Author: Hovsep Chakrian

 15:54,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. Azeri authorities have pressed war crime charges against Rashid Beglaryan, the Nagorno-Karabakh man who has been jailed in Azerbaijan after accidentally crossing into Azeri-controlled territory in August.

Beglaryan is facing multiple fabricated charges, according to local media reports.  

Rashid Beglaryan, a local of Hin Shen village, got lost and appeared in Azeri-controlled territory in August, 2023. He was arrested by Azeri border guards.

 17:29,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. On November 20, U.S. Ambassador Kristina Kvien hosted an event to launch a new Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation initiative. She was joined by Armenian Minister for Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan, for the official signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.

Through the initiative, the 4th-5th Century Yereruyk Basilica in Shirak Province will be preserved with a $175,000 conservation grant from the U.S. Embassy.

“We are honored that our support through the Ambassador Fund for Cultural Preservation will contribute to the conservation of Yereruyk Basilica, safeguarding this treasure for the world, and making this example of Armenia’s unique cultural heritage accessible for future generations,” said the Ambassador.

Through the Ambassadors Fund, the U.S. Embassy has provided $1.4 million in funding to support 13 conservation projects since 2005.

 19:12,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The International Court of Justice of the United Nations has approved the application of an interim measure to the 5th claim of 'Armenia vs Azerbaijan'.

The Court has obliged Azerbaijan to ensure the safe, unimpeded and expeditious return of the persons who have left Nagorno-Karabakh after 19 September 2023 and who wish to return to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Moreover, according to the decision of the International Court, Azerbaijan is obliged to ensure that persons who have remained in Nagorno-Karabakh after 19 September 2023 and who wish to depart are able to do so in a safe, unimpeded and quick manner.

The Court has assigned Azerbaijan to ensure that persons who have remained in Nagorno-Karabakh after 19 September 2023 or returned to Nagorno-Karabakh and who wish to stay are free from the use of force or intimidation.

According to the decision, the Republic of Azerbaijan shall, in accordance with its obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, protect and preserve registration, identity and private property documents and records, to accept them as a basis in its administrative and legislative practice.

Within 8 weeks after the publication of the decision, Azerbaijan must submit a report to the Court on the steps to be taken to ensure the implementation of the temporary measures.

The application was submitted by Armenia on September 28, after the Azerbaijani attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and the forced displacement of Armenians, in the 'Armenia vs. Azerbaijan' court case under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

 14:58, 8 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Greek Diplomatic Life magazine’s October edition features an article on an event celebrating Armenia’s 32nd anniversary of independence and the 30th anniversary of the reciprocal opening of diplomatic representations in both countries.

The magazine’s October edition also features an interview with Armenian Ambassador to Greece Tigran Mkrtchyan.

Below are excerpts from the interview.

MARKING OF 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MUTUAL OPENING OF EMBASSIES AND THE 32ND ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE, THE MAIN MESSAGES:

Greece was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Armenia, which was followed by the establishment of diplomatic relations. This year we are marking the 30th Anniversary of the opening of diplomatic representations, both in Yerevan and Athens. It is unnecessary to mention that the relations between Greek and Armenian peoples have a history not of decades, but of millennia, during which the strong friendly ties, common values, and approaches formed a solid foundation for the development of interstate relations.

In the early 19th Century, the Greek revolutionaries who were fighting for their independence from the Ottoman yoke also mentioned the Armenians as their fellow brothers in pursuing the same goal. The Genocide of Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians of 1915-1916 and the Smyrna Catastrophe was another stage in our shared pain and standing by one another. The Armenian community here was officially established immediately after Smyrna in 1922 as several thousands of Armenians found safe haven in Greece, although some of our Armenian communities in Northern Greece and the island of Crete have a continuous presence in the region that impressively exceeds five centuries.

The young state of Armenia has always felt the support of Greece, both in terms of effective bilateral cooperation and in terms of the support shown to Armenia at international platforms. Today, Greece is one of Armenia’s most important partners in Europe and the world. Taking this opportunity, I would like to emphasize that we, Armenians, will never forget the sincere support of the Greek people and the Government of Greece during the most difficult periods of our nation’s history, the most recent example of which was the war of 2020 and the following developments in Nagorno-Karabakh.

POTENTIAL FOR DEEPENING BILATERAL RELATIONS, FIELDS OF COOPERATION:

There is an active political dialogue. A few days ago in Granada, within the framework of the summit of the European Communities, the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Greece, Nikol Pashinyan and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had a meeting (the third meeting over the last four years), during which the latter expressed his support to and solidarity with Armenia in face of the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno- Karabakh and threats to Armenian territorial integrity by Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The meeting of our foreign ministers also took place within the framework of the 78th session of the General Assembly. In addition, Ministers Mirzoyan and Gerapetritis had two telephone conversations in recent months. In general, on the Foreign Ministerial level, there has been active cooperation and several mutual visits.

Taking into account the intensity of political dialogue and the content of multisectoral cooperation, I think it is time to consider the possibility of bringing the Armenia-Greece cooperation to a much higher, strategic level, which, I believe, will happen sooner than later.

PROSPECTS FOR TRILATERAL COOPERATION:

Of course, the tripartite format of cooperation, which is based on the commitment of the parties to common values, readiness to develop neighborly relations based on the principles of International Law, has a much greater potential for development. In the near future, we look forward to hosting a tripartite summit at the level of heads of state in Yerevan, which, I am sure, will set new targets for cooperation.

POTENTIAL FOR ECONOMIC RELATIONS:

Currently, efforts are being made to host the regular 6th session of the Intergovernmental Joint Commission on Armenian-Greek economic, industrial and scientific-technical cooperation in Yerevan in the first quarter of 2024.

If we talk about specific directions, then renewable energy is one of the promising areas of economic cooperation. Greece has made great progress, especially in the field of solar energy, this experience is very valuable for Armenia, where renewable energy is a rapidly developing field and there is a large space for investment.

Armenia also offers huge potential in several other sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, textile and apparels, food and beverage and of course tourism, a field of economy in which Greece has a unique know-how. Within this context, Armenia was the ‘Honoured Country’ at last year’s Philoxenia exhibition in Thessaloniki which is considered the most important tourism event in Greece.

Another booming field is information and communication technologies which has become one of the fastest-growing industries in Armenia, with a steady annual 20% growth rate. Armenia is intending to participate for the first time in the upcoming ‘Beyond Expo’, the well-known technology exhibition and summit which will be held in Thessaloniki on April 25th.

SITUATION IN NAGORNO KARABAKH, ETHNIC CLEANSING:

As you know, back in September 2020, Azerbaijan violated one of the fundamental principles of International Law – the principle of non-use of force and unleashed a large-scale war against Nagorno-Karabakh. It was possible to stop the bloodshed with the tripartite declaration of November 2020, the purpose of which was to move the settlement process to a peaceful course.

However, Azerbaijan, not receiving proper pressure and adequate international reaction for its aggressive actions and war crimes, encouraged by impunity, first started blocking the Lachin Corridor – the only “way of life” connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia in December of last year, effectively keeping the local Armenian population besieged for 11 months, and later, on September 19th-20th, initiated another military aggression against the exhausted, isolated Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh.

The cities and villages were criminally subjected to merciless aerial bombardment, causing more than 300 dead, more than 400 wounded and more than 1,000 missing, including a large number of civilians, including children, women and the elderly. And all this is accompanied by the cynical Azeri rhetoric of “reintegrating” the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh.

The hypocrite rhetoric has reached a level, when Azerbaijani officials spare no effort to repeat that the Armenians left on their own will and no one forced them out as if preparing grounds to exclude their return. If the nine months of blockade of starvation, creation of impossible-for-life conditions, barbaric killings and mutilations of Armenian soldiers, dead bodies, women, even children and elderly during every attack and never being punished for such crimes, Hitler-style fist waiving of their leader and referring to Armenians as “dogs” and a “tumor of Europe” and renaming the street in Stepanakert (capital of Nagorno-Karabakh) after the name of Enver Pasha, one of the three masterminds of the Armenian Genocide, are not sufficient reasons for Armenians to flee, then what is?

The Armenians of Artsakh, who fought for their own self-determination in accordance with the elements of International Law for 35 years, today left their homes, the cradle which has always been inhabited by Armenians for at least the last three millennia and has been Armenian. An unspeakable tragedy of a global level has happened. This must be acknowledged.

The citizen of Artsakh laid down his weapons and left the house with his family because even after enduring nine months of hunger and other deprivations in front of the “progressive” blind public, he or she did not receive the support that should have been received by humane written and unwritten laws, because today the world needed Azerbaijan as a “reliable partner in energy” more than just Armenia fighting for its rights. If human rights, if morality and conscience still have any traces in the Western value system, this policy should have been reviewed before long.

Today, more than 100,000 Artsakh citizens are in Armenia and our government, with the support of international partners and friendly countries, is doing everything to meet their needs. The right of return of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians cannot be questioned and it should be achieved under safe international guarantees and with the presence of internationally mandated peacekeeping forces. Also, the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh and all PoWs must be returned as soon as possible.

By humiliating Armenians and Armenia, Azerbaijan is not achieving a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it is merely passing the issue onto the burden of future generations. Conflict solution means concessions. We do not notice any concessions from Azerbaijan, we notice only an extremely dangerous genocidal appetite which is growing day by day.

FUTURE OF THE ISSUES, REFUGEES:

There is no alternative to the peaceful settlement of regional problems within the framework of the principles of International  Law, including the international commitments undertaken by Baku. Armenia will be consistent in restoring the rights of forcibly displaced Armenians from Nagorno  Karabakh,  applying all available international legal instruments. As is known, the Armenian culture of Nagorno-Karabakh is quite unique, including the local dialect. Today, Armenia is facing many social problems, like providing housing and employment for 100,000 refugees, despite this, efforts are being made to ensure the compact residence of Karabakh Armenians, to preserve the formed educational culture, public institutions, the goal of which is to preserve the original Karabakh culture and traditions. The preservation of the Armenian cultural heritage in Nagorno Karabakh is also a very vital issue. It is important for the international structures to take these monuments under international monitoring. Many monuments of the early Christian culture are located there, such as the most impressive Amaras, Dadivank, and Gandzasar monasteries. In a number of places, there were cases of destruction of churches or attempts to rebuild them, in which the Armenian traces were cleaned. If urgent and necessary measures are not taken, we will have a situation as is in Nakhijevan, an Armenian region, where within less than a century not a trace of Armenian existence has been left. Barbarism, wherever it occurs, is condemnable and should be prevented before the day.

WHAT CAN GREECE AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY DO? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE SO FAR?

I want to emphasize that the danger of aggression is not neutralized at all.  Today,  the  Azerbaijani army is occupying a part of the sovereign territories of Armenia, continuing its policy of threats of force and blackmail. Azerbaijan is making new demands to Armenia, and in the absence of a clear international response, the danger of new aggression is quite high. The international community has an important mission in bringing Azerbaijan to a constructive field; all the culprits of the disaster must be clearly held accountable.It will be possible to prevent new bloodshed in the region, to force Azerbaijan to give up the threat of force, to return to dialogue only if international actors have a united will and appropriate pressure. Failure to comply with International Law must lead to serious consequences.

 13:13, 9 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has left for France to participate in the Paris Peace Forum 2023. His wife Anna Hakobyan is accompanying him on the visit.

On November 9, PM Pashinyan will have a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The Armenian PM will participate in the Paris Peace Forum on November 10.

 09:00,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. German Member of the European Parliament Viola von Cramon-Taubadel believes that sanctions are the only way to restrain Azerbaijan’s aggressive steps against Armenia.

In an interview with Armenpress Brussels correspondent, the MEP spoke about possible assistance from Germany to Armenia, the opportunities for peace in South Caucasus and her latest visit to Armenia.

Azerbaijan carried out ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and it seems to be digested. The reaction and actions of the EU during the days of the attack and forced displacement did not go beyond deep concerns. To what extent do you see the EU's share of guilt in all of this, considering that financial support cannot alleviate the tragedy that happened?

Absolutely. Well, I think this has three layers. First of all, there's only one guilty. This is Aliyev. Second of all, there's only one betrayer of Armenians and that is Russia, the so-called peacekeeping forces have not existed for the last three years. And third of all, for the EU it's very difficult because what we would like to see is that we work together with Armenia on a sustainable peace, and I think the whole intention why the EU has not gone for hard sanctions at that very moment against Azerbaijan, against Aliyev and his regime has deserved or have deserved that. We do not want the brokering, the mediation part to go to Russia or Turkey because we are very much afraid if we are now too tough and too biased, we give too much leverage or too much reason for Aliyev not to have a Brussels format. We've seen it already in Granada. We have seen it at other moments. And I think the EU has shown that the solidarity is fully with Armenia, that we will pay, that we will give financial contribution, that we will work on an economic plan, that we will make offers to bring Armenia closer to the EU, that we have an interest, that you can emancipate from Russia… But what I understand, and I wish we would have seen a tougher stand and a tougher formulation of sanctions and also deterrence to prevent Aliyev to go further because we don't know what he might have in mind. But the reason for this is understandable, is that if we kick ourselves completely out, the peace, hopefully soon, will be brokered by Turkey and Russia, and this is not in our interest. 

As you said we don't know whatever Aliyev thinks or wants, but one thing we know very clearly is his expansionist policy. Do you think that the EU has the measures to take care of the security of Armenia, of Armenians? Even if, as you say, Russian forces have failed, beside this, realistically, if today Azerbaijan attacks Armenian sovereign territory, what can the EU do? 

No, absolutely. And that is exactly this dilemma. I think if Aliyev knows that the next military attack he would provoke, be it on the enclaves or be it on the Zangezur corridor, he will face immediate sanctions, freezing his assets in London and Cyprus and Geneva wherever his family would not have access to all his real estate he had stolen over the years. I think this would make a difference, but since nothing is on the table, as you said, there's no deterrence. In fact, has the EU formulated anything else? I don't know. I mean, for me, on one hand i's a rich country. They live from the revenues of gas and oil export. But on the other hand, he also wants to be a legitimate leader, being accepted by the West. And we could hopefully behind closed doors make crystal clear: if you dare to think about attacking Armenia on their genuine territory, this must mean no more gas delivering to Europe. This would mean no more official contact. This would mean this and that. I do hope that this has taken place. But I'm not sure. 

During his visit to Armenia, the chairman of the Bundestag's foreign relations committee said that if the aggression of Azerbaijan continues and there are attacks on the sovereign territory of Armenia, sanctions will be implemented, which are in the process of being developed. Are you aware of what kind of sanctions we are talking about and how realistic they are?

I was also surprised, positively surprised by that. And I know that my German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was also in favour. She was trying to build an alliance on the European level. She has actually called for sanctions. But I've heard that there was no unity in the German government. So yes, I could imagine there are a couple of colleagues in the Bundestag who would be in favour and also in the cabinet. But so far, not everyone. And that is a problem, and that's why it is difficult if you raise expectations and Aliyev knows that some people will never follow, so he is safe and we have to play it very smartly to make sure that we have a safe bid on Armenia, that there will be no further attack, that there will be any kind of a sanctioned package which would be in place immediately. And that we stay credible, but I don't know what the chair of the Committee for Foreign Affairs actually meant, whether he meant European? German? intergovernmental? So I don't know, but it's good that he was speaking about this. 

A few days ago, Armenia and France signed a military cooperation agreement, according to which France will provide Armenia with defensive ammunition. What can Germany do in case of aggression and attacks of Azerbaijan on the sovereign territory of Armenia?

Germany is normally very good when it comes to humanitarian support. For example, after the 2008 aggression of Russia against Georgia, it was Germany's GIZ which built settlements for the new refugees. So, I see Germany more in this role than supporting militarily. But I don't think that Germany would be against including Armenia into the European peace facilities, which means we could also deliver weapons to Armenia directly. Well, so far, I see that Germany does a lot and I came across with many projects. But financially, for the wintertime, for the time being, I mean we have met with many refugees and it needs quite a lot of effort before the winter kicks in and I mean we speak about this 2000 meters high places. The snow will be there soon and there are some people in need of accommodation. There are holes in the walls, so we have to find something else and make this winterproof. 

For Aliyev, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is over and there is nothing to discuss.  For you, is this issue completely resolved or not?

Well, not, I mean what he has done is the most humiliating way of showing that he has military might. To make sure that people, not ethnic Armenians, did not trust him at all, not a single millimeter. That they had all left or had to leave. But some of them have left everything behind and maybe they want to come back. Maybe they want to look after [their belongings]. Maybe they want to just get some stuff out of their apartments or their houses and so on. And so, for them there needs to be a very unbureaucratic way of returning. Finally, also this should be possible without becoming an Azerbaijani citizen, and these things need to be ruled out. They need to be a regulation as soon as possible. I mean, I was standing at this highest peak where you could see over the situation, you could see how the Azerbaijani troops are, not only troops, but also the construction companies building up fences, roads, pipelines, crossing points. It was like ants, like so obviously they invaded and at the same moment they started falsifying, fortifying the borders in a speed which is unimaginable. And here I think the international community should make sure, that people, first people, who lived in Artsakh they need to have a chance to return at any time. 

The tripartite meeting scheduled for the end of October in Brussels will not take place, Armenia has already announced that the postponement of the meeting was initiated by Azerbaijan. How would you interpret this behavior of Azerbaijan, taking into account the fact that Aliyev at the last moment refused to participate in the five-party meeting in Granada, which was also attended by Chancellor Olaf Scholz?

I don't know. It's for the third time. I guess it's postponed and they're playing on that and they will see whether they can get more out, as I said before, on a different format. They dream about the 3 + 3.

Do you think that this format matches better with Aliyev’s ambitions?

Absolutely, I think for Aliyev it's better. I think for him it would be better and he personally counts that he can get more out of this than of the EU brokered peace deal. So that is a little bit the dilemma we are in. On one hand, we have to have a stick for deterring him not to go a step further, on the other hand, we need a carrot that he can agree on this EU brokered deal. How would this look like? We need to see!

The EU’s agenda is much more focused on the possible Peace Treaty. How do you see this peace? How realistic is it for you?  Can we really have the peace treaty with Azerbaijan?

No, no, no. I think it was always being pushed by Pashinyan.  I understand this government is different to all the other governments, and for the first time, is really speaking about that, it's not our agenda, it's the agenda of the Armenian Government. They see they are a landlocked country. They finally want to have a new set of buttons reset. They really would like to have open borders with Turkey. They really would like to have access to all the countries around. They really would like to trade on the same level and now they need a peace treaty which would be accepted by Azerbaijan, so that Azerbaijan can signal to its partner Turkey: “Please open the borders and let Armenia have free passage and free access”. But for me this is the salami tactics. So now since the Karabakh issue has settled, they find something else. They find the enclave, they find the "Zangezur Corridor", they find something just to keep Armenia in this economically very vulnerable situation. And that is for me, really, absolutely unacceptable and this needs to be also raised in the public sphere, but it's not my agenda to have a peace treaty. I think it's for the Armenian people and the Armenian people deserve finally peace and they want to develop their country, but with Iran on one side, and Georgia is also a bit unsecure, I think it is actually very strategically smart of the government to say ‘we are ready for a peace deal’.  

And last but not least, you were in Armenia recently with what kind of feelings are you back?

I am full in admiration and I have a huge respect of everyone in Armenia who managed to integrate 100,000 people within four days through one entry point. I mean, nobody could ever imagine having this in Germany. And in Germany we speak about 84,000,000 and here we speak about, I don't know 3 million maximum. So people managed without foreign help only by themselves, by volunteers, by very, very engaged people. To get these people who are, I mean, they were traumatized, they were exhausted, they didn't have enough food for the last eight months, nine months, they had no medical treatment and these people came and they were welcomed and they found the housing. So, the overall atmosphere was ‘we are proud, we can be proud of what we have achieved, it's good that you come and watch this, but we managed by our own’ and I think this is really incredible. This is really something which the world should know and now the next steps will be, as I said, I mean giving them a winter proof accommodation. Make sure that people have a second chance, if they want to stay, they get a second career life or education. They can integrate into the labour market and so on. And make sure the European Union is there to support, to help. Some people would need psychological treatment and all this needs to be organized for the next months to come, and there I hope to see bilateral help from the US, from Germany, from other countries, but also the EU should be the first partner so that the Armenian people see there's somebody from the West. Second thing is that Armenia has done a lot of reforms. Armenia has moved a lot into democracy, of course, not fully functional, but much more advanced than some of the other countries. Especially of course much more than Azerbaijan, but I would say even compared to Georgia, they have done a lot and this should be awarded by the EU. I think we should do much more to show the people that we have seen the improvements and be it on visa liberalization, I think we should talk about this association agreement, which was declined in 2013, maybe to have a resumption on this, be it on deepening the trade relations. And many more things. So, I think it is up to the EU now to come up with offers to show the people of Armenia: ‘We want you, we see that you would be our next welcomed partner’, something like this. I had so many interesting talks and nobody there was not a single complaint and a situation where, at least in Germany, I saw last winter everyone was complaining about higher energy prices, this and that and too many refugees on them and Armenia where it is definitely difficult, much more difficult than in this rich Germany. Nobody had ever mentioned one complaint. So, I mean, this is a role model for resiliency. Moldova is similar, but Armenia in this neighborhood, it's very difficult to sustain and to be so brave. And so, I am proud and inspired at the same moment.

Lilit Gasparyan