Saturday, October 3, 2020 Armenia Demands Turkey’s ‘Removal From South Caucasus’ October 03, 2020 NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- A house, which locals said was damaged during a recent shelling by Azeri forces, October 1, 2020 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has demanded the withdrawal of Turkish military personnel and Middle Eastern “terrorists” from Azerbaijan, saying that is essential for stopping fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. “Turkey’s military personnel and the Turkish armed forces are directly engaged in the hostilities,” he told the Canadian daily Globe and Mail in an interview published late on Friday. “Turkey’s NATO allies must explain why these F-16 jets are shelling towns and villages in Nagorno-Karabakh and killing civilian populations.” Pashinian also stood by Armenian claims that Ankara recruited Turkish-backed Islamist fighters in Syria and sent them to fight in Karabakh on the Azerbaijani side. “A ceasefire can be established only if Turkey is removed from the South Caucasus,” he added. Ankara maintains that Turkish warplanes, attack drones and military are not involved in the hostilities that broke out on September 27. It also denies deploying Syrian mercenaries in Azerbaijan. Baku denies that too. France has also alleged such deployment, with President Emmanuel Macron saying that at least 300 “Syrian fighters from jihadist groups” were flown from Turkey to Azerbaijan ahead of the flare-up of violence in Karabakh. "I urge all NATO partners to face up to the behavior of a NATO member,” Macron said on Friday. Russia has also accused, albeit implicitly, Ankara of sending “terrorists and mercenaries” to the conflict zone. It has demanded their “immediate withdrawal from the region.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reacted cautiously to Macron’s claims backed up by Western media reports. “I hope it’s not the case,” Pompeo told reporters on Friday. “We saw Syrian fighters taken from the battlefields in Syria to Libya,” he said. “That created more instability, more turbulence, more conflict, more fighting, less peace. I think it would do the same thing in the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh as well. So I hope that reporting proves inaccurate.” Commenting on Turkish involvement in the Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute, Pompeo said Washington disapproves of “third parties bringing ammunitions, weapon systems, even just advisors and allies” to the conflict zone. AZERBAIJAN -- A house that was allegedly damaged by recent shelling during the fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh is seen in the Agdam district, October 1, 2020. The United States, Russia and France have long been leading international efforts to broker an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal in their capacity as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. The presidents of the three mediating powers called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities” in a joint statement on Thursday. They also urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to “commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations.” Yerevan welcomed the statement, saying it is willing to engage in peace talks mediated by the Minsk Group co-chairs. By contrast, Baku effectively rejected the mediators’ appeal. “In order to stop the violence Armenia must withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh,” said a senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan likewise said the mediators should instead “demand that the Armenians pull their troops out of Azerbaijan.” He condemned their long-running peace efforts as a gross failure. In an interview with Al Jazeera aired on Saturday, Aliyev said the U.S., Russia and France should “continue working together on settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict” provided that they “remain neutral.” In an apparent reference to France, he said statements made by some of the co-chair countries in recent days indicate a pro-Armenian bias. Incidentally, Macron spoke with Aliyev and Pashinian separately on the phone late on Friday. The French president said in a statement that he proposed a new method to restart talks within the Minsk Group format. He did not elaborate. Pashinian too was interviewed by Al Jazeera on Saturday. He told the international TV network that renewed peace talks with Baku are conditional on an end to what he described as Azerbaijan’s “aggression” against Karabakh. “I can say with confidence that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh will not retreat in the face of the aggression,” the Armenian premier said as large-scale hostilities continued along the Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact” around Karabakh. He further made clear that Armenia will remain the “guarantor” of the disputed territory’s independence. Armenians Urged To Fight On As War In Karabakh Continues October 03, 2020 Armenia - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian addresses the nation, October 3, 2020. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian praised the Armenian military and urged his nation to help it defeat Azerbaijan as fierce battles continued around Nagorno-Karabakh for a seventh day on Saturday. Pashinian said that Baku has failed to “solve any strategic issue” with its “unprecedented” offensive launched on September 27. “Victory and only victory is the outcome which we imagine at the end of this fight,” Pashinian declared in a live televised address. “Already today, hours ago, the Defense Army of Artsakh (Karabakh) carried out active counteroffensive operations and achieved substantial successes, crushing several units of the enemy’s special forces.” “Through joint efforts we must break the attacking enemy’s spine so that it never again stretches its criminal hands towards,” he said. Pashinian charged that Azerbaijan wants to not only regain control over Karabakh but also exterminate its ethnic Armenian population. “We are probably living through the most decisive phase of our millennia-old history,” he said. Karabakh’s Armenian-backed army reported in the morning that Azerbaijani forces went on a fresh offensive at northern and southern sections of the “line of contact” around Karabakh, the epicenters of the week-long hostilities. It also accused them of again shelling the capital Stepanakert. The Defense Army claimed to have killed hundreds of Azerbaijani soldiers, destroyed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles and shot down three warplanes in the following hours. Shushan Stepanian, a spokeswoman for Armenia’s Defense Ministry, said early in the afternoon that Karabakh troops have repelled the “large-scale” offensive and launched a “counteroffensive in one of the directions.” She did not give details. In another statement issued at around 6 p.m., the Karabakh Armenian army said its frontline troops are “successfully accomplishing combat tasks set for them.” The statement came shortly after Pashinian’s televised speech. The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in the morning that “fierce fighting is continuing along the entire frontline.” The ministry said its forces are dealing “crushing blows” to the enemy. The Karabakh army also reported on Saturday 51 more combat deaths within its ranks. The total number of Armenian soldiers killed in action since September 27 thus rose to 201. The Azerbaijani military has still not released any combat casualty numbers. The hostilities continued unabated despite international efforts to restore the ceasefire regime in the Karabakh conflict zone and pave the way for renewed peace negotiations. In an interview with Al Jazeera aired on Saturday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev blamed Pashinian for the collapse earlier this year of Armenian-Azerbaijani talks mediated by the United States, Russia and France. Aliyev claimed that Pashinian proved more intransigent than Armenia’s former leaders. “We do not yet have a negotiating partner in Armenia,” he said. Pashinian claimed the opposite, saying that Aliyev was not prepared for “mutual concessions” and never reciprocated his repeated statements to the effect that that a Karabakh settlement must be “acceptable to the peoples of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Karabakh.” Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Alex Nanijanian
Oakland Armenian community holds vigil following recent violence
KTVU – Fox News
Oct 3 2020
Oakland Armenian community holds vigil following recent violence
By Greg Liggins
Published 1 hour ago
Oakland
KTVU FOX 2
Oakland Armenian community holds vigil following recent violence
Oakland's Armenian community held a prayer vigil Friday night following an escalation in violence stemming from a long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Violence half a world away is affecting people here in the Bay Area.
The Armenian community held a prayer vigil in the East Bay Friday night following an escalation of violence in a long-running conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
This conflict over land has been at a simmer for many years, with skirmishes breaking out often.
But things have recently escalated.
We’ve already seen some crimes here in the Bay Area directed at the Armenian community.
But now people in both communities say they are concerned about potential violence here.
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Several dozen people in the Armenian community gathered in Oakland for a vigil at Saint Vartan Church.
They want to raise awareness about, and be in solidarity with, the military and civilian victims who’ve been killed or injured in the recent escalating violence between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“This week things have escalated to a new level and there’s been attacks and there’s a lot going on,” said Kim Bardakian, a parishioner and Oakland resident.
Some are concerned about family abroad, in harm’s way.
“Just hiding in kids, elderly, mothers and sisters. Women are hiding because they’re bombing, they’re bombing civilians,” said Anush Grigorian.
Others say they’re worried about being targets of violence here.
Back in July, the KZV Armenian school in San Francisco was tagged with graffiti in what is being investigated as a hate crime.
And, two weeks ago, a fire blamed on a molotov cocktail outside a building next to an Armenian church in San Francisco.
“We have all collectively increased our security, increased our awareness to our group parishioners, making sure our video surveillance cameras are intact. It’s only important to be ready and make sure there are no more surprises,” saidBardakian.
Both incidents are under investigation.
A member of the Azerbaijan Cultural Society in the Bay Area condemns all violent and hateful acts, and doubts the culprits were from his community, citing the school graffiti in particular.
“Almost all words have been written incorrectly and even the name of Azerbaijan has been written not correctly,” said Orkhan Gasimli, a member of the Azerbaijan Cultural Society.
No known violence or vandalism has been committed against Azerbaijani’s in the Bay Area, but at a Los Angeles protest rally in July, seven Azerbaijani’s and a police officer were injured, allegedly beaten up by a group of Armenian’s.
With incidents happening against both groups, they now share at least one thing in common.
“I would say as a community we are concerned and we currently do not feel very safe,” said Gasimli.
The violence between these two countries is now said to be the worst it has been in many years.
And people from both communities in the Bay Area hope that doesn’t increase tensions and lead to violence here.
Pakistani troops fighting in Azerbaijan against Armenia, says report
Zee News, India
Sept 29 2020
The telephonic conversation, telecasted by Free News.AM, has claimed that the locals were heard telling each other about the presence of Pakistani troops into their areas.
Pakistani troops are fighting in Azerbaijan against Armenia as their presence have been reported in Azerbaijan, according to reports. A telephonic conversation between two locals Azerbaijanis mentioned about the presence of Pakistani soldiers in the territory.
The telephonic conversation, telecasted by Free News.AM, has claimed that the locals were heard telling each other about the presence of Pakistani troops into their areas.
“How can we write? I don’t have money. We are fine, don’t worry, 7-8 villages were liberated, don’t be afraid… Yes. I know. I have seen on Instagram that Fizuli, Agdam have been liberated from occupation. Our side says that we have also taken Marv mountain. On Agdam’s side, they have gathered Pakistani soldiers and have taken them towards Agdam,” the locals were heard telling each other.
Violence flared up between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on September 27, and both the countries have accused each other of launching the attack and of claiming to have an upper hand in the war. While the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the enemy started an attack and the military of the Karabakh region is responding, the Defence Ministry of Azerbaijan argued that Armenia has attacked them and it began a “counterattack” operation.
Pakistan threw its weight behind Azerbaijan and blamed Armenia for border violations. "This could compromise the peace and security of the entire region. Armenia must stop its military action to avoid further escalation," the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan stated.
Pakistan is the only country in the world that does not recognize Armenia. Islamabad's close ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey have a substantial role in this decision. On expected lines, Pakistan was the first and only South Asian country to comment on the clashes so far, and in line with Turkish reaction backing Azerbaijan.
Pakistani foreign ministry said, "Pakistan is deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The intensive shelling by Armenian forces over the weekend on civilian populations of Azerbaijani villages of Terter, Aghdam, Fizuli and Jabrayil region is reprehensible and most unfortunate."
It added, "Pakistan stands with the brotherly nation of Azerbaijan and supports its right of self-defence. We support Azerbaijan’s position on Nagorno-Karabakh, which is in line with the several unanimously adopted UN Security Council resolutions."
Like Ankara, Islamabad doesn't recognize the Armenian Genocide during World War 1. During the world war one, Ottomans or present-day Turkey killed 1.5 million ethnic Armenians. Turkey continues to deny the genocide to this date but a number of countries including the US, Russia recognizes it.
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan has accused Turkey of attempting to increase instability in the region in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax.
“Today Turkey is trying to export this policy of destabilization to the South Caucasus region. This is a serious concern. Turkey is pursuing an unconstructive and dangerous policy. And Turkey’s actions continue to pose a threat to the security of Armenia," Mnatsakanyan said.
Turkey has been deploying terrorists from Syria and Libya to Azerbaijan to help it fight the war with Armenia. It is also supplying Azerbaijan arms and widely famed Turkish drones. When the war broke-off between both the countries, Turkish President came forward to state that by attacking Azerbaijan, Armenia has proved once again it is the biggest obstacle to peace and stability in the region.
Armenians accuse Turkey of involvement in conflict with Azerbaijan
EurasiaNet.org
Sept 28 2020
As fighting between Armenians and Azerbaijanis continued for a second day, Armenian officials accused Turkey of directly intervening in the conflict by supplying weaponry and soldiers. Turkish officials and media, meanwhile, continued to loudly cheer on the Azerbaijani military offensive with unprecedented enthusiasm.
Several officials from Armenia and the Armenia-backed de facto Nagorno Karabakh Republic have directly accused Turkey of supplying weapons and of bringing in militia groups to support the Azerbaijani offensive.
“Turkish military experts are fighting side by side with Azerbaijan, who are using the Turkish weapons, including UAVs and warplanes,” the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a September 28 statement. “According to credible sources, Turkey is recruiting and transporting foreign terrorist fighters to Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Turkey provides full political and propaganda support to Azerbaijan at the highest level of its leadership.”
The fighting is the heaviest between Armenia and Azerbaijan in several years. At least 59 have been killed on the Armenian side, according to official data. There is no official casualty data from the Azerbaijani side but independent sources have counted at least 11 killed there. There have been claims and counterclaims about some positions being captured and retaken, but for now those allegations remain deep in the fog of war.
There is no confirmation yet of concrete Turkish military personnel or materiel in the fighting. Azerbaijani officials have denied the claims.
Turkey has long backed Azerbaijan, but the support has been mostly limited to the moral variety. Following the fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in July – until now, the heaviest fighting in years – Turkey made vague promises about helping to arm Azerbaijan, but it’s not known if anything has come of that.
Turkish involvement in the conflict would bring obvious advantages on the ground, as it has far more military capabilities than either Azerbaijan or Armenia. But it would come at a deep cost in the international information war.
Turkey’s authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is globally notorious as an aggressive bully. And a Turkish military intervention against Armenia would create an inevitable, ugly resonance with the 1915 genocide of ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
The accusations from Armenian officials have been various. The de facto leader of Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, said that Turkish F-16 fighter jets had remained in Azerbaijan following joint military exercises between the two countries this summer and that “they are still being used.”
A spokesman for Harutyunyan, Vahram Poghosyan, said that the Azerbaijani forces were “comprised of Turkish and various terrorist groups.” Armenia’s ambassador to Moscow, Vardan Toghanyan, said that “we have information that recently Turkey has transported nearly 4,000 militants from Syria to Azerbaijan. They are being trained at militant camps and transported there.”
None of these allegations have been confirmed and many, if not all, will turn out ultimately to be false. (The allegations about Syrian militants, too, came following Azerbaijan and Turkey’s own – similarly unconfirmed – claims about Armenia importing Kurdish militants to help them launch an offensive against Azerbaijan.)
What has been undeniable, however, is a hitherto unseen level of pro-Azerbaijan jingoism in the Turkish government and press.
Following the latest violence, while the rest of the international community called on both sides to stop the fighting, Turkey was a conspicuous exception. “Armenia once again showed that it is the biggest threat to peace and tranquility in the region,” tweeted Erdoğan. “As always, the Turkish nation stands by its Azerbaijani brothers with all its capabilities.”
Erdoğan, as well as Turkey’s foreign minister and defense minister, all spoke by phone with their Azerbaijani counterparts the day the fighting broke out.
“The biggest obstacle in front of peace and stability in the Caucasus is Armenia’s aggression,” Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar wrote on Twitter.
The Turkish press has been saturated with stories about the conflict. At one point in the afternoon of September 24, the top four stories on the pro-government Turkish tabloid Yeni Şafak were about the fighting. “Armenia butchered these dear children,” went one tag on the homepage, in a story about five civilian members of a family that Azerbaijan reported killed by Armenian fire.
The Turkish Defense Ministry changed its Twitter cover photo to one of a Turkish and Azerbaijani soldier clasping hands, with their respective flags in the background.
The support for Azerbaijan was not limited to traditionally nationalist circles. The soccer club Beşiktaş, whose fans are famous for their leftist politics, tweeted the traditional Turkish-Azerbaijani slogan “One people, two states” with flags of both countries. “We are always beside you, dear Azerbaijan.”
Voices in Turkey calling for peace were rare.
“There is a massive conflict going on between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces in Karabakh,” wrote Garo Paylan, an ethnic Armenian member of the Turkish parliament, on Facebook. “Our country must stop being the one to fuel this fire. There is no winner of this war, but the losers will be the Armenian and Azerbaijani people.”
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Restraining Turkey’s aspirations is a necessity – ANC Middle East Director shares her views
16:50,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Taking into account the developments in the Middle East Armenia should actively work with the Arab world for both pushing forward its own interests and countering the Turkish-Azerbaijani anti-propaganda, Director of Armenian National Committee of the Middle East Office Vera Yacoubian told Armenpress.
“Overall, I would say that Armenia has taken little actions for intensifying the relations with the Arab world. It should have been done years before, especially when there was a firm ground for that, I mean the Armenian communities in that countries. Today more than ever Armenia should intensify its ties with the Arab world in different areas, counterbalancing Azerbaijan-Turkey anti-propaganda”, she said, adding that today Armenia doesn’t have any obstacle from this perspective. In this context, she highlighted the recent visit of the Armenian Foreign Minister to Egypt where he met with the top officials. The Arab press positively reacted to this visit and the meetings.
“I think that Armenia must have its place in these new fronts which are being formed in the region, should be able to create close ties with the main Arab fronts through active political relations in order to counterbalance Turkey-Azerbaijan anti-propaganda”, she added.
“Turkey is acting in the context of its expansionist aspirations – Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey takes every measure to destabilize the region and engage its opponents into side-to-side conflicts. In other words, it seeks to deviate the attention of the international community from its real goals”, she said. In order to restrain Turkey’s expansionist aspirations, Vera Yacoubian highlighted the initiative by Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Jordan, Italy and Israel on forming a regional gas format, which means that these countries are preparing an anti-Turkish front trying to curb Turkey’s expansionist goals.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Four SU-30SM fighters “on duty” in Armenia sky
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 17 2020
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has shared footage showing four SU-30SM fighters flying in the sky above Yerevan.
“For the first time, our four “SU-30SM” fighters go on duty together,” the Prime Minister captioned the video.
Armenia purchased four Su-30SM fighters from Russia in 2019, negotiations are under way to acquire a new batch.
The Sukhoi Su-30SM is a Russian-made twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable 4+ generation fighter jet.
It is a multi-role fighter for all-weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions.
Armenia PM holds meeting with Lydian executives over Amulsar
16:17,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received on September 16 Lydian Canada Ventures Board of Directors member Jeffrey Coach and Lydian Armenia Executive Director Hayk Aloyan, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
“During the meeting the interlocutors discussed issues relating to the situation around the Amulsar project. The Prime Minister once again emphasized that for him personally and for the government the priority is the balanced interest of the Republic of Armenia, including of the adjacent communities [of the mine] and all decisions will be made in this context.”
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Co-Chairs invite Armenian, Azerbaijani FMs to meet in coming weeks
Public Radio of Armenia
Sept 14 2020
The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of the Russian Federation, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the United States of America) held intensive consultations in Paris on September 14. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (PRCiO) Andrzej Kasprzyk also participated in the meetings.
The Co-Chairs reviewed the situation in the region with particular focus on new developments following the mid-July violent escalation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The Co-Chairs carefully considered and assessed the private and public messages and concerns of the sides. The Co-Chairs were briefed by the PRCiO on the security situation on the ground and welcomed his concrete preparations for the resumption of monitoring activities.
The Co-Chairs spoke separately by phone with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and invited the ministers to meet individually with the Co-Chairs in person in the coming weeks to further clarify their respective positions, with the aim of resuming serious substantive negotiations without preconditions.
The Co-Chairs remain actively and fully engaged in facilitating negotiations for a peaceful and comprehensive settlement in accordance with their OSCE mandate.
Asbarez: Virtual U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue Takes Place
September 15, 2020
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy (right) with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Kara C. McDonald
The first of four virtual sessions of the U.S.-Armenian Strategic Dialogue took place Monday, with the United States represented by USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia, Alexander Sokolowski and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Kara C. McDonald, and Armenia represented by Deputy Minister of Justice Kristinne Grigoryan and Chairwoman of the Corruption Prevention Commission Haykuhi Harutyunyan, Public Radio of Armenia reported.
The U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy as well as Armenia’s Ambassador to the U.S. Varuzhan Nersesyan also took part in the session.
Armenia’s Ambassador to U.S. Varuzhan Nersesyan (center) take part in the Dialogue
The discussion focused on joint achievements and future cooperation to advance priority democratic reforms in Armenia, including anti-corruption and judicial and legal reforms.
The participants recognized key milestones Armenia has already achieved in its fight against corruption, including the new Corruption Prevention Commission, which was established with ongoing support of USAID.
The Strategic Dialogue will continue this fall, culminating in a capstone session in Washington, D.C. next month.
Oldest Armenian Church in Bulgaria marks 400th anniversary
12:03, 24 August, 2020
YEREVAN, AUGUST 24, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Church of the Holy Virgin in the Bulgarian city of Silistra marked its 400th anniversary on August 23, the Bulgarian News Agency reports.
It is the oldest Armenian Church in Bulgaria. Repair works at the church years ago led to the discovery of a stone plate with the year of the church’s construction.
The church's dome is unique with its frescoes which, according to researchers, are a rare feature for Armenian churches. Another untypical feature are the openings in the upper part of the southern and northern sides of the central space inside the building, which serve to improve acoustics.
The walls are covered in religious oil paintings – not in frescos – many of which created by Silistra-based painter Bedig Bedrosyan.
The church is located inside a courtyard of some 1,800 sq m which also has a small house for the priest, a building that used to house the Armenian school and is now a community centre, and a memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide designed by Diran Apelyan.