Category: 2023

 12:43, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced on March 23 an upcoming visit to Armenia.

Colonna told French lawmakers during question time that she will visit Armenia and Azerbaijan towards the end of April.

Senator Philippe Pemezec asked Colonna whether the French government is ready to provide as much diplomatic and military support to Armenia as it did to Ukraine.

In response, the French FM said: “France has condemned the closure of Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan since the first day. This blockade causes tension. I plan to visit Yerevan and Baku in the end of April to convey this message. France is taking measures.”

 13:23, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed confidence March 23 that a peace treaty with Azerbaijan will be achieved.

“Dear members of the Cabinet, dear people, I want to convey the following message to you and the international community. There will be a peace treaty, and it will be achieved on the basis of the written documents that have been reached on the highest levels so far,” Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting in response to Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev’s latest statement that Armenia must accept Azerbaijan’s terms or else there won’t be a peace treaty. Pashinyan said that Aliyev’s statement constitutes an act of aggression against Armenia.

 13:38, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Armenians and Azerbaijanis lived in Nagorno Karabakh for a certain period of time in the past, but have never been integrated with one another, and the integration narrative generated by Azerbaijan has never been reality, Nagorno Karabakh government officials said Thursday during a press conference. They ruled out the incorporation of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh into Azerbaijan.

Nagorno Karabakh Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan said that their official position regarding the Azeri integration narrative remains the same – “Artsakh [Nagorno Karabakh] will continue its struggle for the international recognition of its exercised right to self-determination,” he said, adding that Russia, the US and France – the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs – bear responsibility for the current situation given that negotiations are taking place within the OSCE Minsk Group for many years.

Ghazaryan mentioned the latest multiple provocations by Azerbaijan.

“The Armenian side’s substantiations are so many that it is very clear, visible and understandable for everyone, including the international partners, that there can’t be a combination of the Armenians of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, this is simply ruled out,” he said.

Despite the hardships resulting from the blockade, the people of Artsakh remain committed to the path they chose and will utilize all efforts, expecting active participation of all partners, including the Armenian Diaspora.

Meanwhile, State Minister of Artsakh Gurgen Nersisyan said that they will work to fully and clearly present the origins and essence of the conflict to the international community.

Speaking about the integration narrative by Azerbaijan, Nersisyan said: “Indeed, the Armenians of Artsakh and the Azerbaijanis lived in Artsakh for a certain period of time, but they were never integrated with one another. During that entire period of time, numerous hate crimes were perpetrated by Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Artsakh because of their ethnicity. And the narrative generated by Azerbaijan, the so-called integration, has never been reality since the 20th century,” he said.

Azerbaijan tries to mislead the international community by advancing this narrative, he added.

 14:16, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh announced Thursday that a direct negotiations process with Azerbaijan would be possible only in an international format and in conditions of guarantees for implementation of obligations.

Nagorno Karabakh Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan said at a press conference that Russia-mediated meetings have taken place between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan pertaining to various humanitarian and technical issues. Ghazaryan underscored that Azerbaijan attempted to distort the agenda of the latest meeting.

The goal of that meeting was to discuss issues relating to the disruptions of the electricity and gas supplies, he said. “The attempts by Azerbaijan to distort the agenda of the meeting are unacceptable. But at the same time, we stand ready to have meetings in the same format, with the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, for the solution of the abovementioned issues,” Ghazaryan said when asked in which case the meetings could become negotiations.

Speaking about a full negotiations process, the FM said: “We’ve numerously said that such meetings can only take place in an international format. The substantiations are rather clear.”

Ghazaryan noted that if Azerbaijan even violated the agreements reached in the OSCE Minsk Group talks, then it would definitely violate bilateral agreements as well.

“Only under an international format, and guarantees of implementation of obligations must be the most important component of such a process,” Ghazaryan added.

 14:31, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian military will call up around 1000 reservists (Privates, NCOs and Officers) for a new round of mandatory training musters.

The new round of musters will begin April 15.

The decision was approved by the Cabinet on March 23.

 15:04, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Russia and Belarus will not participate in the European Weightlifting Championships 2023 due in Yerevan, according to Russian news media.

The men’s and women’s teams of Russia and Belarus were not included in the final entry list of nations by the EWF.

The EWF European Weightlifting Championships 2023 are scheduled to take place 15-23 April in Yerevan, Armenia.

In 2022, the EWF indefinitely banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in its events. Russia and Belarus nonetheless submitted bids to participate in the Yerevan championships but the EWF turned them down.

 15:06, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is illegally populating the Armenian settlements of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) under its occupation since the 2020 war, the Artsakh Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan warned Thursday.

“The 9 November statement contains a clause whereby the parties assumed an obligation to create all conditions under the supervision of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to ensure the dignified return of our countrymen. Nonetheless, in this situation, when Azerbaijan is making statements on the use of force or the threat of force every day, this is ruled out. We are saying that the parties must fulfill their obligations, first of all the Azerbaijani side, which is violating the terms of the statement,” Ghazaryan said.

 15:12, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Russia has expressed concern over the growing number of incidents taking place in Nagorno Karabakh where it has around 2000 peacekeepers.

“We are really concerned by the increasing hostile rhetoric and the growing number of incidents in Nagorno Karabakh, and the unwillingness of the parties to reach an agreement in resolving the situation around Lachin Corridor,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing, adding that there is no alternative to the peace process. “We are resolute in this matter and we reaffirm our stance,” she added.

Zakharova called for a resumption of the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations.

“We call on the parties to display restraint in their statements and actions, to resume negotiations in all directions of the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, including unblocking of transport connections, border delimitation, preparation of the peace treaty, holding of meetings between public figures and parliamentarians and other [directions],” she said.

The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson also commented on their attitude towards the involvement of the West in this matter.

“Major problems emerged as soon as they appeared. Behind the talk on the desire for peace and to help we see things in the real process that entirely contradict the West’s statements,” Zakharova said.

 15:24, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government approved on March 23 a 10-year extension of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant’s reactor.

The decision was made at the Cabinet meeting.

The lifespan of the nuclear power plant’s N2 reactor has already been extended until 2026 and underwent major modernization and re-equipment works.

According to the Armenian government, additional investments and works will enable to extend the lifespan of the reactor until 2036 “taking into account the completed modernization works, as well as opinions from specialized organizations and the international experience in extending the operational timeframes of similar power units.”

 15:43, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh’s Foreign Minister on March 23 said he doesn’t rule out the possible deployment of international peacekeepers to Nagorno Karabakh, but stressed that such a matter would require difficult decisions.  

NK Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan was asked to comment on Armenian PM Pashinyan’s March 16 remarks about the Russian peacekeepers. 

Ghazaryan said that such agreements would require massive work in order to initiate such mechanisms.

“One thing is obvious, this security component is of top importance for Artsakh, and it is nearly impossible without the presence of peacekeeping forces. The more perfected that mechanism gets the better.”

He said that the circle of these issues would depend on the extent of the development of the mechanism. For example, he said, if the number of the Russian peacekeepers were to be ten times higher perhaps it would provide other possibilities.

“And you know that the issue of deploying international peacekeepers was always discussed within the OSCE Minsk Group process, and we don’t rule out such a format as well, perhaps by involving other countries, international organizations, but this is not a matter that can be solved with easy decisions,” Ghazaryan said.