Wednesday,
Armenia Insists On Azerbaijani Troops Withdrawal
• Marine Khachatrian
Acting Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian
Armenia insists that the withdrawal of Azerbaijan’s troops from sovereign
Armenian territory must be on top of the agenda of negotiations between the two
South Caucasus nations.
Armenia’s acting Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinian told reporters in Yerevan
on Wednesday that Azerbaijan continues to create tensions at the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
“Sooner or later, one day the delimitation and demarcation of our borders with
all neighbors must take place, but, so to speak, grossly violating our borders
and being located inside our borders, even trying to blackmail us into some
action is not an efficient way, it cannot give any result. Such an approach and
method of blackmail cannot be acceptable to the authorities of the Republic of
Armenia and the people of the Republic of Armenia,” Avinian said.
The Armenian official said that Yerevan also finds its necessary to hold
negotiations. “But the first issue to be discussed is the withdrawal of
Azerbaijani troops from the territory of the Republic of Armenia,” he added.
Avinian stressed that everything must be done to resolve the issue
diplomatically.
Avinian’s remarks came as a reaction to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s
statement that Armenia, which suffered a military defeat in last year’s war in
Nagorno-Karabakh, is reluctant to get down to work on a peace treaty that Baku
hopes will put an end to what it views as Armenian territorial claims to
Azerbaijan.
“We are ready to start such work. But there is no official reaction from
Armenia. Through unofficial channels we have been receiving information that
Armenia is not ready for it. I think it will be a big mistake for them,” Aliyev
said on Wednesday, as quoted by Azerbaijani media.
The Azerbaijani leader’s remarks came amid a fresh incident at the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border in which Armenia said one of its servicemen was
killed in a skirmish near Azerbaijan’s western exclave of Nakhichevan. Baku said
one of its soldiers was wounded in a shootout with Armenian forces.
The two sides have blamed each other for the escalation at the border that has
already been tense since May when Armenia accused Azerbaijan of advancing its
troops several kilometers deep into its sovereign territory at several sections,
a claim denied by Baku.
Eight months after Armenia and Azerbaijan ended a six-week war over
Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict, which claimed over 6,000 lives, ended in
November 2020 with a Moscow-brokered cease-fire that saw Armenia ceding swaths
of territory that ethnic Armenians had controlled for decades.
In his remarks during today’s meeting with families of Azerbaijani soldiers
killed and maimed during the armed conflict, Aliyev again insisted that the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been resolved and that there is no issue of the
disputed region’s status anymore.
“The two sides must recognize each other’s territorial integrity, recognize the
borders and get down to the work on border delimitation,” said Aliyev, stressing
that international organizations hail the idea of delimitation and demarcation
of the Soviet-era administrative border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Stressing that Azerbaijan speaks from the position of the victor in last year’s
war, Aliyev warned: “If Armenia does not want this, it’s up to it. But Armenia
should think carefully, because otherwise it will be too late.”
Reacting to this statement, Avinian said that the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s
status is among priorities for Yerevan. “As long as the issue of the status of
Artsakh [the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh] is not finally resolved and the
talks within the OSCE Minsk Group are not resumed, I think it will be difficult
to talk about other solutions and other approaches. We attach great importance
to the negotiation process, as well as to certain positive changes that exist in
the negotiation process on unblocking [transport links], but all final
solutions, peace agreements, treaties, border delimitation and demarcation
contain certain snags, and the first most important issue is the status of
Artsakh and the people of Artsakh,” Armenia’s acting deputy prime minister said.
Aliyev Warns Armenia Amid Fresh Border Tensions
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev gestures as he speaks during an address to
the nation in Baku, October 26, 2020
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has warned Armenia to get down to
negotiations on a peace treaty “not to make another mistake” amid what appears
to be a new escalation at the border between the two South Caucasus nations that
warred last fall.
Armenia and Azerbaijan waged a 44-day war over Nagorno-Karabakh which claimed
over 6,000 lives and ended in November 2020 with a Moscow-brokered cease-fire
that saw Armenia ceding swaths of territory that ethnic Armenians had controlled
for decades.
In the following months the Azerbaijani leader has sought a more comprehensive
deal with Armenia that Baku hopes will put an end to what it views as Armenian
territorial claims to Azerbaijan.
“We are ready to start such work. But there is no official reaction from
Armenia. Through unofficial channels we have been receiving information that
Armenia is not ready for it. I think it will be a big mistake for them,” Aliyev
said on Wednesday, as quoted by Azerbaijani media.
The Azerbaijani leader’s remarks came amid a fresh incident at the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border in which Armenia said one of its servicemen was
killed in a skirmish near Azerbaijan’s western exclave of Nakhichevan. Baku said
one of its soldiers was wounded in a shootout with Armenian forces.
The two sides have blamed each other for the escalation at the border that has
already been tense since May when Armenia accused Azerbaijan of advancing its
troops several kilometers deep into its sovereign territory at several sections,
a claim denied by Baku.
In his remarks during today’s meeting with families of Azerbaijani soldiers
killed and maimed during the armed conflict, Aliyev again insisted that the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been resolved and that there is no issue of the
disputed region’s status anymore.
“The two sides must recognize each other’s territorial integrity, recognize the
borders and get down to the work on border delimitation,” said Aliyev, stressing
that international organizations hail the idea of delimitation and demarcation
of the Soviet-era administrative border between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Stressing that Azerbaijan speaks from the position of the victor in last year’s
war, Aliyev warned: “If Armenia does not want this, it’s up to it. But Armenia
should think carefully, because otherwise it will be too late.”
In a phone call with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken late on
Tuesday Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, in particular, stressed that
“the [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict is not resolved” and that “it calls for a
comprehensive settlement, which can only be achieved in the Minsk Group
co-chairing format.”
The terms of the November 10, 2020 ceasefire deal signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Russia also envisage the opening of regional roads and other transport
links. In particular, under the document that brought Russian peacekeepers to
Nagorno-Karabakh and provided for the Armenian-populated region’s link with
Armenia, Yerevan is to allow Baku to have a transport link with its exclave of
Nakhichevan.
Baku insists that this link should have the status of a corridor. But Armenian
Prime Minister Pashinian has repeatedly denied that the future transport link
between Azerbaijan and its western exclave will have such a status.
In his remarks today Aliyev again referred to Armenia’s Syunik province, which
is called Zangezur in Azerbaijan, as to historical Azerbaijani territory.
“We will return there and we are returning there. Nobody can stop us. We will
definitely return there because there is no other way. After the opening of all
transport links we will, of course, return there, and the Azerbaijani population
will return to the lands of their ancestors. A tripartite statement of November
10 says that all refugees must return to their homeland. Our native land is
Zangezur, our native land is Goycha (Sevan) and Irevan (Yerevan),” the
Azerbaijani president said.
This is not the first time Aliyev raises the issue of “historical Azerbaijani
territories” in Armenia. Official Yerevan has condemned such rhetoric before,
saying that it amounts to territorial claims.
Armenian Constitutional Court Ends Hearings On Election Appeals
Armenia’s Constitutional Court hears the appeals of four opposition groups
disputing the outcome of the June 20 snap parliamentary elections
Judges of Armenia’s Constitutional Court have retired to the deliberations room
for rulings on appeals by several opposition groups challenging the results of
the June 20 snap parliamentary elections that gave victory to Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian’s party.
The court received separate appeals from the opposition alliances led by former
Presidents Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian and two smaller groups that
failed to win any seats in the Armenian parliament earlier this month.
They claimed violations and irregularities during the elections that they
believe seriously affected the outcome of the vote in which the Pashinian-led
Civil Contract party won about 54 percent of the vote.
The Hayastan (Armenia) alliance of Kocharian and the Pativ Unem (I Have Honor)
alliance associated with Sarkisian came in second and third, with 21 and 5
percent of the vote. Despite failing to overcome the 7-percent threshold set for
alliances, Pativ Unem, as the third finisher, was allowed to enter parliament
under Armenia’s current legislation.
Pashinian and his political allies maintain that the vote was free and fair.
They point to its largely positive assessment by European election observers.
The opposition forces appealed to the Constitutional Court after the Central
Election Commission (CEC) refused to annul the vote results, saying that they
have not substantiated their allegations of widespread fraud.
During several days of public hearings that began on July 9 the Constitutional
Court heard arguments of the opposition groups, the CEC, which is involved in
the case as the main respondent, and the Prosecutor’s Office, the Police and the
Television and Radio Commission involved as co-respondents in the case.
Civil Contract is also involved in the case as a third party upon its own
request.
During the hearings the opposition, in particular, referred to instances of
irregularities in signed voter lists as well as alleged violations in the
military vote, which were discarded by the respondent.
Central Electoral Commission Chairman Tigran Mukuchian disagreed that issues
raised by the opposition groups could impact the overall outcome of the
elections.
A lawyer for Hayastan also listed Pashinian’s “hate speech” and “calls for
violence” among violations which the alliance claims seriously affected the
election outcome. The bloc’s representatives argued, in particular, that
Pashinian brandished a hammer during campaign rallies held across the country.
A representative of the Prosecutor’s Office, however, disagreed that Pashinian’s
campaign rhetoric amounted to intimidation of his political opponents, saying
that the prime minister used the hammer only as a metaphor for a “dictatorship
of the law” promised by him on the campaign trail.
After the court heard the final speeches of the parties on Wednesday, its
chairman Arman Dilanian announced the end of the hearings.
“I announce the end of the hearings. The court retires to the deliberations room
to make a decision in the case. I declare the sitting closed. Thank you,
goodbye,” he said.
Dilanian said that the date and time of the publication of the court decision
will be announced in advance.
Under law, the Constitutional Court is to issue its ruling on an election appeal
within 15 days after it was lodged and accepted. The four opposition groups
submitted their appeals on July 2.
Armenian Soldier Killed In Latest Shoot-Out Along Azerbaijani Border
An Armenian soldier (archive footage)
At least one Armenian soldier has been killed and one Azerbaijani soldier
wounded in the latest border shoot-out that Yerevan and Baku have blamed on each
other.
Armenia’s Ministry of Defense said the incident happened at the Yeraskh section
of the Armenian border with Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhijevan on Wednesday
morning.
It accused Azerbaijan’s armed forces of attempting to advance their military
posts closer to Armenian positions by conducting fortification work with the use
of engineering machinery. “After the Armenian army undertook measures to force
Azerbaijani servicemen to stop that work, the Azerbaijani military opened
targeted fire on the Armenian positions. As a result of the shoot-out, one
Armenian serviceman was fatally wounded. Azerbaijan also suffered casualties,”
the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
“Armenia’s Defense Ministry strongly condemns another provocation of the
Azerbaijani side and warns that such provocations will face fierce
counteraction. All responsibility for further escalation of the situation lies
with the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan,” it added.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry, for its part, accused the Armenian armed forces
of firing at the military positions of the Azerbaijani army in the territory of
Nakhichevan, as a result of which one Azerbaijani serviceman was wounded. The
Azerbaijani side said that the situation in the mentioned direction was
stabilized after Azerbaijani forces returned fire.
The foreign ministries of Armenia and Azerbaijan also issued statements,
exchanging blame for the incident.
Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in particular, accused Azerbaijan of
“trying to create new sources of tensions and undermining regional peace and
security.”
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for its part, condemned “attempts of
the Armenian side to disturb fragile peace in the region by means of regular
shootings at Azerbaijani positions.”
This is the second border incident in which an Armenian serviceman gets killed
since Armenia accused Azerbaijan of advancing several kilometers into its
sovereign territory at several border sections in May.
On May 25, Armenia claimed its soldier was killed in the country’s Gegharkunik
district in a skirmish that Azerbaijan denied.
The tense situation comes eight months after the two South Caucasus neighbors
ended a six-week war over Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict, which claimed more
than 6,000 lives, ended in November 2020 with a Moscow-brokered cease-fire that
saw Armenia ceding swaths of territory that ethnic Armenians had controlled for
decades.
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian forces accused each other of
firing shots in the vicinity of Shushi (Susa) late on Tuesday. No casualties
were reported by either side.
Pashinian, Blinken Discuss Reforms, Karabakh In Phone Call
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and U.S. Secretary of State Anthony
Blinken
Ongoing democratic reforms and the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh were
addressed during a telephone conversation between Armenia’s acting Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken
that reportedly took place late on Tuesday.
Pashinian’s press office said that in the phone call that was held at the
initiative of the American side, Blinken congratulated the Armenian leader on
his Civil Contract party’s victory in the June 20 snap parliamentary elections,
“appreciating the consistent steps taken by the Armenian government in recent
years to build on the country’s democratic achievements.”
“In this context, Antony Blinken hailed Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to handle the
electoral tensions peacefully and build civilized relations with the opposition.
Highlighting the Armenian government’s reform agenda, which specifically seeks
to curb corruption and improve the judiciary, Antony Blinken assured that the
United States will provide continued support in this direction. He noted that
the partnership between the two countries is based on democratic values,” the
readout of the call released by Pashinian’s press office said.
Pashinian for his turn reportedly thanked the U.S. secretary of state for his
assessment of Armenia’s democratic achievements and appreciated the American
side’s continued support to his government’s efforts aimed at strengthening
democratic institutions and rule of law in Armenia, including the launching of a
police patrol service in Yerevan that he hoped will soon be introduced
nationwide.
Armenia’s acting premier also hailed the efforts made by acting U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker to ensure the
repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan a month ago.
“The repatriation of POWs and the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from
Armenia’s sovereign territory were described as key issues in the context of
achieving regional stability,” the press release said.
The report also said that the U.S. secretary of state gave assurances that the
United States will continue its efforts to ensure the return of all prisoners of
war.
“With reference to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Antony Blinken prioritized the
need for resuming the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ activities, emphasizing that a
clear-cut agenda has to be developed for the peace process that would help find
a lasting and comprehensive resolution of the conflict.
“In this context, Nikol Pashinian underscored that the conflict is not resolved
and calls for a comprehensive settlement, which can only be achieved in the
Minsk Group co-chairing format. The U.S. side agreed with the acting prime
minister’s view that the status quo cannot be stable and the Minsk Group
Co-Chairs need a clear agenda conducive to successful negotiations,” the report
concluded.
In a separate development Pashinian has sent a congratulatory message to French
President Emmanuel Macron on the occasion of the National Day of France marked
on July 14.
In his message the Armenian leader said that Yerevan appreciates “the unbiased
position of friendly France and its assistance” provided to Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Armenia highly values you country’s strong commitment, as a Minsk Group
co-chair, to brokering a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
We appreciate France’s efforts to return Armenian prisoners of war from
Azerbaijan and safeguard the Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh. I
look forward to hosting you in Armenia in the near future as part of a state
visit,” Pashinian wrote to Macron, according to his press office.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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