Category: 2020

 21:17, 9 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS.  The Armenian side will not respond to Azerbaijani vandalism with vandalism, ARMENPRESS reports representative of MoD Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan said in a press conference, referring to the question of Azerbaijani bombing of Ghazanchetsots Cathedral of Sushi town.

‘’The military knows very well what to do. They know where to use the bullets and bombs to make them more effective. If anyone expects from Armenian side similar vandalism, it will never happen, because it’s not our handwriting’’, Hovhannisyan said.

Azerbaijan unleashed war against Artsakh on September 27. Turkey explicitly support Azerbaijan both politically and militarily, particularly the Turkish air forces are directly involved in the military operations. On September 29 a Turkish F-16 fighter jet downed an Armenian SU-25 jet in the Armenian air force. The pilot did not survive. Turkey has also deployed thousands of terrorists and jihadists from northern Syria in Azerbaijan to fight against Artsakh.

Azerbaijan has targeted civilian population and infrastructures from the first days of the war, but in the last days they do it more intensively. 22 civilians have died so far, 2 of them in the Republic of Armenia, Vardenis region. International reporters are being deliberately targeted. 2 French reporters were injured in Martuni town on October 1 as a result of Azerbaijani bombing of the municipality of the town. 1 of them was in critical situation but was able to survive. On October 8 Russian reporters were injured as a result of the Azerbaijani high precision strikes against Shushi’s Ghazanchetsots Cathedral. One of the reporters is in critical situation.

Azerbaijan has banned international reporter from covering the developments from the frontline.  

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

 21:46, 9 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS.  Analyzing the public announcements of Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, representative of the MoD Armenia Artsrun Hovhannisyan raises suspicions that the strategic management system in Azerbaijan is distorted.

‘’At least several times during this war we witnessed that Aliyev says things that do not correspond to the reality. There are many grounded suspicions that the strategic management system in Azerbaijan is distorted. I say this after analyzing the recent developments’’, Hovhannisyan said.

He noted that there have been many cases in the history of military, when the superior is not reported about failures, but only successes.

‘’In this way the strategic management system becomes distorted and it’s very possible that Aliyev has appeared in this trap’’, Hovhannisyan said.

On October 9 Azerbaijani president announced about the occupation of Hadrut town, but minutes later it was officially denied by Artsakh. Later Artsrun Hovhannisyan himself visited Hadrut town.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

 23:35, 9 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS.  The Italian ‘’Roma’’ football club handed 117 boxes of cloths and sportswear, which will be provided to the civilian population of Artsakh affected by the war unleashed by Azerbaijan. The boxes will be delivered to the Roma fan club of Armenia, ARMENPRESS was informed from Roma’s official website.

‘’Leaving the politics to one side for a moment, Roma Cares is there and will continue to be there for the club’s fans who are most in need – wherever they may be,” said Guido Fienga, the club’s CEO.

“With this donation we are taking a first step towards helping the children, women and men who are currently struggling in very difficult circumstances.”

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian professional footballer currently playing for ‘’Roma’’ thanked the leadership of his club for the support.

 22:34, 9 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Parliament of Cyprus unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Azeri aggression in Artsakh on October 9, ARMENPRESS reports Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, head of Armenia-Cyprus inter-parliamentary commission, wrote on his Facebook page.

‘’The House of Representatives also condemned the full support of Turkey to this aggression with the participation of mercenaries. Finally, it condemned the bombing of civilian areas and called for an immediate ceasefire and peaceful negotiations’’, he wrote.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

 17:25, 8 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has affirmed that Azerbaijan was the one who initiated the ongoing fighting in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone.

“The Karabakh conflict is very serious now, and that is why our political unity is also very strong. The OSCE MG Co-Chairs have issued a joint statement calling upon the parties for a ceasefire because there are numerous civilian casualties,” the French FM said at the French parliament’s foreign affairs committee. He firmly stressed that it was Azerbaijan who launched the attack.

The French FM said the sides must be interested in establishing ceasefire without preconditions.

“You can’t say “we want ceasefire, but….”, this won’t happen. Hostilities halt, negotiations begin, in order for them to achieve agreement around a specific situation that will enable the sides to live normally,” he said, reminding about Azerbaijan’s precondition voiced days earlier.

Jean-Yves Le Drian had earlier announced that Turkey has interfered from the Azeri side in the Nagorno Karabakh military operations, and threatens to internationalize the conflict.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 17:50, 8 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Russian journalists have been injured as a result of the Azerbaijani bombardment of Holy Savior (Ghazanchetsots) Cathedral in the town of Shushi in Artsakh, according to RIA Novosti.

The iconic church, which is the seat of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church, came under two bombardment attacks on October 8.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 17:09, 8 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. American-Armenian reality TV superstar Kim Kardashian West is pushing for US President Donald Trump to do more to support Armenia amid the war unleashed by Azerbaijan, The Hill reports.

Kim Kardashian West is calling on her millions of followers to demand the Congress to condemn Azerbaijan as the instigator of the war and Turkey for interfering to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

According to The Hill, Kardashian West, who has a direct line to Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, has the potential to push the administration to take a more active stance.

The media outlet reports that L.A.-based gastroenterologist, producer of The Promise film on the Armenian Genocide Eric Esrailian, who calls for more support to Armenia, is standing behind Kardashian’s efforts.

“The situation currently with a lack of appropriate international attention is frustrating for a lot of people,” Esrailian said in an interview with The Hill.  “What I’ve done with my friends, like Kim Kardashian, her family, her siblings, and other friends like Cher, Serj Tankian, Alexis Ohanian, all of us — obviously they have a bigger platform than I do, but I have the ability to pull everybody together… and I feel honored that everybody cares and they basically say, ‘what can I do?'”, he said as quoted by The Hill.

The Hill also reports that regional experts think that Kim Kardashian West’s big engagement can have an influence on the US position over the matter.

On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack along the line of contact with the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), targeting also the civilian settlements, including the capital Stepanakert and the city of Shushi. In addition, the Azerbaijani armed forces have also targeted Armenia’s military and civilian infrastructures.

21 civilians were killed, 80 were wounded in Artsakh and Armenia from the Azerbaijani aggression.

350 servicemen and volunteers have been killed in Artsakh from the Azerbaijani attack.

The Azerbaijani side has lost 4069 servicemen and terrorists. As for the military equipment, the Azerbaijani losses include 145 UAVs, 16 gunships, 17 warplanes, 496 armored equipment and TOS multiple rocket launchers.

There is confirmed evidence that Azerbaijan is using mercenaries brought from Syria via Turkey in its offensive against Artsakh.

 17:41, 8 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani forces are again bombarding Stepanakert City and the town of Shushi in Artsakh, and the heavily damaged Holy Savior (Ghazanchetsots) Cathedral was again hit.

Artsakh Public Radio Director Ani Minasyan told ARMENPRESS that the air raid sirens in Stepanakert City are activated non-stop amid the Azeri strikes on civilians.

“One after another, they are striking from the morning on. The air raid siren doesn’t stop. They bombarded minutes ago again,” Minasyan said.

Artsakh presidential foreign affairs advisor Davit Babayan said the Azeri forces delivered another strike on the Holy Savior (Ghazanchetsots) Cathedral in Shushi.

“They again targeted Ghazanchetsots. This entirely fits in their style, because this is genocidal policy and a cultural genocide, because targeting a church is nothing else than targeting the Armenian value system,” he said.

Ghazanchetsots is the seat of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The cathedral suffered the first Azeri rocket strike earlier on October 8.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 00:50, 9 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 9, ARMENPRESS. President of Russia Vladimir Putin urged to cease the military operations in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, citing humanitarian reasons. ARMENPRESS reports, citing Kremlin’s official website, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been invited to Moscow for holding consultations on this issue on October 9.

‘’Following a number of telephone conversations with Prime MIinster of Armenia NIkol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Russia Vladimir Putin urged to cease military operations in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone for humanitarian reasons – exchange of captives and bodies of victims.

With the mediation of Foreign Minister (Sergey Lavrov –edit), the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been invited to Moscow on October 9 for holding consultations’’, reads the press release of the Kremlin.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan