Thursday,
U.S. Senate Adopts ‘Armenian Protection Act of 2023’
The United States Capitol
The United States Senate has adopted a bill that would suspend all military aid
to Azerbaijan by repealing the Freedom Support Act Section 907 waiver authority
for the Administration with respect to assistance to Azerbaijan for fiscal years
2024 or 2025.
The short title of the bill (S.3000) introduced by Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) is
the “Armenian Protection Act of 2023.”
The bill passed on November 15 will be introduced in the House of
Representatives, then, if passed, presented to the United States president for
signing to become a law.
Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act passed along with the adoption of the
legislation in 1992 bans any kind of direct United States aid to the Azerbaijani
government. In subsequent years, however, American lawmakers amended Section 907
to allow presidents to provide military assistance to Azerbaijan for
counterterrorism operations.
The adoption of the Armenian Protection Act of 2023 came amid a congressional
hearing on “the future of Nagorno-Karabakh” held the same day.
Speaking to members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on
Europe, James O’Brien, assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau
of European and Eurasian Affairs, said that Washington “made clear that nothing
will be normal with Azerbaijan after the events of September 19 until we see
progress on the peace track.”
The official referred to Baku’s one-day military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh
as a result of which virtually the entire local Armenian population – more than
100,000 people – fled to Armenia.
O’Brien said that Washington canceled a number of high-level visits to
Azerbaijan in response to that action and that “we don’t anticipate submitting a
waiver on Section 907 until such time that we see a real improvement.”
Azerbaijan reacted angrily to the remarks by the U.S. State Department official
that its Foreign Ministry described as a blow to relations between the two
countries.
It said that Baku would, therefore, not send a delegation to Washington for
talks between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia around a peace
agreement that it said were planned for November 20.
Baku Snubs Washington Over Remarks By U.S. Official
The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan in Baku (file
photo).
Official Baku has refused to hold an Armenian-Azerbaijani meeting in Washington
after remarks by a senior United States official regarded in Azerbaijan as “a
blow to relations.”
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Thursday
describing some of the statements made by James O’Brien, assistant secretary at
the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, as
“one-sided” and “biased.”
“A one-sided approach by the United States could lead to the loss by Washington
of its role as a mediator,” the ministry said, as quoted by Azerbaijan’s APA
news agency.
“Under these circumstances, it is important to note that we do not consider
possible to hold the proposed meeting at the level of the foreign ministers of
Azerbaijan and Armenia in Washington on November 20, 2023,” it added.
Addressing the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe during a
November 15 hearing on “the future of Nagorno-Karabakh,” O’Brien said that
Washington “made clear that nothing will be normal with Azerbaijan after the
events of September 19 until we see progress on the peace track.”
He referred to Baku’s one-day military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result
of which virtually the entire local Armenian population – more than 100,000
people – fled to Armenia.
O’Brien said that Washington canceled a number of high-level visits to
Azerbaijan in response to that action and that “we don’t anticipate submitting a
waiver on Section 907 until such time that we see a real improvement.”
Section 907 of the United States’ 1992 Freedom Support Act bans any kind of
direct United States aid to the Azerbaijani government.
The U.S. official also warned Azerbaijan against using force to open a land
corridor to its western exclave of Nakhichevan via Armenia. “A transit corridor
created some other way – by force or with the involvement of Iran – will, I
think, be met with a very strong reaction and will not be a success,” O’Brien
said, in particular.
In its commentary the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke about
reciprocal steps by Baku after the U.S. official’s statements.
“Concerning the statement that the U.S. has cancelled high-level bilateral
meetings and engagements, which were initiated by the U.S. with Azerbaijan, and
that there cannot be “business as usual” in our bilateral relationship,” it
should be noted that the relations could not be one-sided. Consequently, the
same approach will be applied equally by Azerbaijan. In these circumstances, we
consider the possibility of high-level visits from the United States to
Azerbaijan inappropriate as well,” the Azerbaijani ministry said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had withdrawn from multilateral talks
involving Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian that were scheduled to take
place on the margins of the European Union’s October 5 summit in Granada, Spain.
Pashinian had hoped that the sides there would sign a document laying out the
main parameters of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. Baku explained its
refusal to attend the meeting in Granada by the attitude of France that has been
supplying Armenia with weapons recently.
The Azerbaijani leader also appears to have cancelled another meeting which EU
Council President Charles Michel planned to host in Brussels later in October.
Earlier this week, Armenian officials said Yerevan was ready for talks with Baku
both in Brussels and Washington.
Meanwhile, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep
Borrell said on Thursday that Brussels continues to make efforts to restart
negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan without delay. He said that the
ultimate goal of the negotiation process is the conclusion of a peace treaty
between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
U.S. Official Says Next Few Weeks ‘Critical’ In Armenia-Azerbaijan Talks
• Heghine Buniatian
James O’Brien (file photo)
The coming weeks will be critical in negotiations between Armenia and
Azerbaijan, a U.S. State Department official told a congressional hearing on
November 15.
James O’Brien, assistant secretary at the department’s Bureau of European and
Eurasian Affairs, said that Washington is pursuing a peace agreement between
Yerevan and Baku as he spoke to members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s
Subcommittee on Europe meeting on the subject of “the future of
Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“The next few weeks will be critical in testing the parties’ willingness to go
from good intentions to saying “yes”, because we all know that “yes” is the
hardest word to get in a negotiation,” he said.
The U.S. diplomat did not say what specific agreements were on the table. He
only emphasized that Washington remains “deeply engaged.”
“We’ve made clear that nothing will be normal with Azerbaijan after the events
of September 19 until we see progress on the peace track. So we’ve canceled a
number of high-level visits, condemned the actions… We don’t anticipate
submitting a waiver on Section 907 until such time that we see a real
improvement,” O’Brien said in reference to Baku’s military operation in
Nagorno-Karabakh that resulted in the virtually entire local Armenian population
fleeing their homes and moving to Armenia.
As for Azerbaijan’s demands that Armenia give it a land corridor to its western
exclave of Nakhichevan, the U.S. diplomat said that it is Washington’s position
that “no use of force is acceptable.”
“A transit corridor built with the involvement and consent of Armenia can be a
tremendous boom to states across the region and the global markets that will
receive access to these goods. A transit corridor created some other way – by
force or with the involvement of Iran – will, I think, be met with a very strong
reaction and will not be a success. That’s a simple choice,” he said.
O’Brien said that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, with whom he had a
meeting in Paris last week, “seems willing to take chances for peace.”
“The question really is whether [Azerbaijani] President [Ilham] Aliyev is
willing to do that. And he has said he is. So now is the moment, because the
challenge always for a power that feels stronger – and I think it’s fair to say
Azerbaijan feels that it has the oil and gas revenues, the relationships, the
ability to have some options – the challenge is always when it’s time to cash
the options in and commit to one path for the future,” he said, adding that the
United States is also “talking a lot with Turkey,” a close ally of Azerbaijan,
on that matter.
“We’re trying to lay out a path that makes clear the benefits that come from
peace and the costs that come with choosing to wait further. And really the
decision will be on whether he [Aliyev] says “yes” or “not”, and we want that to
happen in the next few weeks,” he said.
According to O’Brian, peace will enable Armenia and Azerbaijan to reduce the
influence of Russia and Iran in the region, on the other hand, to increase
cooperation with the West.
Pashinian Says Mutual Distrust Stalls Signing Of Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Deal
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addressing parliament (file photo)
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has cited mutual distrust as the main factor
stalling the signing of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan as he
addressed a parliament session in Yerevan on Thursday.
Speaking on next year’s budget, Pashinian said that it will more than double the
amount of spending on the military as compared to 2018 when his government first
came to power. But at the same time he gave assurances that the increase in
military spending will be “in preparation for peace rather than war.”
According to Pashinian, citizens’ feeling secure is the most important guarantee
of peace and stability.
“I am sure that all our neighbors are convinced that we have no intention of
attacking anyone, and in that regard, I do not consider the concerns expressed
about the acquisitions by our armed forces to be sincere. It is the duty of
every sovereign nation to strengthen its army, which is something that we are
doing. In the last 10 years Azerbaijan’s defense spending was on the average
three times higher than Armenia’s and continues to be such,” he said.
Recently, in presenting an increase in his country’s military budget,
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that they “have to increase the
military budget to a record level, because even after Armenia’s defeat in the
war we see danger from it.”
In this view Pashinian said that while Armenia and Azerbaijan have basically
agreed on key principles, the lack of trust between the two countries remains
the main reason why the signing of a peace agreement is being stalled.
“Because every time we see in the statements and certain actions of Azerbaijan,
and, perhaps, Azerbaijan sees in our statements and some of our actions,
intentions to abandon these arrangements and plan aggressive actions, which has
a negative impact on the text version of the peace agreement,” Pashinian said.
Pashinian also stressed that Yerevan’s political will to sign a peace agreement
with Azerbaijan in the coming months remains “unshakable”, but said that there
were a number of issues to clarify.
“One is the formulation of a mechanism for overcoming possible
misinterpretations of the content of the peace agreement, the other is the
creation of security guarantees so that no escalation be possible after the
signing of the peace agreement,” he said.
Pashinian emphasized again that key principles have been agreed upon with
Azerbaijan, saying that it happened during negotiations, in particular, during
the tripartite meetings held in Brussels on May 14 and July 15 of this year.
The Armenian prime minister laid down these principles: “Armenia and Azerbaijan
recognize each other’s territorial integrity, with the understanding that the
territory of Armenia is 29, 800 square kilometers, and the territory of
Azerbaijan is 86,600 square kilometers. The Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991 is a
political basis for border delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In fact,
there is an understanding that the maps of the General Staff of the USSR Armed
Forces from 1974 to 1990 should be used for border delimitation. Armenia and
Azerbaijan have no territorial claims to each other and undertake not to advance
such claims in the future either. Regional transport links should be reopened on
the basis of sovereignty, jurisdiction, reciprocity and equality of the
countries.”
Armenia Reaffirms Willingness To Take Part In Trilateral Meeting In Brussels
Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanian (L) and Deputy Secretary
General/Political Director of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora,
Brussels, .
Armenia has reaffirmed its willingness to take part in trilateral talks with
Azerbaijan in Brussels to be held with the mediation of European Council
President Charles Michel as the second high-level Armenia-EU Political and
Security Dialogue session took place in the Belgian capital on Wednesday.
The meeting co-chaired by Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanian and
Deputy Secretary General/Political Director of the European External Action
Service Enrique Mora, “confirmed the mutual interest of Armenia and the EU to
further enhance political dialogue and cooperation in the areas of foreign,
security and defense policy.”
“The EU reiterated its unequivocal support to the sovereignty, territorial
integrity (29,800 square kilometers) and inviolability of borders of Armenia and
welcomed Armenia’s readiness for closer cooperation with the European Union,” a
joint press release issued by the parties said.
“The unacceptability of the use, or the threat of use of force, was strongly
highlighted. The parties stressed the absolute necessity of establishing durable
peace and stability in the South Caucasus,” it added.
According to Armenia’s Foreign Ministry, “the EU expressed support to the
normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on the
principles of mutual recognition of territorial integrity and inviolability of
borders based on the 1991 Almaty Declaration, border delimitation based on
relevant USSR General Staff maps that have been provided to the sides, and the
unblocking of regional communications based on respect for the sovereignty and
jurisdiction of either country, on the basis of reciprocity and equality.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev
were scheduled to meet on the fringes of the EU’s October 5 summit in Granada,
Spain. Pashinian had hoped that they would sign there a document laying out the
main parameters of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
However, Aliyev withdrew from the talks at the last minute. He also appears to
have cancelled another meeting which EU Council President Michel planned to host
in Brussels later in October.
Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigorian recently met with Toivo
Klaar, the EU’s special representative for the South Caucasus, and also
confirmed that Armenia is ready to continue negotiations with Azerbaijan in the
format proposed by Brussels.
A senior EU official told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service last week that Michel and
other EU representatives were holding separate discussions with Yerevan and Baku
in an effort to reschedule the trilateral meeting for December. Although no
agreement has been reached so far, the summit may take place next month, said
the official who did not want to be identified.
At the second high-level session of the Armenia-EU Political and Security
Dialogue the parties also discussed the possibility of extension of the EU’s
border-monitoring mission in Armenia, as well as “non-lethal support to Armenia
through the European Peace Facility.”
The parties said that the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians,
including their right to return, should be ensured.
The first session of the Armenia-EU Political and Security Dialogue took place
in Yerevan in January. Its next session is also due to take place in Yerevan in
2024.
West Accused Of ‘Trying To Tear Armenia Away From Russia’
Maria Zakharova, an official representative of the Foreign Ministry of Russia
(file photo)
A senior Russian official has accused the West of “trying to tear Armenia away”
from Moscow, drawing parallels between Ukraine and the South Caucasus nation.
“The West has a beastly grip on Armenia after it failed its policy in Ukraine,”
Maria Zakharova, an official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry,
said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
“The West, whose plans in the Ukrainian direction have completely failed, has
grabbed onto Armenia with the same beastly grip, trying to tear it away from
Russia,” she continued.
Zakharova referred to the latest steps of the Armenian leadership, including
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s refusal to attend an upcoming summit of the
Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization in Minsk, the expansion of
Western arms supplies to Armenia, and “the friendship of Yerevan and Kyiv” as to
“links of the same chain.”
“Only, it seems to me that this is a chain of enslavement,” the Russian
diplomatic representative said.
Zakharova further claimed that it is “recommendations from the West” that
prevent the Armenian leadership from completing the work on unblocking transport
links in the South Caucasus.
She noted that representatives of Moscow, Yerevan and Baku involved in a
trilateral working group achieved “significant progress” in June regarding the
restoration of a railway link between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“But again, something prevented the Armenian leadership from finalizing the
agreements on paper. We know very well what prevented it – it was the “good”
advice of the Western friends of the current leadership in Armenia,” Zakharova
said.
The official representative of Russia’s Foreign Ministry denied any pressure on
Armenia in the matter, but reminded that under the 2020 and 2021 trilateral
agreements it is Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) that is to exercise
control over transport links between Azerbaijan and its Nakhichevan exclave that
would pass via Armenia.
Officials in Yerevan have not concealed their frustration with Russia,
considering that as a formal ally it has failed to fulfill its obligation to
Armenia to secure its borders and protect its sovereign territory against
incursions by Azerbaijan.
Tensions between Armenia and Russia rose further after Azerbaijan’s September
19-20 military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh that led to the exodus of the
region’s virtually entire ethnic Armenian population. Armenia, in particular,
blamed Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh under the 2020
ceasefire agreement between Moscow, Baku and Yerevan for failing to protect the
local Armenians.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian defended the policy of his government
aimed at “diversifying security relations” as he spoke in parliament on
Wednesday.
“We are looking for other security partners. And we are looking for and finding
other security partners, we are trying to sign contracts, acquire some
armaments. This is our policy,” the Armenian leader said.
Despite the provision in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement that
Russia’s FSB is to exercise control over future “transport communications” via
Armenia, it is increasingly being viewed in Yerevan as a moot point given the
failure of the Moscow-brokered deal to protect ethnic Armenians in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
In their public statements officials in Yerevan have insisted that it is the
Armenian side only that should exercise control over all transport links passing
through Armenian territories.
The Armenian government recently set up a special unit at the National Security
Service tasked with ensuring the safe transit of people, goods and other cargo
through the country.
Zakharova said that the latest reaction of Armenian authorities to the matter
came as a surprise to her. “Russian border guards have been protecting Armenia’s
borders with Iran and Turkey for many years in accordance with bilateral
agreements,” she said.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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