Author: Arsine Chaltikian

The Vatican’s other peace mission

Arsine Chaltikian
ANALYSIS
LUKE COPPEN

 . 9:09 PM  

The man sometimes called the Vatican’s “prime minister” is on a peace mission this week. But unlike the Ukraine war initiative led by the Vatican envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, it probably won’t generate many headlines.  

In fact, you may struggle to find any reports on it at all. As of July 11, the Vatican’s in-house media doesn’t seem to have mentioned it. And it doesn’t appear on the Twitter account of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, the hub of the Holy See’s diplomatic activity. 

But if you comb through government press releases and specialist Italian Catholic websites, you will see that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin is currently on a trip to Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Azerbaijan and Armenia are located in the Caucasus region, where Europe and Asia meet. But that is where the commonalities between the two countries seem to end. 

Azerbaijan is a majority Muslim country of around 10 million people. It is almost three times larger than the majority Christian Armenia, which has a population of less than three million. 

Since the last years of the Cold War, the two countries have been locked in post-Soviet Eurasia’s most enduring conflict. 

Fighting has broken out periodically since 1998 over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is situated within Azerbaijan but populated by ethnic Armenians. The area is home to the breakaway state known as the Republic of Artsakh, which is closely tied to Armenia.

A upsurge in violence in 2020, in which both sides used loitering munitions (also known as “kamikaze drones”), is believed to have ushered in a new era of warfare dominated by deadly autonomous machines — as seen in Ukraine today.

Hundreds of soldiers were killed in the most recent major clashes at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border in September 2022, which ended with an uneasy ceasefire. 

Shortly afterward, purported environmental activists blocked the Lachin corridor, the sole road linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh. Human rights groups have said that the blockade is creating a humanitarian crisis in the disputed region. 

Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has often shown his concern over the ongoing feud between the two nations. His sensitivity to the 35-year conflict possibly dates back to his years as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, when he was said to have maintained close ties with the local Armenian community.

In 2016, Francis visited both nations on separate trips, traveling to Armenia on June 24-26 and Azerbaijan on Oct. 2. In recent months, he has repeatedly expressed his anguish over the deteriorating humanitarian situation connected to the Lachin corridor blockade.

It is against this background that Cardinal Parolin began his five-day trip to the neighboring countries.

On July 10, Parolin met with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. According to the president’s website, the two men reviewed the deepening of ties between Azerbaijan in the Holy See in recent years.

Steps forward have included Aliyev’s 2020 visit to the Vatican, the opening of an Azerbaijani embassy to the Holy See in 2021, and the signing that year of a cooperation agreement to restore Rome’s Catacombs of Commodilla between the Vatican and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, a charitable body led by Azerbaijan’s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. 

The cardinal held talks with the country’s foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov, discussing “the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the current situation in the region,” according to the Azerbaijan State News Agency.

The agency added that Bayramov told Parolin about the situation following the 2020 conflict, known in Azerbaijan as the “44-day Patriotic War” and by neutrals as the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (following the first in 1988-1994). The foreign minister highlighted what he called “the crimes, vandalism and destroyed cultural and religious heritage in Azerbaijan’s liberated territories,” as well as “the mine threats and other provocations committed by Armenia.”

On Monday, the cardinal also met with Sheikh Allahshukur Pashazadeh, the Grand Mufti of the Caucasus, who reportedly defended Azerbaijan against accusations that it is destroying Armenian cultural heritage. 

Concerns about the erasure of historic Christian sites in Nagorno-Karabakh have been raised at the European Parliament and the UN’s cultural agency UNESCO.

The Shiite Muslim cleric also decried what he called “Armenian vandalism” of Azerbaijani sites — demonstrating that both sides accuse each other of attacking their patrimony.

In addition, Parolin visited the grave of Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan’s president from 1993 to 2003, located in the Alley of Honor, a burial site for distinguished Azerbaijanis in the capital, Baku.

Cardinal Parolin was expected to travel to Armenia July 11 (via neighboring Georgia), remaining there until July 13. He is likely to receive a warm welcome as Armenia — the first country in the world to formally adopt Christianity in 301 A.D. — sees the Vatican as a crucial ally in the preservation of its unique spiritual culture.

As well as meeting with political leaders, the cardinal may be received by Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the ancient Armenian Apostolic Church, which has drawn closer to Rome since 1970 through a series of joint declarations and gestures such as the addition of the Armenian St. Gregory of Narek to the list of Doctors of the Church recognized by Catholics in 2015.

Parolin is also due to lay a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex in the capital, Yerevan, emphasizing the Vatican’s recognition of the systematic destruction of the Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1917. Pope Francis has not hesitated to describe the killing of between 1.2 and 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, despite opposition from Turkey, the republic born out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire (and a close ally of Azerbaijan).

Parolin is also expected to celebrate a Mass in Gyumri, the country’s second-largest city, which will no doubt be attended by members of the minority Armenian Catholic Church, one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the pope.

Even if Parolin’s trip doesn’t produce immediate results, such as an easing of the Lachin corridor crisis, it’s likely to prove a shrewd investment of the Holy See’s diplomatic capital if — or perhaps when— Armenia and Azerbaijan take up arms again.

https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/the-vaticans-other-peace-mission

Second Armenian serviceman injured as a result of Azerbaijani shooting in Tegh village, Syunik

Arsine Chaltikian

 15:32,

YEREVAN, 12 JULY, ARMENPRESS. On July 12, at 12:10 p.m. Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire in the direction of the Armenian positions in Tegh village, as a result of which an Armenian serviceman was injured, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia.

The health condition of the serviceman is assessed as moderate with no threat to life.

Earlier today, the Azerbaijani armed forces had opened fire in the direction of the same Armenian positions, as a result of which an Armenian serviceman had been injured. The Ministry of Defense reported that the serviceman's health condition is assessed as satisfactory, his life is not in danger either.

The number of tourists visiting Armenia in June has increased

Arsine Chaltikian

 18:45, 7 July 2023

YEREVAN, JULY 7, ARMENPRESS. The Tourism Committee has published statistical data on tourist visiting Armenia in June 2023.

"199 thousand tourists in June 2023 – the best statistical data compared to previous years (130 thousand in 2022, 154 thousand tourists in 2019).

1 million tourists visit in half a year, which is 30 percent more than in the same period of 2019", ARMENPRESS reports, the Tourism Committee informed.

 




US seeks Armenia, Azerbaijan de-escalation as 4 separatists killed

Arsine Chaltikian
Four Armenian separatist fighters killed in renewed violence with Azerbaijan, as Washington's Blinken prepares to meet with his counterparts from both countries.

The United States on Wednesday urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to de-escalate in a meeting with their top diplomats, hours after four Armenian separatist fighters died in renewed violence.

The two countries' foreign ministers, on the second of three days of talks opened on Tuesday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, went to the White House to see Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor.

"I encouraged Armenia and Azerbaijan to continue making progress toward peace, as well as to avoid provocations and de-escalate tensions in order to build confidence," Sullivan wrote on Twitter afterward.

Hours after the talks opened, rebels said the four were killed in the breakaway Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh region, where tensions have been flaring over a blockade of the only land corridor connecting to Armenia.

"We are deeply disturbed by the loss of life in Nagorno-Karabakh and we offer our condolences to the families of all of those who were killed," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

He said that the killings "underscore the need to refrain from hostilities and for a durable and dignified peace."

Patel said the negotiations led by the United States "were constructive, and we continue to build on those discussions today and tomorrow, so there's no change in the schedule."

The talks mark the second such session in as many months led by Blinken, with Russia, long the primary power-broker between the two former Soviet republics, bogged down in its invasion of Ukraine.

https://www.newarab.com/news/us-seeks-de-escalation-new-armenia-azerbaijan-meeting

Armenpress: United States reports ‘further progress’ in Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations, notes ‘hard work’ ahead

Arsine Chaltikian

 10:20,

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS.  United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday commended "further progress" made during the foreign ministerial talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington D.C., but acknowledged that "hard work" still needs to be done to achieve a peace deal.

“First, to both of my colleagues and their delegations, great thanks and appreciation for the important and hard work that’s continued in the effort to reach a durable peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as to deal with a number of other important issues that can help advance relations between the countries,” Blinken said at the closing session of the Armenia-Azerbaijan talks.

“ I’m grateful for the time that you’ve all spent here, now the second meeting that we’ve held.  I appreciated very much the opportunity to spend time with you, as did our team, the National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and appreciate again that, as we’ll share in a statement that’ll be released in a little while, further progress toward this shared objective of an agreement, to include agreement on some additional articles as well as a deepening understanding of the positions on other outstanding issues, as well as a recognition that there is – there remains hard work to be done to try to reach a final agreement.We’ve had a series of meetings not only here but also with our counterparts – hosted by our counterparts in the European Union, to include as well Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Aliyev, and we know that a further meeting is expected in a few weeks’ time with the European Union and the president and prime minister.  And we look forward to continuing this process as well in the weeks ahead to take advantage of the momentum that we’ve helped achieve through these meetings, through further agreement on different discrete pieces, with, again, the objective of reaching an overall and final agreement in the weeks and months ahead. I think there’s also a clear understanding on everyone’s part that the closer we get, the closer you get to reaching an agreement, in some cases the harder it gets, because by definition the most difficult issues are left for the end.  But I very much appreciate the spirit of candor, openness, directness that everyone has exhibited.  That is the way, ultimately, to reach understanding and, finally, to reach agreement. So again, thank you both for being here.  Thank you for the hard work that’s gone into these three days.  Thank you for the progress that has been made.  And thank you for the determination to continue this effort in the weeks and months ahead,” he added.

Australia to provide more armored vehicles to Ukraine

Arsine Chaltikian

 12:23,

YEREVAN, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS. The Australian government will provide a new A$110 million ($73.5 million) package to Ukraine including 70 military vehicles to defend against Russia's invasion, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday.

The fresh commitments take Australia's total contribution for Ukraine to A$790 million, including A$610 million in military support, since the conflict began in February 2022, according to Reuters.

"This additional support will make a real difference, helping the Ukrainian people who continue to show great courage in the face of Russia's illegal, unprovoked and immoral war," Albanese said during a media briefing in Canberra.

Australia is one of the largest non-NATO contributors to the West's support for Ukraine and has been supplying aid, ammunition and defense equipment including scores of Bushmaster armored vehicles.

Azerbaijan accepts Armenia’s offer to hold meeting of delimitation commissions

Arsine Chaltikian

 14:26, 21 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has accepted Armenia’s offer to convene a meeting of the delimitation commissions, Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan told reporters on Wednesday.

“Yes, he’s given a positive answer,” Grigoryan said when asked whether or not his Azerbaijani counterpart Shahin Mustafayev has reacted to his proposal.

“There’s no agreement yet on the place and timeframe of the meeting, but we assume we’ll meet soon,” Grigoryan added.

Azeri blockade constitutes war crime under international law, says Nagorno Karabakh

Arsine Chaltikian

 16:53, 21 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, ARMENPRESS. The complete and arbitrary blocking of the Lachin Corridor, in particular the deliberate obstruction of the delivery of humanitarian cargo by the Russian peacekeeping forces and the ICRC for the basic needs of the people of Artsakh under siege, is considered a war crime under international law, the Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Foreign Ministry said in a statement on June 21.

Below is the full statement.

“For the seventh day now, since 15 June, Azerbaijan has completely blocked the delivery of all types of humanitarian cargo to the Republic of Artsakh through the Lachin Corridor, including food and medicine, carried out by the Russian peacekeeping forces and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), thereby deliberately depriving the 120,000 population of Artsakh, including women,  children and the elderly, of the minimum means of subsistence.

“We emphasise that the complete and arbitrary blocking of the Lachin Corridor, in particular the  deliberate obstruction of the delivery of humanitarian cargo by the Russian peacekeeping forces and the ICRC for the basic needs of the people of Artsakh under siege, is considered a war crime under international law. In essence, Azerbaijan has gone from blatant violation of the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020 and complete disregard for the legally binding Order of the International Court of Justice of 22 February 2023 to actions that amount to a war crime.

“We recall that the Lachin Corridor, envisaged by the Trilateral Statement of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan dated 9 November 2020, which establishes, inter alia, the exclusive control of the Corridor by the Russian peacekeeping forces, has been functioning for the past six months with severe and arbitrary restrictions imposed by Azerbaijan and was used only for the passage of vehicles of the ICRC and the Russian peacekeeping forces. On 15 June, after a deliberate provocation with the Azerbaijani flag on the Hakari bridge, Azerbaijan completely closed the Corridor, including by blocking the road with armoured vehicles. Thus, movement in both directions through the Corridor has now been blocked for representatives of the ICRC and the Russian peacekeeping forces, who delivered essential supplies to the Republic of Artsakh. 

“The complete blockade and isolation of the Republic of Artsakh from the outside world exacerbate the humanitarian crisis and prepare fertile ground for the escalation of Azerbaijan's ongoing crimes against humanity into the crime of genocide. By completely blocking the Lachin Corridor, which is the only Road of Life for the people of Artsakh, Azerbaijan has actually taken its targeted policy of ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and destruction of its people as such to a new level. 

“There is no doubt that the initial purpose of the illegal establishment of Azerbaijani control over the Lachin Corridor was its subsequent blockade and use as a means of conducting its aggressive and genocidal policy against the people of Artsakh. In fact, the Lachin Corridor, originally intended to connect Artsakh with the outside world and as one of the guarantees of the normal life activity of its people, is used by Azerbaijan as a military-political tool to carry out aggressive actions against the Republic of Artsakh and its citizens. 

“The deliberate starvation of 120,000 people, including women, children and the elderly, inflicting unbearable daily suffering on them, as well as imposing Azerbaijan's own will with the use or threat of force, requires the international community to take urgent and effective enforcement measures aimed at preventing massive violations of rights of the people of Artsakh.

“We strongly demand that all responsible members of the international community take the necessary collective and individual measures to stop the ongoing international crimes committed by Azerbaijan, and to prevent a catastrophe threatening the people of Artsakh with genocide. We also consider it timely for the ICRC and other relevant international structures and human rights organisations to properly and adequately assess the situation and urge the Azerbaijani authorities to respect the right of the people of Artsakh to humanitarian assistance and international protection. We note that inaction and indifference in fact encourage Azerbaijan's genocidal actions.”

Azerbaijan Says Extra Guarantees For Karabakh Armenians Impossible

Arsine Chaltikian
   0 Comments

By PanARMENIAN

Azerbaijan’s foreign minister has rejected a demand from Armenia to provide special security guarantees for some 120,000 Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) ahead of a new round of peace talks, Reuters reports.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was quoted last month as saying Armenia did recognise that Karabakh was part of Azerbaijan, but wanted Baku to provide the guarantees for its ethnic Armenian population.

In an interview with Reuters, however, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said such a guarantee was unnecessary, and the demand amounted to interference in Azerbaijan’s affairs.

“We don’t accept such a precondition … for a number of reasons,” he said.

“The most fundamental is the following: this is an internal, sovereign issue. The Azerbaijan constitution and a number of international conventions to which Azerbaijan is party provide all the necessary conditions in order to guarantee the rights of this population.”

https://www.eurasiareview.com/24062023-azerbaijan-says-extra-guarantees-for-karabakh-armenians-impossible/

AW: Children of the Diaspora – Fruits of a Tree

Arsine Chaltikian
 Guest Contributor Opinion 0

By Edna Antonian, Ph.D.

Over the past 108 years, the Armenian diaspora has grown to an estimated eight million people who identify themselves as having Armenian heritage. Some of us have immigrated to foreign lands for safety following the Genocide or ethnic cleansing or for economic reasons. We have lived in and contributed to these countries for three or four generations. Wherever we have landed, we have not forgotten our roots: we have built churches, schools and communities, from India to Australia and everywhere in between, and we have thrived in peace. However, the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh are our Motherland and remain vulnerable to aggressive neighbors. Although Armenian culture can be traced back to circa 1000 BC, the country of Armenia is a small nation with a five-year-old democracy. Geopolitics have also been complicated. Our people have been ruled and pulled apart by other nations for centuries.

While the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh struggle to grow and survive, regrettably they are not well-known globally. Our news does not get worldwide attention, and we have had to survive on our own. The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war of 2020 mobilized the children of the diaspora around the globe, with tangible engagement on social media, YouTube videos of “Armenian Life,” public forums and news webinars, increased book publications by Armenian authors, and production of award-winning documentaries and movies, all within the past three years.

As children of the Armenian diaspora who are thriving in foreign lands, we can be important resources for our Motherland.

We have not forgotten our roots. In the diaspora, we have formed organizations that help with fundraising such as the Armenia Fund, Veterans of Armenia, The Fund for Armenian Relief, AGBU, the Armenian Relief Society and Armenian Eyecare Project, to name a few. Many of us have visited our Homeland multiple times, helping the economy with tourism. Some experts have contributed by economic and healthcare consultations and business startups, yet there is more to be done. Our knowledge, expertise and skills are as valuable to the Armenians in the Homeland as is our financial assistance.

The children of the diaspora are an outcome of Western education, languages, work experience and ethics. Engaging our human capital and resources into development strategies of our homeland is overdue and should be welcomed by the Armenian government. Virtual learning by partnering with the children of diaspora, either individually or formally organized, can become an important tool.

Recently, I have been teaching high school students who attend the Go Center for Languages & Skills in Goris, in Syunik Province. Our classes are via Zoom. The center has been developed by Gayane Ohanyan and supported by international board members. The students and I communicate in English, learning conversational skills along with concepts in critical thinking and entrepreneurial ideas. These students are eager to learn, and their enthusiasm is contagious.

The work of Gassia Apkarian is an excellent example of how valuable our human capital can be. Judge Apkarian, of the Superior Court of Orange County in California, is the founder of an organization called the Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ), established in 2020 in response to the Artsakh war. CFTJ is composed of a group of lawyers trained in the US working with Armenian law students and young lawyers in Artsakh and Armenia. One of the main purposes of this organization is to preserve and record evidence of genocide and war crimes from the recent war. According to the Center’s website, “CFTJ serves as a valuable resource to academic and legal practitioners who seek to use the gathered evidence for purposes of education and/or legal action.”

Another example of a positive impact by the diaspora is the tremendous contributions and sacrifice made by Armine and Len Wicks. They relocated from New Zealand to Areni village in the Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia and built an eco-friendly, self-sufficient, modern lodge with a helipad and a butterfly garden for tourism. This has been the culmination of their charity program, Adopt-a-Village. By doing so, they have created jobs in the hospitality, agriculture and construction sectors for the local community, while bringing in their skills, funding and knowledge.

A new pioneering project has been funded by Caritas Austria for The Emily Aregak Centre in Gyumri in the province of Shirak. A center providing education, life skills and therapy to children and youth with disabilities has been built on over 10 acres of property. An affiliated business, Aregak Bakery & Café in downtown Gyumri, employs adults with disabilities to work in the community. The development officer and spokesperson is Sarah Stites, an Armenian diasporan who relocated from the Washington DC/Maryland area.

Finally, a valuable service is provided by Sonya and Peter Mitchell, diasporans from Australia, who travel throughout Armenia and film educational YouTube videos about Armenian life, mostly in the villages, giving Armenia international visibility.

It is important to address the shortage of teachers in physical sciences, engineering, public health, economics and international law in Armenia. Why not tap into the resources of Armenian human capital abroad? The educated children of the diaspora can contribute by teaching and connecting with universities, colleges and schools virtually. Our efforts should not be focused only on Yerevan’s educational institutions but also on the remote villages which are in dire need of attention and repopulation.

We are the children of the diaspora. Our expertise can offer invaluable benefits to the development of Armenia and Artsakh.