Rita Sharoyan, veteran journalist and longtime Armenia correspondent for Horizon Television, passed away in Yerevan on Wednesday.

Horizon Television viewers god a bird’s eye view of the events in Armenia and Artsakh in the 1990’s through the perceptive and meticulous reporting by Sharoyan, who at a critical time in Armenia’s modern history brought a keen eye to the critical developments that shaped the realities of the time.

Through her interviews with stakeholders and the public, as well as her in-depth reporting, Sharoyan came to the living rooms of Armenians in the United States and provided the needed impetus for Diaspora Armenians to take action and advance the Armenian Cause as it related to the Artsakh Liberation Movement and other crucial issues.

Sharoyan was also responsible in producing several important segments that aired during the successive Artsakh Fund telethons, which raised millions of dollars for the assistance efforts to Artsakh and elevated the importance of the struggle for audiences.

Sharoyan went on to become a documentary film producer covering a range of political, cultural and social issues and featuring profiles of noted stakeholders.

She will be remembered for her deep devotion to the Armenian Cause and her precise reporting and contributions.

The management, editorial board and staff of Asbarez Daily Newspaper and Horizon Armenian Television offers its deepest condolences to Sharoyan’s family, colleagues, relatives and friends.

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan addresses the Islamic Development Bank Group on Jun. 18

As Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan continues to hail “peace” with Azerbaijan, that country’s president, Ilham Aliyev, continues to attack Armenia in his public remarks and during appearances.

The latest such attack came on Thursday when he told the annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group that “Azerbaijani territories have been under occupation for 30 years, and meaningless negotiations have been held during that time.”

He, once again, targeted the now-defunct OSCE Minks Group, saying “their only goal was to maintain Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territories.”

“The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs—France, Russia, and the United States, which are permanent members of the UN Security Council and had a mandate to achieve peace and liberate our territories from occupation, were unable to force Armenia to leave the Azerbaijani territories,” Aliyev said.

“At the beginning of the negotiation process, we had high hopes. We were trying to resolve the issue peacefully, trying to explain to the great powers that the truth is on our side, because our territories were occupied. In response, they were telling us ‘go and negotiate.’ This was only one of the messages. The second was that there is no other solution. The third was that ‘you cannot start a war,’ and the fourth was that ‘if you start a war, sanctions will be applied against you,’” he added.

Aliyev once again baselessly accused Armenia of committing crimes.

“Today, there is a lot of talk about sanctions. When these or those events take place in different parts of the world, sanctions immediately come into force. Meanwhile, during the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, such steps were not taken against Armenia. This is a vivid example of double standards and a serious contradiction between declared values and real policy,” Aliyev said.

In addition, he stated that Azerbaijan allegedly offered peace to Armenia, despite the fact that it “suffered from occupation and destruction.”

“Azerbaijan and Armenia have been living in peace for a year now and see its advantages. We will never forget what the Armenian occupation forces did to our people and cities,” the Azerbaijani president added.

Meanwhile, in Nakhichevan where a festival of so-called “Western Azerbaijanis” kicked off on Thursday, a leader of that fictitious community, Aziz Alakbarli, said that Armenia must create conditions for the safe return his people.

The concept of “Western Azerbaijan” has been propagated by Aliyev, who claims that the majority of modern-day Armenia is historic Azerbaijani territory and is insisting that these so-called “Western Azerbaijanis” resettle in Armenia.

Alakbarli noted that Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan “has also witnessed the tragedies suffered by Western Azerbaijanis,” and in this context, holding such events here has a special significance.

He stated that “the return of Western Azerbaijanis to their native lands corresponds to fundamental human rights and international law.”

The chairman of the council of the “Western Azerbaijan community” added that “Armenia must accept this reality and create conditions for the safe, dignified, and peaceful return of Western Azerbaijanis.”

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Member of European Parliament Geadis Geadi

Geadis Geadi, a European Parliament Member from Cyprus, warned Armenia that there will be grave consequences as it seeks to normalize relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan.

“I visit Armenia regularly, and I see that today there is a prevailing desire for an absolutely neutral policy and for developing cooperation with Turkey and Azerbaijan, without understanding that these countries want to wipe Armenia off the map and completely redraw the map of the world. Since we too have been victims of Turkish policy, we can understand where such processes might lead in the future,” Geadi said in a conversation with Alpha News.

Throughout the renewed efforts by Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations without preconditions, official Ankara has been steadfast in its insistence that any final agreement hinges on the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Turkish government officials have gone on record to emphasize that the normalization process with Armenia is closely being coordinated with Baku.

“I think this is an illusion of peace, because Turkey is a country with long-term geopolitical views. Knowing its history, I have seen what its views are on Armenia, the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole. And they want to wipe off the map all the countries that have caused them problems,” the European lawmaker said when asked about Baku’s promotion of “peace.”

“So, from my point of view, I disagree with and do not accept Armenia’s new geopolitical vision. And I think this will lead to a lot of problems, I consider it dangerous. Pashinyan has tried to push Europe toward a certain position. He has said that if he isn’t accepted as an ally of Turkey, then it’s necessary to ‘draw Turkey into Europe.’ By his logic, Armenia must move through Turkey to get a path into the EU. So the only route is through Turkey,” he explained.

“On the other hand, there is the Russian path of development. In other words, in my view, he is promoting an anti-Russian version of this geopolitical line. If we’re talking about Armenia possibly being admitted to the European Union, it could be admitted to the EU without Turkey as well,” Geadi added.

“Membership in Europe doesn’t mean a country necessarily has to have a land connection to it. For example, Cyprus has no such connection, yet it’s an EU member. So the claim that a territorial ‘link’ is required is not a necessary condition. At the same time, we’re also talking about Turkey, which, in my view, cannot be admitted to the EU, since it is a country that does not respect international law, human rights, or the norms of maritime law,” he explained.

Speaking about the elections in Armenia and the fact that Europe turned a blind eye to violations in the Armenian elections, based on the logic of supporting a geopolitical line of confrontation with Russia in the region that is advantageous to itself, Geadi said that, as a whole, there is a positive view of Armenia within the European Parliament.

“Some don’t share this optimism, but most members of the European Parliament still tend to view Armenia rather positively, and they feel that some issues or changes need to be addressed in Armenia’s electoral procedures. But I want to share what I know from my visit to Armenia,” he explained.

“I spoke with Pashinyan, I spoke with the president, I spoke with members of parliament, and I saw that there seem to be two different voices within Armenian society. One part of the Armenian people supports Pashinyan and wants to leave everything that happened with Turkey and Azerbaijan in the past, effectively trying to forget their own history,” the European lawmaker said.

“And there is another part of the Armenian people that never forgets. They are fighting for justice, for their country, their nation and their historical memory. And they make no compromises with countries that, in their view, are enemies of Armenia, especially since, in their view, these countries are not democratic,” he added.

“This is exactly what I talked about at my last plenary session in Strasbourg, when I raised the issue of Armenia. I noted that I saw, as it were, two different voices, two different communities, two different approaches and two different ways of thinking within Armenian society. I have spoken with many people in Armenia itself, outside it, in Brussels, in Strasbourg, and in Cyprus, where there is a sizable Armenian community. And I came to the conclusion that there really are two different views of the situation,” Geadi explained, referring to a presentation he made at the European Parliament.

“But I support those people who are fighting for their justice, who are fighting for their history. And I disagree with Pashinyan’s new political outlook,” he emphasized.

“I said this in his office as well, when we had a meeting. I expressed my opinion, he disagreed, but I can say everything I believe,” Geadi said, referencing a recent meeting he had with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“And since I come from a country like Cyprus, I fully understand this pain, I fully understand that we must defend the law, we must defend justice. And my message to the Armenian people is: keep fighting, keep fighting for justice. Never forget your history,” he explained.

“I want to draw the Armenian people’s attention to the fact that they must never forget the Armenian Genocide. I should say that when we had an official European Parliament session at Armenia’s National Assembly, I introduced an amendment concerning recognition of the Armenian Genocide. And indeed, some members of the Armenian parliament voted against it, that’s a real fact. They were representatives of Pashinyan’s party,” the European lawmaker emphasized.

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