Tuesday,
Karabakh Says Humanitarian Supply ‘Somewhat Restored’ Due To Russian Efforts
Nagorno-Karabakh’s de facto premier Gurgen Nersisian holds consultations on
humanitarian issues in Stepanakert,
A checkpoint set up by Azerbaijan at the entrance to the only road leading from
Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh resulted in a complete halt of all humanitarian
supplies to the region before they were “somewhat restored” due to efforts of
Russian peacekeepers, authorities in Stepanakert said on Tuesday.
Addressing a meeting of senior members of the de facto ethnic Armenian
government of the region, Nagorno-Karabakh’s premier Gurgen Nersisian said that
the additional restrictions imposed by Azerbaijan had led to the impossibility
of importing even the minimum amount of essential goods, including fuel, into
the region since Sunday.
“As a result, we have been unable to deliver even the amount of goods provided
for by ration coupons [given to the population] for a designated period. We will
extend the validity of coupons so that our people can use them after their
expiry,” Nersisian said, without elaborating.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Information Center, a single information platform for the
region’s government bodies, later said that due to efforts of the local
administration and the Russian peacekeeping force it became possible to
“somewhat restore” the supply of humanitarian cargoes disrupted in recent days.
According to the report, the main part of the cargo imported through the
peacekeepers consisted of essential food included in the coupon system, which
will be delivered to local stores beginning on Wednesday.
The supply of goods to Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia has already been reduced
dramatically since December when a group of Azerbaijanis calling themselves
environmental activists blocked the only road connecting the region with Armenia
and passing through the Lachin corridor.
Azerbaijan tightened the effective blockade on April 23 by setting up a
roadblock on the Lachin corridor at the border with Armenia.
A bridge over the Hakari river where Azerbaijan set up a checkpoint at the
entrance to the Lachin corridor stretching from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.
April 23, 2023.
Commanders of Russian peacekeepers, who are deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh and the
Lachin corridor under the terms of the Moscow-brokered 2020 ceasefire agreement,
reportedly continued to conduct negotiations with Azerbaijani representatives
regarding the checkpoint that Russia describes as unacceptable.
In the past several months Azerbaijan denied blockading the mostly
Armenian-populated region, citing the fact that vehicles of Russian peacekeepers
as well as representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) were not prevented from carrying humanitarian supplies to the region and
transporting people needing medical care to Armenia.
But Nersisian said earlier today that for three days no transportation was
carried out by ICRC vehicles. He added that “additional clarifications” had to
be made regarding how urgent transportation of Karabakh residents should be done
through the agency of the ICRC and Russian peacekeepers.
When setting up the checkpoint on Sunday Baku pledged that “necessary
conditions” would be created for “a transparent and orderly passage of Armenian
residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan” in both directions.
In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Tuesday, Gegham Stepanian, a
human rights defender in Nagorno-Karabakh, voiced doubts that any ethnic
Armenian resident of the region would agree to be inspected by Azerbaijan
services in the Lachin corridor.
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh stress that the presence of an Azerbaijani
checkpoint in the five-kilometer-wide corridor contradicts the provisions of the
Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement that put an end to a deadly war in 2020 and
brought Russian peacekeepers to the region.
The United States and France, which along with Russia have spearheaded
decades-long efforts to broker a solution to the protracted conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh, have voiced their concerns about the developments in the
Lachin corridor, saying that an Azerbaijani checkpoint there undermines efforts
to establish confidence and damages the peace process between Baku and Yerevan.
Jailed Ex-Defense Chief Seeks War Probe Testimony In Public Session
• Gayane Saribekian
David Tonoyan
Armenia’s jailed former Defense Minister David Tonoyan has refused to appear
behind closed doors in front of a parliament commission conducting a probe into
a 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh in which the Armenian side suffered a defeat to
Azerbaijan.
Instead, Tonoyan, who has been in custody pending investigation and trial for 19
months now, challenged Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to participate jointly
with him in an open session of the commission where, he said, he would answer
all questions.
Tonoyan, who served as Armenia’s defense minister in the Pashinian government in
2018-2020, including during the 44-day Armenian-Azerbaijani war in
September-November 2020, was arrested in September 2021, almost a year after
being sacked from his post, on charges of supplying the armed forces with faulty
ammunition.
Along with several other former senior officials he went on trial in January
2022, denying the accusations.
Before the trial, however, Tonoyan warned that he must not be made a scapegoat
for Armenia’s defeat in the six-week war and pledged to shed more light on it
with “surprise revelations.”
Pro-government lawmaker Andranik Kocharian, who heads the parliament commission
conducting the war probe, said on Tuesday that he was ready to discuss the
former defense minister’s proposal.
Andranik Kocharian
“Have no doubt that the proposal will be considered, and, if possible, we will
provide solutions,” he said.
The meetings of the commission that has worked for over a year now, are held
behind closed doors and clarifications provided by officials invited to these
meetings are not made available to the media.
Tonoyan said he ruled out his participation in a commission meeting that would
be held behind closed doors as he said he doubted the commission’s impartiality.
“The absence of independent experts and representatives of the parliament’s
opposition factions at the sessions of the commission not only raises questions
about the impartiality of its work, but also is a fertile ground for the
continuation of political speculations, slanders and dilettantish gossip,” the
former defense chief explained.
Kocharian, for his part, ruled out any bias on the part of the commission
members. “If he [Tonoyan] wants to come to the commission, there is no issue of
bias here. The problem of bias will be solved if the participants ask questions
and, if necessary, these questions will be available to everyone,” he said.
The ad hoc parliamentary commission has been examining the circumstances of the
44-day war since early 2022. The opposition boycotted the work of the commission
from the outset. Prime Minister Pashinian stated in parliament last week that he
was ready to answer questions of the commission.
As part of the parliamentary inquiry the commission has already invited and
questioned former and current chiefs of the Armed Forces’ General Staff and
former Minister of Foreign Affairs Zohrab Mnatsakanian.
Armenian Authorities Dismiss Opposition Criticism Over Karabakh Road Checkpoint
• Karlen Aslanian
Azerbaijan is setting up a checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin Corridor,
April 23, 2023.
Authorities in Yerevan do not accept criticism from the parliamentary opposition
over the installation by Azerbaijan of a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor at
the border with Armenia effectively obstructing the movement of people and
traffic from and to ethnic Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh.
Members of the Armenian opposition claim that Yerevan itself gave the green
light to Baku to put the roadblock when Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian stated in
the National Assembly last week that Armenia fully recognizes the territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan and expects Azerbaijan to do the same by recognizing the
territorial integrity of the modern-day Republic of Armenia within its
Soviet-era borders.
Pro-government head of the Armenian National Assembly’s Foreign Relations
Committee Sargis Khandanian defended Pashinian’s remarks, insisting that, on the
contrary, they were “constructive.”
Sargis Khandanian
“It is becoming clear that Armenia is the constructive party, and this is likely
becoming visible to our international partners as well. This is also evidenced
by, for example, very quick and targeted assessments by the U.S. State
Department or the French Foreign Ministry after the situation emerged. And
Armenia cannot abandon the peace process it has committed itself to, it cannot
deviate from its goal of establishing stability in the region,” Khandanian said.
In separate statements issued on April 23, the United States and France, which
along with Russia have spearheaded decades-long efforts to broker a solution to
the protracted conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, have voiced their concerns about
the developments in the Lachin Corridor, saying that an Azerbaijani checkpoint
there undermines efforts to establish confidence in the peace process and
damages the negotiation process.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell
also assessed Azerbaijan’s installation of a checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor
as an act “contrary to the EU’s call to reduce tensions.”
Meanwhile, Baku also cited statements from Yerevan on recognizing Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity in substantiating its decision to set up the checkpoint.
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in particular, referred to the
agreements reached by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at their meetings in
Prague and Sochi in October last year, describing the establishment of the
checkpoint as a legal step.
The pro-government lawmaker in Yerevan said to this: “Armenia has always stated
that the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh should be
addressed and that it should be done under conditions of international
visibility. Therefore, such wording by Baku is manipulative. The latest
statement in the National Assembly by Prime Minister Pashinian was also followed
by a narrative about ensuring the rights and security of the Armenians of
Nagorno-Karabakh.”
The April 23 installation by Azerbaijan of the roadblock on the Lachin corridor,
the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, completed the effective
blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh that was established by a group of Azerbaijanis
calling themselves environmental activists back in December.
Authorities in Yerevan and Stepanakert denounced the move, saying that it was in
violation of the Moscow-brokered 2020 ceasefire agreement that designated the
Lachin corridor along with the ethnic Armenian-controlled part of
Nagorno-Karabakh as a sphere of Russian peacekeepers’ deployment.
Among other things, the new roadblock also cut four Karabakh villages from the
rest of the region.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said on Monday that commanders of its peacekeeping
force were in negotiations with the Azerbaijani side over the issue of the
checkpoint that official Moscow sees as a “unilateral step” by Baku and calls it
“unacceptable.”
Official Yerevan says that it continues to see a way out of the created
situation only through diplomatic and political means, expecting additional
efforts from Russia.
The pro-government Armenian lawmaker also said on Tuesday that any scenario of
using force “has no prospect.” “Because Armenia does not imagine solving the
issues in that way,” Khandanian said.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for
years. 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 six-week 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 cease-fire
under which Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to the region to serve as
peacekeepers.
Resolution Calling For Recognition Of Nagorno-Karabakh Introduced In U.S.
Congress
• Arman Hovhannisyan
The United States Capitol
Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff has introduced a resolution in the United
States Congress calling for the recognition of independence and
self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), the resolution
also calls for the condemnation of “unprovoked attacks by the Azerbaijani forces
on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.”
It emphasizes that the recognition of Artsakh, which is the Armenian name for
Nagorno-Karabakh, is “consistent with the right to self-determination enshrined
in various United Nations instruments and the people of Artsakh’s 1991 vote and
decision to declare their independence from Azerbaijan.”
The document condemns the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which is the
only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, and calls on Baku “to
immediately cease its blockade and aggressions against Armenia and Artsakh
without conditions.”
The resolution calls for all U.S. foreign and military assistance to Azerbaijan
to be immediately ceased pursuant to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act “to
make clear to the Government of Azerbaijan that further attacks on Armenia and
Artsakh will result in sanctions and other measures.”
The resolution underscores firm support for the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Armenia, which is described as a democratic partner of the United
States, “against Azerbaijan’s military aggression and blatant violations of
international laws and norms.”
The document also supports United States and international humanitarian
assistance programs “to meet the urgent needs of victims of Azerbaijani
aggression in both Armenia and Artsakh.”
Adam Schiff
In introducing the resolution backed by two other democratic congressmen,
Congressional Armenian Caucus founding co-Chair Frank Pallone and Josh
Gottheimer, Schiff stressed the importance of this move on April 24, the
international day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.
“The United States must recognize the right of self-determination of the people
of Artsakh, the need for remedial secession, and stop sending support to
Azerbaijan. Anything less will only further embolden [Azerbaijani President
Ilham] Aliyev in his attempt to annihilate the Armenian people,” he said, as
quoted by the ANCA.
The initiative of the U.S. democratic congressman came a day after Azerbaijan
announced the installation of a checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin
Corridor from Armenia, completing the effective blockade of the breakaway region
that was established by a group of Azerbaijanis calling themselves environmental
activists back in December.
Authorities in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh denounced the move, saying that it
was in violation of the Moscow-brokered 2020 ceasefire agreement that designated
the Lachin Corridor along with the ethnic Armenian-controlled part of
Nagorno-Karabakh as a sphere of Russian peacekeepers’ deployment.
Official Moscow on Monday described “unilateral steps” in the Lachin Corridor
made in violation of the basic provisions of the tripartite statement of the
leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia of November 9, 2020, as
“unacceptable”, expressing a hope that “Baku and Yerevan will show political
will and will be able to overcome this negative trend in the near future.” The
Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Moscow is ready to provide all
the necessary assistance to Azerbaijan and Armenia “both at the political level
and on the ground.”
In separate statements issued on April 23, the United States and France, the two
other nations that along with Russia have spearheaded decades-long efforts to
broker a solution to the protracted conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, have voiced
their concerns about the developments in the Lachin Corridor, saying that an
Azerbaijani checkpoint there undermines efforts to establish confidence in the
peace process and damages the negotiation process.
The 2020 ceasefire agreement brokered by Russia put an end to a six-week
Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Nagorno-Karabakh in which nearly 7,000 soldiers
were killed on both sides.
The 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 was followed by international efforts to facilitate a
peace deal between Yerevan and Baku.
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.