Category: News

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation Youth Organization of Armenia and the ARF “Nikol Aghbalian” Student Association organized a demonstration Friday outside of Armenia’s National Security Service headquarters.

The demonstrators demanded that the Azerbaijani serviceman who entered Armenian territory and attacked a mother and her children not be extradited to Azerbaijan, but instead be held accountable in Armenia and exchanged for Armenian compatriots currently being held captive in Baku.

Protesters carried banners reading: “The Return of Armenian Captives Is a Priority,” “Next Time It Could Be Your Family,” “The State’s Role Is to Prevent, Not Simply Record,” and “Syunik—Open to Azerbaijanis, Sponsored by the NSS.”

Taron Manukyan, a member of the Central Executive of the ARF Youth Organization of Armenia, said he and other protesters were standing outside the NSS headquarters with a “great sense of shame,” because they were being forced to demand that the Azerbaijani serviceman who violated Armenia’s border and shot an Armenian woman in the presence of her children not be handed over to Azerbaijan.

“We have found ourselves in a situation where an Azerbaijani serviceman opens fire on an Armenian mother, and it is possible that he could be extradited as a gesture of goodwill, as we have seen happen in the past,” Manukyan said.

“Our demand is the following: he must not be handed over to the enemy. The only acceptable precondition for his transfer to Azerbaijan is his exchange for one of our Armenian servicemen held captive. Any other arrangement is unacceptable to us,” he added.

Earlier on Friday, Azerbaijani presidential Hikmet Hajiyev had said that official Baku was concerned about some trends in Armenian society, in particular, the presence of forces with significant influence and the youth in Armenia.

“Another worrying factor is that revanchist sentiments persist among Armenian youth. This is an important circumstance. That is why we call also on Armenia’s government to actively work towards preparing its society for peace,” Hajiyev said.

“I address my words to Hajiyev: if you are taking steps to establish peace with the Armenian people, then release the Armenian captives. Armenian youth will regard that as the strongest tangible evidence of your commitment to peace. Otherwise, all of your claims are simply false,” said Stella Hunanyan, a member of the ARF Youth Organization Central Executive, in response to Hajiyev’s statement.

Speaking to reporters about the possibility that the Azerbaijani serviceman who shot an Armenian woman in the village of Shaki in Syunik could be extradited to Azerbaijan, Garnik Danielyan, a member of the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia, recalled the case involving the killing of a security guard in Syunik.

“I want to remind you of the case involving the murder of a security guard in Syunik, when the criminal was sent back to Azerbaijan, where he was awarded honors and laurels, where he was practically turned into a hero, just as they glorified Ramil Safarov and others like him,” Danielyan said, referring to the Azerbaijani soldier who killed an Armenian serviceman with an axe during a NATO training seminar in Hungary.

“The entire responsibility for this falls on the authorities of Armenia. It is because of the authorities allowing such incidents to happen, and because there are no consequences, these types of incidents will continue to be repeated. Unfortunately, these developments will continue because those responsible are not punished, while Armenia acts as though nothing has happened,” he added.

According to Danielyan, the incident must first be investigated and assessed within the Republic of Armenia, while the position of the affected family must also be taken into consideration during any subsequent negotiations.

“He must first be convicted in Armenia. Our society is not aware of the details of what happened. The case is being covered up. Cases that are sufficiently serious and of public importance are not being made known to the public,” Danielyan said.

Addressing Armenia’s security challenges and the issue of external assistance, Danielyan said that Armenia’s security concerns cannot be resolved by Russia or the United States.

“There are issues that we must resolve ourselves. America is not going to come and protect our Armenian women or our children in our place. So who is supposed to come and protect us and our homes? First and foremost, we must understand the depth of the crisis we are facing,” he said.

President Ilham Aliyev addresses the ruling New Azerbaijan Party congress in Baku on Oct. 2

In what can be seen as another attack on Armenia and inciting further hatred toward Armenians, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on Friday accused the current Armenian authorities, with whom he is negotiating a peace agreement, of having had territorial claims against his country, vowing that the people of Azerbaijan “must never forget.”

Aliyev was speaking at the congress of his ruling New Azerbaijan Party, when he also called Armenia’s previous leaders “war criminals.”

“It is true that Armenia’s former leaders are war criminals and must face punishment; however, it was Armenia’s current authorities who made territorial claims against us and insulted the dignity of the Azerbaijani people with inappropriate and uncivilized statements. In short, we must never forget that,” Aliyev said.

“The Azerbaijani people united like a fist to demand their rights, and the Azerbaijani leadership fulfilled this honorable mission. Azerbaijan paved the way for major geopolitical changes,” Aliyev said.

In direct reference to a statement made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Stepanakert in August 2019, Aliyev said: “Those who once said, ‘Karabakh is Armenia, full stop,’ now say, ‘Karabah is Azerbaijan!’”

Aliyev also portrayed Azerbaijan’s military campaigns as part of a continuous effort to achieve what he termed the “complete restoration of the country’s territorial integrity.”

Referring to the inhumane practices of Azerbaijani soldiers during the 2020 War as a “glorious victory,” Aliyev emphasized that his government had continued working on several fronts between the 2020 conflict and the September 2023 military campaign against Artsakh, which forced the displacement of the entire Armenian population from its ancestral lands.

He further identified the continued strengthening of Azerbaijan’s military capacity as one of the country’s lead priorities.

Aliyev also called for tighter control over the country’s ideological sphere, saying it should remain free of what he described as foreign elements and influences. He said Azerbaijan’s ideological work should be reorganized on a “contemporary” basis and insisted that the country did not need to create “myths” to sustain its national narrative.

Aliyev also spoke about foreign policy, stating that Baku has shaped—and must continue to shape—its policy in such a way that no one interferes in its affairs. “We need neither anyone’s help nor anyone’s patronage,” he emphasized.

Aliyev asserted that Azerbaijan, rich in energy resources, has now become a significant geopolitical and security factor. “Because energy security equates to national security for every country, and our role will only grow,” he declared—despite forecasts by major international energy agencies and the Azerbaijani government itself indicating that the country’s oil production is set to decline in the long term.

He claimed that Azerbaijan currently commands great respect on the international stage, with many prominent experts and analysts already classifying the country among the ranks of middle powers.

“There are numerous parameters for this. We have fully secured economic independence, and today we are a highly respected member of the international community. Our destiny is in our own hands,” Aliyev said.

Aliyev’s latest comments come against a documented record of international concern over official anti-Armenian discourse, highlighting the continued use of hostile state rhetoric even as Baku presents its relations with Armenia as entering a post-conflict period.

The Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance has warned that the line between Azerbaijani political rhetoric directed at Armenian decision-makers and hate speech targeting Armenians as an ethnic or national group has become “blurred and practically impossible to discern.” It has also documented inflammatory rhetoric by politicians, including at Azerbaijan’s highest political levels.

Aliyev also spoke about his “Great Return” campaign, which seeks to resettle occupied Artsakh

“96,000 people live, work, and study in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur,” Aliyev said, adding that approximately $16 billion has been spent to date on the development of these regions. He noted that the majority of the projects being implemented have been completed, and “internally displaced persons have already been resettled in 48 settlements.”

“In the coming years, the ‘Great Return’ will proceed at a faster pace,” he stressed.