Author: Christine Harutyunian

Hungary wants to open consulate in Yerevan

Christine Harutyunian

 12:39,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Hungary wants to open a consulate in Yerevan, Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó has said.

Péter Szijjártó announced the intention during a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan. He said he's asked the Armenian FM to greenlight the move.  

“I requested permission to open a Hungarian consulate in Yerevan,” the Hungarian FM said at the press conference after his meeting with Mirzoyan.

He also said that the Hungarian authorities will call on Wizz Air to launch flights from Yerevan to Budapest to ensure direct connection between Armenia and Hungary.

Restoring relations after 10 years: Hungarian Foreign Minister’s visit to Yerevan

Christine Harutyunian
Oct 27 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Armenia

“I asked [the Armenian Foreign Minister] to allow us to open a Hungarian consulate in Yerevan,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after a meeting with his Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan.

This is the first visit of the Hungarian Foreign Minister to Armenia after the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Szijjártó said that his visit is intended to “put an end to a whole decade when there were no diplomatic ties between the two countries.”

Diplomatic relations with Hungary were interrupted on August 31, 2012 by the decision of the National Security Council of Armenia over Budapest’s decision to extradite Ramil Safarov, convicted for life for the murder of Armenian officer Gurgen Margaryan, to Baku. In 2004, Safarov killed a sleeping Margaryan, with whom he had participated in a NATO Partnership for Peace program course in Budapest.

In late December 2021, through Hungarian mediation, Azerbaijan agreed to return five Armenian captives to their homeland. On December 1, 2022, within the framework of the OSCE Ministerial Conference in Lodz, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Hungary met and agreed to restore diplomatic relations.

It is reported that in Yerevan the ministers agreed to take practical steps to intensify political dialogue, potential cooperation in economy, promote possible investments.

  • “It is not necessary to provide security only with the army” – Pashinyan
  • Meeting in “3+3” format. Opinion from Yerevan: “There are risks, no benefits”
  • Turkish and Azerbaijani Armed Forces exercises near Armenia’s borders. Is a new escalation possible?

The Hungarian Foreign Minister considers it expedient to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan as soon as possible:

“This will guarantee that people in the region will live peacefully and calmly in the years to come. All inhabitants of the region deserve peace and tranquility after decades of suffering”.

According to Péter Szijjártó, Hungary is a supporter of peaceful resolution of conflicts, so it is in favor of a peaceful settlement in the Caucasus region as well.

The Hungarian minister assured that his country intends to maximize relations with Armenia from now on:

“As a manifestation, a confirmation of this, we will provide another 40 million forints [more than 110 thousand dollars] to support families who moved to Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh. If necessary, Hungary is ready to participate in the treatment of these people. Both Hungarian medical institutions and children’s camps will receive children from Nagorno-Karabakh.”

The Cabinet of Ministers has expanded the list of those who will be able to receive a one-time financial aid of $250. The government will also compensate the rent and utility costs of the newcomers

The Armenian Foreign Minister stated Budapest’s readiness to support the protection of Armenian cultural and historical monuments in NK. Ararat Mirzoyan thanked his colleague for this:

“He sincerely expressed his willingness to intervene and contribute to this important endeavor by ensuring the preservation of Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage. After the forced deportation of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, the issue of the Armenian cultural and spiritual heritage became even more acute.”

Mirzoyan recalled that Armenia had previously applied to UNESCO and there was even a decision to send the organization’s mission to NK:

“But due to numerous obstacles from Azerbaijan, this visit has not yet taken place. Now this mission is even more needed. The work on organizing the visit continues”.

Does Hungary support Armenia’s participation in the Black Sea Submarine Electric Cable project? Answering this question, the Hungarian Foreign Minister expressed hope that the European Union’s Eastern Partnership program will accelerate Armenia’s involvement in the EU projects and strengthen cooperation.

A joint statement by the Armenian Prime Minister and the President of the European Commission on October 5 said that the Commission will support Armenia’s participation in regional projects such as the Black Sea Submarine Electric Cable.

https://jam-news.net/hungarian-minister-of-foreign-affairs-in-armenia/

Hungarian FM hopes Eastern Partnership will strengthen Armenia-EU ties

Christine Harutyunian

 14:29,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has expressed hope that the EU Eastern Partnership program will expedite the cooperation between Armenia and the EU and strengthen relations.

He made the remarks when asked whether Hungary supports Armenia’s involvement in the Black Sea Electricity Cable project.

A joint statement by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen released on October 5 said that the European Commission will support Armenia’s participation in regional projects such as the Black Sea Electricity Cable.

In terms of EU-Armenia cooperation, the Hungarian FM said that they are interested in the EU expansion.

“We’ve endorsed the development of foreign relations. Now, when the competitiveness of the EU is decreasing, we find foreign collegial relations to become more significant in such situations. The more countries the EU is able to support the more chances it will have to stop the tragic decrease of the EU competitiveness,” the Hungarian FM said, adding that that’s why they’ve always supported Eastern Partnership. “We want the EU to make maximum financial investments in that project. And we hope that the Eastern Partnership project will expedite your cooperation and strengthen your relations with the EU,” the Hungarian FM said at a joint press conference with Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan.

Armenia submits requests for ten provisional measures against Azerbaijan at ICJ

Christine Harutyunian

 15:10,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has named the ten provisional measures it seeks the ICJ to indicate against Azerbaijan. The request was submitted by Armenia’s agent Yeghishe Kirakosyan during the world court oral proceedings on the request for the indication of provisional measures filed by Armenia against Azerbaijan.

 “On the basis of its request for provisional measures dated 28 September 2023 and its oral pleadings, Armenia respectfully requests the court to indicate the following provisional measures pending its determination of this case on the merits:

1) “Azerbaijan shall refrain from taking any measures which might entail breaches of its obligations under the CERD”;

2) “Azerbaijan shall refrain from taking any actions directly or indirectly aimed at or having the effect of displacing the remaining ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, or preventing the safe and expeditious return to their homes of persons displaced in the course of the recent military attack including those who have fled to Armenia or third States, while permitting those who wish to leave Nagorno-Karabakh to do so without any hindrance”;

 3) “Azerbaijan shall withdraw all military and law-enforcement personnel from all civilian establishments in Nagorno-Karabakh occupied as a result of its armed attack on 19 September 2023”;

4) “Azerbaijan shall facilitate, and refrain from placing any impediment on, the access of the United Nations and its specialized agencies to the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, and shall not interfere with their activities in any way”;

5) “Azerbaijan shall facilitate, and refrain from placing any impediment on, the ability of the International Committee of the Red Cross to provide humanitarian aid to the ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, and shall cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross to address the other consequences of the recent conflict”;

6) “Azerbaijan shall immediately facilitate the full restoration of public utilities, including gas and electricity, to Nagorno-Karabakh, and shall refrain from disrupting them in the future”;

7) “Azerbaijan shall refrain from taking punitive actions against the current or former political representatives or military personnel of Nagorno-Karabakh”;

8) “Azerbaijan shall not alter or destroy any monument commemorating the 1915 Armenian genocide or any other monument or Armenian cultural artefact or site present in Nagorno-Karabakh”;

9) “Azerbaijan shall recognize and give effect to civil registers, identity documents and property titles and registers established by the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh, and shall not destroy or confiscate such registers and documents”;

10) “Azerbaijan shall submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to this Order within one month, as from the date of this Order, and thereafter every three months, until a final decision on the case is rendered by the Court,” Kirakosyan said.

Armenia to join International Criminal Court; ‘wrong’ decision, says Russia

Christine Harutyunian
Al-Jazeera, Qatar
Oct 3 2023

Armenia parliament ratifies ICC’s founding statute, subjecting itself to court’s jurisdiction and vexing Russia, whose president the ICC wants to arrest.

Armenia’s parliament has approved a key step towards joining the International Criminal Court (ICC), a move that is set to escalate tensions with the ex-Soviet country’s traditional ally, Russia.

Lawmakers ratified the ICC’s founding Rome Statute on Tuesday, subjecting itself to the jurisdiction of the court in The Hague and vexing Russia, whose president the world court wants to arrest.

A spokeswoman for the Yerevan parliament said 60 deputies voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the ICC and 22 voted against.

In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over war crimes in Ukraine, and the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

The ICC members are expected to make the arrest if the Russian leader sets foot on their territory.

The vote illustrated the chasm between Moscow and Yerevan, which has been growing due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and Russia’s inaction as Azerbaijan recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh, a region controlled for three decades by ethnic Armenians, most of whom have now fled.

The Kremlin said the decision was “incorrect” and that it would have questions for Armenia’s “current leadership”, which should instead look to its established allies, not least Moscow.

“We would not want the president to have to refuse visits to Armenia for some reason,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

“Armenia is our ally, a friendly country, our partner … But at the same time, we will have additional questions for the current leadership of Armenia … We still believe it is a wrong decision.”

Moscow has voiced increasing frustration with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has publicly said landlocked Armenia’s policy of solely relying on Russia to guarantee its security was a mistake, and pointedly hosted joint manoeuvres with US forces.

Armenia’s sense that Russia has let it down has been sharpened by Azerbaijan’s seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh, which followed a nine-month blockade of food and fuel supplies to the enclave that Russian peacekeepers did nothing to relieve.

Armenia said it had discussed its ICC plans with Russia, after Moscow warned in March of “serious consequences”. It will take 60 days for the ratification to come into force.

Yerevan has said its move addresses what it says are war crimes committed by Azerbaijan in a long-running conflict with Armenia, although ICC jurisdiction will not be retroactive.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/3/armenia-to-join-international-criminal-court-wrong-decision-russia-says

Spanish Member of Parliament Jon Inarritu calls for actions to ensure Armenia’s security and prevent new Azeri attacks

Christine Harutyunian

 16:56, 4 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. Spanish Member of Parliament Jon Inarritu is visiting Armenia as part of a fact-finding mission on the ethnic cleansing committed by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The situation in Armenia and Artsakh [NK] demands our attention and action to prevent further ethnic cleansing,” he said on X, sharing a video message from Republic Square, Yerevan. “We must act now!”

Inarritu expressed support to the Armenian people. 

Armenia’s security must be ensured to prevent new attacks and threats from Azerbaijan, he said.

Iran Ready to Send Aid to Displaced Ethnic Armenians

Christine Harutyunian
Telesur
Oct 4 2023

On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed Iran’s readiness to send humanitarian aid to the displaced ethnic Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Secretary of Armenia's Security Council Armen Grigoryan in the Iranian capital Tehran.

During the meeting, Amir-Abdollahian stressed that Iran's policy was to preserve the international borders and countries' territorial integrity, highlighting the necessity of resolving the Caucasus region's problems by regional countries.

He referred to the 3+3 format, which brings together the three Caucasian states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, as well as its three neighbors, Iran, Russia, and Türkiye, as an efficient mechanism for resolving regional issues.

The Armenian official thanked Iran for its principled position in support of Armenia's territorial integrity and welcomed negotiations within the 3+3 format.

Meanwhile, Iran's embassy in Armenia announced Tuesday that the country's first batch of humanitarian aid sent by the Iranian Red Crescent Society has arrived in the southern Armenian province of Syunik.

The consignment contains more than 50 tons of aid materials, including tents, blankets, food and heaters.

Last month, Azerbaijan took Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan's capture of Nagorno-Karabakh led to an exodus of many ethnic Armenians from the region during the following days. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region since 1988.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Ready-to-Send-Aid-to-Displaced-Ethnic-Armenians-20231004-0004.html

Can Israelis help achieve Azerbaijani-Armenian peace?

Christine Harutyunian
Israel National News
Sept 29 2023
Rachel Avraha

Israelis Advocate for Peace in the South Caucuses following ceasefire

By Rachel Avraham

As Azerbaijan and Armenia almost came to the brink of war, a petition calling for “world peace in the Caucuses” was signed to encourage both the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis to reach an understanding that will lead to peace.

"We don't want bloodshed in any conflict, we don't want to see an unresolved conflict. We call for a peaceful, diplomatic solution to any conflict. Those who are in favor of peace around the world should encourage other organizations to join the "World for Peace in the Caucasus" initiative," the Head of the Young Ambassadors Organization of Zimbabwe Abiel Mawere stated.

In the period leading up to the ceasefire deal, the Azerbaijanis came under fire for an “alleged humanitarian crisis” due to an alleged blockade of the Lachin Corridor that blocked off access to the Armenians in Karabakh, even though the Azerbaijan government had repeatedly offered to supply the Armenians of Karabakh with food, medicine and more via roads that provide closer and faster passage than the Lachin Corridor. The land routes Azerbaijan offers are decent roads according to the European Union, the U.S. and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the “immediate and simultaneous opening of both corridors.”

For Israelis, this has an uncanny resemblance to people who falsely claimed that the people of Gaza are starving due to the Gaza blockade. The United Nations, Human Rights Watch, Save the Children and others have accused the State of Israel of literally starving the people of Gaza under its blockade, even though the State of Israel regularly permits the flow of more than adequatehumanitarian assistance into the coastal strip. On a regular basis, these international organizations and NGOs overlook how rockets, incendiary balloons, mortars and other weapons have been fired out of the coastal strip utilizing stuff that was smuggled into Gaza, while accusing Israel of creating a humanitarian crisis.

Azerbaijan is a strong ally of Israel and thus often gets the Israel treatment in international media outlets. For close to thirty years, Armenia illegally occupied the Karabakh region in violation of four UN Security Council resolutions, ethnically cleansing close to one million Azerbaijanis from their homeland in the First Karabakh War. Following the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan reclaimed the Karabakh region and the seven Azerbaijani districts that were illegally occupied by Armenia, and permitted an Armenian settler community to remain in the region in the hopes that they would be able to live in peace with multi-cultural Azerbaijan, which already has a thriving community of 30,000 Jews, as well as a significant Russian Orthodox and Catholic community.

The Azerbaijanis believe that these Armenians can be re-incorporated into their country as citizens with equal rights, while the Armenian settlers and elements of the Armenian Diaspora vehemently oppose this move. After six Azerbaijanis were killed in landmine explosions, everything was derailed and the two countries came close to the brink on war. But now that the Armenians agreed to disarm, what happens next remains to be seen.

Ayoob Kara, who served as Israel’s Communication Minister and signed the petition, added in a recent video statement, “As a minister of communication, cyber and satellite and now as the president of the Economic Peace Center, I do my best to make peace in Karabakh and humanitarian aid is part of this process. Therefore, we must do everything that humanitarian aid is delivered to this area.”

Prominent Middle East scholar Dr. Mordechai Kedar, who also signed the petition, added that the issue is not really about delivering humanitarian aid to the Armenian population of Karabakh: “I think that the whole thing is about smuggling weapons to the area by the Armenians. Both sides should sit together like big kids and discuss what they could bring and what they could not, and this is my humble view. I support the idea both sides should come to an agreement and implement the agreement.”

It has been reported in the media that Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that his country and Azerbaijan could reach a peace deal over the Karabakh region by the end of this year. Prior to the recent escalation, he claimed that he was doing everything possible to conclude a peace agreement. Progress had been made on opening up the roads into Karabakh and getting more supplies into Karabakh. Yet at the same time, in the period leading up to the operation, twenty-eight instances of provocation were reported in July and another 45 in August, alongside 61 in the first half of September. They included harassment by drones and fortifying work near Azerbaijani territory as well as acts of sabotage.

Despite all of this, Hikmet Hajiyev, the advisor to Azerbaijan’s President, recently wrote an article in Politico, where he proclaimed: “Azerbaijanis want peace. We want restitution, reconciliation and, perhaps, one day even friendship with our neighbor. Stories that claim otherwise don’t help establish peace, nor do they bring a deal to the table.”

South Caucuses has great strategic importance for the State of Israel. If peace is reached in the Caucuses, it will weaken the Islamic Republic of Iran, as an Armenia not in peace with its neighbors relies upon Iran for all of its needs and thus essentially becomes a proxy of Iran, which helps them to bypass sanctions and do other things that are against the interests of Israel and the free world. An Armenia that is at peace with its neighbors has no interest in an international pariah like Iran and this is why Iran is doing everything possible to sabotage a peace agreement between both peoples.

For this reason, we as Israelis should support this petition and any other measure that will lead to peace being established in the South Caucuses for the benefit of both people.

Israeli tourism writer Orly Spagnul, who partook in the Shusha Food Festival, proclaimed that both sides should “solve issues by speaking together and should try to achieve a common agreement that takes the other into consideration, and should be kind and considerate to each other. They should see the pain and needs of the other side. They should live one beside the other and respect the needs of the other as much as possible. It is very difficult to bridge, but it is the only way to live in peace, prosperity and well.”

Rachel Avraham is the CEO of the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy and an Israel-based journalist. She is the author of “Women and Jihad: Debating Palestinian Female Suicide Bombings in the American, Israeli and Arab Media.”

 

Calling Pashinyan’s Remarks ‘Unacceptable Attacks,’ Moscow Warns Yerevan

Christine Harutyunian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Russian peacekeeper in Artsakh


An address by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who further accused Russia of faltering in its responsibilities toward Armenia, has angered Moscow, which on Monday said the Armenian leader, with his “unacceptable attacks,” was seeking to ruin Russian-Armenian relations and is looking to the West for support.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Russian foreign ministry rejected Pashinyan’s claims, who in a televised address, accused “outside forces” of attempting to sow dissent in Armenia.

“We are convinced that the Yerevan leadership is making a huge mistake by deliberately trying to destroy the multifaceted and centuries-old ties between Armenia and Russia and making the country a hostage to geopolitical games of the West,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Pashinyan also seemed to blame Russia for Armenians’ exodus from Artsakh following last week’s large scale offensive by Azerbaijan, which left hundreds dead and injured and displaced thousands of Artsakh residents.

Pashinyan also stepped up his attacks, saying that membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and an alliance with Russia were not enough to ensure Armenia’s national security, adding that Armenia will normalize relations with Azerbaijan through frameworks put forth by the European Union.

The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back at Pashinyan, saying the prime minister was attempting “relieve himself of responsibility for failures in domestic and foreign policy by shifting the blame to Moscow.”

“Russia has always been faithful to its allied obligations, respected Armenian statehood and never confronted the republic with a choice: with us or against us,” it said in a statement. The statement blamed the Azerbaijani offensive on Pashinian’s controversial decision to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh during October 2022 and May 2023 talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev organized by the European Union. “This fundamentally changed … the position of the Russian peacekeeping contingent [in Karabakh,]” the Russian foreign ministry said.

These sentiments were echoed by Russia’s Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, who visited Yerevan and met with Pashinyan, telling him that the West wanted to use the situation in Ukraine to squeeze Russia out of the South Caucasus region.

“The West wants to use the situation around Ukraine to squeeze Russia out of the South Caucasus, to destroy the Russian-Armenian bond. The United States and the EU obsessively offer their prescriptions for reforming key areas, including intelligence and law enforcement agencies, defense, and the judicial system. This state of affairs is undermining our alliance. Americans always pursue only their own interests, they don’t care about Armenia and Armenians,” Kolokoltsev said, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

The Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also took note of the remarks, categorically rejecting Pashinyan’s criticism of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Artsakh.

“The Russian peacekeepers have demonstrated real heroism in performing their duties according to their mandate,” Peskov said, adding that Moscow still regards Yerevan as an ally and will continue its “dialogue” with Pashinyan.

Latest Baku-Yerevan escalation impedes work to unblock regional transport links — official

Christine Harutyunian
 TASS 
Russia – Sept 11 2023
According to Alexey Overchuk, deputy premiers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet again to discuss unblocking transport communication in the region when conditions are ripe for such talks

VLADIVOSTOK, September 11. /TASS/. Negotiations between participants in a trilateral working group to unblock transportation links in the South Caucasus are ongoing, but the latest escalation of tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan has had a negative effect on this activity, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk told reporters on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum currently underway in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East.

"Certainly, any escalation of tensions always negatively affects our work, by stranding and delaying us; and time elapses before we can return and sit down to the negotiating table again," he said, responding to a relevant question. "The negotiations are ongoing," he assured reporters.

According to Overchuk, deputy premiers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet again to discuss unblocking transport communication in the region when conditions are ripe for such talks.

The senior Russian official said earlier, following the latest meeting of the working group, that substantial progress had been made in agreeing on how to unblock transport links between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. On January 11, 2021, the three leaders agreed to establish a working group at the level of deputy prime ministers that was charged with focusing on efforts to restore transport and economic ties in the region.

The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) is taking place in Vladivostok on September 10-13. The slogan for this year’s forum is: On the Path to Partnership, Peace and Prosperity. The Roscongress Foundation is the event organizer. TASS is the EEF’s general information partner.