Saturday, September 9, 2023 New Karabakh Leader Elected Nagorno-Karabakh - Samvel Shahramanian. Lawmakers in Nagorno-Karabakh voted to elect the region’s new president on Saturday amid heightened tensions along the Karabakh “line of contact” and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The election of Samvel Shahramanian, strongly condemned by Azerbaijan, came ten days after the resignation of his predecessor Arayik Harutiunian. The latter said that Karabakh needs new leadership in order to better cope with a severe humanitarian crisis resulting from the Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin corridor and other challenges facing the Armenian-populated territory. Shahramanian was backed by Harutiunian’s Free Fatherland party and three opposition groups. The 44-year-old has held various positions in the local security apparatus for over two decades. He did not make public statements immediately after his election. The fifth party represented in Karabakh’s 32-seat parliament, United Fatherland, boycotted the vote after its leader, Samvel Babayan, was deemed ineligible to run for president because of not having lived in Karabakh for the past 10 ten years. Babayan, who had led Karabakh’s armed forces in the 1990s, condemned his “illegal” disqualification and urged supporters to rally outside the parliament building in Stepanakert during the vote. Only a few hundred people reportedly gathered there. Karabakh’s leadership has implicitly accused the once powerful general of trying to destabilize the political situation despite the increased risk of another Azerbaijani attack. Unlike the other Karabakh factions, Babayan’s party does not oppose the opening of a new, Azerbaijani-controlled supply route for Karabakh which Baku says is a precondition for allowing renewed humanitarian supplies through the Lachin corridor. Babayan’s detractors accuse him of secretly collaborating with Armenia’s government. The government seemed in no rush to congratulate Shahramanian on his election. The new president was swiftly congratulated instead by some Armenian opposition parties. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemned Shahramanian’s election as a “blatant violation” of international law and Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Karabakh. It claimed that Armenia and the “separatist regime” in Stepanakert “have taken the path of provocations and escalation of the situation.” Pashinian Offers ‘Urgent’ Talks With Aliyev RUSSIA - Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attend a group photo ceremony during an informal CIS summit in St. Petersburg, December 26, 2022. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has offered to hold “urgent” talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to prevent another upsurge in violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. Pashinian made the offer in phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reported by his office on Saturday. He phoned them amid rising tensions along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Karabakh “line of contact.” The Armenian government says Azerbaijan has been massing troops there in possible preparation for another large-scale military assault. Pashinian on Thursday urged the international community to take “very serious measures” to thwart Baku’s alleged plans. “Prime Minister Pashinian expressed readiness to hold urgent discussions with the president of Azerbaijan aimed at reducing the tensions,” read a government statement on his call with Macron which reportedly took place late on Friday. It said he also reaffirmed his recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity made during October 2022 and May 2023 meetings with Aliyev attended by Macron. Pashinian’s office released a virtually identical readout of his separate conversation with Scholz and Raisi. It said the French and German leaders pledged continued support for “efforts to establish peace and stability in the region.” It was not clear whether will try organize a fresh contact with Aliyev sought by Pashinian. On Friday, three senior Azerbaijani officials met with Baku-based foreign diplomats to accuse Armenia of stepping up “military provocations,” “imitating” peace talks and continuing to foment “separatism” in Karabakh. The Armenian Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations as “completely false.” Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.