Category: 2023

 12:54, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect has issued an atrocity alert for Nagorno-Karabakh amid the ongoing blockade by Azerbaijan.

Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes.

The organization called on Azerbaijan to immediately lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor and allow for unhindered and safe passage of civilians and goods along the corridor, as well as guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access in line with international law and the order by the International Court of Justice.

 “For more than seven months Azerbaijani authorities have blockaded the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, precipitating a humanitarian crisis. The blockade has deprived over 120,000 ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, including 30,000 children, of life-saving resources such as food, medicine, electricity and fuel. On 28 July Armenian authorities accused Azerbaijan of denying transport of over 400 tons of humanitarian aid into Nagorno-Karabakh. In a statement issued on 25 July the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that despite persistent efforts, ‘the last time the ICRC was allowed to bring medical items and essential food items into the area was several weeks ago’,” the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect said in a press release.

The organization mentioned Nagorno-Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan’s request to Luis Moreno Ocampo, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, for an expert opinion on the blockade. “While the opinion has no legal implications, it may help determine if the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh merits further investigation,” the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect added.

“Deprivation of resources indispensable to survival imposes excessive burdens upon civilians that may eventually result in immense suffering and loss of life. Under International Humanitarian Law, all sides must allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, including medical supplies and essential food. The intentional and unlawful denial of humanitarian assistance may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the organization further said. 

The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect called on Azerbaijan to immediately lift the blockade and comply with ICJ orders. 

“Azerbaijani authorities must immediately lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor and allow for unhindered and safe passage of civilians and goods along the corridor, as well as guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access in line with international law and the order by the ICJ. States must engage in further dialogue with all parties, as well as support calls from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to establish an independent fact-finding mission to assess the humanitarian situation,” the organization said.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to 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. The ICJ reaffirmed its order on 6 July 2023.

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.

 14:25, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has appointed his advisor Hrachya Sargsyan as Deputy Minister of Defense.

Sargsyan is a former Mayor of Yerevan.

The decree on appointing Sargsyan as deputy minister and dismissing him as advisor to the prime minister was published at .

 11:57, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has denied Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s claim that the border between the countries is undefined.

“The borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan were defined under the 1991 Almaty Declaration, and this was reiterated during the 6 October 2022 quadrilateral meeting in Prague, where the Almaty Declaration was adopted as the foundation for delimitation and demarcation of borders between the two countries. There’s an impression that Azerbaijan has the following plan: to sign a peace treaty with terms that would allow for disputing the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan stipulated under the Almaty Declaration and subsequently make territorial claims against Armenia during the delimitation and demarcation process. If the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan are undefined, then what territories is Azerbaijan talking about regarding various parts of the border? If such a question is raised, then the borders are defined, and Armenia’s proposal on reciprocal withdrawal of troops from that border line is still in force. While the delimitation and demarcation of borders attests not to the absence of borders, but on the contrary, to the defined, meaning, the reiteration of the administrative borders between Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan at the time of the Soviet Union’s collapse, and its reflection on the ground as a state border,” Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday. 

PM Pashinyan reiterated the agreement on establishing peace based on the reciprocal recognition of respective territorial integrity of Armenia (29,800 km2) and Azerbaijan (86,600 km2) and said that he is waiting for Azerbaijan to publicly reiterate this agreement.

 15:08, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan instructed on Thursday to strengthen control over the smoking ban in public food businesses.

Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, he emphasized that in many cases the smoking ban gets ignored.  

“Our goal is not to hand out fines, our goal is to make people stop smoking. Owners and employees should also be held responsible so that they do not allow smoking,” Pashinyan said, adding that the objective is to create the ‘most uncomfortable conditions’ for smokers.

In turn, Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan said that from January 1, 2023 until today, a total of 7,186 administrative protocols have been issued for violating the smoking ban, of which 790 were in public food places.

 14:49, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) haven’t yet visited Rashid Beglaryan, the Nagorno-Karabakh resident arrested by Azerbaijan, ICRC Armenia communications manager Zara Amatuni told ARMENPRESS.

Amatuni added that they are following the case and are taking relevant steps through dialogue within the framework of the ICRC powers to ensure certain progress in this issue.

Speaking about Vagif Khachatryan, the other man from Nagorno-Karabakh who’s also under arrest in Azerbaijan, Amatuni said that the ICRC visited him on July 29, the day of his arrest.

 “Our delegates, including our doctor, visited Vagif Khachatryan in Baku in accordance with our procedures, to get information on his condition, check his state of health and review the detention conditions,” Amatuni added.

The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities had initially announced that Rashid Beglaryan, a resident of Nagorno-Karabakh, accidentally crossed into Azerbaijani-held territory while intoxicated and was subsequently arrested on August 1. However, the Nagorno-Karabakh prosecutor’s office later said that Beglaryan was actually kidnapped by Azerbaijani servicemembers while walking towards Armenia.

The other arrested Nagorno-Karabakh resident, 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan, was kidnapped by Azerbaijani border guards during his ICRC-facilitated medical evacuation to Armenia through the blockaded Lachin Corridor on July 29. 

Khachatryan faces fabricated war crime charges in Azerbaijan.

On August 2, prominent Armenian attorney Siranush Sahakyan ruled out due process in Azerbaijan regarding Vagif Khachatryan. She said that the kidnapping of Vagif Khachatryan by Azerbaijan constitutes extraordinary rendition in terms of international law.

The Nagorno-Karabakh resident’s kidnapping has been condemned by the Armenian foreign ministry as a war crime.

Vagif Khachatryan’s daughter revealed earlier this week that the Azeri border guards threatened the ICRC staff with force at the illegal checkpoint in Lachin Corridor. She denied the charges against her father and asked for international support to achieve his release.

 15:40, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Vagif Khachatryan, the 68-year-old Nagorno-Karabakh man who was kidnapped by Azerbaijani authorities during his ICRC-facilitated medical evacuation to Armenia through the blockaded Lachin Corridor, has been questioned as part of fabricated criminal proceedings in Azerbaijan.

Khachatryan was taken to a hospital after his arrest, the Azerbaijani APA news agency reported.

“He was examined by doctors regarding his health. After the medical examination, he was provided with a lawyer and a translator. Charges against Vagif Khachatryan were announced and preliminary interrogation was held. Currently, other investigative measures are being taken in connection with him,” Ilgar Safarov, Senior Assistant to the prosecutor general on special assignments, told APA in an interview. 

Khachatryan faces fabricated war crime charges in Azerbaijan.

On August 2, prominent Armenian attorney Siranush Sahakyan ruled out due process in Azerbaijan regarding Vagif Khachatryan. She said that the kidnapping of Vagif Khachatryan by Azerbaijan constitutes extraordinary rendition in terms of international law.

The Nagorno-Karabakh resident’s kidnapping has been condemned by the Armenian foreign ministry as a war crime.

Vagif Khachatryan’s daughter revealed earlier this week that the Azeri border guards threatened the ICRC staff with force at the illegal checkpoint in Lachin Corridor. She denied the charges against her father and asked for international support to achieve his release.

 15:44, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. The representatives of the UN office in Armenia visited on Thursday the border section of Kornidzor, the entrance of Lachin Corridor, where the convoy of trucks trying to transport humanitarian aid from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh remains blocked for the ninth day.

On August 2, candy-producer Grand Candy sent two trucks loaded with confectionaries to join the 19 trucks of the convoy.

The representatives of the UN office in Armenia were briefed on the situation on the ground, after which Nanna Skau, acting resident coordinator of the UN in Armenia, gave a short press briefing, during which she first read the UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ latest statement regarding the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the blockade of the Lachin Corridor.

“Unfortunately, at this point I cannot go beyond the statement…,” Nanna Skau said.  “We do expect the statement issued will hopefully lead to some positive results,” she added.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to 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. The ICJ reaffirmed its order on 6 July 2023.

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.

On July 25, the Government of Armenia said that it will try to send over 360 tons of flour, cooking oil, sugar, and other foodstuffs and medication to Nagorno-Karabakh to mitigate the humanitarian crisis resulting from the blockade of Lachin Corridor. Armenia requested the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh to escort the aid but Azerbaijan has blocked the convoy at the entrance of the Lachin Corridor.

 17:03, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, 3 AUGUST, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 3 August, USD exchange rate down by 0.68 drams to 386.18 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.37 drams to 422.25 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.04 drams to 4.11 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 6.05 drams to 488.32 drams.

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

Gold price down by 79.82 drams to 24139.14 drams. Silver price down by 1.84 drams to 303.07 drams.