Category: 2022

An Armenian car was deliberately hit by an Azerbaijani military motorcade on its way to a village near the town of Martakert in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on Thursday, Irina Safaryan said in a tweet.

As a result of the collision, the vehicle rolled down the nearby gorge. No injuries were reported.

“Some of my friends on their way to the village near Martakert, have been hit by the Azeri army motorcade as a result their car rolled down the gorge,” Safaryan tweeted, sharing photos of the crashed car.

“Miraculously, they are safe and sound,” she said.

Varuzhan Geghamyan, an expert on the Middle East and South Caucasus, has commented on the statement following the third meeting of the Armenian and Turkish special envoys for normalizing relations between the two countries.

Ruben Rubinyan and Serdar Kılıç held a third round of talks in Vienna on Tuesday, agreeing to move forward with efforts to normalize relations “without conditions”.

“The third meeting between the Armenian and Turkish envoys ended with the same statement on commitment to continue the process of normalization without preconditions,” Geghamyan tweeted on Friday.

“We see a hidden agenda with certain preconditions, otherwise an exchange of notes on establishment of diplomatic relations would be in place,” he said.

Opposition protests aimed at forcing Nikol Pashinyan to step down as Armenian prime minister resumed in Yerevan on Friday.

Groups of protesters began marching along four key streets from France Square in central Yerevan at 12pm.

Artak Zakaryan, a former Armenian deputy defense minister and a senior member of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), claims that the anti-government protests are gaining momentum with each passing day.

“Nikol must leave. His removal from the prime minister’s office is just a matter of time. They are well aware of it, which is best evidenced by their moves and statements,” he told reporters during a march along Mashtots Avenue.

The demonstrators were chanting “Armenia without Nikol!”.

RPA Deputy Chairman Armen Ashotyan urged all to join the protest campaign in defense of Artsakh and “for the sake of our children and grandchildren”.

Opposition protests aimed at forcing Nikol Pashinyan to resign as Armenian prime minister resumed in Yerevan on Friday.

Groups of protesters began marching along four key streets from France Square in central Yerevan at 12pm.

“Today, as it was announced, we must show our strength, steadfastness and vigor, which no column can resists,” ARF member Gegham Manukyan said at the beginning of the march.

Demonstrators then began the march, chanting “Unity!” and “Armenia without Nikol!”.

“This is not a struggle for power, but for the existence of the two Armenian states, our future and the security of our borders. We have not and will not put up with the idea of friendship with the Turks, so we have all stood up and call on our compatriots to join us,” said a protester.

Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Gegham Stepanyan has revealed details of a car crash involving a truck of an Azerbaijani motorcade in the Martakert region on Thursday. 

“On May 5, at around 1pm, on the 24th km of the Martakert-Drmbon Road, a truck traveling as part of the Azerbaijani motorcade, came out to the opposite side of the road and collided with a Renault Logan taxi service car of Artsakh registration, as a result of which the car rolled 12 meters into the gorge on the right side of the road,” he wrote on Facebook.

There were two passengers in the car besides the driver. As a result of the preliminary examination, the passengers did not suffer any injuries. Material damage was caused to the taxi service company, Stepanyan said. 

“Based on the facts collected by the Human Rights Defender’s Staff, at the moment we can state:

• The Azerbaijani truck, seeing the possible collision could have stopped driving to avoid the crash, after which the taxi rolled into the gorge.

• After the collision, seeing that the taxi had rolled into the gorge, the Azerbaijani truck did not stop and kept driving.

• According to the taxi driver and the passengers, the taxi driver tried to avoid the collision but had no chance.

The law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Artsakh are conducting an investigation, but the above-mentioned circumstances prove the obvious intention to cause collision and damage,” he noted. 

Anti-government protests resumed in Armenia on Friday, with thousands of opposition supporters blocking roads and holding marches in Yerevan for the sixth consecutive day.

“Obviously, the authorities have fears, because our citizens are rising up to fight. They realize how serious the situation is and have now taken to the streets,” MP Tigran Abrahamyan from the opposition With Honor (Pativ Unem) bloc told reporters during a march.

Speaking about Nikol Pashinyan’s May 4 statement in the National Assembly that he would make an important disclosure soon, Abrahamyan said: “Pashinyan is trying to fill the information vacuum and continue their propaganda on the common information platform. There could be nothing else. If Pashinyan had information that could cause sensation, he wouldn’t have waited 4 years and would have disclosed it long ago.”

“The current government is known only for its lies and fabrications, thus it makes no sense to expect anything serious in these conditions,” the lawmaker said.

Anti-government protests resumed in Armenia on Friday, with thousands of opposition supporters blocking roads and holding marches in Yerevan for the sixth consecutive day.

“By blocking roads, we are causing trouble to our citizens, but we are doing it for you,” opposition leader Ishkhan Saghatelyan said during a march, addressing passengers and drivers who honked the horn of their cars in support of protesters.

The march, like the other ones in Yerevan, was escorted by a large number of police officers.

“The authorities not only in panic, but also in hysteria,” he said.

Saghatelyan said another rally will be held in France Square at 7pm.