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

Armenia pledges to complete Karabakh withdrawal this summer

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 Emil Lazarian

Karabakh will continue to maintain its own army. (handout from de facto Karabakh defense ministry)

Armenia has announced it will withdraw all remaining military units from Nagorno-Karabakh by September, fulfilling a pledge it made at the end of the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.

The head of Armenia's Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, told state media on July 19 that all conscripts will return home by September and will not be replaced. Most soldiers in the Armenian military are conscripts; Grigoryan added that contract soldiers from Armenia are not currently serving in Karabakh.

Karabakh will continue to maintain its own army, which is heavily integrated within Armenia’s command structures.

In the 2020 Russia-brokered ceasefire signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, Armenia agreed to withdraw its forces from lands internationally recognized as belonging to Azerbaijan, as Russia deployed 2,000 peacekeepers.

“Since the ceasefire, they [Armenian units] have been returning to Armenia. The process is approaching completion and will conclude in September,” Grigoryan said.

Military officials had indicated in late June that the withdrawal would soon conclude. Colonel Sahak Sahakyan, the chairman of the Lottery Commission, which oversees the draft, told journalists on June 28 that Armenia would not send conscripts to Karabakh anymore.

"Our last conscripted soldiers for the summer of 2020 will be discharged by August 30. We will no longer send conscripts to Artsakh,” Sahakyan said, using an alternative name for Karabakh.

Azerbaijan has increased pressure in recent weeks for Armenia to complete the pullout.

On July 15, ahead of a meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Tbilisi, President Ilham Aliyev again complained that Armenian troops were violating the ceasefire. "If Armenia doesn't intend to withdraw from the territory of Azerbaijan, then it should let us know in clear terms, and Azerbaijan will consider further actions," he said. “We are a victorious country and we have restored our territorial integrity.”

Armenia’s opposition has seen the withdrawal as proof that the government of Nikol Pashinyan is ready to “leave Artsakh unprotected," as Gegham Manukyan – an ARF Dashnaktsutyun member of the Armenia Alliance – wrote on Facebook.

The situation in some parts of Karabakh remains tense. In March, Azerbaijani forces took new territory around the village of Parukh, inside Karabakh, which was supposed to be protected by Russian peacekeepers. Some residents recently returned, but they say their position is precarious.

Nevertheless, Security Council chief Grigoryan downplayed the risks of withdrawal: "The [Russian] peacekeepers are of key importance in guaranteeing the security of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh." He called the incursion into Parukh (which Azerbaijanis spell Farrukh) “a gross violation of the 2020” ceasefire.

Military service in Armenia is mandatory. Every male at the age of 18 is obliged to serve for two years. Before Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war, many conscripts were sent to serve in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ani Mejlumyan is a reporter based in Yerevan.

Azerbaijan Starts Return of People to Recaptured Areas

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 Emil Lazarian

Voice of America

ZANGILAN, AZERBAIJAN —

Azerbaijan on Tuesday began the process of returning its people to land recaptured from Armenian separatists in what Baku calls "The Great Return" following a 2020 war over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh.

The oil-rich country has vowed to repopulate lands recaptured in the six-week war with its arch-foe and Caucasus neighbor Armenia that killed more than 6,500 people two years ago.

President Ilham Aliyev had for years promised to retake lands lost in the 1990s, and the first returns marked a symbolic moment for Azerbaijan.

An official said almost 60 people moved back to a village they had had to flee in 1993, when ethnic Armenian separatists broke away from Baku, triggering a conflict that claimed around 30,000 lives.

Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis quit the area during the fighting.

"Fifty-eight people returned to the district of Zangilan" recaptured by Baku in October 2020, Vahid Hajiyev, special presidential representative in the region, told reporters.

More than 30,000 ethnic Azerbaijanis fled Zangilan, near the Iranian border, in 1993.

"At this stage, a total of 41 families will return" over the next five days to the newly rebuilt village of Agally in Zangilan, Hajiyev said.

'Native land'

The government has pledged to provide jobs for the returnees, Hajiyev said. It has already built dozens of houses in Agally equipped with solar batteries, a brand-new school and a kindergarten, he added. "Over the next months the village will be fully repopulated."

Emotions ran high as repatriates stepped down from buses in Agally's windswept central square, where a new fountain sparkled under a sweltering sun.

"We are so happy to be back," one of the returnees, 64-year-old Mina Mirzoyeva, told Agence France-Presse. "This is our homeland, our native land."

Rahilya Ismayilova, 72, said that back in 1993, she had been forced to ford a river into Iran with her small children, fleeing for her life from the Armenian separatist forces.

"May all the refugees return to their homes, just as we did today," she said. "I fled my village with my four children, and today, I am back with my big family, with my nine grandchildren."

Baku has vowed to spend billions of petrodollars on the reconstruction of Nagorno-Karabakh and nearby recaptured areas.

It allocated $1.3 billion in last year's budget for infrastructure projects such as new roads, bridges and airports in the region.

But a large-scale return of refugees remains a distant prospect given the scale of the devastation and the danger from landmines.

Peace talks

In autumn 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia went to war for a second time for control of Karabakh. The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire agreement.

Under the deal, Armenia ceded swaths of territory it had controlled for decades, and Russia deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers to oversee the fragile truce.

Armen Grigoryan, chair of Armenia's security council, said Tuesday that Yerevan's forces would complete their withdrawal from areas that had been under separatist control by September.

This weekend, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, for their first one-on-one talks since the war.

They were expected to build on an agreement which Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reached under European Union mediation in May to "advance discussions" on a future peace treaty.

The two leaders met in Brussels in April and May. European Council President Charles Michel has said their next meeting is scheduled for July or August.

Following its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, an increasingly isolated Moscow lost its status as the primary mediator in the conflict.

The EU has since led the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process, which involves peace talks, border delimitation and the reopening of transport links.

https://www.voanews.com/a/azerbaijan-starts-return-of-people-to-recaptured-areas-/6665547.html

Defence export: Armenia turns to India for military hardware amid war against Azerbaijan

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 Emil Lazarian

India –

Recently in June, a defence delegation from the Republic of Armenia visited India, meeting with their counterparts here. The delegation came armed with a shopping list. While little is known about its contents, drones have been confirmed to have figured prominently on the list. But not drones alone, an official confirmed without going into any further details. This is not the first time that Armenia has evinced interest in Indian military hardware. In 2020, it concluded a deal with India worth 40 million for the supply of four indigenously built weapon-locating radars. The SWATHI radars have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Also, READ: UK PM race: Indian-origin Rishi Sunak inches closer to victory, wins 4th round of voting over Penny Mordaunt

Since then, Armenia’s defence requirement has grown exponentially. ‘The Karabakh war made us rethink our defence needs,’ said an Armenian official who did not want to be named. The war referred to the one the tiny South Caucasian nation fought with Azerbaijan over the contested territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. For twenty years the Armenians had held the ethnic Armenian enclave which technically formed part of Azerbaijan, as a result of the controversial borders drawn up during the erstwhile Soviet Union where the exercise was primarily based on keeping individual republics dependent on Moscow.

However, in 2020 Armenia lost all the territory to Azerbaijan, including the corridor that connected Armenia to the enclave. Though a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaties Organisation (CSTO), Russia refused to intervene in the war since it considered Nagorno-Karabakh to technically not be ‘Armenian territory’. Russian defence equipment also proved not to be a match for the Turkish equipment that was deployed, especially Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. Turkish military counsellors and arms won the war for Azerbaijan. ‘Russia intervened only when it felt Turkey would become a permanent presence in the region,’ said the official bitterly. The result – a Russian peace keeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh. But the war also showed the limits of Western support and help for Armenia, as well as the limits of Armenian soft power -primarily its diaspora abroad, which is a source of pride for many Armenians. Armenia, even as located in a hostile neighbourhood, remains dependent on Russia. And Russia now remains focused on Ukraine.

The war has also isolated Armenia in other ways, by way of few foreign investments, decline in trade and commerce, exacerbated by the pandemic. Cash strapped Armenia has been unable to modernise its industrial base or step up its R and D. Armenian analysts bemoan the fact that the country has been unable to take advantage of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and coveted Chinese investments seemed to have bypassed the tiny country even as rivals Azerbaijan and Turkey have apparently benefitted. It is another matter that along with investments Armenia has also escaped the famous Chinese debt trap unlike similarly cash strapped Tajikistan, for instance. But its bilateral trade with China amounting to $873 USD is heavily tilted in favour of the latter. It would also be interesting to know how Armenian analysts view events in Sri Lanka.

This makes the situation very favourable for India. India’s ties with Armenia are civilizational, thanks to its diaspora, Armenia and India continue to share a unique bond. High profile visits have characterized bilateral relations, and new life was breathed into the relationship beginning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Armenian President Nikol Pashashian in New York in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. India sees Armenia not only as a friend but a good counterweight to Turkey whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been particularly belligerent on the Kashmir issue, and followed a number of policies inimical to India, as well as to Azerbaijan, closely allied with Turkey and Pakistan.

Armenia is strategically located bordering Russia, Iran, Turkey. It is a significant part of multimodal trade routes. The Armenian North South Road Corridor is being developed to connect the Black Sea ports through the territory of Armenia and Georgia and further to Europe.

The implementation of the Project is expected to improve Europe – Caucasus – Asia road communication at the intersection of West Asia and East Europe. During his visit to Yerevan last year in October, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar pledged his support for the corridor. Earlier in 2021, Armenia was included in the virtual conference to commemorate the Chabahar Port. Its North South Corridor easily connects to the International North South Transport Corridor that India is involved in together with Russia and Iran. The first freight recently arrived through the INSTC from Russia to India. The Armenian Road Corridor becomes a natural part of the INSTC, which India has pitched for further linking to the Chabahar Port which it is helping develop.

This offers a valuable option to the BRI. India must therefore seize the opportunity to direct investments to the country, which will help to both develop the corridor, currently being funded by amongst others the Asian Development Bank, as well as resuscitate Armenia’s flailing economy. While China’s Confucius Institutes have made inroads and become quickly popular with Armenians, Indian soft power through Bollywood, Indian cuisine, and the centuries old Armenian diaspora in India has an edge. But it needs to be backed up by equally strong investments and trade. Current bilateral trade between India and Armenia hovers around a paltry $ 234 million. Of this Armenia enjoys the balance of trade but its main exports are minerals and metals. It is seeking to set up its manufacturing base and Indian companies and entrepreneurs with enormous experience can help in this.

Together with defence, trade, and investments, Armenia can become a strategically significant partner for India, where India can set up bases and a commercial and defence hub for joint manufacture and Indian exports beyond. Located in Russia’s sphere of influence, this is an additional advantage for India. Any Indian bases there should not be irksome to Russia, even as it offers an alternative to Armenia and will preempt China’s expanding footprint.

https://www.dnaindia.com/world/report-defence-export-armenia-turns-to-india-for-military-hardware-amid-war-against-azerbaijan-2970048

Armenia doesn’t fully meet minimum standards to eliminate trafficking, report says

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 Emil Lazarian

Panorama

Armenia –

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday released the 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.

For the second year in a row, Armenia is on Tier 2, in recognition of its overall increasing efforts towards the elimination of trafficking as compared with the previous reporting period, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia reports.

These efforts included prosecuting more traffickers and identifying more victims. Courts convicted a labor trafficker for the first time since 2014. The government adopted screening indicators for use by social workers, amended procedures to standardize data collection and information sharing, and provided comprehensive training to relevant staff.

The report also notes that Armenia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and suggests areas for future improvement, particularly in victim identification and labor trafficking. The United States is committed to partnering with Armenia to advance its anti-trafficking efforts.

The full report is available here.

Western Armenian and Hamshen dialect meet in the ‘Grain of Light’

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 Emil Lazarian

14:48,

YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS. The song titled Lusi Hadig [Grain of Light], a duet between Istanbulite singer Sibil, renowned for her performances of songs in both Eastern and Western Armenian, and Ayşenur Kolivar, who for many years has both performed and conducted research on studied the musics of the Eastern Black Sea region, has been released on all digital platforms.

[see video]

Composed and arranged by Ari Hergel, the Western Armenian lyrics of the song are by Lebanese Armenian poet Ashod Pakradouni, while its Hamshen dialect lyrics belong to Hamshen people writer Mahir Özkan.

The music video directed by Özkan Aksular for Lusi Hadig, which invites the world to ‘goodness’ in Western Armenian and Hamshen dialect, has been presented to the appreciation of viewers with English, Eastern Armenian, Turkish subtitles, as well as audio description and sign language options on the YouTube channel of Kalan Music, the producer.

This song brings together two different expressions of the same language that fell apart over time as they continued to live on in the same region, and also draws attention to the proximity of Western Armenian and Hamshen dialect, both listed by UNESCO as ‘definitely endangered languages’

Sibil, who has gained international recognition with her work in the field of Armenian popular music and Ayşenur Kolivar, who interprets the multiculturality of Eastern Black Sea in her own unique style, lend their voices to hope with Lusi Hadig, which ties the awakening of spring to the joy of Vardavar.

Armenian Deputy FM, newly appointed Ambassador of Albania discuss issues of deepening cooperation in a number of spheres

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 Emil Lazarian

19:20,

YEREVAN, JULY 19, ARMENPRESS. On July 19, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan received the newly appointed Ambassador of Albania Luela Hajdaraga (residence in Athens) on the occasion of handing over the copy of her credentials.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, congratulating the Ambassador on the occasion of her appointment, Deputy Foreign Minister Hovhannisyan highlighted the importance of Armenian-Albanian relations and the need to further develop them. He wished success to Ambassador Hajdaraga in her mission, expressing hope that she will give a new impetus to the bilateral cooperation with her vigorous activities.

Expressing gratitude for the reception and good wishes, Ambassador Hajdaraga assured that she will make maximum efforts to activate and promote the cooperation between Armenia and Albania.

The interlocutors referred to issues related to political dialogue, partnership in international structures, development of trade and economic relations, cooperation in educational and cultural fields, as well as the expansion of the legal framework.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 07/19/2022

July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 Emil Lazarian

                                        Tuesday, 


Khamenei Warns Against Attempts To ‘Block’ Armenian-Iranian Border


Iran - Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses university students, April 26, 2022.


Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned against attempts to “block” 
Armenia’s border with his country when he met with Turkish President Recep 
Tayyip Erdogan in Tehran on Tuesday.

Erdogan travelled to the Iranian capital for a trilateral meeting with his 
Iranian and Russian counterparts on the conflict in Syria. The conflict was 
reportedly the main focus of his conversation with Khamenei.

Khamenei, who has the final say on key state policies, also brought up the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at the meeting. According to Iranian news agencies, he 
“expressed his satisfaction with Nagorno-Karabakh’s return to Azerbaijan” as a 
result of the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war.

He also said: “If there is an effort to block the border between Iran and 
Armenia, the Islamic Republic will oppose it because this border has been a 
communication route for thousands of years.”

The Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh commits 
Armenia to opening rail and road links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan 
exclave. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has claimed that it calls for an 
exterritorial land corridor that would pass through Syunik, the sole Armenian 
province bordering Iran.

Iran - Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip 
Erdogan, .

Turkish leaders and Erdogan in particular regularly echo Aliyev’s demands for 
the “Zangezur corridor.”

Armenia has rejected the demands, saying that Azerbaijani citizens and cargo 
cannot be exempt from Armenian border controls.

Tehran has effectively sided with Yerevan on the issue, repeatedly voicing 
support for Armenian sovereignty over transit roads passing through Armenia. Ali 
Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reaffirmed 
this stance during a July 7 visit to the Armenian capital.

Last October, an influential Iranian cleric accused Aliyev of trying to “cut 
Iran’s access to Armenia.”

While in Tehran, Erdogan also held separate talks with Russian President 
Vladimir Putin. The latter mentioned “the settlement of the Karabakh problem” in 
his opening remarks at the talks.

Russia deployed soldiers and border guards to Syunik during and after the 2020 
war to help the Armenian military defend the province against possible 
Azerbaijani attacks.

Visiting Yerevan last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted 
that Armenia will control the planned road and railway that will connect 
Nakhichevan to the rest of Azerbaijan. Lavrov said the Armenian side will only 
simplify border crossing procedures.



Yerevan Reassures Baku Over Troop Withdrawal From Karabakh

        • Nane Sahakian

ARMENIA -- An Armenian soldier stands guard atop a hill near Charektar village, 
November 25, 2020


Armenia will complete the withdrawal of its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh in 
September, a senior Armenian official said on Tuesday following fresh complaints 
voiced by Azerbaijan’s leaders.

“Due to the [2020] war, a number of units of Armenia’s Armed Forces entered 
Nagorno-Karabakh to help its Defense Army,” Armen Grigorian, the secretary of 
Armenia’s Security Council, told the Armenpress news agency. “They have been 
returning to the Republic of Armenia since the ceasefire took effect [in 
November 2020.]”

“This process is close to completion and will end in September,” he said. “As 
for the Defense Army, it has been in Nagorno-Karabakh and will remain there.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claimed last Friday that Armenia still has 
troops in Karabakh in breach of the ceasefire accord brokered by Russia. He said 
a senior Russian military official assured Baku early this year that the 
Armenian troop withdrawal will be completed by June.

“It’s already the middle of July and the issue has not been resolved,” 
complained Aliyev.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov apparently raised the matter with 
his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan when they met in Tbilisi on Saturday. 
According to the Foreign Ministry in Baku, Bayramov called for a full 
implementation of Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements, singling out “the withdrawal 
of Armenian forces from Azerbaijani territory.”

Domestic critics of the Armenian government deplored Grigorian’s announcement, 
saying that Yerevan is continuing to appease Baku at all costs.

“Thus the Armenian authorities are continuing to duly comply with all demands 
and preconditions of Aliyev and the Turkish authorities,” wrote Gegham Manukian, 
an opposition parliamentarian.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s administration, Manukian claimed, has made 
clear that Karabakh will be left “unprotected.”

Grigorian downplayed security implications of the troop withdrawal, arguing that 
Karabakh will retain its armed forces and will also be protected by Russian 
peacekeeping forces deployed there following the 2020 war.

“The peacekeeping forces are of key importance in guaranteeing the security of 
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians,” said the official.



Russia, Armenia ‘Tackling External Threats’

        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian meets Sergei Naryshkin, head of 
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey, Yerevan, .


Armenian and Russian security services are working together to neutralize common 
“external threats” facing their countries, the head of Russia’s Foreign 
Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin, said at the end of a visit to 
Yerevan late on Monday.

Naryshkin praised the current state of Russian-Armenian relations after holding 
talks with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Armen Abazian, the head of 
Armenia’s National Security Service.

“I must say that cooperation of our countries is developing positively in the 
economic, military-political and humanitarian areas,” he told Russian media 
outlets afterwards. “Interaction between special services is part of that 
cooperation, and I obviously discussed with my [Armenian] counterpart exchange 
of intelligence information, joint actions for the purpose of identifying and 
forestalling a whole range of external threats to Russia and Armenia.”

“Our consultations will continue. We are drawing up a plan of joint work for the 
coming years,” he said.

Naryshkin did not specify those threats. But he did accuse “liberal-totalitarian 
regimes in the West” of trying to destabilize various parts of the world, 
including Ukraine, to preserve what he called an “unjust” world order which is 
crumbling now.

Armenia has refrained from publicly criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 
The South Caucasus state has long maintained close military, political and 
economic ties with Russia. Its heavy dependence on Moscow for defense and 
security deepened further after the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pashinian met Naryshkin three days after receiving William Burns, the director 
of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The Armenian government reported few 
details of those talks.

The Russian intelligence chief insisted on Monday that his visit to Armenia is 
“not connected” with Burns’s surprise trip. Washington has declined to comment 
on the trip.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Prime Minister introduces new Chief of General Staff to top brass

July 19, 2022July 19, 2022 Emil Lazarian

17:05,

YEREVAN, JULY 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Defense to introduce the new Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, First Deputy Minister of Defense Edvard Asryan to the top military leadership.

“First of all I’d like to thank Lieutenant General Kamo Kochunts for fulfilling the duties of the Chief of General Staff in the last six months. I’d like to wish good luck to Mr. Asryan in fulfilling his mission in this highly important position. As you know, certain legislative changes were made and from now on after the law takes effect the Chief of the General Staff will also serve as First Deputy Minister of Defense, with all subsequent consequences. We made this decision upon studying a number of events that took place in the recent years, including issues of working partnership between the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. I believe that a right decision was made. I’d like to express hope that as a result of implementing this decision the productivity of our work in the area of reforms of the military, the army will be more effective.

Mr. Kochunts, allow me to once again thank you for your work, and Mr. Asryan, allow me to wish you good luck in this highly important position,” PM Nikol Pashinyan said.

“In this responsible position, Mr. Prime Minister, I assume the obligation to fulfill all envisaged functions and duties and fulfill the objectives of the Armed Forces,” Asryan said in part in his remarks. He stressed that the General Staff is a collegial body and that they will work under collegial principals.

Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan also delivered remarks. He congratulated Asryan on his appointment and wished productive work. Papikyan thanked Kochunts for his service.

Asryan then ceremonially assumed the duties of Chief of General Staff as Minister of Defense Papikyan handed him the Coat of Arms of the Armed Forces.

The California Courier Online, July 21, 2022

July 19, 2022July 19, 2022 Emil Lazarian

1- Prime Minister Pashinyan has no Right

To Ban an Armenian from Entering Armenia

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2- President Biden Meets with Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem

3- Armenian and Turkish leaders had phone conversation — the
first in 30 years

4- Pashinyan Bars French-Armenian Community Leader from Entering Armenia

5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19

************************************************************************************************************************************************

1- Prime Minister Pashinyan has no Right

To Ban an Armenian from Entering Armenia

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

French Armenian community leader Mourad (Franck) Papazian and his wife
were not allowed to enter Armenia last week after they arrived at the
Yerevan Airport. Papazian is a member of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation’s worldwide leadership (Bureau) and the Co-President of the
Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France.

At passport control, Papazian was told to wait until they verified his
information. He had a proper French passport and did not need a visa
to enter Armenia. While he was waiting, customs’ officials were
consulting with their superiors on the phone.

Papazian was then led to an isolated room at the airport where he was
kept for several hours. Finally, National Security Service agents told
him that he was not allowed to enter Armenia.

Despite Papazian’s several requests, he was never informed of the
reason for his being barred from entering Armenia. He was expelled
from the country by placing him on the next flight to Paris.

This is an incident with serious ethical, legal, diplomatic and
national implications.

Ethically, if Armenian officials want to ban someone from entering
Armenia, they should have the minimum courtesy of telling the
individual the reason for such a grave decision. The visitor is
entitled to know why he is not being allowed to enter the country.

In terms of Armenian laws, regardless of the reason for banning
Papazian from entering the country, Armenian officials don’t have the
right to take such an action on their own, be they airport officials,
National Security Service agents or Prime Minister. Banning any
visitor, let alone a fellow Armenian, from entering the country is a
very serious decision. If Papazian had violated any Armenian laws,
airport officials could have detained him, presented the charges
against him to a judge who would have taken a legal decision based on
the evidence after listening to both sides. Is Armenia a country
governed by laws or by the vindictive decisions of the Prime Minister?
If one man can act as the executive, legislative and judicial branches
of the government, then Armenia is far from being a democratic
country. It is sad that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who came to
power four years ago as a democrat, is ignoring all democratic norms.
Papazian’s sole guilt is being critical of the failed regime of
Pashinyan.

In terms of European laws, Armenia violated in this case several
principles of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, which it had committed to uphold. The required
procedure is that Papazian first challenge his expulsion in a domestic
Armenian court. If he is unsuccessful there, Papazian can then take
his complaint to the European Court of Human Rights. I am certain that
the European Court will find that the Armenian government violated
Papazian’s “right to a fair trial,” “freedom of _expression_” and
“freedom of movement.” Furthermore, Papazian’s expulsion was a
violation of United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Regarding this incident’s possible negative effect on Armenia’s
relations with France, as a French citizen, Papazian has filed a
complaint with the French Embassy in Yerevan and the French Foreign
Ministry in Paris. As a well-known political activist, Papazian has
close ties with Pres. Macron of France and other high-ranking French
officials. Already, there was another unpleasant incident last May,
when Papazian accompanied the Pro-Armenian Mayor of Paris, Anne
Hidalgo, on her visit to Armenia. Since Papazian is a critic of
Pashinyan, he informed the Prime Minister’s office that he will not
join the Mayor’s scheduled meeting with Pashinyan, in order not to
create an unwelcome scene during the meeting. Without any explanation,
at the last minute, the Prime Minister decided to cancel the meeting
with the Paris Mayor. This was a major diplomatic error. Armenia can
ill afford to alienate French officials who are some of its staunchest
supporters.

In terms of the Armenian government undermining the collective
interests of the Armenian nation, it is counterproductive that while
Armenia is surrounded by bloodthirsty enemies and its very existence
is threatened, its leaders are engaged in a self-defeating action
regarding the Diaspora which only serves to further weaken Armenia.
Azerbaijan does have massive petrodollars, but Armenia has a large
Diaspora which is an unutilized asset.

I am afraid that Papazian’s expulsion, if not reversed quickly, will
have an adverse effect on Armenia’s relations with the seven-million
strong Diaspora. Armenia’s leaders, rather than coming up with
initiatives to attract more Diaspora Armenians to visit, immigrate and
invest in Armenia, are unwisely alienating them.

Since Papazian’s only guilt is that he was a critic of Pashinyan, his
expulsion could cause many other Diaspora Armenians, who are opposed
to the Prime Minister, to avoid visiting Armenia out of a concern that
they too will be stopped at the Yerevan Airport and not be allowed to
visit their homeland.

It is highly regrettable that Papazian, a man who has dedicated his
entire life to defending the interests of Armenia and the Armenia
Cause, is treated in such an offensive manner. With great sadness, he
acknowledged: “I knew that I was banned from Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Today, I am banned from Pashinyan’s Armenia.”

************************************************************************************************************************************************
2- President Biden Meets with Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)— President Joe Biden on Wednesday, July 13
touched down in the Middle East for the first time as president, for a
visit to Israel, the occupied West Bank and Saudi Arabia centered on
encouraging the growing ties between Israel and Arab countries, while
resetting his administration's relationship with Saudi Arabia.

On Friday, July 15, Biden was received by representatives of the three
churches managing the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem—The Greek
Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Custody of the Holy Land, and the
Armenian Patriarchate— and he met with the leaders of each church,
including Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Nourhan
Manougian. The Archbishop took the president on a tour of the church
and presented Biden with a plate and a pomegranate made of Armenian
terracotta, Chancellor of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem
Koryun Baghdasaryan said on social media.

During the talk with the US President, the Armenian Patriarch thanked
him for recognizing the Armenian Genocide and discussed other topics
including the preservation of Christian sites in the Holy Land..

Patriarch Theophilos III stressed the need for active American
intervention to protect the Christian heritage and presence in the
Holy Land, especially in the city of Jerusalem. The Patriarch
explained the dangers of Christian migration from Jerusalem. His
Beatitude also noted attacks on churches, clergy and Christian
faithful by members of Israeli radical groups and the attempts to
seize the properties of Jaffa Gate in a case that illustrates the
battle waged by these groups against the Christian presence in
Jerusalem. He also spoke of restricting freedom of worship against
Muslims and Christians, preventing believers from reaching their
places of worship freely, giving the example of Israeli police this
year prevented worshippers from reaching the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre on the Saturday of Holy Fire.
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3- Armenian and Turkish leaders had phone conversation — the
first in 30 years

YEREVAN (Arka)—Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone
conversation with the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July
11, the Armenian government press office said.

It said Pashinyan congratulated the Turkish President on Kurban Bayram
(Islamic holiday) and the latter congratulated the Prime Minister on
the upcoming Vardavar-Feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ.

The leaders emphasized the importance they attach to the bilateral
normalization process between their respective countries.

In this context they expressed their expectation for the early
implementation of the agreements reached during the meeting between
the Special Representatives of their countries on July 1.

This is the first telephone conversation between the leaders of the
two neighboring countries that have not had diplomatic relations for
almost 30 years and have lived with closed borders.

On July 1, special envoys of Armenia and Turkey for normalization of
relations – Ruben Rubinyan of Armenia and Serdar Kilic of Turkey –
agreed during their fourth meeting in Vienna to enable the crossing of
the land border between Armenia and Turkey for third-country citizens
visiting Armenia and Turkey respectively at the earliest date possible
and decided to initiate the necessary process to that end.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said they also agreed on commencing
direct air cargo trade between Armenia and Turkey at the earliest
possible date and decided to initiate the necessary process to that
effect.

Furthermore, they discussed other possible concrete steps that can be
undertaken towards achieving the ultimate goal of full normalization
between their respective countries.

Finally, they reemphasized their agreement to continue the
normalization process without preconditions.

The first round of talks was held in Moscow on Jan. 14, where both
parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions. The
Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second and third time in
Vienna on Feb. 24 and May 3, 2022.

Although Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Armenia’s
independence from the former Soviet Union, the countries have no
diplomatic ties and Turkey shut down their common border in 1993, in a
show of solidarity with Azerbaijan which was locked in a conflict with
Armenia over the Artsakh region.

Turkey also refuses to recognize the Armenian genocide, committed
during 1915-1923.

In 2009, Ankara and Yerevan reached an agreement in Zurich to
establish diplomatic relations and to open their joint border, but
Turkey later said it could not ratify the deal until Armenia withdrew
from Artsakh.

In 2020, Turkey strongly backed Azerbaijan in the six-week war with
Armenia over Artsakh which ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal
that saw Azerbaijan gain control of a significant part of Artsakh.

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4- Pashinyan Bars French-Armenian Community Leader from Entering Armenia

(Panorama.am)—Co-chairman of the Coordination Council of Armenian
Organization in France and Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)
Bureau member Franck (Mourad) Papazian has been banned from entering
Armenia, he said on Thursday, July 14.

“It is with great sadness that I inform you that I was barred from
entering Armenia last night,” he wrote on Facebook. “By the order of
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, I have been declared persona non grata
in Armenia.”

He said the Armenian police escorted him back onto the Air France
plane and confiscated his passport.

“I knew that I was banned from entering Turkey and Azerbaijan. Now I
am denied entry into Armenia as well,” Papazian informed.

“After 40 years of hard work for Armenia and the Armenian cause, It’s
extremely painful to find myself in such a situation. Nikol
Pashinyan’s decision once again indicates that he is not up to the
responsibilities incumbent on him.

“Pashinyan is strong when he asks his police to expel an activist of
the Armenian cause. Can you imagine this little leader talking with
Erdogan or Aliyev? Sooner or later, the Armenian people will realize
that they will have to get rid of this leader who is making every
effort to weaken Armenia. The Diaspora will also realize it. But it’s
high time to tell him to stop,” he stated.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************

5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19

More than 2.2 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been
administered in Armenia since commencing the vaccination program a
year ago, authorities said on July 18. Armenia has recorded 423,771
coronavirus cases. Armenia has recorded 8,629 deaths; for the fifth
week, no new deaths were reported. There are 2,481 active cases;
412,661 have recovered.

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Armenia and Turkey reaffirm their desire for “normalization”, according to Yerevan

July 19, 2022July 19, 2022 Emil Lazarian

The Saxon

July 11 2022

Teilor Stone

July 11, 2022

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the recent NATO summit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan exchanged a rare phone call on Monday, during which they called, according to Yerevan, for easing relations between their long-time sworn enemy countries.

In a statement, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said that MM. Erdogan and Pashinyan had agreed on the importance of a bilateral process to normalize relations.

This talk comes as Ankara and Yerevan have succeeded in the 1st July a diplomatic breakthrough: they agreed to allow the direct transport of goods by air between their countries and to open the crossing of their common land borders to citizens of third countries.

The two leaders hope that the July 1 agreements will be implemented in the near future, Armenian diplomacy said on Monday.

The two countries do not ;have never formally established diplomatic ties and their common border has been closed since the 1990s, forcing trucks to transit through Georgia or Iran.

Armenians estimate that one and a half million of their people were systematically killed during the First World War by the troops of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey, from the dismantling of the empire in 1920, recognizes massacres, but rejects the term genocide, evoking a civil war in Anatolia, coupled with a famine, in which 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and as many Turks are dead.

Armenia's defeat in Nagorny-Karabakh after six weeks of war in November 2020, in favor of Turkey's ally Azerbaijan , however, now makes possible a rapprochement between Yerevan and Ankara.

This improvement is strongly desired by Armenia, in the grip of economic difficulties, and encouraged by its Russian ally.

On January 14, special envoys, Serdar Kiliç on the Turkish side, and Ruben Rubinyan for Armenia, met in Mosc Where. The following month, commercial flights resumed between the two countries, the first in two years.

https://thesaxon.org/armenia-and-turkey-reaffirm-their-desire-for-normalization-according-to-yerevan/1659/

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