Russia summons Armenia’s envoy over ‘unfriendly moves’

Torgomian Varazdat
Iran Front Page
Sept 9 2023

Armenian Ambassador to Moscow Vagharshak Harutiunyan has been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry for a stern remonstration amid “Yerevan’s unfriendly actions”, the diplomatic agency has announced in a statement.

“Armenian Ambassador to Moscow Vagharshak Harutiunyan was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and received a stern remonstration,” the statement said.

“Additionally, he was handed a protest note pointing out the unacceptability of offensive remarks by Chairman of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Alen Robertovich Simonyan against Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova and the Russian foreign policy agency in general made on September 6,” the ministry added.

The diplomatic agency noted the emergence “of certain doubts in the practicality of allied ties within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and with Russia on a bilateral basis among the Republic of Armenia’s official circles and political elite,” as well as in the feasibility of the set of trilateral agreements between Moscow, Yerevan and Baku on the Azerbaijani-Armenian normalization.

“Against this background, over recent days, the Armenian leadership has made a series of unfriendly steps, including launching the ratification process of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Anna Vachikovna Hakobyan, the prime minister’s spouse, visiting Kiev and delivering humanitarian aid to the Nazi Kiev regime, and holding joint military drills with the US on Armenian soil,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.

The diplomatic agency expressed concerns over the detention of pro-Russian blogger Mikael Badalyan and Radio Sputnik Armenia observer Ashot Gevorkyan on September 7.

“Additionally, concerns were conveyed over the detention of blogger M. Badalyan and Radio Sputnik Armenia observer A. Gevorkyan in Armenia on September 7,” the ministry said.

The foreign policy agency also pointed out that Moscow firmly proceeds from the premise that Russia and Armenia are allies and their agreements on fostering and bolstering relations will be fully implemented to benefit both countries. “This, among other things, concerns organizing drills on the CSTO track and, in the future, sending the organization’s observation mission to the republic to facilitate a settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” the ministry added.

“The Russian side will continue making all necessary efforts toward this end,” the agency concluded.

Armenian leaders slammed by rabbis for using Holocaust rhetoric

Emil Lazarian
Jerusalem Post
Sept 9 2023
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

Armenian leaders have been criticized by prominent rabbis for using Holocaust rhetoric during interviews and issued statements regarding their conflict with Azerbaijan.

A joint letter signed by 50 senior rabbis from 20 European countries on Wednesday condemned Armenia’s use of Holocaust rhetoric against their neighboring country. The rabbis originated from France, England, Germany, Austria, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Malta, Cyprus, Estonia, and Ukraine.

In the letter, the rabbis state that “expressions such as ‘ghetto’, ‘genocide’, ‘holocaust’ and others are (…) inappropriate to be part of the jargon used in any kind of political disagreement.” The letter was especially addressed to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Vahagn Garniki Khachaturyan.


The Armenian leaders were discussing the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, contested between them and Azerbaijan. Pashinyan compared the Nazi-created ghettos for Jews to what Azerbaijanis have been doing in the disputed region.

“Let’s go back to the Holocaust (…) Did Hitler come to power and the next morning pulled out the sword and started chasing the Jews in the streets? It lasted years, it was a process (…) Now in Nagorno-Karabakh they have created a Ghetto, in the most literal meaning of the word,” he said.


However, the letter did not merely address this one subject, as the rabbis attached to it expressed their concern over Armenian-Iranian ties, as the letter states that Iran is “a country which incessantly, openly and publicly calls for its destruction, of the only Jewish country in the world.”

The rabbis asked that “the terrible human suffering undergone by the Jewish people” be recognized and honored by the Armenian people.


They also asked that they stop “belittling the extent of the Jewish people’s suffering to further any political interest through incessantly using phrases associated with the Holocaust suffered by the Jewish people.”


Russia summons Armenia’s envoy over ‘unfriendly steps’

Vanyan Gary
PRESS TV, Iran
Sept 9 2023

Russia summons Armenia’s envoy over ‘unfriendly steps’

Saturday,

Russia has summoned Armenia’s ambassador to Moscow following a number of unwelcome gestures by Yerevan, including its announcement of joint war games with the United States.

The envoy was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry on Friday, three days after Armenia said it was to host a joint army exercise with the US during the upcoming week.

The Armenian defense ministry alleged that the purpose of the September 11-20 “Eagle Partner 2023” drills was to prepare its forces to take part in international peacekeeping missions.

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

Moscow, meanwhile, protested to Yerevan about a trip by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s wife to Kiev, which has been engaged in warfare with Russia since last February.

Yerevan has also increased its criticism of Moscow’s peacekeeping role in Nagorno Karabakh, a region which is disputed by Armenia and neighboring Azerbaijan.

Pashinyan had recently alleged that the Russian forces, which were deployed to the region to end 2020 hostilities between Yerevan and Baku, had failed in their role to protect civilians and their freedom of movement in a key corridor in Azerbaijani-controlled areas in Karabakh.

The Russian foreign ministry said the Armenian envoy was given a “tough presentation.”

The ministry stressed, though, that Russia and Armenia “remain allies and all agreements on developing the strengthening of the partnership will be fulfilled.”

Iran’s IRGC publishes warning to Azerbaijan of troop placement on border

Christine Harutyunian
i24, Israel
Sept 9 2023

As the conflict with Armenia escalates at the border, a separatist government in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh were holding elections

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps published a warning to Azerbaijan on Saturday, threatening Baku with the placement of troops on their shared border, amid elections held by a separatist government in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh.

The video indicated Iranian forces were concentrated on the shared border with Azerbaijan and Armenia. The IRGC then proclaimed readiness to support Yerevan.

Russian sources also claimed that the Iranians were ready to transfer military units to Armenia for support operation. A day earlier, the Kremlin summoned Yerevan’s envoy to Moscow over “unfriendly steps” amid joint military drills between the U.S. and Armenians.

The Russian foreign ministry also complained about a trip to Kyiv by the Armenian Prime Minister’s wife and Yerevan’s move to join the International Criminal Court, as well as the detention of a blogger for Russia’s sputnik media outlet.

The statement concluded that the Armenian envoy was given a “tough presentation,” but stressed that Russia and Armenia “remain allies and all agreements on developing the strengthening of the partnership will be fulfilled.”

In 2020, Azerbaijan fought Armenia in a continuing conflict around the Nagorno-Karabakh region, with the latest ceasefire being brokered by Moscow and included the presence of Russian peacekeepers.

Also on Saturday, a separatist government in Nagorno-Karabakh set out to elect a new leader after its previous president, Arayik Haratyunyan, resigned amid widespread food and fuel shortages.

Haratyunyan suggested in his resignation letter that his presidency was an obstacle to negotiations with Azerbaijan and that “difficulties in the country have significantly reduced the trust in the authorities.”

Azerbaijan called the latest election in Nagorno-Karabakh “yet another extremely provocative step” and “a clear violation of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” as quoted by AFP.

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/iran-eastern-states/1694248822-iran-s-irgc-publishes-video-warning-azerbaijan-of-troop-placement-on-border

Shahramanyan elected as president of Nagorno-Karabakh

Garnik Tadevosian
Sept 9 2023
 9 September 2023

ByArshaluys Barseghyan

Nagorno-Karabakh’s Parliament has elected Samvel Shahramanyan as the region’s new president. Officials have expressed hope that he will be able to achieve a ‘breakthrough’ in the region’s negotiations with Azerbaijan, which has held Nagorno-Karabakh under blockade for over nine months. 

Sharhamanyan was elected in an extraordinary session on Saturday. 

According to CivilNet, 23 members of parliament took part in the voting, with 22 voting for Shahramanyan and one against. 

Four out of five factions of Nagorno-Karabakh’s parliament on Wednesday nominated Samvel Shahramanyan for the post of president. He was appointed to the position of State Minister a day before Arayik Harutyunyan’s resignation from the post of president.

An application by the United Motherland parliamentary faction to nominate Samvel Babayan, the faction’s leader, was rejected on the grounds that Babayan had not permanently lived in Nagorno-Karabakh for the past ten years, a requirement for presidential candidates. Speaking to RFE/RL on Monday, Babayan stated that his parliamentary faction would not participate in the vote, instead holding a protest against the ‘predetermined’ election in Stepanakert. 

However, the votes of the remaining four factions were enough to elect Shahramanyan, as the constitution of Nagorno-Karabakh requires the votes of two thirds of MPs to elect a president. 

Samvel Shahramanyan, 44, is believed to be close friends with Bako Sahakyan, the third president of Nagorno-Karabakh. In 2018, during his presidency, Sahakyan appointed Shahramanyan as director of the National Security Service. 

Shortly after Arayik Harutyunyan was elected president in 2020, Shahramanyan was appointed head of the newly-created Ministry of Military Patriotism, Youth, Sports, and Tourism. In January 2023, Shahramanyan was appointed secretary of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Security Council, and was amongst those participating in meetings between representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, and Russian peacekeepers on 1 March. 

A number of MPs have stated their belief that Shahramanyan can bring together opposing groups in society, and could potentially bring about a ‘breakthrough’ in the ongoing blockade, having previously engaged in discussion with Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh has been under blockade by Azerbaijan since December 2022, with international and local groups increasingly warning that the region is experiencing an acute humanitarian crisis. 

[Read more: ‘Bread is all we have’: Nagorno-Karabakh’s population faces threat of starvation]

Political analyst Tigran Grigoryan told CivilNet that Shahramanyan would not be independent, instead representing a political group consolidated by Ruben Vardanyan, the billionaire former State Minister. Harutyunyan’s resignation came soon after former state minister Ruben Vardanyan demanded he step down. 

‘Now the decision-making process will take on a more collective nature’, said Grigoryan. ‘Most likely the former presidents, Ruben Vardanyan and their entourage will rule the country through a joint decision-making process.’

Arayik Harutyunyan resigned on 1 September, a day after firing the region’s second most senior official, State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan. In his statement Harutyunyan suggested that holding on to the post could be an impediment to negotiations with the Azerbaijani government.

Just 10 days before his resignation, Harutyunyan signed into law changes that allowed his successor to be appointed by parliament, rather than through a public election. 

The changes state that during martial law, if a president leaves office early then parliament should appoint a replacement to carry out the remainder of their term. Nagorno-Karabakh has been under martial law since the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, and Haratunyan’s current term was due to end in 2025.

Harutyunan’s resignation has been discussed within the region since the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, with the president initially promising to resign once the situation had ‘normalised’. 

Harutyunyan was also associated with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, with some opposition members suggesting that Harutyunyan’s departure could remove ‘obligations’ to the Armenian PM. When he was elected, Harutyunyan was seen as being close to the Armenian PM, though their relationship later soured.

 For ease of reading, we choose not to use qualifiers such as ‘de facto’, ‘unrecognised’, or ‘partially recognised’ when discussing institutions or political positions within Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and South Ossetia. This does not imply a position on their status.


Biden White House must act as genocide threatens to ‘destroy’ 120,000 people, GOP rep urges

Nahapetian Zhanna
FOX News
Sept 9 2023
By Andrew Mark Miller

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., has sent a letter to the Biden White House imploring it to speak out against genocide against Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region and clarify that the U.S. will not “compromise” with Azerbaijan in the conflict.

“In light of the compelling and urgent testimony provided, I respectfully urge you to immediately clarify that the United States does not tolerate, facilitate, or participate, in negotiations over genocide, and to publicly inform Azerbaijan that unless it immediately lifts its blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the U.S. will take action through the United Nations to refer the matter to the International Criminal Court for investigation and prosecution,” Smith wrote to President Biden in a Thursday letter.

The testimony Smith referenced was from Luis Moreno Ocampo, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who testified in front of the bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, which Smith co-chairs, on Thursday.

Ocampo told the commission “there is a reasonable basis to believe that Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor constitutes genocide” and that Azerbaijan’s president, Ilham Aliyev, “voluntarily, knowingly, and willingly created conditions calculated to destroy 120,000 Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

In his letter, Smith expressed concern that Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said there is a “need for a dialogue and compromise and the importance of building confidence between the parties.”

“Mr. President, there is little doubt that this humanitarian crisis was planned, tested, and imposed by President Ilham Aliyev, who rules Azerbaijan as a dictator. His record of human rights abuses is decades in the making as I met with him in Baku in 2013 and 2014 arguing then about both his mistreatment and jailing of Azerbaijani human rights activists and abusive treatment of Armenian Christians,” Smith wrote.

He continued, “Thus by encouraging ‘compromise,’ the Secretary appears to facilitate Azerbaijan’s use of genocide as a negotiating tactic. Negotiation may be needed to solve the differences between Azerbaijan and the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, but genocide is an abuse impossible to ignore.”

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

In his letter, Smith expressed concern that Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said there is a “need for a dialogue and compromise and the importance of building confidence between the parties.”

“Mr. President, there is little doubt that this humanitarian crisis was planned, tested, and imposed by President Ilham Aliyev, who rules Azerbaijan as a dictator. His record of human rights abuses is decades in the making as I met with him in Baku in 2013 and 2014 arguing then about both his mistreatment and jailing of Azerbaijani human rights activists and abusive treatment of Armenian Christians,” Smith wrote.

He continued, “Thus by encouraging ‘compromise,’ the Secretary appears to facilitate Azerbaijan’s use of genocide as a negotiating tactic. Negotiation may be needed to solve the differences between Azerbaijan and the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, but genocide is an abuse impossible to ignore.”

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region within Azerbaijan that came under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military in separatist fighting 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 only by a road known as the Lachin Corridor, along which Russian peacekeeping forces were supposed to ensure free movement.

However, over the past nine months, the road has been blockaded by Azerbaijani forces in what they say is a move to prevent “arms smuggling.”

Armenia says the blockade of the “Lachin corridor,” known as “the road of life” by ethnic Armenians in Karabakh, has caused acute shortages of food, medicines and other essentials.

Azerbaijan claims it has let the Red Cross evacuate people to Armenia for medical treatment and that its own information shows there is no shortage of basic food staples, but it has not allowed food and other supplies in for some time.

“The Biden Administration must wake up, recognize the absolutely grave responsibility it has here, and focus on finding and implementing a humane solution,” Smith said in a press release. “And this must mean that the blockade is lifted and the people continue to live in their ancient homeland — and not be subject to violence and threats. This situation is now a three-alarm fire.”

The White House directed Fox News Digital to an Aug. 31 release from the State Department on the matter.

“We are deeply concerned about deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the continued blockage of food, medicine, and other goods essential to a dignified existence,” the statement said. 

“The United States has worked continuously with the sides over the past several weeks to allow humanitarian assistance to reach the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. We reiterate our call to immediately re-open the Lachin corridor to humanitarian, commercial, and passenger traffic. Further, officials from Baku and representatives from Stepanakert should convene without delay to agree on the means of transporting critical provisions to the men, women, and children of Nagorno-Karabakh — including additional supply routes — and resume discussions on all outstanding issues. Basic humanitarian assistance should never be held hostage to political disagreements.”

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-white-house-must-act-genocide-threatens-destroy-120000-people-gop-rep-urges

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

David Nargizian
The Public’s Radio
Sept 9 2023
By AVET DEMOURIAN

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://thepublicsradio.org/article/separatist-parliament-in-azerbaijans-breakaway-nagorno-karabakh-region-elects-new-president

Armenia Seeks Mediation as Azerbaijan Standoff Stokes War Fears

Ekmekjian Janet
Bloomberg
Sept 9 2023
  • Tensions have been escalating over blocked aid deliveries
  • Cross-border shelling has left casualties on both sides
By Bloomberg News
September 9, 2023 at 5:25 PM GMT+3

Armenia appealed to the US, Europe and Iran to help defuse a standoff with neighboring Azerbaijan over blocked aid deliveries to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which have raised tensions to their highest point since a 2020 war.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held phone talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, his office said in a statement on Saturday. Pashinyan told Blinken he’s ready for urgent talks with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, according to the statement.

Azerbaijan faces mounting pressure from the US and Europe to reopen the Lachin corridor, a road link connecting Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia that it blocked in December. Humanitarian aid was last delivered along the route on June 15, Armenian officials say. In July, Pashinyan warned of the risk of a new war with Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan denies imposing a blockade, though dozens of trucks from Armenia loaded with aid have been held up at the border for weeks. The blockade has led to shortages of food and essential goods for the territory’s Armenian population, which local officials put at 120,000.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-09/armenia-seeks-mediation-as-azerbaijan-standoff-stokes-war-fears

Iran president reaffirms strong opposition to Azerbaijan construction of corridor in Armenian territory

Toneyan Mark
Iran Front Page
Sept 9 2023

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has reaffirmed Iran’s strong opposition to any geopolitical change along its border regions.

President Raisi was speaking with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on the phone on Saturday.

He was referring to Azerbaijan’s threats to carve out a chunk of territory along the Iranian-Armenian border to make a corridor it calls “Zangezur” which would obliterate the land border between Iran and Armenia.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has reaffirmed Iran’s strong opposition to any geopolitical change along its border regions.

President Raisi was speaking with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on the phone on Saturday.

He was referring to Azerbaijan’s threats to carve out a chunk of territory along the Iranian-Armenian border to make a corridor it calls “Zangezur” which would obliterate the land border between Iran and Armenia.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has reaffirmed Iran’s strong opposition to any geopolitical change along its border regions.

President Raisi was speaking with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on the phone on Saturday.

He was referring to Azerbaijan’s threats to carve out a chunk of territory along the Iranian-Armenian border to make a corridor it calls “Zangezur” which would obliterate the land border between Iran and Armenia.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has reaffirmed Iran’s strong opposition to any geopolitical change along its border regions.

President Raisi was speaking with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on the phone on Saturday.

He was referring to Azerbaijan’s threats to carve out a chunk of territory along the Iranian-Armenian border to make a corridor it calls “Zangezur” which would obliterate the land border between Iran and Armenia.

Armenia vs Croatia Prediction and Betting Tips | September 11th 2023

Hagop Kamalian
SportSkeeda
Sept 9 2023
ByShubham Dupare

Armenia will welcome Croatia to the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in the group stage of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers on Monday.

The hosts extended their unbeaten run to three games in the competition as they held Turkey to a 1-1 draw in their away match on Friday. Artak Dashyan broke the deadlock in the 49th minute of the game and they conceded a late equalizer as Bertuğ Özgür Yıldırım scored on his international debut in the 88th minute.

The visitors are unbeaten in their three games in the qualifiers and recorded a comfortable 5-0 home win over Latvia on Thursday. Bruno Petković bagged a first-half brace and Ivan Perišić provided a couple of assists.

Both teams have seven points at the moment and the visitors are in second place in the Group D standings, thanks to their superior goal difference. The visitors extended their unbeaten run at home in European qualifiers to 37 games with a win on Thursday.

  • The two teams have met just once thus far, with the friendly match in 2021 ending in a 1-1 draw.
  • Interestingly, both teams have scored eight goals in the qualifiers thus far, the same as first-placed Turkey, though the visitors have conceded just one goal in three games while the hosts have shipped in six goals in four games.
  • Armenia have just one win in their last five home games in all competitions, suffering three defeats in that period.
  • They have suffered six defeats in their last 10 home games in the European qualifiers, recording just three wins in that period.
  • The visitors are unbeaten in their last nine games in European qualifiers. Interestingly, all nine of their defeats in the qualifiers have come away from home.

Havakakan have done well in their recent games and are on a four-game unbeaten run for the first time since June 2021. They have scored at least two goals in three of their last four games but have conceded at least two goals in two games in that period as well.

Vatreni bounced back with a 5-0 win on Thursday following a defeat on penalties in the Nations League final in June and will look to keep that momentum going. They are unbeaten in their last nine games in the European qualifiers.

There’s not much history between the two teams and they played a low-scoring draw in their only meeting in 2021, which was a friendly.

Considering the visitors’ superior record in European qualifiers and advantage in terms of squad quality, we back them to record a comfortable win.

Prediction: Armenia 1-2 Croatia