08:57,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. The number of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh who’ve arrived to Armenia reached 2906 as of 06:00, September 25, the government of Armenia said in a statement.

Registration data of 2100 of the 2906 forcibly displaced persons has been completed, while the needs assessment for the 794 others is in process.

1000 of the 2100 registered persons are accommodated in residences chosen by themselves, while the 1100 others have been provided accommodation by the government of Armenia. The accommodation process of a part of the refugees is still ongoing.

The flow of the forcibly displaced persons continued throughout the whole night. The registration process for needs assessment and accommodation continued overnight and is still in process.

 09:55,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Turkish nationalists are calling for stripping citizenship of the 123 Turkish scholars who issued a statement  last week warning about Azerbaijan’s genocidal policy in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Federation of Eurasian Turkic Associations chairman Ismail Cengiz labeled the Turkish scholars ‘Armenian-loving mankurts,’ according to Once Vatan news outlet.

“The 123 Armenian-loving mankurts must immediately be stripped of citizenship,” Cengiz said in a statement cited by Once Vatan. He said that after doing so the scholars must be sent to Armenia.

In the statement provided to ARMENPRESS on September 22 , the Turkish scholars said that the Azerbaijani regime, which has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh for nine months, launched military operations in front of the whole world during the UN General Assembly.

“Azerbaijan carried out this attack with explicit support from Turkey and Israel, while the whole world was silently watching what was happening. There is a clear danger of ethnic cleansing and genocide,” the Turkish scholars said in the statement, emphasizing that former ICC chief prosecutor M. Ocampo’s warnings are turning into reality one by one.

 10:07,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. On September 24, in New York, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India.

Issues of security and stability in the South Caucasus were discussed, the foreign ministry said in a readout. 

FM Ararat Mirzoyan stressed that Azerbaijan’s continuous aggression and the large-scale military attack against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh unleashed on September 19, that was preceded by the 9-months-long blockade of the Lachin corridor and total siege of Nagorno-Karabakh, once again demonstrated the importance of concrete steps by international partners.

The imperative of restraining the steps aimed at destabilisation of the region was emphasised.

Bilateral agenda between Armenia and India was touched upon.

 11:13,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Re-exports significantly contributed to the nearly 215% growth (in dollars) of the exports from Armenia to Russia in the first half of 2023, Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan told lawmakers at the financial-credit and budgetary affairs committee session in parliament during a discussion of the state budget performance.

The big inflow of persons and capital from Russia continued in the first half of the year, he said.

“In the first half of 2023, compared to the same period of last year, re-exports contributed significantly, by nearly 187 percentage points, to the nearly 215 percent dollar growth in the exports of goods to Russia, whereas the exports of Armenian-made goods contributed by 28 percentage points,” the finance minister said.

Hovhannisyan also spoke about the growth in the number of tourists from Russia, stating that the number of inbound tourists in the first half of the year grew 70%, with 47% being from Russia.

 11:11,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Everyone willing to move from Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) to Armenia will have the opportunity to do so, the Nagorno-Karabakh official InfoCenter said in a statement on Monday.

It said that the agreement doesn’t envisage a deadline for the transfer of persons.

Priority for transporting to Armenia is given to those who were evacuated from their homes during the military operations and those who are in a difficult situation after being left homeless and who want to move to Armenia.

According to the statement, the authorities of Artsakh will continue to conduct state administration for as long as the process of transporting those who want to leave to Armenia isn’t completed.

“Due to the overloaded state and traffic congestion in the Stepanakert-Goris highway, currently it is impossible to organize the transfer of the seriously and critically wounded, and imports of necessary medical supplies and humanitarian goods. At the same time, for receiving petrol, citizens are causing major congestions near gas stations, paralyzing the traffic and normal functioning in the city. Taking this into consideration, we ask you to refrain from transferring for now, in order to avoid accidents and to save the lives of those wounded. In this grave situation, we call on especially the employees of the state administration system, healthcare sector and law enforcement agencies to continue fulfilling their duties for the safety and health of our compatriots,” the InfoCenter said.

Those willing to leave for Armenia will be given gasoline for free at five various gas stations in Stepanakert from 14:00, September 25.

 11:19,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Authorities in Goris are providing accommodation to the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh willing to stay there after reaching Kornidzor, Goris Deputy Mayor Irina Yolyan told ARMENPRESS.

“We are assessing their needs here. Those requiring medical assistance or any other services are provided with the necessary help on spot before the needs assessment and provision of relevant assistance. Those who express desire to stay in Goris are being accommodated in hotels, while those who want to move to other towns, for example Sisian or Tatev, or to Vayots Dzor province, they continue traveling there. There are those who are being met by their relatives and accommodated in their homes,” Yolyan said, adding that most of the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh are women, children and elderly people.

 11:26,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. France is highly vigilant in issues concerning Armenia’s territorial integrity and stands by the Armenian people, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

In an interview for BFM channel, the French President spoke about the September 19-20 large-scale Azeri attack in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“In the past days we witnessed unacceptable crimes and hostilities taking place in Karabakh,” he said, adding that France will continue to mobilize around humanitarian issues in order to provide humanitarian aid to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“We are providing political support, in order for it to be possible to reach lasting peace through negotiations,” President Macron said.

He warned that Armenia’s territorial integrity is now in danger.

“Today, France is highly vigilant in the issue of Armenia’s territorial integrity, because this is what’s threatened. We now have Russia, who is complicit with Azerbaijan, there’s Turkey, who has always supported its [Azerbaijan’s] actions,” Macron warned, adding that France stands by the Armenian people and international law.

 12:09,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. As of now, the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh are being evacuated by thousands to Armenia, Ambassador-at-Large Edmon Marukyan said on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“As of now, the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh are being evacuated by thousands to Armenia. Why are these people evacuated? Because on September 19, Azerbaijan carried out military aggression against the peaceful people of Nagorno Karabakh, as a result of which, not only hundreds were killed and wounded, but also thousands of civilians have lost their homes, villages and communities.

“In other words, the population has been starved for 9 months because of the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and following the aggression of September 19:

1. They are forcefully displaced from their homes and after 6 days of sleeping in the cellars hungry and thirsty, were not given the opportunity to return to their homes but to be evacuated from their ancestral land.
2. We acknowledge that the Russian peacekeeping mission did not ensure their peaceful existence in Nagorno Karabakh on the basis of November 9, 2020, trilateral statement.
3. We acknowledge that the EU, the USA and all other international actors failed to ensure the rights and security guarantees of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh. Notwithstanding with the fact that these actors have been repeatedly stating during their mediation efforts, that the rights and securities of the Nagorno Karabakh Armenians must be guaranteed under the international mechanisms in order to allow them to live safely in their ancestral lands,” Marukyan said.

 13:06,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan on September 25 met with United States Senator Gary Peters, who is leading a Congressional delegation to Armenia on a visit.

Speaker Simonyan commended the introduction by U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the Supporting Armenians Against Azerbaijani Aggression Act bipartisan bill, and expressed hope that it would be adopted.

Speaking about the September 21 UN Security Council emergency meeting, Speaker Simonyan thanked the US for its supportive speech, emphasizing the importance of urgent, effective and clear steps by international partners, including imposing sanctions against Azerbaijan, in the current situation.

Details and consequences of the September 19-20 large-scale aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan were discussed. The Senator presented details about his visit to the Vayots Dzor and Syunik provinces. The United States Senator condemned Azerbaijan for the current humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, and expressed support to the Armenian people. Senator Peters reiterated the US support for Armenia’s territorial integrity.

 13:14,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. As of 12:00, September 25, the number of forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh who arrived in Armenia reached 4850, the government of Armenia said in a statement.

Registration of 3900 of the forcibly displaced persons is completed, while the needs assessment of 950 others is still in process.

The government of Armenia is providing accommodation to everyone who doesn’t have a place to stay.