Author: Jagharian Tania

‘Amended’ statement of Russian Foreign Minister: what happened during Lavrov’s visit to Armenia?

Jagharian Tania



  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s visit to Yerevan

In Armenia, special attention was paid not to the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSTO member countries, which took place in Yerevan on June 10, but to the statements of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He arrived in Armenia on a two-day working visit. During a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan, he made two statements that are still actively discussed in Armenia.

One concerns the unblocking of communications by Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the other concerns the situation around the village of Parukh in Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijanis call this village Farukh).

In particular, Lavrov announced a “simplified regime” of control during the resumption of road communication between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which “will be completely based on the sovereignty of the territory of Armenia”. This statement corresponds to the position of the Armenian side, but the _expression_ “simplified regime” raised questions.

Answering the question about the village of Parukh, Lavrov said that the issue would be resolved “within the framework of the upcoming substantive work on the delimitation” of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. This raised a question in Baku: what do NK territories have to do with the Armenian-Azerbaijani border?

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During a press conference, Sergey Lavrov spoke about the resumption of transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan:

“The railway route has already been agreed, now the agreement on the land route is ending, as well as the agreement on the regime that will be introduced. It will be completely based on the sovereignty of the territory of Armenia. There can be no ambiguity here”.

After the second Karabakh war, the Azerbaijani side repeatedly demanded the provision of a “corridor” through the territory of Armenia to its Nakhichevan exclave. The Armenian side constantly repeated that it was in favor of unblocking regional communications, but was categorically against providing routes with “corridor logic”. According to the explanation of the Armenian authorities, the term “corridor” implies the loss of sovereignty over this territory, which is out of the question.

According to Lavrov, the process of unblocking roads is connected with practical actions, “which are associated with the creation of infrastructure for many years, so it’s better to look before leaping”.

After the meeting of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, which took place in Moscow on June 3, Russia reported that the parties had found closer approaches to issues of border, customs and other types of control of roads and railways. Yerevan said that the approaches of the parties were clarified. But it remains unclear what these approaches are.

During the press conference, the ministers did not explain what is meant by the “simplified regime” of control. It is this issue that has become the most discussed in the expert community of Armenia.

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Answering a question about the situation around the village of Parukh in Nagorno-Karabakh, Lavrov stressed that it is a priority for Russian peacekeepers:

“There are certain results already in terms of the de-escalation of this situation. We have an understanding that within the framework of the forthcoming substantive work on delimitation, these issues will be considered and resolved without fail”.

In March 2022, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces advanced in Nagorno-Karabakh to the territory under the control of Russian peacekeepers. This refers to the village of Parukh in the Askeran region and part of the strategically important height of Karaglukh. So far, the Russian peacekeepers have failed to return the Azerbaijanis to their original positions and the inhabitants of Parukh still cannot return to their homes.

Armenia reports tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh – statement of the Security Council of Armenia, position of the command of the Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in NK, as well as a comment by a political scientist here

Official Baku reacted to Lavrov’s comment about the village of Parukh (Farukh) in Nagorno-Karabakh. The head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Leyla Abdullayeva, stated that it is located in the Khojaly region and has nothing to do with the issue of delimitation of the border with Armenia:

“The activities of the commissions on delimitation established by Azerbaijan and Armenia, as was foreseen in advance, pursue the goal of delimiting the state border of the two countries. Within the framework of this process, no issue is expected to be considered outside the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border”.

After that, the Russian Foreign Ministry released the transcript of the press conference between Lavrov and Mirzoyan, editing Lavrov’s statement as follows:

“We hope that the launch of the process of delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border will help increase confidence between Baku and Yerevan and prevent incidents like Parukh in the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent”.

Political scientist Armen Grigoryan calls for urgent revision of Armenia’s foreign policy to replace the ongoing “pseudo-diversification” of the country’s foreign affairs

Political observer Hakob Badalyan is sure that the parties have not agreed on the regime of control of roads that will be unblocked.

Hakob Badalyan emphasizes that the starting point should be the trilateral statement of November 9, signed by the heads of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia. It clearly states that Armenia undertakes to ensure unhindered communication between Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan, and the FSB of Russia will control the road.

According to the expert, Azerbaijan is trying to present this in the corridor logic, since for Baku there is also the issue of domestic consumption. And Yerevan, according to him, should rule out such a development.

“Lavrov’s statements that sovereignty cannot be questioned are an important starting point. So far, Yerevan manages to keep this bar in the perception of the main players”, Badalyan believes.

Referring to Lavrov’s statement about the situation in Parukha, the observer eliminates confusion. Given the fact that this is an extremely experienced diplomat, Badalyan believes that this was most likely a deliberate hint. It came after “not so smooth” talks with the Turkish president in Ankara.

The political observer does not rule out that Lavrov’s statement was intended for Ankara or Baku.

“Lavrov made a hint in some direction, then, making sure that the addressee received it, he decided to stop the process at the public level. And the Russian Foreign Ministry presented a transcript with different content so that there would be no more noise on this topic. Over time, it will become clear how this process will continue behind the scenes”.

https://jam-news.net/amended-statement-of-russian-foreign-minister-what-happened-during-lavrovs-visit-to-armenia/

Iran attaches importance to neighborliness with Armenia

Jagharian Tania
Mehr News Agency, Iran
June 2 2022

TEHRAN, Jun. 02 (MNA) – Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi told his Armenian counterpart that Iran considers Armenia a friendly and close country and attaches importance to its neighborliness with Armenia.

Speaking in a phone call with the President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan on Thursday, Raeisi described Iran-Armenia’s continuous consultations as a sign of the importance and depth of friendly relations between the two countries.

“Protecting the geopolitics of the region, including international borders, respecting the national sovereignty of countries, and strengthening communication infrastructure between the regions is the principle of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Iranian president added.

He also called for expanding Iran-Armenia’s bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the fields of energy and transportation, saying that these ties will strengthen peace, stability and economic and trade prosperity in the region.

“Iran supports the progress in the peace talks between Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan,” he also pointed out, expressing hope that that the remaining issues in this regard will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the principles of international law and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries.

President of Armenia, for his part, presented a report on the implemented agreements and appreciated the principled positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the developments in the region, describing Iran’s role in the region as important and effective.

Expressing his country’s interest in expanding economic, trade, political, and cultural cooperation with Iran, Khachaturyan said that the continuous holding of a joint commission on economic cooperation between the two countries will definitely facilitate and accelerate the expanding process of relations between Iran and Armenia.

He also welcomed the holding of the 3+3 summit in Tehran as soon as possible.

MP

Azerbaijan`s regime is not seeking peace, but it is engaged in hybrid warfare against Armenia – scholar

Jagharian Tania
ARMINFO
Armenia – June 2 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo. Azerbaijan’s regime is not seeking peace, but it is engaged in hybrid warfare against Armenia, and the statements by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Defense are  evidence thereof, says Vardan Voskanyan, Head of the Chair of Iranian  Studies, Yerevan State University. 

Striking evidence is the fact that numerous place names in Armenia’s  sovereign territory are distorted in the statements by Azerbaijan’s  defense office. 

“In a recent statement, the Berd district in Tavush province and the  village of Movses, as well as Vardenis district of Gegharkunik  province and the village of Verin Shorzha are named as Azerbaijani.   And this is one more proof of toponymic warfare against us to exert  psychological pressure,” he said.   

Armenia has an advantage in the region in terms of toponymy, as the  Armenian historical and geographic tradition enables the Armenian  side to use Armenian place names in most of Azerbaijan’s territory,  Mr Voskanyan said. 

In Baku, participants of second Karabakh war break down doors of Ministry

Jagharian Tania
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 2 2022
17:09, 02.06.2022

A group of participants of the second Karabakh war, about 10 people, held a protest in front of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population in Baku today.

According to “Turan”, their complaints were related to getting disability and social benefits. The veterans demanded that Minister Sahil Babayev came out to them and solved their problems.

Having been refused, the veterans stormed into the reception room, where there was confusion.

In turn, the Department of Public Relations of the Ministry of Labor confirmed that the veterans’ demand was related to the evaluation of disability.

“Each appeal is registered and will be reviewed, and measures will be taken in accordance with the results,” the Labor Ministry said. The same source indicated that some veterans “committed unlawful acts in the emergency room, broke computer equipment, the front door, the turnstile, and damaged state property.” “Measures will also be taken in connection with this,” the Labor Ministry said in a statement, the publication reported.

Sports: Roma issue ultimatum to Mkhitaryan

Jagharian Tania
NEWS.am
Armenia – June 3 2022

Roma have submitted an ultimatum to former Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan, demanding a final answer from him this week on the matter of extending his current contract with the club, gianlucadimarzio.com reports.

The Italian club has offered the 33-year-old footballer to continue their cooperation for another year, but has not received an answer yet.

Roma have offered Mkhitaryan a salary of €3.5 million for one year.

The Armenian footballer is negotiating also with Inter, which are ready to sign a two-year deal with Mkhitaryan—and with an annual salary of €4.5 million.

Turkish press: ‘Turkiye doesn’t consider its fate separate from Azerbaijan’s’

Jagharian Tania
Jeyhun Aliyev   |28.05.2022


ANKARA

Turkiye will never consider its fate to be separate from that of its longtime ally Azerbaijan, the Turkish vice president said on Friday.

Speaking at an event in the Turkish capital Ankara marking the 104th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s Republic Day (May 28) and June 26 Armed Forces Day, Fuat Oktay said that Turkiye and Azerbaijan are two “brotherly countries” that share a common history, culture, sorrow, and joys.

“May Allah always preserve our fellowship, unity, and solidarity,” he said.

Stressing that Turkiye and Azerbaijan share the same spirit today as they did a century ago, Oktay dipped into history, saying: “The spirit we carry is the spirit of brotherhood of the Caucasus Islamic Army, which did not ignore the calls for independence of our Azerbaijani brothers even while the Ottoman Empire was fighting its own national struggle in various fronts of World War I.”

On May 28, 1918, the Azerbaijani National Council declared the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, also known as the Azerbaijan People’s Republic, at a meeting in neighboring Georgia.

Near the end of World War I, on Sept. 15, 1918, an elite Ottoman force led by Nuri Pasha (Killigil) called the Caucasus Islamic Army was sent to Azerbaijan in response to Azerbaijan’s plea, along with the Azerbaijani National Army and volunteer forces, and liberated Baku from Armenian and Bolshevik occupation, paying the price in the lives of 1,132 people.

Oktay said that with their sacrifices and courage, the “heroes” under the command of Nuri Pasha left a “glorious legacy” in Baku that will be proudly told to generations to come.

On the fall 2020 liberation of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region from Armenia’s nearly 30 year-occupation, Oktay stressed that they see it as their primary duty to erase the scars of the occupation, eliminate poverty, and return everywhere the Azerbaijani flag flies to its glory years.

In 1991, the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

New clashes erupted in September 2020, and the 44-day conflict saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that had been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.

Also speaking at the event, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Turkiye Rashad Mammadov told the guests, bureaucrats, and representatives of foreign diplomatic missions in the country about the history of Azerbaijan.

Mammadov underlined that after Azerbaijan regained its independence on Oct. 18, 1991, it faced deep political, social and economic problems and that Armenia occupied around 20% of the country’s territory, adding that more than 1 million Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their homes and were subjected to forced migration.

Noting that Turkiye and Azerbaijan support and make each other stronger, Mammadov said: “Turkiye played an exceptional role in the establishment of the current victorious Azerbaijan Army, and our heroic soldiers and officers received high-level education and training together with their Turkish brothers.”

“Therefore, our victory in the 44-day (Karabakh) war can be considered a joint victory of Azerbaijan and Turkiye,” he added.

Mammadov highlighted that Azerbaijan invested $19 billion in Turkiye, and Turkiye invested $13 billion in Azerbaijan, adding that these investments helped consolidate the independence of both countries and reduced foreign dependency.

The envoy also said 2022 also marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Azerbaijan-Turkiye diplomatic relations.

“There is no precedent anywhere in the world for such interstate relations. As representatives of our state, we will make every effort to further consolidate these relations and to constantly raise them to a higher level,” he said.

The event, which started with a moment of silence and the national anthems of both Turkiye and Azerbaijan, offered Azerbaijani cuisine to the guests accompanied by national folk music and traditional dances and performances.

Satellite control center, downlink facility to contribute to security, says Armenian National Academy of Sciences

Jagharian Tania

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 17:05,

YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The National Academy of Sciences of Armenia (NAS) issued a statement over the launch of the first Armenian satellite into orbit.

It said that it highly values this important step in the direction of applying leading space technologies in Armenia.

The first Armenian satellite was launched into orbit on the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-5 mission.

The Armenian governmental Geocosmos is participating in the data receiving and use works together with SATLANTIS.

The NAS praised the move which will enable to use leading knowledge, train qualified experts and lay the foundation for new developments and technologies.

“In this context the implementation of scientific research in several areas is especially important – data processing, geolocation, image recognition and others. By involving the scientists of NAS and universities in these works, significant fundamental and applied development programs can be assigned. In the past, Armenian scientists have had great contribution in space exploration: Viktor Hambardzumyan, Artem and Abraham Alikhanyans, who conducted research in astrophysics and cosmic rays physics, Grigor Gurzadyan, who participated in the creation of the Orion-1 and Orion-2 astrophysical observatories and were engaged in planetary nebula studies.  A number of important researches are being conducted in our scientific-research institutes today as well, for example the processing of data received from satellites, the issue of monitoring and neutralizing space debris etc.

It is necessary to restore our past capacity with consistent steps, directing it for the solution of the country’s vital issues. We are sure that the creation of the satellite control center and receiving station in Armenia will contribute to our security, management of emergency situation, protection of the environment, monitoring of climate change and the effective implementation of other important work.

We hope that the positive trends adopted by the Armenian government in science will be continuous and will enable the scientific community to record new achievements,” NAS said in the statement.

The first ever Armenian satellite was launched into the Earth’s orbit, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced at the Cabinet meeting on May 26.

“On May 25, 2022, at 22:35 Yerevan time, Armenia’s first space satellite was launched into the Earth’s orbit on a SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral in the United States,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan added that the satellite was launched into space as a result of cooperation between the Armenian state Geocosmos company and the Spanish Satlantis.

“We can’t overestimate the significance of this, with this Armenia is embarking into the era of space activities and we hope that our rich traditions in this area will be restored. I am speaking about the space scientific-production area which existed in Armenia for many years. In this context I’d like to stress that one of our priorities is the localization of space technologies in Armenia, as well as organizing the production of space equipment,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian satellite, which was launched into the orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States, on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is an Earth Observation Satellite.

Armenia will have a satellite control center and downlink facility by 2023, the PM added.

He said that it is planned that the downlink facility will render data receiving and transmission services for other satellite operators.

Moreover, the images made by the Armenian satellite will be used for various purposes, such as border surveillance. “The images made by the satellite will be used in Armenia for border control, prevention and management of emergency situations, preservation of the environment, including monitoring of climate change, urban development, road construction, geology and other areas,” Pashinyan said.

Armenian soldier, who crossed to Azerbaijani side on April 23, handed over to Armenia

Jagharian Tania
Public Radio of Armenia
, 14:37

 Less than a minute

Armenian soldier Eduard Martirosov, a conscript who had crossed the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on April 23, 2022, has been handed over to the Armenian side, with the mediation of the commander of the Russian military contingent in Artsakh, Major General Andrey Volkov, the Ministry of Defense reports.

The agreement on the handover was reached during the trilateral meeting in Brussels on May 22.

https://en.armradio.am/2022/05/26/armenian-soldier-who-crossed-to-azerbaijani-side-on-april-23-handed-over-to-armenia/

Armenian authorities are in ‘agony’, says opposition leader

Jagharian Tania
Panorama
Armenia – May 16 2022

Groups of opposition protesters blocked all major roads leading from Armenia’s regions to the capital Yerevan as well as streets in the city on Monday morning paralyzing traffic, opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a deputy parliament speaker, said in a Facebook post.

He denounced the use of brute force by Armenia’s riot police against peaceful protesters holding car rallies, stating drivers were dragged out of their cars and detained.

“A peaceful car protest is a component of the right to freedom of assembly, the interference of which by force is a flagrant and disgraceful violation,” Saghatelyan wrote.

“It’s clear why the incumbent authorities resort to such steps. They are evidently in agony,” he stressed.

Mass anti-government protests will resume in the country on Tuesday morning, he added.