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

French weapons arrive in Armenia through Georgia

Emil Lazarian
 Hoory Minoyan News 1

French President Emmauel Macron and Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan meet in Paris before the transfer of weapons (Photo: RA Office of the Prime Minister)

YEREVAN—France’s government has initiated the dispatch of weapons to Armenia, setting in motion terms set forth in French-Armenian cooperation agreements inked last month. 

Footage aired recently showcased the unloading of several French-manufactured Bastion versatile armored vehicles and parts of the ARQUUS’ brand, specifically designed for the Bastion, at Georgia’s Poti port along the Black Sea coast. The shipment reportedly included over 21 Bastion vehicles out of the 24 allocated by the French military. These vehicles and corresponding components are slated to journey from Poti to the Georgia-Armenia border for transfer to the Armenian side. 

France had initially intended to supply the Bastion armored personnel carriers to Ukraine but was rejected by Kiev, as reported by Ouest France. The 12.5-ton vehicles were turned down by Ukrainian authorities, who determined that they would provide inadequate protection against artillery and anti-tank missiles. La Tribune had previously disclosed France’s plans to provide Kiev with 20 Bastion vehicles in October 2022.

When asked about the reports and images circulating on Telegram channels regarding France’s delivery of military equipment to Armenia, spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense (MoD) of Armenia Aram Torosyan refrained from providing further details beyond the official messages and statements on cooperation in the defense sector between Armenia and France stating, “We cannot disclose any additional information at this time.” 

This move by the French military follows the signing of agreements aimed at “expanding bilateral cooperation” last month. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna had previously announced Paris’s commitment to forthcoming contracts for supplying military equipment to Yerevan. The contracts were formally signed on October 23 in Paris, where Armenia’s Defense Minister Suren Papikyan and his French counterpart Sébastien Lecornu were signatories.

Lecornu emphasized that along with the arms delivery, France would provide training for Armenian officers on operating the military equipment and support ongoing reforms within the Armenian armed forces. He underscored the defensive nature of the weaponry, stating it was intended to bolster Armenia’s self-defense capabilities and protect its population.

France also plans to sell Mistral short-range surface-to-air missiles and three radar systems to Armenia. Reports suggest that around 50 units of VAB MK3 medium-weight combat-proven armored vehicles might also be part of the current agreements.

Georgian authorities confirmed that France dispatched ACMAT Bastion armored personnel carriers to Armenia via the Port of Poti, which was also verified by APM Terminals Poti to RFE/RL’s Georgian service. 

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ayhan Hajizadeh strongly criticized France’s supply of armored vehicles to Armenia. He expressed concern that this equipment transfer would bolster Armenia’s military strength.

Hajizadeh rebuked France for undermining efforts toward regional normalization based on “mutual respect for sovereignty and borders,” stating that the weapons dispatch would exacerbate regional tensions. He urged both Armenia and France to halt regional militarization, advocating for peace and cooperation as the sole viable path forward. Furthermore, he called on the international community to refrain from arming Armenia, claiming such actions impede peace and prosperity in the region. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan continues to arm itself with Israeli weapons. 

When asked about the transfer of French armored vehicles to Armenia through Georgia, Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili stated, “Every nation retains the right to maintain defense forces and acquire conventional weaponry allowed by international agreements.” Darchiashvili affirmed that both countries should equally access Georgia’s transit function, noting that baseless insinuations were unwarranted.

Furthermore, he reiterated Georgia’s stance on non-participation in the “3+3” negotiation format. Darchiashvili highlighted Georgia’s positive bilateral relationships and cooperative ties with neighboring countries Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, reinforcing Tbilisi’s commitment to maintaining amicable relations in such bilateral formats.

As the republic receives military equipment rejected by Ukraine from France, Armenia has also finalized an arms deal with India. Armenia reportedly plans to acquire anti-drone military equipment worth $41 million from India, specifically the Zen Anti-Drone System (ZADS), to bolster its air defense capabilities. Armenia has reportedly signed the contract involving supply, maintenance and training by Zen Technologies. This follows prior defense cooperation between India and Armenia following the 2020 Artsakh War, including arms deals totaling $400 million, which consist of Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers (MBRL), anti-tank missiles, rockets and ammunition. 

The European Union has also discussed providing non-lethal military aid to Armenia. During its November 13 meeting, the EU Foreign Affairs Council deliberated enhancing the EU monitoring mission by sending more observers and patrols to the Armenian border. The Council emphasized vigilance against destabilization in Armenia and warned Azerbaijan against compromising its territorial integrity. 

Armenia’s deepening relations with the West and India suggest a significant shift in regional geopolitics. These deals aim to diversify Armenia’s arms suppliers beyond its traditional reliance on Russia. There is speculation that Armenia could take further steps, such as withdrawing from Russian blocs like the CSTO and the EAEU. Russia, though equipped with economic leverage, has not taken action against Armenia’s pivot. 

Armenian authorities have repeatedly declined to participate in CSTO meetings. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has informed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko that he will not be present at the upcoming CSTO Summit in Moscow on November 23, citing scheduling constraints. The Armenian government, via its Telegram channel, conveyed Pashinyan’s decision, hoping for understanding from CSTO partners. This follows Pashinyan’s absence from the CIS Summit in Bishkek last month. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Pashinyan voiced discontent over the fulfillment of alliance obligations by the CSTO and Russia, stressing Armenia’s need to diversify its national security relations.

Armenia’s pivot away from Russia is taking place amid uncertainty over the status of enclaves in Armenia and the potential threat of Azerbaijani aggression aimed at controlling a corridor through the Syunik province.

  •  Bio
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Hoory Minoyan was an active member of the Armenian community in Los Angeles until she moved to Armenia prior to the 44-day war. She graduated with a master's in International Affairs from Boston University, where she was also the recipient of the William R. Keylor Travel Grant. The research and interviews she conducted while in Armenia later became the foundation of her Master’s thesis, “Shaping Identity Through Conflict: The Armenian Experience.” Hoory continues to follow her passion for research and writing by contributing to the Armenian Weekly


RFE/RL Armenian Service – 11/15/2023

Emil Lazarian 
Wednesday, 
Pashinian Defends Policy Of ‘Diversifying’ Security Ties
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian speaks in parliament (file photo)
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has defended the policy of his 
government seeking to diversify relations in the security sphere, again noting 
the failure of the South Caucasus nation’s formal ally, Russia, to sell arms to 
it. Apparently implying Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine that admittedly 
consumes a vast amount of armaments and resources from Moscow, Pashinian said 
that the absence of arms supplies from partners was also due to “objective 
reasons.”
“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 in parliament on 
Wednesday. Armenia recently signed military cooperation deals with France for the 
acquisition of such weapons as armored personnel vehicles, radars and 
short-range missiles. Reports in media have also indicated that Armenia has signed contracts for the 
purchase of several types of armaments from India, including multiple-launch 
rocket systems, artillery, anti-tank rockets and ammunition, as well as mostly 
recently anti-drone military equipment. During the question-and-answer session in parliament today Pashinian again 
refused to be drawn into the discussion of whether Armenia plans to formally 
quit the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led defense 
alliance of several post-Soviet countries of which Armenia is a member, nor 
would he speak about any security alternatives to membership in this 
organization. “We are not planning to announce a change in our policy in strategic terms as 
long as we haven’t made a decision to quit the CSTO,” Pashinian said in reply to 
a question from an opposition lawmaker. On Tuesday Pashinian announced that he would not attend a CSTO summit scheduled 
to take place in the Belarusian capital of Minsk later this month. Earlier this 
year Armenia also declined to participate in CSTO military drills, while hosting 
joint exercises with the United States military in Yerevan. This and several 
other moves by Yerevan drew angry reactions from Russia that has accused the 
Pashinian administration of systematically “destroying” relations with Moscow. Officials in Yerevan have not concealed their frustration with the CSTO, 
considering that the Russia-led bloc has failed to fulfill its obligation to 
Armenia to secure its borders and protect its sovereign territory against 
incursions by Azerbaijan. “Our most important note concerning the processes taking place in the CSTO and 
our positions in this regard is that unfortunately the CSTO, with its de-jure 
mandatory obligations, did not provide a proper response to Armenia’s security 
challenges, and this has happened time and again,” Pashinian said, adding that 
the absence of the CSTO’s proper response was also “not understandable for our 
society.”
The Armenian prime minister said that the “fundamental problem” was that the 
CSTO was refusing to de-jure fixate its area of responsibility in Armenia. “In 
these conditions this could mean that by silently participating we could join 
the logic that would question Armenia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. We can’t allow ourselves such a thing, and by making such decisions [not to 
attend CSTO gatherings] we give the CSTO and ourselves time to think over 
further actions,” Pashinian said. 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 a 2020 ceasefire 
agreement between Moscow, Baku and Yerevan for failing to protect the local 
Armenians. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it “regrets” Pashinian’s latest decision not to 
attend the upcoming CSTO summit, while a spokesperson for Alyaksandr Lukashenka, 
the formal host of the gathering in Minsk, said that during their phone call 
earlier this week the Belarusian leader warned the Armenian prime minister 
against making “hasty decisions”, suggesting that he “should seriously think 
over his next steps that could be aimed at disintegration.”
U.S. Says Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians Entitled To Return Home
Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State (file photo). Ethnic Armenians who left Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan took full control of 
the region in a lightening military operation in September are entitled to 
return home, a senior United States official has said. During a Tuesday press briefing in Washington a journalist asked Matthew Miller, 
a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, to give a preview of what would 
be discussed during a congressional hearing on the future of Nagorno-Karabakh 
that was planned for the next day, November 15. The correspondent, in particular, said: “You have Azerbaijan on [the] one hand 
celebrating the victory… in a town surrounded by [the] Russian army. You have 
Armenia [that] is being bullied by Russia every single day, saying that [it] 
won’t go anywhere… So is there any happy ending there, in your opinion?”
According to the State Department’s official website, Miller replied: “I will 
just say what I said before. I don’t want to talk about tomorrow’s hearing, but 
I will say that we continue to believe that people who left Nagorno-Karabakh 
have the right to return home if they want to do so, and that right must be 
preserved.”
More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh in the days that 
followed Azerbaijan’s offensive on September 19-20. According to different 
estimates, a couple of dozen ethnic Armenians currently remain in 
Nagorno-Karabakh that is under full Azerbaijani control now. Despite scaling back its peacekeeping mission, Russian servicemen still remain 
in the region where they were first deployed under the terms of a 
Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement that stopped a six-week war between Armenia 
and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh in the fall of 2020. Under that tripartite 
deal the Russian peacekeeping force would stay in the region at least until 2025. After the exodus of the local Armenian population and before that, in conditions 
of an effective blockade imposed by Azerbaijan, Armenia has repeatedly 
criticized Russia for failing to fulfill its main mission, that is to protect 
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population. Officially Azerbaijan does not object to Armenians returning to Nagorno-Karabakh 
and living under Baku’s jurisdiction as Azerbaijani citizens, but authorities in 
Yerevan and representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh point to the absence of security 
guarantees for such returnees after what happened in the region during the past 
several years and months. Azerbaijan, at the same time, promotes the idea of the return of tens of 
thousands of ethnic Azeris to the places where they lived in Armenia before the 
conflict began in the late 1980s. In doing so Azerbaijani officials and media 
often use the term “Western Azerbaijan”, suggesting that Azeris who left Armenia 
lived in their “historical lands.”
Speaking at the Paris Peace Conference on November 10, Armenian Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian charged that the concept of “Western Azerbaijan” promoted by 
Baku is “preparing a new war against the Republic of Armenia.”
Pashinian also stressed that about 360,000 ethnic Armenians were forcibly 
displaced from Azerbaijan since the conflict began over three decades ago. Armenian Official Sees Possibility Of Continuing Peace Talks With Azerbaijan In 
Washington
Armen Grigorian, secretary of the Security Council of Armenia (file photo). Armenia sees the possibility of continuing negotiations with Azerbaijan over a 
peace treaty in Washington, a senior official in Yerevan has said. In an interview with Public Television aired on Tuesday evening Secretary of 
Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigorian reminded that Azerbaijan had refused 
to attend a meeting of the two countries’ leaders that was planned to be held 
with the European Union’s mediation in Brussels in late October. “We are ready to continue negotiations in this [Brussels] format to finalize the 
peace treaty and sign it by the end of the year if it is possible. There is also 
a possibility of continuing such negotiations at another level, for instance, in 
Washington. Armenia is ready, and let’s hope that such a meeting will take 
place,” Grigorian said. The official reminded that Louis Bono, a U.S. special envoy for 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks, recently visited the region. “He was discussing possible meetings. Of course, it is not final, but one of the 
goals of the visit was to organize a meeting,” Grigorian said. Asked why such a meeting could not be organized in Moscow, Grigorian said: “We 
go where we consider it important, where we see an opportunity at the moment and 
from where we have received clear offers. I am not aware of any offers from 
Moscow.”
Commenting on a series of decisions by official Yerevan to skip major gatherings 
of Russia-led groupings, including the latest decision by Armenian Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian not to attend an upcoming summit of the Collective 
Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Minsk, Grigorian emphasized that Armenia 
had been asking help from the CSTO since May 2021, but did not receive the 
necessary assistance to protect its sovereign territory against Azerbaijani 
aggression. “We have had numerous questions to the CSTO, answers to which we have not 
received till now. And this is also the reason why Armenia does not participate 
in the CSTO [sessions],” the secretary of Armenia’s Security Council said. Earlier this year Armenia also refused to participate in CSTO military drills, 
while hosting joint military drills with the United States in Yerevan. Pashinian also declined to attend a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent 
States (CIS), a wider and looser grouping of ex-Soviet states, in Kyrgyzstan on 
October 13. These and other similar moves by Yerevan have increasingly been seen in Russia, 
which dominates the CSTO, as “unfriendly.” Russia’s Foreign Ministry last week 
accused Pashinian’s administration of systematically “destroying” 
Russian-Armenian relations, a claim dismissed in Yerevan. 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 a 2020 ceasefire 
agreement between Moscow, Baku and Yerevan for failing to protect the local 
Armenians. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it “regrets” Pashinian’s latest decision not to 
attend the upcoming CSTO summit, while a spokesperson for Alyaksandr Lukashenka, 
the formal host of the gathering in Minsk, said that during their phone call 
earlier this week the Belarusian leader warned the Armenian prime minister 
against making “hasty decisions”, suggesting that he “should seriously think 
over his next steps that could be aimed at disintegration.”
Despite the deepening rift in relations between Yerevan and Moscow, Pashinian 
has so far announced no plans to pull his country out of the CSTO or demand the 
withdrawal of Russian troops stationed in Armenia. In the November 14 interview with Armenia’s Public Television Security Council 
Secretary Grigorian repeated what Pashinian and other Armenian officials have 
said before, saying that “it is not Armenia that is quitting the CSTO, but it is 
the CSTO that is quitting the region.”
Armenia, UK Discuss Defense Cooperation As ‘Strategic Dialogue’ Commences
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and British Minister for Europe Leo 
Docherty during their meeting in London, November 13, 2023. Armenia and the United Kingdom discussed defense cooperation among “a range of 
global and regional issues of mutual concern” as part of a “Strategic Dialogue” 
launched during Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s visit to London this 
week. According to a joint statement issued by the parties following the first session 
on November 13, it was “an opportunity to mark the strong cooperation and 
friendship between our two democracies.”
“With the increase globally in threats to democratic values, human rights, rule 
of law and the freedoms we strive to protect our citizens, working together on 
issues of mutual concern։ it is more important than ever not only to build trade 
and stability, but also to protect our shared core values. We reaffirmed the 
aspiration to build our partnership over the coming years,” the statement said. Among the ways in which Armenia and the UK can work together in the future the 
parties indicated several major areas, including governance and rule of law, 
defense cooperation, trade and economic ties. According to the statement, the UK “will soon begin working to support Armenia’s 
border management capacities to tackle security and migration issues.”
“[It is] Armenia-UK defense cooperation, which continues to expand with 
increased numbers of personnel from the Armenian military and Ministry of 
Defense, and police (Ministry of Internal Affairs) personnel receiving English 
Language training instruction, as well as places on UK senior and junior command 
and leadership courses, and multi-national peace-keeping and mine-awareness 
packages,” the statement said. “The Ministers agreed on the absolute necessity of the establishment of peace 
and stability in the South Caucasus based on the mutual recognition of 
sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders on the basis 
of the Alma Ata 1991 Declaration, and the opening of regional connectivity links 
based on full respect of each countries’ sovereignty and jurisdiction,” it added. UK/Armenia - Opening of the new building of Armenia's Embassy in the United 
Kingdom, London, November 13, 2023. Apart from holding talks with British Minister for Europe Leo Docherty, as part 
of his November 13-14 visit Armenian Foreign Minister Mirzoyan also attended the 
inauguration of a new Armenian embassy building in London. Speaking at the 
ceremony, Mirzoyan described it as a “historic moment.”
“We not only open a building, but lay new foundations for deepening our 
relations. We are reaffirming our commitments to deepen our political dialogue, 
our economic ties, our cultural ties,” the Armenian minister said. U․S․ ‘Developing Record’ Of What Happened In Nagorno-Karabakh
        • Heghine Buniatian
James O’Brien (file photo)
The United States is developing a record of what happened in Nagorno-Karabakh 
and is working on support for Armenia, James O’Brien, Assistant Secretary at the 
U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, announced 
during a congressional hearing on Wednesday. During the hearing on “The Future of Nagorno-Karabakh” held by the U.S. House 
Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, the high-ranking diplomat 
noted that the subject of investigation is not only what happened in 
Nagorno-Karabakh during September when the region’s virtually entire ethnic 
Armenian population fled their homes within a matter of days after a lightening 
military operation launched by Azerbaijan, but also during the months preceding 
it. “We have commissioned independent investigators, we have our own investigators 
working in the field. There is information available from international 
non-governmental organizations and other investigators. And as we develop the 
record of what happened, we will be completely open about what we are finding. I 
can’t put a timeline on this investigation, but we will inform you as we go 
forward,” O’Brien said. “The second thing we are working on is support for Armenia… I am very impressed 
by the Armenian government’s commitment to reforms and diversifying 
relationships that it has – economic, political, energy and security – 
particularly in the Trans-Atlantic community. And I think we owe it to the 
people of Armenia to help them through this difficult situation so that those 
choices they have made very bravely are able to help them to make them have a 
more secure, stable and prosperous future,” the U.S. diplomat added. Speaking on behalf of the Department of State, O’Brien said that Washington 
insists that Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians have complete access to the territory, 
on the protection of the property and culture and that they receive adequate 
information “so that they can make real choice about their future.”
Members of the Subcommittee also talked about the settlement of relations 
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, emphasizing that the countries hindering the 
process, including Russia, should be kept away from the negotiations. Presenting what happened in Nagorno-Karabakh, Congressman Bill Keating said that 
despite months of diplomatic talks that had led to “significant progress”, in 
September 2023 Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev “decided to break with the 
internationally accepted and lawful diplomatic path, instead opting for the use 
of military force in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
“As a result of Azerbaijan’s unacceptable military action over 100,000 ethnic 
Armenians have fled Nagorno-Karabakh, resettling in Armenia and leaving their 
personal belongings and their livelihoods behind them. I strongly believe we 
must provide humanitarian and economic assistance to displaced people in Armenia 
and ensure accountability for any potential crimes committed against those 
fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh or those who are choosing to remain there,” Keating 
underscored. U.S. Envoy Joins EU Mission Patrol In Northeastern Armenia
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina A. Kvien joins the EUMA on patrol to areas 
of the Tavush Province. . United States Ambassador Kristina A. Kvien has joined the European Union’s 
mission (EUMA) on patrol to border areas in Armenia’s northeastern Tavush 
Province, the EUMA said in an X post on Wednesday. The EUMA published photographs showing Kvien’s visit, saying that it was 
facilitated by the mission’s Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Ijevan. The EUMA currently consisting of 100 or so observers and experts was launched at 
the request of the Armenian government in late 2022 with the stated aim of 
preventing or reducing ceasefire violations along the border with Azerbaijan. Since its deployment the mission has carried out more than a thousand patrols 
along the restive Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The EUMA operates from six FOBs 
situated in towns of Armenia’s Syunik, Vayots Dzor, Gegharkunik and Tavush 
provinces. The Azerbaijani takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh in September this year has raised 
more fears in Yerevan that Azerbaijan will invade Armenia to open a land 
corridor to its Nakhichevan exclave. Azerbaijan has also publicly raised the 
issue of “Soviet-era exclaves” in Armenia. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian urged Western powers to prevent Baku 
from “provoking a new war in the region” when he addressed the European 
Parliament in October. EU foreign ministers on Monday gave the green light to a proposal to beef up the 
border-monitoring mission in Armenia. When the measure is submitted to the 
European Commission it will need to come up with a proposal on how the EUMA can 
be expanded. The decisions of the European Commission, in turn, must be ratified 
by the 27 EU member states. 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.

"We expect cooperation with EU in security sphere" – Armenian Security Council Secretary

Emil Lazarian
Nov 10 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Armenia-EU cooperation

Yerevan has addressed the European Union with a proposal to deepen cooperation in various directions and expand cooperation even in the security sphere. The Secretary of the Armenian Security Council spoke about it during the conference “Armenia-Europe: Armenia’s Strategic Future” in Brussels. Armen Grigoryan did not give any other details. In response to the journalists’ qualifying questions, he only said that “Armenia is considering all instruments with the help of which it is possible to ensure the country’s security”.

Speaking at the conference, the Secretary of the Security Council touched upon not only Armenia’s cooperation with the EU and proximity to Europe, loyalty to the principles of democracy, but also the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and readiness for peace.

The main theses of Armen Grigoryan’s speech.

  • “Americans extending a helping hand”: US-Armenia military cooperation
  • Turkish and Azerbaijani Armed Forces exercises near Armenia’s borders. Is a new escalation possible?
  • Meeting in “3+3” format. Opinion from Yerevan: “There are risks, no benefits”

The Secretary of the Security Council announced that Armenia has recently been engaged in an intensive dialog with the European Union and EU member states, including on security issues, which has never been the case before. As an example, he recalled the agreements on military cooperation with France.

“We assume that we will be able to strengthen security cooperation both with collective Europe and with individual countries. And when I talk about security cooperation, I don’t mean only the military sphere, but security in a broader context. Economic cooperation can also have a security component in its subtext,” he emphasized.

Grigoryan recalled Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s speech in the European Parliament, which he regarded as a demonstration of “willingness to move forward in terms of cooperation with the EU.”

The parties have not yet disclosed the details of the agreement on the supply of French military equipment to Armenia

Armen Grigoryan himself asked this question and answered it himself:

“There is definitely an idea of European integration in Armenia, but there is also an idea of becoming a non-aligned state, the spectrum is very large.

We are trying to understand what instruments can ensure Armenia’s security and development, as well as peace in the region.”

Grigoryan announced that democracy connects Armenia to Europe. Besides, it is the best tool for solving the country’s internal problems and ensuring internal stability.

“But the biggest question in our society is whether democracy can also ensure external security? In fact, Armenia’s democracy comes under attack, becomes a target. And in order to protect it, it is necessary for Armenia to receive serious support for diversification of its economy, support in the field of security, support for diversification of its resources,” he said.

Main points of the Armenian Prime Minister’s speech in the European Parliament

Touching upon the process of normalizing relations with Azerbaijan, Grigoryan said that Armenia is ready for peace. He emphasized that Yerevan is ready for negotiations in the Brussels format. He expressed hope that they will be able to be organized in the near future.

The next meeting in Brussels was scheduled for the end of October, but did not take place. EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar announced that it could not be carried out due to “lack of time.” But in Armenia they said, including the Prime Minister himself, that “the President of Azerbaijan has not confirmed his participation.”

“What do we expect from these negotiations? The border between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be clarified. 29.8 thousand square kilometers of the Republic of Armenia and 86.6 thousand square kilometers of the Republic of Azerbaijan must be publicly confirmed. Unblocking [regional communications] should occur on the basis of four principles: sovereignty, jurisdiction, reciprocity and equality of countries. All Armenian prisoners must be returned,” Armen Grigoryan emphasized.

With such an agenda, he said, Armenia is ready to come to negotiations in the Brussels format and sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan.

https://jam-news.net/armenia-eu-cooperation-in-the-security-sector/

ICJ to deliver its Order on provisional measures against Azerbaijan submitted by Armenia on Nov. 17

Emil Lazarian

 12:06,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS.  On Friday 17 November 2023, the International Court of Justice will deliver its Order on the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Armenia in the case concerning Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan), the press service of ICJ reports.

Judge Joan Donoghue, President of the Court will deliver  the Order on Friday 17 November 2023.

Ambassadors accredited to Armenia visit Matenadaran

Emil Lazarian

 15:18,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Arayik Khzmalyan, the director of Mashtots Matenadaran and the deputy director Vahe Torosyan hosted the Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan and Poland to the Republic of Armenia-Petr Piruncik, Bolat Imanbaev, Pavel Cheplak, the press service of the Matenadaran informs.

The heads of diplomatic missions, accompanied by the Matenadaran directorate, toured the museum. The possibilities of implementing joint programs were also discussed.




Azerbaijan Softens Stance On Zangezur Corridor As Peace Deal Nears

Emil Lazarian
Nov 8 2023
By Eurasianet - Nov 07, 2023, 12:00 PM CST

  • Armenia and Azerbaijan are close to reaching a peace deal based on mutual respect for territorial integrity, border delimitation, and transport link provisions.
  • Armenia is turning towards the West for security alliances, while managing the status of displaced Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians by offering them refuge or citizenship.
  • International concerns remain regarding Azerbaijan's territorial ambitions and the potential for aggression, with warnings from both the EU and the US.

Over the past week Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and other Armenian officials have been hinting that a peace deal with Azerbaijan could be imminent. 

They say the sides have reached agreement on three core principles of a deal while "details" remain to be settled.

Pashinyan told parliament on October 30 that a peace deal is "realistic" if the sides remain faithful to the principles of mutual recognition of territorial integrity, delimitation/demarcation of the shared border based on the 1991 Almaty declaration and the opening of transport links in a way that respects the two countries' sovereignty and customs laws. 

Later, ruling party MP Gevorg Papoyan echoed the prime minister, saying that only the "details" of the agreement are left to be hammered out.

Azerbaijan's deputy foreign minister, Elnur Mammadov, confirmed that "most points" of the peace agreement had been agreed with Yerevan. Mammadov said that reaching a deal had become "easier" thanks to Azerbaijan's takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh after its September 19-20 lightning offensive. 

Following that offensive, several planned meetings between Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders failed to take place in a reflection of the sides' differing preferences on who should mediate. 

Baku refused to take part in EU-led peace talks in Granada, Spain and in Brussels, while Armenia's prime minister was a no-show at a CIS summit in Bishkek where he'd been expected to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Armenia was represented at a meeting in Tehran on October 23 that involved Russia, Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan.

Armenia's lack of interest in Moscow-brokered peace talks comes as the country looks to the West for new strategic and security allies, signing an arms deal with France and intensifying diplomatic relations with a number of Western states. 

Prior to Azerbaijan's September offensive, which triggered the exodus of the region's entire Armenian population, the Karabakh Armenians' fate had been the thorniest issue in the talks. Baku had rejected the prospect of granting the region autonomous status, as well as Yerevan's calls for an international mechanism that would ensure the Karabakh Armenians' rights and securities under Azerbaijani rule. 

During Azerbaijan's attack on Karabakh on September 19, Pashinyan announced that Armenia's priority was to ensure that Karabakh Armenians could remain in the region and live a "dignified" life there. But now that it has been emptied of Armenians, Yerevan seems to have abandoned this demand and instead started the process of granting them refugee status or Armenian citizenship.

"Our policy is that if those displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh do not, objectively speaking, have the opportunity to return to Nagorno-Karabakh – our wish is that they all stay in Armenia, and live and work here," Pashinyan told a cabinet meeting on November 2. 

Another critical issue is "the opening of transport links," a provision of the 2020 ceasefire agreement that cemented Azerbaijan's gains in the Second Karabakh War. 

Baku long discussed this provision in the context of its "Zangezur corridor" project, which for a time it insisted was to be a seamless corridor connecting mainland Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhchivan through Armenian territory and beyond Armenian sovereignty. 

Azerbaijan stepped back from the maximalist version of this project in February, and, after the September offensive, began giving assurances that it would no longer insist on a corridor and would instead make do with an alternative route through Iran. 

But Armenians are wary of these assurances, particularly given Russia's apparent interest in the Zangezur corridor project.

Fears persist in Armenia that Azerbaijan will use force to make the corridor a reality, and continued rhetoric from Baku about "Western Azerbaijan" is doing nothing to allay these fears. This is the notion that parts of Armenian territory rightfully belong to Azerbaijan, or that, at the very least, Azerbaijanis have the right to settle in formerly Azerbaijani-populated parts of Armenia. 

These concerns are shared by the EU, which has called on Azerbaijan to commit to respecting Armenian territory and by the U.S., where, according to Politico, Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefed members of Congress in early October on the risk of an Azerbaiajni invasion of Armenia. (The State Department rejected this report.) 

The Lemkin Genocide Prevention Institute issued a "red flag alert" on November 1 over a possible "invasion of Armenia by Azerbaijan in the coming days and weeks." 

On November 2, the US State Department told the Voice of America's Armenian service: "Any violation of Armenia's territorial integrity will have serious consequences." 

By Eurasianet.org

https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/International/Azerbaijan-Softens-Stance-On-Zangezur-Corridor-As-Peace-Deal-Nears.html

Jerusalem Armenians in bitter fight to save their land amid focus on Gaza war

Emil Lazarian
The National, UAE
Nov 8 2023

Thomas Helm

Jerusalem’s Old City, which has been deserted since the Gaza War, just had its most significant explosion of anger since the recent conflict erupted.

The Old City is no stranger to tension. It is arguably the main cauldron of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

What made Sunday’s eruption different was where it took place: a normally quiet car park in the Armenian Quarter, tucked away in the south-east corner of the Old City.

On the face of it, an increasingly heated quarrel in this corner of Jerusalem is about property development. But it cuts to the heart of the agony so many communities in Israel and Palestine have experienced in more than 100 years of conflict.

The current war, the Armenians say, has focused global attention on the unbearable violence in Israel on October 7 during Hamas' surprise attack, and the subsequent massive Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

That crisis, in turn, has empowered radical Israeli settlers to seize more Palestinian land and intimidate communities

Armed men with guard dogs descended on part of the car park right next to a private garden over which an Armenian flag stands tall.

Hagop Djernazian, a community leader, stood in the fray surrounded by Israeli police, lawyers, clergy and large crowds of agitated residents.

“I was at home. At three o’clock I got a message that a group or armed settlers had arrived,” he said, amid the furore.

“They have pepper spray. They kicked us out of the property. When the police came we went back in. The priests arrived as did our lawyer.”

Tensions had already been high before the arrival of the armed men. The car park in which they were prowling is the centre of a bitter and murky property battle, involving a private developer’s plan to build a hotel on the site, which makes up 25 per cent of the entire quarter.

The land was sold by the Armenian Patriarch with the involvement of a now-defrocked priest who was responsible for the Patriarchate’s vast property portfolio.

“The whole thing stinks,” Daniel Seidemann, an Israeli anti-settlement activist and lawyer, told The National.

“This patch of land is strategically located. In Camp David, [Prime Minister Ehud Barak] was willing to give Palestinians the Christian and Muslim Quarter, but only half of the Armenian Quarter. Israel wanted its road, one of the only vehicular routes in the Old City” Mr Seidemann added.

“I’ve said to my friends in the international community, ignore the legalities for now. There are hundreds of members of a community confronting armed people with dogs and weapons. It’s on the brink of an explosion. The last thing we need is an eruption of convulsive violence in Jerusalem. Sort out the legal issues later – make this go away.”

Armenians are among the key Christian denominations in Jerusalem. Reuters

The Armenian community is indeed seething. They fear the deal might spell the end of their presence in the Old City.

Without a car park, the Quarter’s already dwindling numbers would not be able to keep its institutions going, turning the area from a centre of Armenian life into a museum, they say.

Garo Ghazarian, a high-profile US-Armenian attorney and part of a group of international lawyers who have banded together to prevent the deal, summed up the stakes at the end of a fact-finding mission in June:

“The Armenian Quarter is of national and international importance for all Armenian people all over the world,” he told a packed courtyard of residents and international journalists, flanked by peers from across the Armenian diaspora.

“It is of the highest historical value and wealth to the Armenian nation. It is an integral part in the identity of the Armenian people in general. It is living proof of the centuries-old history of our people. It is testament to our great civilisation in world history.”

On October 26, the Patriarch announced that he had a sent a cancellation letter to the developers, although no one from the community has seen it.

That same day, bulldozers turned up to the site and began knocking down walls, prompting members of the community to keep watch on regular intervals.

Although they were already on alert, Sunday was different. The arrival of anonymous armed men was a significant escalation.

Mr Djernazian beckoned in rage in the direction of one particular man, Danny Rothman, a figure at the heart of the property deal about whom very little is known.

Mr Rothman declined to comment on the reason behind his surprise arrival and the current status of the wider property deal.

Perhaps worst of all, many in the community feel betrayed by their religious leadership. Many believe the Patriarch was incompetent at best for signing away the property. Others believe corruption is the reason.

The breakdown in trust is dangerous for the tiny community.

Armenians in the Holy Land, numbering only a few thousand people, are mostly the descendants of victims of the Armenian Genocide, who scattered themselves throughout the Middle East to escape the Ottoman Empire's oppression in the early 20th century.

There is also a much older religious community, whose presence for centuries makes the Armenians one of the foremost Christian denominations in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem's Armenian laity mingle with clergy in the contested car park. Photo: Hagop Djernazian

Now, those two parts of the community, co-religionists in one of Israel's worst crises, are bitterly divided.

There are, however, signs things might be improving.

Many priests joined the community in the car park on Sunday, not easy given their boss started the saga. A new bishop has just arrived from Armenia to deal with the institution’s property. A number of figures in the community told The National they hold him in high regard.

The Patriarch himself even turned up, according to a press release. “The community stood strong, with 200 members in unity to prevent the takeover and save the Armenian Quarter,” it read.

On Monday, quiet had returned to the car park. Mr Djernazian stood by the rubble kicked up by the bulldozers mere days previously.

“Jerusalem has been targeted for years, but it’s important to note that people are using the war in Gaza to target Armenians when they are most likely to be alone,” he said.

“We have had a presence here since the 4th century, so we will never give up. Losing this land would mean endangering not just the Armenian presence in Jerusalem but the Christian one, too.”

Exclusive: Nagorno-Karabakh exodus was genocide, says former ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo

Emil Lazarian

 13:55, 9 November 2023

BRUSSELS, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno Ocampo believes that countries are deliberately ignoring the risk of genocide to avoid the obligation to prevent it.

In an interview with Armenpress Brussels correspondent, Ocampo said that the forced displacement of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azerbaijani attack constitutes genocide.

Mr. Ocampo, on August 7, you provided and then published your professional opinion to the President of the Republic of Artsakh, considering the blockade and complete siege of Artsakh as genocide. What process could have been started at that time to prevent the coming disaster?

Well, the report was important because we made a point in the public opinion. However, states are doing something fascinating, they are deliberately ignoring the risk of genocide to avoid the obligation to prevent genocide, that’s what we found. We found basically that states are trying to avoid the word genocide. Even because when the US Congress took the report and started activities, then US State Department, without mentioning genocide said they will protect Nagorno Karabakh internationally. But it was late too late. They said that and three days later Aliyev attacked.

How do you interpret what happened after September 19 in Nagorno Karabakh? It seems that when many say genocide, they only imagine a massacre. But in a few days, more than a hundred thousand people forcibly left their homeland, leaving behind everything.

That is a genocide as well, under Genocide Convention article 2B. There's a new report by Juan Mendes saying that the fact that 100,000 people left is showing the mental harm. The fact that they left everything. So that is another form genocide to be, not only killing. The killing was not massive, but there is a mental harm of all the community leaving their land.

 

What legal mechanisms are there for the rights of the people of Artsakh that can work and how realistic do you consider the restoration of the rights of these people according to international norms?

I think it's important now that France is pushing for that. That's an important state that is pushing the agenda and it's something we should fight for. We should fight for gaining respect of the right of the people, because the people, even if they are not there, they are still the owners of the land and the place, so their rights must be respected. And I think a different priority is to recover, to release the hostages. There are 53 people in jail in Azerbaijan. The problem is international law is not something like if someone steals your bike, you can go to the police and the courts. No, there's nothing like that. We have the International Court of Justice presumably for states, and there is the International Criminal Court for prosecuting individuals. The legal process for releasing these people is not clear, but we should develop the process politically. That is why this meeting is important. 

How do you assess the behavior of the international community, what could it have done that it did not do, and that inaction led to this result?

Well, that is a problem, a failure by design. Because the world has no global institutions. Basically, the only global independent institution is the International Criminal Court, that's it. That's not enough. Imagine a country with just one court, no government, no political system. So, Armenia should be involved in resolving the problem. And that's why meetings like this, discussions with political leaders about what they can do and articulating that with the European Union, with the ICC, that is what we need to do. Armenia is showing that it's not just Armenia at risk, but civilization is at risk, and that's why Armenians are not alone. But Armenia is crucial. Armenia has a very important community around the world, so it’s an incredible strength you have there, and we can use it.

There are some conflicts that get more attention than others, as if all children are not children, all women are not women. What is your explanation for this duality?

Well, the media’s span of attention is only 6 seconds. That’s normal. The Darfur genocide was top in the media, then came the Arab Spring, then Libya, then Syria, then Russia, Yezidis, then Rohingya. There's always a new conflict covering the failure of the previous conflict. And that's why this year we are on the topic of having five genocides in only 2023. Now is the time to fix it. The fact that the Armenian community and the Jewish community are so widespread could really help to transform this situation. I understand it is a very difficult moment for the Armenian community, that even attacks on Armenia are possible, but you must understand that you never win if you stop fighting. So, you have to keep on fighting, and you are not alone.

Lilit Gasparyan




French journalists win Varenne award for Nagorno-Karabakh article

Emil Lazarian

 15:20, 9 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. French journalists Pierre Sautreuil and Thomas Guichard have won the Varenne Young Journalist Award for their Les dessins perdus du Haut-Karabakh (The lost drawings of Nagorno-Karabakh) article published in La Croix Hebdo.

Les dessins perdus du Haut-Karabakh is a story of how drawings found in an abandoned village in Nagorno-Karabakh helped retrace the story of an Armenian family in exile.

U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff’s resolution seeks sanctions against Azerbaijan for illegally holding Armenian prisoners

Emil Lazarian

 11:15,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. United States Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) has introduced legislation demanding Azerbaijan’s immediate release of Armenian prisoners of war, captured civilians, and political prisoners, including Nagorno-Karabakh government officials illegally detained during Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing last month, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

The resolution specifically calls on the Biden Administration to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act on Azerbaijani government officials responsible for the illegal detention, torture, and extrajudicial killing of Armenian POWs. It also reiterates Congressional calls for the enforcement of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. military and security assistance to Azerbaijan.

“Azerbaijan is already guilty of grave atrocities committed during the recent war, and the continued illegal detention of Armenians compounds the problem. Azerbaijan’s treatment of these prisoners, including torture and killings, is heartbreaking and a direct threat to international law and order,” said Rep. Schiff. “My resolution urges the American government and international community to stand up to these gross human rights violations being perpetuated against the Armenian community by the Aliyev regime and return these prisoners back to their families.”

The resolution condemns Azerbaijan’s illegal detention of Nagorno-Karabakh civilian and military officials held as political prisoners: former Nagorno-Karabakh presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan, former Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Minister David Babayan, Speaker of Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament Davit Ishkhanyan, former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, and former Nagorno-Karabakh military commanders Levon Mnatsakanyan and David Manukyan.

Rep. Schiff’s resolution builds on similar legislation he and the Congressional Armenian Caucus led in 2021 (H.Res.240), which garnered broad bi-partisan support. The resolution’s call for U.S. sanctions on Azerbaijani leaders and enforcement of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan echoes bipartisan legislation (H.Res.108 / H.R.5683) and multiple Congressional letters to the Biden Administration which has garnered the support of over 100 Congressional leaders.