Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the digest of top news of protests in Yerevan as of 23.05.22:
- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited Brussels during the weekend to take part in a trilateral meeting with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and European Council president Charles Michel.
After the negotiations, Michel made a statement informing that the first meeting of commissions on demarcation and security will be soon held on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Besides, the prime ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan will soon be back to discussing the unblocking of regional communications.
The sides also discussed humanitarian issues in detail, including demining, the release of detainees, and the fate of those missing.
Armenian political analysts have noted that in Michel’s statement Nagorno-Karabakh is referred to as Karabakh, which is unprecedented and raises doubts that Armenia and Azerbaijan have already agreed in Brussels on recognizing Nagorno Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.
Later both Yerevan and Baku stated they have confirmed the structure of national delimitation commissions both to be headed by prime ministers. Meanwhile, following the Brussels meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called his Armenian and Azerbaijani colleagues to discuss border delimitation issues.
- Armenian soldier received a gunshot wound as the Azerbaijani units opened fire on military bases of the Armenian Armed Forces located in the eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on Sunday.
The soldier was given the necessary treatment, his condition is satisfactory.
- Nagorno Karabakh Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan noted that a new road bypassing the Lachin corridor is under construction illegally. It will reportedly go around Armenian villages of Berdzor and Aghavno, both situated along the current Armenia-Karabakh corridor.
“There is no final decision on the fate of the Armenian population of these settlements yet, said the ombudsman insisting that the Armenian population remain in those villages.
Now there are about 150 people in Berdzor and the school does not function. Before the Azerbaijani aggression in 2020, about fifteen hundred people lived there.
- Another joint Turkish-Azerbaijani military drill has started in the Kars province bordering Armenia. According to the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper, military drills called "Heydar Aliyev – 2022" will continue until 26 of May.
The purpose of the exercise is officially stated to be the development of cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries. Azerbaijan participates in the drill with tanks and other units.