Author: Kalashian Nyrie

PACE co-rapporteurs urge Baku to authorize fact-finding visit to Artsakh

Kalashian Nyrie
Panorama
Armenia –

In a declassified information note, the co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Armenia, Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland, SOC) and Boriana Åberg (Sweden, EPP/CD), on Tuesday shared their findings with the PACE Monitoring Committee following their visit to Armenia on 17-19 February, the PACE reported.

The purpose of their visit was to assess the situation on the border with Azerbaijan and at the entrance of the Lachin Corridor. During their stay, they visited the cities of Jermuk, Goris, and Vardenis, their surroundings, and met with local officials and Nagorno-Karabakh residents, blocked in Goris due to the ongoing obstruction of the Lachin Corridor.

Based on their observations, movement along the corridor is “severely obstructed”, making the transport of some essential supplies impossible. This situation could soon result in a humanitarian crisis.

Referring to the Trilateral Statement signed in November 2020, the rapporteurs called on Azerbaijan to allow an independent assessment of the situation. “We urge the Azerbaijani authorities to authorise an independent fact-finding visit and to allow independent journalists to operate freely in the whole area,” Mr Kiljunen and Ms Åberg added.

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2023/03/23/PACE-Artsakh/2810454

AW: Iskajyan: We are not alone

Kalashian Nyrie
 ANCA Opinion 0

The following remarks were delivered by ANC Artsakh’s Gev Iskajyan at the AYF Artsakh rally, held on March 21st in Stepanakert, marking the 100th day of Azerbaijan’s brutal blockade.

It has been 100 days since the blockade in Artsakh began.

100 days without access to the rest of the world.

100 days without vital supplies like food and medicine.

100 days without heat.

100 days without access to education.

100 days in the dark.

Through it all, the people of Artsakh have withstood the pressure, the hardships, and all the human rights abuses committed by Azerbaijan under their imposed blockade.

At times, it has felt as if the people of Artsakh have been alone in this crisis, with major world powers turning a blind eye to Azerbaijan’s humans rights abuses, even in light of rulings from the International Criminal Court and condemnations from organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

But Artsakh has never been alone, from Stepanakert to Washington DC, from Canada to the European Union, from Australia to South America and across the middle east — the ANC throughout the world, powered by diasporan Armenians with an unrelenting love for Artsakh and its people, have been working day and night, to raise awareness and spark action by global powers.

In this time we’ve heard statements by many nations, calling out Azerbaijan for their crimes — but the time has now come for more than words, the time has come for action, for tangible, punitive measures and sanctions against Azerbaijan. Because only then will they think twice, only then will they stop.

Through all of this, the people of Artsakh are ready to do whatever it takes, as they have time and time again. Because today Artsakh doesn’t just represent this small corner of the world; Artsakh represents all people throughout the earth who believe in freedom, who believe in the right to self-determination, who believe in human rights, who believe in a better future.

My compatriots, I know there are times that we feel alone.

But we are not alone.

Your compatriots around the world are with you.

Hai Tahd is with you.

The diaspora is with you.

With its mind, its heart and all its might.

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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.


In Montreal, Hagop Manjikian reclaimed his Armenian name and grew an incredible garden

Kalashian Nyrie
Canada –
SEVAK MANJIKIAN
CONTRIBUTED TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Hagop Manjikian: Engineer. Gardener. Athlete. Armenian. Born Nov. 8, 1937, in Kessab, Syria; died Oct. 8, 2022, in Montreal; after a heart attack; aged 84.

Hagop ManjikianCOURTESY OF FAMILY

Hagop Manjikian was the quintessential immigrant; always on the move and seeking out opportunities for himself and his family, all the while searching for a slice of Armenia.

He grew up in a small town populated predominantly by Armenians in northwestern Syria. His early life was spent on his father’s farm but his academic abilities landed him at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and then Loughborough University in England, where he earned a degree in chemical engineering.

When he returned to Beirut, Hagop met Diroug Menakian while volunteering at an Armenian cultural association. They fell in love and when Hagop was offered a job in Saudi Arabia, he asked her to marry him. Diroug’s father was not keen and wore pajamas for a week as an act of protest. But love won out and in 1966 the couple married and set off to start their lives and raise a family.

Living on a U.S. oil compound in Saudi Arabia was like living in a quirky version of Texas. The couple picked up square dancing, played bridge, joined a yacht club that had no yachts and moved up the tennis ladder. Along the way, they had three kids, Naraig, Sevak and Lalai, who grew up speaking a mixture of Armenian, English and Arabic at home. Hagop was a man of few words in a family of firecrackers. His quiet style of parenting was effective as he provided nuggets of wisdom that shaped his children’s choices, while his love of classical music and reading were gently transferred to his family.

His career took him to offshore oil platforms and refineries across the globe. This meant being away from home for long periods of time. In 1977, the refinery where he worked in Saudi Arabia exploded leaving Diroug frantically watching the flames from their house while appearing calm in front of their children. Though difficult, Hagop enjoyed his work.

Life in Saudi Arabia was idyllic despite the harsh heat, but the family’s time there was limited since Naraig and Sevak would have to report for compulsory military service in the Syrian Army. In 1987, he decided that it was time to leave the Middle East.

Family always came first for Hagop, even if that meant moving halfway around the world to Quebec. And in Canada, Hagop (who used to go by “Jake” at work) reclaimed his Armenian name and immersed himself in Montreal’s Armenian community. Here he devoted himself to the Armenian school, church and cultural association.

Mr. Manjikian grew tomatoes in the Arabian desert and in Montreal he tended a garden that bore flowers, fruits, and vegetables for over 30 years.COURTESY OF FAMILY

One of Hagop’s proudest professional achievements was his work on the Hibernia oil platform in Newfoundland. His contribution was his way of thanking Canada for giving his family sanctuary. He never collected knick-knacks but kept a small model of the Hibernia platform in the family’s living room.

Outside of work, Hagop remained true to his farming background. His ability to grow tomatoes in the Arabian desert was a testament to his stubbornness. In Montreal, he tended a garden that bore flowers, fruits and vegetables for more than 30 years.


Baku prepares for new aggression against Yerevan — Armenian foreign ministry

Kalashian Nyrie
 TASS 
Russia –
According to Armenia, Azerbaijan continues gross violations of the trilateral and quadrilateral statements adopted in various formats, and “in practice there is not a single clause in those statements that Azerbaijan has not violated”

YEREVAN, March 18. /TASS/. Azerbaijan’s latest aggressive remarks and actions demonstrate that it is preparing for an act of genocide against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and a new act of aggression against Armenia, the Armenian foreign ministry said.

“The assessment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia is clear: with its aggressive discourse and actions Azerbaijan makes preparations for subjecting the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to genocide and for a new aggression against Armenia,” the ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, Azerbaijani President Ilkham Aliyev said “there will be no peace treaty” while visiting the village of Talish in Nagorno-Karabakh, whose Armenian population had to flee their homes amid the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“In Talish, as well as in other regions depopulated by the 44-day war, Azerbaijan is openly implementing resettlement programs in an attempt to eliminate the Armenian trace from the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh that have passed under its control. At the beginning of the 1990s, Shahumyan region, Getashen sub-region and other settlements with a large Armenian population also suffered a similar fate,” the ministry said.

“The above-mentioned actions of Azerbaijan are in direct contradiction to the point 7 of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, according to which internally displaced persons and refugees shall return to the Nagorno-Karabakh territory and adjacent regions under the control of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,” the statement says. “With the policy of illegal resettlement and the practice of terrorizing the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, official Baku is doing everything to make the implementation of the above-mentioned provision of the trilateral statement impossible.”

According to Armenia, Azerbaijan continues gross violations of the trilateral and quadrilateral statements adopted in various formats, and “in practice there is not a single clause in those statements that Azerbaijan has not violated.”

Yerevan believes that in the current situation, it is necessary to launch international mechanisms for the prevention of genocides, send an international fact-finding mission to the Lachin corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as to directly condemn Azerbaijan’s aggressive actions and policies.

The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27, 2020. On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on the full cessation of hostilities.

The sides stopped at their positions at that moment, a number of districts went under Baku’s control, and Russian peacekeepers were deployed at the contact line and at the so-called Lachin Corridor, the road linking Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Asbarez: Newly Launched Publishing House to Release Original Armenian Works

Kalashian Nyrie
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Arts & Culture, Books, Latest, News, Top Stories

Founder of Arpi Publishing, Arpi Krikorian (center) with the newly launched publishing house’s Board members


LOS ANGELES—Arpi Publishing, a new, nonprofit publishing house, was launched on February 19 at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Glendale. Founded by Los Angeles artist and author Arpi Krikorian, the organization is dedicated to publishing original Armenian-language books for children and young adults.

“For as long as I remember, authors and artists seeking to create books in Armenian have had neither the institutional support system nor funding for their projects,” Krikorian said. “What this has meant, basically, is that a new work of literature has very little chance of seeing the light of day unless it’s backed by a sponsor or it’s self-published.”

Krikorian continued: “So it comes as no surprise that there has been a lack of contemporary Armenian books, dealing with contemporary topics, that would be available to kids in schools across the Diaspora, especially at the elementary and higher levels. The result is that the Armenian literature taught at schools today rarely reflects the modern life outside school walls.”   

“It was in view of these issues that I decided to try to take a step toward a solution,” Krikorian said. “Last year, a long-cherished dream started to become reality as I was able to gather a group of like-minded individuals passionate about starting a publishing house.”

A scene from the Arpi Publishing launch event, held on Feb. 19

As Krikorian recalled, the initiative got underway in early 2021, as a board was formed, objectives were set, and work began on a website (arpipublishing.com). “With the founding of Arpi Publishing, the overarching goal was to establish a catalyst for change, namely a publishing house that could provide authors and book illustrators with the necessary funding and support to create original works of literature in Armenian, written for children and young adults,” Krikorian said.

Arpi Publishing’s board comprises of scholars, teachers, and writers. They include Dr. Talar Chahinian, lecturer with the Program for Armenian Studies at the University of California, Irvine; Dr. Myrna Douzjian, continuing lecturer in Armenian language and literature at the University of California, Berkeley; Dr. Hagop Gulludjian, holder of the Kachigian Lectureship in Armenian Language and Culture at UCLA; Norayr Daduryan, director and lead teacher at the Armenian Academy of Blair High School, in Pasadena, California; Arpi Krikorian; Armenian language and history teacher Peggy Jinbashian; and author and literary translator Ishkhan Jinbashian.

“Another key goal behind the establishment of the publishing house was to help empower the continued utilization and dissemination of Western Armenian as a language of literature, especially given the lack of new, original works written in the language for our youth,” said Dr. Myrna Douzjian.

Mr. and Mrs. Brandon and Sonia Pierce, who provided the seed money for the launching of Arpi Publishing

Seed money for the establishment of Arpi Publishing, in the amount of $15,000, was provided by Mr. and Mrs. Brandon and Sonia Pierce. Subsequently the organization received a $20,000 donation from Mr. and Mrs. Kevon and Alexia Kevonian. In December of last year, Brandon and Sonia Pierce contributed to Arpi Publishing once more, this time with a surprise donation, also in the amount of $15,000. Both this contribution and the Kevonians’ were made to fund the publication of Arpi Publishing’s first books.

“Our first major donors, the Pierce and Kevonian families, are the reason Arpi Publishing exists. It is thanks to their heartwarming generosity and strong belief in the importance of our project that we were able to get it off the ground,” Krikorian said.

“Today, we’re looking for authors and illustrators eager to have their works published and made available to a young readership,” said Norayr Daduryan. “And we’re looking for original, imaginative stories that would make for great books. Toward this aim, we’ve made the story-submission process through our website very simple, for authors and book illustrators alike. Also, as a publishing house dedicated to literary excellence, we will have accomplished editors working alongside our authors,” he added.

“We’re aiming to publish as many as five books his year, and I’m thrilled to report that we’ve already signed three authors,” said Hagop Gulludjian. “To meet its publishing targets this year and in order to be able to fulfill its full potential in the long term, Arpi Publishing needs broad community support. Every tax-deductible donation, irrespective of size, goes toward the publication of a new book. And with each school and community organization acquiring copies of the published books, our shared vision of a dynamic and ever-evolving literature, written in Western Armenian, is certain to come one step closer to being the new norm.”

Statistical Committee data shows increase in births

Kalashian Nyrie

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 14:13,

YEREVAN, MARCH 11, ARMENPRESS. Population natural increase in January 2023 comprised 742, according to data released by the Statistical Committee.

3,229 births were recorded in January – a 12,6% and 13,2% growth compared to the same month of 2022 and 2021 respectively.

The number of deaths decreased. 2,487 deaths were recorded in January – a 10,8% and 17,5% decrease compared to the same month of 2022 and 2021 respectively.

The 742 natural increase indicator is 9,4 times higher than in January 2022.

France Says Azerbaijani Forces Ambushed Artsakh Police While Yerevan Calls for International Observers in Artsakh

Kalashian Nyrie
by Asbarez Staff

 

 March 7, 2023

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Russian peacekeeping forces at the site of the Azerbaijani ambush on an Artsakh police vehicle


In a statement addressing Sunday’s deadly attack by Azerbaijani forces, who ambushed an Artsakh police vehicle killing three officers, France’s foreign ministry did not hesitate to blame Azerbaijan for targeting the officers.

“We mourn the casualties caused by the serious incident on March 5, when a vehicle carrying police officers traveling near the Lachin Corridor was targeted by Azerbaijani forces in the area under the responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces,” a spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.

“It is important to shed light be shed on the facts. We also call for strict respect for the ceasefire,” the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, Yerevan amplified its calls for the need to dispatch an international observer mission to the Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh when Armenian officials met with the U.S. and French Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group who are separately visiting Yerevan on Tuesday.

Armenia’s National Security chief Armen Grigoryan on Tuesday met with Brice Roquefeuil, the French Minsk Group co-chair and discussed the ongoing Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the resulting humanitarian crisis in Artsakh.

According to a press statement from Grigoryan’s office, the two underscored the need for implementing the binding ruling by the International Court of Justice regarding the opening of the Lachin Corridor.

Grigoryan drew Roquefeuil’s attention to the March 5 terror attack by the Azerbaijani military in Nagorno Karabakh and emphasized the imperative for international presence in Nagorno Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor.

Grigoryan later met with Louis Bono, United States Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations, and the U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk, with whom a similar discussion took place.

“The illegal blockade of Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan and its consequences were discussed, and in this context Secretary Grigoryan attached importance to the necessity for sending an international fact-finding team to Lachin Corridor and Nagorno Karabakh,” the national security chief.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/08/2023

Kalashian Nyrie 
                                        Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Armenia Warns Of ‘New Azeri Aggression’
Nagorno-Karabakh - A Russian roadblock outside Stepanakert, December 24, 2022.
Armenia accused Azerbaijan on Wednesday of preparing the ground for another 
attack on Nagorno-Karabakh with false claims about shipments of Armenian 
military personnel and weapons to Karabakh.
It urged the international community to send a fact-finding mission to Karabakh 
and the Lachin corridor in order to prevent Baku from launching the “new 
aggression.”
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry threatened to take “resolute” actions on Tuesday 
two days after a shootout outside Stepanakert left three Karabakh Armenian 
police officers and two Azerbaijani soldiers dead. The ministry repeated its 
claims that its soldiers came under fire as they tried to check a Karabakh 
police vehicle allegedly smuggling weapons from Armenia.
The Karabakh police strongly denies that, saying that the vehicle transported 
only policemen and was ambushed by Azerbaijani special forces. The Russian 
peacekeepers have essentially confirmed that.
In another statement issued later on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry in Baku 
accused the peacekeepers of escorting a convoy of Armenian and Karabakh military 
trucks along a dirt road running parallel to a section of the Lachin corridor 
blocked by Azerbaijani protesters since December.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry swiftly denied the allegations. The Armenian Foreign 
Ministry likewise insisted the following morning that Yerevan did not use the 
corridor for any military supplies both before and during the three-month 
blockade.
No Armenian army units are stationed in Karabakh, read a ministry statement. It 
said Baku is “trying to create false information grounds for launching a new 
aggression not only against Nagorno-Karabakh but also the Republic of Armenia.”
The Azerbaijani government also renewed its demands for an Azerbaijani 
checkpoint on the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia. Yerevan rejected 
these demands earlier, saying that they run counter to the terms of the 
Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also objected to the checkpoint when he 
visited Baku last week. He suggested that the Russian peacekeepers use 
“technical means” to dispel Azerbaijan’s “suspicions that the corridor is not 
functioning as intended.”
Ex-President Sees No Alternative To Armenia’s Alliance With Russia
        • Gayane Saribekian
Armenia - Former President Serzh Sarkisian (right) attends the presentation of 
his book, Yerevan, March 7, 2023.
Former President Serzh Sarkisian insisted late on Tuesday that Armenia has no 
choice but to remain allied to Russia even if it does not get enough support 
from Moscow.
Sarkisian blamed the current Armenian government for recent months’ friction 
between the two countries.
“I’ve never been pro-Russian and never will be, but I continue believe that the 
Russian Federation is our best ally because there is no alternative,” he told 
journalists.
“Will NATO set up a base here?” he said. “Will any European country have a 
[military] contingent in Karabakh? You know very well that I have never been 
anti-European. My rebuke is directed not at NATO or the European Union but at 
those adventurists who are trying, for some reason, to mess up everything here.”
Armenia’s traditionally close relationship with Russia has soured lately because 
of what Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s administration sees as a lack of 
Russian support in the continuing conflict with Azerbaijan. Yerevan has also 
accused Russian peacekeepers of doing little to lift the Azerbaijani blockade of 
the Lachin corridor.
Moscow has denied that. It has also rejected Pashinian’s recent claim that the 
Russian military presence in Armenia may be putting the South Caucasus country’s 
security and territorial integrity at greater risk.
These tensions have fuelled speculation about a pro-Western change in Armenia’s 
geopolitical orientation planned by Pashinian. Armenia’s leading opposition 
groups are against such a policy change. One of them, the Pativ Unem bloc, is 
led by Sarkisian.
The ex-president, who ruled the country from 2008-2018, spoke to the press 
during the presentation of his new book containing a collection of his past 
speeches and statements on the Karabakh conflict.
Sarkisian again blamed the current government for Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 
war with Azerbaijan and reiterated opposition allegations that the Armenian side 
will suffer more military and diplomatic losses if Pashinian remains in power. 
He claimed that Pashinian is too incompetent to be taken seriously by Azerbaijan 
or even international mediators.
U.S. Rules Out Sanctions On Baku Over Karabakh Blockade
        • Karlen Aslanian
Armenia - U.S. envoy Louis Bono (left) at a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian, Yerevan, March 7, 2023.
The United States is not considering imposing sanctions on Azerbaijan over its 
continuing blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh’s sole land link with Armenia, a senior 
U.S. diplomat said late on Tuesday.
“This is not a time for sanctions,” Louis Bono, the new U.S. envoy for the South 
Caucasus, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “I am here to work with both parties 
to lead them towards peace. Sanctions would be counterproductive. It’s not even 
under consideration at this point.”
Washington has repeatedly called on Baku to lift the road blockade that led to a 
humanitarian crisis in Karabakh. According to the U.S. State Department, 
Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted on the restoration of “free and open 
commercial and private transit through the Lachin corridor” when he hosted talks 
between Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s leaders in Munich on February 18.
The Azerbaijani side has dismissed such calls also made by the European Union 
and Russia, claiming that the lifeline road was not blocked by Azerbaijani 
government-backed protesters on December 12.
“We will continue to press this matter,” Bono said at the end of a trip to 
Yerevan during which he met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and other 
Armenian officials.
The U.S. diplomat held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku 
earlier this week.
He arrived in the Azerbaijani capital on Sunday hours after a shootout in 
Karabakh left three Karabakh Armenian police officers and two Azerbaijani 
soldiers dead. The conflicting sides blamed each other for the incident that 
occurred four days after a meeting between Azerbaijani and Karabakh officials 
organized by Russian peacekeepers.
During that meeting, the Karabakh representatives refused to discuss the 
Armenian-populated territory’s “integration” into Azerbaijan demanded by Baku.
Asked whether Washington could also arrange contacts between Baku and 
Stepanakert, Bono said: “Our role in this process is not to serve as a mediator. 
We are not here to impose language, conditions on any of the parties. What we 
are trying to do is to facilitate a peace. What I mean by that is that we want 
the parties to develop the language, the conditions, to accept them together. 
They need to work this out amongst themselves.”
The envoy also noted that Karabakh should be part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani 
peace process.
“In order to have a peace agreement that is going to be sustainable, durable and 
balanced, it has to include Nagorno-Karabakh, and we are committed to seeing 
this through,” he said. “We recognize the importance of that.”
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 02-03-23

Kalashian Nyrie

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 17:05, 2 March 2023

YEREVAN, 2 MARCH, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 2 March, USD exchange rate down by 0.06 drams to 388.95 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.01 drams to 412.87 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.02 drams to 5.15 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 3.22 drams to 465.26 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 204.69 drams to 23024.89 drams. Silver price up by 5.83 drams to 262.54 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

Pashinyan: Armenia has agreed to separate settlement of Karabakh issue from Armenian-Azerbaijani process

Kalashian Nyrie
News.am
Armenia – March 3 2023

23:56, 02.03.2023

Azerbaijan’s growing aggressiveness towards Nagorno-Karabakh makes clear Azerbaijan’s intentions to carry out ethnic cleansing of Armenians. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at the discussion, entitled “Security and Stability in the South Caucasus: The Prospect of Armenia,” at the German Council on Foreign Relations , according to First Channel News.

Recently, president of Azerbaijan Aliyev announced that the Lachin corridor is open for those Armenians who want to leave Karabakh. It means that the Lachin corridor is closed for those Armenians who live in Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan said.

Despite this, the government of Armenia has shown political will and is taking decisive steps to open a new era of peace and stability in the South Caucasus and is constructively engaged in the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations, he added.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiation process is proceeding in the following three main directions: agreement on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, unblocking transport communications and economic ties in the region, and border delimitation and security he noted.

Armenia has agreed to separate the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue from the Armenian-Azerbaijani process, with the logic that an international discussion mechanism be formed between Karabakh and Azerbaijan, he said.

It is important for Armenia to create a guarantee mechanism aimed at solving the security and rights issues of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians, which will have international visibility and engagement, he noted.

Humanitarian issues, such as the return of all Armenian POWs and the entry of international organizations into Nagorno-Karabakh, remain unresolved and are issues of primary concern for Armenia, the PM said.

Armenia strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s continuous violations of the Geneva Convention on POWs, as at least 33 Armenian POWs have been sentenced to various terms of imprisonment on completely fictitious charges, he noted.

The fact that Azerbaijan refuses to return Armenian POWs to their homeland is another violation by Azerbaijan of point 8 of the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, the Armenian PM stated.