Author: Lara Antonian

Azerbaijan is ready to normalize its relations with Armenia under the scope of international law principles, sovereignty and territorial integrity, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said Thursday.

“Azerbaijan is ready to normalize relations with Armenia in line with international law, especially sovereignty, territorial integrity, despite all difficulties,” Bayramov said, speaking at the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Foreign Ministers in Minsk.

He noted that Azerbaijan was able to ensure its territorial integrity after three decades by liberating Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian occupation, as he highlighted that Armenia has destroyed Azerbaijan’s cultural, historical and religious heritage.

Bayramov met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting, and discussed bilateral relations, as well as the implementation of the cease-fire declaration.

Just over a year after the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, both Azerbaijan and Armenia have now taken their conflict to International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The case is to be heard next week. It is not yet known when the court will rule.

Prisoners of war have been tortured and executed and bodies of killed soldiers have been desecrated. Prisoners of war were not released despite international obligations, and cultural and religious sites were destroyed, the rights representatives said.

The background to the legal dispute is the war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which had been occupied for decades.

More than 6,500 people were killed in the fighting from Sept. 27 to Nov. 9 last year.

Azerbaijan had finally recaptured large parts of the territory lost in the early 1990s with the help of Turkey, with which it shares cultural and religious links. Armenia meanwhile sees Russia as its protecting power for similar reasons.

ANCA-WR endorses Paul Koretz for City Controller

The Armenian National Committee of America–Western Region has endorsed Councilmember Paul Koretz for Los Angeles City Controller. The endorsement followed a virtual meeting between Koretz and the ANCA Western Region Board of Directors.

The City Controller is the elected paymaster, auditor, and chief accounting officer for the city of Los Angeles. The mandated functions of the Controller are divided amongst three divisions: Audit Services, Accounting Operations, and Financial Reporting and Analysis – in addition to Executive Office and Management Services leadership and staff.

“As a longtime friend and staunch ally of the Armenian community in Los Angeles for many decades, the ANCA-WR is proud to endorse Paul Koretz for LA City Controller,” remarked ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “Councilmember Koretz has a proven track record in public service and we’re confident that upon getting elected he will institute policies and reform for the betterment of all Angelenos.”

“I am honored to have the endorsement of the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region, an organization that has stood with me, and I them, for decades,” said Councilmember Koretz. “The Armenian Cause is near and dear to my heart, as such we will continue to persevere and win victories together. The Armenian community is part of the fabric that makes the City Los Angeles so great, through a rich culture, language, education and arts.  Thank you to my Armenian brothers and sisters in Los Angeles for continuing to stand with me.”

Every year on April 24, Councilmember Koretz has marched and protested with the Armenian community as well as assisted with all the logistical needs, such as securing permits, street closures as well as allocating discretionary funds to ensure the safety of protesters.

He has made other sizable allocations from discretionary funds to finance the installation of the speed feedback signs for Ferrahian Armenian School, security grants for the Holy Martyrs Armenian Church, and many other improvement initiatives for the overall wellbeing of the Armenian community in his district.

During last year’s devastating 44-Day War waged against Artsakh and Armenia by the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, Councilmember Koretz was one of the first government officials in the State of California to denounce the attack and issue a statement condemning Azerbaijan’s government.

He was also outspoken during the arson and shooting that took place in San Francisco at the St. Gregory Church and School in September of 2020, ensuring that LAPD deployed resources to all Armenian houses of worship and schools for additional protection.

These examples — among many others — demonstrate Councilmember Koretz’s dedication to the Armenian community and to public service at large, and for these reasons, the ANCA Western Region wholeheartedly endorses his candidacy for LA City Controller.

The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region is the largest and most influential nonpartisan Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues in pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

The family of slain editor-in-chief of Turkish-Armenian daily Agos, Hrant Dink, will get a compensation of 1.5 million Turkish liras (about $168,000), as the Council of State upheld a decision of Istanbul’s 6th Administrative Court.

Dink’s widow, Rakel Dink, and her children had filed a lawsuit seeking damages totaling 1.5 million Turkish liras, including 500,000 liras for financial and 1 million liras for non-financial damages, saying that the Ministry of Interior had serious fault and responsibility in Hrant Dink’s murder.

The Istanbul 6th Administrative Court pointed out that Hrant Dink was targeted due to the articles he wrote and were published in the Agos Newspaper, which provoked some ultra-nationalist groups to react. The court added that his right to life was in clear and imminent danger, and therefore, protection measures should have been taken without waiting for his request. It ruled that there was no room for doubt about the administration’s fault in protecting Dink’s right to life.

Turkey’s Interior Ministry appealed the court’s ruling at the Council of State, which unanimously upheld the court’s decision.

Dink was assassinated on January 19, 2007 as he was entering the editorial offices of Agos.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian both expressed readiness for a joint summit as the second Karabakh war between the two countries is left a year behind.

Pashinian commented on the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan during a meeting with the Armenian community in Lithuania.

Noting that Armenia is ready to hold high-level talks with Azerbaijan, Pashinian said: "On July 1, I announced that we were ready for a high-level summit. This meeting can be at the level of foreign ministers or prime minister-president. I believe that there are no restrictions on the place and time of a meeting with the president of Azerbaijan."

Arguing that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group is experienced in organizing such summits, Pashinian said: "We are happy to state that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have started to intensify their activities. We are ready to start the process of delineating the borders."

Aliyev also said in a statement on Oct. 2: "I am ready and I have already stated my position. If the Armenian side is ready, I am also ready. Earlier this year, upon the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, we had a tripartite meeting. I can talk to Pashinian at any time when he is ready. I am open to negotiations and I think this could be a good sign that the war is over and that page has been turned. This is very important."

Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

The Minsk Group, co-chaired by France, Russia and the United States, was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.

When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements. During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from Armenian occupation.

The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10 to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution. The truce is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have been withdrawing in line with the agreement.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said in a statement regarding Pashinian's plan to meet with Putin in Russia, "Pashinian is expected to visit Russia. A private meeting with Putin is being prepared."

Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said after his meeting with Putin in Sochi that Russia was ready to create a six-nation platform.

Erdoğan has frequently called for a six-nation platform comprising Turkey, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia for permanent peace, stability and cooperation in the region, saying it would be a win-win initiative for all regional actors in the Caucasus.

Turkey believes that permanent peace is possible through mutual security-based cooperation among the states and people of the South Caucasus region.

He noted that the Zangezur corridor would provide opportunities for the region as a whole, in terms of trade and economy.

“Azerbaijan is carrying out widescale work for this corridor,” Erdoğan said, adding that Armenia also needs to fulfill its responsibilities.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also said last week that Turkey would coordinate all steps to be taken in terms of reestablishing relations with Armenia amid positive statements in that regard, but no meeting has been scheduled with his Armenian counterpart.

Pashinian's spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan last month said her country is ready to engage in high-level dialogue with Turkey. She noted that Yerevan was ready to establish the highest-level dialogue with Ankara and eliminate obstacles on the transit corridor that would have to go through Armenia to connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan enclave that borders Turkey and Iran.

Armenia and Turkey never established diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed since the 1990s. The ties have further deteriorated due to Turkey's support for its regional ally Azerbaijan, which fought with Armenia last year for the liberation of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Ankara has pledged its full support to Baku in its efforts to liberate its lands from Armenian occupation. A joint Turkish-Russian center was established to monitor the truce. Russian peacekeeping troops have also been deployed to the region.

Meanwhile, Aliyev Monday visited the city of Jabrayil and some surrounding villages and towns in the first year of its liberation from occupation.

Speaking in the town of Sukovushan, Aliyev emphasized that this place is of great strategic importance and that the liberation of Sukovushan provided great morale for the army.

"During the occupation, the Armenians cut off the water of the Sukovushan dam in summer and opened it in winter. While our villagers and farmers were dehydrated during the summer months, the water released during the winter months would cause flooding. This shows once again what an ugly foe we are dealing with. They used every opportunity to do us more harm," he said.

Aliyev, who also criticized former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in his speech, said: "The analysis of the war shows once again that the losers of this war are Serzh Sargsyan and others like him. Now they want to blame Nikol Pashinian for the defeat. It is supposed that Pashinian is guilty. Pashinian came to power in 2018. Serzh Sargsyan founded the army. He served as a defense minister, prime minister, secretary of the president, head of the security service, and became president for 10 years. We destroyed that army and destroyed Serzh Sargsyan and elements like him. Let this defeat not be blamed on Pashinian. What Pashinian did is a separate issue. But we defeated Sargsyan. The army he formed knelt before us."