Monday, January 11, 2021 Pashinian Eyes Closer Russian-Armenian Ties January 11, 2021 Russia -- Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Moscow, January 11, 2021. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian expressed confidence that Armenia and Russia will forge even closer ties after the recent war in Nagorno-Karabakh when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday. The two men held separate talks after Putin hosted a trilateral meeting with Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that focused on the implementation of a Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the war on November 10. In his opening remarks at the talks, Pashinian again praised Putin’s role in halting the six-week hostilities that left thousands of soldiers dead. “Of course, your personal contribution to the [Karabakh] peace process has always been noticeable, especially now, after the known events,” he said. “I am confident that against the backdrop of these events the relations between Armenia and Russia will deepen.” “Russia has been and remains our main strategic ally in the security sphere,” added the Armenian leader. “Our relations certainly were, are and will remain allied in all respects,” Putin said for his part. He noted that despite the coronavirus pandemic and the Karabakh war Russian-Armenian trade grew by almost 4 percent in January-October 2020. Pashinian announced plans to further deepen the Russian-Armenian relationship in a televised address to the nation aired on New Year’s Eve. He said his country needs “new security guarantees” now. Armenia already has close political, economic and military ties with Russia. It hosts a Russian military base and has long received Russian weapons at knockdown prices and even for free. Moscow also deployed 2,000 peacekeeping troops to Karabakh as part of the truce agreement brokered by Putin. In addition, it dispatched Russian soldiers and border guards to Armenia’s Syunik region southwest of Karabakh to help the Armenian military defend it against possible Azerbaijani attacks. Armenian Government Extends Coronavirus Restrictions January 11, 2021 Armenia -- People wear faces masks on a street in Yerevan, August 11, 2020. The government on Monday extended by six months most of its restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus in Armenia. But it scrapped some rules in an apparent response to concerns voiced by Economy Minister Vahan Kerobian and Armenian businesspeople. The government has continued to require people wear face masks in all public areas and kept in place social distancing and hygiene rules set for businesses even after lifting a coronavirus-related state of emergency and introducing a nationwide “quarantine” regime in September. The less stringent regime was due to expire on Monday. The Ministry of Health asked the government late last month to extend it until July 11, citing the continuing large number of coronavirus cases in Armenia. Kerobian criticized the request last week, saying that the restrictions would hurt the Armenian economy hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Some business associations as well as dozens of private firms echoed his concerns. The government sided with the Ministry of Health while making what appear to be concessions to the critics. In particular, it lifted restrictions on indoor and outdoor festive events. Those include a ban on restaurant parties attended by more than 60 people. The government also allowed foreign nationals to enter Armenia through its land border crossings and not just by air. But those travellers will have to produce documents showing that they tested negative for the coronavirus up to three days ago or to self-isolate and take such tests in Armenia. The Armenian authorities largely stopped fining people and businesses to enforce the anti-epidemic rules following the September 27 outbreak of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The daily number of new COVID-19 cases reported by them grew rapidly as a result. But it has been steadily falling since mid-November. According to the Ministry of Health, there were 8,782 active cases in Armenia as of Monday morning, sharply down from 22,850 cases reported on December 1. More than 162,000 coronavirus infections and at least 2,931 deaths caused by them have been officially confirmed in the country of about 3 million to date. The real number of cases is believed to be much higher. Armenia, Azerbaijan Reaffirm Plans For Transport Links January 11, 2021 RUSSIA -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin (left to right) attend a trilateral meeting in Moscow, January 11, 2020 Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reaffirmed plans to open the border between their countries for commercial and other traffic during their talks hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The three leaders met in Moscow two months after Putin brokered an Armenian-Azerbaijani ceasefire agreement that stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. In a joint statement issued after the meeting that lasted for about four hours, they said the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani governments will set up a joint “working group” that will deal with practical modalities of restoring transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to the statement, the group will submit by March 1 a timetable of “measures envisaging the restoration and construction of new transport infrastructure facilities” in line with the November 9 ceasefire deal. The group is to comprise teams of experts who will calculate the cost of these projects. “I am confident that the realization of these understandings will benefit both the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples, the region as a whole and, therefore, the interests of the Russian Federation,” Putin said at a joint news briefing with Aliyev and Pashinian held after the talks. “This is an area which could give a lot of dynamism to the region’s development and reinforce security because the opening of transport links meets the interests of the people of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia and our neighbors,” Aliyev said, for his part. The truce agreement specifically commits Yerevan to opening rail and road links between the Nakhichevan exclave and the rest of Azerbaijan that will presumably pass through southeastern Armenia. The Armenian government has stressed that Armenia will be able, for its part, to use Azerbaijani territory as a transit route for cargo shipments to and from Russia and Iran. Pashinian indicated in the run-up to the Moscow talks that the opening of the transport links will be conditional on Baku releasing dozens of Armenians remaining in Azerbaijani captivity and facilitating the ongoing search for other soldiers and civilians who went missing during the six-week war. “Unfortunately, we did not manage today to solve the issue of prisoners of war,” Pashinian told the press after the talks. He said that Baku is still not fully complying with another provision of the truce agreement that calls for the exchange of all prisoners of war and civilians held by the conflicting sides. “I hope that we will succeed in finding a concrete solution very soon,” added the Armenian premier. The November 9 agreement locked in sweeping territorial gains made by Azerbaijan during the war that killed thousands of Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers. It also led to the Armenian withdrawal from four other districts around Karabakh. In his opening remarks at the talks, Putin noted with satisfaction that the ceasefire is holding thanks to 2,000 Russian peacekeeping troops deployed in Karabakh. This, he said, is “creating necessary prerequisites for a long-term and full-fledged resolution” of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Pashinian cautioned that the conflicting parties continue to disagree on “many issues,” including the main bone of contention: the status of Karabakh. Armenian President Again Calls For New Government January 11, 2021 Armenia -- Armenian President Armen Sarkissian meets with public figures in Gyumri, December 25, 2020. Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian on Monday renewed his calls for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to hand over power to a new and interim government that would hold snap parliamentary elections. In an article posted on the presidential website, Sarkissian said Pashinian’s administration must be “held accountable” for the Armenian side’s defeat in the recent war with Azerbaijan and the resulting “deep political, economic, social and psychological crisis” in his country. “The country and the people need treatment,” he wrote. “The only logical and civilized prescription is pre-term elections [to be held] within reasonable time frames with necessary amendments to the Electoral Code and the Constitution, which will allow us to start a real process of state building from scratch.” “Until then, a government of national accord must be formed with the help of the institute of the president,” he added, staking a claim to a major role in that process. Sarkissian stressed that the new government must be made up of technocrats tasked with overcoming the post-war crisis. Virtually all Armenian opposition parties demanded Pashinian’s resignation immediately after a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the war in and around Nagorno-Karabakh on November 10. More than a dozen of them joined forces to hold anti-government rallies. Pashinian has rejected the opposition demands while expressing readiness to hold fresh elections soon. He held late last month consultations with the leaders of the two opposition parties represented in the Armenian parliament. The latter insisted that the snap polls must take place after Pashinian’s resignation. Sarkissian held similar consultations earlier in December. The president insisted on Monday that despite his largely ceremonial powers he can “become the irreplaceable platform where the constitutional ways-out and mechanisms for overcoming the crisis will be worked out through a dialogue.” In his article, Sarkissian also portrayed Armenia’s post-Soviet history as a period of missed opportunities and made a case for the “construction of a new state.” In that regard, he took a critical look at the 2018 popular uprising that brought Pashinian to power. “The change of government in 2018 could have been the beginning of a new phase in our history … but it became the end of the previous phase, without offering a new ideology,” he said. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Author: Lilit Nahapetian
Turkish press: Development pact signed at 3-way Caucasus summit in Moscow – World News
- 09:10:00
Meeting two months after a cease-fire was declared for the Caucasus' Nagorno-Karabakh region that ended over a month of conflict, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia signed a pact on Jan. 11 to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region.
Speaking in Moscow alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Premier Nikol Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the talks as “extremely important and useful.”
“We were able to come to an agreement…on the development of the situation in the region,” Putin told reporters after four hours of trilateral talks.
“I mean concrete steps to build economic ties and develop infrastructure projects. For this purpose, a working group will be created which will be headed by the vice-premiers of three governments – Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia. In the near future, they will create working expert subgroups, [and] present concrete plans for the development of transport infrastructure and the region's economy.”
“I am confident that the implementation of these agreements will benefit both the Armenian and Azerbaijani people and, without any doubt, will benefit the region as a whole,” he added.
The Russian leader also said the Nov. 10 agreement between the three countries ending the 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh conflict had generally been fulfilled, adding Russian military units temporarily in the region are carrying out their duties.
Transportation arteries in region
"The meeting was very important in order to ensure the further sustainable and safe development of our region," Aliyev said.
Recalling that two months have passed since the Moscow-brokered cease-fire deal between Baku and Yerevan, he emphasized the importance of today's declaration signed between Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia on the economic situation and infrastructure in the region.
"The declaration signed today demonstrates our belief in solving the crisis," he said, adding that one of the articles of the cease-fire agreement was aimed at removing the obstacles in the transportation connections.
"This field [transportation] can accelerate the development of the region and strengthen its security."
Aliyev underlined that opening the transportation routes is in the interests of the people of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia, as well as the neighboring countries.
The Azerbaijani leader stressed that he believes that the neighboring countries will also participate in the process of establishing transportation connections.
"I am sure that neighboring countries will also actively participate in the creation of transport corridors as well as the creation of an extensive network of transport arteries in our region," he said.
Noting that the Nov.10 deal was "successfully" implemented, he said: "Most of the items in the agreement have been fulfilled. Russian peacekeepers are doing their job effectively. Except for minor incidents, there was no cause for concern for two months."
He said that implementation of the cease-fire deal increases the belief that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is over, adding the neighboring countries have to think about the future now.
"As neighbors, we need to think about how we should live together in the neighborhood, how we can raise efforts to unblock the transport arteries and increase regional stability and security in the future," he said.
'Deal to change economic image of region'
For his part, Pashinyan said there are still many issues that remain unresolved, one of them the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. He added that Armenia will continue negotiations within the framework of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group.
Pashinyan said an agreement on military prisoners could not be reached in today's meeting and claimed that Article 8 of the cease-fire agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh was not fully implemented.
He said today's joint declaration is very important for the development of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Implementation of the agreements can change the economic image and appearance of our region, and economic innovations can also lead to more reliable security guarantees, and of course we are ready to work constructively in this direction. But, as I said, unfortunately, it is impossible to resolve all issues during one meeting,” he added.
Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, also known as Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, and seven adjacent regions.
When new clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and even violated humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the six-week-long conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages, while at least 2,802 of its soldiers were martyred. There are differing claims about the number of casualties on the Armenian side, which sources and officials say could be up to 5,000.
The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020, to end the fighting and work towards a comprehensive resolution.
A joint Turkish-Russian center is being established to monitor the truce. Russian peacekeeping troops have also been deployed in the region.
The cease-fire is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have withdrawn in line with the agreement.
Violations, however, have been reported in the past few weeks, with some Armenian soldiers said to have been hiding in the mountainous enclave.
RFE/RL Armenian Report – 01/10/2021
Sunday, Putin To Host Armenian-Azeri Summit Russia -- President Vladimir Putin discusses the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with senior Russian officials from his Novo Ogarevo residence outside Moscow, January 10, 2021. Russian President Vladimir Putin will host talks between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday two months after brokering a ceasefire agreement that stopped the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Kremlin said on Sunday that Putin, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will discuss in Moscow the agreement’s implementation and “further steps aimed at resolving existing problems in the region.” “Special attention will be paid to providing assistance to residents of areas that suffered as a result of the hostilities and unblocking and developing trade and transport links,” it said, adding that Putin will also hold separate meetings with Pashinian and Aliyev. Putin discussed the Karabakh conflict with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and three top security officials in a video conference held later on Sunday. No details of the discussion were made public. Meanwhile, Pashinian’s press secretary, Mane Gevorgian, emphasized the “economic character” of the upcoming trilateral meeting, saying that it will focus on the opening of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border envisaged by the November 9 agreement. The truce agreement specifically commits Yerevan to opening a transport link between the Nakhichevan exclave and the rest of Azerbaijan, which would presumably pass through Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province. Gevorgian again insisted that that it will not serve as a permanent “corridor” and that Armenia will be able, for its part, to use Azerbaijani territory as a transit route for cargo shipments to and from Russia and Iran. She also reiterated that the opening of the transport links will be conditional on Baku releasing dozens of Armenians remaining in Azerbaijani captivity and facilitating the ongoing search for other soldiers and civilians who went missing during the six-week war. “Without a solution to or major progress on these issues it will be extremely difficult to discuss the economic agenda,” she wrote on Facebook. Gevorgian went on to dismiss Armenian opposition claims that Pashinian could agree to more Armenian territorial concessions to Azerbaijan during his talks with Aliyev. “No document on resolving the Karabakh conflict or any territorial issue is due to be signed in Moscow,” she said. An alliance of over a dozen Armenian opposition parties seeking to oust Pashinian has expressed serious concern over the upcoming Armenian-Azerbaijani talks. One of its leaders, Vazgen Manukian, demanded an urgent meeting with Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazian, National Security Service Director Armen Abazian and Armenia’s top army general, Onik Gasparian. Ayvazian met with Manukian and two other opposition leaders on Saturday. “Armen Abazian and Onik Gasparian avoided a meeting, which only deepened our concerns and suspicions,” Manukian said in a statement issued on Sunday. “The [opposition] Homeland Salvation Movement states that any decision [to be made in Moscow] against the interests of Armenia and Artsakh will be … rejected by the Armenian people and invalidated after regime change,” he warned. The opposition forces blame Pashinian for Armenia’s defeat in the six-week war and want him to hand over power to an interim government that would hold snap parliamentary elections within a year. The prime minister has rejected the opposition demands. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Italy’s Osio Sopra comune recognizes Artsakh’s independence
Italy's Osio Sopra comune recognizes Artsakh's independence
16:03, 1 January, 2021
YEREVAN, JANUARY 1, ARMENPRESS. Italy's Osio Sopra comune has recognized Artsakh's independence, ARMENPESS reports the Embassy of Armenia in Italy informed.
Osio Sopra is a comune (municipality) of 5,116 inhabitants in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy.
Armenian couple marries at Dadivank Monastery
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 27 2020
Irina Gabrielyan from Martakert and Aram Berdyan from Stepanakert married at Dadivank monastery today, War Gonzo Telegram channel reports.
They thanked the peacekeepers for protecting the monastery and for the fact that they had a chance to get marred in this holy place after everything that happened.
The Russian peacekeepers undertook to protect the monastery, after the Karvachar region, where the church is situated, was handed over to Azerbaijan under the trilateral statement of November 9.
Armenian priests continue their eternal prayer for our homeland and people, Fr. Vahram Melikyan, Director of Information Services of the mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, said late last month.
The latest group of priests left for Dadivank this week.
The Catholicos of All Armenians is in constant contact with our clergy living in the church.
https://en.armradio.am/2020/12/27/armenian-couple-marries-at-dadivank-monastery/
Armenia parliament majority member: Karabakh conflict is not resolved
News.am, Armenia
Dec 28 2020
17:14, 28.12.2020
Contrary to the claims of the president of Azerbaijan, Hovhannes Igityan, a member of the majority My Step faction of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, says that the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict is not resolved.
Speaking with reporters at the NA on Monday, the MP said: "In this political noise coming out of Armenia, we are losing very important messages to the international community. That is: do we think that Turkey’s factor can be considered constructive? I do not think so. If this statement of mine is considered acceptable to everyone, then we must send that message to the world with all political forces that by using its technology, NATO’s capabilities, Turkey has carried out ethnic cleansing in Karabakh, and now it continues to state that it has a constructive and peacekeeping role, with which I do not agree. Regardless of who will be the prime minister [of Armenia]—this one or the other—, one thing is clear that the unity of the nation around the prime minister does not work. There is no one person for the nation to say this one should be the prime minister, so we should find the theses that are considered united for our nation. ”
Also, Igityan listed one of those theses; for example, about the negative role of Turkey. "The point is that all the [political] parties of Armenia should raise this issue. Let them say, '[Armenia PM] Nikol [Pashinyan], leave [power]' three times, but once they say that Turkey must leave the format of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh issue," Igityan said.
Armenians take to streets of Yerevan to call for PM’s resignation
France 24
Dec 22 2020
Armenians take to streets of Yerevan to call for PM's resignation
Thousands of people took to the Armenian capital's streets again Tuesday, demanding the prime minister's resignation over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.
Armenian opposition politicians and their supporters have been calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to step down for weeks since he signed a peace deal that halted 44 days of deadly fighting at the cost of territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
Crowds of protesters on Tuesday besieged government buildings in Yerevan, chanting “Nikol, go away!” In other parts of Armenia, protesters were reported to have blocked several major roads. Several hours into the rally, opposition supporters erected tents on Yerevan's main square.
“We have pitched the tents and intend to stay as long as possible, including overnight. Pashinyan needs to resign," Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a member of the opposition Dashnaktsutyun party, was quoted by the Russian state news agency Tass as saying.
The opposition also called on Pashinyan's My Step coalition, which currently has the majority of seats in the parliament, to sit down for talks on Tuesday. My Step so far has not commented on the proposal.
Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh itself and substantial surrounding territory in Armenian hands.
Heavy fighting erupted in late September in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, killing more than 5,600 people on both sides.
>> The human cost of Armenia's defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh
A Russian-brokered peace agreement that took effect Nov. 10 stipulated that Armenia hand over control of some areas it holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders. Azerbaijan also retained control over areas of Nagorno-Karabakh it had taken during the conflict.
The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets. Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.
(AP)
Armenian Parliament to convene extraordinary meeting on December 24
13:33, 23 December, 2020
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Parliament will convene an extraordinary session on December 24, Chairman of the standing committee on economic affairs Babken Tunyan said today.
Two bills will be on the agenda. One of them is the package of bills on making amendments to the Law on Reducing and preventing the damage caused to health due to tobacco types, and the next one relates to making changes in the Tax Code.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Court overrules arrest of Goris mayor
17:23,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. The Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction has overruled the arrest of the Mayor of Goris Arush Arushanyan, his lawyer Armen Melkonyan told reporters.
“The court ruled that his arrest is unlawful,” Melkonyan said, adding that the mayor will soon be released from custody.
Arushanyan was arrested on December 21 on suspicion of organizing illegal rallies.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Over 70 Soldiers Missing as Standoff with Azeris in Hadrut Escalates
December 16, 2020
Artsakh Hadrut region came under attack by Azerbaijani forces
- Defense Ministry Loses Contact with Soldiers
- Azeris Blockade Russian Peacekeepers, Claims Pashinyan
- Tensions Mount for Residents of Shushi-Adjacent Villages
The fate of more than 70 Artsakh Armed Forces soldiers is unknown after Azerbaijani forces continue an armed standoff in Artsakh’s Hadrut district, which began late last week when they attacked the Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd villages in an effort to seize them.
Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan on Wednesday, in an address to the nation, confirmed that “several doze” Artsakh soldiers were taken captive by Azerbaijani soldiers around the Khtsaberd village. He also said that the Artsakh Defense ministry was attempting to “clarify” all circumstances.
Harutyunyan also revealed that Azerbaijani forces continued their “provocations” around the Hin Shen village near Shushi, as well as Berdadzor, another village near the area. both villages are under Armenian control following the November 9 agreement that ended the war, but saw the forces surrender of Artsakh territories to Azerbaijan, including Shushi.
Azerbaijani forces attacked Hadrut’s Hin Tager and Khtsaberd villages late Friday and into Saturday, when Russian peacekeeping forces, which were not stationed at the line of contact, arrived and attempted to quell the situation.
While military skirmishes ended and the Russian peacekeepers claimed to have control of the villages, it appears that the Azerbaijani forces have occupied the Hin Tagher village and have not retreated to their positions behind the line of contact.
Footage aired over social media networks by Azerbaijan late on Tuesday, showed dozens of Armenian servicemen being hauled off by Azerbaijani soldiers, creating panic and confusion both in Artsakh and Armenia.
On Wednesday, Armenia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the veracity of the reports and well as the video’s authenticity. The Chief of Staff of Armenia’s Armed Forces, Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan, went to Artsakh to investigate and to take necessary action.
Artsakh authorities also reported on Wednesday that communications links with the soldiers in Khtsabert village was lost.
The Ministry of Defense of Artsakh announced in a statement that Tuesday evening, due to “unknown circumstances” it lost contact with military personnel of several combat positions of the Defense Army deployed in the direction of the Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd villages of Hadrut.
“Search operations continued during the entire night and today morning. With the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, active steps are being taken to determine the likelihood of the Armenian servicemen’s capture for launching necessary actions in the event of such confirmation,” the Artsakh Ministry of Defense said.
In a bombshell announcement, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during an extensive interview with Azatutyun.am, claimed that the Russian peacekeepers were also surrounded by Azerbaijani forces and their communication links were also cut off.
“Due to the terrain and the developments, there are some problems with communication. Furthermore, the Russian peacekeepers also have these problems, and we have somewhat of a crisis situation there,” Pashinyan told Azatutyun.am’s Artak Hambartsumyan on Wednesday.
Pashinyan added that the standoff taking places in Hadrut, as well as the Armenian-controlled villages near Shushi should be viewed as part of the same operation being carried out by Azerbaijan.
On Saturday, as tensions escalated in Hadrut, Pashinyan, through his spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan, said that the Russian peacekeepers were responsible for the situation, with critics blasting Pashinyan’s nonchalant approach to a potential violation of the November 9 agreement.
He explained the matter during the Azatutyun.am interview, saying that the November 9 agreement stipulates that the Russian peacekeepers were tasked with monitoring the area, saying that the Armenian government was pursuing the issue through diplomatic channels.
Pashinyan did not question, nor was he asked by Azatutyun.am as to why the Russian peacekeepers were not stationed at the line of contact in Hadrut when the Azerbaijan’s incursion attempts began. At the time it was reported that Azerbaijan used heavy artillery and military equipment when it attacked the Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd villages.
“This situation [the missing soldiers] is totally unacceptable,” said Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Artak Beglaryan. “It must be quickly and completely investigated by law enforcement agencies to determine all circumstances and the identify those who are responsible.”
“The authorities of Artsakh and Armenia are obliged to take immediate action to repatriate all our prisoners of war as soon as possible. In addition, it is necessary to provide clear information to the families of the prisoners of war and conduct maximally transparent public communication to avoid disinformation and unnecessary tensions,” Beglaryan added.