Armenian Foreign Minister holds phone call with U.S. acting Assistant Secretary of State for European, Eurasian Affairs

Kalashian Nyrie

 11:16, 8 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. On September 7, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a telephone conversation with Yuri Kim, the U.S. acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

Regional security issues and the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh were discussed, the foreign ministry said in a readout. 

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan reiterated the need to lift the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan in accordance with the Statement of November 9, 2020 and two Orders of the International Court of Justice. The importance of ensuring unimpeded access and humanitarian activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross to Nagorno-Karabakh was emphasised.

Minister Mirzoyan thoroughly touched upon the destructive behaviour carried out by Azerbaijan during this period, systemic policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, the disrespect towards its own commitments and clear calls of the international community. The need to establish an effective international mechanism for discussing rights and security guarantees between Stepanakert and Baku was emphasised.

The agenda of bilateral cooperation was touched upon.

Prime Minister Pashinyan’s wife meets with members of the Armenian community of Ukraine in Kyiv

Hunanian Jack

 12:10, 8 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s wife Anna Hakobyan has met in Kyiv with members of the Armenian community of Ukraine.

The meeting was attended by Armenian families, together with their children, living in Kyiv, Odessa, Dnipro, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Sumy, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv oblasts, as well as the city of Kryvyi Rih.

Hakobyan talked with the children, asked them how they were overcoming the days of war. The Armenian children were interested in the life in Armenia, and what the children in Armenia are doing.

Asked on the security situation, Hakobyan said that although the situation in Armenia is difficult, it is not as difficult as in Ukraine, and at the same time she said that the Armenian government is doing everything possible to establish peace. The children asked Hakobyan what steps Armenia is taking to have closer relations with Ukraine, and Hakobyan said that’s the reason of her visit. The children said they want to visit Armenia very much and Hakobyan suggested them to continue their education in Armenia.

All attendees, both adults and children, said they’re impatiently waiting for the opportunity to travel to Armenia.

Hakobyan conveyed to the children the Armenian government’s humanitarian aid (smartphones and computers).

The members of the Armenian community of Ukraine thanked Hakobyan for the meeting and said that the whole community has been waiting for the meeting for many years.

Anna Hakobyan underscored the importance of achieving sustainable peace, in Armenia, in Ukraine and elsewhere around the world.

The Armenian PM’s spouse then met with the Armenian embassy staff, as well as renowned Ukraine-based Armenian filmmaker Roman Balayan and painter Boris Yeghiazaryan.

[see video]

Kremlin indignant at Armenia for "unfriendly steps", including aid to Ukraine

Alex Nanijanian
Sept 9 2023
Ukrainska Pravda

Russia has summoned Armenian Ambassador Vagarshak Harutyunyan to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a “tough conversation” over Yerevan’s latest steps, which Russia considers unfriendly, including, according to the Kremlin, the visit of the prime minister’s wife to Kyiv and the transfer of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, referring to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Details: The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had noticed hesitation in Armenia regarding further participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and bilateral treaties with Russia, as well as the viability of agreements involving Russia to normalise relations with Azerbaijan.

“Against this background, in recent days, the leadership of Armenia managed to take a series of unfriendly steps, including launching the process of ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the trip to Kyiv by the wife of the Prime Minister Anna Hakobyan with the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Kyiv Nazi regime, and the holding of military exercises on Armenian territory with the participation of the USA. In this regard, V. Harutyunyan, the ambassador of Armenia in Moscow, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, and harsh remarks were made to him,” Moscow says.

In addition, the ambassador was given a note of protest due to the speech of Simonyan, the Speaker of the Parliament, against Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the entire department, and they were indignant at the detentions in Armenia of a pro-Russian blogger and a representative of the Armenian branch of “Sputnik”.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation expressed the hope that Russia and Armenia will remain allies and that Armenia will cooperate in the issue of exercises along the lines of the CSTO and “the expected direction of the organisation’s observation mission to the republic to facilitate the settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan”.

Background:

  • Recently, Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, called it a strategic mistake that Armenia relied only on Moscow in security matters.

  • The other day, he announced the accumulation of Azerbaijani troops and the threat of a new escalation.

https://news.yahoo.com/kremlin-indignant-armenia-unfriendly-steps-082658831.html

Armenia denies Azerbaijan’s charge its troops opened fire as tensions flare

Vorskanian Yeghisabet
Reuters
Sept 9 2023
By Felix Light and Nailia Bagirova
  • Azerbaijan reports exchange of fire
  • Armenian PM calls Blinken, Macron, Scholz, Raisi
  • Azerbaijan condemns vote in Karabakh

TBILISI, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan said on Saturday that Armenian forces had fired on its troops overnight, and that Azerbaijan army units took “retaliatory measures”, in an incident denied by Armenia.

The claim and counter-claim came against the backdrop of rising tensions between the two countries, which have fought two wars over the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in the past three decades, and a flurry of calls to foreign leaders by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said Armenian units opened small arms fire on Azerbaijani soldiers in Sadarak in the north of Nakhchivan, an exclave of Azerbaijan that borders Armenia, Turkey and Iran.

The ministry’s statement did not say if there had been any casualties. Armenia’s defence ministry denied that its forces had opened fire on Azerbaijani positions.

The Armenian government said Pashinyan held phone conversations on Saturday with the leaders of France, Germany, neighbouring Iran and Georgia, and with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Azerbaijan said its foreign minister discussed the situation with a senior U.S. State Department official, Yuri Kim.

Pashinyan said in the calls that tensions were rising on the border and Azerbaijan was concentrating troops there and around Nagorno-Karabakh, his government said. Baku has denied this, while accusing Armenia of doing the same thing.

Pashinyan said he was ready to hold an urgent meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to defuse tensions, the government said. But Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Aliyev, told Reuters that Baku had received no such offer.

Azerbaijan meanwhile denounced the holding on Saturday of a presidential election in Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory that is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is populated by about 120,000 ethnic Armenians.

Nagorno-Karabakh established de facto independence in a war in the early 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Azerbaijan recaptured significant amounts of territory in its most recent war with Armenia, in 2020.

Azerbaijan has cut off the road that links Armenia to Karabakh for the past nine months, except for urgent medical cases, leading to shortages of basic supplies, including bread.

It has accused Armenia of using the corridor to smuggle weapons, and of rejecting an offer to reopen the road simultaneously with another route into Karabakh.

On Saturday, Karabakh’s separatist parliament elected Samvel Shahramanyan, a military officer and former head of the territory’s security service, as its new president, after the previous incumbent resigned earlier this month.

In a speech to parliament, Shahramanyan called for direct negotiations with Azerbaijan, and for transport links to Armenia to be restored.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry called the ethnic Armenian leadership of Karabakh a “puppet separatist regime” and in a statement said the vote was illegal.

“The only way to achieve peace and stability in the region is the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and the disbandment of the puppet regime,” the statement said.

In statements, both Ukraine and Baku’s traditional ally Turkey condemned the election, and expressed support for Azerbaijan’s claim to Karabakh. The European Union said it did not recognise the election, but that Karabakh residents should “consolidate around the de facto leadership” in talks with Baku.

Russia has had peacekeepers in Karabakh since 2020 but Armenia has voiced frustration at what it sees as their ineffectiveness, blaming Russia’s preoccupation with Ukraine.

In the capitals of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, residents told Reuters they feared a new war between the two countries.

“We will probably have martyrs again,” said Mansura Lahicova, a woman in the Azerbaijani capital Baku. “I have two sons who have reached military age. I hope it will be a victory and that everything calms down.”

In Armenia’s capital Yerevan, a local resident who gave his name as Hayk accused Azerbaijan of wanting to start another war.

“I hope this does not happen, but if it does, all of us, all friends and brothers, are ready to go to war. Last time we buried our friends, now it’s our turn.”

Writing by Mark Trevelyan and Felix Light Editing by Ros Russell

Looming Azerbaijan-Armenia War Signals Geopolitical Shifts

Garnik Zakarian
Iran International
Sept 7 2023

Thursday, 09/07/2023

Author: Iran International Newsroom

Conflict – MilitaryWorld

Renewed tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia portend major geopolitical shifts in the region with the US edging closer to Yerevan as Russia is embroiled in Ukraine. 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan on Thursday of building up troops along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh disputed region and the Armenian-Azerbaijan border. In the past week, both Yerevan and Baku reported casualties after intense shelling near their common border.

The escalation comes amid a continuing crisis over Nagorno-Karabakh where Yerevan and local ethnic Armenian authorities accuse Baku of continuing its “illegal blockade” of the region, resulting in severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine as well as a rationing of bread. Azerbaijan has justified its nine-month Azerbaijani blockade of the highway linking Armenia to the enclave — internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but populated by around 120,000 ethnic Armenians — by saying Armenia was using the road to supply weapons to Karabakh, which Armenia denies. The critical Lachin corridor serves as the sole communication route between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attends a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union summit in Moscow, Russia May 25, 2023.

Tensions are simmering as the Armenian Defense Ministry announced earlier in the month that it will hold a joint war game with NATO forces from September 11-20, dubbed Eagle Partner 2023 aimed at increasing the level of interoperability of units participating in international peacekeeping missions. 

Traditionally, Armenia has leaned on Russia and Iran, both nations against any border changes between the two longtime rivals. However, Yerevan seems to have recently distanced itself from Moscow, perhaps because Russia is engrossed in its invasion of Ukraine as well as its warming ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan. 

The joint drill with the United States forces can be construed as Armenia leaning towards the West to secure support in case of a looming military conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinyan recently said that exclusive dependence on Russia does not serve Armenia’s security well anymore, a statement that Moscow described as “public rhetoric bordering on rudeness”.

RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported this week that Armenia is providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine for the first time since the Russian invasion of the country. Sources told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakobian, will personally hand over aid to the Ukrainian side when she flies to Kyiv to attend the annual Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen. 

Despite the small scale of the joint military exercise, Russia – which sees itself as the pre-eminent power in the South Caucasus region that was part of the Soviet Union until 1991 — said it would be watching closely. “Of course, such news causes concern, especially in the current situation. Therefore, we will deeply analyze this news and monitor the situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this week, adding, “In this situation, holding such exercises does not contribute to stabilizing the situation in any case and strengthening the atmosphere of mutual trust in the region.” 

Russia maintains a peacekeeping force in the region to uphold an agreement that ended a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020, the second they have fought since the Soviet collapse. 

Footage on social media in recent days also showed increasing Azerbaijani military movements near the front line between the two countries. According to Crisis Watch – a global conflict tracker, several cargo aircraft have airlifted hundreds of tons of weapons including ballistic missiles from Israel and Turkey to Baku, adding that “Azerbaijan’s Air Force received a new batch of Bayraktar TB2 armed drones from Turkey in order to use them in its incoming invasion of Armenia.”

“Azerbaijan is ready for another invasion of Armenia. They are just waiting for Turkey to get Iran’s permission,” said military expert and author Babak Taghvaee. Iran has been deeply concerned about Azerbaijani moves to establish a corridor through Armenian territory to a piece of its territory to the west. While an Azerbaijani military threat exists to force such a corridor, Iran will lose its historic land connection with Armenia. Tensions over the transit road have led to military exercises conducted by the Iranian armed forces near the border with Azerbaijan in recent years.

Earlier in September, US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken also spoke with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to express the United States’ concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, calling to reopen the Lachin Corridor to humanitarian, commercial, and passenger traffic. He also underscored the need for dialogue and compromise and the importance of building confidence between the parties, and pledged continued US support to the peace process.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202309070919



European rabbis massively oppose ‘Armenian propaganda and demonisation of Azerbaijan’

Ani Kharatian
Sofia Globe, Bulgaria
Sept 8 2023
 September 8, 2023  Igor Chalenko Armenia, Azerbaijan

Between August 27 and September 7, eighty-six spiritual Jewish authorities from Europe, America and Muslim countries, as well as dozens of Jewish religious media around the world, spoke out against the use of the Holocaust theme by Armenian political figures, including Prime Minister Pashinyan, as part of a campaign to demonise Azerbaijan.

On September 6, fifty leading rabbis, representing the largest association of Jewish religious leaders (Rabbinical Center of Europe), signed an official joint letter addressed to the Prime Minister and the President of Armenia. They demanded to “immediately and completely” seize the use of the Holocaust theme by Armenian propaganda “for the sake of achieving any political goals.”

As the letter emphasises, “this message should be taken into account by all relevant government bodies representing the Armenian people.” The European rabbis also expressed their deep disappointment regarding cooperation of the Armenian government with the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, “a country which incessantly openly and publicly calls for its destruction of the only Jewish country in the world”.

The official website of the Rabbinical Center of Europe sustains that it condemns “the Armenian leaders for using Holocaust rhetoric in a campaign against their neighbor, Azerbaijan.”

Furthermore, Israel Heritage Foundation, the American association created by the Holocaust survivors, emphasised in its statement, that they “reject the loose usage of the word ‘Holocaust’ by officials in the Armenian government to discuss the situation in the Karabakh region, and firmly contend that any comparisons to the Holocaust are unwarranted and unjustified.”

Chabadinfo website, one of the main online platforms of the most influential movement of Judaism in the United States, Chabad, called the accusations against official Baku regarding the “genocide” of the Armenians in Azerbaijani Karabakh a “smear campaign.”

Pan-European Jewish magazine Jüdisches Europa noted that drawing analogies between the Nazi policy of the “final solution to the Jewish question” and Azerbaijan’s attitude towards Armenians in Karabakh, as the Prime Minister of Armenia does, is completely unfounded. Jüdisches Europa further emphasized that “regarding Azerbaijan’s accusations of the “genocide” of Armenians, “there is no tangible evidence, such as cell phone records.”

“Iran-dependent Armenian leaders are already declaring “genocide by famine” at the UN, and social media replete with photos of bustling restaurants and lavish weddings in the enclave with piles of roasted meat and cakes the size of man… there is no tangible evidence yet to support the claims of “starving population” “which should be quite an easy task in this age of global electronic media,” Jüdisches Europa stated.

“I am shocked by the comments made by the Armenian political leader comparing the current situation with the extermination of Jews during the Shoah (Holocaust),” Bruno Fischzon, who is the Chief Rabbi of the Moselle department in northeastern France and the city of Metz, wrote on his personal Facebook page. Viennese Rabbi Arie Folger accused French municipal officials of politicizing humanitarian aid, who at the end of August tried to travel from Armenia to Azerbaijani Karabakh without the consent of official Baku.

As Baku Rabbi Zamir Isaev noted, “The US and the EU are making efforts to conclude a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Exerting psychological pressure (on Azerbaijan) by bringing in the issue of “genocide” can only harm the negotiation process.”

Leading rabbis from countries such as France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom signed the appeal among nearly a hundred European Jewish spiritual authorities who spoke out against the methods of Armenian propaganda and demonisation of Azerbaijan. They were also supported by Bulgaria’s Chief Rabbi Yosef Salamon.

Alongside fellow believers from the largest European centers, spoke the clergy of Judaism from a number of cities in Ukraine, which have been suffering from rocket fire and attacks by Iranian drones for more than a year and a half, among them the chief rabbis of Lvov, Zhitomir, Uzhgorod, as well as the head of the Jewish religious community of Odesa.

Moscow summons Armenian envoy, gives him a ‘tough presentation’

Nahapetian Samvel
Al-Mayadeen
Sept 9 2023

Moscow summons Armenian envoy, gives him a ‘tough presentation’

ByAl Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies

Russia protested a number of issues to the Armenian ambassador, including Yerevan’s announcement of hosting joint military drills with the US next week.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Armenia’s ambassador to Moscow on Friday to protest Yerevan’s recent “unfriendly steps,” including its announcement of joint exercises with the United States.

Armenia announced this week that it would be hosting joint war games with US forces, dubbed “Eagle Partner 2023,” between September 11-20, alleging that this step is part of the country’s preparation to partake in international peacekeeping missions.

“The Armenian leadership had in recent days taken a series of unfriendly steps,” the Russian ministry said in a statement.

Russia also conveyed its objection to a trip made to Kiev recently by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s wife.

Yerevan recently increased its criticism of Russia’s peacekeeping role in Nagorno Karabakh, a region disputed between the country and Azerbaijan, claiming that the mission has failed to fulfill its task of protecting civilians and ensuring their freedom of passage through the key corridor in Azerbaijani-controlled areas in Karabakh.

A clash between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2020, which lasted for six weeks and saw the death of over 6,500 troops from both sides, ended with a ceasefire accord sponsored by Russia. Moscow sent 2,000 peacekeepers to monitor the truce, but tensions remain despite a ceasefire deal.

Read more: Azerbaijan re-blocks crucial road into Nagorno-Karabakh

Precarious situation at border

Armenia’s envoy received a “tough presentation,” said the Russian ministry, but stressed that both countries “remain allies and all agreements on developing the strengthening of the partnership will be fulfilled.”

The Armenian Defense Ministry issued a statement on Friday, underscoring the precarious situation prevailing at the border with Azerbaijan due to the apparent buildup of Azerbaijani military forces, which in response prompted the Armenian Armed Forces to take measures aimed at maintaining stability and deterring potential provocations.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on the same day that Yerevan was using combat drones to target Azerbaijani positions within the Kalbajar District, which led to the injury of two of the country’s soldiers. Correspondingly, Armenia accused Baku of launching artillery attacks on Armenian positions along the border, resulting in the killing of three Armenian soldiers and the injury of two more.

The Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict has been largely centered around the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is an internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan populated mostly by ethnic Armenians that has been a source of conflict between the two Caucasus neighbors dating back to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Read more: EU plans to tap into Azerbaijani gas to replace Russian might end soon

This recent escalation follows a recurring pattern of periodic exchanges of fire along the border between the two neighboring rivals. The most significant flare-up in hostilities took place on September 12, 2022, leaving regional observers wary of a possible repeat of such confrontations.

Despite occasional talks on a peace agreement to resolve disputes and normalize relations, tensions remain high and border clashes are common. In two days of fighting in September of last year, around 300 soldiers were killed on both sides.

Separatist parliament in Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region elects new president

Boshkezenian Garik
Associated Press
Sept 9 2023
BY AVET DEMOURIAN
Updated 4:55 PM GMT+3, September 9, 2023


YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Lawmakers in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway Armenian-populated region of Azerbaijan, voted to elect a new separatist president on Saturday in a move that was strongly condemned by the Azerbaijani authorities.

Samvel Shakhramanyan’s election as the new president of Nagorno-Karabakh follows the resignation of Arayik Harutyunyan, who stepped down on Sept. 1 as president of the region — which the Armenians call Artsakh. It comes amid soaring tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry denounced the vote as a “gross violation” of the country’s constitution and a “serious blow to the efforts of normalization in the region.” The ministry emphasized that “the only way to achieve peace and stability in the region is the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces” from Nagorno-Karabakh and “the disbandment of the puppet regime.”

Since December, Azerbaijan has blockaded the only road leading from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, severely restricting the delivery of food, medical supplies and other essentials to the region of about 120,000 people.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region within Azerbaijan that came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military after a six-year separatist war that ended in 1994. Armenian forces also took control of substantial territory around the region.

Azerbaijan regained control of the surrounding territory in a six-week war with Armenia in 2020. A Russia-brokered armistice that ended the war left the region’s capital, Stepanakert, connected to Armenia by just one road known as the Lachin Corridor, along which Russian peacekeeping forces were supposed to ensure free movement.

Armenia repeatedly has complained that Russian peacekeepers have done nothing to help lift the Azerbaijani blockade of the road that has led to dire food shortages in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the situation has led to an increasing estrangement between Moscow and Yerevan.

Russia has been Armenia’s main economic partner and ally since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Landlocked Armenia hosts a Russian military base and is part of the Moscow-led security alliance of ex-Soviet nations, the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

But Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has become increasingly critical of Moscow, emphasizing its failure to help lift the Azerbaijani blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and arguing that Yerevan needs to turn to the West to help ensure its security.

To Moscow’s dismay, Armenia called a joint military exercises with the United States starting Monday, provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine amid the war and moved to ratify a treaty that created the International Criminal Court, which this year indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine.

On Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Armenian ambassador to lodge a formal protest over what the moves it described as “unfriendly.”

https://apnews.com/article/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-blockade-8c17f95af29c66638bcd38fb7fb02812

Kim Kardashian heartfelt plea to President Biden in hopes of preventing another Armenian genocide

Nahapetian Zhanna
Clutch Points
Sept 9 2023
By 

Burtland Dixon



Kim Kardashian is making a heartfelt plea to President Joe Biden, urging him to take action to prevent another Armenian Genocide and cut ties with Azerbaijan, TMZ reports. In an opinion piece published in Rolling Stone, Kardashian, along with physician and producer Eric Esrailian, passionately addressed their concerns.

Both Kardashian and Esrailian are descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors and are deeply committed to preventing further atrocities. They express their desire not to witness the recognition or commemoration of another genocide in the future.

The central issue highlighted in their plea is Azerbaijan’s blockade, which has severed the lifeline connecting the indigenous Christian Armenians of Artsakh with the rest of the world since December. This blockade has resulted in the use of starvation as a weapon against the Armenian population in the region. Kardashian and Esrailian argue that the war in Ukraine has forced some countries to rely on Azerbaijan for oil, inadvertently contributing to this dire situation.

Furthermore, they criticize the coordinated social media campaigns aimed at downplaying the blockade, emphasizing the urgent need for action. Kardashian and Esrailian call upon President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and other officials to take a swift and resolute stand.

Their proposed measures include economic sanctions, cutting off foreign aid to Azerbaijan, boycotting international events held in the country (such as concerts and sporting events), and pursuing international legal proceedings. They stress that time is of the essence, and the international community must act urgently.

Kim Kardashian emphasizes that the time for mere “thoughts, prayers, or concern” has passed, citing the ongoing conflict overseas, the 2020 attacks on Armenians in Artsakh, and a ceasefire agreement that was not upheld. She firmly asserts that the silence of governments worldwide has only exacerbated the situation, making it imperative to cut off foreign aid to Azerbaijan and boycott international events held in the country.

Iran behind escalation between Armenia, Azerbaijan – analysis

Garnik Tadevosian
i24, Israel
Sept 9 2023

Avi Monakov

Iran issues threatening message to Azerbaijan, adds warning: Israel, beware

Iran is actively escalating a new conflict in the southern Caucasus region. Against the backdrop of dynamic reconciliation efforts between Azerbaijan and Armenia under the aegis of the EU and U.S., Iran has been making every effort in recent weeks to fuel revanchist sentiments in Armenia, and acting on it by mediating arms purchases from India and demonstrating military support.

According to official Iranian sources, particularly the official Telegram channel of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), on Friday, August 8th, Iranian Land Forces units and possibly Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp were concentrated near the border of Azerbaijan. Video captured from a helicopter and published on Telegram shows some Iranian armored vehicles in the vicinity of the border river Araz. 

Another video shows Iranian troops near the border with Armenia. Similar information was also shared via the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s Telegram channel, posting a map indicating the locations of Iranian forces. 

IRGC, following its usual MO, has initiated a propaganda campaign by disseminating video clips in which it not only directly threatens Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, but also Israel, which is a strategic ally of Baku. A video titled “Warning to Aliyev” shows off weaponry and exercises depicting territorial capture (presumably of Azerbaijan), and with music that begins with the words “Israel, beware.”

Iran may not limit its military presence just to the border. Russian sources suggest that Tehran may, in coordination with Yerevan, introduce its armed forces into Armenian territory. Armenia has been one of the channels for the transfer of military equipment to Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. This move aims to prevent Azerbaijan and Turkey from establishing the Zangezur transportation corridor. Iran considers this corridor, referred to as the “project of Zionists and NATO,” to be one of the alternative routes from the East to Europe that bypasses Russia. In Iran’s view, this corridor would cut off Iran from Armenia, thus disrupting a key channel for covert shipments both to and from the Islamic Republic.

This is one of the reasons why Tehran, in order to strengthen Armenia, lobbied for its purchase of Indian weaponry worth a quarter of a billion dollars. According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, Russia, Iran, and India have reportedly transferred a substantial amount of weapons and military equipment to Armenia in the past month.

An unnamed source within the special unit of the IRGC, Sepah-e-Qods, confirmed to Al-Jarida that, based on a joint decision by Russia, Iran, and India, a substantial amount of high-quality weaponry has been sent to Armenia through Iranian territory in recent weeks. This includes drones, tracked vehicles for troop transport, ground-to-ground and ground-to-air missiles, as well as radar systems of Russian and Indian origin. According to the source, “these actions are aimed at creating a balance of power to deter Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Israel from occupying the Syunik region of Armenia.” He explained that “intelligence received by Moscow and Tehran” confirms that the Azerbaijanis plan to cut off overland communication between Russia, Armenia, Iran, and India.

The source revealed that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, personally issued orders to prevent this, “even if it requires the intervention of Iranian armed forces to support Armenia in case it becomes unable to resist.” According to the source, Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces received permission from Khamenei to train Iranian Armenians and send them for military service in Yerevan. It is reported that “the IRGC began training Armenian Iranians to operate Iranian military drones a year ago because they could quickly grasp their operational software due to their knowledge of the Persian language, in contrast to the difficulties encountered during the training of Russian personnel.”

Therefore, in the event of an armed conflict in the South Caucasus involving Armenia, Iran and Russia would likely become involved. This is possibly why Azerbaijan has increased its purchases of Israeli weaponry in recent months.

In August 2023, the Israeli think tank Middle East & Central Asia Research Center published an analytical document highlighting that Armenia is becoming a tool in Iran’s proxy war against Azerbaijan.

The document noted that Iran is a relatively weak country in terms of conventional military power, and traditionally relies on asymmetric warfare rather than direct confrontation. Iran has managed to bolster its asymmetric capabilities by using missiles, drones, and proxies. One of Tehran’s proxies in this regard is Armenia, which it employs against Azerbaijan.

The analysis also pointed out that Iran’s former ambassador to Syria, Sobhani, was appointed as a diplomatic representative in Yerevan. The position of Iran’s ambassador in Damascus and Beirut carries not only diplomatic significance but also a military rank. The ambassador is responsible for coordinating with Lebanese Hezbollah, the Assad regime, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Sobhani’s appointment reveals the military importance of Yerevan to Tehran, and suggests that the IRGC is planning to escalate tensions with Azerbaijan.

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/analysis-opinion/1694275613-iran-behind-latest-escalation-between-armenia-azerbaijan