Category: 2023

AW: The Armenians of Whitinsville receives substantial grant from Mass Humanities

Ara Felekian
 Guest Contributor Community News, Diaspora 0

WHITINSVILLE, Mass.—The Armenians of Whitinsville project is one of 35 humanities and arts organizations in Massachusetts to be awarded a grant from the Mass Humanities Council. The $1.2 million awarded in total to these 35 organizations represents the single largest grant line in the history of Mass Humanities. Awards ranged from $16,000 to $40,000 for organizations with budgets of $500K or less; the Armenians of Whitinsville project received $40,000. The grants were funded to Mass Humanities from the Mass Cultural Council and are part of Massachusetts’ multi-billion dollar pandemic recovery spending plan.

The Armenians of Whitinsville project was founded during the pandemic and is dedicated to celebrating this early Armenian American community’s post-genocide survival after more than a century. Central to the project’s vision is a website, which serves as a modern Houshamadyan of Armenian American life over the generations in a diaspora community founded at the end of the 19th century. Collections on the website capture the families, work, church and school memories that shaped the lives of many generations, with photographs, memory objects, recordings, documents and recipes. Sharing these collections illustrates how Armenians became an integral part of this Massachusetts community, helping it to learn and grow with a spirit of service to others. Putting the website and its contents together has been a grassroots effort run by volunteers. The Armenians of Whitinsville project is looking forward to using the grant’s funding to contract the consulting help needed to strengthen the website’s infrastructure and expand the project’s visibility through social media and events.  

Research conducted by the project team has already surfaced some discoveries of historical significance, including a letter written by a missionary in Marash to a member of the town’s founding family detailing her eyewitness testimony of the massacres there in the 1890s. At the time when Arthur Fletcher Whitin received this letter from Clara Hamlin Lee in 1896, there were already approximately 100 Armenian men working at his textile machinery factory, and the earliest of the Armenian families were settling in town.  

Volunteers for the project are working with families to help them put together their family histories and collections. This has included translating and subtitling recordings done in the 1970s and 1980s to broaden the reach of these Genocide survivors’ life experiences to viewers unfamiliar with their native Western Armenian dialect. The project’s founders believe that other concentrated ethnic communities, especially those who emigrated because of trauma, will learn from this project the importance of preserving their histories for generations to come.  

Additionally, the Armenians of Whitinsville project is currently completing its work on a 2022 Expanding Massachusetts Stories grant from Mass Humanities to conduct new oral history recordings among Armenians with Whitinsville roots. That work, which complements the historical recordings the project has translated and posted, has been done with guidance from the University of Southern California Institute for Armenian Studies.  

Anyone with an interest in the Armenian diaspora or in post-genocide survival can learn by exploring the collections on the website. The project invites anyone with Armenian ancestors who can trace their American journey to Whitinsville to reach out to the team about building their own collection at [email protected].




Haigazian University conference on Transitions and Transformations in the Armenian Space: 1900-2020

Arbi Tashjian
 Guest Contributor Diaspora 0

“Transitions and Transformations in the Armenian Space: 1900-2020″ Conference, Haigazian University, Beirut, June 27-29, 2023

BEIRUT—The Armenian Diaspora Research Center (ADRC) at Haigazian University organized the second conference on “Transitions and Transformations in the Armenian Space: 1900-2020,” held from June 27-29, in collaboration with the Khatchadur Apovian State Pedagogical University in Armenia (SPUA).

In his opening remarks, ADRC director Dr. Antranik Dakessian welcomed the audience and noted that the conference “is a call to the researchers in the diverse fields of Armenian Studies to observe and discuss anew the last 120 years of the Armenians from the perspective of the proclamation of the republics of Armenia and Artsakh.” Dr. Dakessian called on the researchers to suggest roadmaps from the standpoint of the thirty years of Armenian statehood in order for the Armenians to follow a new path.

Due to the illegal Azeri blockade, Elina Mekhitarian from Artsakh could not join the conference in person. Nonetheless, she sent a short message to the conferees stating that the Azeri violation of basic human rights is intended to force the indigenous Artsakh Armenians to desert their homeland. “…the 1988 Artsakh self-determination struggle and the victory of the first Artsakh War brought back Armenian pride. However, we all lost the 2020 war,” stated Mekhitarian. “The Diaspora Armenians who were the victims of the Genocide more than anyone else live and understand the pain of the loss of land.” Mekhitarian called on Armenians to eradicate “complacency, indifference otherwise we will reach a stage of no return. The danger of losing Armenian statehood and of the annihilation of the Armenians forces us to act without any delay. Artsakh is the deterring factor; it is the first domino to fall. I call you, to salvage Artsakh.”

In the salutary message of the Rector of SPUA, Professor Serpuhi Kevorkian (read by Dr. Edgar Hivhannissian), the Rector noted that the topics raised not only academic interests but proposed practical resolutions to basic issues concerning the Armenian church, as well as to issues related to Armenian socio-political institutions, Armenian culture, identity, world perception, Armenian Genocide and Armenian statehood. The message went on to say that the study and assessment of these topics are both modern and important and expressed the hope that such a discussion will enable us to be better prepared for the coming transformations.

In his lecture entitled “The periods of Armenian transformations,” guest speaker Professor Khatchadur Stepanyan divided the Armenian transformation process into three different periods and presented the social, linguistic, cultural, and other aspects of these transformations.

In his closing comments, Haigazian University President Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian asked, “Whose task is it to crystallize such a strategy in both our conditions – statelessness and having a state – a strategy that would contribute to Armenian safety and security, national, educational, military, linguistic, ethical, religious, economic, cyber, environmental and other fields?” Rev. Dr. Haidostian noted that “in the broad span of the Diaspora it is essential that these strategies involve a historic, scientific, political, diplomatic and cultural depth and go far beyond Yerevan and regulate Armenian existence.”

During the course of the conference, there were 17 presentations. These included Prof. Vatchagan Krikorian’s analysis of transformations of 20th century Armenian prose; Dr. Hagop Cholakian’s in-depth analysis of the transformations of the Western Armenian language; Prof. Claude Armen Mutafian narrated the transformation of the Carpathian Armenians since the 1900s; Prof. Vahram Shemmassian (via internet) discussed the transformations of the Musa Dagh Armenians, while Dr. Lusié Sahagian discussed those of the Hamshen Armenians; Dr. Garen Megerdchian and Dr. Ani Fishenkjian highlighted the transformation of the Iranian and Syrian Armenian communities, respectively; Rev. Dr. Haidostian focused on the transformation of the Armenian Evangelical Church; Dr. Hratch Chilingirian discussed the institutional secularization of the Armenian church; Dr. Raffi Cherchian examined transformations in Armenian church architecture; and Dr. Hovhannissian highlighted the transformation of the Catholicosate of Cilicia between the Genocide and the 1930s.

Additionally, Dr. Lilit Hovhannissian spoke about the transformation of the interpretations of the diplomatic history of the Armenian cause between 1878 and 1923 in Soviet and post-Soviet Armenian historiography; Vilen Mnatsakanian detailed the transformation of economic policy during state-planned and market-run economies; Dr. Khatchig Mouradian delved deeply into the transformation of genocide education from past to present and presented its future prospects; Dr. Hagop Tatevossian analyzed the socio-psychological transformation of patriotism and its expressions; Harout Sassounian discussed the transformations of Diaspora representations and the project of a Diaspora parliament; and Dikran Yegavian examined the transformations of the relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Diaspora.

During the second day of the conference, Professor Mutafian’s book Jérusalem et les Arméniens jusqu’à la conquête ottomane (1516) was launched. Dr. Dakessian highlighted the scholar’s legacy while Prof. Mutafian highlighted the main aspects of the Jerusalem Armenians until the Ottoman conquest in 1516.

Sessions were moderated by Drs. Vatchagan Krikorian and Armen Urneshlian, Mouradian, Dakessian, Hovhannissian, Stepanyan, and Yeghia Tashjian.

Each panelist was given 30 minutes to thoroughly examine their subject, analyze it and offer propositions. There were significant parallels in the conference between the Musa Dagh, Hamshen, Carpathian Armenian communities, as well as the Armenian communities of Iran and Syria. The papers on literature and language were of a panoramic nature; some papers had institutional perspectives, particularly those of the church.

“Transitions and Transformations in the Armenian Space: 1900-2020″ Conference, Haigazian University, Beirut, June 27-29, 2023

Others that dealt with patriotism, historical interpretation and architecture were of a conceptual nature. An important novelty was papers that focused on economy and psychology, which added further perspectives to the conference and made it more inclusive. The papers on the governance-representation and cooperation of the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora triad and their visionary forecasts were of great importance.

This was an unprecedented conference, where the purpose was to focus on the last 120 years of Armenian life, to analyze it, examine current problems and come up with recommendations for the future, always keeping in mind the fact of Armenian statehood.

Misunderstandings and misinterpretations surfaced between Diaspora and Armenia scholars, as well as the conflict between the young and old generations’ approaches, particularly about the running and governance of the Armenian space, the imperative to plan for the future and come up with resolutions. Nonetheless, the conference distinguished itself by its free, friendly, academic atmosphere, where diverse perceptions, approaches, generations and disciplines were exhibited. It was another step towards disseminating awareness and involving a broader audience.

This was the second conference of its kind; the previous conference was held in Yerevan at SPUA on June 29-30, 2022. This second conference made clearer the scope of research in the Armenian space and will become the springboard to the third conference, which will be more focus-oriented and should deal with procedural matters, issues of applicability and policy adoptions for a better Armenian future.




Rally in Artsakh demands action to end humanitarian blockade

Tatoyan Vazgen
 Siranush Sargsyan News 2

First day of the nationwide movement for Artsakh, Renaissance Square, Stepanakert, July 14, 2023 (Photo: Siranush Sargsyan)

STEPANAKERT, Artsakh—On Friday, July 14, thousands gathered for a rally in Renaissance Square in Stepanakert, demanding the unblocking of the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor.

The seven-month blockade of Artsakh, including a total blockade since June 15, has brought its population of 120,000 to the brink of disaster.

In his speech during the rally, Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan addressed the international community, calling on all global actors to raise the alarm for the existential threats hanging over our people.

“Being under siege and completely cut off from humanitarian access since June 15, our people are facing undeniable threats of malnutrition, hunger, ethnic cleansing openly carried out by Azerbaijan, forced subjugation and genocide,” he stated.

“How can I look into the eyes of thousands of people standing in queues, waiting for hours to obtain a handful of sugar or oil? And, ultimately, how can I face the eyes of a bereaved mother who sacrificed her most precious possession for this land? She looks at me with terrified eyes, fearing that she will lose the last remaining sanctity in her life, her son’s grave. We cannot allow Artsakh to become an altar where the lives of our compatriots and children are sacrificed,” he continued.

Pictured l. to r.: Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan, a mother of three in Artsakh Mariam Abrahamyan, a deputy of the ICRC Stepanakert office and Eteri Musayelyan, communication officer at the ICRC Artsakh office (Photo: Siranush Sargsyan)

State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan said that we will never make our children’s lives a bargaining chip, emphasizing that any concession comes at their cost.

Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, members of the executive and legislative bodies, and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan also participated in the rally. 

The protesters, accompanied by State Minister Nersisyan and Human Rights Defender Stepanyan, marched from Renaissance Square to the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In their speeches, both Nersisyan and Stepanyan expressed appreciation for the work done by the ICRC but emphasized that it is insufficient. Stepanyan said that the Red Cross should raise the alarm and provide daily updates to international actors about the catastrophic situation in Artsakh.

Eteri Musayelyan, communication officer at the ICRC Artsakh office, mentioned that the protest requests will be forwarded to the organization’s offices in Yerevan and Geneva.

A young girl from Artsakh desperately chants, “Haiastan,” with her fellow demonstrators at the Russian peacekeepers’ base (Photo: Siranush Sargsyan) Ashot Sargsyan, left, during the march (Photo: Siranush Sargsyan)

Demonstrators marched from the Red Cross office to the base of the Russian peacekeeping mission. Ashot Sargsyan, 65, said that their objective is to convey to the Russian peacekeepers and other international actors that Artsakh cannot become a part of Azerbaijan. “Azeris have demonstrated through their actions that this is an impossibility, and the only outcome awaiting us is ethnic cleansing within Azerbaijan,” Sargsyan told the Weekly. 

“When thousands of people, including disabled women, men and children, gather and march for kilometers under the scorching sun, the resilience and energy displayed cannot go unrewarded. We are confident that this struggle will ultimately succeed,” he added.

Alyona Grigoryan, a 36-year-old mother of two children and expecting her third child, emphasized that her pregnancy did not prevent her from joining the march. “There are thousands of Artsakh mothers in my position, and we must struggle first of all for women in similar circumstances, because this country needs a healthy generation,” she said.

Alyona Grigoryan with her husband David (Photo: Siranush Sargsyan)

“Like all the people of Artsakh, I am fighting for my rights, the rights of my children and the rights of my unborn child. My hope lies with our soldiers standing at the border and my fellow countrymen. However, we have demands from the Russian peacekeepers to fulfill their obligations as stipulated in the 2020 tripartite agreement,” she continued. 

With a mixture of pain and determination, she added, “Nothing is lost as long as we continue to breathe. We must keep fighting.”

After reaching the base of the Russian peacekeepers, the rally participants conducted a peaceful demonstration, demanding the lifting of the blockade. During his speech, the State Minister referred to the points outlined in the 2020 tripartite declaration and emphasized that the consequences of its failure should not be borne by the people of Artsakh. Subsequently, Nersisyan, together with the Minister of Internal Affairs Karen Sargsyan and the head of the “Azat Hayrenik-UCA” faction of the National Assembly Artur Harutyunyan, held a meeting with the commander of the Russian peacekeeping force Alexander Lentsov.

Following the meeting, Nersisyan announced that an agreement was reached with the peacekeeping troops’ commander to provide daily reports on the situation in Artsakh to Russia. According to the Nersisyan, the command of the peacekeeping mission acknowledges the violation of the provisions stated in the 2020 tripartite declaration.

Artsakh President Harutyunyan has sent letters to the heads of all UN Security Council member countries, the UN Secretary-General, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the President of the European Council, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, as well as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. The purpose of these letters is to demand urgent measures in accordance with international obligations and effective steps to halt the illegal and complete blockade of Artsakh conducted by Azerbaijan. Additionally, they call for an end to systematic mass crimes and terrorism against the people of Artsakh.

In the letters, Harutyunyan underlined the disastrous measures implemented by Azerbaijan over the course of the past seven months. “I, as the President of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), on behalf of the government and people of Artsakh, urgently alert the international community to the security and humanitarian crisis that is rapidly unfolding and transforming into a catastrophe,” Harutyunyan said. 

People from the regions of Artsakh were unable to join their fellow compatriots in Stepanakert’s Renaissance Square due to fuel shortages, yet they are united in the pan-popular movement.

At the end of the Friday rally, dozens of tents were set up in Renaissance Square in Stepanakert to accommodate the participants of the indefinite movement. According to one of the participants, these tents serve as civilian trenches, emphasizing that if our soldiers are guarding the border, we also must fight from here. 

The second day of the movement for Artsakh was held in the square on July 15, where the people continued to express their demands and to demonstrate their unstoppable spirit.

Nationwide movement for Artsakh, Renaissance Square, Stepanakert, July 15, 2023 (Photo: Siranush Sargsyan)

  •  Bio
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Siranush Sargsyan is a freelance journalist based in Stepanakert.


AW: National Funeral Service to be held for Prof. Richard Hovannisian

Emil Lazarian
 Guest Contributor Obituaries 0

Professor Richard G. Hovannisian, a paragon of enlightenment and learning from one century into another, passed away on July 10, 2023, at UCLA Hospital, on the same university campus where he taught for 60 years.

The community wake will take place on Wednesday, July 19 at 7 p.m. at Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church, located at 900 W. Lincoln Ave., Montebello, CA 90640.

The national funeral service will be held on Saturday, July 22 at 11 a.m. at Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, located at 2226 Ventura Ave., Fresno, CA 93721.

Prof. Hovannisian is survived by:

Son, Raffi and Armenouhi Hovannisian, children and grandson
Son, Armen and Elizabeth Hovannisian, children and granddaughter
Daughter, Ani and Armenio Kevorkian and children
Son, Garo and Arsineh Hovannisian and children
Sister-in-law, Nazik Kotcholosian Messerlian and family
Brothers John, Ralph and Vernon Hovannisian families (Fresno-Visalia)
In-laws, Takouhi Khatchikian family
Zabel Aranosian family
Seda Artounians family
Zohrab Kevorkian family

And all relatives, friends, colleagues and students.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Orran (Center for Underprivileged Children in Armenia), c/o 2217 Observatory Ave., Los Angeles CA 90027 or the Richard G. Hovannisian Scholarship Fund/Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School, c/o 101 Groverton Place, Los Angeles, CA 90077.

RFE/RL Armenian Service – 07/17/2023

Bedik Zaminian 
                                        Monday, 


Karabakh Leader Joins Protests Against Azeri Blockade


Nagorno Karabakh - The Karabakh president, Arayik Harutiunian, joins a sit-in in 
the center of Stepanakert, July17, 2023.


Nagorno-Karabakh’s president announced late on Monday that he is joining ongoing 
protests in Stepanakert against Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor in 
a bid to draw greater international attention to the worsening plight of the 
region’s ethnic Armenian population.

Arayik Harutiunian said that the Karabakh Armenians are not only struggling with 
severe shortages of food, medicine and energy but also facing a “real threat of 
physical annihilation.” He said he expects Armenia, Russia, the United States 
and the European Union to back up their calls for the lifting of the blockade 
with concrete actions and to uphold Karabakh’s right to self-determination.

“If the plight of the people of Artsakh does not return within a week to a more 
or less stable and normal state with international intervention, then we will 
resort to tougher actions both in Artsakh and outside of it,” he warned before 
joining a nonstop sit-in staged in Stepanakert’s central square.

Thousands of people rallied there on Friday at the start of the daily protests 
organized by Karabakh’s leadership. They marched to the headquarters of the 
Russian peacekeeping contingent to demand that it unblock Karabakh’s only land 
link with Armenia and the outside world.

Azerbaijan further tightened the blockade on June 15, banning all relief 
supplies to Karabakh carried out by the peacekeepers as well as the 
International Committee of the Red Cross. This only aggravated the shortages of 
food, medicine, fuel and other essential items experienced by the local 
population.

The Russian Foreign Ministry “strongly” urged the Azerbaijani side on Saturday 
to lift the blockade and unblock Armenia’s supplies of electricity and natural 
gas to Karabakh. Baku rejected the call and criticized Moscow in unusually 
strong terms.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko deplored Baku’s “incorrect” 
reaction during a meeting with the Azerbaijani ambassador in Moscow on Monday. 
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Rudenko insisted on “the need for 
complete and immediate unblocking of the Lachin corridor” and Baku’s compliance 
with relevant provisions of the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire.

The U.S. and the EU likewise renewed last week their calls for the resumption of 
traffic through the corridor. The issue was on the agenda of Saturday’s talks 
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders hosted by the EU head, Charles 
Michel, in Brussels. Still, an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty was apparently 
the main focus of the summit.

Rudenko reiterated a Russian proposal to organized more talks on the treaty 
which Moscow says must put in place security guarantees for Karabakh’s 
population.




Court Upholds Arrest Of Armenian Opposition Leader

        • Naira Bulghadarian

Armenia - Opposition leader Armen Ashotian speaks at a news conference in 
Yerevan.


An Armenian appeals court on Monday refused to order the release of Armen 
Ashotian, a prominent opposition politician arrested last month on what he and 
his Republican Party (HHK) call politically motivated charges.

Ashotian was charged last November with abuse of power and money laundering in 
connection with his past chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of Yerevan’s 
Mkhitar Heratsi Medical University. The accusations, strongly denied by him, 
stem from a number of property acquisitions carried out by the university 
administration on his alleged orders. Armenia’s Investigative Committee claims 
that those deals caused the state-run university substantial financial damage.

The law-enforcement agency also charged Ashotian with “waste” of public funds 
following his arrest on June 15 which it attributed to his alleged attempts to 
obstruct its investigation. The oppositionist, who is the HHK’s deputy’s 
chairman, denies such interference.

The opposition party headed by former President Serzh Sarkisian has condemned 
Ashotian’s arrest as government retribution for his harsh criticism of Prime 
Minister Nikol Pashinian’s policy on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Pashinian’s 
government and political allies insist that he did not order the investigators 
and courts to prosecute his vocal critic.

Ashotian’s lawyer, Tigran Atanesian, asked the Anti-Corruption Court of Appeals 
to overturn a lower court’s decision to allow investigators to hold his client 
in pre-trial detention for at least two months. One of the high court’s judges, 
Artur Nahapetian, rejected the appeal.

Atanesian said the decision was predictable because Nahapetian is a “close 
friend” of Argishti Kyaramian, the head of the Investigative Committee and one 
of Pashinian’s trusted lieutenants.

Armenia - Republican Party (HHK) activists protest against HHK deputy chairman 
Armen Ashotian's arrest, Yerevan, July 4, 2023.

Ashotian, 47, was an influential figure during Sarkisian’s rule, serving as 
education minister from 2012-2016 and subsequently heading the Armenian 
parliament’s foreign relations committee.

Ashotian’s supporters have also condemned the authorities for sending to him to 
Yerevan’s Nubarashen prison whose inmates include individuals convicted of 
murders and other violent crimes. The Investigative Committee has declined to 
clarify why he is not held in two other prisons reserved for former government 
and security officials.

Vartan Harutiunian, a veteran human rights activist, suggested that the 
committee’s choice of the prison is an additional punishment for Ashotian. “Had 
he been kept in another prison he would have found himself in a very different 
human environment,” Harutiunian said, pointing to the presence of many violent 
criminals at Nubarashen.

The authorities have also banned Ashotian’s family members from visiting him in 
the prison. In addition, unlike many other criminal suspects and convicts, the 
former minister is not allowed to talk to them by phone.




Azerbaijan Rejects Russian Calls To Reopen Lachin Corridor

        • Heghine Buniatian
        • Astghik Bedevian

A view of an Azerbaijani checkpoint set up at the entry of the Lachin corridor, 
by a bridge across the Hakari river, May 2, 2023.


Azerbaijan has rejected Russia’s latest calls for an immediate end to its 
seven-month blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh’s only land link with Armenia which has 
led to a serious humanitarian crisis in the Armenian-populated region.

In a weekend statement, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry defended Baku’s 
decisions to set up a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor and block relief 
supplies carried out through it by Russian peacekeepers. It accused the 
peacekeepers of not preventing Armenia’s alleged shipments of

weapons and military personnel to Karabakh and not ensuring the “withdrawal of 
the remnants of Armenian military units from Azerbaijani territory.”

“Armenian army units on the contrary receive assistance under the guidance of 
the Russian peacekeeping mission,” it said without offering proof of the 
allegations strongly denied by Armenia.

Baku reacted to Saturday’s statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry expressing 
serious concern over the worsening shortages of food, medicine and other 
essential supplies in Karabakh and warning of even more “dramatic” consequences 
of the blockade.

The Azerbaijani side dismissed those concerns, saying that Karabakh can be 
supplied with basic necessities from Azerbaijan proper and the town of Aghdam in 
particular. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev apparently insisted on this idea 
during his latest trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian and European Union head Charles Michel held in Brussels on Saturday.

Michel said after the talks that as well as urging Aliyev to reopen the Lachin 
corridor he “noted Azerbaijan’s willingness to equally provide humanitarian 
supplies via Aghdam.”

“I see both options as important and encouraged the humanitarian deliveries from 
both sides to ensure the needs of the population are met,” he said.

Karabakh’s leadership rejected the Aghdam option earlier, saying that it is a 
ploy designed to facilitate the restoration of Azerbaijani control over Karabakh.

Michel’s reference to it was constructed by some Armenian analysts and critics 
of Pashinian’s government as a serious setback for the Armenian side. One of 
those analysts, Tigran Grigorian, on Monday decried “the inactivity and 
incompetence of the Armenian diplomacy.”

“By including such a point in the statement [by Michel] and putting that point 
on the same plane with the issue of unblocking the Lachin corridor … Azerbaijan 
will be able to nullify the previous decisions of various international 
structures -- and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in particular -- 
regarding the unblocking of the Lachin corridor,” Grigorian told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian Service.

The ICJ court ordered Azerbaijan in February to “take all measures at its 
disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo along the 
Lachin Corridor in both directions.” The European Court of Human Rights issued a 
similar order in December.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry pointed to those injunctions on Monday. “Other 
international actors should follow this line,” the ministry spokeswoman, Ani 
Badalian, said in a Twitter post that may have been a veiled rebuke of Michel.


Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

The California Courier Online, July 20, 2023

Maral Takmazian
The California
Courier Online, July 20, 2023

 

1-         Pashinyan is
Incorrect that Armenia
had

            Agreed to
Exchange Meghri for Artsakh

            By Harut
Sassounian

            Publisher,
The California
Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

2-         Preeminent
Historian, Scholar Prof.
Richard Hovannisian
Passes Away

3-         At Haigazian
Conference, International Scholarly Community Discusses             'Transitions and Transformations in the Armenian Space:
1900-2020'

4-         CA Senate
Unanimously Adopts Artsakh Resolution

************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

1-         Pashinyan is
Incorrect that Armenia
had

            Agreed to
Exchange Meghri for Artsakh

            By Harut
Sassounian

            Publisher,
The California
Courier

            www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

           

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attempted last month to
distract attention from Armenia’s
current tragic situation by blaming former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian.
This is a routine ploy used by Armenia’s
current leader to cover up his defeat in the Artsakh War and failure to protect
the country’s national interests.

This does not mean that the former leaders were faultless.
They made plenty of mistakes and I repeatedly criticized them at the time while
sitting in front of them in the Presidential Palace. Those who describe my
criticisms of Pashinyan as defending the former leaders are totally mistaken.

Here is what Pashinyan said last month while testifying in a
parliamentary committee investigating the circumstances of the 2020 Artsakh
War: “On June 2, 2000, Aravot newspaper [in Armenia] published the following
article: Vartan Oskanian, the Foreign Minister, on April 25, 2000, during his
meeting with the Armenian community of Glendale [California], described by him
as ‘very private, unofficial remarks,’ announced the following: ‘Meghri is
being given to Azerbaijan, Lachin [Corridor] along with Artsakh is being given
to Armenia. Through Meghri, Armenia
is being given a sovereign road with which Armenia
would be able to have a sovereign contact to enter Iran.’” Pashinyan added: “His
[Oskanian’s] remarks were published in The California Courier weekly newspaper
[in 2000] which also quoted Oskanian's words that the above mentioned proposal
has ‘some logic and needs serious consideration….’”

Since Prime Minister Pashinyan was referring to an editorial
I wrote in The California Courier on May 25, 2000, a few lines of which were
reprinted in Aravot, I would like to set the record straight by quoting from
what I wrote 23 years ago, titled: “Exchanging Meghri with Karabagh: Good Idea
or Political Suicide?”

 

What Pashinyan is referring to was a 1992 proposal by Paul
Goble, Special Adviser to Secretary of State James Baker, to exchange Meghri,
the strategically important Southern Region of Armenia, for Artsakh. This idea
was rejected by then Pres. Robert Kocharyan and subsequently by Azerbaijan’s
then Pres. Heydar Aliyev.

Pashinyan is partially distorting what Oskanian said in Glendale. In my editorial
of 2000, I quoted Oskanian as saying: “There are many rumors about the
resolution of the Karabagh conflict. There are criticisms alleging that the
Armenian authorities want to give Meghri to Azerbaijan. In fact, there is a
small degree of truth in those rumors. Such a proposal on the exchange of territories
has been made to the Armenian
Republic, to the
President of Armenia. But, such a proposal was rejected. Armenia did not
accept it as a basis of negotiations.” Oskanian repeatedly stated that this
proposal was rejected by the Armenian government. The proof is that Meghri was
not exchanged for Artsakh.

However, Oskanian continued his remarks, raising questions
about his assertion that Armenia
rejected the Goble Plan. Pashinyan is now capitalizing on Oskanian’s
supplementary statement.

Here is what Oskanian said in his additional statement which
I reported in my 2000 article: “But let me say the following: I don’t want you
to misunderstand me. It’s been rejected, it will be rejected and it’s not a
plan that can be realized. Nevertheless, this is such a proposal that is worth
thinking about. It’s not happening. It won’t happen, but when people say it’s
treasonous to even think about it, that’s what I would like to respond to:
Let’s think a little deeply about it. This proposal has certain logic. To simply
dismiss such a proposal on a purely emotional basis is wrong. We have done
that. We must seriously analyze it. I wonder, maybe we are wrong in saying no.
What are we afraid of? Why are we not analyzing it? Is it a taboo? Let’s make a
checklist. Let’s analyze it in newspapers. It has pluses and minuses. What I’m
calling for is that it’s possible to have a very healthy debate and a dialog on
this issue, because this proposal is worth thinking about.”

I don’t know why Oskanian, after repeatedly rejecting the
exchange proposal, went on to say that it is “worth thinking about.” In my
opinion, there was nothing to think about. It was clearly an unacceptable
proposal, suggesting that Armenia
exchange one Armenian territory, Artsakh, for another Armenian territory,
Meghri. Oskanian’s speculative words gave Pashinyan a reason to blame him for
even considering such a bad idea.

I concluded my editorial in 2000 with the following words: “Armenia has
nothing to gain and much to lose from such an exchange.” I am still of the same
opinion.

Finally, for those who think that since Armenia lost most of Artsakh in the 2020 War,
maybe Oskanian was correct about considering the exchange of Meghri for
Artsakh, I must say that Azerbaijan’s
insatiable appetite is not satisfied by the conquest of Artsakh or even Meghri.
Azerbaijan’s imperialistic
ambitions extend to the takeover of the entirety of Armenia. The more Armenia’s leaders make territorial concessions,
the more Azerbaijan
will be encouraged to demand further Armenian territories. The only solution is
to arm Armenia’s
military with modern lethal weapons and defend its territory from further Azeri
incursions.

 

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2-         Preeminent Historian, Scholar Prof. Richard Hovannisian
Passes Away

By Prof. Bedross Der Matossian

 

Professor Richard G. Hovannisian, a paragon of enlightenment
and learning from one century into another, passed away on July 10, 2023, at
UCLA Hospital, on the same university campus where he taught for 60 years.

With his passing, the Society for Armenian Studies, the
academic world, the field of Armenian Studies, and the Armenian nation lost one
of the most prominent icons of the modern period.

Hovannisian was a monumental figure in the field of Armenian
Studies. Considered as the Dean of Modern Armenian History, he established the
field of Modern Armenian History in the Western Hemisphere.
He supported the establishment of some of the most important chairs in Armenian
Studies in the United States.
Hovannisian was the child of Genocide survivors. His father, Kaspar Gavroian,
was born in in the village
of Bazmashen near
Kharpert in 1901. Unlike others, he survived the Genocide and arrived in the U.S. He changed
his last name from Gavroian to Hovannisian after his father Hovannes. In 1928
Kaspar married Siroon Nalbandian, the child of Genocide survivors. They had
four sons: John, Ralph, Richard, and Vernon.
Richard was born in Tulare,
California, on November 9, 1932.
Being the son of Genocide survivors played an important role in his academic
path. In 1957, he married Dr. Vartiter Kotcholosian in Fresno and had four children: Raffi, Armen,
Ani, and Garo. Raffi would become the first Minister of Foreign Affairs
(1991-1992) of the Modern Republic of Armenia.

Hovannisian began his academic life in 1954 by earning a
B.A. in History, followed by an M.A. in History from the University
of California, Berkley. In 1966, he earned his Ph.D. from
the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA). His dissertation was published in 1967
with the title Armenia on
the Road to Independence
which was the precursor to the four-volume magnum opus The Republic of Armenia.
Hovannisian played an important role in establishing the teaching of Armenian
history at UCLA. In 1987, he became the first holder of the Armenian Education
Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA, which after his retirement
was named in his honor as the Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern
Armenian History, with Prof. Sebouh Aslanian as its first incumbent.

Hovannisian was a Guggenheim Fellow and received numerous
prestigious national and international awards for his service to the field and
civic activities. He served on the Board of Directors of multiple national and
international educational institutions and was a member of the Armenian
National Academy of Sciences. After finishing his four-volume The Republic of
Armenia, he dedicated his research and career to battling the denial of
Armenian Genocide, resurrecting the history of Armenian towns and villages of
the Armenian Provinces of the Ottoman Empire,
and writing textbooks on modern Armenian history. Although not a scholar of
Armenian Genocide, he has contributed more to the discipline than many others
in the field. He edited multiple volumes on different facets of the Armenian
Genocide, including historical, literary, and artistic perspectives.
Hovannisian also spearheaded a monumental project to preserve the eyewitness
accounts of the Armenian Genocide survivors.

In the 1970s, he launched the Armenian Genocide oral history
project. He and his students interviewed more than 1,000 Armenian Genocide
survivors in California.
In 2018, Hovannisian donated the collection to the USC Shoah Foundation’s
Visual History Archive to be available to scholars around the world. He
single-handedly edited and published 15 volumes with Mazda Press as part of the
UCLA Armenian History & Culture Series. The 15 volumes covered the history
of Armenians in Van/Vaspourakan, Cilicia (with Simon Payaslian),
Sivas/Sepastia, Trebizond/Trabzon, Baghesh/Bitlis, Taron/Mush, Smyrna/Izmir,
Kesaria/Kayseri and Cappadocia among other
places. The final book in the series, The Armenians of Persia/Iran, was
published in 2022. Hovannisian’s also edited the two-volume The Armenian People
from Ancient to Modern Times, which is considered a classic Armenian History
textbook.

 Hovannisian came from
a generation that fought against the stifling of Armenian voices within the
fields of Middle Eastern and Ottoman Studies, which had relegated Armenian
Studies to second-class status. He fought for the relevance of Armenian Studies
within these fields and tirelessly fought against the efforts to marginalize
Armenian issues and to deny the Armenian Genocide.

Besides his contribution to the field, Hovannisian also
mentored and educated multiple generations of scholars and thousands of
students. He was a strict mentor who demanded that his students work to reach
their full potential. He wanted to make sure that they would survive and thrive
in the tough terrain of the academic job market.

In his lifetime, Hovannisian was especially influenced by
two people: his wife Vartiter and Simon Vratsian (the last Prime Minister of
the First Republic of Armenia). Vartiter was his life’s partner for more than
half a century. Her dedication to Richard and the field of Armenian Studies
played an important role in shaping who Richard became. Vartiter was an
intellectual companion who read and reviewed every piece that he wrote. She was
also a constant presence at every conference he planned or attended. In the
early 1950s, Vratsian, the author of a major book on the First
Republic, became Hovannisian’s mentor
when he studied Armenian language at the Hamazkayin Nishan Palanjian Jemaran in
Beirut, Lebanon. This influence led
Hovannisian to write the first academic work on the First Republic of Armenia
and created the first step for his academic career. 

In 1974, Hovannisian along with Dickran Kouymjian, Nina
Garsoïan, Avedis Sanjian, and Robert
Thomson spearheaded the project to establish a Society for Armenian Studies
(SAS). Considered as the pillars of Armenian Studies, the main objective of
this group was the development of Armenian Studies as an academic discipline.
With access to very limited resources, this group of scholars was able to
establish the foundations of a Society that would play a dominant role in
developing Armenian Studies in North America
and beyond. From a handful of chairs and programs that supported the initiative
at the time, today Armenian Studies as a discipline has flourished in the United States
with more than thirteen chairs and programs providing their unconditional
support to the Society. Hovannisian was the president of SAS for three terms
(1977, 1991-1992, 2006-2009). During his tenure the Society flourished and was
able to achieve major accomplishments in the field.

In 2019, the Society for Armenian Studies awarded
Hovannisian with the SAS Life Time Achievement Award in recognition and
appreciation for his outstanding service and contribution to the field of
Armenian Studies.

The community wake will take place on Wednesday, July 19 at
7 p.m. at Holy Cross Armenian
Apostolic Church,
located at 900 W. Lincoln Ave.,
Montebello, CA
90640.

The national funeral service will be held on Saturday, July
22 at 11 a.m. at Holy
Trinity Armenian
Apostolic Church,
located at 2226 Ventura Ave.,
Fresno, CA 93721.

Hovannisian was predeceased by his wife, Dr. Vartiter
Kotcholosian. He is survived by: Son, Raffi and Armenouhi Hovannisian, children
and grandson; Son, Armen and Elizabeth Hovannisian, children and granddaughter;
Daughter, Ani and Armenio Kevorkian and children; Son, Garo and Arsineh
Hovannisian and children; Sister-in-law, Nazik Kotcholosian Messerlian and
family; Brothers John, Ralph, and Vernon Hovannisian families (Fresno-Visalia);
In-laws, Takouhi Khatchikian family; Zabel Aranosian family; Seda Artounians
family; Zohrab Kevorkian family; and all relatives, friends, colleagues, and
students.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Orran (Center
for Underprivileged Children in Armenia),
c/o 2217 Observatory Ave.,
Los Angeles CA
90027 or the Richard
G. Hovannisian Scholarship Fund/Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School, c/o 101 Groverton Place, Los Angeles, CA 90077.

 

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3-         At Haigazian Conference,
International Scholarly Community Discusses             'Transitions
and Transformations in the Armenian Space: 1900-2020'

 

During three days between June 27 and 29, the Haigazian
University-based Armenian Diaspora Research Center (ADRC) organized in Beirut,
Lebanon, the second conference on “Transitions and Transformations in the
Armenian Space: 1900-2020” in collaboration with the Khatchadur Apovian State
Pedagogical University in Armenia (SPUA).

ADRC director Prof. Antranik Dakessian welcomed the audience
and noted that the conference “is a call to the researchers in the diverse
fields of Armenian Studies to observe and discuss anew the last 120 years of
the Armenians from the perspective of the proclamation of the republics of Armenia and
Artsakh.”

Due to the illegal Azeri blockade since April 2022, Mrs.
Elina Mekhitarian from Artsakh could not join the conference in person.
Nonetheless, she sent a short message to the conferees stating that the Azeri
violation of basic human rights is intended to force the indigenous Artsakh
Armenians to desert their homeland.

Rector of SPUA, Professor Serpuhi Kevorkian, noted that the
topics raised not only academic interests, but proposed practical resolutions
to basic issues concerning the Armenian Church, as well as to issues related to
Armenian socio-political institutions, Armenian culture, identity, world
perception, Armenian Genocide, and Armenian statehood.

In his lecture, titled “The periods of Armenian
transformations”, the guest speaker of the conference, Professor Khatchadur
Sdepanian, divided the Armenian transformation process into three different
periods and presented the social, linguistic, cultural, կենցաղային, and other aspects of
these transformations.

Haigazian University President, Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian
asked, ‘Whose task is it to crystallize such a strategy in both our conditions,
statelessness and having a state, a strategy that would contribute to Armenian
safety and security, national, educational, military, linguistic, ethical,
religious, economic, cyber, environmental and other fields?”

During the next two days of the conference, June 28 and 29,
17 presentaions were delivered. These included Prof. Vatchagan Krikorian’s
analysis of transformations of 20th century Armenian prose, Prof. Hagop
Cholakian’s in-depth analysis of the transformations of the Western Armenian
language, Prof. Claude Armen Mutafian narrated the transformation of the Carpathian
Armenians since the 1900s, Prof. Vahram Shemmassian (via internet) discussed
the transformations of the Musa Dagh Armenians, while Prof. Lusié Sahagian
discussed those of the Hamshen Armenians, Prof. Garen Megerdchian and Prof. Ani
Fishenkjian respectively highlighted the transformation of the Iranian and
Syrian Armenian communities, Rev. Dr. Haidostian focused on the transformation
of the Armenian Evangelical Church, Dr. Hratch Chilingirian discussed the
institutional secularisation of the Armenian Church, Prof. Raffi Cherchian
examined transformations in Armenian church architecture, Prof. Hovhannissian
highlighted the transformation of the Catholicosate of Cilicia between the
Genocide and the 1930s,

Prof. Lilit Hovhannissian spoke about the transformation of
the interpretations of the diplomatic history of the Armenian Cause between
1878 and 1923 in Soviet and post-Soviet Armenian historiography, Vilen
Mnatsakanian detailed the transformation of economic policy during
state-planned and market-run economies, Prof. Khachig Mouradian made a deep
observation on the transformation of genocide education from past to present
and presented its future prospects, Prof. Hagop Tatevossian analysed the
socio-psychological transformation of patriotism and its expressions, Harut
Sassounian discussed the transformations of Diaspora representations and the
project of a Diaspora parliament, and Dikran Yegavian examined the
transformations of the relations between the Republic of Armenia and the
Diaspora.

During the second day of the conference professor Mutafian’s
book “Jérusalem et les Arméniens jusqu’à la conquête ottomane (1516)” was
launched. Prof. Dakessian highlighted the scholar’s legacy while Prof. Mutafian
highlighted the main aspects of the Jerusalem Armenians until the Ottoman
conquest in 1516.

 

**********************************************************************************************************************************************

4-         CA Senate
Unanimously Adopts Artsakh Resolution

 

SACRAMENTO—The
California State Senate adopted a resolution on July 10 with a vote of 39-0
calling for the protection and security of the Armenian population of Artsakh.
The passage in the Senate follows the March 30 passage of the resolution in the
State Assembly and operates as a unified position by the State of California calling for
the protection and security of the Armenian population of Artsakh.

Senators Anthony Portantino (pictured) and Maria Elena
Durazo made statements on the Senate floor before the resolution was voted on.
The resolution condemns Azerbaijan’s
ongoing blockade of Artsakh and calls upon the United States Federal Government
to use any and all tools to compel Azerbaijan to end the blockade. The
resolution also calls on the federal government to end military assistance to Azerbaijan,
provide humanitarian aid to the people of Artsakh, establish an international
peacekeeping mission to ensure Artsakh’s safety and security, and support
Artsakh’s self-determination.

 

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the editor are encouraged through our e-mail address, .
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Hundreds of European NGOs demand their leaders to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan

Emil Lazarian

 14:36,

YEREVAN, 15 JULY, ARMENPRESS․ More than 470 European NGOs and associations have sent a letter to the leaders of the European Union, urging them to take immediate and effective steps to end the ongoing illegal blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan.

ARMENPRESS reports, the letter is addressed to the Presidents of the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament, and EU High Representative, as well as the heads of the member states of the European Union and the Council of Europe.

“We, the civil society organizations and associations from Europe, are addressing to you our deepest concerns regarding the native Armenian population of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh):

 Since 12 December 2022 the native Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh – 120.000 people, including 30.000 children, have been facing existential threat by Azerbaijan, in total violation of international law, Geneva Convention and despite the ongoing negotiations. The November 2020 ceasefire statement, also signed by Azerbaijan after its devastating attack on Artsakh that left 6.000 dead, is being regularly violated by Azerbaijan. The latter continuously carries acts of aggressions against the native Armenian population of Artsakh and violates the sovereign borders of the Republic of Armenia.

On 22 February, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of the United Nations ordered Azerbaijan to immediately lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor. The goal of the blockade is obvious – the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh. In its resolution adopted in March 2023 the European Parliament calls on the EU Council to impose sanctions against Azerbaijani government officials, if the ICJ’s order of 22 February is not immediately implemented.  Despite this, and the numerous voices being raised across Europe and around the world, we regretfully observe that the European Commission continues to congratulate itself on its gas partnership with a dictatorship ranked among the worst on the planet – Azerbaijan. A government that is notorious for its deep-rooted corruption at the highest level, and which hires jihadist mercenaries as a support to its army.

In the name of respect for human rights, the values that European democracies claim to stand for, in the name of the sovereign right of peoples to self-determination and as citizens contributing to the prosperity and influence of the European Union who are concerned about its future, we solemnly ask you to act without delay and

  • demand once again that Azerbaijan immediately stops violating the November 9 ceasefire statement and remove the checkpoint on the Hakari-bridge installed in blatant violation of the binding order of the ICJ and international commitments, unblock the Lachin Corridor, secure the free and safe movement of people and goods to and from Artsakh;
  • impose economic and political sanctions on Azerbaijan and its leaders for non-compliance with international provisions, for the occupation of part of the territory of the Republic of Armenia, for Azerbaijan’s war crimes and for the blockade vis-à-vis Artsakh;
  • use all your leverage to prevent any control of Baku over Artsakh since this inevitably means the ethnic cleansing of the native Armenian population of Artsakh; 
  • recognize the right to self-determination of the native Armenian population of Artsakh as indispensable and use the leverage at your disposal to ensure that the status of Artsakh reflects the democratic _expression_ of will of its native Armenian population and enables sustainable peace as well as security;
  • set up an air corridor in order to provide emergency economic and humanitarian aid to Artsakh and to guarantee the safety of air links from Stepanakert airport;
  • put pressure on Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its troops from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and stop its aggressive stance towards Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia as a prerequisite for peace talks. 

The native Armenian people of Artsakh demand nothing less and nothing more than the protection of their fundamental and inalienable right to live as a free people in safety and with dignity in their own homeland. We sincerely hope that their voices as well as ours will be heard!

Pashinyan-Michel-Aliyev trilateral meeting kicks off in Brussels

Zhanna Nahapetian

 15:14,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. The trilateral meeting between Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Council Charles Michel has started in Brussels.

ARMENPRESS reports, Nikol Pashinyan and Charles Michel met before the tripartite meeting. At the request of the President of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Prime Minister of Armenia conveyed the letter of the President of Nagorno-Karabakh to Charles Michel.

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met in a trilateral format in Brussels on May 14. On June 1, a five-sided meeting was held in Chişinău with the participation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.




Russia’s President Vladimir Putin meets with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev in Moscow

Lara Antonian

  • SPUTNIK

    •  

  • Jul 15, 2023

Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union summit in Moscow, Russia May 25, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

SPUTNIK
https://gazette.com/news/us-world/russias-president-vladimir-putin-meets-with-armenias-prime-minister-nikol-pashinyan-and-azerbaijans-president-ilham/image_8cb896a5-bda8-5c3a-b21a-53e4907bcabb.html

Russia strongly urges Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin Corridor

Anna Tamamian

 16:38,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. Russia strongly calls on the leadership of Azerbaijan to take urgent measures to immediately unblock the Lachin Corridor, ARMENPRESS reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation said in a message.

The Russian Foreign Ministry considered worrying the fact that today the situation around Nagorno Karabakh is developing in a negative scenario.

"The humanitarian crisis is deepening. The population has an acute shortage of food, medicine, basic necessities, is practically deprived of electricity and gas. This can bring the most dramatic consequences for the Armenians of Karabakh, the ordinary residents of the region. We strongly call on the leadership of Azerbaijan to take urgent measures to immediately unblock the Lachin Corridor, to resume the unimpeded movement of citizens, vehicles, and cargo in both directions, as well as to restore energy supply," the statement said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation also noted that Armenia recognized Nagorno Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan in the meetings held under the auspices of the EU in October 2022 and in May 2023.

"We respect the sovereign decision of the leadership of Armenia, but it radically changed the fundamental conditions under which the declaration of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan was signed on November 9, 2020, as well as the status of the Russian peacekeeping force deployed in the region. We believe that under these conditions, the responsibility for the fate of the Armenian population of Karabakh should not be transferred to third countries. It is necessary to immediately start the preparation of the peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan, based on the previously reached agreements," said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The Russian side emphasized that reliable and clear guarantees of the rights and security of the Armenians of Karabakh should be an integral part of this agreement, as well as the strict implementation of the entire set of tripartite agreements between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the unblocking of transport communications and the start of the process of delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The Russian Foreign Ministry added, taking into account the above, the Russian side confirms its determination to actively contribute to the efforts of the international community aimed at restoring normal life in Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia is ready to organize a trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in Moscow in the near future to discuss ways to implement agreements at the highest level, including the issue of agreeing on a peace treaty with the prospect of organizing a Russian-Azerbaijani-Armenian summit for the signing of that document.