Author: Edgar Tavakalian

Blinken reports progress on peace treaty between Baku, Yerevan – State Department

Edgar Tavakalian
 TASS 
Russia – feb 19 2023
The US Secretary of State pointed out the need for free movement along the Lachin corridor

WASHINGTON, February 19. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday at talks in Munich with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted progress toward a peace agreement between the two countries and also pointed to the need for free movement through the Lachin corridor, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a written statement following the meeting.

“He (Blinken – TASS) took note of the significant progress the two sides have made over the last several months towards a peace agreement and the offer of EU President Charles Michel to host the parties in Brussels. During their discussion, the Secretary underscored the need for free and open commercial and private transit through the Lachin corridor. He also called on the parties to open other transportation routes,” the statement said.

Aliyev, Blinken and Pashinyan discussed the draft peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, according to the press service of the Armenian Cabinet of Ministers. The press service pointed out that Pashinyan reiterated the determination of the Armenian side to achieve an agreement that would guarantee long-term peace and stability in the region. For his part, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan proposed to establish checkpoints on the border with Armenia. He added that Baku was studying Yerevan’s response proposals on the peace treaty. Aliyev also stressed that Azerbaijan was in favor of delimitation of borders with Armenia based on historical maps.

On December 12, 2022, a group of Azerbaijanis who posed as environmentalists blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, where a Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed. Baku stated that the goal of the protest was not to block any road and that civilian vehicles could move freely in both directions.

Yerevan construed this step as a provocation by Baku, which was aimed at creating a humanitarian disaster in the unrecognized republic. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting that the blockade caused food shortages in Nagorno-Karabakh. On December 14, 2022, Armenia appealed to the European Court of Human Rights to oblige Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin corridor.

Asbarez: Blinken Mediates Meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev in Munich

Edgar Tavakalian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Main, Latest, News, Top Stories

Secretary of State Antony Blinken mediates a meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Munich on Feb. 18


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, along with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on Saturday on the margins of the Munich Security Conference.

During the meeting the process of finalizing a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan was discussed, according to a press statement from Pashinyan’s office. The unblocking of transport routes in the region, as well as the delimitation and demarcation of borders were also discussed, based on agreements in reached in Prague last year.

When Pashinyan and Aliyev met in the Czech capital in October they pledged to continue the border opening process and announced that they will respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. That meeting was held weeks after Azerbaijan invaded Armenia on September 13.

Pashinyan reportedly discussed Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the humanitarian, environmental and energy crisis that has resulted from the closure of the road on December 12.

The sides have emphasized the importance to continue the so-called peace process.

“I want to thank President Aliyev, Prime Minister Pashinyan for being here today.  We believe that Armenia and Azerbaijan have a genuinely historic opportunity to secure an enduring peace after more than 30 years of conflict.  The parties themselves have renewed their focus on a peace process, including through direct conversation as well as with the EU and ourselves.  The United States is committed to doing anything we can to support these efforts, whether it’s directly with our friends, whether it’s in a trilateral format such as this, or with other international partners,” Blinken said in a statement prior to the meeting.
 
Meanwhile, Aliyev and his chief adviser Hikmet Hajiyev were met with Azerbaijani protesters outside of the Bayerischer Hof hotel, where the Munich Conference is taking place.

Azerbaijani refugees living in Germany staged the protest demanding that Aliyev be punished for his oppressive policies against his own people.

Calling Aliyev a “dictator,” the protesters called on the Azerbaijani president to not sacrifice democracy for the sake of oil and gas profits, calling for the release of political prisoners in the county.

EU mission in Armenia to include police officers from Germany

Edgar Tavakalian

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 10:44,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The EU civilian monitoring mission which will be deployed soon to Armenia to monitor the border with Azerbaijan will include 15 German police officers, the German NTV reported citing German Government Spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.

The mission will begin its activities Monday, February 20.

Hebestreit said that the federal government of Germany made a decision to involve maximum fifteen police officers in the mission. The federal government is also proposing to include civilian experts in the team.

In total, the EU mission will be composed of nearly 100 men and women. The mission will be lead by a German federal police officer.

The EU established the civilian mission in Armenia in response to an official request by the Armenian authorities to deploy a full-fledged EU civilian mission on the ground. This deployment follows the successful experience of the EU Monitoring Capacity (EUMCAP) deployed previously on the Armenian side of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border between 20 October 2022 and 19 December 2022. The EU Mission in Armenia is expected to support the EU’s efforts to promote peace, including President of the European Council Michel’s facilitated leaders’ meetings.

EUMA will be deployed in several locations across Armenia’s territory, in border regions with Azerbaijan. Its area of operation will cover the entire length of the border with Azerbaijan, including the Nakhchivan section. EUMA’s headquarters will be established in Yeghegnadzor. It will have several field offices and also a separate liaison office in Yerevan.

Suspect in notorious stabbing spree surrenders to police after week-long manhunt

Edgar Tavakalian

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 11:52, 3 September 2022

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The suspect who stabbed to death his wife and a former colleague and wounded three others while on the run surrendered to police.

The 46-year-old suspect, identified as Zorik Melkonyan from the village of Arzakan, has been placed under arrest. Melkonyan used a knife in all attacks. He confessed in his testimony to police in carrying out the attacks. 

On August 27, a woman called 911 and said that Melkonyan breached into her home and attacked her and her husband with a knife. Police responded and upon entering Melkonyan’s home to apprehend him they found the latter’s wife dead with her throat cut open. A nationwide manhunt was launched.

While on the run, the suspect visited the village of Balahovit where he stabbed to death an employee of a local plant and wounded another person. The suspect is a former employee of the plant. Then, on August 31, the suspect robbed a gas station in the city of Abovyan, threatening to kill the employee.

Traffic between Republic of Artsakh and Armenia now carried out through alternative route bypassing Berdzor

Edgar Tavakalian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – Aug 31 2022
August 31, 2022, 14:20

 Less than a minute

Traffic between the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia is now carried out through an alternative route, bypassing the city of Berdzor.

The new Stepanakert-Goris route, which starts from the intersection of Berdadzor sub-district of Shushi region, is in operation from 20:00, August 30.

Russian peacekeepers have been deployed along the road. The traffic police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and rescuers of the State Emergency Service of the Republic of Artsakh also perform an enhanced service here, monitoring the safe entry and exit of citizens.

Former Prime Minister of Armenia believes that Armenia should withdraw from CSTO

Edgar Tavakalian
ARMINFO
Armenia – Aug 31 2022
Alexandr Avanesov

ArmInfo.Former Prime Minister of Armenia, leader of the “Republic” party Aram Sargsyan  suggests the authorities of the country to consider the issue of  withdrawing from the CSTO. He wrote about this on his Facebook page. 

According to him, the United States is appointing the former Deputy  Secretary of State as the new American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk  Group. The United States and France, which are co-chairs of the OSCE  Minsk Group, have a telephone conversation before the meeting between  Pashinyan and Aliyev in Brussels and confirm their readiness for a  peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. The US and  French ambassadors reject the invitation of the Azerbaijani Foreign  Ministry to visit Shushi. The United States defends the approach to  resolving the issue of the status of Artsakh and emphasizes the right  to express the point of view of the Artsakh people.

Russia and Azerbaijan consider the status issue settled, and they  make this clear in press conferences following the tripartite  meetings in Moscow and in an interview with Russian President  Vladimir Putin about the future of Nagorno-Karabakh within  Azerbaijan. The Russian Ambassador to Baku gladly accepts the  invitation and visits Shushi. , the politician noted.

He considers the decision to go beyond the framework of the  Russian-Turkish agreements with possible options. ,Aram Sargsyan  believes. 

Azerbaijan continues ignoring decisions of European Court of Human Rights – Armenia MFA

Edgar Tavakalian

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 13:27,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. August 30 is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, which was declared by the UN General Assembly in 2010 as a reminder of terrible violations of human rights as a result of forced disappearances, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Forced or enforced disappearance of people is a violation of fundamental human rights in its nature, it violates a whole series of human rights confirmed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, as well as international covenants on  human rights and other fundamental international documents of human rights.

This complex crime violates the person’s all rights, including the right to life, the right not to be subject to torture and other ill, inhuman treatment or punishment, the right to freedom and security, the right to fair trial, the right to know the truth about the effective means of legal protection and the circumstances of disappearance. In some circumstances the international law considers the enforced disappearance a crime against humanity”, the MFA said, adding that the international humanitarian law aims at keeping people away from arbitrary arrests.

“After the ceasefire signed on November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan still continues holding Armenian prisoners of war, including civilians, in captivity, and the fates of hundreds of missing in action and those who were forcefully disappeared as a result of the first and the 44-Day Karabakh wars are still unknown.

The absence of cooperation by the authorities of Azerbaijan makes it impossible to clearly estimate the number of missing persons and get reliable information about the fates and location of missing persons.

Azerbaijan continues ignoring the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, regarding the use of interim measures on providing information about the Armenian captives in Azerbaijan, as well as the urgent measures of the International Court of Justice applied on December 7, 2021, which oblige Azerbaijan to stop its racist and discriminative policy against Armenians.

The issue of disappearances is a humanitarian priority which must be depoliticized and solved with a firm political will and cooperation”, the MFA said, calling on the international community to assume responsibility to ensure an unconditional entry to the entire territory of Nagorno Karabakh which, it said, could mitigate the existing humanitarian crisis.

“On the International Day of Enforced Disappearances, we are expressing solidarity to the families of the victims and all those who suffer from these inhuman acts. We are fighting for the rights of the disappeared, we continue fighting for justice and against the impunity of this crime. We reaffirm our urgent call to put an end to the impunity of enforced disappearances”, the MFA added.

Moscow to continue to help Yerevan in strengthening its defense capabilities and border security – Russian MFA

Edgar Tavakalian

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 12:32,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS. Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between Armenia and Russia.

In its statement the Russian MFA said that the Treaty has greatly defined the principles and priorities of the Armenia-Russia inter-state relations. It added that this document has become an important milestone on the path of raising the bilateral partnership to a real allied level.

“The past period has convincingly demonstrated that the further strengthening of historical ties between Moscow and Yerevan is in full accordance with the vital interests of our nations, serves to the socio-economic development of the two countries and the goals to strengthen stability in the South Caucasus. We successfully move forward with the broad cooperation framework, fill it with a concrete content and raise the efficiency of the mutual partnership.

The regular contacts between the leaderships of Russia and Armenia based on trust are of decisive importance for the formation of the bilateral potential, and these contacts enable not only to solve the urgent issues, but also to coordinate the positions on key regional and international matters”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

It reminded that the joint statement signed by President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan during Pashinyan’s April 19-20, 2022 official visit in Moscow, has affirmed the intention to comprehensively deepen and expand the inter-state relations based on the principles set in the 1997 Treaty.

“We are inclined to help Yerevan in the future as well from the positions of a key ally in strengthening its defense capabilities and border security, normalizing relations with its neighbors.

We are convinced that the strict observance of the 2020 November 9, 2021 January 11 and November 26 trilateral agreements is the path to stability in the region. The Russian peacekeeping contingent remains a key factor in ensuring security in Nagorno Karabakh.

We sincerely value the friendship with brotherly Armenia and are inclined to further strengthen the Russian-Armenian allied relations for the prosperity of our countries and peoples”, the Russian MFA stated.

Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine. A forecast of infection in the event of an accident at the ZNPP was made

Edgar Tavakalian

Aug 28 2022

Energoatom has made a forecast of the consequences of a potential accident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, it was published by the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation.

The forecast was made for 26 to 28 August and 29 to 31 August according to the conditional scenario “complete loss of power supply with the destruction of the containment” at power unit No. 6 of ZNPP.

In the event of an accident from August 26 to 28, the southwest, south, southeast, east, and north of Ukraine, as well as southwest Russia, will suffer from radiation contamination.

forecast of the spread of CONDITIONAL emission for the time period 08/26/2022 16:00 – 08/28/2022 16:00

If an accident at the ZNPP occurs from 29 to 31 August, it will affect the territories of Turkey, southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and southern Ukraine.

forecast of the spread of CONDITIONAL emission for the time period 08/29/2022 12:00 – 08/31/2022 12:00

To make a forecast, the experts used the European RHODOS system, the atmospheric dispersion model – DIPC Not Set, and the parameters of the emission source corresponding to the total emission on the INES scale – 7.

Predictive assessments for NPP sites, including Zaporizhzhya NPP, are performed daily, they are necessary for timely provision of recommendations to the authorities on radiation protection measures for the population of Ukraine, as well as informing neighboring countries in case of risk of transboundary transfer.

This work is being carried out by SE “NAEK Energoatom” in accordance with Article 32 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Use of Nuclear Energy and Radiation Safety”.