Category: 2017

Azerbaijani Press: Lavrov’s plan: Yerevan ready to withdraw from occupied lands of Azerbaijan?

Emil Lazarian
Trend, Azerbaijan
Sept 19 2017

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19

By Elmira Tariverdiyeva – Trend:

While addressing a panel session as part of the Armenia-Diaspora Forum in Yerevan, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has not excluded the possibility of returning some territories around Nagorno-Karabakh region to Azerbaijan.

“The matter here rests in those territories that will not threaten the Nagorno-Karabakh region in terms of security,” Nalbandian said, adding that he can not disclose any other details. “Otherwise, negotiations will fail.”

This is an interesting statement as it seems that Yerevan has recognized the occupation of Azerbaijani territories for the first time.

Although Yerevan repeatedly hinted at the possibility of making such a compromise, this topic has been never openly discussed.

Apparently, the so-called Lavrov’s plan or the Kazan document, implying de-occupation of 5 of 7 districts around Nagorno-Karabakh region by Armenia, is slowly but surely coming into effect.

Following the escalation of violence on the line of contact in April 2016, Azerbaijan, Armenia and mediators realized that Baku’s patience is not limitless and a lack of real actions to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will inevitably lead to war. Therefore, it is necessary to make a decision.

Perhaps, Yerevan has finally realized that it is necessary to move towards peace and this is the only chance to avoid a war which Armenia has obviously lost.

However, maybe this is a new original ploy to stall for time again, especially considering the UN General Assembly’s session, to be devoted to the aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan.

Turkish Press: Armenia ready to de-occupy Azerbaijani territories around Karabakh

Markos Nalchajian
Daily Sabah, Turkey
Sept 19 2017


DAILY SABAH
rmenia is discussing the possible return of some territories around the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region with Azerbaijan, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said Monday.

According to Nalbandian, Armenia could return territories that, in terms of security, will not “threaten neither Karabakh, nor the settlement of the conflict.”

“The question is that there are negotiations, and we want to resolve this issue peacefully together with the international community. We will continue the negotiations for as long as possible, since war is not a solution,” Nalbandian said, speaking at the Armenia-Diaspora Sixth Pan-Armenian Forum.

The Armenian foreign minister did not provide any further details, saying that it would cause the talks to collapse.

Addressing the attendees at the same forum, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that residents of Karabakh have a right to freedom and safety, adding that other issues “could be solved through peace negotiations.”

The latest remarks by the Armenian officials signal that Yerevan may have agreed to the so-called “Lavrov plan,” the existence of which was denied by the Russian foreign ministry.

Reports claim that the plan includes Armenia’s de-occupation of five of the seven regions around Nagorno-Karabakh, which are called the “security belt.” The plan is supposedly a part of the ongoing negotiations.

Nagorno-Karabakh is officially part of Azerbaijan. Baku and Yerevan have feuded over the Nagorno-Karabakh region since Armenian separatists seized the territory in a war that claimed some 30,000 lives in the early 1990s and ended in a frail 1994 truce. Efforts to negotiate a settlement have failed, and frequent clashes have continued.

In April last year, at least 110 people from both sides were killed as simmering violence flared into the worst clashes in decades over the region. A Russian-brokered ceasefire ended the four days of fierce fighting, but attempts to relaunch the stalled peace process since then have failed.

Azerbaijani Press: Azerbaijani defense minister visits military units at border with Armenia

Boris Nahapetian
APA, Azerbaijan
Sept 19 2017
                                                                                                                                                                               

Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and high-ranking military officers on Tuesday visited the military units stationed at the border with Armenia, the Defense Ministry told APA.

 

The visit was aimed at checking the combat readiness of military units on the frontline, moral and psychological training of personnel as well as the level of ensuring the safety of civilians in these territories.  

 

Minister Hasanov held a meeting with the personnel of units who are on duty on the line of contact with the enemy in the mountainous terrain and in difficult climatic conditions. The minister was informed about the current situation.

 

Having checked the proper organization of the state border protection, Minister Hasanov highly appreciated the level of personnel training. The minister then observed the enemy positions in the direction of the state border.

 

The defense minister asked about the combat and moral-psychological training of servicemen, their social and living conditions. He was informed that the units located on the front line are provided with drinking water, heating, washing rooms, warm beds and other winter supplies. The defense minister gave relevant instructions to strengthen the defense line and increase combat capabilities. A group of servicemen was presented with valuable gifts.  

 

Then, the defense minister met with residents of frontline settlements and asked them about their concerns and problems. The locals, in turn, said they always stand ready to perform any task together with servicemen. They expressed satisfaction with the level of discipline of servicemen and reliable protection of the state border, and expressed gratitude to President of Azerbaijan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev.

 

Azerbaijani Press: US hopes for continuation of good faith negotiations on Karabakh conflict’s settlement – Schofer

Emil Lazarian
Trend, Azerbaijan
Sept 19 2017
16:08 (UTC+04:00)

    • Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.19

    By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:

    The US hopes for continuation of good faith negotiations on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

    “While there are obviously many difficult issues to discuss, I believe firmly that a resolution is possible, provided leadership of Azerbaijan and Armenia demonstrate the political will necessary to bring peace to this region,” the US co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Andrew Schofer told Trend Sept.19.

    “I am very honored to have been selected to serve as the U.S. Minsk Group co-chair, and look forward to visiting the region in the near future to meet with officials on all sides,” he added.

    Schofer said he also looks forward to participating in meetings with his fellow Minsk Group co-chairs and senior officials from the region in New York this week.

    “The other co-chairs and I are hopeful that the presidents will agree to meet again soon, and that we will be able to continue to focus on good faith negotiations aimed at moving the peace process forward,” added the US co-chair.

    The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

    As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

    The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

    Azerbaijani Press: Armenia and Trump – no mutual love, but jealous towards Baku

    Jalatian Sonya
    Trend, Azerbaijan
    Sept 19 2017
                                  

    Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19

    By Elmira Tariverdiyeva – Trend:

    The relationship of a part of Armenians, which includes both the Armenian diaspora in the US and official Yerevan, with the new US administration can be described as unrequited love, transformed into uncontrolled jealousy.

    The fact that US President Donald Trump initially had a cold attitude towards the Armenian lobby and Armenia in general, was obvious from the very beginning. Considering this, the relationship of the US with Azerbaijan causes idiosyncrasic reaction from Armenia.

    Trump has always looked indifferently at the financial flows from the Armenian diaspora, aimed to lobby Armenia’s interests, which flow into the pockets of the US congressmen and senators. Trump, a successful businessman who, without attracting third-party investment, financed his election campaign, turned out to be frighteningly independent.

    He owes nothing to anyone, the Armenian diaspora has absolutely no influence on him, and Armenia doesn’t like the fact that this tendency is only growing with each of his new actions.

    An even more frightening fact is that Trump’s independence from political interest groups in the US may help him soberly approach the issues of the South Caucasus region, relying on national interests of the US, not the interests of the Armenian lobby.

    The importance of Azerbaijan for the US is not due to any administration’s personal attitude towards Baku, but due to the strategic and geographical position of the country, bordering Russia and Iran, which is also one of the biggest oil and gas producers and has the highest level of religious tolerance. So, if the US president is really independent, he will maintain relations with Baku at the highest level, relying on his country’s national interests.

    This means that Trump will primarily pay attention to relations with Azerbaijan and Georgia in the region.

    It is no coincidence that at the 6th Armenia-Diaspora forum, which is currently underway in Yerevan, many members of the Armenian lobby of the US were openly complaining about Trump’s disliking them.

    Raffi Balian, a representative of the Armenian diaspora of the US, said he strongly doubts that US President Donald Trump will recognize the “Armenian genocide,” news.am, the Armenian news agency, reported.

    He said that Trump is not reliable in this matter.

    “This person has considerable economic, financial ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan,” Balian added.

    However, what Balian meant by “financial ties” is unclear.

    Perhaps, he meant a completed construction project in Azerbaijan, once implemented by a company, which belongs to Trump. However, one can feel that Armenians are jealous over the new US administration’s relations with Baku.

    Armenians started to feel especially uncomfortable after the US chose Azerbaijan to hold a historic meeting on February 16, 2017 between General Joseph Francis Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

    Thus, Washington unambiguously identified who is trusted in the region. Today, Azerbaijan and the US, right in front of jealous Armenia, continue to build equal partnership relations based on respecting national interests of each other.

    This is while Armenia and the Armenian lobby of the US are still trying to find ugly details in these relations, although one can forgive them, because jealousy is capable of causing even greater distortions of reality.

    Azerbaijani Press: Azerbaijani, Armenian FMs expected to meet on Sept. 23

    Christine Harutyunian
    APA, Azerbaijan
    Sept 19 2017

    A meeting between the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is expected to take place on Sept. 23 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, a diplomatic source told Interfax.  

     

     

    ***

    16:21

     

     

    The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs will meet with the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in New York this week, American co-chair Andrew Schofer told APA on Sept. 19.

     

    “I’ll be in New York city the week of September 18 to participate in meetings with his fellow co-chairs and the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia,” said Schofer, but did not reveal the meeting’s date.

     

    The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs earlier announced their plan to organize a meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has already consented to the meeting.

     

    President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is also on a working visit to New York to take part in the UN General Assembly session. 

    Diyarbakir’s St. Giragos Armenian Church continues to be looted – Armenian community expects measures from authorities

    Toneyan Mark

    | 16:44 | September 18 2017
    Category
    Region

    Vartkes Ergun Ayik, the chairman of the executive board of Saint Giragos Armenian Church Charitable Foundation in Diyarbakir has announced that the largest Armenian Church in the Middle East, St. Giragos Church, has been looted, ARMENPRESS reports Turkish T24 informs.

    The chairman of the executive board emphasized that Suri region of Diyarbakir, where the church is located, is until now considered a banned zone as a result of Turkish-Kurdish clashes, and it’s necessary to obtain permits from at least 10 places to go there.

    “While we apply to different state bodies for going to the church, thieves easily enter there. After the end of the operations in the region and the heavy damages caused to the church as a result of the operations a lot has been looted from the church. We demand the authorities to take measures”, Ergun Ayik said.

    Member of the Turkish parliament Garo Paylan of Armenian origin has referred to the problem. “It’s already a year neither I nor Diyarbakir’s residents are able to enter the region where the church is located. Who loots our church”, Paylan asked a rhetoric question on his Facebook page.

    Our goal is to have 4 million population by 2040 – President Sargsyan

    Nahapetian Zhanna

    | 14:29 | September 18 2017
    Category
    Politics

    Our steps over the coming years will seek to bolster the population’s natural growth in Armenia and achieve a significant change in the emigration and immigration ratio, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said during the 6th Armenia-Diaspora conference.

    “Summing up the achievements and shortcomings of the twenty-fifth years of independence, at the first session of the National Assembly of 6th convocation, we put on record our perceptions of the main priorities for the next 25 years. Improving the demographic situation in Armenia was a key focus over there. We are stating that the demographic trends are extremely worrying in our country: they are caused by several objective and subjective factors. Our steps over the coming years will seek to bolster the population’s natural growth in Armenia and achieve a significant change in the emigration and immigration ratio”,  Sargsyan said.

    In the words of the President, it has been announced that the goal of the authorities is to ensure at least 4 million population in Armenia by 2040. “Obviously, we will hardly achieve that goal by merely increasing the birth rate, life expectancy or by improving the demographic pattern. Nevertheless, we will be steadfastly moving forward in the aforementioned areas. Therefore, this goal implies achieving serious indicators in immigration over the next 25 years”, he said, adding that this will be the main topic of the discussions of the coming Armenia-Diaspora conferences.

    “The next Armenia-Diaspora Forum will come as a pan-Armenian discussion of the “4 million Armenia” program and the real start of its implementation. This is what we should agree upon here and right now”, President Sargsyan said.

    US Congressman David Waladao in Artsakh

    Antonian Lara
    • 18:35 | September 18,2017 | Politics
    • Armenian:
    • Rus

    On September 18, Ashot Gulanyan, the Speaker of the Artsakh Republic National Assembly, received the member of David Waladao, the US House of Representatives, Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues.

    Welcoming the congressman in Artsakh on his first visit, Ashot Gulanyan, the Speaker of the Parliament, hailed the efforts of the Congressional Commision on Armenian Issues aimed at the development of the Armenian-American relations and the peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict. The President of the National Assembly emphasized the importance of humanitarian assistance provided by the US to Artsakh for a number of issues and emphasized the importance of the proposal made by David Valadao in the US Congress on promoting demining activities in Artsakh, in 2018.

    Expressing gratitude for the reception, David Waladaonoted that during his first visit, he wished to get acquainted with Artsakh closely and understand the local specificity as deeply as possible.

    At the request of the guest, the head of the Artsakh parliament also spoke about the attempts of Azerbaijan to destabilize the situation in the conflict zone, the role of international organizations in the prevention of the conflict and the current stage of the negotiation process.

    Summing up the meeting, Ashot Ghulyan expressed conviction that such discussions create grounds for effective cooperation to promote peace in the region.

    Arzik Mkhitaryan, Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, David Melkumyan Deputy Foreign Minister, Armine Alexanyan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs,  Robert Avetisyan, Permanent Representative of Artsakh to USA, and Maria Mihranyan, Director of “Hayastan” Fund Us Department, the Republic of Artsakh, NA Press Service reports.

    NK conflict settlement must ensure clear security guarantees for people of Artsakh – FM Nalbandian

    Jirair Kafian

    | 18:10 | September 18 2017
    Category
    Politics

    The Azerbaijani vandalisms both during the first years of Karabakh movement and in April 2016 leave no doubt that the struggle of the people of Artsakh for their rights and determination was fair both in the past and present, Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian said during the topical session of foreign policy agenda in the sidelines of the 6th Armenia-Diaspora conference.

    “One of the approaches that we have adopted aimed at the solution of the problem is the international recognition of the right of Artsakh to self-determination. Today the right of peoples to self-determination, together with the non-use of force or the threat to use it and territorial integrity is one of the basic principles for Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement. These three principles are enshrined in the statements of the Presidents of the Minsk group Co-chair countries and in the documents of the OSCE and some other documents”, the Minister said.

    According to FM Nalbandian, the Armenian side has announced many times that it supports the proposals of the Co-chair countries as basis for negotiations, while Azerbaijan constantly refuses them. “It’s clear that there can be no settlement unless Azerbaijan is committed to the principles of the international right. Instead, Baku prefers to fabricate some fictitious scenarios and attribute to the Co-chairs some imaginary proposals”, Edward Nalbandian said.

    The Foreign Minister of Armenia emphasized that the conflict settlement must ensure clear security guarantees for the people of Artsakh.

    “Ensuring the security of the people is one of the international obligations, and Nagorno Karabakh earned that right also by making great sacrifices and shedding blood. The militaristic rhetoric of Baku, insemination of hatred towards Armenians by the leadership, the regular violations of the ceasefire, new and new threats, and the April crimes leave no doubts that in case of incomplete security guarantees this conflict cannot be settled”, he said.

    Minister Nalbandian also noted that in the recent period the Co-chairs have started to indicate the side that has violated, aiming to sober up Azerbaijan.