Author: Hovsep Chakrian

Performance of Azad, a healing odyssey, to be held in Los Angeles

Hovsep Chakrian
 Guest Contributor Diaspora, Culture, Announcements 0

Azad is a live storytelling performance of a woman’s magical, healing journey weaving traditional Hakawati storytelling and indigenous oud. A performance of Azad will be held in Los Angeles on January 4, 2024 from 7-9 p.m. at the TempleLA.

Embark on a mystical and transformative journey through the power of storytelling and music with Azad. Join an enchanting evening that will take you from the depths of the Armenian Genocide to the heart of the Syrian war, all while exploring the healing magic of traditional Hakawati storytelling and live indigenous Middle Eastern music. This unique performance will transport you through time and space, offering a glimpse into the art of storytelling as a means of trauma transformation and healing.

Azad (“free” in Armenian, Kurdish and Farsi) is a kaleidoscopic story within a story within a story, centered on a storyteller’s discovery of her great-great-grandfather’s Karagöz shadow puppets in Aleppo during the Syrian war.

A century after Abkar Knadjian salvaged his family and his art from the Armenian Genocide, his great-great-granddaughter Sona unearths a trunk in the attic of the family home, filled with his handmade puppets and ancient magic tricks. This journey leads Sona to discover 1001 Nights and ScherAzad (the bold, brilliant weaver of tales who counters destruction with creation) and catalyzes an epiphany for her: the frame story of 1001 Nights is a story of how trauma transpires and how it is healed.

The storytelling experience is followed by a talkback and an interactive healing circle, accompanied by light Middle Eastern snacks and teas.

The TempleLA is located on the second floor of a medical building at 215 South La Cienega Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Two hours of free parking is available at 321 S La Cienega Blvd., a four-minute walk from the event. Paid parking is also available by the Urgent Med. The dress code is casual elegance. Tickets to the performance are available online.

Artistic statement

As a first generation Syrian-Armenian-American theater and film artist, I straddle many realities and identities, often at odds with each other. In the Western imagination I find the associations to the Middle East to mostly be denigrating—a place of war, dictatorships, subjugated women and backwards thinking. Yet the cornerstone of Middle Eastern storytelling, the genesis of all modern storytelling, is a work of literature that has inspired countless creators around the world, from Gabriel Garcia Marquez to Guillermo del Toro to Angela Carter: A Thousand and One Nights. And Scherazad, the storyteller who bridges it all, is, like me, a Middle Eastern woman.

As a Middle Eastern woman and as an artist, I’ve been driven to explore how we sublimate trauma. I’ve come to understand that it is by facing it, feeling it. We become liberated when we open our hearts to pain. In the frame story of A Thousand and One Nights, night after night Scherazad does this: she faces death and uses storytelling to evade it, transforming the king’s pain and trauma in the process. She was neither subjugated, nor a victim, but a healer.

In 2019, when I read The Nights by candlelight in my ancestors’ home of Aleppo, in a city very much at war, I became enraptured by Scherazad, the very potent symbol of the power of storytelling. Surrounded by my great-great-grandfather’s puppets, his storytelling tools that illuminated his darkness, I realized how we frame anything is how we see it. And so I pondered reframing my own experiences as a Syrian-Armenian-American woman, artist and storyteller: What is legacy? What is magic? And when there is trauma, how do they co-exist? Something profound crystallized for me. Amidst this rubble, I realized my inheritance was trauma, yes, but also art—and specifically the play of shadow and light.

Like my great-great-grandfather, I was driven towards the tools of storytelling to help make sense of our complicated human experience. Light and shadow co-exist. What if we took the time to look at things from a different perspective, seemingly paradoxical yet holistic? What kind of healing would we have? What if all of us living in the places and spaces of war and tragedy, or the inheritors of those legacies, were able to reconcile our stories and invite our minds to imagine a future different from the past? More integrated and whole. Amidst war, we find hope, and we find home. In the rubble, we find treasure. And when we discover these things, we understand that trauma allows us to know healing.

I could never have known my great-great-grandfather Abkar, physically, but I met him through his art, spiritually. And so I understand now a new level of my inheritance, a reframe of my legacy. Azad is a quantum collaboration between my Abkar dede and me. A magical conversation across a painful space-time. An intergenerational rumination on what it truly means to be free.

– Sona Tatoyan

Sona Tatoyan

Sona Tatoyan (storyteller): Tatoyan is a first-generation Syrian-Armenian-American actor/writer/producer with bases in Aleppo, Syria; Berlin, Germany; LA, California and Yerevan, Armenia. As an actress, stage credits include world premieres at Yale Repertory Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, The American Conservatory Theatre and others. She starred in The Journey, the first American independent film shot in Armenia (winner, Audience Award Milan Film Festival, 2002). As a writer, her first feature film script, The First Full Moon, was a 2011 Sundance/RAWI Screenwriters Lab participant and 2012 Dubai Film Connection/Festival Project. As a writer and performer, she is in development on the multimedia theatrical experience Azad (the rabbit and the wolf) with two-time Obie award winning director and multimedia designer Jared Mezzocchi. Azad (the rabbit and the wolf) was the recipient of a development workshop at the Vineyard Theater in NYC (2023), the inaugural University of Connecticut Global Affairs Digital Media Residency (2023) and Harvard University Artlab Residency (2023). Upcoming: Wake Forest University Character and Leadership Guest Artist Residency (2024). Tatoyan founded Hakawati, a non-profit storytelling vehicle focusing on elevating the voices of frontline and marginalized communities. Tatoyan served on the World Cinema Jury of the Duhok IFF in Iraqi Kurdistan (2016) and as Rudolf Arnheim Guest Artist Professor at Humboldt University in Berlin, (2017). Speaking engagements include: “Storytelling as Spiritual Vehicle: A response to the Armenian Genocide and Syrian Refugee Crisis” at The Brandenburger Gate Foundation, Berlin; “Trauma, Magic, Love: Being in Aleppo with Karagöz Puppets, My Ancestors and the Spirit of Osman Kavala” at CMES Harvard University.

Dimitris Mahlis

Dimitris Mahlis (oud performer): Greek oudist, guitarist and composer Dimitris “Jimmy” Mahlis has become known in musical circles as an eclectic interpreter of many musical traditions. Having a thorough knowledge of both eastern and western musical theory, he has developed a playing style on several instruments which is both earthy yet intricate. As a composer, his pieces have set a standard in cross cultural pollination. Some credits include: Perla Batalla, A.R. Rahman, Ramesh Misra, Airto Moreira, Freddie Hubbard, Hassan Hakmoun, Niyaz, Kevyn Lettau, Thanassis Papakonstantinou, Dionysios Savvopoulos and Mamak Khadem. Dimitris is featured in a number of recent films including Oscar winner “Argo,” “ The Angel” and “ The Power Of The Game.”




Armenian Prime Minister extends condolences on death of Emir of Kuwait

Hovsep Chakrian

 11:09,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has offered condolences to Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on the death of Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

“It is with deep pain that we learnt about the death of Emir of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. With his skillful and wise leadership, Sheikh Nawaf had great contribution to the development and strengthening of Kuwait,” the Prime Minister said in a letter to the new Emir, Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

In a separate letter to the Kuwaiti Prime Minister (President of the Council of Ministers), the Armenian PM said, “It is with pain and sadness that we learnt about the death of your father, the Emir of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. He has left a great legacy in ensuring the continuous progress of Kuwait, as well as strengthening the international reputation of Kuwait. Sharing your grief at this difficult time, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, and myself, I ask you to convey our condolences to the House of Sabah and the friendly people of Kuwait.”

The emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, died on Saturday. He was 86.

Kuwait’s crown prince and his half-brother, Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, was subsequently named new emir, state media reported.




Azerbaijan determined to advance the normalization and peace process with Armenia – Bayramov

Hovsep Chakrian

 18:03,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is determined to advance the normalization and peace process with Armenia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, stated this during his speech at the 47th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, which took place in a video conference format, the Azerbaijani media reports.

Bayramov informed the participants about the current situation in the region in the post-conflict period, as well as the process of normalizing relations between Baku and Yerevan.

Armenian Foreign Minister Discusses Prisoner Return Conditions Amid Ongoing Diplomacy

Hovsep Chakrian
bnn
HongKong
Dec 15 2023

By: Momen Zellmi

In an unfolding diplomatic saga, Armenian Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, has asserted that the conditions governing the return of detainees remain unchanged. This revelation comes in the wake of a dialogue with ‘Azatutyun’ (Freedom), wherein questions regarding the repatriation of captives were raised.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his wife, Anna Hakobyan, recently met with the kin of war prisoners from the Shirak region. These individuals have recently been repatriated to Armenia. Pashinyan extended his gratitude towards the relatives for their patience and assured that every possible measure would be implemented to help the returned prisoners reintegrate into normal life. In response, the relatives expressed their appreciation for the government’s sustained efforts.

The exchange involved 31 RA servicemen, captured between 2020 and 2023, along with one serviceman from Nagorno-Karabakh, detained in September 2023. All have successfully traversed the Azerbaijani-Armenian border and are currently in the Republic of Armenia. This exchange was facilitated as a part of an agreement encapsulated in a rare joint statement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Interestingly, the deal also entails Armenia relinquishing its veto of Azerbaijan hosting the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference next year.

Armenia has expressed its readiness to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan before the close of this year, indicating a desire for diplomatic resolution. The Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, voiced a similar sentiment to journalists. However, he also suggested that Azerbaijan is seemingly complicating the peace treaty process. Amid these developments, expectations for the implementation of the ‘second component’, as referenced by Foreign Minister Mirzoyan, are now on the horizon, though the details of this component remain undisclosed. The return of the remaining 32 Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijani captivity is expected soon, underscoring the ongoing international diplomacy and negotiations revolving around the issue of detainees.

"There is a way to go forward" – on Armenian-Greek defense cooperation

Hovsep Chakrian
Dec 15 2023
  • JAMnews
  • Yerevan

During the official visit of Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikian to Greece, an agreement on military-technical cooperation was signed. However, the details of its content have not been reported.

Before this visit, Papikian was in Cyprus. No document was signed there as a result of the visit. It is known that the sides expressed readiness to cooperate within the framework of “a more comprehensive joint agenda”.

Military expert Leonid Nersisyan considers the work of Armenian authorities in both these directions important. He sees opportunities for deepening cooperation and says that “there is room to move forward”. Talking about the potential for the development of relations, he does not rule out that they can continue both in the form of joint military exercises and projects in the sphere of military industry.

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The Armenian Defense Minister’s visit to Greece started on December 13. Suren Papikyan discussed defense cooperation issues with his Greek counterpart Nikolaos Dendias.

“Both sides see great potential for cooperation. An agreement was reached to give a new impetus to its development, including military-technical, educational and other directions, exchange of experience, tactical training,” an official report reads.

During a joint press conference with his counterpart, the Armenian Defense Minister said that cooperation with Greece in the defense sphere has a long history based on the traditionally friendly relations of the two nations and readiness to help each other:

“The two countries have the same approaches and views on strengthening regional and international security, which was once again confirmed during the discussions.”

Papikian also reportedly emphasized the importance of cooperation within international structures, particularly the EU and NATO.

After signing the agreement on military-technical cooperation between the governments of Armenia and Greece, Papikian’s visit continued at the military academy of the Greek Army, where he met with commanders and Armenian cadets studying there.

During his meeting with Greek Prime Minister’s National Security Advisor Thanos Dokosi, he discussed “issues related to regional and international security”.

Prior to his visit to Greece, the Armenian Defense Minister was in Cyprus. Papikian met with the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Cyprus Michalis Yorgalas. The colleagues discussed issues related to the Armenian-Cypriot cooperation in the defense sphere.

“The sides summarized the results of the current stage of cooperation and outlined new opportunities for its development. They expressed readiness to cooperate within the framework of a more comprehensive agenda. We are talking about military-technical cooperation, training programs, exchange of experience in various spheres and other issues of mutual interest,” an Armenian Defense Ministry reports.

Military expert Leonid Nersisyan considers the exchange of experience and close ties between the Armenian Defense Ministry and its Greek and Cypriot counterparts important and extremely useful.

“Speaking of unfriendly relations, one of Armenia’s adversaries – Turkey – is now in the orbit of attention of Greece and Cyprus, so the exchange of information is extremely useful,” he told JAMnews.

According to him, at the moment there is no open information on whether the Armenian-Greek agreement contains any new directions of cooperation. A similar document is signed with Greece every year. In this regard, the expert considers real steps, and not the agreement itself, important:

“There could be some joint military exercises, cooperation in the military industry. There are many directions in which we can move forward. In the current geopolitical situation, it must be much easier than before.”

The expert emphasizes that it is necessary to first understand whether Armenia should buy something from Greece, then already start negotiating on supplies.

“Greece does not have an industry like India. Most of the arms of the Greek army are bought from other countries. But they have some niche products. Armenia will not be able to cover all its needs with them, but there can be a separate agreement on these supplies.”

The military expert believes that Armenia can and should also establish military-technical cooperation with Cyprus.

He sees prospects, in particular, in the sphere of military industry. He says, “everything is possible today if there is a properly formulated proposal from both sides”.

Commenting on the Armenian Defense Minister’s statement on Armenian-Greek cooperation within the framework of the EU and NATO, Nersisyan noted that “the activity of the European Union in recent months in the South Caucasus and cooperation with Armenia may include the Greek component.”

He reminded that Greece is a NATO member country and has an army up to the bloc’s standards. Besides, more Armenian officers are educated in Greece out of all NATO countries.

The expert sees real opportunities for further cooperation with both Greece and Cyprus, including within the framework of the reform of Armenia’s armed forces:

“Now we have a lot to do to increase the combat capability of the army: technical cooperation, arms procurement, joint projects in the defense industry and not only.”


None of 32 captives returned from Azerbaijan to Armenia transferred to civilian medical centers – Healthcare Minister

Hovsep Chakrian

 13:41,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The 32 servicemen, who returned to Armenia from Azerbaijan captivity as part of a prisoner swap deal, have underwent preliminary medical examination.

“The 32 Armenian captives underwent a preliminary medical examination at the Muratsan hospital and none of them was transferred to civilian medical centers as there was no need for it," Minister of Healthcare of Armenia Anahit Avanesyan told reporters.

EU and Armenia hold second Joint Research and Innovation Committee meeting under Horizon Europe

Hovsep Chakrian
Dec 7 2023

The second meeting of the EU-Armenia Joint Research and Innovation (R&I) Committee under the agreement associating Armenia to the Horizon Europe programme took place in Yerevan on 5 December.

The parties discussed the achieved results and the way forward to broaden R&I cooperation in order to achieve tangible progress within the Horizon Europe programme. 

The Armenian side highlighted several national R&D policy reforms undertaken since the first meeting, in particular the significant increase in public funding for research and development (R&D), as well as the reorganisation of the Committee on Science into the National Committee on Higher Education and Science to ensure synergy between research and higher education.

The Armenian side also reported on the progress made in relation to the three European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda actions (research assessment, infrastructures and careers), and confirmed the country’s commitment to place ERA priorities in the national research strategy. 

The EU invited Armenia to actively participate in the opportunities in specific areas of Horizon Europe, such as the Widening actions, the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, upcoming European Research Council and European Innovation Council calls, and activities in collaboration with the Joint Research Centre.

According to the EU Delegation to Armenia, since the signing of the Association Agreement on 11 February 2022, Armenia received a total EU contribution for research and innovation of €3.3 million, which includes 11 grants signed and 13 participations from Armenia.

Find out more

Press release

https://euneighbourseast.eu/news/latest-news/eu-and-armenia-hold-second-joint-research-and-innovation-committee-meeting-under-horizon-europe/

Armenpress: Genuine engagement of Azerbaijan is necessary for peace in the South Caucasus, says Foreign Minister Mirzoyan

Hovsep Chakrian

 21:07,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan made a speech at the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council, stating that Armenia remains committed to the opening of a new era of peace in the South Caucasus and believes that it is still possible. Making that opportunity a reality requires both Azerbaijan's genuine engagement and international actors' strong support for Armenia's efforts, which are based on well-developed and well-known principles.

In his speech the Foreign Minister thanked  the North-Macedonian OSCE Chairmanship for leading this organization during the last year, the foreign ministry said.

“Indeed, it was not an easy task, as the OSCE which still remains the biggest security organization in the world, is rapidly declining as once duly adopted and well elaborated mandates and commitments are totally disregarded.

This process started several years ago when the OSCE failed to implement its core tasks – early warning and conflict prevention. Unfortunately, this process will continue unless there is no common understanding that violation of international law in any part of the world shall be unequivocally condemned and not tolerated, otherwise it creates a sense of impunity becoming the new normal in other parts of the world. Regrettably, the OSCE area of responsibility is not an exclusion, ” noted Ararat Mirzoyan.

The Foreign Minister noted that in the South Caucasus the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the root causes of which was hatred and xenophobia in its various forms and the existential threat to the people who wanted to live in freedom and dignity in their ancestral homeland, reached its final stage this year.

“After a nine-month long inhuman siege, on September 19 Azerbaijan launched yet another large-scale military offensive against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh which resulted in mass forced displacement of its indigenous population. At this point in time, we can state that in silent agreement of the international community Azerbaijan has reached its long-standing goal – to get the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh without its Armenian population.

However, even after having this done the claims of the Azerbaijani side were not halted. Now the entire sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia has become the target of our neighbor.

This, coupled with continuous hatred, military rhetoric, use of force and threats of use of force, refusal to come to the meetings organized by various international actors, including the US and the EU, illustrates that this country is not sincerely interested in peace and stability in our region,’’ said FM Mirzoyan and added: “Despite this humanitarian disaster in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia remains committed to opening a new era of peace in the South Caucasus and believes that it is still possible. For turning this possibility into a reality, we need reciprocally genuine engagement of Azerbaijan and the strong support of international actors to our efforts, which are based on well elaborated and well-known principles. These principles that were widely discussed and admitted or at least not rejected by the Azerbaijani side include:

  • mutual recognition of territorial integrity based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration and without any further ambiguity,
  • delimitation of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on the freshest and legitimate maps – USSR General Staff maps of 1974-1978,
  • opening of all transport and economic communications with full respect of the countries’ sovereignty and jurisdiction, as well as based on the principles of equality and reciprocity.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the Armenian side to the above-mentioned principles, which demonstrating its readiness to embark upon practical steps, has recently presented the concept of a connectivity project which we called “Crossroads of Peace”.

 “This ambitious project is aimed at connecting East with West and North with South and through regional cooperation create conditions for strengthening economic and cultural ties, soften contradictions and foster better connectivity and political dialogue between the countries of our region. 

In this regard the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border is also of crucial importance. As you might be aware, we have reached the agreement to open the land border for 3rd country citizens and Armenian and Turkish citizens holding diplomatic passports, which was reconfirmed by my counterpart, Minister Fidan at our bilateral meeting on October 23; even concrete timing was indicated meaning upcoming weeks, and we hope that in the nearest future we will implement this first, but quite tangible step. 

There are also a number of humanitarian issues on Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization that cannot be ignored. The release of all Armenian detainees, including the ones imprisoned after September 19, cooperation in addressing the fate of missing persons, protection of Armenian cultural property in and around Nagorno-Karabakh can pave a way to long-lasting, just and dignified peace,” Foreign Minister said.

In conclusion, FM Mirzoyan noted that Armenia as a responsible member of OSCE has proved on numerous occasions its devotion to regional and global peace and will continue to take steps to that end.

“And once again, I reiterate that Armenia remains ready for negotiations and we need Azerbaijan to stop rejecting the proposals of facilitators to meet and finalize the peace treaty. To ensure this goal we need genuine efforts of all interested parties and the international community as a whole to turn the page of violence in the South Caucasus and strengthen international rule-based order,” concluded Foreign Minister Mirzoyan.

Asbarez: Consecration Ceremony Held at Istanbul’s Camp Armen

Hovsep Chakrian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Architectural rendering of the new Camp Armen


The Armenian community of Istanbul on November 4 held a consecration ceremony for the rebuilding of Camp Armen, located in the Tuzla district of Istanbul, Turkey. Archbishop Sahag II Mashalian, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, presided over the ceremony and addressed the attendees with congratulatory remarks and prayers. Several noteworthy guests participated in the ceremony, including Rev. Krikor Ağabaloğlu, Pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church of Gedikpaşa, Archbishop Levon Zekiyan, the Apostolic Administrator of Armenian Archeparchy of Istanbul, and the students of Hrant Dink School.

Hrant Guzelian had a vision, in 1962, to save and educate orphaned Armenian children.

The most well-known among them was Hrant Dink and his spouse Rakel Dink, who were forced to live in a foreign society and follow a different faith. Today, the Armenian Missionary Association of America strives to help revitalize this vision by helping to restore and rebuild Camp Armen, and to remember Hrant’s legacy, and the impact he had on children who he helped save.

Hrant Guzelian with children from the interiors of Turkey Hrant Guzelian at Camp Armen

Guzelian, a fearless hero who searched for and rescued hundreds of Armenian children left without family, identity, church, or schools in the decades following the Armenian Genocide in 1915, first opened the Youth Home and later built Camp Armen of Istanbul to provide these children with shelter and love, and to teach them how to honor and keep their Christian faith and Armenian heritage.

In the late 1970s, Camp ARMEN was confiscated by the local authorities and many attempts to take it back were rejected. In May 2015, resistance began when attempts were made to demolish the Camp. Nor Zartonk and Kamp Armen Solidarity guarded the camp for 180 days and prevented its destruction. As a result of a negotiation process which included representatives of the Armenian community and politicians, and within the framework of the reforms made for the minorities, the property right of “Camp Armen” was returned to the Gedikpaşa Armenian Evangelical Church on October 27, 2015. Since then, consistent efforts have been made within the Turkish-Armenian national-ecclesiastical life to rebuild the camp. Camp Armen will now be rebuilt to suit the current needs of the new generation. This initiative is carried out by a joint Armenian Apostolic, Armenian Catholic, and Armenian Evangelical program.

The goal is to raise $2.5 million so that the new Camp Armen will be the first and only Camp in Turkey to function as a development center serving the Armenian Evangelical, Catholic, and Apostolic communities every day throughout the year with much-needed social, cultural, and religious development activities for the youth with help from trained volunteers.

The AMAA encourages everyone who believes in the vision of Hrant Guzelian to participate and become a part of this unique time of rebuilding Camp Armen.

Camp Armen will be rebuilt to once again embrace Armenian children living in Turkey and connect them to their heritage and faith, and to inspire them to make a difference in the world around them.

Since its founding, the Youth Home/Camp Armen and Guzelian’s work has been generously supported by the AMAA.

Please partner with the AMAA to help create a small home for Armenian children living in Turkey to perpetuate the cultural and spiritual identity and keep the torch burning. You may visit amaa.org to learn more about Camp Armen and make a donation online or mail your donation earmarked for Camp Armen to Armenian Missionary Association of America – 31 West Century Road, Paramus, NJ 07652.

Founded in 1918, the Armenian Missionary Association of America serves the spiritual, educational, and social needs of Armenian communities in 24 countries around the world including Armenia and Artsakh. For additional information, you may visit the website.

Armenia Says Peace Is ‘Realistic’ With Azerbaijan but Awaits the Right Signals

Hovsep Chakrian
Nov 26 2023

  • Joe Penney


YEREVAN, Armenia — Since Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan came to office in 2018 on the heels of a democratic revolution in which he played a central role, his administration has faced numerous security and political crises. The protracted conflict in the formerly Armenian-controlled breakaway republic of Artsakh, also known as the Nagorno-Karabakh, burst into a full-blown war in September 2020.

The Azerbaijani government led by President Ilham Aliyev, who has been in power for 20 years after taking the reins from his father, Heydar Aliyev, seized the entire Artsakh republic in September 2023, forcibly displacing more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians from their ancestral homeland. Pashinyan and the European Parliament have labeled the act ethnic cleansing.

While Azerbaijan’s government has said that it wanted to return land to Azerbaijani citizens who were displaced during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, from 1988 to 1994, many Armenians see the September 2023 ethnic cleansing as the latest in a long series of violence committed by ethnic Turks against their community. The most-traumatic expulsion was the Armenian genocide of 1915.

In this tense geopolitical arena, the Armenian government is seeking to help the refugees from the Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh region as well as to rebuild its military, avoid more conflict with Azerbaijan and shore up allies in the West while maintaining relations with Russia. PassBlue spoke to Armenia’s deputy foreign minister, Vahan Kostanyan, in his office here in the Armenian capital of Yerevan in November about the delicate balancing act, the role of the United Nations in helping to walk such a tightrope and the successes and challenges of Pashinyan’s foreign policy. Armenia is a landlocked country of approximately three million people, located in the South Caucasus region. — JOE PENNEY

The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.

PassBlue: How is the Armenian government working with international partners to ensure the welfare of refugees who have fled from Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh? What support is Armenia receiving and is it enough?

Kostanyan: After the Azerbaijan invasion of Sept. 19, 2023, the flow of forcibly displaced people is more than 100,000. Now the government is trying to take care of them and to provide all necessary social security assistance. What we’re doing is trying to solve the short-term issues, starting from accommodation, going to access to education, food, etc.

In the six months since the invasion, according to the decisions made, more than 100 billion drams are allocated, which is equivalent to about $250 million. But this is only to address short-term issues. Starting from the first day, we have been closely cooperating with our international partners, UN agencies and different countries. With UNHCR [UN High Commissioner for Refugees], we made a joint humanitarian appeal to allocate some money; according to the UNHCR estimations, for the first six months, at least $97 million will be needed. Some of our partners have allocated money — United States, European Union, different EU member states. Some sent humanitarian aid to Armenia through different pipelines, through UN approval, ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross], but there was also small, direct budgetary support.

What we are asking currently from our international partners is to provide direct budgetary support. Because in a couple of months, we will be dealing with much bigger issues — understanding that there is no conducive environment now for people to exercise their right of return [to Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh]. We need to understand how we’re going to accommodate people and provide long-term shelter. So big housing projects should be implemented, projects to increase opportunities in our labor market, to do some additional competence trainings.

We are ready to be transparent with our colleagues to show and report how the money is spent. Because till now, all the financial support that is provided to people from Nagorno-Karabakh, it’s done not with cash but with money transfer through online banking, with cards, to track how the money went from the government to the people, to be transparent and accountable for all possible donors. There are working groups set up in the government, and two deputy prime ministers are in charge of different components: one for realization of the projects we have and the other for donor coordination. We’re working closely with UNHCR on this matter.

PassBlue: Are you taking actions in the UN Security Council? Are you working with other UN bodies besides the refugee agency to address Armenia’s response to the Nagorno-Karabakh expulsion? I’m also thinking of the Oct. 5 statement about the UN resident coordinator based in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, visiting and the disappointment that you expressed with the visit. Did you receive feedback on it?

Kostanyan: We received some feedback, and this statement was deleted [from the UN website focusing on Azerbaijan]. Later, there was a visit by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to Armenia, to Azerbaijan and to Nagorno-Karabakh. We still closely follow the situation regarding the issue of the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Unfortunately, the Security Council was unable to adequately react to the Nagorno-Karabakh ethnic cleansing, and now we have a fact that it happened. Some of the Security Council members are having some discussions on a possible resolution.

PassBlue: What other steps can Armenia take in the UN system to help you manage the response to the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis?

Kostanyan: The UN Secretariat and UN agencies have quite big portfolios and toolboxes that can be helpful to address both short-term and long-term issues with people from Nagorno-Karabakh [NK]. Besides issues related to people of NK, the UN is a key development partner for Armenia, when it comes to implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Armenia is planning to submit its voluntary national review on the SDGs. We are one of the champions because not many states are already submitting the third one. UN is a partner for us in the fight against corruption.

The UN Human Rights Council has big importance for us. We believe that some of the issues are very relevant and they should be discussed at the Council. We were a member from 2020 to 2022. Now we’re going to run for another term in the Council in the upcoming year, because we believe this is an important platform for us and in general for tackling human rights issues. We believe that we have quite a good record on human rights protection, democracy and rule of law, which makes us a credible candidate.

PassBlue: There have been conflicting reports regarding the potential for more tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Prime Minister Pashinyan has recently said that a peace deal is “realistic.” Can you speak a bit about the strains and prospects for peace?

Kostanyan: When we say a peace deal is realistic, we are reaffirming our political commitment to sign a document on the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan. But to have it signed, we need reciprocate actions and signals from the Azerbaijani side. The principles which should be the basis to finalize this treaty are fully indicated in the Granada statement, which was endorsed by foreign leaders: not only Prime Minister Pashinyan but also the president of European Council, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany. When it comes to the possibility of tension, we’re living in a region and in a neighborhood where it’s always high, especially having a bad record of assurances from our neighbors that they are not going to use force.

We still have continued occupation of our sovereign territory from September 2022, and the forces are located close to each other. That’s why we are suggesting to organize a mirror withdrawal of forces from the border line, which is indicated in the Alma-Ata protocols of 1991. So if we see a willingness to withdraw the forces, if we wish to accept the principles of the Granada statement, this can give hope that finalizing a peace deal is possible.

Another important component for stability and long-lasting peace in our region is the opening of communications. For this purpose, we introduced our vision. Prime Minister Pashinyan introduced in October to the European Parliament the Crossroad of Peace project, where the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the states where the roads are passing through should be fully respected. We also indicated our willingness to reconstruct and to relaunch a railway connection with our neighbors Turkey and Azerbaijan. Not only the railway but also electricity, energy supplies. We have the ambition to become a transit hub. We believe that considering our geography, we can become a real crossroads between north and south and east and west.

If Nakhchivan [an autonomous exclave of Azerbaijan near Armenia’s southwestern border] is connected to the main part of Azerbaijan through the territory of Iran, we will not oppose this project. We believe that the Crossroad of Peace plan and this transit connection are not mutually exclusive. Because we believe that, especially considering the logistical problems, the developing logistical map in wider Eurasia and beyond and the tendencies of international trade, it can easily provide enough flow for mutually beneficial connections.

PassBlue: What kind of security guarantee would the transit link between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan exclave require — to restore the railway or to provide economic links, which both seem to be in everybody’s interest as long as security is guaranteed?

Kostanyan: We need to have clarity and no room for misinterpretation. Because previously, we also heard Azerbaijan saying, “We are not claiming and asking for any extra territorial corridor.” But during the negotiations that we had, starting from 2021, even if they are not saying, “We are demanding an extra-territorial corridor from you,” the modalities they were suggesting and asking for were giving an extraterritorial sense and they were not ready to reciprocate, which is one of the principles that we believe should be in opening communications. On our side, we are ready to simplify procedures when it comes to customs, to passport control, because we believe that it will attract more international trade through our territory. In general, the whole world is using innovation and the technologies of today to simplify procedures, and we’re ready to do so.

PassBlue: Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev recently said that eight villages are “occupied by Armenia.” What is he referring to?

Kostanyan: If we agree on the border line, this issue can be solved simply. If our troops stand according to a border line when they will get their four villages, we’ll get our four villages. For our four, the legal background is quite questionable whether they are Armenian or are Azerbaijani, according to the USSR [former Soviet Union] procedures and whole legislation. This is an issue which should be discussed during the delimitation process. We also have an Armenian enclave, Artsvashen; in a same way, we believe that we should get our enclave that is under Azerbaijani control. But we believe this is an issue for not only us but also the Azerbaijani side. On the one hand, they acknowledge that this issue should be discussed within the delimitation commission. On the other hand, they are publicly raising some territorial claims, which are aggressive, to say the least. But for these first four villages — which are not enclaves but adjustments to the border — a couple of times the Armenian side formally, on paper, suggested organizing the near withdrawal of forces from the border. If Azerbaijan had agreed, that issue would have been solved a year ago, two years ago.

PassBlue: Pashinyan met with Macron in Paris on Nov. 10 and Armenia signed a deal with France to buy Mistral surface-to-air defensive missiles. The Armenian chief of defense staff met with the American European Command deputy. The Armenian government favors the Granada process, but Azerbaijani President Aliyev didn’t even attend the meeting in Granada. So there seems to be a divide between this pro-West opening that Armenia is promoting.

Kostanyan: I would say we are diversifying our relations because we are considering the realities and experience that we have faced during the last few years. When it comes to our military capabilities, we don’t have any intention to attack any of our neighbors. We’re not going to challenge or violate their territorial integrity. But we believe that we have our right to increase our defensive capabilities.

PassBlue: The diversification of relationships with other countries has sparked a negative reaction from Armenia’s traditional security partner, Russia. How can Armenia diversify while keeping the existing security partnership?

Kostanyan: We publicly shared that the security architecture and the security philosophy that we had didn’t work. When our sovereign territory was attacked, the traditional partners and the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization military alliance in Eurasia] were silent. They didn’t even come up with a political statement that our sovereign territory was attacked. In the same way, Russian peacekeepers, who had a duty clearly put on paper to protect the people of Nagorno-Karabakh from existential threat, acted as an observer when ethnic cleansing happened.

PassBlue: Iran, your neighbor to the south, has made statements about the need to respect Armenian territorial integrity. Iran suggested that this was a red line and that it could help Armenia defend itself if attacked. How does your government view the statements? More generally, what are your relations with Iran like?

Kostanyan: With Iran, we have a bilateral agenda that’s mainly economic. We are cooperating with our Iranian partners. This is very objective, as we need to cooperate with our neighbors with whom at least we have open borders, because two of our four borders are closed. [Armenia’s borders with Azerbaijan and Türkiye] We also value the political statements coming from Iran on inviolability of the borders in the region and, in particular, of Armenia. On the other hand, as I mentioned, we are not interested in any escalation in the region, and we are committed to solving all the issues through political and diplomatic means.

https://www.passblue.com/2023/11/26/armenia-says-peace-is-realistic-with-azerbaijan-but-awaits-the-right-signals/