20:32,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. World-famous footballer Diego Maradona has died at the age of 61, ARMENPRESS reports, Clarin news outlet informs.
Maradona had been discharged from hospital a few days ago.
Diego Maradona was born in 1960. In 1986 he won the title of Football World Champion as a member of the Argentine national team.
Following the hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, November 21 stressed the need to reform the country's military. As per reports, Pashinyan noted the necessity to learn from the failed military confrontation against Azerbaijan while speaking at the presentation of the newly appointed Defence Minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan to the ministry's staff.
"We must seriously analyse what happened, understand where and why we made mistakes, what we need to learn from these mistakes. And in general, it is obvious that we are facing the need to reform the army and the armed forces," Pashinyan said, as quoted by the government's press office.
The Armenian prime minister said that he expects the ministry to draw up a reform plan and present it on his desk swiftly. Pashinyan also said that it is very important to construct new tactics, logic, and strategies without disrupting the healthy traditions of the army and armed forces.
Vagharshak Harutyunyan has been appointed as the Armenian Defence Minister in place of David Tonoyan who resigned of his own accord along with a slew of ministers. Harutyunyan previously headed the defence ministry between 1999 and 2000.
Azerbaijan Troops Enter Aghdam
Meanwhile, on Friday Azerbaijani forces entered the recently gained Aghdam district after Armenian troops left the territory a day earlier. Azerbaijan has started retaking territories that Armenia conceded after the month-long war that ended with a Russia-brokered peace deal, as per reports. Armenia lost most of the controlled territories in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and is preparing to hand them over to Azerbaijan as part of the deal.
Since September, Azerbaijan and Armenia were involved in an all-out war after clashes between both sides turned hostile. The fighting persisted for over a month before a Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement came into force on November 10.
Furthermore, the Russian peacekeepers have been deployed along the Nagorno-Karabakh region to uphold the ceasefire and the warring sides will also exchange prisoners of war, detainees, and dead bodies as part of the deal, according to Kremlin.
(With ANI inputs)
MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. More than 1,400 refugees returned from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh during the past day. The convoy of buses and cars with the refugees was escorted by Russian peacekeepers, the Russian defense ministry said on Sunday.
"Thirty-four buses arrived from Yerevan to the main square of the city of Stepanakert. The convoy was escorted by patrols of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and military police. Russian servicemen ensured security when the busses were crossing the contact line. More than 1,400 people returned to their homes," the ministry said, adding that Russian servicemen were responsible for the safe return of civilians across the contact line.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July.
On November 9, 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 starting from November 10. Under the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides are to maintain the positions that they held and Russian peacekeepers are to be deployed to the region. The Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh basically comprises units of the 15th separate motor rifle (peacekeeping) brigade of the Central Military District.
The Russian and Turkish military personnel will take part in operations to provide security for Azerbaijanis and Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Wednesday.
All the countries of the region supported the joint statement by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, Aliyev said.
“All our neighbors expressed their support. And two of our neighbors – Russia and Turkey – will participate in the operations to provide for the security of Azerbaijanis and Armenians,” the Azeri leader said at a meeting with the new Dutch ambassador to Baku, the news agency Azertac reported.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict reported numerous casualties, among them civilians.
On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a full ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, starting from November 10. Under the peace deal, the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces will remain at their current positions while Russian peacekeepers will be deployed to the region.
The conflict over 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.
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/azerbaijan-announces-turkey-will-take-part-in-karabakh-security-operation/
November 17, 2020
Senator Robert Menendez calls for U.S. sanctions on Turkey and Azerbaijan on the Senate floor on Nov. 17
ANCA Welcomes Calls for U.S. to “Reinvigorate” the OSCE Minsk Group; Provide $100 Million in Aid to Armenians
WASHINGTON—Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a powerful call for renewed U.S. leadership in the face of Turkish and Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, urging $100 million in U.S. assistance to prevent a humanitarian disaster, re-engagement in the OSCE Minsk Group negotiation process, and the end to U.S. arms sales to Ankara and Baku, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
“Armenian Americans in New Jersey and across the U.S. applaud Senator Menendez’s leadership calling for a reset of U.S. policy toward the South Caucusus region, to aid the Armenians forced out of their homes due to Azerbaijani and Turkish attacks, to meaningfully re-engage in the OSCE Minsk Group peace process, and sanction Erdogan and Aliyev for their aggression,” said ANCA National Board member Ani Tchaghlasian, a New Jersey native. “We look forward to working with Congress and the Administration to enact Sen. Menendez’s common sense proposals to ensure the safety and security of Armenia and Artsakh.”
The ANCA live streamed Senator Menendez’s remarks on its social media channels. The video is available on the Senator’s YouTube page at: https://youtu.be/JCh49hna7hA
Speaking on the U.S. Senate floor, Senator Menendez shared his solidarity with Armenian worldwide, in the face of “the devastation inflicted on the region by Azerbaijani President Aliyev, with the full support of President Erdogan of Turkey,” and decried the lack of American leadership “which could have averted much of this tragedy.”
Menendez continued that “the security of the Armenian people, who have already suffered brutal violence at the hands of Presidents Aliyev and Erdogan, now rests with ‘peacekeepers’ sent by Vladimir Putin – a flawed agreement that does nothing about the jihadis sent there by Turkey, who if allowed to remain, could commit further atrocities against Christian Armenians.”
In response, Senator Menendez offered four key areas of renewed U.S. leadership including a call for $100 million in U.S. humanitarian and development assistance.
“Second, the United States must immediately suspend the provision of defense articles to Turkey and Azerbaijan. We cannot and must not enable any future atrocities by either of these authoritarian countries,” stated Senator Menendez, who called for passage of his measures – S.Res.754 and S.Res.755 – which would block arms sales to Erdogan and Aliyev based on their human rights records.
Third, Senator Menendez called for the end of the annual U.S. presidential waiver of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, based on their continued aggression against Armenia and Artsakh.
Fourth, Turkey’s aggression, must be addressed, argued, Senator Menendez, who called for U.S. sanctions against Ankara. “President Erdogan clearly aspires to be a modern-day Ottoman sultan, putting down stakes in Libya, in Syria, across the Eastern Mediterranean, and now in the south Caucasus.”
Senator Menendez argued for broader U.S. leadership in the OSCE Minsk Group Artsakh peace negotiations. “Though the OSCE Minsk Group Process appears to be on life support, we can and must reinvigorate it with senior level engagement. We must send a clear message to Ankara, Baku, and Moscow that violence as a means to ‘solve’ the conflict will not succeed, and pressure on Armenia from its eastern and western borders will not be tolerated.”
Senator Menendez’s complete remarks are provided below.
I come to the floor today in solidarity with ethnic Armenians all over the world who have experienced terrible losses in recent weeks.
This is a tragic moment for Armenians everywhere.
Words cannot describe the devastation inflicted on the region by Azerbaijani President Aliyev, with the full support of President Erdogan of Turkey.
Thousands of ethnic Armenian civilians and soldiers have lost their lives due to Azerbaijan’s aggression, with an unknown number more injured. More than half of the population has been driven from their longtime homes. Every day, more are forced to leave.
Azerbaijan’s aggression has created a massive humanitarian crisis that will require a significant response, especially in light of the worsening pandemic.
The historically and religiously significant city of Shushi now sits in Azerbaijani hands, and the security of many sacred Christian sites falls to President Aliyev and his backer Erdogan. The world will be watching if these holy sites are desecrated.
These are dark days indeed – and it did not have to be this way. American leadership could have averted much of this tragedy. Unfortunately, after the conflict began in late September, the highest-ranking Trump administration officials decided to remain largely absent and silent.
Certainly, other world leaders engaged. President Macron made calls and actively pushed to reduce tensions, as one would expect from one of the leaders of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minsk Group Co-Chair country.
Unfortunately, others with less noble goals were also at the table.
President Erdogan fueled Azerbaijan’s aggression, fanning the flames by providing devastating drone technology and Syrian mercenaries. President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov worked the phones from the early days of the conflict. The result? Russia has a new foothold in the south Caucasus. Evidently, Russia was never fully committed to the Minsk goals and now has what they wanted since the 1990’s.
All of this happened while Donald Trump slept, yet another example of diplomatic malpractice at the highest levels of an administration that will thankfully conclude in January.
But President Trump’s departure is little solace for the ethnic Armenians who have been driven from their homes and seen their livelihoods go up in flames.
So what is the region left with at the end of the day?
The security of the Armenian people, who have already suffered brutal violence at the hands of Presidents Aliyev and Erdogan, now rests with ‘peacekeepers’ sent by Vladimir Putin – a flawed agreement that does nothing about the jihadis sent there by Turkey, who if allowed to remain, could commit further atrocities against Christian Armenians.
Without any commitments to the status of Artsakh, there is no incentive for Azerbaijan to make peace with Armenia. Will we see another case of ethnic cleansing in the future? Do we sit silent?
Madam President, we now have a trio of authoritarians running the show in the south Caucasus. It should alarm anyone dedicated to a peaceful solution of this longstanding conflict. It should alarm anyone dedicated to democratic reform in the region. And it should alarm anyone concerned about basic human rights and respect for international law.
We in the United States should be concerned about national security issues that would affect us in the Caucasus. My colleagues, we are witnessing the return of great power politics in this critical region. And yet the world’s sole superpower is conspicuously absent. This needs to change.
First, and most urgently, the United States must lead a response to the humanitarian needs created by this violence, particularly for the tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians forcibly displaced from their homes by the six-week war.
Winter is fast approaching. The COVID-19 pandemic is raging. There is no time to waste. Congress and the Trump administration must act quickly to save these families.
The United States must make a substantial investment in humanitarian and development assistance along the lines of $100 million to make a difference for those on the ground.
This includes funding for efforts to demine the affected area.
In April, I sent a letter co-signed by 30 other Senators calling for the Senate to appropriate $1.5 million in FY21 funds for demining; robust funding for rehabilitation services in Nagorno-Karabakh; and money for an independent assessment of remaining mine contamination to help inform future efforts. Given the widespread use by Azerbaijan of cluster munitions, rockets, and other such weapons in this conflict, I again urge this body to include those provisions in the final appropriations bill.
Second, the United States must immediately suspend the provision of defense articles to Turkey and Azerbaijan. We cannot and must not enable any future atrocities by either of these authoritarian countries. Either we had a tremendous intelligence failure or the State Department lied when it issued the waiver to Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act.
Either way, we shoulder be gravely concerned about reports that Azerbaijan has utilized U.S.-origin defense equipment in this conflict.
The administration must fully investigate these reports and respond appropriately to any violations of U.S. law.
Indeed, Canada suspended arms sales to Turkey in response to the conflict for this very reason, and I applaud Prime Minister Trudeau for doing so.
The United States must do the same, and work diplomatically to encourage others to join us in common cause.
To that end, I have introduced two resolutions that will require the State Department to report on human rights abuses by Azerbaijan and Turkey, and on the role U.S. security assistance and arms transfers may be playing in those abuses. I urge my colleagues to support those resolutions.
Third, the administration must follow the law. It should not waive Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which states that Azerbaijan should ‘cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force’ against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh as a condition to receive U.S. assistance.
The facts tell us that the Government of Azerbaijan has done the exact opposite. America has no business rewarding this kind of aggressive behavior. I call on the administration to terminate the waiver of Section 907. Congress can also address this injustice in the FY21 appropriations bill by stripping the existing waiver authority so that this security relationship stops. It needs to stop once and for all.
In addition, at my request, the Government Accountability Office is currently reviewing the impact of U.S. security assistance to Azerbaijan, which has skyrocketed under the Trump administration.
The Pentagon alone has provided more than $120 million in equipment to the Aliyev regime in recent years.
This is simply unacceptable and must change. The GAO review will shed light on the impact of the repeated waivers of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act.
Fourth and finally, Turkey’s aggression in this conflict must be addressed. President Erdogan clearly aspires to be a modern-day Ottoman sultan, putting down stakes in Libya, in Syria, across the Eastern Mediterranean, and now in the south Caucasus.
Under Erdogan, Turkey has engaged in unbridled aggression outside of its borders, in violation of NATO’s founding principles and international norms.
Here’s what we know:
Turkey is proving to be an unreliable ally in NATO. It is not a democracy. And it is not a responsible actor on the world stage.
The aggression unfolding in Azerbaijan should make crystal clear what we have long known: Erdogan is, without a doubt, trying to claim the title of most destructive actor in the region today. Without a strong response, he will continue these advances and aggression. I urge the incoming Biden administration to stop him, and Congress has a role to play as well.
We must finally sanction Turkey for its purchase of the S400 from Russia, which is a clear violation of the CAATSA law. I expect that the FY21 NDAA will take this long overdue step and result in S400 sanctions on Turkey.
I would also urge the incoming Biden administration to reassert American leadership in the region. The United States must join with Europe in solidarity against Turkey’s violations of the sovereignty of Greece and Cyprus, which destabilize the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Sanctions against those conducting illegal exploration activities on behalf of Turkey would be a strong show of support for our European allies, not to mention for the rule of law.
Indeed, I have every confidence that President-elect Biden and his team will live up to America’s responsibilities on the world stage by actually engaging on all of these issues.
Though the OSCE Minsk Group Process appears to be on life support, we can and must reinvigorate it with senior level engagement. We must send a clear message to Ankara, Baku, and Moscow that violence as a means to ‘solve’ the conflict will not succeed, and pressure on Armenia from its eastern and western borders will not be tolerated.
I would like to close with this.
Above the road between Yerevan and Stepanakert lies the ancient monastery of Dadivank. Father Hovannes, a priest at the monastery, has vowed to stay, even though the area has fallen under Azerbaijani control. His neighbors have mostly fled, on their way to Yerevan, displaced by weeks of horrific fighting.
The courage of Father Hovannes is hard for most of us to understand, to even comprehend. It comes from a place of deep connection to the land, deep connection to one’s culture and deep connection to one’s faith. The world will be watching as to what happens to Father Hovannes and the ancient monastery of Dadivank.
A neighbor of Father Hovannes who also committed to stay in the area, said, ‘We are here to stay until the end. This is our God. It’s our church. Our cross bears a heavy weight. We are here to carry that weight.’
Throughout this war, Armenians across the region have carried that weight, under relentless assault from Azerbaijan and Turkey. The Trump administration let them down.
The horror of recent weeks will be very difficult to undo. But we must start the work. We must start the work.
By taking the steps that I have described here tonight, we can begin a new chapter of U.S. policy in the region, and right past wrongs. And I am committed, as I have always been alongside the Armenian-American community in New Jersey and across our country, to see this just work through to the end.
12:29,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Since the very start of the recent war unleashed by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), Armenia’s National Security Service has launched respective operations within its functions deriving from the situation, the NSS said in a statement.
“In parallel with the official processes the National Security bodies have been actively engaged in the military operations, and many servicemen of the system have participated in the defense of Homeland.
During the military operations launched on September 27, 46 servicemen of the NSS border troops have been killed, 191 others were wounded, and 2 are missing.
The families of all servicemen will be under the spotlight of the national security system and everything will be done to assist and support them, as respective instructions have already been given by the NSS leadership on this matter”, the statement says.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
As per the trilateral agreement between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, Armenia was forced to withdraw from the occupied territories. This development, which ended at an unprecedented pace in just one and a half months and dissolved the 30-year Karabakh stalemate, was instructive not only about the South Caucasus but also about the political transformations in the world.
Before anything else, if there is a certain winner of this agreement, it is Azerbaijan. It not only liberated its occupied territories but also achieved the long-term stability it needs in terms of energy and trade and warded off the constant harassment of Armenia.
Another winner is undoubtedly Russia. In what seemed like an effortless move – dismissing its flying helicopters and dead soldiers – it played a role in facilitating a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and ensured the deployment of Russian soldiers to the corridor along the front line in Nagorno-Karabakh. For the first time in the post-Soviet period, a presence from Moscow returned to Azerbaijan.
However, Russia achieved this after remaining idle throughout the conflict and watching Azerbaijan liberate its territory on its own. Indeed, pursuant to this, the Azerbaijani authorities acted wisely during the process, not only militarily but also diplomatically.
On the one hand, Baku capitalized on Russia's irritation with pro-EU Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and on the other hand, it made the Kremlin feel like the ultimate powerbroker by inviting Russia to take part in the solution in every statement.
Turkey is the other country that made the most of the agreement. After more than a century, it returned to the South Caucasus, from where it was forcibly removed. Its efforts to train and equip the Azerbaijani army are bearing fruit. Thus, the dynamics of unity between the two countries has been achieved.
The most important of these gains is that Turkey's gate to the Turkic Republics was opened with a road connection between Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan. This is an extraordinarily important turning point as Turkey will benefit from political and economic returns not only in the short term but also in the long term.
Currently, it is certain that Turkish and Russian troops will serve together in the joint control and surveillance center, whose position will be determined by Azerbaijan.
However, in addition to the agreement signed by Turkish and Russian defense ministers, a modality on the functioning of the joint peacekeeping force will be decided after negotiations between Russian and Turkish delegations.
Other losers in the process are undoubtedly France and the U.S., i.e. the other co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) Minsk Group, other than Russia, who were supposed to take part in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
France has unconditionally declared itself the patron of Armenia thanks to President Emmanuel Macron's mindless politics. Though, it failed to act as a patron and looked weak and made itself irrelevant in a way that future generations of Azerbaijan will not forget.
Although the U.S. brokered a cease-fire agreement, it did not last even one hour as Armenia attacked soon after. Already, because of the election fuss, it did not have time to lift its head and look at the Caucasus. However, incoming President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have left an indelible imprint in the memory of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev with their stance of supporting Armenia alone.
Hratch Tchilingirian, Professor, University of Oxford
As one of the nations in this world, whose millennia-long biography is the envy of the world, we should not allow some anomalous, self-interested forces, circles or personalities trample the national wisdom we have gained through myriads of imposed wars, destruction and displacement.
The painful setback of the Artsakh War shall pass as well, like many other calamities in our history. As a nation, we have the biblical wisdom to know that “there is a time for everything and a season for every activity… a time to be born and a time to die, a time for war and a time for peace.”
Today, as we honour the heroes of the war, as we mourn the loss of the fallen points of light, we must start to create our tomorrow today. Our tomorrow should be build on one key lesson of this war: we shall only rely on our own strengths to determine our national destiny. We shall draw our own trajectory for our national life.
The starting point is to look at today from the perspective of the future – not the past, even as our historical pedigree and culture are sources of enrichment and strength. We have been too retrospective in our national life – mostly defining ourselves by the past rather than the future. We must bring our talents, knowledge, experience and resources together. We must be united in our vision and purpose, even as we remain diverse, plural and free-thinking. We must plan our preferred future together as a nation.
Our “today” must always be defined by the future we envision and not impeded by the past. Up to the start of the Artsakh War, the hottest topic of public discussion and controversy in Armenia was the issue of the content of Armenian history textbooks in schools. Experts, policy makers, intellectuals and politicians were fighting over whether Armenian history goes back to 4000 or 3000 years. History does not secure victory. We must think, discuss and labour as to how we can educate our children to become world class scientists, technologists, innovators, developers and data scientists. Future wars will not be fought with tanks, but with keyboards.
I believe the failures and setbacks we felt deep in our guts on November 10th are opportunities for drawing the path of our national strength tomorrow. Together, we can and must build our bright tomorrow, even from the ashes of destruction. That’s what our ancestors have done and that’s what our future generations expect.
Building our future means seeing the impact and consequences of our own actions and inactions today on tomorrow. It means determining where we wish to go from where we are at this point.
16:28, 6 November, 2020
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is ready to continue the practical steps within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in forming favorable conditions for expanding prospective directions of mutually beneficial cooperation, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said during the online session of the CIS Council of Heads of Government.
“As it is known, every economic instability at a global level is a stimulus for new approaches, innovations and capitalization of scientific achievements. In this respect we highlight the cooperation of CIS participating states in innovative, educational, information and other spheres. The Armenian side expresses its readiness to deepen the cooperation within the frames of high technology development programs, taking into account the fact that digitization, innovation and technology development are priority directions in our country. In this context the Armenian side highlights the adoption of the innovative cooperation inter-state program of CIS states by 2030 and the signing of an agreement on information cooperation of the CIS states in the field of digital development.
The Armenian side also supports the adoption of documents proposed at the session which regulate and aim at improving the already existing cooperation mechanisms in different areas, such as creation and development of joint air defense system, use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, ensuring security of international transportation in the territories of CIS states.
We view the adoption of a priority action plan in cooperation in the humanitarian field as another step for strengthening the ties in this sphere and expanding the contacts for the next two years.
We attach importance to the adoption of action plan aimed at implementing the economic development strategy of the first five years for developing economic and inter-state cooperation. The action plan also includes measures aimed at reaching the negative consequences of the pandemic for the economies of CIS states to minimum.
Respectively, we specifically highlight the cooperation in healthcare, public health preservation, restoration and improvement fields”, the Deputy PM said in his remarks delivered at the session. “To sum up, I want to once again express our readiness to harmonize our efforts with the CIS states in the fight against the pandemic and raise its efficiency”, he added.
He stated that the main goal of the CIS remains ensuring favorable conditions for the further development of inter-state cooperation in economic, humanitarian, security and political partnership sectors. Grigoryan said Armenia welcomes the cooperation initiatives in these areas and is ready to assist in the effective fulfillment of the adopted decisions. “I am sure that our future efforts aimed at enriching the existing agreements with a concrete content will raise the CIS real investment in strengthening and expanding the multilateral cooperation of our countries within the frames of the organization”, Mher Grigoryan stated.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
00:21, 7 November, 2020
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The law and lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig has cut ties with the Turkish government under pressure from Armenian-American activists furious over Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan in its ongoing hostilities with Armenia. The firm sent an internal email this week announcing that it had terminated its relationship with Turkey on Oct. 29, according to a person who saw the email. The firm declined to comment. The Turkish embassy in Washington didn’t respond to a request for comment, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Armenian National Committee of America.
Aram Hamparian, the Armenian National Committee’s executive director, told POLITICO after Mercury dropped Turkey that he planned to pressure another lobbying firm, BGR Group , to stop representing Azerbaijan. But BGR said in a statement at the time that it “intends to continue its representation of Azerbaijan."