Author: Kalantarian Kevo

Backlash in Armenia as EU backs Nagorno-Karabakh aid via Azerbaijan

Kalantarian Kevo


 

ByAni Avetisyan

Proposals to send humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijani-controlled land appear to have been backed by the EU, causing outrage in Armenia.

Supplies to the region have repeatedly been cut off since the blockade of the Lachin Corridor began in December, with the situation again deteriorating since mid-June.

On Saturday, EU Council President Charles Michel appeared to back proposals by Azerbaijan to send supplies via Aghdam.

‘I emphasised the need to open the Lachin road. I also noted Azerbaijan’s willingness to provide humanitarian supplies via Aghdam’, Michel said.

His statement came after a round of talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev earlier that day.

The Lachin Corridor is the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Azerbaijan set up a checkpoint under its control at the start of the corridor in late April — a move seen as a violation of the November 2020 ceasefire agreement, which states that the Lachin Corridor falls under the control of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.

As the region grappled with food and energy shortages under blockade, Baku has proposed sending humanitarian aid and supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh through Aghdam.

Stepanakert swiftly rejected Baku’s proposal.

Michel’s statement was condemned in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, with critics calling for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor instead of the establishment of alternative routes.

Azerbaijan dismisses claims of an ongoing blockade and humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, despite local and international reports indicating food and medicine shortages in the region.

On Tuesday, fifteen Armenian organisations jointly stated that the Lachin Corridor ‘has no alternative’.

‘Instead of addressing the root cause of the humanitarian crisis, the discussion of “alternative” routes, such as Aghdam, diverts the attention of the international community from the source of the problem: the illegal blockade of the humanitarian corridor by the Azerbaijani government and the policy of ethnic cleansing’, read their response to Michel’s statement.

Several organisations in Nagorno-Karabakh also issued a more pointed statement on Monday.

‘We emphasise and remind that the support provided at the cost of trampling on the dignity of people in a humanitarian catastrophe cannot be accepted from a country that can offer nothing but hatred, suffering, and pain’, stated the organisations in Nagorno-Karabakh.

David Babayan, adviser to Nagorno-Karabakh’s president and a former foreign minister, condemned the EU Council President’s statement as ‘dangerous’.

‘There is a decision of the international court [of Justice], which says that the corridor should be [reopened]’, Babayan told Armenian media. ‘So where does Aghdam come from?’

Toivo Klaar, the EU’s special envoy to the South Caucasus, also backed Baku’s proposal to provide Nagorno-Karabakh with humanitarian aid through Aghdam, stating that ‘every offer should also be used, not as an alternative to Lachin but as a complement to it’.

The humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh has continued to deepens as the region remains under total blockade since mid-June, when Azerbaijan barred Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh from using the Lachin Corridor to supply the region.

Currently, only the International Commitee of the Red Cross can use the corridor to transfer people requiring medical assistance to Armenia. Despite assistance provided by the Red Cross, local authorities have warned of an increase in mortality rates and miscarriages due to the lack of food and medicine. 

In an effort to save energy and food in the region, Stepanakert has introduced rolling blackouts and rationing across Nagorno-Karabakh, in addition to suspending public transport last week.

They have also called for ‘indefinite rallies’ in the hope of attracting international attention, with President Arayik Harutyunyan leading a sit-in protest in central Stepanakert.

[Read more: Thousands rally in Stepanakert against blockade]

 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.

https://oc-media.org/backlash-in-armenia-as-eu-backs-nagorno-karabakh-aid-via-azerbaijan/

Apricot Capital has launched a foreign currency trading platform in its mobile application

Kalantarian Kevo

 11:05,

YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS. Apricot Capital, a licensed investment company in Armenia, has launched a foreign currency trading platform in its mobile application.

From now on, customers can make real-time foreign exchange conversions with the primary currency pairs (US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Chinese Yuan, etc.) at global cross rates through the Apricot Capital application.

The Apricot Capital platform grants entry to currency transactions and trading in international securities markets at a competitive rate and the ability to observe the result of the transaction directly on the account.

To utilize Apricot Capital’s currency conversion tools and other platforms, one must become an Apricot Capital client by completing all the mandatory procedures once. Upon successful validation, resident, and non-resident citizens of the Republic of Armenia fund brokerage accounts in the specified minimum amount, after which the client gets access to the mobile application.

The Apricot Capital mobile app is available on the App Store and Google Play. It is a reliable platform through which Apricot Capital offers its clients a wide range of brokerage services. Apricot Capital’s commercial infrastructure ensures the high-quality execution of transactions with various financial instruments through a wide network of partnerships with leading European and American brokers and financial companies.

Zangi unveils messenger with NATO-approved military grade encryption for Nagorno Karabakh in case of internet blackout

Kalantarian Kevo

 17:15,

YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS. The Government of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) has signed a memorandum with the Armenian Zangi on launching a modern and secure messenger capable of being used without internet.  

The messenger is developed by Zangi and will be called ArtsakhX.

“We’ve solved several problems, most importantly the problems of security and access. In case of Artsakh’s internet getting cut off, ArtsakhX will continue to work with partial functionality,” Zangi CEO Vahram Martirosyan told ARMENPRESS.

ArtsakhX is encrypted with NATO-approved military grade End-to-End AES-GSM-256 algorithm. The servers and data will be located in Nagorno Karabakh, enabling to ensure data transfer in the event of an enemy electronic warfare or cyber attack.

The messenger is free and will be available in Nagorno Karabakh soon.

“ArtsakhX is a unique solution in the world, integrating civilian GSM operator and messenger system. ArtsakhX is created by Zangi and will be serviced by Zangi for free,” the CEO added.

Zangi began to work on the project six months ago, but the idea was conceived after the 2016 Nagorno Karabakh Four-Day War.

Karina Terteryan




Press remarks by President Charles Michel following trilateral meeting with Prez Aliyev of Azerbaijan and PM Pashinyan of Armenia

Kalantarian Kevo
July 15 2023

We have just finished the sixth meeting with President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan.

Our exchanges have once again been frank, honest and substantive.

Our meeting was the latest in a series of intensive and productive high-level meetings involving Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s leaders, Deputy Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers since early May, in Brussels, Chișinău, Washington, Moscow and on the bilateral border.

We are going through one of the most comprehensive and vigorous stages of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

I commended the leaders for their strong commitment to the peace process and encouraged them to take further courageous steps to ensure decisive and irreversible progress on the normalisation track.

And even though our meeting took place in the context of a worrying increase in tensions on the ground, I noted important momentum in the political discussions and efforts.

We discussed all issues on the agenda.

  1. Sovereignty and territorial integrity

The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders once again fully reconfirmed their respect for the other country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Based on the understanding that Armenia’s territory covers 29.800 km2 and Azerbaijan’s 86.600 km2.

  1. Border delimitation

Both leaders reconfirmed their unequivocal commitment to the 1991 Almaty Declaration as a political framework for the delimitation.

I welcomed the 12 July meeting of the two border commissions. Work has advanced on the statutes of these commissions and on discussions regarding the basis for delimitation.

And — this is very important — the leaders agreed to intensify and accelerate the work of the commissions.

  1. Connectivity

On connectivity, the sides have also made clear progress over the past two months in their discussions aimed at unblocking transport and economic links in the region.

We discussed modalities of future transport arrangements which will respect the principles of sovereignty, jurisdiction and reciprocity.

The construction of the railway connection should be undertaken forthwith. The EU would be ready to contribute financially.

Some details still require clarification, but positions on this topic are now getting closer and options are being actively explored.

  1. Humanitarian supplies

We discussed the situation of the Karabakh Armenian population and the situation around the Lachin corridor. The current state of affairs is clearly not sustainable and is in no one’s interest.

We also discussed possible concrete steps to help bring the situation back to normal.

I emphasised the need to open the Lachin road. I also noted Azerbaijan’s willingness to provide humanitarian supplies via Aghdam. I see both options as important and encourage humanitarian deliveries from both sides to ensure the needs of the population are met.

I also welcomed the resumption of medical evacuations by the ICRC.

  1. Rights and security

The population on the ground needs reassurances, first and foremost regarding their rights and security.

In this context, I expressed the EU’s encouragement for direct dialogue between Baku and representatives of Armenians living in the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

This dialogue should provide much-needed confidence for all those involved.  

  1. Detainees

We also discussed the issue of detainees.

The leaders reconfirmed their commitment to the gentlemen’s understanding that the release of soldiers who inadvertently cross to the other side would be facilitated.

I advocated for the release by both sides of detainees.

The importance of ensuring increased cooperation in addressing the fate of missing persons and on demining was also discussed, and I once again called on the sides to exchange as much information as possible.

  1. Follow-up

We agreed that our teams will remain in close contact to ensure concrete follow-up on what has been discussed today.

Real progress depends on the next steps that will need to be taken in the near future. As a matter of priority, violence and harsh rhetoric should stop in order to provide the proper environment for peace and normalisation talks.

I also reiterated my intention to invite the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders for another meeting in Brussels after the summer, as well as for another pentalateral meeting, with the participation also of the leaders of France and Germany, in Granada in the margins of the next European Political Community Summit.

 Barend Leyts
Spokesperson for the European Council President
 +32 486 22 68 65
 +32 2 281 5150
 @BarendLeyts

If you are not a journalist, please send your request to the public information service.

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/07/15/press-remarks-by-president-charles-michel-following-trilateral-meeting-with-president-aliyev-of-azerbaijan-and-prime-minister-pashinyan-of-armenia/











The death of children in Nagorno-Karabakh is a consequence of the Azerbaijani blockade. FM Mirzoyan

Kalantarian Kevo

 17:18,

YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS. The 7-month blockade of Lachin Corridor total siege of Nagorno Karabakh people is having irreversible and devastating impact on the lives of the people, ARMENPRESS reports Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan wrote on Twitter.

“NK resident children 3-year-old Leo and 6-year-old Gita died as consequence of the serious humanitarian situation. In 21st century. This should not be tolerated”, Mirzoyan wrote.

Azerbaijan blocks vital route linking enclave to Armenia

Kalantarian Kevo
     France –

Baku announced the suspension of traffic on the Nagorno-Karabakh Lachin corridor on Tuesday, citing ‘smuggling’ activity on the part of the Armenian branch of the Red Cross.

By Faustine Vincent


Pressure is rising again in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. On Tuesday, July 11, Azerbaijan announced the suspension of road traffic in the Lachin corridor, the only road linking Armenia to this separatist territory, at the heart of a thirty-year conflict between Baku and Yerevan.

Azerbaijan says it took this measure because of “multiple smuggling attempts” via this checkpoint by vehicles belonging to the Armenian branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In particular, border guards claim to have seized, between July 1 and July 5, around ten cell phones and hundreds of packs of cigarettes during search operations in these vehicles and have accused the NGO of failing to take steps to prevent these “illegal actions.” The border crossing will have to remain closed until the “necessary investigations” are completed, they said. A criminal investigation has been opened.

The ICRC immediately denied wrongdoing, claiming that “no unauthorized goods were found” in one of its vehicles. The Geneva-based organization added, however, that it “regret[ted] that without [its] knowledge four hired drivers tried to transport some commercial goods in their own vehicles which were temporarily displaying the ICRC emblem.” “These individuals,” it asserted, “were not ICRC staff members and their service contracts were immediately terminated by the ICRC.”

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The meeting of the Commission on border delimitation and border security held near Armenian-Azerbaijani border

Kalantarian Kevo

 19:48,

YEREVAN, 12 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The 4th meeting of the Commission on delimitation and border security of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan was held on the border of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the section of the Tavush region of the Republic of Armenia and the Kazakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan told ARMENPRESS.

On July 12, the fourth meeting of the Commission was held on the border of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafaev.

According to the agreements reached at the level of the leaders of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan in different formats, the parties continued the discussion of border delimitation issues, addressed a number of organizational and procedural issues.




Armenpress: UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide calls for free movement through the Lachin Corridor

Kalantarian Kevo

 21:02, 4 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Genocide Prevention, made a speech at the Human Rights Council on July 4, specifically referring to Armenia and Azerbaijan, calling for dialogue and peace, as well as to avoid escalation of tensions.

ARMENPRESS reports, she reminded the decision of the International Court of Justice, which has a binding force, and called to ensure free and safe movement through the Lachin Corridor.

NM: Islamist, red flagged in IRGC Quds Force probe, is in charge of Turkey’s public education

Kalantarian Kevo
by Abdullah Bozkurt
June 27, 2023
Yusuf Tekin, Turkey’s Educatuon Minister, was red-flagged during an investigation into IRGC Quds Force network in Turkey.

Abdullah Bozkurt/Stockholm

Yusuf Tekin (50), the recently appointed minister of education, responsible for overseeing the education of nearly 20 million children in Turkey and entrusted with billions of Turkish lira to carry out that task, was red-flagged during a counterterrorism probe into the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force network, classified documents obtained by Nordic Monitor have revealed.

Tekin’s links to Quds Force operatives in Turkey were exposed during a confidential, multi-year probe into the group, known by its Turkish name, Tevhid Selam. Tekin’s communications with a specially trained Iranian operative were intercepted between December 15, 2012 and November 22, 2013, and the wiretaps were entered as evidence into the case file.

The investigation launched in 2011 by Istanbul prosecutor Adem Özcan under case file No.2011/762 identified 232 Turkish and Iranian suspects, some later designated by the US Treasury under sanctions, after painstaking surveillance of operatives, wiretapping of their phones and internet communications and a review of the shell companies that were used as covers to mask secret operations. The prosecutor’s probe lasted until 2014 before then-prime minister and now president Recep Tayyip Erdogan stepped in to kill the country’s most comprehensive counterespionage investigation in its recent history.

The case file contains 10 intercepted phone and SMS conversations between Tekin and Furkan Torlak (37), a known Iranian asset who was working as an advisor to Numan Kurtulmus, the then-deputy chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and now the speaker of parliament. Torlak was a suspect and a target of the investigators, with the conversations revealing a close relationship between Torlak and Tekin, who was serving as undersecretary of the Ministry of Education at the time.

 

Wiretap secured by a judge’s approval in the IRGC Quds Force investigation reveals close links between Yusuf Tekin and Furkan Torlak: 


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The content of these conversations suggests that Torlak was introducing his associates to Tekin and arranging meetings with him. One of the individuals Torlak introduced to Tekin was Yahya Bostan, who was also a suspect in the Quds Force probe. In a call on May 16, 2013 Torlak described Bostan as his roommate and a member of the same community, referring to a group of Islamists who promote the Iranian mullah ideology in Turkey.

Bostan currently works as the news coordinator for the state-run Anadolu news agency, but his real job is listed with Turkish intelligence agency MIT, which uses journalism as a cover to run clandestine operations. He had previously worked as news coordinator for TRT News between 2017 and 2021. Before moving to the state-funded media, he was employed by the Sabah newspaper, owned by the Turkish president’s family. Bostan often writes articles praising MIT in his weekly column for the Islamist Yeni Şafak daily.

Judging from the content of the wiretap, Bostan and Torlak had known each other for a long time, possibly going back to their younger years when Torlak had been groomed at an Iranian-run Shiite ḥawzah (seminary) in Syria from 1997, when he was 12, until he turned 21. Turkish police tracked all of Torlak’s visits to Syria, where he had spent his teenage and early adult years under the supervision of his handlers from the Quds Force.

 

Furkan Torlak, a Quds Force suspect who was groomed at Shiite seminaries in Syria.

A wiretap dated January 15, 2013 shows the two had worked together in the recruitment of an acquaintance for the ruling party, using favors to fast-track the candidate’s employment. Another wiretap dated November 21, 2013 reveals Tekin was sharing confidential government information from the ministry with Torlak by sending documents to his Yahoo email. Torlak had no official position in the government and did not have a clearance to gain access to government information.

Tekin is not the only one Torlak sourced to get his hands on government information. He was also using his wife, Sümeyye Nur Torlak, the daughter of Burhan Kavuncu, one of the leading figures in establishing the Iran-backed Hizbullah in Turkey. Kavuncu helped Torlak land advisory positions in the government as well as in the ruling AKP. He currently works as an advisor to the culture and tourism minister. His connections to the Quds Force came to light one-and-a-half years after the probe was launched, prompting the prosecutor to secure a warrant to wiretap his phone and place him under surveillance.

The wiretaps show that Torlak obtained classified documents illegally through his wife Sümeyye, who was working for the Public Security Institution (Kamu Güvenliği Teşkilatı) at the time. In the wiretap his wife told him that if she sent classified material through the mail, the government might be able to identify her as the leak. Instead, she said she would bring the hard copies home to avoid detection.

 

Another wiretap between Yusuf Tekin and Furkan Torlak:


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The investigation also revealed how Torlak hid his activities and education in Syria in the CVs he submitted to support his employment in government agencies at the recommendation of Sefer Turan, another suspect in the Quds Force probe. He did not want to raise red flags during background checks. Turan, currently serving as chief advisor to President Erdogan on Turkey’s relations with Arab and Muslim states, especially in the Middle East and North Africa, had worked for the Iranian-financed radical publication Yeryüzü in the 1990s promoting the Iranian mullah regime.

How the entire operation unmasked Torlak’s hidden background and his connections to Quds Force operatives was revealed during a hearing on May 31, 2018 at the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court by Selman Yuyucu, a police chief who had worked the Quds Force investigation.

 

Another wiretap between Yusuf Tekin and Furkan Torlak: 


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Tekin’s appointment as minister of education on June 4, 2023 means that he is now responsible for overseeing the entire public education system in Turkey. This vast system employs 1.1 million personnel, predominantly teachers, who work under his leadership to educate children from kindergarten to 12th grade. Additionally, the ministry has a global presence, with education attachés reporting directly to Tekin from Turkish embassies in 63 countries.

The ministry accounts for a significant portion of the central budget, which was 285 billion Turkish lira at the end of 2022. Moreover, it allocated 2.3 billion Turkish lira for overseas operations during the same period. With its authority to license, inspect and utilize administrative tools, the Ministry of Education also exerts considerable influence over private schools, including minority schools.

According to the ministry’s official records, 19.2 million children were educated during the 2021/2022 school year, including 732,000 Syrian refugees between ages of 5 and 17 in various schools, corresponding to 65 percent of all Syrian youngsters of school age. Each year, the ministry publishes 300 million school textbooks, which it distributes to schools after it has monitored their content.

 

Yusuf Tekin, Turkey’s minister of education.


Azerbaijan opens fire on the harvester doing agricultural work in Artsakh

Kalantarian Kevo

 20:05,

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS. On June 29, around 6:10 p.m., the Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the ceasefire by opening fire from firearms at a harvester doing agricultural work in the fields of Chartar community in Artsakh, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Defense of Artsakh, adding that there were no casualties on the Armenian side.

“At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan has spread misinformation that allegedly the units of the Defense Forces opened fire in the same direction towards the Azerbaijani positions,” the message says.

The ceasefire violation was reported to the command of the Russian peacekeeping troops.