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Author: Jhanna Virabian

Russia accuses Azerbaijan of breaching ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

Jhanna Virabian
March 28 2022

Azerbaijan says it has taken control of the village of Farrukh.
By bne IntelliNews March 28, 2022

Relations between Russia and Azerbaijan reached a new low after the Russian Ministry of Defence accused Azerbaijan of breaching the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement. Russia said on 27 May that it was deeply concerned about the rise in tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh and called for calm after what it said were breaches of the 2020 ceasefire brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia accused Azerbaijan of violation of the agreement by allowing its forces to enter a zone policed by Russian peacekeepers near the village of Farrukh and added that Azerbaijan had by 28 March withdrawn the soldiers. This was rejected by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence. The Azerbaijan statement said they haven’t withdrawn the soldiers and the strategic height had been captured.

The Azerbaijani MoD also accused Russian counterparts of not acting in the spirit of the Declaration on Allied Interaction signed by the presidents of the two countries on February 22, 2022. Azeri side even said that according to Article 18 of the Declaration, Russia should join Azerbaijan in their “efforts to combat and neutralise the threats of international terrorism, extremism, and separatism”.

Governing party authorities, such as MP Javid Osmanov also defended the position that the village was now under the control of Azerbaijan: “Under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani army is currently strengthening its position by redeploying. Thus, the village of Farrukh, one of our historical lands, has also come under the control of Azerbaijan. Through successful diplomatic and political means, the village of Farrukh has already come under the full control of Azerbaijan.”

Other co-chairs of Minsk Group – US and France – also released similar statements on the breach of the ceasefire by Azerbaijan, however they were not given a response by the Azerbaijani authorities.

This exchange of diplomatic statements comes after Armenia’s accusation thatAzerbaijan had breached the ceasefire agreement by seizing new territories in Karabakh on 24 March.

Armenian, Azerbaijani Speakers of Parliament clash at CIS IPA session

Jhanna Virabian

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 16:22, 29 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 29, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan takes part in the events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly in the city of Almaty of Kazakhstan, the Parliament’s press service.

At the meeting the Speaker of Parliament drew the attendees’ attention to the current situation of the Nagorno Karabakh, particularly referring to the invasion of the Azerbaijani armed forces on March 24 to Parukh village of the Askeran region being in the responsibility zone of the Russian peacekeeping forces, by that grossly violating the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement.

Alen Simonyan has informed his counterparts that the post-war humanitarian and other issues has not been resolved yet, stressing the issue of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages, the number of which, according to the data confirmed by Azerbaijan, is 38.

In response to Alen Simonyan’s speech, the Speaker of the Parliament (Milli Majlis) of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova has noted that Azerbaijan is faithful to the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and has not violated those provisions. Gafarova has noted that Azerbaijan has handed to Armenia all prisoners of war, according to trilateral statement.

In response to those statements, the Armenian Parliament Speaker reminded the Speaker of the Milli Majlis: “Not only the Republic of Armenia, but also the Russian Federation, which is the warrant of peace of the given territory, has announced about the armed infiltrations and violations by the Azerbaijani side. I would like to repeat that Armenia proposes to immediately begin negotiations over signing of the peace treaty.”

In response to Alen Simonyan’s speech, the Head of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan stated that Baku offered Yerevan many times to sign a peace treaty, taking into account the five points, which Armenia rejected.

In response to the claim of the Head of the Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan that Baku offered and Armenia refused, Alen Simonyan noted:

“I officially declare that these five points are acceptable for Armenia, and we think that if we add some aspects, we can start the implementation of that work,” Simonyan concluded the dispute.

The speech of Armenian Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan was followed by a standing ovation of the Speakers and the delegates of the Parliaments of the CIS countries, which interrupted Gafarova’s speech. The disputes did not continue anymore.

Transavia to start operating flights on route Paris -Yerevan- Paris

Jhanna Virabian

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 12:26, 31 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, ARMENPRESS. From 23 April 2022 Transavia will start operating flights on the route Paris (Orly) -Yerevan- Paris (Orly), Armenia International Airports CJSC said in a statement.

The frequency of flights will be twice a week, every Wednesday and Saturday.

“For the availability of air tickets, their acquisition and other details, please visit the webpage of the airline at or contact the local travel agency”, the statement says.

Azerbaijani press: Baku rejects any change in Azerbaijani army positions in Karabakh

Jhanna Virabian
23:15 (UTC+04:00)
1 224

By Vafa Ismayilova

Baku has dismissed as inaccurate the Russian Defence Ministry statement on the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from Farrukh village in Karabakh’s Khojaly region.

In a statement published on March 27, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry said: “The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry regretfully informs that some points of the statement of the Russian Defence Ministry dated , do not reflect the reality. There have been no changes in the positions of the Azerbaijan army in Farrukh village and on the surrounding high grounds, which are part of the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.
The information about the retreat of the Azerbaijan army units from these positions does not reflect reality. The Azerbaijan army completely controls the operational situation.”

The ministry also rejected the Russian ministry’s claims alleging the Azerbaijani truce violation and the case of injury among the Azerbaijani servicemen. It once again recalled the Russian Defence Ministry that there is no administrative-territorial unit called “Nagorno-Karabakh” on the Azerbaijani territory.

“The use of the _expression_ ‘Nagorno-Karabakh’ in the statements of the Russian Defence Ministry dated March 26 and 27 is disrespectful to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is recognized and accepted by the international community, including the Russian Federation,” the statement added.

The ministry recalled the Russian Defence Ministry that the first paragraph of the Declaration on Allied Interaction signed by the two countries’ presidents on February 22, 2022, states that Russia and Azerbaijan establish their relations based on mutual respect for territorial integrity and inviolability of state borders, as well as non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, peaceful settlement of disputes and non-use of force or threat of force.

Furthermore, Russia and Azerbaijan join forces in the fight against and neutralization of international terrorism, extremism, and separatism, as stated in Article 18 of the Declaration, the ministry added.

“The statement of the Russian Defence Ministry also demonstrates disrespect towards the declaration signed by the President of the Russian Federation, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armed Forces Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. The [Azerbaijani] Defence Ministry reiterates that there is no village called ‘Furukh’ in Khojaly region of Azerbaijan.  The name of the mentioned village is ‘FARRUKH’. We hope that in the following statements the name of the village will be indicated correctly,” the ministry added.

It should be noted Farrukh enters the administrative area of Pirlar village in Khojaly region located 16 km of Asgaran settlement and 32 km of Khankandi.

The Azerbaijani armed forces regained full control over the village, clearing it from illegal Armenian armed groups, who had to leave Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territories in Karabakh under the ceasefire deal signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan on November 10, 2020.

Armenia seeks ECHR’s interim measures against Azerbaijan

Jhanna Virabian
PanArmenian.net
Armenia –
– 16:53 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenia’s Representative on International Legal Matters on Friday, March 25 submitted a request with the European Court of Human Rights for urgent interim measures over Azerbaijan’s recent violations of the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

The move comes amid renewed tension in Nagorno-Karabakh. In the past two days, Azerbaijan has been using drones and other munitions to attack Nagorno-Karabakh and has managed to capture a village, kill two soldiers and injure at least five others. It was reported on Friday that lengthy negotiations of the Russian peacekeeping troops have not yielded significant results, and the Azeris have not returned to the starting positions.

The representative has provided evidence of Azerbaijan threatening the Armenian population of Artsakh since February, demanding that they leave their homes for good.

The request for interim measures also dwells upon Azerbaijan’s indiscriminate fire at the civilian population and infrastructure of Karabakh, as a result of which the main pipeline supplying natural gas from Armenia was damaged.

Beginning from March 8, over 100,000 residents in Karabakh were deprived of gas for over 10 days, and because the pipeline was damaged in territories currently under Baku’s control, the Azerbaijani military would not allow the Armenian side to eliminate the problem. Gas supply resumed on March 19, only to be interrupted again on March 22.

The Representative on International Legal Matters has also sent an application to the International Court of Justice, drawing attention to said violations committed by Azerbaijan.

Ukrainian side says controversial tweet on Nagorno Karabakh was result of “technical error”

Jhanna Virabian

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 13:59,

YEREVAN, MARCH 25, ARMENPRESS. The Ukrainian side assured the Armenian side that the Twitter post made on the official account of the Ukrainian parliament was not an official position and happened as a result of a technical error, MP Hrachya Hakobyan said in a statement.

“Thanks to swift work of parliamentary diplomacy and the foreign ministry the controversial tweet made by the Rada [Ukrainian parliament] was removed. We received assurances that what was written in the tweet was not official position and was a result of a technical error,” Hakobyan, the Head of the Armenia-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Armenian Parliament said.

Before Hakobyan’s comments, MP Arsen Torosyan also weighed in on the matter, expressing regret that Ukrainian colleagues are disoriented in the information war and are generating disinformation, thus harming the relations between Armenia and Ukraine.

Sports: Armenian journalists to compete in Egypt football tournament

Jhanna Virabian
Panorama.am 
Armenia –

The Armenian team of journalists will take part in the 10th International Football Tournament for Media and Journalists to be held in Hurghada, Egypt on March 23-25.

In the tournaments of 2019 and 2021, the Armenian team took the second place.

Apart from the Armenian team, a record number of 12 teams from Belgium, Georgia, Romania, Morocco, Moldova as well as several teams representing Egypt will participate in the tournament this year.

The teams have been divided into 3 groups. The Armenian journalists’ team is included in Group C, where its rivals will be the teams of Romania, Morocco and Hurghada.

The group winners will fight for the champion’s title, while the holders of 2nd place in the groups will compete for the 4th-6th places.

The Armenian journalists’ football team, which includes employees of a number of Armenian media outlets, has participated in numerous international tournaments and has won medals.

Zakharova: We note regular ceasefire violations on Armenian-Azerbaijani border

Jhanna Virabian
NEWS.am
14:48, 17.03.2022

We are concerned with the situation in the region and in some parts of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

“We have been noticing regular ceasefire violations since the beginning of March. Russian peacekeepers in its area of responsibility are taking appropriate measures to ensure stability and control the situation, and thanks to these efforts no armed incidents have been registered since 13 March. As far as the border is concerned, we advocate the speedy launch of the delimitation process, with the establishment of a relevant bilateral commission. We are aware of the grave humanitarian situation in connection with the accident at the gas pipeline, and we are in contact with both sides, Armenia and Azerbaijan, in order to resolve the problem. We should exclude steps which would create problems for residents and civilians and aggravate the already difficult humanitarian situation,” she said.

The Azerbaijani armed forces have been periodically violating the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh over the past few days, using not only small arms, but also mortars towards the villages of Khnushinak and Khramort in the Martuni and Askeran regions.

The gas pipeline supplying Karabakh, which is under Azerbaijani control, was damaged since 8 March. Since then negotiations are held with Azerbaijanis, but they prevent the beginning of repair works. Despite numerous appeals about the urgency of solving the problem and assurances of the Karabakh authorities that it is being solved together with Russian peacekeepers, the people of Karabakh have been deprived of gas for over a week.


RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/09/2022

Jhanna Virabian 
                                        Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Armenian Opposition To Boycott Presidential Inauguration
        • Astghik Bedevian
Armenia - Senor lawmakers from the opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem alliances 
talk during a parliament session in Yerevan, August 24, 2021.
The two opposition alliances represented in the Armenian parliament said on 
Wednesday that they will boycott the inauguration ceremony of the country’s new 
president elected by lawmakers last week.
The deputies representing the Hayastan and Pativ Unem alliances already 
boycotted the two rounds of balloting through which the pro-government majority 
in the National Assembly installed Minister of High-Tech Industry Vahagn 
Khachatrian as president. They said he does not meet constitutional provisions 
requiring the presidency to be a “really neutral institution consolidating the 
society.”
Pativ Unem’s Hayk Mamijanian said on Wednesday that Khachatrian himself has 
admitted being a member of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political team.
“He is Nikol Pashinian’s president,” Mamijanian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. 
“We see no reason to attend the inauguration ceremony of Nikol Pashinian’s 
presidency.”
“They did not elect a president of the Republic of Armenia,” agreed Hayastan’s 
Ishkhan Saghatelian. “They just installed a member of their team as president. 
Therefore, we are not and will not be part of that process.”
Artur Hovannisian, a senior lawmaker from Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, 
denounced the opposition boycott. “I believe that the opposition deputies are 
being disrespectful towards the Armenian statehood,” he said.
Just like his predecessor Armen Sarkissian, who unexpectedly resigned in 
January, Khachatrian will have largely ceremonial powers. Addressing the 
National Assembly before the votes, the 62-year-old economist made clear that he 
will be helping the Armenian government implement its domestic and foreign 
policies.
Khachatrian will be sworn in on Sunday during a special session of the 
parliament that will also be attended by Armenian dignitaries and foreign 
diplomats.
A parliament spokesperson said that all former presidents of the republic, 
including Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian, have also been invited to the 
ceremony. Kocharian and Sarkisian lead Hayastan and Pativ Unem respectively.
Sarkisian’s office said that he will not attend Khachatrian’s inauguration. 
Saghatelian was confident that Kocharian will also boycott it.
Levon Ter-Petrosian, another ex-president critical of Pashinian, is also 
unlikely to accept the invitation. Khachatrian was a senior member of 
Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress (HAK) party until joining the current 
government last August.
The HAK’s deputy chairman, Levon Zurabian, took a dim view of Khachatrian’s 
election last week. He described the new president as an “obedient stooge” of 
Pashinian.
Baku Accused Of Blocking Gas Supply To Karabakh
        • Susan Badalian
Nagorno Karabakh - A view of Stepanakert, November 27, 2020.
Officials in Stepanakert on Wednesday accused Azerbaijan of obstructing repairs 
on the sole pipeline that supplies natural gas to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The gas supplies from Armenia were cut off on Monday night after a section of 
the pipeline passing through Azerbaijani-controlled territory was knocked out by 
an apparent explosion.
The accident left Karabakh’s households, schools and other entities without 
heating. It also forced local bakeries and other vital businesses reliant on gas 
to suspend their work.
The authorities in Stepanakert said that for the second consecutive day the 
Azerbaijani side did not allow Karabakh sappers and utility workers to access 
the presumed site of the accident, ascertain its causes and finds ways of 
restoring the gas supplies.
Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman, Gegham Stepanian, said it therefore remains 
unclear what caused the disruption. The pipeline may well have been blown up by 
Azerbaijani forces, he said, adding that some Stepanakert residents heard on 
Monday the sound of a powerful explosion coming from the area around the 
Azerbaijani-controlled town of Shushi (Shusha).
Karabakh’s National Security Service likewise said that it is looking into the 
possibility of an Azerbaijani sabotage attack.
Azerbaijani officials made no statements on the accident as of Wednesday 
afternoon. Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in Karabakh reportedly 
discussed with them ways of restoring the gas supplies.
The disruption followed an increase in truce violations along the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact” in and around Karabakh. Stepanian claimed 
that it could be part of Baku’s broader efforts to intimidate the Karabakh 
Armenians and cause them to leave the territory.
Azeri Mortar Fire Reported In Karabakh (UPDATED)
Nagorno-Karabakh - A view of the village of Khramort.
Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have accused Azerbaijan of shelling several 
local villages in continuing efforts to force their ethnic Armenian residents to 
flee their homes.
The prosecutor’s office in Stepanakert said on Wednesday evening that the 
Azerbaijani army is “actively” using mortars and automatic weapons to target the 
rural communities, mostly located in Karabakh’s east, as well as local roads. 
The gunfire forced local farmers to suspend “all types of agricultural work,” it 
added in a statement.
No casualties were reported.
Karabakh’s Defense Army said earlier in the day that Azerbaijani forces fired 
mortars towards the village of Khramort for the second consecutive night on 
Tuesday. Nobody was hurt as a result, it said.
In another statement issued afterwards, the Defense Army said Azerbaijani forces 
also opened mortar fire at another village in eastern Karabakh, Khnushinak.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that its troops did not target any 
civilian areas or infrastructure in Karabakh. It said they only shot back at 
Karabakh Armenian forces which it claimed violated the ceasefire on Tuesday and 
Wednesday morning.
Located roughly 30 kilometers east of Stepanakert, Khramort borders the Aghdam 
district handed back to Azerbaijan following the 2020 war. It is home to more 
than 100 families.
Nagorno-Karabakh - A handout photo purportedly shows fragments of an Azerbaijani 
mortar shell that landed in a village in eastern Karabakh, March 9, 2022.
Tensions around the village rose in mid-February when Azerbaijani troops 
reportedly wounded a Karabakh Armenian soldier and fired on local farmers 
cultivating their land. A tractor used by them was hit by the gunshots before 
Russian peacekeeping forces intervened to rescue the farmers.
Baku claimed that the latter fortified Armenian military positions in the area 
under the guise of agricultural work. Karabakh officials shrugged off the claim.
Later in February, Azerbaijani troops broadcast through loudspeakers placed on 
their positions an Armenian-language message telling Khramort residents to stop 
working in their orchards and leave “Azerbaijan’s territory.” “Or else, force 
will be used against you,” it warned.
The menacing broadcasts ended a few days later, after negotiations held by 
Russian peacekeepers and the Azerbaijani side.
The Russians had to intervene again at the weekend to stop exchanges of 
automatic gunfire between Azerbaijani and Karabakh Armenian forces deployed 
outside Khramort.
Nagorno-Karabakh - A Russian soldier of the peacekeeping force controls a 
vehicle at a checkpoint on a road outside Stepanakert, November 26, 2020.
The Karabakh Defense Army reported the first Azerbaijani mortar fire on Monday 
evening. Khramort residents interviewed by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service spoke of 
several explosions near their homes.
“I worked in our garden with my children,” said Hasmik Andrian, a local woman. 
“The blast was very strong. They said it was a mortar. We got very scared.”
“Every time we go to bed we fear that they will attack, strike the village 
overnight,” she said. “Every time we wake up in the morning we thank God for 
having slept safely and for the fact that nothing happened, that my kids are 
with me.”
Like many other people in Khramort, Andrian wants a permanent Russian military 
presence in or around the village. “If there are Russian posts here we will 
sleep normally,” she said.
Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman, Gegham Stepanian, charged on Tuesday that the 
reported shelling of Khramort was part of Baku’s efforts to intimidate the 
Karabakh Armenians and force them to leave the disputed territory.
In recent months, Azerbaijani army units have also been accused of regularly 
opening small arms fire at other Karabakh villages. In one of them, Karmir 
Shuka, a private house was damaged by gunfire in early February.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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