Author: Raffi Khondkarian

Germany to provide 9.3 million euros in humanitarian aid to Armenia

Raffi Khondkarian

 18:11, 3 November 2023

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Germany will provide 9.3 million euros of humanitarian aid to Armenia to help forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Annalena Baerbock announced this during the press conference held in Yerevan after the meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

“We are currently in Armenia during such a period when the people of the country are facing numerous challenges. The images of the situation we saw are still fresh in our minds-the flow of people through the Lachin corridor into Armenia, families leaving their homeland for security reasons. It was a great challenge for the Armenian Government to accept so many people from Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Armenian Government remained calm and took all possible steps. The Government has invested capital to support these people. So their action  deserve our respect. You opened your heart and offered your help to many people, including women, children, and elderly people from Nagorno-Karabakh. We will not leave you alone in this matter.

After 2022, we have provided great support to the Government of Armenia and will provide an additional 9.3 million euros in humanitarian aid to overcome these challenges,” said Baerbock.

Armenian Foreign Ministry felicitates Czechia on the occasion of the national holiday

Raffi Khondkarian

 12:06,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Foreign Ministry has congratulated Czechia on Independence Day.

''Our heartfelt congratulations to Czechia on Czechoslovak Independence Day. Wishing peace and prosperity to the people of Czechia. Looking forward to further enhancing our relations anchored in shared values of democracy and human rights,'' the Armenian foreign ministry said in a post on X.

Why fears of another war between Armenia and Azerbaijan are growing

Raffi Khondkarian
 THE WEEK 
Oct 25 2023

After seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh region, further conflict between bitter enemies could draw in Turkey, Russia, France and Iran

BY HARRIET MARSDEN, THE WEEK UK
PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO

Fears are growing that Azerbaijan could follow its seizure of the Nagorno-Karabakh region with fresh assaults on Armenian territory, drawing Turkey, Iran and Russia into the conflict.

Azerbaijan has "kicked off major military exercises" in the region, reported Politico, with Azerbaijani troops training alongside Turkish troops on the border with Iran. 

France, the country with Europe's largest Armenian community, has announced that it will sell military equipment to Armenia. Paris "started stepping up defence cooperation with Yerevan", Armenia's capital, last September, but Azerbaijan's recent "lightning military offensive" has "accelerated France's willingness to deepen military ties", said the website.

The US is reportedly "tracking the possibility of a full-blown invasion of Armenia", said Politico – although Azerbaijan has denied such plans. But another move by Azerbaijani forces "could inflame a broader conflict in the Southern Caucasus", where Turkey, Russia and Iran "all have core strategic interests".

And with the world's eyes on the Israel-Hamas conflict, "experts believe that sovereign Armenia is the next Turkish-Azerbaijani target", said Time, with the "conspicuous arrival" of Turkish F-16 fighter jets in Azerbaijan. Last time such a military exercise took place in 2020, it "preceded the 44-day war against Armenia-backed Nagorno-Karabakh, preparing ground for last month's 'final solution'".

The Armenian and Azerbaijani governments have been "locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades", said RadioFreeEurope. Armenian-backed separatists "seized the mainly ethnic-Armenian-populated region" from Azerbaijan during a war in the early 1990s.

For decades, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "united the country around the trauma" of losing the secession war to ethnic Armenians, said the Financial Times. Aliyev "built his personal legitimacy around the battle to retake Karabakh", reported the FT's Polina Ivanova from the capital, Baku. 

The two sides fought another war in 2020 (the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War) for six weeks, before a Russian-brokered ceasefire, and then a peace agreement in 2022, when Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accepted some of the Karabakh region as Azerbaijani territory.

But Azerbaijan began to blockade the area in December last year, "effectively cutting ethnic Armenians off from the outside world", said Al Jazeera. In recent years, Aliyev began to refer to Armenia as "western Azerbaijan", and has been calling for the creation of the "Zangezur Corridor", a highway linking Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan, running along Armenia's border with Iran.

Last month Azerbaijan "dealt a crushing blow to its long-time enemy", said the FT's Ivanova, taking control over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in a "blitz offensive". But rather than "heralding a new era of peace", Azerbaijan's rhetoric "has neighbouring Armenia fearful that its ambitions may be bigger, and the conflict not over yet". 

Russian, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers met with their Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts in Tehran this month, discussing how to avoid further conflict between the two countries. 

But Armenia is "the lowest-hanging fruit for Turkey's leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is desperate for a show of power", said Simon Maghakyan for Time. A successful invasion of Armenia "would realise the Armenian Genocide-era goal of connecting Azerbaijan and Turkey continuously".

Russia's Vladimir Putin also "stands to gain from an invasion". Putin has made it clear that "the democratically elected Armenian government must be punished for its pro-Western flings", including the recent move to finalise its International Criminal Court membership. This month, "a top Russian official referred to Armenia as the next Ukraine." 

"The fact Armenia is investing so much of the budget into defence and defence procurement shows how seriously it's taking the threats," a defence analyst with Armenia's Applied Policy Research Institute told Politico. "Over a year, it has virtually doubled."

Aliyev accused France of intending to "inflate a new conflict" by providing weapons to Armenia, said the news site. He also skipped EU-mediated peace talks at the last minute. But French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu pointed out that the weapons systems being sold to Armenia "can only be deployed in the event of aggression on Armenian territory". 

A government adviser insists Azerbaijan has no "military goals on the territory of Armenia", said the FT. With Karabakh returned, he said, "Azerbaijan is complete." However, said the paper, "such promises to respect Armenia's territorial integrity have been made in the past, only to be undermined".

"If there are no further military aims," a Western diplomat asked, "why are we having such difficulties getting the leaders together?… If you're saying you're committed to peace, please sign on the dotted line."

https://theweek.com/defence/why-fears-of-another-war-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan-are-growing

No unsolvable issues in Armenia-Russia relations, says MP

Raffi Khondkarian

 13:07,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has no agenda of changing its foreign policy vector, Member of Parliament Vagharshak Hakobyan has said.

“All those people who, on the backdrop of the Armenian-Russian relations, are attempting to escalate the situation or cause problems, which often don’t exist, will fail. You’ve heard before that we don’t have an agenda of changing our foreign policy vector, and you’ve heard this on the highest level. We are a member of the Eurasian Economic Union and we have very good cooperation with our partners in this union. If you closely follow our economic achievements, you’ll see that economically we are in a rather positive dynamics,” Hakobyan, the Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration Affairs told reporters.

He said that after the Azerbaijani aggression in September 2022 Armenia raised numerous questions before Russia, and these questions were discussed both publicly and during working discussions.

“We imagined cooperation with Russia in a military sense differently compared to what we’ve faced in reality. But Armenia isn’t going anywhere in terms of any abrupt political change or change of vector. We remain a member of the CSTO and we remain a part of EEU,” the MP said.

Hakobyan said there are certain figures in both Russia and Armenia who often forget the foundations of cooperation and give various assessments. “But my advice is to speak about what matters and not get distracted with unimportant things,” the MP said.

Hakobyan said there are no unsolvable issues in the Armenian-Russian relations.

“We must look at the situation soberly. In this difficult period of collapsing world order Armenia is in a rather tense situation, but I’d also like to note that we are able to keep the situation stable also in the relations with our partners with our economic and other successes,” Hakobyan said.




Armenians in the Holy Land welcome vital reinforcements in troubled times

Raffi Khondkarian
The National, UAE
Oct 20 2023
Thomas Helm

Only a small inner door in the grand entrance to the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem was open on Friday.

The larger cast-iron gateway that normally welcomes tourists and pilgrims towards the Cathedral of St James remained shut since October 7, when the Holy Land was thrown into turmoil after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack in Israel’s south.

Authorities and the military went into high alert, Palestinians and Israelis restricted their movement and foreign tourists were told by their governments to avoid the region.

Some visitors have stayed, such as Margaret Chevian, a former librarian from Rhode Island, who came to the Armenian Patriarchate for three months to help it organise its sprawling collection of books.

A portrait in the palace of Jerusalem's Armenian Patriarch. Photo: Thomas Helm / The National

“Should I stay or should I go?” Ms Chevian asks.

"My family and friends back in the US are saying 'come home', because it’s not safe here.

“My friends here in the Old City of Jerusalem are telling me to stay, 'Jerusalem is the safest place to be'.

“So far, I've opted to stay and I do feel safe.”

One group staying steadfast is the clergy. It cannot abandon one of the most important religious institutions for Armenians. The community has had a presence in Jerusalem since the seventh century AD.

“Jerusalem is one of the main centres of the Armenian church,” says George Hintlian, a historian and long-time pillar of the Armenian community in the Holy Land.

The Patriarch is in charge of Armenian communities in the Middle East.

“In places like Lebanon, Syria and Jerusalem, you have to spend most of your time dealing with local politics – adjusting to changing situations,” he says.

The Armenians know they must do the same in the weeks, possibly months of conflict ahead.

On Tuesday, in a small, early-morning ceremony in which Irish coffee was distributed generously, they welcomed two new bishops, vital reinforcements for the struggling community.

They will help bolster the spiritual vitality of the institution. But they also need to boost numbers in a more secular sense.

The remit of one of the new bishops includes managing the community's vast property portfolio, both inside the Old City and out.

It has been targeted by illegal Israeli settlers in recent years. The Armenians are currently battling the most dangerous and complex threat yet. Settlers are trying to obtain the community’s only car park and surrounding land. Corruption among some of the clergy paved the way for the attempt.

Armenians say without the car park, their community will die. Residents will lose their mobility and pupils at the school will have nowhere to be dropped off. All for a paltry hotel lease deal that would leave the already wealthy community with very meagre financial gains, if any.

War in the Holy Land only makes their struggle harder.

Fortunately, Mr Hintlian thinks highly of the bishop with this important job.

“The Israeli context, to put it conservatively, is very dynamic – you have to take new policies into your daily life,” he says.

But with reinforcements and a community that is committed to its survival, Mr Hintlian still manages to be optimistic.

“There has never been a period in our presence when we did not have to manage crises,” he says.

“Vigilance is now part of our spiritual duties.”

https://www.thenationalnews.com/weekend/2023/10/20/armenians-in-the-holy-land-welcome-vital-reinforcements-in-troubled-times/

Global Maritime India Summit 2023: Armenia expresses readiness to promote South Asia- Europe economic exchanges

Raffi Khondkarian

 13:44,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan participated in the Global Maritime India Summit 2023 in Mumbai. He delivered a speech during a roundtable discussion as part of the event.

Sanosyan said that as a landlocked country, with the borders from the East and West in land blockade since the last three decades, Armenia is a staunch advocate of promoting inclusive and equitable regional and cross-border connectivity.

Below is the transcript of Minister Sanosyan’s speech.

“It is my great honor to participate and lead the delegation of Armenia at the Global Maritime Summit, organized by the Indian Government. This event indicates both the growing role of India in regional and global connectivity and the importance of discussing and outlining the options we can develop for our cooperation, economies and welfare.

“Historically, Armenia has always been at the crossroads connecting the North to the South and the West to the East, with all the political, economic and cultural features arising from this. Today as well, based on its geographical location, Armenia is ready to serve as a connecting hub for such interactions.

“As a landlocked country with the borders from the East and West in land blockade since the last three decades, Armenia is a staunch advocate of promoting inclusive and equitable regional and cross-border connectivity.

“In this regard, we are confident that the road network of Armenia holds a serious potential to contribute to this end. The Armenian government channels efforts towards reviving and modernizing the relevant infrastructures of the country by implementing the North-South Road Corridor Investment Program, which will upgrade Armenia’s capacities and enable it to fully participate in the International North–South Transport Corridor and other connectivity related initiatives.

“The Project is implemented by multi-tranche financing. It is subdivided into Tranches and separate loan agreements are signed in the framework of each Tranche. We invite Indian companies and banks to consider involvement in these investment projects.

“The implementation of the North-South Road Corridor Investment Program, in terms of capacity building, will enable Armenia to fully participate in the International North–South Transport Corridor. The construction of this highly important strategic road will ensure easier traffic from the Southern border of Armenia to the Georgian border and up to Black Sea ports and will allow more passenger and cargo transportation in accordance with international standards.

“During the last few years, the reconstruction of roads and necessary infrastructure in Armenia through state budgetary means have increased considerably. Only in 2021, at the expense of the state budget, the construction highways with a total length of about 388 km were carried out, whilst the same works were carried out for over 530 km of roads in 2022.

“Within the framework of the construction and development of new border infrastructures, in August of 2022 the 160-meter "Armenian-Georgian Friendship Bridge" was opened in the area of the Bagratashen-Sadakhlo border crossing between Armenia and Georgia, allowing doubling the transit capacity at the border. The Meghri checkpoint at the Armenia-Iran border will be modernized – worth 18.4 million Euros – with the support of the European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development- construction works will be completed in 2026, as a result of which it is planned to have a modern checkpoint.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,

“The disruption of global supply chains triggered by the COVID–19 pandemic, accompanied by armed conflicts in several parts of the world and other challenges and complexities in the present-day international politics, as well as the increasing volume of cargo passing through the Suez Canal has brought up the necessity for states to look for alternative transport routes to conduct trade and other economic activities. Thus, nowadays, combining multiple communication projects in order to augment the economic benefits of each is crucial.

“Armenia is very much interested in advancing dialogue and cooperation within the framework of the International North South Transport Corridor project, the Chabahar port development project, as well as the Persian Gulf – Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor that can be successfully incorporated into the INSTC. In these initiatives great importance is attached to the development of the Chabahar Port Project, where Armenia has explicitly expressed its interest in getting involved. Moreover, we have established an inter-agency working group that will engage in direct discussions with partners on Armenia’s involvement in the Chabahar Port Project.

“India’s increasing trade with European and Asian countries, its involvement in the development of the Chabahar port fits well into the logic of creating a viable alternative route to Europe. The Persian Gulf-Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor can serve as an alternative route connecting Asia with Europe, that can boost connectivity and trade among the participating sides, by connecting India, through the Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports in Iran, to Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and further. India's potential and prospective role in these projects is quite significant and once India is on board the Persian Gulf – Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor, it can make use of an economically more beneficial and competitive 2-week route to both Russia and Europe. The successful implementation of cooperation in bringing the Persian Gulf-Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor to life can prompt other partners in Asia to as well link to the project.

“Moreover, with Iran having a Free Trade Zone agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and India negotiating a similar instrument, Armenia, as a member of the EAEU can serve as a direct bridge between India, Iran and the bloc, to which end the Persian Gulf–Black Sea International Transport and Transit Corridor creates an additional impetus for further enhancing trade and connectivity.

“Honorable Guests,

“Armenia, following its historical legacy, today as well can successfully promote the economic exchanges between South Asia and Europe. With this, realizing the crucial importance of the opening of all trade and transport communications in South Caucasus, Armenia has engaged constructively in dialogue and discussions, with the aim of ensuring prosperity and stability in the region, and introduced a new concept of the “Armenian Crossroads”, prompted by the discussions on the opening of communications in the South Caucasus, which in turn has a huge potential of  bringing about a serious change in international logistic chains, and restoring the region’s significance in terms of international cargo transportation.

“Armenia is interested in the unblocking of regional economic and transport connections with full respect for state sovereignty, territorial integrity and principles of equality and reciprocity and stands ready to implement this as soon as possible to boost international and regional passenger and cargo transportation, which will in turn further ensure security and stability in the region.

“Taking this opportunity, I would like to announce that the Government of Armenia together with United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed States, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) intends to organize a high-level thematic event to the Third Conference on the LLDCs. Invitations to all LLDCs, some transit countries and international partners will be sent out shortly, following the finalization of the detailed programme.

“In conclusion, let me reiterate that Armenia remains fully committed to work with all partners to jointly shape the way for more enhanced cooperation and coordination between international partners and other stakeholders to make meaningful progress on promotion of better regional and global connectivity. Thank you.”

‘Families have been killed here’: Claims of war crimes in Nagorno-Karabakh

Raffi Khondkarian
iNews, UK
Oct 15 2023
By Will Neal
3:35 pm(Updated 3:45 pm)

IN YEREVAN – Children are believed to be among those killed in the remote enclave of Azerbaijan that was the scene of a military offensive last month, as groups begin to collect evidence of possible war crimes.

Armenian organisations have started documenting the latest war crimes allegedly committed by Azerbaijan’s troops against former citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh.

On 20 September, a 30-year dream of independence for the autonomous mountain enclave within the borders of Azerbaijan, came to a spectacular and brutal end when officials in the capital of Stepanakert surrendered after a lightning attack by the regime.

On Sunday, the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev raised his nation’s flag over the capital in a ceremony reaffirming its control of the disputed region.

More than 100,000 ethnic Armenian inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as the self-declared Republic of Artsakh, have since poured into Armenia, many among them claiming to have been victims of abuses by Azeri forces.

“Within just the first 24 hours we had documented 18 cases of civilian murder,” said Arman Tatoyan, a former Armenian human rights ombudsman and founder of the Arman Tatoyan Foundation, which works to gather evidence of war crimes committed against ethnic Armenians.

“There are instances of several members of a single family being killed – in one such case, two children who were just ten and eight years old,” he said.

Efforts to gather hard evidence of atrocities has been complicated by the speed at which Nagorno-Karabakh refugees, afraid of remaining close to the border with Azerbaijan, have scattered deeper into Armenia since first crossing last week.

With an Azeri blockade having suspended the flow of desperately needed supplies into the region for 10 months before the evacuation, the dire humanitarian situation has also meant state focus is presently on addressing immediate needs, such as food, shelter and medicine.

“The primary challenge is these people have extremely pressing humanitarian issues,” said Mr Tatoyan. “In many cases their greatest concern is simply finding family members from whom they’ve been separated.

Refugees from Azerbaijan’s controlled region of Nagorno-Karabakh rest at a sports complex set up as a temporary shelter in the Armenian city of Artashat (Photo by Karen Minasyan/AFP) A displaced family from Nagorno-Karabakh sitting on a bed in a temporary shelter in Artashat, southeast of Yerevan, Armenia (Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Getty Images)

“Interviews have been difficult because people are under immense stress. Of course the focus is on aid, but it’s also incredibly important to collect evidence because in a dynamic situation like this, information is very precious and once lost may never be found again.”

While formal documentation may face significant logistical challenges, allegations of atrocities are not hard to find among the newly arrived refugee population.

Alik Chilingaryan, 63, is staying at a temporary shelter in Goris, the first point of call for many refugees who’ve fled over the past week. Once able-bodied, he is now confined to a wheelchair after he claims Azeri soldiers targeted his village.

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“We were under fire from drones, we were not prepared for anything like it. Four people died,” he said. “We were shot at by artillery. I was in my yard outside, and a rocket hit about 30 metres away from me. There was an explosion, and the wave threw me 15 metres with the debris piercing my legs.”

Artur Petrossian, 43, also claims his village was similarly a target of airstrikes, with missiles raining down on homes and even a school building. “I am now twice a refugee by Azerbaijan,” he said. “Once because of the 1990 pogrom in Baku [Azerbaijan’s capital], and now because of this latest attack.”

David Mashuryan, director at Goris Medical Clinic, said the hospital had admitted hundreds of cases of civilians injured by shrapnel over the past few days, a great many of which have required amputation.

“A lot of these people were in really very serious condition when they arrived,” he said. “After providing them with first aid, we often had to co-ordinate with the Ministry of Health to arrange their onward transport to medical facilities in [the Armenian capital of] Yerevan.”

After Azerbaijan’s attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s parliament voted yesterday to ratify the Rome Statute, the first step toward joining the International Criminal Court and opening the way for these alleged atrocities to be investigated and possibly prosecuted in the Hague at some point in future. 

Armenian president approves parliament’s decision to join the International Criminal Court

Raffi Khondkarian
Associated Press
Oct 14 2023

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan approved the parliament’s decision to join the International Criminal Court in a move that has further strained the country’s ties with its old ally Russia.

Last week, Armenia’s parliament voted to join the ICC by ratifying the Rome Statute that created the tribunal.

Countries that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute are bound to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was indicted for war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine, if he sets foot on their soil.

Moscow last month called Yerevan’s decision an “unfriendly step,” and the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Armenia’s ambassador. Armenia later sought to assure Russia that Putin would not be arrested if he entered the country.

Armenian officials have argued the move has nothing to do with Russia and was prompted by what they call Azerbaijan’s aggression against the country.

Lawmakers voted to ratify the Rome Statute by a vote of 60-22. The decision comes into force 60 days after the ratification, according to Armenian lawmakers.

Armenia had started the process of joining the tribunal more than 20 years ago, but in 2004 the Constitutional Court ruled that the Rome Statute contradicted the country’s constitution at the time, putting the process on pause. The constitution has been amended twice since then. In March, the Constitutional Court ruled that the obligations for signatories outlined by the Rome Statute are in line with the existing constitution.

Armenia’s envoy on international legal matters, Yegishe Kirakosyan, said Yerevan decided to resume the process of joining the ICC because of Azerbaijan’s alleged moves against Armenia. Last month, Azerbaijan routed the ethnic Armenian separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakh and recaptured the enclave.

https://apnews.com/article/armenia-icc-russia-putin-26612df6d4687d0fd7137144aff3ef9c

Armenian leader says plans proceeding for meeting with Azerbaijan’s president Reuters

Raffi Khondkarian
Reuters
Oct 11 2023
Reuters

Oct 10 (Reuters) – Armenia's prime minister said on Tuesday that plans were proceeding for a meeting with the president of Azerbaijan to discuss a durable peace accord, after Azeri forces took control of the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh last month.

In comments reported by Russian news agencies, Nikol Pashinyan also told Armenian television that tensions had subsided on the border between the two ex-Soviet states.

Armenia, he said, was willing to resolve outstanding issues, like opening transport corridors across each other's territory.

Pashinyan and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev have held a series of meetings – arranged in turn by Russia, the European Union or the United States – with the aim of resolving disputes over Nagorno-Karabakh, the object of two wars in 30 years between the neighbours.

"We and Azerbaijan have both announced our readiness to hold this meeting and this will means a step towards," Pashinyan was quoted as saying. "It means that in the course of two to three months the likelihood of signing a peace treaty is 70 percent."

A top Russian security official, Nikolai Patrushev, met Aliyev in Baku, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday.

Azerbaijan launched a lightning military operation last month to take full control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region run for three decades by leaders of the ethnic Armenian population.

The territory has long been recognised as part of Azerbaijan but Armenian separatists took control of it in a war as the Soviet Union was collapsing in the 1990s.

Azeri forces recaptured stretches of territory in and around the enclave in a 2020 conflict – ended with a truce brokered by Russia – and restored full control last month. Generations of hostile relations between the two people prompted most of its 120,000 residents to flee to Armenia.

Pashinyan said earlier this year that Armenia was ready to acknowledge Azerbaijan's sovereignty over the region.

In his TV interview, Pashinyan said Armenia wanted to establish transport corridors across each country's territory – one of the other sticking points in attempts to sign a peace treaty.

"Opening up communications is in our interests," he said.

Pashinyan, who has complained that Russia has not fulfilled its obligations to help Armenia under a defence pact, also said his country saw no reason to change its relations with Moscow, including provision to keep a Russian base in Armenia.

Reporting by Ron Popeski; editing by Grant McCool

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/armenian-leader-says-plans-proceeding-meeting-with-azerbaijans-president-2023-10-11/

European Commissioner for Crisis Management visits Armenia to coordinate EU assistance to NK forcibly displaced persons

Raffi Khondkarian

 17:06, 6 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan has met with European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič to discuss the humanitarian issues of the forcibly displaced Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh (NK). 

Khachatryan and Lenarčič delivered a joint press conference after their meeting on October 6. 

“We attached importance to coordinating the efforts by the Armenian government and the EU regarding the large-scale measures of humanitarian nature and directing the incoming humanitarian aid to the needs of the forcibly displaced persons. We discussed issues of developing a single platform of cooperation and increasing the effectiveness of our actions in that format,” Khachatryan said.

He appreciated the rapid response by the EU and its member states to address the needs of the over 100,000 forcibly displaced persons of NK who’ve arrived to Armenia.

Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič is in Armenia to coordinate the EU's assistance to the country in light of the mass exodus of people from Nagorno-Karabakh. This follows European Commission President von der Leyen's meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan yesterday in Granada where a series of EU support measures were outlined. The visit comes as a plane carrying EU emergency supplies is due to arrive in Yerevan. The aid flight is part of the European Humanitarian Response Capacity which has been activated to provide support to humanitarian organisations on the ground, the European Commission said in a press release.

Mobilising its humanitarian stockpiles, the EU is delivering hygiene kits, kitchen sets, blankets, solar LED-s, and solar flashlights to EU humanitarian partners who will then rapidly distribute them to the people in need. This aid flight will therefore help support people in need with shelter and accommodation essentials.

Furthermore, the Commissioner will discuss the latest support mobilised via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism which was activated on 29 September upon a request from Armenia. So far, Austria, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Sweden have offered urgently needed shelter equipment and food and medical supplies. Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Sweden have offered medical support to assist the mass burn victims of the fuel depot explosion in Stepanakert. The first medical evacuation flight transporting patients for treatment in France landed yesterday in Paris.

A team of EU humanitarian experts have been deployed to Armenia where they are now coordinating with humanitarian partners to assess the developing needs and to ensure a rapid response to the crisis. The EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre is operating 24/7 to coordinate donations via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to Armenia.