Monday, May 1, 2023
Armenia-Azerbaijan Talks In Washington To Last ‘A Few Days’
• Siranuysh Gevorgian
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister
Ararat Mirzoyan during their meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, October 2, 2022.
Bilateral talks between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in
Washington will be held over the course of “a few days”, according to a senior
official in the United States privy to details of the negotiations schedule.
“Both parties have acknowledged that this is the first time that they will be
able to meet over the course of a few days,” the official said. “We expect
discussions throughout the week. Our goal is to make sure that the ministers are
able to sit down and talk to each other.”
The first bilateral meeting between Ararat Mirzoyan, of Armenia, and Jeyhun
Bayramov, of Azerbaijan, took place on Monday and followed their separate
meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as their trilateral
meeting in Washington.
Prior to the meetings Blinken said in phone calls with the leaders of Armenia
and Azerbaijan – Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and President Ilham Aliyev –
that the United States remained committed to supporting the peace efforts of the
two countries.
The official at the State Department said that the Washington talks between
Mirzoyan and Bayramov were focused on trying to hammer out an agreement on
“normalization of relations.”
“It is for both parties to normalize their relations to be able to live together
[…], to strengthen their economic ties and perhaps even to reinforce their
collective security in the region,” he said, adding that all issues, including
issues of how ethnic minorities are treated in both countries in terms of their
rights and security, are “being discussed.”
Another senior U.S. official familiar with the negotiations said that “rights
and security are something that we believe is very important in terms of what
the future of the region looks like, is something that we have continually
engaged with throughout the region, and we will continue to be engaged on.”
The official also reiterated the importance of ensuring free movement of
commercial and private vehicles along the Lachin Corridor between Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh that was completely blocked by Azerbaijan on April 23 when it
established a checkpoint at the entrance to the five-kilometer-wide corridor.
Armenian, Azerbaijani FMs In U.S.-Hosted Talks
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosting a meeting between Armenian
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun
Bayramov, Washington, May 1, 2023.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met in Washington on Monday for
another round of talks hosted by the United States that are aimed at hammering
out a peace agreement between the two South Caucasus nations locked in a
protracted conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Before their meeting Armenia’s Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijan’s Jeyhun Bayramov
met separately with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who had earlier
expressed Washington’s continued support for the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace
efforts.
Blinken then met the two visiting ministers together before what was expected to
be their bilateral peace negotiations.
In a brief statement on the Blinken-Mirzoyan-Bayramov meeting Armenia’s Foreign
Ministry said late on May 1 that “issues of the security situation in the region
and the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan
were discussed.”
“The humanitarian situation resulting from the illegal blockade of the Lachin
corridor by Azerbaijan was addressed,” the ministry added.
The readout on the meeting released by the Azerbaijani side did not have any
mention of the Lachin corridor issue.
In weekend phone calls with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Blinken
reportedly pledged Washington’s continued support for the two countries’ peace
efforts.
In his phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian he reiterated
that “direct dialogue and diplomacy are the only path to a durable peace in the
South Caucasus” and “expressed his appreciation for the Prime Minister’s
continued commitment to the peace process.”
Talking to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Blinken “shared his belief that
peace was possible” and “expressed the United States’ deep concern that
Azerbaijan’s establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines
efforts to establish confidence in the peace process, and emphasized the
importance of reopening the Lachin corridor to commercial and private vehicles
as soon as possible.”
Azerbaijan installed the checkpoint at the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh
with Armenia on April 23. The move tightened the already existing blockade of
the mostly ethnic Armenian-populated region that was effectively imposed by
government-backed Azerbaijani protesters back in December.
Yerevan and Stepanakert view the roadblock as illegal and contradicting the
Moscow-brokered ceasefire agreement that put an end to a six-week
Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Nagorno-Karabakh and placed solely Russian
peacekeepers in charge of providing security for Nagorno-Karabakh and ensuring
free movement for its people along the five-kilometer-wide corridor.
Official Baku denies blockading Nagorno-Karabakh, pledging to ensure, “in
cooperation with Russian peacekeepers” deployed in the region, all “necessary
conditions” for “a transparent and orderly passage of Armenian residents living
in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan” in both directions. It stresses that the
checkpoint was installed in Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory and calls Armenia’s
interference with the affair “unacceptable.”
A senior U.S. Department of State official told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on May
1 that Mirzoyan-Bayramov negotiations in Washington will last for “several days.”
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for
decades. Some 30,000 people were killed in a war in the early 1990s that left
ethnic Armenians in control of the predominantly Armenian-populated region and
seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan proper.
Decades of internationally mediated talks failed to result in a diplomatic
solution and the simmering conflict led to another war in 2020 in which nearly
7,000 soldiers were killed on both sides.
The six-week war in which Azerbaijan regained all of the Armenian-controlled
areas outside of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as chunks of territory inside the
Soviet-era autonomous oblast proper ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire under
which Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to the region to serve as peacekeepers.
Tensions along the restive Armenian-Azerbaijani border and around
Nagorno-Karabakh leading to sporadic fighting and loss of life have persisted
despite the ceasefire. At least three Azerbaijani and four Armenian soldiers
were killed in the most recent border skirmish on April 11.
Armenian Airline Barred From Turkish Airspace
• Nane Sahakian
A FlyOne Armenia plane taking off from Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport (file photo).
An Armenian airline has been prohibited from operating commercial flights
through Turkish airspace for yet unclear reasons, its representative said on
Monday.
On April 29, a Flyone Armenia plane operating a flight from Paris to Yerevan had
to land in Chisinau, Moldova, after Turkey’s aviation authorities banned it from
entering the country’s airspace. Flyone Armenia said it had not been informed
about the decision in advance.
The Armenian airline’s representative told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that they
still did not know why Turkey had revised its permission.
“Some of our flights to Europe that are operated through Turkish airspace cannot
be carried out using Turkish airspace for the time being. We have no information
about the reasons,” Aram Ananian, chairman of Flyone Armenia’s board, said.
He said that the Armenian airline had received all the permissions to operate
flights through Turkish airspace during the 2023 summer season in advance. “We
do not see any reason related to any aviation activity that would lead to this
decision,” Ananian added.
Flights operated from Armenia to Europe have few alternatives to transit through
Turkish airspace because of the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war as a result of
which much of the region’s airspace is declared a no-fly zone.
But Flyone Armenia’s official has pledged that the airline will carry out all
its flights as scheduled in cooperation with European partners and that no
ticket holder will face any problems. He did not elaborate.
Flyone Armenia, which was founded in 2021 and operates flights to several
destinations in Europe and Russia, since last year has also operated
Yerevan-Istanbul-Yerevan flights. Meanwhile, the Turkish Pegasus airline has
been operating Istanbul-Yerevan-Istanbul flights.
The resumption of air flights between Armenia and Turkey in 2022 was touted by
both countries as progress in their efforts to achieve normalization after
decades of feud over historical issues.
Flyone Armenia said it assumed that the ban concerned transit through Turkish
airspace and not flights to and from Istanbul, as the Turkish side has not
informed the Armenian airline about any obstacles to these flights yet.
Armenia’s General Department of Civil Aviation did not comment immediately on
whether the Turkish ban applies only to Flyone Armenia or in general to all
Armenia-registered airlines. It promised to answer questions on May 2 when its
officials return to work after the holiday.
U.S. Vows Support For Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Efforts Ahead Of Fresh Talks
A trilateral meeting of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Munich,
Germany, February 18, 2023.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged Washington’s continued
support for peace efforts by Armenia and Azerbaijan as he spoke over the phone
separately with the leaders of the two countries during the weekend.
The phone calls came as Yerevan and Baku announced that their foreign ministers
were heading to Washington for a fresh round of talks this week.
The readout of Blinken’s phone call with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian released
by a Department of State spokesperson on April 29 said that the U.S. secretary
of state spoke with the Armenian leader “to underscore the importance of
Armenia-Azerbaijan peace discussions and pledged continued U.S. support.”
“Secretary Blinken reiterated that direct dialogue and diplomacy are the only
path to a durable peace in the South Caucasus. He expressed his appreciation for
the Prime Minister’s continued commitment to the peace process,” it added.
The next day Blinken repeated the message of the importance of peace discussions
and continued U.S. support in his phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev during which he also “shared his belief that peace was possible.”
The phone calls came amid heightened tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan
after Baku on April 23 set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin
Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
Azerbaijan’s roadblock tightened what already was an effective blockade of the
region by government-backed Azerbaijani protesters since December.
Armenia described the move as “illegal” and “unacceptable”, stressing that it
contradicted the Moscow-brokered 2020 ceasefire agreement that placed solely
Russian peacekeepers in charge of providing security for Nagorno-Karabakh and
ensuring free movement for its people along the five-kilometer-wide corridor.
Yerevan also ruled out any new negotiations regarding the Lachin corridor that
it said Baku must unblock.
According to a spokesperson in Washington, during his April 30 phone call with
Aliyev Blinken also “expressed the United States’ deep concern that Azerbaijan’s
establishment of a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor undermines efforts to
establish confidence in the peace process, and emphasized the importance of
reopening the Lachin corridor to commercial and private vehicles as soon as
possible.”
According to his press office, Pashinian also raised the issue of the Lachin
corridor in his phone call with Blinken. In particular, he reportedly emphasized
that “the steps taken by the Azerbaijani side in the Lachin corridor are aimed
at the consistent implementation of its policy of ethnic cleansing in
Nagorno-Karabakh and the complete eviction of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.”
The Armenian prime minister also “emphasized the importance of the adequate
response of the international community to Azerbaijan’s actions, which undermine
regional security, and taking active steps towards the unconditional
implementation of the order of the International Court of Justice.”
The Hague-based court ruled on February 22 that the Azerbaijani government must
“take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons,
vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions.”
Official Baku denies blockading Nagorno-Karabakh, pledging to ensure, in
cooperation with Russian peacekeepers deployed in the region, all “necessary
conditions” for “a transparent and orderly passage of Armenian residents living
in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan” in both directions.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for
decades. Some 30,000 people were killed in a war in the early 1990s that left
ethnic Armenians in control of the predominantly Armenian-populated region and
seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan proper.
Decades of internationally mediated talks failed to result in a diplomatic
solution and the simmering conflict led to another war in 2020 in which nearly
7,000 soldiers were killed on both sides.
The six-week war in which Azerbaijan regained all of the Armenian-controlled
areas outside of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as chunks of territory inside the
Soviet-era autonomous oblast proper ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire under
which Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to the region to serve as peacekeepers.
Tensions along the restive Armenian-Azerbaijani border and around
Nagorno-Karabakh leading to sporadic fighting and loss of life have persisted
despite the ceasefire. At least three Azerbaijani and four Armenian soldiers
were killed in the most recent border skirmish on April 11.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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