Category: 2023

Unresolved Geographies: The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict & Left Realism

Maghakian Mike
Nov 10 2023
BY DANIEL FALCONE

In this interview, exclusive for CounterPunch, professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nerses Kopalyan, breaks down the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. After providing a historical context for the conflict from a political science point of view, he analyzes the ways in which the media unpacks the region and presents historical and contemporary analogs. Kopalyan is the author of World Political Systems After Polarity (Routledge, 2017).

Daniel Falcone: Can you provide a historical context and give us a brief background of the region following Azerbaijan’s lightning offensive?

Nerses Kopalyan: As a political scientist, the framework I have in studying this is different from that of historians. International law and contemporary developments per the international system largely remain indifferent to history. Russia and countries like Azerbaijan are authoritarian regimes weaponizing and revising history to meet a certain weaponized narrative. After 1918, Armenia and Azerbaijan became Soviet socialist republics. Nagorno-Karabakh was made an autonomous oblast in the Soviet Union within the administrative territories of the state of Azerbaijan. It was, however, 90% Armenian. It has a historical Armenian presence; the evidence is indisputable.

Throughout the Soviet period, especially in the 1960s and beyond, you had this whole process of de-Stalinization and Moscow’s approach was very different. Things started coming to a head in 1988 when the Soviet Union started disintegrating. With glasnost and perestroika, you saw nationalist movements. New forms of identity construction developed where you were no longer a Soviet citizen. You were a Ukrainian first. You were a Kazakh first. You were an Armenian first. You were Georgian first, etc., etc.

And with these movements the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians basically started their whole self-determination movement saying that “Nagorno-Karabakh has no reason to be part of Azerbaijan, and therefore, we are seeking to basically detach ourselves and be independent.” The result was international violence; it broke out between local forces, Azeri forces and Soviet forces that initially tried to mitigate the conflict.

In 1991 full-out war broke out between the indigenous population of Nagorno-Karabakh seeking independence from Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani state. The Republic of Armenia got involved in the sense that a lot of volunteer units and troops from the Republic of Armenia went and joined to support, protect, and participate in the protection of the Armenian community. What was a conflict between the Nagorno-Karabakh population seeking to secede from Azerbaijan ended up being an interstate conflict because Armenia got sucked into it. Armenia said that Nagorno-Karabakh needed to be an independent state.

Daniel Falcone: Can you talk about how the geopolitical configurations around the world are impacting the conflict? How are the more powerful nations impacting the region and what does that mean for human rights and the Armenians?

Nerses Kopalyan: The United States does not have tunnel vision so they’re not forgetting Taiwan or Ukraine just because the Palestinian-Israeli issue is there, and they’re not forgetting the South Caucasus. The Israeli conflict has been getting a lot of attention in the United States for obvious domestic reasons, but I would caution not to conflate the broad rhetoric and the political emphasis on it from the highly diplomatic, technocratic, and military components involved. America’s priority remains the defeat of Russia in the Ukraine War because that is more specific to the broader global and geopolitical configurations. Israel’s component in that context is getting a lot of international attention, but I don’t think it’s shifting policies as far as other parts of the world and other conflict zones are concerned. Israel is engaging in extreme and preemptive behavior, essentially the Bush doctrine on steroids.

The United States preaches human rights, but human rights matter until they conflict with America’s strategic interests. Foreign policy then, is based on prioritization, so human rights are prioritized until this priority conflicts with the ultimate priority, the national interest.

We see this play out in the South Caucasus. There’s a large body of evidence of the human rights violations that Azerbaijan continues to engage in. It is an authoritarian predatory regime.

And the approach of the United States and the West is: “We hope Azerbaijan isn’t too egregious with their human rights violations so we can somehow justify basically sweeping it under the rug due to our own (1) oil interests, (2) European energy security interests, and (3) ‘the Iran factor.’”  Azerbaijan is presented as a buffer against Iranian interests, so the U.S. position is always “this abuser has important characteristics that are consistent with our strategic interests.”

This is the Western posture when human rights conflict with strategic interests. And so, when we saw the entire ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh taking place, the West didn’t come out and cite crimes against humanity. The European Parliament did of course, but not the European Commission, not many European countries, and certainly not the United States. If they said it’s forced removal, that’s a violation of international law. It might force their hand to take diplomatic steps.

Daniel Falcone: It’s been said that oil flows freely in Azerbaijan, but information not so much. Could you comment on how Western media outlets cover this situation? Could you offer some sources that people could use to get a better handle on this conflict without corporate or establishment interference? Further, do activists for the Palestinian cause identify with the Armenians in this conflict in your estimation?

Nerses Kopalyan: I would encourage access to local journalism. EVN Report, for example, stands out. Further, Hetq in Armenia does a lot of investigative reporting, so there’s solid content there. Anything outside of that, as you noted, it’s either an issue of corporate interest or towing the line with respect to state policies. Now, why am I not mentioning Azerbaijan? When you have one of the worst authoritarian regimes in the world, where there is no independent media, I can’t speak of local journalism. There, everything from think tanks to academics to pundits receive directives from Baku. Authoritarianism and the misinformation utilized by authoritarians create this false parity in information.

If you don’t have a domestic audience that is intrinsically invested in the human rights violations that are happening outside of the country or other parts of the world, news outlets are only going to cater to the local and domestic audience. So those factors also remain important.  And, of course, the positions of government are very important.  We can’t deny that. As a result, the perception is that The United States has a very neutral position on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

I think at the basic human level, absolutely, the Palestinian activists understand the human suffering that the Armenians are going through. But when it gets to the political level, their sympathy becomes a lot more complicated. When we see the social justice movements in the United States, many of them are expressing solidarity or sympathy with the Palestinians, but this is a byproduct of entrenched ideational perspectives, such as decolonization. Those configurations are not so applicable to the South Caucasus and developments in Armenia.

When we study human rights organizations as institutions, they become forces of their own, in need of self-reproduction or self-perpetuation. This is known as path dependency. So, when institutions develop in size, structure, and modality thinking, they tend to prioritize self-preservation as opposed to covering every issue that they’re supposed to address.

Powerful human rights organizations have turned a blind eye to certain human rights violations because from their lens they are detrimental to their institutional interests. As a matter of fact, in the United States, do not expect any robust modality of activism to the suffering of any international people unless you have a huge constituency in the country.  Not that many people, for instance, discuss what’s been going on in Myanmar.

Daniel Falcone is a teacher, journalist, and PhD student in the World History program at St. John’s University in Jamaica, NY as well as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. He resides in New York City.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/11/10/unresolved-geographies-the-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-left-realism/

Armenia steps up military ties with West as Russia relations tumble

Emil Lazarian
Nov 10 2023
 

ByArshaluys Barseghyan

The Armenian authorities have continued to foster security ties with the West, as the country’s relations with Moscow remain in freefall.

Earlier this week, the Chief of Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Eduard Asryan, visited the United States European Command in Stuttgart, where he met with deputy commander Lieutenant General Steven Basham, to discuss Armenian–American military cooperation.

The two were reported to have discussed army professionalisation programmes, the modernisation of Armenia’s management systems, peacekeeping, military medicine and education, and combat readiness.

The meeting with Basham came off the heels of recent joint Armenian–American military drills in Armenia in September.

Germany has also expressed interest in Armenia’s security concerns. On 3 November, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock stated in Yerevan that Germany was willing to ‘cooperate’ with Armenia on security matters.

And early in October, France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna stated that Paris and Yerevan had agreed to sign a deal that would enable the delivery of military equipment to Armenia to help Armenia ‘ensure its security’.

Later that month, the two countries signed bilateral military cooperation deals to provide weaponry including radars and anti-air systems to Armenia, when Armenia’s Defence Minister Suren Papikyan and the French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu met in Paris. France has also dispatched a military attaché to the French embassy in Yerevan.

Less than a week later, the Secretary of Armenia’s Security Council Armen Grigoryan met with senior US and French officials in Malta to discuss the security situation in the South Caucasus.

Armenia has also looked further afield for its renewed bid to diversify its military ties, including appearing to secure further weapons deals with India, with whom it already had close ties.

Citing an anonymous source, India’s Economic Times reported in October that New Delhi was considering providing a new shipment of military equipment to Armenia following a senior Armenian visit to India.

This was later corroborated by the Eurasian Times, which on Wednesday reported that Armenia had purchased a $41.5 million anti-drone system from India’s Zen Technologies.

Armenia previously purchased military equipment from India in the autumn of 2022, including Pinaka multiple launch rocket systems, anti-tank missiles, rockets, and ammunition.

Defence Minister Suren Papikyan also made a visit to Beijing in October to discuss potential defence cooperation with China.

Armenia’s courting of Western and other security partners has come as the country has experienced a dramatic rift with Moscow.

In late October, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hinted that Russian inaction in the face of Azerbaijan’s offensives on Armenian territory in 2021 and 2022 had forced Yerevan to ‘diversify’ its relations in the security sector.

A month prior, in his Independence Day address, Pashinyan stated that Armenia’s allies had ‘for many years […] set the task of demonstrating our vulnerabilities and justifying the impossibility of the Armenian people having an independent state’.

His statement was taken by many as a reference to Russia.

As Yerevan’s relations with Moscow have deteriorated over the past three years, Armenia has opted out of several high-profile drills and summits organised by the CSTO — the Russia-led security bloc.

Last year, when Armenia hosted the CSTO summit, several hundred people protested in Yerevan demanding that Armenia leave the organisation over its failure to protect Armenia against Azerbaijan’s September 2022 attack.

This year, Armenia refused to host joint CSTO peacekeeping exercises which Pashinyan labelled as being ‘inexpedient in the current situation’. 

Armenia also sat out CSTO drills in Belarus and Kyrgyzstan in September and October.

Yerevan also refused to send a representative to serve as the CSTO’s deputy secretary general in March.

Defence Minister Suren Papikyan has also sat out CSTO Council of Ministers of Defence meetings in 2022 and 2023.


More than just a craft, in Armenia carpet-making is a tapestry of the country’s rich heritage

Emil Lazarian
Forbes India
Nov 10 2023

 

BY VEIDEHI GITE
Nestled on Madoyan Street, a mere 10-minute drive from Republic Square, the bustling heart of Yerevan, the Megerian Carpet Cultural Complex houses a factory, a museum and a culinary school, all of which offer a glimpse into the world of 100-to-400-year-old Armenian rugs and carpets. In Armenia, the art of carpet weaving has been passed down through generations, each stitch preserving a thread of the country’s rich heritage, and the Megerian family stands as a testament to this enduring tradition, proudly perpetuating its legacy for all to admire.

The Megerian Carpet Factory was established in 1917 in New York City by Hovannes John Megerian, the grandfather of today’s owners. Back then, Megerian was involved with washing, buying and selling, and repairing of antique rugs. Three decades later, they boldly ventured into reproduction. The company was passed on to his children and in the 1970s they opened factories all over the world, though now they only have two—in New York and Yerevan. In 2002, the Megerian family acquired Aygorg Union, a Soviet-era rug-weaving company in Armenia that used chemical dyes and the Persian one-and-a-half knot technique. They completely revamped the company's production methods, switching to all-natural organic dyes and the Armenian double knot technique, the world's oldest knotting technique. The Armenian double knot technique, in contrast to the more common Persian one-and-a-half knot technique, only becomes tighter as it is pulled.  
 
Fast forward to today, the company is one of the biggest makers of traditional Armenian rugs, whose motifs and designs whisper echoes of centuries past. They also make vast rugs, some reserved for momentous occasions, others that grace the halls of presidential palaces, churches, and other important landmarks. And it is here, within the walls of the complex, that Megerian’s craftsmanship and artistry unite in a symphony of colours and patterns, where one can marvel at the making of unique carpets and even buy them.

At the entrance, Raffi Megerian, the third-generation owner of Megerian Carpet Cultural Complex, directs our attention to an Armenian alphabet door gracing the entrance. He highlights the uncanny resemblances between the Armenian and Indian Sanskrit alphabets and the interconnectedness of cultures. Stepping into the confines, the interiors pulsate with earthen pots, antique tapestries, and a display of coloured wool encased in a glass case. The sheer magnificence of the vintage carpets that grace the floors in room after room of the museum make you ponder if you can even walk over them. But Galina, the museum guide assures us, “There is an Armenian saying that the carpets are meant to be walked upon. We clean these rugs once every six months with cold water and a special soap which is made of natural oils.” Megerian’s renowned designs find their origins and inspiration in these ancient carpets, which serve as both the wellspring and blueprint. In doing so, they proudly preserve the rich tapestry of Armenian heritage.

Arranged on a turquoise boat-shaped table in the first room of the factory, a collection of six natural dyes reads like a poetic recipe: bark of the mulberry tree for beige colour, indigo (imported from India) for the blue colour, the root of madder for red colour, rind of pomegranate from Megri for coffee and black colour, immortal flower (a type of wildflower that grows in the mountains) for yellow colour, and walnut shell for brown colour. “These humble ingredients, when skilfully combined, give birth to a staggering array of nearly 600 shades,” says Galina. In ancient times, Armenian carpet weavers obtained red dye from the cochineal insect, a type of red beetle. Today, she adds, cochineal dye (Vordan Karmir) is very expensive, so madder root is often used instead, including to paint Easter eggs red. “Alum (mineral) and wine stone (leftover wine that becomes stone over the years at the bottom of the barrel) are two fixators that are used to fix the colours to the wool. We use two more fixators which are a trade secret. This formula keeps colours vibrant and prevents them from fading.” 

A group of 40 skilled female weavers diligently operates the looms in the factory. Some of them have worked here for over a decade. Qnarik has been weaving for over 20 years, while Anush and Ripsinp are also experienced weavers. Each meter of rug takes a minimum of two months to weave, depending on the complexity of the design. A single square meter of rug contains 1,60,000 Armenian double knots. Each loom has its own map, which is a grid of tiny squares, each representing one Armenian double knot. Weavers weave row by row, using a tool called a Ktut to secure the knots after each row is complete. Megerian sources old Armenian carpets from around the world and recreates their designs on new carpets.
 
“We have several small looms but only one large power loom that can weave rugs up to 100 square meters in size. These eco rugs take three years to weave and require 4-6 women to work on them simultaneously. We typically do not sell these large rugs, as they are woven for special occasions and placed in presidential palaces, churches, and other significant locations. Some of these rugs are even donated,” says Raffi Megerian adding, “We keep the price of these rugs very reasonable and confidential, but it is estimated to be around $500-$1000 per square meter. We have woven rugs for the Vatican, the largest of which was 100 square meters." 

Their high-quality production process involves washing the carpets 4-5 times and combing out the extra wool fibres to prevent shedding when the carpets are taken home. “The final product is perfectly shiny and smooth wool that will last for generations. Like the Armenian carpets my grandfather left us, these carpets are unique works of art that are worth the investment. We use only the highest quality, hard lamb wool in our rugs. Once the rugs are finished, we turn them over and place them on the floor. We then spray them with a special natural insect repellent made from tree bark, flowers, and roots from the Armenian mountains. This protects the rugs from moths and other pests,” he adds.
 
Ancient Armenian carpets were meticulously crafted by independent weavers, each piece infused with their cultural heritage, historical narratives, social perspectives, and personal anecdotes. The newly created carpets serve as faithful replicas of those designs, preserving the essence of those weavers expressions and experiences. All the rugs in the Megerian Carpet Museum are at least a hundred years old. A large worktable in the museum displays a carpet that was woven for the 2,800th anniversary of Yerevan in 2019. Four craftsmen worked for over a year to create the carpet, which depicts some of the most important events in Yerevan’s history. Other notable rugs on display include the Tiknani carpet from 1898 with intricate floral patterns, the Khndzoresk from 1928, illustrating a scene from the Armenian village of cave dwellings, the Sisian Rug (a 20th century rug with traditional Armenian motifs) and the 19th-century Tree of Life, which is a common motif in Armenian art and culture.

The oldest, a 400-year-old carpet, is a 16th-century Vaspurakan carpet from Western Armenia, a near perfect example of the superior processes used in Armenian carpet-making. The left part of the carpet was restored in Soviet times with the help of chemical dyes and is very different from the colouring on the right side, which was neither damaged nor restored. It’s a nod to the fact that yarn dyed with natural colours never loses its vibrancy. A Lori carpet, a replica of the original held in the treasury museum of the Holy Etchmiadzin, the spiritual centre of the Armenian Apostolic Church, is also on display. The carpet has been reproduced six times, not for sale, but to be gifted to individuals who have made significant contributions to Armenia's development. Five have been gifted—to Pope Francis, Charles Aznavour, footballer Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Catholicos of Cilicia Aram I, and Turkish MP Garo Paylan. Another Lori carpet was woven for George Clooney.  
 
Most rugs have a unique story, and some are even symbolic. For example, the 160-year-old Vahan (shield) rug is a symbolic artefact of the Armenian Genocide. In 1915, a mother divided their family carpet into two pieces and gave one to each of her daughters, telling them that if they were ever separated, they might be able to find each other again someday with the help of the rug. Fifty-three years later, the sisters were reunited in New York City, thanks to the two pieces of the rug. In 2017, the Megerian family also donated two of their Armenian rugs to the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the St. James Brotherhood. These rugs are placed on the altar of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the holiest sites in Christianity, where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. 

A picture of the Pazirik carpet is another impressive display in the museum. The Pazirik carpet was found in a tomb which was called Pazyryk, hence the name. Believed to have been woven in the 5th century BCE, the carpet has Armenian origins. The original, woven with Armenian double knots and dyed with red filaments from the Armenian cochineal, is kept in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The ornaments in the carpet design depict the frescoes of the Urartu palace. A 200-year-old Nshagorg carpet with almonds symbolises maternity and fertility. Women who were unable to give birth believed that weaving such a carpet by hand would make them a mother. Therefore, when looking at an Armenian carpet, you are not just glimpsing a beautiful piece of art; you are darting through a tapestry of memories and emotions.

At the restaurant in the complex, hung with Megerian carpets, they weave heritage of a different kind. “At Megerian, we don’t just weave carpets but also culinary magic that will leave you craving for more. Our on-site culinary school embodies the essence of traditional Armenian cuisine and you get served some of the best dishes at the Megerian restaurant rung by stunning carpets,” says Executive Chef Sedrak Mamulyan. Go ahead and indulge in national Armenian dishes such as dolma (minced meat wrapped in leaves), sorrel with yoghurt, freshly baked Lavash bread with Lori and Chanax cheese with herbs, Ishkhan (Trout fish), and Gata (sweet pie), Halva and Ani sweet for dessert. And don't forget to request a bottle of the Megerian family vodka, one of the best you’ll ever taste. Chef Mamulyan will insist on giving you a refill, even if you say no. They call it clearing the dust. This is just one of many delightful Armenian traditions that you’re bound to appreciate.

See more photos at the link below
https://www.forbesindia.com/article/lifes/more-than-just-a-craft-in-armenia-carpetmaking-is-a-tapestry-of-the-countrys-rich-heritage/89655/1

Human rights scholar wins top Royal Society award

Tambiyan Samvel
New Zealand – Nov 8 2023

8 November 2023

Politics and law, Faculty of Arts, University news

Human rights and sustainability researcher Dr Maria Armoudian from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland has won the Royal Society Te Apārangi Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences.

Dr Maria Armoudian, a senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations in the Faculty of Arts, has won the prestigious Early Career Excellence Award for Social Sciences from the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

The award acknowledges Dr Armoudian's research, leadership and mentoring work to advance the interconnected goals of sustainability, human rights and good governance.

The Royal Society’s commendation says her third book, Lawyers Beyond Borders: Advancing International Human Rights through Local Laws & Courts (University of Michigan Press, 2021), “represents the definitive work on the inception and development of a global movement to redress survivors of egregious human rights violations, such as genocide and torture.”

Based on court records, government, NGO and media reports, as well as interviews with advocates and survivors, Lawyers Beyond Borders examines the 40-year pursuit to redress and restore human rights for those the international legal-political systems have failed.

The book also highlights efforts to build new pathways to justice, using human ingenuity, ideas and creative advocacy, says Dr Armoudian.

“Although the international justice system has failed the millions who need it most, namely, those who have suffered the gravest violations, Lawyers Beyond Borders shows how through ideas and creativity, and despite limited budgets compared to their powerful opponents in many cases, committed advocates are helping repair the damage.”

 

She says that despite the harrowing details of torture and injustice she had to listen to in the process of writing the book, the lawyers and cases it illuminates offer some hope in addressing some of the most difficult problems of our time, including unlawful imprisonment, torture, displacement and environmental degradation.

“And with rising authoritarianism, record levels of violent conflict and climate change, solving the injustice crises is more urgent than ever,” she believes.

Such is the interest in the work that eight of Dr Armoudian's recent international and national conference presentations involved findings and analysis from the book: including at the Midwest Political Science Association, Australasian American Studies Association, International Studies Association, and Western Political Science Association.

Following its publication, she was also invited to join the advisory board of the international legal Center for Truth and Justice, and to become a co-director of the University of Auckland’s flagship research centre, Ngā Ara Whetū for Climate, Biodiversity and Society.

As the granddaughter of Armenian genocide survivors who lost everything – brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, friends, indigenous lands, homes, and everything except for the clothes on their backs – she is profoundly grateful to the Royal Society for acknowledging her work to support others who are suffering similar fates.

“Some have the world’s attention, so many do not, such as the Armenians in Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh. I’m deeply thankful to my friends, family, colleagues, and community who have supported me in my darkest hours. I owe them everything, including my continued existence.

“I will use this award to continue advancing the interlinked goals of human rights, sustainability and good governance. I dedicate it to all survivors of genocide, torture, ethnic cleansing and dispossession of their indigenous lands, homes, and communities, and to all lawyers, journalists, activists and scholars working to remedy grave injustices.

“As one person on a very large, dispersed international team, I will continue to work for your redress and recovery.”
 

I dedicate [this award] to all survivors of genocide, torture, ethnic cleansing and dispossession of their indigenous lands, homes, and communities, and to all lawyers, journalists, activists and scholars working to remedy grave injustices.

Dr Maria ArmoudianFaculty of Arts

Other works by Dr Armoudian include Kill the Messenger: The Media’s Role in the Fate of the World (Prometheus Books, 2011) and Reporting from the Danger Zone: Frontline Journalists, Their Jobs, and Increasingly Perilous Future (Routledge, 2016).

She is the host and producer of the Scholar’s Circle podcast and a regular media commentator and opinion piece writer for New Zealand and international publications, including The Washington Post, The New York Times syndicate, the Los Angeles Times syndicate and the Colombia Journalism Review.

She is also a radio broadcaster, musician and former journalist who worked as both a city commissioner in Los Angeles for six years and the California State Legislature for eight.

The Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences is awarded annually for the encouragement of early career researchers currently based in New Zealand for social sciences research in New Zealand.
 

Julianne Evans | Media adviser
M: 027 562 5868
E: [email protected]
 

https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2023/11/08/human-rights-champion-wins-top-royal-society-award.html 

Tragedy and Opportunity in Nagorno-Karabakh

Chakhmakhchian Vatche
The National Interest
Oct 4 2023

The United States has tended to think about this crucial region too little and too late. But a strategic opportunity still exists.

by Daniel Sneider

In the span of mere days, the long-disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, home to Armenians since antiquity, has disappeared as a political entity. By the evening of September 29, almost 100,000 people, over 80 percent of the enclave’s population, had crossed to Armenia, fleeing with the clear encouragement of the Azerbaijan regime.

The Azerbaijanis seized back control of this region from a self-styled independent state, closely tied to Armenia itself, in a series of military campaigns beginning in 2020 and culminating in a lightning strike on September 19-20. The triumphant mood was palpable in Baku when I visited just prior to the latest attack—from huge electronic displays of patriotic flag waving on the skyscrapers that had been built with oil and gas riches to a carpet woven with a map of Nagorno-Karabakh, which a museum guide breathlessly described as “our land.”

Back in Yerevan, the capital of the Republic of Armenia, the mood was considerably darker. On the first day of the beginning of the latest attack, a senior Armenian foreign ministry official was anticipating the collapse of resistance. “It’s a series of actions that can lead to only one thing—the complete ethnic cleansing of Nagorno Karabakh,” he told me.

This humanitarian disaster is taking place as the world watches, issuing ritual statements of condemnation but apparently unable to intervene. Armenia is left largely on its own to cope with a massive influx of people who have been forced to leave possessions and homes, some lived in for centuries, with no hope of return. Azerbaijani forces are arresting Karabakh Armenian leaders, preparing to hold show trials for their “crimes” of resistance. Any acts of resistance are likely to justify brutal and violent repression of those who remain.

Armenians are haunted by the historical memory of the Turkish genocide of 1915, when a million or more Armenians were murdered by the Ottomans amidst the chaos of World War I. U.S. Agency for International Development director Samantha Power, a witness to similar scenes of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and the author of a hallmark study of the failure to respond to genocide, came to Armenia immediately after the attack, offering condolences and a mere $11.5 million in refugee aid.

This war in what seems like a distant and peripheral corner of the world deserves our attention. It is a test of the willingness to tolerate acts of violation of fundamental human rights, at a time when these values are on the line in the nearby war in Ukraine. As in that war, the Russian state is asserting its imperial heritage and is determined to punish those whom it sees as disloyal and turning to the West.

The Azerbaijani offensive is possible only because of a de facto alliance of autocrat Ilham Aliyev with Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey. Armenia and its democratically elected government led by Nikol Pashinyan are being punished by Putin for the crime of seeking to broaden ties to the United States and the European Union. Weakened by war in Ukraine, and worried about losing control of its former imperial backyard in the South Caucasus, Putin decided to greenlight the return of Azerbaijani rule over Nagorno-Karabakh and abandon Russia’s traditional role as a protector of Armenia.

Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh have become nothing more than doormen for the ethnic cleansing operation.

 “The Russian peacekeeping operation is a sham,” a veteran Armenian political leader told me. “Without the agreement of Putin, neither Azerbaijan nor Turkey could have pursued this war.”

Meanwhile, the conflict is hardly over. An emboldened Azerbaijan, handed a virtual blank check by Turkey and Russia, demands, and prepares to seize, a land bridge across Armenian territory that will connect it to the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan and through that to Turkey. Azerbaijan dictator Aliyev now talks of recovering “western Azerbaijan,” referring to claims on Armenia itself, a claim manifested in attacks along the border, including in recent days.

The immediate origins of this war lie in the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, a moment I witnessed first-hand as the Moscow bureau chief of the Christian Science Monitor. A mass movement of Armenians rose up to demand independence and the return of Nagorno-Karabakh to their territory. The region had been placed in the 1920s by Joseph Stalin under the authority of the ethnically Turkish Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan, an act that Armenians had long seen as unjust.

As Soviet authority waned, both Armenia and Azerbaijan claimed independence, leading to a fierce war that ended in a 1994 ceasefire. The war left a legacy of mutual acts of ethnic violence and deepened hatred. The fighting left the Armenians in control of a vast swath of Azerbaijani territory, including establishing a land corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. They avoided the sovereignty issue by establishing an independent Nagorno-Karabakh.

The plan was to trade most of the captured Azerbaijani land for a permanent peace, but compromise proved elusive. Conflicting claims of sovereignty could not be resolved, despite the efforts of a group formed by Russia, the United States, and France. Intransigence on both sides grew as time went by. Eventually, the Azerbaijanis regained military strength, using oil and gas revenues to buy advanced arms from Turkey, Israel, and Russia (which supplied both sides), along with Turkish training and officers, to try to resolve the conflict by armed means.

In a weeks-long offensive in 2020, coming when the world was distracted by Covid-19 and the United States was under the isolationist rule of Donald Trump, the Azerbaijanis restored control of all of their occupied territory and much of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. The Russians only intervened at the end to negotiate a ceasefire that ceded much to Azerbaijan and implanted Russian troops on the ground as “peacekeepers.”

Armenian officials believe relations with Moscow had already started to fray after a civic movement brought the reformist government of Pashinyan to power in 2018, removing more pro-Russian leadership. “It started when Russia didn’t like a more open, democratic Armenia,” the senior foreign ministry official said.

“The Russians are much more comfortable working with Azerbaijan than with the current Armenian government,” says Tigran Grigoryan, the head of the Regional Center for Democracy and Security, an Armenian-based think tank. “Aliyev and Putin speak the same language. That is not true for Putin and Pashinyan.”

Still, the Armenian government has been very careful not to upset its traditional allies in Russia, joining the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) organized by Moscow along with Belarus and a handful of other former Soviet republics. The reality is that the Russians retain huge leverage in this small nation—a Russian army unit remains based in northwestern Armenia near the Turkish border and patrols that border. Armenia remains dependent on Russia for most of its energy needs, including the operation of a dangerously aging nuclear power plant. Furthermore, millions of Armenians work in Russia, with their remittances key to the economy back home.

“We never wanted to provoke Russia,” the senior official said. “Why should we? We always wanted more room to maneuver.”

Russia has traditionally opposed the expansion of Turkish influence in the region, but amid the Ukraine war, the situation has completely changed, and Russia is clearly far weaker than before. “The Russians needed a new status quo in the South Caucasus,” explained Grigoryan. “They could tolerate the Turks, but their main concern is the West.”

Armenian analysts compare this to the bargain that the Bolshevik leaders struck in 1921 with the Turks to oust a British-led intervention into the South Caucasus. That deal included the decision to give Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan.

In broader historical terms, this is the delayed resumption of “a protracted process of imperial disintegration,” says Ukrainian historian Igor Torbakov, a prolific writer on the collapse of the Ottoman and Russian empires. That created “imperial shatter zones” from the Middle East and the Balkans to the Caucasus, leading to forced “unmixing of peoples.” The Bolshevik deal with Kemalist Turkey restored the empire and created a relative peace for seventy years but “the Soviet implosion opened up the nationalist Pandora’s box for the second time in the 20th century,” Torbakov says.

For the Armenian government, the clearest signal of Moscow’s abandonment came a year ago when Azerbaijani attacks along the border with Armenia itself—beyond the Karabakh region—failed to trigger a Russian response. This was a violation of commitments that should have been the result of Armenia’s participation in CSTO.

Pashinyan began to speak out more openly about Russia’s failure to live up to its expected role. Both the European Union and the United States stepped up efforts to mediate the conflict, leading to two rounds of talks convened by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in May and July of this year which seemed to be leading toward some agreement. But Putin stepped in and called his own meeting in Moscow, a move meant “to remind people who is the master of the house,” the senior Armenian official recounted.

Moscow has been openly carrying out a verbal war with the Pashinyan government—responding angrily to even small gestures of independence such as the dispatch of a humanitarian aid mission to Ukraine led by the prime minister’s wife and the holding of a small-scale joint military exercise with the U.S. 101st Airborne carried out just days before the Azerbaijani attack. Former Russian prime minister Dmitri Medvedev warned Yerevan against “flirting with NATO.”

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/tragedy-and-opportunity-nagorno-karabakh-206870

EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting agenda includes Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization

Emil Lazarian

 16:24, 9 November 2023

BRUSSELS, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The agenda of the upcoming November 13-14 EU Foreign Affairs Council meetings includes the process of normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the European Commission’s lead spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy Peter Stano told Armenpress.

The discussion on Armenia-Azerbaijan was originally planned to take place during the previous session in Luxembourg but was postponed due to timeframe issues.

Hayk Melikyan and Anush Nikogosyan to Celebrate Brahms’ 190th Birthday in Yerevan

Emil Lazarian

 16:37, 9 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Celebrating the illustrious Johannes Brahms' 190th birthday, a cherished musical duo is set to captivate the hearts of classical music enthusiasts. On the evening of November 17, at 7:30 p.m., an extraordinary musical soirée will grace the stage of the Komitas Chamber Music House. Anush Nikogosyan, the virtuoso violinist, and the outstanding pianist Hayk Melikyan, both adored figures in the Armenian music scene, will come together to pay homage to the great Brahms in a concert of unparalleled beauty.

This exceptional performance promises to be a highlight of the musical calendar. Anush Nikogosyan and Hayk Melikyan have a special treat in store for the audience, as this concert marks their final collaborative appearance in Yerevan for the year. Their artistic partnership has enchanted audiences worldwide, and their return to the heart of the Armenian capital is an occasion not to be missed.

The concert is made possible by the collaboration between the Embassy of the German Federation in Armenia and the esteemed National Chamber Music Center. This partnership underscores the deep-rooted cultural ties between Armenia and Germany, as they join hands to celebrate the legacy of Johannes Brahms.

Audiences can expect a sublime evening of chamber music, featuring Brahms's chamber treasures and Wolfgang Rihm's evocative Klavierstück 6.




Russia to send 40 tons of humanitarian aid for forcibly displaced Armenians of Nagorno- Karabakh

Kalashian Nyrie

 16:50, 9 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Russia will soon send 40 tons of humanitarian aid to Armenia for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova has said.

Speaking at a press briefing, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said the 40 tons of aid will be delivered to Yerevan in the coming days.

Russia had earlier sent 6 tons of aid for NK Armenians.

A Russian charity foundation, Doctor Lisa, earlier sent more than 20 tons of humanitarian aid to Armenia, Zakharova said.

Zakharova said that 1,5 tons of aid was delivered to several towns, including Sevan and Gavar, on October 20-21 through the Russian-Armenian Humanitarian Response Center.

On November 2, the National Scientific-Research Institute of Communications of Russia delivered food and warm clothing to Areni.

Zakharova mentioned a number of Russian organizations that have sent aid to Armenia to meet the needs of the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh.




Bulgarian Nuclear Society President: Nuclear Energy Sector in Good Condition, Many Countries Strive to Achieve What Bulgaria Has

Bedik Zaminian

 17:17, 9 November 2023

SOFIA, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS/BTA. Bulgarian Nuclear Society (BNS) President Mladen Mitev Thursday told BTA that the Bulgarian nuclear energy sector is in a good condition and many countries strive to achieve what this country has had for years now. "We need to develop it because nuclear energy has no alternative since it is part of the low carbon electricity sources strategy", he added.

Mitev was speaking during an annual BNS conference themed "Nuclear Energy for the People" held in Veliko Tarnovo on November 8-11. During the forum, members of the BNS from various fields of application of nuclear energy discussed the sector’s future and ways to attract staff.

"Sooner or later, every government in the last 20 years has come to the conclusion that it cannot do without nuclear energy, and Bulgaria has had a strong focus in this direction in the last seven years," Mitev said. He stressed that what is currently at the forefront is a strategy for attracting staff, because "it is clear what needs to be done, but the question is who will do it".

"In the next five years, 700 experts in the industry will retire. Some 130 people leave the nuclear power industry every year," Iskren Tsvetkov of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) said. He added that their replacement takes a long time because a nuclear unit operator needs at least 18 months of specialized training at the Kozloduy NPP.  Tsvetkov added that 3,700 people work in the plant at present. “It is one of the largest employers in the country, providing scholarships and good starting salaries for young specialists,” he said.

The experts noted that over 30 countries across the world develop nuclear energy. Some 440 nuclear reactors are currently in operation, another 50 to 60 are being built. The participants concurred that Bulgaria needs four 1,000-megawatt reactors, as laid down in a 2050 strategic development plan. This will enable this country to maintain its energy independence and respond adequately to climate change.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)




Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 09-11-23

Emil Lazarian

 17:20, 9 November 2023

YEREVAN, 9 NOVEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 9 November, USD exchange rate up by 0.17 drams to 402.68 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.86 drams to 430.34 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 4.37 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.97 drams to 494.33 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 6.76 drams to 25366.65 drams. Silver price down by 1.11 drams to 290.52 drams.