Author: Meline Chalian

Russia’s Rosatom to extend life of Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear plant

Meline Chalian
Dec 18 2023
 

ByArshaluys Barseghyan

Armenia has contracted the Russian state nuclear agency, Rosatom, to extend the life of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, with talks ‘ongoing’ about building a new reactor at the ageing facility.

At a meeting in Yerevan attended by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk on Friday, the Metsamor NPP signed a deal with Rosatom to extend the operation of the plant until 2036.

RIA, a Russian state news agency, reported that the deal was worth $65 million. 

The contract involves further extending the life of Metsamor’s Reactor 2, which came online in 1980 with an expected 30-year lifespan and is currently the only reactor still operational at Metsamor. The reactor was due to be decommissioned in 2026, after its lifespan was previously extended.

Environmental campaigners, Turkey, and the EU have all expressed concerns about the safety of the current reactor, urging the government to shut it down.

Overchuk also announced that Russia was in talks with Armenia to build a new reactor at the plant. Discussions about constructing a new reactor at Metsamor have been ongoing in Armenia for well over a decade.

Metsamor, the only nuclear power plant in the South Caucasus, produced 26% of Armenia’s electricity in 2021. 

Overchuk also expressed interest in developing trade and economic relations with Armenia through the ‘diversification of transport routes and the opening of new routes’ for the transportation of cargo. 

‘Unfortunately, as we know, Upper Lars cannot provide year-round transportation due to climatic reasons, which seriously hinders the development of relations between our countries,’ said Overchuk of the Russia–Georgia border point that Armenia relies on to transport goods to Russia.

In a press briefing later on Friday, Overchuck stressed that Russia was ready to continue mediating between Armenia and Azerbaijan on unblocking transport links.

‘First of all, we are talking about unblocking the railway connection,’ he said.

On Friday evening, Rosatom also announced that they hoped to secure a contract to clean up hazardous waste at a Soviet-era rubber plant in Yerevan, according to TASS. They said they had submitted their proposals last year after a request by the Armenian Government to inspect the site.

The contract for Russia to extend the life of Armenia’s nuclear plant came as relations between the two countries reached an all-time low.

On Friday, Mikheil Galuzin, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, read a statement penned by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in which he blamed the West for the worsening of relations.

‘Allied ties between Moscow and Yerevan are being tested for strength in the light of the West’s attempts to drive a wedge into relations between our fraternal peoples’, he said.

Galuzin added that ’some temporary difficulties in our relations are not only surmountable, they are surmountable with a plus for the further development of our diverse ties.’

In response, Artur Hovhannisyan, an MP from the ruling Civil Contract party, stated that Armenia’s relations with Russia were being strained, but not due to external any influence.

‘In this context, we can also talk about the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organisation], because there are also contracts and unfulfilled obligations, that is, these contractual relations are being put to the test, we need to understand whether these contracts are valid or not’ Hovhannisyan told RFE/RL.

Armenia, which is a member of the CSTO, has been critical of the Russia-led security bloc for not providing military assistance in the face of Azerbaijani attacks on Armenia, most recently in September 2022. 

However, on Monday, Mher Grigoryan, Armenia’s deputy prime minister, attended a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), another Russia-led bloc, in Moscow, one of the few sessions organised by the CIS or the CSTO that Armenia has attended in the past few months.

https://oc-media.org/russias-rosatom-to-extend-life-of-armenias-metsamor-nuclear-plant/

Meet the lobbyists fronting for Azerbaijan in Washington

Meline Chalian
Dec 14 2023
REPORTING | WASHINGTON POLITICS

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) recently sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him to get tougher on Azerbaijan for its “brazen campaign of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

This follows an earlier statement from Cardin, shortly after Azerbaijan’s September “lightning offensive” against Nagorno-Karabakh, that called for the U.S. to “halt security assistance to Azerbaijan,” and increase humanitarian support for the 100,000 ethnic Armenians who fled en masse from Nagorno-Karabakh.

As of this writing, neither of those things has occurred and the Biden administration has done little to address Azerbaijan’s military aggression. While there are undoubtedly myriad reasons for the U.S. government’s lukewarm response, one possible explanation is one of Washington’s oldest pastimes: lobbying. For years, the Azerbaijan government has been financing a well connected lobbying and influence operation in the U.S. that has worked diligently to keep U.S. military assistance flowing and to ensure that policymakers turn a blind-eye to the country’s consistent human rights violations.

As documented in a just released Quincy Institute brief, The Lobbying Battle for Nagorno-Karabakh, the government of Azerbaijan has spent millions of dollars on registered lobbyists and much more on illicit influence operations that have helped foster and maintain support for Baku across Europe and the U.S.

“The United States will not countenance any action or effort – short-term or long-term – to ethnically cleanse or commit other atrocities against the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh,” was an assurance from then-Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Yuri Kim in testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 14.

Just five days later, the U.S. did exactly what Kim said it would not, standing idly by on September 19 as Azerbaijan launched an “anti-terrorist” operation against what remained of Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh, leading to the ethnic cleansing of over 100,000 of its residents as they fled to the neighboring Republic of Armenia.

The territorial dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh — the mountainous breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but self-governed by Armenians — now appears over as the de facto officials announced that all institutions will be dissolved on January 1, 2024. These developments followed what had been a year of Azerbaijani escalation against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia proper, including an Azerbaijani blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh which lasted almost 10 months and saw the territory’s food, medical, and energy supplies all but run out. When Baku launched its military assault, Washington and Brussels were only able to muster strongly worded statements, but no meaningful reaction.

Don’t count out Azerbaijan’s influence operations in Washington for helping to thwart what should have been a stronger response on Capitol Hill and in the White House. The government of Azerbaijan has spent over $7 million on lobbying and public relations firms registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) since 2015, according to OpenSecrets. Chief among the Azerbaijan lobby’s hired guns is BGR Government Affairs, one of Washington’s top lobbying firms, which is contracted to serve as a liaison for the Azerbaijan Embassy in the U.S.

FARA filings reveal that the firm contacted congressional offices more than 1,000 times on Azerbaijan’s behalf in just the first half of 2023, and that their work included efforts “to ensure there were no negative Azerbaijan amendments on the National Defense Authorization Act” and “fair language for Azerbaijan” in the appropriations process. More generally, BGR “educated policymakers in Congress about the important role Azerbaijan plays as a key security partner of the United States.”

In 2018, BGR signed an agreement with another lobbying firm — Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell, and Berkowitz — to aid its efforts on behalf of the Azerbaijan Embassy. An analysis of that firm’s FARA filings shows that they’ve been laser focused on the State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations, which is responsible for, among many other issues, determining how much U.S. military assistance flows to Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Overall, it would seem both firms have been successful at allowing Azerbaijan to dodge criticism and continue to receive millions of dollars in security assistance every year.

Most notably in 2023,the Azerbaijan Embassy hired The Friedlander Group, whose namesake Ezra Friedlander has been a prominent American-Israeli lobbyist for years, rubbing shoulders with a number of top policymakers, including former President Donald Trump. When he was hired by Azerbaijan he immediately put his connections to work, according to his firm’s FARA filing, securing meetings with dozens of congressional offices, including even a face-to-face meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

This is just the tip of the iceberg for Azerbaijan’s influence operations in the U.S. As documented by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), the Azerbaijan government has a history of laundering its influence in Europe and the U.S. The “Azerbaijani Laundromat,” as described by the OCCRP, was “a complex money-laundering operation and slush fund that handled $2.9 billion over a two-year period through four shell companies.” This 2012-2014 scheme which involved funneling government funds through shell companies, included payments to several pro-Azeri Americans, one of whom later pleaded guilty to concealing the fact that a congressional trip to Azerbaijan he’d helped organize was secretly funded by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR).

Azerbaijan’s often illicit influence operations in Europe have dubbed it “caviar diplomacy,” given the country’s repeated attempts to bribe European officials with all manner of luxury goods, including caviar. At least one investigation resulted in FBI agents raiding the home of the co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), in January 2022.

Armenians have also sought to influence the U.S. public debate surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. However, this has been done at a significantly smaller scale than their Azerbaijani counterparts, and the main actors of Armenian lobbying efforts in the U.S. have been the estimated one to two million diaspora Armenians in the U.S.

In the early 1990s, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the Armenian diaspora in the U.S. achieved its first major political victory via Section 907 of the 1992 Freedom Support Act, which explicitly prohibited the vast majority of U.S. assistance from the Act to post-Soviet Azerbaijan until Baku “cease[es] all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.”

However, in 2002, as the “Global War on Terror” was heating up, Azerbaijan was granted a waiver for Section 907 that has allowed over $160 million of U.S. security assistance to flow to the country ever since.

Nevertheless, during the war in 2020, Armenians boycotted lobbying and PR firms working for Azerbaijan and, in 2021, President Joe Biden recognized the systemic mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide, a long-standing priority of the Armenian diaspora in the U.S. More recently the Senate unanimously passed the “Armenian Protection Act,” that would cut off aid to Azerbaijan for at least two years.

For Armenians, these developments are viewed as too little too late, however, as Azerbaijan has already achieved what it wanted in Nagorno-Karabakh with little international pushback. This result is likely due in no small part to Azerbaijan’s concerted influence operations in the U.S. For years, the lobbyists on Azerbaijan's payroll have worked to keep U.S. military assistance flowing to the country and to tip the scales of U.S. support in their favor.

While they may not have “won” this influence battle they have no doubt done enough to keep the U.S. on the sidelines of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.


Editor's Note: Artin Dersimonian was an intern at the Armenian Embassy in Washington in 2018. The Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program at the Armenian Assembly — which is mentioned in the QI brief on which this article is based — facilitated Dersimonian's internship with the embassy.

Mass exodus from the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Two stories of flight from Nagorno-Karabakh

Meline Chalian
Dec 16 2023
ELISA BERNAL / ACCIÓN CONTRA EL HAMBRE
DEC 16, 2023 – 18:48 CET

Over 100,000 ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh were forced to flee their homes last September, following the rapidly escalating conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over control of this Caucasus region. After three decades of hostilities that have left some 40,000 people dead, the authorities of the self-proclaimed republic agreed to dissolve its government and armed forces. That decision was made 24 hours after the start of Azerbaijan’s bombing of Nagorno Karabakh when they realized that they did not have any international support.

Most of the population of Nagorno Karabakh moved to the Armenian border province of Syunik. It was a long and exhausting journey, especially since the military offensive was preceded by a nine-month blockade of the Lachin corridor, during which virtually no supplies or humanitarian aid entered, leaving many families without resources. There was only one way out of Nagorno Karabakh: a winding mountain road. After three days of travel by car with very little food and water, the mass exodus exacerbated diseases and caused malnutrition; some even had to make the trek on foot.

“These refugees had nothing when they arrived,” explains Marcella Maxfield, Action Against Hunger’s Regional Director for the South Caucasus. “Facing an uncertain future, they now desperately need emergency aid, both for urgent needs such as food and water, and for necessities like bedding, medicine, mental health care and psychosocial support.”

Below are two stories of the exodus from Nagorno Karabakh.

On September 25, Nora —who does not want to reveal her identity— fled the conflict with her entire family: her grandmother, aunt, niece, newborn cousin, mother, father, husband, sisters and brother. Three days later, they arrived in Goris, Armenia. On the last two days of the journey, they had nothing to eat. They were forced to drink water from lakes and rivers in the surrounding mountains. “We couldn’t even sleep for an hour,” Nora says.

During the blockade, Nora was pregnant, but she miscarried due to acute stress and malnutrition. Access to health services was limited and it took more than an hour and a half to walk to work. They relied mainly on the potatoes they grew themselves. She now lives with some of her family in a town called Parakar in Armenia. Their apartment lacks electricity, gas and water. They have a small amount of savings to buy food, but it is already running low. Nora is especially worried about her seven-year-old brother. “He needs psychological support,” she says. “He can’t sleep because he still hears the bombing.”

Nora has only one wish: to return home. “I want to go back to Nagorno Karabakh,” she says.

In the image on the left, Nora’s younger sister poses in her current apartment in Parakar, Armenia, to show a photograph she took before fleeing. It shows the bread the family baked to take with them on their way to Syunik, the Armenian province closest to the border crossing. The journey took three days, but there was only enough bread to eat on the first day. They also brought medicine for their grandmother. In the picture on the right, the cell phone photo shows their last meal, a few boiled potatoes the family prepared before leaving Nagorno-Karabakh.

In the picture on the left, Nora’s younger sister shows a photograph she took after the September 2023 bombings. She explains that, before fleeing to Armenia, one of her relatives threw away a cupboard full of cans of food out of anger over the conflict and being forced to flee. In the image on the right, the photograph on the cell phone shows the moment when the family bolted the door of their apartment in Nagorno Karabakh just before fleeing to Armenia.

In the picture on the left, Nora’s younger sister shows the family’s garden in their apartment in Nagorno Karabakh. The image on the right shows a photograph she took with her cell phone during the nine-month blockade of Lachin. The image shows two neighbors riding the horse that Nora’s family also used to travel to health centers 20 to 40 kilometers (12.4 to 25 miles) away. Many families had to travel on foot or on horseback because of the lack of fuel due to the blockade of the corridor.

In the image on the left, Nora poses in her bedroom in Parakar. The image on the right shows the stove with which Nora’s family cooks their food, as they have no electricity.

Armine and Sasun, 44, who prefer to remain anonymous, have supported each other for over two decades. They knew each other in childhood. They grew up as neighbors and even went to the same kindergarten. They have been together for 23 years and have a son and a daughter.

In 2009, they met a woman living in the Armenian town of Goris, and over the years they forged a close friendship with her. She was the one who offered them a house when the family was forced to flee Nagorno Karabakh on September 26. The apartment where they lived was destroyed.

In the months prior to the conflict, Armine and Sasun had already been living on meager food rations as a result of the blockade of the Lachin corridor. The authorities gave them vouchers to buy food, but the quantities were barely sufficient: three kilos of vegetables, two kilos of fruit, two kilos of potatoes and a small amount of bread. Armine and Sasun had to divide this ration among the whole family. If they didn’t use the vouchers to buy food within two weeks, they lost the opportunity, and there was no telling when the next batch of vouchers would arrive. Buying food was very expensive: a single cabbage could cost around €15 euros ($16.35).

Armine explains that they took care of “each other.” She says that her son once went to the nearest bakery, several kilometers away, and had to wait in line until five in the morning. On the way home, he gave the bread to a disabled man he encountered who was in a very bad way.

In the picture on the left, Sasun holds the pink ration card they were given in Nagorno Karabakh with which they were allowed to buy two kilos of fruit between February 23 and March 7. Armine and Sasun explain that a cabbage costs about 6,500 drams (about €15/$16.35) and an egg cost 1,000 drams (about €3/ $3.27). All four members of the family (Armine, Sasun, their son and daughter) were working, but Sasun explains that they saw many others starving: “People helped each other as much as possible, but we saw many cases of pregnant women who lost their babies due to malnutrition,” Armine adds. In the picture on the right, Sasun holds the green ration card they were given in Nagorno Karabakh, which allowed them to buy three kilos of vegetables between March 8 and 22.

In the picture on the left, Sasun holds the white ration card they were given in Nagorno Karabakh that allowed them to buy two kilos of potatoes. In the image on the right, Armine holds up her cell phone showing a photograph of the apartment where they lived in Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh.

For all photos, click on the link below


Armenia and Azerbaijan, a rare declaration rekindles hopes for peace

Meline Chalian

Italy – Dec 12 2023


12/12/2023 -  Onnik James Krikorian

Despite concerns that even a framework agreement to normalise relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan would not come by the end of this year, an unexpected joint statement issued by Baku and Yerevan late last Thursday, 7 December, has sparked optimism that this could still happen. The two countries fought a devastating 44-day war three years ago, but a peace deal has so far remained elusive.

Though joint statements are not new, they had always been issued as part of trilateral talks either facilitated or mediated by Russian President Vladimir Putin or European Council President Charles Michel. This time, however, the statement was issued bilaterally by the Armenian Prime Minister’s Office and the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration with no third-party involved.

The development is particularly significant given the impasse in the Michel-facilitated Brussels Process, with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pulling out of EU-mediated talks in Granada and Brussels in October, and Yerevan rejecting offers of Russian-hosted talks as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan increasingly turns westwards.

Even more confident following its victory over ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh that resulted in the exodus of just over 100,000 of its residents to Armenia, Baku considers that the EU is increasingly siding with Yerevan by supplying the latter with albeit modest non-offensive military support in addition to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) EUMA mission deployed on its border since February.

Indeed, on an 8 October visit to Tbilisi  , Aliyev had suggested that it is now time for Armenia and Azerbaijan to negotiate either bilaterally in a third country such as Georgia or on their shared border. This came to a head when Azerbaijan also cancelled planned talks scheduled to be held between the two foreign ministers in Washington DC on 20 November.

On the same day, Baku again invited Yerevan to engage bilaterally with no intermediaries. The next, apparently taken unawares, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan suggested that commissions from both countries would meet on the border. Azerbaijan agreed, though the meeting on 30 November lasted three hours with no reported outcome other than the plan to meet again.

Last week’s joint statement, however, was different as it involved the administrations of the Armenian Prime Minister and Azerbaijani President, apparently alone. Baku would release 32 Armenian captives, Yerevan would release 2 Azerbaijani detainees, and the parties would support each other in the international arena.

“As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Armenia supports the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, by withdrawing its own candidacy”, the joint statement read  in what was arguably an unprecedented announcement. The following day, the international reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

“Establishing and deepening bilateral dialogue between sides has been a key objective of the EU-led Brussels process: today’s progress is a key step. I now encourage the leaders to finalise the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal ASAP”, Charles Michel posted on X  .

In Azerbaijan, the bilateral nature of the agreement was widely celebrated though Armenian analysts were either dismissive or mainly silent, fearful that it could also represent a shift away from either the Brussels format, US-facilitated bilateral talks between the Foreign Ministers, or both. Some in Yerevan, however, suggested that Georgia might have mediated with the US to help finalise the agreement.

Yet, the day after the statement, MP Sargis Khandanyan, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, rejected such suggestions, repeating that the process was bilateral without intermediaries, though adding that, while its significance should not be underrated, it should not be overestimated either. He also said that the exchange of prisoners would occur in “hours or days”.

At time of publication, however, there has been no news of those prisoners being released.

Nonetheless, until it becomes known whether Armenia and Azerbaijan will return to bilateral or trilateral talks, the joint statement has at least encouraged those hopeful for an agreement to come soon. For now, that remains unclear. Speaking on Armenian Public TV on Saturday, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan could only say that a deal could come “by the end of the year… or as soon as possible”. The same was expected at the end of last year.

https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Armenia/Armenia-and-Azerbaijan-a-rare-declaration-rekindles-hopes-for-peace-228965

Armenia’s absence at CSTO PA session won’t impact plans on unified air defense system, says Russia

Meline Chalian

 16:08, 6 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s absence at the CSTO PA meeting won’t impact the decision on creating a unified air defense system, the Russian foreign ministry has claimed.

“Their physical absence doesn’t overall hinder the process of agreeing adoption of collective documents, which in many cases they join,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin told reporters when asked whether Armenia’s refusal to take part in the CSTO PA session will have any impact on the plans to create a unified air defense system.

The 16th plenary session of the CSTO PA Council will take place on December 19 in Moscow.

The Armenian delegation  in the session.

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1125659.html?fbclid=IwAR0JNZkIydegeJsUWdohoI_rCX7BPm1visWVb7W8F7PG4F3GdXZcG4Z7Shw

Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement: Opinion from Yerevan

Meline Chalian
Dec 7 2023
  • Armine Martirosyan
  • Yerevan

Signing of the peace treaty

The Armenian Foreign Ministry accuses Azerbaijan of trying to “delay the peace process and drive it to a deadlock” by staging provocations on the border and rejecting Western mediators’ proposals to continue negotiations. Yerevan has handed Baku its sixth peace treaty proposal. Azerbaijan has yet to respond. Instead, it has offered to hold bilateral talks — without the participation of mediators. Both sides declare their readiness to sign a peace treaty, but the process is not moving forward.

Armenia’s expert community believes that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is indeed ready to sign a peace agreement, but the process is being delayed by Azerbaijan because of its agreements with Russia.

  • “Armenia does not yet have the resources to challenge Russia.” Opinion
  • “Change strategy and fight” – political scientist’s proposal to Armenian authorities
  • “Old or new agenda?” What the EU delegation in Yerevan is discussing

“Azerbaijan fulfills its obligations to Russia. Signing a peace treaty not on Russian platforms contradicts the commitments Aliyev made after the Karabakh war in 2020. Turkey then helped Azerbaijan successfully wage war, while Russia did everything to prevent Armenia from resisting effectively, sabotaging many processes in the army through its agency and through its influence.

At the same time, Moscow and Baku agreed that Azerbaijan gets Artsakh and Russia gets Azerbaijan as a member of the CSTO military bloc and the EAEU economic union.

In parallel, Moscow planned to change the power in Armenia following its defeat in the 2020 war, appoint its protégé, and annex Armenia to Russia as a province or absolute vassal.

But this project failed. Alexander Dugin and Vladimir Zhirinovsky repeatedly reminded Ilham Aliyev of his duty to Moscow. That they had done their job – betrayed their ally and sold it to Azerbaijan, now it is Baku’s turn, and Baku must pay.

Alexander Dugin – Russian public figure who promotes the idea of creating a Eurasian superpower by integrating the Russian Federation with former Soviet republics into a new union.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky – Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia until his death in 2022.

But Aliyev refused, saying that he had not yet received everything promised, referring to the so-called ‘Zangezur corridor’ [a road through southern Armenia to Nakhichevan not controlled by the Armenian side].”

“Because of this, Russia started to pressure Armenia to get this corridor. Since it failed to get what it wanted, it no longer hopes that Azerbaijan will join the CSTO or the EAEU. Now Moscow is demanding that it stay in Nagorno-Karabakh, where the mandate of the peacekeeping force expires in a year.

A peace treaty signed on Western platforms under Western guarantees and mediation means a solution to Armenian-Azerbaijani, as well as Armenian-Turkish contradictions. Then no one, including Armenia, will need Russia in this region.

I am convinced that Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan during their meeting on September 4 in Sochi, along with the aggression against Artsakh and ethnic cleansing of Armenians, reached additional agreements to ensure that the peace treaty is at least not concluded on Western platforms.”

“Look at the discussions that were organized in September in the U.S. Senate, look at what James O’Brien, Assistant Secretary of State of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the U.S. State Department, said on the Artsakh issue.

James O’Brien talked about replacing Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh: “There are currently Russian troops there, this is their first term, according to the 2020 ceasefire statement. If there is an alternative for these countries [Armenia and Azerbaijan], the presence of Russian peacekeepers will no longer be needed. They have failed their task as peacekeepers. We need the Russian peacekeepers to leave after their five-year term expires [in 2025]. The United States is ready to offer an alternative to Russian peacekeepers. The United States and the European Union want Armenia’s rapprochement with its transatlantic allies and are working out a strategy to ensure it.

In addition, Azerbaijan was clearly told at the Senate hearings that there are still a few weeks left to sign the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty. On the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, it was said that the US is investigating the latest aggression against Armenians to understand what happened there, whether it was ethnic cleansing or not. They are cooperating with Human Rights Watch as part of that investigation. This is necessary so that their statements do not appear unsubstantiated.

The rights and security of the NK Armenians are part of the peace treaty itself, and this was made clear by the statement of the leaders of Armenia, France, Germany and the EU President at the end of the quadrilateral meeting in Granada.

The statement clearly spoke of the safe return of Karabakh Armenians to their homeland, ensuring their rights and security, something Azerbaijan wants to avoid.

But if Baku continues its unconstructive policy, I am sure that the Kosovization of Artsakh will be inevitable.”

“To advance these goals, actors have different roles. Armenia has its own role. It does not raise the issue of Artsakh. Mediators have their own. And that is why we need Western mediators, while Azerbaijan does not. Baku prefers to solve issues on the Russian platform, where the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is not mentioned, or prefers a bilateral format without mediators.

But I exclude the possibility of signing a peace treaty on the Russian platform.

Armenia has a consistent policy on the issue of the Russian military bloc of the CSTO, refusing to participate in the activities of the organization. It should pursue the same policy in other formats.

It would be a mistake on the part of Nikol Pashinyan to go to any event and meet with Ilham Aliyev in the Russian backyard. This will be a very bad message to the West.“

https://jam-news.net/signing-of-the-armenia-azerbaijan-peace-treaty/








OSCE supports Armenia-Azerbaijan peace talks

Meline Chalian

 16:34,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The OSCE Chairmanship supports peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE, North Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani has said.

“The Chairmanship supports the continuation of the political process aimed at achieving a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” TASS news agency quoted Osmani as saying at the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council.

He added that the organization offers a platform for “constructive dialogue”.

Asbarez: AGBU Hosts Fundraiser in Five Courses with ‘Chefs for Armenia’ Event

Meline Chalian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Latest, News, Top Stories

From left: Armen Martirosyan (Mini Kabob); Armen Ayvazyan (Chi Spacca); Anthony Castro (Redbird | Vibiana); Tobin Shea (Redbird | Vibiana); Vartan Abgaryan (Momed); James Saidy (Rossoblu); Steve Samson (Rossoblu). Not pictured: Dina Samson (Rossoblu), Sasha Piligian


The Armenian General Benevolent Union and World Central Kitchen this fall were working around the clock across seven regions of Armenia to prepare and distribute warm meals and food packages to tens of thousands of forcibly displaced Armenians from Artsakh. Little did they know that, across the world, five celebrity chefs in Los Angeles were huddled in the kitchen of the Rossoblu restaurant to help keep the AGBUxWCK food security operation going strong.

The effort is part of the “Chefs for Armenia” campaign, a new concept in fundraising that pairs fine dining experiences with humanitarian causes. The brand and the model are the brainchild of Armenian American restaurant marketing and brand developer Alexis Halejian and Chef Vartan Abgaryan. Halejian is also an AGBU program alumna by way of AGBU Camp Nubar in New York State, where she was born and raised before relocating to LA.

On November 6, 115 guests assembled at the toney five-star LA restaurant Rossoblu, where big name chefs associated with celebrated local dining venues gathered together to cook for a cause. This included Vartan Abgaryan of Momed; Armen Ayvazyan of Chi Spacca; Armenian Martirosyan of Mini Kabob; and the pastry phenomenon Sasha Piligian. Steve and Dina Samson, co-owners of Rossoblu, donated their magnificent dining space and kitchen for each chef to prepare one dish for one of the five courses. The menu was curated as a group collaboration, creating an eclectic menu of Armenian and other international favorites compatible with the discerning palate.

A scene from the fundraising event

Upon their arrival, guests were treated to an Ararat Brandy Welcome Cocktail created by Tobin Shea, the acclaimed bar director of Redbird | Vibiana, who has visited Armenia as a result of the global popularity of Armenian brandy. He fell in love with the country and its people and said a few words to the audience about his appreciation for Armenia and shared his rarified knowledge of the product. On this occasion, it was paired with a Welcome Bite by Zhegyalov Hatz, a local purveyor of the indigenous Armenian bread staple, stuffed with fresh greens and herbs, found on every Artsakh table.

As for Armenian wines, they were curated by James Saidy, who frequently works with Rossoblu.  They were offered for purchase on the spot, by the glass or the bottle. Choices included wines from the top-tier vineyards of Armenia’s Vayot Dzor region, including Keush NV ‘Origins’ Brut Methode Sparkling, Zulal 2020 Voskehat White, Shofer 2020 Areni Red as well as 2018 Areni Reserve Red, all under the Storica portfolio.

Back in 2020, when the Second Artsakh War was raging on, Halejian and Abgaryan decided that they could use their wide network of industry and community connections to attract restaurateurs, chefs, and a diverse segment of patrons to organize exceptional dinners and curated spirits and wines to raise funds for worthy causes.That was the birth of the concept at Momed in East LA that is now under the “Chefs for Armenia” brand.

A plate prepared by the five celebrity chefs in Los Angeles at the fundraising event

According to Halejian, the “Chefs for Armenia” model achieves multiple goals beyond cooking for a cause. “It is essential that we not only raise funds, but also promote awareness about Armenians, Armenia, and Artsakh to our local communities and beyond. Having a host restaurant and multiple enthusiastic guest chefs support this effort in spreading the word to their audiences is greatly appreciated in helping accomplish this goal.”

The event also brought together a cross-section of Armenians and non-Armenians within the community. “I was thrilled and humbled to see that, in addition to many non-Armenian guests, Armenians of different ages and backgrounds were also represented,” said Halejian. “They came to the table to break bread together, united in their support of helping the thousands of Artsakh Armenians who are struggling right now,” Halejian explained.

AGBU Western Region Executive Director Gohar Stambolyan also updated the guests on the current situation in Armenia after the forced mass exodus of over 100,000 Artsakh Armenians fleeing for their lives across the border to Armenia. “The humanitarian situation in Armenia is growing by the day as the country struggles to respond to the population influx accounting for 3.4 percent of the country’s population. With Armenia’s harsh winter approaching, there is an urgent rush to secure temporary housing and ensure a malnourished population finds strength with access to nutritious food and medical care.”

A plate prepared by the five celebrity chefs in Los Angeles at the fundraising event

Stambolyan also shared a short video produced by AGBU, which amplified her report with on-the-ground footage that was a poignant and emotional reminder of what happens to innocent civilians who become targets of ethnic cleansing.

“Thanks to the outpouring of donations to AGBU Global Relief Fund, we have already mobilized major humanitarian aid including the provision of temporary homes, food, medical services, psychosocial support, job search support, and other types of real-time assistance,” Stambolyan reported.  “With such a long list of needs to address beyond the food security effort, we must continue to raise funds to support longer term assistance programs that are invaluable to a community in recovery.”

Finally, the celebrity chefs and sommeliers made their grand entrance to make their own remarks about the “Chefs for Armenia” concept and how proud they were to have the chance to donate their time and culinary talents to support Armenians on the brink of starvation for the 10 months prior to the forced evacuation.

Halejian and the other stakeholders were truly gratified to see the sold-out turnout, especially on a Monday night. She and Abgaryan also asserted that the concept is easy to replicate across other markets nationwide, and even abroad, because of its universal appeal that easily attracts food lovers from different backgrounds and persuasions to expand their horizons and gain insight into other cultures over and above great cuisine. ““These chef dinners could be organized in other markets with Armenian representation and food aficionados alike,” Abgaryan noted. “More of these smaller-capacity events can add up to additional funds for humanitarian aid as it is needed, plus bring greater awareness of causes that aren’t receiving much media attention on a larger scale.”

Halejian was quick to point out, “We even put together an extensive training guide covering every step of the “Chefs for Armenia” playbook to help other fundraisers succeed from start to finish. We are going to bring attention to these worthy causes one city at a time.”

To organize a local dining experience and fundraiser in your area or to donate to AGBU Global Relief Fund online, go to [email protected].

The Armenian General Benevolent Union is the world’s largest non-profit organization devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programs. Each year, AGBU is committed to making a difference in the lives of 500,000 people across Armenia, Artsakh and the Armenian diaspora.  Since 1906, AGBU has remained true to one overarching goal: to create a foundation for the prosperity of all Armenians. To learn more visit the website.

ADB President Commits Support For Armenia’s Long-Term Development Objectives

Meline Chalian
Nov 28 2023

By India Education Diary Bureau Admin On Nov 28, 2023

YEREVAN  — Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa committed to helping Armenia realize its long-term development objectives in a meeting with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan today.

“We are enthusiastic to continue helping Armenia realize its long-term development objectives,” said Mr. Asakawa, who is on his first official visit to the Caucasus nation. “As your trusted partner, ADB will support Armenia’s pursuit of an export-oriented, knowledge-based, and inclusive economy. We stand alongside the government to help address the country’s key development challenges.”

The two leaders also attended the inauguration of a school in Yerevan that was renovated under ADB’s Seismic Safety Improvement Program, which aims to refurbish 46 schools across Armenia. Mr. Asakawa visited a second school to be reconstructed by ADB.

He is scheduled to meet with President Vahagn Khachatryan, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, and the Minister of Finance and ADB Governor Vahe Hovhannisyan on his 3-day trip.

Mr. Asakawa will witness the exchange of loan agreement for a second tranche of financing under the Seismic Safety Improvement program. He will also witness the signing of a $65.17 million loan to improve the urban environment, enhance the road network, and promote climate-resilient infrastructure in the capital. Under the Yerevan Urban Development Investment Project, a new 1.8 km road and bridge will help to cut congestion along a key route for commuter traffic in the city.

Tomorrow, Mr. Asakawa will join senior members of the government at an event to explore opportunities for Armenia to incorporate climate adaptation into its fiscal planning. Upstream engagement is critical to ensuring that climate risk is adequately accounted for in national budgets. As Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank, ADB is committed to supporting climate mitigation and adaptation projects in Armenia.

ADB is currently supporting six infrastructure investments in transport and urban development totaling $525 million. These initiatives are helping Armenia develop an efficient, safe, and sustainable road network that improves connectivity within the land-locked country and internationally.

Since Armenia joined ADB in 2005, the bank has provided more than $1.8 billion in support and become one of the country’s largest multilateral development partners. This includes projects in transport, energy, water, and urban infrastructure. In the private sector, ADB supports utilities and infrastructure, financial institutions, and agribusiness.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

https://indiaeducationdiary.in/adb-president-commits-support-for-armenias-long-term-development-objectives/