Author: Manouk Vasilian

 11:21,

GORIS, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS. French Member of Parliament Anne-Laurence Petel has said that the crimes committed by the Azerbaijani authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh should be documented in order to have strong evidence. This would allow them to raise the issue and take effective measures.

“Of course, many French-Armenians have been presenting videos showing what they describe as crimes committed by the Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh against the peaceful population, but nevertheless it is highly important for these episodes to be documented, to mention where and when exactly these crimes were committed, in order to have a strong evidence basis to help us raise this and take effective countermeasures,” the MP said in Goris during a meeting with forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh.

She highlighted the fact that Armenia has joined the Rome Statute of the ICC. This will facilitate independent investigations into Azeri war crimes. “If all episodes are properly documented, the criminals will sooner or later be held to account and face justice,” she said.

The security of Armenia’s borders and protection of its territorial integrity is now a priority for France and many EU countries, thus French lawmakers are calling on their European partners to provide more support to Armenia, Anne-Laurence Petel said.

Speaking about the repatriation of Armenian POWs and the arbitrary arrests of the Nagorno-Karabakh leadership by Azerbaijan, Anne-Laurence Petel said that a discussion has taken place in the French parliament in this regard.

A meeting with the participation of the European Commission President has also taken place on this matter and the latter has asked the list of all arrested officials and POWs.

Wider Europe programme Director Marie Dumoulin, who also visited Goris as part of the European delegation, said that they seek to understand whether or not there’s an opportunity to start dialogue between Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijanis, and deploy international peacekeepers on the ground.

“It’s certainly too early to speak about peacekeepers, Armenia’s security is our primary concern. The international community is trying to do everything to ensure the security of Armenia and the Karabakhis who are now in Armenia, in order to be able to ensure the safe return of the displaced persons to Nagorno-Karabakh,” Dumoulin said.

 15:54, 5 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. President of the European Council Charles Michel has said that during his latest phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev he demanded the latter to guarantee a mutual recognition of territorial integrity between Baku and Yerevan and told Aliyev that he ‘can’t have territorial demands towards Armenia,’ TASS reports.

“I spoke with President Aliyev two days ago and I clearly told him that he can’t have territorial demands towards Armenia,” TASS quoted Michel as saying in Granada ahead of the European Political Community summit. “This must be said out loud, and it must be guaranteed that it exists [mutual recognition of territorial integrity between Armenia and Azerbaijan],’ Michel said.

“I am not going to publicly comment on Aliyev’s decision not to come to Granada, I will personally tell him what I think about that,” he added.

Charles Michel said that the EU mediation between Armenia and Azerbaijan is aimed at protecting the EU’s interests and advancing European values in the Caucasus.

“We weren’t particularly active in the Caucasus until we started this mediation. These mediation efforts by the EU mean that we are protecting our interest, we are advancing our values in this region,” Michel said.

 10:35,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. 170 remains have been found so far at the site of the deadly September 25 fuel depot blast in Nagorno-Karabakh, local emergency services announced.

The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities said rescuers continue searching the area.

“So far, a total of 170 remains have been found and transferred to the forensics bureau,” the local police said, adding that personal items found at the site of the explosion were collected and taken to the operational headquarters.

The remains will be transported to Armenia for DNA identification.

 15:11,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. Representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani authorities will hold their third meeting in Yevlakh in the coming days, according to Azerbaijani media. 
The first meeting took place last week, again in Yevlakh, followed by another meeting on Monday in Ivanyan (Khojaly). 

 08:57,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 25, ARMENPRESS. The number of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh who’ve arrived to Armenia reached 2906 as of 06:00, September 25, the government of Armenia said in a statement.

Registration data of 2100 of the 2906 forcibly displaced persons has been completed, while the needs assessment for the 794 others is in process.

1000 of the 2100 registered persons are accommodated in residences chosen by themselves, while the 1100 others have been provided accommodation by the government of Armenia. The accommodation process of a part of the refugees is still ongoing.

The flow of the forcibly displaced persons continued throughout the whole night. The registration process for needs assessment and accommodation continued overnight and is still in process.

Blinken, Russia's Lavrov race to discuss Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

By Adam Schrader

Sept. 23 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, raced Saturday to discuss their relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have been engaged in recent conflict.

Lavrov, who engaged in a lengthy question-and-answer session with reporters Saturday, was asked if Russia believes its influence is waning in former Soviet states after an outburst of anti-Russia protests in Armenia's capital Yerevan.

Azerbaijan launched a new offensive Tuesday against Armenian separatists amid a decades-long territorial dispute between the countries over the ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenians largely blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for losing a 44-day war in 2020 when Azerbaijan regained control of land in and around Nagorno-Karabakh and blocked its main supply route to Armenia.

The sentiment was shared this week by Alen Simonyan, the head of Armenia's parliament.

"It is not up to me to judge. It would be very arrogant for me to say that our influence is increasing or if it remains the same. It is up for you to decide," Lavrov began. "Many things are becoming clear right in front of our eyes right now."

Lavrov claimed that non-governmental organizations backed by Western states are in Armenia and other former Soviet nations "advancing the interests of the United States and their allies."

"These interests include undermining Russian influence. This is a fact," Lavrov said. "We see this as artificially created tensions. We once again know who is interested in this and who is pulling the strings and, unfortunately, the leadership of Armenia from time to time adds fuel to the fire itself."

Lavrov added that the 2020 agreements ending the brief war said that Nagorno-Karabakh is "in the realm of responsibility of Russian peacekeeping contingent."

"It was presumed, this was discussed during negotiations, that the decision on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh would be postponed, it would be taken later," Lavrov said. "So after Armenia reaffirmed that Nagorno-Karabakh was a part of Azerbaijan, it was ludicrous to accuse us of this."

Lavrov added that Russian peacekeepers are currently helping to facilitate contacts between the Nagorno-Karabakh representatives and the Azerbaijani officials, including at meetings held Saturday.

"Our peacekeepers have a presence there on the basis of the importance of their role there for confidence building to ensure that the members of the representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, especially at the beginning to feel themselves to be safe and secure," Lavrov said.

"Time will be necessary, as for the amount of time and the number of peacekeepers, these are issues being resolved on the ground."

Blinken on Saturday held a call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in which he "reaffirmed U.S. support for Armenia's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity," according to a readout provided by U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

"The Secretary expressed the United States' deep concern for the ethnic Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh," Miller said.

"He underscored the United States is calling on Azerbaijan to protect civilians and uphold its obligations to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh and to ensure its forces comply with international humanitarian law."

Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council — of which both the United States and Russia are a part — warned that the latest clashes between Azeris and Armenians "undermine prospects of peace" in what is one of the longest-running conflicts since the end of the Cold War.

In May, the European Union mediated a long-term negotiation plan for a "comprehensive peace agreement."

"The final statement included their unequivocal commitment to the 1991 Almaty Declaration and their 'respective territorial integrity'," according to an EU document.

"Some experts see the details of the statement as a potential breakthrough in the peace talks, while others warn of the heavy price tag for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh and the potential political costs for Armenia itself."

In additional remarks, Lavrov added: "We are convinced that the Armenian people remember their history, our history and that they will tie their history to that of Russia and other friendly states in the region rather than those that swoop in from abroad."

 23:36,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that the first phone call he had on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border tension was with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Actually, my first phone call was with the Russian President,” Pashinyan said during an interview with Public Television when asked why he didn’t call President Putin on Saturday but instead held calls with leaders of other regional countries. “He [Putin] is certainly aware of the situation, the Lachin Corridor has been blockaded since December last year, and since then I’ve had dozens of conversations with the Russian President. Unfortunately, the situation hasn’t changed since our last conversation,” Pashinyan said.

The Armenian PM said the purpose of all phone calls was to inform his counterparts about certain nuances which they were unaware of.

On September 9, Pashinyan spoke by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi and Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz.