2023 – Page 905 – Armenian Directory & News

‘Azerbaijan seeks to create conditions for unhindered ethnic cleansing’, warns Nagorno Karabakh

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Hovhannisian John

17:06,

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 15, ARMENPRESS. The statements by the Azerbaijani side that the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict has been resolved and is no longer on the international agenda are untrue, the Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on March 15.

Below is the full statement issued by the Artsakh MFA.

“In response to the statements made by Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the President’s Office Hikmet Hajiyev regarding the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict, the negotiation process and a number of other issues, we consider it necessary to state the following:

The statements of the Azerbaijani side that the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict has been resolved and is no longer on the international agenda do not correspond to reality. The fact that the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict has not been resolved and needs a comprehensive settlement has been repeatedly stated by representatives of both individual States, including the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries, and a number of international organisations.

The fact that the UN Security Council, which bears primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, in December 2022 discussed the situation related to the blocking of the Lachin Corridor, refutes the claims of the Azerbaijani side that the conflict is no longer on the international agenda. The desire of official Baku to legitimise the results of the illegal use of force against the Republic of Artsakh and its people and present it as a solution to the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict is an attempt to return to the times when military force prevailed over international law.

We are convinced that a comprehensive settlement of the conflict can only be achieved through negotiations, on the basis of the norms and principles of international law. Rejecting the international mechanism of dialogue with official Stepanakert, Azerbaijan is trying to avoid the implementation of possible agreements. Engagement of the international community in the dialogue between Artsakh and Azerbaijan is the only way to guarantee a comprehensive settlement of the conflict.

We strongly reject Azerbaijan’s attempts to distort the essence of the conflict and present it as an internal issue. Against the backdrop of the 90-day blockade of Artsakh, it is obvious that in this way Azerbaijan seeks to create conditions for unhindered ethnic cleansing in Artsakh, excluding the intervention of the international community. This is why Azerbaijan is opposed to the involvement of the international community, including the sending of international missions to Artsakh, so that nothing and no one can prevent the implementation of their criminal plans to ethnically cleanse Artsakh.

At the same time, Azerbaijan continues to make false accusations claiming that Armenia has not fully withdrawn its armed forces and continues to supply arms and ammunition to Artsakh. Such statements do not correspond to reality and are intended to justify the blockade of Artsakh, which has been lasting for more than 90 days.

We emphasise that the Republic of Artsakh has a Defence Army made up of local residents, the presence of which does not contradict any provision of the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, and remains the main guarantee of the security of the people of Artsakh. Azerbaijan’s campaign against the Artsakh Defence Army is due to the fact that Baku seeks to deprive the Artsakh Armenians of the possibility of self-defence and resistance to Azerbaijan’s criminal plans of ethnic cleansing.

Azerbaijan’s claims that the Lachin Corridor is open are false. It should be noted that during the hearings of the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijan had the opportunity to present all its arguments regarding the situation related to the blocking of the Lachin Corridor. However, after a detailed examination of the arguments presented by the parties, the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to ensure the unimpeded movement along the Lachin Corridor. We recall once again that the decisions of the International Court of Justice are legally binding.”

While carrying out pruning work in the vineyards, 3 citizens came under irregular fire from Azerbaijani combat positions

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Arpi Talalian

17:54,

YERERVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. On March 15, around 11:00 a.m., the Police of Artsakh received an alarm that 3 citizens, while doing pruning work in the vineyards near the area called “Under Khazazin” in the Amaras valley, came under irregular fire from the adjacent Azerbaijani military positions.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Artsakh, agricultural works were stopped as a result of the shootings. There are no casualties.

The Russian peacekeeping troops were informed about the incident.

Putin, Assad meet in Moscow

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Nahapetian Samvel

19:57,

YERERVAN, MARCH 15, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin is conducting negotiations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Kremlin, ARMENPRESS reports, Ria Novosti informed. According to the source, the head of Syria arrived in Moscow in the evening of March 14. On the morning of March 15, he laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

During the meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that they are in constant contact and that the relations between the two countries are developing.

“Dear Mr. President, I am very happy to see you in Moscow. Thank you for accepting our invitation. We are in constant contact and our relations are developing,” Putin said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are expected to discuss issues of further development of Russian-Syrian cooperation in the political, commercial, economic and humanitarian spheres, as well as the prospects for a comprehensive settlement of the situation in Syria.

The last time Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad met was in September 2021, when the Syrian president visited Moscow.

Armenpress: Armenian FM and Brazilian Ambassador discuss issues of regional security and stability

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Chakrian Hovsep

21:01,

YERERVAN, MARCH 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan received Fabio Vaz Pitaluga, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Brazil to the Republic of Armenia on March 15.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from MFA Armenia, the interlocutors exchanged ideas on the expanding political dialogue between Armenia and Brazil and a wide range of issues on the Armenian-Brazilian bilateral agenda. Prospects of cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including trade, high technologies and agriculture, were discussed.

During the meeting, the effective cooperation between the two countries on multilateral platforms, as well as the strengthening of inter-parliamentary ties, were also discussed.

Issues related to regional security and stability were also discussed at the meeting. Minister Mirzoyan presented the Armenia’s vision in the process of regulating relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It was emphasized that the Azerbaijani side thwarts the efforts to establish peace and stability in the region with its rhetoric and continuous provocations.

Referring to the blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized the need to fulfill the legally binding decision made by the International Court of Justice on February 22 regarding the indication of a provisional measure against Azerbaijan.

Asbarez: Newly Launched Publishing House to Release Original Armenian Works

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Kalashian Nyrie

by Contributor

in Arts & Culture, Books, Latest, News, Top Stories

Founder of Arpi Publishing, Arpi Krikorian (center) with the newly launched publishing house’s Board members

LOS ANGELES—Arpi Publishing, a new, nonprofit publishing house, was launched on February 19 at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Glendale. Founded by Los Angeles artist and author Arpi Krikorian, the organization is dedicated to publishing original Armenian-language books for children and young adults.

“For as long as I remember, authors and artists seeking to create books in Armenian have had neither the institutional support system nor funding for their projects,” Krikorian said. “What this has meant, basically, is that a new work of literature has very little chance of seeing the light of day unless it’s backed by a sponsor or it’s self-published.”

Krikorian continued: “So it comes as no surprise that there has been a lack of contemporary Armenian books, dealing with contemporary topics, that would be available to kids in schools across the Diaspora, especially at the elementary and higher levels. The result is that the Armenian literature taught at schools today rarely reflects the modern life outside school walls.”

“It was in view of these issues that I decided to try to take a step toward a solution,” Krikorian said. “Last year, a long-cherished dream started to become reality as I was able to gather a group of like-minded individuals passionate about starting a publishing house.”

A scene from the Arpi Publishing launch event, held on Feb. 19

As Krikorian recalled, the initiative got underway in early 2021, as a board was formed, objectives were set, and work began on a website (arpipublishing.com). “With the founding of Arpi Publishing, the overarching goal was to establish a catalyst for change, namely a publishing house that could provide authors and book illustrators with the necessary funding and support to create original works of literature in Armenian, written for children and young adults,” Krikorian said.

Arpi Publishing’s board comprises of scholars, teachers, and writers. They include Dr. Talar Chahinian, lecturer with the Program for Armenian Studies at the University of California, Irvine; Dr. Myrna Douzjian, continuing lecturer in Armenian language and literature at the University of California, Berkeley; Dr. Hagop Gulludjian, holder of the Kachigian Lectureship in Armenian Language and Culture at UCLA; Norayr Daduryan, director and lead teacher at the Armenian Academy of Blair High School, in Pasadena, California; Arpi Krikorian; Armenian language and history teacher Peggy Jinbashian; and author and literary translator Ishkhan Jinbashian.

“Another key goal behind the establishment of the publishing house was to help empower the continued utilization and dissemination of Western Armenian as a language of literature, especially given the lack of new, original works written in the language for our youth,” said Dr. Myrna Douzjian.

Mr. and Mrs. Brandon and Sonia Pierce, who provided the seed money for the launching of Arpi Publishing

Seed money for the establishment of Arpi Publishing, in the amount of $15,000, was provided by Mr. and Mrs. Brandon and Sonia Pierce. Subsequently the organization received a $20,000 donation from Mr. and Mrs. Kevon and Alexia Kevonian. In December of last year, Brandon and Sonia Pierce contributed to Arpi Publishing once more, this time with a surprise donation, also in the amount of $15,000. Both this contribution and the Kevonians’ were made to fund the publication of Arpi Publishing’s first books.

“Our first major donors, the Pierce and Kevonian families, are the reason Arpi Publishing exists. It is thanks to their heartwarming generosity and strong belief in the importance of our project that we were able to get it off the ground,” Krikorian said.

“Today, we’re looking for authors and illustrators eager to have their works published and made available to a young readership,” said Norayr Daduryan. “And we’re looking for original, imaginative stories that would make for great books. Toward this aim, we’ve made the story-submission process through our website very simple, for authors and book illustrators alike. Also, as a publishing house dedicated to literary excellence, we will have accomplished editors working alongside our authors,” he added.

“We’re aiming to publish as many as five books his year, and I’m thrilled to report that we’ve already signed three authors,” said Hagop Gulludjian. “To meet its publishing targets this year and in order to be able to fulfill its full potential in the long term, Arpi Publishing needs broad community support. Every tax-deductible donation, irrespective of size, goes toward the publication of a new book. And with each school and community organization acquiring copies of the published books, our shared vision of a dynamic and ever-evolving literature, written in Western Armenian, is certain to come one step closer to being the new norm.”

EU Rep. Klaar Calls on Artsakh to Negotiate with Azerbaijan

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Hagop Kamalian

by Asbarez Staff

in Armenia, Artsakh, Latest, News, Top Stories

Toivo Klaar, the EU’s special representative to the South Caucasus

The European Union’s special representatives for the Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, on Wednesday called on Artsakh to hold direct negotiations with Baku.

“There can be no other alternative to direct contacts between Baku and representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh,” Klaar told the News.am agency.

Klaar called the recent discussions between Azerbaijani and Artsakh representatives the “right step” and welcomed the discussions, the most recent of which was held on March 1 with Azerbaijan insisting on discussing integration of Artsakh within Azerbaijan, a point rejected by Artsakh representatives.

News.am reported that Klaar emphasized that the dialogue must aim to instill and build confidence and not sow further divisions.

“We call on all interested parties to refrain from negative rhetoric and focus on finding a settlement through mutual concessions, which address the legitimate concerns of all sides,” Klaar told News.am.

He also expressed concern over recent ceasefire violations and called for the complete opening of the Lachin Corridor.

Earlier this week, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry criticized Klaar for non-constructive statements he made in Baku to both Azerbaijani officials and during an interview with the APA news agency.

In Baku, Klaar seemed to echo Baku’s insistence on installing checkpoints along the Lachin Corridor, saying that transparency would lend to a more beneficial settlement. Not only have Artsakh and Armenian officials opposed such checkpoints, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov also told Azerbaijani officials that such mechanism go against the provisions of the November 9, 2020 agreement.

The EU envoy also made his own interpretations of the agreement, saying that Azerbaijan’s insistence to carve a pathway through Armenia to Nakhichevan was included in the language of the statement, which it is not.

CivilNet: Ex-NATO chief lambasts Azerbaijan’s ‘illegal’ blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Mary Lazarian

CIVILNET.AM

15 Mar, 2023 06:03

The ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians would be a “red line” for the West, said former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen during a meeting with Armenian reporters and policy experts Monday, including CivilNet Editor-in-Chief Karen Harutyunyan. After holding high-level talks with Armenia’s prime minister and other senior officials, Rasmussen visited the entrance of the Lachin corridor, the only overland route between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, which Azerbaijan has blockaded for more than 90 days.

Credits: Ruptly

March 5 Azeri killings of Nagorno Karabakh police officers constitutes triple violation of trilateral statement – PM

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Ekmekjian Janet

11:27,

YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. The March 5 killings of the three Nagorno Karabakh police officers by Azerbaijani armed forces constitute a triple violation of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said Thursday.

“In spite of the February 22 ruling by the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijan continues to illegally block the only paved road of the Lachin Corridor which connects Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia. The humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh remains tense as a result of this. At the same time, we see concrete actions by Azerbaijan aimed at military escalation in the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh. A latest vivid manifestation of this was the killings of the three police officers in Nagorno Karabakh by an Azerbaijani sabotage team on March 5. As a reminder, the police officers were on-duty, traveling on board a passenger car en route to the villages of Hin Shen and Mets Shen in Nagorno Karabakh. This yet another incident took place in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh,” the Prime Minister said at the Cabinet meeting.

The PM noted that Russia formally recorded in its March 6 statement that Azerbaijan initiated the incident.

“The statement of the Russian Defense Ministry also noted that an investigation with participation of representatives of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan is underway to reveal the details of the incident,” the PM said. Pashinyan said the fact that the killings took place in the Lachin Corridor must receive a clear assessment.

“According to clause 6 of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, the Lachin Corridor isn’t just the road which has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022, it actually constitutes a 5 kilometer wide territory, a security zone. Thus, the killings perpetrated by Azerbaijan on March 5 constitute a triple violation of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement. Not only were the Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire and line of contact violated, but also the five kilometer wide zone of the Lachin Corridor,” the PM said.

Armenpress: Armenian deminers complete clearance of 88,000 sq.m territory in Aleppo Governorate, Syria

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Jagharian Tania

10:45,

YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Armenian specialists from the Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise – deployed to Syria since 2019 – have completed the demining of 88,000 square meters of land in the Aleppo Governorate, Kantsasar newspaper reported.

The completion of the clearing operation featured a ceremonial commissioning of the territory where the Aleppo Governorate authorities accepted the cleared area from the deminers.

Armenia to urgently initiate international mechanisms for genocide prevention in Nagorno Karabakh

March 16, 2023March 12, 2026 Bedik Zaminian

12:07,

YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani propaganda has for long been creating an information background for a large-scale attack on Nagorno Karabakh and the trends of tensions are visible on the ground, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned Thursday.

“Our assessment remains the same, the Azerbaijani military-political leadership is making preparations for ethnic cleansing and genocide against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. By and large, this assessment is also present in the February 22 ruling of the International Court of Justice, where it is clearly recorded that the closure of the Lachin Corridor can result in irreversible humanitarian consequences for the people of Nagorno Karabakh. In this regard I find it important and urgent for Armenia to take measures in direction of initiating international mechanisms for genocide prevention. I am speaking about the mechanisms envisaged within the framework of the United Nations. I have given a relevant instruction to the foreign ministry about this,” the PM said.

He said they continue to work in order to send an international fact-finding mission to Lachin Corridor and Nagorno Karabakh.

“I believe the fact-finding mission is important also for addressing the groundless claims by Azerbaijan accusing Armenia of maintaining an army in Nagorno Karabakh and arms shipments from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh. These claims are groundless, and Azerbaijan is attempting to use it as a new pretext for a regional military escalation, therefore sending an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno Karabakh and Lachin Corridor is becoming a necessity in this regard.”

He said the matter was discussed during the EU-mediated meeting with Azerbaijani President Aliyev in Prague in December. The Azerbaijani president claimed during the meeting that Armenia maintains a military presence in Nagorno Karabakh. In order to refute the claim, Pashinyan said he offered to send an international fact-finding mission to NK to confirm Armenia’s claim that it has no army there, however Aliyev himself rejected the idea.