The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey issued a statement regarding the Armenian side’s handing over of Lachin and neighboring settlements in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Azerbaijan.
In this statement, it was noted that Turkey is happy with this fact and will support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in the future, too.
ArmInfo. The opening of a consulate in Armenia’s Kapan is absolutely in line with Tehran’s policy toward the South Caucasus in general and toward Armenia in particular, Vardan Voskanyan, Head of the Chair of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University, said in an interview with ArmInfo.
“Iran can bee said to be working north of its borders, employing all the instruments at its disposal. The consul, Abedin Varamin, has been appointed, and the process is progressing. I am sure it is not at all diplomacy alone that accounts for the opening of Iran’s consulate in Armenia’s Syunik. Rather, it is Tehran’s clear message in response Turkish-Azerbaijani claims to Armenia’s Syunik province,” he said.
Iran has been intensifying its activity in the South Caucasus since the end of the 44-day Turkish- Azerbaijani aggression against Armenians. And the South Caucasus, Armenia, the Artsakh problems and Turkey’s expanding its presence in Azerbaijan are Iran’s foreign policy priorities, Mr Voskanyan says.
Given the vital importance of land communication via Syunik both for Armenia and Iran, Tehran cannot remain indifferent to the aggressive statements and actions by Ankara and Baku, whereas Armenia’s leadership is obviously doing nothing.
Yan’an – the Chinese city considered the birthplace of revolution and example of poverty alleviation
11:39, 8 August 2022
YAN’AN, AUGUST 8, ARMENPRESS. Yan’an is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. This city has an important role in the Chinese revolution is considered the birthplace of the revolution.
As part of a program organized by the China International Press Communication Centre, international journalists were taken on a tour to Yan’an.
Located near the mid of the legendary Yellow River, the city is best known for its iconic 44-meter pagoda dating back to the Tang dynasty on the Baota Mountain. It is a tourism hotspot given the spectacular view of the city from the heights. Ever since 1937, when Mao Zedong visited the city, the pagoda became a “lighthouse” of joining the revolutionary forces among the youth.
A few kilometers from the city is the village of Liangjiahe, where the current Chinese leader Xi Jinping worked in his early life. Committed to the One Town One Product idea, the village is now best known all across China for a unique, flavorful type of apple, which is being exported all over the world. The village has been numerously recognized as the best village community in the country and is an example of China overcoming poverty and hunger.
The locals of Yan’an cherish the memory of their ancestors and respect the present.
In the past, the city was in a desert, but through diligence and commitment, now the 2,5 million population of the city is living surrounded by rich forests and cultivated gardens.
Varvara Hayrapetyan
in
Turkey wants to move normalisation talks with Armenia to their respective capitals after conducting previous discussions in third countries.
A Turkish diplomatic source told journalists on Wednesday that Turkey’s special representative to Armenia, Serdar Kilic, was ready to visit Yerevan and there meet his counterpart, Ruben Rubinyan.
Ankara and Yerevan launched a dialogue on normalisation last year and have so far held four meetings in cities such as Moscow and Vienna.
Last month, Turkey and Armenia decided to begin direct air-cargo trade and open their land borders to third-country citizens as soon as possible.
The two countries don’t have a formal diplomatic relationship, and Turkey sealed its border to Armenia in the early 90s after the latter’s seizure of nominally Azerbaijan territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. They also disagree over the Armenian genocide, with Turkey rejecting the term for the 1915 Ottoman mass killings and insisting there were deaths on both sides.
Ankara and Yerevan are holding direct talks for the first time after a normalization attempt under Swiss mediation failed in 2009. Azerbaijan’s recapture of most of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 enabled Ankara to start a new initiative, which was welcomed by the Armenian government.
The source underlined that Azerbaijan wasn’t part of the talks, and the conversations were strictly between Armenia and Turkey. Yet, the source said that they cannot completely ignore the tensions and developments between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which can directly impact the parties’ mentality going into talks.
Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have both been accused of breaking a Russian-brokered ceasefire in recent days.
The Turkish diplomatic source said Armenia doesn’t appear to be willing to move the talks to Ankara and Yerevan unless there is a significant breakthrough in discussions. The source added that moving talks to the respective countries would itself be a breakthrough, and they should do so to progress talks in a more positive environment.
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Middle East Eye has asked the Armenian foreign ministry for comment.
Ankara is in favour of developing normalisation with concrete confidence-building steps that will prepare public opinion in both countries for greater steps. Turkey is prioritizing measures that will not lead to excessive expectations on both sides and that are welcomed in both countries and will be taken “step by step”.
The source said there were unexpected challenges in opening the land border for third countries due to insufficient infrastructure at crossings, which may delay the step.
For example, the physical conditions at the Alican and Akyaka border crossings, which have not been used for more than 30 years, need to be improved. Kilic, Turkey’s special representative for the normalisation process with Armenia, went to the border after the last meeting with Rubinyan and made inspections at the crossings.
That is why Turkey and Armenia will first need to hold technical talks among the relevant bureaucrats to resolve the infrastructure issues in September. The special envoys may then hold another round of talks in Ankara or Yerevan, if Armenia agrees.
The source described the atmosphere between Kilic and Rubinyan as a very cordial and friendly, with them frequently calling each other to resolve minor issues. The source said there might have been hundreds of calls between the two.
The source said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan last month was also very positive.
While confidence-building measures were prioritized in the talks, “difficult” issues between the two countries, especially the Armenian genocide, were not brought up.
Ankara believes that it would not be “rational” to discuss the “difficult” issues between the two countries at this stage. However, the Turkish source appreciated that Armenia publicly restated that it doesn’t have any land demands from Turkey.
Local reports last month suggested that Turkey had been clearing mines on the Armenian border, which triggered speculation that Ankara was readying itself to fully open the border. However, the Turkish diplomatic source said the mine clearance wasn’t related to the diplomatic talks, but to the multinational Ottawa Convention, which mandates Turkey to clear its borders of land mines.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-armenia-normalisation-talks-ankara-ready
10:04,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, ARMENPRESS. The FIFA World Cup 2022 opening match and ceremony have been brought forward one day and will take place 20 November, FIFA announced.
“The FIFA World Cup 2022will kick off with an even greater celebration for local and international fans as host country Qatar will now play Ecuador on Sunday, 20 November at 19:00 as part of a stand-alone event.
The opening match and ceremony of this year’s tournament at Al Bayt Stadium have been brought forward one day following a unanimous decision taken by the Bureau of the FIFA Council today. Consequently, the encounter between Senegal and the Netherlands has been rescheduled from 13:00 to 19:00 on Monday, 21 November.
The change ensures the continuity of a long-standing tradition of marking the start of the FIFA World Cup™ with an opening ceremony on the occasion of the first match featuring either the hosts or the defending champions.
The decision followed an assessment of the competition and operational implications, as well as a thorough consultation process and an agreement with key stakeholders and the host country,” the governing body said August 12.
09:47,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a phone conversation with President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
PM Pashinyan and President Raisi discussed issues related to regional developments and security challenges, PM Pashinyan’s office said in a readout of the call.
The Armenian PM presented details about the recent border incidents between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In the context of establishing stability and peace in the region, PM Pashinyan underscored the importance of full implementation of the 9 November 2020, 11 January and 26 November, 2021 trilateral agreements.
Speaking on the tense incidents taking place in South Caucasus in the recent days, the Iranian President cited Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s statement during the recent meeting with the leaders of Russia and Turkey that Iran is sensitive in the matter of its borders in the Caucasian region and will counter any attempt to change them.
The sides exchanged ideas also about bilateral ties and emphasized the importance of deepening relations.
PM Pashinyan expressed satisfaction over the development of Armenian-Iranian relations and said that Armenia is ready to maximally promote transit of goods between the two countries and develop cooperation in infrastructure sector, including in roads, energy and other directions.
President Raisi described the relations between Armenia and Iran as historic and deep and underscored the need to raise the level of stable Armenian-Iranian economic cooperation.
14:32, 8 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine Vladimir Karapetyan spoke about the Armenian prisoners of war who are still being held captive in Azerbaijan during an interview with the Public TV and Radio of Ukraine.
Ambassador Karapetyan said that Azerbaijan confirms that it is holding 38 Armenian servicemen in captivity, whereas Armenia finds that another 26 servicemen must be in the number of the captives.
He emphasized that there was an agreement on the highest level that the exchange of prisoners must take place “all for all”. The Armenian side handed over all prisoners, even convicted criminals who were serving prison sentences for unrelated crimes, including murder.
The Armenian side has documents and video evidence, as well as the testimonies of former PoWs who’ve already returned to Armenia proving that Azerbaijan is holding another 26 servicemen captive in addition to the 38.
Karapetyan added that Azerbaijan released some of the Armenian servicemen in exchange for the minefield maps.
“As a sign of goodwill gesture the Armenian leadership handed over the minefield maps which were in our possession back from the 1990s, from the years of the first Nagorno Karabakh war,” the Ambassador said.
Ambassador Karapetyan said that the transferred minefield maps have significantly decreased the landmine-related fatal incidents.
“Despite the fact that Azerbaijan has publicly and numerously complained about the accuracy of these maps, after we gave it to them the number of explosions decreased significantly, and only one or two fatal incidents happened. Our maps are very accurate, but the time that passed must be taken into account.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday questioned the role of Russian peacekeepers in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh after a new flare-up left three soldiers dead.
Pashinyan’s rare criticism of ally Moscow came after tensions escalated on Wednesday in the disputed mountainous region, which is mainly populated by ethnic Armenians.
The former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars — in the 1990s and in 2020 — over Nagorno-Karabakh.
In the aftermath of the latest war, Armenia ceded swathes of territory it had controlled for decades.
Russia deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers to oversee the fragile truce but tensions persist despite the ceasefire agreement.
“Questions arise in Armenian society over the Russian peacekeeping operation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” Pashinyan told a government meeting.
He pointed to “gross, prolonged violations of a ceasefire regime” and “constant physical and psychological terror” of Karabakh residents in the presence of the peacekeepers.
Pashinyan said the role of the Russian peacekeeping mission must be “clarified”, adding that Armenia expected the contingent to prevent “any attempt to violate the line of contact”.
The two sides accuse each other of violating the fragile truce.
On Wednesday, Baku said it had lost a soldier and the Karabakh army said two of its troops had been killed.
The Azeri defense ministry said Karabakh troops targeted its army positions in the district of Lachin, which is under the supervision of the Russian peacekeeping force.
The Azeri army later said it conducted an operation dubbed “Revenge” in response and took control of several strategic positions.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
Turkey backed Azerbaijan in the 2020 war over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The article first appeared in our partner site, Independent Turkish
The St. Giragos Armenian Church in Diyarbakir has opened its doors after seven years. The historic church has just held its first Sunday service in almost a decade. The Armenian community, within Turkey and abroad, gathered in Diyarbakır in anticipation of the re-opening.
St. Giragos Armenian Church in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir suffered heavy damage during warfare in 2015/16, duting the Turkish–Kurdish conflict.
The church, considered the largest of the Armenian community in region, was built in the sixteenth century according to some sources. It was destroyed in a fire in 1881 and rebuilt in 1883.
German forces used the church as their headquarters in the First World War. The old bell tower of the church was destroyed in 1913 because of a lightning strike. It was replaced by a grand tower, built for 2000 gold coins in 1914. This was demolished by the state in 1916, because it was taller than the minaret near the church.
Until 1960, the church was used for various purposes. It was a military warehouse, and a fabric depot for Sümerbank. It was eventually returned to the Armenian community of Diyarbakir.
“We will ask for a clergyman”
Ohannes Gafur Ohanyan, a board member of the church’s foundation, said people were happy with the reopening.
“The project was completed with funding from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation. We are delighted. We are happy to be participating in [church] activities again,” he said.
“The church is beautiful”
Gayana Gebortiyan travelled to Diyarbakir from Van to attend mass in the church.
“I was the first Armenian to settle in Van after 1915 and have a house there. This is my first time in Diyarbakir. I have never seen any place like it. The church is beautiful. Thank God for Diyarbakir. I am so moved and feel that heaven is in this church. This is the first time I have seen such a beautiful church.”
“I spent my childhood here”
Bülent Mumcu left Diyarbakir in 1963 and moved to Istanbul. He visited to attend the mass and meet relatives and acquaintances he had not seen for years.
“I spent my childhood here. Our houses were near the church. There are both painful and beautiful memories. But still, this place is quite beautiful. We no longer have any reason to return to Diyarbakir. We don’t consider moving back.”
“No trace of the old urban life of Sur”
Pakrat Eskutyan, who came from Istanbul, said that he made the journey to see the church after its restoration.
He said: “Of course, I am happy about the reopening of the church. But what upsets me is the destruction of the area. The district of Sur is on the world cultural heritage list. There is no trace of the old fabric now, and I feel its absence. When I came here in 2012, there was a completely different Sur.
“However, we see new buildings are being built now. It used to be a traditional, old neighbourhood. The area known as Gavur Mahallesi (non-Muslim quarter) or Xançepek used to be protected. There is no trace of that design now. We also feel sorrow for this.”
Travelling from Germany for the ceremony
An Armenian citizen, Amarson Miros, said he came from Germany for the opening.
Mentioning the challenges faced by the Armenian community in the past years, Miros said, “We live as Armenians in Germany. My children are studying in German. Unfortunately, I do not speak Armenian. It makes me happy to be in Diyarbakir and to witness this beautiful moment.”
“There are no Gavurs in the Gavur quarter”
Gabris Kabrillion, who was born in Silvan district of Diyarbakir but was forced to settle in Istanbul, said that it was pleasing that the church was reopened for worship.
“We have suffered a lot here in the past. The area that we are currently in is known as the Gavur Mahallesi (non-Muslim quarter), but there are no Gavurs left here. The restoration of the church is good, but it seems far from its original form,” Mr. Kabrillion said.
Translated by Kerim Çelik. Proofread by Meriç Şenyüz.
Reviewed by Esra Turk, Tooba Ali and Celine Assaf
Republic Square, Yerevan, April 2010 (Photo: Tony Bowden/Flickr)
The phase of “no preconditions” in normalization talks with Turkey has officially ended. The emphasis is on the word officially, since we should know that the day Turkish officials could no longer behave and play by the rules was long overdue. In a recent statement to Turkish television, Erdogan stated that “Azerbaijan has been our red line from the beginning. We will open our doors after the problems with Azerbaijan are resolved.” Does this sound like embracing the esteemed commitment of no preconditions?
First let me state that I stand for and with Armenia. We must defend what is in the interests of the homeland and its future. Our intent is not to criticize our brethren or contribute to disunity, but to advocate actions that will support Armenia with dignity and usher in the fresh air of a future. It is obvious that Erdogan, by his own actions, has no respect for Armenia and is committed to its destruction. Some things don’t change regardless of the leaders and circumstances. When this process was announced in December 2021, Erdogan’s intent was to give up nothing and win credits with the west. The United States and Europe would be overjoyed to preside over the beginning of reconciliation between the two longtime adversaries through the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of the border. We should remind ourselves that the border closure was a unilateral action in 1993 by Turkey based on the Artsakh (Karabakh) crisis. Both Turkey and Armenia entered these sensitive discussions with a public commitment not to bring preconditions (agendas not mutually held) into the dialogue. This has never been an issue for Armenia despite the fact that Armenia has suffered from almost continuous oppression by the Turks from the Hamidian area through the 2020 war. Armenia is not in an advantageous position and has engaged in cautious good faith. The dialogue has been publicly cordial with both parties careful to express an optimistic tone despite the modest results thus far. The discussions have focused on a partial border opening and cargo flight resumption. The recent tone from Turkey has been demanding and degrading into an arrogance of mistrust. Armenia has expressed its expectation that the diplomatic normalization talks be separate from the ongoing talks with Azerbaijan on settlement of the Artsakh conflict. Armenia’s position remains consistent with the tenet of no preconditions.
Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu has stated that the normalization talks with Armenia will take place in a “tripartite format” with Azerbaijan. He further stated that their activity is coordinated with Azerbaijan whether Armenia agrees or not. I may be from a small town, but this looks a lot like a precondition to me…a major one at that. Armenia has tried its best to take the high road by stating that it was already understood that this was Turkey’s position and that it was unacceptable to Armenia. It is important to understand that the reference to Azerbaijan in the normalization talks is no small matter. Turkey is determined to directly connect the so-called “peace treaty” with Azerbaijan (surrender in Aliyev language) and the infamous fantasy of the “Zangezur corridor” which would divide sovereign Syunik territory. Apparently, the foxes in Ankara could not keep their deceptive masks on long enough to reach agreement. The Turkish disdain and hatred of the Armenians is so visible that Cavusoglu blamed the lack of “concrete steps” on the diaspora and some domestic factions. In parallel with their attempts to turn this dialogue into one-sided demands, the Turkish government will continue all attempts to divide the Armenian nation with statements such as the aforementioned. This is a classic move by the duplicitous Turks; Armenians must be wise to remain outwardly united during this critical period. Erdogan has economic and popularity problems at home with elections in the next year. In Turkey, foreign policy bluster is always a way to improve popularity. He is a master at playing the west against Russia and is trying to position Turkey for geopolitical windfalls from Europe and the United States in return for his bartering on the Ukraine grain deal. Turkey is always looking for new opportunities to gain influence to support its criminal self interests. Turkey continues its aggressive policy in northern Iraq and particularly in Syria. They have found opposition from the United States as it relates to the Kurds and are playing a dangerous game with Russia and the Syrian government. The examples are endless with Libya, Greece, Cyprus and the Aegean. Meanwhile, Iran has made it clear that it will not tolerate any changes in its border region with Armenia. Iran has its own issues with Israeli monitoring in Azerbaijan and the political ramifications of its militant groups in the Middle East. These dynamics all have an impact on the Armenian/Turkish/Azerbaijani equation. The “normalization” talks for Turkey are nothing more than an opportunity to advance their agenda and build goodwill with the west.
What can and should Armenia do? We should not be critical of Armenia for engaging in this dialogue with Turkey. The pressure to participate has been enormous from all the world powers. It is easy for the stakeholders to encourage two longtime adversaries to talk. Who can be against that? Improving this regional problem is what big powers like to think they do well. The problem, of course, is that they never address the root cause. Band-aids make for excellent short term photo ops. They will tolerate almost any distraction to keep the process moving with empty rhetoric. Some of these countries actually think that having meetings and issuing obligatory press statements are accomplishments. We should have learned from 30 years of the OSCE Minsk process that the capacity for no progress and “keeping the light on for tomorrow” is almost endless. While thousands of hours of diplomacy were expended and commitment to peaceful solutions were reconfirmed, Turkey and Azerbaijan attacked the Armenians and the west was essentially boxed out. Turkey, in its classic cunning manner, initially waved a plastic olive branch in an attempt to trap the Armenians in a corner. When the Turkish officials state that they are waiting for “sincere” moves from Armenia, it clearly is not a good faith negotiation on Turkey’s part, but rather a reflection of a long-standing superiority complex that is focused on eliminating Armenia. We must appreciate that Armenia is in a difficult position. To their credit, Armenia has responded that any “corridor” is unacceptable and the Azerbaijani peace discussions must be decoupled from normalization talks with Turkey. The Turkish strategy of “one nation two states” is a racist fantasy that has no part in any legitimate dialogue. Armenia is in no position to completely break off discussions due to the concern that it will put Armenia in an untenable position. Emotionally, Armenia would be fully justified based on the public positions of Turkey that would simply be analogous to surrender. Their arrogance has created a volatile environment. On the other hand, Armenia should find a way to maintain its positions and effectively create a response that counters the Turkish aggression.
There is a middle ground that may provide Armenia with an option. It takes two parties for any semblance of bilateral talks. When Turkey goes overboard with destructive and irrelevant demands, Armenia should exercise a “pause” in the talks. Azerbaijan has used this approach to minimize the impact of its criminal behavior and optimize its messaging. When we pause a television program, it does not shut off the programming but merely delays continuance for a specific intent. In the case of television viewing, pausing enables the viewer to maintain the opportunity to continue after a reprieve. Referring to this diplomatic engagement, Armenia has the right to buy time if Turkish proposals are offensive or completely off topic. Utilizing this approach will allow Armenian leadership time to engage third parties to bring balance to the dialogue. The timing of meetings and the specific areas of focus are critical to the perceived momentum of the process. It is Turkey that has created the concerns by not conforming to the rules of engagement. Armenia has entered this dialogue in good faith and has every right to consider counter measures. Turkey can consult whomever they desire, but Azerbaijan has no direct role in this process. Realistically, both sides have preconditions. It is interesting to note that Armenia has maintained its discipline, while Turkey has continued to behave like a reckless bully with both their rhetoric and actions. Armenia has conditions that are all about peace, justice and redemption, while Turkey describes criminal self-interests that are acts of aggression and will continue to destabilize the region. If the west can get over its fear of alienating the Turks, they would see that most of their objectives would be met without the disruptive behavior of Turkey.
This is a time for Armenians to tone down the rhetoric within the nation. The Turks are waiting to exploit every sign of disunity by blaming the “lack of progress” on the diaspora or other factions. Our collective focus should be on the deceptive Turkish positions and exposing their criminal intent. Our voices become more faint when they are divided. Our role in the diaspora is to advocate and support the prosperity of Armenia. It becomes complicated when opinions lead to tension. We should consider the implications of our disunity on the behavior of Turkey and Azerbaijan. It is a challenging balancing act. We can help, but we need to remain disciplined. Advocating actions in a civil and responsible way can add value. The enemy with the western suits still carry a fez in their closets with the same mentality as their forefathers. This must be our central theme — the century old problem of surviving Turkish neighbors bent on the destruction of Armenia. Stand tall, beloved Armenian nation.