13:43, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Spokesperson to the Prosecutor General of Armenia Gor Abrahamyan denied the media reports according to which Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan has applied to the Russian government for getting a Russian citizenship.
In a statement on Facebook, Gor Abrahamyan assured that the Prosecutor General hasn’t applied to the Russian government for such a request.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Artsakh’s citizens warned of online Azeri intelligence scams, threats
13:44, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The Prosecutor-General’s Office of Artsakh received a report on November 8 that Azerbaijani intelligence agency operatives threatened a citizen of Artsakh with murder using different accounts of a social network.
The Azeri agent possessed the kind of information about his victim which proves that they’d been gathering personal data in advance.
In a statement the Office of the Prosecutor-General said that the respective report has been sent to the National Security Service for further investigation.
The authorities once again urged the citizens of Artsakh to refrain from contacting or providing information to suspicious or unknown users, and in case of appearing in such a situation immediately report to the National Security Service.
Azerbaijani intelligence agencies have previously also attempted to lure citizens of Artsakh into various processes with the use of various scams on social networks, with the purpose of obtaining information from them.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
14:50, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The 2020 November 9 statement signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh is very important, it’s difficult to overestimate its value, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters today.
“We attach great importance to the one-year-old documents, they are important both for Azerbaijan and Armenia, these were documents which allowed to stop the war and stand on the peaceful development path of the regional economy and infrastructures”, Peskov said, TASS reports.
He said that the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh fulfill their functions, ensure the security, the monitoring of the ceasefire regime and the return process of refugees. “This is very important. Therefore, it’s very difficult to overestimate the significance of the signing of documents”, he said.
Peskov informed that the contacts between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are not planned on the first anniversary of the signing of the trilateral statement. “As for the contacts with Baku and Yerevan, Moscow carries out them at different levels and exclusively on a regular basis. As for the trilateral contact, if there is such an agreement, we will inform you. There is nothing concrete at this moment”, the Russian presidential spokesperson said.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
14:04, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The financial-credit and budgetary affairs committee of parliament approved the draft government budget for 2022 presented by the Pashinyan Administration.
“The 2022 state budget draft was entirely formed based on the clear priorities pertaining to economic and social sectors envisaged under the 2021-2026 government action plan,” finance minister Tigran Khachatryan said at the meeting of the committee.
The circle of the state budget focuses especially on security matters, the education system, as well as development of high-quality infrastructures.
The draft budget projects 7% real growth of GDP.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
15:10, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Several opposition members of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) submitted a bill to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide and hold a memorial day for it every April 24, The Jerusalem Post reports.
The bill was submitted by Shas MKs Ya’acov Margi, Haim Biton and Moshe Arbel alongside Likud MKs Yuli Edelstein, Israel Katz and Yoav Kish.
15:42, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to Paris on November 10-12 to take part in the 41st session of the UNESCO General Conference, the ministry reports.
An event marking the 75th anniversary of UNESCO will also be held on the sidelines of the 41st session.
FM Mirzoyan will also attend the opening of the 4th Paris Peace Conference.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
17:02, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Defense Arshak Karapetyan is leading a delegation to Russia to participate in the November 10 CIS Defense Ministerial Council meeting in Moscow, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
EU stands with Armenia, Azerbaijan in resolving unresolved conflicts – EU official
17:43, 9 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Toivo Klaar, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, stated that the EU stands with Armenia, Azerbaijan and the region in resolving unresolved issues.
“Today we remember all who were killed and suffered during more than 30 years of conflict. Outstanding issues should be resolved to allow progress toward comprehensive and durable peace for the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan to move forward, together. The EU stands with you and the region”, ARMENPRESS reports Toivo Klaar wrote on his Twitter page.
As Azerbaijan on Monday marked the first anniversary of its victory liberating the Armenian-occupied territories in the Karabakh region, its foreign ministry released a statement saying new realities have emerged in the South Caucasus region, and Armenia has to choose between regional cooperation and illegal and unfounded territorial claims against its neighbors.
The statement recalled that, as a result of last year’s 44-day Karabakh war that started on Sept. 27, 2020, against the increasing attacks and provocations of Armenia, Azerbaijan liberated its lands from occupation. It was noted that the right to live in the ancestral homeland of approximately 1 million Azerbaijani migrants was ensured.
Reiterating that more than 300 settlements were liberated in the war, the statement added that with the tripartite declaration signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia on Nov. 10, 2020, Armenia accepted its defeat, and the problem was solved by military and political means.
It was stated that the areas liberated after the war were reconstructed and rehabilitated, the lands were cleared of mines, and the ultimate aim was to return the displaced, whose fundamental rights have been violated for years, to their homeland in a safe and dignified manner.
The statement emphasized that not only Azerbaijan but also friendly and brotherly countries played a role in the process, which requires time, money and serious effort. It also underlined that the return of the displaced to their homes will be realized in the coming years.
It reiterated that Azerbaijan has taken the necessary steps to prosecute Armenia for nearly 30 years of aggressive policies, violations of international law and war crimes, and that this process is ongoing.
Emphasizing the importance of punishing perpetrators in terms of ensuring justice and preventing the recurrence of such situations in the future, the following was also included in the statement:
“Ensuring lasting peace, development and progress is the basis of Azerbaijan’s future strategy. Having eliminated the occupation factor, Azerbaijan is ready to normalize its relations with Armenia, provided that the principles of international law, in particular the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of international borders, are strictly adhered to. It is important to fully implement the tripartite declarations at this stage in order to ensure security and it is expected that Armenia will respond to the steps taken by Azerbaijan in this direction.”
“With the end of the conflict, new realities have emerged in the South Caucasus and everyone has to accept these realities. Armenia must choose between regional cooperation and illegal and unfounded territorial claims against its neighbors. The international community should play a positive role in this regard and call on Armenia to understand that there is no alternative to peace. The vengeful tendencies in Armenia and the attempts to directly or indirectly support the armament of this country must be put to an end.”
In September, Azerbaijan filed a case at the United Nations’ top court against Armenia saying that Yerevan engaged in “ethnic cleansing and cultural erasure.”
The case was lodged at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) a week after Armenia filed suit against Azerbaijan at the same Hague-based world court, accusing Baku of a “state-sponsored policy of Armenian hatred.” Both cases focus on the two countries’ decadeslong territorial dispute that erupted into armed conflict again last year, leaving hundreds dead.
Referring to that eruption of hostilities, Azerbaijan alleged in its written filing that “Armenia once again targeted Azerbaijanis for brutal treatment motivated by ethnic hatred,” the court said in a statement.
“Armenia’s policies and conduct of ethnic cleansing, cultural erasure and fomenting of hatred against Azerbaijanis systematically infringe on the rights and freedoms of Azerbaijanis, as well as Azerbaijan’s own rights,” the case alleges. It accuses Armenia of breaching an international convention aimed at eradicating discrimination.
Azerbaijan last month also applied to the ICJ to order neighboring Armenia to hand over maps showing the location of land mines in the Karabakh territories liberated by Azerbaijani forces from the nearly three-decade Armenian occupation last year, while the judges are also considering tit-for-tat claims that the other side violated an anti-discrimination treaty. Azerbaijan accused rival Armenia at the U.N.’s top court of laying land mines as part of a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” despite the end of last year’s war.
Recently, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan offered to resolve border disputes and reach a permanent peace deal with Armenia but hasn’t received any reply so far.
Speaking at the opening of the 8th Global Baku Forum, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan and Armenia are in the post-conflict era now, and Baku is ready to make a peace deal with Yerevan.
Armenia must cease its territorial claims that go against Azerbaijan and pursue a peaceful agenda in the South Caucasus, Hikmet Hajiyev, an aide to Aliyev, also told Daily Sabah last week.
A march was also held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Karabakh victory.
As part of the “Victory Day” celebrations, military high school students, cavalry units of the Border Services Command, Karabakh War veterans and citizens participated in the march, which started from Baku’s Azneft Square.
In the march, which started with the marches of the military band, military high school students carried a 440-meter (1,444-foot) flag of Azerbaijan in reference to the 44-day war.
Citizens accompanied the march with Azerbaijani and Turkish flags, chanting “Karabakh is Azerbaijan” and singing marches.
The march, attended by thousands of people, ended at the “Spoils Museum” in Baku, where some of the weapons and armored vehicles seized from the Armenian Army are exhibited.
A year ago, the Azerbaijani army liberated Shusha, the symbolic city of Karabakh, from occupation.
Shusha was occupied by Armenia on May 8, 1992. Gaining control of Shusha was a major victory for Azerbaijani forces, who had been making gains against Armenian separatist fighters since new fighting erupted over Nagorno-Karabakh a month ago.
The town has significant military value because of its strategic location, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the region’s capital over Stepanakert (Khankendi) and on the road linking the city with Armenian territory.
Launched on Sept. 27, 2020, the counterattack lasted 44 days, during which more than 300 settlements were liberated from occupation. The entry of the Azerbaijani army into Shusha caused the Armenian Army to disperse. Armenia signed a declaration on Nov. 10, 2020, acknowledging its defeat and promising to withdraw its army from the provinces of Aghdam, Kalbajar and Lachin.
Aliyev declared Nov. 8, the date of the liberation of Shusha, as “Victory Day,” since Nov. 10, the date of the end of the war, was the date of death of modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Turkey on Monday marked the anniversary of Azerbaijan’s victory in Karabakh, expressing everlasting solidarity with the brotherly country.
“I sincerely congratulate the Victory Day of Azerbaijan and this glorious day that heralds the liberation of the lands of Karabakh,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Twitter.
He also commemorated with gratitude those “heroes who fought unblinkingly” for the homeland and fell in battle, as well as brave veterans.
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay also issued a message on Twitter marking the day.
Saying that Azerbaijan “crowned its epic struggle of 44 days with a victory one year ago today,” Oktay wished eternal rest to those who lost their lives in battle. His tweet included the hashtag “One Nation, Two States,” meaning Turkey and Azerbaijan.
“We are celebrating the victory of Azerbaijan’s 44-day Patriotic War, which was crowned by liberation of the cultural capital of ancient Shusha on November 8 last year,” said a Foreign Ministry statement.
Noting that Azerbaijan used its “right to self-defense to regain its occupied lands,” the Foreign Ministry said the country was able to ratify its victory on the ground via the trilateral declaration.
Turkey also welcomed the return of “1 million forcibly displaced Azerbaijani brothers” to their homelands with the victory of Azerbaijan.
The statement further noted that the Karabakh victory not only liberated the occupied territories but also “paved the way for the lasting peace, stability and cooperation we long for in the region.”
Citing the motto of “one nation, two states”, Turkey shared the “joy and pride of Azerbaijan, with which we have brought our relations to the level of alliance with the Shusha Declaration.”
“Our solidarity with Azerbaijan will continue forever,” it added.
Turkey and Azerbaijan signed the Shusha Declaration on June 15, a pact that focuses on defense cooperation and establishing new transportation routes.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Aliyev met in the historic city of Shusha, which was liberated last fall from nearly 30 years of Armenian occupation.
The declaration affirms joint efforts by the two armies in the face of foreign threats and the restructuring and modernization of their armed forces.
Turkey was a key backer of Azerbaijan during last year’s 44-day Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Also, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Monday arrived in Azerbaijan with top military officers to participate in the country’s first anniversary of the Karabakh war victory celebrations.
Welcomed by Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov and other officials in capital Baku, Akar and the officers were taken to Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center in the city to join a ceremony on the occasion of the Victory Day.
Speaking at the ceremony, Akar said: “Victory has been won, but a new struggle has begun to ensure a permanent peace that will bring stability to the Caucasus after many years.”
Aliyev and Erdoğan have displayed an extremely constructive approach to bequeath peace to future generations, and have opened the door to a new era based on stability and cooperation, Akar noted.
“Everyone needs to know that a future cannot be built on grudge and hatred. Armenia should abandon hostility and look to the future,” he said.
Turkey will continue to strive for peace, tranquility, and stability in the region as part of its historical responsibility, the Turkish minister added.
Hasanov, for his part, said the victory in the Karabakh war is one of the most magnificent pages in Azerbaijan’s history.
During and after the war, he said, Azerbaijan was bolstered by the political and moral support shown at the highest levels by “brotherly” country Turkey.
The Turkish parliament speaker on Monday also greeted Azerbaijan on the first anniversary of its win in the 2020 Karabakh war.
“Under the strong leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan ended the 30-year occupation, making history in 44 days,” Mustafa Şentop said in a letter marking Azerbaijan’s victory.
Shusha, which was liberated on Nov. 8, 2020, has “great meaning for all of us,” Şentop said, as “Azerbaijan crowned its victory on the field” with the tripartite declaration between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.
The liberation of Shusha, known as the pearl of Karabakh, led to the recognition of defeat by Armenia, as well as the cessation of the hostilities between Baku and Yerevan.
“I wish health, peace and prosperity to the friendly and brotherly people of Azerbaijan, and success to you and to the esteemed members of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan,” Şentop added.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar also marked the first anniversary of Azerbaijan’s victory in the Karabakh war.
Speaking at an event in Istanbul, Tatar said Azerbaijan’s victory is also that of the TRNC, Turkey and the entire Turkic world.
Congratulating Aliyev on the anniversary, he said it is necessary to act with unity as they are the “sons of the same ancestry and the same nation.”
“We have to develop such a policy to be strong together in the future,” he said, adding they have to stand tall to maintain unity and solidarity.
Bilal Khan Pasha, the consul general of Pakistan in Istanbul, also celebrated the anniversary and expressed his condolences to the families of those who were killed in the 44-day war.
Noting that Pakistan always stands by Azerbaijan in its just cause, he said this support is based on friendship.
“Turkey, Azerbaijan and the TRNC are three states and nations. Pakistan is with you as a brotherly country,” he added.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
Before the Second Karabakh War, about 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory – including Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring regions – had been under Armenian occupation for nearly three decades.
New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, and the Armenian Army continued its attacks on civilian and Azerbaijani forces for 44 days, even violating three humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.
The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, with the cease-fire seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.
Two months later, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region. It also included the establishment of a trilateral working group on Karabakh.
As the Nov. 8 anniversary of Azerbaijan’s victory in last year’s war with Armenia approaches, it is worthwhile to analyze how it led to the solidification of a Turkish-Azerbaijani strategic partnership.
The concept of One Nation-Two States of Turkey and Azerbaijan has a long history based on a common history, culture, and language. Turkey was the first country to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence from the Soviet Union. The concept of One Nation-Two States had support from the first year of Azerbaijani independence in 1991 when the leader of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan, Abulfaz Elchibey, called himself “Ataturk’s soldier” and defended the idea of uniting Turkey and Azerbaijan in a confederation. The concept of One Nation-Two States has very broad support in Azerbaijani society, especially since the country’s victory in the 44-day Second Karabakh War last year.
In the 2000s, the concept of One Nation-Two States was frayed by different approaches to re-opening Turkey’s border with Armenia, energy and other questions. Only in the last decade did the concept of One Nation-Two States become more clarified culminating in the June 2021 Shusha Declaration signed by Turkish and Azerbaijani Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ilham Aliyev. In the last decade, Turkey has become the main conduit for the export of Azerbaijani oil and gas, Azerbaijan became a major investor in Turkey, the number of Azerbaijani officers training in Turkish military colleges increased, and the number of joint military exercises grew. Azerbaijan purchased modern Turkish military equipment, such as drones. Importantly, Turkey made the normalization of relations with Armenia conditional on its withdrawal from occupied Azerbaijani lands.
The concept of One Nation-Two States is not unique to the South Caucasus. Romania and Moldova and Albania and Kosovo are the closest analogies of two countries from the same ethnic group and speaking the same language. But of these two examples, only Romania and Moldova share the same blue, yellow, and red flags. Turkey and Azerbaijan, like Albania and Kosovo, have different flags. Another example are two states on the Korea peninsula that resemble the two parts of Germany until they were reunited in 1990.
Unfortunately, not all cases of the concept of One Nation-Two States are benevolent. Serbia and Montenegro are in conflict over whether Montenegrins are “Serbs” or a separate nation. A separate Macedonian identity appeared in Communist Yugoslavia, much to the annoyance of Serbs who believed they were a Serbian tribe. Since Macedonia became an independent state in 1991, Greece and Bulgaria have continued to remain reluctant to recognize the existence of a Macedonian nation. Greece denies the existence of its Macedonian minority while Bulgaria declares them to be “Bulgarians.”
Russian nationalism has always denied the existence of Belarusians and Ukrainians believing they are Great Russian, White Russian (Belarusian) and Little Russian (Ukrainian) branches of a pan-Russian nation. Russia’s One Nation-One State is therefore a threat to Belarusian and Ukrainian identities, which is certainly not the case with Turkey and Azerbaijan’s concept of One Nation-Two States. The Shusha Declaration asserts Turkey and Azerbaijan’s interests in defending their mutual independence, and the inviolability of their internationally recognized borders. Armenian nationalism likewise denies the existence of an Azerbaijani nation claiming they are “Turks,” ignoring a century of separate development of national identities in the Turkish Republic and the Soviet Azerbaijani Republic.
Turkey is the closest Turkic-language country to Azerbaijan and “the two countries also hold roughly the same views on Turkishness, which cannot be said of countries such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.” In the 1920s, after the Soviet occupation of Azerbaijan ended the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, “Azeri intellectuals active in the Muslim reformist movement moved to Turkey to help with the foundation of the new Kemalist Republic.”
Azerbaijanis’ credit both their own authorities and Turkey with the liberation of occupied lands held by Armenia for nearly three decades. Azerbaijani Mayor General Huseyn Mahmudov said, “Turkey played an indispensable role and gave us leverage and courage to battle all enemy attempts to [maintain the] capture of our lands. It gave us additional courage to be ready to go into operation and liberate the occupied lands.”
The Shusha Declaration was the first occasion where two countries, one from the former USSR and a NATO member, signed a strategic partnership which amounts to a de facto security pact. Within the former USSR, only the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are NATO members.
President Erdoğan has stated that Turkey will not hesitate to stand against those who attack Azerbaijan.
Similar to the NATO-Ukraine Charter on a Distinctive Partnership signed in 1997 the Shusha Declaration states that “if there is a threat or an act of aggression from a third state or states against their independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, the inviolability or security of their internationally recognized borders, the parties will hold joint consultations.”
But following these “consultations” the Shusha Declaration goes an important step further than the NATO-Ukrainian Charter. The Shusha Declaration states that “After determining through urgent discussions the volume and form of such possible assistance, a decision will be made to secure defense needs for the adoption of joint measures and coordinated activities will be organized of power-wielding and administrative agencies of the Armed Forces.”
Since last year’s 44-day war, military, security, and economic cooperation has expanded between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Turkish companies are involved in rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure of Western Azerbaijan destroyed during three decades of Armenia’s occupation. Media reports talk of the possible opening of a Turkish military base in Azerbaijan, which Russia has already raised concerns about. The Shusha Declaration spells out many areas for future cooperation in developing military technology, joint military exercises, enhancing cyber security and combatting terrorism against Turkey.
Closer integration and development of the strategic partnership outlined in the Shusha Declaration will continue to grow, nevertheless, “the establishment of an Azerbaijani-Turkish confederation is unlikely in the near future.” The concept of One Nation-Two States will therefore remain and will not be replaced by One Nation-One State.
*Taras Kuzio is an Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and Professor in the Department of Political Science, National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy.
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/one-nation-two-states-turkey-and-azerbaijan-op-ed-169194?fbclid=IwAR1jO0hEJuj-oAY1mGKx5IIst0yxtdSz7jeU-P2q_CGswU8H2gxVHd2jObY