Author: Boshkezenian Garik

Turkish Press: EU reaffirms bloc’s commitment to Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization process ahead of Brussels talks

Boshkezenian Garik
Anadolu Agency, Turkey
Oct 8 2023

EU reaffirms bloc’s commitment to Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization process ahead of Brussels talks

Charles Michel reiterates 'need for mutual respect of territorial integrity & sovereignty, and for advancing on border delimitation'

Handan Kazanci  |08.10.2023 – Update : 08.10.2023

ISTANBUL

European Council President Charles Michel expressed the bloc’s commitment Saturday to the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization process ahead of a trilateral meeting in Brussels.

Michel “expressed EU’s commitment to Arm Az normalisation process” in a telephone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, he wrote on X.

He also “reiterated the need for mutual respect of territorial integrity & sovereignty, and for advancing on border delimitation” and stressed the “need to ensure Karabakh Armenians’ security & rights, also over the long term.”

On Thursday, the EU invited Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders for peace talks in Brussels by the end of October.

“We believe in diplomacy and political dialogue. This is why we invite Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the meeting,” Michel said following a quadrilateral meeting with Pashinyan on the sidelines of the European Political Community meeting in Granda, Spain.

Aliyev did not attend the meeting in protest of France’s recent military and diplomatic moves in support of Armenia.

The long-awaited meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Germany, France and Michel was canceled following the latest diplomatic spat.

Hikmat Hajiyev, foreign policy advisor of the Azerbaijani president, said Baku had proposed the participation of Türkiye and Spain in a planning meeting, but that proposal was also rejected by France.

The meeting was scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the third summit of the European Political Community, which was an initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron to which leaders from more than 40 European countries were invited.

Azerbaijan regained full control over its territory of Karabakh last month after taking counter-terrorism actions, which resulted in the surrender of illegal armed groups, ending a decades-long conflict.

Authorities have repeatedly said that they will protect the rights and ensure the security of the Armenian residents in Karabakh, in accordance with Azerbaijan's law.


Inside the Matenadaran, the Stone Fortress Protecting the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts

Boshkezenian Garik
Popular Mechanics
Sept 29 2023

Since the Middle Ages, scriptoria throughout the world have preserved manuscripts for future generations. Armenia’s Matenadaran continues that tradition.

BY DARREN ORFPUBLISHED: SEP 29, 2023

Ancient manuscripts connect us to our distant past. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to understand our histories, traditions, and knowledge gleaned from many lifetimes of experience. But there’s a big problem: paper and parchment aren’t known for longevity. The reason we can read about the plays of ancient Greeks, understand the wisdom of Eastern philosophies, or even glimpse the yellowing founding documents of entire nations is thanks to legions of archivists throughout history who’ve meticulously restored, protected, and preserved these old (and prone to crumbling) manuscripts for future generations.

Throughout the Middle Ages, scriptoria around the world served as repositories of human knowledge, and in Yerevan, Armenia, the museum and research institute known as the Matenadaran continues that tradition.

Visit the Matenadaran today and you’re greeted by a grand, fortress-like building constructed from gray basalt stone. At the building’s entrance is a large statue of Mesrop Mashtots, a medieval Armenian linguist who’s credited with developing the Armenian alphabet. This imposing structure denotes the importance of the delicate treasures found inside—23,000 manuscripts, with some dating back 1,500 years. Although the Matenadaran is home to the largest collection of Armenian manuscripts in the world, it also houses ancient texts from other civilizations throughout history.

“Matenadaran means the ‘repository of manuscripts,’” Vahe Torosyan, a scientist secretary at the Matenadaran, tells Popular Mechanics. “However, the Matenadaran is not only a storehouse of manuscripts but a research institute and a museum where manuscripts are stored, cared for, restored, studied scientifically, and displayed.”

Albert Mityaev

Restoring these manuscripts requires an intense level of artistry and dedication. Before restorers can even begin repairing battered manuscripts, they first need to clean the surfaces of pages and miniatures (the small illustrations that often accompany medieval texts). This means removing any dust, candle wax, insects, dirt, stains and more that might’ve adhered to the brittle pages over the centuries. Paper and pigments are also examined under a microscope to make sure that paint layers are solid before cleaning can begin.

Restorers then use a special, handmade Japanese paper created from the bark of mulberry trees to repair the pages, whether a small tear or a gaping rip. Using this specialized paper—in various thicknesses and shades—restorers can create a seamless transition between the original document and the restored parts.

“Japanese paper is a unique material and has a special structure,” Gayane Eliazyan, head of the department of restoration, tells Popular Mechanics. “The edges of the paper have long fibers that are easy to connect with the original paper, and the passage from the original manuscript material to the Japanese paper occurs very smoothly.”

Although preserving ancient texts is a centuries-old profession, 21st century technology provides the ultimate protection for these fragile objects. When a document contains undertext, which is writing that’s been replaced by existing text, the Matenadaran uses multi-spectral imaging to capture the manuscript in 28 distinct frames—each frame representing a range of the visual spectrum as well as UV and infrared light. These various light spectra can capture the hidden words hidden beneath the work.

With these digital recreations along with digital scans of other manuscripts, physical texts never leave the safety of the Matenadaran itself.

Preserving this book block is only one part of the restoration process; the restorers also bring that same level of exacting attention to mending a manuscript’s binding, leather cover, and endband (the woven decorative parts found at the upper and lower edges of the book’s spine).

Eliazyan says that the restoration department of the Matenadaran also has a biological laboratory, and like many laboratories around the world, it faces funding challenges. The department needs new equipment to keep up with new restoration techniques.

As Armenian universities still do not have educational programs for certifying restorers, the Matenadaran serves as a teaching center and school for this specialization. Eliazyan hopes that continued support from grantors or the Armenian government will help train the next generations of specialists eager to be keepers of the heritage of human knowledge—past and present.

Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough. 

 

Historic week sets the scene for hopes of peace for Azerbaijan and Armenia

Boshkezenian Garik
Arab News
Oct 1 2023

LUKE COFFEY

This has been a historic week in the South Caucasus. For Azerbaijan and Armenia, one chapter in a long and often deadly story has ended. Now both sides must look toward the future.
After intense fighting in the region in the early 1990s, Armenia ended up occupying a sizable area of Azerbaijan, including the Karabakh region, for almost three decades. During this period, Yerevan propped up a separatist government, the so-called “Republic of Artsakh,” led by ethnic Armenians and not recognized by any other country in the world.
During the 2020 Karabakh War, Azerbaijan regained control of most of its territory. The resulting ceasefire agreement left a small section of Karabakh out of the hands of Baku and under the supervision of a Russian peacekeeping force.
On Sept. 19 this year, Azerbaijan launched a military operation to retake the remaining parts of Karabakh. The Russian peacekeepers on the ground sat idly by and did nothing. In less than 24 hours, a ceasefire was agreed and the Armenian forces, and Armenian-backed separatists, laid down their weapons.
For international observers of the South Caucasus, what has happened in the past few weeks in Karabakh should not have come as a surprise. There are a few factors that led to the recent events. Firstly, there is a perception that Russia is weak in the region right now as a result of its quagmire in Ukraine. Azerbaijan was never happy with the presence of Russian troops on its territory in the aftermath of the 2020 Karabakh War, and Baku has been looking for the right time to make a move that might lead to their departure from the region.
Secondly, “presidential elections” for the so-called “Republic of Artsakh” were held by the Armenian separatists in Karabakh this month. Unsurprisingly, Azerbaijan considered these elections to be illegal and needlessly provocative. They were not alone in this. There were also strong statements of condemnation from the Council of Europe, the EU, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Organization of Turkic States.
Thirdly, there was the issue of transit links. For countries such as Azerbaijan located in the heart of Eurasia, transport connections to the outside world are key. As part of the agreement that ended the 2020 war, Azerbaijan committed itself to building a new road connecting Armenia with the section of Karabakh under the control of the Russian peacekeepers.
This was accomplished in 2022, a year earlier than was required by the 2020 ceasefire agreement. In return, Armenia pledged to “guarantee the security of transport connections” between Azerbaijan proper and its autonomous Nakhchivan exclave, through Armenia’s Syunik province. This has yet to happen. Understandably, the lack of progress on this promise has frustrated Baku.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, what the world saw play out in Karabakh over the past couple of weeks was the culmination of more than three decades of diplomatic failures. Since the early 1990s, four UN Security Council resolutions were passed calling for the “cessation of all hostilities and the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces” from Azerbaijan. None were ever enforced.
The war in 2020 should have served as a wake-up call for the international community to redouble its efforts to find a long-lasting and durable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but all efforts failed.

Azerbaijan must now ensure that ethnic Armenians receive all the usual protections afforded to minority groups. 

Luke Coffey

Now that Azerbaijan has restored control over its territory, the hard part begins. Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who were forced out of their homes in the 1990s will want to return. Tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians, most of whom will distrust the government in Baku, will need to be integrated into Azerbaijani society.
While there have been many cavalier claims, mainly by commentators in the West, thousands of kilometers away, of genocide and ethnic cleansing taking place in Karabakh, there is so far no evidence that this is taking place. There has been a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians leaving for Armenia but the government of Azerbaijan has made it clear that they can remain if they wish.
Azerbaijan must now ensure that ethnic Armenians who do decide to stay receive all the usual protections afforded to minority groups in dozens of countries around the world, including freedom of religion and the ability to preserve their Armenian language and culture. Considering the diversity that already exists in modern-day Azerbaijan, there is no reason to assume that this would be a problem. But it will take years for trust to be restored.
As with any conflict, there are winners and losers. Azerbaijan is obviously a clear winner. Turkiye, as Azerbaijan’s top ally, is also a winner. Russia and Iran are the losers in the aftermath of the recent fighting.
For Moscow, its influence in the South Caucasus is waning as its problems in Ukraine continue to mount. Tehran, meanwhile, has maintained a cozy relationship with Armenia for years in an attempt to undermine Azerbaijan’s influence in the South Caucasus. This will now be more difficult.
The outcome of the conflict for Armenia is complicated, especially when we consider the long term. On one hand, its armed forces have been devastated and there is a feeling of betrayal by Moscow, its top military and economic ally.
However, it is quite possible that the normalization process and peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan (and someday between Armenia and Turkiye) could create new economic opportunities in the region. Now that the conflict is over, international investors might be willing to channel billions of dollars in direct investment to the region. As residents of the poorest country in the region, the Armenian people need this.
As the Armenians find peace with their neighbors, their reliance on Russia might diminish. This could create an opportunity for Yerevan to move closer to the Euro-Atlantic community. However, this will not happen quickly and will likely require a generational change in Armenian society.
On Oct. 5, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in the Spanish city of Granada during a summit of the European Political Community. It is too early to speculate what the outcome of this meeting might be. However, let us hope it is the beginning of what will be a process that brings peace, stability and economic prosperity to the South Caucasus.
For too long this region has suffered. The international community should redouble its efforts to get all sides around a table and find a lasting peace.

  • Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. X: @LukeDCoffey
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News’ point of view

Chicago Armenian-Americans Rally for Armenia and Artsakh

Boshkezenian Garik
 ANCA-Eastern Region Community News, Diaspora, ANCA News 0

Members of Chicago’s Armenian-American community demonstrating in Daley Plaza in Downtown Chicago to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh

CHICAGO, Ill.—More than 100 Armenian-Americans gathered in Daley Plaza in Downtown Chicago to honor the 32nd anniversary of the Republic of Armenia’s second Independence Day. Community members marked the occasion by demonstrating to raise awareness for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Artsakh.

The program began with Very Rev. Father Boghos Tinkjian of All Saints’ Armenian Apostolic Church in Glenview offering opening prayers. Armen Alexanian, co-chair of the Armenian National Committee (ANC) of IL, served as master of ceremonies. Chicago “Ararat” Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Chapter member Aleena Surenian and Hagop Soulakian, chairman of the Chicago Christapor Gomideh of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), offered their reflections on the importance of the anniversary and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Artsakh. Both provided a voice of hope and reason for the activists and demonstrators. Students from the Taniel Varoujan Armenian school–the next generation of the Armenian-American community– and dozens of other supporters and allies joined the demonstration. 

Students of the Taniel Varoujan School leading the Armenian Independence Day event in Chicago

Surenian reminded the crowd of the importance of Armenian independence. She spoke of ancient kingdoms and struggles and compared them to the uncertain situations Armenians faced to secure their independence first in 1918 and then again in 1991: numerous genocidal neighbors, an indifferent international community and a resolute will for a free and independent Armenia. Noting the importance of community activism and the power of the American voter, she encouraged the crowd to “be politically active and to continually [pressure] the U.S. government to do the right thing for Armenia… and to work together.” 

During the demonstration, Ken Hachikian, co-chair of the ANC of IL, was interviewed by WBBM Radio – one of Chicago’s largest commercial all-day radio stations – and took the opportunity to inform the public about the ongoing humanitarian crisis. He urged community members to rally behind and join local organizations, such as the ANC of Illinois, in alerting U.S. lawmakers to the crisis and urging immediate action to alleviate the humanitarian effects of starvation, ethnic cleansing and genocide on the Armenian population of Artsakh.

Soulakian shared the turbulent history of the Armenian nation, comparing it to the ongoing crisis in Artsakh, and reminded the crowd to be persistent and vigilant. He called on members of the community to become ANCA Rapid Responders and to continue pressuring U.S. lawmakers to sign onto key pieces of legislation. Soulakian noted the importance of remaining hopeful and spoke of the importance of the Armenian Diaspora, which he called “a beacon of hope, strength for our homeland.”

Prominent community member Honorary Consul Oscar Tatosian spoke about the pride all Armenians should have about the 32nd anniversary of the second independence of Armenia. He also spoke about the tragedy unfolding in Artsakh as the world has stood silently by. He called upon all Armenians in the Diaspora to unite in helping their fellow Armenians in distress in Artsakh.

An impressive 25-foot Armenian tricolor hoisted above in Delay Plaza in Downtown Chicago

On this occasion, a 25-foot Armenian flag was raised over the City of Chicago public plaza, to the strains of Mer Hairenik, as a symbol of the community’s solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Armenia and Artsakh. Following the flag raising, the AYF led a protest march at the plaza, criticizing Azerbaijan’s genocidal actions in Artsakh, aided and abetted by Turkey. The students of the Taniel Varoujan School and other community members were active participants in the protest.

“We were honored to be able to do our part in raising awareness for the ongoing genocide in Artsakh. With heavy hearts, we protested to the Chicago community and asked our neighbors, friends and lawmakers to stand on the justice page of history, as we continue to advocate for our brothers and sisters entrenched in the mountains of Artsakh with clear uncertainty on what the future holds,” said Alexanian. “It is our duty to be the voice for the voiceless, and I am proud that we had the opportunity to show both the Chicago community and our next generation of Armenian-Americans, the students from Taniel Varoujan Armenian School, the importance of activism and fighting for your roots and right to exist.”

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The Armenian National Committee of America Eastern Region is part of the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots organization, the ANCA. Working in coordination with the ANCA in Washington, DC, and a network of chapters and supporters throughout the Eastern United States, the ANCA-ER actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.


RFE/RL Armenian Service – 09/13/2023

Boshkezenian Garik 
                                        Wednesday, 
Armenia To Ratify International Court Treaty Amid Tensions With Russia
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attends his government's 
question-and-answer session in parliament, Yerevan, .
Despite stern warnings from Russia, Armenia will unconditionally accept 
jurisdiction of an international court that issued an arrest warrant for Russian 
President Vladimir Putin early this year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said on 
Wednesday.
Pashinian made this clear amid unprecedented tensions between Moscow and 
Yerevan. They rose further after he declared early this month that Armenia’s 
reliance on Russia for defense and security has proved a “strategic mistake.” 
Russian officials condemned Pashinian’s remarks.
The Russian Foreign Ministry listed them among “a series of unfriendly steps” 
taken by Yerevan, in a note of protest handed to the Armenian ambassador on 
September 8. Those steps also include the Armenian parliament’s plans to ratify 
the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Moscow demanded last week “clarifications” over the Pashinian government’s 
decision to send the treaty, known as the Rome Statute, to the parliament for 
ratification. The decision was announced on September 1.
“The Rome Statute will be fully ratified in accordance with my position and with 
the backing of our parliamentary allies,” Pashinian told the National Assembly 
controlled by his Civil Contract party. “It has nothing to do with 
Russian-Armenian relations. It has to do with Armenia’s security issues.”
Pashinian’s political allies said earlier that Yerevan wants to submit to the 
ICC’s jurisdiction in order to bring Azerbaijan to justice for its “war crimes” 
and to prevent more Azerbaijani attacks on Armenia. Russian officials were 
unconvinced by these assurances, warning of serious damage to bilateral ties.
Independent legal experts believe that the ratification of the Rome Statute 
would commit the Armenian authorities to arrest Putin and extradite him to The 
Hague tribunal if he visits the South Caucasus country. Pashinian did not 
comment on such a possibility on Wednesday.
Lachin Road Still Closed Despite Reported Deal On Aid Supplies
        • Artak Khulian
ARMENIA - Armenian lorries carriyng humanitarian aid for Nagorno-Karabakh are 
seen stranded near an Azerbaijani checkpoint set up at the entry of the Lachin 
corridor, July 30, 2023.
Humanitarian traffic through the Lachin corridor was not restored on Wednesday, 
with Azerbaijan accusing Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership of continuing to oppose 
an alternative Azerbaijani-controlled supply route.
The authorities in Stepanakert indicated at the weekend that they agreed to let 
a Russian Red Cross truck enter Karabakh from the Azerbaijani town of Aghdam in 
return for Baku’s pledge to unblock the corridor.
The truck delivered 15 tons of food and other humanitarian aid on Tuesday. The 
Russian Foreign Ministry reported later in the day an agreement on the “parallel 
unblocking of the Lachin and Aghdam routes.” The Azerbaijani side confirmed its 
readiness for such an arrangement, which is also favored by the United States 
and the European Union.
Hikmet Hajiyev, a senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, accused 
Karabakh’s “illegal regime” of obstructing the “simultaneous opening” of the two 
roads which he said was first agreed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken 
and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in a September 1 phone call.
A Karabakh official, Davit Babayan, denied Hajiyev’s claims and said Baku itself 
is violating an agreement to reopen the Lachin road after the delivery of the 
Russian aid through Aghdam.
“Our people are in a situation where no issue can be politicized,” Babayan told 
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “We have never breached or distorted any agreements.”
Sources said that the conflicting sides as well as Russia and other 
international actors are continuing negotiations on the issue. Babayan confirmed 
the information but did not give any details.
The European Union effectively welcomed the shipment of the Russian aid to 
Karabakh. A spokeswoman for European Council President Charles Michel called it 
“an important step that should facilitate the reopening also of the Lachin 
corridor.”
“We call on all stakeholders to show responsibility and flexibility in ensuring 
that both the Lachin and the Aghdam-Askeran route will be used,” she added in a 
statement.
Snoop Dogg Concert In Armenia Raises Corruption Concerns
        • Nane Sahakian
U.S. -- US singer Snoop Dogg arrives on the red carpet for the 31st MTV Video 
Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, California, August 24, 2014
Armenia’s leading anti-corruption watchdog on Wednesday expressed concern over 
the choice of a company that will spend about $6 million allocated by the 
Armenian government for American rapper Snoop Dogg’s upcoming concert in Yerevan.
The government sparked controversy when it approved the funding, which covers 
the singer’s performance fee and logistics expenses, in early August 11. 
Government officials said the money is worth it because the concert slated for 
September 23 will raise Armenia’s international profile and attract thousands of 
foreign tourists.
Critics shrugged off the explanation, condemning the government decision as 
reckless extravagance aimed at distracting Armenians from grave national 
security problems facing their country. Some of them also pointed to drug 
references in Snoop Dogg’s songs. The rap star has had a history of using drugs.
The entire sum exceeding the annual budgets of most rural communities of Armenia 
will be handled by a little-known private company. Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian’s government chose the company called Doping Space and signed a 
contract with it on August 18 without a tender. The government did not explain 
why it avoided competitive bidding.
It emerged afterwards that the allocation took the form of a government grant, a 
highly unusual arrangement that prompted serious concern from the 
Anti-Corruption Center (ACC), the Armenian affiliated of Transparency 
International.
“We need to understand why they gave the grant to that company without a 
tender,” Varuzhan Hoktanian, the ACC’s programs director, told RFE/RL’s Armenian 
Service on Wednesday.
“I suppose that just like in the case of procurements there should have been a 
tender here,” said Hoktanian. “Especially in the case of such a large sum, a 
tender must be obligatory. We would consider it non-obligatory only if no other 
company had the capacity to organize such an event.”
Doping Space was set up as recently as in July this year and is not known to 
have organized any major entertainment events. One of its two-founders, Makar 
Petrosian, is a son of a wealthy businessman who used to have close ties to 
Armenia’s former governments. Incidentally, prosecutors accused Petrosian, his 
father Alik and other family members of illicit enrichment and moved to 
confiscate some of their assets late last month.
In addition to its share of the government funding, the Snoop Dogg concert 
organizer hopes to raise an equivalent of $1.5 million from ticket sales. The 
contract requires it to pay only $63,000 of the ticket revenue to the government.
Doping Space’s 7-page cost breakdown publicized by the government indicates that 
about $3 million will be paid to Snoop Dogg and his production team.
The other half of the government money is to be spent on promotional, logistical 
and other services to be provided by the company. Speaking on the condition of 
anonymity, some Armenian entertainment industry executives suggested that their 
costs are inflated.
“Most, if not all, of those services could have been provided at more affordable 
prices,” one of them told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Iran Sees No War Between Armenia, Azerbaijan
Iran -- Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani.
Iran’s defense minister ruled out a new war between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 
Wednesday while reaffirming his country’s strong opposition to any change in 
regional countries’ borders.
“We believe that no war will break out in the region,” Brigadier General 
Mohammad Reza Ashtiani was quoted by Iranian news agencies as saying after a 
cabinet meeting in Tehran.
“We do not accept any change in the borders,” Ashtiani said, adding that the 
Iranian army’s General Staff also made this clear when it discussed increased 
tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone during a recent meeting.
The Armenian government said last week that Azerbaijan has been massing troops 
along the Karabakh “line of contact” and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in 
possible preparation for another large-scale military assault. Baku denied any 
military buildup there, saying that its troops are simply engaging in routine 
training.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian raised his concerns about the alleged buildup 
with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and other foreign leaders in a series of 
phone calls made over the weekend. Raisi was reported to reiterate that the 
Islamic Republic continues to support the territorial integrity of Armenia.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said on Monday that Baku 
has assured Tehran that it has no plans to attack Armenia. Azerbaijani officials 
have alleged this month growing Armenian “military provocations” in the conflict 
zone.
IRAN - The Iranian army holds a military exercise in the northwest of Iran, 
close to the border with Azerbaijan, October 1, 2021.
Armenian officials and pundits believe that a key goal of an Azerbaijan attack 
would be to open an exterritorial land corridor connecting Azerbaijan to its 
Nakhichevan exclave through Syunik, the sole Armenian province bordering Iran. 
President Ilham Aliyev and other Azerbaijani leaders regularly demand such a 
corridor, citing the terms of a Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the 2020 
war in Karabakh. Yerevan counters that the agreement calls for only conventional 
transport links for Nakhichevan.
Iran has repeatedly warned against attempts to strip it of the common border and 
transport links with Armenia. The Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah 
Ali Khamenei repeated these warnings when he met with Turkish President Recep 
Tayyip Erdogan in Tehran last year.
Erdogan complained about Iran’s stance on the issue after visiting Baku in June. 
He claimed that unlike Tehran, Yerevan does not object to the idea of the 
“Zangezur corridor.”
Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu reportedly 
said on Wednesday that “in the coming months” Ankara will join in efforts to 
open the corridor. He did not elaborate.
“I believe that Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia will implement this project in a 
short period of time,” Uraloglu said, according to the Azerbaijani APA news 
agency.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Separatist parliament in Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region elects new president

Boshkezenian Garik
Associated Press
Sept 9 2023
BY AVET DEMOURIAN
Updated 4:55 PM GMT+3, September 9, 2023


YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Lawmakers in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan, voted to elect a new separatist president on Saturday in a move that was strongly condemned by the Azerbaijani authorities.

Samvel Shakhramanyan’s election as the new president of Nagorno-Karabakh follows the resignation of Arayik Harutyunyan, who stepped down on Sept. 1 as president of the region — which the Armenians call Artsakh. It comes amid soaring tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry denounced the vote as a “gross violation” of the country’s constitution and a “serious blow to the efforts of normalization in the region.” The ministry emphasized that “the only way to achieve peace and stability in the region is the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces” from Nagorno-Karabakh and “the disbandment of the puppet regime.”

Since December, Azerbaijan has blockaded the only road leading from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, severely restricting the delivery of food, medical supplies and other essentials to the region of about 120,000 people.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region within Azerbaijan that came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military after a six-year separatist war that ended in 1994. Armenian forces also took control of substantial territory around the region.

Azerbaijan regained control of the surrounding territory in a six-week war with Armenia in 2020. A Russia-brokered armistice that ended the war left the region’s capital, Stepanakert, connected to Armenia by just one road known as the Lachin Corridor, along which Russian peacekeeping forces were supposed to ensure free movement.

Armenia repeatedly has complained that Russian peacekeepers have done nothing to help lift the Azerbaijani blockade of the road that has led to dire food shortages in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the situation has led to an increasing estrangement between Moscow and Yerevan.

Russia has been Armenia’s main economic partner and ally since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Landlocked Armenia hosts a Russian military base and is part of the Moscow-led security alliance of ex-Soviet nations, the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

But Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has become increasingly critical of Moscow, emphasizing its failure to help lift the Azerbaijani blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and arguing that Yerevan needs to turn to the West to help ensure its security.

To Moscow’s dismay, Armenia called a joint military exercises with the United States starting Monday, provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine amid the war and moved to ratify a treaty that created the International Criminal Court, which this year indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine.

On Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Armenian ambassador to lodge a formal protest over what the moves it described as “unfriendly.”

https://apnews.com/article/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-blockade-8c17f95af29c66638bcd38fb7fb02812

Film Review: ‘Amerikatsi’ Review: A Prisoner in His Homeland

Boshkezenian Garik
The New York Times
Sept 7 2023

The actor-director Michael Goorjian explores the urge to reconnect with one’s roots in this movie about an American who moves to Soviet Armenia.

By Nicolas Rapold

Sept. 7, 2023, 7:00 a.m. ET

In the late 1940s, the Soviet Union invited Armenians living abroad to resettle in Soviet Armenia. In “Amerikatsi,” the actor-director Michael Goorjian imagines one such journey and finds an unusual way to express the aching urge to reconnect with one’s roots.

Goorjian plays Charlie, a naïve, bumbling American who returns to Armenia years after being spirited away as a boy during the genocide. Despite befriending a Soviet official’s wife (Nelli Uvarova), he gets thrown in jail as a suspicious interloper. Charlie languishes behind prison walls, and is mocked and beaten by guards. As awful as that sounds, the film’s tone stays on the light side, even hokey, warmed by Charlie’s hopes.

Charlie finds an escape from despair by gazing into an apartment visible from his barred windows. He realizes that the man he’s watching, a bearish, temperamental painter named Tigran (Hovik Keuchkerian), is a guard in the prison’s watchtower and turns out to be Armenian. So Charlie takes to eating his meager meals at his window, following along with Tigran’s marital woes, dinner toasts, and attempts at painting.

The setup eloquently symbolizes the predicament of many who, like Charlie, left their homelands very young. His heart beats Armenian even if he speaks English, yet a nagging distance wards off total belonging. But he schemes indirect ways to communicate with the guard and finds a kindred spirit.

It’s an intriguing scenario, though not always played out skillfully. For better and worse, we feel Charlie’s confinement fully, as he watches another’s life go by and yearns for a proper home of his own.

Amerikatsi
Not rated. In Armenian, English and Russian, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 55 minutes. In theaters.

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Director
Michael A. Goorjian
Writer
Michael A. Goorjian
Stars
Michael A. Goorjian, Hovik Keuchkerian, Nelli Uvarova, Mikhail Trukhin, Jean-Pierre Nshanian
Rating
Not Rated
Running Time
1h 55m
Genre
Drama
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/movies/amerikatsi-review-a-prisoner-in-his-homeland.html?searchResultPosition=2

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU urges unblocking of Lachin corridor

Boshkezenian Garik
Sept 4 2023

On 1 September, the European Union urged the unblocking of the Lachin corridor, according to a statement by the spokesperson of European Council President Charles Michel regarding Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The statement also notes that the use of the Ağdam road to provide supplies can also be part of a concrete and sustainable solution to the provision of urgent and daily basic needs.

“The current humanitarian situation on the ground is deteriorating rapidly; it is imperative to take steps to address the needs of the local population,” says the statement.

The spokesperson reminds that President Michel continues to be actively involved in promoting the process of normalisation of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. His efforts over the past weeks, supported by Toivo Klaar, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus, have focused as a priority on addressing the humanitarian situation of Karabakh Armenians.

Charles Michel has proposed a step-by-step approach which would reflect a sequencing in the full-fledged operation of the Lachin corridor and the opening of the Ağdam route.

“Dialogue between Baku and representatives of Armenians living in the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast will be essential in this regard. The rights and security of Karabakh Armenians must be guaranteed and discussions on specific modalities should start as soon as possible,” says the EU statement.

Find out more

Press release

https://euneighbourseast.eu/news/latest-news/armenia-azerbaijan-eu-urges-unblocking-of-lachin-corridor/

Congressmen Sherman & Schiff Join Pan Armenian Council of West USA to Demand Action on the Crisis in Artsakh

Boshkezenian Garik
Aug 29 2023

  

Aug 29, 2023 
Press Release

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-32) and Congressman Adam Schiff (CA-30) spoke at a press conference hosted by the Pan Armenian Council of Western USA (PAC WUSA) to demonstrate unity with the 120,000 residents of Artsakh facing a dire humanitarian crisis caused by Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of Artsakh. 

“We are watching a humanitarian catastrophe unfold in Artsakh,” said Congressman Sherman. “We must hold the Aliyev regime accountable and end U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan.”

Key community figures joined the event, including Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian, and Glendale Mayor Dan Brotman. The underlying goal of the press conference was to demand tangible action by President Biden’s Administration to end the illegal blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan and ensure security and stability for the Armenian people.

https://sherman.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressmen-sherman-schiff-join-pan-armenian-council-of-west-usa-to