Author: Chalian Meline

FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) – The images are hard to forget. Thousands of families were forced from their homes in Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijani troops— escaping into the country of Armenia. 

The refugee crisis was witnessed in early October when Fresno’s medical mission was there. 

Now, an update. 

“There are so many problems they have to face because they came without anything,” said Apo Boghigian, the director of CivilNet, an independent online media platform in Armenia.

Boghigian says his staff covers daily the challenges facing the 100,000 displaced Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh. 

“All of them need final places you live— I mean houses, homes,” he said. 

Boghigian says the Armenian government is providing some aid to these families, but the lack of decent housing makes resettlement difficult. 

Help is coming from Armenians worldwide. Abandoned homes in Armenia’s eastern Tavush region are now being renovated.

“Money sent by Fresno Armenians we are renovating.  We are constructing for eleven families,” said Tatul Hagopian, a reporter in Armenia assisting the Fresno project, Operation Hope. “After losing everything, now they feel that Armenians are trying their best to help them.”

“If there is a home that requires renovations, including making sure that everyone has a shelter number one, running water, hot water, ability to plant,” said Fresno’s Honorary Consul Berj Apkarian.

Apkarian launched the Operation Hope project in hopes of collecting thousands of dollars— every penny going to help the displaced families. 

“This is really a time of giving. As we in the United States say, ‘Coming home for the holidays’, and these people don’t have homes,” Apkarian said.

If you would like to donate to Operation Hope, click here.

In a recent joint press conference, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov contradicted the views of his Armenian counterpart on the topic of troop withdrawal from the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. This response came following a statement by the Armenian Foreign Minister, in which he expressed hope for continued discussions on troop withdrawal, suggesting that it could prevent potential escalations.

Bayramov highlighted the complexity of the issue, arguing that selectively presenting elements discussed in negotiations can lead to misunderstanding. He pointed out that the Azerbaijan-Armenia border has not been delimited, which further complicates matters. The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister asserted that without a comprehensive agreement, troop withdrawal could risk positions being retaken.

Bayramov further stated that a proposal for troop withdrawal was unacceptable to Azerbaijan, underscoring that the Azerbaijani Army is tasked with protecting the country’s borders. He emphasized that this was not a position arrived at through goodwill or invitation, but a duty reclaimed after 30 years of sacrifice. Bayramov stressed that the protection of Azerbaijan’s borders lies solely with its own soldiers and cannot be entrusted to a third party.

Bayramov urged Armenia to consider Azerbaijan’s constructive proposals for positive developments. The press conference also covered a variety of other topics, including additional flight delays from Baku to Nakhchivan, political developments in Russia, incidents in other regions, and weather conditions.

In other related news, a prisoner exchange was successfully executed, as announced by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Facebook. The exchange involved 32 servicemen captured by Azerbaijan since 2020 who are now back in Armenia. Initial Azerbaijani reports indicated the exchange would take place along the Ijevan-Kazakh stretch of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, involving two captured Azerbaijani prisoners. This release forms part of a deal announced last week in a rare joint statement between the two countries, which included Armenia dropping its veto of Azerbaijan hosting next year’s COP29 UN Climate Change Conference.

Azerbaijan releases 32 Armenians, most of whom were held since 2020, in exchange for two soldiers held since April.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have traded prisoners of war at their border in a step towards normalising their relations three months after Azerbaijan achieved a decisive breakthrough in their decades-old conflict.

The exchange took place on Wednesday with Azerbaijan releasing 32 Armenians mostly captured in late 2020 while Armenia released two Azerbaijani soldiers held since April.

“Thirty-one personnel from Armenia’s armed forces captured in 2020-2023 and one serviceman captured in Nagorno-Karabakh in September have crossed the Azerbaijani-Armenian border and are on Armenian territory,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook account.

Azerbaijan’s state commission for prisoners of war also released a statement about the swap.

“Armenian soldiers were handed to Armenia after the International Committee of the Red Cross examined their health and made a positive conclusion,” it said.

The two neighbours are also discussing the withdrawal of troops from their border, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.

The countries said last week as they announced the prisoner exchange that they “reconfirm their intention to normalise relations and to reach a peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

In November, Yerevan said a total of 55 Armenian prisoners of war were being held by Baku, including six civilians, 41 soldiers and eight separatist leaders who were arrested in the wake of Baku’s military operation in September, which recaptured the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The South Caucasus neighbours have fought two wars in the past 30 years over mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh, which is a part of Azerbaijan where ethnic Armenians broke away and established de facto independence in the 1990s.

After Azerbaijan recaptured the territory, most of its 120,000 ethnic Armenians fled to Armenia.

The prisoner exchange agreement was welcomed by the European Union and the United States, who have been trying to persuade the two countries to sign a peace treaty for years.

Western mediation has stepped up after Russian influence in the region has dipped in the past two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan were part of the former Soviet Union.

Armenia has emerged as one of the biggest importers of Indian weapons. There have been reports that the country could acquire the Indian-built surface-to-air missile (SAM), Akash.

While no one confirms it officially because of the sensitivities involved, documents suggest that the order for the same has already been placed.

Akash is a short-range SAM system manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to protect vulnerable areas and points from air attacks. According to the BDL website, the Akash Weapon System (AWS) can simultaneously engage Multiple Targets in Group Mode or Autonomous Mode. It has built-in Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM) features. The entire weapon system is put atop mobile platforms.

It can effectively engage helicopters, fighter jets, and UAVs flying in the range of 4-25 kilometers. It is fully automatic with quick response time from target detection to kill.

It is highly immune to active and passive jamming. It can be transported swiftly via rail or road and can be deployed quickly. The project has an overall indigenous content of 82 percent, which will be increased to 93 percent by 2026-27.

The ICICI Securities newsletter on mutual funds gives an insight into BDL’s order book. Talking about “expanding its footprints in export,” the newsletter says that BDL has the largest proportion of exports in its order book. “Management expects revenue from exports at 25 percent by 2027 and further orders for Akash SAMs, lightweight torpedoes, SAAW, Konkur (ATGMS), CMDS, and Astra missiles (BRAAM),” reads the newsletter.

The word “further” in the statement is being seen as implying that BDL has already received export orders for the Akash SAM system and Armenia is seen as the most probable destination of the export. It was reported in October 2022 that Armenia, engaged in a bloody conflict with Azerbaijan, has been interested in procuring drones, loitering munitions, and the Akash missile system from India.

The Indian Army has already inducted two regiments of Akash SAMs and has placed orders for two more.

With its ability to engage multiple targets and destroy maneuvering targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, and missiles launched from choppers, Akash is ideally suited for Yerevan’s requirement to combat the armed drones deployed by Baku.

Yerevan has also signed an MoU with France to purchase the Mistral short-range air defense system. Armenia has also purchased indigenous Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles, and a wide variety of ammunition, including 80-mm mortars, to counter Azerbaijan.

The EurAsian Times has earlier reported that after importing rocket launchers and missiles from India, Armenia is now importing an anti-drone system.

Most of the defense deals with the Caucasian country have been kept under wraps, but the news about them trickles in from the mandatory annual statements or the minutes of the meetings of the companies concerned. For instance, the news about Zen Technologies opening a branch office in Armenia came to light when the minutes of a board meeting held on October 28, 2023, were released.

The Hyderabad-based Zen Technologies is supplying an anti-drone system worth US $ 41.5 million to Armenia. Zen Anti-Drone System, a Counter Unmanned Aerial System (CUAS), is a multi-layer multi-sensor architecture that provides comprehensive security against drone attacks.

Armenia has almost doubled its defense investments over the last year. In 2022, the spending was around US$700 million to US$800 million; now, in 2024, it will be US$1.4 billion or US $1.5 billion.

For some time now, Yerevan has sought to diversify its arms imports and find new allies after Russia failed to provide the country with ordered weapons worth around US$400 million (it has not yet returned the money).

The failed arms deal was an additional trigger in the worsening Russia-Armenia relations, which made Armenia seek to diversify the sources of its arms imports, looking at the West and India.

Apart from giving repeat orders to Indian defense firms, Armenia has been looking to refurbish its Russian and Soviet weapons. Armenia is keen to modernize its military arsenal, primarily of Soviet and Russian origin. The country wants to learn how to upgrade Soviet and Russian equipment in its inventory and integrate it with the Western system.

Russia remains embroiled in a war with Ukraine and is unable to meet its defense exports commitment to Armenia. The weapons exported by India have already been inducted by the Indian Armed forces, bearing testimony to their efficacy.

The chairman of Armenia’s parliamentary committee on defense and security affairs, Andranik Kocharyan, recently stated without naming India, that the weapons purchased by Armenia have proven to be “very satisfactory,”

“Our news media, our people are discussing all day long what weapons were brought, from what country, where it was tested. The relevant division of the defense ministry is also testing this weaponry, and the tests are very satisfactory,” said Kocharyan.

A top Armenian security official and Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, visited New Delhi on August 28, 2023, to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. In light of this, it is said that India is contemplating the supply of a fresh batch of military equipment to Armenia.

There have been murmurs about Armenia’s interest in the BrahMos cruise missiles and the Israeli-Indian co-developed medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM).

In 2022, India stepped up as a defense supplier to Armenia, embroiled in a protracted conflict with Azerbaijan. The first consignment of weapons was delivered last year via Iran.

Earlier, in January 2023, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev called India’s supply of weapons to adversary Armenia an “unfriendly move,” adding: “If we are facing a serious threat, we will deal with that threat immediately, regardless of where that threat arises, within our territory or outside our borders. It is our legitimate right to do so.”

• Ritu Sharma has been a journalist for over a decade, writing on defense, foreign affairs, and nuclear technology.

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed Thursday to exchange prisoners of war and work toward signing a peace treaty in what the European Union hailed as a major step toward peace in the long-troubled region.

The two countries said in a joint statement they "share the view that there is a historical chance to achieve a long-awaited peace." They said they intend "to normalize relations and to reach the peace treaty on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Azerbaijan waged a lightning military campaign in September in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The offensive ended three decades of rule there by ethnic Armenians and resulted in the vast majority of the 120,000 residents fleeing the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.

Until Thursday's announcement, the two countries had bitterly argued on the outline of a peace process amid mutual distrust.

As part of the deal, Armenia agreed to lift its objections to Azerbaijan hosting next year's international conference on climate change.

Countries had been unable to agree on an eastern European host for the 2024 climate talks, with Russia vetoeing EU countries and Azerbaijan and Armenia nixing each other. A decision on the meeting's location and presidency is due within the next week.

The joint statement said that "the Republic of Armenia supports the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, by withdrawing its own candidacy."

European Council President Charles Michel praised the agreement as a major breakthrough, saying on X that he particularly welcomes the deal to release detainees and make an "unprecedented opening in political dialogue."

Michel called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to finalize a peace deal as soon as possible.

The U.S. government also welcomed the deal, saying the swapping of POWs was an "important confidence building measure as the sides work to finalize a peace agreement and normalize relations."

"The United States will continue to strongly support efforts to reach a durable and dignified peace," added the statement from State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Armenia and Azerbaijan said in their statement that talks between Azerbaijan's presidential administration and the office of Armenia's prime minister led to an agreement "on taking tangible steps towards building confidence between two countries."

Azerbaijan said it would release 32 captured Armenian military servicemen, while Armenia will release two Azerbaijani soldiers.

The two countries said they will continue their discussions "regarding the implementation of more confidence building measures" and called on the international community for support "that will contribute to building mutual trust between two countries."