Category: 2023

Blocking of Lachin Corridor, humanitarian crisis in NK and other issues discussed at Pashinyan-Michel-Aliyev meeting

Emil Lazarian

 18:54,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. The trilateral meeting of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev took place in Brussels, ARMENPRESS was infomred from the Office of the Prime Minister. 

During the meeting, the deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh caused by Azerbaijan's illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor, border delimitation and works for ensuring border security between the two countries, the unblocking of regional transport and economic infrastructures, the agreement on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, addressing the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as issues related to prisoners, missing persons and other humanitarian issues were discussed.

An agreement was reached to intensify the work towards the solution of the discussed issues.

Armenpress: EU’s Michel emphasizes the need to unblock the Lachin Corridor. details from the trilateral meeting in Brussels

Christine Harutyunian

 20:33,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, considers it necessary to unblock the Lachin corridor and notes that the created situation is not in the interests of any party, the correspondent of ARMENPRESS reports from Brussels that Michel made such a statement in a conversation with journalists after the tripartite meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.

"Clear steps were discussed to help the situation return to its normal course again. I emphasized the need to open the Lachin Corridor, noted Azerbaijan's readiness to deliver humanitarian aid through Aghdam. The European Union continues to be involved in order to start negotiations between the representatives of the former autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Baku, which is important for discussing the rights and security issues of the local Armenian population," said the President of the European Council.

The President of the European Council drew attention to the fact that the people of Nagorno Karabakh are facing a humanitarian crisis and emphasized that the current situation around the Lachin Corridor is unstable.

According to him, at the meeting, the parties reaffirmed that they recognize each other's territorial integrity.

The President of the European Council added that the delimitation of the borders, which has become the subject of discussion, should be carried out according to the Almaty Declaration. Michel emphasized that the issues of prisoners and soldiers who crossed over to the other side by mistake were discussed at the tripartite meeting.

Michel reminded that another five-party (Armenia, Azerbaijan, EU, France, Germany) meeting with the participation of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan is planned in the fall in Granada.

Caucasus, the agony of Nagorno Karabakh held hostage by Azerbaijan for seven months

Alex Jidarian

It has already been 7 months since the Azerbaijani authorities illegally blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only access to the self-proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh Republic in the South Caucasus. Since then, 120,000 people have been completely isolated, without supplies and escape routes to save themselves. Azerbaijan has also cut off supplies of water, gas and electricity. And in recent days it has also blocked the means of the International Red Cross that were trying to bring aid to civilians. Despite appeals from Europe and the United States to break the isolation of the small Armenian enclave, the Azerbaijani army continues its military offensive undisturbed, violating the ceasefire agreements signed in 2020 after the 44-day war.

Ethnic cleansing

«All the actions undertaken by Azerbaijan in recent months, from the demonstrations of fake eco-activists (including sympathizers of the Turkish terrorist formation of the Gray Wolves, ed) to the installation of an illegal checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor, are clearly planned to create impossible living conditions for the population of Nagorno Karabakh: an authentic operation of ethnic cleansing is underway» denounces the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs bluntly.
“Baku not only breaks the truce signed three years ago, but also ignores the resolutions adopted by many parliaments (including the European one, ed) and by the International Court of Justice against the closure of the Lachin Corridor”. On 6 July, the International Tribunal in The Hague once again ordered Azerbaijan to immediately reopen the crossing “because denying the right to free movement of persons, vehicles and goods plausibly constitutes racial discrimination”. This appeal has again fallen on deaf ears because Nagorno Karabakh remains completely isolated, surrounded by Azerbaijani military forces and devoid of any external connections. The Russian interposition force, which was supposed to guarantee access to and security of Karabakh on the basis of the agreements signed by Yerevan, Baku and Moscow, continues to be of no use.

«Previously, an average of 400 tons of foodstuffs passed daily from Lachin to Karabakh. Then from 7 December 2022 the illegal checkpoint placed by Azerbaijan reduced supplies to a tenth. Since June 15, supplies have been completely cut off» confirm the Armenian authorities.

Humanitarian disaster


The situation is disastrous because the food stocks in the warehouses are now reduced to a flicker, the shops are empty, the lines for rationing are long. There is also a shortage of medicines and oxygen in hospitals. Furthermore, Azerbaijan is preventing the transfer of the most seriously ill to Armenia, a fact which is causing an increase in mortality rates, especially among the weakest segments of the population.
“Before the total blockade, only a few people managed to reach Armenia to receive urgent treatment thanks to the International Committee of the Red Cross,” says a government official. «The sick and their companions were subjected to humiliating control procedures and degrading treatments: they were filmed and subsequently those images were exploited by Azerbaijani propaganda to demonstrate the normal opening of the passage to Lachin. But it was just a fabrication, a falsehood, disinformation» denounces Yerevan pointing the finger at the international community and humanitarian organizations «unable to gain access to Nagorno Karabakh to conduct an adequate fact-finding mission and provide humanitarian aid».

The appeal to the UN


Armenia also appeals to the United Nations Security Council (chaired by Russia responsible for the massacres and destruction taking place in Ukraine) to “use all the tools at its disposal to ensure the implementation of the orders of the International Court of Justice, prevent the humanitarian catastrophe and stop the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh”. Harsh, clear words, an appeal almost out of time “to the civilized world which cannot and must not tolerate such actions, just as it must not accept contempt for the legally binding orders of the Hague Tribunal”. Words that on Friday 14 July were again drowned out by the roar of Azerbaijani batteries on the peaceful villages of Nagorno Karabakh. Words then sunk into the umpteenth silence of the international community.

https://www.breakinglatest.news/world/caucasus-the-agony-of-nagorno-karabakh-held-hostage-by-azerbaijan-for-seven-months/

Asbarez: Tatoyan Foundation Files Lawsuit in U.S. Against Mining Company Believed to Have Assisted Baku in Artsakh Blockade

Edgar Tavakalian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Artsakh has been under a blockade since Dec. 12, 2022


WASHINGTON — The Tatoyan Foundation Center for Law & Justice and U.S.-based law firm Kerkonian Dajani LLP filed a class action lawsuit on July 11 against Mohammad Reza Vaziri, president and chief executive officer of Anglo Asian Mining PLC. The suit stems from Azerbaijan’s seven-month blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) by Azerbaijan.

The federal class action, entitled Lalabekyan v Vaziri, is pending in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia in Washington D.C.
The Complaint alleges that Defendant Vaziri aided and abetted violations of the U.S. Torture Victims Protection Act and the false imprisonment of Artsakh Armenians in an effort to secure access and exploit precious metal deposits in Artsakh, including gold and copper. It details the link between Vaziri’s demanded access to these mines and the blockade.

Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh has precipitated a humanitarian catastrophe in Artsakh, now placing the Artsakh Armenians on the verge of mass starvation.

The federal complaint alleges that Vaziri “substantially encouraged and assisted” Azerbaijan in blockading Artsakh by, among other things, “advising, and/or insisting that the Blockade serve as a mechanism by which to obtain access to the [] Mines” and “that the Blockade be maintained, and not be lifted, unless and until Defendant Vaziri, his agents and/or his collaborators are granted access to the [Nagorno-Karabakh] Mines.”

The case seeks certification of a plaintiff class of 120,000 Artsakh Armenians, including 30,000 children, the elderly, and 9000 disabled people—all persons confined and suffering in the blockaded area.

In February 2023, the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to “ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor [the only link between Artsakh and Armenia] in both directions.” The United States, France, the European Union, and numerous other states and international organizations have likewise demanded the unblocking of the Lachin Corridor.

Azerbaijan has not complied. Instead, it has blocked access even to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The federal pleading alleges Defendant Vaziri’s role in “lobbying foreign governments and international institutions to justify, whitewash, and/or divert attention away from the Blockade until Defendant Vaziri, his agents and/or his collaborators were granted access to the [Nagorno-Karabakh] Mines.”

The Complaint alleges that Defendant Vaziri’s actions contributed to massive human suffering including torture, starvation, malnutrition, physical harm, and psychological damage.

Lead attorneys for plaintiffs in the case are international lawyer Karnig Kerkonian and appellate counsel, Elizabeth Al-Dajani. Lawyers and advisors include Arman Tatoyan, Garo Ghazarian, Ani Nazaryan, and Laura Seferian.

Nagorno-Karabakh crisis evolving under negative scenario – Russian Foreign Ministry

Raffi Khondkarian
 TASS 
Russia –
The department noted that the aggravation of the humanitarian crisis in the region could lead to serious consequences

MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. The situation around Nagorno-Karabakh is developing in a negative way, as the humanitarian crisis is deteriorating, and that may entail dire consequences, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

"It is a matter of concern that currently the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh is evolving under a negative scenario. The humanitarian crisis in that region is deepening," the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized.

"The local population is facing serious shortages of food, medicines, and daily essentials. They are in fact left without electricity and gas supply. This may entail the most dramatic repercussions for Karabakh’s Armenians, or ordinary inhabitants of the region.".

https://tass.com/politics/1647289

Asbarez: Updated: EU Emphasizes Need to Lift Lachin Blockade After Talks in Brussels

Arsine Chaltikian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Main, Latest, Top Stories

European Council President Charles Michel (center) hosts Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels on Jul. 15


Pashinyan Presents Artsakh President’s Letter to EU Leader

European Council President Charles Michel said it is necessary to unblock the Lachin Corridor and stressed that the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is not in any party’s interests, during remarks to reporters after hosting another round of talks between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan in Brussels on Saturday. The EU leader also endorsed Baku’s plan to transport assistance to Karabakh via Aghdam, bypassing Armenia.

“Clear steps were discussed to help the situation return to its normal course again. I emphasized the need to open the Lachin Corridor, noted Azerbaijan’s readiness to deliver humanitarian aid through Aghdam,” said Michel, echoing Baku’s position to use Aghdam as an alternative to Lachin for delivering humanitarian assistance, which ensures that such aid is not delivered through Armenia.

“The European Union continues to be involved in order to start negotiations between the representatives of the former autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh and Baku, which is important for discussing the rights and security issues of the local Armenian population,” added Michel

He drew attention to the fact that the people of Nagorno Karabakh are facing a humanitarian crisis and emphasized that the current situation around the Lachin Corridor is unstable, saying that during Saturday’s talks the parties reaffirmed that they recognize each other’s territorial integrity.

Michel added that the delimitation of the borders, which has become the subject of discussion, should be carried out according to the Almaty Declaration. Michel emphasized that the issues of prisoners and soldiers who crossed over to the other side by mistake were discussed at the tripartite meeting.

He also announced again that three leaders will be joined by the French president and German Chancellor in talks scheduled to take place in the fall in Granada, Spain.

The talks, which lasted for 2:45 were preceded by separate meetings between Michel and the two leaders.

Earlier on Saturday Pashinyan’s office said that during his meeting with Michel, he presented an urgent appeal by Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan calling on the international community, especially the European Union, to compel Azerbaijan to lift the seven-month-old blockade of Artsakh and prevent ethnic cleansing.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivers an appeal from Artsakh President to EU leader Charles Michel

Pashinyan’s statement also stressed that the “deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh caused by Azerbaijan’s illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor” was discussed during the meeting.

The delimitation and demarcation of the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the security of those border were also discussed.

“The unblocking of regional transport and economic infrastructures, the agreement on the regulation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, addressing the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh were discussed, as were issues related to prisoners, missing persons and other humanitarian issues,” Pashinyan’s press office reported, adding that the leaders agreed to continue to address these issues more actively.

This is a developing story.

Nagorno-Karabakh: Yerevan-Baku talks in Brussels as tensions rise and Moscow tries to regain control

Emil Lazarian

Talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabakh were held in Brussels on Saturday, as Russia proposed to organise a summit in Moscow to regain control of the peace process.

Nagorno-Karabakh, a region with a majority Armenian population but internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, is at the heart of a territorial dispute between Baku and Yerevan that has led to two wars.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels under the auspices of European Council President Charles Michel.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry said the discussions had focused in particular on "the worsening humanitarian crisis in Nagorny Karabakh," and that both sides had "agreed to intensify work aimed at resolving existing problems."

"Our exchanges were once again frank, honest and substantive," said Michel in a short statement at the end of the meeting. 

He encouraged both leaders "to take courageous steps to ensure decisive and irreversible progress towards normalisation."

"As a matter of priority, violence and harsh rhetoric must cease in order to create an environment conducive to peace talks." 

He announced his intention to organise a further meeting with Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan in Brussels after the summer, as well as a five-way discussion at the beginning of October in Granada in southern Spain, with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on the sidelines of the next summit of the European Political Community.

On Wednesday, Washington – which has previously held meetings between Baku and Yerevan in May and June – called for the restoration of free movement on the Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. 

The road was closed on Tuesday by Azerbaijan on the grounds of "smuggling" by the Armenian branch of the Red Cross. Yerevan has been concerned about a worsening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh for several months, due to increasingly difficult access to the region. 

Pashinyan denounced what he called the illegal "blockade" of Nagorny Karabakh on Thursday, and several thousand people demonstrated in Stepanakert, the region's main town, on Friday, calling on Baku to reopen the route.

On Friday, the Red Cross was able to resume medical evacuations from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. 

The involvement of Western countries, notably the EU, in the region has grown since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

In autumn 2020, Moscow sponsored the ceasefire agreement at the end of a six-week war that saw the defeat of Armenian forces, the death of more than 6,000 people and the displacement of more than 90,000 people into Armenia. 

Armenian forces were then forced to cede parts of Nagorno-Karabkah to Azerbaijan. 

Russia pledged to deploy soldiers to guarantee freedom of movement between Armenia and Karabakh, but Yerevan has since accused Moscow of failing in this task.

On Saturday, in an effort to regain control of the process, Moscow offered to host a meeting at the foreign minister level, while suggesting that the future peace treaty could be signed in Moscow.

Russia is ready "to organise a trilateral meeting of foreign ministers in Moscow in the near future," stressed the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement.

Moscow is also offering to host "a Russia-Azerbaijan-Armenia summit in due course to sign the relevant [peace] treaty."

But for the moment, tensions have risen a notch.

The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense claimed on Saturday that Armenian separatists are producing "radioelectric interference directed against the GPS navigation systems of local and foreign airlines" flying in Azerbaijan.

"These incidents pose a serious threat to aviation safety," the ministry said in a statement.

According to the source, on July 13, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane on a flight to the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Fizuli suffered a GPS system failure due to suspected interference.

The Armenian separatist authorities have rejected these accusations, calling them an "absolute lie".

https://www.euronews.com/2023/07/15/nagorno-karabakh-yerevan-baku-talks-in-brussels-as-tensions-rise-and-moscow-tries-to-regai 


RFE/RL Armenian Service – 07/15/2023

Emil Lazarian 
                                        Saturday, 



Russia Alarmed By Consequences Of Karabakh’s Blockade


Russia - A view of the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow, January 13, 
2019.


Russia on Saturday again urged Azerbaijan to immediately lift the seven-month 
blockade of the Lachin corridor, saying that the resulting humanitarian crisis 
in Nagorno-Karabakh could have “the most dramatic consequences” for the region’s 
population.

It also appeared to link the worsening plight of the Karabakh Armenians to 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s decision to recognize Karabakh as part 
of Azerbaijan.

“The humanitarian crisis in that territory is deepening,” the Russian Foreign 
Ministry said in a statement. “The local population is experiencing an acute 
shortage of food, medicine, basic necessities, and is practically deprived of 
electricity and gas supply. This may entail the most dramatic consequences for 
the Karabakh Armenians - ordinary residents of the region.

“We strongly urge the Azerbaijani leadership to take urgent measures for the 
immediate unblocking the Lachin corridor and the resumption of unhindered 
movement of citizens, vehicles and goods in both directions along it as well as 
energy supply to the region.”

The statement came one month after Baku further tightened the blockade by 
banning Russian peacekeepers from shipping limited amounts of food, medicine and 
fuel to Karabakh. This aggravated the shortages of essential items there.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- An armored personnel carrier of the Russian peacekeeping 
forces is seen in Dadivank Monastery, November 24, 2020

Thousands of Karabakh Armenians attended on Friday a demonstration organized by 
the authorities in Stepanakert in protest against the blockade. Speaking at the 
rally, Karabakh leaders demanded that Russia and its peacekeeping contingent 
unblock the Lachin corridor.

The Armenian government has repeatedly criticized the peacekeepers for not 
ensuring Baku’s compliance with the 2020 ceasefire agreement which was brokered 
by Moscow and placed the corridor under their control.

In a clear response to that criticism, the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out 
that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian recognized Azerbaijani sovereignty over 
Karabakh during his October 2022 and May 2023 meetings with Azerbaijani 
President Ilham Aliyev mediated by the European Union.

“While we respect the sovereign decision of the Armenian leadership, this 
radically changed the underlying conditions in which the Statement of the 
leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia of November 9, 2020 was signed as well 
as the position of the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed in the region,” 
read its statement. “We believe that in these conditions, responsibility for the 
fate of the Armenian population of Karabakh should not be shifted to third 
countries.”

Belgium - European Council President Charles Michel hosts talks between the 
leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Brussels, May 14, 2023.

The Armenian opposition has likewise said that Pashinian’s decision to agree to 
the restoration of Azerbaijani control over Karabakh emboldened Baku to tighten 
the screws on the Karabakh Armenians. Not surprisingly, some opposition leaders 
seized upon the Russian Foreign Ministry statement to again attack the prime 
minister.

In a Facebook post, Andranik Tevanian, a lawmaker representing the main 
opposition Hayastan alliance, said Moscow made clear that “the siege of Artsakh 
is a consequence of the decision made by Nikol Pashinian in Prague in 2022.”

“Simply put, the Russian side is saying that ‘if the Armenian government has 
surrendered Artsakh, what do you want from us?’” wrote Tigran Abrahamian of the 
Pativ Unem bloc. “It is hinting that their rules of the game did not presuppose 
Azerbaijanization of Artsakh.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry also stated on Saturday that a peace treaty 
currently discussed by Baku and Yerevan must contain “reliable and clear 
guarantees of the rights and security of the Armenians of Karabakh.”

Moscow has been very critical of the EU and U.S. efforts to broker an 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord, saying that they are ultimately aimed at 
driving Russia out of the South Caucasus. The Western powers have denied that.




EU Chief Hosts Another Armenian-Azeri Summit


Belgium - EU Council President Charles Michel meets the leaders of Armenia and 
Azerbaijan in Brussels, .


Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
met in Brussels on Saturday for fresh talks hosted by the European Union’s top 
official, Charles Michel.

Speaking after the trilateral meeting, Michel gave no indications that Aliyev 
and Pashinian narrowed their differences on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty 
discussed by them. He said he urged them to “take further courageous steps to 
ensure decisive and irreversible progress on the normalization track.”

“Even though our meeting took place in the context of a worrying increase in 
tensions on the ground, I noted an important momentum in the political 
discussions and efforts,” Michel said in a statement to the press.

“The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders once again fully reconfirmed the respect 
for the other country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty based on the 
understanding that Armenia’s territory covers 29,800 square kilometers and 
Azerbaijan’s 86,600 square kilometers.”

“Real progress depends on the next steps that will need to be taken in the near 
future,” added the president of the European Council, the EU’s top 
decision-making body.

An Armenian government statement on the talks said the three leaders agreed to 
“intensify the work towards the settlement of the discussed issues,” which 
included not only the would-be treaty but also Azerbaijan’s continuing blockade 
of the Lachin corridor, “the rights and security” of the Karabakh Armenians and 
planned transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

According to Aliyev’s office, the agenda of the meeting included Baku’s demands 
for “the withdrawal of Armenian army units from Azerbaijani territory” and the 
dissolution of Karabakh’s “illegal” armed forces. Armenia has repeatedly denied 
any military presence in Karabakh.

Pashinian said last week that the peace accord is not “yet ready for signing.” 
The Armenian Foreign Ministry reported earlier that Baku and Yerevan continue to 
disagree on practical modalities of delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border 
and organizing a dialogue between Baku and Karabakh’s leadership.

Michel voiced support for such a dialogue, saying that Karabakh’s ethnic 
Armenian population “needs reassurances first and foremost regarding the rights 
and security.” He signaled no further progress on this issue made in Brussels.

Turning to the Azerbaijani blockade and the resulting humanitarian crisis in 
Karabakh, Michel said he discussed with Aliyev and Pashinian “possible concrete 
steps to help bring the situation back to normal.” “I emphasized the need to 
open the Lachin road,” he said without reporting any understandings on this 
score.

Pashinian charged earlier this month that the seven-month blockage of Karabakh’s 
only land link with Armenia reflects Baku’s intention to commit “genocide” in 
the region. He made clear at the same time that he will not deviate from his 
“peace agenda” denounced by the Armenian opposition as well as Karabakh’s 
leadership. Opposition leaders claim that Baku was emboldened by his recent 
pledge to sign a peace deal upholding Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.


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.

Azerbaijan accuses Russia of failing to fulfil Karabakh deal

Lara Antonian

Statement comes as the EU hosts talks between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Brussels.

Azerbaijan has accused Russia and Armenia of failing to fulfil a ceasefire deal in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave as Moscow offered to host new peace talks while the European Union urged Baku and Yerevan to refrain from “violence and harsh rhetoric”.

The Azeri government’s criticism of Russia on Saturday came as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels for talks aimed at resolving their decades-long conflict for the control of Nagorno Karabakh.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the neighbours have fought two wars over the small mountainous enclave that is part of Azerbaijan but populated by about 120,000 ethnic Armenians.

After heavy fighting and a Russian-brokered ceasefire, Azerbaijan in 2020 took over areas that had been controlled by ethnic Armenians in and around the mountain enclave.

Baku and Yerevan have since been discussing a peace deal in which Russia is also pushing to retain a leading role and in which the two countries would agree on borders, settle differences over the enclave and unfreeze relations.

Tensions, however, have flared again with Azerbaijan blockading and closing the sole land link between Karabakh and Armenia earlier this week.

It blamed the shutting of the Lachin corridor – which is policed by Russian peacekeepers – on “smuggling” by aid agencies.

Russia said on Saturday that it was ready to organise a three-way meeting with Armenia and Azerbaijan at the level of foreign ministers and said this could be followed up with a Moscow summit to sign a peace treaty.

It said an integral part of this pact should be “reliable and clear guarantees of the rights and security of the Armenians of Karabakh” and the implementation of earlier agreements between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Baku – which insists that any security guarantees for Karabakh’s Armenian population should be provided at the national level and not via an international mechanism – responded angrily.

It said Russia’s statement “causes disappointment and misunderstanding” and contradicts Moscow’s declarations of supporting Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

“The Russian side did not ensure full implementation of the agreement within the framework of its obligations,” it said, adding that Moscow “did nothing to prevent” Yerevan’s military supplies from reaching separatist forces in Karabakh.

Meanwhile, in Brussels, European Council President Charles Michel, who mediated talks between the Azeri and Armenian leaders, said their exchanges had been “frank, honest and substantive”.

“Real progress depends on the next steps that will need to be taken in the near future. As a matter of priority, violence and harsh rhetoric should stop in order to provide the proper environment for peace and normalisation talks,” Michel said.

“The population on the ground needs reassurances, first and foremost regarding their rights and security,” he added.

Michel said he also expressed the EU’s encouragement for Azerbaijan to talk directly to the Karabakh Armenians to develop confidence between the parties.

It was not clear how Aliyev reacted as he and Pashinyan left without briefing reporters.

The European Council president said he intended to organise a new meeting between Aliyev and Pashinyan in Brussels and another in Spain in October involving German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Besides the EU, the United States has also been pushing the sides to reach a peace deal.

Russia, the traditional power broker in the region, has been distracted by the war in Ukraine and risks seeing its influence diminished.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/16/azerbaijan-accuses-russia-of-failing-to-fulfil-karabakh-deal 

Azerbaijan, Armenia hold talks, Russia proposes Moscow summit

Emil Lazarian
First Post
FP Staff Last Updated: 09:10:54 IST

    Azerbaijan and Armenia launched a new round of peace negotiations mediated by the EU on Saturday, while Russia proposed a conference in Moscow to reaffirm its leadership position in the normalisation process.

    Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Brussels to discuss ending their decades-long war over Armenian-populated Karabakh.

    The meetings were “frank, honest, and substantive,” according to European Council President Charles Michel, who mediated them.

    “I encouraged them to take courageous steps to ensure decisive and irreversible progress on a normalisation track,” he added.

    Michel said he planned a new meeting between Aliyev and Pashinyan in Brussels, as well as another in October in Spain with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron.

    The meetings came after Azerbaijan cut the only land route between Karabakh and Armenia on Tuesday.

    Baku criticises Moscow

    Baku and Yerevan have been trying to negotiate a peace deal with the help of the European Union and the United States, whose growing diplomatic engagement in the Caucasus has irked traditional regional power broker Russia.

    Moscow on Saturday offered to host the two countries’ foreign ministers and suggested a future peace treaty could be signed in Moscow.

    Russia is ready “to organise a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers in Moscow in the near future”, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

    It also urged Azerbaijan to reopen the Lachin Corridor and said Armenia’s recent recognition of Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan “has radically changed the standing of the Russian peacekeeping contingent”.

    “Under such conditions, the responsibility for the destiny of Karabakh’s Armenian population should not be shifted onto third countries,” it said, a possible reference to the Armenian separatists’ calls for Moscow to ensure the reopening of the land link.

    Azerbaijan reacted angrily, accusing Russia of failing to fulfil its obligations under a 2020 Moscow-brokered ceasefire.

    “The Russian side did not ensure full implementation of the agreement within the framework of its obligations,” Baku’s foreign ministry said, adding that Moscow “did nothing to prevent” Armenia’s military supplies from reaching separatist forces in Karabakh.

    Adding to tensions with Yerevan, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry accused Armenian separatist forces in Karabakh of using “radio interference against… passenger aircraft flying through our country’s airspace”.

    Karabakh’s rebel authorities dismissed the claims as an “absolute lie”.

    Uneasy peace talks

    On Friday, around 6,000 people rallied in Karabakh, calling for the reopening of the five-kilometre-wide Lachin Corridor.

    Local separatists, warning of a humanitarian crisis, urged Moscow to ensure free movement through the road.

    Azerbaijan later allowed the Red Cross to resume medical evacuations from Karabakh to Armenia.

    Karabakh has been at the centre of a decades-long dispute between the two countries, which have fought two wars over the mountainous territory.

    During previous rounds of Western-mediated talks, Baku and Yerevan made progress towards a peace agreement, but its signature remains a distant prospect.

    Yerevan agreed to recognise Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan but demanded international mechanisms for protecting the rights and security of the region’s ethnic-Armenian population.

    Baku insists such guarantees must be provided at the national level, rejecting any international format.

    The 2020 ceasefire deal saw Armenia cede swathes of territories it had controlled for decades, while Moscow deployed peacekeepers to the Lachin Corridor to ensure free passage between Armenia and Karabakh.

    Armenia has relied on Russia for military and economic support since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It has accused Moscow — bogged down in its war against Ukraine — of failing to fulfil its peacekeeping role in Karabakh.

    https://www.firstpost.com/world/azerbaijan-armenia-hold-talks-russia-proposes-moscow-summit-12872532.html