Category: 2022

Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan: “Baku is trying to legitimize another war”

Nahapetian Samvel


  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Pashinyan’s online press conference

“Baku wants to legitimize another war, therefore it refuses dialogue, publicly accusing Armenia [of refusing to participate in the negotiations]”, the Armenian Prime Minister said. After a five-month break, Nikol Pashinyan held another online press conference, already the fourth in this format.

This caused indignation of more than 30 media resources, which decided to boycott the press conference and did not send questions to the prime minister’s office. Their joint statement said that the online format was justified during the pandemic, but now was the time to restore direct contact with journalists.

PM Pashinyan’s press conference began with an address to the media that had boycotted it. The prime minister said that he had chosen this form of communication, considering it an opportunity, not coercion, and “there will always be a reason for a boycott”.

  • PM Pashinyan: “Any alternative to peace will be disastrous – both for NK and Armenia”
  • «They shot us in foot»: Pashinyan blames former government for failed Karabakh negotiations

Speaking about the complicated relations with Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of Armenia stressed that the unblocking of economic and transport communications in the region is the obligation of both countries. This is not a unilateral demand to Armenia, but a point of a joint statement signed with Azerbaijan on the cessation of hostilities in Karabakh.

“But Azerbaijan is trying to resolve the issue in a way that would leave Armenia in the blockade”, Pashinyan stressed.

According to him, the choice of routes for unblocking the region is small, a maximum of five options can be considered. But Baku is trying to politicize this technical issue, the prime minister believes:

“No one can be more interested in the issue of [unblocking] routes than we are․ Because we are faced with the task of sending as much international transit as possible along these roads, which will bring income to Armenia”.

“It is not so easy to be a direct, honest, reliable partner for both Russia and the West, our duty is not to betray anyone” – Armenian PM Pashinyan’s interview to Al-Jazeera TV channel

According to the Prime Minister, Baku wants to legitimize a new war.

It is for this reason that the Azerbaijani side refuses dialogue, Pashinyan and cited a few examples. A meeting of the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia and the Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan was scheduled for June 27 and was canceled by Baku. Armenia offered to meet at the level of foreign ministers, but has not received an official response yet.

Meanwhile, the President of Azerbaijan earlier accused Armenia of allegedly rejecting a proposal to hold a trilateral meeting in Tbilisi at the level of the foreign ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. And the Armenian Foreign Ministry had to refute this information.

According to Pashinyan, Baku demonstrates the same approach in connection with the work of the commission on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. He believes that Azerbaijan is trying in this way to create the impression that Armenia is avoiding participation in the work of the commission:

“However, reality is different. During May, the Azerbaijani side canceled or postponed this meeting twice”.

Shot from the press conference

According to the prime minister, preliminary discussions have already been held with Azerbaijan on the peace treaty and there are agreements to continue work. Therefore, Pashinyan considers “very strange” Baku’s statements that “Armenia is dragging out negotiations on a peace agreement.”

“As a result of the discussions, it was decided that the officials of Armenia and Azerbaijan should keep in touch with each other, but we already have at least one such case when Azerbaijan boycotted the work contrary to the agreements,” Pashinyan stressed.

The provisions of the agreement and a number of other issues are yet to be discussed. The Prime Minister assures that there is no other document at the negotiating table, except for the one already published.

This is a five-point document from Azerbaijan on the principles on which the peace treaty should be based. The Armenian side announced that there is nothing unacceptable in it, but it does not cover the entire agenda of issues to be discussed, and added its 6 points.

Political observer Hakob Badalyan believes that Azerbaijan is trying to solve its main task – “to dictate its own agenda and its own conditions for the peace process”

During the press conference, Pashinyan also spoke about the transfer of new territories to Azerbaijan. After the completion of the construction of an alternative road to the Lachin corridor, which connects Armenia with NK, the territories outside the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region will come under the control of Azerbaijan. This refers to the city of Berdzor (Lachin), as well as the settlements of Agavno and Sus.

“We are solving the problems of the inhabitants of Lachin [the government of Armenia], they, of course, should be provided with apartments. In fact, families do not live in Lachin today. I think that the problems of the residents of the village of Aghavno will be resolved at the expense of the government of Nagorno-Karabakh․ I can’t say anything about Sus, I don’t have any information at the moment”.

According to the prime minister, the purpose of building a road bypassing Lachin is to provide a “more reliable” road connection between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinyan has confirmed that there is a preliminary agreement on the construction of the road and the transfer of territories to Azerbaijan. But the prime minister believes that there can be no question of this happening this or next week.

According to the 2020 tripartite declaration of cessation of war, the route change should take place by agreement of the parties and after three years.

According to Pashinyan, negotiations on this topic are now in progress with Russian partners, since the new route, according to the trilateral statement, should be controlled by Russian peacekeepers.

“Just because we are paying a lot of attention to the Russian-Ukrainian war does not mean that we are not paying attention to other issues” – US Assistant Secretary of State in Yerevan

According to Azerbaijan, 38 Armenian prisoners of war are still being held in Baku. Armenian human rights activists claim that there are many more of them. During a press conference, Pashinyan stated that all those who have reliable evidence that they were captured and can now be on the territory of Azerbaijan are considered “forcibly displaced”. Even a list of these people was compiled, but the prime minister did not say how many people were on it.

Pashinyan emphasized that more than 90% of the confirmed prisoners were captured after the entry of Russian peacekeepers into NK, in their zone of responsibility:

“Azerbaijan’s policy of not returning prisoners is aimed at discrediting the activities of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, in the Lachin corridor”.

He believes that the Armenian side, Russia and the international community should make additional efforts to return the prisoners. The Prime Minister assesses their retention in Azerbaijan as a violation of the November 9, 2020 tripartite ceasefire statement:

“It says that prisoners of war, hostages, and other detainees must be returned to their homeland. There are people who were captured before November 9, and there are those who were later captured. But the November 9 statement does not say that this clause does not concern them”.

The new CRRC Armenia survey has determined what worries the Armenian people the most: the need to strengthen the army, poverty, and the peace agreement with Azerbaijan

“There is an opportunity for a positive shift, and we must do everything to use it,” the prime minister said about the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

According to him, if negotiations are ongoing, then there is “a realization that a settlement is possible,” and we need to move forward in small steps.

However, Pashinyan believes that some statements that come from Turkey have a negative impact on this process, create a negative background. In particular, he touched upon the wording “Zangezur corridor”.

This refers to the road through the territory of Armenia, which will connect Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhichevan. Azerbaijan and Turkey call this road a “corridor”. The Armenian side has repeatedly announced that it agrees to unblock communications, but with the preservation of sovereign control over these roads, since the term “corridor” implies a loss of sovereignty.

At the same time, Pashinyan stressed that dissatisfaction with the statements of the Turkish side does not mean the end of the dialogue with the Armenian side.

https://jam-news.net/armenian-prime-minister-pashinyan-baku-is-trying-to-legitimize-another-war/







FM Dendias signs MoU with Armenian FM Mirzoyan

Hunanian Jack
HELLENIC NEWS OF AMERICA
ByHellenic News of America

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met on Monday with visiting Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan in the presence of Deputy Foreign Minister Kostas Fragogiannis.

The two top officials reaffirmed the strong frienship and historical ties between Greece and Armenia.

They also discussed Greek-Armenian relations, including the trilateral cooperation between Greece, Armenia and Cyprus on diaspora issues, developments in the Caucasus region, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.

After the meeting Dendias and Mirzoyan signed an MoU between the Greek and the Armenian Foreign Ministries on EU-related matters, the foreign ministry posted on Twitter.

SOURCE; ANA-MPA

https://hellenicnews.com/fm-dendias-signs-mou-with-armenian-fm-mirzoyan/

“Thanks to brotherly Greece,” says Armenian FM following meeting with Dendias in Athens

Toneyan Mark
by ATHENS BUREAU

Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met on Monday with visiting Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan in the presence of Deputy Foreign Minister Kostas Fragogiannis.

The two top officials reaffirmed the strong friendship and historical ties between Greece and Armenia.

They also discussed Greek-Armenian relations, including the trilateral cooperation between Greece, Armenia and Cyprus on diaspora issues, developments in the Caucasus region, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.

After the meeting Dendias and Mirzoyan signed an MoU between the Greek and the Armenian Foreign Ministries on EU-related matters, the foreign ministry posted on Twitter.

Thanks to brotherly Greece and my friend Nikos Dendias personally for warm welcome and hospitality. Had very productive discussions also with also the President and the Prime Minister and the Greek Foreign Minister. Strong partnership with Greece has a strategic importance for Armenia,” Mirzoyan tweeted.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/06/29/brotherly-greece-dendias/

Gielda Papierów Wartosciowych w Warszawie S A : GPW Acquires Armenia Securities Exchange

Maghakian Mike
Market Screener
06/28/2022 | 12:11pm EDT

GPW Acquires Armenia Securities Exchange2022-06-28 17:50:16

Yerevan,

PRESS RELEASE

  • The Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW) has signed a Share Purchase Agreement with the Central Bank of Armenia (CBoA) to buy a 65,03% stake in the Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX) from CBoA
  • GPW and CBoA have signed a Shareholders’ Agreement regarding the participation of the contracting parties in AMX
  • The signing ceremony was attended by representatives of Polish and Armenian authorities, including Marcin Przydacz, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On , during a ceremony in Yerevan, Marek Dietl, President of the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW), signed a Share Purchase Agreement between GPW as the buyer and the Central Bank of Armenia (CBoA) as the seller of a majority stake in the Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX) representing 65.03% of shares. CBoA was represented by Martin Galstyan, Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia. A Shareholders’ Agreement regarding the participation of the contracting parties in AMX was also signed in Yerevan between GPW and CBoA. The signing ceremony was attended by representatives of the Polish government: Marcin Przydacz, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Paweł Cieplak, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to Armenia.

“We firmly believe that this transaction lays new foundations in Polish-Armenian relations as a clear _expression_ of the 700-year history of mutual trust and respect that binds our two nations. Poland and the Warsaw Stock Exchange are helping Armenia to build economic relations with the West in small steps. We consider this investment as a long-term partnership. Our aim is to recreate with joint efforts the capital markets of Armenia and thrive to extend our business further into the region. We also expect to develop the capital markets infrastructure, creating opportunity for businesses to raise sustainable and affordable capital while enabling the investors and savers to manage their savings and investments more professionally within a wider range of investment products and opportunities,” said Marek Dietl, President of the Management Board of GPW.

The detailed development plan of AMX and the Armenian capital market is set out in the long-term development strategy of AMX, which was developed in co-operation with the EBRD and GPW. GPW intends to support the development of the capital market in Armenia by leveraging its 30 years of experience in building a capital market in Poland.

“We believe this to be an important milestone in the development of Armenian capital markets. Having found such a partner in the Warsaw Stock Exchange, realizing we have the same vision and similar aspirations, we believe this deal to be a turning point in the chronicles of capital markets in Armenia. Under the leadership of the Warsaw Stock Exchange, with their experience and knowledge, AMX has the full potential to expand and become the robust stock market ready to take up the challenges of the 21st century and lead the region,” said Martin Galstyan, Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia.

The joint-stock company AMX is the only stock exchange currently operating in Armenia (as the Armenia Securities Exchange from 2001 and as NASDAQ OMX Armenia since 2008). For more than 18 years, the exchange has been an organised securities market in Armenia, offering market professionals a fully automated electronic trading platform. The AMX Group’s core business is to organise trading in financial instruments and operate a depository and clearing house for trading in financial instruments in Armenia. The company is headquartered in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan. Currently listed instruments include equities, corporate and government bonds, currency, credit, as well as repos and swaps. AMX continues to work on introducing other organised markets. The Central Bank of Armenia is the supervisory and regulatory authority for the stock exchange and the Armenian capital market. AMX is a member of the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS) and the International Association of CIS Exchanges. Since 2008, AMX is also a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Armenia.

As a result of the transaction, GPW will become the majority shareholder of AMX holding a block of 967 shares, representing a 65.03% stake in the company’s total share capital. CBoA will hold 372 shares representing a 25.02% stake in the company’s share capital. The remaining 9.95% i.e. 148 shares are AMX’s Treasury shares. In addition, GPW will indirectly take control of the Central Depository of Armenia (CDA), in which AMX currently holds a 100% stake.

***

On 18 September 2020, the GPW Management Board signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Armenia (CBoA) to negotiate the acquisition of a majority stake representing 65% of shares in the Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX). On 19 May 2022, the GPW Management Board and the GPW Supervisory Board approved the acquisition of a 65.03% stake in the Armenia Securities Exchange. On 24 May 2022, during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Marek Dietl, President of the Management Board of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW), and Hayk Yeganyan, President of the Management Board of the Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX), signed a memorandum and initialled a Share Purchase Agreement setting out the terms of GPW’s acquisition of a majority stake in AMX. The agreement was initialled in the presence of Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland, and Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of the Republic of Armenia.

***

The Warsaw Stock Exchange Group (GPW Group) operates trading platforms for shares, Treasury and corporate bonds, derivatives, electricity and gas, and provides indices and benchmarks including WIBOR and WIBID. The index agent FTSE Russell classifies the Polish capital market as a Developed Market since 2018. The markets operated by the GPW Group are the biggest in Central and Eastern Europe. For more information, visit www.gpw.pl

The Armenia Securities Exchange (AMX) is the only securities regulated market operator in Armenia. As an integrated exchange offering, AMX provides a full suite of services including listing, trading, clearing, information services and alternative market solutions. Investors receive a wide range of investment products and maximum transparency, together with the smooth and efficient execution and clearing of trade transactions. Being a 100% shareholder of the Central Depository of Armenia, AMX also provides integrated settlement solutions for both resident and non-resident clients by utilizing the central depository’s international settlement network and relationships with global depositories. AMX as a group has a pivotal role in the Armenian financial system.
The mission of AMX is to enhance and develop the infrastructure of the Armenian capital market and create an attractive business environment. We will do this by becoming an active financing tool for the Armenian economy, enabling the raising of capital and investments. Through the expertise, experience and passion of our people, AMX ensures that our operations are built on foundations of quality, security and trust.

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Armenians hold Arab League, World responsible for Turkey for settlement in their lands

Jhanna Virabian
Kurdish Press – Belgium
 The co-chair of the Armenian Social Council, Arief Kasbian, held the Arab League and the international community responsible for Turkey’s settlement projects on the lands of the displaced Armenians in the occupied Syrian regions, Turkey and its endeavors to change the demography of the region, indicating at the same time that this policy is an extension of the Armenian massacres at the hands of the Ottomans in the nineties of the last century.  .
 NEWS  28 Jun 2022, Tue – 07:44 2022-06-28T07:44:00  Al-Hasakah – Hanar Ibrahim

 The Turkish occupation state continues its settlement projects within the occupied Syrian areas amid the silence of the international forces, despite the rejection of the region’s residents and the warnings of the Autonomous Administration and human rights organizations in north and east Syria against Turkey’s efforts to carve out and annex the occupied Syrian lands.

 The Turkish settlement projects are funded by “Qatari, Kuwaiti, and Palestinian” organizations and associations, especially in the Afrin canton, the occupied Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî/Tal Abyad areas.  It was within the land of the Armenian diaspora in Girê Spî / Tel Abyad.

A local source from the town of Al-Ali Baglia in the occupied canton of Girê Spî / Tal Abyad told our agency on June 23 that the Kuwaiti “Sheikh Zayed Organization” had started building a religious complex on a land of 170 dunums owned by the Armenian diaspora Akop.

 With Kuwaiti money, the occupation is building a religious complex on the land of an Armenian diaspora in Girê Spi – Hawar News Agency (hawarnews.com)

 Commenting on the issue, the co-chair of the Armenian Social Council in al-Hasakah Canton, Arief Qasbian, confirmed to our agency that “the occupation of the lands and the forced displacement of the Armenians, and the seizure of their lands, is a systematic and continuous policy pursued by the Turkish occupation state, to eliminate the history, civilization and presence of the Armenians,” indicating that this policy began  since the massacres of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans.

 Arief noted that their occupied areas in northern and eastern Syria are witnessing a demographic change before the eyes of the world, considering the silence of international forces as tacit approval and partnership in the genocide of the Armenians and the rest of the region’s components of the Kurds, Arabs, Circassians, and others.

 Arief Kasbian pointed out the silence of the Arab community towards the Arab organizations participating in financing the settlement projects of the Turkish occupation state, saying: “The organization that supports the settlement project on the lands of the Armenians is Kuwaiti, and Kuwait is a state in the Arab League, but the League is silent and did not express a clear position regarding the settlement on the Syrian lands.  through these Kuwaiti organizations.

 Arief Qasbian also held the community and international forces, led by the League of Arab States, responsible for the actions of the Turkish occupation state in terms of displacing the people, seizing their property, and changing the demography of the region.  Turkey’s settlement projects in northern and eastern Syria.

 The co-chair of the Armenian Social Council in Al-Hasakah Canton, Arief Qasbian, called on human rights organizations and the United Nations to intervene and limit the project, which she described as “the Turkish-Kuwaiti-Qatari project”, and the crimes of the Turkish occupation state against the peoples of the region, and to protect the existence of the components in light of attempts to exterminate them.

A

https://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/armenians-hold-al-world-responsible-for-turkey-for-settlement-in-their-lands-h31510.html

Watch the report in Arabic at the link below

الأرمن يحمّلون الجامعة العربية والعالم مسؤولية استيلاء تركيا على ممتلكاتهم والاستيطان أراضيهم 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OpO3I0uopI&t=220s


Farmland in Karabakh being given to powerful Azerbaijanis – report

Kalashian Nyrie
Heydar Isayev Jun 28, 2022

Agricultural land in the territories Azerbaijan retook in the 2020 war with Armenia are being developed by companies connected to top government officials, a new investigation has found.

Abzas Media, an independent news outlet, on June 23 published a report detailing which companies have gotten government contracts to farm land in Karabakh. Many of the companies, several of them little-known, are connected to high-ranking officials, including the daughters of President Ilham Aliyev.

Abzas reported that the state Agency for Development of Small and Medium Businesses (KOBIA, in its Azerbaijani acronym) presented, at an October 2021 exhibition called “Rebuild Karabakh,” a short list of companies that had been awarded government deals to carry out agricultural work in various parts of Karabakh.

According to the agency’s figures, which hadn’t been publicly shared elsewhere, a total of 8,376.5 hectares of land had been leased in 2021 to five companies: Agroinkishaf-2017, Agro Fresh, Agro Diary, Azersun, and Kraun Ko.

It’s “no coincidence that these companies popped up in liberated lands in Karabakh,” Abzas said, given the close connections many of them have with the government.

While it wasn’t clear how those 8,000-plus hectares were allocated, KOBIA did identify a small number of specific, separate deals. Azersun, a giant Azerbaijani food monopoly, was awarded 9,000 square meters of land in the Gubadli district, in a project valued at 40 million manats [$23.5 million]. Azersun is owned by Turkish businessman Abdolbari Gozal, who is known to be close to the ruling family.

Agro Dairy was awarded a project worth 851,000 manats [$500,000] on 5.2 hectares in the Aghdam and Fuzuli districts. The company belongs to Pasha Holding, owned by members of the powerful Pashayev family of Aliyev’s wife, Mehriban Aliyeva.

Aliyev has mentioned the role of Azersun and Agro Dairy in Karabakh. In a visit to the Hajigabul district in April 2021, where he was visiting an “agropark,” a large-scale, state-backed agribusiness venture, Aliyev met the director of Agro Diary. Aliyev said that he had “recommended both those managing Agro Diary and Azersun to build agroparks in the liberated lands of Karabakh.”

A previous investigation by the independent news agency Turan found that the majority of the new agroparks established in Karabakh were connected to figures close to the government.

Kraun Ko-R was given a project worth 20 million manats [$12 million], on 2.3 hectares in the Zangilan district, Abzas reported, citing the KOBIA presentation. Kraun Ko-R’s ownership significantly overlaps with those of companies belonging to the family of Ali Naghiyev, the chief of the State Security Service, the Abzas investigation found. And its legal address happens to be the same as those of companies belonging to Baylar Ayyubov, the chief of the presidential security service.

And that is likely the tip of the iceberg, as the KOBIA presentation did not appear to cover all new government contracts for agricultural work in Karabakh. Kraun Ko-R’s director, Sabuhi Abdullayev, has said that his company planted wheat on 24,000 hectares in Gubadli, Zangilan, and Jabrayil districts in 2021 alone. “We plan to expand the land on which we are farming as soon as more territories are cleared of landmines,” he told Public Television.

Since the end of the war, Azerbaijan has undertaken a massive reconstruction campaign in the territories it retook, which were left largely destroyed after 30 years of Armenian occupation. The work so far has consisted mainly of landmine clearance, building infrastructure like airports and roads, and setting up several new, heavily promoted “smart villages” in the Zangilan district. The reconstruction work has focused heavily on the city of Shusha, which has been formally designated as Azerbaijan’s “cultural capital.”

The government hasn’t provided specific information on when the more than 600,000 Azerbaijanis displaced from those territories in the first war between the two sides in the 1990s might be able to return to live. But it appears to be moving ahead with allowing big businesses to start farming work there.

In a February speech, President Aliyev briefly touched upon the agricultural work being undertaken in Karabakh. “Various agricultural projects are now being implemented in the liberated areas. I can say that a sowing campaign is planned on 40,000-50,000 hectares this year. This will contribute to our food security,” he said.

According to an April 2021 presidential order, the Ministry of Agriculture “is temporarily entrusted with the implementation” of new agricultural work “in the the liberated territories of Azerbaijan,” including “leasing of agricultural lands for production and processing of agricultural products” and “exercising control over the use of leased lands.”

The Ministry of Agriculture did not respond to Abzas’s inquiry about to whom land in Karabakh had been leased and on which criteria they were selected. 

Heydar Isayev is a journalist from Baku.

Armenia, Azerbaijan trade new Karabakh accusations

Vorskanian Yeghisabet
The National Post

Author of the article:

Reuters
Publishing date:

Jun 27, 2022 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan traded new accusations on Monday with the president of Azerbaijan, saying his neighbor was failing to take action on a treaty to end 30 years of hostility over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The dispute over the region, a mountainous territory inside Azerbaijan controlled since the 1990s by ethnic Armenians, flared in 2020 into a six-week war in which Azeri troops regained swathes of territory. The two sides agreed to work on a peace plan after Russia brokered a ceasefire.

Pashinyan, quoted by Russian and Armenian news media, said Azerbaijan was politicizing peace efforts, including the issue of building a rail link through Armenia between Azerbaijan and its western enclave of Nakhichivan.

The target of large protests in recent weeks accusing him of making too many concessions on Karabakh, Pashinyan also said more than 50 Armenian servicemen faced treason charges.

While Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev have held a series of meetings in the past 18 months, progress towards a peace treaty has been slow.

“Azerbaijan refuses to talk, publicly accusing Armenia of refusing to talk,” Armenia’s Armenpress news agency quoted Pashinyan as telling an online news conference. “My assessment is one: it is done to legitimize a new war against Armenia.”

On the allegations against Armenian officers, Russia’s TASS news agency said Pashinyan told reporters that “a great many affairs are now happening behind closed doors and the public is unaware of them … More than 50 serviceman are accused of espionage and treason.”

The TASS account gave no further details.

Aliyev last week accused Armenia of inaction on the treaty.

Armenia was failing to abide by its “legal obligations” to allow free access for construction of the rail line, Azerbaijani media quoted him as saying after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Pashinyan said Aliyev was blocking progress on the issue by linking it to the return to Armenia of prisoners of war. (Reporting in Winnipeg by Ronald Popeski; editing by Richard Pullin)

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/crime-pmn/armenia-azerbaijan-trade-new-karabakh-accusations
ALSO AT
| Politics (devdiscourse.com)
https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/politics/2089099-armenia-azerbaijan-trade-new-karabakh-accusations
Armenia, Azerbaijan Trade New Karabakh Accusations | World News | US News

Pashinyan says corridor connecting Armenia to Karabakh will be changed

Alex Nanijanian
PanARMENIAN
Armenia –
– 10:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has revealed that there is a “preliminary understanding” that Lachin corridor connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) will be changed.

Pashinyan made the demarks during an online press conference organized for the media and non-governmental organizations on Monday, June 27.

He cited the trilateral statement from November 9, 2020, according to which “the Parties have agreed that a plan for the construction of a new route along the Lachin corridor shall be determined within the next three years.”

“During this time, we have been holding discussions, preliminary agreements have been reached,” the Prime Minister said. “The purpose of this change is to provide a more reliable, stronger and better road connection for Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.”

Asked what will happen to the residents of Aghavno and Sus communities, which are situated within the current corridor, Pashinyan said: “In case of a change in the route, the territories that are not part of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region will pass under the control of Azerbaijan. The problems of the residents of Aghavno will be solved with the help of the Artsakh government.”

https://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/301164/Pashinyan_says_corridor_connecting_Armenia_to_Karabakh_will_be_changed

Armenia stresses "key role" of OSCE Minsk Group in Karabakh peace

Aram Torosian
PanARMENIAN
Armenia –
– 11:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias on Monday, June 27 and stressed the key role of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship in promoting the peace process for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Armenia appreciates the position of Greece in support of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the mandate and within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship,” Mirzoyan said in a statement for the press.

“I presented to my colleague in detail the situation created around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the position of Armenia on the processes aimed at establishing regional peace and stability, the negotiations on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“I also touched upon issues related to the processes of the unblocking of the regional economic communications and transport infrastructure, the works within the Commission of delimitation and border security and overall the process on peace agreement.”

The Second Karabakh war lasted 44 days and ended when Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev signed a ceasefire statement on November 9, 2020. Under the deal, the Armenian side returned all the seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, having lost a part of Karabakh itself in hostilities.

Moscow rejected Washington’s invitation to discuss Karabakh – DoS

Karakhanian Suren
PanARMENIAN
Armenia –
– 13:11 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The Russian Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group has rejected the invitation of his American counterpart to discuss the future of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Department of State’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs said on Tuesday, June 28.

“The U.S. OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair spoke with her counterparts today to discuss the future of Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Bureau said in a tweet.

“It’s unfortunate the Russian Co-Chair did not accept the invitation. We look forward to the Minsk Group’s continuing work.”

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said days earlier that Moscow doubts Washington’s sincerity about readiness to cooperate with Russia within the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. Her comments came after U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Karen Donfried noted the United States was ready to work with Russia on achieving peace in Nagorno-Karabakh.