Category: 2023

Russia says Karabakh Armenians need to accept Azerbaijani rule

Alex Jidarian
Eurasianet
July 26 2023
Jul 26, 2023

Russia has for the first time explicitly said that the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh should submit to Azerbaijani rule. 

"The path [ahead] is not an easy one. A number of complicated and important issues need to be resolved. The most sensitive among them has been and remains the problem of guarantees for the rights and securities of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of ensuring Azerbaijan's territorial integrity," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on July 25 after meeting with his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts. 

His statement contained no reference to an "international mechanism for the rights and securities of the Karabakh Armenians" that regularly appears in statements by European and U.S. intermediaries (who oversee a separate track of negotiations not coordinated with the Russian-led talks). 

He spoke instead of Karabakhis' rights "proceeding from relevant legislation and international obligations (in this case Azerbaijan's), including numerous conventions on ensuring the rights of ethnic minorities."

It's a stark change in policy from Russia, which for a long time sought to freeze the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh's status. It had, however, signaled a change on July 15 with a statement that "by recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijani territory," Armenia had "cardinally changed the fundamental conditions" under which the Russian-brokered cease-fire that ended the 2020 Second Karabakh War was signed. 

(In fact, Armenia has not "recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijani territory," it has stated its willingness to do so.)

Russia's new and relatively Azerbaijan-friendly stance follows recent positive assessments from Baku of the EU-mediated negotiations and continued grumbles of dissatisfaction with the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh (whose term of deployment is set to expire in 2025).

Lavrov's remark has not yet drawn much of a response in Armenia or Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan and Stepanakert both saw massive rallies, connected to each other by video link, on the evening of July 25. 

Gurgen Nersisyan, the de facto Karabakh state minister, voiced the central demand: that Armenia reject recognizing the region as part of Azerbaijan. 

"Such an approach cannot ensure peace in the region or a dignified existence for the people of Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh]. Furthermore, it can't guarantee even the existence of the Republic of Armenia, because the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem is targeting not Artsakh but the whole Armenian nation and its national statehood," he told the crowd at Stepanakert's Renaissance Square. 

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Karabakh continues to deteriorate. The region has been under blockade since December 2022 and that blockade has been total or near-total since June 15, when Baku closed its border checkpoint to traffic on the Lachin corridor connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. For a time after that, Azerbaijan periodically allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to supply food and supplies to Karabakh or transport urgent patients for treatment, but it has severely restricted the ICRC's access to the road since July 11. 

The ICRC issued an urgent statement on the situation in Karabakh on July 25.

"The civilian population is now facing a lack of life-saving medication and essentials like hygiene products and baby formula. Fruits, vegetables, and bread are increasingly scarce and costly, while some other food items such as dairy products, sunflower oil, cereal, fish, and chicken are not available. The last time the ICRC was allowed to bring medical items and essential food items into the area was several weeks ago," the statement read, going on to welcome the fact that ICRC has been able to perform 24 patient transfers in recent days.

Laurence Broers, a leading scholar of the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict, also sounded the alarm. In a tweet thread posted on July 25, he warned that the blockade of Karabakh could have devastating repercussions beyond just the fate of the Karabakh Armenians. 

"The starvation of the Armenian population will leave a new legacy of unforgiving distrust cancelling any hopes of reconstituting community relations," he wrote. 

"[A]t a time when Azerbaijan has a counterpart in Yerevan more amenable to peace than any since the mid-1990s, any negotiated outcomes risk being discredited as the results of coerced agreement under duress. A peace that is extorted today will unravel tomorrow.

"The ethnic cleansing of Karabakh would mean a new chapter in the logic of coercive, exclusive nation-building in the South Caucasus, a whole new raft of contested issues between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, and chilling implications for the region’s other minority populations."

Meanwhile, for the first time since the start of the blockade, the Armenian government dispatched a convoy of humanitarian aid to Karabakh on July 26. Azerbaijan's Border Service called the move a "provocative act" and said that the "Armenian side bears all responsibility" for its possible consequences. 

The convoy was approaching the border as of the time of publication. 

Alarmed by rising tensions, Iran pursues diplomacy in South Caucasus

Garik Boshkezenian
Amwaj Media
july 26 2023

The story: In its latest diplomatic foray into South Caucasus politics, Iran has hosted Armenia’s foreign minister while endorsing peace talks between Baku and Yerevan. Coming after recent Iranian efforts to ease heightened tensions with Azerbaijan, Tehran's maneuvering underscores its desire to avoid pushing its estranged northwestern neighbor further toward Israel—and to protect its interests in the South Caucasus.

The coverage: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on July 24 met his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan in Tehran.

  • Amir-Abdollahian asserted that Iran supports peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, welcoming the "recent progress in the negotiation process."
  • At a joint press conference after the meeting, the top Iranian diplomat said "the time for war is over, and the time for a peace built on dialogue has arrived."
  • Amir-Abdollahian also warned against the South Caucasus becoming an arena for a "power struggle" between states.

President Ebrahim Raisi expressed similar sentiments in a meeting with the visiting Armenian top diplomat.

  • Raisi declared Iran's support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries in the region.
  • Raisi also emphasized that Tehran does not accept any changes to borders or the geopolitics of the region. He further added that outside interference would only "exacerbate" existing issues.

In parallel, Iran has over the past week stepped up its efforts to pursue de-escalation with Azerbaijan.

  • Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, said on July 19 that relations between Iran and Azerbaijan "are developing."
  • Baqeri added that Iran has "no problems on border and security issues" with Azerbaijan. He made the remarks to reporters near Iran's border with the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan.

Meanwhile, Iran’s government-run IRNA news agency on July 21 inaugurated an office and launched an Azerbaijani website during a visit to Baku by the outlet’s director.

  • Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev notably praised the move by IRNA, saying that it would "definitely contribute to the strengthening of relations between our countries."
  • In a seemingly reciprocal measure, Azerbaijan’s state-run Azertac news agency will launch an office in Tehran, Iran’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan Abbas Mousavi told IRNA on July 21.

The context/analysis: Azerbaijan's deepening ties with Israel in past years have been a key source of contention between Baku and Tehran. Tensions have also flared more recently due to Azerbaijan's alleged efforts to sever Iran's land connection to Armenia.

  • During the 2020 war between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan reportedly received help from Israel and Turkey. Iran, a longstanding ally of Armenia, cautiously refrained from taking sides during the war.
  • Azerbaijan seized large territories during the 44-day conflict. The war ended with a ceasefire agreement brokered by Russia. As part of this accord, Armenia agreed to establish a corridor in its southern Syunik region, which borders Iran. The Zangazur Corridor would create a link between the Azerbaijani mainland and the Nakhchivan exclave.
  • Iranian media view the overland transport corridor as a Turkey-backed move to disconnect Iran from Armenia as Ankara seeks to expand its influence in the South Caucasus. In this context, Iranian officials have on repeated occasions sternly warned against "border changes" in the region.

Azerbaijan and Iran have engaged in a war of words that has escalated into military drills along their border.


The already tense relations between Baku and Tehran took a turn for the worse following a series of developments earlier this year.

  • On Jan. 27, a fatal attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran resulted in the death of the diplomatic facility’s head of security. Iran blamed the incident on a personal dispute. Rejecting the Iranian explanation, Azerbaijan ordered the evacuation of its embassy.
  • Further fueling tensions, Azerbaijan in late March opened an embassy in Israel, an arch-rival of Iran. The move followed a reported surge in military ties between Baku and Tel Aviv.
  • In early April, Azerbaijan expelled four Iranian diplomats. This resulted in Tehran taking reciprocal action a month later.

The border between Armenia and Iran is of high importance to both countries.

  • The merely 48 km (29.8 miles) frontier has been described as a “lifeline” for Armenia, which finds itself sandwiched between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
  • The Armenian border provides Iran with a dependable overland transit route to Georgia and beyond. This is particularly of high value for Tehran at times when relations with Baku and Ankara experience turbulence. Moreover, Iran considers the South Caucasus as a historical zone of influence and sees any loss of a land border with the countries there as a threat to this broader stature.
  • Iran is additionally wary of the ongoing dissemination of separatist pro-Turkic discourse in its northwest, where ethnic Azeri communities reside.

The future: An armed conflict between Azerbaijan and Iran, however unlikely, could quickly come to involve multiple external actors. It could also mean a second major confrontation in the South Caucasus, which is still reeling from the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.

  • Despite high tensions, the recent conciliatory maneuvering indicates that both Baku and Tehran wish to avoid an all-out confrontation.
  • The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a project geared to connect Russia and India via Iran and the Gulf, passes through Azerbaijan. The latter is a strong incentive for Tehran to pursue improved relations with Baku, especially as transit revenues are key to the Raisi administration’s economic ambitions.
  • Iran is likely to continue to seek to strike a balance between maintaining its close relations with Armenia without worsening relations with Azerbaijan.

Protests in Yerevan and Stepanakert as humanitarian crisis grows in Nagorno-Karabakh

Emil Lazarian
July 26 2023
 26 July 2023

ByAni AvetisyanandIsmi Aghayev

Protesters gathered on Yerevan's Freedom Square on Tuesday night. Photo: Ani Avetisyan/OC Media

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in both Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia’s capitals on Tuesday evening, demanding international intervention and support, as the Red Cross warned of a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Protesters demanded action to support the blockaded region, which is facing critical shortages of staple goods. 

Shortly before the protest, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a press conference discussing the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and defending his government’s actions. 

The region has been under complete blockade since mid-June, when Azerbaijan banned Russian peacekeepers from delivering humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh. The blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, has been ongoing for over six months, after first being blocked by Azerbaijani protesters in December 2022. 

Since then, both the local government and international humanitarian organisations have warned that people in the region are facing a humanitarian crisis as a result of severe shortages of staple foods, medicine, and fuel. 

The rallies were called by the authorities in Stepanakert. No Armenian political forces publicly organised or joined the protests, which in Yerevan were organised by people from Nagorno-Karabakh. Speeches in Yerevan and Stepanakert were broadcast live at both protests. 

[Listen to The Caucasus Digest: Podcast | Blockade fatigue in Nagorno-Karabakh]

Speaking in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh’s State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan fiercely criticised the Armenian government for its decision to recognise Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, stating that any such ‘verbal or written’ assertions were unacceptable. 

Protesters in Stepanakert. Photo: Marut Vanyan/Twitter

Armenia’s government and its Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have repeatedly stated that Armenia is ready to recognise the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including Nagorno-Karabakh, if Azerbaijan agrees to recognise Armenia’s territorial integrity and leaves Armenian territories it occupied between May 2021 and September 2022. 

The Pashinyan government’s decision to stop advocating for the right to self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War has deepened existing mistrust between the two governments, prompting authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh to frequently sharply criticise Pashinyan and his cabinet. 

‘Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] cannot be considered within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan because it is a long-established political unit’, Nersisyan stated.

‘That approach is incapable of ensuring peace in the region and the safe existence of the people of Artsakh. Moreover, it cannot even guarantee the existence of Armenia because the Turkish–Azerbaijani tandem takes issue not with Artsakh but the entire Armenian people and the Armenian statehood’. 

After the rallies concluded, protesters marched to the main military cemeteries in Yerevan and Stepanakert. 

In recent days, discussions of delivery of humanitarian aid have grown increasingly active, with Armenia promising to deliver aid on Wednesday, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stating publicly on Tuesday that it was unable to deliver aid to Nagorno-Karabakh ‘despite persistent efforts’. 

These efforts reportedly included attempts to use routes entering the region from Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly suggested that aid could be delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh via Aghdam, a town that came under Azerbaijani control after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. 

[Read more: Backlash in Armenia as EU backs Nagorno-Karabakh aid via Azerbaijan]

A convoy of approximately 400 tonnes of food and medicines left Yerevan for Stepanakert early on Wednesday morning. 

Armenia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs stated that the aid consisted of only the most essential goods, including sugar, oil, flour, pasta, salt, milk powder, baby food, and medicines, and would be sufficient only for one or two days. At the time of publication, the convoy was still in transit. 

While officials in Yerevan and Stepanakert stated their expectation that Russian peacekeepers would accompany the cargo through the Lachin checkpoint to Stepanakert, no information was provided on whether this was agreed with the Russian forces. 

Azerbaijan’s State Border Service called the decision to send the aid convoy to the entrance of the Lachin Corridor a ‘provocation’, and warned Armenia against ‘aggravating the situation’. 

A humanitarian crisis has been growing in Nagorno-Karabakh since the Lachin Corridor was first blocked by alleged eco-activists associated with the Azerbaijani government in December, with the region immediately losing over 90% of its daily supply of food and other essential goods from Armenia. 

Since then, only Russian peacekeeping and ICRC vehicles were allowed to pass along the corridor, delivering essential goods and transferring patients to and from Armenian hospitals. 

Existing shortages of food and medicine have significantly worsened since mid-June, when the transfer of humanitarian aid by Russian peacekeepers was banned after a clash between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces. ICRC vehicles were limited to transporting patients, but barred from delivering any goods to the region. 

ICRC access has since been fully banned twice, and both times restored following a meeting between the country’s foreign minister and the head of the ICRC in Azerbaijan. In the second case, Azerbaijan accused ICRC drivers of attempting to ‘smuggle’ cigarettes, mobile phones, and fuel into the region. 

In its public statement on Tuesday, the ICRC called for ‘the relevant decision makers’ to allow the organisation to resume its humanitarian work in the region, and called on both Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a ‘humanitarian consensus’. 

‘ICRC is not currently able to bring humanitarian assistance to the civilian population through the Lachin corridor or through any other routes, including Aghdam’, the statement read. 

It noted that the civilian population was facing a lack of life-saving medication, as well as staple goods including hygiene products, baby formula, and food. 

‘Fruits, vegetables, and bread are increasingly scarce and costly, while some other food items such as dairy products, sunflower oil, cereal, fish, and chicken are not available’, the statement added. ‘The last time the ICRC was allowed to bring medical items and essential food items into the area was several weeks ago.’

It stated that people with diseases, elderly people, and children were particularly at risk. 

‘This is life-saving work, and it must be allowed to continue’, the statement concluded. 

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry swiftly responded to the statement, asserting that Azerbaijan had offered to deliver humanitarian assistance, but that ‘the Armenian side’ had refused both offers of humanitarian aid and the entry of an ICRC doctor via roads from Azerbaijan.

The statement additionally warns that the Red Cross should observe its humanitarian mandate, and not abuse it ‘for political purposes’. 

Journalists and local authorities have reported severe fuel shortages, leaving ambulances and public transport immobilised, which have combined with food and medicine shortages to drive increases in mortality. 

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a five-hour press conference hours before the rally began, focused on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

Pashinyan appeared to react emotionally to the questions of opposition journalists, and recorded questions from residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, including one asking him whether he considered himself to be a ‘traitor and a failed politician’. 

Pashinyan noted the financial and material support that his government had sent to Nagorno-Karabakh since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

‘[If we are] a traitorous government, give up the support of the traitorous government’, he said. ‘What is a person who receives money from a traitor?’

He went on to accuse journalists of being part of a ‘political campaign’ and being ‘instructed’ to distribute propaganda, after being asked about pictures his wife, Anna Hakobyan, had shared on social media last week, showing fruits and vegetables grown in their family garden. The post was criticised by Armenian-language social media users, who accused Hakobyan of being insensitive towards people on the verge of starvation. 

Pashinyan added that while the question of delivering aid from Azerbaijan to Nagorno-Karabakh had been discussed in a meeting between him, Azerbaijani President Aliyev, and EU Council President Charles Michel on 15 July, Armenia did not have a ‘mandate’ to discuss the matter. 

‘I have a mandate to discuss the issue related to the Lachin Corridor, because the Lachin Corridor was created by the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, of which I am one of the signatories’, stated Pashinyan. ‘At those platforms, we discuss only the issues related to the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor and the opening of the Lachin Corridor, I do not discuss other issues’.

Pashinyan struck a different tone in an article about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh published by French media outlet Le Monde on Monday.  Pashinyan described the blockade as a ‘Sarajevo-style siege’, and called for ‘Europe and partners around the world’ to take action. 

‘The authorities in Baku use force, and the threat of further military escalation, to achieve their irredentist aims. This should not be tolerated; the consistent torpedoing of the peace process must have consequences’, wrote Pashinyan. 

Following a meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan’s foreign ministers in Moscow on 25 July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that the talks had proven ‘fruitful’.

He added that Yerevan had ‘[understood] the need to convince Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to meet as soon as possible with Azerbaijani representatives’, to discuss their rights in relation to relevant legislation and international obligations. 

 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.

https://oc-media.org/protests-in-yerevan-and-stepanakert-as-humanitarian-crisis-grows-in-nagorno-karabakh/

A positive impetus to the negotiations? Baku and Yerevan on the Moscow meeting of foreign ministers

Samvel Nahapetian
July 26 2023


  • JAMnews
  • Baku-Yerevan

Moscow meeting of foreign ministers

A regular meeting of the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia took place in Moscow. “We need steps that it is highly desirable to take without delay in the interests of providing the population of Nagorno-Karabakh with food, medicine, essentials, and ensuring uninterrupted electricity and gas supply,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the meeting.

He also announced an Aliyev-Pashinyan-Putin meeting in Russia before the end of this year.

  • Ilham Aliyev: “International law works selectively”
  • “There are no difficulties in applying to the UN Security Council” – Pashinyan
  • “The negotiation process should be an internal affair of Khankendi and Baku.” View from Baku
  • “Pashinyan failed to prevent the agenda promoted by Aliyev.” Opinion from Yerevan

After the end of the tripartite negotiations, Lavrov stated that steps are needed without delay in the interests of providing the population of Nagorno-Karabakh with food, medicine, essentials, and ensuring uninterrupted electricity and gas supply.

  • Particular attention is paid to the issues of delimitation, which are closely related to the entire set of problems under discussion and the speedy conclusion of a peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan.
  • The culmination of the negotiation process should be precisely the signing of an agreement that will draw a line under the efforts initiated during the tripartite meetings with the President of the Russian Federation.
  • Those who are sincerely interested in helping Baku and Yerevan find agreements are welcome, but there should be no attempts to impose certain agreements, not based on the interests of the two peoples, but for the sake of geopolitical and domestic political considerations.
  • Guarantees of the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of ensuring the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in full accordance with the Declaration of 1991, signed by the leaders of the former Soviet republics in Alma-Ata, remains the most sensitive issue.

Tension between the negotiators was felt even before the start of the talks mediated by Putin. The dispute between them began during the expanded meeting of the EAEU

“The Armenian side has an understanding of the need to convince the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to meet as soon as possible with Azerbaijani representatives to agree on the rights arising from the relevant legislation and from international obligations (in this case, Azerbaijan), including numerous conventions on ensuring the rights of national minorities.”

  • The Azerbaijani side is ready to provide the same guarantees on a reciprocal basis with respect to persons living on its territory.
  • Armenians are ready to do the same with respect to the application of all conventions to citizens residing in the Republic of Armenia.

Lavrov called these issues difficult and expressed the hope that their joint discussions would give a positive impetus to the negotiation process.

“Minister Jeyhun Bayramov once again brought to the attention of the meeting participants the position of Azerbaijan regarding the current situation in the region, as well as in connection with the threats and illegal actions from Armenia regarding the steps taken by Azerbaijan to establish peace and security in the region, and military provocations, including creating obstacles for the flight of aircraft. Jeyhun Bayramov stressed that allegations of a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the region are completely groundless, they are political speculations,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the Moscow meeting.

“The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister noted that the measures taken against the use of the Lachin road by Armenia for military purposes, as well as the illegal export of Azerbaijan’s natural resources, contrary to the obligations enshrined in the tripartite Statement of November 10, 2020, are the sovereign right of Azerbaijan.

The President of Azerbaijan called the disarmament of the Armenian military formations in Karabakh one of the conditions for resolving the situation

Jeyhun Bayramov added that the creation of the Lachin checkpoint on the state border by Azerbaijan for this purpose was a necessary measure. The minister stressed that, despite the fact that from the moment the checkpoint began operating, all conditions were created for the transparent, safe and orderly passage of the Armenian residents of Karabakh in both directions, the provocation committed by Armenia against the border checkpoint on June 15 created obstacles for crossing borders by Armenian residents. According to Jeyhun Bayramov, at present the Azerbaijani side ensures the passage of Armenian residents through the border checkpoint for medical purposes.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan recalled that despite the fact that Azerbaijan put forward a number of proposals, including the use of the Agdam-Khankendi [Stepanakert] road and other alternative roads to meet the needs of the Armenian residents, the fact that these proposals were not accepted by the Armenian side, testifies to their insidious intentions, and statements about the humanitarian situation in the region are political blackmail.”

The Armenian Foreign Ministry did not comment on the trilateral talks in Moscow. The ministry’s website and Facebook page provide details only about Ararat Mirzoyan’s meeting with the Russian minister. But from this text it is clear what position the Armenian side adhered to during the negotiations.

In particular, at the meeting with Lavrov, the Armenian Foreign Minister focused on the following issues:

  • “the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is deepening with every passing hour as a result of the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan,
  • the imperative to immediately lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor in accordance with the provisions of the Trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 and the Orders of the International Court of Justice,
  • the need to take concrete steps by the signatories of the Trilateral statement and the possibility to use the existing international tools,
  • the importance of addressing the issues of rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh under an international mechanism,
  • he need for the constructive approach from the Azerbaijani side.”

The message of the Armenian Foreign Ministry specifically stipulates the issue of the map along which the border delimitation will be carried out, and again there is a refusal to provide the Azerbaijani side with a “corridor” for communication with Nakhichevan:

“In the context of delimitation and border security between the two countries, Minister Mirzoyan stressed the commitment to take the 1975 map as the basis for ensuring maximum clarity in the process of further border delimitation. In the context of unblocking all economic and transport communications in the region, the absence of an alternative to the functioning of the relevant communications under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries.”

Statement by the Prime Minister of Armenia on the situation in the unrecognized NKR, which has been blocked for 7 months, as well as the latest information on the deepening humanitarian crisis

According to political observer Gadzhi Namazov, it can be said with certainty that in Moscow the foreign ministers of the three countries managed to “achieve a clear understanding on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue”:

“It is not worth dwelling on the statements of the Foreign Ministries of Azerbaijan and Armenia, because in them, each side indicated only those moments that are beneficial to it. The statements after the meeting of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov look much more interesting.

According to him, it is urgent to solve the problem with the delivery of food and essential goods to the Armenian population of Karabakh. But Lavrov did not specify in what way and from where. Therefore, for Russia, the option proposed by official Baku is now acceptable – the delivery of humanitarian aid along the Aghdam-Khankendi road.

I would also note an important detail in the statement of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Thus, Armenia must convince the Armenians of Karabakh to immediately sit down at the negotiating table with Baku in order to resolve issues within the framework of the relevant legislation, i.e. Constitution of Azerbaijan. Since here it is impossible to interpret this phrase in any other way.

I think that in the coming days we will already see the results of this meeting on the ground, which, in view of the current acute situation in the region, turned out to be very productive.”

Dialogue between Baku and Khankendi – on the Armenians in Karabakh, a stumbling block on the way to resolution

Political scientist Tigran Grigoryan regarded the Armenian-Azerbaijani talks organized yesterday in Moscow as “an imitation of Russia’s vigorous activity.” In his opinion, the Kremlin is trying to show that it “still exists and is an important player,” as in recent months negotiations have been conducted on Western platforms.

“It is also important for Russia that if any document is signed, it should be signed on the Russian site and through Moscow’s mediation. All the mediators are talking about a quick settlement, “very soon signing” of a peace treaty, and Moscow has decided to keep up with this trend,” he told JAMnews.

However, Grigoryan says that there is still a number of unresolved issues, and the sincerity of Lavrov’s claim for a speedy settlement is questionable, given the strategic goals of the Russian Federation:

“Along with this statement, it is clear that Russia is interested in creating or maintaining some kind of status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh, which will allow the Russian peacekeeping mission to stay here.”

The political scientist sees progress in the issue of unblocking transport in the region, but emphasizes the existence of serious disagreements, in particular regarding customs control at the border. He says that Moscow and Baku insist that Russian border guards perform this function, Yerevan believes that this function should be performed by the border service of Armenia:

“It is difficult to predict how a compromise solution will be reached. Either Russia and Azerbaijan will be able to put pressure on and force Armenia to make concessions, or the issues will remain unresolved.”

The political scientist assumes that the Azerbaijani agenda was also promoted at these negotiations, and there was no opposition from the Armenian side.

According to him, the final statement of the Russian Foreign Minister contains a number of “problematic formulations”, in particular the assertion that the Armenian authorities should call on the authorities of the unrecognized NKR to participate in negotiations with Baku.

Grigoryan emphasizes that a few weeks ago, when the US tried to organize a meeting between NK Armenians and Azerbaijanis in one of the European countries, Moscow actively prevented it from taking place. The Azerbaijani side made a similar proposal to meet in Baku. However, in this case there could be no question of international mediation:

“It is unlikely that Lavrov had in mind negotiations with American mediation. By and large, he calls on the people of Artsakh to accept the Azerbaijani version. Or there is a third one, but Azerbaijan is unlikely to agree to it. We are talking about holding talks in Ivanyan [Khojaly] with the mediation of peacekeepers.”

In his speech, Sergei Lavrov, talking about the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, hints at the legislation of Azerbaijan and the rights of national minorities. It turns out that he considers Armenians a minority within Azerbaijan. Grigoryan says: thus, before the start of negotiations between Baku and the Armenians, NK Moscow determines the framework within which discussions about their rights and security should take place.

According to the political scientist, the fact that the Russian side speaks of Armenia’s readiness to protect the rights of ethnic minorities living on its territory also raises questions:

“Although there are currently no Azerbaijanis living in Armenia, we must not forget the context in which the issue is being discussed. Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations are underway, and Azerbaijan is known to use the narrative of the so-called “Western Azerbaijan”. This is an attempt to mirror the position of Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh. The very fact of the appearance of such an emphasis in the text of Lavrov’s statement cannot but cause concern.”

https://jam-news.net/moscow-meeting-of-foreign-ministers/





World leaders must stop Azerbaijan’s genocide in Nagorno-Katrabakh! Act Now! – Ambassador Mkrtchyan

Sonya Jalatian
july 27 2023
by TIGRAN MKRTCHYAN

A creeping genocide is unfolding slowly before our eyes. For more than seven months now, 120,000 Armenians in Artsakh (commonly known as Nagorno-Karabakh) continue to remain under complete blockade: with no food, medicine, fuel, gas or electricity. The only lifeline connecting Artsakh to Armenia was initially blocked by government-sponsored Azeri “peace-advocating” fake “eco-activists” on December 12, 2022. Azerbaijan officially institutionalised the blockage of the road by an illegal checkpoint installation on April 23, 2023, grossly violating its international obligations.

Azerbaijan continues to demonstrate a willful disregard for the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, the ECHR ruling of December 21, 2023, as well as ICJ orders issued on February 22 and July 6, 2023, calling on Azerbaijan to urgently “take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.”

Moreover, Baku is presenting the latter decisions of the international courts willfully to delude the international community and continue its policy of starving to death the population of Nagorno Karabakh.

It blatantly ignores the calls by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe, the European Parliament, other international organisations and numerous states. Azerbaijan's illegal actions persist despite those demands and appeals.

Encircled and sieged by Azerbaijan, the 120,000 Armenians, among which 30,000 children and 20,000 elderly, survive merely on scarce local produce. No single consignment of goods or medicine has been allowed to enter the region for over a month. Healthcare, public transport and public and business offices have been paralysed.

Agricultural fields cannot be harvested because of the lack of fuel. Pregnant women and children are malnourished. No fruits or vegetables can be imported to Artsakh. Death rates are higher than ever.

Europe is watching; sometimes, statements are made. It tries hard to maintain “parity”. It calls “on both sides” to contribute to peace. It describes the situation as unsustainable and in “no one’s interest”.

In the meantime, the total blockade continues by a country that some have labelled as a “reliable energy partner”. At the same time, international non-governmental organisations have a consensus that it is a “consolidated authoritarian regime.” A “sustainable blockade” is making the lives of Armenians living there more and more unbearable.

Besieged locals only have limited access to energy.

Moreover, some are considering the Baku proposed “integration” as a solution to the problem. The PROBLEM encompasses three wars imposed by the “Integrator”. Three battles were unleashed to eliminate Armenians, leaving thousands dead, tortured, and many POWs still illegally held in Azerbaijani prisons. Add to that the massacres and forced displacement of all Armenians living in Azerbaijan in 1988-1991.

Has anybody ever asked why Azerbaijan has no " integrated” Armenians? How many integrated Armenians has anyone met in Baku, Sumgait, Kirovabad or Nakhijevan? Not only Armenians but even the graves of their dead have been harassed – demolished and erased. The destruction of thousands of cross-stones in Nakhijevan's medieval cemetery proves that. The deliberate and planned destruction of cemeteries and churches in the territories Azerbaijan currently controls speak for themselves. Any Armenian trace is being erased. It is part of the creeping genocide in action.

True, we are talking about providing the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh as one of the critical elements of the ongoing negotiations. So far, though, there are no signs that Azerbaijan is ready to respect these very fundamental human rights. The conflict can not have an enduring and just solution by such means.

Enduring peace is equivalent to conciliatory peace and not punitive, which has historically proven to be short-term. Humiliation, subjugation and ethnic cleansing merely postpone the vicious cycle of violence. Azerbaijan has juxtaposed its perilous “quest for domination” (power to coerce and destruction) against the Armenian side’s understandable “quest for security”.

Heating will become a major issue with only a few weeks of summer left.

Azerbaijan is not ensuring its security interests by attempting to ethnically cleanse Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, occupying territories of the Republic of Armenia and making further territorial claims against the sovereignty of Armenia.

This attempt of self-aggrandisement and self-extension to the detriment of Armenia will enmesh the Caucasus region into long-term instability and catastrophe with very unpredictable results. This is not in the interest of any major international player.

Azerbaijan objects to any international humanitarian assistance to be delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh. For Azerbaijan, statements demanding the opening of the Lachin Corridor ring hollow: background noise as it proceeds undeterred and with impunity to employ measures of obscene inhumanity to subjugate the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan forcefully, expel them from their native homeland, or destroy them wholesale.

The evidence is overwhelmingly clear: the ongoing blockade of Artsakh and intentional disruption of vital infrastructure by Azerbaijan, as well as the regular and consistent armed attacks against the Artsakh Armenians, are specifically engineered to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh of its indigenous Armenians through physical and psychological intimidation and unbearable, indeed inhumane, living conditions.

Please do not be hoodwinked: Azerbaijan’s rhetoric of “integration” is actually one of abject subjugation. In this reality, it is absurd to demand that a victim of a targeted and total blockade—to boot, a malnourished and starving victim—negotiate tete-a-tete with its very torturer without any international mechanism, international presence or international guarantees.

Realpolitik in an international context is about states pursuing their interests. Most of the time, morality and human rights outside their nations are seen in the context of their national interests.

Energy is important. How about responsibility? The Responsibility to Protect – R2P- is an international norm that seeks to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. Indifference to the fate of others, under the pretence of neutrality, is an obsolete idea.

Moreover, it is a short-sighted and immoral approach. When profit and power have driven policies at the cost of the most fundamental and preached values, the result has always been more instability, destruction, and lives lost.

By playing a deaf ear to the creeping genocide unfolding before your eyes, those who have leverage on Azerbaijan, but prefer negligence instead, may become silent participants and enablers of the green light to new crimes against humanity.

Resolute and tangible steps must be taken as soon as possible. Every hour the situation is becoming untenable and explosive.

Global decision-makers, collectively and individually, face the moral problem of choosing first the value that deserves protection by all means – the right to life, which guarantees it offers values like liberty, justice and peace. Energy infatuation will dissipate in time; moral stain most probably will not. Liberal humanitarianism still has a chance.

For our people, any hope for stability and security demands, first of all, human survival. Open and unhindered access through the Lachin Corridor is that guarantee of human survival.

Tigran Mkrtchyan
Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the Republic of Greece, Cyprus and Albania

Architect: Baku vandalizing Karabakh monastery under the guise of renovating it

Kajoyan Gevork
PanArmenian, Armenia
July 27 2023

July 27, 2023 – 10:26 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijanis have vandalized another Armenian monastery in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) under the guise of renovating the building, according to Raffi Kortoshyian, deputy director of the Foundation for the Study of Armenian Architecture.

“When the Monastery of Kavak in the village of Hogher, Hadrut region of Artsakh Republic came under the control of the Azerbaijani army in 1992, the vandals destroyed the construction records from 1742 attached to the entrance to the church, and now, in 2023, when the monastery is again under the control of vandals, they are "renovating" the same porch by vandalizing it,” Kortoshyian captioned a photo on Facebook Wednesday, July 26. “In the photos, the record of the entrance of the monastery before its destruction, after its destruction and after the placement of an ugly stone in its place.”

Satellite images published by the Caucasus Heritage Watch in June revealed that Azerbaijanis has destroyed the Halevor Bridge, built in the 19th century, in Artsakh’s occupied Hadrut.

Concerns about the preservation of cultural sites in Nagorno-Karabakh are made all the more urgent by the Azerbaijani government’s history of systemically destroying indigenous Armenian heritage—acts of both warfare and historical revisionism. The Azerbaijani government has secretly destroyed a striking number of cultural and religious artifacts in the late 20th century. Within Nakhichevan alone, a historically Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani forces destroyed at least 89 medieval churches, 5,840 khachkars (Armenian cross stones) and 22,000 historical tombstones between 1997 and 2006.

Nagorno Karabakh invokes Remedial Secession, asks recognition from UN member states to prevent genocide

Emil Lazarian

 16:44, 27 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 27, ARMENPRESS. The Nagorno-Karabakh parliament has adopted a statement calling on UN member states to recognize its independence based on the principle of Remedial Secession to save it from the threat of genocide by Azerbaijan.

In a statement, the Nagorno-Karabakh lawmakers said that recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence by UN member states would be a reliable guarantee of security for its people and would create conditions conducive to the normal life of the Nagorno Karabakh people in its homeland, as well as ensure stability and long-term peace in the region.

This article will be updated with the full text of the statement.




Armenia’s position regarding the need to address the rights and security issues NK people has not changed. FM Mirzoyan

Markos Nalchajian

 17:48, 27 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 27, ARMENPRESS. The position of the Armenian side regarding the need to address the rights and security issues of the people of Nagorno Karabakh in the context of achieving long-term peace in the region has not changed, ARMENPRESS reports, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan stated in response to the journalists' question whether Yerevan continues to insist that there be an international mechanism for the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue, or was the Russian Foreign Minister talking about the meeting without it.

"We have repeatedly emphasized that these issues should be addressed through the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue, and the effectiveness of this dialogue can only be guaranteed through international involvement and an effective mechanism," the Foreign Minister emphasized.

Ararat Mirzoyan responded to the observation that after the tripartite negotiations between the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in Moscow, it is understood from the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the topic of the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh was linked to the topic of the protection of the rights of national minorities in Armenia.

"The issue of addressing the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh has always been the cornerstone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and during the negotiations with Azerbaijan on July 25 in Moscow and in other capitals before that, the Armenian side raised and continues to raise the issue of rights and security guarantees of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In fact, it is also recorded in the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, where the concepts of Nagorno-Karabakh, Nagorno-Karabakh territory, and contact line with Nagorno-Karabakh are specifically mentioned. The seventh point of the same tripartite declaration also stipulates the return of refugees to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring regions, which has not been implemented by Azerbaijan so far. We are talking here about Hadrut, Shushi, Martakert, Askeran, Shahumyan, Getashen regions.

Of course, the Armenian side also records the rights of Armenians who were forcibly displaced from various settlements of Azerbaijan in 1988-1991, particularly from Baku, Kirovabad, Sumgait and other places, before that also from the Autonomous Republic of Nakhichevan, and the issues raised by them."

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the problem of ensuring the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, the indigenous people of the region, is a completely different issue that cannot be related with anything else. It cannot in any way be related to other citizens, including the rights of "citizens living in the Republic of Armenia" (in the words of the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation), stipulated by international obligations and fully provided by the Republic of Armenia.

"Accordingly, during the last tripartite meeting in Moscow, there was no discussion beyond this logic, and even more so, there was no agreement," Ararat Mirzoyan concluded.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 27-07-23

Emil Lazarian

 17:30, 27 July 2023

YEREVAN, 27 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 27 July, USD exchange rate down by 0.04 drams to 386.36 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 2.08 drams to 430.21 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 4.29 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.38 drams to 500.53 drams.

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

Gold price up by 91.89 drams to 24424.91 drams. Silver price up by 1.39 drams to 306.44 drams.

France calls on Azerbaijan to restore free movement through the Lachin Corridor

Maral Takmazian

 18:12, 27 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 27, ARMENPRESS. France calls on Azerbaijan to fulfill its international obligations, in particular, to fulfill the February 22 decision of the International Court of Justice and to ensure free movement through the Lachin Corridor, ARMENPRESS reports, this was emphasized in the statement issued by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs regarding the blocking of the Lachin corridor.

"France expresses its regret on the occasion of Azerbaijan's persistent blocking of the Lachin Corridor, which contradicts the obligations undertaken under the ceasefire agreement and harms the negotiation process," the statement said.

France expresses its full support for the July 26 statement of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy regarding the humanitarian situation affecting the population of Nagorno Karabakh.

"France calls on Azerbaijan to fulfill its international obligations, in particular, to apply the provisional measures mentioned in the decision of the International Court of February 22, which are mandatory. France calls for the restoration of the free movement of cargo, people and goods in both directions through the Lachin Corridor and the continuous supply of gas and electricity to the population," the Ministry's statement said.

The statement also recalls the message of the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs during his visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan at the end of April: France, together with the EU, remains fully committed to the establishment of a stable and just peace in the region.

On July 26, 361 tons of humanitarian aid was sent from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh in 19 trucks. On July 26, the humanitarian aid reached Kornidzor, the entrance to Lachin Corridor. Armenia requested that the representatives of the Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh accept the cargo and transport it to Nagorno-Karabakh, where a humanitarian crisis has been established as a result of the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor for 8 months.