Category: 2022

ArmInfo. NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia Javier Colomina at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov positively assessed the close cooperation between the  Azerbaijani army and the Turkish Armed Forces.

Colomina expressed his conviction that this cooperation will make a  significant contribution to Azerbaijan-NATO relations.

In turn, Hasanov, noting the success in cooperation with NATO,  stressed the importance of further development of relations.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of  Azerbaijan, during the meeting the parties exchanged views on the  prospects for the development of bilateral relations, the  military-political situation in the region and other topics of mutual  interest.

Yesterday Ilham Aliyev also received Colomina. During the  conversation, an exchange of views took place on the issues of  normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, energy and  regional security, as well as on the prospects for Azerbaijan-NATO  cooperation. 

ArmInfo.. According to international law, the precedent of international recognition of  Kosovo’s independence can certainly be applied in the case of  Artsakh.  International law expert Ara Ghazaryan expressed a similar  opinion to ArmInfo.

” What does recognition of Kosovo mean? This is the recognition by  the international community of the absence of any international legal  norms prohibiting any community from declaring its own independence.   In other words, the court verdict recognizing Kosovo created the  antithesis of the international principle of the territorial  integrity of states. The antithesis, which later developed into the  status of an international rights,” he said.

According to Ghazaryan, given the indisputable observance of all  rights, from freedom of assembly to the right to elect and be elected  by the people of Artsakh, not a single country in the world has  questioned the regularity of Artsakh’s declaration of its own  independence to this day. This, of course, also applies to Kosovo. At  the same time, the expert stressed that the same international  community does not recognize the similar right of communities that  have declared independence in the face of violence, racism and  intolerance.

“In this light, the statements of political leaders of some countries  about the prevalence of the principle of territorial integrity over  the principle of the people’s right to self-determination proceeds  solely from political expediency, and in no way from fundamental  human rights. Armenia raised all these issues in the international  arena long before the recognition of Kosovo. And the latter, having  become a precedent, only strengthened our demands. And if the Artsakh  conflict had not been considered, including through the prism of the  right of peoples to self-determination, in the end, the OSCE Minsk  Group itself would not have been formed in 1992,” he stressed. 

According to the lawyer, Baku’s statements that the activities of the  OSCE Minsk Group are pointless, are conditioned by its attempts to  transfer the issue exclusively into the platform of the principle of  territorial integrity. But they are faced with the recognition of the  right to self-determination by all member states of the Minsk Group.  Moreover, he recalled that the European Parliament once adopted a  resolution on the need to specifically resolve the problem of Artsakh  on the basis of the Artsakh people’s right to independence.  

“Thus, Azerbaijan’s attempt to solve the problem by military-political  means did not finally resolve it in any way. Armenians live in Artsakh,  people who have rights live there, including the right to their own  self- determination. In other words, this fundamental right will  exist as long as there is a community there. In this light, it is at  least premature to talk about the final resolution of the Artsakh  problem. And not only the Prime Minister of Armenia, but also  international institutions, including the hegemonic country in face  of the United States are already saying that it has not been resolved  yet,” the lawyer concluded.

ArmInfo.Today Armenia is scoring completely unacceptable e own goals. Rector of the Russian-Armenian University Armen Darbinya stated on April 29 during the  international scientific conference entitled: “Economics of Russia  and Armenia in a New Reality: Challenges and Prospects”.

He noted that the uniqueness of the country lies in the fact that, in  the conditions of decreasing population, Armenia has allowed itself  to  change the political maps of the world, the boundaries of the  political space and as Darbinyan noted this had a tragic end. In  order to have the right to change the borders as of today, the state  had to provide 3 conditions: a growing population, a strong economy  and heavy armament. He noted with regret that 30 years later, in the  absence of those factors, Armenia has reached an objective final.   “We need to re-realise the state we are in today,” he stressed.

Drawing a parallel between geopolitics and football, the RAU rector  noted that earlier, before the collapse of the USSR, Armenia was  aware of itself as a player, since it was a pioneer in many areas.  , Darbinyan said.

In this context, he defined the thesis of the Armenian government on  the opening of an “epoch of peace” as an own goal. In light of the  increasing demand for copper and molybdenum, Armenia exports these  metals to foreign markets in the form of concentrates, rather than  finished end products, which are ten times more expensive.

In the light of the increasing demand for copper and molybdenum, the  RAU rector described the export of these metals by Armenia to foreign  markets in the form of concentrates, rather than finished end  products, which are ten times more expensive as another absolute own  goal.

With all this, he stressed that Armenia faces another challenge – the  possibility of Georgia’s membership in the EU. In such conditions,  Armenia, having no common customs borders with the EAEU, will receive  a common border with the EU, which, according to Darbinyan, is a  challenge for the future of Armenian trade and economy. “And today we  must have a worthy response to this challenge,” the rector  emphasized.  In this regard, he called for realizing the potential of  interaction with Russia, in particular, through infrastructure  projects that will be able to pull Armenia out of this blockade. 

ArmInfo. The people of Artsakh are ready to establish good neighborly relations with Azerbaijan, but they will never agree to be under Azerbaijani jurisdiction as slaves, and even more so to turn into a concentration camp. Artsakh Foreign  Minister David Babayan stated this in an interview with ArmInfo in  response to today’s statement by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev  that he considers the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh to be citizens  of Azerbaijan.

Babayan drew attention to the fact that the population of the NKR has  always opposed being under Azerbaijani jurisdiction. Recalling that  Nagorno-Karabakh was forcibly annexed to the Azerbaijan SSR in the  Soviet years, the communist party leadership did not take into  account the opinion of the population, the Artsakh Foreign Minister  stressed that even then Stepanakert retained sovereignty on many  issues.

The head of the Karabakh Foreign Ministry noted that it was the  unwillingness to live under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan that from  year to year raised a wave of discontent, which ultimately resulted  in the 1988 Karabakh liberation movement.

Meanwhile, when asked how he views Aliyev’s statement today that  allegedly “positive impulses are coming from the Karabakh Armenians  and initial contacts have already begun,” Babayan noted that speaking  about the Karabakh-Azerbaijani settlement, a number of important  aspects should be clearly fixed.

“The key one is that we do not consider this conflict as a conflict  between the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples. It is clear that the  population of Artsakh does not have hatred for the Azerbaijani  people. The problem here is the policy of the Azerbaijani state,  which openly conducts anti-Armenian propaganda with elements of  fascism, sows hatred towards everything Armenian. We are well aware  that we will not be at war with Azerbaijan forever, and we are ready  to establish good-neighborly relations if the Azerbaijani authorities  give up their policy,” Babayan said.

According to him, one thing is now clear that the Azerbaijani  authorities are pursuing a genocidal policy aimed at the  dearmenization of our homeland – Artsakh.

“The shortest and best way to resolve the Karabakh-Azerbaijani  conflict on the part of Azerbaijan is to establish good-neighborly  relations, the opportunity to be good neighbors. However,  hatred  agains Armenians in Azerbaijan is cultivated at the highest level,  the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage is being destroyed,”  Babayan said, noting that such a recent manifestation was the  desecration of an Armenian church in occupied Hadrut a few days ago.

It should be noted that today Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said  that Azerbaijan considers the Armenians living in Karabakh to be its  citizens. At the same time, he added that positive impulses are being  received from the Karabakh Armenians and primary contacts have  already begun. As Aliyev said, “within the framework of the  Azerbaijani state, Karabakh Armenians may develop economically, feel  more secure and comfortable.” However, i in his opinion n the first  place, it is necessary to give up “separatist sentiments and accept  the realities.” Aliyev also pointed out that in the near future  hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis will return to Kalbajar,  Lachin, Shushi, Aghdam and the Armenians should live with them “in an  atmosphere of neighborhood.” 

ArmInfo.The goal of the political forces that have taken to the streets is far from the  security of Artsakh, not the creation and implementation of a new  domestic and foreign policy agenda and concept.

These people, having taken to the streets under old and boring slogans, seek to shake the foundations of the current government in Armenia in order to weaken  its position in working with Western partners, including around the  Artsakh problem. Sociologist Karen Sargsyan expressed a similar  opinion to ArmInfo.

According to the sociologist’s forecasts, everything that happens  today on the streets of Yerevan will inevitably be used against  Pashinyan in his negotiations with Russian President Putin in the  future in order to wrest concessions from Armenia on the same issue  of Artsakh. In other words, the connection between internal Armenian  politics and geopolitics, in his opinion, is evident today.

The analyst believes that despite the many questions and  dissatisfaction with the current government, it is due to this  government that the civilized world has not turned its back on  Armenia. And it will be so as long as this government remains and is  not replaced by forces whose main mission is to serve specific  foreign interests,” he stressed.

According to Sargsyan, the leaders of today’s protest are using a  symbiosis of technologies, on the basis of which Pashinyan himself  came to power in 2018, and technologies with geopolitical  “overtones”, for example, in the form of posters with Mevlut  Cavusoglu grinning and demonstrating the gesture of the “Grey Wolves”  to the Armenians. Thus, trying to ride the wave of protest under the  brand “no peace with the Turks thirsting for our blood.” “And this is  against the background of the fact that similar discontent reigns in  Turkey and Azerbaijan, which can be beneficial only to one country,”  the sociologist believes.

ArmInfo. Moscow is guided by proposals on basic principles for establishing interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia in providing assistance to Baku and  Yerevan in the preparation of a peace agreement.

This was stated during a weekly briefing on April 28 by official representative of  the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, to clarify the status  of Artsakh against the backdrop of negotiations on the normalization  of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.

“Let me remind you that it was prepared in Baku and received a  constructive response from Yerevan. We believe that they are a good  basis for agreeing on positions. As for the status of  Nagorno-Karabakh, there are still fundamental disagreements between  Baku and Yerevan on this topic. We see our role in helping the parties to bring their positions  closer and not vice versa,” she said,  adding that this also applies to public works.  

It should be noted that speaking on April 14 in parliament, Armenian  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the following: “Today the  international community tells us again: lower your bar a little on  the Nagorno- Karabakh issue, and you will have greater international  consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh.  Otherwise, please don’t  place your hopes on us, not because we don’t want to help you, but  because we can’t help you.” After this statement by Pashiyan, a  meeting of the Security Council was convened in Artsakh. There was  also a meeting of the NKR President with NGOs that requested a  meeting against the backdrop of Pashinyan’s statements. 

Earlier, Baku sent 5 proposals to Yerevan on the normalization of  bilateral relations. Yerevan called them acceptable. The parties are  now actively preparing to launch the process of border delimitation  and ensuring border security. 

ArmInfo.As part of the process of normalizing Armenian- Azerbaijani relations, it is  extremely important to adhere to the letter and spirit of the  trilateral agreements at the level of the leaders of Armenia,  Azerbaijan and Russia.

Official representative of the Russian Foreign  Ministry, Maria Zakharova stated this during a weekly briefing on  April 28, when asked to assess the threats of Azerbaijani President  Ilham Aliyev against Yerevan if the Armenian side refuses to sign a  peace treaty on Azerbaijani terms.

The diplomat recalled that everything is spelled out in the document,  including relations with each other.  “And it is also important to  refrain from confrontational rhetoric and resolve all issues by  political and diplomatic means. This is our traditional approach and  thesis. We are acting in this vein and we urge everyone to do so,”  she said.

Speaking in general about the process of preparing a peace treaty,  Zakharova recalled that consultations were held by the special  representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry on the normalization  of Armenian- Azerbaijani relations, Igor Khovayev, in Yerevan (March  28) and Baku (April 25). ” The readiness of the two sides to move  towards each other, we consider as a positive sign. Trilateral  contacts on this topic are being worked out at a high level. We will  also separately inform about this,” the representative of the Russian  Foreign Ministry said.

It should be noted that Ilham Aliyev, speaking at the V World  Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shushi, once again threatened  Armenia. He noted that the agreement can be concluded only on the  basis of the five principles proposed by Azerbaijan. “Revanchist  forces periodically raising their heads in Armenia should know that  this [a peace treaty with Azerbaijan – ed. note] is their only way  out and even their last chance. If they refuse it, then we will  refuse to recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia and declare  it officially” Aliyev said.

He also threatened countries providing military support to Armenia  and helping to restore and modernize the army.

Earlier, Baku sent 5 proposals to Yerevan on the normalization of  bilateral relations. Yerevan called them acceptable. The parties are  now actively preparing to launch the process of border delimitation  and ensuring border security.

ArmInfo.The process of of normalization of relations with Armenia continues, and the problems will be resolved in the near future. Turkish President Recep Tayyip  Erdogan said this on April 27 at an iftar with representatives of  national minorities, referring to the process of normalizing  Armenian-Turkish relations, Turkiyegazetesi reports.  

Erdogan said that the wars must be stopped and that they are making  efforts to establish an atmosphere of friendship. “We are negotiating  with Armenia. Let’s hope that the borders will open and our friendly  relations will continue,” he said.

In turn, Chairman of the Armenian Foundations Union Bedros Sirinoglu,  said in his statement on this occasion: “We were in a friendly and  sincere atmosphere.  Mr. President was sincere as always.”

It should be noted that on February 24, in Vienna, the second meeting  of the Special Representatives of Armenia and Turkey, Vice Speaker of  the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan and  Ambassador Serdar Kilic on the normalization of relations took place.   The special representatives confirmed that the ultimate goal of the  negotiations is a full-fledged settlement between Armenia and Turkey,  on which an agreement was reached during their first meeting in  Moscow on 14 January.  

The start of the normalization process was announced on December 13,  2021 by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. At the same time,  he stressed that Ankara will act in coordination with Azerbaijan  regarding steps to normalize relations with Armenia. The next meeting  is planned in Vienna, the date has not yet been made public.