Category: 2023

 10:19, 1 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Sergey Ghazaryan met in Kornidzor with Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and her delegation members who had arrived in Armenia to accompany the humanitarian cargo sent from France to Artsakh and to assess the situation on the ground. The delegation comprised heads of several regions, Mayors, and representatives of local self-government bodies of France, the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh said in a press release.
 
During the meeting, Sergey Ghazaryan expressed his deep gratitude to the people of France, represented by Anne Hidalgo, for taking active steps to support the people of Artsakh, who have been under siege for almost 9 months, and for consistently raising at various levels the issue of humanitarian crisis in Artsakh caused by Azerbaijan's illegal actions. "It is noteworthy that French politicians with different, sometimes opposite political stances, have taken a united position on the issue of supporting the people of Artsakh," Minister Ghazaryan stressed.
 
The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh briefed the delegation members on the disastrous situation that had arisen in various fields in Artsakh due to the blockade and on the activities towards overcoming the challenges.
 
Sergey Ghazaryan highlighted the importance of a clear political and legal assessment of the genocidal actions of Azerbaijan by the international community and the use of appropriate measures, including individual sanctions, which will enable to prevent the impending tragic developments in Artsakh.
 
The sides discussed a range of issues related to further cooperation.

The French aid was blocked by Azerbaijan at the entrance of Lachin Corridor.

 10:36, 1 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenian border outposts near Sotk on Friday morning came under heavy cross-border gunfire by Azerbaijani Armed Forces, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The Azerbaijani military uses small arms and mortars.

“The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, periodically spreading disinformation on August 31 and thereby creating an information basis for another provocation, on September 1, starting from 07:50, opened intense fire on Armenian positions located in the Sotk,” the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

“The units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire from different caliber small arms against the Armenian combat positions in the vicinity of Sotk. The Azerbaijani armed forces also used mortars in the direction of Sotk,” the ministry added in an update.

UPDATES:

11:14 Two Armenian servicemen were killed and another was wounded in the attack, the in an update.

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1118523.html?fbclid=IwAR1eIRDvj4WAipUlVLMqdYAVEKhcDDuwGaHU8ougaIzssBzEi5YgUkLNeDw

 10:50, 1 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The French humanitarian aid for Nagorno-Karabakh has been stored in warehouses in Goris and nearby towns after it was blocked by Azerbaijan at the entrance of Lachin Corridor, Armenian government representative Vardan Sargsyan told ARMENPRESS.

He said the food aid in the trucks requires special preservation to maintain its shelf life.

The cargo will be stored in the warehouses until there’s an opportunity to transport it to Nagorno-Karabakh.

 10:59, 1 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The United States Congress Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission will hold a on September 6 on the ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor. This will be the second on Nagorno-Karabakh this year at the commission.

Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, released his personal Expert Opinion on August 7, stating that “there is a reasonable basis to believe that a Genocide is being committed against Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023” and emphasizing that under the Genocide Conventions all states have a “duty to prevent” genocide. At the Mr. Ocampo will present his Expert Opinion on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission said in a press release.

David L. Phillips, Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University, and Director of Columbia University’s Artsakh Atrocities Project, will testify on facts relevant to gathering the intent of the government of Azerbaijan, including as available on the web page “Atrocities Artsakh.”

This will be open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public, and the media. The will be livestreamed via the Commission website.

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a  on June 21 on Safeguarding the People of Nagorno-Karabakh.

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1118527.html?fbclid=IwAR3HaUY4fgfGjmdzcK6SAHDReOT2AhSpHaozCaFIJbveKnSYNbVDILhawEA

 11:14, 1 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Two Armenian servicemen were killed and another was wounded Friday morning when Azerbaijani Armed Forces targeted Armenian border outposts in a cross-border shelling, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

“There are two killed in action and one wounded as a result of Azerbaijani AF fire on the Armenian combat outposts near Sotk,” reads a statement released by the Defense Ministry.

On September 1, Azerbaijani forces opened heavy gunfire with small arms and mortars at Armenian border outposts near Sotk.

The Ministry of Defense said it would release the names of the fallen troops and details on the condition of the wounded soldier in an additional statement later.

 11:55, 1 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The intensity of Azerbaijani gunfire targeting Armenian border outposts near Sotk has decreased, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

Two Armenian servicemen were killed and another was wounded Friday morning when Azerbaijani Armed Forces targeted Armenian border outposts near Sotk in a cross-border shelling.

 11:35, 3 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenian military positions near the village of Kutakan in Gegharkunik province came under Azerbaijani gunfire in the early hours of Sunday, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said in a statement.

The Azeri forces used small arms in the shooting.

 23:44, 2 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has expressed serious concern over Russia’s failure to implement its peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In an interview with the Italian La Repubblica newspaper, Pashinyan said that one of the main objectives of the presence of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh was to ensure the security of the civilian population.

“In this case security involves the freedom of movement, and this right is not implemented, which is a matter of concern,” Pashinyan said.

He warned that there will never be peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan if the two countries fail to recognize each other’s territorial integrity on the basis of the Alma-Ata declaration.

Pashinyan reiterated the Armenian government’s commitment to advancing the peace agenda.

The Armenian Prime Minister said that the Nagorno-Karabakh humanitarian crisis is a “crisis of the international legal order”, because Azerbaijan is disregarding the ICJ rulings ordering it to open the Lachin Corridor since February 2023.

“International Court of Justice has issued a binding ruling ordering Azerbaijan to ensure bilateral transit from Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia and from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh for persons, vehicles and goods. But this ruling was passed on February 22, 2023 and was reaffirmed on July 6, 2023 is not being implemented. This comes to prove following the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh that, if we can say so, this is a crisis of the international legal order, if a binding ruling of the ICJ is not being implemented, such a conclusion may follow,” Pashinyan said.

Asked on the Russian peacekeepers, Pashinyan said that the mission has failed.

“I cannot make evaluation in this respect, except for agreeing with the formulation, that in fact, yes, it tuns out that the peacekeepers of the Russian Federation failed to implement the mission they have assumed under the tripartite statement and this is a matter of serious concern. Essentially, one of the main objectives of the presence of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh was to ensure the security of the civilian population. In this case security involves the freedom of movement, and this right is not implemented, which is a matter of concern,” he said.

The Armenian Prime Minister said that the processes which resulted in the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict actually started in the Caucasus in 2020.

“I am of the opinion that the processes which resulted in the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, those processes had actually started much earlier, in 2020, in this region. There is serious and deep causality here,” Pashinyan said.

PM Nikol Pashinyan said that the peace architecture should feature guarantees around two issues – the reciprocal recognition of each other’s territorial integrity between Armenia and Azerbaijan and addressing the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pashinyan also talked about the normalization with Turkey, Western efforts in the NK conflict settlement and Russia.

[see video]

 16:28, 3 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. One person was wounded Sunday when Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, local authorities said in a statement.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry said Azeri forces fired small arms and AGS-17 automatic grenade launchers at a water tanker in the village of Chankatagh in Martakert. The shooting occurred around 14:20.

The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

As of 15:30 the situation on the line of contact was relatively stable, the ministry of defense of Nagorno-Karabakh added.

 12:14, 1 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Defense has denied accusations by Azerbaijan of amassing military equipment near the border.

In a statement, the Armenian Ministry of Defense warned that Azerbaijan, by spreading such disinformation, seeks to commit new provocations in continuation of its shelling of Sotk on Friday morning, which left two Armenian soldiers dead and one wounded.

“The Azerbaijani propaganda is disseminating disinformation that the Armenian Armed Forces are concentrating a large number of weapons, military equipment, and personnel in the Sotk [section]. By disseminating such false information, the Azerbaijani side creates an informational basis to continue yet another provocation that began this morning in the direction of Sotk,” the defense ministry said in a statement on social media.