Author: Chatinian Lara

Monday, 
Ankara Urges Yerevan To Back Use Of Agdam Road By Karabakh Armenians
The Turkish national flag
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has called on Armenia to support the idea of the 
use of the Agdam road by Karabakh Armenians who continue to reject Azerbaijan’s 
relevant offer and continue to demand the reopening of the Lachin corridor. In a statement issued on Monday, the Turkish ministry also called on Yerevan to 
“refrain from provocative steps, recognize the territorial integrity and 
sovereignty of Azerbaijan and support Azerbaijan’s efforts on the integration of 
the [Karabakh] Armenian population.”
Official Ankara said it was closely following the discussions around the Lacհin 
road, emphasizing that it “understands the legitimate concerns of Azerbaijan on 
that issue.”
“Turkey believes that there is no reason to criticize Azerbaijan regarding the 
Lachin road,” it said. The Turkish statement came after Armenia officially asked the United Nations 
Security Council to hold an emergency meeting on the issue of humanitarian 
access to Nagorno-Karabakh that Yerevan and Stepanakert say has been denied for 
months by Azerbaijan that has imposed an “illegal blockade” on the region. Earlier ethnic Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said that the purpose of 
Baku’s proposal to provide humanitarian aid through Agdam without restoring free 
movement through the Lachin corridor was “an attempt to revise” the 
Moscow-brokered 2020 ceasefire agreement under which the vital land connection 
between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia was placed under the control of Russian 
peacekeepers. “This approach that has persistently been proposed by Azerbaijan violates the 
rights and humiliates the dignity of the people of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh – 
ed.] and contradicts international humanitarian law,” Stepanakert said. Yerevan, likewise, believes that the checkpoint installed by Azerbaijan at the 
Lachin corridor contradicts the terms of the ceasefire agreement and is, 
therefore, illegal. The Armenian government also denies having any territorial 
claims to Azerbaijan or otherwise infringing on its sovereignty. It insists, 
however, that the rights and security of Karabakh Armenians be discussed between 
Baku and Stepanakert in an “internationally visible” dialogue. Yerevan Calls Azeri Reports On Concentration Of Armenian Troops Along Border 
‘Disinformation’
The national flag of Armenia over a combat position along the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border (file photo). Military authorities in Yerevan have disproved a statement made in Baku about an 
alleged concentration of a large number of Armenian troops and military hardware 
near the border with Azerbaijan. Armenia’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that the statement of Azerbaijan’s 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to that account did not correspond to the facts. “To another false message in the statement of the Azerbaijani Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, the Defense Ministry of the Republic of Armenia states once 
again that the Republic of Armenia has no army in Nagorno-Karabakh,” it added. Official Baku stated, in particular, that “armed forces of Armenia illegally 
stationed on the territory of Azerbaijan have intensified military engineering 
works and other military activities in recent weeks”, and “in recent days, a 
large amount of weapons, military equipment and personnel of the armed forces of 
Armenia have been accumulating along the un-demarcated border with Azerbaijan.”
At the same time, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that “Armenia 
has not stopped its territorial claims against Azerbaijan and its verbal 
recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan differs from its actions.”
“Azerbaijan reserves the right to defend its sovereignty and territorial 
integrity,” the ministry underscored. Meanwhile, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also described the 
Azerbaijani statement as disinformation. “The spread of such false information 
indicates Azerbaijan’s intention to escalate the situation in the region,” it 
charged in a statement. The kind of rhetoric from official Baku comes amid reports of sporadic 
cross-border shootings that Armenia and Azerbaijan blame on each other. Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have also traded 
accusations regarding violations of the ceasefire regime in recent days. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for 
decades. Some 30,000 people were killed in a war in the early 1990s that left 
ethnic Armenians in control of the predominantly Armenian-populated region and 
seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan proper. Decades of internationally mediated talks failed to result in a diplomatic 
solution and the simmering conflict led to another war in 2020 in which nearly 
7,000 soldiers were killed on both sides. The 44-day war in which Azerbaijan regained all of the Armenian-controlled areas 
outside of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as chunks of territory inside the Soviet-era 
autonomous oblast proper ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire under which 
Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to the region to serve as peacekeepers. Despite the ceasefire and publicly stated willingness of the leaders of both 
Armenia and Azerbaijan to work towards a negotiated peace, tensions between the 
two South Caucasus nations escalated in June after Azerbaijan tightened its 
blockade at a checkpoint installed in April on the road known as the Lachin 
Corridor, the only link between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan and Stepanakert view the Azerbaijani roadblock as a violation of the 
terms of the ceasefire agreement that they insist places the vital route solely 
under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Amid severe shortages of basic foodstuffs, medical and fuel supplies experienced 
by Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians, Armenia last Friday officially asked the United 
Nations Security Council to hold an emergency meeting regarding the 
deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The move came after the region’s ethnic Armenian leader appealed to the 
international community for “immediate action” to lift the de facto blockade 
imposed by Azerbaijan and prevent what he called “the genocide of the people of 
Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Azerbaijan denies blockading Nagorno-Karabakh and offers an alternative route 
for supplies via the town of Agdam, which is situated east of the region and is 
controlled by Baku. However, Nagorno-Karabakh’s authorities have rejected that offer amid concerns 
in Stepanakert that the opening of the Agdam road could be a prelude to the 
region’s absorption by Azerbaijan. 13 Parties, 1 Bloc Bid To Compete In Yerevan Municipal Polls
The Yerevan Municipality building
Thirteen political parties and one bloc of parties have submitted their 
applications to the Central Election Commission (CEC) to participate in upcoming 
municipal elections in Yerevan. The CEC is due to complete the registration process by August 18 and publish 
electoral lists within three days after that. The vote in the elections to Yerevan’s Municipal Assembly (Council of Elders) is 
due on September 17. It will proceed according to party lists, with the 
four-week campaigns of the political forces and their candidates for mayor 
commencing on August 23. The ruling Civil Contract party is led in the elections by current Deputy Mayor 
Tigran Avinian who formerly also served as deputy prime minister in the 
government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian. Former Yerevan mayor Hayk Marutian, who was removed from office by a vote of no 
confidence in December 2021 after falling out with the ruling party, has also 
announced his participation in the elections with the hitherto little-known 
National Progress party. Several other political parties and groups, notably Aprelu Yerkir (Country for 
Living), Bright Armenia, the European Party of Armenia and others, have also 
applied for registration to participate in the Yerevan elections. Two key parliamentary opposition alliances affiliated with former presidents 
Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian, Hayastan and Pativ Unem, have not joined 
the local race in the Armenian capital where about a third of the country’s 
voters are concentrated. It is not clear whether either alliance will support any other political party 
or bloc participating in the elections, including the Mother Armenia bloc, which 
is led by Andranik Tevanian, a former Hayastan faction member who resigned 
recently to focus on the Yerevan elections. Leading Ukrainian Diplomat Drowns in Armenia
Oleksandr Senchenko
Ukraine’s charge d’affaires in Armenia has died in an apparent drowning incident 
at Lake Sevan that was reported by the country’s authorities and confirmed by 
the Ukrainian foreign ministry on Monday. Armenia’s Interior Ministry said the body of a Ukrainian citizen was recovered 
from the mountain lake on August 13. Later local media as well as Ukraine’s foreign ministry confirmed that the 
drowned man was Oleksandr Senchenko, who led Ukraine’s embassy in Yerevan for 
the past year or so. The Armenian rescue service was quoted by local media as saying that on Sunday 
evening lifeguards at a public beach at Lake Sevan spotted a man at a distance 
of 25 meters from the shore who disappeared while swimming. “Lifeguards swam towards the area and lifted a man from the bottom that was 1.5 
meters deep, taking him to the shore on a rubber motor boat. Ambulance service 
workers registered the man’s death,” a report said. In reporting the tragic death of Senchenko, Ukraine’s foreign ministry described 
him as an experienced and highly qualified diplomat who had worked in the 
ministry since 2003. The Armenian police said materials related to the drowning of the Ukrainian 
citizen had been sent to Sevan’s investigation department. No other details related to the circumstances of Senchenko’s death were reported 
immediately. According to Armenia’s embassy in Ukraine, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat 
Mirzoyan extended condolences on behalf of the entire staff of Armenia’s 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and on his personal behalf to his Ukrainian 
counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on the tragic death of Ukraine’s charge d’affaires 
Senchenko. 11 Killed In Minibus-Truck Collision In Armenia
        • Satenik Kaghzvantsian
Armenia - Firefighters are working on the scene of a major motor vehicle 
collision on the Yerevan-Gyumri highway, . At least 11 people were killed and nine others injured in an overnight collision 
of a passenger minibus and a truck in Armenia. The Rescue Service of Armenia’s Interior Ministry said the collision occurred on 
the 90th kilometer of the Yerevan-Gyumri highway just after midnight on August 
14. It said a Volkswagen van carrying passengers collided with a ZIL truck on the 
section near the village of Lanjik. Six people injured in the crash were hospitalized in Gyumri, a local medical 
center said, adding that one patient was later transferred to a hospital in 
Yerevan. Deputy director of the Gyumri Medical Center Armen Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian Service that said that the five patients were in a critical condition 
and their lives were in danger. The Health Ministry later said that on person hospitalized in Yerevan was also 
in a serious condition, while three others taken to a medical center in the 
Armenian capital had sustained only light injuries and were discharged from the 
clinic shortly after they had been examined and received treatment. According to relatives of the victims, they were returning from Turkey where 
they had visited historical Armenian sites. Investigators were reportedly working on the scene early on Monday to establish 
the circumstances of the traffic collision. No other information was reported 
immediately. The Investigation Committee said later criminal proceedings had been instituted 
in connection with the case. Meanwhile, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian expressed condolences to the 
families of all victims. 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.

                                        Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Armenia Denied EU Military Aid
Poland - Polish President Adrzej Duda meets Armenian parliament speaker Alen 
Simonian, Warsaw, July 4, 2023.
The European Union has refused to provide Armenia with military aid from a 
special fund designed to boost EU partners’ defense capacity, parliament speaker 
Alen Simonian said on Tuesday.
Simonian complained about the rebuff as he met with Poland’s President Andrzej 
Duda during a visit to Warsaw.
He told Duda that the Armenian government had requested “technical assistance” 
from the European Peace Facility (EPF) which the EU created in 2021 to help 
developing countries buy military equipment.
“Through that mechanism, the EU allocates aid to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia,” 
he said, according to the Armenian parliament’s press office. “Unfortunately, 
Armenia’s request was rejected on the grounds of the EU’s mediation efforts in 
the improvement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as the issue 
of ‘conflict sensitivity.’”
“I would like to repeat that we are talking about technical assistance aimed at 
increasing [Armenia’s] defense capacity,” added Simonian.
The speaker, who is a key member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political 
team, did not specify what kind of security aid was sought by Yerevan.
Ukraine is the main beneficiary of the EPF, having received 4.6 billion euros 
($5 billion) in military aid from the EU fund since being invaded by Russia in 
February 2022. As recently as on June 26, EU countries agreed to increase the 
maximum size of the fund by 3.5 billion euros to 12 billion euros. The bulk of 
the extra funding is expected to be channeled into the Ukrainian military.
A member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), 
Armenia is not known to have ever received major weapons from the EU or its 
individual member states. Russia has long been its principal supplier of 
military hardware and ammunition.
As well as criticizing the EU’s refusal to provide such aid, Simonian praised 
the 27-nation bloc for deploying earlier this year 100 or so monitors along 
Armenia’s volatile border with Azerbaijan.
Russia has been very critical of the deployment, saying that it is part of the 
West’s efforts to drive Moscow out of the South Caucasus.
Pashinian Praises U.S. Peace Efforts
Armenia - Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian speaks during an Independence Day 
reception at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, June 29, 2023.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian praised U.S. efforts to facilitate an 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal when he congratulated U.S. President Joe Biden 
on America’s Independence Day on Tuesday.
“We highly appreciate the position of the United States in supporting the 
territorial integrity, sovereignty and democracy of the Republic of Armenia, 
which was demonstrated in practice in 2021-2022,” Pashinian said in a 
congratulatory message to Biden publicized by his press office.
“We also highly appreciate the U.S. efforts to establish lasting and sustainable 
peace in the South Caucasus, normalize Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, and address 
the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he wrote.
Pashinian also praised the current state of U.S.-Armenian relations, saying that 
they are based on “mutual trust between our governments.”
In recent months, the United States has stepped up its involvement in 
negotiations on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. The U.S. State Department 
hosted two rounds of marathon talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign 
ministers in early May and last week.
Later in May, Pashinian expressed readiness to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty 
over Karabakh through that treaty. His statement was hailed by a senior U.S. 
official but strongly condemned by Karabakh’s leadership and the Armenian 
opposition.
A few days later, the State Department welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham 
Aliyev’s offer of “amnesty” to Karabakh’s leaders conditional on their 
“surrender” to Baku. The move prompted criticism from not only the authorities 
in Stepanakert but also the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
A senior Karabakh lawmaker said on Monday that Karabakh’s leadership turned down 
last month a U.S. offer to meet with Azerbaijani officials in a foreign country 
for talks on the Armenian-populated region’s “integration” into Azerbaijan. 
Washington had not reported such offers.
Man Arrested For Insulting Pashinian
        • Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Davit Avetisian.
The Armenian police have arrested a young man who allegedly called Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian a “traitor” after approaching him in a public park in 
Yerevan.
Pashinian was confronted by the 21-year-old man, Davit Avetisian, as he strolled 
in the city center together with his family on Sunday. Avetisian was detained on 
the spot and remained under arrest on Tuesday.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee said that it is conducting a criminal inquiry 
into an act of “hooliganism” that took the form of verbal abuse and other 
“inappropriate phrases.” It gave no other details of the incident.
Avetisian’s lawyer, Ara Papikian, said the criminal proceedings are based on a 
police officer’s claim that his client described Pashinian as a “traitor” and 
“scumbag.” He claimed that the police are not telling the whole truth about the 
incident and that Avetisian shouted the insults while being choked by one of the 
officers.
“Davit approached him not to call him a traitor,” Papikian told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian Service. “He said, ‘You will answer for my fallen friend and other 
guys.’ They toppled him to the ground … only then he uttered those words.”
Avetisian appeared to refer to Armenians killed during the 2020 war in 
Nagorno-Karabakh. Opposition leaders and other government critics blame 
Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in the six-week war that left at least 3,800 
Armenian soldiers dead. They have also denounced as treasonous his apparent 
readiness to agree to the restoration of Azerbaijan’s control over Karabakh.
Alen Simonian, the Armenian parliament speaker and a close Pashinian associate, 
was likewise branded a “traitor” by an opposition activist as he visited a 
popular dining area of central Yerevan in April. The Canadian-Armenian activist, 
Garen Megerdichian, said Simonian ordered his bodyguards to overpower him before 
spitting in his face. Simonian did not deny that.
Avetisian was not formally charged with hooliganism as of Tuesday afternoon. 
Under Armenian law, law-enforcement authorities must indict or free him before 
Thursday.
“Insults were decriminalized in our country long ago. I think this is the reason 
why they still can’t charge Davit,” said Avetisian’s lawyer.
The arrested man is a son of Varuzhan Avetisian, who led an armed group that 
seized a police base in Yerevan in 2016 to demand that then President Serzh 
Sarkisian free the jailed leader of their radical opposition movement and step 
down.
The three dozen gunmen, who took police officers and medical personnel hostage, 
laid down their weapons after a two-week standoff with security forces which 
left three police officers dead. All but two of them were released from custody 
shortly after Sarkisian was toppled in the 2018 “velvet revolution” led by 
Pashinian.
Varuzhan Avetisian and six other key members of the group called Sasna Tsrer 
were sent back to jail in May 2022 after Armenia’s Court of Cassation upheld 
prison sentences handed down to them by a lower court. Avetisian received a 
7-year jail term.
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.