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

Russian defense minister calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan to stop escalating situation

November 22, 2021November 22, 2021 Emil Lazarian

TASS, Russia
Nov 16 2021

Russian defense minister calls on Armenia, Azerbaijan to stop escalating situation

Army General Sergey Shoigu held telephone talks with Azerbaijani and Armenian Defense Ministers, Colonel General Zakir Gasanov and Suren Papikyan

MOSCOW, November 16. /TASS/. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has called on his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts to stop actions provoking further escalation of the situation, the Russian defense ministry said after Shoigu’s telephone talks with them.

“Russian Defense Minister Army General Shoigu held telephone talks with Azerbaijani and Armenian Defense Ministers, Colonel General Zakir Gasanov and Suren Papikyan. The defense ministers discussed the current escalation of the situation at the Azerbaijan-Armenian border near Mount Kilisali. Shoigu called on both side to stop actions provoking escalation of the situation,” the ministry said.

The Armenian defense ministry said earlier in the day that Minister Papikyan had spoken over the phone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu to discuss the situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The Azerbaijani side also informed about telephone talks between Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Gasanov and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu.

Armenia’s defense ministry said on Tuesday that several Armenian soldiers were killed and wounded following an offensive staged by the Azerbaijani army at the eastern direction. According to Chairman of the Armenian Security Council Armen Grigoryan, the country has called on Russia “to protect Armenia’s territorial integrity.” Armenian Ambassador to Russia Vardan Toganyan told TASS that Russia and Armenia were in consultations via military and diplomatic channels over the current escalations of the situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Azerbaijan attacks Armenia, casualties reported

November 22, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

Greek City Times

Nov 16 2021

by ATHENS BUREAU

Documentary Film Highlights Missing POW from Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

November 22, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

EIN Presswire

16 Nov 2021

Film poster of The Son

Filmed over a period of three years, filmmaker Karan Singh spoke to witnesses in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Italy and Russia in his search for the truth.

This is a universal story that transcends the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. People everywhere can relate to this story of a grieving family denied closure.”

— Karan Singh

FARGO, U.S.A., November 16, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — A new documentary film highlights the human tragedy of missing prisoners of war. The Son, directed by Karan Singh, investigates the disappearance of a young prisoner of war, Natig Gasimov, during the first Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1992.

The Son is part of the official selection at the fifth annual North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival that is taking place in Fargo from November 2nd to 18th.

The film uses unpublished photos taken by Italian war photographer Enrico Sarsini, who covered the conflict for Russia’s Ogoniok magazine. He was present with Armenian forces at their siege of a strategically-located church near Agdam that was defended by Gasimov, a 19-year-old Azerbaijani volunteer.

After Gasimov surrendered in exchange for the lives of Azerbaijani hostages captured in Khojali, he was then interrogated by Armenian forces. Sarsini’s photos of this interrogation show the Armenian officers and soldiers present. But once Sarsini had to leave to return to Moscow, the young Azerbaijani prisoner of war disappeared and was never heard of again.

The 46-minute documentary finds out what happened to Gasimov and who may be responsible for his disappearance. Filmed over a period of three years, the filmmaker spoke to witnesses in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Italy and Russia in his search for the truth. Singh travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh, which was under Armenian control at the time, to meet local Armenian officials and to track down the church defended by Gasimov.

“This film looks at a forgotten conflict of the 1990s, seen through the eyes of ordinary people caught up in this brutal war on the eastern edge of Europe. Thousands are still listed as missing,” said the film’s director Singh.

The London-based filmmaker met the family of Gasimov in the Azerbaijani city of Ganja, who still believe that he is alive and will return. The film shows a particularly emotional moment when Gasimov’s mother sees the last photos taken of her son by Sarsini.

“This is a universal story that transcends the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. People everywhere can relate to this story of a grieving family denied closure, of a mother waiting for her son for over almost three decades,” Singh pointed out.

The Son held its world premiere in July at the Whistleblower Film Festival, an annual festival held in Washington D.C. to highlight civil and human rights violations across the globe.

Karan Singh
Broken Pot Media Ltd.
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Armenpress: OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs express ‘deep concern over incidents in the region,including along Armenia-Azerbaijan border’

November 22, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs express ‘deep concern over incidents in the region,including along Armenia-Azerbaijan border’

02:12, 16 November, 2021

WASHINGTON/PARIS/MOSCOW, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Andrew Schofer of the United States of America, Igor Khovaev of the Russian Federation, and Brice Roquefeuil of France) released the following statement today:

“The Co-Chairs view with deep concern recent incidents in the region, including those along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The Co-Chairs call on the sides to take concrete steps to de-escalate the situation immediately. The Co-Chairs also urge the sides to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric and provocative actions, and implement in full the commitments they undertook under the November 9 statement and other jointly agreed ceasefire arrangements.

The recent increase in tension underscores the need for a negotiated, comprehensive, and sustainable settlement of all remaining issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Co-Chairs urge the sides to build on the progress made during the joint meetings of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan held under the auspices of the Co-Chairs in New York and Paris, by continuing to engage in direct dialogue aimed at contributing to security, stability, and prosperity in the region. “

Armenia invokes 1997 treaty requesting Russia’s help amid Azerbaijani attack

November 22, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

15:47, 16 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Yerevan is officially invoking the Armenia-Russia 1997 treaty asking Moscow to help resolve the situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan said on Public Television.

“We find it important to underscore that since there’s been an attack on sovereign territory of Armenia, we are applying to Russia with a call to defend Armenia’s territorial integrity within the framework of the existing treaty between Armenia and Russia of 1997 and within the framework of the logic of implementing mutual obligations as part of the treaty,” he said.

He said there will also be a written procedure invoking the treaty. “We want to inform the public and our partners that we are starting this process. We expect that Russia will provide support and we will have the opportunity to restore Armenia’s territorial integrity,” he said.

Grigoryan added that it’s been numerously said that Russia considers the Armenian state borders to be a “red line”. He noted that the Azerbaijani military is violating this red line since May 12. “In this regard we are applying to our ally so that we’ll be able to restore the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia within the framework of allied obligations,” Grigoryan said.

Asked whether or not the support is expected to be in the form of participation in negotiations or military assistance, Grigoryan said: “If it will be possible to solve this situation with negotiations, then solve with negotiations, if not, then to provide sufficient military assistance to Armenia so that Armenia is able to resolve the situation,” he said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Azerbaijani armed forces launched open terrorist attack against Armenia – Ombudsman issues statement

November 22, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

16:26, 16 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani armed forces have started an open terrorist attack against Armenia, including in the vicinity of several civilian settlements of Syunik province, Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan said in a statement issued on the occasion of the latest Azerbaijani attacks at the eastern section of Armenia’s border.

Tatoyan said that from the very beginning the actions of Azerbaijan are criminal and are part of its genocidal policy.

“Following the war the Azerbaijani armed forces invaded and were illegally deployed near the settlements and in the sovereign territory of Armenia. Since then, in different periods they are engaged in regular crimes, including terrorist acts, they fire at the settlements, they are a real danger to the life and health of the civilians, they set fire on pastures, the free movement of the people has been restricted as a result of their actions, etc.

The Armenian servicemen protect the life and health of the population from the Azerbaijani criminal acts”, the Ombudsman said.

Arman Tatoyan has initiated urgent examinations over the Azerbaijani terrorist acts which started since November 14.

“According to some data, it is reported that 6 Armenian servicemen have been captured. This is an open illegal act as the deployments and actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen are unlawful from the very beginning”, Tatoyan said.

He stated that the Azerbaijani authorities bear a full responsibility for any harm to the life and health of the Armenian servicemen caused by their illegal, terrorist acts from the very beginning.

Tatoyan also informed that he is sending reports about the situation to the international community.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian military reports casualties, two positions lost

November 22, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

16:48, 16 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian military said it suffered casualties and lost two positions during the Azerbaijani attacks in the eastern border.

The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that as of 16:00 the situation in the eastern border remains “extremely tense”.

“As a result of the battles which started as a result of the Azerbaijani armed forces’ attack on Armenian positions there are killed and wounded [servicemen] on the Armenian side, and information on the casualties are still being checked, and the loss of two combat positions is also confirmed,” the Ministry of Defense said.

It added that the countermeasures of the Armenian military inflicted heavy personnel and materiel losses upon the Azerbaijani forces. The Ministry of Defense said the intense battles still continue.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

As Azerbaijan pushes advantage against Armenia, Russia’s role again under scrutiny

November 22, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

EurasiaNet.org

Nov 17 2021

A Russian peacekeeper mans a checkpoint in Lachin this month. (Russian Defense Ministry)

As conflict again erupted in the Caucasus, and Armenia reports that Azerbaijani troops again crossed their international border, a familiar question is again being asked: Where is Russia?

Following hours of heavy fighting on November 16, resulting the largest casualty totals since last year’s war, Russia managed to broker a ceasefire late in the day. November 17 passed without any violent incidents reported.

Armenian officials said that much of the fighting took place inside its territory, but did not specify a precise area. Many Armenian media reported that it was near the lake Sev Lich in the Syunik region, where Azerbaijani soldiers crossed the border in May and have reportedly remained since then.

The renewal of the border incursion prompted Armenia to seek help from its treaty ally, Russia. The chair of Armenia’s National Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, said on November 16 that the country was appealing to Russia on the basis of a 1997 mutual defense treaty. The next day, Russian newspaper Kommersant followed up with him and asked what sort of assistance Yerevan was seeking. “We are in favor of the problem being solved diplomatically,” he answered. “But if it can’t be solved diplomatically, then it will have to be resolved militarily.” He added a warning of a sort: that while Armenia was relying on Russia, “if a resolution isn’t found, then we will have to look at other possibilities.”

Russia’s public response has been understated. On November 17, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin had undertaken “active efforts” to stop the fighting, including speaking with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (but not, apparently, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev). “Thanks to these mediating efforts the Russian side was able yesterday to restrain the conflicting sides,” Peskov told a press conference.

But the repeated incursions across Armenia’s border would seem to call for a stronger Russian response. Russia has security guarantees, both bilaterally and via the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), that oblige it to come to Armenia’s defense in case of attack.

At a meeting of the National Security Council on the evening of November 16, Pashinyan said that Azerbaijani forces controlled about 41 square kilometers of Armenia and blamed the fighting on the “silence from our international partners.” (The figure of 41 kilometers has been used since May, following the incursion into Sev Lich and also in another region, near Vardenis. That would suggest that no new land was occupied in this newest round of fighting, but the Armenian Defense Ministry also reported that it had lost two military positions in the fighting.)

While Pashinyan was careful not to name names among “international partners,” others were more specific.

“Why do the CSTO and Russia ignore their alliance commitments to Yerevan when Azerbaijan is regularly and openly conducting incursions into the sovereign territory of Armenia,” wrote journalist Tatul Hakobyan. “What are the red lines, if any, beyond which Russia will no longer remain silent?”

Hakobyan also reported, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, that during their phone conversation, Putin had dissuaded Pashinyan from formally appealing for assistance from Moscow.

Russia’s inaction also was the source of much speculation during last year’s war. But that war was conducted in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, on territory that had been controlled by Armenian forces since the 1990s but internationally recognized as Azerbaijani and so not subject to the mutual defense pacts. These recent incursions into Armenian territory proper are different.

(Technically there is no border between the two countries in the absence of a bilateral agreement, and they are currently negotiating on a formal demarcation of their shared border. But the two sides have already come to a de facto agreement based on Soviet maps, most visible on the road through southern Armenia that passes through some slices of Azerbaijani territory. According to those maps however, Sev Lich lies firmly in Armenian territory.)

Russian troops guard some sections of Armenia’s border, and during last year’s war made a show of force, albeit a quiet one, by setting up new guard posts along the Azerbaijani border. They have continued to expand that presence since the war, including one new post along the northern section of the border next to the Azerbaijani exclave of Askipara (which Armenians call Voskepar). It is not clear, however, whether the Russians have set up such a post around Sev Lich, which is in a difficult-to-access area.

While Azerbaijan has claimed that this new round of fighting was set off by Armenian “provocations” along the border, it is a pretext that few take seriously. Azerbaijani analysts suggest that it was instigated by Baku in order to force Yerevan to sign new agreements, on border demarcation and new cross-border transportation routes, in support of last year’s ceasefire agreement.

But if that is the case, it is a direct challenge to Russia, which not only has mutual defense treaties with Armenia but also is the cosigner and guarantor of the ceasefire agreement.

Russia may, though, not have many options to respond.

“Russia has no room to maneuver here,” wrote Sergey Markedonov, an analyst of the Caucasus at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, on Facebook. “This is Armenian territory, not disputed Karabakh. Turkey’s influence is many times greater than it was a year ago, so sharp movements would be problematic as it could put [Russia] at odds both with the West and Ankara.”

While it appeared that Azerbaijan was most likely “using force as pressure on the negotiations,” Markedonov added, “silence is dangerous and the information space now is not in Moscow’s favor. […] Simply staying quiet and putting out optimistic statements is not a solution!”

Joshua Kucera is the Turkey/Caucasus editor at Eurasianet, and author of .

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijani analysts discuss Armenian PM’s frequent change of defense ministers

November 22, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

17 November 2021 09:52 (UTC+04:00)

544

By Trend

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has appointed a new defense minister – fourth during his four-year ruling as Armenia’s Prime Minister.

Suren Papikyan has been appointed the new Defense Minister, with his predecessor being Arshak Karapetyan.

“Arshak Karapetyan was remembered for his provocative actions, his illegal trips to the Azerbaijani lands liberated from the Armenian occupation and provocations against Azerbaijani servicemen in Lachin district and the recent aggravation of the situation,” Azerbaijani MP, political analyst Rasim Musabayov told Trend.

He said that the frequent appointment in the Armenian Ministry of Defense and the Foreign Ministry shows that Pashinyan’s regime cannot properly regulate power.

“Karapetyan committed many provocative actions, all this was a problem for Pashinyan,” Musabayov added. “I think that Russia did not like such behavior of Karapetyan.”

The Azerbaijani MP said that all these factors forced Pashinyan to appoint new people in the defense ministry.

“It is difficult to say how well the new minister will be able to control the situation,” Musabayov said. “This will depend on his skills, willpower, Pashinyan’s support, including an assessment of the real situation and adequate behavior.”

Military expert Adalat Valiyev told Trend that the dismissal of Karapetyan is connected with the tough position of the Azerbaijani side after his illegal visit to Karabakh region on November 6-8.

“It is known that after the victory in the second Karabakh war, two high-ranking Armenian officials, namely, ex-foreign minister Ara Ayvazyan and ex-defense minister Arshak Karapetyan visited Karabakh region,” Valiyev said.

He added that the fact that after these illegal trips, both were immediately dismissed from their posts, openly demonstrates Pashinyan’s position in connection with trips to Karabakh region.

Valiyev noted that the fact that the current minister of defense is a civilian rather than a military man shows that Pashinyan has no choice.

“New Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan was appointed Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia three months ago,” Valiyev said. “He was a peaceful official.”

The expert said that apparently, Pashinyan has no other option but to appoint a civilian to this position because the Armenian military elite consisting of 60 people signed an appeal against Pashinyan.

“The appointment of one of the generals who signed this appeal would mean Pashinyan’s defeat in front of the military elite,” Valiyev said.

According to the Armenian media, new Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan taught history in one of Yerevan’s schools in 2010-2016. Moreover, Papikyan, known as the “asphalt tycoon”, has a criminal record. A criminal case was filed against him for stabbing a commander while serving in the army.

Suren Papikyan, found guilty of a criminal act, was imprisoned for 2 years and 3 months on March 27, 2006. He was released as part of amnesty on February 23, 2007.

US Secretary of State urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to take steps to reduce tensions on border

November 22, 2021March 12, 2026 Emil Lazarian

10:05, 17 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a statement following the November 16 Azerbaijani attacks on Armenia at the eastern parts of the border.

“The United States is deeply concerned about reports of intensive fighting today between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We urge both sides to take immediate concrete steps to reduce tensions and avoid further escalation.  We also call on the sides to engage directly and constructively to resolve all outstanding issues, including border demarcation.

As noted in the Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ statement on November 15, the recent increase in tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan underscores the need for a negotiated, comprehensive, and sustainable settlement of all remaining issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno Karabakh conflict”, the statement says.