Category: 2023

Jews escaping from Russia find a home in Armenia

Kajoyan Gevork
Jewish,Independent 
Sept 29 2023

A small landlocked country in the South Caucasus, Armenia has been losing population for decades. Thousands of Armenians have left the country for good due to economic problems and lack of career opportunities. But remarkably, it seems this trend has reversed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Besides forcing millions of Ukrainians out of their homes, the largest European war of the century has caused emigration from Russia as well. Over 700,000 people fled the country, fearing mobilization and political repression. Many found their new home in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, an ex-Soviet state with lax immigration laws that has remained neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Among the 40,000 Russian immigrants now in Armenia, at least a few hundred are Jewish. Armenia’s pre-existing Jewish community also has several hundred members, so the influx of immigrants was more than enough to change its character dramatically.

The Jewish cemetery in the village of Yeghegis, with gravestones attributed to the 13th-14th centuries Photo by Dor Shabashewitz

Jews have had a long history in Armenia. One of the world’s oldest preserved Jewish cemeteries lies in the  village of Yeghegis in the mountainous Vayots Dzor province, with gravestones attributed to the 13th and 14th centuries.

Today’s Jewish community of Armenia, though, has its roots in the 19th century, when the Russian Empire conquered the South Caucasus. Armenian cities attracted Jews from all corners of the empire. Built in 1860 by Persian Jews, the synagogue Sheikh Mordecai was the center of Yerevan’s Jewish life until it was shut down during a Soviet anti-religious campaign in the 1920s.

State atheism existed in all of the Soviet republics, but they differed in how Soviet authorities treated Jews in daily life. Unsurprisingly, Russia and Ukraine, which had the largest Jewish populations, evidenced more antisemitism, including physical attacks on Jews wearing yarmulkes and institutional barriers such as universities refusing to accept Jewish students. Armenia, on the other hand, was considered liberal and tolerant.

Throughout the 20th century, over 15,000 Ashkenazim moved from Moscow and Kyiv to Yerevan. Among them were the parents of Gershon Meir Burstein, the rabbi of Armenia’s only shul. Fittingly, the synagogue was named Mordecai Navi — the name of the former synagogue there that was shut down by the Communists.

Armenia’s Jewish community kept growing until the late 1980s, when a war broke out over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, a region in the South Caucasus. Also known as Artsakh, Nagorno-Karabakh  a majority-Armenian area that the Bolsheviks handed over to Armenia’s Muslim neighbor Azerbaijan in the 1920s.

After a wave of anti-Armenian pogroms in Azerbaijan, Armenia attacked Azerbaijan to regain control over the Armenian enclave and protect its population. Eventually, Armenia won, but at the cost of extreme economic hardship. Week-long blackouts were frequent in the capital, and people had to burn trees from the local parks to keep warm in the winter.

Naturally, those with the right to Israeli citizenship chose to make aliyah, and Rabbi Burstein gladly helped them with the paperwork. After a while, only several dozens of Jews remained in the country. Burstein wrote a letter to the last Chabad Rebbe, asking if he himself should leave Armenia, but never got a response. This was in 1994, the year when the Rebbe died. Burstein decided to stay.

Rabbi Burstein’s shul isn’t the only Jewish place in Yerevan today. There’s a secular group that organizes Birthright trips to Israel for Armenian Jews and helps them make aliyah. In March 2022, I witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony of another informal community center. As a Russian speaker already living in Armenia by the time the war in Ukraine broke out, I was invited to a cafe called Mama Jan to give a talk, providing the disoriented recent arrivals with important information about living in Armenia.

Soon the cafe began attracting more immigrants, and a cozy private room at the back of the cafe became the default meeting place for the members of the Yerevan Jewish Home, a social media group for Russian Jews in Armenia, launched by Moscow journalist Nathaniel Trubkin.

“I decided to leave Russia right after the war began,” Trubkin said. “Armenia was an easy choice because Russians could enter it without a valid passport. Domestic ID was enough. Armenia’s largely Russian-speaking society was another important factor. It’s easier to preserve your identity in a familiar setting. I’ve grown to love Yerevan, it’s a hospitable city.”

The Yerevan Jewish Home is more than a group chat, Trubkin explains. “Jewish immigrants from Moscow and Saint Petersburg needed to regain a sense of community, meet new people who share the same culture and engage in networking to build their future.” Their first project was hosting a support group followed by Hebrew classes, Shabbos meetups and movie screenings.

Today, the group has about 500 members, many of whom attend Yerevan’s only synagogue at least semiregularly. Before 2022, the small community was barely able to gather a minyan, even on major Jewish holidays. These days, the weekly Kabbalat Shabbat services often attract over a dozen people.

Still, most of the recent immigrants view Armenia as merely a temporary stop on their way to a more “desirable” destination. Many of the Russian Jews are headed to Israel, while non-Jewish Russians usually hope to move to Western Europe or North America. There’s nothing wrong with this attitude per se, but many use it as a way to justify their lack of interest in Armenia’s culture and language.

One could say immigrants have no obligation to integrate or assimilate, but it becomes slightly more complicated in a postcolonial context. Russians in Armenia aren’t just immigrants; they’re people from a recently dissolved empire taking residence in its ex-colony.

Iranian immigrants don’t expect a waiter at a Yerevan restaurant to speak perfect Persian. They learn some English and eventually learn the local language. For many Russians, it’s different. The Soviet past that the two countries share is enough for many of them to demand that Armenians talk to them in Russian.

Once, for example, I witnessed a Russian lady scolding two local bank employees for speaking to each other in Armenian. She claimed it was impolite to speak anything but Russian if she’s standing there. I’ve also heard Russian immigrants say that Armenia didn’t feel like a separate country, comparing it to a slightly “exotic” province of Russia. This may have been intended as a compliment — they were happy Armenia seemed familiar and easy to navigate. But many of the Armenians I talked to found their approach condescending and offensive.

Thankfully, most of the new Russian Jewish arrivals don’t seem to have this attitude. Maybe it’s the similar histories of the two diaspora peoples, accustomed to being minorities wherever they go, that causes the Jewish immigrants to be respectful and willing to learn about Armenian culture.

Despite shared histories and cultural similarities, relations between Israel and Armenia are far from flawless. This is partly explained by Israel’s dependence on Turkey and Azerbaijan as situational allies against Iran.

That said, Armenia opened an embassy in Tel Aviv in 2020, and the city of Petah Tikva recognized the Armenian genocide that same year. Haifa followed suit in 2023. One can only hope that the growth of Armenia’s Jewish community, even if caused by a global tragedy, might help build better ties between the two countries.

“For now, the region’s geopolitical situation offers little opportunity for a government-level rapprochement, but right now we’re working on the relations between ordinary people wishing to live in peace and engage in cultural exchange,” Trubkin said.

Several weeks after our conversation, Azerbaijan launched an offensive aimed at regaining control over Nagorno-Karabakh. Thousands of ethnic Armenians were forced to flee their homes.

Yesterday, I met with Michael Avetikyan, the Armenian founder of the local NGO Armenian Food Bank. He told me that a group of Russian Jewish regulars at the Mama Jan Cafe had just donated over a dozen boxes of food, clothes, and hygiene items to help the new Armenian refugees. “We may have disagreements with the Israeli government, but we know many Jews and Israelis are our friends, and they’re always welcome here,” he said.

Dor Shabashewitz is a Russian-born Israeli journalist and junior researcher with a background in anthropology and sociolinguistics. He writes about ethnic minority rights in the ex-USSR and endangered languages around the world.

 

Cyprus Considers Sheltering Some Armenian Refugees if Needed

Mike Maghakian
Sept 29 2023
By Reuters

(Reuters) – European Union member Cyprus on Friday said it was considering ways to host, if needed, displaced ethnic Armenians who had fled Azerbaijan's war-ravaged breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

More than three-quarters of the Armenian population of 120,000 had fled by Friday after a lightning defeat by Azerbaijani forces. The enclave had broken away in the 1990s.

Cyprus traditionally has close ties with Armenia, and has a minority Armenian Christian population represented in parliament.

"The Cypriot government maintains an open corridor for the Armenian people and in that framework is ready to offer immediate humanitarian aid," the Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Cyprus is considering, among other things, ways to host a number of displaced Armenians in our country should that be deemed necessary."

There have been Armenians in Cyprus for centuries. Many trace their roots back to Armenian people or orphans forced to flee mass killings under the Ottoman Empire in 1915, which some governments today consider genocide.

Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War One, but denies that the killings were systematically orchestrated or constitute a genocide.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-09-29/cyprus-considers-sheltering-some-armenian-refugees-if-needed

Russia’s Alliance Woes Pile Up With a New Public Warning

Greg Madatian
Sept 28 2023
CROSSED WIRES

“This is not something that we welcome.”

The Kremlin is fuming about Armenia’s efforts to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin in connection with alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Kremlin Spokersperson Dmitry Peskov warned that Armenia’s interest in joining the ICC is “extremely hostile” to Russia.

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“Armenia knows very well that we are not parties to the [Rome Statute], and Armenia is well aware of the difficult decision [of the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin], adopted on the basis of this statute,” Peskov said, according to TASS. “We know that in Yerevan about this is very well known. This is not something that we welcome.”

The arrest warrant was issued in relation to Putin’s alleged involvement in abducting children from Ukraine during the war. The ICC doesn’t have the power to enforce its arrest warrant, so any effort to apprehend Putin will have to be in coordination with local authorities.

The icy statement from Moscow comes as Armenia signals it is interested in a foreign policy less dependent on Russia, after Moscow failed to intervene when Azerbaijani military forces attacked the breakaway republic Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave located inside Azerbaijan, last week. Armenia is a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a group in which members promise to protect each other if attacked.

  • ‘EMPTY PROMISES’

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called his country’s security understandings with Russia “ineffective.”

“It has become evident to all of us that the CSTO instruments and the instruments of the Armenian-Russian military-political cooperation are insufficient for protecting external security of Armenia,” Pashinyan said this week.

Armenia is now working to grapple with a surge of ethnic Armenian refugees fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh. Over 76,000 ethnic Armenians—over half of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population—have arrived in Armenia already, fleeing violence and the looming dissolution of their regional authorities, the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia said Thursday.

  • COLLECTIVE INSECURITY

The separatist region capitulated to Azerbaijan and announced it will cease to exist by January 1, 2024. President Samvel Shakhramanyan, the region’s separatist leader, signed a decree this week aimed at dismantling all of the region’s institutions, urging residents to consider integrating with Azerbaijan.

Armenia is hoping to join the ICC in order to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its violence and alleged war crimes, according to Armenia’s Minister of Justice, Grigor Minasyan.

Azerbaijan has denied it has conducted ethnic cleansing, and rather has claimed it began its lightning offensive last week to go after "anti-terrorist" operations, according to TASS.

Pashinyan sent the ICC’s founding document, the Rome Statute, to parliament earlier this month. Armenia signed the Rome Statute 25 years ago but never ratified it.

Changes won’t happen immediately, but Armenia’s parliament is taking steps this week towards ratification of the statute. The Armenian National Assembly’s Standing Committee on State-Legal Issues approve the decision on Thursday, according to Armenian Public Radio.

If ratified, the Rome Statute would enter into force in 60 days, according to Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Representative of the Republic of Armenia for International Legal Matters.

While Moscow is irritated with Armenia’s desire to join the ICC, Armenia has expressed that it is not interested in angering Moscow, but instead is focused on going after Azerbaijan.

  • BABY STEPS

Armenia has long been interested in joining the ICC. Last year, Pashinyan’s administration began the process of ratifying the Rome Statute to hold Azerbaijan accountable for a spate of violence in 2021 and 2022 as well.

Pashinyan previously pushed back on the idea that joining the ICC is a barb aimed at Russia.

“The decision is not directed against CSTO and the Russian Federation," he said. "It comes from the interests of the country's external security, and taking such a decision is our sovereign right.”

“War crimes are being committed against our country. We need this [ratification]; our country needs it,” he said.

Kirakosyan, too, sought to throw cold water on the idea that if Putin were to visit Armenia while it is party to the Rome Statue that he would be arrested.

“Leaders of countries have immunity,” he said Thursday.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/russia-fumes-over-armenias-effort-to-join-icc-in-response-to-azerbaijani-violence-nagorno-karabakh 

"Baku will try to preserve Armenians in NK as a museum piece". Opinion

Ara Felekian

Sept 29 2023


  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Armenian political analyst on Baku’s intentions

“Baku will try to preserve Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh as a museum piece to show the world that Armenians live here and have no problems,” says Armenian political scientist Tigran Grigoryan.

He finds it difficult to guess how many Armenians will remain in Nagorno-Karabakh, but he believes that Azerbaijan will populate the region with its own people, and “in 10 years it will be meaningless to talk about the Armenian element”.

According to him, at meetings between Baku and Karabakh Armenians after the hostilities, the creation of a “transitional administration before full integration” is being discussed. Azerbaijan intends to complete this process by December next year, when elections are scheduled, the political analyst believes.

In an interview with an Armenian publication, Grigoryan commented on the military actions in NK, spoke about Armenia’s responsibility in the current situation, as well as the role of the U.S. and Russia.

  • Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians leave their homes, rush to move to Armenia
  • Explosion at fuel depot in NK. Armenian medics assist by helicopter
  • Urgently sever ties with Russia or calculate risks? Discussions in Yerevan

In the expert’s opinion, the situation in NK was prepared by the Armenian authorities with their small concessions to Azerbaijan. Their result was obvious when the Armenian Prime Minister stated that the international community expects Armenia to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and “lower the bar on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh”. At the same time, international players started talking about “the rights and security of NK Armenians”.

Grigoryan says that the Armenian authorities have nullified all available opportunities with their inconsistent policy:

“It was clear that after the defeat in the second Karabakh war, the content of the negotiations could not but change, the new status quo had to be reflected at the negotiating table. But at least some principles and details had to be preserved.”

“This escalation was expected to take place in Karabakh earlier, at the time when the presidential elections were taking place. Before the elections, Azerbaijan made specific threats through closed channels,” the political analyst said.

Azerbaijan has been talking about conducting an “anti-terrorist operation” in various closed-door discussions since April 2023, and “internal political developments in Artsakh at least accelerated this process.”

“The events in Karabakh are Armenia’s new, westernized path and Russia’s expulsion from the Caucasus. Have the Abkhazians and Ossetians realized this?” – Georgian experts comment

According to the expert, the price of this is “the presence of Russian peacekeepers on the ground”. Grigoryan draws attention to the fact that if before the military actions in MK the Azerbaijani side emphasized that peacekeepers here are “deployed temporarily”, after the “anti-terrorist operation” the rhetoric changed dramatically.

“Hikmet Hajiyev [Azerbaijani presidential aide] talks about the presence of peacekeepers until 2025, and that the term of their deployment may even be extended.”

At the same time, Grigoryan notes that talks have intensified about the “Zangezur corridor”, i.e. an extraterritorial corridor through Armenia’s territory, which Azerbaijan demands. According to Grigoryan, if Moscow manages to get Russian presence on this section of the road and control of the railroad track, it will lose nothing even if the peacekeepers leave NK:

“If Russia controls this important transportation hub, by and large, it will be able to maintain control over both Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

According to Grigoryan, “shameful internal political processes” took place in Daghlig Garabagh – certain maximalist red lines were outlined, which were later very quickly violated. The analyst emphasizes that there is a tendency in Armenia to blame the NK authorities for all processes, but “the lion’s share of responsibility” in this case is on the Armenian authorities:

“The main problem is that at some stage Armenia simply stepped aside, distanced itself from this issue, tried to show that, say, we have nothing to do with this issue.”

The political scientist explains that on November 9, 2020, with the signing of the statement on cessation of hostilities, the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Russia triangle was formed. But Yerevan itself withdrew from the process, thus bringing it “into the field of Russian-Azerbaijani, we can say, Russian-Turkish agreements”.

Speech by Armenian Foreign Minister, assessments of UN Security Council members, European Union’s appeal to Azerbaijan, Armenian analyst’s commentary

Grigoryan says that Azerbaijan “carried out ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, but there was zero reaction from the international community. At the same time, the analyst argues that world actors had the opportunity to prevent it, as Azerbaijan stated it openly, there were even “preparatory visits” before the start of the operation:

“For example, Elchin Amirbayov, one of the prominent figures in Azerbaijan’s foreign policy, traveled to Europe. My colleagues, European experts told me that he came for this very purpose, warned and explained why it was necessary to carry out such an operation”.

As a result, Azerbaijan crossed the red line set by the U.S., escalated, and carried out ethnic cleansing. However, the threats of sanctions voiced during the closed meetings did not become a reality.

The analyst emphasizes that the United States constantly spoke about the “historical possibility” of signing an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the same time, Washington took into account

  • Russia’s diminishing role in the region,
  • the policy of the Armenian government, which is ready to make unilateral concessions.

“For example, part of this process was that the U.S. even pressured other actors not to pass a resolution in the UN Security Council,” he said.

According to Grigoryan, the Americans were in a hurry to complete the process and fix a “political result” before the US presidential elections.

And now, as the expert says, the Nagorno-Karabakh problem has moved to the humanitarian dimension. And the U.S. is trying to show that it can help in humanitarian issues, but “on other issues – hardly”.

https://jam-news.net/armenian-political-analyst-on-bakus-intentions/ 

Armenpress: France donates 5 tons of medical supplies to Armenia for forcibly displaced persons from NK

Emil Karabekian

 23:38,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The French government has sent 5 tons of humanitarian aid to Armenia for the forcibly displaced persons who’ve arrived from Nagorno-Karabakh.

The plane carrying the aid (medical items and medications) landed in Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport Friday evening.

Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Healthcare Lena Nanushyan and French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies personally inspected the transfer.

“We are here today to receive the cargo of medications and medical equipment donated by France to Armenia,” Nanushyan said. “I’d like to thank our partners and friends in France who are helping us overcome these difficult days and ensure the necessary medical items for the patients.”

French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies said the aid will allow to meet the needs of 250 gravely wounded persons.

“As you know, nearly 100,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have already left their homes. They were forced to leave. This is a humanitarian tragedy and a very difficult situation. France supports Armenia and the Armenian people. We just received medical items from France, which will allow to meet the needs of 250 gravely wounded persons, as well as 40 medical kits, with medicine and medical equipment. I believe this is a very important step in a situation like this,” the French ambassador said.

Photos by Hayk Manukyan




What is Nakhchivan? And after Nagorno-Karabakh, is this the next crisis for Azerbaijan and Armenia

Emil Lazarian
ABC News
Sept 25 2023

After Azerbaijan’s military offensive regained full control of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, another dispute is looming on the horizon with Armenia: the territory of Nakhchivan

By

 JIM HEINTZ Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia — After Azerbaijan's military offensive regained full control of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, another dispute is looming on the horizon with Armenia: the territory of Nakhchivan.

Like Nagorno-Karabakh, where the Armenian population felt cut off from the country of Armenia, Nakhchivan is territorially separated from the rest of Azerbaijan.

It accounts for about 6% of Azerbaijan's territory, with a swath of Armenia about 40 kilometers (25 miles) wide between the exclave and Azerbaijan. It also borders Azerbaijan's close ally Turkey and Iran. It's population is about 460,000 people, overwhelmingly Azeris but also some ethnic Russians.

The two territories share several parallels but also differences.

During Soviet times, Nakhchivan was connected with Azerbaijan by road and rail but those links fell out of use as Azerbaijan and Armenia went to war in the 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh, though air links remained.

Then in 2020, an armistice that ended another, six-week war between Armenia and Azerbaijan during which Azerbaijan regained parts of Nagorno-Karabakh from separatist ethnic Armenians, called for transport links to Nakhchivan to be restored.

The deal said the security of those links would be guaranteed by Armenia. However, the restoration languished as tensions over Nagorno-Karabakh remained high.

In December, Azerbaijan imposed a blockade of the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, alleging that the Armenian government was using the road for mineral extraction and illicit weapons shipments to the region’s separatist forces. Armenia charged that the closure denied basic food and fuel supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh’s approximately 120,000 people.

Then last week's blitz offensive by Azerbaijan's forces ended with the ethnic Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh agreeing to disband.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were meeting Monday in Nakhchivan and were expected to push for a land connection between Nakhchivan and the rest of Azerbaijan.

They “will very likely make ultimatums" to the Armenian government to reopen the links, most importantly the Zangezur corridor, regional expert Thomas de Waal of the Carnegie Europe thinktank wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

But Armenia has objected to the “corridor” concept promoted by Azerbaijan, saying that the Zangezur corridor, names so after the local area, without Armenian checkpoints would undermine the country's sovereignty.

The position of the regional heavyweights, Turkey and Russia, may also play a role. Turkey is in favor of a land corridor that would provide it a connection with the rest of the Turkic world. Russia, which has had peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh since 2020 and negotiated peace deals there, has in principle said such a corridor would be feasible.

The corridor route proposed by Azerbaijan would run along both Armenia’s and Nakhchivan’s border with Iran, which has raised concerns in Tehran that Azerbaijan could use it to block Iran’s access to Armenia.

“Forcefully imposing on Armenia an extraterritorial corridor, a corridor that will pass through the territory of Armenia but will be out of our control … is unacceptable for us and should be unacceptable for the international community,” Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at the United Nations General Assembly last week.

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/nakhchivan-after-nagorno-karabakh-crisis-azerbaijan-armenia-103462299 

Cyprus condemns Azerbaijan for ethnic cleansing in NK, expresses readiness to take in forcibly displaced persons

Parkev Tvankchian

 12:01,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Cyprus has strongly condemned Azerbaijan’s military action in Nagorno-Karabakh and noted that it constitutes ethnic cleansing.

In a statement, the Cypriot foreign ministry said Cyprus is ready to take in forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh in case of necessity.

Cyprus strongly condemns Azerbaijan’s military actions in NK and the gross violation of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement, it added.

“Undoubtably, these unilateral actions by Azerbaijan are acts of ethnic cleansing, and therefore it must receive a relevant and resolute reaction by the international community,” the Cypriot foreign ministry said, calling on Baku to refrain from any further military actions and to respect its obligations towards Armenia’s territorial integrity under the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration.

Cyprus also reiterated its call for dialogue to ensure the rights and security of the Armenians of NK and to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region.

It also expressed readiness to provide humanitarian aid to the forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Among other issues, ways for accommodating a number of displaced Armenians in our country are being considered in case of such necessity,” the Cypriot foreign ministry said.

100,417 forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh cross into Armenia

Alex Nanijanian

 12:09,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The number of forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh who’ve crossed into Armenia reached 100,417 as of Saturday morning, the prime minister’s spokesperson Nazeli Baghdasaryan said.

According to the latest information, 32,200 of the forcibly displaced persons had accepted the accommodation provided by the Armenian government.

The Armenian government offers accommodation to all arriving forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh. Some of the forcibly displaced persons chose to stay with their relatives or friends in Armenia.

Both sides claim ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Nagorno-Karabakh

Mary Lazarian
RTE , Ireland
Sept 29 2023

Some 88,780 people have crossed into Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Armenian government figures, quoted by the RIA news agency.

The exodus of ethnic Armenians from the breakaway region began after the fall of its separatist government last week following a military operation by Azerbaijan.

The enclave is to become a full part of Azerbaijan by the end of the year.

The Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Ireland said that his country offered the ethnic Armenian people an option to remain, but "we cannot force them to stay".

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Elin Suleymanov claimed they are leaving because of "uncertainty which follows 30 years of occupation of Azerbaijan by Armenia".

He asked: "Why is the formally diverse region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan now 100% Armenian?

"That is because everybody else has been ethnically cleansed.

"One million people in Karabakh and surrounding regions were ethnically cleansed in the 1990s.

"Now we don't want to do what they've done to us and that's why everybody, including the president and everybody in Azerbaijan, is offering them to stay.

"We understand that there is uncertainty. We understand that there is a fear of safety …. Those are understandable concerns given they are part of a conflict for a long time".

Mr Suleymanov said the same standard should apply to Nagorno-Karabakh as it does in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.

He said that Azerbaijan has restored its integrity and constitutional law in accordance with international law.

Yesterday, Armenia's Ambassador to Ireland told the same programme that the "forced depopulation" of the indigenous Armenian people from Nagorno-Karabakh was "a tragic loss for the Armenian people and for civilisation".

Varuzhan Nersesyan said that Azerbaijan made a "fake promise" of reintegration but it is "nothing but a policy of ethnic cleansing" and "nobody wants to stay … under Azerbaijani rule".

Armenians were subjected to a nine-month blockade, he said, and the "mass exodus" from the region began once the corridor reopened.

"Most likely, we're going to see the departure of most – the predominant part – of the population.

"There might be some who will decide to stay, but basically this population has the right to stay on its own indigenous land."

It is unfortunate that the international community did not create "robust conditions" to prevent this from happening, Mr Nersesyan said.

Death toll from fuel depot blast in Karabakh rises to 170 – media

The death toll from an explosion and fire at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh has risen to 170, Armen press news agency has reported, citing local officials in the region.

The blast occurred as thousands of ethnic Armenians fled the area.

The authorities have not given any explanation of the cause of the blast.

Rescue work at the site continues.