The statement released by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) of Azerbaijan on Friday, that a military convoy of Armenia’s Armed Forces, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, entered Nagorno-Karabakh, does not correspond to reality, the Armenia MOD informs.
The Azerbaijani MOD’s claims regarding the transfer of personnel, munitions, and military equipment of the armed forces of Armenia are also false.
This year’s program will be MC’d by Emmy Award Winning Fox 11 Anchor, Araksya Karapetyan. The program will commence with a tribute to the ongoing atrocities in Artsakh and will feature a preview of Armenia’s submission to the 2023 Oscars Best International Film category, “Aurora’s Sunrise.”
The City is honored to welcome Joe Manganiello, celebrated actor, producer, director, author, and Emmy-winning voice actor, as the keynote speaker. During the keynote conversation, moderated by Araksya, Joe will discuss intergenerational trauma, drawing from his familial history and the story of his maternal great-grandmother, Terviz “Rose” Darakijan, who survived the Armenian Genocide.
From Sunday, April 16 to Tuesday, April 25, the City of Glendale will observe the Week of Remembrance, featuring satellite events and screenings across the city to honor the memory of those who perished and recognize the resilience of those who survived. A comprehensive list of events is available below.
Remaining Week of Remembrance Events:
11:50,
YEREVAN, APRIL 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has held a meeting with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Erika Olson.
The Armenian Prime Minister “attached importance to the consistent development of close cooperation with the United States and the continuous advancement of the Armenian-American Strategic Dialogue agenda,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout.
PM Nikol Pashinyan highly appreciated the United States government’s support to the implementation of democratic reforms in Armenia and added that the implementation of this agenda is a strategy and priority for the Armenian government.
At the same time, PM Pashinyan attached importance to the United States’ efforts for establishing stability and peace in the region.
In turn, Olson said that the United States will continue effective cooperation in the direction of the effective implementation of democratic reforms in Armenia and stated that the United States government attaches high importance to the continuous development of relations with Armenia, including in the economy.
Pashinyan and Olson also discussed issues relating to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the development of an international mechanism for dialogue between Stepanakert and Baku, the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh resulting from the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and unblocking of regional transport infrastructures.
The second of two Azerbaijani soldiers who entered Armenia last week after allegedly getting lost has been captured. A video shared on social media shows the soldier stating that he ‘shed Armenian blood’, while another shows him being beaten by Armenians after capture.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry announced that two Azerbaijani soldiers, Agshin Babirov (born in 2004) and Huseyn Akhundov (born in 2003) got lost due to poor visibility and poor weather from the border area between Nakhchivan and Armenia ‘a few days’ before 10 April.
According to independent Azerbaijani outlet Meydan TV however, the uncle of one of the soldiers claimed they went missing on 5 April.
The first soldier, Huseyn Akhundov, was found and detained on 10 April by residents of the village of Ashotavan, in Syunik Province. Agshin Babirov was found on Thursday near the village of Achanan, around a 90 kilometre walk from Ashotavan and 40 kilometres from the border with Nakhchivan.
Rumours that the soldier was responsible for the murder of a 56-year-old security guard at the Kajaran copper-molybdenum mine in Syunik on Wednesday started circulating online shortly after his capture.
People from the village where the soldier was captured and the head of the Kajaran community, Manvel Paramazyan, told RFE/RL that the murdered guard’s phone was found on the Azerbaijani soldier.
According to Paramazyan, the guard had received seven gunshot wounds.
However, Armenian law enforcement agencies have stated that while investigation of the murder is underway, they have no information yet suggesting that the Azerbaijani soldier was connected to the incident.
Both Azerbaijani soldiers are being held at the police department in Kapan, Syunik.
Shortly after the second soldier’s capture on Thursday morning, two videos spread widely online. The first allegedly showed Babirov live-streaming from Syunik.
‘By God, we have arrived in Armenia’, says Babirov in the video. ‘We have spilled the blood of Armenians […] If we die, you should know that we are not traitors to the country.’
Azerbaijani pro-government media claimed the video was old, from before the soldiers became lost.
The second shows the soldier on the ground, tied up and being kicked in the face. Images of the soldier around the time of his detention also showed him with blood and bruises on his face, with some shared on Azerbaijani social media appearing to show his captors holding knives while he lies tied on the ground.
Footage of the soldier’s mistreatment sparked discussion in Yerevan and Baku.
Diplomatic missions in Baku immediately condemned the incident, with the US Embassy in Baku stating that it was ‘disturbed by a video appearing to depict violence against an Azerbaijani soldier in Armenia’ and urging Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolve outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations.
The British Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Fergus Auld, added that ‘such treatment is unacceptable under international humanitarian law [and] must be condemned’.
A number of Armenian civil society activists also condemned the soldier’s mistreatment.
‘While it’s important to hold those responsible for the infiltration and murder accountable, it’s equally important to recognise that violence toward prisoners is never justified. The mistreatment of the captured Azerbaijani soldier by locals must be addressed’, Andranik Shirinyan, project coordinator for Freedom House in Armenia, wrote on Twitter.
Some Armenians who condemned the violence argued that forbidding such treatment of Azerbaijani military personnel would allow Armenia to demand that Armenian prisoners of war be treated humanely.
Since the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in November 2020, an unconfirmed number of Armenian soldiers captured in Nagorno-Karabakh have been held in Baku. Azerbaijan acknowledges the capture of at least 30 prisoners, but has not confirmed the exact number, or how many remain alive.
On Thursday, Azerbaijan’s State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons appealed to international organisations to ensure the soldiers’ release.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry called the footage an example of violence on ethnic grounds by Armenia, and called for ‘relevant international organisations’ to investigate and evaluate the violence, ‘including the violence committed by Armenia against Azerbaijani prisoners of war and civilian prisoners, and 3,890 missing Azerbaijanis over the past 30 years’.
Breaking a three-day silence from Armenia’s government and law enforcement agencies regarding the Azerbaijani soldiers’ capture, Prime Minister Pashinyan claimed on Wednesday that the first soldier said that they had fled the army.
‘A soldier of the Azerbaijani army simply ran away from their positions with his comrade due to pressure and humiliation from other comrades’ Pashinyan said during a meeting in parliament.
Pashinyan also stated that the second soldier, who was then still being searched for by law enforcement agencies, had decided to return to Azerbaijan.
The Prime Minister added that an investigation was needed to discover how the soldiers were able to cross the border.
He added that the captured serviceman had ‘not yet expressed his desire to return to Azerbaijan. When he tells us [that he does], the issue will be discussed’.
10:00,
YEREVAN, APRIL 12, ARMENPRESS. The results of the confirmation vote of Anahit Manasyan in the position of Human Rights Defender are expected to be announced during the April 12 parliament session.
Manasyan, the Deputy Prosecutor General of Armenia, is nominated for the position by the ruling Civil Contract faction.
Lawmakers will also resume debates on the prosecution’s motion seeking to strip MP Mher Sahakyan of immunity to initiate disorderly conduct charges over alleged assault.
Then, at 16:30, Cabinet members are expected in parliament for question time.
Congressionally Mandated Report Finds “Azerbaijan is the Country Most Likely to Renew Large-Scale Conflict” in the South Caucasus
WASHINGTON—The US intelligence community has definitively identified Azerbaijan as the primary threat to peace in the South Caucasus, in an intelligence report (unclassified version) required by Congress through the legislative leadership of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and the civic society support of the Armenian National Committee of America.
“Our U.S. intelligence community confirms what we know to be true, that Azerbaijan’s the aggressor,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “This definitive finding by the Director of National Intelligence takes a wrecking ball a longstanding State Department’s false-parity narrative that – against all evidence – emboldens Aliyev’s aggression by answering each new Azerbaijani attack with generic calls, anemic pleas, on all parties to refrain from violence. This intentionally weak policy of artificial evenhandedness –nothing more than outright hostility disguised as neutrality – emboldens Aliyev’s aggression and sets back the cause of a durable and democratic peace.”
The report, released in unclassified form earlier this week, prepared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), states “In the South Caucasus region, Azerbaijan is the country most likely to renew large-scale conflict in an effort to consolidate and expand the gains it won in its 2020 military action against Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh.”
The report continues, “Azerbaijan in midSeptember 2022 initiated a widespread assault along the international border with Armenia, striking as far as 25 miles into Armenian territory. The ceasefire reached on 14 September is largely holding, but could easily fray as each side continues to accuse each other of firing heavy artillery. Despite the September violence, during which at least 207 Armenians and 80 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed, internationally brokered diplomatic engagement has resumed, which we assess helps to mitigate the risk of further escalation.”
The report follows Rep. Schiff-led efforts to include ANCA-backed language in the Intelligence Authorization Act, calling for “a report assessing the likelihood of a South Caucasus country taking military action against another country (including in Nagorno-Karabakh or any other disputed territory). Such report shall include an indication of the strategic balance in the region, including with respect to the offensive military capabilities of each South Caucasus country.”
Putin pressed on the importance of implementing the 2020-2022 agreements that were signed between Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute. Putin asked the Armenian leader to implement the terms of the agreement, and focused on the issues “related to security and stability on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, restoring economic and transport ties in the North Caucasus and preparing a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
“In addition, some topical issues of bilateral relations were touched upon,” Russian President Putin’s press service reported.”
Armenian government’s press service released a statement, noting that Pashinyan and Putin discussed unblocking transport communications in the South Caucasus. The two leaders, it said, last spoke on March 16 in a telephone conversation between the Russian president and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev. Prior to the Soviet Union’s collapse, the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory, was a part of Azerbaijan. In February 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic and the Nagorno-Karabakh, populated by ethnic Armenians, has since been under dispute about who claims the territorial sovereignty in the region. Russia has acted as a mediator in resolving the tense situation, clashes between troops of Baku and Yerevan, and negotiating a ceasefire. In November 2020, a statement on the full cessation of hostilities negotiated by Moscow in Nagorno-Karabakh was adopted that has since been violated.
16:15, 8 April 2023
YEREVAN, APRIL 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenian law enforcement agencies arrested a 23-year-old man wanted by Russian authorities for desertion.
In a statement, police said 23-year-old Yuri T. was taken into custody by officers in Nar-Dos Street, Yerevan on April 7 and was booked in the Marash precinct.
Russian authorities and the prosecution have been notified on the arrest, police added.
The suspect is wanted by Moscow police.
Yaron Weiss standing next to an Artsakh flag which he plans to carry with him throughout his five-day journey
Israeli activist and author Yaron Weiss, who has traveled extensively in the Caucasus, is starting a five-day journey across the Galilee dedicated to the people of Artsakh.
“The landscape of the Galilee, the region where I live always reminds me the landscape of Artsakh. The size of the area is also the same,” Weiss said in a Facebook post as he announced the journey.
“I remember those days when I crossed Artsakh by hiking on the ‘Janapar Trail’ – The first national trails network in the Caucasus. Unfortunately these days most of the ‘Janapar Trail’ is under hostile occupation,” he said.
“In recent months, the people of Artsakh are in difficult situation under siege. In addition tens of thousands of refugees cannot return to their homes. One of the main reasons of the worst situation is also due to the use of Israeli-made weapons that changed the balance of forces in the conflict,” Weiss added.
“To sympathize with the people of Artsakh and to raise awareness in Israel and the entire world about their difficult situation, I decided to go on a journey of crossing the Galilee from the western side in the Mediterranean Sea to the eastern side in the Jordan Valley on shores of the Sea of Galilee,” he said.
Weiss plans to hike for several days, holding the Artsakh flag in order to remind the many people that he’s going to meet along the way that “this journey is dedicated to those heroes who live in their ancient homeland despite all the difficulties. The homeland that is very similar to the Galilee.”
“I would greatly appreciate if you follow the journey on social media and share. You are more than welcome to join me on the Trail,” Weiss concluded.