Category: 2021

Anew window of opportunity has opened in relations between Yerevan and Ankara despite Turkey’s support of Azerbaijan in the Karabakh War that ended in November 2020, a former Armenian lawmaker has said.

Styopa Safaryan, a member of center-right party Heritage, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that after the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian was facing difficulties at home and was willing to take steps to revive bilateral relations with Turkey.

“Pashinian is trying to show that there is a positive signal from Turkey so that a common agenda can be formed. He is making these statements understanding very well the sentiment on ground,” he said.

He added that the most sensitive issue in the normalization agenda is the Zangezur corridor, which will provide the Turkey-Nakhchivan-Azerbaijan connection.

Safaryan stated that some circles in Armenia interpreted the opening of the corridor as the political strangling of Armenia.

He claimed that Turkey will gain a lot from the opening of these roads without using the term “Zangezur corridor.”

“If this (corridor) _expression_ is used, the Armenian-Turkish dialogue will be finished,” Safaryan said.

The routes of the corridor and the mode of transportation to be used have been bones of contention between Armenia and Azerbaijan, former Soviet states that have been at loggerheads since the 1990s.

Their tensions culminated in the second Karabakh War in 2020 in which Azerbaijan liberated several cities and some 300 settlements and villages after nearly three decades of illegal Armenian occupation.

For improvement in ties, Armenia has to negotiate with Turkey and Azerbaijan but without mediators such as Russia, an Armenian analyst also said.

“Armenia has lost the (Karabakh) war and is currently in a weak state. The government has to negotiate with Turkey and Azerbaijan, but this should happen without intermediaries like Russia,” Stepan Grigoryan, the head of the Analytical Center on Globalization and Regional Cooperation, a think tank in Armenia, told AA.

“The process must continue through bilateral negotiations,” added Grigoryan, who is also a former lawmaker of the Pan-Armenian National Movement.

Emphasizing that Turkey can serve as an alternative to Russia in the region, he said: “Turkey follows a serious foreign policy in line with its interests.”

After last year’s six-week war, Azerbaijan recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions following nearly three decades of Armenian occupation.

Turkey backed Azerbaijan during the 44-day war, which ended in a Russia-brokered cease-fire agreement in November 2020.

Moscow has since mediated talks between Baku and Yerevan to end the decadeslong conflict. It has also expressed willingness to support normalization between Ankara and Yerevan.

Besides Karabakh, Turkey has long been at loggerheads with Armenia over issues such as Yerevan’s refusal to recognize their shared border, terrorist attacks on Turkish diplomats and Armenia’s claims over the events of 1915.

Due to its intransigence, landlocked Armenia has been left out of transport and trade lines towards Turkey and Europe, routes meant to draw the region closer together.

Noting that Turkey has the potential to be a “sustainable and reliable partner for Armenia,” Grigoryan said: “Turkey’s support and alliance with Azerbaijan is understandable and not open to discussion.”

“While doing this, it can establish a reasonable and balanced relationship with Armenia. The same goes for Armenia.”

Urging his country to establish direct channels of relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, he said: “I am not saying that this will be easy. Yes, there are disagreements on many issues, but negotiations should begin.”

“Today we have a greater chance to establish peace,” he added.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Khovaev of Russia, Brice Roquefeuil of France and Andrew Chaffer of the United States in Stockholm on Friday. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk also took part in the meeting.

During the meeting, the importance of fully expanding the peace process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and under its mandate was stressed, according to a statement issued by Armenia’s Foreign Ministry.

Mirzoyan told the co-chairs that the continuous belligerent rhetoric of the Azerbaijani leadership and aggressive actions are unacceptable, highlighting the need for taking concrete steps to reduce tensions in Nagorno Karabakh and the region.

The foreign minister considered it necessary to resolve humanitarian issues immediately, in particular, the immediate return of prisoners of war and other detainees, the documentation of cases of enforced disappearances, the preservation of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the territories under Azerbaijani control, the creation of opportunities for international organizations to operate in Nagorno Karabakh.

Mirzoyan offered Yerevan’s commitment to continue working within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ mandate for a comprehensive, lasting settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on the well-known principles and elements.

On Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries adopted a statement on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

“Within the framework of the OSCE, the Foreign Ministers of Russia, the United States and France, as OSCE Co-Chairs, adopted a statement on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, praising Russia’s mediation efforts, inter alia. Of course, we would like to see more results of this session, including a political declaration, which has failed to be adopted for 10 years,” Lavrov said, adding that parties have attempted to add minor issues into the declaration.

A scene from the panel discussion held at CSUN

LOS ANGELES—Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia Dr. Arman Tatoyan has concluded his trip to California at the invitation of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region following a successful two weeks in which he engaged in meetings with community officials, elected officials, media and academic circles to report on the latest developments in the region.

Dr. Tatoyan’s trip kicked off with a meeting with the ANCA-WR Board of Directors and staff during which the discussion centered on the role which Diaspora organizations and communities can play in helping to secure the future of the Armenian Homeland.

During his two week mission, Dr. Tatoyan also held constructive meetings with community leadership which included Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, Bishop Torkom Donoyan, Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, the Pan Armenian Council of Western United States, the A.R.F. Western USA Central Committee, AMAA, and H.E. Ambassador Armen Baibourtian, Consul General of Armenia to Los Angeles.

• Dr. Tatoyan in a meeting with Congressmember Adam Schiff
• Dr. Tatoyan with Lieutenant Governor of the State of California Eleni Kounalakis

Several meetings with elected officials and government representatives also led to an exchange of concrete solutions and ideas on how the U.S. may use it influence to secure human rights for Armenian civilians and POW’s and help facilitate peace in the region, while simultaneously addressing the rising wave of armenophobia in the U.S.

Along these lines, Dr. Tatoyan held meetings with Congressmember Adam Schiff, during which he briefed the Congressmember on the recent Azeri invasion into Armenia’s eastern border, the illegal deployment of Azeri forces on the roads between Armenia’s towns and villages which endanger people’s lives and well-being, the unlawful detention of POWs, and the importance of international pressure for accountability. Dr. Tatoyan further thanked Congressmember Schiff for his recent statement about the attack and for his unwavering support for justice for the Armenian Genocide and a secure and prosperous Armenia and Artsakh. Congressmember Schiff asked many important questions and thanked the Ombudsman for the information, reaffirming that he will continue working with his colleagues to ensure that Azerbaijan is held accountable for its  ongoing war crimes.

• Dr. Tatoyan met with Archbishop Derderian (center left)
• Dr. Tatoyan met with Bishop Donoyan (center)

Dr. Tatoyan also met with the Lieutenant Governor of the State of California Eleni Kounalakis, San Francisco Board of Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Myrna Melgar, and representatives of the San Francisco Mayor’s office. During these meetings, he provided a briefing on Azerbaijan’s latest acts of aggression against Armenia and its incitement and export of Armenophobic violence – noting how this global wave of anti-Armenian violence had reached the Armenian community in San Francisco.

Dr. Tatoyan met with the Los Angeles Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department, a newly established agency in the City of Los Angeles focused on addressing discrimination and injustice across the city’s diverse communities. Meeting with the department’s executive director Capri Maddox, Dr. Tatoyan discussed the threat of hate crimes against the Armenian community emanating from the state-sponsored incitement of anti-Armenian sentiment by the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan – noting the spate of Armenophobic hate crimes across the world, including in San Francisco.   

Dr. Tatoyan met with Consul General of Armenia to Los Angeles Dr. Armen Baibourtian (center)

On the media front, the ANCA-WR facilitated interviews for Dr. Tatoyan and RT America, where he discussed Azerbaijan’s incursion into Syunik and the capture of 12 Armenian prisoners of war. Dr. Tatoyan highlighted Azerbaijan’s repeated refusal to abide by ceasefire commitments, the immense human impact Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against Armenia has had on civilian populations, and the threat posed by Azerbaijan’s propagation of anti-Armenian sentiment.

Individual interviews were also arranged with foreign policy expert and political commentator Hagar Chemali for her “Oh My World!” show and Araksya Karapetyan of KTTV Fox 11 News, as well as Asbarez News, Horizon Armenian TV, USArmenia, PanArmenian television, and Zartonk Media. Dr. Tatoyan also spoke at a press conference to local and community media, providing a report on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as well as presenting on his latest reports on Azerbaijan’s torture and abuse of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives.

Dr. Tatoyan with members of L.A.’s Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department

Dr. Tatoyan’s trip also included a series of meetings with the ANCA-WR’s coalition partners, including Ramond Takhsh, Board Member of the Assyrian Policy Institute, which focused on the Assyrian Community of Armenia – the effects of the economic downturn following the pandemic on Armenia’s Assyrian community, the impact and sacrifices of the Assyrian community during the 2020 Artsakh war, and other issues related to political participation. Dr. Tatoyan emphasized that as the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, the human rights of Armenia’s minorities – including Armenia’s significant Assyrian community – was an utmost priority. In turn, Takhsh thanked Dr. Tatoyan for his diligent work as Human Rights Defender and expressed his profound thanks for Armenia’s role as one of the few safe havens for the Assyrian people in the world today – emphasizing the inextricable links between the Armenian and Assyrian people. 

Following the meeting with the Assyrian Policy Institute, Dr. Tatoyan visited the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum where he met with leaders of the Jewish-American community, including executive director of Jewish World Watch (JWW) Serena Oberstein, executive director of the Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) Dillon Hosier, executive director of the museum, Beth Kean, and Regional Director of AJC-Los Angeles, Richard S. Hirschhaut.

• Dr. Tatoyan at an Armenian Center in San Francisco
• Dr. Tatoyan at the Town Hall Meeting held in San Francisco

Within the Armenian community, Dr. Tatoyan visited the sites of the anti-Armenian attacks at the Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan Armenian School and the community center adjacent to the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco. The KZV Armenian school was the site of two separate incidents – an vandalism attack where anti-Armenian graffiti was plastered around school property, and a drive-by shooting of school property after hours – while the church community center, which housed the offices of the ANCA’s San Francisco chapter as well as other local community organizations, was severely damaged in an arson attack. The northern California leg of his trip culminated with a Town Hall Meeting in San Francisco, where he updated the community on recent developments in Armenia and presented information from his fact-finding missions.

In the Los Angeles area, Dr. Tatoyan headlined an ANCA-WR community town hall in partnership with the Armenian Youth Federation where he reported on the recent developments in Armenia and fielded a multitude of questions from the audience on a wide range of subjects, from Azerbaijan’s obligations under international law to protect the human rights of civilians and prisoners of war, to the need to establish a demilitarized security zone in the vicinity of villages in proximity to Azerbaijan’s military outposts.

Dr. Tatoyan speaking to Rose & Alex Pilibos Armenian School students

Dr. Tatoyan also visited the Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School in Little Armenia where he spoke to high school students about his role as the Human Rights Defender. Pilibos scholars asked him a series of questions regarding the rights of women and children in Armenia, the recent Azeri invasion into the sovereign territory of Armenia, and the rights of citizens in bordering villages. Dr. Tatoyan also had a chance to visit a classroom, where elementary students gave him hand-written cards thanking him for his selfless work. 

The main event of Dr. Tatoyan’s trip was the ANCA-WR’s Grassroots Luncheon on Sunday November 21st, hosted at the iconic Beverly Hilton Hotel where he was awarded the ANCA-WR’s “Human Rights Champion” Award in front of a sold-out crowd for his tireless pursuit of justice for the people of Armenia and the victims of Azerbaijan’s war crimes. Dr. Tatoyan was also presented with commendations by Senator Anthony Portantino on behalf of the Senate of the State of California and by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for his service to the Armenian nation. In turn, Dr. Tatoyan expressed his appreciation for the work of the ANCA-WR, presenting a certificate to the ANCA-WR, as well as to distinguished community members and legal experts Garo Ghazarian, Esq. and Karnig Kerkonian, Esq. for their enduring support of the Ombudsman’s office and for their efforts to hold Azerbaijan legally accountable for its violations under international law.

The next evening, Dr. Tatoyan participated in a panel discussion with leading international legal experts on the topic of justice and accountability in the wake of the Artsakh war that took place at California State University, Northridge and was co-hosted by the ANCA-WR, the University of California, Los Angeles Promise Armenian Institute, the UCLA Promise Institute for Human Rights, and CSUN’s Armenian Studies Department. Dr. Tatoyan was joined in conversation by Kate Mackintosh, executive director of the Promise Institute for Human Rights at the UCLA School of Law; Rajika Shah, director of the Genocide Justice Clinic at Loyola Law School; and Karnig Kerkonian, a seasoned international lawyer and legal counsel on Armenia’s case against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice. 

The extensive discussion examined a range of challenges associated with the justice and accountability process, the importance of international monitoring and reporting, a comparative study between the case of Artsakh and other examples of remedial secession and the prosecution of racially motivated war crimes, and the opportunities at Armenia’s disposal to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its violations of international law. 

Dr. Tatoyan returned to Armenia on Sunday, November 28 and immediately embarked on a fact-finding mission to the Syunik province to investigate the crisis situation along the border.