Author: Andranik Taslakhchian

Armed Villagers Guard Strategic Gateway to Nagorno Karabakh

Andranik Taslakhchian
The Defense post
Oct 26 2020

Staff Writer with AFP

 

Wearing camouflage and holding Kalashnikov rifles, volunteer villagers patrol a winding river in a Nagorno Karabakh valley, defending a strategic area between the disputed region’s capital and Armenia.

Cannons are heard firing nearby at regular intervals as they too stand guard, covering the noisy gurgle of the Hakari river that flows between the wooded hills.

The valley leads to the Lachin corridor, a strategic point that links the ethnic Armenian region of Azerbaijan with Armenia proper.

For more than a month, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in bitter fighting over Nagorno Karabakh, a mountainous province that was seized by Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan in a 1990s war that left 30,000 people dead.

In the first days of the latest flare-up in fighting that erupted on September 27, Baku destroyed a bridge that goes over the Hakari river.

Since then, cars and trucks have to take a small diversion on a bumpy dirt road. Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno Karabakh, is just an hour away.

The valley descends parallel to the Armenian border, towards the southern front where battles rage between Armenian separatist fighters and Azerbaijani soldiers.

It’s in this direction that the cannons are firing, to stop the troops from Baku making any push towards the corridor.

“We’re in a village which serves as a strategic gateway to Artsakh, which was penetrated (by Azerbaijan) in the south. Their goal is to reach Lachin by coming through us,” said Andranik Chaushyan, the village mayor, using the Armenian name for Nagorno Karabakh.

He asks AFP journalists not to give the name of his village.

“They are near. They are trying to advance but they have not been able to do so because we are counter-attacking. Everything is under control,” said the 31-year-old.

In the south of the valley, residents recently fled their villages as Azerbaijani troops tried to pierce through.

“It is likely that they will pass through the valley rather than the mountains. It’s hard for them as they won’t have any vehicles. They will probably try do go through there. All (defense) positions must be filled,” he adds, sitting at a desk, three walkie-talkies in front of him.

In the 3,000-strong village that survives mainly on rearing cows and pigs, just a few women and several dozen voluntary fighters of all ages remain.

Some 50 small, one-story houses have recently been built there, all identical with tiled roofs and a garden.

The volunteers’ outfits vary, even if camouflage trousers appear to be the norm.

One wears black fingerless gloves and the magazines of his weapon sport a white Armenian cross.

As the sun goes down behind the mountain, the mayor and the head of the volunteer group bring bread and cheese made at the village to those on guard.

They start singing a song to the glory of their homeland, raising their arm in salute as a cannon fires, a flash of light briefly illuminating the trees nearby.

Erdogan seeks to restore Ottoman Empire, warns French Army General Pierre de Villiers

Andranik Taslakhchian

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 17:25,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 24, ARMENPRESS. French Army General Pierre de Villiers, a former Chief of the Defense Staff, has said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bellicose rhetoric is becoming growingly concerning especially in light of Turkey becoming no longer a secular country.

“Erdogan’s Turkey, with his statements, is now guided by the strategy of restoring the Ottoman Empire. And Turkey embodies this manifest with relevant military gestures. For example, the destruction of Kurds in Syria, actions in Nagorno Karabakh,” Pierre de Villiers told BFM TV.

The general emphasized that someday the international community, and France in particular, must put an end to this.

“We cannot agree that a country like Turkey, whose negotiations over the accession to the EU aren’t officially completed to this day, continues such rhetoric and such actions by being a NATO member,” he said.

According to Pierre de Villiers the terms “friends” and “enemies” are blurred in the international arena in the current realities, and on this background, France needs an especially clear stance from all those who declare their support in fighting terrorism and radical Islamism.

“Turkey is among those who supported Islamists. Turkey has financed several such movements, and this is very well known. I think Turkey is no longer a secular state, it is an obviously Islamist country. And it isn’t far from Islamists. This is especially concerning to me,” he said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Over 50 House Members Call for U.S. Sanctions on President Aliyev, Azerbaijani Leaders for War Crimes Committed in Artsakh

Andranik Taslakhchian

October 23,  2020



Over 50 House members call for sanctions against Aliyev for war crimes

ANCA Applauds Leadership of Representatives TJ Cox, Brad Sherman, Jim Costa, and Katherine Clark in Urging Secretary Pompeo to Apply Global Magnitsky Sanctions on Azerbaijan

WASHINGTON—As U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepared to meet with Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov earlier today, over 50 U.S. House members called for crippling sanctions against President Aliyev and the country’s top military leaders for war crimes committed against Artsakh civilians during the ongoing Turkish and Azerbaijani attack against the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

“Sanctions – the strictest of sanctions – need to be enforced immediately against Aliyev and each member of his regime responsible for war crimes and human rights violations against Armenian civilians in Artsakh,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.  “We thank Representatives Cox, Sherman, Costa, and Clark for their leadership and express our appreciation to each signatory and all of those in the House and Senate who have so forcefully condemned Ankara and Baku for their unprovoked attack and sustained war against the Armenian people.”

Representatives TJ Cox (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Katherine Clark (D-MA) led the Congressional letter, which specifically targeted Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, Chief of the General Staff Sadikov Najmeddin Huseynoglu, Deputy Minister of Defense (Army) Mustafayev Kerem Narimanoglu, and Deputy Minister of Defense (Air Force) Tairov Ramiz Firudinoglu and called on the Trump Administration to “impose significant, tangible consequences on the individuals responsible for Azerbaijan’s continuous campaign of aggression against civilians in Artsakh.”

The Congressional letter warned that “without a firm response from the United States, the return of fighting in the region stokes the possibility of a full-blown war embroiling Turkey and Russia. We have already seen Turkey’s heavy hand in this conflict, including the recent deployment of pro-Turkish fighters from Syria and Libya to bolster Azerbaijan’s army and reported use of Turkish F-16s in their ongoing bombing campaign. Any further escalation of fighting runs the risk of a much larger conflict threatening.”

As early as October 4, the ANCA publicly called for imposing crippling sanctions on President Aliyev and Turkey’s President Erdogan under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (Public Law 114-328), based on reports that Turkish and Azerbaijani forces were deliberately targeting Armenian civilians in their attacks on Armenia and Artsakh.  On October 5th, Amnesty International confirmed Azerbaijan’s use of internationally illegal cluster bombs during the shelling of civilians in Artsakh’s capital, Stepanakert.

“This administration needs to act with urgency to bring an end to the perpetual aggression from Azerbaijan towards the Armenian communities of Artsakh. Implementing Global Magnitsky sanctions on Azerbaijani officials is long overdue,” said Rep. Cox. “Not only is this inaction costing hundreds of lives, but it also allows these injustices to be repeated elsewhere and incites the possibility of additional conflicts involving Turkey and Russia.”

“Four weeks on, and the Azeri offensive against Artsakh, continues. International human rights organizations have confirmed Azerbaijan’s use of cluster munitions, in clear violation of international law,” said Congressman Brad Sherman. “Azeri officials must be held responsible for their part in the ongoing human rights abuses taking place in Artsakh. The implementation of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act will send a firm response from the United States that this offensive, and specifically the targeting of civilians, is unacceptable. We cannot risk the fighting in the region devolving into a full-blown proxy war involving Turkey and Russia. Azeri officials must be held to account.”

“It’s important that the U.S. stand against human rights violations,” said Rep. Jim Costa. “Azerbaijan must be held accountable for its aggressive actions against the Armenian people. Implementing sanctions on key officials is an important first step in showing there are consequences to these gross violations of internationally-recognized human rights. I will continue to stand up for the Armenian people.”

“Multiple human rights abuses have been reported following Azerbaijan’s unprovoked attacks on Armenians in Artsakh,” said Congresswoman Clark. “Civilians have been killed, hospitals and churches have been bombed, and thousands have been displaced. Those who are responsible for these atrocities must be held accountable if we are to prevent further bloodshed. The Trump administration must immediately respond with a clear and consequential condemnation of Azerbaijan.”

Joining Representatives Cox, Sherman (D-CA), Costa (D-CA) and Clark (D-MA) in cosigning the letter to Secretary Pompeo are Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Judy Chu (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Lou Correa (D-CA), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Joe Kennedy (D-MA), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Steve King (R-IA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Susie Lee (D-NV), Andy Levin (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Betty McCollum (D-MN), James McGovern (D-MA), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Harley Rouda (D-CA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Dina Titus (D-NV), and Lori Trahan (D-MA).

Should the U.S. Department of Treasury enact sanctions called for by Congressional leaders and the ANCA, all of Aliyev’s property and interests in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons would be blocked or frozen and reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). U.S. regulations generally prohibit any dealings by U.S. persons with blocked or designated persons. Non-U.S. persons that engage in certain transactions with the designated persons may themselves be exposed to this designation. Furthermore, any foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates a significant transaction for or on behalf of the persons designated today could be subject to U.S. legal action.

Russian FM holds meetings with Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts

Andranik Taslakhchian

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 15:18,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held meetings with Armenia’s Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Moscow on October 20 and 21, in addition to the recent telephone conversations of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Russian foreign ministry said today.

During the talks the officials discussed the urgent issues of the agreements reached earlier over the ceasefire in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone and topics relating to the creation of necessary conditions for the comprehensive settlement.

 

Editing and translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Serzh Sargsyan: Armenia’s former president rails at ‘madness’ of Nagorno-Karabakh war

Andranik Taslakhchian
The Independent, UK
Oct 20 2020
Borzou Daragahi

International Correspondent

Armenia's former longtime president has warned of a worsening conflict in the Caucasus where armed forces loyal to his country are battling Azerbaijani soldiers in a rare modern war pitting two nations against each other.  

Serzh Sargsyan spoke to The Independent as the two countries’ foreign ministers were set to meet US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in Washington on Friday, in a desperate effort to end the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, the deadliest since the 1990s.

That potential diplomatic breakthrough comes after claims on Tuesday from the breakaway region’s defence ministry that almost 800 people have died in the current fighting which erupted last month.  

Sargsyan, a deeply controversial figure, called the ongoing war “madness”, blaming Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev for being the driving force behind the conflict.  

“Strategically, this war is madness and civilians are paying for Aliyev’s insane dream,” he told The Independent via email.

Armenia claims the mostly ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh enclave as part of its homeland even as it is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory. The region and surrounding districts also considered part of Azerbaijan has been under the control of Armenian forces and a puppet government loyal to Yerevan since an early 1990s war.  

Azerbaijan, rich with gas money and backed by regional power Turkey, has the military hardware edge over Armenia and has made small gains since fighting began 27 September. But Mr Sargsyan said Azerbaijan’s gains have come at a tremendous cost.  

"The president of Azerbaijan has repeatedly promised to his people that his army can conquer Nagorno-Karabakh very quickly,” he said. “Now they are using all weapons at their disposal, including drones and mercenaries sent by Turkey. Yet in three weeks of fighting, they could progress only in one district and this does not mean the end of the war.”

In response, a top Azerbaijani official dismissed Mr Sargysan as a “war criminal” who he said was involved in the mass murder of at least 161 civilians in the town of Khojaly in 1992.  

“He was directly engaged in killing Azerbaijani civilians,” Hikmet Hajiyev, an adviser to Mr Aliyev, told The Independent. “Now he tries to depict himself as an angel and peace lover. For Azerbaijan, he’s a war criminal and killer of kids.”

Videos posted to the internet over the last 48 hours showed train cars and trucks loaded with military equipment purportedly heading from Russia and Iran to Armenia.  

Mr Sargsyan has been a major figure in Armenia since its independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. He has served as a prime minister, defence minister, and minister of national security and, from 2008 to 2018, as president, taking over for a week as prime minister in an attempt to increase his power following constitutional changes.

During his years as president he sought to reach out to both Azerbaijan and Turkey in an effort to normalise ties. In a grand gesture of diplomacy, he invited then Turkish president Abdullah Gul to watch a football match between the two countries in Armenia, while Mr Sargasyan travelled to Turkey for a subsequent game.

But many Armenians consider him corrupt, autocratic and a pawn of the Kremlin. They drove him from power in widespread street protests that launched a new era of politics in Armenia in 2018 under prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, a populist journalist who, following a brief period of hope and renewed dialogue, came to be described by some as more chauvinistic and less conciliatory in his approach to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  

Mr Sargsyan has fallen out of favour in Yerevan. Mr Hajiyev described him as the “most hated person” in Armenia. He now faces embezzlement charges relating to allegations of pilfering approximately £800,000 from a state fuel subsidy programme.  

He said he and other former Armenian officials and opposition figures had sought to advise the new government but had mostly been ignored. Still, he pointedly declined to criticise his successor or the Armenian commanders leading the war effort. Azerbaijani officials in the months preceding the war voiced alarm at what they called the aggressive military posture of Armenia’s defence minister David Tonoyan.

“In my opinion, a doctrine of pre-emptive action is not appropriate for our case,” said Mr Sargysan, who has served as Armenia’s defence minister for two lengthy stints.  

In the midst of the conflict, the government in Yerevan sacked its intelligence chief, in a possible sign of discontent at the direction of the war effort.

“My successor didn’t take the path we have been successfully following for a considerable time and decided, as he has put it, to start the negotiations from his own point of view,” he said.  

Mr Hajiyev said Mr Sargysan had repeatedly undermined any peace efforts with intransigence aimed at prolonging the occupation of Azerbaijani land.  

“For us he was a gambler,” he said. “He was also a person you can’t have any confidence or trust.”

But Mr Sargysan blamed Azerbaijan for sabotaging any hope of peace. “This conflict was never really a frozen conflict, even though we managed to guarantee the security of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said. “On a smaller scale, Azerbaijan kept attacking us throughout these years.”

The boisterous support of Azerbaijan by Turkey in the conflict has been decisive, he said. “The current war against Nagorno-Karabakh comes with an unprecedented level of joint preparation by Azerbaijan and Turkey,” he said. “Turkish drones are the backbone of Azerbaijan’s attack. One can conclude that the decisions about the military action are taken jointly.”

Experts say the closest the two countries came to achieving a settlement came in 2011, when Mr Sargysan and Mr Aliyev broke off talks organised by Moscow, Washington and Paris in the Russian city of Kazan.  

A resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh appears further than ever. “This conflict is not resolved, partially because of the lack of trust,” he said. “I strongly believe that direct negotiations with Aliyev are a big mistake for the simple reason that Azerbaijan will never agree to the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

The Kremlin is trying to broker a meeting in Moscow between Mr Pashinkyan and Mr Aliyev.

Asked what he would say to his Azerbaijani counterparts, Mr Sargysan said: “This conflict cannot be solved with military means or with any solution that would drive Armenians from their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh. Peace needs to come through negotiations.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-us-war-fighting-pompeo-sargsyan-b1183692.html?fbclid=IwAR2okl4xSfYPSOqWOdGkEwLLQbDXyHN_eEQkjai61UX46_0WeuIOgJQa3XA

Did an Israeli Drone, Operated by Azeris, Crash in Iran?

Andranik Taslakhchian

October 13,  2020

What is said to be an Israeli-made Harop drone operated by Azeri forces crashed in Iran.

The drone crash could expose Israel’s military technology secrets to Iran

Resident of a village in northwestern Iran’s region woke up Tuesday to find a military drone had crashed in the vast farmlands in Parsabad-Moghan county of the country’s Ardebil province, reported Armenpress.

Behrouz Nedayi, the region’s deputy governor, told the IRNA state news agency that there were no damages as a result of the crash.

This is the second drone to land in Iran’s territory since Azerbaijan began aggressively attacking Artsakh on September 27.

Photos of the wreckage of the almost intact drone quickly surfaced on social media, prompting experts to assert that the UAV in fact was an Israeli-made Harop attack drone, which can be armed.

The Harop drone, manufactured by the state-run Israeli Aerospace Industries, has been widely—and indiscriminately—used by Azerbaijan forces, who, aided by Turkey-backed jihadists, have been attacking Artsakh for more than two weeks

Armenia’s military experts, including specialists at the military-analytical site razm.info, conducted their own study of the photos and confirmed that the drone that crashed in the farmlands of Iran was, in fact, a Harop kamikaze drone.

It seems Azerbaijan has gifted Iran Israel’s sough-after military technology.

Iran is known to be leading manufacturer of drones in the region. There is no doubt that Iranian expert will forensically study the crashed drone to glean its state-of-the-art technology.

While Iranian officials have expressed serious concerns about the recent military activity spilling into its territory, there is no doubt that Tehran will not kick a gift horse in the mouth.

CivilNet: Putin Invites Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers to Moscow for Talks

Andranik Taslakhchian
CIVILNET.AM

9 October, 2020 05:24

Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministers have been invited to Moscow on October 9 for talks over Nagorno Karabakh. 

A statement on Putin’s presidential website says that the invitation comes following a phone conversation between Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, during which the Russian president urged both sides to halt military operations in Karabakh for humanitarian reasons – to exchange prisoners as well as the bodies of soldiers who have been killed in the fighting. 

Putin’s press secretary said that at this time there is no meeting scheduled between the Russian leader, Pashinyan, and Aliyev, but that, "Dialogues continue at various levels, and I cannot comment any further."

Russia, together with France and the US, are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group which is tasked with spearheading efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. 

Russian Foreign Ministry says that Maria Zakharova, a Russian member of the OSCE Minsk Group, has been calling for a ceasefire and is taking the necessary measures to help resume the peace talks between Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

Speaking in France’s National Assembly, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian reiterated the need for immediate negotiations. 

"The situation in Nagorno Karabakh is very urgent. For this reason, we are showing a strong diplomatic presence as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group,” Le Drian said. He also stressed that each party must see that it is in their best interests to end the hostilities and start negotiations immediately without preconditions. 

"The novelty of Turkey's military involvement poses a threat to the internationalization of the conflict, which we do not want,” Le Drian noted. 

Karabakh Foreign Ministry welcomed the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group negotiation efforts, but warned that it will reject any Turkish involvement in the talks. 

"We reiterate the central role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in attaining peace in the region. We also firmly denounce Turkey's participation as potential mediators in the process of peaceful negotiations. The criminal activities of Turkey include leading military hostilities against Karabakh, supplying weapons to Azerbaijan, and recruiting militants from terrorist organizations in the Middle East. These acts of aggression make it impossible for Turkey to join the OSCE Minsk Group,” reads a Karabakh Foreign Ministry statement. 

Targeting religious worship sites and cultural monuments is war crime – MFA Armenia

Andranik Taslakhchian

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 19:20, 8 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Armenia ahs issued a statement regarding the Azerbaijani regular bombing of Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi town of Artsakh. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, the statement runs as follows,

‘’On October 8, the armed forces of Azerbaijan launched airstrikes at the masterpiece of the Armenian architecture – the  Ghazanchetsots Cathedral located in the cultural capital of Artsakh, Shushi, causing significant damages.

This is another crime of the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan, which reveals its inhuman essence. Nevertheless, this action fully fits into its policy of Armenophobia developed for decades. Azerbaijan, which has completely annihilated the Armenian cultural heritage in Nakhichevan and in other parts of the historical homeland of the Armenian people, now throughout the ongoing military aggression against Artsakh is trying to deprive Armenians of Artsakh of their homeland and historical memory.

With these actions Azerbaijan replicates behaviour of its newly acquired allies – the infamous international terrorist organizations, who are responsible for destruction of the numerous historical-cultural monuments in the Middle East. 

We condemn in the strongest way this heinous crime of Azerbaijan is also a challenge to the whole civilized humanity. 

In this regard, we remind the Azerbaijani military-political authorities that targeting religious worship sites and cultural monuments is war crime as enshrined in international humanitarian law, the responsibility for which has no statute of limitations’’.

A number of reporters were injured during the bombing, one of them, a Russian journalist, is in critical situation. Doctors of Artsakh are sparing no efforts to save his life.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

EU deals blow to Turkey’s membership bid, saying talks ‘effectively at standstill’

Andranik Taslakhchian
RT – Russia Today
Oct 6 2020

The EU’s executive has said that Turkey’s inability to maintain democracy and safeguard human rights remain barriers to its membership of the 27-member bloc. Ankara criticized the report as ‘far from constructive.’

On Tuesday, the European Commission released its annual report on the country, and in a summary warned that “accession negotiations have effectively come to a standstill.”

The scathing 115-page “Turkey 2020 Report” was published on Tuesday amid Ankara’s tense standoff with Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean.

“Turkey has continued to move further away from the European Union with serious backsliding in the areas of democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights and the independence of the judiciary,” a summary statement of the report read.

The publication outlined serious criticisms of NATO ally Turkey, which began EU membership negotiations in 2005.

Ankara hit back at Brussels by saying the Commission’s report “reflects the EU’s biased, far from constructive, double-standard approach.”

“Our sincere wish is for the EU to look at candidate nation Turkey not through the narrow and selfish interests of some circles, but rather through our continent's larger and common interests, common vision,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

In its report, the Commission highlighted its “significant concerns” over Turkey’s crackdown on mayors in the majority-Kurdish southeast of the country over their alleged membership of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group.

Brussels said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government had “seriously damaged local democracy” with the move, which saw “forceful dismissals of elected mayors in the southeast and their replacement by government-appointed trustees.”

The EU also cited Ankara’s handling of the failed military coup four years ago for its deteriorating relations with the country.


Amid its criticism, the report did acknowledge Turkey’s role in housing millions of refugees who have fled the Syrian Civil War, saying it “continued to provide substantial assistance to over four million refugees, out of which 3.6 million are Syrian.”

The EU, which is Turkey’s largest foreign investor, recently encouraged the country to engage in dialogue with Cyprus in a bid to ease tensions in the disputed areas of the Eastern Mediterranean.

It said Turkey had “continued illegal activities” in the area, describing its behavior as “provocative and aggressive.” Cyprus had been pushing for sanctions on Turkey if it did not cease oil and gas drilling in the resource-rich sea.

Speaking to Germany’s Angela Merkel, Erdogan “stated that the EU had succumbed to pressure and blackmail from Greek Cypriots and Greece despite Turkey’s well-intentioned approach,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported in a statement.


Azerbaijani forces again open fire at Artsakh civilian settlements

Andranik Taslakhchian

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 08:57, 7 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 7, ARMENPRESS.  The Azerbaijani military is again firing at Stepanakert City and other civilian settlements of Artsakh, the Armenian Defense Ministry spokesperson Artsrun Hovhannisyan said.

In turn, Artsakh’s presidential spokesperson Vahram Poghosyan said that “the terrorist army of the enemy” is being “mercilessly” neutralized by the Artsakh Defense Army.

The information on Azeri forces hiring mercenaries from Syrian jihadist terror organizations through Turkey has already been confirmed by intelligence agencies from France, Russia, the US and others.

One of these mercenaries had personally spoken about it to the BBC earlier.

Artsakh's capital city Stepanakert and other towns have come under intense bombardment from Azerbaijan. 

The Azeri forces have used cluster munitions, which resulted in over 20 civilian casualties and heavy damages. 

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan