Category: 2023

Territorial conquest is back around the globe, whether we like it or not. For decades, the internationalist fantasies of the bipartisan establishment have driven us to support expensive and unwinnable projects in every place from Kabul to Kiev. Internationalist overstretch weakened America from a unipolar position after the fall of the USSR to the current multipolar order.

In the vacuum left by an America weakened by government incompetence, military overstretch, and economic insolvency, the neocon cousins of the liberal internationalists see the fraying order and believe the solution is indiscriminate American intervention. Yet the right answer to American decline isn’t to waddle even more into peripheral conflicts around the world, but instead to defend our homeland against emerging threats from both near and far.

The internationalists in both parties are intent on convincing Americans to direct taxpayer dollars to Kharkiv that still looks better than parts of San Francisco—at least before Gavin Newsom gave the city an emergency face-lift in preparation for Xi Jinping’s recent visit.

Amid this narrative onslaught, one such invasion has gone conspicuously forgotten: Azerbaijan’s invasion in September of the previously autonomous Artsakh region adjacent to Armenia.

Some context: Artsakh has been populated mostly by Armenians since antiquity. Armenians are Christians who speak an Indo-European language. When the Soviets took control of the Caucasus in the early 1920s, they designated Nagorno-Karabakh as an autonomous oblast within Soviet Azerbaijan, recognizing its unique majority ethnic Armenian character in the otherwise Azeri republic. Azeris are Muslims who speak a Turkic language. This situation held until the late 1980s, when tensions boiled over into violence. It wasn’t long after the fall of the USSR in 1991 that war erupted in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War of 1992-1994.

Against all odds, the Armenians won the war and established control over Artsakh. Azerbaijan worked with its pan-Turkic big brothers in Turkey to slowly rearm, aided by two decades of military assistance from the U.S. American taxpayers were made for 20 years to arm the greatest enemies of the world’s oldest Christian country. Even worse, supporting Azerbaijan seems like the rare case where American foreign policy elites understood the sin they were committing but still did it—and did it for money.

In 2020, Azerbaijan invaded Artsakh and defeated the Armenians in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. All of the American military assistance helped. They regained much of their lost territory and reduced Artsakh to a single road link to Armenia, the Lachin Corridor. In late 2022, they blockaded the road and slowly choked Artsakh to death. When Azerbaijan formally invaded again in September 2023, Armenia was completely outmatched and sued for peace after a day. Now, in just a few weeks, over 100,000 Armenians have fled their ancestral homeland in Artsakh to live as refugees in the rest of Armenia.

In other words, Azerbaijan is doing the same thing to the Artsakh region that Russia is doing to Ukraine—but the U.S. and Europe are looking the other way and pretending not to notice. It is because Azerbaijan has one of the most effective lobbying operations in the U.S. and other Western nations.

Bankrolling it all is oil and gas. Azerbaijan’s largest employer, taxpayer, and piggy bank for influence-peddling is the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). SOCAR has a fancy office that opened in Washington, D.C. in 2012, right around the time Azerbaijan was campaigning for exemptions in the Iran sanctions that would allow construction to continue on their Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP). If that was the goal of SOCAR’s office, it worked. President Obama’s 2012 Executive Order on sanctions exempted the pipeline, and so did the Iran Freedom and Counter Proliferation Act.

John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and now heading up “clean energy” projects for Biden, was the co-founder of the Podesta Group, the D.C. lobbying firm that represented the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the United States from 2009 to 2017. John left the firm early on, but kept close ties with his brother Tony, the other co-founder and principal. In 2016 FARA filings, the Podesta Group made 17 pages of contacts on behalf of Azerbaijan that year. By comparison, another client of theirs, India, had four pages. All of those contacts paid off; between February and June of 2016, the Podesta Group was paid $379,325.73 for its work on behalf of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

All of that caviar has made Azerbaijan a lot of powerful friends. American interests abroad shouldn’t be guided by foreign lobbyists, but all too often, it seems that's exactly who is making the crucial decisions on how and where to divert our precious resources. Unfortunately, American foreign policy is heavily influenced by whoever can write the largest check—or, in the case of Ukraine, whoever can write the largest check to the President’s ne’er-do-well son.

The right solution isn’t for the U.S. to militarily intervene in Artsakh, any more than we should be militarily engaged to allow Ukraine to recapture the Russian-occupied regions of the Donbas. Rather it is for the U.S. to disengage by ceasing its layers of explicit and implicit support for Azerbaijan.

Chief among these layers of support is Section 907. In 1992, Congress passed the Freedom Support Act. Included in the legislation was Section 907, which explicitly banned the U.S. from sending direct aid to the government of Azerbaijan. This legislation worked as designed until 2001, when the Senate adopted an amendment that allowed the president to waive Section 907, which American presidents have done annually ever since. Put another way, since 2001, the U.S. has provided military assistance to Azerbaijan—our foreign policy elites helped build the war machine used to push Armenians out of Artsakh.

Much of that military assistance would have been beyond Azerbaijan’s means if not for the various gas pipelines they have built with Western assistance. Europe needs gas to fuel its economy, and America sits atop one of the world’s great gas bounties. We could have supplied Europe with a near-endless supply of liquified natural gas, but instead, we acceded to the climate change agenda. We restricted our gas industry at home, while encouraging our biggest oil and gas companies to lead all sorts of projects abroad. The climate cult made Azerbaijan and its petro-pals flush with cash.

All Armenia needs is a fair chance. Armenia needs America to stop enabling Azerbaijan.

The ways to do it are simple. Shut down the Azerbaijan lobby. Cease publishing its lies in the complicit U.S. press. Stop delivering military assistance to Baku’s dictator. Unleash the American energy sector and use our bountiful resources to undermine Azerbaijan’s gas markets in Europe.

This last part is key: Greater American prosperity, made possible by a robust revival of America First policies at home, can usher in a new era of peace around the world. Imagine America unburdened by heavy-handed influence peddling at the highest echelons. Imagine America unashamedly pursuing its own interests.

It’s time to stand up for what's right. It’s time to stand up for American interests.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy is an American businessman and author of Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam.

 10:48, 20 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, has expressed support to the Armenian government’s Crossroads of Peace project.

In an interview with Armenpress Brussels correspondent, Klaar said that there ought to be no issue of extraterritoriality concerning the connections. He said that it is quite logical that any road, any railway that goes through Armenian territory is controlled by Armenia. 

Special Representative Klaar also spoke about the possible peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the guaranteed right to return of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.

Unlike Azerbaijan, which regularly talks about the so-called Zangezur Corridor in the context of unblocking regional communications, obviously implying the idea of having an extra-territorial corridor through the sovereign territory of Armenia, the Armenian government proposes the Crossroads of Peace project, which implies the unblocking of regional communications based on the jurisdiction and sovereignty of countries and as a result of its implementation the region can become an important international logistics and trade intersection and also a kind of guarantee for peace. How would you interpret this initiative of the Armenian government and what opportunities do you see here? Do you consider the implementation of this project possible, taking into account the destructive position of Azerbaijan in the matter of unblocking communications?

First of all, I think that, a few months ago [in May 2023], in Moscow, President Aliyev very clearly said publicly on television, in a meeting that they had with Prime Minister Pashinyan in the presence of President Putin, that naming it a ‘corridor’ doesn't imply extra-territoriality. President Aliyev has said – also on other occasions in smaller settings – that this does not imply extra-territoriality. Yes, calling it a corridor, as you know, we say transport corridors in reference to different corridors that we have in Europe and we never imply extra-territoriality. So, obviously, from our perspective, it is quite logical that any road, any railway that goes through Armenian territory is controlled by Armenia, or any road or railway that goes through Azerbaijani territory or goes through, I don't know, German territory, is controlled by the country in question. So, that is absolutely the one and only logical arrangement. And what is also very legitimate is, for instance, in this case Azerbaijan, to want to have an assurance that Azerbaijani citizens and cargo crossing Armenian territory will be safe and secure. That is perfectly logical and normal. But how that is being done in terms of how it is ensured is the responsibility of the Armenian authorities. I think the vision of Prime Minister Pashinyan of road and railway connections uniting countries is something we absolutely share. We absolutely share that vision of an open South Caucasus where railway and road connections are open, and countries are reconnected in a way that they were at the end of the Soviet period and even more so, because also the road and railway connections across  to Türkiye, and naturally Iran, which is already the case, but also to Türkiye, should also be open. That is how we see the future, absolutely, our vision of a South Caucasus at peace is one where these transport connections are all open again and there is trade, there is people travelling across the various frontiers.

Since you have mentioned the Azerbaijani President’s request that the Azerbaijani citizens should cross this corridor in a very safe way, here I want to ask a question, which concerns the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian residents who were forcibly displaced. What is your take concerning the right of these people to go back and also to make sure that we will not forget that and just jump to other issues in a few months’ time? But the Lachin corridor was blocked and Armenians did not have the chance to cross safely, many of them are arrested and charged. And Azerbaijani forces didn’t guarantee any kind of safety for these Armenians. So, Azerbaijan is asking for things that it didn't do as well. So what is your take on this, mainly on the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians’ right to be back?

I think you are bringing in many different issues, but I would focus on the core question of the former residents of Nagorno-Karabakh being able to return. We absolutely believe that this is a very important thing, that first of all, they are guaranteed the right to return. And secondly, that the kind of conditions are created, that will provide them with sufficient security, and a sense of safety that they will wish to do so. And we have said that very clearly from the EU’ point of view, that all persons who have been displaced should be able to return to their former places of residence if they wish to do so, in safety and security. And, in that sense, this is something that we have been pushing for, in all kinds of different fora. We believe that that is a very important issue that does need to be addressed. But of course, nobody can be forced to return if they don't wish to. But if they are, the maximum effort should be made to provide them with the kind of conditions that would allow at least a fair number of them to be able to decide to return.

Since you talked about peace in the region… Azerbaijan continues its expansionist rhetoric and wants to reach a peace agreement only within the framework that suits itself. How do you imagine the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan? What points should be included in it so that it can be called fair and balanced and be sustainable?

From my perspective, I think it is important that, on the one hand, you have a treaty, you have a text, which may or may not be very exhaustive in its wording. It all depends on how Armenia and Azerbaijan in the end decide how to frame, how to phrase things in that treaty text. At least as important as the eventual peace treaty, is what you refer to as the implementation, the conditions that come afterwards. And there of course, we talked about the opening of communications, we talked about the delimitation of the border, to me also what is very important is to ensure the kind of conditions along the border, which means that there is a distancing of forces, a genuine sense of security that arises, and that is provided to residents along the border, but also more broadly. And then, of course, you have all these issues like, you know, opening of embassies, ensuring opening of direct air links, people being able to travel back and forth. Rhetoric, naturally also, will be an important thing for all concerned. After more than 30 years of conflict, it is not only about rhetoric being used by Azerbaijan, there is also in Armenia. There have been statements by different actors and in different contexts. The whole context has to change in terms of really providing a sense for the populations in Armenia and Azerbaijan, that, really, we are in a different world now, in a situation where the South Caucasus can really fulfil its role as crossroads, crossroads of peace in the north-south and east-west directions. And so, this is to me at least as important as the signing of a peace treaty text, which, as I say is important, but what follows that is at least as important, so that there's this real sense of a change in the circumstances.

The EU wants to be the broker who will mediate this Peace Treaty. However, the Azerbaijani side first refused the meeting in Granada at the last moment, then the meeting scheduled for the end of October in Brussels. How do you interpret these rejections by Aliyev? To what extent does the EU consider Azerbaijan's steps as constructive?

First of all, the EU doesn't have to be anywhere in this context. We have offered, and President Michel in particular has offered, his good offices. For us, the primary interest is to actually have an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And where that is ultimately signed is to us much less important than the fact that there is genuine normalisation between Armenia and Azerbaijan. So that's one thing. As far as President Aliyev deciding not to come to Grenada is concerned, well, we were disappointed, we thought that it was an important possibility and quite important forum to send strong messages. We are still, President Michel is still, ready and willing to organise a meeting of the leaders in Brussels at the earliest possible opportunity. Well, dates certainly are important. But the most important thing is to actually move forward and that is what we are focused on, to try to encourage forward movement in a genuine normalisation of relations.

Many political experts think that Azerbaijan is not really interested in the European platform and the 3+3 format is more beneficial to Aliyev. What is your assessment of this approach?

I have no particular opinion, from our perspective, we look at the “3+3” meeting, the recent one as well as the previous ones, as something where countries of the region certainly have issues that, as neighbours, they want to discuss and they should be able to discuss in a sort of regional setting. At the same time, I understand also that the understanding has been, at least initially, that particularly the conflict, the peace agreement, the settlement, should not really be a subject of discussion in that particular format. So, again, for us, the most important thing is progress, where that progress happens is much less important. But we do believe that, actually, in our view, there is no real reason why we cannot have serious progress in the settlement process, because, for us, the issues on the table are very few and we believe these have been discussed many times over, so we don't really see a reason why we could not move and why Azerbaijan and Armenia could not move very quickly towards normalisation of relations.

Azerbaijan criticizes the arming of Armenia, while it has three times higher military budget, and weapons shipments do not stop landing at the Baku airport. How do you interpret this rhetoric of Azerbaijan?

Well, I think that every country has the right to defend itself and to purchase the necessary weapons that it deems necessary for the defense of its territory. That’s my simple answer. Most countries in the world are purchasing weapons from abroad for the purpose of defending their territory. So, in that sense, there is nothing spectacular or wrong about this.

The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan criticized Mr. Borrell's statement during the press conference and said that "The EU's attempts to supply Armenia with weaponry and thereby support its insidious militarization policy that undermines peace and stability in our region, encourages a policy leading to new confrontations in the region, that lays a responsibility on the EU. Plans to employ the European Peace Facility, which, among other areas, implies the buildup of military capabilities, serve to exacerbate tensions in the region". In fact, Azerbaijan threatens not only Armenia but also the EU. What is your take on this? 

Well, I think we very much welcome the interest of the Armenian government to expand its relationship with the European Union. As for Armenia’s interest in the European Peace Facility, from our perspective, this is about potentially supporting Armenia in certain areas where it sees itself to be vulnerable – cyber security has been mentioned as one – and there again, if it does go forward (this is still in the planning phase), we don't see this as being aimed against anybody but rather, for the purpose of strengthening Armenia’s sovereignty, which, I think, is in the interest of everyone, not only of Armenia, but also of Armenia’s neighbours and of the wider international community. We want to have a strong, self-confident Armenia that is a good partner to the European Union and is equally a good partner to its neighbours, including to Azerbaijan.

Lilit Gasparyan

 11:19, 20 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. UK Minister for Europe, Leo Docherty, is commencing a South Caucasus tour on November 20. The minister is expected in Armenia on Monday, the British embassy said in a statement.

“The UK is stepping up its cooperation and support for peace and stability in the South Caucasus as UK Minister for Europe, Leo Docherty, will underline on his tour of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan which commences today (Monday 20 November).

“The region, located on Russia’s southern border, remains vulnerable to external interference as it recovers from the impacts of conflict and attempts to press ahead with reform agendas in support of democratic choice for freedom and independence.

“Building on the formal Strategic Dialogues with all three countries earlier this year, Minister Docherty will extend the UK’s offer of increased trade and security cooperation to help the countries to diversify their and reduce European reliance on Russia.

Ahead of arriving in Yerevan, Minister for Europe Leo Docherty said:

“The South Caucasus faces significant security challenges, both internally and from its neighbours which threaten to destabilise the region.

“In a volatile region, the UK is a reliable partner for reform, peace and stability.” 

“The Minister for Europe arrives in Yerevan ready to build on the momentum of last week’s UK-Armenia Strategic Dialogue in London, during which both sides agreed to enhance cooperation in trade, security and on the rule of law.

“In Tbilisi, he will reaffirm the UK’s unequivocal support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and back its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, in line with the will of the Georgian government and people.

“The UK is working with the Georgian government to build its resilience against Russian aggression, including through the Tailored Support Package agreed at the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid.

“Following recent events in Nagorno-Karabakh, Minister Docherty will urge the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to engage meaningfully in internationally-mediated negotiations to reach an historic agreement and secure lasting peace for the region.

“In September, the UK contributed £1million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to support the humanitarian response to the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the wider region.

“The UK became one of the first countries to provide demining support to Azerbaijan, providing world-leading equipment and delivering mine clearance training to local authorities. Minister Docherty visits Baku just as the UK is building on that partnership – extending its offer for specialised courses in explosive ordnance disposal which will provide the skills needed to operate in a high threat environment,” the embassy said.

 11:21, 20 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Ukraine has signalled support for Armenia’s possible participation in the Baltic Black Sea Defence Alliance.

In an interview with AnalitikaUA, Mykhail Podoliak, the adviser to the chief of staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Office, said that Armenian politicians ought to engage in dialogue.

Asked on the possibility of Armenia participating in the Baltic Black Sea Defence Alliance, Podolyak expressed hope that the doors of the alliance will be open. He said that legal and logistic formulas must be found.  “Armenian politicians must engage in dialogue,” he said.

The Ukrainian official expressed conviction that Armenia will overcome the many difficulties it is facing, stressing that Armenians around the world must have faith in their own country.

Podolyak said that Armenia is on the right track.

“The strategy that I now clearly see in Armenia’s stance is the intensive dialogue with NATO countries UK, US, and France, with whom historically there’s always been good dialogue,” he said.

 11:58, 20 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is acquiring the India-made MArG 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzers, IDRW (Indian Defence Research Wing) reported.

The howitzers made by Bharat Forge “represent a cutting-edge artillery system, embodying power, precision and mobility,” according to IDRW. The MArG 155mm/39 cal offers exceptional all-terrain manoeuvrability. “Its ability to negotiate gradients up to 30 ° and its ‘shoot and scoot’ capability make it a versatile and formidable weapon in modern combat scenarios.’

Bharat Forge has confirmed that the howitzers it recently showcased are destined for Armenia, according to IDRW. 

According to IDRW, the acquisition of the howitzers by Armenia is a ‘significant development for India’s defence industry.’

“The deal with Armenia builds upon a growing strategic partnership between the two nations, with India emerging as a key supplier of defence equipment to Armenia. In 2020, Armenia acquired four Swathi mobile radar units from India, and in September 2022, a $245 million contract was signed for the purchase of Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, anti-tank rockets and various types of ammunition,” IDRW said.

According to an earlier report by IDRW, Armenian officials had travelled to India to test the artillery system and sign the deal.

 13:07, 20 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and the EU have signed an agreement regarding the status of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA).

The agreement was signed at the Foreign Ministry by Deputy FM Paruyr Hovhannisyan and Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia, Ambassador Vassilis Maragos.

The agreement on the status of EUMA pertains to regulating privileges and rights of the mission.

“We are ready to move forwards and further strengthen the presence of the mission in the country, to contribute to stability and monitoring on the Armenian side of the border and to see what is taking place,” Maragos said.

Hovhannisyan in turn explained that the agreement on the status is about creating facilitated conditions for the monitors, ranging from healthcare to technical issues. “It’s similar to the authority that diplomats have in every country,” the Deputy FM said.

A few days ago, the EU Foreign Affairs Council approved the expansion of EUMA.

 10:02, 21 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Men’s Chess Team has won bronze at the European Team Chess Championship in Budva, Montenegro after defeating England 2.5-1.5 in the last round.

Armenia’s Shant Sargsyan defeated Michael Adams, while Hayk Martirosyan, Gabriel Sargsyan and Samvel Ter-Sahakyan had draws.

Serbia won gold and Germany won silver.

 11:19, 21 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The United States continues to engage the leadership of Armenia and Azerbaijan and offer to facilitate a dignified and durable peace where the rights of all are respected, U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller said in Washington on Monday.

“I will say that we continue to engage the leadership of both countries and offer to facilitate a dignified and durable peace where the rights of all are respected. It is important that Armenia and Azerbaijan discuss and resolve issues directly to benefit the region. We would welcome a role in facilitating those talks. We’ve seen other countries offer to facilitate those talks. We think it’s important that the two countries talk face to face to reach a durable agreement,” Miller said at a press briefing.

Miller refused to comment on the U.S.-mediated Armenian-Azerbaijani foreign ministerial negotiations that were scheduled to take place on November 20, but were cancelled after Azerbaijan opted out.

Asked whether the U.S. still continues offering Washington as a potential platform for the talks, Miller said:  “As I just said, we would be willing to facilitate those talks, as we have in the past, and we welcome other countries doing so as well.”

 11:26, 21 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The Center for Research in the Humanities of New York Public Library has been named after Armenian-American historian, Aurora Prize co-founder Vardan Gregorian.

The trustees of The New York Public Library (NYPL) have voted to rename the Center for Research in the Humanities to the Vartan Gregorian Center for Research in the Humanities.

“The change recognizes the profound contribution of Vartan Gregorian, NYPL president from 1981–89, who is credited with restoring and revitalizing the Library—structurally, fiscally, and reputationally as an essential civic and educational center,” NYPL said in a statement.

The Vartan Gregorian Center for Research in the Humanities, located on the second floor of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, is dedicated to engaging, inspiring, supporting, and connecting a growing community of scholars worldwide, with each other and with the Library’s world-class collections. The Center encompasses four shared study rooms, as well as the Lenox and Astor Room and other programming spaces for research events that highlight the Library's collections and the research they have fueled.