Twin Falls, Idaho has recognized the independence of Artsakh, reports the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
ANCA thanks ANC Idaho Chair Liyah Babayan, a survivor of Azerbaijani pogroms, and the Idaho Armenian community for leading the effort in support of self-determination and freedom for the people of Artsakh.
Below is the proclamation signed by Mayor Suzanne Hawkins.
Atlantic Council By Maysam Bizaer Jan. 4, 2021 The first railway between Iran and Afghanistan was launched in December 2020, linking the Iranian northeastern city of Khaf to Afghanistan’s western city of Ghoryan over a 140 km track. The project represents a major step toward increasing Afghan-Iran trade and opening landlocked Afghanistan to the rest of the world through the Iranian port of Chabahar. Iran paid for the $75 million project as part of development assistance to Afghanistan following the overthrow of the Taliban regime in 2001. Once completed, the 225 km Khaf-Herat network would help transport six million tons of goods and up to a million passengers annually. As part of a larger East-West Railway Corridor extending to China and Europe, the new railway track consists of four sections, three of which were funded and developed by Iran. The last section to Herat is about 80 percent done and is being financed by Italy. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani described the railroad as “a precious gift from Iran” that would help restore the ancient Silk Road. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hailed the launch as a “historic day” for both countries and described it as Afghanistan’s gateway to Europe, asserting that it would contribute to regional development, security, and stability. Rouhani added that completion of the project, which began in 2007, is a clear indication of how Iran values the development of its neighbor despite Iran being under harsh economic conditions due to US sanctions. While the first railroad in Afghanistan was constructed in 1907, decades of war and insecurity have resulted in serious underdevelopment of the country’s railway system in addition to roads and bridges. This has been a major disincentive to transport. Thus, the recently launched railway—the first with standard size track in Afghanistan—marks a major breakthrough for the entire region. The Khaf-Herat railway was part of a bigger agreement among Iran, India, and Afghanistan to develop Iran’s southeastern port of Chabahar. India is jointly developing Chabahar as a reliable access route to Central Asia and a counter to the Gwadar Port in Pakistan, which is being developed by India’s rival, China. Located on the Sea of Oman, Chabahar is part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a strategic trade route agreed among Iran, India, and Russia in 2000. When completed, the multi-modal corridor linking Asia and Europe will be 40 percent shorter and cost up to 30 percent less than current routes. The new railway is the latest in a series of projects Iran has implemented, mostly in Afghanistan’s Western regions, as part of a $560 million pledge for rebuilding Afghanistan. Tehran was one of the largest donors at a 2002 Tokyo conference, pledging more than India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, and Pakistan combined. Schools, power plants, new border crossings and roads are some of the other projects Iran has undertaken. In 2005, Iran opened the 122 km Dogharun-Herat highway that has been serving as one of the main import-export gateways to Afghanistan. That $60 million project was built by Khatam-al Anbiya, the construction arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has been on a US sanctions list since 2010. While Iran’s major investments in Afghanistan’s western regions reflect strong historic and cultural ties between the two nations, the economic benefits are also significant, especially at a time when Iran is under heavy US sanctions reimposed by the Trump administration. Iran is currently Afghanistan’s largest trade partner followed by China and Pakistan. Beyond economic and cultural aims, Iran wants to improve the security of its borders, create more jobs, and reduce poverty in the hopes of decreasing illegal immigration from Afghanistan. Iran also seeks to improve access to important raw materials, such as iron ore mines in western Afghanistan. Instability and climate change have contributed to significant underdevelopment in Iran’s southeast provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, and Kerman. Projects under construction, such as the Khaf-Herat railway and the Chabahar-Zahedan-Mashhad railway, should boost local economies. Iran also sees these railways as a way to counter US sanctions and improve economic ties with its neighbors. Iran already has rail links with Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and Turkey and is expected to complete six more railway projects by the end of 2021. Ongoing projects will connect the railway network to Astra in Azerbaijan and Basra in southern Iraq. Iran’s location makes it an ideal transit hub for landlocked Central Asia. Although it has so far become a member in numerous international corridors—including the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), East West Transport Corridor (Ancient Silk Road), South Asia Corridor, and Transport Corridor of Europe Caucasus Asia (TRACECA)—US sanctions, the country’s controversial foreign intrusions, and local mismanagement have undermined Tehran’s potential. Some Iranian officials have warned that the country might be excluded from major international corridors by 2030 if its neighbors assess the risks as too high due to continued US sanctions, concern about Iranian foreign policies, or uncompetitive high tariffs. According to Tehran University’s Gholamheidar Ebrahim Bay Salami, the new railway also faces challenges from Pakistan, which seeks to play a similar transit role. Meanwhile, Europe and the United States have long sought to promote the development of rail lines in the South Caucasus to bypass both Iran and Russia. Given the recent conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave and the opening of the Zengezur corridor across southern Armenia, Turkey has also announced plans to build a railway to Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan, which would ultimately reach Baku. According to a 2019 report by the Iranian parliamentary research center, Tehran’s transit ambitions can only be achieved if the renovation of old infrastructure, financing, and legislation are also addressed in parallel with foreign issues. Maysam Bizaer is an analyst and commentator on Iran’s foreign policy, politics and economy. He is a frequent contributor to international media and US-based think tanks covering the Middle East.
An exhibition entitled “The First Quarter Century of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute” opened at the Museum’s temporary exhibition hall today to mark the 25th anniversary of establishment of AGMI.
The opening ceremony was attended by Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Vahram Dumanyan and Deputy Minister Narine Khachaturyan.
The exhibition is bilingual (Armenian, English) and includes fifteen subtitles. The exhibition presents the history of the foundation of the Tsitsernakaberd memorial and the Museum-Institute, the activities of AGMI on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the official visits of honorary guests to the museum, etc.
Some sub-titles of the temporary exhibition are dedicated to the publications of the museum-institute, museum funds and the scientific library, temporary-traveling exhibitions, the conferences and public lectures organized.
During the next quarter of a century of its activity, the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, as a pan-Armenian international organization meeting the standards of the 21st century, will continue to implement a number of projects, undertake new projects aimed at fundamental study of the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute (AGMI) was opened on April 24, 1995, on the 80th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
12:20,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Army is a heroic army, there cannot be two opinions on that, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a visit to Syunik province.
“Our Army is a heroic army, there cannot be two opinions on that. Our people are heroic people”, he said. “We need to build our self-confidence, optimism, Armenia and Artsakh in a new way”, he told the locals.
He emphasized the need for determination for building life in a new way.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
Source : 112 Ukraine
Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating a peace deal that ended six weeks of fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. This was reported by the Defense Ministries of the two countries.
The Armenian Defense Ministry reported that the Azerbaijani army mounted an attack in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reacted by blaming Armenia for the new clashes and threatened to "break its head with an iron fist."
"Armenia shouldn’t try to start it all over again," Aliyev said during a meeting with top diplomats from the United States and France.
"It must be very cautious and not plan any military action. This time, we will fully destroy them. It mustn’t be a secret to anyone."
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that its forces thwarted Armenian “provocations” and restored the ceasefire.
Armenian officials said the fighting raged near the villages of Hin Tager and Khtsaberd, the only settlements in the Gadrut region that are still controlled by Armenian forces. They noted that the two villages have been fully encircled by the Azerbaijani army, which controls the only road leading to them.
As we reported earlier, Armenian Defense Ministry announced the offensive of Azerbaijani troops in the area of Old Tagar and Khtsarberd.
"On December 12, the Azerbaijani side resumed violations in the direction of the Old Tagar and Khtsaberd communities of the Artsakh Republic," the message says.
Earlier, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic announced an attempt by the Azerbaijani military to attack one of the military positions.
It took 44 days for Azerbaijan to defeat Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and make Turkey one of the fundamental players in the Caucasus.
And today, Turkey's power in the region could not be clearer.
Words thanking Ankara were some of the first from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's lips when he joyously declared a ceasefire on TV last month.
In response, people flocked to the streets with Turkish and Azerbaijani flags, bellowing chants praising Ankara.
Two days later, some of the leading members of Azerbaijan's opposition addressed an open letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ignoring Aliyev. They called on Turkey to deploy permanent troops to the Nagorno-Karabakh city of Shusha (Shushi in Armenian), which was recently captured by Baku, to safeguard the area against a perceived Russian threat.
And on Thursday, Erdogan stood beside Aliyev during a military parade, celebrating victory in a conflict marred by shocking human rights abuses on both sides.
A hundred years after the Ottoman army seized Baku, Turkey had returned to Azerbaijan. You wouldn't guess it from the outpouring of fraternal feelings, but it marks a stark and abrupt change in the country.
Ten years ago, “liar, cheat and betrayer” were the words used by Aliyev to describe Turkish officials, after Ankara sought to normalise relations with Armenia. That broadside against the Erdogan government came in meetings with senior US officials, according to diplomatic telegrams released by Wikileaks.
Meanwhile, protests in Baku railed against Ankara for seeking normalisation with Yerevan without leveraging anything for Azerbaijan regarding Nagorno-Karabakh.
Now, things couldn't be more different, as - daily - Aliyev calls Erdogan his trusted brother and Azerbaijanis of various political stripes urge Turkey to establish military bases on their own soil.
The question, asked over and over by foreign diplomats as they attempt to decipher this volte-face, is "Why now?"
“Because Azerbaijan asked for help,” said a senior Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It is that easy. There is no broader conspiracy.”
How Turkey and Azerbaijan’s relations went from frosty to familial in 10 years:
April 2009: Provisional agreement to normalise ties between Turkey and Armenia announced
May 2009: President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan boycotts an international meeting hosted in Istanbul
October 2009: Turkey and Armenia sign Zurich protocols to normalise their ties. Azerbaijani officials condemn it as against their national interests
November 2009: Turkey takes a step back and says it won’t normalise its relations with Armenia until Yerevan withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh
January 2010: The Constitutional Court in Armenia approves the protocols but effectively restricts the authority vested on the planned subcommittee on the Armenian Genocide claims
August 2010: Turkey and Azerbaijan sign a strategic and military cooperation deal, a starting point of annual drills between the two countries
October 2011: First Turkey-Azerbaijan strategic cooperation council held in Izmir
December 2011: Turkey and Azerbaijan sign Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) deal after Ankara cools down the Armenia reconciliation
June 2012: Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia establish a trilateral diplomatic mechanism to deepen cooperation
May 2013: Azerbaijan state oil company begins to build STAR refinery in Turkey, valued at $4bn
November 2013: Baku allows visa-free travel for Turkish businessmen
April 2016: Azerbaijan and Armenia clashes turned to a full-scale conflict. Armenian media outlets close to the government claim Turkish military advisers are closely supporting the Azerbaijani army
October 2017: The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway (BTK) is completed
June 2018: TANAP is completed
September 2018: Azerbaijani company close to Aliyev establishes Haber Global news channel in Turkey
Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions have been occupied by Armenian forces since 1994, despite the multiple UN Security Council decisions that determined that the area belonged to Baku. Both the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities have long historical and cultural roots in the mountainous region.
Sporadic clashes have broken out since the 1990s, most recently in 2016 and in July, but essentially Nagorno-Karabakh was a frozen conflict until Ankara decided to get involved.
In various interviews, Turkish officials have underlined to Middle East Eye that the peace process run by the international "Minsk Group", headed by France, Russia and the United States, has been useless for the past 30 years. It was time, they said, for a new approach.
Turkey and Azerbaijan have strong ethnic links, as they speak almost the same language and share a common history.
“Is it weird that we tried to help our brethren?” asked the Turkish official.
Turkish officials are quick to say that, despite the conflict being advantageous for Ankara and Baku, it was Armenia that sparked the latest war.
In July, Armenian forces attacked the strategic Ganja Gap in northern Azerbaijan, killing a general and his aides, who had been trained by Turkey. Armenia's defence ministry said at the time that the clashes began after Azerbaijani forces tried to cross the border illegally.
Matthew Bryza, a former US ambassador to Azerbaijan, said the attack left a diplomatic vacuum in the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict, which indicated that Yerevan was going to have a more aggressive approach.
“It was clear that neither the US nor France would play any role in mediating that uptick in violence," Bryza told MEE. "Russia filled in on the Armenia side, and Turkey filled in on the Azerbaijan side."
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Bryza added that, in August, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan "suddenly and foolishly" began talking about the Treaty of Sevres, a 1920 settlement that would have handed eastern Turkey to Armenia.
“I think that upset President Erdogan and others at the top of the Turkish leadership. Protecting yourself, that’s a strategic response by Turkey.”
Others believe Pashinyan had been ramping up tensions in the region since the beginning of this year.
“Pashinyan said that Nagorno-Karabakh was Armenia and there wasn’t any need for further talks,” said Ceyhun Asirov, an independent Azerbaijani journalist and expert on Caucasus. “It was really astonishing. People felt violated as he continued to encourage illegal settlements by ethnic Armenians in occupied Azerbaijan soil.”
Asirov said that the July attack on the Ganja Gap was extremely concerning for Azerbaijan, as well as Turkey.
“Armenian forces attacked the area where you have an energy corridor with Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, TANAP gas pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway,” he said. “This is the lifeline for Baku and a crucial energy and trade line for Turkey.”
The attack prompted protesters to pour into Baku's streets and demand revenge in unprecedented numbers. Some of them even broke into the parliament. Turkish flags were waved in the city's squares.
“People publicly asked for Turkey’s help during the protests,” Asirov added.
Gubad Ibadoghlu, the leader of opposition party Movement for Democracy and Prosperities and a professor at Rutgers University, said the attack revealed Azerbaijani weaknesses.
“It showed everybody that we needed Turkey to face the Armenian threat,” he said.
Over the years, Turkey and Azerbaijan had overcome their differences.
First, the Turkish government dropped the normalisation process with Armenia after a strong intervention by Aliyev, who sent Azerbaijani MPs to Ankara in October 2009 to pressure Turkey into abandoning reconciliation.
Later, Erdogan and Aliyev moved their relationship to a new level, eased by the construction of the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP), which strengthened Turkey’s role as energy hub in the region by transferring gas to Europe.
'The West in time has distanced from Azerbaijan due to its repressive domestic policies'
- Arastun Orujlu, ex-Azerbaijani intelligence officer
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR, meanwhile, has nearly $20bn of direct investments in Turkey, which purchased strategic assets such as petrochemical company PETKIM and built an oil refinery called STAR. An Azerbaijani media company with close ties to Aliyev also launched a news channel, Haber Global, in Turkey in 2018.
Arastun Orujlu, a former Azerbaijani intelligence officer, said Aliyev also changed course in his foreign policy.
“The West in time has distanced from Azerbaijan due to its repressive domestic policies,” Orujlu said. “He had to make a course correction in 2015. Aliyev has been balancing Russia with the Western support. He is now in need of Turkey to do so.”
Turkish officials say by the time clashes erupted between Azerbaijan and Armenia last July, the preparations for an annual joint military drill with Baku were already underway.
“We have already had F-16s deployed in the country and then there was a ground military drill with tanks and everything else,” the official added.
A second Turkish official said the presidential elections in the United States had created fertile ground for Ankara to craft a plan for Baku to capture the territories. While Washington and the rest of the world were distracted by the elections, Azerbaijan suddenly had enough time and space to make its move.
“We have offered to sell them armed drones since last year. But our Azerbaijani counterparts refused to purchase them,” said a third Turkish official.
“They had considerations with the Western powers and it could be even about Israel. They didn’t want to damage their relations. But now they were in need, almost forced to get our help by the circumstances.”
Turkey had many perks to offer: A batch of seasoned armed drones that could destroy the heavily fortified battlefront; a strategy shaped by experienced senior commanders who had fought in Syria and Libya; advanced weaponry such as precision-guided missiles; and Syrian mercenaries that added to the boots on the ground.
For everyone in Ankara, it was almost natural for Turkey to do something for Azerbaijan. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Turkey had always wished to expand its role in the Caucasus and Central Asia, where a number of Turkic republics emerged.
Asirov, the journalist, said Turkey has been excluded from the Caucasus since Ottoman times.
“Turkey has always been part of the Minsk Group, but Russia and Armenia have always blocked Turkey from getting any meaningful role,” Bryza, the former ambassador, said. “Turkey has long aspired to have [access] to Azerbaijan and all the way to the Caspian Sea.”
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There were some obstacles before Turkey as well.
Turkish officials had strong suspicions about Russian influence in Azerbaijan and its army, with which Moscow has had long-standing deep ties, according to several Azerbaijani experts.
They suspect pro-Russian factions in Azerbaijan's army passed information to Armenia ahead of the July attack on the Ganja Gap, including intelligence on the exact location of high-ranking Azerbaijani military officers.
“The war in 2016 also indicated that there was a pro-Russian faction within the Azerbaijan army,” said Ibadoghlu. “Russian influence is high in the judiciary, military and the police."
Necmettin Sadikov, chief of general staff of the Azerbaijani armed forces, is considered among the pro-Russian ranks.
Suspicions that Armenia received intelligence from Russia have been made public. An article on the website of a think-tank led by Erdogan’s close military advisor Adnan Tanriverdi in October accused Sadikov of leaking the location of the Azerbaijani officers in the Ganja Gap.
Since last summer, Sadikov, who had been the top Azerbaijani commander for 27 years, has disappeared from sight, and rumours suggest he was informally dismissed from his role.
Ibadoghlu said another high-ranking official, Baylar Eyyubov, chief of the security service for the president, has also disappeared. Several reports allege that he was previously accused of helping some members of the PKK, the Kurdish separatists who have waged a deadly decades-long war against Turkey.
Once the operation started against Armenia on 27 September, the Turkey-backed Azerbaijan army slowly progressed from the south and made concrete gains. However, the pace wasn’t particularly satisfactory for officials in Ankara, where many questioned the training and the reliability of the Azerbaijani army.
Another concern for Turkey was Russia. It was an open secret that Turkey's leadership knew Russian resistance against Azerbaijan's operation could put a stop to the entire offensive.
In October, a Turkish delegation visited Moscow and realised that Russian President Vladimir Putin had no quarrels with Turkey's aims. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described Shusha as an “Azerbaijani city”, and only conveyed criticism over the deployment of Syrian mercenaries, according to the Turkish officials.
As the Azerbaijani army neared Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh known as Khankendi in Azerbaijan, Armenia agreed a ceasefire brokered by Russia and supported by Turkey.
Read More »
“We weren’t part of the negotiations as the deal was getting drafted, but we were consulted,” said the first Turkish official.
One of the 10 November deal's conditions was the opening of a road between Nakhcivan, an Azerbaijani enclave, and Azerbaijan proper, going through Armenia and creating a direct transportation link between Ankara and Baku.
“Everyone thinks this is a strategic victory for Turkey, as if we wanted it,” said the first Turkish official. “We didn’t even know anything about it until we saw the final version of the deal. Yet, we are happy about it.”
However, there was another condition which sparked a huge controversy in Azerbaijan, which was the deployment of Russian forces to Nagorno-Karabakh as a peacekeeping force.
“There has never been a Russian force in Azerbaijan since the fall of the Soviet Union,” said Orujlu. “They aren’t just a ceasefire mission. They have heavy weaponry, they are building permanent military bases that have drones and everything. Russian influence in the region and Azerbaijan will be directly felt.”
Ibadoghlu, the Azerbaijani politician, said the so-called Nakhcivan corridor would also serve Russian interests. “Moscow is trying to have direct access to Iran, as they are trying to extend their influence towards the south,” he said.
Many of Turkey's Nato allies blame Ankara for facilitating a victory for Russia, which didn’t even fire a bullet. There is near consensus in Azerbaijan that a permanent Turkish military presence in the country near Nagrono-Karabakh is needed to balance the increasing Russian influence.
'This is a huge geopolitical shift in Turkey’s favour and I would argue in Nato’s favour'
- Matthew Bryza, former US ambassador
Ankara seems unphased by Russia's presence in the region. Turkey and Russia reached a deal to establish a joint ceasefire observation centre near the Karabakh border earlier this month, but the terms of the deal have been kept secret. “It is only a regular ceasefire observation mission, nothing more,” said the first Turkish official.
Even though it might have helped Russia gain a foothold in Azerbaijan, many in Turkey and in the West believe that the conflict cemented Turkey’s power and role in the region.
“This is a huge geopolitical shift in Turkey’s favour and I would argue in Nato’s favour,” Bryza, the former US ambassador, said. “Turkey’s involvement in the Caucasus politically and militarily is a good thing, and I would argue that it is unequivocally good thing for Nato.”
Orujlu agrees. “Turkey has given an example to the neighbouring Turkic countries that it was reliable and effective,” he said.
“Azerbaijan's people would like to see Turkish soldiers on their soil. This could become a gateway for Turkey to Central Asia.”
17:50, 2 December, 2020
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. 1168 more residents of Artsakh have returned home in one day with the assistance of the Russian peacekeepers who are on a mission in Nagorno Karabakh, the Russian defense ministry reports.
Since November 14, 2020, more than 27,000 people have returned to Artsakh with the support of the Russian peacekeepers.
“The study process has resumed today at the Stepanakert school no. 8. The classes restored with the help of Russian peacekeepers”, the ministry said.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
21:07,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. U.S.- based ''Moderna Therapeutics'', co-founded and chaired by Noubar Afeyan, has announced that its vaccine against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is 94.1% effective.
“We will continue to work on actions initiated by several regulating bodies in the world”, the company said in a statement.
The company also said that it will apply for US and European emergency regulatory approval of its coronavirus vaccine so that it can be recommended for widespread use.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has emphasized the great responsibility that the Minsk Group countries bear in the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“France, Russia and the United States have a special responsibility. Because they were the ones who were entrusted by the UN to monitor compliance with the commitments assumed by the parties to the conflict. As co-chairmen of the Minsk Group, we made a lot of efforts to achieve a ceasefire. Three times in one week initiatives were undertaken to achieve a cessation of hostilities, in particular, by my Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov and by the United States, Michael Pompeo, but at that moment it did not work, “Le Drian said on Sunday during an interview with the French news channel LSI.
“We bear the responsibility that the international community has entrusted to us. And Armenia itself wants us to keep this responsibility. All this requires us to adhere to a balanced position,” he said.
“Both the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaderships stressed the importance of preserving our role. But this does not prevent France from providing assistance to Armenia now – an airplane with humanitarian supplies arrives in Yerevan, another one will leave there next week,” the minister said. During the interview, he especially stressed that “Armenia is a friendly people for France.
“However, it should be admitted that there is uncertainty regarding the ceasefire reached – and we want the necessary clarifications to be made to us in this regard. They concern displaced persons, since there are many Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and we strive to ensure that those Armenians, who were driven from their places of residence, return there,” the French minister said.
“It is also the issue of mercenaries – their withdrawal should be achieved, and all three countries – the co-chairs of the Minsk Group agree with the necessity of this,” he continued.
“There is also the issue of protecting religious and cultural heritage. In this regard, French President Emmanuel Macron took initiatives jointly with UNESCO, which I discussed on Saturday with my colleagues from Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Le Drian said.
“Only after the settlement of these problems can we move on to the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. At the moment it is not possible to discuss this. And the Armenian leadership agrees with this,” Le Drian said.
The French Foreign Minister said that the topic of Nagorno-Karabakh was discussed by him during the recent visit of US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to Paris.