Author: Garnik Zakarian

Civilians injured amid renewed Azeri bombardment of Stepanakert City

Garnik Zakarian

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 07:46,

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani armed forces have launched a missile bombardment attack at Stepanakert City from dawn October 17, Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Artak Beglaryan said.

“Fortunately residents of the city were already in the bomb shelters and it was possible to avoid big losses,” he said.

Air raid sirens are constantly on in the capital of Artsakh.

Only an hour after the first missile attack, the Azeri armed forces again delivered rocket strikes at the Stepanakert’s central civilian infrastructures, inflicting destructions.

“Azerbaijan continues committing war crimes, and the international community’s blindness also continues,” Beglaryan said.

Two civilians were injured in the first bombardment early this morning, while data on casualties from the second attack are yet to be reported.

More than 30 civilians have died in Artsakh in the ongoing indiscriminate Azerbaijani bombings and missile attacks on towns and cities since the massive Azeri offensive began on September 27.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Senior Russian lawmaker says infiltration of terrorists to NK conflict zone is a serious threat

Garnik Zakarian

 

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 20:00,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14, ARMENPRESS. Infiltration of terrorists from different countries to Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone is a serious threat for the region, and the internationalization of that conflict is inadmissible, ARMENPRESS reports Chairwoman of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Matviyenko told TASS.

‘’Though it’s being denied, the Russian and French intelligence agencies, and many others have announced that. They have recorded the participation of gangster groups and terrorists from other countries in the military operations in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone’’, she said.

Matviyenko said that this is a serious case and is a serious threat not only for Armenia and Azerbaijan, but for the entire region, which can lead to a great catastrophe.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

CivilNet: Les hostilités dans le Haut Karabakh se poursuivent malgré le cessez-le-feu

Garnik Zakarian
CIVILNET.AM

20:35

Ce lundi 12 octobre, le ministre des affaires étrangères russe Sergueï Lavrov a confirmé que seule la Russie, les Etats-Unis et la France sont les médiateurs concernant le conflit du Haut Karabakh. Ce qui signifie que la Turquie, qui soutient l’Azerbaïdjan, n’interférera pas dans les discussions autour du conflit du Haut Karabakh. Les hostilités dans la région se poursuivent malgré le cessez-le-feu humanitaire annoncée le samedi 10 octobre. 

Armenian army attentively following all movements of troops of Azerbaijan along border with Armenia

Garnik Zakarian

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 21:46, 3 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 3, ARMENPRESS. There are combat formations and military convoys along the entire Armenia-Azerbaijan border, representative of the MoD Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan said in a press conference, answering the question of ARMENPRESS if the Russian media reports about movement of Azerbaijani troops along the Armenian border involving mercenaries from Syria, Libya, Pakistan corresponds to the reality.

‘’I can neither deny nor confirm it. I can say that there are military convoys and combat formations along the entire Armenia-Azerbaijan border, but I am confident that mercenary terrorists from different countries will be among them’’, Hovhannisyan said.

He added that no military operations take place along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, but movement of troops is detected, also the Azerbaijani side takes provocative actions, which are being prevented.

‘’Our Armed Forces implement their tasks at a high level’’, he said.

Starting from September 27, Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey and thousands of terrorists unleashed military operations against Artsakh, using its entire arsenal and targeting even civilian population both in Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia.

Turkey has deployed mercenaries from the northern parts of Syria to Azerbaijan to fight against Artsakh and Armenia. The number of mercenaries ranges between 3.000-4.000, who according to international media reports are paid 1500-2000USD monthly to fight against Armenia and Artsakh.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Erdogan hopes Azerbaijan will continue offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh until disputed region is free from ‘Armenian occupation’

Garnik Zakarian
RT – Russia Today
Oct 2 2020
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country will stand with Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh, calling on Baku to continue its assault and re-take control of the region.

Erdogan reiterated Ankara’s “full support” for its ally during his Friday speech at the inauguration of a city hospital in the central Turkish province of Konya.

“The brotherly state of Azerbaijan has started a great operation both to defend its own territories and to liberate the occupied Karabakh,” he said. “Turkey stands with and will continue to stand with friendly and brotherly Azerbaijan with all our means and all our heart.”

Erdogan’s statement comes hours after the violence intensified in Nagorno-Karabakh with the region’s capital, Stepanakert enduring artillery strikes which left scores of people wounded, according to Armenian sources.

An intense military confrontation between Yerevan and Baku broke out on September 27. The two sides clashed over territory which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is populated by ethnic Armenians who have been de-facto independent from Baku, with support from Yerevan, for three decades. 

The conflict had been in a semi-frozen state since the early 1990s. While it saw several major flare-ups – occurring in 2014, 2016, and in July of this year – the current escalation marked with casualties on both sides is the most serious for over twenty-five years.

Ankara declared its unwavering support for the “brotherly” nation of Azerbaijan at the beginning of the standoff, offering both military and diplomatic assistance. It also dismissed calls for peace by Moscow, Washington, and Paris on Thursday, reiterating that the withdrawal of Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh is a precondition for a ceasefire.

Armenia has repeatedly accused the Turkish military of aiding the Azeri army and even directly engaging and shooting down Armenian military aircraft – something that Ankara has denied.



Why are Armenia and Azerbaijan fighting and what are the implications?

Garnik Zakarian
The Guardian, UK
Sept 28 2020

Tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh region have caused one of Europe’s ‘frozen conflicts’ to erupt

Michael Safi

Early on Sunday, Armenia announced it was declaring martial law, mobilising its army and ordering civilians to shelter. It claimed its neighbour Azerbaijan had launched a military operation inside a disputed region called Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan said it attacked only in response to Armenian shelling.

Nagorno-Karabakh is recognised internationally as Azerbaijan’s territory but has a mostly Armenian population who have resisted Azerbaijani rule for more than a century. In 1991 the region declared independence and since then it has ruled itself – with Armenian support – as the unrecognised Republic of Artsakh.

Despite signs in the past two years of possible progress towards peace, one of Europe’s “frozen conflicts” has erupted again. Since Sunday, forces from Nagorno-Karabakh along with the Armenian military have been fighting Azerbaijani troops, armour and aircraft. At least two dozen people have been killed including civilians, and hundreds more are said to be injured. Azerbaijan has claimed to have taken territory inside Nagorno-Karabakh, a claim the Armenians dispute, and it appears to be a fluid situation on the ground.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous, landlocked region inside the borders of Azerbaijan, has been a source of dispute since before the creation of the Soviet Union. Tensions were suppressed when both Armenia and Azerbaijan were Soviet states, but they re-emerged as the cold war ended and Communist party control of the bloc dissolved.

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A war between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces ended in a ceasefire in 1994, with Armenia in full control of Nagorno-Karabakh and other smaller enclaves of Azerbaijan’s territory.

The border between the two is considered one of the most militarised in the world, said Laurence Broers, the Caucasus programme director at Conciliation Resources, a peace-building group.

“We have a situation where we have trench warfare going on in Europe more than 100 years after the first world war,” he said. “In some areas the lines are so close they can hear and potentially talk to one another.”

Azerbaijan is majority Muslim and Armenia is majority Christian, and some elements on both sides seek to cast the conflict in religious terms, though analysts say this angle is exaggerated (Azerbaijan, for example, maintains strong defence ties with Israel).



Armenpress: First resident ambassador of Netherlands presents credentials to Armenian President

Garnik Zakarian

First resident ambassador of Netherlands presents credentials to Armenian President

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 19:04,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The new Ambassador of the Netherlands Nico Schermers presented his credentials to the Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on September 23 in Yerevan.

“I am happy to be the first resident ambassador of the Netherlands in Armenia,” Schermers said, conveying King Willem-Alexander’s greetings to the President of Armenia and the Armenian people.

The Ambassador said he expects productive and effective work for the benefit of the development and expansion of bilateral partnership.

The President of Armenia congratulated Schermers on starting his diplomatic service in Armenia and expressed certainty that the ambassador will use his experience for further strengthening the friendly relations between Armenia and the Netherlands.

Prioritizing the deepening of commercial partnership, the Ambassador underscored that various Dutch companies from different sectors are showing interest for Armenia.

Sarkissian talked about his ATOM (Advanced Tomorrow) Presidential Initiative – a project aimed at developing science and new technologies in Armenia. As many major tech enterprises and scientific centers from around the world have expressed desire to cooperate as part of ATOM, the President told the Ambassador that he would be happy to cooperate with Dutch companies, universities and scientific centers also.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Azerbaijani President accused Armenia of preparing for a new war

Garnik Zakarian
Pledge Times
Sept 20 2020
by Bhavi Mandalia

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Armenia of preparing for a new war. He stated this in an interview with Azerbaijani TV channels, Interfax-Azerbaijan reports.

“They are preparing for a new war. There is a concentration of their forces not far from the line of contact. We see everything, we track everything, ”Aliyev said and warned that Azerbaijan would defend itself.

In his words, the Armenian authorities deliberately go to provocations to escalate the Karabakh conflict, including illegal settlement of “Nagorno-Karabakh”.

Aliyev also called the clashes on the border in July a consequence of the provocation of Yerevan. “This is an armed provocation, and it is not a secret for anyone that Armenia started it,” the Azerbaijani leader stressed. “We do not have any military targets in the territory of Armenia.”

There has been a territorial dispute between Baku and Yerevan for 30 years over Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1991, the region, inhabited mainly by Armenians, declared independence from Azerbaijan, which tried to return it by force. The war broke out, in 1994, the parties, with the mediation of Russia, signed a truce protocol. However, hostilities periodically resume. In July 2020, clashes took place on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, 300 kilometers from Karabakh. The total losses were 18 people.



Azerbaijan violates Artsakh ceasefire 295 times in one week

Garnik Zakarian

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 15:05,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS.  Azerbaijani armed forces violated the ceasefire at the Artsakh line of contact around 295 times in the past week.

The Defense Army of Artsakh said in a statement that the Azerbaijani military fired more than 2300 shots from various caliber firearms at their positions from September 13 to 19.

“The Defense Army vanguard units mostly refrained from responding to the adversary’s provocative actions and continued confidently carrying out their combat objectives.”

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Russia may allow migrants of EAEU states to work with national driving licenses at Armenia’s offer

Garnik Zakarian

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 19:24,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. At the proposal of Armenia, Russia is considering to allow the migrants representing the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to work with their national driving licenses.

Russia’s Interior Ministry developed a bill which will allow the migrants from the EAEU states to work in Russia as a driver by using their national driving licenses.

According to the bill, the driving license of the EAEU member states will be recognized as valid while working in Russia.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan