Category: 2022

ArmInfo. Vigen Khachatryan of the dominant parliamentary faction Civil Contract considers erroneous the idea that Karabakh has no future as part of Azerbaijan.  

“Back in 1996, [Armenia’s first president] Levon Ter-Petrosyan stated  that Karabakh had no future in Azerbaijan. Years later I can say that  idea was wrong,” Mr Khachatryan stated in Parliament on Thursday.   

Armenia’s Premier Nikol Pashinyan was utterly sincere while speaking  of the details of the negotiations and risks of refusing to recognize  Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. After all, Armenian  should realize if they want to be destroyed as heroes or live and  progress. 

Lena Nazaryan of the dominant faction stated meetings with the killed  servicemen’s relatives show consensus on the peace agenda.

“I am joining this public consensus and supporting the prime  minister, foreign minister and government in their determination to  put this agenda into practice,” Ms Nazaryan said. 

Speaking in Parliament on April 1, 2022, Armenia’s premier stated:  “Some are saying now: ‘Could you prevent the war? We could have  prevented the war and, as a result, would have had a similar  situation, without victims, of course.” 

ArmInfo. Azerbaijan’s proposals concerning Artsakh’s status are unacceptable, Artsakh  President Arayik Harutyunyan stated at his meeting with activists and  heads of communities in Martakert. 

“We understand we are neighbors, but we cannot submit. It is  inadmissible. We should be guided by the status quo option, as  Russians are saying. The Russian peacekeepers will stay here with no  time limits as hey have arrived here as guarantors of the Artsakh  Armenians’ security.

“Living on here as de facto independent and seeking further de jure  changes – independence or joining Armenia – which I consider  unlikely. But it could be relations with Russia, vertical relations,”  Harutyunyan said. 

Speaking in Parliament on , Armenia’s premier said:  “The international community is telling us straightforwardly now:   being the world’s only country refusing to recognize Turkey’s ally  Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is a great threat not only to  Artsakh, but also to Armenia. The international community is telling  us again now: request a lower status for Nagorno-Karabakh,  and you  will enjoy international unanimity on Armenia and Artsakh.   Otherwise, we request you not to hope for us not because we are  unwilling to help, but because we are unable to.”

ArmInfo.Ukraine has not supplied weapons to Azerbaijan since 2014, Ukrainian Charg‚ d’Affaires in Armenia Denis Avtonomov told reporters in Yerevan on  Thursday. 

Fake news has been disseminated about Ukraine’s military supplies to  Azerbaijan, including Javelin, in exchange for fuel. 

“That man has no idea of arms control. No weapon can be supplied to  anyone without the producer’s permission if you want to cooperate  with that country in the future, without punitive sanctions imposed  on you. The issue of using ammunition containing white phosphorus is  constantly being raised. I would like to say that Armenia and  Azerbaijan accused each other of using such ammunition during the  Karabakh war. I have not seen any evidence,” Mr Avtonomov said. No  government agencies are making any comments.  However, he is ready to  discuss the issue if anyone has any information. 

Mr Avtonomov also reported a number of pieces of fake news  disseminated during the hostilities in Ukraine, particularly false  reports on alleged transportation of Arab mercenaries through Armenia  and Armenia putting its fighters (military aircraft) at Russia’s  disposal. He said he was laughing at the routes the fighters  allegedly flew along to reach Russia. Mr Avtonomov also pointed out  one more false report on an Armenian serviceman allegedly involved in  the hostilities in Ukraine. That man turned out to be a looter. 

“A banner on the Kiev Bridge in support of Russia’s army during the  first days of the war, a ‘show’ in the Victory Park in support of  Russia, unfolding a banner in ‘Z’ in Artsakh – are these not fakes?”  Mr Avtonomov said, adding that Armenian society has nothing in common  with that “show.” 

On march 31, 2020, the Artsakh Defense Army and the Azerbaijani armed  forces used weapons containing white phosphorus, which are banned by  the Geneva Convention. 

On Novembr 6, 2020, the Human Rights Defender of Armenia and the  Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) published an ad  hoc report on the use of incendiary ammunition of mass destruction  (incendiary weapon) containing chemical elements (possibly white  phosphorus) against Artsakh by the Azerbaijani armed forces.   

ArmInfo.The Michel-Pashinyan-Aliyev Brussels meeting, as a chain of Western geopolitics, leads to turning the South Caucasus into a second Ukraine. Political  scientist Stepan Danielyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.

“In fact, the initiators of the Brussels meeting of the leaders of  Armenia and Azerbaijan did not at all prepare a peace treaty between  the two countries, but pushed them to a new big war, technologically  very similar to the war that is now going on in Ukraine.  To put it  simply, the EU today needs to create a situation in which the Russian  military will first leave Artsakh, and then Armenia, which will give  them the opportunity to start moving into Central Asia through NATO  Turkey,” he said.

According to the forecasts of the political scientist, such a  scenario, no doubt, will be met with hostility by Russia and Iran.  The latter, in his opinion, is already seriously considering the  prospect of turning the South Caucasus into another Ukraine.  Danielyan is convinced that the organization of a “second front” in  the South Caucasus with the participation of Russia, Iran and Turkey,  in general, is a desirable scenario for the West. The implementation  of which, among other things, will make it possible to drive Turkey  back into the zone of its own influence. And, of course, further  weaken the ambitions of Moscow and Tehran.

Such a desire of the West, taking into account the great interests in  the implementation of this scenario, the political scientist  considers natural. According to him, the desire of the West to  compress the zones of Russian influence specifically in the Caucasus  rests on the Russian military presence in Artsakh and Armenia. In  light of which, the only way to remove it is the recognition of  Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, followed by the deportation of Artsakh  Armenians. Which will completely deprive the Russian Federation of  the justification for its own military presence in Artsakh.

“In this light, the attempts of the West to oust the Russian  Federation from the OSCE Minsk Group co- chairmanship also look quite  logical and expected. The task of the MG was to keep the Karabakh  conflict in a frozen state until the start of an acute phase of  geopolitical rivalry between the West and the Russian Federation in  Ukraine. And we see that this rivalry is already spilling over into  the South Caucasus. Let’s accept a simple fact – the West is  absolutely not an enemy of the Armenian people. It just so happened  that at this stage our interests do not coincide. By its very  existence, Artsakh prevents the displacement of Russia from the South  Caucasus. Accordingly, the task of the West in Brussels was to force  Yerevan to recognize Baku’s jurisdiction over Artsakh. With all the  ensuing and planned geopolitical consequences in Washington and  Brussels,” the political scientist summed up.

ArmInfo.In his speech at the National Assembly yesterday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan admitted that he was being forced to come to terms with the loss of Artsakh behind the doors of his Brussels offices. Political  strategist Vigen Hakobyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.

“Pashinyan admitted that the Armenian agenda on Artsakh is now devoid  of any assistance and support in the international arena. The latter  means the need for new concessions from Yerevan on the Artsakh issue.   This, in fact, was announced by the prime minister from the rostrum  of the parliament, announcing the need to lower the Armenian bar on  the demands over the status of Artsakh, otherwise the existence of  not only Artsakh, but also Armenia may be threatened, Pashinyan is  preparing the ground for pragmatic concessions on the issue of the  status of Artsakh,” he believes.

According to Hakobyan, refusal to determine the status of Artsakh on  the basis of the right of its population to self-determination, means  consent to autonomy or cultural autonomy within Azerbaijan. And this  is at best. Noting that the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group on the  settlement of the conflict – the Madrid principles are far from the  supreme dream of Yerevan and Stepanakert, the political strategist  recalled that these proposals at least assumed the protection of  Armenian interests. At a minimum, in the form of fixing the right of  self-determination of the people of Artsakh through a referendum.

This is what the political strategist determines the post-war  position of Yerevan, which considers it possible to resume  negotiations in the Minsk format even after the defeat in the 44-day  war. And the fact that the format of a single co-chairmanship of the  OSCE Minsk Group actually no longer exists, according to his  estimates, means the destruction of the principles of settlement  formed within its framework, including the right of  self-determination of the people of Artsakh. And all this against the  background of the absence of any other format that would deal with  the final settlement of the conflict and determine the status of  Artsakh.  

“And here we are again returning to the situation around  Ukraine, the current stage of the tough confrontation between the  West and Russia, which, as we see, has already been projected on  Artsakh. As a result, Russia from a country cooperating with the West  within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group has become into a  country conflicting with the West. Accordingly, the statements of the  co-chairs from the United States and France on the preservation of  the format of the OSCE Minsk Group mean that it is maintained, but  without Russia. And the goal of the collective West is to oust the  Russian Federation from all possible international cooperation  formats. Under such conditions, Armenia needs huge professional,  intellectual, analytical, diplomatic, geopolitical resources to  confront all these disappointing international realities. It is  necessary to understand the situation in order to get out of all this  with at least minimal losses.  Resources, the existence of which I  strongly doubt,” summed up the political strategist.

ArmInfo.The Artsakh parliamentarians demand that the Armenian authorities renounce their “disastrous position”. On April 14, the National Assembly of Artsakh  adopted a statement during an extraordinary meeting.

“The current legal and political status of the Republic of Artsakh  has been formed by the will of the people as a result of three  referendums and the adoption of a constitution based on their results  and through a nationwide agreement established in the previous years.   The Armenians of Artsakh are well aware of the price of peace. The  statehood of Artsakh, the right to live freely and independently in  the historical homeland are absolute values from which even the  threat of war cannot keep us.  

According to Armenia-Azerbaijan “peace” agenda, any negotiation  process to annex Artsakh to Artsakh as well as the signing of the  resulting document, undermines not only the statehood of Artsakh, but  also the inalienable right of the Armenians of Artsakh to live in  their historical homeland.  

We demand that the authorities of the Republic of Armenia renounce  their current catastrophic position and be guided exclusively by  these values. No government has the right to lower the bar of  internationally recognized self-determination to a status  unacceptable to Artsakh, under the pretext of “peace.” 

On behalf of the Armenians of Artsakh we apply to

-Armenians all over the world to stand united and resolutely by the  brothers and sisters of Armenia and Artsakh in this just struggle.  

– our colleagues in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia  to not deviate from the decision of the Supreme Council of the  Republic of Armenia of July 8, 1992 

   -the leadership of the Russian Federation. During the peacekeeping  mission, it is very important for us that you do not allow anyone to  manipulate the problems that arise, as a basis for questioning the  further security of the people of Artsakh.  

– the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries. Make  efforts to maintain the only international mandate for the settlement  of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict regardless of all other  disagreements.”    

Earlier, yesterday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, speaking  in parliament, said that the international community urges Armenia to  slightly lower the bar on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. ”  Otherwise, please do not pin your hopes on us, and not for the reason  that we do not want to help you, but because we cannot help you,” the  RA Prime Minister said. After this statement by Pashiyan, a meeting  of the Security Council was convened in Artsakh. “Azerbaijan’s  proposals regarding the status of Artsakh are unacceptable,” Artsakh  President Arayik Harutyunyan said at a meeting with the leadership of  the regional administration, heads of communities, and active  representatives of the population in Martakert.  Today, MPs of  Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract faction, represented by Vigen  Khachatryan, stated that the idea that Artsakh has no future within  Azerbaijan, put forward back in 1996, was erroneous.

ArmInfo. Artsakh has never been and never will be a part of Azerbaijan, and any discussions on this issue are unacceptable for the people of Artsakh. NA Speaker Artur  Tovmasyan announced this on April 14 at an extraordinary session of  the Artsakh Parliament.

Yesterday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, speaking in  parliament, said that the international community urges Armenia to  slightly lower the bar on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. ”  Otherwise, please do not pin your hopes on us, and not for the reason  that we do not want to help you, but because we cannot help you,” the  RA Prime Minister said. After this statement by Pashiyan, a meeting  of the Security Council was convened in Artsakh. “Azerbaijan’s  proposals regarding the status of Artsakh are unacceptable,” Artsakh  President Arayik Harutyunyan said at a meeting with the leadership of  the regional administration, heads of communities, and active  representatives of the population in Martakert.

“Artsakh has never been and will never be part of an independent  Azerbaijan, and any discussions around this issue are unacceptable  for us. This is a” red line “that no one has the right to cross. The  forcible annexation of Artsakh to Azerbaijan will lead to the  destruction of Artsakh and will become a geopolitical, historical and  a moral tragedy for the Armenian statehood and the Armenian people,”  the President of the Artsakh Parliament said.

Tovmasyan emphasized that the people of Artsakh are full of  determination and will not deviate from the chosen path. “We have  paid a very high price for our freedom and independence. And you have  no moral right to close our history in an unworthy way,” the Speaker  of the National Assembly of Artsakh noted.

At the suggestion of Tovmasyan, the PMs honored the memory of the  martyrs with a minute of silence.  “Eternal Honor to all our  soldiers-liberators who died in the three Artsakh wars, in the border  regions of Armenia and in March 2022 at the height of Karaglukh. We  all understand that they died in the name of the Armenian nation, in  the name of the existence of the people of Armenia and Artsakh,”  emphasized the President of Parliament.

As Artsakhpress reports, Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan also  responded to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. “I don’t know  what it means – you have to ask him. We don’t have a bar issue, we  have a problem of ‘red lines’. This is a ‘red line’ that no one has  the right to cross,” the Artsakh Foreign Minister said.

According to him, the authorities and the people of Artsakh are  united and “not only the people of Artsakh, but any normal person,  any normal Armenian is convinced that Artsakh will not be part of  Azerbaijan.” “There will be no Artsakh, there will be no Armenia  either – this is a simple truth. Let no one think that there is an  alternative – there will not be,” the Minister said.