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Author: Edgar Tavakalian

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijani, Saudi FMs mull Karabakh post-war situation, mine threat

Edgar Tavakalian
12:16 (UTC+04:00)
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By Vafa Ismayilova

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have discussed the post-war regional situation, mine contamination, and reconstruction in Karabakh, the Foreign Ministry reported on June 24.

At the meeting held on June 24, as part of his official visit to Saudi Arabia, Bayramov briefed his Saudi counterpart on the post-war situation on the liberated territories, the scale of the decades-long devastation in those areas, the territories' contamination with mines, mine clearance operations, the rehabilitation and reconstruction in Karabakh.

He stressed the importance of signing a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia based on respect for the countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Touching upon Armenia's military aggression against Azerbaijan and its consequences, Bayramov praised Saudi Arabia's support to Azerbaijan in this issue, both bilaterally and within the framework of international organizations.

The Saudi foreign minister praised Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's position to normalize relations with Armenia. Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that Saudi Arabia is ready to provide all possible support to Azerbaijan.

He expressed satisfaction with the level of relations between the two countries, noting that relations are built on solid foundations. He stressed that Azerbaijan is a friendly and brotherly country.

Bayramov noted national leader Heydar Aliyev's visit to Saudi Arabia has an important place in the history of bilateral relations. He stressed the high level of political relations between the two friendly countries.

Bayramov emphasized the importance of economic cooperation. He hailed cooperation between the two countries in the field of wind energy. Referring to cooperation in tourism, the minister noted that after the simplification of visa procedures for citizens of the Gulf countries in 2016 the number of Saudi tourists visiting Azerbaijan increased several times. He expressed confidence that the positive dynamics would continue in the post-pandemic period.

Meanwhile, at his meeting with Bayramov, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf said that GCC has always supported Azerbaijan's position with regards to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

At the meeting, the two officials focused on the current regional situation, the fulfillment of trilateral deals signed by Baku, Moscow and Yerevan, and the latest Armenian-Azerbaijani border tensions.

Bayramov briefed  Al-Hajraf about the post-war regional situation, particularly mine threat and its consequences and the rehabilitation in Karabakh.

He stressed that the occupation factor's elimination facilitated efforts to normalize relations between the two countries based on respect for sovereignty, international law, the principle of territorial integrity, and inviolability of internationally recognized borders.

Bayramov underlined that the GCC member countries are interested in participating in joint projects of creative work on the liberated territories.

The parties discussed the possibilities of expanding cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Council, including the development of a joint action plan and other issues of mutual interest.

On June 23, Bayramov and Saudi Arabian Investment Minister Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih discussed further economic cooperation and Riyadh's involvement in the rehabilitation of Karabakh


‘Page of falsifying election results irreversibly closed in Armenia’ – caretaker PM

Edgar Tavakalian

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 11:50,

YEREVAN, JUNE 24, ARMENPRESS. The assessment of the local and international observers is definite that the elections were held in accordance with the international standards, Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during today’s Cabinet meeting.

“We, in fact, have set a new standard. When snap parliamentary elections were held in 2018 and received an unprecedented high assessment by the international community, there was such a context that time, which said that the results of the elections were obvious to all from the very beginning, and the government had no need to falsify them.

The possible results of the 2021 elections were not predictable, all knew that perhaps the most unpredictable elections in the history of the third Republic were being held. And it’s very important that we have recorded our political will and value system that voters’ _expression_ of free will is a crucial value for us”, Pashinyan said.

Commenting on the criminal cases launched over election bribes, he stated: “Of course, there are criminal cases over election bribes and illegal influence on voters’ will. I am sure they will be properly examined, but I want to believe that the page of falsifying the results of the elections is irreversibly closed in Armenia”, he said.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Erdogan, Aliyev cement military and business ties during Karabakh ‘victory lap’

Edgar Tavakalian
June 15 2021
Erdogan announced that Turkey would be opening a consulate in the disputed territory and that the two countries would co-produce military drones.



Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited June 15 a key town in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which was recaptured by Azerbaijani forces with Turkey’s help in a short but decisive war last fall that saw much of the disputed enclave return to Azerbaijani control.

The fall of Shusha — or Shushi as it is called in Armenian — was a defining moment in the conflict that has seen the alliance between Turkey and its ethnic Azerbaijani cousins grow even stronger, but also led to the deployment of Russian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh for the first time in the wake of a Russian-brokered cease-fire that ended the war.

During their tour of Nagorno-Karabakh, a majority Armenian enclave ceded to Azerbaijan under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, then wrested by Armenia in a previous war in the 1990s, Erdogan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, signed the “Shusa Declaration” whereby they pledged to rush to the other’s defense in the event one was attacked by a third country.

The love fest between the two leaders will have come as balm to Erdogan following his meeting with US President Joe Biden on the margins of the NATO summit in Brussels June 14 — the first since the latter became president. The meeting did little to ease ongoing tensions between the two NATO allies over Turkey’s refusal to relinquish possession of Russian S-400 missiles it bought despite Washington’s threat of sanctions that it later followed through.

Azerbaijan is the biggest foreign investor in Turkey through its state-owned energy company SOCAR. The company is alleged to be at the nexus of a web of corruption involving organized crime bosses, a former interior minister and Turkish government officials.

Sedat Peker, an underworld figure who until recently acted in support of Erdogan’s government, dredged up some of the allegations in a series of incriminating videos that he has been posting from the United Arab Emirates where he is currently believed to be sheltering. These include allegations that the former interior minister, Mehmet Agar, had together with former SOCAR operatives unlawfully seized control of a prized marina in the Aegean resort of Bodrum from Azerbaijani Turkish magnate Mubariz Mansimov Gurbanoglu. Peker claimed the marina was used to move narcotics.

Agar denies the claims. But he stepped down from the marina’s management and claimed he had gotten involved at the request of a “foreign leader.” He was widely believed to be referring to Aliyev.

Gurbanoglu, a former ally of Erdogan and Aliyev who allegedly gifted the Turkish president with a multimillion-dollar oil tanker in 2008, fell out with both and found himself in jail last year on thinly supported claims that he was in league with Fethullah Gulen, the Pennsylvania-based imam who is accused of masterminding the failed July 2016 coup to overthrow Erdogan. He was sentenced to five years and freed in March on condition he did not leave his house.

Turkey’s military backing for Azerbaijan — deploying military advisers and Syrian Sunni Arab mercenaries to the battlefront — proved decisive as did the use of Turkish armed drones that are manufactured by a company owned by Erdogan’s son-in-law Selcuk Bayraktar.

Bayraktar was recently decorated by Aliyev for his contribution.

Several of Erdogan’s business associates have been rewarded for Turkey’s backing with contracts to build Azerbaijan’s state lottery and its Central Bank’s new headquarters as well as the road connecting Shusha to the town of Fuzuli that was also recaptured from Armenia.

Erdogan announced that Turkey would be opening a consulate in Shusha and that the two countries would co-produce military drones. “We are taking measures to make sure the occupation of Azerbaijan’s historic lands doesn’t happen again,” he said at a news conference. Erdogan also called for the establishment of a regional platform that alongside Azerbaijan and Turkey would include Russia, Iran, Georgia and Armenia. "We hope Armenia will grasp this hand extended in solidarity, take an opportunity to shape a common future together," he added.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemns” Erdogan’s visit to Shusha, and that "it’s an outright provocation against regional peace and security.”

In Shushi Erdogan Signs ‘Alliance Accord’ with Aliyev

Edgar Tavakalian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 June 16, 2021

 

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

Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey (left) and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan sign an "alliance agreement" in Artsakh occupied city of Shushi on June 15

Erdogan Proposes Establishing a Turkish Consulate in Shushi

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev signed an alliance accord in Shushi on Tuesday, when the Turkish president visited the ancient Armenian capital that was surrendered to Azerbaijan after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed the November 9 agreement.

The agreement envisions the further strengthening of ties between Ankara and Baku.

“With the Shusha Protocol, we have determined the road map of our relations in the new term. It’s very important that this protocol has been materialized in Shusha. This protocol contains a lot of aspects of our relations as well as the vision in regards to our region,” Erdoğan said a press conference with Aliyev in Shushi.

Erdogan arrived in Baku on Monday and traveled to Varanda (Fizuli), another territory in Artsakh that was surrendered to Azerbaijan, where he was greeted by Aliyev and his wife, Mehirban who accompanied the Turkish leader to Shushi.

While in Shushi, Erdogan and Aliyev signed the agreement, with the Azerbaijani leader saying that his country will never forget the support Turkey provided during last fall’s Karabakh war. Turkey overtly provided military and diplomatic support that included sending hundreds of jihadist terrorists from Syria to fight alongside Azerbaijani forces.

The agreement also contains a security clause, which, according to the Andaolu news agency suggests that “In the event of a third state’s threat to the independence or territorial integrity of any of the parties, the parties will provide the necessary assistance to each other.”

The parties make joint efforts to resolve regional and global security and stability issues, it reads, adding “the parties state that the military-political cooperation developed between the two states and in line with their interests is not against third states.”

Erdogan also announced plans to establish a Turkish consulate in Shushi to facilitate Ankara’s efforts to contribute to “Azerbaijan’s efforts to reconstruct the region in the way we did for the liberation of its territories.”

Azerbaijanis staged a cultural presentation at Jder Duz in occupied Shushi

Since seizing control of Shushi and under the guise of reconstruction activities, Azerbaijan has begun erasing all traces of Armenian culture and heritage, including the destruction of the dome of the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral.

Erdogan’s visit to Shushi also contained a veiled threat to Armenia.

Recalling his own calls for a regional initiative back in December with the participation of six countries, including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Iran and Armenia, Erdogan called on Yerevan to positively respond to these calls for peace and stability.

In the event that all parties abandon hate politics and provocations in the region and Azerbaijan and Armenia sign a comprehensive peace agreement, then Turkey will take steps for the normalization of its ties with Yerevan, Erdogan stated.

Erdogan’s visit to Shushi was condemned by the foreign ministries of Armenia and Artsakh, as well as the Artsakh National Assembly.

Serzh Sargsyan: I believe we will overcome this ordeal with honor jointly with all healthy forces

Edgar Tavakalian
Panorama, Armenia

Third President of Armenia, Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Serzh Sargsyan on Saturday issued a message on the 70th birthday anniversary of late statesman, political figure, former Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan.

The message, publicized by Sargsyan’s office, runs as follows:

“Today we pay tribute to the bright memory of Andranik Margaryan, a prominent statesman and political figure, a devoted son of his homeland and people, former Prime Minister of Armenia, and RPA head, on his 70th birthday.

The life and work of Andranik Margaryan, from the underground struggle for the independence of Armenia during the Soviet period to active political and state activities in the newly independent Armenia, deserve only deep respect and recognition.

The seventh Armenian PM, Andranik Margaryan took his rightful place in the ranks of those who devoted themselves to the restoration of the Armenian statehood.

Political and economic achievements attributed to the period of his state activity, undoubtedly, were largely due to Andranik Margaryan’s managerial abilities, high human qualities, balanced and sober thinking, patience and boundless diligence.

Everyone remembers Andranik Margaryan as a decent, broad-minded and kind man, completely devoted to the national goals, who was also able to play a balancing and unifying role in the country's political arena, something which is desperately needed in today's divided Armenia.

I am confident that we will successfully overcome this ordeal with honor jointly with all healthy forces in this difficult period for our state and people to build the powerful and sovereign Armenia based on national values, which Andranik Margaryan and his ideological friends dreamed of.

He was a truly popular prime minister, who was loved for his work, dedication, modesty and broad-mindedness.”

Philip Reeker hopes upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia will be democratic, free and fair

Edgar Tavakalian

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 18:14,

YEREVAN, JUNE 10, ARMENPRESS. Justice Minister of Armenia Rustam Badasyan received the delegation led by Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker on June 10, ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Justice Ministry.

Ambassador of the USA to Armenia Lynne Tracy also attended the meeting. Rustam Badasyan welcomed the visit of the high-ranking U.S. official to Armenia and said that it shows the close cooperation between the governments of the two countries. The Minister thanked the U.S. government for supporting the democratic agenda of Armenia.

Philip Reeker thanked for the meeting, highlighted the cooperation with the Justice Ministry of Armenia for strengthening rule of law and noted that he has visited Armenia for getting familiarized with the challenges facing the country resulted by the pandemic and the tragic developments of 2020.

During the conversation the American official assessed the early parliamentary elections of 2018 impressive and hoped that the upcoming elections will also be democratic, free and fair.

Pre-election campaign launches in Armenia

Edgar Tavakalian

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 09:05, 7 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. The electoral campaign for the snap parliamentary elections officially launched in Armenia on June 7.

The campaign will last until June 18.

The snap parliamentary elections will take place on June 20, but the electronic voting will kick off on June 11 until June 13.

26 political forces – 22 parties and 4 blocs, are participating in the elections.

Below is the list according to their numbers:

  1. “Fair Armenia” party
  2. “Armenian National Congress” party
  3. “Civil Contract” party
  4. “Zartonk” National Christian party 
  5. Liberty party
  6. Alliance “With Honor”
  7. United Homeland party
  8. Pan Armenian National Statehood party
  9. Bright Armenia party
  10. Our Home Is Armenia party
  11. “Republic” party
  12. “Hayots Hayreniq” party
  13. “Free Motherland” alliance
  14. “Prosperous Armenia” party
  15. Democratic Party of Armenia
  16. “5165 national conservative movement” party
  17. “Citizen’s Decision” social-democratic party
  18. “Shirinyan-Babadjanyan Democrats Union”
  19. “National Agenda” party
  20. Verelq party
  21. Liberal party
  22. “Armenian Eagles. United Armenia” party
  23. European Party of Armenia
  24. Armenia alliance
  25. “National Democratic Axis” pan-Armenian party
  26. “Sovereign Armenia” party

 

Editing and Translating by AnetaHarutyunyan

Top Economist Exposes Erdogan’s Lies on Bankrupt Turkish Economy

Edgar Tavakalian

June 1, 2021



Harut Sassounian

BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, who is completely ignorant about economics, met with the chief executive officers of 26 major American companies and told them many falsehoods about the Turkish economy. The reality is that the Turkish economy is bankrupt and millions of Turkish citizens are on the verge of starvation, while the coronavirus is raging like wildfire, making Turkey the fifth largest country in the world in terms of infections.

Here are some of the lies Erdogan told the American CEO’s:

“None of the problems experienced in many countries and the disruptions in the supply chain have been experienced in Turkey. At a time when many economies in the world came to a standstill, we continued our investments in both the public and private sectors.

“Thanks to the efforts of our private sector, the support of our state and dynamic epidemic measures, our economy closed 2020 with growth. With a rate of 1.8%, we became the country with the highest growth in the G-20 after China.

“Despite the serious economic contraction in our traditional export markets and the contraction in foreign demand, we reached an export figure of $170 billion. The trade volume between Turkey and the United States increased by 4 percent and exceeded $21 billion.

“In the January-April period of 2021, our exports increased by 33.1 percent compared to last year.

“Our industrial production increased by 12.3 percent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same quarter of the previous year. We also observe a significant increase in investment demand in Turkey.

“The total direct investments of the United States in Turkey reached $13 billion, while the investments of Turkish companies in the United States reached $7.2 billion. I would like to thank all American companies who trust Turkey and the Turkish economy.”

Surprisingly, Erdogan then decided to tell the American CEO’s of President Joe Biden’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, thus informing them of the horrible mass crimes committed by Ottoman Turkey against the Armenians.

“Even though President Biden’s statement about the 1915 events puts an additional burden on our relations, I believe that the meeting we will hold with Mr. Biden at the NATO Summit [in June] will herald a new era,” Erdogan stated hopingly.

Erdogan then contradicted his many cruel, inhuman, anti-Semitic and racist public statements and policies by claiming: “We have never, and never will, allow distorted mentalities such as xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and racism to find ground in our society. We resolutely continue our efforts to reform the economy, freedoms, laws and justice according to changing conditions and needs. We presented our Human Rights Action Plan and our Economy Reform package to the public.”

Here is the list of the CEO’s that Erdogan met with:
Cargill, David Webster, Senior Vice President – Food Ingredients and Bio Industrial Ventures; DowAksa, Douglas Parks, CEO; Hilton, Chris Nassetta, President and CEO; MetLife, Nuria Garcia, President — Europe, Middle East and Africa; Netflix, Spencer Neumann, CFO; Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Stan Deal, CEO; Kellogg Company, Steven Cahillane, President and CEO; Google, Karan Bhatia, Vice President – Public Policy, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific; GE Aviation, John Slattery, President and CEO; Varian Medical Systems, Chris Toth, CEO; PepsiCo, Silviu Popovici, CEO Europe; Amazon, Susan Pointer, Vice President — Public Policy; Cheniere Energy, Anatol Feygin, CCO; Citi, David Livingstone, President and CEO — Europe, Middle East and Africa; Procter & Gamble, Loic Tassel, President — Europe; Progress Rail, Marty Haycraft, President and CEO; Tellurian Inc., Octavio Simoes, President and CEO; Medtronic, Rob ten Hoedt, Senior Vice President and Head of Europe; Archer Daniels Midland, Ismail Roig, President — Europe, Middle East and Africa; Microsoft, Samer Abu Ltaif, Corporate Vice President — Head of Europe and Middle East; Cisco, Michael Timmeny, Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy; Honeywell Aerospace, Mike Madsen, President and CEO; Nova Power Solutions, Steve Ziff, President and CEO; The Coca-Cola Company, Jenny Stoichkova, President — Europe and the Middle East; Johnson & Johnson, Giorgio Milesi, President — Emerging Markets; and Baker Hughes, Zaher Ibrahim, Vice President — Middle East, Turkey, North Africa.

Economist Daron Acemoglu

Let us now turn to one of the top economists in the world, Daron Acemoglu, an Armenian born in Turkey, who is now Professor of Economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. His name is often mentioned as a future Nobel Prize nominee.

During a video interview, Acemoglu directly contradicted Erdogan’s propagandistic picture of the Turkish economy, by stating: “I have great fear the economic crisis may deepen in Turkey.”

Here are excerpts from Acemoglu’s description of the deplorable condition of the economy in Turkey:

“When Turkey went to the presidential election and all the power gathered in the palace, it had a great impact on the economic policy.

“These nationalist and authoritarian populist regimes or these movements generally weaken state capacity when they come to power. This is both a strategy and something they do unintentionally because they can’t rule legally. We see this in India, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, and Hungary.”

“The countries where the most people died from the coronavirus in the world were Brazil, Turkey, India, Russia and populist authoritarian regimes such as America during the Trump administration.

“Turkey has been experiencing the most critical economic crises in the last five years. There were major crises that started not only after the pandemic, but also before the pandemic. The increase in debts, the worsening of balance sheets, could a correct result be brought against them? No. Why? There are few people in the bureaucracy who can deal with the economy properly and improve it. Especially the cadres established under Berat Albayrak [Minister of Economy and Treasury and Erdogan’s son-in-law] could not bring the right approach to what needs to be done. Democracy has many advantages over dictatorships and authoritarian systems. But one of the biggest advantages is their tendency to keep the biggest mistakes, talents and incompetence in the lead, is much weaker. Especially when the presidential election in Turkey and all power gathered in the Palace, this had a great impact on the economic policy.

“Especially in the last five years, unemployment and inequality have reached very high levels [in Turkey].

“Shopping malls and construction companies, which have had a huge problem in their balance sheet for five years, are still standing. How long will they be able to stand? What will be the effects on banks? How long will we be able to keep the interest rate policy this way, while our reserves have decreased so much? These dimensions are likely to go much more negative.

These problems are not only in Turkey, there are problems in other parts as well, but wherever you see these problems, you see the role of decisions not to manage the economy correctly.”

I hope the American CEO’s will pay more attention to Acemoglu’s accurate assessment than to Erdogan’s propaganda which has led Turkey to economic disaster.

Turkish media inadvertently exposes the real number of Azerbaijani military casualties in the Karabakh war

Edgar Tavakalian
Panorama, Armenia
June 4 2021

Turkish state-run 'TRThaber' has exposed the real number of the military casualties Azerbaijan suffered during the recent 44-day war in Nagorno Karabakh, Ermenihaber reports. 

The Telegram Channel of TRThaber Russian service published a report about humanitarian assistance from the Turkish side delivered to 'children of 6,000 killed servicemen' in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. 

The number contrasts with the official figures released earlier by Azerbaijan which had claimed that 2,879 of their troops had been killed during the war, while 28 are missing in action.

After the publication, the media outlet amended the text, adding injured next to the number of 6,000. 

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijan’s Prosecutor General unveils number of citizens blown-up on mines in liberated lands

Edgar Tavakalian
4 June 2021 17:30 (UTC+04:00)
520

By Trend

The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan has published the number of citizens killed or injured as a result of mine explosions in the territories liberated from Armenian occupation, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office told Trend.

From November 10, 2020, to the present day, following explosions of mine in the liberated lands, 7 servicemen and 20 civilians were killed, as well as 86 servicemen and 29 civilians were injured.