Category: 2023

100 DAYS: AZERBAIJAN’S TOTAL BLOCKADE OF ARTSAKH

Antranik Varosian

 

By Annick Asso

How can this conflict’s intolerable absence of media coverage still be justified? On , the Lachin road, a vital life road connecting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Armenia, is still under the control of Azerbaijani special forces with the tacit agreement of Russia. The French government and international organizations are expected to act on this issue and finally initiate humanitarian aid to stop the ongoing ethnic cleansing.

The lives of 120,000 Armenian civilians, including 30,000 children in Artsakh, have been threatened again for over three months. Under blockade since December 12, 2022, the Republic is suffocating in inconceivable silence and embarrassing indifference. A significant action from France is expected, which has been delayed despite the promises made by President Emmanuel Macron during January 23, 2023, meeting with the representatives of the CCAF (Council of Coordination of Armenian Organizations of France) in the presence of renowned intellectuals, Sylvain Tesson and Jean-Christophe Buisson at the forefront. The Senate and the National Assembly have indeed unanimously passed resolutions condemning Azerbaijan and calling for sanctions against its leaders; however, these votes have, so far, been followed by no effect. Morally, historically, and culturally committed to the side of Armenia, France must act to stop the ongoing ethnic cleansing and firmly sanction Azerbaijan. And this involves, as a priority, in response to the gravity of the situation, significant humanitarian action promised by President Emmanuel Macron.

Silence for 100 days, the Lachin corridor, the only access road connecting Artsakh to Armenia, is completely closed under the false pretext that alleged Azerbaijani environmental activists are operating on the site, while investigations have proven that Azerbaijani special forces are on the ground.

Silence, for 100 days, Armenia and Artsakh have been subjected to a low-intensity war conducted by revisionist states that, beyond this region, contest even the borders of Armenia, now referred to as ‘Western Azerbaijan,’ which is a historical nonsense and a violation of the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia and international law.

Silence for 100 days, Artsakh has become an open-air prison where residents lack everything: food, supplies, and the most basic hygiene products. Azerbaijan randomly cuts off gas, electricity, and internet networks, plunging residents of this mountainous nation where temperatures can reach -10 degrees during the cold winter. Children no longer attend school, and schools have had to close due to a lack of heating and operating funds.

Silence, for 100 days, children in the Stepanakert hospital run out of medicine and cannot receive treatment. Only a few have been evacuated urgently to Yerevan by the Red Cross. Two hundred babies are born, but what will their future be in a region devastated by the 2020 war and probably by a new conflict that is secretly being planned?

For 100 days, the Armenian population of Artsakh has been dying silently due to the international community’s indifference.

As Armenia, the USA, France, and many countries around the world prepare to commemorate, as every year, on April 24, 2023, the genocide of Armenians in 1915, let us insist that the duty of memory does not exempt us from acting to help the Armenians who are the target of a new ethnic cleansing in Artsakh.

During the genocide perpetrated by the Young Turks in 1915, one and a half million Armenians were deported, tortured, and massacred in total indifference and silence. Pertj Zeytountsian, a famous Armenian writer and, playwright, former Minister of Culture in Armenia, recounted in his play The Great Silence (Medz Lerutjun in Armenian) the beheading of the Armenian elite on April 24, 1915, through the figure of two eminent poets Rupen Sevag and Daniel Varoujan, and emphasized the silence that surrounded their extermination and, with them, that of an entire population condemned to deportation to the first concentration and extermination camps of the 20th century in the deserts of Syria. France recognized the genocide of Armenians in 2001, and many other countries as well. Commemorating this first genocide of the 20th century can only retain its meaning today from a perspective of prevention so that such crimes do not happen again. However, when President Ilham Aliyev declares with impunity that for the inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh, it is ‘the suitcase or the coffin,’ what are we witnessing if not the explicitly announced continuation of the 1915 genocide? Let us act so that such statements, reinforced by those of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who explicitly designates Armenians as ‘the remains of the sword,’ do not lead to the last act of a tragedy that never ends and of which the international community would be complicit, once again, through its indifference.

The absence of condemnation of Azerbaijan and applicable sanctions by the international community can only encourage the dictator Ilham Aliyev to pursue his expansionist, revisionist, and genocidal policy. On February 22, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ordered Azerbaijan to end the blockade of the Lachin corridor, which represents a minor diplomatic victory for Armenia. However, not only does Azerbaijan refuse to execute the ICJ’s order requiring the unblocking of the corridor, but it also regularly commits new crimes against Armenians: daily shootings are reported, and several civilians have been killed or abducted in ambushes. Once again, France, the EU, and the international community remain silent.

Economic and geostrategic interests and other conflicts on Europe’s doorstep must not condemn Armenians to die in silence again. One hundred eight years after the 1915 genocide, the Armenians of Artsakh have acquired the right to live in peace on their ancestral lands. The Armenian population of Artsakh is now threatened with ethnic cleansing on its territory. Historically and morally, France must intervene to immediately lift the blockade on the Lachin corridor, which has been going on for more than three months, and to send a humanitarian convoy to demonstrate true solidarity in action towards Armenia.

Annick Asso is an Associate Professor and Researcher at EHESS- Paris. She is an expert for the Auschwitz Foundation in Brussels and has been conducting various comparative research projects on genocides and mass crimes. She is the author of several books on the subject and a correspondent for Armenews in France.

Russia accuses Azerbaijan of violating 2020 ceasefire with Armenia

Emil Lazarian

A Russian peacekeeper guards the Lachin Corridor, the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region's only land link with Armenia.

Russia as mediator in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, on Saturday accused Baku of violating the ceasefire agreement that ended the 2020 war between these two countries by leaving its troops cross the demarcation line.

On [Saturday], a unit of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces crossed the line of contact in the Shusha district, in violation of the agreement reached in 2020, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

According to Moscow, Azerbaijani troops occupied a height and began the installation of a post.

The Russian peacekeepers on the spot take measures intended to prevent an escalation of the crisis situation and to avoid mutual provocations of the opposing parties.

“The Azerbaijani side has been informed of the need to comply with the provisions [of the agreement], to take measures to stop the engineering works and withdraw the armed forces to the positions they had previously occupied.

—The Russian Defense Ministry

Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics in the Caucasus, clashed in a short war in 2020 for control of the enclave of Nagorny-Karabakh.

This conflict resulted in an Armenian military rout and a Russian-sponsored ceasefire agreement, which deployed peacekeepers there.

< p class="e-p">Deadly clashes in Nagorny-Karabakh or on the border between these two countries, however, continue to break out periodically.

Armenia has also been warning for several weeks about a humanitarian crisis in Karabakh due to an Azerbaijani blockade that has caused shortages of medicine and food as well as cuts in food. electricity.

Yerevan accuses Russian peacekeepers of not acting to end this blockade.

Mostly mountainous region populated by Armenians and which seceded from Azerbaijan at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh continues to poison relations between Yerevan and Baku.

The first conflict, in the early 1990s, during the dismantling of the USSR, which left 30,000 dead, ended in an Armenian victory with support from Moscow.

However, Azerbaijan got its revenge in the fall of 2020 in a second war, which did 6500 m orts and which allowed him to take over many territories.

https://thesaxon.org/russia-accuses-azerbaijan-of-violating-2020-ceasefire-with-armenia/2660/


Russia Accuses Azerbaijan Of Violating The Cease-Fire Concluded With Armenia

Emil Lazarian
POLITICS
By David Sadler

Russia, the mediator in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, on Saturday accused Baku of violating the ceasefire that ended the war between the two countries in 2020 by allowing its forces to cross the dividing line.

And the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that “on (Saturday), a unit of the Azerbaijani armed forces crossed the dividing line in the Shusha region, in violation” of the ceasefire concluded in 2020.

https://globeecho.com/politics/russia-accuses-azerbaijan-of-violating-the-cease-fire-concluded-with-armenia/

Sports: Turkey Secures Victory Over Armenia in European Nations 2024 Qualifiers

Emil Lazarian
Haber Tusba
Turkey –
by Hashem Ali

Kicked the Turkish national team off they campaign Saturday with successful start against their neighbors, Armenia, in The fourth set by defeating the latter 2-1 in Yerevan.

Orkon Gokcu and Kerem Akturkoglu scored a goal for Turkey and Ozan Kabak each scored an error goal goal for Armenia.

Turkish gone behind alone goal in The tenth minute when Armenian Kamo Hovhannisyan fired in On the other side of edge of the penalty area And knocked out Ozan Kabak’s outstretched leg ball past for him goalkeeper Mert Junuk in The tenth minute.

Kökçü tie in 35 with for along way-range fire in corner of the goal just outside Armenia keeper Arsen Beglyrian.

Akturkoglu put the visitors ahead in The 64th minute, when Anis Onal took Quick free kick in belong to him halfput the wing in fire the ball inside the corner of the net.

Armenian football fans Collected for Euro 2024 qualifiers match in Yerevan, years later than Monday countries first Resorted to “football diplomacy heal their historical enmity.

chanting “Armenia, forward! About two hundred members of Local fan club The Red Eagles in Central Yerevan before kick-off Later in today.

The fans then lit colored flares, threw fireworks and beat drums as they marched towards the Republican Vazgen Sargsyan Stadium.

in the crowd outside The 14,000-capacity stadium in pouring rain blew many vuvuzelas and waved Armenia’s red, blue and orange. national media.

“we in Fighting mood We have come for “It’s a victory,” Karen Antonian, a member of the Red Eagles band, 36, told AFP.

Soul and passion of our players will help They have to prevail over Strong and experienced opponent.

Another fan, 20-year-old Manny Zurabian, said she was confident in Ha team’s win.

“we will help our team with Our crazy energy, “the stadium will tremble with our shouts and applause.”

All tickets sold out for the matchBut citing security concerns, judgment body of football in Europe, UEFA, banned Turkish fans attending the qualifiers in Yerevan.

Armenian fans They were banned from the rematch in Turkey in September.

Hovik Arostanyan, 46, said team’s success Depends on “Whether our footballers will be able to forget politics focus on the game. “

Armenia and Turkey have never established formal diplomatic relations, and their common borders have been closed since the 1990s.

The two countries first They played each other in Yerevan in 2008 in Presence of Then-Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

In 2009, Armenian leader Serzh Sargsyan traveled to Turkey city of Bursa to watch a second game between the two countries.

It is commonly referred to as “football diplomacy matches starting mark of Diplomatic normalization process.

On Friday, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Monday countries It plans to permanently open its borders, which have been closed for 35 years.

Sports: The Armenian national team lost to Turkey, but left the field to applause

Eduard Nalbandian
  • Gevorg Ghazaryan
  • Yerevan

Match Armenia-Turkey in Yerevan

It was impossible to overestimate the importance of the match with Turkey for the Armenian national football team. A fight with a strong opponent had been expected, and football fans and even those who were not particularly interested in football expected only victory from the team in this match. The Armenian team failed to win, though, losing to the opponent with a score of 2: 1. But the match turned out to be exciting. The players of the Armenian national team and its new head coach Alexander Petrakov showed their best side. After the game ended, the Armenian fans applauded the players of their national team for a long time.

The special significance of the Armenia-Turkey game for the Armenian society lies in the complex relations between the two countries. It was probably for this reason that, in accordance with the decision of UEFA, Turkish fans were not allowed to the stands of the Yerevan stadium.

Turkey officially recognized Armenia’s independence in 1991, but refuses to establish diplomatic relations. After 2020, the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations began – so far without much progress.

The meeting of football teams under these conditions was associated in Armenian society with a previous attempt at normalization, which was called “football diplomacy”. We are talking about the match Armenia-Turkey, held on September 6, 2008. Then Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Armenia at that time. Together with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, they watched a football match between the teams of the two countries. From this visit, the process called “football diplomacy” began.

A year later, the countries signed protocols to normalize relations, but they were never ratified. In December 2009, Ankara announced that it would not ratify the documents until the Karabakh conflict was resolved. In response, the Armenian side stated that the protocols assumed the establishment of relations without preconditions and in April 2010 suspended the process of their ratification.

Details from the match between the football teams of Armenia and Turkey, and photos.

  • Henrikh Mkhitaryan: no “farewell match” with the national team
  • Opinion on Armenian-Turkish relations
  • Yerevan revokes Armenian-Turkish Protocols, border to remain sealed
  • Armenian assistance to Turkey

The game with the Turkish national team went beyond the logic of positions in the standings and points scored. The excitement around this game was colossal as if a game with one of the top European teams was expected.

The match of the first round of the EURO 2024 qualifying round was preceded by a procession of fans of the Armenian national team, and the stadium was full of fans long before the start of the game.

A crowded stadium is a rare occurrence in Armenia. But this time all the tickets were instantly sold out, and on the day of the game thousands of ticketless fans gathered around the stadium. Until the last moment, they hoped that they would be able to find tickets and go to the stands.

In the first minutes of the game, the players of the Turkish national team seemed to have been caught by surprise. Experienced Turkish sportsmen, accustomed to stadiums of many thousands, they seemed unable to establish their own game in the first 20 minutes.

The players of the Armenian national team took advantage of this by organizing several quick counterattacks. So the first goal of the game was scored. Ozan Kabak scored the ball into his own net after Kamo Hovhannisyan’s pass.

After the goal, the players of the offensive line of the Armenian team continued to put pressure on the Turkish team.

The Turkish team found its game only in the middle of the first half, after an episode when one of the important players of the Armenian national team, Taron Voskanyan, was injured and left the field.

Football players of the Turkish national team immediately took advantage of the restructuring of the enemy’s defense line. Orkun Kekcu equalized with a well-aimed shot.

One must say that in the first half both teams played quite hard. Five yellow cards were received by the players of the Armenian national team, four by their Turkish players.

The beginning of the second half was also difficult for the Turkish team, and head coach Stefan Kunz replaced two players at once. It was obvious that both teams wanted to use their best sides and increase the score. Turkish athletes succeeded.

In such games, even small episodes become decisive, mistakes are not forgiven. A quick free-kick in the central part of the field came as a surprise to the defenders of the Armenian national team. And Kerem Akturkoglu scored the winning goal. The remaining time was not enough for the wards of Alexander Petrakov to save the game.

Fans of the Armenian national team, despite the defeat, were not disappointed with the game of their team, and after the final whistle the stadium applauded loudly. And the players of the Armenian national team, as if exhausted, fell on the grass. Most likely it was an emotional reaction.

Turkey’s players also modestly celebrated their victory – both on and off the field. The absolute silence on the way to the Mixed Zone to meet with journalists and at the locker rooms was so unusual that it seemed that both teams had lost.

As part of the tournament, they will have to play one more match – already in Turkey.


Azerbaijan violates ceasefire agreement with Armenia: Russia

Ani Kharatian
Pakistan –
By AFP

MOSCOW: Russia on Saturday accused Azerbaijan of violating the Moscow-brokered ceasefire that ended the 2020 war with Armenia, by letting its troops cross over the demarcation line.

“On March 25… a unit of the armed forces of Azerbaijan crossed a line of contact in the district of Shusha, in violation” of the agreement of November 9, 2020, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1054020-azerbaijan-violates-ceasefire-agreement-with-armenia-russia

Ceasefire deal in Nagorno-Karabakh violated: Russian MOD

Ara Felekian
Mehr News Agency, Iran

TEHRAN, Mar. 26 (MNA) – Russian defense ministry has said that Azerbaijani troops crossed the contact line in the disputed region in violation of the ceasefire deal in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Baku’s forces have violated the Russian-brokered 2020 peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday, according to Russia Today (RT).

Russian peacekeepers stationed in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region are now investigating the incident, the ministry added.

On Saturday, an Azerbaijani military unit crossed the contact line set by the 2020 deal and seized a high ground area, the statement issued by the ministry said. The Azerbaijani forces then started fieldwork in the area.

It is unclear if the Azerbaijani troops complied with the peacekeepers’ demands as of Saturday evening. Baku and Yerevan have been locked in a decades-old dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan but has a mainly ethnic Armenian population.

Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from Baku in the early 1990s and has since enjoyed support from Yerevan. In 2020, the two nations fought a 44-day war, which ended in a truce brokered and monitored by Russia. Moscow sent a peacekeeping force to the area as part of the deal.

The conflict has since seen sporadic flare-ups resulting in border clashes. A major outbreak occurred last September and claimed the lives of dozens of soldiers on both sides.

The agreements brokered by Russia include the delimitation of the two nation’s borders, the opening of transportation routes, and the establishment of contacts between civilian groups, lawmakers, and religious leaders from the two countries. Moscow has said it is ready to further contribute to the peace process.

The incident comes just days after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that a peace deal would be struck, adding that there would not be another escalation.

MNA/PR

Azerbaijan ‘breaches line of contact’ seizing positions in Nagorno-Karabakh

Samvel Nahapetian
 

ByAni AvetisyanandIsmi Aghayev
Footage released by Azerbaijan claimed to show the construction of an alternative route to the Lachin Corridor.

Azerbaijani forces have crossed the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh, purportedly in response to the construction of a new road.

On Saturday evening, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry  announced they were taking ‘urgent measures’ to prevent the alleged construction of a road to bypass the Lachin corridor.

The corridor, the only connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, has been under blockade near Shusha (Shushi) since December. 

There were no reports of clashes or casualties. 

The Russian Defence Ministry said Azerbaijani troops had ‘breached’ the line of contact in violation of the 9 November ceasefire agreement, which brought an end to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. They said Azerbaijani forces had taken up new positions near Shusha.

Russia urged Azerbaijan to comply with the agreement, which placed areas of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast that Azerbaijan had not taken control of at the time of the ceasefire under the control of a Russian peacekeeping force.

Stepanakert announced on Saturday evening that Russian peacekeepers had taken up positions on the height taken by Azerbaijani troops and were negotiating their withdrawl. 

In a statement later in the evening, the Foreign Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh called on the peacekeeping mission and the international community to act. 

‘The authorities expect the peacekeeping contingent to take practical steps to eliminate the consequences of this violation and prevent new violations’, the statement read. 

They also said Azerbaijan’s actions were a ‘cynical response’ to a ruling by the International Court of Justice ordering Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin Corridor.

On Friday, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry published footage of what they said was the construction of a new alternative road to the Lachin Corridor warning at the time that they would take ‘preventive’ measures. 

Baku has previously accused Yerevan, Stepanakert, and the Russian peacekeepers of using an alternative unpaved road to transfer arms and Armenian troops to the region. Both Yerevan and Stepanakert denied the accusations. 

According to Stepanakert, the road in question was used to connect four villages cut off from the rest of Nagorno-Karabakh by the closure of the Lachin Corridor.

The 2020 ceasefire agreement stipulated that a new section of the Lachin Corridor be constructed to bypass the entrance to Shusha, though a final agreed route has not been made public.

There have been unconfirmed media reports that an alternative route was being used to bring in supplies from Armenia, though no evidence of arms transfers has emerged. 

Following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Azerbaijani troops have appeared to breach the line of contact with Nagorno-Karabakh several times. 

In December 2020, in the immediate aftermath of the ceasefire, two villages in the Hadrut region of Nagorno-Karabakh, stipulated to be under the control of the Russian peacekeeping force, were captured by Azerbaijani troops, who took dozens of soldiers captive. 

Russian peacekeepers remained silent at the time.

In March 2022, Azerbaijani troops advanced in the direction of the village of Parukh (Farukh), forcing villagers to evacuate and positioning themselves in the mountains surrounding the village.

Despite the peacekeeping mission deploying troops and armoured vehicles to the area, residents have not been allowed to return due to security concerns. 

[Read more: Russia deploys more peacekeepers to halt ‘Azerbaijani advance’ in Nagorno-Karabakh]

These and other incidents in Nagorno-Karabakh have led officials in Yerevan and Stepanakert to question the effectiveness of the Russian Peacekeeping contingent. There have also been growing calls for an international peacekeeping mission or UN mandate for the Russian mission. 

[Read more: Nagorno-Karabakh seeks UN peacekeeping mandate]

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


Azerbaijani forces seize territory in Nagorno-Karabakh

Arsine Chaltikian
March 27 2023

Russia accused Azerbaijani troops of violating the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire agreement. / bne IntelliNews
By bne IntelliNews 
Russia accused Azerbaijani troops of violating the 2020 Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire agreement on March 20 after they advanced into Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
 
According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the Azerbaijani forces occupied a hill near the Lachin corridor connecting the ethnic Armenian area of Karabakh to Armenia, the area where Azerbaijani protestors have been blocking the main road for over three months. This action violated a key term of the Russian-brokered ceasefire that ended the six-week war in Karabakh, which broke away from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.
 
The Russian peacekeepers, who have been deployed in the region since the ceasefire, demanded that Azerbaijan withdraw its troops to their previously occupied positions. The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry claimed that its troops took necessary measures to stop Armenia from sending weapons and military personnel through dirt roads parallel to the blocked section of the Lachin corridor. The Armenian and Karabakh leaderships have denied these allegations.
 
The Azerbaijani forces crossed the "line of contact" near the site of a March 5 shootout that left three Karabakh police officers and two Azerbaijani soldiers dead. The Armenian side claimed that an Azerbaijani sabotage group ambushed a vehicle carrying Karabakh police officers before being repelled by Karabakh soldiers deployed nearby. The Russian peacekeepers confirmed that version of events. However, Baku claimed its soldiers came under fire as they tried to check the police van allegedly smuggling weapons from Armenia.
 
Tensions in the conflict have risen significantly since then, with the Armenian government repeatedly accusing Baku of preparing the ground for another attack on Armenia and Karabakh. Meanwhile, authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have accused the Azerbaijani military of firing at Karabakh Armenian villagers who were cultivating land in their communities.
 
The interior ministry in Stepanakert reported that a group of residents of Machkalashen, a village in Karabakh's Martuni district, came under small arms fire from nearby Azerbaijani army positions as they worked in local vineyards on Thursday and Friday morning. Although the gunfire injured no one, the farmers had to stop their work. The Azerbaijani troops opened fire despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers protecting the farmers.
 
Similar incidents were reported from another Martuni village, Chartar, earlier last week. Local farmers have requested the Russian peacekeeping forces help ensure their security.
 
The reported incidents highlight tensions in the conflict zone more than three months after Azerbaijan blocked Karabakh's sole road to Armenia. The Azerbaijani military has repeatedly accused Armenia this month of transporting military personnel and weapons to Karabakh and threatened to take "resolute" actions to stop the alleged shipments. Yerevan has strongly denied the allegations, saying that Baku may be preparing the ground for launching offensive military operations in Karabakh or along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
 
In March, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry released footage of a Russian armoured vehicle escorting a convoy of trucks along a dirt road running parallel to a section of the Lachin corridor blocked by Azerbaijani government-backed protesters. The ministry portrayed the video as further proof of Baku's allegations. However, the Karabakh Interior Ministry insisted that these and other vehicles using the barely passable road transport only civilians and "humanitarian cargo".
 
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated last week that Armenia and Azerbaijan are still at odds over important terms of a bilateral peace treaty that they have been discussing. The two sides have submitted written proposals regarding the treaty in recent months, but the details have yet to be made public. According to Mirzoyan, there have been discussions and some compromise language, but major issues of primary importance remain unresolved.
 
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian also acknowledged last month that Yerevan and Baku still disagree on three or four elements of the proposed treaty without disclosing them. Baku insists that the peace accord should be based on five principles, including mutual recognition of each other's territorial integrity, including Armenian recognition of Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh. 
 
Armenian leaders have been vague about such recognition in their public statements, emphasising the "rights and security" of Karabakh's ethnic Armenian population. Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenia's Security Council, recently said that Yerevan is seeking relevant security guarantees for the Karabakh Armenians, which could involve establishing a "demilitarised zone" around Karabakh or an "international presence" in the Armenian-populated territory.


Armenia and Turkey to open land border for third country citizens ahead of tourist season

Emil Lazarian
By bne IntelliNews 
Armenia and Turkey have agreed to open their shared border for citizens of third countries and persons with diplomatic passports before the upcoming tourist season, according to Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
 
This move is part of efforts to normalise relations between the two countries, which have had no diplomatic ties since Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 as a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan during the conflict over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
 
In July 2022, Armenia and Turkey agreed in principle to normalise their relations, including opening their shared border for third-country nationals and starting direct cargo flights. Special envoys from Ankara and Yerevan began talks in January 2022 to fully restore ties "without preconditions". Since then, the two countries have appointed special envoys to help normalise relations and have had four meetings.
 
Armenia's Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Minister Gnel Sanosyan announced that repairing the 29km section of the Armavir-Gyumri road bordering Turkey will be accelerated in 2023. The repair work will resume soon as soon as the weather conditions become favourable. This road connects the western regions of Armenia and passes through the Shirak region, adjacent to the Turkish border.
 
Despite being one of the first countries to recognise Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union, Turkey and Armenia have had a troubled relationship. Turkey also does not recognise the Armenian genocide of 1915-1923, which killed an estimated 1.5mn Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman government. In 2009, an agreement was reached in Zurich to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the border between Turkey and Armenia. Still, Turkey later insisted that it would not ratify the deal until Armenia withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh.
 
In 2020, Turkey supported Azerbaijan during the six-week war in Nagorno-Karabakh, which ended with Azerbaijan gaining control of a significant portion of the region. However, in February this year, the Margara land checkpoint on the Armenian-Turkish border was opened for the first time in 30 years to allow Armenian trucks to deliver tons of food, medicine, and other relief supplies to Turkey's regions affected by a powerful earthquake. 
 
Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan visited Turkey on February 15 to meet with the Armenian search and rescue team operating in Adiyaman. In the wake of the recent earthquake in Adiyaman, a 27-member Armenian search and rescue team was deployed to the area after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Armenia also sent five trucks carrying 100 tonnes of food, medicine, and other relief supplies to Turkey through a border that had been closed since 1993.
 
At the beginning of his remarks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for expressing solidarity and condolences to Turkey immediately after the recent earthquake. He emphasised that the normalisation of relations in the South Caucasus continues and that cooperation in the humanitarian sphere will support this process.
 
"The progress to be made in normalising Armenia's relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan will ensure peace and prosperity in our region. We talked with my colleague Ararat Mirzoyan about the steps to be taken in the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkey. We also received information from him about the comprehensive peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I specifically want to say from here that if these three countries take sincere steps, we will establish permanent peace in the South Caucasus; peace in this region is extremely important for economic prosperity," said the Turkish foreign minister.