Congressman Adam Schiff urges Biden to personally call Aliyev to end blockade, assess options for U.S. aid to Artsakh

Khoyetsian Rose

 17:21, 15 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. United States Congressman Adam Schiff has called on U.S. President Joe Biden to personally call Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and urge him to end the blockade of Lachin Corridor.

In a letter, the Congressman called on President Biden to warn Aliyev that there will be consequences, including the implementation of sanctions, visa restrictions, and cutting off U.S. foreign assistance, should the blockade continue.

Below is the Congressman’s full letter addressed to President Biden.

“Dear President Biden,

Since I wrote to you on June 8 expressing my deep concern over Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to the outside world, the crisis has deteriorated significantly and demands your personal and immediate attention.

Since December 2022, the people of Artsakh have been living under Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade with devastating effects, with 120,000 individuals denied access to food, water, medical supplies and services, gas and consistent electricity. While previously the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was able to provide limited deliveries of essential food and medicine and facilitate transport in medical emergencies, Azerbaijan weeks ago cut off access to even the ICRC. As ICRC stated, “Tens of thousands of people rely on humanitarian aid reaching them through these routes. With this lifeline cut off, the population is completely isolated and the toll on civilians is escalating rapidly. There is no question that the situation is now a “dire humanitarian crisis,” as stated by a group of UN experts on August 7.

The population of Artsakh is in urgent need of assistance, including those most vulnerable – pregnant women, children, and the elderly and disabled. Life-saving medications and baby formula are almost gone. Health authorities in Artsakh have reported a surge in the disease incidence and death rate related to malnutrition, lack of medicines, and lack of emergency medical services/transport. For example, the level of anemia among pregnant women has reached approximately 90 percent and incidents of fainting due to malnutrition have become widely reported. The grave consequence is that innocent civilians are increasingly suffering from malnutrition and facing the imminent threat of starvation in accordance with Aliyev’s deliberate and strategic design. At this very moment, a convoy of trucks carrying 400 tons of humanitarian aid is blocked by Azerbaijan and not allowed to enter Artsakh. These actions are in clear violation of international law and the 2020 trilateral ceasefire statement. The August 7 statement by UN experts called for Azerbaijan “to uphold its international obligations to respect and protect human rights, including the right to food, health, education and life,” and I join them in that call.

Though the U.S. government, the European Union, UN experts, and Russia have condemned the blockade and called for the corridor to be opened to regular traffic, Azerbaijan has ignored such statements for months. The U.S. Department of State and USAID have tried to use diplomacy to put an end to Aliyev’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor, but the time for statements and such calls has clearly long passed. The United States must take concrete actions and immediately use other tools to press Azerbaijan to return to compliance with international law and order. I therefore urge you to take the following steps:

  • Convene an emergency session of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the crisis in Artsakh while the United States holds the presidency.This situation aligns with our country’s intention to focus this session on combating food insecurity and defending human rights and is an urgent matter demanding UNSC attention. UN Secretary-General Guterres voiced deep concern over the ongoing blockade and “the deteriorating situation on the ground” via an August 2 statement, and he and UN special rapporteurs have called for action. It is time for the UNSC to engage. I agree, as the Armenian government stated in an August 12 letter, that “the UN Security Council, as a principal body responsible for maintaining international peace and security, to prevent mass atrocities including war crimes, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and genocide,” must convene a meeting on this crisis as soon as possible.
  • Direct the U.S. Mission to the UN to lead a UN Security Council resolution calling on Azerbaijan to immediately comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice, providing for the deployment of a team of UN experts to Artsakh to gather information and produce an independent report on the human rights and humanitarian situation, and sanction Azerbaijan for its flagrant violations of international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  • Direct USAID and the Department of Defense to assess options for the United States to assist in the delivery of aid to Artsakhby land or airlift to prevent the very real threat of starvation and avoid the preventable deaths of innocent civilians.
  • Personally call Aliyevand urge him to lift the blockade. Warn him that there will be consequences, including the implementation of sanctions, visa restrictions, and cutting off U.S. foreign assistance, should the blockade continue. Many of us in Congress believe that Azerbaijan should have been cut off from U.S aid a long time ago.

I stand ready to provide any support to your Administration’s efforts to address this crisis, including facilitating a meeting between your administration and national Armenian community stakeholders who can share first – hand accounts of the catastrophic situation in Artsakh.

This inhumane and evil campaign to destroy a people is hauntingly familiar to Armenians, whose ancestors suffered the horror of the Armenian Genocide 108 years ago. In an expert opinion report released August 7, former International Criminal Court prosecutor and international legal expert Luis Moreno Ocampo concluded, “There is a reasonable basis to believe that a Genocide is being committed against Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023.” He stated, “The blockade of the Lachin Corridor by the Azerbaijani security forces impeding access to any food, medical supplies, and other essentials should be considered a Genocide under Article II , (c) of the Genocide Convention: “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.” There are no crematories, and there are no machete attacks. Starvation is the invisible Genocide weapon. Without immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks.”

We have pledged “never again,” Mr. President, but today the people of Artsakh face the real threat of ethnic cleansing and genocide at the hands of an autocratic Azerbaijani regime. On April 24, 2023, when Armenians around the world were commemorating the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, you powerfully stated, “Here and around the world, the Armenian people have met the evil of hate with hope. They rebuilt their communities. They nurtured their families and preserved their culture. They strengthened our nation. They also told their stories – and those of their ancestors – to remember and to ensure that genocide like the one that happened 108 years ago is never again repeated. Today, let us renew this pledge. Let us recommit to speaking  out against hate, standing up for human rights, and preventing atrocities.” Mr. President, you have been on the right side of history, have spoken truth to power, and now is the time to uphold this pledge and stand with the people of Artsakh and stop another Armenian Genocide from occurring.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I stand ready to work with your Administration in support of the people of Artsakh.”

The U.S. Mission to the U.N. said Monday that the U.N. Security Council will convene an emergency open meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday.




EU mission confirms monitors were present to ‘shooting incident’ on border

Karagyozian Lena

 17:37, 15 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. The EU monitoring mission (EUMA) has confirmed that its monitors were present to what it described as a “shooting incident” in their area of responsibility.

“We confirm that EUMA patrol has been present to the shooting incident in our area of responsibility. No EUMA member was harmed,” EUMA said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

On August 15, the Azerbaijani military opened gunfire at the EU monitors and their vehicle in the direction of Verin Shorzha, in Gegharkunik Province, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia earlier said in a statement.

The EU monitors on patrol came under small arms fire by Azerbaijani Armed Forces, the ministry said.

“On August 15, at around 12:20 p.m., Azerbaijani AF units discharged fire from firearms targeting the EU observers patrolling in the vicinity of Verin Shorzha and their vehicle. There are no casualties,” reads a statement issued by the defense ministry.

The EU monitoring mission (EUMA) initially denied in a statement on social media the Armenian Defense Ministry’s statement on the shooting, but then removed the denial after a video was posted online, before eventually releasing a correcting statement confirming the shooting.

Armenia, France discuss Nagorno-Karabakh humanitarian crisis, UNSC emergency meeting

Edgar Tavakalian

 18:26, 15 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. On August 15, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a telephone conversation with Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.

Minister Mirzoyan briefed French counterpart on the details of the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin corridor, stressing that it may turn into a real humanitarian catastrophe in front of the eyes of the international community, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

Ararat Mirzoyan presented the severe conditions, including the acute shortage of food and medicine for the 120,000 population of Nagorno-Karabakh and especially for vulnerable groups. The imperative to ensure the full and uninterrupted functioning of the ICRC, the only humanitarian organization having access to Nagorno-Karabakh, through the Lachin corridor was emphasized.

Minister Mirzoyan touched upon the request of Armenia to convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. He stressed that Azerbaijan does not implement multiple targeted statements and appeals by international partners and organizations and, by keeping the Lachin corridor blocked for 8 months, violates not only the statement of November 9, 2020, but also the Orders of the International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6. Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh could jeopardize the efforts of Armenia and the international community aimed at establishing stable peace in the region. He stressed the need to use the existing mechanisms effectively and to take clear steps to lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor.




‘Catastrophic consequences’ of blockade: 40-year-old man dies of starvation in Nagorno- Karabakh

Emil Lazarian

 19:43, 15 August 2023

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. A man has died of starvation in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the ongoing Azeri blockade, the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan said in a statement.

According to the information received by the Nagorno-Karabakh Human Rights Defender’s Office and the research conducted by its Staff, a resident of Stepanakert, K. Hovhannisyan, born in 1983, died as a result of chronic malnutrition, protein and energy deficiency.

According to the conclusion of the forensic medical examination and the death certificate of K. Hovhannisyan, his death resulted from: “severe alimentary dystrophy (general exhaustion due to prolonged and incomplete intake of nutrients, edema, disorder of all forms of metabolism with organ changes and their functional disorders), cachexia, protein-energy deficiency, kwashiorkor (a specific severe type of eating disorder that develops with insufficient protein content in food, the development of the disease is promoted by severe living conditions, low standard of living), bilateral polysegmental pneumonia with a predominance of the croup element on the right, pulmonary edema, mixed metobolia, hypoxic encephalopathy, dystrophy of internal organs-kidneys, anemia, septic condition, right hydrothorax, chronic malnutrition”.

The catastrophic consequences of the ongoing 8-month-long blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan are more than noticeable and tangible in the public health sector, which primarily affect the health situation of the most vulnerable groups of the society – children, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases, people with disabilities and older persons, Stepanyan said.

The catastrophic food situation caused by the blockade and especially the 2-month-long complete siege, leading to the malnutrition of people and the threat of hunger, the lack of necessary medicines and the inability of the full functioning of the healthcare system create direct and undeniable threats to 120,000 population of Artsakh, he added.



Forthcoming U.N. Security Council meeting to be ‘test for efficiency of international actors,’ says Nagorno-Karabakh

Arsine Chaltikian

 20:02, 15 August 2023

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. The Nagorno-Karabakh foreign ministry has said that the August 16 U.N. Security Council emergency meeting will be a “test for efficiency of international actors.”

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Wednesday in response to a call from Armenia. Permanent Representative of Armenia to the U.N., Mher Margaryan, in an August 11 letter addressed to the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the current President of the U.N. Security Council, said that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are on the verge of a full-fledged humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the Azerbaijani blockade and called for an emergency meeting. The U.S. Mission to the U.N. said that the emergency open meeting will take place Wednesday afternoon.

“On Aug 16, UNSC will convene an emergency meeting to discuss deteriorating humanitarian situation caused by Artsakh Blockade imposed on the civilian population of Republic of Artsakh by Azerbaijani authorities. This meeting is a test for efficiency of international actors,” the Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Facebook.

Azerbaijani Defense Ministry releases more disinformation

Emil Lazarian

 20:12, 15 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has released more disinformation, the Armenian Defense Ministry warned Tuesday evening.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijan has again falsely accused Armenia of opening fire. 

“The statement issued by the MoD of Azerbaijan as if the units of the Armed Forces of Armenia fired against the Azerbaijani combat outposts located in the eastern part of the border on August 15, at around 6:05 p.m., is another disinformation,” reads the statement issued by the Armenian Defense Ministry.

Armenpress: Ambassador-at-Large Edmon Marukyan appeals to US, France and EU to take action and stop genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh

Ani Tigranian

 20:45, 15 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador-at-Large Edmon Marukyan has asked U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and others to take action and stop the genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh after a man starved to death as a result of the Azeri blockade.

“We were warning about this on daily basis for already 8 months. Please take action to stop ethnic cleansing and the genocide in Nagorno Karabakh,” Marukyan said in a post on X addressed to U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar, Human Rights Watch Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division Rachel Denber and Associate director, Europe and Central Asia Division Giorgi Gogia.

Mount an airlift to feed Nagorno-Karabakh

Emil Lazarian
POLITICO
Aug 15 2023
OPINION

If Europe wants to save a peace deal, it needs to help engineer an end to the blockade.

BY LARA SETRAKIAN AND BENYAMIN POGHOSYAN
AUGUST 15, 2023

Lara Setrakian is a journalist and the president of the Applied Policy Research Institute of Armenia. Benyamin Poghosyan is the co-rapporteur of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Joint Expert Group and a senior research fellow at the Applied Policy Research Institute of Armenia.

It’s been eight months since Azerbaijan launched its blockade of the Lachin corridor, isolating some 120,000 ethnic Armenians from the outside world — a move that has had devastating consequences for everyday life and regional stability, while eroding the trust needed to build long-term peace in the South Caucasus.

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been barred from reaching the area since mid-June, access to food and medicine is deteriorating. Fruit, vegetables, dairy products and cereal are now beyond the reach of many residents, and a lack of transport fuel is restricting movement from village to village. All this is adding to the now chronic stress of 30,000 children and their families, with one local maternity clinic reporting a threefold jump in the rate of miscarriages.

As a recent statement by the European Union warned, the situation is having “dire consequences” for the local population. 

Still, led by the EU and the United States, peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan had been making headway during the first few months of the blockade. However, the new, broader choke hold on the Lachin corridor will almost certainly derail any agreement. Armenia’s leaders won’t be able to sign a deal in good faith while the Baku government effectively starves ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The conflict needs a negotiated solution — not a forced capitulation at the cost of civilian lives. If Europe wants to save the peace deal, it needs to end the blockade. If the international community can’t find a way to keep all parties civil, however, it then needs to launch an airlift and find as many alternative supply routes as possible. Otherwise, it’s simply validating the use of a blockade as a negotiating tactic, which will either crash talks entirely, or lead to a fragile deal made under duress.

“The starvation of the Armenian population will leave a new legacy of unforgiving distrust,” wrote Laurence Broers, a nonresident fellow at Chatham House. “Any negotiated outcomes risk being discredited as the results of coerced agreement.”

Meanwhile, officials in Baku have floated the idea of an alternate route for supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh, passing through the Azeri region of Aghdam instead. But as European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell pointed out, this doesn’t absolve Baku of its legal obligation to open the Lachin corridor — which has been the main route in and out of the region.

Moreover, after forcing eight months of hunger and deprivation, this offer seems disingenuous — less an act of compassion and more a cynical bid to increase the region’s dependence on Baku. It also coincides with Azerbaijan launching a series of military moves aimed at asserting greater control over the population, as documented by the International Crisis Group.

The EU needs to send a clear message to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev that the forced humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh will significantly damage his image as a reliable and responsible EU partner. Additionally, as facilitators of the peace deal, European leaders have a hand to play in keeping all parties on track for a good-faith agreement, and should be mobilizing the international community to convince Azerbaijan to lift the blockade. 

This is also where the energy trade between EU countries and Azerbaijan comes in. It should be used as a tool for human rights diplomacy — not a reason to duck responsibilities. Baku’s trade partners should be invited to integrate human rights into their bilateral dialogues, so as to not implicitly fund the starvation and potential ethnic cleansing of the 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

This applies to both Europe and its partners too. For example, while the U.S. has undertaken vigorous diplomacy alongside its calls for an end to the blockade, the United Kingdom has so far been relatively silent. And as the largest foreign investor in Azerbaijan, the diplomatic weight of London, as well as energy giant BP, could play an important role.

Aligning human rights with trade policy in this manner is both good and moral long-term politics. It would also encourage Baku to fall in line with the EU’s foreign policy goal of achieving sustainable peace and stability in the South Caucasus, while helping calm interethnic tension.

The cycles of violence and retribution that have kept Armenia and Azerbaijan at war for so long are now playing out in plain sight once more. This can only be stopped by insisting that the norms and values Europe taught itself to observe after its own long and painful history of conflict must be upheld. It should encourage Armenia and Azerbaijan to join the nations that have learned to abide by principles of mutual respect, decency and humanitarianism in their interstate affairs. 

We believe Europe is genuinely interested in securing lasting peace and stability in the region — one that is based on the mutual recognition of territorial integrity by both Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is a noble foreign policy goal, which will have significant geopolitical and economic benefits for the Continent. However, for this to happen, it must emerge from a peace process that’s guided by a principled and long-term view — not the result of coercion by the stronger party.

Emergency UN meeting to be held regarding Azerbaijan’s blockade of the road leading from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh

Nahapetian Zhanna
Aug 15 2023
ByANIKET DIXIT


UNO: Amid a mounting humanitarian crisis, the United Nations Security Council is slated to convene an emergency session on Wednesday, focusing on the dire conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh, ensnared in a debilitating blockade imposed by Azerbaijan.

Armenia has cast a stark accusation against Azerbaijan, alleging that since December, the solitary road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia has been obstructed, significantly impeding the flow of vital necessities, including food and medical supplies, to the approximately 120,000 residents of the region.

Ambassador Mher Margaryan, Armenia’s representative to the UN, articulated the grievousness of the situation in a missive to the Security Council. He asserted that the blockade has catalyzed a “full-fledged humanitarian catastrophe,” teetering perilously on the precipice of an imminent disaster.

Margaryan’s letter further implored the Security Council to demand an immediate lifting of the blockade by Azerbaijan, advocating for unhindered access to deliver vital humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh.

In its defense, Azerbaijan contends that the blockade is a necessary measure to curb the transport of weaponry and natural resources to the region. However, this stance has drawn widespread condemnation from international bodies, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Also Read: Crisis Unfolds as South Africa’s Unemployment Skyrockets to Record 32.9% in Q1 2023

Notably, the OSCE has explicitly called upon Azerbaijan to rescind the blockade and facilitate the unfettered transport of humanitarian assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Anticipated to be an incendiary affair, the Security Council meeting is poised to witness a fiery exchange of accusations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the contentious blockade. The session’s outcome remains uncertain, particularly regarding the possibility of a unanimous resolution compelling Azerbaijan to dismantle the blockade.

Nonetheless, the convocation of this meeting underscores the global apprehension over the escalating humanitarian emergency in Nagorno-Karabakh and exerts substantial pressure on Azerbaijan to relent on its blockade.

Beyond exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, the blockade casts an ominous shadow over the peace process in Nagorno-Karabakh. The obstruction complicates the negotiation landscape for both parties, obstructing the pathway towards a sustainable and lasting peace agreement.

As Wednesday’s Security Council meeting unfolds, the international community seizes an opportune moment to convey an unequivocal message to Azerbaijan: the blockade must be lifted. Should the Council rally around a resolution to enforce this demand, it would signify a momentous stride towards invigorating the prospects of peace in the embattled region.

https://english.newstracklive.com/news/emergency-un-meeting-to-be-held-regarding-azerbaijans-blockade-of-the-road-leading-from-armenia-to-nagornokarabakh-sc57-nu355-ta355-1292489-1.html

Irredentism Under the Guise of Humanitarian Aid: An Armenian and Russian Ploy

Mary Lazarian
Aug 15 2023

Rufat Ahmadzada
August 15, 2023
Aconvoy of Armenian trucks allegedly carrying “humanitarian aid” destined for the Armenian minority living in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region is lined up at Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. Armenia wants to send the trucks to the Karabakh region via a road through Azerbaijan’s Lachin District. The convoy appeared right after the sixth trilateral meeting of the heads of state of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the EU’s Charles Michel in Brussels on 15th July. At this meeting Charles Michel mentioned Azerbaijan’s willingness to deliver aid via its recently restored Agdam to Khankendi road and in a statement backed Azerbaijan’s proposal to facilitate the supply of aid via the Agdam road. So the convoy’s real purpose is not to avert a “grave humanitarian catastrophe” for the ethnic Armenians in Karabakh, but to impede the use of the Agdam road and any subsequent integration into Azerbaijan. It is a tool for Yerevan and those foreign actors interested in continuing conflict management as a geopolitical mechanism in the South Caucasus region.

The Lachin road, previously known as the Lachin corridor connecting the Armenian minority living in Azerbaijan to Armenia, functioned as an uncontrolled belt under Russian supervision for more than 28 months. Its use was intended to be solely for humanitarian purposes, but during this period, the Lachin road was misused and abused by both Russia and Armenia in order to strengthen the Armenian Armed Forces illegally stationed inside Azerbaijan and other illegal armed groups. The road was used to supply landmines and other weapons to the Armenians inside Azerbaijan and to rotate Armenian soldiers. Multiple warnings by Azerbaijan were ignored by Russia, Armenia, the EU and US. Landmines produced following the 2020 war and brought into Azerbaijan via the Lachin road have been discovered and put on public display. The Russian peacekeeping contingent has been filmed on many occasions escorting the delivery of weapons to the illegally stationed Armenian forces within the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan via the Lachin road, despite being warned that this action goes against the joint declaration of November 2020 which stopped the Second Karabakh War.

Since the signing of the trilateral declaration of November 2020, both Armenia and Russia have violated three key provisions of the declaration: provision four, which demands the immediate withdrawal of the Armenian forces from Azerbaijan in parallel with the deployment of Russian peacekeepers; provision seven, which requires the return of the refugees and IDP’s to their homes; and provision nine, which requires Armenia to ensure the unimpeded movement of citizens, goods and vehicles from mainland Azerbaijan to its exclave region of Nakchivan via a safe route. Both Russia and Armenia have violated all these provisions as Armenian forces remain on Azerbaijani land, Azerbaijani IDP’s and refugees are not allowed to return to their homes in Khojaly, Khankendi and hundreds of other villages in the areas of Azerbaijan controlled by Russia and Armenia, and Armenia refuses to provide a land link to Nakhchivan. Despite this, Armenia continues to insist on an extraterritorial land bridge between itself and the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan in order to continue its irredentist aspirations of annexing Azerbaijani lands. This meets Vladimir Putin’s geopolitical interests and is part of his policy to keep Russian troops in the region indefinitely.

Armenia’s new irredentism policy 

After losing the 44-day Karabakh War in autumn 2020 and subsequent diplomatic negotiations in three different channels – Brussels, Washington and Moscow – Armenia is continuing its irredentist claims against Azerbaijan. This policy is part of Prime Minister Pashinyan’s plan for so-called “remedial secession” which was outlined ahead of the 2021 elections. Azerbaijan’s peace formula is based on international law and in particular the principles of mutual recognition of territorial integrity and non-interference in others’ domestic affairs and has been welcomed by the international community and mediators. Armenia, though, continues to hinder the process, wanting to impose a condition concerning the so-called “rights and security” of the Karabakh Armenians under an international mechanism, which is a reworking of the central Armenian irredentist term of “status”. What Armenia is trying to do meets Russia’s goal of forming a mechanism, possibly under Russian supervision, involving “talks” between Azerbaijan and Karabakh Armenian irredentists (who receive their salaries from the Armenian budget). This would internationalise Azerbaijan’s domestic affairs in order to pave the way for the “remedial secession” scenario. Obviously, this is not going to be accepted by Azerbaijan.

Baku is offering reintegration and is ready to ensure the rights and security of the Armenian minority on a par with the many ethnic minorities living in Azerbaijan. It’s worth pointing out that Armenians live as ethnic minorities under far more restrictive regimes in, for example, Iran, Syria and Russia. Their reintegration into Azerbaijan will be ensured within the framework of Baku’s international obligations. Azerbaijan will develop the poverty stricken region, raising the living standards of the Armenians in Karabakh even higher than those of Armenians in Armenia.

Despite publicly recognizing Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan keeps avoiding signing a peace deal based on the five principles of international law. He is pushing his destructive condition of internationalising the talks between Azerbaijan and its potential citizens of Armenian origin in Karabakh with the aim of facilitating a remedial secession scenario as in Kosovo. The so-called “blockade” and “humanitarian catastrophe” stories are created in order to mislead the international community as part of that scenario. The social media accounts of Armenians living in Karabakh are full of pictures of food. Restaurants are open daily and accept reservations. Strangely enough, nobody talks about the Russian soldiers in Karabakh “starving”. The Lachin road is open and people pass through the border crossing checkpoint every day, so it can hardly be called a “blockade”. Azerbaijan is exercising its right as a sovereign nation to protect its borders.

Ironically, Russian oligarch Ruben Vardanyan with Russian peacekeepers’ help installed barriers – a blockade in other words – on the Agdam-Khankendi road and rejected any aid delivery from Azerbaijan. Vardanyan was sent by Vladimir Putin to hinder any possible talks and communications between Azerbaijan’s central authorities and Karabakh’s Armenians. The intention is clearly to prevent the reintegration of the region into Azerbaijan. The insistence on having an extraterritorial land corridor linking Karabakh to Armenia is part of the irredentist aspirations against Azerbaijan. In other words, Armenia and its proxies in Karabakh as well as Russia are against reintegration and are united in continuing the Armenian irredentist policies in the region for geopolitical reasons.

Russia’s goal? A mandate

Russia’s geopolitical goal is to use Armenian irredentist claims to continue its presence in the region. Russia wants to stay in Karabakh for decades, though the joint 2020 declaration puts a timeframe of five years on Russian peacekeepers’ deployment. Clearly, Azerbaijan is not going to extend Russia’s military presence in Karabakh beyond 2025. All the actions taken by Azerbaijan, such as the establishment of the border crossing point, its peace proposal, building a railway connection from Agdam to Khankendi where ethnic Armenians reside, and now demanding that supplies for the Russian contingent should be delivered via Agdam not via Armenia are all necessary steps to facilitate the withdrawal of the Russian contingent in 2025. That is why Russia is refusing the Agdam route and was against the Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Lachin road.

For Russia to stay in the region indefinitely it needs the continuation of the illegally installed Armenian irredentist entity in Karabakh. This means obstructing the reintegration process, which is the main reason for planting Russian oligarch Ruben Vardanyan in Karabakh. It also means not meeting obligations in the trilateral declarations to withdraw the remnants of the Armenian armed forces from Karabakh, and having an extraterritorial land bridge to Armenia.

Russia is also against the signing of a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Vladimir Putin publicly blackmailed Armenians at the Valdai Forum in 2022, describing the Washington process as all about recognition of Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory. Right after Putin’s remarks Nikol Pashinyan sided wholly with the Russian proposal. The proposal envisages a status for Armenians in the future, and staying in Karabakh for decades until that future status is in place. This was rejected by Azerbaijan. Interestingly enough Pashinyan announced his readiness to sign a long-term mandate for Russian troops which also showed his support for Putin’s proposal. Pashinyan later revealed that Russia and Armenia had signed a mandate for Russian peacekeepers in 2020 which was rejected by Azerbaijan. This also shows that despite his supposed pro-Western image Pashinyan is desperately trying to facilitate Russia’s presence in the region indefinitely. Azerbaijan’s condemnation of the illegal activities of the Russian peacekeepers and Turkish President Erdogan’s remarks following NATO’s Vilnius Summit that he hopes Russia will fulfill its obligation and withdraw from Karabakh in 2025 are evidence that Azerbaijan is actively working to facilitate Russia’s departure.

No doubt Russia is also behind the Armenian aid convoy stunt as it strikingly resembles the Russian humanitarian aid incursion into Ukraine in 2014. The West condemned this as a violation of Ukrainian territorial integrity, although now it supports the joint Armenian-Russian incursion into Azerbaijan under the pretext of delivering humanitarian aid without Azerbaijan’s consent. As Armenian PM Pashinyan and Russia realise that Azerbaijan is not going to give Russia a long-term mandate to stay in Karabakh, Armenia and Russia are playing the so-called blockade and worsening humanitarian situation card in order to whip up media hysteria and get a UN mandate. This is the policy carried out by Armenia and Russia, and the West is falling for it.

[Photo by Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons]

Rufat Ahmadzada is a graduate of City, University of London. His research area covers the South Caucasus and Iran. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect TGP’s editorial stance.

https://thegeopolitics.com/irredentism-under-the-guise-of-humanitarian-aid-an-armenian-and-russian-ploy/