17:41, 27 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The European Under-20 and Under-23 Weightlifting Championships have started in Rovaniemi, Finland. Garnik Cholakyan became the European Under-20 Weightlifting Champion.
ARMENPRESS reports the 19-year-old weightlifter representing Armenia won the gold medal in the weight category up to 55 kg, lifting 230 kg (100 + 130) and defeating two Turkish rivals.
10:38,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Last year on September 27th, Armenians woke up to news that Azerbaijan is attacking Artsakh. Although it was momentarily clear that this attack wasn’t the usual border skirmish, no one would’ve thought that it was the beginning of an all-out war that would last six weeks.
With overt Turkish support and involvement of foreign mercenaries, the Azerbaijani military launched a war of conquest, with indiscriminate bombardments of towns and cities of Artsakh, including the capital city of Stepanakert.
Village homes, apartments, churches and even the maternity hospital of Stepanakert were hit by Azeri strikes.
The Armenian and Artsakhi governments declared martial law and mobilization of reservists, while many people were voluntarily signing up to the military to be deployed to the frontline and defend the nation.
During the entire course of the war, the Azerbaijani military used prohibited munitions against Artsakh, including against civilians. Large-scale evidence exists on torture committed by the Azeri authorities against Armenian captives.
Despite humanitarian ceasefire agreements reached with mediation of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairing countries, Azerbaijan was violating it almost immediately after taking effect.
After 44 days, on the night of November 9-10, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a Russia-backed ceasefire agreement ending the war, officially known as the Statement of the President of the Russian Federation, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.
The ceasefire agreement deployed around 2000 Russian peacekeepers to Artsakh.
To this day, Azerbaijan refuses to implement the agreements of the ceasefire and hasn’t returned all Armenian captives.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
1- Turkish-American Groups Contributed
$2.2 Million to Politicians Since 2007
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
3- Two Armenian women killed in Netherlands
4- SF Mayor, ANCA-SF Commemorate
St. Gregory Church Arson Attack
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
************************************************************************************************************************************************
1- Turkish-American Groups Contributed
$2.2 Million to Politicians Since 2007
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
I came across a Turkish-American website, “tenthousandturks.org,”
which is described as: “Ten Thousand Turks Campaign.”
The website includes the combined information of five separate
Turkish-American political action committees (PACs): 1) Turkish
Coalition USA Political Action Committee (TC-USA PAC); 2) Turkish
Coalition California Political Action Committee (TC-CAL PAC); 3)
National Coalition of Turkish American Lawyers Political Action
Committee, (NC-TAL PAC); 4) National Coalition of Turkish American
Women Political Action Committee (NC-TAW PAC); 5) Turkish American
Political Action Committee (TURKISH PAC-TX).
The website states that the “Ten Thousand Turks Campaign,” was
launched on April 29, 2010. It is “dedicated to reaching out to over
10,000 Turkish-Americans and friends of Turkey willing to take a stand
to support candidates that understand the value of positive
U.S.-Turkish relations.” This coalition of PACs has adopted the
impossible task of fostering “positive U.S.-Turkish relations.” The
leader of Turkey, Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has done a great job of
undermining U.S.-Turkish relations as well as Turkey’s relations with
many other countries. I suggest that instead of wasting their hard
earned money, Turkish-Americans get rid of Erdogan which will
immediately improve U.S.-Turkish relations.
The group’s website claims that the five Turkish PACs combined have
raised a total of $2,152,849 from 2007 to 2020 for U.S. political
candidates. Interestingly, the amount of contributions they have
received has declined precipitously from a high of $510,765 in 2015-16
to a low of $202,640 in 2019-20. This may indicate that
Turkish-Americans are not as hopeful about improving U.S.-Turkish
relations by contributing to political campaigns. The website does not
explain how the group was able to raise money in 2007 to 2009 before
it was formed in 2010.
The Turkish website also provides the amount of money raised by each
of the five PACs in the 2019-20 election cycle: TC-USA PAC ($57,500);
TC-TAW PAC ($37,750); TC-CAL PAC ($44,490); TC-MIDWEST PAC ($35,800);
and TURKISH PAC-TX ($27,000). Some of the groups have changed their
names over the years.
Here is additional information regarding each of the five groups:
1) TC-USA PAC: This group’s fundraising declined from $231,950 in
2009-10 to $57,500 in 2019-20. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
G. Lincoln McCurdy is the Treasurer and Louette Ragusa is the
Custodian of Records.
2) TC-CAL PAC: This group’s fundraising declined from t$64,400 in
2015-16 to $44,490 in 2019-20. It is headquartered in Long Beach,
California. Maria Cakiraga is the Treasurer and Yelda Bartlett is the
Northern California Representative.
3) NC-TAL PAC: No fundraising information is available on its own
website. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The PAC’s Officers &
Executive Committee Members are: Doreen Edelman, President; Robert
Levent Herguner, Treasurer; Aylin Acikalin; Zeliha Arslan; Yelda
Bartlett; and Lawrence Cenk Laws.
4) NC-TAW PAC: No fundraising information is available on its website.
It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Tuba Firincioglu is the
Treasurer and Louette Ragusa is the Custodian of Records. Louette
holds the same position with the TC-USA PAC. The website claims that
there are nationwide 11 Turkish elected officials in city and local
governments and none at state or federal levels.
5) Turkish PAC-TX: No fundraising information is available on its
website and no executives are named. The group is headquartered in
Houston, Texas.
The “tenthousandturks.org” website provides the following additional
details: “In the 2019-2020 election cycle, the PACs contributed to the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), National
Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), Congressional Black Caucus
PAC (CBC PAC), and Bold PAC (Congressional Hispanic PAC).
“The PACs also contributed to three U.S. senators, 61 candidates for
the U.S. House of Representatives, and 10 candidates for state or
local races. The percentage of wins was 100% for the Senate, 98% for
the House, and 50% for state and local offices. Further, the PACs were
instrumental in rallying support for the 11 Turkish Americans running
for public office in 2020, the largest number ever, and the three
spouses of Turkish Americans for a total of 14 candidates.
“Notable successes by the PACs in the 2019-2020 election cycle were
the following:
“(1) The comeback of Cong. Pete Sessions, the former Turkey Caucus
Co-Chair, in winning Texas’s 17th congressional district after his
loss in 2018 when he represented the 32nd district;
“(2) The election of Farrah Khan, a popular friend of Turkish
Americans in southern California, as the Mayor of Irvine, California;
“(3) The election of Turkish American Aycha Sawa as the City
Comptroller for Milwaukee, Wisconsin;
“(4) The reelection of Turkish American Tayfun Selen as a Freeholder
(County Commissioner) of the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders
(County Commissioners) in New Jersey;
“(5) The reelection of Ben Bartlett, spouse of Turkish American Yelda
Bartlett, as a City Council Member in Berkeley, California; and
“(6) The election of Leah Ersoylu, spouse of Turkish American Sarp
Ersoylu, as a Trustee of the Newport Mesa United School District in
Orange County, California.”
Naturally, Turkish-Americans have the right to contribute to political
campaigns in the United States like any other American. The only issue
is that they are using their political outreach to spread lies about
the Armenian Genocide. Their political fundraising website is full of
disinformation about the Genocide committed by Ottoman Turkey against
Armenians. This is something Armenian-Americans need to counter with
their own “One Million Armenians Campaign.”
************************************************************************************************************************************************
2- Baroness Cox Awarded ‘St. Sahak-Mesrop’ Medal by Catholicos
Karekin II
His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians on Friday awarded
Caroline Cox, a member of the British House of Lords and a staunch
advocate for the rights of the people of Armenia and Artsakh the
“Sourp Sahag-Mesrop” medal, the Etchmiadzin press office reported.
Cox, who is in Armenia to take part in the International Religious
Freedom and Peace conference organized by Karekin II. Cox met with the
Catholicos at the Holy See, where he highlighted the Baroness’ decades
of support and her advocacy in international circles for the rights of
the people of Artsakh, often shedding a light on the atrocities
committed by Azerbaijan against the Armenians. Baroness Cox has been
on the ground in Artsakh since the early 1990s, documents such events
as the Maragha Massacre carried out by Azerbaijani forces, which
annihilate an entire village in Artsakh during the Artsakh Liberation
War. She has established the Cox Rehabilitation Center in Stepanakert,
offering much needed assistance to children with disabilities and
wounded soldier from the frontlines.
After receiving the medal, Baroness Cox thanked the Catholicos,
assuring him that she will continue her advocacy on behalf of the
Armenian people and alert and inform international bodies about the
atrocities committed by Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Artsakh
and the desecration of Armenian cultural and religious monuments.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
3- Two Armenian women killed in Netherlands
(Public Radio of Armenia)—Two Armenian women – Maral Dermovsesian and
Zonund Kardanakyan – were killed in a stabbing incident in Almelo, the
Netherlands. Both were members of the Armenian General Benevolent
Union (AGBU).
NL Times reported on September 20 that two people were killed and
another was hurt in a stabbing incident in Almelo on Friday morning.
The suspected perpetrator, a 28-year-old man from Almelo, was injured
during his arrest.
“AGBU Holland lost two of the most active women members through a
heinous stabbing crime. We lost two of our loved ones who served AGBU
for years tirelessly. They are the board member and chairperson of
Women’s Committee Mrs. Maral Dermovesian, and Mrs. Zonund Kardanakian
member of Women’s Committee,” AGBU Holland said in a statement.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************
4- SF Mayor, ANCA-SF Commemorate
St. Gregory Church Arson Attack
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, joined by San Francisco
Assessor-Recorder Joaquín Torres and representatives from the Board of
Supervisors, visit St. Gregory The Illuminator Armenian Apostolic
Church to mark the one-year anniversary of the arson attack at St.
Gregory. Mayor Breed expressed her support for the community and
offered her assistance to ensure the building reopens as quickly as
possible.
“We appreciate the steadfast support from the Mayor and City
representatives over the past year as the community works to rebuild,”
said ANC-SF Board Member Roxanne Makasdjian.
***********************************************************************************************************************************************
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
Armenia is continuing the fight against the third wave of COVID-19
cases, as the country continues promoting the vaccination phase.
The U.S. State Department on July 26 warned American citizens to
reconsider travel to Armenia due to the increase in cases of the
Covid-19.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a
Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Armenia due to COVID-19, indicating a
high level of COVID-19 in the country,” said the State Department.
The State Department also urged U.S. citizens not to travel to the
Nagorno-Karabakh region due to armed conflict.
“The U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services to U.S.
citizens in Nagorno-Karabakh as U.S. government employees are
restricted from traveling there,” the State Department added.
There were 12,307 active cases in Armenia as of September 21. Armenia
has recorded 254,436 coronavirus cases and 5,161 deaths; 236,968 have
recovered.
************************************************************************************************************************************************
************************************************************************************************************************************************
California Courier Online provides readers of the Armenian News News Service
with a few of the articles in this week’s issue of The California
Courier. Letters to the editor are encouraged through our e-mail
address, . Letters are published with
the author’s name and location; authors are required to disclose their
identity to the editorial staff (name, address, and/or telephone
numbers for verification purposes).
California Courier subscribers can change or modify mailing addresses
by emailing .
Two restless powers in Eurasia—Russia and Armenia—are united by their inability to accept that their “imagined communities” are coterminous with their former Soviet republics.
Thirteen of the Soviet republics that became independent states in 1991 had no territorial aspirations for their neighbors’ land and supported the principle of the territorial integrity of states. In these thirteen states, irredentism is confined to marginal nationalist groups despite the fact that there are three times more Azerbaijanis living in Iran than in Azerbaijan and three million more Tajiks living in Afghanistan than in Tajikistan. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin believes Ukraine benefitted from Soviet territorial constructions, the Kuban region of the North Caucasus and adjacent regions of eastern Ukraine were included in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (SFSR) in the 1920s, and Ukraine left the Soviet Union with 200,000 square kilometers less territory than when it joined.
Russia and Armenia are the two post-Soviet exceptions to respecting territorial integrity. In both cases, their “imagined communities,”—to use the phrase coined by theorist of nationalism Benedict Andersen—have always been perceived as stretching beyond state borders. Andersen wrote that “imagined communities” are socially constructed in the modern era by people who see themselves as part of a larger nation that is grounded in ancient myths: in Russia’s case, for example, an eastern Slavic obshcherusskiy narod (pan-Russian people) originating from the medieval Kievan Rus or, in Armenia’s case, an ancient Greater or United Armenia.
Russian and Armenian “imagined communities” that exceed the respective borders of the Russian Federation and Armenia have widespread support among ruling elites, state bodies, and populations who harbor nostalgia for “lost territories.” In 2005, Putin said the disintegration of the Soviet Union was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” Armenian nationalists support a Greater Armenia, which includes fifteen provinces from what Armenian nationalists call (Tsarist Russian) Eastern Armenia and (Ottoman Turkish) Western Armenia, on the basis of the unimplemented 1920 Treaty of Sevres. But Russia and Armenia are not alone: Hungary’s ruling populist nationalists routinely denounce the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, which reduced their country’s territory by seventy percent. Respectively, Hungary and Turkey view the Treaties of Trianon and Sevres as humiliating because external powers carved up their territories when they were weak.
Irredentism has a deep history in Russia. Well-known historian Richard Pipes explained that Russia became an empire before it emerged as a nation-state, which has led to confusion about the boundaries between them. In contrast, England and France became nation-states before they built empires. Russians viewed “Russia” and the Soviet Union as one. The Russian SFSR alone was never viewed as the entirety of Russia’s “imagined community.” In Belgrade and Prague, there were federal and republican institutions that reflected separate Serb and Czech identities to Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, respectively. But in Moscow, there was no separate Russian SFSR Communist Party, Komsomol (Communist Youth League), Academy of Sciences, Cabinet of Ministers, or other republican institution.
Unlike Ukrainian and Baltic oppositionists, Russian nationalists never sought independence for the Russian SFSR; instead, they sought to transform the Soviet Union into a new empire. The Russian SFSR never declared independence from the Soviet Union, and annual Russia Day celebrations are based on the June 1990 Declaration of Sovereignty. In the fall of 1991 after the failed putsch by hardliners, the Russian SFSR co-opted the Soviet institutions based in Moscow.
As British historian Vera Tolz has convincingly shown, a civic Russian identity viewing the Russian Federation alone as Russia’s “imagined community” had limited support in the 1990s. Russians, who lived for seven decades with the feeling that the Soviet Union was their “imagined community,” believed “Russia” to be bigger than the Russian Federation. Since 1991, Russia has pursued the twin goals of “gathering Russian [i.e. eastern Slavic] lands” and integrating and reunifying Eurasia as a Union of Sovereign States, revived Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), integration within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russian World, CIS Customs Union, or Eurasian Economic Union. A Russian-Belarusian union that was initially proposed in 1996 during Boris Yeltsin’s presidency and significantly reduces Belarusian sovereignty will be signed next month.
Presidents Yeltsin and Putin insisted that Russia, as the great power successor to the Soviet Union, has the right to a sphere of influence in Eurasia, which should be recognized by the West through a ‘Yalta-2’ summit. Former Soviet republics should accept that they are part of a Russian sphere of influence or if they attempt to integrate into the West like Georgia and Ukraine, face Russian-backed separatism. In Eurasia, Russia believes only it has “true sovereignty,” while other former Soviet republics do not. Russia believes they are colonies of the West, which uses them to promote Russophobia and divisions among Eurasian states. The two most common themes in Russian disinformation about Ukraine are that is an “artificial state” and U.S. “puppet.” Russia’s vision for its hegemonic sphere of influence, or what former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev calls its“privileged interests,” perceives color revolutions as U.S.- and European Union-inspired conspiracies and does not include the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, European Union enlargement, and the introduction of UN and Western peacekeepers. Russia has always demanded exclusive responsibility for “peacekeeping” in the conflicts it has itself manufactured.
The eight to ten million-strong Armenian diaspora is the largest in proportion to the size of an ethnic group (three million), and its greatest influence is in the United States and France. Armenians are the most powerful of all the diasporas from the former Soviet Union; the three Baltic Republics come in second and the Ukrainians come in third. The Armenian diaspora’s influence is important in many ways because, as a British Foreign Office document explained, its sentiments “will remain a significant obstacle to achieving compromise-based solution over the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute and Armenia’s relations with Turkey.” With a powerful and influential diaspora, “Yerevan’s scope for manoeuvre” is limited, the British Foreign Office believes.
A U.S. diplomatic cable noted the Armenian-American diaspora “tend to be nationalistic in nature” and “has shown limited interest in the promotion of democracy, electoral reform, and civil society development in Armenia.” At the same time, the Armenian-American diaspora “are quick to mobilize their supporters against the [government of Armenia; GOAM] if the Diaspora groups believe the GOAM is not acting in Armenia’s best interests. Many groups oppose the GOAM’s regional reconciliation efforts on the grounds that such reconciliation does not include resolution of the simmering conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh or recognition that the Ottoman Empire engaged in genocide in 1915.”
Throughout its twentieth-century existence, the most influential Armenian political force was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun; ARF) which has always supported a Greater Armenia. The ARF is the dominant party in the most influential diaspora organization in the United States, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The ARF dominated the 1918 Armenian Republic which signed the Treaty of Sevres.
During the Cold War, the Armenian diaspora pursued international recognition of 1915 as a genocide, which they linked to territorial claims to what they call Western Armenia (Eastern Turkey). The terrorist organization the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) supported a Greater Armenia and international recognition of 1915 as genocide. The Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) and Armenian Revolutionary Army (ARA) were two smaller terrorist organizations with the same goals. From 1975 to 1991, ASALA, with Soviet KGB logistical support provided through Palestinian terrorist proxies, perpetrated fifty bombings and assassinations that resulted in the deaths of forty-six people and 299 wounded. Their targets were NATO-member Turkey’s diplomats and state officials. No other diaspora formerly in the USSR—including Ukrainians who also had a powerful nationalist diaspora and campaigned for recognition of the 1933 Holodomor as a genocide—adopted terrorism.
What problems do the displaced Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) families have? How many of them resettled in Artsakh? How many of them found refuge in Armenia? What sources of income do they have? What are the priority issues that need to be addressed? Artsakh Public Television reports that the Artsakh National Statistical Service has conducted a survey on this and many other issues, and the results of this survey have already been summed up.
Leonid Soghomonyan, head of the Research and Studies Department of the Artsakh National Statistical Service, says that 986 households were surveyed, and 408 of them were from urban areas. Accordingly, 51.6% of the surveyed households remained in Artsakh, whereas 48.4% moved to Armenia—and they relocated primarily to urban areas.
Also, the surveyed households have lost houses and apartments worth a total of 15.7 billion drams, furniture worth a total of 5 billion drams, economic facilities worth a total of 1.9 billion drams, plots of land worth a total of 1.6 billion drams, and cars worth a total of 1.3 billion drams.
15:32,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. On September 10, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh David Babayan was received by Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians His Holiness Garegin II in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the foreign ministry told Armenpress.
Various issues related to the current situation in Artsakh and the church-society relations were discussed during the meeting.
David Babayan expressed his gratitude to the Catholicos of All Armenians for keeping Artsakh in the focus of attention, his substantial contribution to the process of developing and strengthening Artsakh, emphasizing the key role of the Armenian Apostolic Church in preserving the independent Armenian statehood and Armenian national identity.
Head of the Artsakh Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan also participated in the meeting.
EU-funded conference on Increased Resilience of Syrian Armenians and Host Population held in Yerevan
September 9, 2021, 17:23
Today the Increased Resilience of Syrian Armenians and Host Population – IRIS Programme Final Conference took place in Yerevan.
The project aimed to enhance the economic integration of Syrian-Armenians and the host population by raising the competitiveness of the local economy by stimulating innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in Armenia.
“I believe that this support from the EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian Crisis and joint efforts of the founding organizations helped to facilitate and strengthen the economic integration of Syrian Armenians, migrants, repatriates and local entrepreneurs, contributing to the growth of Armenian SME sector. I hope that this experience would be useful for replication within different similar projects in the future,” said the Head of the European Union Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador H.E Andrea Wiktorin in her welcoming speech.
The EU IRIS programme was implemented from July 2018 to July 2021 and was consisting of four main components: Economic integration, Housing Support, Information Services, Social Inclusion. The objective of the programme was to improve social and economic integration of Syrian Armenians and host population and to strengthen institutional capacities for economic growth in Armenia.
During 36 months Armenian Red Cross Society achieved the following:
Armenian Caritas and SME Cooperation Association established EU IRIS Business Incubator foundation as a separate entity which provides full cycle of business incubation including trainings, coaching, mentoring and access to the finance in form of grants and loans. As a result of two calls 102 entrepreneurs have been supported through IRIS Academy, and AMD 449’000’000 has been allocated for their businesses in form of grants and loans.
The Centre for Coordination of Syrian Armenians’ Issues with its InfoHub made sure that all services available and provided by different organizations were bundled and shared with all Syrian Armenians.
The IRIS programme is funded by the European Union through the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (the ‘MADAD’ Fund), Austrian Development Cooperation and Austrian Red Cross and is being implemented by the consortium led by Austrian Red Cross and consisting of “Armenian Caritas” Benevolent NGO, Armenian Red Cross Society, Centre for Coordination of Syrian Armenians’ Issues and SME Cooperation Association.
As of September 5, 303,325 coronavirus vaccination doses have been administered in Armenia. Out of the total number, 195,290 people have received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and 108,035 have received both shots, the Ministry of Health reported on Monday.
According to the ministry update, more women than men are getting coronavirus vaccines in Armenia. The statistics show that women made up 53.1% of those who had received the first shot and 50.3% – for both shots.
The reasons for the difference is perhaps explained by the fact that women make up the majority of the workforce in the public education sector, which had earlier mandated for getting vaccines starting from October 1, alternatively to present a negative PCR test result every 15 days.
Armenian Defense Minister, Director General of South Caucasus Railway CJSC discuss cooperation prospects
11:20, 8 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Defense Minister of Armenia Arshak Karapetyan received on September 7 Director General of the South Caucasus Railway CJSC Alexei Melnikov, the defense ministry said.
At the meeting Alexei Melnikov presented the activity of the South Caucasus Railway in the field of cargo transportation, the situation of railway infrastructure and development prospects.
The Armenian defense minister highlighted the company’s strategic role in cargo transportation of both civil significance and for the needs of the Armed Forces.
The officials also discussed the company’s cooperation programs with the Armenian defense ministry, as well as a number of issues of bilateral interest.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has said that he is willing to conduct a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart to resume negotiations in Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.
“Armenia has repeatedly said that we see the settlement [of the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis] achieved only through peace negotiations so we are ready for a meeting,” he said in Moscow on Tuesday at a press conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
The situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border has remained tense since May 12 when Armenia’s Defense Ministry said that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces had attempted to carry out “certain operations” in a border area in Syunik Province in a bid to “adjust the border.” Since then, the sides have been reporting border incidents from time to time.At the same time, Mirzoyan stressed that Armenia is currently not engaged in talks with Azerbaijan to sign a peace treaty, recommending that Baku focus on implementing all provisions of the trilateral statement on ceasefire in the conflict zone signed on November 9.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs – Russia, France, and the United States.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. Under the agreement, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line in Nagorno-Karabakh, and along the Lachinsky corridor that connects Armenia with the enclave, to monitor the ceasefire. Apart from that, a number of districts came over to Baku’s control.