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

US calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to return to substantive discussions under auspices of OSCE MG Co-Chairs

Emil Lazarian

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 09:41, 29 July, 2021

YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS. The United States condemns the recent escalation of violence along the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

“We call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to uphold their ceasefire commitments by taking immediate steps to de-escalate the situation.

Continued tensions along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border underscore the fact that only a comprehensive resolution that addresses all outstanding issues can normalize relations between the two countries and allow the people of the region to live together peacefully.  

The United States urges Armenia and Azerbaijan to return as soon as possible to substantive discussions under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to achieve a long-term political settlement to the conflict”, the statement says.

Armenian Ombudsman in Gegharkunik province on fact-finding mission

Emil Lazarian

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 14:53, 29 July, 2021

YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS. Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan has visited Gegharkunik province for conducting fact-finding activities, his Office told Armenpress.

Accompanied by Vardenis Mayor Aram Melkonyan and the representative of the Governor’s Office, the Ombudsman is meeting with the locals, listens to their issues of concern.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Sotk gold mine not operating now for security purposes – Gegharkunik Governor

Emil Lazarian

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 15:38, 29 July, 2021

YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS. Governor of Armenia’s Gegharkunik province Gnel Sanosyan informed today that the Sotk gold mine doesn’t operate at the moment for security purposes.

“The employees and some of the equipment of the Sotk mine have been removed for security purposes. The mine is not operating at the moment. It will probably resume operation when there is no security issue”, he told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The Governor added that the section of the village of Kut is closed for reporters for the same security purposes. “The Azerbaijani side has somewhat advanced in the territory near the village of Kut since May 13-14. Such decision was made because of yesterday’s incident on border”, Gnel Sanosyan said.

On July 28, at around 03:40, the Azerbaijani armed forces launched a provocation and violated the ceasefire in the northern-eastern section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Three Armenian servicemen have been killed, four others have been wounded in action. The Azerbaijani attacking forces have been repelled to their initial positions, suffering losses. The sides have reached an agreement on ceasefire at the mediation of the Russian side.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Iran ready to help restore peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Emil Lazarian

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 16:39, 29 July, 2021

YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh voiced Tehran’s readiness to help restore peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, IRNA reports.

Khatibzadeh expressed concern about continuation of border conflicts between Azerbaijan and Armenia, calling on both sides to exercise restraint.

The Iranian spokesman stressed the need to find a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

Urging both sides to respect the internationally recognized borders, Khatibzadeh said Iran is ready to provide any assistance to establish sustainable peace in the region.

Baku court sentences 13 more Armenian POWs to 6 years in prison under sham charges

Emil Lazarian

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 16:47, 29 July, 2021

YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS. A court in Baku has completed the sham trial of 13 more Armenian prisoners of war, the Azerbaijani media report.

The Armenian POWs have been sentenced to 6 years in prison for “sabotage operations”.

They are the followings: Yeghishe Astanyan, Karen Aramyan, Tigran Avagyan, Grigor Gevorgyan, Hovsep Manukyan, Gevorg Martirosyan, Robert Gevorgyan, Vagharshak Avetisyan, Volodya Hakobyan, Andranik Sukiasyan, Andranik Manukyan, Grigor Saghatelyan and Eduard Kirakosyan.

Azerbaijan continues violating the provisions of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement on the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh, in particular the point relating to the return of prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenia urges Russia to deploy troops along border with Azerbaijan

Emil Lazarian
Financial Express, Bangladesh
July 30 2021

REUTERS | Published: July 30, 2021 19:30:00

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has urged Russia to deploy its forces along the length of Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan after a rise in tensions between Yerevan and Baku.

Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other earlier on Thursday of flouting a Russian-backed ceasefire that both sides had accepted the previous day to halt deadly clashes over their joint border, which Yerevan wants to be demarcated.

“Given the current situation, I think it makes sense to consider the question of stationing outposts of Russian border guards along the entire length of the Armenian-Azeri border,” Pashinyan said during a government meeting.

He said Yerevan was preparing to discuss the proposal with Moscow and that the move would allow work to be carried out on the demarcation and delimitation of the border without the risk of military clashes.

The Kremlin said it was in close contact with both Armenia and Azerbaijan, but declined comment on Pashinyan’s proposal.

Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics, are watched closely abroad for any threat to Azeri gas and oil pipelines and the risk of regional powers Turkey and Russia being dragged into any conflict.

Armenia’s defence ministry said Azeri troops had opened fire on Armenian positions at the Gegharkunik section of the border early on Thursday, prompting Armenia to return fire. It later said the situation was calm.

Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said Armenian forces had fired with machine guns and grenade launchers towards a village in the Kelbajar region and had thrown hand grenades. It said its forces returned fire.

The ceasefire was called on Wednesday after one of the deadliest border incidents since last year’s six-week war between ethnic Armenian forces and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region and surrounding areas.

Armenia said three of its soldiers were killed and four wounded. Azerbaijan said two of its soldiers were wounded.

In fighting from last September to November, Azeri troops drove ethnic Armenian forces out of swathes of territory they had controlled since the 1990s in and around Nagorno-Karabakh before Russia brokered a ceasefire.

A border dispute has since flared up, with Armenia and Azerbaijan accusing each other of incursions into each others’ territory, highlighting the fragility of the ceasefire.

Armenian, Cypriot, and Kurdish groups condemn Turkish aggression in Kurdistan

Emil Lazarian
The Canary
July 30 2021

Joe Glenton

Armenian, Cypriot, and Kurdish organisations have condemned Turkish aggression in Kurdistan. In a press release, they called for sanctions and diplomatic efforts to stop the Turkish assault on the region.

Signatories included Elif Sarican, co-chair of the Kurdish People’s Democratic Assembly of Britain; Christos Karaolis, president of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK; and Annette Moskofian, chair of the Armenian National Committee UK.

Bombings of refugee camps and border villages have already been carried out, the groups said. And they warned that the Turkish authorities were also trying to cause conflict between Kurdish groups in the region.

They said the Turkish government launched its assault on Kurdish land on 24 April, the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The genocide began in 1915, with some estimates putting the number of people murdered or expelled at 1.5 million.

The letter cited the recent Azerbaijan-Armenian war:

In light of Turkish support for Azerbaijan in the 44-day war with Armenia last year, the Turkish state’s general stance in its bordering regions can only be described as aggressive. Further, persistent reports show that the Turkish military deploys chemical weapons and uses jihadist mercenaries in conjunction with their own military efforts. 

The groups said they also feared a repeat of Turkey’s past actions in Cyprus:

Following Turkey’s devastating invasion of Cyprus in 1974, we are worried about the possibility of history repeating itself if the UK doesn’t do more. Turkey is a fellow NATO country to the UK, and therefore these military actions must be of concern to the Government. 

They called on the UK government to stop the assault through diplomatic pressure.

We urge the Government to use its diplomatic position to stop the invasion and prevent an intra-Kurdish war. We particularly ask for the Government to put in place sanctions to be lifted only when Turkey ceases its military operations in South Kurdistan.

The communities speaking out for Kurdistan have all been affected by Turkish aggression in the past. And they fear that history will repeat unless pressure is put on the current Turkish regime.

Featured image Via Wikimedia Commons/Mahmut Bozarslan

Infiltration of Azerbaijani armed forces into Armenia’s sovereign territory, attacks on Armenian defense position escalated the situation: Armenia MFA

Emil Lazarian
Aysor, Armenia
July 30 2021

We welcome the approaches of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship regarding the resumption of the peace process, presented in their joint statement issued on July 29, Armenia’s MFA said in a statement.

“In the joint statements of December 3, 2020 and April 13, 2021, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the High Representative of the Co-Chair countries clearly outlined the priority issues of the peace process, which can create a basis for negotiations.

The statement of the Co-Chairs once again demonstrates that the key to regional peace and security is the comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The infiltration of the Azerbaijani armed forces into the sovereign territory of Armenia since May 12, and the attacks on the Armenian defense positions in recent days have escalated the situation. Armenia has always acted in the spirit of de-escalation by making concrete proposals to this end, particularly, to withdraw military units to the initial positions as of May 11.

We are confident that the specified assessment of Azerbaijan’s actions will help to overcome the current tense situation.”

Armenian diplomat: Azerbaijan’s armed provocations are a logical continuation of its leader’s bellicose rhetoric

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
July 30 2021

Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE Armen Papikyan delivered a statement on “The aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh and Armenia with the direct involvement of Turkey and foreign terrorist fighters” at the 1326th meeting of the Permanent Council on Thursday.

The Armenian diplomat informed about the Azerbaijani attacks on the Armenian defense positons in the Gegharkunik border section on 28 and 29 July, killing three Armenian servicemen and injuring four others.

“The Armenian delegation has repeatedly expressed concern over the lack of an adequate and robust international response to the aggressive actions of Azerbaijan and the belligerent statements of its leadership. We believe and would like to reiterate once again that the lack of an adequate response by the international community to the use of force against Artsakh and the flagrant violations of international humanitarian law and the Helsinki Final Act principles, mass atrocities perpetrated against the people of Artsakh, including ethnic cleansing, encouraged Azerbaijan to make the use of force as the main instrument of its foreign policy, thereby threatening regional peace and security,” Papikyan said.

“These flagrant violations of the trilateral ceasefire statement of 9 November 2020, are a logical continuation of the aggressive posturing and bellicose rhetoric of the president of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani leadership does not shy away from openly stating its claims to the territory of the Republic of Armenia. In a recent interview, the president of Azerbaijan, while admitting that the Azerbaijani military units are located in the territory of Armenia, reiterated Azerbaijan’s nonsensical and spurious territorial claims against the Republic of Armenia, stating, in particular, that “Zangezur” was the land of their ancestors. A claim that could be easily refuted by anyone with basic knowledge of history. Though, one should acknowledge that there is a peculiar version of history invented and taught in Azerbaijan,” the diplomat said.

Papikyan recalled that the Armenian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the military provocation of Azerbaijan, which further undermined regional peace and security, and stressed that the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for further escalation of the situation.

In this context, he expressed regret that the OSCE head remained silent and did not condemn the flagrant violation of ceasefire by Azerbaijan.

The diplomat also strongly condemned the mock trials and conviction of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives in Azerbaijan, insisting that they should be released and returned immediately, as stipulated in Article 8 of the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020.

“By constantly raising the level of tensions – not least through military provocations in Artsakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as evidenced by the recent incidents – Azerbaijan seeks to postpone indefinitely and endlessly the resumption of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process and, ultimately, the settlement of the conflict. Only the resumption of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, can create conditions for lasting peace in the region.

“Armenia is willing to engage in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process in good faith and will continue to act consistently in support of realization of the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination, regardless of the efforts of Azerbaijan to remove this issue from the international agenda by all means, not least by denying the very existence of Artsakh and its people. The international community must reject such an approach in the strongest possible terms,” Papikyan said.

Azeri drone intercepted by Armenia is Israeli-made Aerostar

Emil Lazarian

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 10:34, 30 July, 2021

YEREVAN, JULY 30, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Defense reports that the Azerbaijani military’s drone which was intercepted and shot down was an Aerostar UAV.

The Azerbaijani drones attempted to breach the Armenian airspace starting 23:00, July 29.

“All attempts were thwarted by the actions of the Air Defense units of the Armenian Armed Forces,” the defense ministry said.

“In particular, an Aerostar UAV of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces was shot down, and its wreckage crashed 3,5 kilometers north from the village of Vanevan in the Gegharkunik Province.”

The Aerostar drone is produced by the Israeli Aeronautics Defense Systems.