Author: Edgar Tavakalian

Moscow offers compromise solutions to Yerevan and Baku to ease tensions

Edgar Tavakalian

 11:40, 4 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 4, ARMENPRESS. During the trilateral meeting between Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan in Moscow the Russian side has made some suggestions to Armenia and Azerbaijan on how to de-escalate the tension, Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Fourth CIS Department Denis Gonchar told TASS in an interview.

“The last contacts at the level of foreign ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia that took place in Moscow on July 25 happened amid an extremely difficult situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Without revealing sensitive details, I can say that we have proposed compromise solutions for de-escalation of tensions, which the parties have taken ‘to study at home.’ We hope that humanitarian considerations, caring for ordinary people will prevail over the political differences between Baku and Yerevan,” he said.

The official drew attention on the fact that Russia actively participated in the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict at all stages and reminded about the trilateral agreements signed in 2020-2022 with the mediation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Gonchar also noted that the Russian side continues active mediation efforts in all directions, including the unblocking of economic and transport communications in the region, the start of the process of delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the finalizing of a peace treaty between Yerevan and Baku, the development of dialogue between public representatives and experts.

"Not everything is going as fast as we would want to, but it is understandable, taking into account the series of problems and contradictions that have accumulated during the years of the conflict," Gonchar added.

Armenpress: Authorities report higher tax revenues

Edgar Tavakalian

 10:01, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. 1 trillion 265 billion drams in tax revenues and state duties was collected by the State Revenue Committee in January-July 2023 -  178,4 billion drams or 16,4% more compared to the same period of 2022.

In a statement released Thursday, the State Revenue Committee said that 210,2 billion drams was returned to corporate taxpayers and natural persons in the reporting period, which is 63% more compared to the previous year’s same period.

An Azerbaijan-Armenia Peace Deal Is Only Possible with Turkish and Iranian Participation

Edgar Tavakalian
July 24 2023

The path to peace in Nagorno-Karabakh runs through Ankara and Tehran—and possibly Washington.

by Alex Little
Despite another round of negotiations in Brussels on July 15, the situation in the long-contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh remains volatile as violence continues to rage between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In an attempt to stabilize boiling tensions, Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan has vowed to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory. Future U.S.-hosted peace talks between Baku are critical for deciding the region's fate. While peacekeeping proposals focus on the two direct combatants, the involvement of Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan, and Iran, which supports Armenia, will be necessary for potential talks to form an enduring settlement.

Given its shared cultural and ethnic heritage and desire to protect its sphere of influence, Turkey has long supported Azerbaijan’s territorial claims in Nagorno-Karabakh. During the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Turkey grew bolder in its support by providing infrastructure and weapons assistance, including Bayraktar TB2 armed drones, which helped secure Azerbaijan’s overwhelming victory. Ankara’s support has encouraged Baku’s assertiveness and reluctance to grant concessions. This attitude persisted throughout the September 2022 border clashes. Turkish foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu directly intervened, tweeting, “Armenia should cease its provocations and focus on peace negotiations and cooperation with Azerbaijan.”

Iran, meanwhile, played a pivotal role in perpetuating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The Iranian army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have conducted large-scale military drills along its border with Azerbaijan. While Iran has a sizable Azerbaijani population, Tehran is concerned about Israeli influence in the Caucasus. Baku has received high-tech drones and other weapons from Jerusalem. Azerbaijan also supplies 40 percent of Israeli oil consumption. Iran is also concerned that Israel’s support for Azerbaijan is an opportunity for the former to conduct surveillance on Tehran via unmanned surveillance aircraft. Additionally, if Baku were to construct the Zangezur overland transport corridor, which would connect Azerbaijan and Turkey via southern Armenian territory, Iran could be further isolated from the South Caucasus.

Excluding the regional powers from future Nagorno-Karabakh peace negotiations would be an unwise error. Upcoming Nagorno-Karabakh talks present the opportunity for Armenia and Turkey to make concrete steps in pursuing the normalization of ties discussed in 2022. Iran could also appease its Azerbaijani population by achieving peace with its neighbor.

Reconciling Turkey and Iran could also serve as an avenue for Washington to improve its own relations with Ankara and Tehran. U.S.-Turkey relations have deteriorated since the early 2000s. U.S.-Iran links have been in a deep freeze since the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018. As a result, the Iran nuclear crisis has worsened, with Iran now possessing enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. Through cooperation over Nagorno-Karabakh, Washington and Tehran could potentially revitalize peace talks in other areas, including nuclear nonproliferation.

While diplomatic cooperation between Iran and the West may appear unlikely, all parties have clear interests in furthering peace. Iran’s Azerbaijani population, which has staged protests in the past, poses problems for Iranian unity. The United States and France are also home to sizable Armenian diaspora communities. American and EU investors maintain commercial interests in Azerbaijan’s energy projects. Baku helped build 2,174 miles of natural gas pipelines to Europe via Georgia and Turkey. These projects will be critical for the success of the EU-Azerbaijan energy plan to double Brussels’ gas imports from Azerbaijan by 2027.

What conditions will ensure a durable peace settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh? First, Azerbaijan must cease its blockade of the Lachin corridor. This blockade has restricted the freedom of movement for the 120,000 Karabakh Armenians and threatened their access to food and medicine. Ending the blockade would be a suitable concession, allowing Armenia to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan’s territory.

Protection of the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh will also be crucial for lasting peace and will put to rest Yerevan’s concerns about a potential ethnic cleansing. Persecution of Karabakh Armenians would surely lead to an increase in Iran and Turkey’s military involvement in the region. The United States should make clear that failure to assure the security of Karabakh Armenians would negatively impact Baku's reputation as a dependable trading partner.

If these objectives can be met, a commitment from Iran and Turkey to reduce escalatory practices will keep Karabakh tensions from spiraling into a more significant conflict. UN peacekeepers are ideal, neutral guarantors of preserving these conditions, as Russian peacekeepers have been ineffective in quelling violence in the region. Peacekeepers from the United States are out of the question, as there are no vital U.S. national interests in the South Caucasus that would warrant the risk of starting new wars.

The United States should recognize that it can reap considerable benefits from including Turkey and Iran in future Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks. Not only is it a chance for open dialogue on a myriad of important issues, but it could provide the greatest likelihood of lasting peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Alex Little is an MS graduate of Georgia Tech and specializes in Russian and Central Asian affairs.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/eurasia-transition/azerbaijan-armenia-peace-deal-only-possible-turkish-and-iranian















Armenpress: Snoop Dogg announces ‘straight up legendary’ Yerevan concert

Edgar Tavakalian

 00:36,

YEREVAN, JULY 29, ARMENPRESS. American rapper Snoop Dogg will perform live in Yerevan on 23 September.

Announcing the concert, Snoop Dogg said that the Yerevan concert won’t be a regular gig.

“I’ll be rolling for your beautiful city of Yerevan on September 23rd for a special show,” Snoop Dogg said in a video on Instagram. “It’s not a regular gig……….this is going to be straight up legendary.”

“The word on the street is that the Armenian people got that next level hospitality game. I can’t wait to see you all and celebrate together on September 23rd,” the artist added.

The concert will take place at Hrazdan Stadium.

Yerevan Deputy Mayor orders internal investigation into waste management problem

Edgar Tavakalian

 10:50,

YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Mayor Tigran Avinyan has ordered an internal investigation into the recent poor waste management in Yerevan which has since been mitigated, City Hall announced Monday.

The waste management problem has been mitigated through joint work by city institutions, administrative districts and private companies, according to City Hall.

Nearly 500 employees from the municipal waste management department were involved in the 24/7 work to resolve the issue.

Deputy Mayor Tigran Avinyan has ordered an internal investigation to reveal the reasons of the issue and find fundamental solutions.

Secretary Grigoryan, Russia’s special envoy discuss ‘priority’ rights and security of Nagorno Karabakh Armenians

Edgar Tavakalian

 15:52,

YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan on Friday met with the Russian Foreign Minister’s Special Envoy for Supporting the Normalization between Armenia and Azerbaijan Igor Khovaev.

Grigoryan and the Russian official discussed “the situation around Nagorno Karabakh and underscored that the rights and security of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh are a priority and must be protected,” Grigoryan’s office said in a readout.

Speaking about the Azerbaijani blockade of Lachin Corridor, which constitutes a violation of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, Grigoryan stressed the need for Azerbaijan to implement its obligations.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.  Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.

Darfur Now director Ted Braun visits Armenia

Edgar Tavakalian

 17:20,

YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS. U.S. filmmaker Ted Braun will visit Armenia July 20-25, 2023, to conduct workshops and masterclasses for aspiring and emerging documentary filmmakers as part of the U.S. State Department’s American Film Showcase (AFS) program, the U.S. Embassy said in a press release.

AFS is the premier American film diplomacy program of the U.S. State Department. In partnership with U.S. Embassies, AFS organizes screenings, workshops, and master classes in more than 60 countries per year. AFS offers global audiences insight into American society and culture through film, and empowers local filmmakers with tools to tell their own stories.

The U.S. Embassy in Yerevan is partnering with the Investigative Journalists NGO (Hetq) and the Tumo Center for Creative Technologies, to organize intensive workshops and masterclasses with Ted Braun on documentary storytelling and conflict reporting for aspiring and emerging documentary filmmakers and mid-career journalists. 

“Documentary storytelling has the power to inspire us, and shape the world around us.  The U.S. Embassy is proud to bring Ted Braun to Armenia, whose films have shown the impact documentary filmmakers can have to raise awareness of social justice issues, and advance positive change,” said U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien.

Writer/director Ted Braun is best known for his award-winning documentary film Darfur Now, which raised international awareness of the genocide in Western Sudan and sparked a global social action campaign, and his feature documentary Betting on Zero, which exposed allegations of global economic corporate crime. He is a professor at the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Cinematic Arts where he teaches screenwriting and is the Joseph Campbell Endowed Chair in Cinematic Ethics.

Asbarez: Tatoyan Foundation Files Lawsuit in U.S. Against Mining Company Believed to Have Assisted Baku in Artsakh Blockade

Edgar Tavakalian
by Contributor

 

 

 

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

Artsakh has been under a blockade since Dec. 12, 2022


WASHINGTON — The Tatoyan Foundation Center for Law & Justice and U.S.-based law firm Kerkonian Dajani LLP filed a class action lawsuit on July 11 against Mohammad Reza Vaziri, president and chief executive officer of Anglo Asian Mining PLC. The suit stems from Azerbaijan’s seven-month blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) by Azerbaijan.

The federal class action, entitled Lalabekyan v Vaziri, is pending in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia in Washington D.C.
The Complaint alleges that Defendant Vaziri aided and abetted violations of the U.S. Torture Victims Protection Act and the false imprisonment of Artsakh Armenians in an effort to secure access and exploit precious metal deposits in Artsakh, including gold and copper. It details the link between Vaziri’s demanded access to these mines and the blockade.

Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh has precipitated a humanitarian catastrophe in Artsakh, now placing the Artsakh Armenians on the verge of mass starvation.

The federal complaint alleges that Vaziri “substantially encouraged and assisted” Azerbaijan in blockading Artsakh by, among other things, “advising, and/or insisting that the Blockade serve as a mechanism by which to obtain access to the [] Mines” and “that the Blockade be maintained, and not be lifted, unless and until Defendant Vaziri, his agents and/or his collaborators are granted access to the [Nagorno-Karabakh] Mines.”

The case seeks certification of a plaintiff class of 120,000 Artsakh Armenians, including 30,000 children, the elderly, and 9000 disabled people—all persons confined and suffering in the blockaded area.

In February 2023, the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to “ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor [the only link between Artsakh and Armenia] in both directions.” The United States, France, the European Union, and numerous other states and international organizations have likewise demanded the unblocking of the Lachin Corridor.

Azerbaijan has not complied. Instead, it has blocked access even to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The federal pleading alleges Defendant Vaziri’s role in “lobbying foreign governments and international institutions to justify, whitewash, and/or divert attention away from the Blockade until Defendant Vaziri, his agents and/or his collaborators were granted access to the [Nagorno-Karabakh] Mines.”

The Complaint alleges that Defendant Vaziri’s actions contributed to massive human suffering including torture, starvation, malnutrition, physical harm, and psychological damage.

Lead attorneys for plaintiffs in the case are international lawyer Karnig Kerkonian and appellate counsel, Elizabeth Al-Dajani. Lawyers and advisors include Arman Tatoyan, Garo Ghazarian, Ani Nazaryan, and Laura Seferian.

Karabakh Cease-fire Accord: Azerbaijan Demands Russian Accountability

Edgar Tavakalian
NewsTrackLive
ByANIKET DIXIT


Baku: On Sunday, Azerbaijan accused Russia of failing to uphold its end of a 2020 cease-fire deal that Moscow mediated to put an end to hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The Russian government "did nothing to prevent" Armenian military supplies from reaching separatist forces in the troubled enclave, according to the foreign ministry of Baku. "The Russian side did not ensure full implementation of the agreement within the framework of its obligations," the ministry added.

A cease-fire sponsored by Russia in the autumn of 2020 put an end to six weeks of fighting over the mountainous breakaway region.

As part of the agreement, large areas of Armenian territory were ceded, and Russia sent peacekeepers to the five-kilometer-wide Lachin Corridor, the only land route connecting the enclave to Armenia.

The corridor was recently closed by Baku, setting off protests and fears of a humanitarian crisis.
Russia's foreign ministry pleaded with Azerbaijan to reopen the tunnel on Saturday.

The declaration added that Armenia's recent recognition of Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan "has radically changed the standing of the Russian peacekeeping contingent."

"Under such conditions, the responsibility for the destiny of Karabakh's Armenian population should not be shifted onto third countries," it stated, possibly alluding to the Armenian separatists' demands that Moscow ensure the reopening of the land link.

Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, and Nikol Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia, met on Saturday in Brussels for negotiations to end their long-running conflict over control of Karabakh. The negotiations were facilitated by the EU.

With the assistance of the European Union and the United States, whose escalating diplomatic activity in the Caucasus has irked Russia, Baku and Yerevan have been attempting to negotiate a peace agreement.

Moscow on Saturday offered to host the foreign ministers of the two nations and suggested that their future peace treaty could be signed there in an effort to reassert its power-broking position.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 12-07-23

Edgar Tavakalian

 17:24,

YEREVAN, 12 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 12 July, USD exchange rate down by 0.91 drams to 386.26 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.38 drams to 425.70 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.03 drams to 4.26 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.02 drams to 498.93 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 82.21 drams to 24016.85 drams. Silver price up by 0.50 drams to 287.30 drams.