14:01,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. France will deliver a batch of defensive armaments to Armenia on February 22, Le Figaro reports.
The supplies include three Thalès Ground Master (GM 200) radars which have a range of 250 kilometers, as well as night vision devices and other equipment.
As part of defense cooperation, this year the French military will conduct mountain combat training courses for Armenian troops.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu is expected to arrive in Armenia.
16:27,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.
Mayor Hidalgo said she was glad to host the Armenian Prime Minister and emphasized her continuous support to Armenia and the Armenian people. She said that the City of Paris plans to open the Charles Aznavour Park in the city center this September. The late singer’s bust will be erected there.
PM Pashinyan thanked for the warm reception and warmly recalled the Mayor’s Armenia visit on a mission to support the forcibly displaced persons of Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinyan highly appreciated Hidalgo’s efforts in the direction of the agendas pertaining to Armenia and the Armenian people.
Pashinyan and Hidalgo attached importance to the development of cooperation between Yerevan and Paris, particularly in transport, construction, tourism and culture. Pashinyan underscored the need for the Paris City Hall to share its rich experience in various fields with Yerevan.
Mayor Hidalgo said that Paris is ready to develop and strengthen partnership with Yerevan, including in various international platforms.
A man prays in Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, Azerbaijan after it was partly destroyed by shelling in October 2020. | Christian Solidarity International
Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) have been illegally detained and tortured in Azerbaijan’s jails for the past three years in violation of international humanitarian and human rights laws.
These prisoners were arrested by Azeri forces during Azerbaijan's war against the Armenian Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh in 2020 as well as its aftermath.
The military of Azerbaijan — with the help of Turkey — attacked Artsakh between 27 September 2020 and 10 November 2020. The war was suspended through an agreement mediated by Russia and signed by Azerbaijan and Armenia.
According to the agreement, all prisoners of war should have been returned and none other arrested after the agreement’s enactment. Azerbaijan, however, refuses to honor this and continues to illegally hold and abuse Armenian POWs.
One is a Catholic Armenian prisoner of war who through an open letter has called on Pope Francis and the Vatican to help him.
Gevorg Sujyan is the founding president of the “New Armenia Homeland-Diaspora Charitable NGO.” Along with another humanitarian worker, Davit Davtyan, Sujyan was arrested by Azeri forces in Artsakh after the November 2020 ceasefire agreement.
Both were part of the non-governmental organization that was providing humanitarian aid near the Shushi region of Arsakh, which was under attack by Azerbaijan.
Sujyan and Davtyan faced an unjust trial in 2021, resulting in a 15-year imprisonment sentence at a Baku detention center. The charges against them, including accusations of “espionage,” were based on a series of articles from the Azerbaijani criminal code. The Baku Court on Grave Crimes orchestrated these trials, which were marked by illegal, illegitimate, and improper proceedings.
Through his family, Sujyan sent an open letter to Pope Francis, asking for help to secure his release:
The Reverend Father,
I offer you the bitter sorrow and the tragic plea of my heart. Please receive these concise and sincere words with kindness, and not with anger. May my heartfelt appeal reach you now, and may the prisoner’s wish be granted in the name of God.
I repent of my sin. I am not a murderer. I have not cheated, yet I am condemned as a criminal. I am misunderstood. I am left with no hope of survival, I am trapped in endless despair…
And now I humbly beg you, merciful Father, to release me from the prison of sins for I have repented for my wrongdoings. Grant me, the undeserving, salvation and freedom. Alleviate my sadness with your mercy. I implore you, take me out of the profound abyss.
I have a family, a son who awaits my return, shedding endless tears. My pleas are filled with anguish, and they resonate from the very depths of my soul. Where will I find my salvation?
Please help me, be the mediator who will save my soul …
Gevorg Ruben Sujyan
The first Armenian genocide in modern history occurred in Ottoman Turkey in 1915. Approximately 1.5 million Armenians perished.
Over 100 years later, from 2020 to 2023, Armenians faced Turkish and Azeri military assaults, illegal blockades, and forced displacements. Azerbaijan and Turkey carried out an ethnic cleansing campaign against Armenians in Artsakh. This included methods such as starving, indiscriminately bombing and forcibly displacing around 120,000 Armenians. Azeri forces beheaded and mutilated Armenians — both civilians and soldiers — and posted videos of these beheadings on social media.
The subsequent mistreatment of Armenian captives is deeply concerning. Accused of violating various articles of Azerbaijan's Penal Code, Sujyan and Davtyan underwent sham trials in Baku's Serious Crimes Court. These trials were shaped by unlawfulness, arbitrariness, and a lack of due process. Armenian detainees faced false accusations and were denied basic guarantees, including the right to a defense lawyer from the moment of their arrest. This contravenes fundamental principles of justice and human rights.
Under the Geneva Convention, these individuals, classified as prisoners of war, should have been promptly repatriated after their arrest. The deliberate disregard for these international norms by Azerbaijan is a blatant violation of humanitarian principles.
A report by the University Network for Human Rights entitled “How Three Years of Atrocities Against Ethnic Armenians Led to Ethnic Cleansing” details the types of torture that the Armenian POWs are routinely exposed to in Azeri jails:
“Armenians captured by Azerbaijan during and after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, as well as in the course of fighting on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in September 2022, have been subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment while in Azerbaijani custody.
Forms of torture and mistreatment have included prolonged and repeated beatings with batons, skewers, brooms, and firearms; laceration of wrists with zip-ties; employment of electro-shock and stress positions; sleep deprivation; confiscation of warm clothing during extreme cold; deprivation of food, water, and hygiene products; and infliction of mental suffering and humiliation.”
The actual number of Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan is unknown because Azerbaijan refuses to be transparent about the number. It is also unknown how many POWs were executed after their capture.
According to the Center for Truth and Justice,
“Twenty-three Armenians are being illegally detained in Azerbaijan … However, it is suspected that many more POWs and civilian hostages are lingering in Azerbaijani prisons. Now that both wars have ended, all detainees must be freed immediately under the Geneva Conventions. However, Azerbaijan refuses to comply.”
Sujyan, Davtyan and other Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan are tortured for being Christian and Armenian. Governments across the world and international human rights organizations appear to abandon them and ignore their plight. Will Pope Francis and the Vatican hear their call and help liberate them from the captivity and torture they have been suffering for the past three years?
Uzay Bulut is a Turkish journalist formerly based in Ankara.
Luciana Minassian is a human rights lawyer based in Argentina.
https://www.christianpost.com/voices/catholic-armenian-prisoner-sends-open-letter-to-pope-francis.html
16:42,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in Paris.
Prime Minister Attal welcomed the Armenian PM’s visit and underscored his government’s readiness to consistently develop cooperation with Armenia, the Armenian Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout.
PM Pashinyan once again congratulated Attal on assuming the office of Prime Minister and wished him success. PM Pashinyan attached importance to deepening and enhancing partnership with the French government in various sectors.
A broad range of issues pertaining to partnership and joint projects in trade-economic ties, construction, infrastructure development, energy, water management and tourism was discussed.
Prime Minister Pashinyan attached importance to the French government’s support to Armenia in the direction of diversification of markets and introduction of standards.
The French Prime Minister accepted PM Pashinyan’s invitation to pay an official visit to Armenia.
13:23,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced his upcoming visit to Armenia.
Lecornu's trip will become the first visit by a French defense minister to Armenia.
In an interview with RTL, Lecornu said his delegation will include parliamentarians and representatives of the industrial sector.
“I will soon travel to Armenia with a big delegation composed of parliamentarians and representatives of the industrial sector,” he said.
Lecornu added that France is supplying arms to Armenia exclusively for defensive purposes. “Armenia is our friend which is facing a serious security challenge. It is our duty to help Armenia protect its territorial integrity,” the French defense minister added.
16:54,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s delegation during his upcoming Armenia trip will include defense companies MBDA, Nexter, Safran, Thales and Arquus, according to Politico.
Lecornu recently announced his upcoming visit to Armenia.
Furthermore, according to Le Figaro, France will deliver a batch of defensive armaments to Armenia on February 22.
MBDA is a European multinational developer and manufacturer of missiles headquartered in France.
Nexter is a weapons manufacturer producing armored vehicles, munitions, firearms, cannons and other arms.
Safran designs, develops and manufactures aircraft engines, spacecraft propulsion systems as well as various aerospace and defense-related equipment.
Thales designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security sectors.
Arquus specializes in military vehicles.
What’s Happening
Azeri influencer Kamil Zeynalli was briefly detained for a few hours at the Moscow airport on February 21st by Russian police who were acting upon an arrest warrant issued by Armenia for Zeynalli that dates back to May.
Publicly, Armenia stated that Zeynalli is wanted on murder charges, which occurred during the 2020 44-Day war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh, the war is also known as the second Nagorno-Karabakh war), without offering much detail.
Zeynalli’s lawyer, however, confirmed to Azeri TV that Zeynalli was wanted on charges of “aggression, war crimes and being a mercenary”. However, he too, did not particularly offer any concrete details on the exact crimes.
It is largely believed that Zeynalli is being charged with war crimes in connection to the execution of two Artsakh Defence Forces servicemen during the 44-Day war. During the war, a video emerged which portrayed several Azerbaijani speaking soldiers shooting and killing two Artsakh soldiers, who were bound and draped in Artsakh’s flag.
Azerbaijan has claimed the video is fake.
Some media have instead claimed that Zeynalli was one of a group of Azeri soldiers who beheaded two elderly civilians, which was again caught on video.
Neither of these claims that Zeynalli was involved with these particular crimes are officially confirmed at the moment. It is worth noting that the story which accuses Zeynalli of being involved in the execution of the Artsakh servicemen is the one which is being more widely reported.
Zeynalli’s Release
Several hours later, after negotiations between Russia and the Azeri embassy in Moscow, Zeynalli was released and allowed to go on a plane back to Baku, the Azeri capital. Azerbaijan’s embassy pledged to “deal” with the case, and as things currently stand, Zeynalli is due back in Russia on February 22nd in order to face extradition hearings in a Russian court.
Zeynalli faces a potential extradition to Armenia, if he indeed attends his court session in Russia.
Who is Kamil Zeynalli
Kamil Zeynalli is a rather popular Azeri influencer. The profile he runs on instagram has 1.8 million followers, and is a fitness coach and a blogger. Zeynalli formerly served in the Azeri military, including during the 2020 44-Day war. For this service, he has received military medals from the government.
Zeynalli was arrested as he was about to board a plane to Baku at Moscow’s Domodedovo international airport.
Following his detention, he released a video on instagram speaking about some of the charges against him, and his potential extradition, which may be viewed here.
20:49,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and France have had and will always maintain special relations, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said in a post on X, publishing a photo from the meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
"Infrastructures, energy, education, culture. Thank you, dear Nikol Pashinyan, for the exchange of views, which reaffirm our mutual desire to strengthen cooperation between our two countries.
We will continue to fully support Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Attal posted.
“The past year has brought challenges to Armenia. Despite this, the US-Armenia partnership is strong and getting stronger,” the Ambassador Kvien said in a video summing up one year of her activity in Armenia.
She noted that the United States stands with Armenia as a partner and friend.
“I work every day to help Armenia thrive as a strong, independent member of the world’s community of democracies,” U.S. Ambassador Kristina Kvien said.
15:55,
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of major business executives during his visit to France.
During the meeting with the leadership of the leading French enterprises, the Prime Minister spoke about the Armenian economic development, prospects of growth, the government’s economic programs, improvement of the business climate and opportunities of investment projects.
Pashinyan said that Armenia’s state budget revenues nearly doubled in 2023 compared to 2018.
“This means that very significant changes have taken place in the country in reducing shadow [economy] and improving the competitive situation. In 2023 the economic growth in Armenia comprised 8,7%, which is an obviously high indicator. In 2022 growth was 12,6%, and 5,6% in 2021,” Pashinyan said.
He added that 180,000 new jobs were opened in Armenia since 2018. “And this has approximately 30% growth in the total number of jobs. 2023 was significant also because we had significant progress in GDP per capita, and we are the leading country in the South Caucasus with this indicator.”
Pashinyan mentioned the “very important and significant” investments and economic cooperation with France, noting the presence of Pernod Ricard and Veolia. He also mentioned other French companies operating in the banking system and the pension fund management. He said that there have been discussions to intensify cooperation in the water supply sector.
Speaking about the Armenian government’s projections to secure at least 7% growth, Pashinyan said he hopes that more French companies will start operating in Armenia.
The Armenian Prime Minister also mentioned the significant projects for modernization of the economy.
“In terms of investment projects I’d like to mention the program on building 300 schools and 500 kindergartens in Armenia. There’s also the over one billion-dollar worth North-South program,” he said, drawing attention of construction companies that could be interested.
The Armenian Prime Minister also presented to the French companies the Academic City project. “We want to create a new city in the higher education sector. We’ve already launched concrete work in this direction.”
“I have to say that we want to inquire about serious investment programs in process manufacturing. IT is still one of the leading branches of the economy. And now the finance ministry and the high tech industry ministry are engaged in discussions with the sector to understand how we can further improve the legislative regulations in IT and make our country more attractive in this sense. In 2023 Armenia recorded significant progress in tourism, and the tourism inflow has already surpassed the 2019 figures. Winemaking is rapidly developing in Armenia, and I think there’s investment potential here as well. We have a broad reservoir construction project,” he said.
Issues pertaining to opportunities of cooperation in construction, infrastructure development, agriculture, tourism, high technologies, and industrial branches were discussed.
PM Pashinyan held separate meetings with the CEOs of Thales, IDEMIA, Pernod Ricard and Societe des Troia-Valles.