Author: Maral Takmazian

Armenia's Davit Hovhannisyan (left) and Ara Aganyan won a gold and silver medal respectively on Apr. 21

Armenian athletes Davit Hovhannisyan and Ara Aghanyan won a gold and sliver medal respectively at the European Weightlifting Championships that concluded on Friday in Yerevan’s Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex.

They won the medal competing in the 96-kilogram category.

Hovhannisyan lifted 164, 167, 170 kilograms in the snatch exercise with three successful approaches. Hovhannisyan won a small gold medal in this exercise. In the push exercise, he raised 200, 205 kg and became a gold medalist in this exercise as well. Hovhannisyan is the two-time champion of Europe with a result of 377 kg, Armenpress reported.

Aghanyan, had one successful approach in the snatch exercise – 165 kg. He won a small bronze medal in this exercise. In the push, Aghanyan became the silver medalist of the exercise with one approach – 199 kg, and in the doubles he registered a result of 364 kg and became the vice-champion of Europe.

Aghanyan earned a silver medal at last year’s European Championship.

Earlier this week, Gor Sahakyan was named European Champion when he earned a gold medal in the 67-kilogram category. Rafik Harutyunyan won a bronze medal in the 81-kg category, while Andranik Karapetyan became the vice-champion of Europe in the 89-kg category.

In the women’s completion, Armenia’s Isabella Yailyan won a bronze medal in the 55-kilogram category, while her teammate Alexandra Grigoryan ranked 6th.

In the 76-kilogram category, Tatev Hakobyan won a silver, while 16-year-old Emma Poghoysn was ranked 5th.

In the 64-kilogram category Anush Arshakyan ranked in 9th place, while Liana Gyurjyan came in 10th in the 81-kilogram category.

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan

In his latest unhinged statements, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan demanded that Armenia publicly announce that “Karabakh is Azerbaijan.”

Recalling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s now infamous announcement in Stepanakert that “Artsakh is Armenia,” the Azerbaijani leader said in an interview published on the president’s website on Tuesday that the time has come for Armenia to acknowledge Karabakh as Azerbaijan.

“Armenia, which used to say that ‘Karabakh is Armenia. Period’ must now repeat our words that “Karabakh is Azerbaijan and exclamation point,’” Aliyev told Azerbaijani State Television during an interview.

“Having shown its readiness for a peace treaty based on the Alma-Ata Declaration, Armenia should now officially declare that Karabakh is Azerbaijan,” reiterated Aliyev, referring to an agreement between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan reached last year in Prague, where they pledged to recognize each other’s territorial integrity based on a 1991 declaration that defined the borders of the Commonwealth of Independent States after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“We have repeatedly stated that we will not discuss our domestic affairs with any country and Karabakh is our domestic affair. Armenians living in Karabakh should either accept Azerbaijani citizenship or find another place to live,” threatened Aliyev.

He went on to assert that Azerbaijan “owns” the territory of Artsakh and continues to emphasize this point by using derogatory terms against Artsakh Armenian, whom he called “separatists,” including the former leaders of Armenia.

“The separatists should also understand that they have two options: either they will live under the Azerbaijani flag or they will leave. We have chased Serzhik Sarkisian, Robert Kocharian and Seyran Ohanyan, the main figures of the separatists, out of Karabakh like dogs and brought them to their knees. They came to Karabakh during the Second Karabakh War supposedly to fight against us. All three ran away from our lands like rabbits. None of them can poke their nose into Khankendi [Stepanakert] or any other place now,” said Aliyev.

He also called the current leadership in Artsakh “clowns.”

“The separatists, who are currently inventing some fictitious names for themselves – one calls himself a president, another calls himself a minister, another one calls himself a speaker of some parliament – this group of clowns must finally understand that they cannot test our patience,” Aliyev added. “We have tried to explain to them many times in different ways that they will either follow our word or they will be ejected from there.”

He called the residents of Artsakh “hostages” to the Artsakh and Armenian leadership, whom he called “leeches.”

“I am sure that the majority of the Armenian population currently living in Karabakh is ready to accept Azerbaijani citizenship. Simply put, these leeches, these predatory animals won’t let them do that. They won’t let these people live comfortably, having kept them as hostages for 30 years,” declared Aliyev.

“Everyone should hear this – both the Armenian leaders and the forces standing behind them today. No-one can influence our will. We have proven it – both during and after the war. If necessary, we will prove it again in any way or form,” said Aliyev.

A new road will connect Armenia to the Lachin Corridor, which still remains blockaded

Azerbaijani forces have blocked a stretch of the Goris-Stepanakert highway that runs between the Aghavno and Tegh villages of Berdzor, which fell under Azerbaijani occupation last summer months before construction on a new road was completed. Azerbaijani media began spreading misinformation, claiming that the country’s forces had made advances in both Armenia and Artsakh.

Artsakh’s Interior Ministry on Thursday said that construction of a new road connecting Armenia to the Lachin Corridor was completed. That road goes through Kornidzor in Armenia’s Syunik Province and connects to Hin Shen in Artsakh. Road construction is also being completed on the Tegh-Kornidzor road.

The Tegh-Kornidzor road is functional and given the ongoing blockade of Artsakh can be used for humanitarian supplies traffic by Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the authorities added.  The road will be controlled by the Russian peacekeepers near the Hakari river bridge.

The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022.

Armenia’s National Security Service also issued a statement Thursday saying that beginning on April 1 the road connecting the territory of the Republic of Armenia to the Lachin Corridor will pass through the Kornidzor-Tegh route, only through the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

After August 2022, a part of the road connecting the Lachin Corridor to the Republic of Armenia again passed through the territory of Azerbaijan after the Kornidzor Bridge. That part of the road along its entire length and its adjacent territory was controlled by the Russian peacekeeping forces.

According to the agreements reached earlier between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the border guards of the two countries were to be deployed on both sides of the border along the aforementioned section in the last days of March.

The National Security Service said that in some places, the Azerbaijani side, without waiting for pre-determined adjustments, had started to position itself and began carrying out engineering works.

Armenia said that there are five such points, where the Azerbaijani side has set up border posts 100 to 300 meters away from its border. “It has now been agreed that cartographers from both sides will correct the situation,” Armenia NSS said in its statement, without elaborating on when the decisions were made between the two sides.

“The Armenian army did not have positions in the area in question, because positions are not located on the border line, but on the nearby strategic heights. And the protection of that part of the border should be transferred to the border guard troops, according to the agreement,” added the NSS.