Author: Jirair Kafian

                                        Tuesday, 
Armenia Offers ‘Immediate’ Peace Talks With Azerbaijan
Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian chairs a meeting of Armenia's Security 
Council, Yerevan, 
Armenia said on Monday that it is willing to “immediately” start negotiations on 
a peace treaty with Azerbaijan in a bid to prevent fresh Azerbaijani attacks on 
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenian government’s Security Council also called on the international 
community to activate “containment mechanisms” in view of “the possibility of 
military clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.”
“The analysis of the situation shows that Azerbaijan … is preparing the ground 
to launch new provocations and attacks in the direction of Nagorno-Karabakh, 
including by accusing the Armenia of unconstructive actions on the issue of a 
peace treaty,” the council said after a late-night session chaired by Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian.
In a statement, it offered Baku to “immediately start negotiations on a 
comprehensive peace treaty” between the two South Caucasus nations.
The statement came four days after the Azerbaijani army captured a village in 
eastern Karabakh and surrounding territory, triggering deadly fighting with 
Karabakh Armenian forces. Azerbaijani troops partially withdrew from the area 
after the intervention of Russian peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov discussed the situation in Karabakh 
with the army’s top brass earlier on Monday. He reportedly said that Azerbaijani 
forces must be “ready to use modern weaponry and other military equipment at any 
moment.”
Meanwhile, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s held separate meetings 
with the Russian co-chair of the Minsk Group, Igor Khovaev, as well as the 
Yerevan-based ambassadors of Russia, the United States and France. The tensions 
in Karabakh were high on their agenda.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Mirzoyan told Khovaev that Armenia 
is ready to start negotiating with Azerbaijan on the peace treaty “within the 
framework of the co-chairmanship of the Minsk Group.”
Earlier this month, Yerevan asked the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the 
Minsk Group to mediate such talks after receiving a five-point formal proposal 
from the Azerbaijani side. The proposal includes, among other things, a mutual 
commitment to recognize each other’s territorial integrity.
Armenian Opposition Unimpressed By Yerevan’s Offer To Baku
        • Astghik Bedevian
        • Heghine Buniatian
Armenia - Tigran Abrahamian, a parliament deputy from the opposition Pativ Unem 
bloc, at a news conference, Yerevan, January 25, 2022.
Opposition lawmakers expressed concern on Tuesday over the Armenian government’s 
stated readiness to negotiate a comprehensive “peace treaty” with Azerbaijan 
amid heightened tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Yerevan called late on Monday for the “immediate” start of Armenian-Azerbaijani 
talks on such a treaty while saying that Baku is “preparing the ground” for 
fresh military action in Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani army captured a village in eastern Karabakh and surrounding 
territory last Thursday, triggering deadly fighting with Karabakh Armenian 
forces. Azerbaijani troops partially withdrew from the area on Sunday.
Artur Khachatrian, a senior lawmaker representing the main opposition Hayastan 
alliance, described Yerevan’s response to the escalation as contradictory and 
worrying. He claimed that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government signaled 
readiness to make “new concessions” to Baku.
“As long as Armenia has not demonstrated what its red lines are, it will be 
quite dangerous to start negotiations while being in a weak position,” 
Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“They are talking about rising tensions but are not taking any serious 
preventive measures,” said Tigran Abrahamian of the opposition Pativ Unem bloc.
Abrahamian accused the authorities of putting Armenia at the mercy of Azerbaijan 
and Turkey.
“It’s one thing when you have a modernized and effective army and it’s another 
when you pin your hopes on a supposed agenda of peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey 
and take no meaningful steps to achieve it,” he said.
Lawmakers from Pashinian’s Civil Contract refused to comment on the offer to 
Baku publicized after a late-night session of Armenia’s Security Council.
Responding to the offer, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that 
Baku is prepared for talks on the peace treaty but expects the Armenian side to 
take unspecified “concrete steps” first.
In a statement, the ministry said that the peace deal must be based on five 
elements that were presented to Yerevan on March 10. Those include, among other 
things, a mutual commitment to recognize each other’s territorial integrity.
Armenian leaders have said that the five-point Azerbaijani proposal is 
acceptable to them in principle. This has fueled renewed opposition claims that 
Pashinian’s administration is ready to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over 
Karabakh.
Russian Peacekeepers To Boost Presence In Karabakh Hotspot
        • Artak Khulian
NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- A Karabakh Armenian police officer patrols as a truck of 
Russian peacekeeping forces moves past him at their checkpoint outside Askeran, 
November 20, 2020
The Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh said on Tuesday that it 
will deploy more soldiers in and around a local village that was occupied by 
Azerbaijani forces last week.
In a social media post, the contingent’s command said the deployment of its 
“reserve forces” is aimed at preventing the Azerbaijani army from pushing deeper 
into Karabakh’s eastern Askeran district.
Azerbaijani troops captured the Askeran village of Parukh and advanced towards a 
strategic mountain to the west of it last Thursday, meeting with stiff 
resistance from Karabakh Armenian forces. Deadly fighting there stopped by 
Saturday evening following the intervention of the Russian peacekeepers.
The peacekeepers took control of Parukh on Monday after Moscow warned Baku to 
leave their “zone of responsibility.” According to Karabakh authorities, 
although Azerbaijani forces withdrew from the village itself, they continue to 
occupy a section of the Karaglukh mountain.
Karabakh’s Defense Army said on Monday that it is also taking “additional 
containment measures” to avert further Azerbaijani advances in the area about 35 
kilometers east of Stepanakert.
Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, said, for his part, that the 
authorities in Stepanakert keep trying to ensure a full Azerbaijani troop 
withdrawal with the help of the Russian peacekeepers.
In what may have a related development, Baku unblocked on Monday supplies of 
natural gas from Armenia to Karabakh.
The supplies were cut off on March 8 after a section of a pipeline passing 
through Azerbaijani-controlled territory was knocked out by an apparent 
explosion, leaving most Karabakh residents without winter heating and forcing 
the temporary closure of local schools. Armenian and Karabakh officials say the 
disruption was part of Baku’s efforts to compel Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian 
population to leave the disputed territory.
Another Western Watchdog Deplores Curbs On Free Speech In Armenia
        • Sargis Harutyunyan
The Amnesty International logo is seen in their office in Hong Kong on October, 
2021.
Human rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday criticized the Armenian 
authorities for “unduly” restricting freedom of speech in the country.
The London-based watchdog singled out their decisions last year to triple 
maximum legal fines for “slander” and make it a crime to insult state officials. 
The decisions have been condemned by Armenian civic groups.
“The right to freedom of expression continued to be unduly restricted,” Amnesty 
International said in an annual report on human rights practices around the 
world. “The government introduced several legislative amendments curtailing 
independent media and other critical voices.
“In March [2021,] the National Assembly increased the maximum fine for insult 
and defamation to 6 million drams (approximately US$12,000). In August, another 
set of legislative amendments criminalized insulting public figures, making 
repeated insults punishable by up to three months’ imprisonment.”
All forms of slander and defamation had been decriminalized in Armenia in 2010. 
The current Armenian government’s decision to restore criminal liability for 
such offenses drew criticism from the Armenian opposition and civil society.
U.S. democracy watchdog Freedom House has repeatedly called a repeal of the 
corresponding amendments to the Criminal Code, saying that they highlight a 
“clear degradation of democratic norms” in Armenia. Political allies of Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian have dismissed the criticism.
Hundreds of people have already been investigated by the Armenian police and 
other law-enforcement agencies under the controversial amendments. According to 
state prosecutors, 31 of them were formally indicted by January 1. Most of them 
are thought to have been accused of offending Pashinian or other officials.
Amnesty International also deplored “trumped-up charges” that were brought 
against Yazidi activist Sashik Sultanian after he voiced concerns in 2020 over 
the treatment of fellow members of Armenia’s Yazidi community.
“His trial started in August and was ongoing at the end of the year,” reads the 
Amnesty report. “If convicted, he could face three to six years in prison.”
The report also says: “The Prosecutor General’s Office and state investigative 
bodies failed to effectively investigate attacks and threats against NGOs and 
media outlets, including looting of the offices of Radio Free Europe/Radio 
Liberty and Open Society Foundations, in the aftermath of the 
[Armenian-Azerbaijani] conflict in 2020.”
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
 

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Dr. Arto Vaun
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PROJECT SAVE LAUNCHES SERIES ON THE POWER AND ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Boston, MA — Last month, Project SAVE Photograph Archives launched
“Conversations on Photography,” a series in which established
photographers, artists, archivists, and researchers present and
discuss the impact, beauty, and relevance of photography. The
inaugural speaker was Tatiana Cole, who is the Photograph Conservator
at the Boston Athenaeum. On Saturday, April 9, the next speaker will
be Nazik Armenakyan, one of the most important photographers in
Armenia and co-founder of the 4Plus Photography Collective. Her
photographs have appeared in The New York Times, Der Spiegel, and Le
Monde.
“When I was living in Armenia, 4Plus struck me as one of the most
innovative and high-quality initiatives there,” said Dr. Arto Vaun,
the Executive Director of Project SAVE. “They’re an all-female group
of photographers whose work is consistently extraordinary and
impactful. I’m so pleased to help introduce their photographs and
mission to a wider audience.”
“Conversations on Photography” is the first in a number of new and
unique initiatives at Project SAVE. They are also doing a complete
overhaul of their website and photograph database, as well as
launching the Project SAVE Artist Residency soon.
“It’s an exciting time of change and transition for us,” Vaun said.
“Project SAVE is growing both literally in terms of staff and photo
collections, but also in terms of vision and scope. I’m looking
forward to widening our reach and welcoming new supporters and lovers
of photography.”
For more info and to register for the next “Conversations on
Photography” visit projectsave.org/events. This will be an online
event.