Friday, 


Armenian Defense Chief Lauds Russian Peacekeepers


Armenia - Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikian meets with the commander of 
Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, Major General Andrei Volkov, 
Yerevan, .


Defense Minister Suren Papikian praised Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in 
Nagorno-Karabakh when he met with their commander in Yerevan on Friday.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said Major-General Andrei Volkov briefed Papikian 
on the situation and “current developments” in the peacekeepers’ area of 
responsibility. They also discussed broader security in the region, the ministry 
said in a statement.

“The interlocutors praised the Russian Federation’s efforts to stabilize the 
military-political situation in the region as well as the course and 
effectiveness of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Artsakh (Karabakh),” read 
the statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian 
likewise noted the peacekeepers’ “decisive contribution” to the security of 
Karabakh’s population in a joint declaration released after their talks held 
outside Moscow on April 19.

The declaration followed Armenia’s criticism of the peacekeepers’ failure to 
prevent Azerbaijani troops from seizing a village in Karabakh and nearby hills 
in March. Pashinian repeatedly called on Moscow to investigate the “inactivity” 
of its troops.

The peacekeepers were also criticized for refusing to allow Armenian opposition 
parliamentarians to visit Karabakh on April 12. The Armenian Foreign Ministry 
said the ban ran counter to the terms of the Russian-brokered ceasefire that 
stopped the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in November 2020.

The Russian Foreign Ministry insisted, however, the Russian soldiers acted “in 
strict conformity” with the truce accord.



Aliyev Again Rules Out Status For Karabakh


Russia - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev speaks after a trilateral meeting 
with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian, Sochi, November 26, 2021.


Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev reportedly ruled out on Friday any 
negotiations with Armenia on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Aliyev also said that the planned demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border 
will uphold Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.

In March this year, Azerbaijan presented Armenia with five elements which it 
wants to be at the heart of a peace treaty between the two nations. They include 
a mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity. Yerevan said they 
should be complemented by other issues relating to the future of status of 
Karabakh and the security of its population.

Baku effectively dismissed the Armenian counterproposals before Aliyev’s latest 
meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian held in Brussels on Sunday. 
Pashinian indicated on Wednesday that the two sides continue to disagree on the 
agenda of talks on the peace treaty.

“Azerbaijan believes that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved while 
Armenia believes that it’s not,” he told the Armenian parliament.

The Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Aliyev as saying that “there can be 
no talk of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

“This is Azerbaijani territory and the whole world recognizes this,” he said. 
“This is why the first session of the commission on the delimitation of the 
border between Azerbaijan and Armenia is very important.”

Aliyev claimed that the demarcation process is “automatically and officially 
putting an end to the territorial claims made against Azerbaijan by revanchist, 
fascist forces in Armenia.”

Some Armenian opposition leaders have likewise said that by demarcating the 
border Yerevan will recognize Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan. Pashinian and 
his political allies deny this, saying that Karabakh’s final status is a 
separate issue.

Armenian and Azerbaijani government delegations headed by deputy prime ministers 
of the two states held the first round of demarcation talks on Tuesday. 
Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian said on Friday that they 
discussed “only organizational issues of further joint work.”

“In this sense, I consider the meeting totally constructive,” Grigorian told the 
TASS news agency.

He said the two sides have yet to agree on the date of their next meeting that 
will be held in Moscow.



Iran Reiterates Support For Armenia’s Territorial Integrity

        • Sargis Harutyunyan

Armenia - The Armenian flag is hoisted at a military base on the border with 
Iran, October 7, 2021.


Following further progress made towards the opening of Armenian-Azerbaijani 
transport links, a senior Iranian diplomat reaffirmed on Friday his country’s 
opposition to any exterritorial corridors that would pass through Armenia.

“All that should be done by respecting the internationally recognized borders of 
the countries,” said Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri, Iran’s ambassador to Armenia. 
“Iran will support all initiatives corresponding to international law and norms.”

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev 
reportedly reached major understandings on the issue at their May 22 talks in 
Brussels hosted by European Council President Charles Michel. The latter said 
they agreed on “principles of border administration, security, land fees but 
also customs in the context of international transport.”

Aliyev told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan afterwards that he and 
Pashinian agreed to open a “Zangezur corridor” that will connect Azerbaijan to 
its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province bordering 
Iran. Armenian officials denied that, saying that Yerevan and Baku are 
discussing conventional transport links between the two South Caucasus states.

Aliyev had publicly demanded earlier that people and cargo using the corridor be 
exempt from Armenian border controls. Armenian leaders rejected his demands.

Armenia - Iranian Ambassador Abbas Badakhshan Zohouri visits a section of the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border in Gegharkunik province, August 3, 2021.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi backed Yerevan’s position in January, telling 
Pashinian that Tehran supports Armenian sovereignty over all roads passing 
through Armenia. Zohouri reaffirmed that stance when he visited Syunik early 
this month.

Syunik is the only Armenian province that borders Iran. Some Iranian lawmakers 
accused Aliyev last fall of seeking to effectively strip Iran of a common border 
with Armenia.

Zohouri on Friday called for stronger economic ties between Syunik and Iran’s 
East Azerbaijan province bordering Armenia.

“It is obvious that very close cooperation between the two border provinces can 
have great advantages,” he told reporters in Yerevan.

The Iranian ambassador also emphasized Russia’s involvement in the efforts to 
open the Armenian-Azerbaijani border to trade and other cargo shipments. He 
pointed to the work of a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani task force dealing with 
practical modalities of the planned transport links.

Zohouri did not mention the European Union’s separate peace efforts criticized 
by Moscow.


Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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