Category: 2020

Putin, Macron want Armenia, Azerbaijan to relaunch talks -statements

Anna Tamamian
National Post, Canada
Oct 20 2020
Reuters
Publishing date:

Oct 20, 2020  •  Last Updated 2 hours ago  •  1 minute read

The two leaders, who co-chair with the United States the so-called Minsk group in charge of mediating between Armenia and Azerbaijan, said they agreed the two South Caucasian countries should relaunch “substantial negotiations,” the Elysee said.

Armenia and Azerbaijan said Tuesday their foreign ministers would meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday in efforts to end the heaviest fighting in and around the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1990s.

Macron also asked Putin to reinforce Franco-Russian cooperation in the fight against terrorism and clandestine immigration, the French statement said.

A Moscow-born, 18-year-old man of Chechen origin beheaded a French teacher on Friday for showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in class. The attack outside his school in a Paris suburb last week shocked many in France and beyond. (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya in Moscown and Michel Rose in Paris; writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by Mark Heinrich)


Pompeo to meet separately with Azerbaijan, Armenia top diplomats

Emil Lazarian
The Hill, DC
Oct 20 2020
By Laura Kelly – 10/20/20 01:21 PM EDT

The Trump administration has invited Azerbaijan’s foreign minister to the United States for a meeting this week at the same time that Armenia’s foreign minister will be in Washington.

The visits come as the two countries engage in a new military conflict over the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Azerbaijan’s minister of foreign affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov, will meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoPompeo: ‘Dangerous’ for Twitter to take ‘non-viewpoint-neutral’ stancePompeo warns any arms sales to Iran will result in sanctions as embargo expiresTrump turns his ire toward Cabinet membersMORE on Friday, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement, with the Azerbaijani ambassador to the U.S. saying the invitation came from the State Department. 

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“The invitation came from the United States,” the ambassador, Elin Suleymanov, told The Hill. 

Politico first reported on Monday that the two ministers would meet with Pompeo on Friday.

Armenia’s ambassador to the U.S. had earlier told The Hill that preparations were being made for Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan’s visit to Washington and that Yerevan is pushing the United States to halt military assistance to Azerbaijan and sanction Turkey for its support of Baku.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a fierce, weeks-long battle along the border between Azerbaijan and the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave within Azerbaijan that is controlled by ethnic Armenians that refer to the territory as Artsakh. 

Armenians view Artsakh as part of their historical homeland in the region and self-governance as a right of self-determination. Azerbaijan views Armenia as perpetrating an illegal military occupation of their sovereign territory. 

The United States, France and Russia are co-chairs of the Minsk group that has for nearly 30 years tried to mediate a negotiated solution to the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, with the situation periodically devolving into armed conflict. 

The most recent fighting, which broke out on Sept. 27, has inflicted hundreds of casualties on the Artsakh Defense Forces, backed by Armenia, and resulted in dozens of civilian deaths in Nagorno-Karabakh and in Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani military does not publicize its military deaths. 

Russia launched two attempts this month for a humanitarian ceasefire with both Azerbaijan and Armenia’s foreign ministers but that has failed to hold — with each side accusing the other of breaking the terms of the deal. 

Suleymanov told The Hill that the meeting with Pompeo is expected to address the stalled political negotiations over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and not necessarily a cessation of hostilities in the region.  

“The issue is not the cease-fire, the issue is the resumption of substantive talks based on international law,” Suleymanov said. 

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said that the meeting with Pompeo will also include representatives from France and Russia in their capacity as co-chairs of the Minsk group. 


Pashinyan: Forcing Armenians of Artsakh to live under Azerbaijani rule violates international law

Chatinian Lara
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 20 2020

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan underlines that the European Court of Human Rights has confirmed Azerbaijan is governed by racist regime that glorifies ethnic violence against Armenians and implants ethnic hatred into society, Pashinyan wrote in his Twitter micro blog.

“Forcing Armenians of Artsakh to live under Azerbaijani rule violates international law”, he wrote, calling on international community to recognize Artsakh’s independence.

Serzh Sargsyan: Armenia’s former president rails at ‘madness’ of Nagorno-Karabakh war

Greg Madatian
The Independent, UK
Oct 20 2020
Borzou Daragahi

International Correspondent

Armenia’s former longtime president has warned of a worsening conflict in the Caucasus where armed forces loyal to his country are battling Azerbaijani soldiers in a rare modern war pitting two nations against each other.  

Serzh Sargsyan spoke to The Independent as the two countries’ foreign ministers were set to meet US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday, in a desperate effort to end the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, the deadliest since the 1990s.

That potential diplomatic breakthrough comes after claims on Tuesday from the breakaway region’s defence ministry that almost 800 people have died in the current fighting which erupted last month.  

Sargsyan, a deeply controversial figure, called the ongoing war “madness”, blaming Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev for being the driving force behind the conflict.  

“Strategically, this war is madness and civilians are paying for Aliyev’s insane dream,” he told The Independent via email.

Armenia claims the mostly ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh enclave as part of its homeland even as it is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory. The region and surrounding districts also considered part of Azerbaijan has been under the control of Armenian forces and a puppet government loyal to Yerevan since an early 1990s war.  

Azerbaijan, rich with gas money and backed by regional power Turkey, has the military hardware edge over Armenia and has made small gains since fighting began 27 September. But Mr Sargsyan said Azerbaijan’s gains have come at a tremendous cost.  

“The president of Azerbaijan has repeatedly promised to his people that his army can conquer Nagorno-Karabakh very quickly,” he said. “Now they are using all weapons at their disposal, including drones and mercenaries sent by Turkey. Yet in three weeks of fighting, they could progress only in one district and this does not mean the end of the war.”

In response, a top Azerbaijani official dismissed Mr Sargysan as a “war criminal” who he said was involved in the mass murder of at least 161 civilians in the town of Khojaly in 1992.  

“He was directly engaged in killing Azerbaijani civilians,” Hikmet Hajiyev, an adviser to Mr Aliyev, told The Independent. “Now he tries to depict himself as an angel and peace lover. For Azerbaijan, he’s a war criminal and killer of kids.”

Videos posted to the internet over the last 48 hours showed train cars and trucks loaded with military equipment purportedly heading from Russia and Iran to Armenia.  

Mr Sargsyan has been a major figure in Armenia since its independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. He has served as a prime minister, defence minister, and minister of national security and, from 2008 to 2018, as president, taking over for a week as prime minister in an attempt to increase his power following constitutional changes.

During his years as president he sought to reach out to both Azerbaijan and Turkey in an effort to normalise ties. In a grand gesture of diplomacy, he invited then Turkish president Abdullah Gul to watch a football match between the two countries in Armenia, while Mr Sargasyan travelled to Turkey for a subsequent game.

But many Armenians consider him corrupt, autocratic and a pawn of the Kremlin. They drove him from power in widespread street protests that launched a new era of politics in Armenia in 2018 under prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, a populist journalist who, following a brief period of hope and renewed dialogue, came to be described by some as more chauvinistic and less conciliatory in his approach to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  

Mr Sargsyan has fallen out of favour in Yerevan. Mr Hajiyev described him as the “most hated person” in Armenia. He now faces embezzlement charges relating to allegations of pilfering approximately £800,000 from a state fuel subsidy programme.  

He said he and other former Armenian officials and opposition figures had sought to advise the new government but had mostly been ignored. Still, he pointedly declined to criticise his successor or the Armenian commanders leading the war effort. Azerbaijani officials in the months preceding the war voiced alarm at what they called the aggressive military posture of Armenia’s defence minister David Tonoyan.

“In my opinion, a doctrine of pre-emptive action is not appropriate for our case,” said Mr Sargysan, who has served as Armenia’s defence minister for two lengthy stints.  

In the midst of the conflict, the government in Yerevan sacked its intelligence chief, in a possible sign of discontent at the direction of the war effort.

“My successor didn’t take the path we have been successfully following for a considerable time and decided, as he has put it, to start the negotiations from his own point of view,” he said.  

Mr Hajiyev said Mr Sargysan had repeatedly undermined any peace efforts with intransigence aimed at prolonging the occupation of Azerbaijani land.  

“For us he was a gambler,” he said. “He was also a person you can’t have any confidence or trust.”

But Mr Sargysan blamed Azerbaijan for sabotaging any hope of peace. “This conflict was never really a frozen conflict, even though we managed to guarantee the security of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said. “On a smaller scale, Azerbaijan kept attacking us throughout these years.”

The boisterous support of Azerbaijan by Turkey in the conflict has been decisive, he said. “The current war against Nagorno-Karabakh comes with an unprecedented level of joint preparation by Azerbaijan and Turkey,” he said. “Turkish drones are the backbone of Azerbaijan’s attack. One can conclude that the decisions about the military action are taken jointly.”

Experts say the closest the two countries came to achieving a settlement came in 2011, when Mr Sargysan and Mr Aliyev broke off talks organised by Moscow, Washington and Paris in the Russian city of Kazan.  

A resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh appears further than ever. “This conflict is not resolved, partially because of the lack of trust,” he said. “I strongly believe that direct negotiations with Aliyev are a big mistake for the simple reason that Azerbaijan will never agree to the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

The Kremlin is trying to broker a meeting in Moscow between Mr Pashinkyan and Mr Aliyev.

Asked what he would say to his Azerbaijani counterparts, Mr Sargysan said: “This conflict cannot be solved with military means or with any solution that would drive Armenians from their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh. Peace needs to come through negotiations.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-us-war-fighting-pompeo-sargsyan-b1183692.html?fbclid=IwAR2okl4xSfYPSOqWOdGkEwLLQbDXyHN_eEQkjai61UX46_0WeuIOgJQa3XA

Tulsi Gabbard Calls For Turkey To Be Removed From NATO For Threatening Armenia

Tambiyan Samvel
Greek City Times
Oct 20 2020
by Paul Antonopoulos

U.S. Representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district, Tulsi Gabbard, has called for the U.S. to work with NATO members to have Turkey removed from the alliance, the Armenian National Council of America announced in a Facebook post.

A part of Tulsi Gabbarad‘s announcement to ANCA goes as following:

— Whereas Turkey has escalated its involvement in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh [(Artsakh)], previously offering political support for Azerbaijan’s position, but now providing direct military support;

— Whereas Turkey maintains a closed border with the Republic of Armenia, a country with friendly relations with the United States, and has repeatedly issued threats against the Republic of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, and Armenian communities in other parts of the world, at times thinly veiling its threats with references to the genocide of Armenians in Turkey that took place in the early 20th century;

— Whereas reports indicate that Turkey has sent Syrian fighters, many of whom have been associated with Al Qaeda and ISIS, to fight against the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh;

— Whereas it has been reported that Turkey has participated in or taken outright control of Azerbaijan’s air command and military offensive against Nagorno Karabakh and that its F-16 fighters have been engaged in attacks against both Nagorno Karabakh and the Republic of Armenia;

— Whereas NATO has called for the immediate cease-fire to hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh in response to Azerbaijan’s military attack on Nagorno Karabakh while Turkey has contradicted NATO’s position by publicly supporting and assisting with Azerbaijan’s continued military aggression;

— Whereas in response to Canada’s decision to suspend arms exports to Turkey in response to its involvement in Azerbaijan’s military offensive, Turkey cited the NATO relationship as the reason for its disappointment in Canada’s decision, associating NATO with its actions in the Caucasus.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/10/21/tulsi-gabbard-nato-turkey/

Swiss call for an end to violence in Nagorno-Karabakh

Emma Jilavian
SwissInfo, Switzerland
Oct 20 2020
Men examine a shop damaged by shelling by Azerbaijan’s artillery in the frontline city of Martakert on October 19 Keystone

The Swiss foreign ministry has called for an immediate stop to the violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It has also allocated CHF1 million ($1.1 million) to the humanitarian operations of the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“Attacks on the civilian population and civilian objects must cease. The parties to the conflict are called upon to comply with international humanitarian law,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The contribution was being made in response to an appeal by the ICRC, it said.

“Furthermore, the ministry expresses Switzerland’s regret that the humanitarian ceasefires of October 10 and 17 have not been respected. It reiterates its call to the parties to the conflict to stop the violence and condemns the ongoing shelling of residential areas.”

Observance of the principles of distinction and proportionality were paramount, it added. “This also means that cluster munitions must not be used, as such weapons do not make any distinction between civilians and combatants.”

The Swiss government said that it was only through peaceful means that a lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict could be found. The foreign ministry therefore called on both parties to the conflict “to resume meaningful negotiations without delay or preconditions”.

A ceasefire in the mountain territory of Nagorno-Karabakh was under severe strain on Tuesday after fierce new clashes between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces fighting their deadliest battles since the 1990s.

The ceasefire, agreed on Saturday, has had little impact on fighting that began on September 27, despite concerns it could spark a wider conflict involving Russia and Turkey.

Several hundred people have been killed since September 27 in fighting involving drones, warplanes, heavy artillery, tanks and missiles, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis and concerns about the security of oil and gas pipelines in Azerbaijan.

The new ceasefire appears to have had no more effect on fighting than an earlier deal brokered by Russia that failed.

Azerbaijan wants an end to what it calls Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia rules this out and accuses Azerbaijan of making a land grab.



TURKISH press: Crimea only test field for Russia’s growing appetite in region, Ukraine’s Deputy FM Dzhaparova says

Hambardsumian Paul
 ANKARA DIPLOMACY 
OCT 16, 2020 1:57 PM GMT+3
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova speaks during a visit to the Crimean Tatar Association in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 15, 2020. (Photo by Dilara Aslan)


The situation in Crimea is only a test field for the appetite of Russia in the region as it can be seen in both Syria and Libya, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova stated Thursday.

Speaking on Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimea Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and Moscow’s backing of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine’s Donbass region, Dzhaparova told Daily Sabah in an exclusive interview that Crimea should remain on the international community’s agenda until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored.

“We believe that Russia is a state that committed a crime against Ukraine, a country that is totally responsible for the occupation and a country that has to de-occupy Crimea,” Dzhaparova underlined.

“In order to increase the effectiveness of the international response to the ongoing occupation of Crimea and other related threats, Ukraine proposed establishing a new consultation and coordination format – the Crimean Platform,” the first deputy minister stated, elaborating that as a key event, a Crimea summit has been planned for the first half of 2021.

Accordingly, Ukraine’s goal was to consolidate under one chapeau all international activities aimed at countering Russia’s temporary occupation of Crimea – starting with sanctions and nonrecognition policy, demilitarization, transport and infrastructure issues to actions in humanitarian and environmental spheres. This platform would also contribute to tracking security issues in the Black Sea region as well as the wider Mediterranean region.

After being asked about reports that Russia was also invited to the summit, Dzhaparova stated that she believed this move would put pressure on Russia.

“For the moment, an official invitation was not sent to Russia. We plan to invite Russia, but we are not expecting that the invitation will be accepted,” she stated, stressing that Russia’s participation is not a prerequisite for the functioning of the platform.

“Of course, we do not have any illusion on what the real face of Russia today is and unfortunately we have to state that the current authority of Russia is one that does not demonstrate any civilized position and that actually commits crimes against humanity,” Dzhaparova said.

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine after an illegal independence referendum was held in 2014, following the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych as a result of the pro-European Union Euromaidan protests in the capital. The U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) later voted to proclaim the Russian action illegal. Along with an overwhelming majority of U.N. member states, Turkey denied recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.

As most ethnic Crimean Tatars opposed Moscow’s annexation of the peninsula, Russian authorities have cracked down on the community, abrogating their right to assembly and taking a Tatar-language television channel off the air, as well as detaining and jailing dozens of activists, a situation opposed by Turkey.

“This fake referendum that they conducted in March 2014 is nothing but a tricky attempt to justify their military occupation of the sovereign territory of Ukraine – Crimea,” Dzhaparova stressed.

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova and Daily Sabah’s Dilara Aslan during an interview in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 15, 2020. (Photo by Dilara Aslan)

Ukraine eyes further cooperation

As a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Turkey has frequently voiced that Russia has to end its illegal occupation of the peninsula.

“Both of our countries are living in a very challenging neighborhood and in this modern world we believe that it is a true luxury to have a true friendship and this is exactly what we enjoying with Turkey,” Dzhaparova stated, saying that though Ukraine is satisfied with the level of the strategic partnership with Turkey, there is still potential for further enhancing relations “for the benefit of the two countries as well as for the region.”

“We expect the continuation of political and practical support from Ankara,” she said. “We look forward to cooperating with Turkey in the framework of the Crimean Platform aimed at the de-occupation of Crimea. We would appreciate Turkey’s help to create better living conditions for Crimean Tatars who were forced to leave their homeland after the Russian occupation.”

Dzhaparova stated that she briefed Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on the platform and that Ukraine expected Turkey to join this initiative. She also stressed that the declaration would fix nonrecognition and declared Turkey will never recognize the attempted annexation of Crimea.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will pay a working visit to Turkey on Friday during which he will come together with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul to discuss all aspects of bilateral relations as well as steps aimed at further enhancing cooperation.

“We believe that we will sign a couple of documents that will further intensify our bilateral cooperation in different spheres in military, defense, security as well as in cultural, humanitarian dimensions but moreover what we expect is actually an issue that is related to Crimea,” Dzhaparova pointed out. A statement by the Ukrainian government on Wednesday stated that a military cooperation agreement would be signed which would reflect a guarantee for security and peace in the Black Sea region.

Defense relations between the two countries have developed rapidly, with military-technical cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey’s defense industries carrying various mutual benefits.

The two leaders held a high-level strategic council meeting previously in February in Kyiv and signed a joint declaration outlining concrete areas of cooperation.

“We have plenty of joint projects to implement. Starting from security and defense, high-tech, military-technical fields up to trade and economic, cultural and educational fields,” Dzhaparova highlighted, adding that more investment of Turkish companies in infrastructural projects is expected while negotiations on a free trade agreement are at the final stage.

The deputy minister further stated that Ukraine also expects much from the international community in tackling Russian aggression and human rights violations.

Saying that Kyiv appreciated the swift response of the international community’s vis-à-vis Russia’s attempt to annex Crimea and redraw the borders of modern Europe, Dzhaparova reminded that on March 27, 2014, the UNGA adopted a resolution calling on states and international organizations not to recognize any change of status of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

The EU imposed sanctions on Russia after it annexed the peninsula and refuses to recognize Moscow’s authority there. The bloc has separate sanctions targeting the Russian economy and other restrictive measures linked to the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol.

“We expect the international community to stick to decisions observing the nonrecognition policy,” she underlined.

Indicating that Russia attempted to enhance ties with the illegally occupied region, Dzhaparova said: “Russia is incorporating Crimea into its administrative structure, conducting militarization of Crimea and changing its demographic composition.”

“There is also a need to consolidate the common resilience of the Black Sea littoral states and our main partners in the EU and NATO in the face of Russia’s ever-growing belligerent behavior in the region that poses security threats and challenges to our common interests,” she added.

Humanitarian situation worsens

Touching upon the humanitarian situation, Dzhaparova stated that Russia forced the independent media out of the peninsula and shifted pressure to citizen journalists and human rights activists. Accordingly, monitoring bodies of international organizations are also unable to exercise their mandate in Crimea.

“The situation is bad and it is deteriorating daily,” the deputy minister said. “Unjustified searches, detentions and arrests under false charges, discrimination on religious and national grounds, intimidations of activists, journalists, advocates, etc. became a fact of life in today’s Crimea.”

“To consolidate the occupational regime, Russia pursues a covert demographic change in Crimea. 45,000 Ukrainian citizens have left Crimea over intimidation, persecution and fear. Estimates of how many people were brought to Crimea from Russia vary from 150 to 500 thousand people,” she highlighted.

She further pointed out that since 2014, Russia conducted 11 conscription campaigns illegally drafting about 25,000 Crimean residents into the Russian military. “The 12th campaign is ongoing,” Dzhaparova stated, explaining that Moscow’s influence and presence in the peninsula are not voiced when Russia states its official position.

Kyiv supports Baku’s sovereignty

“Ukraine, like Turkey, consistently supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders – the same way Azerbaijan supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity. It is our principal position based on international law,” Dzhaparova said as fighting has been continuing for weeks between Baku and Yerevan over the Armenian-occupied territories.

Saying that war and casualties including civilian deaths are a tragedy, Dzhaparova stated that the situation is “just more proof that both protracted and hot conflicts remain a major factor of instability threatening security in Europe, which may lead at any moment to the resumption of armed hostilities and heavy human losses.”

She called on both sides to cease military action and resolve the conflict in accordance with international law.

“However, mediation by Russia, which itself continues aggression against Ukraine and occupation of Ukraine’s sovereign territories, does not add optimism to that turbulent situation,” she continued.

Border clashes broke out on Sept. 27 when Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions, leading to casualties.

Relations between the two countries have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan. Referencing this fact, four U.N. Security Council (UNSC) and two UNGA resolutions, as well as decisions by many international organizations, demand that Armenia’s occupying forces withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other occupied regions of Azerbaijan. Yet, efforts including that of the Minsk Group, set up in 1992 by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, have seen no results.

TURKISH press: Turkey’s new gas reserves and Black Sea geo-politics

Emil Lazarian
 COLUMNS 
OCT 19, 2020 12:05 AM GMT+3

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced Turkey’s latest natural gas discovery in the Black Sea on Saturday. This development demonstrates that Turkey’s energy drive has reached the next level – and it’s not just about the economy. As the power struggle in the Eastern Mediterranean rages on, the Black Sea may possibly emerge as a new geopolitical flashpoint.

Over the weekend, international media outlets reported about an Armenian attack on Nakhchivan in the Caucasus region, east of the Black Sea. A Russia-brokered cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia proved extremely fragile. Apparently, putting a stop to the fighting will not be an easy task. Armenia’s Soviet-era ballistic missile arsenal, along with the influx of foreign fighters, including members of the PKK terrorist organization, deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh and the “heavy weapons” that Moscow threatens to give Armenians, are a source of concern. Attacks on energy lines and Nakhchivan, too, represent acts of provocation by an increasingly desperate Yerevan.

The Black Sea and the Caucasus emerged as the focal point of competition between the West and Russia, following a 2008 commitment by NATO to admit Ukraine and Georgia as new members. In response to the organization’s eastward expansion, Moscow partitioned Ukraine and Georgia. The 2014 annexation of Crimea was possibly the zenith of that escalation.

Although the United States and the European Union attempted to alter Russia’s behavior through economic sanctions under the Barack Obama administration’s watch, they failed miserably. Under the Trump administration, Russian President Vladimir Putin expanded his country’s sphere of influence to the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and the Gulf. A joint Russian-Egyptian naval exercise in the Black Sea alone attests to the links between ongoing power struggles in various parts of the world. Needless to say, the Black Sea occupies a central place in Moscow’s strategic assessments. The region is key to Russian influence over Eastern Europe (i.e. Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova), Ukraine and the Caucasus. Moscow attaches great importance to the Black Sea for national defense, military capabilities and the power struggle in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

For the Western alliance as well, the Black Sea is too important to be surrendered to Russian control. As the U.S. think tank RAND recently stated, the power struggle between the West and Russia will determine Europe’s future. Indeed, American strategists trying to redefine Washington’s global role do not expect the U.S. to completely disregard Europe – even in the case of a total retreat. Even U.S. President Donald Trump has been mounting pressure on Germany over its dependence on Russian energy.

If re-elected, Trump is expected to focus on China and stick to his administration’s current policy on Russia. In that case, Moscow may preserve the current balance of power in the Black Sea. The most recent developments in Belarus, Nagorno-Karabakh and Kyrgyzstan, however, indicate that the status quo won’t be easily maintained.

If Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the race, however, Washington is expected to concentrate on Russia’s containment. Attempting to empower the trans-Atlantic alliance, Biden must reduce the Russian pressure on Europe. In other words, he must stop the expansion of Russia’s sphere of influence.

Regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3, geopolitical tensions in Turkey’s neighborhood are bound to escalate. Depending on the winner, there won’t be just a new chapter in Turkey-U.S. relations. At the same time, Ankara and Moscow will have a new road map in light of their competition, cooperation and tensions.

As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently said, it is unlikely that Turkey and Russia will be more than “partners.” The two countries compete in Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean, Syria, the Black Sea and the Caucasus. In my view, Turkey’s initiatives unsettle Moscow in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.

As Turkey grows stronger, it must develop a new kind of relationship with not just the Western alliance but also Russia. The Black Sea may be a geopolitical space where that claim will be put to the test.

TURKISH press: Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Şentop to hold talks in Baku on Azerbaijan’s Independence Day

Maral Chavushian
 BAKU DIPLOMACY 
OCT 18, 2020 12:26 PM GMT+3
Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop was welcomed by Azerbaijani officials including Deputy Chairman of Baku’s Parliament Ali Huseyinli upon his arrival in Azerbaijan on Oct. 18, 2020 (AA Photo)

On Sunday Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop along with a delegation of deputies visited Azerbaijan to hold official talks and participate in the nation’s independence day events amid a new cease-fire with neighboring Armenia.

“We came with a strong, broad committee from the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). We have friends from various parties with us,” Şentop stated upon his arrival.

“We have always stated that we support and are side-by-side with Azerbaijan in its just case while our relationship is a unique one in line with our ‘one nation, two states’ policy. However, now we will reiterate this message once more in Baku. Turkey’s 83 million people and our Parliament pray for the Azerbaijani flag to fly on these lands forever and are with Azerbaijan,” he added.

After attending a dinner organized by Azerbaijan’s Parliament Speaker Sahibe Gafarova, Şentop will be received by President Ilham Aliyev late Sunday.

Şentop and his delegation will also visit the Heydar Aliyev mausoleum and the Baku Turkish Martyrs’ Memorial and hold delegation meetings.

The Turkish Parliament speaker will give a speech at the Azerbaijani parliament’s special session and meet with Prime Minister Ali Asadov on Sunday and Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on Monday.

Şentop was accompanied on his visit by the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) deputy head of the parliamentary group Cahit Özkan, deputy chairperson Engin Altay of the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP), AK Party Istanbul deputy and head of the Azerbaijan parliamentary friendship group Şamil Ayrım, AK Party Bursa deputy Hakan Çavuşoğlu, Good Party (IP) Istanbul deputy Yavuz Ağıralioğlu, AK Party Erzurum deputy Ibrahim Aydemir, AK Party Şanlıurfa deputy Halil Özşavlu and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Iğdır deputy Yaşar Karadağ.

Both Azerbaijani and Armenian governments have agreed to a fresh cease-fire starting midnight Sunday.

Earlier Saturday, at least 13 civilians were killed, including four women and three minors, while nearly 50 others were injured when Armenian missiles once again struck the country’s second-largest city, Ganja.

Asbarez: Pompeo to Meet with Mnatsakanyan, Bayramov on Friday

Hagop Kamalian

October 19,  2020



Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a press briefing on Oct. 14

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to meet with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Jeyhun Bayramov in Washington on Friday, POLITICO reported on Monday, adding that “the visits also offer the Trump administration a chance to showcase an attempt at global leadership just days before President Donald Trump faces reelection.”

According to U.S. government documents seen by POLITICO, Bayramov will meet first with Pompeo on Friday morning., with Mnatsakanyan scheduled for a meeting “shortly afterward.”

Ideally, he said, the two countries can resume meaningful negotiations soon. Armenia’s ambassador in Washington, Armenia’s Ambassador to the U.S. Varuzhan Nersesyan, praised Pompeo for calling out Turkey over its support for Azerbaijan during the conflict, telling POLITICO that ideally Armenia and Azerbaijan can resume “meaningful negotiations.”

“We see no alternative to the peaceful resolution of this conflict based on mutual compromises,” Nersesyan told POLITICO.

“We want a substantive conversation,” Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to the U.S. Elin Suleymonov told POLITICO. He also did not rule out the possibility of “an encounter” between Mnatsakanyan and Bayramov while they are in Washington.

Trump on Sunday visited Newport Beach where hundreds of Armenian-American called on the administration for decisive action on Artsakh. At a rally in Carson City, Nevada later in the day, Trump acknowledged what he called Armenian “supporters,” saying “we’re working on something great,” presumably referring to the Karabakh war.