Author: Karapet Navasardian

Armenian MFA strongly condemns visit of Turkish, Azerbaijani presidents to Shushi

Karapet Navasardian

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 18:19,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS.  The Foreign Ministry of Armenia strongly condemned the joint visit of the Turkish and Azerbaijani presidents to Shushi, which is an Armenian historical and cultural center that is currently under the Azerbaijani occupation. The Foreign Ministry assessed this act as an overt provocation against regional peace and security. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, the statement runs as follows,

”We strongly condemn the joint visit of the Presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan on June 15 to the Armenian historic and cultural center of Artsakh – Shushi, which is currently under the Azerbaijani occupation, as an outright provocation against regional peace and security.

It is noteworthy that this visit was preceded by the destruction of the religious, historical and cultural heritage of the forcibly displaced indigenous Armenian population, including the desecration of the St. Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Cathedral – targeted by the Turkish-Azerbaijani forces during and after the war against Artsakh, as well as the complete destruction of the memorial commemorating the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

Such actions of the Turkish and Azerbaijani authorities, aimed at consolidating the consequences of the use of force against the people of Artsakh, significantly undermine the international efforts to establish stability in the region and are utterly unacceptable. Restoration of the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh, which includes de-occupation of the territories of the Republic of Artsakh and safe return of the displaced population, is essential for overcoming the Turkish-Azerbaijani genocidal threat against the Armenian people.

These provocative actions clearly reveal the false and misleading nature of the statements coming from the official Ankara and Baku on their intentions to normalize the  relations with Armenia and the Armenian people. 

We once again emphasize that the elimination of the consequences of the recent Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh should be undertaken within the frameworks of the comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship”.


Moscow welcomes Azerbaijan’s step to hand back 15 Armenian soldiers – diplomat

Karapet Navasardian
TASS – Russia
Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry reported that 15 Armenian military personnel had returned to Armenia in exchange for maps of 97,000 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines planted in the Aghdam region

MOSCOW, June 12. /TASS/. Moscow praises the fact that Azerbaijan handed 15 detained Armenian soldiers to Yerevan in exchange for the maps of minefields, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel on Saturday.

“The long-awaited and wonderful news. We welcome these steps of the parties,” the diplomat said.

Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry reported that 15 Armenian military personnel had returned to Armenia in exchange for maps of 97,000 anti-personnel and anti-tank mines planted in the Aghdam region. The ministry added that the exchange took place on the Azerbaijani-Georgian border in the presence of Georgian representatives. Armenia’s Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed it, saying that the Armenian soldiers had returned home.

After the end of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh last autumn, Baku regained control of seven areas adjacent to Karabakh, including the Aghdam region, in accordance with the November 10 trilateral agreement. Demining of the areas affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains a major post-war issue for Baku and Yerevan.

Police urge political parties participating in elections to rule out steps aimed at obstructing reporters’ activity

Karapet Navasardian

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 15:28, 7 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. The Police of Armenia urge all political forces participating in the upcoming snap parliamentary elections to rule out any action that will be directed to obstructing the professional activity of media representatives.

“During the electoral campaign for the June 20 early elections of Parliament the media outlets will cover the pre-election processes, the work of party headquarters, the meetings, etc.

We call on all parties and blocs participating in the elections to rule out any action directed to obstructing the professional activity of media representatives.

In case of such incidents, we urge the media representatives to immediately apply to the law enforcement agencies.

The Police will be consistent with it and has all capacities to prevent and reveal such incidents within its powers”, the statement of the Police says.

The electoral campaign for the snap parliamentary elections officially launched in Armenia on June 7.

The campaign will last until June 18.

The snap parliamentary elections will take place on June 20, but the electronic voting will kick off on June 11 until June 13.

26 political forces – 22 parties and 4 blocs, are participating in the elections.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian MFA: Azerbaijan uses POWs as political hostages

Karapet Navasardian
MediaMax, Armenia
June 4 2021

In the statement on the criminal prosecution against the Armenian prisoners of war by Azerbaijan, Armenian Foreign Ministry notes that official Baku also blatantly defies the relevant decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on providing information on Armenian servicemen and civilians held in Azerbaijani captivity.

“Continuing to violate the norms of humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which explicitly states that prisoners of war are released and repatriated immediately after the cessation of hostilities, Azerbaijan has brought trumped-up criminal charges against 14 captured Armenian servicemen, which also violates the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020.

 

The criminal cases against 16 Armenian servicemen, as well as the torture and psychological pressure of other Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians set a precedent for a malicious violation of international law.

 

Despite numerous calls from the international community, Azerbaijan continues to conceal the true number of the prisoners, denying the captivity of dozens of Armenian servicemen and civilians. Moreover, Azerbaijan denies the detention of those whose captivity in Azerbaijan has been documented both through video coverage and testimonies of repatriated prisoners, which raises suspicions of a number of serious crimes.

 

All Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives held in Azerbaijan must be immediately released and repatriated without any preconditions,” the statement reads.

Pro-Azerbaijani Russian MP Zhuravlev apologizes for calling Shushi’s Kanach Zham Russian

Karapet Navasardian
Panorama, Armenia
June 4 2021

Culture 14:56 04/06/2021NKR

Pro-Azerbaijani Russian MP Alexei Zhuravlev has issued an apology to the Armenian Church for calling the Kanach Zham (Saint John the Baptist Church) of Shushi Russian.

In a response letter to Archbishop of the Armenian Apostolic Church Vigen Haykazyan, which has circulated online, the parliamentarian admitted that the information he had earlier about the construction and ownership of the church “did not correspond to reality.”

“Your arguments are correct and the chronicles confirm that the church has always belonged to the Armenian Apostolic Church. The only church belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church in the town of Shushi was truly located in a completely different place.

“In this regard, I regret the statements made earlier and would like to offer my apologies,” Zhuravlev said.

The MP has always acted in tune with the Azerbaijani propaganda, including in connection with the Kanach Zham, which Azerbaijan claims to be Russian in an effort to justify its destruction by allegedly “restoring its former appearance.”

Repeating the Azeri lie, Zhuravlev previously stated that “the Armenization of the Russian Orthodox Church in Shushi is a manifestation of Russophobia in Armenia,” adding that “Azerbaijan’s efforts to liberate the territories deserve the greatest of respect.” 

Armenia reports 93 daily COVID-19 cases

Karapet Navasardian

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 11:14, 5 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 5, ARMENPRESS. 93 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 223,143, the ministry of healthcare reports.

209 patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 214,268.

The death toll has risen to 4454 (2 death cases have been registered in the past one day).

3216 COVID-19 tests were conducted on June 4.

The number of active cases is 3331.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Russian peacekeepers delivered humanitarian assistance to 150 large families in Artsakh in the past week

Karapet Navasardian
Panorama, Armenia
June 5 2021

The officers of the Humanitarian Response Center of the Russian peacekeeping contingent organized a transfer of  humanitarian aid to large families and internally displaced persons in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Saturday. 

As Ruslan Ivanov, the representative of the center for humanitarian response told the ministry press service, the aid comprised of food packages and basic necessities

According to the release, more than 150 large families in Artsakh have received targeted humanitarian aid this week.

Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia’s Syunik Province on a daily basis

Karapet Navasardian
News.am, Armenia
June 1 2021
Wargonzo: Russian MOD is dealing with settlement of conflict in Armenia’s Syunik Province on a daily basis
20:19, 01.06.2021

The Ministry of Defense of Russia is dealing with the settlement of the conflict in Syunik Province on a daily basis, @wargonzo Telegram channel reports, citing insiders of the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

“The contacts with the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides in regard to the issue on the border in Syunik Province are at different levels, including with the defense ministers. Russia has set the objective to solve the situation in such a way that it disallows the restart of hostilities in the region and maintains the status of a peacekeeping country.

The Russian peacekeeping mission’s work, under the leadership of Rustam Muradov (commander of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh), has proved to be effective, in spite of the problems that were artificially created by interested players, including external forces. When talking about external forces, it is necessary to state how Armenia’s Western “partners” are trying to play with the discrepancies, particularly France and the US, which are actively inseminating anti-Russian moods in Armenian society.

Without taking any initiative to stop the bloodshed during the second war in Nagorno-Karabakh, today, Macron is making pompous statements on the current situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, yet isn’t using real tools for influence on Baku and Ankara (but France has those tools).

Amid this, the Russian Ministry of Defense and Muradov’s team of negotiators are doing everything possible to make sure the border conflict is resolved. As far as we know, Muradov’s trip to Nagorno-Karabakh won’t end so long as the issue remains unsolved.”

Biden Proposes Only $24 Million in Fiscal Year 2022 Aid to Armenia

Karapet Navasardian



ANCA is calling for more robust aid to war torn Armenia and Artsakh

First Post-War Proposal Falls Far Short of Urgent ANCA, Congressional Armenian Caucus Calls for $100 Million in Emergency Assistance to Artsakh and Armenia

WASHINGTON—The Biden Administration called for a mere $24 million in U.S. assistance to Armenia in the Fiscal Year 2022 foreign aid budget issued Friday, a standard request that fails to address the ongoing humanitarian and economic disaster caused by Turkey and Azerbaijan’s attacks against Armenia and ethnic cleansing of Artsakh last fall, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

“President Biden’s business-as-usual budget for Armenia – proposed amid a humanitarian crisis across Artsakh and Armenia created by Azerbaijan’s aggression – falls far short of the desperate needs faced by tens of thousands of Armenians displaced by Baku’s ethnic-cleansing,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.

“Our government has found the funds to ship $120,000,000 in U.S. military aid to oil-rich Azerbaijan, yet proposes just a fraction of this amount for the Artsakh families destroyed and displaced by the U.S.-financed Azerbaijani army. The Congress needs to set this right – zeroing out all U.S. arms and aid to Baku and sending a robust U.S. assistance package to Artsakh and Armenia,” added Hamparian.

The President’s budget includes $23,405,000 in foreign aid and $600,000 in military assistance to Armenia.  A separate line item in the budget calls for $6,050,000 in International Narcotics and Law Enforcement spending in Armenia.

Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of over 65 U.S. House members joined in the Congressional Armenian Caucus request for an FY2022 allocation of over $100 million in U.S. aid to Armenia and Artsakh, an effort broadly supported by the ANCA.

Community members and coalition partners interested in supporting a $250 million aid package for Artsakh and Armenia can take action.