Category: News

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon plans to pay official visits to Azerbaijan and Armenia in late April, despite the escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a UN source told on Monday.

According to the source, the escalation in the region “did not affect” the plans of the Secretary-General.

Last week, a UN source told TASS that Ban Ki-moon was going to visit Armenia and Azerbaijan and meet with leaders of the two countries shortly after the signing of the Paris climate deal set for April 22.

However, Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, did not confirm the visit.

If Ban Ki-moon goes there, he will obviously meet with the heads of the countries, the spokesman said.

Lusine Avanesyan
Public Radio of Armenia

Twenty Armenian soldiers were killed, 72 were wounded as a result of the clashes along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact, Spokesman for the NKR Defense Ministry Senor Hasratyan told reporters in Stepanakert.

According to him, another 26 servicemen are missing. The Armenian side lost seven tanks. “Azerbaijan’s advancement has not exceeded 300 meters. At this point we have lost 5 military positions in the southern direction and 3 in the northern direction of the line of contact,” Hasratyan said.

As for the losses of the Azerbaijani side, Hasratyan noted that the rival lost 18 tanks, 2 helicopters, 6 infantry fighting vehicles, other military equipment. He said 300 Azeri servicemen were killed in clashes.

The CNN listened to the Foreign Ministers of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan as it presented developments along the line of contact.

“In the early hours of April 2 Azerbaijan initiated an unprecedented escalation at the line of contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, using military equipment, artillery and aircraft,” NKR Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan told CNN.

“The Azerbaijani side fired artillery shells not only on the military positions, but also the populated areas, which resulted in many casualties, including among the civilian population,” Mirzoyan added.

Elmar Mammadyarov’s stated that “Azerbaijan is most interested in a peaceful settlement,” but said “we need a result from the point of view that our territories are under occupation.”

In response to the statement, teh NKR Foreign Minister said “it’s not a matter of territories, it’s a matter of self-determination.” “Twenty five years ago these people voted for independence, and now the current regime is Baku is trying to oppress this people not only by diplomatic, but also military means, which is a dangerous development.”

“We are looking for a diplomatic settlement, for a mechanism that will provide us with an opportunity of co-existence in this region,” the NKR Foreign Minister said.

Karen Mirzoyan added that “Karabakh highly appreciates the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, the international community, but added that any “unaddressed calls to both parties are received by Azerbaijan not as a sign of concern, not as a sign that it’s time to stop the violence, but as a sign that it could continue its policy.”

“We heard opinions from both sides,” the CNN host said at the end of the debate.

US Vice-President Joe Biden on Monday said he held talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and urged them to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“As I told Presidents Aliyev and Sargsyan, comprehensive settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh is critical for their stability, security, prosperity,” he wrote on Twitter.

As I told Presidents Aliyev & Sargsyan, comprehensive settlement in is critical for their stability, security, prosperity.

— Vice President Biden (@VP)

President Serzh Sargsyan visited today the soldiers wounded as a result of military actions along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact.

The President asked the doctors about the health condition of the servicemen, voiced his support to the soldiers and wished them speedy recovery.

The Kardashians are praying for Armenia as the country engages in a new conflict with neighboring country Azerbaijan.

The Kardashians are part-Armenian through their late father, Robert Kardashian, who was born to Armenian-American parents.

The family has played up its ties to the country on and off over the years, most notably with Khloe and Kim Kardashian’s trip there nearly a year ago. Now both Khloe and Kourtney have taken to Twitter to ask for prayers.

Pray for Armenia ?????

— Khloé (@khloekardashian)

The sisters tweeted around the same time on Monday, “Pray for Armenia.” Kourtney’s tweet was accompanied by a prayer hands emoji and the Armenian flag icon. Khloe also used the flag, as well as three emoji faces signifying distress.

Pray for Armenia. ????

— Kourtney Kardashian (@kourtneykardash)

Heavy fighting continues in the northern and southern directions of the line of contact of armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, Spokesman for the Armenian Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan said. He added, however, that the Armenian side holds the initiative and there can be no talk about Azerbaijan’s success.

“We continue to take measures to restrain the actions of the rival, and are dictating the situation on many sections of the frontline. It should be noted, however, that the heavy fighting continues at some parts of the line of contact, where the rival has accumulated a large amount of armaments,” he said.

The Spokesman advises to ignore Azeri reports on the loss of Armenian troops and combat equipment and notes that the information is meant to create panic, as information war is an indispensable part of contemporary war.

The first groups of volunteers from Armenian have arrived in Artsakh. Thousands are volunteering to join the soldiers on the frontline as heavy fighting continues along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact.

On April 1^st, the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) and the Assyrian Universal Alliance (AUA) sent a joint letter to Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop.

The joint letter addresses the issues and concerns of both the Armenian and Assyrian communities in regards to the decision made by Turkey to take ownership of more than 6000 properties in the Sur district of the Diyarbakir region, including Saint Giragos Church, which is the largest Armenian Church in the Middle East, as well as the Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church.

This expropriation comes after a violent crackdown on the Kurdish minority in the region, further contributing to the questionable human rights record that Turkey has with respect to the treatment of its minority groups.

The letter makes references to the reports covering this ruling. It also references statements made by Garo Paylan, an Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament and member of the Kurdish Peoples’ Party (HDP), the Co-chair of the HDP, Figen Yüksekdag, as well as the Diyarbakir Bar Association.

The letter stressed that this “immediate expropriation” violates the right of property, and explicitly contradicts the Turkish Constitution’s Expropriation Law, and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The letter stated that there could be no justifiable “security” grounds to expropriate churches and other religious sites or property. Even more so because of Turkey’s atrocious record of destroying and desecrating both Armenian, Assyrian and Greek religious and cultural heritage, especially during and after the Genocide of Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks in 1915.

It was stressed that this was a renewed attack by President Recep Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on the Christian Communities of Turkey whose heritage and existence is increasingly under threat.

ANC Australia and the AUA jointly call upon the Australian Government urgently to:

1. add its voice to our Communities’ concerns;
2. convey its objection to the expropriation of these Churches (and all other religious sites and property) to the representatives of the Republic of Turkey; and
3. request the immediate return of all Churches and other religious sites and properties back to their rightful owners.

ANC Australia Executive Administrator, Arin Markarian said: “It is important that in times like these we stand united with our minority partners and ensure that religious and cultural centres for people to gather in are not under Turkish state control.”

“That is why the Armenians and Assyrians strongly condemn these expropriation actions taken by Turkey, and urge the Australian government to condemn this decision as well.”