian Media

Boshkezenian Garik
Eurasian Times
Sept 30 2020

 

Pakistan has allegedly deployed its army to the war-torn region of Nagorno-Karabakh to fight Armenia alongside Azerbaijani troops, claimed an Armenian news report citing telephonic conversation between two civilians.

According to FreeNews.AM, the following conversation took place that revealed the presence of Pakistani Army in Azerbaijan.

“How can we write? I don’t have money. We are fine, don’t worry, 7-8 villages were liberated, don’t be afraid,” said a second civilian. “Yes. I know. I have seen on Instagram that Fizuli, Agdam have been liberated from occupation. Our side says that we have also taken Mrav mountain.

What’s wrong with the internet, why doesn’t it work?” the first civilian asked. The second one said that their ministry has turned it off. “As a lot of things happen here, people get in touch with Armenians, that’s why they have turned it off.”

On being asked whether the shooting is taking place in the second civilian’s region, he said, “on Agdam’s side. They have gathered Pakistani soldiers and have taken them towards Agdam.”

Pakistan is the second country, apart from Turkey, that recognised Azerbaijan’s sovereignty in 1991. Ties between Islamabad and Ankara have been strengthened as the latter has been openly supporting Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir issue. 

Perhaps, the alleged presence of Pakistani troops points to Islamabad reciprocating Turkey for its support on the Kashmir issue by lending the Pakistani military support in Ankara’s misadventure in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

When you are a bit far from #Azerbaijan & along with your own nation you feel support of host countrynation it gives you double strength.
Thanks to our dear

— Ali Alizada

Ankara has been supportive of Azerbaijan claim on the conflicted region of Armenian-controlled Karabakh. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned Armenia for the attack calling to immediately end the occupation of Azerbaijani territories.

“Turkey continues to stand with the friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan with all its facilities and heart,” he said. Any imposition or offer other than ending the occupation “will not only be unjust and unlawful but continue to spoil Armenia,” Erdogan added.

Meanwhile, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has confirmed the presence of Turkish personnel, advisers, mercenaries and also their F-16s in the region.

“Unfortunately, I have to declare that NATO member Turkey is fully supporting now Azerbaijan through its electronic drones – through cyber-attacks. But it’s not only that. Turkey is supporting Azerbaijan also through their personnel, advisers, mercenaries and also with their F-16s,” he said.

Armenian ambassador to Russia has further claimed that Turkey has sent about 4,000 fighters from Syria, however, Azerbaijan has rejected the claim.

“Rumors of militants from Syria allegedly being redeployed to Azerbaijan is another provocation by the Armenian side and complete nonsense,” an aide to Azerbaijani President Ilhan Aliyev told Reuters. 

The tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia soared on Sunday morning when deadly attacks and shelling started in Nagorno-Karabakh. The long-standing dispute took a violent turn and both the sides have blamed each other for the escalation. 

According to a statement by the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, as many as 2,300 Armenian soldiers have been killed or wounded, and about 130 tanks and other armoured vehicles, 200 artillery and rocket systems, 25 air defence systems, six command and observation posts, five ammunition depots and 55 vehicles destroyed since the outbreak of the conflict. 

On the other side, Armenia has claimed a total of 790 Azerbaijani servicemen have been killed and as many as 1,900 soldiers injured, said Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a representative of the country’s Defence Ministry, adding that the Armenian army destroyed 137 tanks and armoured vehicles, 72 UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), seven helicopters and one aircraft of the Azerbaijan army during the battles.