Category: 2020

YEREVAN—The Armenian Relief Society, as part of its “Stand with an Artsakh Family” initiative, on Thursday assisted the families displaced as a result of the recent Artsakh war.

ARS Central Executive Board member, Hamesd Beugekian, along with ARS Armenian Regional Board and chapter members, and ARF Armenian Youth Federation of Armenia volunteers visited the families currently residing in the Nizami, Sis, Sayat Nova, and Ghoukasavan communities of the Ararat Province. In total, 84 families received $250 for their first month’s financial assistance.

The goal of this project is to provide financial assistance to a minimum 1000 displaced families from Artsakh over the course of four months. The monthly financial assistance provided by the ARS is intended to cover food, clothing, bills, and partial housing of the displaced families.

Moreover, this year, in conjunction with its traditional “Amanor” (Yuletide) program, the ARS is distributing presents to the children of Artsakh both in Armenia and Artsakh. Thanks to the donation of ARS chapters and individuals, enough funds were raised to spread some Christmas joy among the children. Along with the start of the “Stand with an Artskah Family,” 210 displaced children living in the aforementioned communities received Christmas gifts.

Within the next couple of weeks, dedicated members of ARS and AYF Armenia, will be visiting other regions of Armenia to distribute additional funds and gifts to those in need.

Thanks to our donors, we were able to implement the first phase of our new project as part of the ARS Artsakh Emergency Assistance initiative.

DONATE NOW AND STAND WITH AN ARTSAKH FAMILY.

The Armenian Relief Society founded 1910, is an independent, nonsectarian, philanthropic society serving the humanitarian, social, and education needs of Armenian and Non-Armenians alike. The ARS operates in 27 different countries providing aid to local and international communities.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev Friday praised his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for declaring that “Karabakh is Azerbaijan.” Aliyev also hailed Putin’s earlier statement that the Karabakh conflict is over and “part of history.”

He elaborated by saying that with his statements, Putin is cautioning “foreign circles” aiming to derail the November 9 agreement, adding that “saboteurs are dissatisfied with Russia’s leading role in the ceasefire.”

During his annual press conference on Thursday, Putin said, “from an international legal perspective, all these territories are an integral part of the Republic of Azerbaijan.” He added that Armenia, itself, hasn’t recognized Karabakh’s independence and based on international legal standpoint Nagorno-Karabakh is also Azerbaijan. The Russian leader also stressed that Karabakh’s status should not change, saying the issue of its “definition” should be solved in the future.

“In an interview with the media yesterday, Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] once again pointed out that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan. This is not the first statement of this kind. I believe this is a very important statement. It is important for those revanchist forces in Armenia, which are trying to revise the conditions of the statement of November 9,” Aliyev said, according to TASS, on Friday when addressing a virtual conference of CIS leaders.

“Unfortunately, there are such forces, and this is a very important signal to those who are trying to prevent the implementation of that statement. We saw such attempts both during the war and after the statement was signed,” Aliyev emphasized.

According to the Azerbaijani president, some “foreign circles” that are dissatisfied with Russia’s leading role in the ceasefire would similarly like to revise the terms of the deal.

“We saw attempts by certain foreign circles, which were dissatisfied with the fact that they stayed on the sidelines, dissatisfied with the fact that Russia was instrumental in achieving the ceasefire. They tried to muddy the waters in every possible way, and, unfortunately, they are pushing ahead with their attempts. This is especially true of the situation in Armenia. [They are seeking] to use certain levers, various infrastructure that has been created in Armenia, including the Soros infrastructure, in order to incite unrest in Armenian society and essentially to derail that statement,” Aliyev said.

“I would like to once again thank Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin for such active participation and [his] enormous contribution to the resolution of this conflict,” he added.

“I also fully agree with Vladimir Putin that whenever we talk about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, we must talk about what happened in the past. This is already history,” Aliyev declared during his remarks at the Council of Heads of States of the CIS.

According to Aliyev, the Armenian leadership’s steps and actions were targeted at escalation of the situation. “As far as the Prime Minister of Armenia is concerned, while he was in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in 2019, he declared that “Karabakh is Armenia, period.” Thus, the Armenian leadership’s steps and actions were targeted at escalation of the situation and were aimed at inciting the Azerbaijani party’s response operations and hindering the negotiation process,” Aliyev stressed.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not attend the CIS meeting. His office said that the CIS Council was informed about, adding that the Pashinyan’s father had passed away a day before.

The European Union is ready and would like to play a role in efforts to bring about a settlement to the Karabakh conflict, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said Friday, throwing his support behind efforts led by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

”The EU stands ready to assume a role in supporting and shaping a durable settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, in close complementarity with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs. We are ready to use our peace-building and reconstruction tools to support this,” Borrell said at session of the EU-Armenia Partnership Council in Brussels, which was attended by Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ara Aivazyan.

Borrell also said that the EU, “fully supports the OSCE Minsk Group format, and we expect that the Co-Chairs will continue—or start, because they have been interrupted for years until the [recent] war started—negotiations for a comprehensive and sustainable settlement of the conflict.”

The EU leader, who welcomed the end to military hostilities in Karabakh last month, lamented recent reports of ceasefire violations.

“The ceasefire agreement that Russia brokered last 10 November, around 40 days ago, has certainly prevented further loss of life. But last week, unhappily, we have heard reports from both sides of ceasefire violations. Full respect for the ceasefire remains imperative,” he said.

“The EU welcomes and supports Armenia’s strong commitment to further pursue its reform agenda and to fully implement our bilateral agreement, despite the challenges the country is confronted with,” said Borrell.

He also that his attempts to arrange a meeting with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were not successful.

“As the two [Armenian and Azerbaijani] Ministers have been in touch with me, we tried to have a trilateral contact—European Union, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. It has not been possible, so I will meet with the two Ministers separately,” Borrell said.

He met with Aivazyan before the partnership council meeting and discussed issues of regional security, as well as advancing relations with Yerevan.

In discussing the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression against the people of Artsakh and its consequences, Aivazyan said the violation of the values underlying the Eastern Partnership Program was unacceptable and it set a dangerous precedent for trying to resolve conflicts by force with the active support of Turkey.

Aivazyan voiced concern about Azerbaijan’s actions, which with the direct involvement of Turkey and foreign armed terrorists he said endanger the safety of Europe’s eastern neighbors, and could have catastrophic consequences for regional security.

The United States believes that the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh risks “destabilizing” the situation in the region, said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper on Thursday.

“In such cases Russia’s presence threatens with destabilization,” Cooper said when asked by an Azeri reporter whether or not the US “could counter the Russian influence.”

“This, of course, is a challenge for all parties and states involved,” Cooper added.

Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in Nagorno Karabakh as part of the November 9 statement signed by the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani leaders that ended the 44-day war in Artsakh. The Russian peacekeepers mission includes providing humanitarian aid and medical assistance to the Armenians of Artsakh, they have cleared landmines and have disposed unexploded ordnances.

The Russian troops are guarding the borders of the Republic of Artsakh, as well as the Lachin corridor. The peacekeeping contingent’s Commander, Lt. General Rustam Muradov is personally supervising the repatriation of the Armenian POWs from Azerbaijan. The Russian peacekeepers are also escorting the refugees back to Artsakh, and are assisting in the search and retrieval of bodies from the battlefield.