Author: Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS

Escalation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Emil Lazarian
  • JAMnews
  • Baku

The Armenian Defense Ministry reported intense shelling of its positions by artillery and mortars early morning on May 11 and four wounded. Information was received from Azerbaijan that “as a result of a provocation from the Armenian side, a soldier of long service was killed.” The situation had relatively stabilized in the afternoon.

Both sides claim that they took only retaliatory measures, and the operational situation is under the control of military units. Statements were made by the Foreign Ministries of both countries. The Prime Minister of Armenia announced that Azerbaijan’s goal is to nullify the negotiation process and disrupt the May 14 meeting in Brussels.

  • Next Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Brussels: experts do not expect a breakthrough
  • “The agreements reached in Washington will be confirmed in Moscow.” Comment from Baku
  • Authorities and opposition in Tbilisi on Russia’s decision on visas and flights to Georgia

The Ministry of Defense of Armenia reported information about the escalation starting early morning with a frequency of 20-30 minutes. It was reported that “from 11:00 to 13:00, units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces continued to violate the ceasefire at certain intervals.” Only by 13:00 did information appear that the situation on the front line had relatively stabilized.

The Ministry of Health reported that an ambulance transporting wounded Armenian soldiers was struck by Azerbaijan.

“The Ministry of Health condemns yet another case of targeted fire on an ambulance and medical workers performing their professional duties. Such manifestations are contrary to all international humanitarian laws, even the laws of war,” the doctors said in a statement.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry called on the Azerbaijani authorities to “stop the groundless, unjustified and shameful attempts to disrupt the negotiation process with the use of force and thereby put pressure on Armenia.”

Armenian diplomats declared the escalation another violation of the fundamental principle of international law on the non-use of force or threat of force:

“These actions of Azerbaijan, aimed at destabilizing the situation, are also an open disregard for the meeting held in Washington, as well as for the planned meetings in Brussels and Moscow, aimed at normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the efforts of international partners interested in stability and peace in the South Caucasus.“

Nikol Pashinyan also presented his assessment of the situation. He began the government meeting with a summary of the situation on the border.

Armenia-Azerbaijan talks in Washington – experts in Baku, Yerevan weigh in on the four days Mirzoyan, Bayramov and Blinken spent together

“The actions of the Azerbaijani side are of a provocative nature and are aimed, among other things, at nullifying the progress of the negotiations held on May 1-4 in Washington.

The provocation is also aimed at disrupting the tripartite talks scheduled for Sunday in Brussels [with the mediation of the head of the European Council] and for June 1, the five-party talks in Chisinau [with the participation of the presidents of France and Germany].

Experience shows that Azerbaijan needs the negotiation process only for escalation and a casus belli, and escalation is used to nullify any progress made during negotiations.

The reports of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan about the violation of the ceasefire by our army are far-fetched. This information is fabricated to exacerbate the situation.

If the escalation had not been a deliberate provocation by Azerbaijan, any local incident could have been instantly resolved by checking and exchanging information and preventive agreements through existing channels.

This did not happen for a simple reason: no incidents were observed, and the Azerbaijani disinformation machine invented this “news” retroactively to aggravate the situation.

Another goal of Baku is to divert the attention of the international and Armenian public from the installation of an illegal checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, to create a new crisis in order to consign the old one to oblivion. This is a proven tactic of Azerbaijan.

I have not changed my decision to go to Brussels on Sunday for negotiations.

I want to answer in advance the question of how likely it is that a peace treaty with Azerbaijan will be signed in Brussels on Sunday. Unfortunately, this is extremely unlikely, because the draft bilateral agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations is still very crude and it is too early to talk about its signing.

We are faced with the task of finalizing this document as soon as possible and preparing it for signing.”

Experts warn that Azerbaijani military positions are literally a few meters from the Syunik airport, located in the city of Kapan

According to the information of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, on the morning of May 11, “units of the armed forces of Armenia fired heavily from small arms at the positions of the Azerbaijani army located in the direction of Zod”:

“As a result of a provocation deliberately committed by units of the Armenian armed forces, Azerbaijani soldier Novruzalizade Orkhan Elkhan died.”

The department also reported that the units of the Azerbaijani army are taking decisive retaliatory measures: “The operational situation is under the control of the units of the Azerbaijani army.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan issued a statement:

“Armenia is stepping up military provocations against Azerbaijan in the border regions. Despite the fact that the Armenian side was warned that provocations and deliberate aggravations of the situation would be stopped on their part, on the morning of May 11, the Armenian armed forces further aggravated the situation by firing mortars at the positions of the Azerbaijani army, as a result of provocations, one soldier died.

According to the Foreign Ministry, “The fact that Armenia’s provocations, as always, take place against the backdrop of intensified negotiations on a peace treaty, as well as expected negotiations between leaders, indicates that Armenia is not interested in the peace process.”

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, once again, placed all responsibility for the aggravation of the situation on the military-political leadership of Armenia.

Azerbaijani Ombudsman Sabina Aliyeva also issued an appeal in connection with “another provocation of the Armenian armed forces.” According to the statement of the Ombudsman, one soldier of the Azerbaijani army was killed, two more were seriously injured.

“We state with regret that Armenia, ignoring Azerbaijan’s calls for peace, continues military provocations aimed at gross violation of human rights. Contrary to Azerbaijan’s constant calls for peace, Armenia purposefully escalates the situation in the region, grossly violating the norms and principles of international law and international humanitarian law, and commits provocations in order to create new hotbeds of conflict.

As the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Republic of Azerbaijan, we once again appeal to international organizations and demand to immediately put an end to the military provocations of the Armenian Armed Forces, take decisive measures to restore peace in the region,” the appeal says.

Armenia and Azerbaijan trade gunfire along border

Emil Lazarian
Qatar –

Deadly incident comes days before the European Council hosts Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev for talks in Brussels.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have blamed each other for gunfire along their restive border days in advance of EU-hosted talks aimed at resolving their 30-year-old territorial dispute.

The fighting came on Thursday as the two countries are in negotiations on a peace agreement to end a decades-long standoff over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region recognised as part of Azerbaijan but populated mainly by Armenians.

“Azerbaijani forces are shooting artillery and mortars at Armenian position in the Sotk region” in the east, Armenia’s defence ministry said in a statement on Thursday, adding four of its soldiers were wounded.

Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said “the Armenian side has once again violated the ceasefire agreement” with “large-calibre weapons”.

“A soldier from the Azerbaijani army was killed after a provocation from the Armenian forces,” Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said in a statement.

The incident comes just days before European Council President Charles Michel is to host Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev for talks in Brussels on Saturday.

The two also agreed to meet together with the leaders of France and Germany on the sidelines of a European summit in Moldova on June 1, according to the European Union.

The EU-hosted meeting comes after the United States said “tangible progress” had been made at talks between foreign ministers in Washington, DC last week aimed at ending the dispute over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia and Azerbaijan were both republics of the Soviet Union that gained independence in 1991 when the USSR broke up.

They have gone to war twice over disputed territories,  mainly Nagorno-Karabakh, a majority-Armenian region inside Azerbaijan.

Privacy Policy

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in two wars over the region, one lasting six years and ending in 1994, and the second in 2020, which ended in a Russia-negotiated ceasefire deal. But clashes have broken out regularly since then.

Western mediation efforts to resolve the conflict come as major regional power Russia has struggled to maintain its decisive influence because of the fallout from its war on Ukraine.

Armenia and Azerbaijan trade blame over Nagorno-Karabakh attacks

Emil Lazarian
By Euronews  with AFP  •  Updated: 11/05/2023 – 11:41

International brokers are trying to strike a new peace deal for the separatist region

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of firing across their shared border on Thursday as international efforts intensify to calm tensions over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

“Azerbaijani forces are firing artillery and mortars at Armenian positions in the Sotk region of eastern Armenia,” the Armenian defence ministry announced in a statement, saying three Armenian servicemen were wounded as a result of the shelling. 

The ministry added that Armenian forces were taking “appropriate defensive measures”.

The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry for its part accused Armenia of firing “high-calibre weapons” at its positions on the border, denouncing the actions as a “provocation”.

“Despite warnings about the need to stop provocations,” a statement said, “the Armenian side has again violated the ceasefire regime.” 

The ministry claimed an Azerbaijani serviceman was wounded by Armenian fire last night, with “mortar fire” continuing on Thursday morning.

The incident comes as members of the international community seek to revive peace talks between the two neighbours, who have been rowing over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region for some 30 years – often violently.

After four days of intense talks in Washington last week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev are set to meet in Brussels on Sunday, says the European Union, which will sponsor the meeting.

According to the US, “tangible progress” was made during the talks and a peace agreement is now “in sight”.

The Russian government was irked by the talks, with the Kremlin insisting there is no realistic alternative to the ceasefire agreement it helped craft in 2020.

“At this stage, there is no other legal basis that would contribute to the settlement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week.

The two Caucasus countries fought two wars in the early 1990s and in 2020 over control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region with a majority Armenian population that seceded from Azerbaijan more than three decades ago.

Tensions escalated this spring when Baku announced on 23 April that it had set up a road checkpoint at the entrance to the Latchine corridor, the only route linking Armenia to the separatist enclave. 

It is already under a months-long blockade that has led to power shortages and blackouts.

https://www.euronews.com/2023/05/11/armenia-and-azerbaijan-point-fingers-over-nagorno-karabakh-attacks

Two Armenian servicemen wounded in Azerbaijani drone strike

Emil Lazarian

Save

Share

 10:45,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Two Armenian servicemen were wounded Friday morning when the Azerbaijani armed forces used a UAV to bombard their position in Gegharkunik Province, the defense ministry said in a press release.

“On 12 May, around 10:00, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire in the direction of Sotk by using a UAV,” the defense ministry said, adding that two servicemen of the Armed Forces of Armenia were wounded in the drone strike. One of the two wounded troops is in grave condition.

As of 10:30 the situation on the frontline was relatively stable, the ministry added.

The Azeri drone strike comes a day after Azeri forces bombarded Armenian positions in the same area in an unprovoked attack. 

 




EU mission fully implements its mandate, says Armenian deputy FM

Emil Lazarian

Save

Share

 13:12,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. The EU civilian monitoring mission in Armenia is fully implementing its mandate, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan said on May 12.

Asked on the Azerbaijani attacks in Sotk and the EU mission’s reaction, Hovhannisyan said that the mission couldn’t have reacted to the aggression because their role is to regularly visit all sections of the border and prepare reports for Brussels.

“The observers couldn’t have reacted in any way. Their role is to regularly prepare reports for Brussels and EU member states, regularly visit all parts of the border. Their presence is already a contribution in terms of improving the situation. This created a safer environment on the ground psychologically. And in this regard the mission is fully implementing its mandate,” he said.

He said that the Armenian authorities had no doubts that provocations would happen, and that’s what happened on May 11.

“But at this moment we can positively assess the activities of the [EU] mission,” Hovhannisyan said.

Film on Armenian Genocide wins awards in Turkey festival

Emil Lazarian

 15:00,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Director Ara Mnatsakanyan’s The American Good Samaritans docudrama has won the Best Music and Best Producer categories at the International Anatolian Film Awards in Turkey.

The American Good Samaritans is produced by Manvel Saribekyan.

“This is a story about survivors, about extraordinary people thanks to whom remnants of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian peoples were saved from total destruction,” reads a description of the film.

[see video]

Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes threaten to derail peace talks

Emil Lazarian

EURACTIV.com with AFP

Armenia and Azerbaijan on Thursday (11 May) blamed each other for a deadly exchange of fire along their border, which threatened to derail momentum to resolve a long-running dispute days ahead of EU-led peace talks.

The United States and rival Russia both urged restraint between the Caucasus neighbours after the clash that left one person dead and injured four, the latest flare-up in a decades-long dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenia initially said four of its soldiers had been wounded by incoming fire in an eastern region of the ex-Soviet country.

“Azerbaijani forces are shooting artillery and mortars at Armenian positions in the Sotk region,” Armenia’s defence ministry said.

The Sotk region in Eastern Armenia is known for its gold mines.

Sotk is in Armenia proper, and is at some distance from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia is member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led lose defense pact, according to which Moscow should come to the rescue of a member whose territory is under attack.

Baku accused Armenia of a “provocation” that had left one of its soldiers dead.

It said Armenian troops had “once again violated the ceasefire agreement” with “large-calibre weapons”, referring to an accord from November 2020 that ended six weeks of hostilities.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have been scheduled to meet Sunday in Brussels for talks led by European Council President Charles Michel.

The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan will hold talks in Brussels on Sunday (14 May), the European Union said, amid efforts to reach a peace deal over their three-decade territorial dispute.

The rival leaders had also agreed to jointly meet the leaders of France and Germany on the sidelines of a European summit in Moldova on 1 June, according to the EU.

Pashinyan on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of looking to “undermine the talks” in Brussels.

“I have not changed my mind about going to Brussels,” he said in a statement, but warned there was “very little” chance of signing a peace deal with Azerbaijan at the meeting.

A draft agreement “is still at a very preliminary stage and it is too early to speak of an eventual signature”, Pashinyan said.

The EU-led diplomacy comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers to Washington for negotiations in early May.

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the two countries should embrace in Brussels a proposal by Blinken that would distance forces along the border.

“This kind of violence, we believe — it undermines the progress made by Armenia and Azerbaijan toward a durable and dignified peace,” Patel told reporters in Washington.

“We believe that there continues to be a durable path forward. We believe that there is a peaceful solution to this,” Patel said.

The West has stepped up mediation as the clout of Russia, historically the major powerbroker between the former Soviet republics, wanes due to its invasion of Ukraine.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We expect a restrained approach from the parties and urge them not to take any actions that could lead to an increase in tensions.”

Armenia has traditionally relied on Russia as its ally and security guarantor, but Yerevan has grown increasingly frustrated with Moscow.

It has accused Russia of failing to fulfill its peacekeeping role when Azerbaijani activists blocked the Lachin corridor, the only land link to Armenia.

The two countries have gone to war twice over disputed territories, mainly Nagorno-Karabakh, a majority-Armenian region inside Azerbaijan, which has close ties with Turkey.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the two wars over the region.

The first war lasted six years, until 1994. The second, fought in 2020, ended in a Russia-negotiated ceasefire.

Under that ceasefire, Azerbaijan is required to guarantee safe passage on the Lachin corridor, which is patrolled by Russian peacekeepers.

Azerbaijan said on Sunday (23 April) it had established a checkpoint on the only land route to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a step that was followed by claims of border shootings by both Azeri and Armenian forces.

In a new escalation at the end of end April, Azerbaijan said it had built a checkpoint on the corridor following “threats and provocations” from Armenia.

Armenia denounced the move as a ceasefire violation and said the claims were a “far-fetched and baseless pretext”.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)

https://www.euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/armenia-azerbaijan-clashes-threaten-to-derail-peace-talks/

Armenia, Azerbaijan accuse each other of fresh crossborder attacks, days ahead of EU talks

Emil Lazarian
Armenia and Azerbaijan on Thursday blamed each other for an exchange of fire along their restive border, which killed one person and wounded four, days ahead of EU-hosted peace talks.

The leaders of the two countries are due to hold talks in Brussels on Saturday as part of a push to resolve the three-decade territorial dispute between the two neighbours in the Caucasus. 

The European Union-hosted meeting comes after the United States said “tangible progress” had been made at talks between foreign ministers in Washington last week aimed at ending the dispute over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. But on Thursday, both sides accused each other of shooting along their border.

“A soldier from the Azerbaijani army was killed after a provocation from the Armenian forces,” Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said, accusing Armenia of having “once again violated the ceasefire agreement” with “large-calibre weapons”. Armenia said four of its soldiers were wounded in the clashes, which it blamed on Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijani forces are shooting artillery and mortars at Armenian position in the Sotk region” in the east, Armenia’s defence ministry said.

The incident comes just days before European Council President Charles Michel is to host Armenia’s Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev for talks in Brussels.

The two leaders had also agreed to jointly meet the leaders of France and Germany on the sidelines of a European summit in Moldova on June 1, according to the EU.

Pashinyan on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of looking to “undermine the talks” in Brussels but added that he was still willing to attend. “I have not changed my mind about going to Brussels,” the Armenia premier told his government.

He added however that there was “very little” chance of signing a peace deal with Azerbaijan at the meeting. The draft agreement “is still at a very preliminary stage and it is too early to speak of an eventual signature”, Pashinyan said.

Majority-Christian Armenia and Azerbaijan, whose population is mostly Muslim, were both republics of the Soviet Union that gained independence in 1991, when the USSR broke up.

They have gone to war twice over disputed territories, mainly Nagorno-Karabakh, a majority-Armenian region inside Azerbaijan.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the two wars over the region, one lasting six years and ending in 1994, and the second in 2020, which ended in a Russia-negotiated ceasefire deal.

But clashes have broken out regularly since then. The Western mediation efforts to resolve the conflict come as major regional power Russia has struggled to maintain its decisive influence, due to the fallout from its war on Ukraine. 

(AFP)

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20230511-armenia-azerbaijan-accuse-each-other-of-fresh-crossborder-attacks-days-ahead-of-eu-talks

On Armenia’s hot border with Azerbaijan: the ghost of an invasion and the resistance of a wounded people

Emil Lazarian
by Mary Ortiz 

Noravank Monastery blends into the red rocks on the heights of Armenia. Azerbaijan is nearby, lurking. The priest of one of the temples in the complex turns his back to the altar and stands in front of a group of visitors, some of whom are faithful. One of them brings a message of peace in the face of growing conflict over the territory of Nagorno Karabagh. The priest stands still, raises his arm and replies vehemently: “We will not let them take our land away from us. Fight. We are not kneeling.”

– Advertisement –

Noravank is located on the road that connects the capital Yerevan with one of the hottest spots in the South Caucasus: the corridor that connects Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh, a territory inhabited by about 120,000 Armenians that has remained within the borders of Azerbaijan since Josef Stalin decided to cede the territory to the Azeris.

sinuous. at a distance. hidden. The border is trapped between mountains that seem to drown out the noise of war So hot That can be activated at any time.

– Advertisement –

On Thursday, both countries accused each other of initiating a firefight at the border that left at least one Azerbaijani soldier dead and four Armenians wounded.

In 2020, countries clashed in arms for 44 days. Azerbaijani military superiority made itself felt. Armenia lost around 5,000 troops and over 70% of the Artsakh region. Currently, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinián denounces before the international community that Baku is violating one of the points of the peace agreement signed between the two countries after that war: the obligation to ensure free movement along the road that connects Armenia with Nagorno.


On the way to the Lachin corridor, they begin to see each other austere trenches alternated with Armenian checkpoints. They report that Azerbaijani soldiers entered their territory in April. The clashes resulted in eight deaths: four on each side. Between trenches and trenches, small altars of dead soldiers appear by the side of the road with their photo in uniform and the Armenian flag.

clarion traveled to the point closer to the corridor. The checkpoint that Azerbaijan set up on April 3 to block the border is no longer accessible. Armenian military forces say they cannot guarantee the safety of people attempting to cross it. Only a few Red Cross ambulances and United Nations vans are allowed to circulate.

even along the way Russian patent parade military trucks. The soldiers stop to rest along the way. They smoke and speak little.

“The situation is very complicated,” admits one of them, the youngest of the group. And he goes further: “The responsibility lies with the three presidents”. Indicates the presidents of Armenia, Pashinián, and of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. But also to the Putin government, which should guarantee compliance with the peace agreement signed in 2020. None of that happens. Russia looks to Ukraine in war mode.

in conversation with clarion and other international media, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Paruyr Hovhannisyan, complains that Russia is too “cautious” and “is not fulfilling its obligations”. “For them, relations with Turkey are more important, as well as with Azerbaijan, and this is also related to the gas and oil they export through Azerbaijan,” she complains.

Even in this border area the labor monitors of the European Union. They observe, take pictures, talk to people. They move between Yerevan and Stepanakert. They assure that “for now” the situation is calm. None of them will stay too long in the place.

On the other side of the mountains, more than two thousand meters high, they report it the population of Nagorno Karabakh is experiencing a situation of siege. They must have access to vouchers for increasingly scarce food rations; medicines are no longer enough and basic services are cut.

Azat Gevorkyan and his wife Anaik are pictured before leaving their home in Lachin, Nagorno-Karabakh, the last district to return to Azerbaijani control after the war. Photo: Valery Melnikov:/ World Press

The harsh Caucasus winter went through it without gas replenishment. This territory, which has its own Parliament, officials and uses the same currency as Armenia, it is not recognized as autonomous from any country in the world and today is surrounded by them.

“The possibility of an escalation of violence is very high”, warns the vice-rector. But the fear runs deeper: “Azerbaijan intends to go as far as possible. Aliyev always claims that the territory of present Armenia is West Azerbaijan. In accordance with this aggressive program, It is not only Nagorno-Karabakh, it is also the territory of Armenia”.

He Supreme Patriarch of Armenians, Karekin IIalso spoke to clarion and other media about the delicate situation at the border. “Periodically the Azrebaijan army penetrates our territory and tries to conquer more towns and cities. The euphoria that gave him the victory in 2020 he encouraged them”, he assures.

This is the border area where the blocked Lachin corridor crosses.

“I think the purpose is very clear: leave Artsakh without Armenians, provoke a new genocide”warns Karekin II and alludes to the great ghost that hovers in the history of this nation: the massacre of a million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 at the hands of the young Turks.

The silence of the people takes possession of this city in southeast Armenia. Goris is only 30 kilometers away from the Lachin Corridor and is the closest city to the border. There is a military base at the entrance to the city. Contemplative or vigilant, everyone is waiting for something to happen.

Southern Armenians live mainly from agriculture. Here they say that in this region the inhabitants are tough and that’s why they live longer. There has not been a mass exodus since the last war broke out in 2020. They stayed to protect their homes.

Zuren is 69 years old. He is retired but still works. This morning she left the taxi and is resting in the shade of a tree.

“Before living well, it was a dream. Now the situation is bad. We can no longer visit our family in Nagorno. We have them here, very close, behind the mountain, and we don’t see them. The world must understand that we are a nation with a lot of history. This is our land and they are denying us as a people.”the Mint.

Amidst this swarm of modest buildings with little trace of Soviet heritage is the city’s main square. Seated on a bench is Natalí, a 22-year-old teacher. She smiles a lot and stands out. Armenians laugh little. “What we live is very sad, people don’t know what’s really going on. We don’t live a normal life. – he underlines – People are worried about their children, about their future, but nobody wants to leave here”.

“We are not well we are in a war situation. We tell them we’re not moving from here. We believe they can advance, but we are not afraid,” challenges Vazgen, a 36-year-old opening maker.

to the cities of Goris and Khachardzan are separated by an undulating journey of 300 kilometersbut they are united by the Azerbaijani border fence.

Of the 420 people who live in this docile town in northwestern Armenia, 80% of the men have participated in the war. In the school where they study 65 students stands a kind of altar with photos of two men who died in the last clash. They are your heroes.

The mayor of the city, Gagik Shahnazaryan, is to be reckoned with for his deep blue eyes. He says Khachardzan has soldiers and volunteers at the border, which is only 40 kilometers from this wet and green village. He assures that although “the threat is always there”, they remain “ready to defend” the people.

“In our history We have always been in danger, but we have always overcome it and we will overcome this too.”says the mayor of a city that named its main street Argentina in recognition of the infrastructure contribution of the Armenian diaspora.

The mayor of the village of Khachardzan, Gagik Shahnazaryan.

Khachardzan and Goris are keeping their guard up that this Sunday, when the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia finally meet in Brussels, a sign of agreement that makes them -finally- sleep peacefully.

Goris, Armenia. special Correspondent

ap

Source: Clarin

https://newsrebeat.com/world-news/166876.html