Tuesday,
Blinken, Pashinian Discuss Armenian-Azeri Talks
U.S. - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol
Pashinian meet on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly session, New York,
September 22, ,2022.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Antony
Blinken Armenia’s peace talks with Azerbaijan and Baku’s continuing blockade of
Nagorno-Karabakh in a phone call on Tuesday.
“The interlocutors reviewed the situation in the region, ongoing negotiations on
the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, necessary steps to ensure the
rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, including the need for
a Baku-Stepanakert dialogue with international involvement,” the Armenian
government’s press office said in a statement on the call.
“Prime Minister Pashinian referred to the deepening humanitarian crisis in
Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin
Corridor and steps necessary for overcoming it,” it added without elaborating.
Blinken and the U.S. State Department did not immediately issue statements on
the conversation. It took place five days after U.S. National Security Adviser
Jake Sullivan met with Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia’s Security
Council, in Washington. Sullivan did not comment on that meeting.
Both Blinken and Sullivan held late last month trilateral meetings with the
Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers during their fresh round of
U.S.-mediated peace talks focusing on the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
Blinken said on June 29 that despite “further progress” made by the two
ministers “there remains hard work to be done to try to reach a final agreement.”
Speaking in Baku on Tuesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stressed the
importance of Armenia’s recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty over
Nagorno-Karabakh which was declared by Pashinian in May.
“Now, however, the time has come to put those words to paper,” Aliyev said,
referring to the peace deal currently discussed by Baku and Yerevan.
Opposition Lawmaker Ousted From Armenian Parliament Post
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - A session of the National Assembly, Yerevan, .
The Armenian opposition accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of dealing
another blow to pluralism and democracy on Tuesday after his party ousted the
last remaining opposition head of a standing parliament committee.
Lawmakers representing the Civil Contract party voted to dismiss Taguhi
Tovmasian as chairwoman of the National Assembly’s committee on human rights
after a brief session. The vote was boycotted by their colleagues from the
opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem alliances.
Civil Contract’s Hovik Aghazarian was the only parliament deputy who spoke
during the session. He repeated the ruling party’s complaints that Tovmasian did
not attend most meetings of the Armenian parliament’s leadership and did not
stop “hate speech” when her committee discussed on April 4 candidacies for the
then vacant post of the state human rights defender.
Edgar Ghazarian, the opposition candidate for the post, enraged pro-government
lawmakers with his claim that the 2018 “velvet revolution” that brought
Pashinian to power was in fact a “Turkish-Azerbaijani revolution.” They shouted
abuse and threats at Ghazarian during the meeting chaired by Tovmasian.
One of those lawmakers, Artur Hovannisian, pledged to “cut the tongues and ears
of anyone” who would make disparaging comments about the regime change.
Pashinian’s party did not criticize his behavior.
Tovmasian, who is affiliated with Pativ Unem, insisted that she did nothing
wrong on April 4. In a written statement, she also argued that the parliamentary
statutes did not require her to attend meetings of the National Assembly’s
Council consisting of speaker Alen Simonian, his deputies as well as the
committee chairpersons.
Tovmasian again claimed that Pashinian personally ordered his loyalists to strip
her of the parliamentary post in retaliation against her defection from his
political team following Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.
“As you can see, any dissent in Armenia is strangled by imprisonment and
dismissal,” added the former journalist and newspaper editor.
Armenia - Taguhi Tovmasian (right) and other deputies from Pativ Unem bloc
attend a parliamernt session, September 14, 2021.
Pativ Unem voiced strong support for Tovmasian, saying that she acted
professionally on April 4 in the face of her pro-government colleagues’
“hooligan behavior.” The official grounds for her dismissal are “completely
baseless and illegal,” the opposition bloc charged in a statement.
Hayastan also condemned Tovmasian’s dismissal. “The government cannot put a
straitjacket on the opposition; that means totalitarianism, dictatorship,
tyranny,” said one of its senior parliamentarians, Artsvik Minasian.
Armenian law reserves a number of leadership positions in the parliament for the
opposition minority. Tovmasian’s ouster left the opposition without any such
posts.
Hayastan’s Ishkhan Saghatelian and Vahe Hakobian were ousted as deputy speaker
and chairman of the parliament committee on economic affairs respectively in
July 2022 after weeks of anti-government protests organized by Hayastan and
Pativ Unem. Another Hayastan deputy, Armen Gevorgian, immediately resigned as
chairman of a committee on “Eurasian integration” in protest.
Both opposition blocs made clear on Tuesday that they will not nominate a new
head of the human rights committee. Civil Contract likewise said that it will
not install Tovmasian’s successor.
Nevertheless, the ruling party will effectively gain control of her post even in
the absence of a new committee chair. In line with the parliamentary statutes,
the human rights panel will be run, in an acting capacity, by Rustam Bakoyan,
its deputy chairman affiliated with Civil Contract.
Last year, Bakoyan’s former wife accused him of systematically beating her,
publicizing purported photographs of injuries sustained by her. Bakoyan, who
denied the allegations, was not prosecuted or even censured by Pashinian’s party.
Government Vows To Tackle ‘Police Violence Against Lawyers’
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian speaks in the parliament, Yerevan,
March 1, 2023.
Armenia’s Interior Ministry and national bar association agreed on Tuesday to
set up a joint working group tasked with protecting lawyers against violent
police actions.
The agreement was announced after hundreds of lawyers again went on a one-day
strike and marched to the ministry headquarters in Yerevan to show support for
their colleagues allegedly beaten up by police officers.
Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian received the leaders of the Armenian Chamber of
Advocates, which organized the protest. One of them, Ara Zohrabian, was
satisfied with the meeting that lasted for less than an hour.
Zohrabian said they received assurances that “there will no such instances
involving lawyers anymore.” Lawyers assaulted by police officers will now be
able to swiftly appeal to the joint commission that will comprise three Interior
Ministry officials and three lawyers, he told journalists.
Neither Ghazarian nor the ministry’s press office made any statements to that
effect immediately after the meeting.
The protests began late last month after one attorney, Karen Alaverdian, claimed
to have been subjected to “undue physical force” while trying to stop several
policemen kicking and punching his client at a Yerevan police station.
Armenia - Lawyers protest outside the Interior Ministry in Yerevan, July 11,
2023.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee denied the allegations on June 13, saying that
Alaverdian himself shoved and even hit the officers in a bid to free the
criminal suspect. The law-enforcement agency charged him with “hooliganism” and
obstruction of legitimate police actions. The Chamber of Advocates voiced
support for Alaverdian and demanded a proper investigation into the incident.
Alaverdian revealed on Tuesday that two senior officers working at the police
department of Yerevan’s central administrative district have been indicted by
another law-enforcement body, the National Security Service (NSS), and suspended
as a result. He welcomed the development.
Two other lawyers claimed to have been ill-treated at another Yerevan police
station in February while representing a teenage criminal suspect. Their
allegations were likewise denied by the Armenian police and the Investigative
Committee.
The protesting lawyers say that the national police chief, Karlen Hovannisian,
is personally responsible for the alleged violence. More than 500 of them have
signed a petition demanding his dismissal.
According to Zohrabian, Hovannisian also attended the interior minister’s
meeting with the Chamber of Advocates leadership. The latter insisted on
Hovannisian’s resignation during and after the meeting.
Azerbaijan Again Blocks Medical Evacuations From Karabakh
• Artak Khulian
Armenia - A Red Cross vehicle is seen in Syunik province, June 1, 2023.
Azerbaijan has again banned the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
from evacuating seriously ill persons from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
Azerbaijan’s state border guard service said on Tuesday that it made the
decision because Karabakh residents returning home from Armenia repeatedly tried
last week to “smuggle” cigarettes, mobile phone screens, gasoline and other
items. The ICRC failed to stop such “illegal actions,” it said, adding that the
Azerbaijani checkpoint controversially set up in the Lachin corridor in April
will remain completely closed until the end of its inquiry into the alleged
smuggling attempts.
The ICRC has transported hundreds of Karabakh patients to Armenian hospitals
since Baku blocked last December commercial traffic through Karabakh’s sole land
link with Armenia. Only Red Cross vehicles as well as convoys of Russian
peacekeepers were able to pass through the road.
The ICRC said later on Tuesday that four of its hired drivers “tried to
transport some commercial goods in their own vehicles which were temporarily
displaying the ICRC emblem.”
“These individuals were not ICRC staff members and their service contracts were
immediately terminated by the ICRC,” it added in a statement.
"Our work along the Lachin corridor is always strictly humanitarian. This
essential work, which has allowed more than 600 patients to be evacuated for
medical care and for medical supplies, food, baby formula and other essentials
to reach health care facilities and families, must be allowed to continue.”
Baku already blocked the medical evacuations in late April and on June 15. They
most recently resumed on June 25.
Karabakh’s leadership did not immediately react to the latest Azerbaijani ban.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry expressed concern about it, saying that “more
international efforts and actions are needed to lift the 7-month blockade of
Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“It is obvious that Azerbaijan is simply looking for excuses to finally close
the only way through which medicines and other medical supplies were brought to
Karabakh,” Artur Harutiunian, a senior Karabakh lawmaker, told RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service.
Harutiunian argued that family members accompanying Karabakh patients on their
way back from Armenia did not try to smuggle weapons or drugs. He said they only
carried things that are running out in Karabakh due to the Azerbaijani blockade.
Baku further tightened the blockade on June 15, banning the Russian peacekeepers
from shipping limited amounts of food to Karabakh. It has also been blocking
Armenia’s electricity and gas supplies to the Armenian-populated region.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
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
Azerbaijan’s claims were false and manipulative. Armenian MFA welcomes the decision of International Court of Justice
10:17,
YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia welcomes the Order of the International Court of Justice of 6 July 2023, the complete text of which was communicated to the parties on .
As ARMENPRESS was informed from the MFA Armenia, the Court unanimously reaffirmed its 22 February 2023 Order obligating Azerbaijan, pending the final decision in the case, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination “to take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions”.
The Court unanimously confirmed with its 6 July 2023 legally binding Order that the 22 February 2023 Order “applies without limitation” to the checkpoint established by Azerbaijan and the existence and operation of the Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor plausibly constitutes racial discrimination.
It is important to highlight that the Court considered that “the tenuous situation between the Parties confirms the need for effective implementation” of that Order, which was taken to prevent an imminent risk of irreparable harm to ethnic Armenians’ rights under the CERD and which has been and is still being intentionally disregarded by Azerbaijan.
Thus, the 6 July 2023 Order of the Court reaffirms Azerbaijan’s international legal obligation to take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions, and therefore to immediately cease the operation of its checkpoint, as it unquestionably impedes the rights under the CERD of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh.
It can be stated that the 6 July 2023 Order of the Court once again proves that Azerbaijan’s assertions of its compliance with the Order of the Court of 22 February 2023 were false and manipulative.
We also call on other international actors, and the UN Security Council in particular, to take all steps to ensure the immediate and effective implementation of the Court’s Order by Azerbaijan.
The Vatican’s other peace mission
ANALYSIS
The man sometimes called the Vatican’s “prime minister” is on a peace mission this week. But unlike the Ukraine war initiative led by the Vatican envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, it probably won’t generate many headlines.
In fact, you may struggle to find any reports on it at all. As of July 11, the Vatican’s in-house media doesn’t seem to have mentioned it. And it doesn’t appear on the Twitter account of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, the hub of the Holy See’s diplomatic activity.
But if you comb through government press releases and specialist Italian Catholic websites, you will see that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin is currently on a trip to Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are located in the Caucasus region, where Europe and Asia meet. But that is where the commonalities between the two countries seem to end.
Azerbaijan is a majority Muslim country of around 10 million people. It is almost three times larger than the majority Christian Armenia, which has a population of less than three million.
Since the last years of the Cold War, the two countries have been locked in post-Soviet Eurasia’s most enduring conflict.
Fighting has broken out periodically since 1998 over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is situated within Azerbaijan but populated by ethnic Armenians. The area is home to the breakaway state known as the Republic of Artsakh, which is closely tied to Armenia.
A upsurge in violence in 2020, in which both sides used loitering munitions (also known as “kamikaze drones”), is believed to have ushered in a new era of warfare dominated by deadly autonomous machines — as seen in Ukraine today.
Hundreds of soldiers were killed in the most recent major clashes at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in September 2022, which ended with an uneasy ceasefire.
Shortly afterward, purported environmental activists blocked the Lachin corridor, the sole road linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh. Human rights groups have said that the blockade is creating a humanitarian crisis in the disputed region.
Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has often shown his concern over the ongoing feud between the two nations. His sensitivity to the 35-year conflict possibly dates back to his years as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, when he was said to have maintained close ties with the local Armenian community.
In 2016, Francis visited both nations on separate trips, traveling to Armenia on June 24-26 and Azerbaijan on Oct. 2. In recent months, he has repeatedly expressed his anguish over the deteriorating humanitarian situation connected to the Lachin corridor blockade.
It is against this background that Cardinal Parolin began his five-day trip to the neighboring countries.
On July 10, Parolin met with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. According to the president’s website, the two men reviewed the deepening of ties between Azerbaijan in the Holy See in recent years.
Steps forward have included Aliyev’s 2020 visit to the Vatican, the opening of an Azerbaijani embassy to the Holy See in 2021, and the signing that year of a cooperation agreement to restore Rome’s Catacombs of Commodilla between the Vatican and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, a charitable body led by Azerbaijan’s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.
The cardinal held talks with the country’s foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov, discussing “the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the current situation in the region,” according to the Azerbaijan State News Agency.
The agency added that Bayramov told Parolin about the situation following the 2020 conflict, known in Azerbaijan as the “44-day Patriotic War” and by neutrals as the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (following the first in 1988-1994). The foreign minister highlighted what he called “the crimes, vandalism and destroyed cultural and religious heritage in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories,” as well as “the mine threats and other provocations committed by Armenia.”
On Monday, the cardinal also met with Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazadeh, the Grand Mufti of the Caucasus, who reportedly defended Azerbaijan against accusations that it is destroying Armenian cultural heritage.
Concerns about the erasure of historic Christian sites in Nagorno-Karabakh have been raised at the European Parliament and the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO.
The Shiite Muslim cleric also decried what he called “Armenian vandalism” of Azerbaijani sites — demonstrating that both sides accuse each other of attacking their patrimony.
In addition, Parolin visited the grave of Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president from 1993 to 2003, located in the Alley of Honor, a burial site for distinguished Azerbaijanis in the capital, Baku.
Cardinal Parolin was expected to travel to Armenia July 11 (via neighboring Georgia), remaining there until July 13. He is likely to receive a warm welcome as Armenia — the first country in the world to formally adopt Christianity in 301 A.D. — sees the Vatican as a crucial ally in the preservation of its unique spiritual culture.
As well as meeting with political leaders, the cardinal may be received by Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the ancient Armenian Apostolic Church, which has drawn closer to Rome since 1970 through a series of joint declarations and gestures such as the addition of the Armenian St. Gregory of Narek to the list of Doctors of the Church recognized by Catholics in 2015.
Parolin is also due to lay a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in the capital, Yerevan, emphasizing the Vatican’s recognition of the systematic destruction of the Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1917. Pope Francis has not hesitated to describe the killing of between 1.2 and 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, despite opposition from Turkey, the republic born out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire (and a close ally of Azerbaijan).
Parolin is also expected to celebrate a Mass in Gyumri, the country’s second-largest city, which will no doubt be attended by members of the minority Armenian Catholic Church, one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the pope.
Even if Parolin’s trip doesn’t produce immediate results, such as an easing of the Lachin corridor crisis, it’s likely to prove a shrewd investment of the Holy See’s diplomatic capital if — or perhaps when— Armenia and Azerbaijan take up arms again.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/the-vaticans-other-peace-mission
Obstructing the supply of ICRC humanitarian goods by Azerbaijan is a war crime. Artsakh MFA
20:09,
YEREVAN, 12 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh issued a statement regarding Azerbaijan’s obstruction of the movement of vehicles of the International Committee of the Red Cross through the Lachin Corridor, stressing that Azerbaijan is obliged not to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian goods to the besieged Artsakh. Violation of this obligation is a serious violation of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and is qualified as a war crime.
ARMENPRESS reports, the statement of the Artsakh Foreign Ministry stated:
“On 11 July, the Azerbaijani side once again blocked the movement of the ICRC vehicles through the illegally established checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor, thereby grossly violating both the norms of international humanitarian law and Azerbaijan’s own obligations under the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020 and the ICJ orders of 22 February and 6 July 2023. The fact that Azerbaijan justifies this unlawful and inhumane act by alleging the transportation of “unauthorised items” such as mobile phones, cigarettes and fuel on ICRC vehicles only proves the ongoing transport, food and energy blockade of Artsakh and the acute shortage of essential goods, as well as Baku’s hostile and inhumane attitude towards the people of Artsakh.
We reiterate that in accordance with the norms of international humanitarian law, Azerbaijan has an obligation not to impede the delivery of humanitarian cargo to besieged Artsakh. Violating this obligation constitutes a serious breach of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and qualifies as a war crime.
While acknowledging the ICRC’s statement of 11 July regarding this matter, it is also necessary to emphasise that Azerbaijan’s actions directly violate the Trilateral Statement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, which, among other things, provides for the establishment of the Lachin Corridor regime under the control of Russian peacekeeping forces to ensure a connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, as well as the security of movement for persons, vehicles and cargo in both directions through the Lachin Corridor. Moreover, the continued blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan constitutes a violation of the two legally binding decisions of the International Court of Justice, which ordered Azerbaijan to ensure the unimpeded movement of persons and goods in both directions through the Lachin Corridor. We emphasise that in their approaches to the issue of the Lachin Corridor, international actors should proceed from the legally binding decisions of the International Court of Justice.
By obstructing the humanitarian operations of the ICRC, including medical evacuations, Azerbaijan not only disregards its international obligations but also exacerbates the already dire humanitarian situation in Artsakh. This ban effectively deprives access to urgent medical assistance for all those who critically need it, which can lead to serious consequences and loss of life.
The disruption of ICRC humanitarian operations, combined with the total blockade in place since 15 June and Azerbaijan’s consistent obstruction of humanitarian outreach to the population of Artsakh, as well as its policy of creating most unbearable conditions in Artsakh, is yet another manifestation of Azerbaijan’s genocidal intentions towards the people of Artsakh.
We believe it is imperative for the international community to condemn Azerbaijan’s unlawful actions, exert pressure on the Azerbaijani authorities to restore the ICRC’s ability to conduct humanitarian transportation and medical evacuations through the Lachin Corridor based on the principle of respect for human dignity, and make collective efforts to protect the rights and security of the people of Artsakh. Once again, we remind of the responsibility of all parties involved in the peace process in lifting the criminal blockade of Artsakh that has been going on for 7 months now and ensuring Azerbaijan’s full compliance with its obligations under the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020 and the decisions of the International Court of Justice”.
ABMDR Participates in Two Pan-National Medical Conferences in Armenia
Dr. Mihran Nazaretyan during his presentation at the Medical Congress of Armenia. Photos courtesy of the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry
Events Showcased Latest Medical Advances
LOS ANGELES—The Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry took part in two globally-significant medical conferences in July that were held in Yerevan.
The ABMDR participated in the sixth International Medical Congress of Armenia from July 6 to 8.
Speaking at the event were ABMDR Executive Director Dr. Sevak Avagyan, Medical Director Dr. Mihran Nazaretyan, and Senior Lab Technician and Database Manager Alina Sirunyan. The speakers highlighted ABMDR’s latest achievements, not only in terms of matching donors for bone marrow/stem cell transplantation and research, but also in helping patients in Armenia with state-of-the-art molecular testing for diagnosis and treatment.
Main partners of the sixth International Medical Congress of Armenia included the Armenian Medical International Committee and the Armenian American Medical Society. In his remarks, AAMS President Dr. Vicken Sepilian, one of the event’s keynote speakers, stated, “What we’re trying to accomplish through this global conference is to bring the very latest achievements of medical science to the Armenian homeland.”
ABMDR also participated in the third Pan-Armenian Hematology satellite Symposium, which was held on July 5 in Yerevan. Representing ABMDR at the event was Dr. Mihran Nazaretyan, who spoke about the organization’s various areas of expertise and most recent achievements. During the symposium, a number of potential bone marrow donors joined the registry. All event participants also received informative pamphlets about ABMDR activities.
Commenting on the importance of the two medical conferences in Yerevan, ABMDR President Dr. Frieda Jordan said, “With their focus on scientific and technical progress, these events bring the global Armenian medical community together, for the very noble goal of promoting the health and well-being of our nation. It is an honor to take part in these pan-national events.”
Established in 1999, ABMDR, a nonprofit organization, helps Armenians and non-Armenians worldwide survive life-threatening blood-related illnesses by recruiting and matching donors to those requiring bone marrow stem cell transplants. To date, the registry has recruited over 33,500 donors in 44 countries across four continents, identified over 9,000 patients, and facilitated 40 bone marrow transplants. For more information, call (323) 663-3609 or visit abmdr.am.
AW: The Folly and Perils of an Armenia-Azerbaijan “Peace Agreement”
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met in Arlington, VA from June 27-29, 2023 (Republic of Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Last month, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, descended on Arlington, VA for U.S.-mediated marathon peace talks. The three-day negotiation session aimed to register progress around various thorny issues (i.e., border demarcation, unblocking transportation links and the final status of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh) and lay the groundwork for an eventual normalization accord between the archrivals. Despite ups and downs, Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations have recently gathered pace with an uptick in summits across Washington D.C., Brussels and Moscow. (Russia—the longtime regional hegemon—maintains a dueling diplomatic track and routinely blasts the mediation efforts of its Western counterparts.) The United States appears resolved to shepherd through a peace deal, eager to expand its clout along Russia’s southern flank. But in their current form, these negotiations are poised to exacerbate the region’s geopolitical fault lines and foster future rounds of armed conflict while entrenching Russian interests.
Essentially Appeasement: Perpetuating Cycles of Violence
Since a catastrophic defeat in the 2020 Artsakh War, Armenia has been embroiled in a protracted security-cum-political crisis. (The Armenian government, helmed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, has failed to chart a fresh security strategy to extract the country from its existential imbroglio.) Taking advantage of disorientation in Yerevan, Azerbaijan has launched a multi-pronged pressure campaign—marked by a series of armed assaults and hybrid warfare—to extract further concessions and consolidate its recent geopolitical gains via a negotiated settlement. The international community, bereft of policy alternatives, has championed such a process, casting a peace agreement as the region’s best bet for stability and prosperity. Amid Moscow’s preoccupation with its botched invasion of Ukraine—and its flagging credibility as a neutral arbitrator—Washington also sees an opportunity to curtail Russian clout in the Caucasus.
These prospective accords—products of rushed negotiations and misguided assumptions—are poised to backfire, failing to deliver the intended benefits envisioned by Washington and setting the stage for future bouts of regional conflagration. Recent negotiations— supported by the United States, European Union and Russia alike—are the culmination of a long-running policy of appeasement towards Azerbaijan. Baku’s conduct—including armed incursions and hostage diplomacy—is routinely met with meek condemnation in global capitals. (In recent statements, the United States has also disavowed sanctions as a tool to check Azeri aggression, a further boon to Baku’s designs.) These accords, crafted in the same tepid spirit, are set to handsomely reward Azerbaijan’s insidious pressure campaign, conducted in partnership with Russia and Turkey, at the expense of regional security.
Should this so-called peace agreement—better characterized as a stop-gap measure—materialize, it will almost certainly fail to usher in genuine normalization or stem violence. The arrangement will shift the region’s geopolitical balance firmly in favor of Azerbaijan and expose an enfeebled Armenia to fresh security risks from Azerbaijan and continued assaults on its sovereignty from Russia. An emboldened Baku, eager to reap additional geopolitical gains—and acutely aware of Yerevan’s much-reduced post-war military capabilities—is likely to ratchet up tensions at will, without fear of consequence. (Nationalist militarism is a core ideological plank of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s autocratic regime. Aliyev regularly engages in saber-rattling and spews irredentist remarks, claiming vast swathes of Armenia as Azerbaijani territory.) Premature declarations of Azerbaijan’s reliability and appetite for peace will ring hollow. Azerbaijan often launches incursions into Armenian territory and violates the ceasefire regime in Artsakh. (Baku is also a seasoned practitioner of disinformation, distorting the facts around its aggression via a narrative of false parity.) So instead of its purported goals, the accords are likely to perpetuate—if not, exacerbate—the current cycle of escalation, presaging future rounds of Azeri belligerence and increasing reliance on Russia while prompting criticism of the United States for its facilitating role. As such, the accords will also provide fodder for the next disinformation campaign against American interests and Western norms. Avoiding this trap requires the rejection (and non-legitimization) of territorial gains achieved via wars of aggression in Artsakh—and Ukraine.
From Pacification to Eradication
The most contentious—and consequential—negotiation portfolio is the final status of Artsakh, the Armenian-majority enclave at the center of the Armenia-Azerbaijan rivalry. The region—artificially integrated into Azerbaijan in 1921 via the whims of Joseph Stalin—has enjoyed self-governance since Armenian forces prevailed in the First Artsakh War (1988-1994). This precarious, yet relatively stable, existence came to a crashing halt amid the 2020 Artsakh War. The conflict saw Azerbaijan capture vast swathes of Artsakh and adjoining territories—including all-important land bridges to Armenia—eroding the viability of the Armenian statelet. In the aftermath of the war—which ended via a woefully enforced Moscow-designed ceasefire—Baku has conducted a creeping takeover of Artsakh, seizing villages, crippling utility networks and kidnapping civilians. (Since December, Azerbaijan has also subjected Artsakh to a wholesale blockade, precipitating a humanitarian crisis.) Azerbaijan’s relentless pacification campaign—compounded by continued international intransigence and a lack of security guarantees—is pushing the beleaguered region toward the precipice, with grim prospects for relief.
Deliberations around Artsakh’s final status remain murky. But concerns abound that Armenia’s leadership—short on capacity and vision—will acquiesce to the absorption of Artsakh into Azerbaijan as the price to seal a peace agreement. The local population views integration with Baku as an existential risk, citing Azerbaijan’s recent conduct: terrorizing civilians, extrajudicial killings of POWs and the demolition of religious monuments. (The Aliyev regime has also embraced Armenophobia as state policy.) In the event of a negotiated takeover, Azerbaijan will continue to chip away at remaining trappings of modern life, rendering the enclave uninhabitable—and precipitating an exodus of its Armenians. (Baku may also opt to pacify the region by force.) Vague security guarantees will fail to assuage a petrified population. (The Russian peacekeeping mission in Artsakh—ostensibly tasked with protecting the region’s Armenian denizens—has actively abetted Azerbaijan’s creeping takeover.) Given Azerbaijan’s violent proclivities and maximalist geopolitical ambitions, a grand bargain around Artsakh will condemn the region’s millennia-old Armenian community to exile—or possible carnage.
Peace Treaty or Trojan Horse
The United States has recently eclipsed Russia, the longtime regional powerbroker, as the chief focal point of Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations. Washington’s increased engagement is animated in part by a desire to curtail the Kremlin’s regional clout amid Russian entanglement in Ukraine. The United States has stepped up diplomatic activities across the Caucasus and Central Asia, reaching out to counterparts unnerved by an increasingly unhinged and bellicose Russia. (In recent months, a stream of American officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have traversed the former Soviet bloc, burnishing relationships and exploring areas of mutual interest. Enforcing sanction regimes, imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, is also high on Washington’s regional agenda.) However, these accords, contrary to Washington’s thinking, will perpetuate Moscow’s grip on its near abroad, while rewarding Baku, a Russian ally masquerading as a neutral partner-to-all.
The prevailing logic around the negotiations—that a normalization deal will foster regional security and narrow Russia’s margin to meddle—ignores the geopolitical realignment roiling the region, including the growing partnership between Azerbaijan and Russia. (Turkey is also a member of this emerging axis. Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin are firm champions of fellow authoritarian, recently reelected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.) In recent years, Moscow—driven by political and economic interests including its premeditated confrontation with the West—has cultivated closer ties to an ascendant Baku. (Azerbaijan and Russia cemented their blossoming relationship via an alliance agreement signed days before the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.) And as the Ukraine conflict drags on, Moscow’s dealings with Baku are assuming greater strategic importance.
With the Russian economy languishing, Moscow is growing increasingly reliant on its regional relations to access markets—and skirt sanctions. Russia is building out alternative logistics channels, beyond the reach of the West, to expand trade flows with economic partners. Baku is a critical node in these burgeoning commercial and sanctions-busting networks. (Following the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow reportedly bypassed oil sanctions via Azerbaijan.) Baku hosts a leg of the International North-South Transport Corridor, a new trade route connecting Russia to the Indian Ocean. The corridor, while serving to facilitate Russian access to Asian markets, will also establish a secure channel between Moscow and Tehran, global pariahs turned security partners. Azerbaijan and Russia also aim to carve out the “Zangezur” Corridor—an envisioned extraterritorial, Moscow-managed corridor to Turkey via Armenia’s southern Syunik region. (Yerevan is violently opposed to this proposed scheme, which would involve the expropriation of Armenian territory.) Russia is poised to leverage these links to weather the economic fallout of the Ukraine conflict and circumvent tightening international sanctions regimes. With its stock rising vis-à-vis Moscow, an emboldened Azerbaijan is forging ahead with its geopolitical agenda.
Amid advantageous conditions, Baku, in alignment with Moscow, is shaping the postwar order in its favor, strong-arming Yerevan into acquiescing to a heavily skewed normalization agreement. The accords, devoid of security guarantees, will thrust Armenia further into the geopolitical wilderness. (And amid sustained Russian pressure, and the specter of Azeri aggression, an already reeling Armenian government will at best struggle in vain to chart the foreign policies and build the alternative security partnerships necessary to foster defense capabilities and deterrence.) In this hostile environment, a beleaguered Armenia will likely seek the familiar embrace of its erstwhile ally Russia, with hollow hopes of security assistance, ensnaring Yerevan in the Russian orbit.
These normalization accords will also fail to achieve American objectives vis-à-vis Azerbaijan. The argument that ceding Artsakh will steer Baku away from Moscow’s orbit is a hollow gambit, prone to risks and conjecture. In fact, this ploy has already been exhausted. Moscow greenlit—and helped coordinate—the incremental Azerbaijani takeover of Artsakh in exchange for Baku’s strategic cooperation. This arrangement involves Azerbaijan serving as a custodian of Russian interests in the Caucasus—chief among them precluding an expanded Western presence in the region.
Baku is also firmly ensconced in an emerging authoritarian axis along with Ankara and Moscow. This regional triumvirate is linked by common geopolitical interests and shared contempt for Western values. (Aliyev and Putin intervened in the recent Turkish presidential elections in favor of Erdogan.) Therefore, forfeiting Artsakh to coax Azerbaijan out of this strategic bloc will fail to precipitate Washington’s desired geopolitical realignment and counter Russian, or perhaps even Iranian, influence.
New Path to Normalization
The United States has a historic opportunity to help establish stability and prosperity in the Caucasus. The region—a potential buttress against Russian influence—is at a geopolitical crossroads. Sustained engagement, underpinned by sober policymaking, can swing the pendulum in favor of the United States and its European allies. But the current trajectory of Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization is poised to diminish such prospects. In their present form, Washington-mediated negotiations will buoy a creeping pro-Moscow authoritarian currently stalking the region (i.e., Georgia). They will also compromise the sovereignty of Armenia, foiling the aspiring democracy’s attempt to flee Moscow’s grip. To escape this geopolitical trap, a reset in Yerevan-Baku negotiations is necessary. A fresh approach, one that embraces gradual normalization, is better suited to fostering a more sustainable peace between the archrivals, while checking Moscow’s local sway.
A real reset would begin with the United States and European Union restoring a modicum of parity between the two opposing parties. Currently, Azerbaijan wields an armed veto over the negotiations. (Gunpoint negotiations rarely foster lasting peace. And Aliyev’s geopolitical gains, achieved via a mix of conventional military might and hybrid warfare, will inspire like-minded tyrants to embrace similar tactics.) To mitigate Azerbaijan’s armed advantage and level the playing field, Washington and its European counterparts should extend security assistance to Armenia. (A potential security package could include professional military education, capability development and defense sector reform initiatives.) This would help Yerevan rebuild its battered armed forces and deterrence capacity. Meanwhile, the international community should support security stabilization measures, including the European Union border monitoring mission and the demilitarization of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. (Washington should also condition further talks on confidence-building measures from Baku: the release of Armenian POWs and lifting the siege on Artsakh.) With a more level playing field, Armenia and Azerbaijan could build consensus around less contentious issues (i.e., the resumption of economic links), before tackling heftier portfolios. Under these modified conditions, normalization, while difficult to achieve, will be possible. Establishing and nurturing a just peace is the best way to preclude a relapse into conflict and a resurgence of Russian influence. To induce Baku’s cooperation, the United States may also choose to examine Azerbaijan’s prima facie claim of territorial integrity more closely. It may conclude that, unlike other territorial disputes afflicting the former Soviet bloc, Artsakh is more like Kosovo—the majority Albanian enclave that exercised self-determination vis-à-vis Serbia amid mass discrimination and the specter of ethnic cleansing—than previously reckoned.
RFE/RL Armenian Service – 07/12/2023
Wednesday,
Self-Confessed Felons May Avoid Jail In Armenia
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia -- A prison in the Amavir province, Novemer 1, 2019.
The Armenian parliament approved late on Tuesday a controversial government bill
that will allow law-enforcement authorities not to press charges against
individuals confessing to murders and other serious crimes.
The bill denounced by opposition lawmakers involves amendments to the Criminal
Code stipulating that suspects could avoid prosecution in “exceptional” cases
where they cooperate with investigators, admit committing “serious or
particularly serious crimes” and agree to compensate for the damage caused by
them.
Presenting the bill to the National Assembly, Justice Minister Grigor Minasian
said it is primarily aimed at reducing the workload of law-enforcement agencies
as well as courts. He claimed that they are too busy at the moment.
Deputies from the main opposition Hayastan alliance rejected the official
rationale for the proposed extrajudicial clemency which they believe will
effective give judicial powers to Armenia’s security apparatus.
“This clearly contradicts the fundamental principles of criminal justice,” one
of them, Artsvik Minasian (no relation to the justice minister), said.
He argued that the bill is also opposed by Armenia’s Interior Ministry, National
Security Service and Supreme Judicial Council.
The bill is understood to have been originally drafted by another
law-enforcement body, the Investigative Committee. It is headed by Argishti
Kyaramian, one of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s trusted lieutenants.
Armenia’s national bar association, the Chamber of Advocates, voiced strong
objections to the proposed amendments late last month. It said that giving
prosecutors and investigators “uncontrolled” discretionary powers to pardon
felons “could not only create an atmosphere of impunity but also carry
corruption risks.” It warned of “very serious damage” to the fight against crime.
The law-enforcement authorities have reported considerable annual increases in
Armenia’s crime rate since the 2018 “velvet revolution” that brought Pashinian
to power. Critics claim that the country is not as safe as it used to be because
its current government is more incompetent and softer on crime than the previous
ones.
The authorities registered a total of 37,612 criminal offenses in 2022, up by 24
percent from 2021. According to them, “serious and particularly serious crimes”
accounted for about 16 percent of the total. This included 58 premeditated
murders.
Armenia, Azerbaijan Hold More Talks On Border Delimitation
Armenia - A view of an area in Armenia's Syunik province bordering the Lachin
district, May 14, 2021. (Photo by the Armenian Human Rights Defender's Office)
Senior Armenian and Azerbaijani officials held on Wednesday another round of
direct negotiations on delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border amid fresh
fighting reported from some of its sections.
At least one Azerbaijani and two Armenian soldiers were wounded in border
skirmishes that reportedly broke out on Tuesday evening and continued the
following day. The two sides blamed each other for the ceasefire violations
reported by them from border areas separating Armenia’s southeastern Syunik
province from Azerbaijan’s Lachin district.
The fighting continued as Armenian and Azerbaijani government commissions on
border demarcation and delimitation held a joint session at another section of
the heavily militarized frontier located hundreds of kilometers northwest of the
Syunik-Lachin section.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry said that the commissions headed by deputy prime
ministers of the two South Caucasus states “continued discussing delimitation
issues and addressed a number of organizational and procedural issues.” It gave
no other details.
Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian proposed the joint meeting to his
Azerbaijani counterpart Shahin Mustafayev last month following increased
tensions along the border. Grigorian’s office said it should discuss “current
contentious issues that are causing tension on the border.”
The border demarcation was on the agenda of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
June 1 meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held in Moldova’s capital
Chisinau. Pashinian suggested right after those talks that Baku is open to
accepting an Armenian proposal to use 1975 Soviet maps as a basis for delimiting
the long border.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry denied that, however. It emphasized that
Azerbaijan has demarcated its borders with other neighboring states “on the
basis of analyses and examination of legally binding documents, rather than any
specially chosen map.”
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan acknowledged on June 5 that Yerevan
and Baku continue to disagree on the key parameters of delimiting their border.
This is one of the stumbling blocks in their ongoing talks on a bilateral peace
treaty. Aliyev and Pashinian are due to meet again later this month.
Pashinian and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the peace process
in a phone call on Tuesday. Blinken tweeted afterwards that he reiterated his
“strong support for ongoing efforts to secure peace with Azerbaijan.”
U.S., EU Insist On Reopening Of Lachin Corridor
Armenia - EU parliamentarians and monitors visit a section of the Armenian-Azeri
border adjacent to Lachin corridor, June 21, 2023.
The United States and the European Union renewed their calls for the immediate
lifting of Azerbaijan’s blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday one day after
Baku again banned medical evacuations from the Armenian-populated region.
Azerbaijan’s state border guard service said that it imposed the ban because
individuals escorted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) back
to Karabakh from Armenia tried last week to “smuggle” cigarettes, mobile phone
screens, gasoline and other items. The ICRC had transported hundreds of Karabakh
patients to Armenian hospitals since Baku blocked last December commercial
traffic through the Lachin corridor.
“The United States is deeply concerned about Azerbaijan's continued closure of
the Lachin corridor,” the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan said in a statement to
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“Yesterday’s halting of humanitarian traffic exacerbates a worsening
humanitarian situation and undermines efforts to establish confidence in the
peace process. Free and open transit through the Lachin corridor must be
restored immediately,” added the statement.
The EU’s foreign policy spokeswoman, Nabila Massrali, similarly urged Azerbaijan
to “ensure that ICRC can continue its operations and prevent a potential
humanitarian crisis” in Karabakh.
“The EU strongly supports the crucial role of the ICRC in the region, and
reiterates its call for Azerbaijan to ensure the unrestricted movement of people
and goods via the Lachin corridor,” said Massrali.
A view of the Azerbaijani checkpoint set up in the Lachin corridor, June 23,
2023.
The U.S., the EU as well as Russia have repeatedly made such statements during
the Azerbaijani blockade. Baku has dismissed them and denied blocking supplies
of food, medicine and other essential items that are now running out in Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani side further tightened the blockade on June 15, banning Russian
peacekeepers from shipping limited amounts of such items to Karabakh. It has
also been blocking Armenia’s electricity and gas supplies to the region.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry warned on Wednesday that Karabakh’s ethnic
Armenian population is now “facing a real danger of starvation.” It accused Baku
of trying to create “conditions incompatible with life” for the Karabakh
Armenians.
In a statement, the ministry also urged the international community to “use all
available tools” to ensure Azerbaijan’s compliance with a decision made by the
International Court of Justice in February. The UN court ordered Baku to “take
all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles,
and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.”
Armenia Sees Continued Surge In Trade With Russia
RUSSIA -- An Armenian truck passes through the newly expanded Russian checkpoint
at the Upper Lars border crossing with Georgia, June 21, 2023.
Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian predicted on Wednesday a continued sharp
increase in Armenia’s trade with Russia resulting in large measure from the
Western economic sanctions against Moscow.
Russian-Armenian trade doubled last year and in the first five months of this
year as the South Caucasus country took advantage of the barrage of sanctions
imposed on its main trading partner following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This, coupled with other cash inflows from Russia, is the main reason why the
Armenian economy grew by over 12 percent in 2022.
“Last year, our trade turnover with Russia reached more than $5 billion and we
have been seeing its doubling,” Kerobian told the TASS news agency as he
attended a trade exhibition in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. He said that
the rapid growth will likely moderate to “50-60 percent” by the end of 2023.
Armenian government data shows that the trade with Russia totaled $2.5 billion
in January-May 2023, compared with about $1.2 billion with the European Union.
The unprecedented upward trend is primarily driven by Armenian exports to Russia
that tripled in 2022 and January-May 2023. Goods manufactured in third countries
and re-exported by Armenian firms are thought to have accounted for most of that
gain. They include consumer electronics as well as other hi-tech goods and
components which Western powers say could be used by the Russian defense
industry.
The Armenian government has faced in recent months strong pressure from the
United States and the EU to curb the re-export of these items. It announced in
late May that Armenian exporters will now need government permission to deliver
microchips, transformers, video cameras, antennas and other electronic equipment
to Russia.
James O’Brien, the sanctions coordinator at the U.S. State Department, visited
Yerevan late last month to discuss the issue with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
and other Armenian officials. According to the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, he
“expressed appreciation for Armenia’s continued commitment to upholding U.S.
sanctions.”
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Second Armenian serviceman injured as a result of Azerbaijani shooting in Tegh village, Syunik
15:32,
YEREVAN, 12 JULY, ARMENPRESS. On July 12, at 12:10 p.m. Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire in the direction of the Armenian positions in Tegh village, as a result of which an Armenian serviceman was injured, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia.
The health condition of the serviceman is assessed as moderate with no threat to life.
Earlier today, the Azerbaijani armed forces had opened fire in the direction of the same Armenian positions, as a result of which an Armenian serviceman had been injured. The Ministry of Defense reported that the serviceman’s health condition is assessed as satisfactory, his life is not in danger either.
Azerbaijan accuses Red Cross of smuggling, shuts road to Karabakh
Qatar –
Azerbaijan says the passage through Lachin checkpoint is temporarily closed due to a probe into smuggling by the Red Cross.
Azerbaijan has temporarily shut the only road linking its breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region with Armenia, accusing the Armenian branch of the Red Cross of smuggling.
The Armenian-populated region has been at the centre of a decades-long territorial dispute between the Caucasus arch-foes, which have fought several wars over the mountainous territory.
“The passage through Lachin checkpoint of the state border is temporarily suspended” pending an investigation into the Red Cross using its medical vehicles for “smuggling”, Azerbaijan’s state border service said on Tuesday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that it “is aware of concerns raised about the transport of unauthorised goods across the Lachin Corridor and does not support any such activity”.
“No unauthorized material has been found in any vehicle belonging to ICRC. All cargo is subject to customs checks by the Republic of Azerbaijan,” it added.
“However, we regret that without our knowledge four hired drivers tried to transport some commercial goods in their own vehicles which were temporarily displaying the ICRC emblem. These individuals were not ICRC staff members and their service contracts were immediately terminated by the ICRC.”
Azerbaijan in April set up the border point at the entrance to the Lachin corridor, exacerbating allegations from Armenia of a Karabakh “blockade”.
The Armenian branch of the Red Cross said in late June that Azerbaijan was blocking access to Karabakh, as concern grew over the humanitarian situation in the restive region.
Azerbaijan’s state border service said several days later that traffic through the Lachin corridor – policed by Russian peacekeepers – resumed on June 26.
The latest developments followed a months-long blockade by Azerbaijani environmental activists, which Yerevan claims spurred a humanitarian crisis, and food and fuel shortages.
Azerbaijan insisted at the time that civilian transport could go unimpeded through the Lachin corridor.
In February, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the UN’s top judicial body – ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement on the road.
The two former Soviet republics have fought two wars for control of Karabakh, in the 1990s and again in 2020.
Six weeks of fighting ended on November 9, 2020 with a Russian-sponsored ceasefire that saw Armenia cede swaths of territory it had controlled for decades.
There have been frequent clashes at the two countries’ shared border despite continuing peace talks between Baku and Yerevan under mediation from the European Union and United States.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan. The ensuing conflict killed about 30,000 people.
SOURCE: AFP
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/11/azerbaijan-accuses-red-cross-of-smuggling-shuts-road-to-karabakh
Azerbaijan again spreads disinformation. MoD Artsakh
16:48,
YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has again spread disinformation, ARMENPRESS reports, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Artsakh said in a statement.
“The message issued by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan that the Defense Army units carried out fortification works in the Askeran and Karvachar regions of the Republic of Artsakh between 10:05 and 14:55 on July 11, which were allegedly suspended by the Azerbaijani units located in the occupied territories of the said regions, is another disinformation.
The false statements of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan are clearly aimed at justifying the periodic violations of the ceasefire by their own units,” MoD Artsakh said.