Monday,
Russia Reaffirms ‘Commitment To Armenia’s Security’
NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- Russian soldiers of the peacekeeping force man a checkpoint
on a road outside the city of Stepanakert, November 26, 2020
Russia pledged to continue bolstering Armenia’s national security and seeking a
“long-term solution” to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as its diplomats
commemorated the first anniversary of the outbreak of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
war on Monday.
The Russian Embassy in Yerevan said its staff observed a minute of silence in
memory of people killed during the six-year war stopped by a Russian-brokered
ceasefire last November.
“Russia attaches particular importance to ensuring that Armenia’s population
overcomes the stress caused by the war, feels safe, and gains confidence in the
future as soon as possible,” it said in a statement. “As allies, we are always
ready to lend a shoulder and we are doing that.
“Active efforts and practical steps are being taken to preserve regional
stability and security, overcome the consequences of last autumn’s large-scale
hostilities, including assistance in the restoration of civil infrastructure,
the return of refugees and the final resolution of the issue of Armenian
prisoners’ release.”
“Russia will continue mediation efforts both in its national capacity and within
the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group to find a long-term solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” added the statement.
Moscow played a key role in stopping the fighting that left at least 6,700
Armenians and Azerbaijanis dead. Under the terms of an Armenian-Azerbaijani
ceasefire deal brokered by President Vladimir Putin, it deployed 2,000 Russian
peacekeeping troops in Karabakh. Russian troops were also deployed along
Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan.
Shortly after the war Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian pledged to further deepen
Armenia’s defense and security ties with Russia, saying that his country needs
“additional security guarantees” in view of the new geopolitical realities in
the region. The Russian military has since been helping the South Caucasus state
reform and rearm its army.
The Russian ambassador in Yerevan, Sergei Kopyrkin, met with Armenia’s former
President Levon Ter-Petrosian on Monday. A spokesman for Ter-Petrosian said they
discussed “prospects for regional cooperation and security.” He gave no other
details.
Ter-Petrosian has blamed Pashinian’s government for Armenia’s defeat in the war.
He has long championed a compromise solution to the Karabakh dispute.
Turkey To ‘Coordinate’ Armenia Policy With Azerbaijan
AZERBAIJAN -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (left) meets with his
Azeri counterpart Ceyhun Bayramov in Baku, November 1, 2020
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu indicated on Monday that Turkey will
continue to link the normalization of its relations with Armenia to a resolution
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan.
Cavusoglu said that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has sent “positive
messages” to Ankara of late but has yet to respond to offers made by Baku.
“As you know, Azerbaijan has offered to sign a comprehensive peace accord with
Armenia,” he told a joint news conference in Istanbul with his Azerbaijani
counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov. “There has yet to be a positive response from
Armenia.”
“As always, we will coordinate [Armenia-related] steps that we could take with
dear Azerbaijan. We decide together, we take steps together,” Cavusoglu added,
according to the Anatolia news agency.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on September 19 that Pashinian has
offered to meet with him for talks on improving Turkish-Armenian relations.
Erdogan appeared to make such a meeting conditional on Armenia agreeing to open
a transport corridor that would connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave.
Baku also wants Yerevan to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over
Nagorno-Karabakh through the “peace treaty” mentioned by Cavusoglu.
A senior Armenian official said on Friday that Pashinian’s government still
hopes to start a Turkish-Armenian “dialogue without preconditions.” He did not
deny that Pashinian proposed a meeting with Erdogan.
Armenian opposition leaders have denounced what they see as Pashinian’s secret
overtures to Erdogan. They say that Ankara continues to set unacceptable
preconditions for establishing diplomatic relations with Yerevan and opening the
Turkish-Armenian border.
A senior member of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun) insisted last week that negotiating with the Turks in these
circumstances would be tantamount to accepting their preconditions.
Turkey provided decisive military assistance to Azerbaijan during the six-week
war in Karabakh stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire last November.
U.S. Envoys Honor Karabakh War Dead
Armenia - U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy visits the Yerablur Military Pantheon in
Yerevan to pay her respects to Armenian soldiers killed in the 2020 war in
Nagorno-Karabakh, .
The U.S. ambassadors to Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday paid their respects to
Armenians and Azerbaijanis killed in last year’s war over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The diplomats visited military cemeteries in Yerevan and Baku respectively on
the first anniversary of the outbreak of the six-week war that left at least
6,700 people from both sides dead.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and injured
last year and in the many years of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the U.S.
Embassy in Yerevan said in a short statement on Ambassador Lynne Tracy’s visit
to the Yerablur Military Pantheon.
Photographs posted on the embassy’s Facebook page showed Tracy laying flowers at
the graves of Armenian soldiers buried there.
The U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan released an identical statement and a photograph
of Ambassador Lee Litzenberger standing by Azerbaijani servicemen’s graves
adorned with Azerbaijani and Turkish national flags.
Azerbaijan - U.S. Ambassador Lee Litzenberger pays his respects to Azerbaijani
soldiers killed in the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh, Baku, .
Together with Russia and France, the United States has long been spearheading
international efforts to end the Nagorno-Karabakh. The three mediating powers
co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group tried to stop last year’s war with ceasefire
agreements supposedly reached by Armenia and Azerbaijan.
One such deal brokered by Washington collapsed immediately after it was due to
come into effect on October 26, 2020. The hostilities in and around Karabakh
stopped only two weeks later after another deal negotiated by Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
U.S., Russian and French diplomats have since continued their mediation efforts.
They organized in New York on Friday the first meeting of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani foreign ministers since the November truce. While in New York, the
ministers also held separate talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le
Drian and U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland.
Armenia Marks Karabakh War Anniversary
NAGORN-KARABAKH -- A serviceman of Karabakh's Defence Army fires an artillery
piece towards Azeri positions during fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, September
28, 2020
Armenians observed a minute of silence, visited a military cemetery in Yerevan
and attended requiem services in churches on Monday to mark the first
anniversary of the start of a devastating war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The services were held at the Echmiadzin cathedral of the Armenian Apostolic
Church and other major churches across Armenia. Catholicos Garegin II, the
supreme head of the church, presided over one of those liturgies.
The war broke out early on September 27, 2020 when Azerbaijan launched a
large-scale military offensive along the Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact”
around Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani army captured four districts south of the Armenian-populated
disputed territory as well as Karabakh’s southern Hadrut district and the town
of Shushi (Shusha) before a Russian-brokered ceasefire stopped the hostilities
on November 10.
Baku also regained control in the following weeks over the three other districts
occupied by Karabakh Armenian forces in the early 1990s. The truce accord
negotiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin also led to the deployment of
2,000 Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh and the so-called Lachin corridor
connecting the territory to Armenia.
According to the Armenian authorities, more than 3,700 Armenian soldiers and 75
civilians were killed during the six-week war. At least 253 others remain
unaccounted for. This figure includes dozens of Armenian prisoners believed to
be still held by Azerbaijan.
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian visits the Yerablur Military Pantheon
in Yerevan on the first anniversary of the start of a war in Nagorno-Karabakh,
.
Armenia and Karabakh observed at 11 a.m. local time a minute of silence in
memory of their war dead.
Many of the Armenian soldiers killed in action were buried at Yerablur. Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian visited the military pantheon early in the morning.
Relatives of fallen soldiers and other Armenians laid flowers later in the day.
Thousands of other people silently walked to Yerablur late on Sunday in a
candlelight march organized by the main opposition Hayastan alliance. The
procession was led by the bloc’s top leader, former President Robert Kocharian.
Hayastan and virtually all other Armenian opposition groups hold Pashinian
responsible for Armenia’s and Karabakh’s defeat in the war. In the immediate
aftermath of the Karabakh truce, most of them joined forces to stage
demonstrations in Yerevan aimed at forcing the prime minister and his cabinet to
resign.
Pashinian refused to quit and decided instead to hold snap parliamentary
elections in June. His Civil Contract won the elections with about 54 percent of
the vote, according to their official results rejected by the opposition.
Armenia - Supporters of the opposition Hayastan alliance march to the Yerablur
Military Pantheon, Yerevan, .
Later in the morning Pashinian spoke by phone with Ara Harutiunian, the Karabakh
president who visited a military cemetery in Stepanakert where hundreds of other
fallen soldiers were laid to rest. Pashinian’s office said they discussed
ongoing efforts to “overcome consequences of the 44-day Artsakh war.” It said
they reaffirmed their commitment to “Artsakh’s revival and further development.”
The war anniversary was also marked in Azerbaijan whose government has
acknowledged over 2,900 combat and civilian deaths.
In a speech delivered on the occasion, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again
said that Azerbaijan’s victory in the war put an end to the conflict.
“Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity,” he said.
Armenia maintains that the conflict remains unresolved because there is still no
agreement on Karabakh’s status, the main bone of contention. A senior U.S.
diplomat has repeatedly made similar statements in recent weeks.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers met in New York on Friday for
talks hosted by the U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-chairing the OSCE
Minsk Group. In a joint statement issued after the talks, the mediators
reiterated that they are ready to “continue working with the sides to find
comprehensive solutions to all remaining issues related to or resulting from the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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