Author: Hagop Kamalian

Vicken Euljekjian, an Armenian from Lebanon, who was captured by Azerbaijani forces on November 10, 2020 near Shushi, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)  and is being held illegally by Azerbaijan was transferred to a hospital, Asbarez reported.

This was reported by Eulkekjian’s 18-year-old daughter, Christine, and mother, Beatrice, who have spoken from Beirut about their latest telephone conversation with Vicken, as he was transferred from prison to hospital.

Christine Euljekjian has had to grow fast in the last six months. She speaks with composure and maturity and has become the voice of an Armenian family longing for the return of a son, a brother and a father whose only crime was to dream of a better future in Armenia.

These dreams were shattered when the war against Artsakh was launched unexpectedly by Azerbaijan. Unaware that the city had already been taken over, Vicken was captured the day after the ceasefire agreement near Shushi. On 10 November 2020, with Maral Najarian, Vicken drove to Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh, to collect his belongings from his Shushi hotel before the handover of the town to Azerbaijan. They were stopped by Azeri forces and transferred to Baku in a bus with many other Armenian captives, civilians and soldiers. Maral Najarian was released in March 2021, whereas Vicken remains in captivity, where he is facing criminal charges by Azerbaijan.

Representatives of the International Red Cross were permitted to visit Vicken in prison only in February 2021. ICRC has facilitated sporadic communication between him and his family in Beirut, exchange of letters and notes. In April, Vicken was allowed to telephone his family for the first time in five months. He told them he was treated well, and that his paperwork was being dealt with for his release in three months.

These hopes were once again crushed, when on May 5, weeks after these much anticipated phone calls, Azerbaijan’s State Security Service announced that Vicken Euljekjian’s investigation was completed and that his case was sent to court. He is being charged under Article 114.3 (participation of a mercenary in a military conflict or military operation), Article 214.2.1 (terrorism committed by a group of persons, an organized group or a criminal organization) and Article 318.2 (illegal crossing of the state border of the Republic of Azerbaijan). However, the European Court of Human Rights has not been notified of his case so far.

YEREVAN. – Outgoing Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Aivazian on Monday had a farewell meeting with the Foreign Ministry staff, the ministry informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

In his speech, Aivazian noted as follows, in particular: “We had no right to take a step for which our people and our history would not have forgiven us in the future.

When I took office, I declared that [Armenian] diplomacy is not defeated, and I still insist to this day that our diplomacy is not defeated.

I believe our international partners have realized that Armenia is not defeated, Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] is not defeated, the Armenians are not defeated; our enemies also have realized this.

It was very difficult for me to make this decision; but when I assumed this position, there was a criterion for me: This ministry, which is the birth of independence, shall steadfastly defend our sovereignty, our independence, our state, national interests. (…) and my decision of resignation was conditioned by that very reason (…).”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia doesn’t know if there is a document or not, and it doesn’t have any information about the particular document. This is what acting nDeputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Avet Adonts told reporters in Syunik Province today.

According to him, the events are developing dynamically, and the addressee is the Government of Armenia.

“As acting Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, that’s all I can say. I haven’t seen the document and haven’t participated in the discussions,” he emphasized.

The official explained that representatives of the country’s power structures are the ones who are mainly leading the negotiations over the situation at Sev Lake.

“We are aware that the Azerbaijanis didn’t come yesterday. We’ll see what happens. Today’s processes are an encroachment on the sovereignty of Armenia and violate the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia. The Armed Forces of Azerbaijan must leave the territory of Armenia. This is a mandatory step to continue the negotiations,” Adonts added and welcomed the decision of the head of the EU delegation and ambassadors of EU countries to visit Syunik Province.

Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin and EU countries’ ambassadors visited Syunik Province and the area near Sev Lake, as well as met with Governor of Syunik Province Melikset Poghosyan.

The President of Armenia has not been and is not involved in the processes and discussions related to the alleged document. This is stated in the statement issued by the Staff of the President of Armenia.

The statement also states the following: “Therefore, the President is absolutely unaware of the document, much less the specifics. The President of Armenia is certain that such processes need to be maximally public and need to be held through the involvement of all interested parties.”

Acting PM Nikol Pashinyan said Thursday he is negotiating a new document with Azerbaijan and Russia.

The paper was first published by Armenia’s former ambassador to the Vatican Mikayel Minasyan. According to the latter, Pashinyan was going to sign a new agreement that would damage the interests of the country.

The acting PM also noted that Armenia has reached some agreements with its international colleagues. According to him, those solutions are 100% in line with the interests of Armenia.

Pashinyan added that he would not publish the document to be signed because it was not correct to publish a working document.

Certain media outlets are spreading news that the Azerbaijanis have allegedly seized an Armenian military position in the border sector of Vardenis. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia has sharply refuted the news in a press release provided to the Information Verification Center.

“Not only have the Azerbaijanis failed to seize an Armenian military position, but also, theoretically speaking, they couldn’t seize the military position since there are simply no military positions in the border sector in which the Azerbaijanis tried to ensure advancement. The border sector is simply an open space which, along with the Azerbaijani soldiers in that space, is under the control of the Armenian units,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces clarified.