Category: 2022

Attempt to resolve to Artsakh problem by force tantamount to political bankruptcy for Azerbaijani president – Ruben Mehrabyan

Khoyetsian Rose
ARMINFO
Armenia – April 6 2022
David Stepanyan

ArmInfo. No doubt, Azerbaijan prefers to solve the Artsakh problem by settling all the issues at a time by means of another military aggression, Ruben Mehrabyan, an  expert for the Armenian Institute of International and Security  Affairs, said in an interview with ArmInfo. 

“And we all see Baku is not at all concealing its goals, which can be  explained – first of all, due to the proportion of forces between  Armenia and Azerbaijan. And we understand that this proportion allows  Azerbaijan to have such plans. Another question is the price  Azerbaijan and [President Ilham] Aliyev himself could pay for that,”  Mr Mehrabyan said. 

An attempt to resolve the Artsakh problem by force will turn into a  political price for the organizers, while Baku is not at all sure if  such a price will be acceptable to them – or what price it will prove  to bee at all. In this context, Mr Meharyan thinks that capturing  Artsakh could well turn into a political bankruptcy for Aliyev. 

“It is clear that Azerbaijan’s life-long ruler does not at all like  this prospect. He is perfectly aware that such actions would make him  ‘unworthy of handshake’. So all the risks are being reckoned with –  and Baku is good at reckoning. So I think they are most likely to  refrain from such steps given their unpredictable consequences,” Mr  Mehrabyan said. 

In this context, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to  Brussels is an attempt to curb Azerbaijan’s expansionist aspirations.  Given the present international situation, the very meeting between  Pashinyan and Aliyev is a deterrent. In this respect, Mr Mehrabyan  considers Armenia’s diplomatic efforts right. 

Armenia’s premier is in Brussels now and is scheduled to hold a  meeting with President of the European Council Charles Michel and  President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Before leaving for Brussels, Mr  Pashinyan announced intentions to discuss issues related to  commencement of peace negotiations with Aliyev.    

“In fact, Aliyev is rather vulnerable. So he cannot ignore a number  of geopolitical factors and international position. Armenia, in turn,  has to take advantage of these factors in opposing Azerbaijan to curb  its aggression, which is actually being done now. And success depends  on effective and consistent steps, as well as on a number of external  factors. One thing is certain, Armenia has every chance for it and  has just to take it,” Mr Mehrabyan said. 


Survey: Security policy priorities are divided in Armenian society

Baghdasarian Karlen
ARMINFO
Armenia – April 6 2022
Alina Hovhannisyan

ArmInfo.Armenia should join the NATO military alliance  to ensure security. A similar opinion is shared by 34.1% of respondents participating in the “Armenian society  at the crossroads. Foreign policy orientations, priorities and  perceptions” sociological survey. The survey was conducted by  specialists of the SOCIES Expert Center with the assistance of YSU  and financial support from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The main purpose of the study is the foreign policy priorities of the  Armenian society after the “velvet revolution” and the 44-day  Karabakh war. In particular, the emphasis was placed on the public  perception of “friends” and “enemies”, the public understanding of  “friendly” and “unfriendly” states and related undesirable political  trends on the development of Russian, European, American (Western)  trends in international relations.

At the same time, only 29.1% of respondents view the CSTO as a  “security umbrella”, 26% do not consider any of these military  alliances (CSTO, NATO) as a guarantor of Armenia’s security, and  10.7%, strangely, have no any idea about those alliances.

At the same time, the 46.1% of respondents consider Armenia’s  membership in the European Union as the most promising, 28.7% of  respondents voted for being in the EAEU, 12.5% ??do not support any  economic union, and 12.6% do not know anything about these unions.

However, from an economic point of view, respondents believe that  cooperation with the Russian Federation (52%) will have the most  positive impact on Armenia, followed by the EU (49%), followed by the  USA (41%), China (38%), Iran (24%), India (16%) and to a very small  extent Georgia (9.5%) and Turkey (3%).

In the context of security cooperation, the majority of respondents  preferred partnership with Russia (53.5%), followed by the EU (34%),  USA (31%), China (11%), Iran (10%), India (4%) , Georgia (2.5%),  Turkey (1.5%).  However, in terms of education, the Armenian public  prefers to link the future with the EU (56%), slightly less with the  US (37%), followed by Russia (29%) and China (15%), and to a very  small extent India and Iran.  

In the issue of ensuring human rights, the EU also accounts for the  lion’s share (52%), 35% consider cooperation with the United States  effective, 26% with the Russian Federation, 8% with China, 4% with  India, 3.5% with Iran, Georgia -2, 5%, Turkey – 0.1%.  In terms of  improving the quality of life, Armenian citizens consider cooperation  with the EU more promising (51%), a slightly less – the United States  (over 39%), followed by the Russian Federation (39%), then China  (20%), Iran (10% ), India (8%), Georgia (over 4%), Turkey (over 1%)  According to the results of the survey, 69.7% of respondents are of  the opinion that Armenia needs to limit relations with the Russian  Federation and expand with the EU and the US. 

At the same time, 26.4% of respondents consider the only option for  Armenia to be strategic cooperation with the Russian Federation, and  3.9% are in favor of ending cooperation with the Russian Federation  altogether. Respondents consider Armenia’s close ties with the  Russian Federation to be the main reason hindering the development of  relations with the West.  

It should be noted that 1530 people took part in the survey, of which  570 are residents of Yerevan, 430 are residents of regional cities,  530-villages. The age category of respondents is as follows: from 18  to 34 years old – 531 people, from 35 to 49 years old – 387 people,  from 50 to 64 years old – 374 people, and over 65 years old – 238  people. Sampling error +/-3.3%, probability 0.99%. 

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 04/06/2022

Garnik Tadevosian 
                                Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Armenia, Azerbaijan Make Progress Towards Peace Deal
April 07, 2022
Belgium - European Council President Charles Michel, Armenian Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev begin a trilateral 
meeting in Brussels, April 6, 2022.
The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to start drafting a bilateral 
“peace treaty” and set up a joint commission on demarcating the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border during fresh talks in Brussels hosted by European 
Council President Charles Michel.
“We have decided all together to launch a concrete process, to prepare a 
possible peace treaty and to address all necessary elements for such a treaty,” 
Michel told reporters on Wednesday night after his trilateral meeting with 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
that lasted for more than four hours.
“I am confident that tonight we took an important step in the right direction,” 
he said. “It doesn’t mean everything is solved. But it means that we made 
progress.”
In a written statement issued shortly afterwards, Michel said Aliyev and 
Pashinian pledged to “move rapidly” towards the comprehensive treaty meant to 
resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They will instruct their foreign 
ministers to “work on the preparation” of such a deal, added the head of the 
European Union’s main decision-making body.
The Armenian government’s press office confirmed these instructions in a 
statement on the late-night talks.
Baku wants the peace deal to be based on five elements, including a mutual 
recognition of each other’s territorial integrity. Pashinian has publicly stated 
that they are acceptable to Yerevan in principle, fuelling Armenian opposition 
claims that he is ready to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said last week that Yerevan will also raise the 
issue of Karabakh’s status with the Azerbaijani side. The Armenian government 
statement on the Brussels talks made no mention of the issue.
Michel said after the talks that the two sides now have a better understanding 
of possible parameters of the deal. But he did not elaborate.
The top EU official also announced that Aliyev and Pashinian agreed to “convene 
a Joint Border Commission by the end of April.” “The mandate of the Joint Border 
Commission will be to delimit the bilateral border between Armenia and 
Azerbaijan and ensure a stable security situation along and in the vicinity of 
the borderline,” he said.
The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders already agreed to set up such a commission 
during their November 2021 talks in Sochi hosted by Russian President Vladimir 
Putin. It was expected that Russian officials will actively participate in the 
commission’s work.
It was not immediately clear whether Yerevan and Baku decided to exclude any 
Russian involvement in the border demarcation.
Armenian Death Toll In Ukraine Revealed
April 06, 2022
        • Marine Khachatrian
UKRAINE - An armoured vehicle of pro-Russian troops drives along a street past a 
residential building destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the besieged 
southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine March 31, 2022.
At least 23 ethnic Armenian citizens or residents of Ukraine have been killed 
since the start of the Russian invasion, according to leaders of the country’s 
Armenian community.
Davit Mkrtchian, the deputy chairman of the Union of Armenians of Ukraine, said 
on Wednesday that 18 of them were civilians while the five others served in the 
Ukrainian military.
“We pray that the real number [of Armenian deaths] is not higher,” Mkrtchian 
told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “Once in every two or three days we hear about 
people getting killed here and there.”
Estimates of the number of ethnic Armenians who lived in Ukraine before the war 
vary from 100,000 to 400,000. Many of them are said to hold Armenian passports. 
The European Union has allowed them to enter Ukraine’s EU neighbors without 
Schengen visas.
Like millions of Ukrainians, many local Armenians have fled the country since 
the start of the conflict on February 24. But even their approximate number 
remains unknown to both the community leaders and Armenia’s government.
The Foreign Ministry in Yerevan said last month that it has not organized 
charter flights for such refugees because few of them are willing to relocate to 
Armenia.
Mkrtchian disputed that claim, saying that many Armenians expressed a desire to 
take refuge in Armenia at the start of the devastating war.
UKRAINE - Fire and smoke light up the night sky east of Kharkiv, March 30, 2022.
According to the Kyiv-based activist, a large number of Armenians remain trapped 
in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, the epicenter of fierce fighting, and, in 
particular, the regional city of Mariupol besieged and partly occupied by 
Russian troops.
Karen Ghulian, an Armenian-born man, lived in Mariupol for over two decades. 
Ghulian said that he, his family and a group of other local Armenians risked 
their lives to flee the war-torn city late last week.
“I realized that if we don’t get out I could lose my family,” he told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian Service. “We got caught in crossfire.”
Ghulian said he and his family members moved to a friend’s apartment weeks ago 
after their house was destroyed by shelling.
“Conditions there were terrible,” he said. “There was a lack of food, water, 
everything. There were no working shops. They all were empty, looted or bombed.”
Blinken Urges ‘De-Escalation’ In Karabakh
April 06, 2022
U.S. - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks after viewing the "Burma's 
Path To Genocide" exhibit at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 
Washington, March 21, 2022.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a de-escalation of tensions in 
Nagorno-Karabakh in separate phone calls with the leaders of Armenia and 
Azerbaijan on Tuesday.
Blinken spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani 
President Ilham Aliyev the day before their talks in Brussels hosted by European 
Council President Charles Michel.
“The Secretary underscored that now was not the time for further escalation in 
the region,” the U.S. State Department spokesman, Ned Price, said in written 
comments on the call with Pashinian.
“The Secretary expressed his encouragement for further peace negotiations 
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including Pashinian’s and Aliyev’s planned 
meeting April 6 with European Council President Michel,” he said.
“The Secretary called for restraint, de-escalation, and renewed diplomacy,” 
Price said in a separate statement on his conversation with Aliyev.
The trilateral meeting in Brussels was scheduled a week after Azerbaijani troops 
seized a village in eastern Karabakh and tried to push deeper into the 
territory, sparking deadly fighting with Karabakh Armenian forces.
The U.S. State Department deplored the Azerbaijani troop movements, calling them 
“irresponsible and unnecessarily provocative.” Baku rejected the criticism.
Aliyev and Pashinian decided last week to meet in Brussels as Azerbaijan pressed 
Armenia to accept its proposals on a “peace treaty” between the two nations. 
Aliyev was reported to discuss those proposals with Blinken.
According to Price, Blinken told both leaders that the United States is ready to 
help Yerevan and Baku reach a “long-term comprehensive” peace accord by 
“engaging bilaterally and with like-minded partners, including through our role 
as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair.”
It was not clear whether Washington will continue to work with Russia, another 
co-chair of the Minsk Group, in seeking an end to the Karabakh conflict.
Price cited Blinken as condemning Moscow’s “heinous war crimes in Ukraine” and 
reaffirming Washington’s commitment to “hold the Russian Federation and its 
enablers accountable for the unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine.”
Armenia’s Food Inflation Remains In Double Digits
April 06, 2022
        • Sargis Harutyunyan
Armenia - Shoppers at a food supermarket in Yerevan.
Food prices in Armenia rose by an average of 12.1 percent in the first quarter 
of this year despite the authorities’ pledges to curb inflation.
Data released by the Armenian government’s Statistical Committee shows that they 
were up by nearly 13 percent year on year in March, translating into an overall 
inflation rate of 7.4 percent.
Annual inflation reached 7.7 percent in December, well above a 4 percent target 
set by the government and the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) for 2021. A sharp 
rise in food prices, which reflects a global trend, was the key factor behind 
the increased cost of living in the country.
In an effort to curb rising inflation, the CBA has raised its benchmark interest 
rate for nine times since December 2020.
The bank most recently hiked the rate in mid-March, citing fallout from Western 
economic sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The government likewise predicted that the escalating conflict further push up 
the cost of food staples in Armenia. The South Caucasus country imports a large 
part of its wheat, cooking oil and other basic foodstuffs from Russia.
Also contributing to higher-than-projected inflation are recent increases in the 
prices of electricity and natural gas approved by utility regulators.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijan’s national statement presented at UNESCO Executive Board’s session

Emil Lazarian
Politics Materials 5 April 2022 13:56


BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 5. The 214th session of the UNESCO Executive Board is taking place in Paris and Azerbaijan’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, elected to this important body of UNESCO – the Executive Board with the broad support of Member States Elman Abdullayev presented the national statement of Azerbaijan at the session, Trend reports.

This meeting of the Executive Board is taking place at a time of turmoil for the international community against the backdrop of a serious deterioration in the situation in Ukraine and around it, Abdullayev said.

“Azerbaijan expresses its deep regret that the efforts for a peaceful settlement have not yet yielded results capable of stopping the fighting. The increase in the number of civilian casualties is of particular concern. We reaffirm the need for strict adherence to international humanitarian law in order to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including cultural heritage and educational institutions,” the permanent representative said.

“Azerbaijan has been subjected to armed aggression by Armenia for about 30 years. Over the past years, serious war crimes have been committed, as well as crimes against humanity, the norms of international law on the protection of cultural heritage during an armed conflict have been grossly violated,” Abdullayev noted.

“Once quite prosperous Azerbaijani territories have been destroyed. For many years, the Armenian government has pursued a systematic policy of destroying, looting and misappropriating the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan, both in the territories that it held under occupation for 30 years, and in Armenia itself,” he added.

Azerbaijan’s representative said mines and the presence of unexploded ordnance in the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from Armenian occupation pose a serious threat to the cultural heritage of these lands, impede restoration work and delay the return of civilians. As a result, mine explosions killed and injured several civilians, as well as a reporter, Abdullayev said.

The Permanent Representative thanked the UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay for the statement condemning the deaths of Azerbaijani reporters and reminded that Azerbaijani media representatives Siraj Abishov and Maharram Ibrahimov died as a result of a mine explosion on June 4, 2021 in the Kalbajar region of Azerbaijan.

After the end of the armed conflict, Azerbaijan entered the phase of post-conflict reconstruction, restoration and reintegration, he noted.

According to Abdullayev, Azerbaijan is determined to properly preserve, restore and put into operation all cultural and religious monuments in the liberated territories, regardless of their origin. Azerbaijan continues to cooperate with the international community, including with the relevant specialized institutions and UN agencies, in connection with the ongoing large-scale rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories, Abdullayev said.

The Permanent Representative also expressed hope for UNESCO’s contribution in this direction.

“The Azerbaijani government is interested in conducting an independent and impartial UNESCO technical mission to assess the state of cultural heritage in the country. Our country is ready to continue working in this direction without any delay and hopes that there will be no further obstacles due to any additional conditions. In this context, it is necessary to accelerate the response of the organization to the proposals submitted by Azerbaijan seven months ago – on August 19, 2021. Such a mission of UNESCO should be carried out in full compliance with the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,” he emphasized.

According to him, in addition to sending a UNESCO mission to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, it is extremely necessary for the organization to assess the state of the cultural heritage of Azerbaijan in Armenia.

“Azerbaijan is ready to make an effective contribution to the work of the session. We highly appreciate the strengthening of the role of UNESCO in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by supporting and assisting countries through the Global Education Coalition, which we are proud to join,” Abdullayev said.

Everyone knows about Azerbaijan’s long-term partnership with African countries. In this direction, our country also supports UNESCO’s global African priority and calls for paying special attention to the needs of small developing island states,” he noted.

Climate change, as one of the major global issues, continues to pose a threat to World Heritage properties, he added.

“Azerbaijan actively supports UNESCO’s initiatives in the sphere of intercultural dialogue, in particular the UNESCO electronic platform for intercultural dialogue, which launched in 2018 and developed with the financial support of the Azerbaijani government. Azerbaijan supports the active role of youth in the decision-making process and we welcome the 12th UNESCO Youth Forum dedicated to the development of a post-COVID-19 action plan,” Abdullayev said.

According to him, considering the growing importance of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in international issues, Azerbaijan, being a member of the UNESCO Executive Board, will strive to strengthen the existing mechanism for coordinating the countries participating in the NAM within this board.

Turkish press: Azerbaijan, Armenia to start process for peace talks: EU’s Michel

Ani Kharatian
Rabia İclal Turan   |07.04.2022


ISTANBUL 

Azerbaijan and Armenia have decided to launch a “concrete process” for peace talks, European Council President Charles Michel said Wednesday after a meeting with the two countries’ leaders in Brussels.

Speaking to reporters following the meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Charles Michel said they made “a lot of progress.”

“It means that we have decided all together to launch a concrete process for peace talks to prepare a possible peace treaty and to address all the necessary elements for such a treaty,” he said.

The leaders also agreed to set up a joint committee and to maintain a “channel of communication,” Michel said after the five-hour meeting.

“We are working very hard. We are making progress. I don’t underestimate the challenges, the difficulties on both sides, but I feel there’s a common will to make progress,” he stressed.

Michel later released a statement about the outcome of the three-way meeting, in which he reiterated the European Union’s commitment to “deepen its cooperation with Armenia and Azerbaijan” to overcome tensions in the South Caucasus and for a “secure, stable, peaceful and prosperous” region.

According to Michel, Aliyev and Pashinyan both stated their desire to “move rapidly towards a peace agreement between their countries.”

“To this end, it was agreed to instruct the ministers of foreign affairs to work on the preparation of a future peace treaty which would address all necessary issues,” the statement added.

They also agreed to convene a Joint Border Commission by the end of April, the statement noted.

“The mandate of the Joint Border Commission will be to delimit the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan and ensure a stable security situation along, and in the vicinity of, the borderline,” it added.

Last December, around a year after the two countries ended a 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh, Michel met separately with both leaders and then hosted them both at a dinner in Brussels.

Relations between the two former Soviet countries have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

New clashes erupted in September 2020, and a 44-day conflict saw Azerbaijan liberate several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.

A tripartite agreement was brokered by Russia to bring an end to the war in November 2020.

Turkish press: ‘Turkey made unprecedented progress in minority rights’

Edgar Tavakalian
 ISTANBUL APR 06, 2022 – 2:34 PM GMT+3

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (C), the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, leads the Epiphany Mass at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 6, 2022. (AP File Photo)

Turkey has made unprecedented progress in the past decade, returning over 1,000 properties previously confiscated by the state to minorities between 2003 and 2018, indicating the good faith of lawmakers, an Armenian Turkish lawyer said at a panel held at Harvard University in Massachusetts on Tuesday.

Armenian Turkish lawyer Ömer Kantik, who specializes in minority rights, told the panel moderated by professor Martha Minow that Turkey has been striving to return the properties of minorities, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

“A total of 1,084 seized properties have been returned to minority foundations, and compensation has been paid for 21 properties between 2003 and 2018 as part of the new regulations,” Kantik said, adding that this shows the “goodwill” of legislators.

Noting that Turkey has made “unprecedented progress” regarding the return of confiscated properties of minorities in line with the European Union Harmonization Process after 2000, Kantik said the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings in this regard should not be perceived as pressure, but rather as guiding advice.

“I can say that this process, which has been progressing to be more inclusive since the 2000s, gives us more hope about the future,” Kantik said, adding that he is at Harvard to “share this hope.”

He continued by saying that the problems that happened in the past are a thing of the past and a better future awaits minorities with laws.

Meanwhile, Kantik’s daughter Destina Kantik, a Harvard law alumnus, also made a presentation at the panel and explained Turkey’s democratic and problem-solving-focused stance.

There are 167 minority foundations in Turkey, including 77 Greek-Orthodox, 54 Armenian, 19 Jewish, 10 Syriac, three Chaldean, two Bulgarian, one Georgian and one Maronite organization.

In the past decades, Turkey has moved to reinstate the rights of minorities and help their survival as their numbers have dwindled over time. Long treated as second-class citizens, the Greek, Jewish, Armenian and Syrian communities have praised the return of their rights, though they have complained about it being a slow process.

Foundations of non-Muslim minorities have a legal status under the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923, which granted them equality before laws and freedom to establish and run “religious and social institutions.”

A 1936 charter has paved the way for foundations to acquire properties but a 1974 court ruling reversed the process, enabling the state to seize the properties minorities acquired after 1936. Properties were mostly returned to their original owners and in the absence of owners, they were taken by the treasury.

Asbarez: After Pashinyan, Aliyev Talks, EU Says Committed to Deepening Cooperation with Yerevan, Baku

Hunanian Jack
by Asbarez Staff

 

 April 6, 2022

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Main, Latest, News, Top Stories

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (left) and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan flank President of European Council Charles Michel on April 6 in Brussels

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan met in Brussels on Wednesday in talks mediated by the President of the European Council Charles Michel. This was the second meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders that was facilitated by the European Union.

After the meeting, Michel released the following statement, summing up his perspective on the talks.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, hosted the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, for a continuation of their discussions on the situation in the South Caucasus region and the development of EU relations with both countries.

President Michel reiterated the EU’s commitment to deepen its cooperation with Armenia and Azerbaijan to work closely in overcoming tensions and promote a South Caucasus that is secure, stable, peaceful and prosperous for the benefit of all people living in the region.

The leaders took stock of developments since their last meeting in Brussels in December 2021 and their videoconference, together with President Macron, in February 2022. They reviewed progress on the implementation of undertaken commitments. They discussed the recent reported tensions and reiterated the necessity of adhering fully to the provisions of the 9/10 November 2020 trilateral statement. They welcomed the meeting of senior representatives from Armenia and Azerbaijan on 30 March 2022 under EU auspices in Brussels and agreed on the necessity to continue this engagement to ensure adequate follow-up to agreements reached at leaders’ level.

President Michel emphasized the importance of humanitarian gestures by both sides to promote confidence and peaceful coexistence. He stressed the need for the full and speedy resolution of all outstanding humanitarian issues, including the release of remaining detainees and comprehensively addressing the issue of missing persons, and stated that the EU is ready to support this endeavor. The EU will likewise continue to support confidence building measures between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as humanitarian de-mining efforts, including by continuing to provide expert advice and stepping up financial assistance, and assistance to conflict-affected populations, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

President Michel noted both President Aliyev’s and Prime Minister Pashinyan’s stated desire to move rapidly towards a peace agreement between their countries. To this end, it was agreed to instruct Ministers of Foreign Affairs to work on the preparation of a future peace treaty, which would address all necessary issues.

The delimitation and demarcation of their bilateral border will be essential; to this end, in line with the Sochi Statement of 26 November 2021, it was also agreed to convene a Joint Border Commission by the end of April. The mandate of the Joint Border Commission will be to:

delimit the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and
ensure a stable security situation along, and in the vicinity of, the borderline.

President Michel also stressed that ensuring the appropriate distancing of forces is an essential element of incident prevention and tensions reduction. President Michel reaffirmed the EU’s readiness to provide advice and support.

The leaders also discussed the restoration of communications/connectivity infrastructure between Armenia and Azerbaijan in particular and in the South Caucasus more broadly. President Michel welcomed the steps towards the restoration of railway lines, while encouraging Armenia and Azerbaijan to also find effective solutions for the restoration of road links. The EU is ready to support the development of connectivity links, including in line with its Economic and Investment Plan and by utilizing the proposed economic advisory forum to identify common projects.

The leaders agreed to follow-up on outcomes of their meeting and to stay engaged.

U.S. Signals Willingness to Approve Controversial F-16 Sale to Turkey

Arsine Chaltikian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 April 6, 2022

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, International, Latest, News, Top Stories

Turkey wants to buy F-16 fighter jets

The Biden administration believes a potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey would be in line with U.S. national security interests and would also serve NATO’s long-term unity, the State Department said in a letter to Congress that fell short of explicitly supporting the deal, Reuters reported.

Turkey made a request in October to the United States to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. Washington has so far refrained from expressing any opinion on the sale, saying it needs to go through the standard arms sales process.

The sale of U.S. weapons to NATO member Turkey became contentious after Ankara acquired Russian-made defense missile systems, triggering U.S. sanctions as well as Turkey’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program.

A bipartisan group of over 50 U.S. Representatives joined Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Hellenic Caucus Co-Chair Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) in pressing the departments of State and Defense to block the sale of next-generation U.S. F-16 fighter jets and upgrade kits to Turkey President Erdogan’s increasingly hostile regime, the Armenian National Committee of America reported in February.

The State Department letter, first reported by Reuters, is dated March 17 and signed by the agency’s top legislative official Naz Durakoglu. She acknowledges the strained relations while at the same time describing Turkey’s support for and defense ties with Ukraine as “an important deterrent to malign influence in the region.”

While the letter does not provide any assurance or a timeline for the sale, it emphasizes that Washington’s punitive actions after Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 systems represent “a significant price paid.”

“The Administration believes that there are nonetheless compelling long-term NATO alliance unity and capability interests, as well as U.S. national security, economic and commercial interests that are supported by appropriate U.S. defense trade ties with Turkey,” the letter said.

“The proposed sale will require a Congressional notification if the Department of State were to approve it,” it added.

Asbarez: European Lawmakers Alert EU’s Top Leaders About Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Cleansing in Artsakh

Vorskanian Yeghisabet
by Asbarez Staff

 

 April 6, 2022

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

European Parliament

Ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan in Brussels, 43 members of the European Parliament sent a letter to President of the European Council Charles Michel, who mediated the meeting and Josep Borrell, the EU’s representative for foreign affairs, alerting them about Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh.

The letter was an initiative of European Parliament members François-Xavier Bellamy and Loucas Fourlas, reported the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy.

In the letter, the European lawmakers express their concerns about Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing against the native Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh/ Artsakh. They urge the EU leadership to use all available leverage to pressure Azerbaijan to stop its aggressive policy in Artsakh, immediately withdraw its military forces back to their initial positions and stop any action that could endanger the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The letter refers in particular to the provocations unleashed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh in the recent weeks, such as the incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into the Armenian village of Parukh, to difficult situation caused in the village of Khramort, as well as to the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh following the cut of gas supplies by Azerbaijan. The European lawmakers concluded their letter by stating that the EU cannot allow ethnic cleansing in its neighborhood.
 
“This initiative of the Members of the European Parliament is a strong signal to EU executive leaders, as it provides a clear assessment of the policy pursued by Azerbaijan, qualifying it as a policy of ethnic cleansing. We must continue to be consistent for the EU to put pressure on Azerbaijan to end its anti-Armenian policy of forcing the native Armenian population out of Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh,” said EAFJD President Kaspar Karampetian.

Read letter below:

Subject: Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh
 
Dear President of the European Council,
Dear High Representative,
 
The developments in Nagorno Karabakh in the past weeks are extremely worrying. On 24 March the Azerbaijani forces took control of the Armenian-populated Parukh village in the Askeran region of Nagorno Karabakh as a result of which all the Armenian residents had to flee. Because of the Azerbaijani provocations, the entire Armenian population of the neighboring village of Khramort also had to be evacuated.   
 
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Greek MFA as well as the US State department criticized the advancement of the Azerbaijani troops and urged them to withdraw to their previous positions. Despite this, the situation remains tense. On 25 March violating the ceasefire, the Azerbaijani forces used firearms and combat drones, including the Bayraktar-TB2 which led to tragic casualties.
 
It is unacceptable that in severe winter temperatures the entire Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh was deprived of gas, causing a humanitarian crisis because of the damage of the gas pipeline to Nagorno Karabakh, whereas the gas pipeline passes through a territory under the control of the Azerbaijani authorities. Threatening the Armenian population of the settlements on the contact line using loudspeakers and their native Armenian language cannot be tolerated.  All these factors combined with the destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno Karabakh as reflected in the EP resolution adopted on 10 March create serious concerns about the danger of ethnic cleansing of the native Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh.
 
We herewith urge the External Action Service and the Council to use all the leverage at EU’s disposal and put pressure on Azerbaijan to immediately withdraw its forces to their previous positions and stop any action that might endanger the safety and the well-being of the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh. The EU cannot allow an ethnic cleansing in its neighborhood.

Sincerely,

Loucas FOURLAS – EPP
François-Xavier BELLAMY – EPP
François ALFONSI – Greens/EFA
Attila ARA-KOVÁCS – S&D
Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU – EPP
Pernando BARRENA ARZA – The LEFT
Lars Patrick BERG – ECR
Fabio Massimo CASTALDO – NI
Lefteris CHRISTOFOROU – EPP
Emmanouil FRAGKOS – ECR
Gianna  GANCIA – ID
Alexis GEORGOULIS – The LEFT
Klemen GROŠELJ – Renew
Ladislav ILČIĆ – ECR
Evin Incir – S&D
Eva KAILI – S&D
Assita KANKO – ECR
Joachim KUHS – ID
Stelios   KYMPOUROPOULOS – EPP
Georgios KYRTSOS – EPP
Gilles LEBRETON – ID
Miriam LEXMANN – EPP
Nathalie LOISEAU – Renew
Costas MAVRIDES – S&D
Cláudia MONTEIRO DE AGUIAR – EPP
Janina OCHOJSKA – EPP
Demetris PAPADAKIS – S&D
Peter POLLÁK – EPP
Carles PUIGDEMONT I CASAMAJÓ – NI
Diana RIBA I GINER – Greens/EFA
Bert-Jan RUISSEN – ECR
Annie SCHREIJER-PIERIK – EPP
Jordi SOLÉ – Greens/EFA
Michaela ŠOJDROVÁ – EPP
Martin SONNEBORN – NI
Maria SPYRAKI – EPP
Ivan ŠTEFANEC – EPP
Romana TOMC – EPP
Peter Van DALEN – EPP
Loránt VINCZE – EPP
Elissavet VOZEMBERG-VRIONIDI – EPP
Charlie WEIMERS – ECR
Theodoros ZAGORAKIS – EPP