Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 4 2020
Category: 2020
“Clear disinformation”: Georgia denies allowing Turkish weapons shipments to Azerbaijan
Democracy & Freedom Watch
Oct 3 2020
Lasha Darsalia. (1tv.ge)
TBILISI, DFWatch–Georgia categorically denies rumors spread on various social networks that weapons are being brought to Azerbaijan through its territory and calls on the Armenian side not to rely on such misinformation and fake news.
“We observe that various types of misinformation and fakes are spread in the social space, as if weapons are being transported through Georgia […] Recently, it was reported that weapons were brought to Azerbaijan through the territory of Georgia, which is a clear disinformation,” Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia states.
He says that Georgia has temporarily suspended issuing permits for the shipment of military cargo, but this does not apply to civilian cargo.
“The position of the Georgian side regarding the shipment of goods is unequivocal, which was voiced at yesterday’s meeting of the National Security Council. Georgia will suspend the issuing of permits for the shipment of military cargo to both countries; however, this does not apply to civilian cargo and Georgia will continue to fulfill its obligations in this regard, both to third countries and to our neighbors.”
Earlier, on Saturday, in the wake of a National Security Council meeting on the events in Nagorno-Karabakh, the head of Georgia’s State Security Service (SUS) Girgol Liluashvili had to officially deny reports about Georgia allowing passage of Syrian militants from Turkey to Azerbaijan.
In the last few days, social media in Armenia and unrecognized Karabakh have been flooded with rumors about Georgia letting trucks loaded with Turkish weapons into Azerbaijan and that these convoys are being protected by the Georgian police. There are also rumors that Georgia is devoting its airspace to planes bringing Turkish weapons to Azerbaijan.
For example, a channel on the social networking app Telegram called “Armenian Military portal”, which is popular with Armenian-speaking users, has recently published this information:
“A huge amount of various weapons intended for Azerbaijan continues to pass through the territory of Georgia. The Georgian police personally accompany each convoy, which means that official Tbilisi is taking part in aggressive actions directed against Armenia. In this regard, the Armenian Foreign Ministry is at least obliged to send a note of protest to Georgia and clearly express its position. In the case of Israel, the same must be done.”
This and similar content is repeatedly published and republished, causing great confusion among users and calling into question Georgia’s neutral position.
Earlier, in September, just after the outbreak of the Karabakh war, news was spread that Tbilisi TV tower and the Bridge of Peace were painted in the colors of the Azerbaijan flag as a sign of support in the war. These fake stories were accompanied by real photos dating from May 28, Republic Day in Azerbaijan. The embassy of Armenia in Tbilisi recently had to issue an official statement denouncing this report as fake.
https://dfwatch.net/clear-disinformation-georgia-denies-it-is-allowing-turkish-weapons-shipment-to-azerbaijan-54284?fbclid=IwAR1QEXZKg2L4jvukWEWk7zgv-_RkzEeLmDdrHLQ4x-pvUvbls7AaI0sD41U
A complicated region and its complicated war
Arab News, Saudi Arabia
Oct 4 2020
CORNELIA MEYER
22:34
When the most recent fighting broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh, many were quick to take sides. Stepping back from emotions, a century of history is woven into the interaction between the various players: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Tukey, Russia, European nations and the US, with oil and gas thrown into a complicated mix.
Its roots may be traced back to a century ago, when Joseph Stalin declared Nagorno-Karabakh an oblast, or autonomous administrative unit, within the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan. Conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has been simmering and at times erupting since the collapse of the Soviet Union, when Armenia claimed Nagorno-Karabakh but it was legally determined to be an autonomous region inside Azerbaijan. It declared in 1988 that it wanted to unite with Armenia, which Azerbaijan vetoed. Various skirmishes and wars led to about 230,000 ethnic Armenians and 800,000 ethnic Azeris being displaced.
After the biggest clashes in the mid 1990s, Russia brokered a cease-fire, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group has been trying to mediate ever since. It would be easier to deal only with the two combatants; alas, Russia Turkey the US and oil are part of the equation.
The presidents of Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, witnessed by a supportive US, signed a declaration in 1998 for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline to bring oil from the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in Turkey, circumventing the Bosphorus. Wary of the simmering conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the pipeline took a northern route through Georgia, circumventing Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, which considerably increased the price of the project.
Turkey was happy to secure energy supplies and to put itself into geopolitical pole position. BP was the main principal among Western oil companies. The US favored any project that diversified energy supplies to Europe away from Russia. The project had its pitfalls as well, especially when the Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili demanded more money just before first oil was to flow westward. Since 2007, the South Caucasus pipeline has transported gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey, running parallel to Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan.
The economic and political interests are convoluted. Russia always supported Armenia. However, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is not as close to Russia as his predecessor was. Armenia does, however, still receive Russian weapons at a discount, which does not prevent the Kremlin from selling its weaponry at full price to Baku.
The world community as a whole has no interest in a further conflict spiralling out of control, especially not while it needs to deal with a coronavirus pandemic.
Cornelia Meyer
When hostilities broke out, Turkey immediately sided with Azerbaijan, which is a fellow Turkic and Muslim country, as well as a supplier of energy and therefore a strategic business partner.
Turkey’s history with Armenians does not make the situation easier. Between 1915 and 1924 the Ottoman empire expelled and killed 1.5 million Armenians, in what the international community labelled a genocide. This is not something Armenia will ever be willing to forget and it represents considerable historical baggage, complicating the situation further.
While Russia sides in principle with Azerbaijan, it is not quite as clear cut as that. Overall Russia’s resources are stretched amid the pandemic and Moscow is not really looking for another conflict with its southern neighbor Turkey, who already stands on opposite sides in Syria and Libya. This goes a long way to explain why Moscow is eager to mediate.
The US is divided. While Armenians are successful in lobbying Congress, Azerbaijan and big oil tend to carry some weight in the executive branch, especially under the current administration.
Where does this leave us in respect to the conflict? It is important to mediate between the parties. French president Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have tried to do so. The OSCE is certainly the right multilateral framework to tee up structured talks.
The EU cannot ignore the goings on in what is its near neighborhood. Europe’s relationship with Turkey is close to breaking point. However, the EU has every interest in diversified oil and gas supplies, for which it needs Turkey. More important, it needs Ankara when it comes to refugees: Let us not forget that Turkey houses more than 3 million Syrian refugees against a promised 6 billion euros from Brussels. Closed borders between Turkey and Greece are the only thing standing between these refugees and the Balkans route. During last week’s summit the EU had strong words for Turkey’s activities in the Mediterranean. It decided to take a two-tracked approach between potential sanctions and offering a chance for closer co-operation — leaving Ankara to chose the course of action.
It is difficult to apportion blame, because the situation in the Caucasus is not black or white, and neither of the adversaries is exactly on the side of the angels. A century of history between the parties complicates the situation further. One thing is for certain, though; the world community as a whole has no interest in a further conflict spiralling out of control, especially not while it needs to deal with a coronavirus pandemic.
Cornelia Meyer is a Ph.D.-level economist with 30 years of experience in investment banking and industry. She is chairperson and CEO of business consultancy Meyer Resources. Twitter: @MeyerResources
CivilNet: Reactions Within Turkish Society to 2020 Karabakh War
CIVILNET.AM
4 October, 2020 15:57
Anthropologist Hrag Papazian spoke about the reactions and stances of the Erdoganists, Kemalists, Kurdish opposition and Armenian community in Turkey. Papazian also shed light on the numerous contradictions and paradoxes currently going on with regards to the rhetoric coming out of Ankara.
CivilNet: Nagorno-Karabakh: Eighth Day of the War
CIVILNET.AM
4 October, 2020 20:40
✓Stepanakert once again comes under intensive shelling.
✓Artsakh forces strike the military airport in Azerbaijan’s second largest city of Ganja.
✓Armenia’s Defense Ministry published footage refuting claims that Azerbaijan has captured Mataghis.
CivilNet: Aliyev Hints at Dialogue With Preconditions
CIVILNET.AM
4 October, 2020 21:42
In an interview with Al-Arabiya TV Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be through dialogue. However, he noted that negotiations need a foundation.
“We agree with the perspective that the problem with Armenia should be solved through dialogue, but there must be a basis for it. But to do this, the Armenian prime minister must announce his commitment to past agreements, according to which the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh have been recognized as occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” he said in the interview with Al Arabiya TV.
He also noted that to be able to stop the hostilities, the Armenian Prime Minister must apologize for “calling the occupied Azerbaijani occupied territories Armenian [land].”
CivilNet: A Curfew Has Been Instituted in Azerbaijan’s Capital of Baku
CIVILNET.AM
5 October, 2020 07:07
According to local media, a curfew has been instituted in Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku. Residents are not allowed to leave their homes between 21:00 and 6:00.
Baku officials warned that curfew violators will be held acountable.
Azerbaijan and Armenia unlikely to begin talks right now – experts
TASS, Russia
Oct 3 2020
According to director of the Valdai international discussion club Fyodor Lukyanov, “the Azerbaijani side seems to believe that it can attain its goals by military means”
MOSCOW, October 2. /TASS/. Azerbaijan and Armenia are unlikely to sit down at the negotiating table right now to stop hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, Fyodor Lukyanov, director of the Valdai international discussion club, told TASS on Friday.
According to the expert, the situation is developing in such a way that the sides can hardly be expected to begin talks. Thus, in his words, Azerbaijan advances an impossible condition: as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on September 30 his country would stop combat operation only after Armenia unconditionally withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh. “So, the Azerbaijani side is not demonstrating any readiness,” Lukyanov noted.
The Armenian side, however, expressed its readiness to begin OSCE Minsk Group-mediated talks. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani side and Turkey, which backs it, slammed the call of the Russian, US and French presidents, as the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair nations, for cessation of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. Thus, shortly before this statement, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was inadmissible that the Minsk Group insisted on a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh “when it must demand Armenia withdraw from the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh”
“So far, the Azerbaijani side seems to believe that it can attain its goals by military means. Talks will begin only when they see that they won’t be able to achieve anything by military means,” Lukyanov stressed.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Yevseyev, head of the Caucasus department of the Institute of the CIS Countries, a thinktank, noted that the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs came when it was advantageous for Armenia because the current situation is a failure for the Azerbaijani president. “Azerbaijan has attained neither of its goals. That is why, it is not ruled out that it will try to tilt the balance at the frontline. But I cannot say how,” he said, adding that the sides have not yet used some types of weapons.
“I am afraid that Azerbaijan may begin to use them to move the frontline and it will entail Armenia’s response and Armenia has not only Iskander but also other types of missile systems,” Yevseyev noted.
Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.
On October 1, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Donald Trump of the United States and Emmanuel Macron of France, as the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair nations issued a statement on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The leaders resolutely condemned the current escalation along the contact line in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and called for immediate cessation of hostilities.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs – Russia, France and the United States.
Israel Is Sending Weapons to Azerbaijan as Fight With Armenia Continues
Defend Democracy Press
Oct 2 2020
Azeri cargo planes having been frequently flying to Israel for weapons
Posted onSeptember 30, 2020
Israeli arms are fueling Azerbaijan’s fighting with Armenia in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the president of Azerbaijan, told Israeli media that the Azeri military has been using Israeli-made attack drones in the recent violence.
Israel and Azerbaijan are major trading partners. The two countries have signed defense agreements together, and it is believed that Israel provides the Azeri military with 60 percent of its weapons. Israel also gets a large amount of its oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan. Azeri cargo planes have been recently spotted at an air force base in southern Israel.
Azeri cargo planes landing at this base is a relatively common occurrence, but the timing and frequency of recent flights indicate Israeli arms are fueling the conflict. According to Haaretz, two Azeri Ilyushin Il-76 freighters landed at the base last Thursday, just days before the fighting broke out. Two more freighters arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday, which means Azeri forces could be replenishing their weapons.
Hajiyev said that the Azeris “very much appreciate the cooperation with Israel, especially the defense cooperation.” So far, Israel has remained silent on the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. When asked if this silence bothered the Azeris, Hajiyev said, “No, no, Israel and Azerbaijan understand our situation” and cited multiple agreements between the two countries.
The fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh continued for a fourth day on Wednesday and shows no sign of slowing down. Turkey has been accused of intervening in the battle on behalf of the Azeris, with Armenia claiming Ankara is using F-16s to shoot down Armenian fighter jets. Turkey denies the charge. Reports say Ankara has been helping its ally in another way, by sending mercenaries from northern Syria to the region to support Azerbaijan.
Published at https://news.antiwar.com/2020/09/30/israel-is-sending-weapons-to-azerbaijan-as-fight-with-armenia-continues/
Israel Is Sending Weapons to Azerbaijan as Fight With Armenia Continues – News From Antiwar.com
AntiWar.com
Oct 2 2020
Azeri cargo planes having been frequently flying to Israel for weapons
Israeli arms are fueling Azerbaijan’s fighting with Armenia in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the president of Azerbaijan, told Israeli media that the Azeri military has been using Israeli-made attack drones in the recent violence.
Israel and Azerbaijan are major trading partners. The two countries have signed defense agreements together, and it is believed that Israel provides the Azeri military with 60 percent of its weapons. Israel also gets a large amount of its oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan. Azeri cargo planes have been recently spotted at an air force base in southern Israel.
Azeri cargo planes landing at this base is a relatively common occurrence, but the timing and frequency of recent flights indicate Israeli arms are fueling the conflict. According to Haaretz, two Azeri Ilyushin Il-76 freighters landed at the base last Thursday, just days before the fighting broke out. Two more freighters arrived on Tuesday and Wednesday, which means Azeri forces could be replenishing their weapons.
Hajiyev said that the Azeris “very much appreciate the cooperation with Israel, especially the defense cooperation.” So far, Israel has remained silent on the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. When asked if this silence bothered the Azeris, Hajiyev said, “No, no, Israel and Azerbaijan understand our situation” and cited multiple agreements between the two countries.
The fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh continued for a fourth day on Wednesday and shows no sign of slowing down. Turkey has been accused of intervening in the battle on behalf of the Azeris, with Armenia claiming Ankara is using F-16s to shoot down Armenian fighter jets. Turkey denies the charge. Reports say Ankara has been helping its ally in another way, by sending mercenaries from northern Syria to the region to support Azerbaijan.