Category: 2023

 11:48, 31 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. A group of demonstrators have blocked the entrance to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Armenia office in Yerevan in protest of the Azerbaijani kidnapping of a Nagorno-Karabakh patient who was being evacuated by the ICRC.

The demonstrators want to have a meeting with the head of the ICRC Armenia office.

A 68-year-old medical evacuee from Nagorno-Karabakh, Vagif Khachatryan, was kidnapped by Azerbaijani border guards while being transported by the ICRC to Armenia for treatment . The Armenian foreign ministry said the Azerbaijani actions amount to war crime.

The demonstrators said that the ICRC ought to regulate its functions because at this moment the organization is unable to ensure the safety of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The International Committee of the Red Cross can ask any organization to ensure its free movement, even by using measures of force, however they allow the kidnapping to take place. If the Red Cross knew that it could be obstructed it should have applied to any security organization to ensure its free movement,” one of the demonstrators, who has been a long-time ICRC volunteer, told reporters.

 10:18, 31 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Light Aviation Foundation of Armenia and Georgia’s Aviation Club have signed a memorandum of cooperation to support each other on the path of developing the sector which is relatively new in both countries.

“There are various directions for cooperation, for example we could help each other in the issue of fuel. As you know, it is rather difficult to acquire, therefore we could expect mutual assistance in case of a problem. In addition, we could support each other in terms of specialists and maintenance of the aircraft. This area requires qualified professionals. We can review the legislative achievements and apply each other’s successful experience,” Light Aviation Foundation of Armenia co-founder Armen Sargsyan told ARMENPRESS.

[see video]

Armenia is ready to receive light aircraft from Georgia and the latter is ready to provide its airfields. Georgian specialists will travel to Armenia to attend the upcoming Air Fest in Stepanavan on August 26, where the next steps will be specified.

“We have a small school where we train pilots, we have more or less developed infrastructures, an airport, 2-4 seat aircraft, pilots, trainers. So we can also be useful for our Georgian partners,” Sargsyan added.

Sargsyan’s association has a fleet of 8 aircraft. However, he admitted that developing the sector is difficult.

“There’s no legislation in our country that would facilitate the development process, the process of investments of aviators, so that the sector develops and people come here to learn and carry out flights. Changes are underway today, new regulations are being written, we cooperate with the Civil Aviation Committee to accelerate the process,” Sargsyan said.

Pilots are currently trained at the Sky Master Aviation Training Center.

Would-be pilots are required to pass a training, which includes a total of 45-hour training flights to acquire a license.

Light aviation operators expect government support to improve the legislative framework because the sector’s development and the new infrastructures would open big prospects for the country.

Reporting by Anna Gziryan

Cameraman – Hovhannes Mkrtchyan

Photo courtesy of Armen Sargsyan

 12:03, 31 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS. The family of the elderly man who was kidnapped by Azerbaijani border guards on Saturday while being evacuated by the International Committee of the Red Cross said they’ve been unable to contact him.

A 68-year-old medical evacuee from Nagorno-Karabakh, Vagif Khachatryan, was kidnapped by Azerbaijani border guards while being transported to Armenia for treatment by the ICRC. The Armenian foreign ministry said  the Azerbaijani actions amount to a war crime.

Khachatryan’s daughter Vera, along with many other demonstrators, gathered outside the UN Office in Yerevan asking the organization to intervene and bring back her father. 

Vera Khachatryan is from Kashatagh. She’s lost her home in the 2020 war and has been living in Jermuk ever since as a refugee.

“I am all alone here, on the other side of Hakari Bridge. My sisters, brothers, my mother and all other relatives are in Artsakh. Please, dear countrymen, don’t leave me alone. This pain isn’t only mine, Vagif Khachatryan is the personification of the entire Armenian nation," she said. 

Khachatryan said that her father was being evacuated to Armenia for an urgent heart surgery.

“My sister was accompanying him. Everyone’s passports are checked at the Hakari Bridge checkpoint. When they took my father’s passport, they didn’t return it and told him to go inside to the doctor’s room for examination. Then they told him he had to go to another place for ten minutes. When my sister asked them not to take him, when one of the ICRC representatives tried to intervene so that my father isn’t taken away and instead is questioned on spot, they threatened to use force. And that’s how my dad was taken away to an unknown location. My father has been factually kidnapped,” Vera Khachatryan said.

The family of the kidnapped man have been unable to contact him ever since.

The ICRC called Vera’s sister on the first day to notify her that they’ve visited Vagif Khachatryan and that he was in a Baku hospital.

Vera Khachatryan said the Azeri authorities have been making fake accusations against her father. “Most recently they’ve been saying that my father was once the driver of Samvel Babayan. This is fake news. Everything that’s been said by the Azerbaijani leadership and prosecution is false,” she said.

She called on the UN to provide any help or get information.

“This organization has levers all across the world, doesn’t it? I am asking not only the UN, I am asking everyone to bring back my father. Let everyone use their levers. Let them return him like the way they handed him over to the Azerbaijanis. My father is no criminal, he has led a dignified life, no one has the right to call him a criminal,” Vera Khachatryan said.

[see video]

 14:07, 31 July 2023

STEPANAKERT, JULY 31, ARMENPRESS/ARTSAKHPRESS: Luis Moreno Ocampo, a leading specialist in international law, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and lecturer at Harvard and Yale universities, responded to the letter of the President of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Arayik Harutyunyan, in which the President requested an expert opinion on whether the deepening blockade in Artsakh corresponds to the crime of genocide.

In an interview with Artsakhpress, Lusine Avanesyan, the press secretary of the Artsakh Republic said that Mr. Ocampo has sent a reply letter to the President, in which he specifically wrote:

''Dear President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan

“Thank you very much for your request to provide my opinion regarding the current situation of Nagorno-Karabakh. It would be my honor to analyze the problem and provide you with my conclusion.

“I will prepare a comprehensive report analyzing the facts and the law. My assessment will be impartial and produced on a pro bono basis.

“To reach a conclusion regarding the commission of a genocide, I must analyze the Azerbaijan leaders’ intentions. Intention could be deduced from the facts, but to safeguard my accuracy and impartiality, I will write to the Azerbaijan President offering him the opportunity to clarify his position directly.

“Given the situation’s urgency and the risk of starvation for 120.000 Armenians, I plan to issue my report in 7 days.

“Please don’t hesitate to communicate any new circumstance that could affect the situation in analysis.

Yours,  Luis Moreno Ocampo''

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.  Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.

16:57 . 4/08/2023 Friday
AA

Armenia and Azerbaijan's readiness to sign a peace treaty does not imply that they are willing to accept any conditions, a senior Russian diplomat said on Friday.

Denis Gonchar, head of the Foreign Ministry's Fourth Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Department, told Russian state news agency TASS in an interview that a number of complex issues related to the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan have yet to be resolved.

"The most important of them is the issue of ensuring the security and observance of the universally recognized rights of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh within the legal framework of Azerbaijan," he noted.

While international support for the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement is important, Gonchar said Western countries should not hasten its implementation because the quality of the document is more important than the speed with which it is signed.

"The timing of the signing should be determined by the parties themselves. The task of responsible mediators is not to force the negotiation process … but to facilitate the achievement of sustainable, long-term agreements.

"A hastily prepared, ‘raw’ peace treaty will not bring sustainable peace to the region. On the contrary, it will lay the prerequisites for new conflicts and tragedies in the future. Priority should be given not to speed, but to the qualitative preparation of balanced and mutually acceptable solutions," he stressed.

– ‘Georgia under Western pressure'

Gonchar criticized Western countries for putting pressure on Georgia over its decision to resume air traffic with Russia, including through sanctions, saying Moscow sees such coercive measures as meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign countries and their relations with third countries.

The Russian leadership decided to resume direct flights with Georgia and introduce a visa-free regime for Georgian citizens based on the need to facilitate contact between the people of the two countries and to promote humanitarian and economic ties between Moscow and Tbilisi, he underlined.

The diplomat also said there is interest in opening transit routes from Russia to Armenia via Georgia because it will improve the logistics and transit potential of the region and will work in the interests of all South Caucasus countries.

In response to a question about "problematic moments" in Russia's relations with Armenia, Gonchar said they are provoked in the first place by "the incessant attempts of Western countries to harm the Russian-Armenian partnership."

"Methods, including absolutely dirty ones, are used – sanctions, blackmail, unfair competition, amorphous offers, and promises, in which, as the Armenian proverb says, there is more smoke than barbecue. What the Western 'friendship' turns out to be, everyone could repeatedly see by examples in various parts of the world, including the post-Soviet space," he said.

Moscow is relying "on the wisdom of our Armenian friends" and is determined to solve all problematic issues in an allied way, within the framework of a direct and frank dialogue, he emphasized.

In the case of Azerbaijan, the new allied level of relations allows Moscow and Baku to speak very frankly about sensitive regional issues, including the process of normalizing relations with Yerevan, the role of the West and Türkiye in the South Caucasus, he said.

"As for the problematic issues, we are discussing them all in a mutually respectful and constructive manner with our Azerbaijani partners,” he said.

However, he added, “Their exposure to the public does not always benefit the cause. By the way, it is in the information sphere that we see reserves for deepening cooperation so that the coverage of topics related to Russia in Azerbaijan and vice versa is more objective and balanced."

08:58 . 4/08/2023 Friday
AA

Azerbaijan informed the visiting chief advisor of the US State Department on Caucasus Negotiations on Thursday about the prospects of negotiations with Armenia.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a meeting with US State Department official Louis Bono after his arrival in Baku, during which they discussed the current situation and prospects of talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

It further said that the current situation in the region, as well as the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, were also on the agenda of the meeting.

According to the statement, Bayramov emphasized to Bono that Armenia did not completely withdraw its troops from Azerbaijan's territory, continued to challenge the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, obstructed regional communications, and failed to maintain regional peace and stability in the region.

He also reiterated the validity of Azerbaijan’s proposal to use the Aghdam-Khankendi road to help Armenian residents in Karabakh, in light of Armenia’s “groundless” claims that Baku is blocking residents in Karabakh and that the border checkpoint established on the Lachin road is “illegitimate.”

"It was also stated that Armenia's intervention in the efforts of the Azerbaijani side to reintegrate the Armenian residents is unacceptable," the statement added.

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

In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered peace agreement.

Despite the ongoing talks on a peace agreement, tensions between the neighboring countries increased in recent months over the Lachin road, the only land route giving Armenia access to Karabakh.

Azerbaijan has imposed restrictions on Lachin corridor which Armenians living in Karabakh use for travel to and from Armenia, citing smuggling, terrorism

14:29 . 4/08/2023 Friday
AA

A senior Azerbaijani official has expressed concern over the rejection by the self-proclaimed Armenian leaders in Karabakh of Baku's proposed path for shipments.

Ali Huseynli, chairman of the Azerbaijani National Assembly Law Commission, said this refusal presents “a significant risk to achieving a peaceful resolution of disputes between Azerbaijan and Armenia and hampers the efforts to establish lasting peace in the region.”

Huseynli told Anadolu that Armenia was trying to carry cargo to Karabakh using the Lachin-Khankendi road under the guise of "humanitarian aid."

He stressed that the Lachin corridor lies in Azerbaijan's territory and so Baku proposed using the Aghdam-Khankendi road for shipments.

"The so-called leaders of the separatist regime in Karabakh oppose shipments through the Aghdam-Khankendi road because accepting it would mean recognizing Azerbaijan's territorial integrity,” he said.

Azerbaijan has been imposing restrictions on the Lachin-Khankendi road, which the Armenians living in Karabakh use for travel to and from Armenia, citing the firing of shots from Armenia at border guards and smuggling activities using International Red Cross vehicles.

Heavy vehicles are not allowed to pass on the route, which is open to civilians.

Armenia sent 19 trucks to the border, claiming that the Armenian population in Karabakh is facing a "humanitarian crisis" due to the road closure, but these trucks have been waiting at the border for about a week.

Baku stated that it will not allow shipments that were not previously discussed with them to their sovereign territories, suggesting the Aghdam- Khankendi road for shipments to the Armenian population in Karabakh.

He further said that Azerbaijan regards the Armenians residing in Karabakh as its own citizens.

“Unfortunately, the coup regime in Khankendi, which is holding its people hostage, also rejects Azerbaijan's integration proposals. All of this poses a serious threat to the peaceful resolution of disputes between Azerbaijan and Armenia and, most importantly, the establishment of sustainable peace in the region,” he added.

Huseynli said that accusing Azerbaijan of causing a "humanitarian crisis" in areas where the Armenian population lives in Karabakh is another manifestation of the double standards in the international arena, referring to the critical statements made by some officials from the US and Europe.

"The developments should be considered as a continuation of Armenia's provocations. The leadership in Yerevan is trying to confuse the international community by spreading misinformation, albeit temporarily,” Huseynli said.