Author: Emil Karabekian

Security Council Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary discuss prospects of cooperation

Emil Karabekian

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 14:58, 7 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan on April 7 held a meeting with the delegation led by U.S. Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary for Global Markets Arun Venkataraman.

The sides discussed the prospects and opportunities of cooperation in Armenian-American investments, improvement of business environment and the areas of high technologies and energy, and also touched upon the implementation of joint programs by outlining the further directions of cooperation, Grigoryan’s office said in a press release.

The importance of further strengthening the Armenian-American economic cooperation was highlighted.

Parliament of Cyprus condemns Azerbaijan, calls for immediate reopening of Lachin Corridor

Emil Karabekian

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 10:59, 7 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. The Parliament of Cyprus adopted on April 6 a resolution condemning Azerbaijan and urging it to immediately reopen the Lachin Corridor.

The resolution was submitted for debates by the Armenian National Committee of Cyprus and the ARF Cyprus Committee “given the closure of the Lachin Corridor and continuous provocations by Azerbaijan against Armenia”, the organizations said. The two organizations cooperated with the state representative of the Armenian-Cypriot community and the Friends of Artsakh Circle.

The Armenian National Committee of Cyprus expressed gratitude to the parliamentary parties of Cyprus and reiterated its commitment to continue working for the protection of the international interests of Armenia and Artsakh. The organization said it believes that the Turkish-Azerbaijani maximalist aspirations and geopolitical challenges can be overcome only through uniting pan-national efforts and ensuring support by various circles of the international community.

The Lachin Corridor – the only road linking Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world – has been illegally blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022. Azerbaijan is even ignoring the February 22 ruling by the International Court of Justice which ordered it to ensure freedom of movement in the corridor.

Newsweek: OPINION We Have the Right Tool to Pressure Azerbaijan Over Nagorno-Karabakh

Emil Karabekian
 Newsweek 
OPINION
SAM BROWNBACK AND PETER BURNS
ON 3/30/23 AT 7:12 AM EDT

Since the 2020 war over Nagorno-Karabakh, it has become apparent that Azerbaijan is set on reconquering the region, also called Artsakh, even at the risk of displacing the 120,000 indigenous ethnic Armenians that live there.

Armenia and Azerbaijan sit at a strategic location at the junction of Iran and Russia, so it is in the United States’ national security interest to ensure a satisfactory resolution to this conflict. It is also in keeping with our national commitment to promoting religious freedom that we ensure endangered religious minorities receive protection.

Thankfully, the U.S. has strong relationships with both Armenia and Azerbaijan and we have a tool in the Section 907 waiver to pressure Azerbaijan to stop its aggressive behavior. The waiver allows the president to waive a law that blocks U.S. aid to Azerbaijan. This also provides an opportunity to call on Armenia to reassess its relationships with Russia and Iran.

Azerbaijan bases their claim to Karabakh on borders drawn by dictator Josef Stalin in the early days of the Soviet Union. In general, the international community has not refuted that claim, though there are reasons to think Stalin placed this Armenian mountain enclave within Azerbaijan in order to weaken both states and keep them beholden to the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the USSR, Armenia and Azerbaijan fought over the Karabakh and Armenia won a limited victory, in what eventually became a frozen conflict. Azerbaijan has made no secret that it wishes to reclaim control of the area, increasing its pressure on the inhabitants in recent years.

The current Azerbaijan blockade of the Lachin corridor, the only road for commerce in and out of Karabakh, has created unbearable hardship for the ethnic Armenians living there. Food and medicines are running out and disruptions in the flow of natural gas have been blamed on Azerbaijan. For hospitals and the elderly, the situation is critical.

A cleansing of ethnic Armenians from Azerbaijan is not without precedent. In the lead up to the first Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenians were driven out of the rest of Azerbaijan, with a similar eradication of Azerbaijanis from Armenia occurring at the same time.

When pressed on the current blockade, the response from Azerbaijani authorities is to dodge responsibility, blaming organically organized environmental protesters and Russian peacekeepers for the road closure. These excuses are not very convincing as the government has directed Azerbaijanis not to enter the disputed territories without being issued a permit to do so. Some violators have been arrested. The protests seem to be coming with government approval and with protesters arriving on charter buses.

Azerbaijan also signed a significant treaty with Russia on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. President Ilham Aliyev has called it a full alliance between the two countries. Shifting responsibility isn’t going to cut it.

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The U.S. State Department and the International Court of Justice have both recognized Azerbaijan’s responsibility for the blockade, calling on them to resolve the crisis. Even so, Azerbaijan refuses to do so, displaying confidence the U.S. will not hold them accountable. We should call their bluff.

The U.S. has an important strategic relationship with Azerbaijan that blossomed during the War on Terror. In 2002, Congress provided the U.S. president with the right to waive a law passed in 1992 restricting most types of aid to Azerbaijan (then-Senator Sam Brownback sponsored the amendment to provide the president with this waiver authority). Since then, presidents have consistently applied this waiver and provided a wide range of military aid to Azerbaijan. The Aliyev has been a key partner in containing Iranian ambitions and that should not be disregarded, but the value of the relationship with Azerbaijan does not give them license to strangle an ethnoreligious minority group with impunity.

Instead, our close relationship gives the U.S. the right to call them to account for their actions.

The president should act immediately to revoke the Section 907 waiver he has extended and put any aid on hold until Azerbaijan demonstrates they will work through peaceful means to resolve the conflict.

Revoking the Section 907 waiver would also send a strong message to the State Department that the White House and Congress rely on them to effectively and accurately meet their statutory reporting requirements. A report by the Government Accountability Office found that the State Department was woefully out of compliance with a provision in the Section 907 amendment requiring them to provide insight on whether U.S. aid was impacting the balance of military power between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

We should not miss this opportunity to also call on Armenia to reconsider its regional friendships with Russia and Iran. While there are few good options available to a small landlocked nation like Armenia, looking to Russia and Iran for protection is inviting the fox to guard the hen house. If Armenia is to survive in this rough neighborhood, they must look to expand their network of alliances and partnerships.

The U.S. is well positioned to be an arbiter in this conflict, ending an urgent humanitarian crisis and upholding our commitment to the protection of religious minorities, but to do so we will have to show Baku we mean business. Revoking the Section 907 waiver is the best way to do that.

Sam Brownback is the former U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom and co-chair of the IRF Summit.

Peter Burns (@peterburns_1861) is executive director of the International Religious Freedom Summit.

The views expressed in this article are the writers’ own.

https://www.newsweek.com/we-have-right-tool-pressure-azerbaijan-over-nagorno-karabakh-opinion-1790979

Israel’s Haifa inaugurates Armenian Genocide Square

Emil Karabekian

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 12:12, 21 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, ARMENPRESS. Haifa, the third-largest city in Israel, inaugurated the Armenian Genocide Square on March 20, the Armenian National Committee of Jerusalem (ANCJ) reported.

ANCJ said that the inauguration ceremony took place “despite great pressure from the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv.”

Haifa Mayor Dr. Einat Kalisch-Rotem, City Council members, the Armenian ambassador to Israel Arman Hakobyan, representatives of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, representatives of the ANCJ and members of the Armenian community of Israel and representatives of all various communities of Haifa attended the ceremony.

Chess: European Chess Championship: Two players from Armenia win in 5th round

Emil Karabekian
Panorama
Armenia –

SPORT 11:15 23/03/2023 ARMENIA

The fifth round of the 23rd European Women Chess Championship was played on Wednesday.

Armenia’s Mariam Mkrtchyan and Polina Kobak celebrated victories, the Armenian Chess Federation said.

The games of Elina Danielian, Lilit Mkrtchian and Anna Sargsyan ended in a draw.

Lilit Mkrtchian and Elina Danielian scored 4 points out of 5.

Georgia is difficult to imagine without Armenian rich culture – Ambassador

Emil Karabekian

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 18:04,

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS. On March 20, the President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Alen Simonyan received the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia Giorgi Sharvashidze to the Republic of Armenia. Alen Simonyan congratulated the Ambassador on the occasion of starting a diplomatic mission in our country.

The President of the National Assembly greatly highlighted the relations with Georgia, reminding him that in the Armenian Government’s Action Plan 2021-2026 the development of special neighbourly relations with Georgia is highlighted as a priority. He noted that Armenia is interested in establishing a strategic partnership with Georgia.

The close cooperation established with the legislative body of a friendly country was discussed at the meeting. Touching upon the periodic meetings of the Parliament Speakers, Alen Simonyan informed that the next meeting at that level will take place this year in Armenia.

Close cooperation of inter-parliamentary friendly groups and relevant Committees was highlighted at the meeting.

The Ambassador of Georgia, thanking the National Assembly President for the warm reception, noted that Armenia is a dear country to him, mentioning his Armenian-Georgian friends who lived in the same yard during his childhood. He underlined that Georgia is difficult to imagine without Armenian rich culture.

The parties expressed willingness to make efforts in strengthening Armenian-Georgian historical friendship and neighbourly potential among the youth.

Azerbaijani president accuses Armenia of violating trilateral statement on Karabakh

Emil Karabekian
 TASS 
Russia –
Ilham Aliyev also noted that due to Armenia’s occupation of the country’s territory, Azerbaijan is among the most mine-infested countries in the world

ANKARA, March 16. /TASS/. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has accused Armenia of grossly violating the trilateral statement signed in November 2020.

“Although Armenia recognized the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan in Prague and in Sochi in 2022, it still has not fully withdrawn its troops from the territories of Azerbaijan. Illegal Armenian units and criminals remain in Karabakh. Armenia also dodges its commitment to open the Zangezur corridor,” the Azerbaijani president said at an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Ankara on Thursday.

“Thus, Armenia grossly violates the statement signed on November 10, 2020, and must take responsibility for this,” Aliyev added.

He also noted that due to Armenia’s occupation of the country’s territory, Azerbaijan is among the most mine-infested countries in the world. “Since the second Karabakh war, that is, since November 2020, about 300 Azerbaijanis have been killed or seriously injured by landmines,” the president went on to say.

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, 2020. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities.

The sides stopped at their positions at that moment, a number of districts went under Baku’s control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed at the contact line and at the so-called Lachin Corridor.

Azerbaijan rigging text of peace treaty with booby traps, warns Pashinyan

Emil Karabekian

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 16:32,

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is rigging the draft peace treaty with Armenia with booby traps in order to continue its aggressive policy against Armenia even after the possible signing of the agreement, PM Nikol Pashinyan warned on Tuesday.

“What’s Azerbaijan doing? Azerbaijan says ‘I’ve won the war, what negotiations, what proposals? I’ve won, I am sending a paper, I’ve sent my five principles, sign it, and if you don’t sign it in 2023 I will launch a major attack’. And now, our reporters, realizing this situation, are asking whether we could go and sign something which would constitute a capitulation. And I am saying, no,” Pashinyan said, adding that he is ready to go for solutions that would ensure sustainable and lasting peace in the region.

Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan is using threats in the negotiations process, as it did before the 44-Day War. “Before the war Azerbaijan’s negotiations position was the following – ‘give me what I want to gain through war, or else I will take it through war’. And that was a very difficult choice,” Pashinyan added.

The Armenian Prime Minister said that a highly important position is beginning to develop among the international community. “We are presenting proposals to Azerbaijan but Azerbaijan is sending them back with most of our proposals scratched off. And when we present this problem to our international partners, they tell us that this isn’t peace, because what’s being proposed won’t lead to lasting peace, on the contrary it would lead to new crises. We are ready to go for solutions which, being far from what we dream of, would nonetheless lead to lasting and sustainable peace,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan added that peace must be earned rather than imposed. He said that in the past many people believed that peace can be imposed, but if that was the case a treaty with Armenia’s terms would’ve been signed. Pashinyan said that now it is Azerbaijan that thinks peace can be imposed, while Armenia is saying that it doesn’t favor the policy of imposing.

Azerbaijani press: Russia-Azerbaijan Expert Council holds conference (PHOTO)

Emil Karabekian
Politics Materials 28 February 2023 17:52 (UTC +04:00)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 28. The conference on the “Russian-Azerbaijani relations in the 21st century: strategic partnership in the context of regional security” topic as part of the 3rd meeting of the Russia-Azerbaijan Expert Council with the participation of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov has been held in Baku, Trend reports via Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The meeting was organized by the Azerbaijani Center for Analysis of International Relations and the Russian International Affairs Council.

Speaking at the event, Bayramov stressed that the Russia-Azerbaijan Expert Council in a short time has become a platform for ongoing cooperation between the experts of the two countries.

He noted that having a constant exchange of views and dialogue between experts would be useful for those who specialize in the field of diplomacy.

Speaking about the current dynamics of Azerbaijani-Russian relations, and high-level dialogue, including joint cooperation between the foreign ministries of the two countries, Bayramov noted that the expert council serves as a practical platform for further development of cooperation between the countries’ experts.

At the event, it was noted with satisfaction that over the past year, the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries was widely celebrated both within the framework of the foreign ministries of the two countries and the Russia-Azerbaijan Expert Council.

In particular, it was emphasized that over the past period, relations between the two states have turned into a strategic partnership, which is a logical result of many years of bilateral cooperation, as well as a solid foundation for a high level of trust between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Bayramov stressed at the event that Azerbaijan is pursuing a sovereign foreign policy strategy based on national interests, and that such a stable, predictable and, most importantly, sovereign policy makes the country a valuable partner for the international community, including Russia.

He also noted similar positions of Azerbaijan and Russia regarding the consistent promotion of peace agenda in the South Caucasus, neutralization of revanchism attempts and unhealthy competition in some cases.

Besides, the minister noted that the victory of Azerbaijan in the 2020 second Karabakh war, the actual implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions [which demanded Armenia to withdraw its armed forces from Azerbaijan’s occupied territories] by the country, as well as proposals discussed over the years, including Russia’s negotiating platform, opened up new opportunities for the above purposes.

At the event, confidence was expressed that the signing of the Declaration on Allied Cooperation by the heads of state of the two countries last year will give a new impetus to joint efforts.

Besides, there was expressed commitment to the trilateral statements [of Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the second Karabakh war] signed in 2020 and 2021, which were assessed as an important basis for the post-conflict development of Azerbaijan and the entire South Caucasus region.

During his speech, Lavrov noted the importance of strategic ties between Azerbaijan and Russia.

At the conference, reports were presented by the Chairman of the Board of the Center for the Analysis of International Relations Farid Shafiyev and the Director General of the Russian Council for International Affairs Andrey Kortunov on the activities of the Russia-Azerbaijan Expert Council.

The discussions held within the closed sessions of the conference in the conditions of an interactive dialogue covered the political, economic, humanitarian and other spheres of Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation.

The council members also adopted a communiqué reflecting the council’s practical recommendations on various aspects of deepening relations between the two countries.

It was considered expedient to present Russian International Affairs Council’s recommendations on the relevant platforms of bilateral cooperation, publish joint thematic collections, and hold regular meetings of the council.

During the conference, the foreign ministers were presented with commemorative copies of the first edition of the Russian International Affairs Council’s collection of articles entitled “30 years of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan: traveled path and look into the future”, the authors of which are Russian and Azerbaijani experts.

The 1st and the 2nd meetings of the Russia-Azerbaijan Expert Council were held in November 2021 and November 2022, respectively.