Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

Kremlin reacts to Pashinyan’s statement about functions of Russian peacekeepers

Yeghisabet Arthur
Caucasian Knot
Aug 4 2022
In response to the Nikol Pashinyan’s proposal to discuss the functions of Russian peacekeepers, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has said that the Russian side is acting in Nagorno-Karabakh in accordance with the trilateral agreement and expects its compliance also from Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on August 3, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Azerbaijan announced the conduct of the “Retribution” operation in Nagorno-Karabakh in response to the murder of a military man. The MoD of Azerbaijan also reported that it occupied the dominant heights. The Russian Ministry of Defence blamed Azerbaijan for violating the ceasefire.

When commenting on the statement voiced by the Prime Minister of Armenia about the actions of the Russian peacekeepers, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has stated that the contacts between Russia and Armenia will help clarify issues related to the actions of peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Russian Presidential Press Secretary has also emphasized that the Kremlin is “very closely watching” the events in Nagorno-Karabakh. “Naturally, we are concerned about the aggravation of the situation. We call on the parties to exercise restraint and, most importantly, to comply with all the provisions of the well-known trilateral documents,” Dmitry Peskov said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 4, 2022 at 03:30 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

See earlier reports:
Military experts call escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh a “knife in back” for Russia, Azerbaijan claims calm border after “Retribution” operation, Russia’s MoD accuses Azerbaijan of breaking ceasefire regime.

Author: The Caucasian Knot
Source:
© Caucasian Knot

Armenian Human Rights Defender: Azerbaijani MP makes confession about ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh population

Yeghisabet Arthur
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 5 2022
15:36, 05.08.2022

Yesterday, Gudrat Hasanguliyev, a deputy of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan confessed about the Azerbaijani state policy aimed at the ethnic cleansing of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. 

In particular, he stated that “Armenia should put an end to its territorial ambitions towards Azerbaijan and stop supporting the bloody separatism of Karabakh. Until this is not done, we should not recognize their (the population of Nagorno-Karabakh) right to life in peace”. Subsequently, the deputy stated that under the current situation, it is not possible for Armenians to live in Azerbaijan. 

Another deputy, Fazil Mustafaev, echoing his colleague, also has directly threatened the physical existence of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In reality, the examples and proves of the Azerbaijani policy of ethnic hatred and ethnic cleansing of Armenians are numerous, however, it is striking that the high-level officials representing the Azerbaijani leadership are making these announcements in the context of the provocations carried out by their armed forces in recent days, as a result of which two Armenian servicemen were killed and 19 others were injured.

It is a fact the right to life of the peaceful population of Nagorno-Karabakh is not guaranteed, and the Azerbaijani official is directly confirming that.

I have shared this information with my international interlocutors, as well as with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which in the coming days will review Azerbaijan’s periodic report on the implementation of the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Artsakh Health Minister: Number of injured has reached 19, some of them moved to Yerevan

Yeghisabet Arthur
NEWS.am

Armenia – Aug 3 2022
22:11, 03.08.2022

The number of soldiers wounded as a result of Azerbaijani shelling in Artsakh is 19 people, Artsakh Health Minister Mikayel Hayriyan told Azatutyun.

“Four injured are in a serious condition, one of them is in an extremely serious condition. The condition of the others is assessed as moderate to light,” Mikael Hayriyan said.

The minister answered the question, “Is there a need to move to Yerevan?” “There is a need, we have already moved some of the wounded, they are on their way now.”

He noted that the soldiers who received medium and light wounds have been transferred to Yerevan, while the soldier who is in an extremely serious condition continues to stay in the Republican Hospital.

The minister said the servicemen suffered shrapnel wounds. “In other words, this is a consequence of the UAV.”

Seyran Ohanyan reveals Azerbaijan’s goals amid recent provocations on line of contact

Yeghisabet Arthur
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 2 2022
Seyran Ohanyan reveals Azerbaijan’s goals amid recent provocations on line of contact
19:33, 02.08.2022

From the tactical point of view, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces are trying to make border adjustments and establish positions on the border between the territories of the former NKAO and the territories taken under their control, the former Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan told NEWS.am.

According to him, Azerbaijanis want to bring Artsakh into a deeper and more comprehensive encirclement.

“The further Artsakh’s enclave situation worsens, the easier it will be for Turkey and Azerbaijan to exert pressure and realize their long-term goals, which are to expel Armenians from Artsakh, to put pressure on the people of Artsakh.

And the strategic goal is to continue to put pressure on Armenia, to squeeze it even harder and open the roads through it, or as they call it to unblock the roads through Syunik. This will result in us also being under economic and geographic pressure. Besides, there will be attempts to change the demographic picture in Syunik and other parts of Armenia,” he said.

Ohanyan expressed confidence that this is the result of Armenia-Russia, Armenia-Artsakh and Russian Defense Army-Artsakh peacekeepers cooperation not being on the same level as it should be. If Azerbaijan goes for such provocations, then it is so.

“Otherwise, the strategic points and heights that need to be occupied to ensure the security of the people of Artsakh would have been clarified. Despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh, the Defense Army has better information about the geographical peculiarities of Artsakh and should have taken all steps to ensure that all important heights were occupied and not under pressure from Azerbaijan.

Armenia and Artsakh, on the basis of mutual cooperation, should have strengthened the Armenian Armed Forces, supported the Artsakh Defense Army to restore combat readiness, drawn the borders of Armenia in our interests, and organized defense. Obviously, the Armenian authorities didn’t think about all that. They don’t realize that they have to work hard day and night on these directions, whereas their aim is just to inflate the number of police forces to keep their seats. This is unacceptable,” said the head of the faction.

On August 1, starting from 09:00 in some areas of the northern and north-western border zone of the Republic of Artsakh the Azerbaijani units made an attempt to cross the line of contact and were stopped by the Defense Army.

As a result of the provocations by the Azerbaijani units a serviceman of the Army of Artsakh Albert Bakhshyan was wounded.

Detailed information about the incident was provided to the command of Russian peacekeeping forces.

De-miners find mortar shells in Syunik village as clearing operations of remnants of war continue

Yeghisabet Arthur

Save

Share

 13:56, 1 August 2022

YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS. The Center for Humanitarian De-Mining and Expertise began clearing operations of remnants of war July 18 in the Davit Bek community of Syunik Province.

In July, the Armenian de-miners cleared an area of 22,000 square meters. During the operations, the de-miners found one 85mm mortar shell, three 100mm mortar shells and one shell projectile.

The clearing operations in Davit Bek continue.

Coronavirus cases growing in Armenia – minister

Yeghisabet Arthur

Save

Share

 12:59, 28 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. Increase in COVID-19 cases has been observed in Armenia in the past weeks, the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is being circulated, Minister of Healthcare Anahit Avanesyan told reporters after the Cabinet meeting, adding that if the situation worsens, the government will apply all its tools to handle it.

“We understand that coronavirus is becoming an endemic disease, and there will be outbreaks in different parts of the world from time to time. It’s an active tourism season now, people travel. And of course, the infection should have been penetrated into Armenia for the umpteenth time. In recent weeks, we are registering an increase in coronavirus cases every week. We have the clear plan for expanding the hospital beds, and we should move forward based on the epidemic situation”, she said.

The minister noted that daily monitoring is being conducted, adding that the professional council will make some changes in its guidelines and policy within the course of time. “And we are ready for the expected waves, will see what happens. Now it’s a little bit difficult to predict”, she added.

According to the minister, they won’t return to travel-related restrictions, however, adds that all restrictions depend on the epidemic situation.

“If, God forbid, the epidemic situation worsens, we will, of course, apply all our tools to fight the disease. Ongoing research is always underway. At the moment, BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is being circulated”, she added.

Azerbaijani Press: Azerbaijan, Turkiye filming TV series about Second Karabakh War

Yeghisabet Arthur
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
  11:34 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan and Turkiye are jointly filming TV series about the Second Karabakh War, Azernews reports.

In his statement, First Deputy Culture Minister Elnur Aliyev told Report.az that the filming is being carried out in cooperation with the famous Turkish studio Bozdag Film.

The first deputy culture minister pointed out that the series is initially planned to consist of eight episodes.

“The work is nearing completion. I don’t want to run ahead of the story, but I can say that the first series is expected to be released this year,” said Elnur Aliyev.

The first deputy culture minister noted that the name of the screenplay is already known.

“But it is too early to announce the name of the series because it is not certain. The series is the result of cooperation between Turkiye and Azerbaijan. Turkish and Azerbaijani actors will be cast in the series. We will try to make it a symbol of our cooperation,” he said.

The first episode is expected to be broadcast on Victory Day (November 8).

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan and Turkiye reached an agreement on cooperation in the film industry in 2021.

Azerbaijani Culture Minister Anar Karimov and Turkish Deputy Culture and Tourism Minister Ahmet Misbah Demircan discussed the production of joint films and series dedicated to Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 second Karabakh war.

The clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed after Armenia launched large-scale attacks on Azerbaijani forces and civilians on September 27.

The 44-day war ended with the Russia-brokered peace deal signed on November 10 by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders.

The peace agreement ended the 30-year-old conflict between Baku and Yerevan over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region that along with the seven adjacent districts came under the occupation of Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s.

For about three decades, Armenia failed to implement the UN Security Council resolutions demanding the withdrawal of the Armenian troops, which was the main obstacle to the resolution of the conflict.

General who demanded PM Pashinyan’s resignation heads of General Staff of Armenian Armed Forces

Yeghisabet Arthur



  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

New Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia

A new Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces has been appointed. The position has been vacant for six months. At the suggestion of the Prime Minister, Major General Eduard Asryan was appointed head of the General Staff. This is one of those generals who, after the defeat in the war in Karabakh, demanded the resignation of Nikol Pashinyan.

Following the recent changes to the Defense Law, the Chief of the General Staff is also considered the First Deputy Minister of Defense, but is not authorized to replace him.

The previous head of the General Staff was Artak Davtyan. He was relieved of his post on 24 February. Together with a number of other high-ranking military officials, Davtyan appears as a defendant in a criminal case on the supply of “unsuitable missiles” to the army.

Before Artak Davtyan, Onik Gasparyan held the position of Chief of the General Staff. He was fired after he, along with 40 senior military officials, demanded the resignation of the prime minister. Pashinyan himself assessed this situation as an “attempted military coup”.

  • Opinion: “Cooperation between Armenia and Iran in the military sphere is unlikely”
  • Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan: “Baku is trying to legitimize another war”
  • “Peace, strengthening army or poverty” – what worries Armenians?

According to the Armenian constitution, the chief of the general staff of the armed forces is the highest military position in the country. Eduard Asryan was appointed to this position for a period of five years. Since May last year, he has served as deputy chief.

In early June, Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, answering the question of why the post of head of the General Shatab was empty, said that it was necessary to “make the right decision.” In addition, the minister said that the appointment will take place after the amendments to the law “On Defense”. Parliament approved them a week ago.

In a new interview with the Minister of Defense of Armenia, a threat of a new war, as well as an improvement strategy of the country’s army have been discussed

The authorities of the country say that the purpose of the changes is to increase the effectiveness of the leadership of the army.

“The package of legislative changes aims to make the administration in the Ministry of Defense and the armed forces more efficient. Here, vertical control is essential. This will help to get more detailed first-hand information about the civilian control that we carry out,” the minister said.

According to the official justification for the bill, it was necessary to clarify the powers of the staff of the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense, including the minister and head of headquarters.

Prior to the changes, the operational, technical, and logistical support of the armed forces was carried out by the General Staff. Now all these functions are entrusted to departments of the ministry. The procurement process necessary for the needs of the Armed Forces will also now be carried out by the Ministry of Defense.

Military spending of Armenia and Azerbaijan in numbers – an overview by the Fact Investigation Platform – an independent fact-checking media based in Armenia

The legislative package was approved in parliament only by deputies of the ruling faction “Civil Contract”. Both opposition factions did not participate either in the meeting or in the voting.

The opposition criticized the government’s initiative and called it “an attempt to subordinate the armed forces to the minister.” The Minister of Defense himself emphasized that this is not an attempt, but a clear step in this direction.

“The armed forces should be subordinate to the Minister of Defense and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief,” Suren Papikyan said.

After the second Karabakh war, most residents of the border villages of the Syunik region of Armenia are facing identical problems, with safety being the main one

According to the parliamentary opposition, with this change, the government is politicizing the highest military position. This opinion was expressed by the former Minister of Defense, head of the Hayastan faction (Armenia) Seyran Ohanyan, as well as the secretary of the I have the Honor faction Tigran Abrahamyan.

“They are solving a purely domestic political problem. They believe that by doing so they will ensure comprehensive control over the military, will not allow any political statements or political actions on the part of the military at any stage,” Tigran Abrahamyan stressed, recalling the precedent with the former Chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan.

It turned out that in this sense the opinion of the opposition and the approach of the authorities coincide as well. MP of the ruling Civil Contract faction Armen Khachatryan did not deny that they were trying to prevent situations like this particular case.

“Yes, the chief of the general staff had no right to make such statements, he violated the constitutional norms, being a military man. And it is precisely because of this shortcoming in the law that such situations could arise. Until an appropriate situation arises, such problems in the legislation are not so obvious,” Khachatryan said.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 11-07-22

Yeghisabet Arthur

Save

Share

 17:20,

YEREVAN, 11 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 11 July, USD exchange rate up by 0.29 drams to 410.96 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.90 drams to 415.60 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.03 drams to 6.69 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 0.89 drams to 491.34 drams.

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

Gold price down by 112.53 drams to 22966.26 drams. Silver price down by 2.79 drams to 253.68 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.

Russia, Turkey to hold top-level talks

Yeghisabet Arthur

Save

Share

 19:15,

YEREVAN, JULY 11, ARMENPRESS. Russian and Turkish leaders will soon hold a meeting, ARMENPRESS reports, “RIA Novosti” informs, citing the Kremlin’s news service.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On the eve of the upcoming Russian-Turkish high-level meeting, the leaders discussed a number of issues of mutual interest,” the message said.

The parties, in particular, exchanged ideas on the situation created around Ukraine, including ensuring the safety of navigation in the Black Sea and coordination of efforts in the direction of grain export.