Tuesday,
France Calls For ‘Lasting Political Solution’ In Nagorno-Karabakh
French President Emmanuel Macron (archive photo)
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called for a “lasting political
solution” to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenia and Azerbaijan
agreed a deal to end weeks of fierce fighting, AFP reports.
Macron also urged that Turkey, which backs Azerbaijan, to “end its provocations”
in the conflict.
“France firmly calls on Turkey to put an end to its provocations about
Nagorno-Karabakh, to show restraint and to do nothing that compromises the
possibility of a lasting agreement being negotiated between the parties and
within the framework of the Minsk Group,” the French president said.
He added that a long-term deal should also “preserve Armenia’s interests.”
Macron’s office quoted him as saying that efforts should be made “without delay”
to try to come up with a “lasting political solution to the conflict that allows
for the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to remain in good conditions and
the return of tens of thousands of people who have fled their homes.”
The French president said he will actively pursue his consultations with Russia
and will meet “very soon” with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders.
Macron said that France, which is home to a strong Armenian community, “stands
by Armenia at this difficult time.”
Along with Russia and the United States, France is a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group that has for nearly three decades spearheaded international efforts to
broker a negotiated peace for Nagorno-Karabakh.
France Calls For ‘Lasting Political Solution’ In Nagorno-Karabakh
French President Emmanuel Macron (archive photo)
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday called for a “lasting political
solution” to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenia and Azerbaijan
agreed a deal to end weeks of fierce fighting, AFP reports.
Macron also urged that Turkey, which backs Azerbaijan, to “end its provocations”
in the conflict.
“France firmly calls on Turkey to put an end to its provocations about
Nagorno-Karabakh, to show restraint and to do nothing that compromises the
possibility of a lasting agreement being negotiated between the parties and
within the framework of the Minsk Group,” the French president said.
He added that a long-term deal should also “preserve Armenia’s interests.”
Macron’s office quoted him as saying that efforts should be made “without delay”
to try to come up with a “lasting political solution to the conflict that allows
for the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to remain in good conditions and
the return of tens of thousands of people who have fled their homes.”
The French president said he will actively pursue his consultations with Russia
and will meet “very soon” with the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders.
Macron said that France, which is home to a strong Armenian community, “stands
by Armenia at this difficult time.”
Along with Russia and the United States, France is a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group that has for nearly three decades spearheaded international efforts to
broker a negotiated peace for Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia, Azerbaijan Sign Russia-Brokered Truce Deal, Triggering Unrest In Yerevan
A woman wheels a stroller with a child as police officers guard in front of the
government building in Yerevan,
The leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia have signed an agreement to end
six weeks of military conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, triggering a political
crisis in Armenia where angry protesters stormed government buildings and
parliament.
The November 10 announcement of the Russian-brokered agreement to end the
fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians came after Azerbaijani forces
made major battlefield gains, including reports they were approaching the
region’s capital, Stepanakert.
Pashinian first announced the trilateral agreement in a Facebook post, saying he
had signed a statement with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on the
"termination" of the war as of 1 p.m. local time.
Pashinian said the deal, which includes the long-term deployment of Russian
troops to the region, was "the best possible solution for the current situation."
Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on November 10.
"I made this decision as a result of an in-depth analysis of the military
situation and an assessment of the people who know it best," Pashinian wrote.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he believed the agreement "will create
[the] necessary conditions for a long-term and full-fledged settlement of the
crisis around Nagorno-Karabakh on a fair basis and in the interests of the
Armenian and Azerbaijani people."
Nagorno-Karabakh's de facto ethnic-Armenian leader, Arayik Harutiunian, said he
had agreed with Pashinian to end hostilities "given the current dire situation"
and to avoid even greater military defeats and losses.
Under the deal, Azerbaijan will keep territory in Nagorno-Karabakh and
surrounding areas captured during the conflict. It also calls for Armenian
forces to hand over some areas it held outside the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh,
including the eastern district of Aggdam and the western area of Kelbajar.
Armenians will also forfeit the Lachin region, where a crucial road connects
Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The agreement calls for a 5-kilometer wide area in
the so-called Lachin Corridor to remain open and be protected by around 2,000
Russian peacekeepers.
Russia said later its troops had already been sent to the South Caucasus to be
deployed for a peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russian peacekeepers boarding a military plane in Russia heading for
Nagorno-Karabakh,
The agreement also calls for Russian border services to monitor a new transport
corridor through Armenia connecting Azerbaijan to its western exclave of
Nakhijevan, which is surrounded by Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
Aliyev said that Turkey, a close ally of Baku, would take part in the
peacekeeping center to monitor the cease-fire.
Since fighting erupted in late September, several thousand people are believed
to have been killed on both sides.
Azerbaijan said on November 8 its forces had taken the key town of Shushi
(Shusha), offering strategic heights over Nagorno-Karabakh's main city,
Stepanakert, just 10 kilometers away.
Shushi also lies along the main road connecting Stepanakert with Armenia.
Thousands of people fled Nagorno-Karabakh in recent days to Armenia as the
Azerbaijani forces were closing in on both Shushi and Stepanakert.
Azerbaijan's forces in recent weeks have also retaken several regions outside
Nagorno-Karabakh that were controlled by ethnic Armenian forces.
Unhappy with the situation, several thousand angry protesters gathered in
Yerevan in the early hours of November 10 after Pashinian announced he had
signed the cease-fire agreement, with mobs storming the government headquarters
and parliament, ransacking offices and smashing windows in an outburst of anger.
Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan was injured in a mob attack and hospitalized,
drawing a sharp rebuke from the government.
Dozens of men also tried to break into RFE/RL's bureau in Yerevan, calling the
Armenian Service "traitors."
The Union of Journalist of Armenia and Armenia's ombudsman condemned the attacks
and any threats against media.
Later in the morning the Armenian police formed cordons to protect government
offices and the parliament building.
Meanwhile, President Armen Sarkissian's office said later on Tuesday that he was
launching "political consultations" to build national unity and
"coordinate…solutions arising from our agenda of protecting national interests."
Sarkissian said in a statement he had learnt about the agreement to end the
fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh from the media.
"Unfortunately, there were no consultations or discussions with me, as the
President of the Republic, regarding this document, and I did not participate in
any negotiations," he said, insisting that the signing of such an important
document involving Armenia’s "vital security interests" and the "whole Armenian
nation" should have been subjected to "comprehensive consultations and
discussions."
The previous day, 17 opposition parties issued a joint statement calling for
Pashinian’s resignation amid a series of military defeats suffered by
Armenia-backed ethnic Armenian forces fighting against Azerbaijan in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Among the parties that signed the statement were the main parliamentary
opposition party, Prosperous Armenia, led by tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, the former
ruling Republican Party of ex-President Serzh Sarkisian, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun), and the Hayrenik (Homeland) party led
by former director of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsian, who was
relieved of his duties in 2019 over differences with Pashinian.
Angry protesters stormed the parliamentary assembly in Yerevan on November 10
after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said he had signed an agreement
with the leaders of Russia and Azerbaijan to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In his comments following the night of chaos, Pashinian implied that corruption
in previous governments was also to blame for the current situation.
"We must prepare for revenge. We haven’t dealt properly with the corrupt,
oligarchic scoundrels, those who robbed this country, stole soldiers' food,
stole soldiers' weapons,” said Pashinian, a reformist pressing an
anti-corruption campaign who came to power in 2018 in the wake of mass popular
protests.
"I call on citizens with dignity to be ready for us going after the rioters and
their bosses, after the corrupt part of Dashnaktsutiun, after the robbers from
the Republican Party, the Prosperous Armenia Party, the deserters from the
Hayrenik party who left their combat positions and fled, and must be tried for
desertion," he charged.
Meanwhile, Armenia’s Defense Ministry and the General Staff of the Armed Forces
issued a statement, calling on all to refrain from actions that could “undermine
the foundations of [Armenia’s] statehood.”
Armenian President Initiates ‘Political Consultations’
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian during an address to the nation on November
6, 2020
Armenian President Armen Sarkissian issued a statement on Tuesday, initiating
“political consultations” as the country appeared to be plunged into a political
crisis following the announcement of a Russian-brokered deal with Azerbaijan
over Nagorno-Karabakh.
As quoted by his office, President Sarkissian, who unlike the prime minister has
limited powers under Armenia’s constitution, said that he was immediately
initiating the consultations “in order to coordinate, within the shortest
possible period, solutions arising from our agenda of protecting national
interests.”
“I learned from the media that a statement on ending the Nagorno-Karabakh war
was signed with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan. It was also from the
media that I learned about the conditions for ending the war,” Sarkissian said.
“Unfortunately, there were no consultations or discussions with me, as with the
President of the Republic, regarding this document, and I did not participate in
any negotiations,” he added.
The president emphasizes that “the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
is a matter of national importance, and any step, action, decision related to
the vital security interests of Armenia, Artsakh [the Armenian name for
Nagorno-Karabakh], the entire Armenian nation, moreover, the signing of a
document in this respect, should be a subject of comprehensive consultations and
discussions.”
“I emphasize that the fate of Artsakh, and consequently of the Armenian people,
can be decided only taking into account our national interests and only on the
basis of a national consensus.
“Taking into account the deep concerns of the large mass of the people
conditioned by the current situation, I immediately initiate political
consultations in order to coordinate solutions, within the shortest possible
period, arising from our agenda of protecting national interests,” he said.
“As the President of the Republic, at this crucial moment of national
preservation, I consider the formation of national unity to be my current
mission. I hope that within ten days we will all be able to build such a unity
under which I will consider that I have used the opportunities to serve my
homeland,” the Armenian president concluded.
Riots began in Armenia early on November 10 upon the news that Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian signed a Russian-brokered agreement with Azerbaijan, putting an
end to more than six weeks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The country was plunged into a political turmoil after opposition groups called
on Pashinian to resign. This was followed by a night of unrest leaving
government buildings ransacked.
In chaotic scenes in the capital, hundreds of opposition supporters in the early
hours of November 10 stormed the government headquarters and parliament in
Yerevan, ransacking offices and smashing windows in an outburst of anger.
Protesters inside the Armenian parliament during the night of riots in Yerevan
following the announcement of a Russian-brokered agreement with Azerbaijan to
end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. .
Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan was injured in a mob attack and hospitalized,
drawing a sharp rebuke from the government.
The backlash over the agreement signed by Pashinian came after 17 opposition
parties issued a joint statement on November 9 calling for the prime minister’s
resignation amid a series of military defeats suffered by Armenia-backed ethnic
Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting against Azerbaijan.
Among the parties that signed the statement were the main parliamentary
opposition party, Prosperous Armenia, led by tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, the former
ruling Republican Party of former President Serzh Sarkisian, the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), and the Hayrenik (Homeland) party led
by former director of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsian, who was
relieved of his duties in 2019 over differences with Pashinian.
In his comments following the night of chaos, Pashinian implied that corruption
in previous governments was also to blame for the current situation.
The premier said in a live broadcast on Facebook that the decision to sign the
agreement to put an end to hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh was conditioned by
the request of the military that he said had no further resources to continue to
wage the war.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian leader Arayik Harutiunian also admitted this
reality in his live broadcast on Facebook the same day. He said if the decision
were not made today, within days or weeks ethnic Armenian forces in
Nagorno-Karabakh would suffer even greater military defeats and have even more
losses.
Meanwhile, Armenia’s Defense Ministry and the General Staff of the Armed Forces
issued a statement, calling on all to refrain from actions that could “undermine
the foundations of [Armenia’s] statehood.”
Parliament Speaker Injured In Riots Over Karabakh Deal As Political Tensions
Grow In Armenia
Armenian Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan (archive photo)
Armenian Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan has been hospitalized with injuries
after being attacked by a crowd of protesters angered by the news of a
Russia-brokered deal with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh perceived by them as
surrender, a government official said.
Edurad Aghajanian, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, wrote on
Facebook: “He [Ararat Mirzoyan] suffered injuries that luckily are not
life-threatening.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian also confirmed in a live broadcast on
Facebook that Mirzoyan’s life is not in danger at this moment. He said the
parliament speaker was undergoing surgery.
“Ararat Mirzoyan is one of the people who accepted or rather did not accept the
decision [to sign a deal] with tears in his eyes. There is no person in our
political team who did not cry upon learning about that decision. And now some
scoundrels have attacked Ararat Mirzoyan and his child,” Pashinian said.
“We must prepare for revenge. We haven’t dealt properly with the corrupt,
oligarchic scoundrels, those who robbed this country, stole soldiers’ food,
stole soldiers’ weapons. I apologize for that, and I call on all the citizens
who understand what is happening to prepare for revenge,” Pashinian said.
The prime minister also said that he was thinking of organizing a rally in the
near future.
“Those who have sold their homeland, those who have sold the liberated lands for
money will not succeed, it is excluded. Your mansions will be returned to the
people. I call on citizens with dignity to be ready for us going after the
rioters and their bosses, after the corrupt part of Dashnaktsutyun, after the
robbers from the [former ruling] Republican Party of Armenia, the Prosperous
Armenia Party, the deserters from the Hayrenik party who left their combat
positions and fled, and must be tried for desertion,” he charged.
The four political parties mentioned by Pashinian were among 17 others that
issued a joint statement on November 9 calling for Pashinian’s resignation amid
what appeared to be a series of military defeats suffered by Armenia-backed
ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting against Azerbaijan.
Hours later Pashinian signed a deal with Azerbaijan brokered by Russia to put an
end to fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, triggering protests.
Over the night groups of angry protesters stormed the government and parliament
buildings in Yerevan.
Pashinian called on those people not involved in the riots to go home.
In remarks on Facebook Pashinian implied that corruption in previous governments
was also to blame for the current situation.
“All those who are responsible, including myself if I am responsible, will be
held to account,” he said.
Armenian PM Calls For Calm Amid Unrest Over Karabakh Deal
Protesters inside the Armenian parliament during the night of riots in Yerevan
following the announcement of a Russian-brokered agreement with Azerbaijan to
end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. .
Unrest in Yerevan started early on November 10 after the news that the leaders
of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia signed an agreement putting an end to
44-day-long fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh as rioters perceived the deal as
surrender.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has called on people not involved in
riots to go home after angry protesters stormed government and parliament
buildings in Yerevan early on November 10 following the news of a
Russia-brokered deal with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh viewed by them as
surrender.
“All those citizens who have nothing to do with the disturbances, please go
home. All those citizens who believe me, believe us, please prepare for
struggle,” Pashinian wrote on Facebook, addressing his words to citizens who
gathered near the buildings of the government and the National Assembly in
Yerevan.
“Do not doubt for a second that we have not done anything dishonest. We did not
agree to any bargain. I have acted in a way so as to have answers to all
questions and be clean in front of my homeland and the people,” Pashinian said.
“At this difficult time, we must stand side by side against mice stealing seeds.
You, who fish in muddy waters, we will still talk,” the premier added in an
apparent reference to his political opponents.
Unrest in Yerevan started after the news that the leaders of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and Russia signed an agreement putting an end to 44-day-long
fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh as rioters perceived the deal as surrender.
Still on November 9, amid what appeared to be a series of military defeats
suffered by Armenia-backed ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh fighting
against Azerbaijan, a group of Armenian opposition parties issued a joint
statement demanding Pashinian’s resignation.
Among the 17 parties that signed the statement were the main parliamentary
opposition party, Prosperous Armenia, led by tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, the former
ruling Republican Party of Armenia of former President Serzh Sarkisian, the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) and others.
In earlier remarks Pashinian implied that corruption in previous governments was
also to blame for the current situation.
“All those who are responsible, including myself if I am responsible, will be
held to account,” he said.
Angry Mob Attacks RFE/RL’s Armenia Office Amid Unrest Following Nagorno-Karabakh
Deal
Logo of RFE/RL Armenian Service (Azatutyun)
Around 40 men have attacked the office of RFE/RL’s Armenian Service (Azatutyun)
in Yerevan amid unrest triggered by Armenia’s signing of a Russian-brokered
agreement with Azerbaijan to end fighting over the breakaway region of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
The mob tried to break into RFE/RL’s office early on the morning of November 10,
calling the Armenian Service “traitors” and “Turks” while in a tirade against
the government over what they perceive as a surrender in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“You are responsible for the deaths of my friends [in Nagorno-Karabakh],” one of
the attackers charged.
Others said they wanted to destroy Azatutyun’s computer servers to force
journalists from going on air.
RFE/RL Armenian Service Executive Producer Artak Hambardzumian said he
personally identified one of the men as Gerasim Vardanian, a member of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun), one of nearly two dozen
political parties that are demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s
resignation.
Hambardzumian said the men tried to break the door to the office and attack him
and a cameraman.
RFE/RL Acting President Daisy Sindelar condemned the attack on Azatutyun in a
statement issued today.
“The attack on RFE/RL’s Yerevan bureau is a reprehensible assault on the
essential duty of journalists to serve as impartial witnesses during major news
events,” said Sindelar. “Our Armenian Service, Azatutyun, is one of the few
media outlets in Armenia that has aimed to present all sides of a deeply
divisive conflict. We call on the police and public alike to support the right
of Azatutyun and all independent journalists to report the news, objectively and
in full, without threat of violence or scapegoating.”
The Union of Journalists of Armenia, other leading media organizations and
Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan also condemned the attack against Azatutyun.
In chaotic scenes in Yerevan, protesters in the early hours of the morning also
stormed government buildings and parliament.
Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree To Russia-Brokered End To Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, 10Nov, 2020
The leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia have signed an agreement to end
fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh starting on November 10, triggering unrest in the
Armenian capital as protesters stormed government buildings.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian first announced the agreement in an
early morning social media post, saying he had signed a statement with the
presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on the “termination” of the war over
Nagorno-Karabakh war as of 1:00 a.m. local time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev later
confirmed the agreement, which will include the long-term deployment of Russian
peacekeepers.
"We believe that the achieved agreements will create [the] necessary conditions
for a long-term and full-fledged settlement of the crisis around
Nagorno-Karabakh on a fair basis and in the interests of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani people," Putin said of the agreement.
The early morning announcement on November 10 comes as Azerbaijani forces have
made major battlefield gains in the six-week flare up in the decades-long
conflict, including reports they were approaching the region’s capital,
Stepanakert.
“I made a very difficult decision for myself and for all of us,” Pashinian said
on Facebook. “I made this decision as a result of an in-depth analysis of the
military situation and an assessment of the people who know it best.”
Pashinian said he would provide more information in the coming days, adding that
the agreement was “the best possible solution for the current situation.”
Nagorno-Karabakh’s de facto ethnic Armenian leader, Arayik Harutiunian, said he
had agreed with Pashinian to end hostilities with Azerbaijan “given the current
dire situation” and to avoid completely losing the region.
The backlash from the announcement in Yerevan was swift as several thousand
protesters angry over the agreement stormed government buildings and the
opposition called on Pashinian to resign.
Aliyev said in a televised online meeting with Putin that the trilateral
agreement would be a crucial point in the settlement of the conflict. He also
said that Turkey, a close ally of Baku, would take part in the peacekeeping
center to monitor the cease-fire.
Under the deal, Azerbaijan will keep territory in Nagorno-Karabakh and
surrounding areas captured during the conflict. It also calls for Armenian
forces to hand over some areas it held outside the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh,
including the eastern district of Aghdam and western area of Kelbajar (Kalbacar).
Armenians will also forfeit the Lachin region, where a crucial road connects
Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. The agreement calls for a 5-kilometer wide area in
the so-called Lachin Corridor to remain open and be protected by around 2,000
Russian peacekeepers.
The agreement also calls for Russian border services to monitor a new transport
corridor through Armenia connecting Azerbaijan to its western exclave of
Nakhijevan (Naxcivan), which is surrounded by Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
Since fighting erupted on September 27, several thousand people are believed to
have been killed as three cease-fires failed to halt fighting between ethnic
Armenian forces and the Azerbaijani military.
Aliyev on November 8 said that his country’s forces had taken Shushi (known as
Susa in Azeri), offering strategic heights over Stepanakert just 10 kilometers
away.
Shushi also lies along the main road connecting Stepanakert with Armenia.
Thousands of people have fled Nagorno-Karabakh in recent days to Armenia, with
lines of vehicles clogging the main road connecting the enclave to Armenia.
Azerbaijan's forces in recent weeks have also retaken several regions outside
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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