Category: 2022

ArmInfo. Armenia must clarify what it means by Artsakh’s final status, Gegham Stepanyan, Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, told reporters on the sidelines on the  Future Armenian forum as he responded to a question about Armenia not  positively insisting on Nagormo- Karabakh’s self-determination. 

“I think Armenia must clarify what it means by ‘the final status’ and  at least clarify that this status does not mean Artsakh’s being part  of Azerbaijan,” Mr Stepanyan said.

“This option is unacceptable to us. The Artsakh people will not  accept such a settlement,” he said. 

As to the international community’s demand to “lower the bar,” Mr  Stepanyan said:

“I do not know what ‘lowering the car’ could mean. But I know for  sure what it cannot mean. Artsakh has always been speaking of  recognition of its rights to self-determination and independence.”

He recalled various options, including interim ones, proposed by the  OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.

“Numerous options are available, with the only exception, namely,  Artsakh being part of Azerbaijan,” Mr Stepanyan said. He does not  think that a decision unacceptable to Arstakh could be made. As to  the international community turning a blind eye to Azerbaijan’s  anti-Armenian policy, he said it is “bitter reality.” “Human rights  protection is subject to political and geopolitical interests. And we  have repeatedly voiced our concern at different discussions,” he  said.  

This approach renders meaningless the thousands of documents adopted  after World War II – they should be put aside for political interests  to be served. 

“But it does not mean our renouncing our way. We must remain  committed to our chosen way – the right to self-determination,  security, life and preservation of our cultural values. It is public  perception. That is, if those making political decisions are invoking  political gains, those defending public interests understand the  human rights agenda. My task is to make ordinary people in Europe,  the United States and Russia understand that the Artsakh population’s  rights cannot be protected with Azerbaijan implementing an anti-  Armenian policy. I can say that, in my view, the Russian peacekeepers  have changed their opinion on many issues after coming here and  staying for a year and a half. That is why we are saying to  international organizations: come here to see what is really taking  place here.” 

ArmInfo.Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan in the opposition ranks guarantee a failure of the opposition forces’ plans to have power changed in Armenia, David  Sanasaryan, Chairman of the Sovereign Armenian party, said in an  interview with ArmInfo.

“The three political forces active in the streets now could even  replace all the ‘former ones’ with ‘new ones’. But it will not  improve the situation. The very presence of Robert Kocharyan and  Serzh Sargsyan along with the ‘new ones’ makes the public feel  instinctive dislike for both, with consequent prospects for a change  of power in the country,” he said.  

Mr Sanasaryan is sure that it is the odious leaders of the protest  movement that make the public take up a clear stance on both the  protests and on the protesters – choosing between Armenia’s Premier  Nikol Pashinyan on the one hand and the Armenian Revolutionary  Federation (ARF-D) along with Robert Kocharyan’s and Serzh Sargsyan’s  supporters on the other hand. And the choice is in Nikol Pashinyan’s  favor.  

It is the political forces formed around the two ex-presidents during  the 44-day war that are creating the present domestic political  situation in Armenia, namely, having positive impact on Nikol  Pashinyan’s power. That is, their very existence is a present to the  ruling party Civil Contract and to the premier himself.  

“Thus, even now that the opposition movement has reached its climax  one can forecast that the street forces’ effort to cause domestic  chaos will fail. They are doomed to failure without public support  for the aforementioned reasons,” Mr Sanasaryan said.

ArmInfo. U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy’s statement on the Artsakh population’s role in deciding its fate did not contain any new messages, Chairman of the European Party of Armenia Tigran Khzmalyan said in an interview with ArmInfo.

“The fact is that the United States has always recognized the right  to self-determination. Let us recall even the Roosevelt-Churchill  negotiations on the fate of the British Empire during World War II.  In this context, I do not see anything new in Ms Ambassador’s  statement. And if it is something new to us, it can only suggest that  the wrong policy has been pursued for decades or that the Armenian  political elite has been deceiving their own people,” Mr Khzmalyan  said.  

The new thing is perhaps the fact that Armenian society has not been  informed that there were not any contradictions between territorial  integrity and the right to self-determination. Specifically, in  contrast to constantly changing borders, the principle of  self-determination is everlasting and inviolable. So in case this  principle is adhered to, the rights to security and the fate of  Armenia and, first of all, of Artsakh will be considered in the  context of the law of the U.S., EU and of the rest of the civilized  world.  

According to Mr Khzmalyan, this is what the United States is giving  hints about to Armenia time and again. And the last message was in  the autumn of 2018, when Mr John Robert Bolton, then United States  National Security Advisor, arrived in Yerevan to meet with Armenia’s  newly appointed Premier Nikol Pashinyan. That message contained  proposals for arms supplies to Armenia. But it was in fact a proposal  to make a choice between the Western and Eastern civilizations, Mr  Khzmalyan said.

ArmInfo.The Azerbaijani side opened fire in the direction of Gegharkunik from the positions it occupied in Armenia’s sovereign territory a year ago, Armenia’s  former Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan wrote on his Facebook  page. 

The shots officially confirmed by the Armenian side were fired from a  section bordering the village of Norabak. One serviceman was wounded.  A few days earlier, the Azerbaijani side opened fire at the territory  near the village of Verin Shorzha.  

“Since the Azerbaijani armed forces are illegally deployed in the  territory neighboring the Gegharkunik province, with its pastures and  arable lands owned by the local residents, the aggressive fire poses  a real threat to people’s life and health,” Mr Tatoyan wrote.  

Azerbaijan’s authorities are responsible for the Azerbaijani troops’  criminal violations and ongoing aggression against civilians. 

On May 12 and 13, 2021, Azerbaijani troops made incursions in  Armenia’s territory in Syunik and Gegharkunik and moved 3.5km and 2km  respectively into Armenia’s territory. They stationed their units and  refuse to leave. Armenia applied to the Collective Security Treaty  Organization (CSTO), but the problem has since remained unsolved.  

ArmInfo. Considering Charles Michel’s “big breakthroughs” on the grounds of the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, many uncomfortable questions arise. Sergei Markedonov, a leading Researcher at the MGIMO Institute for International Studies,  Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of International Analytics, wrote on his Facebook page.

, the analyst writes.

Markedonov notes.

Markedonov writes: “Again, Brussels has become the main place where  the prospects for resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict are  discussed. On May 22, another round of talks was held in the capital  of “united Europe” between European Council President Charles Michel,  Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan. How to evaluate the results of this meeting? Can we say  that the EU has come to the fore in the process of moderation by  conflict resolution? First, it is worth noting the high negotiating  pace. The first meeting of the leaders of the two Transcaucasian  states and the head of the European Council took place on December 14  last year, and the second meeting on April 6. At the same time, it is  worth noting that all three negotiating rounds ended not only with  general politically correct formulations, but also with reaching  specific agreements. Charles Michel called the May talks “frank” and  “fruitful”. But the substantive moments are much more important. In a  statement to the press media, the head of the European Council said:  “In the coming days, the first joint meeting of border commissions  will be held at the interstate border, all issues related to the  delimitation of the border and how best to ensure a stable situation  will be considered.” In addition to the issues of demarcation, such  important packages as the socio-economic development of the region,  the restoration of a full-fledged communication infrastructure and  the preparation of a peace agreement were considered. The problem, as  we see, is considered systematically.

Secondly, it must be noted that the EU is trying to assume the role  of the main moderator of the peace process. In 2020-2021 Moscow was  ahead of all other players on the negotiation track. And the  frequency of trilateral meetings as well as the promotion of  meaningful ideas were under its auspices. All this favorably  distinguished the Russian side. Now, the EU is much more often  mentioned as the organizer and inspirer of the cause of peace. One  gets the impression that against the backdrop of the Ukrainian  situation, Moscow has lost interest in the Caucasus region. Of  course, this view is superficial. In fact, the southern part of the  post-Soviet space is still important for the interests of the Russian  Federation. But if so, meaningful initiatives are needed. In the end,  it was Moscow that did a lot to minimize incidents both along the  state border and directly in Nagorno-Karabakh. It was it who created  a powerful foundation for both demarcation negotiations and a peace  agreement. But Michelle’s May statement did not mention Russia.   There is no positive assessment or gratitude addressed to it. And in  the current context, it most likely cannot be. The same head of the  European Council became one of the frontmen of the tough policy of  Brussels and the collective West in general in relation to Russia.  The Russian Federation, the EU and the USA, which until recently  successfully interacted in the Karabakh direction, have now become  competitors in this part of Eurasia as well. Why, then, is there a  feeling that Moscow is letting Brussels go ahead? The expectation  that things will still not come to the final “big agreement”, since  the contradictions between Yerevan and Baku are still great, and to  them are added discrepancies in approaches to a peaceful settlement  within the conflicting societies, especially in Armenia? Perhaps this  logic has its reasons. However, as you know, “a holy place is never  empty.” And it would be better to take care of filling it ahead of  time.

ArmInfo.The Prime Minister of Armenia signed a decision on the composition of the Commission for the demarcation and delimitation of the border with Azerbaijan. According to the document, RA Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan was appointed  chairman of the commission.

The commission also includes: M. Safaryan – Deputy Minister of  Foreign Affairs, A. Sargsyan – Deputy Minister of Defense, G.   Minasyan – Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, H.   Harutyunyan – Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and  Infrastructure, N. Avagyan – Deputy Head of the Cadastre Committee,  A. Gugarats – Deputy Head of the Cadastre Committee, Y. Kirakosyan –  Representative for International Legal Affairs, A. Martikyan – Deputy  Chief of the General Staff, D.  Sanamyan – Head of the Department of  the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, A.   Maralchyan- Commander of the Border Guard Troops of the National  Security Service of the Republic of Armenia, S. Petrosyan – Head of  the Military Geographic Service of the General Staff of the Armed  Forces of the Republic of Armenia.  

Earlier, today President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree  on the establishment of a similar commission. The commission will be  headed by Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev.  

Yesterday, a trilateral meeting with the participation of Azerbaijani  President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and  European Council President Charles Michel was held in Brussels.   Following the talks, Michel said that the first meeting of the border  commissions will be held in the near future, during which issues  related to the delimitation of the border between Armenia and  Azerbaijan will be considered.