Author: Raffi Khondkarian

Washington confirms undisclosed Nagorno-Karabakh talks took place days before Azeri offensive

Raffi Khondkarian

 11:11, 5 October 2023

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Washington has confirmed that top officials from the United States, EU and Russia held a meeting in Istanbul days before Azerbaijan launched an attack in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The meeting was first reported by POLITICO and described as ‘secret’. The U.S. State Department, however, refused to describe the talks as such.

“I’d perhaps first take issue with the characterization of it being a secret meeting,” U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing when asked on the meeting. “We engage with stakeholders and interlocutors in the region quite regularly, and the meeting in Istanbul on September 17th came together to address specifically urgent humanitarian issues and the provision of potential humanitarian aid in Nagorno-Karabakh.  That’s what that meeting was about.  But broadly, the U.S. remains deeply engaged on the situation and we continue to be committed to helping the parties achieve a lasting peace in the South Caucasus,” he added. Patel said it was a meeting of Minsk Group co-chairs at the working level.

The U.S. State Department spokesperson declined to disclose who initiated the meeting.

“It was a meeting that took place at the working level…this was a specific topic on the issue of humanitarian needs in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.  That was the scope and the context of this meeting.  I would not expand it or overinterpret this to mean anything else,” Patel said.

“Broadly, this is a situation that we have continued to be deeply concerned about.  I don’t want to boil down on one specific moment.  But we’re of course concerned by the situation after the recent hostilities, and it has resulted in over 100,000 ethnic Armenians fleeing the Nagorno-Karabakh region into Armenia, and we’re closely monitoring the situation on the ground.  Of course, we continue to be concerned and paying close attention to the humanitarian impacts.  That’s why – part of the reason why this meeting had been taking place,” the State Department spokesperson said when asked whether the U.S. was frustrated that two days after the meeting the Azeri offensive began.

Karabakh: Azerbaijan must ‘guarantee the rights of ethnic Armenians’

Raffi Khondkarian
UN News
Sept 28 2023
Human Rights

A UN-appointed independent human rights expert on Wednesday called on Azerbaijan to “guarantee the rights of ethnic Armenians” in the Karabakh region and ensure that civilians who remain “are respected and protected in line with its international obligations.”

“Azerbaijan must also promptly and independently investigate alleged or suspected violations of the right to life reported in the context of its latest military offensive…during which dozens of people, including peacekeepers, were killed,” said, Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Thousands have moved into Armenia from the Karabakh Economic Region of Azerbaijan in the span of just a few days, including many elderly, women and children.

UN chief António Guterres said on Tuesday he was "very concerned" about the displacement.

"It’s essential that the rights of the displaced populations be protected and that they receive the humanitarian support they are owed,” Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at UN Headquarters.

Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region has persisted for more than three decades, but a ceasefire and subsequent Trilateral Statement was agreed almost three years ago following six weeks of fighting, by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, leading to the deployment of several thousand Russian peacekeepers.  

Amid last week’s flare-up in fighting and the arrival of the first refugees in Armenia, the UN chief called for fully-fledged access for aid workers to people in need.

Mr. Tidball-Binz said that “investigations must be conducted in accordance with international standards, in particular the Revised UN Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, also known as the Minnesota Protocol”.

This requires that investigations be carried out promptly and be thorough, complete, independent, impartial and transparent.”

“I reaffirm my readiness to provide technical assistance to the authorities for ensuring compliance with their international humanitarian law and human rights obligations to properly investigate every potentially unlawful death in line with applicable standards of forensic best practice,” the Special Rapporteur said.

Special Rapporteurs and other UN experts are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organisation. They serve in their individual capacity and receive no salary for their work.

Taking questions from reporters in New York, the UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the UN has been in communication with the Government of Azerbaijan on issues relating to international law and humanitarian principles, noting that the Government has given public assurances that all citizens in the region would be protected.

He also flagged a statement issued on Wednesday by Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.

“She reiterated her strong concern over the ongoing situation in the South Caucasus region…She said the images of people leaving due to fear of identity-based violence are very alarming”.  

Ms. Nderitu called for “all efforts to be made” to ensure the protection and human rights of the ethnic Armenian population who remain in the area and for those who have left.

In a press briefing in Geneva earlier in the day, the World Health Organization’s head of Health Emergencies, noted that possibly up to a third of the population of the Karabakh region has moved “in a very, very short time.”

They don't have their normal meds with them. They haven’t eaten, they are thirsty. There is a risk of dehydration, there’s a risk to disease and other psychological traumas which go along with that. I think right now, given the cold temperatures at night emergency shelter is absolutely crucial.” 
 

Number of forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh reaches 60,600

Raffi Khondkarian

 11:34,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. 60,600 forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh crossed into Armenia as of 10:00, September 28, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan said at the Cabinet meeting.

He said that the intensity of the influx is not decreasing.

“Most of these persons were displaced into Armenia especially yesterday and the day before. The number continued to grow overnight,” he said, adding that 26,600 of the forcibly displaced crossed into Armenia on September 26 alone.

France Concerned Over Armenia’s ‘Territorial Integrity’: Macron

Raffi Khondkarian
BARRON'S
Sept 24 2023
  • FROM AFP NEWS

France is keeping a close eye on the territorial integrity of Armenia after Azerbaijan's offensive to take full control of the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday, accusing Baku of "threatening" Armenian borders.

"France is right now very vigilant concerning the territorial integrity of Armenia. Because that's what's at stake," Macron said in a televised interview

He added that Russia was now "complicit" with Baku while Azerbaijan's ally Turkey "has always been a supporter of its (Azerbaijan's) actions".

Armenia has publicly distanced itself from its traditional ally Russia, which has failed to show any concrete support for Yerevan in the current conflict.

Macron said that the Azerbaijan authorities were now "uninhibited" and "threatening the border of Armenia."

The ethnically Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but has been run by a separatist administration for three decades.

Azerbaijan already regained control of part of Karabakh in a 2020 war and now appears set on taking the rest of the territory.

Yerevan said on Sunday that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will hold a pre-arranged meeting in Spain next month but Macron made no mention of this summit.

"We will provide political support so that a lasting peace that can be negotiated," said Macron.

French aid for Nagorno-Karabakh stored in Goris, nearby towns after Azerbaijan blocks access

Raffi Khondkarian

 10:50, 1 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. The French humanitarian aid for Nagorno-Karabakh has been stored in warehouses in Goris and nearby towns after it was blocked by Azerbaijan at the entrance of Lachin Corridor, Armenian government representative Vardan Sargsyan told ARMENPRESS.

He said the food aid in the trucks requires special preservation to maintain its shelf life.

The cargo will be stored in the warehouses until there’s an opportunity to transport it to Nagorno-Karabakh.

RFE/RL Armenian Service – 08/30/2023

Raffi Khondkarian 
                                        Wednesday, 


French Aid Convoy Barred From Entering Karabakh

        • Tigran Hovsepian

Armenia - French officials escort a humanitarian aid convoy to the Lachin 
corridor, .


Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and other French local government officials escorted a 
convoy of trucks to the Lachin corridor on Wednesday in a failed attempt to 
provide humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh’s population increasingly suffering 
from the Azerbaijani blockade.

The ten trucks carried food and other essential items provided by the municipal 
administrations of several French cities and regions. Azerbaijan refused to let 
them proceed to Karabakh through a checkpoint which it controversially set up in 
the corridor in April.

“Here, at the Lachin Corridor, we can testify that no humanitarian aid can enter 
Artsakh, a gross violation of human rights. Our 10 humanitarian aid trucks are 
blocked,” Hidalgo tweeted from an Armenian border area adjacent to the 
corridor’s starting point.

The Armenian government also tried unsuccessfully to send 360 tons of flour, 
cooking oil, sugar and other basic foodstuffs to Karabakh in late July. Its aid 
convoy remains stuck at the entrance to the corridor.

Armenia - Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo gestures during a news conference in Goris, 
.

Hidalgo likened the eight-month blockade to genocide when spoke to reporters in 
the nearby Armenian town of Goris.

“What is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh is something that resembles genocide 
perpetrated by an authoritarian regime against people seeking to exercise their 
rights,” the Socialist mayor told a joint news conference with other members of 
the French delegation headed by her.

Bruno Retailleau, a conservative French senator who also joined the delegation, 
accused Baku of turning Karabakh into an “open-air concentration camp.”

“This attempted ethnic cleansing and genocide targets 120,000 people, including 
30,000 children,” Retailleau said.

Arayik Harutiunian, the Karabakh president, joined the news conference via video 
link from Stepanakert. He thanked the French municipalities for their initiative 
strongly encouraged by leaders of France’s influential Armenian community.

Armenia - A French humanitarian aid convoy is stuck at the entrance to the 
Lachin corridor, .

Harutiunian said the Azerbaijani leadership hopes that the severe food shortages 
resulting from the blockade will help it “bring Artsakh to its knees.” “But it 
will not succeed,” he said.

The visiting French officials called on French President Emmanuel Macron to 
urgently draft a resolution against the blockade and try to push it through the 
UN Security Council. France’s Le Figaro daily reported last week that Paris is 
“preparing to submit” such a resolution to the Security Council.

Macron pledged on Monday to seek stronger international pressure on Baku. French 
Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the following day that the blockade is 
aimed at forcing the Karabakh Armenians to leave their homeland. The Azerbaijani 
Foreign Ministry rejected those statements as pro-Armenian and untrue.

Macron spoke with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani 
President Ilham Aliyev by phone on Tuesday.




Russia Blames Pashinian For Karabakh Crisis


Russia - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova gestures during 
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's annual news conference in Moscow,, January 18, 
2023.


The deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh caused by Azerbaijan’s 
blockade of the Lachin corridor was made possible by Armenian Prime Minister 
Nikol Pashinian’s decision to recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, Russia 
said on Wednesday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed to Pashinian’s controversial move as it 
responded to Armenian criticism of Moscow’s failure to unblock Karabakh’s sole 
land link with the outside world and prevent recent Azerbaijani arrests of four 
Karabakh men travelling to Armenia through the corridor.

“I would like to remind that the current situation in the Lachin corridor is a 
consequence of Armenia’s recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the 
territory of Azerbaijan,” said the ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova. “This 
was formalized as a result of summits attended by the leaders of the two 
countries under the aegis of the European Union in October 2022 and May 2023.”

“We believe that placing the blame in this context on the Russian peacekeeping 
contingent is inappropriate, wrong and unjustified,” Zakharova told a news 
briefing.

The Russian Foreign Ministry already stated on July 15 that Pashinian’s decision 
to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh “radically changed the 
underlying conditions” in which the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan 
negotiated an agreement to end the 2020 war in Karabakh. The truce agreement 
committed Baku to ensuring unhindered commercial traffic through the Lachin 
corridor.

The Armenian opposition has likewise said that Pashinian’s far-reaching 
concession to Baku emboldened the latter to tighten the screws on the Karabakh 
Armenians. Opposition leaders have also pointed out that Azerbaijan remains 
reluctant to recognize Armenia’s own territorial integrity.

Pashinian complained on August 3 that Baku is seeking to sign the kind of peace 
treaty with Yerevan that would not preclude Azerbaijani territorial claims to 
Armenia. A senior Russian diplomat criticized the following day what he 
described as Western attempts to “artificially” speed up the signing of the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani treaty.




Karabakh Armenians Block Supply Route Sought By Azerbaijan

        • Susan Badalian
        • Astghik Bedevian

Nagorno-Karabakh - Parliament's speaker Davit Ishkhanian visits Karabakh 
protesters blocking the road to Aghdam, .


Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh have set up a tent camp on a road leading to the 
Azerbaijani town of Aghdam to prevent the delivery of Azerbaijan humanitarian 
aid which they say is aimed at legitimizing Baku’s blockade of the Lachin 
corridor.

They pitched the tents late on Tuesday near a Russian military checkpoint 
separating the conflicting sides and spent the following night there after two 
trucks carrying 40 tons of flour provided by the government-linked Azerbaijan 
Red Crescent reached Aghdam.

“We don’t want to get anything from our enemy,” said Hamlet Apresian, the mayor 
of Askeran, a Karabakh town close to Aghdam, who joined the protesters at the 
blocked road section.

“We will never accept any aid from them,” Hasmik Andrian, a resident of the 
nearby village of Khramort, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. She said Azerbaijani 
troops have regularly opened fire at local farmers trying to harvest wheat.

Karabakh’s leaders reaffirmed support for this stance, saying that the proposed 
aid is part of Azerbaijani efforts to deflect international attention from the 
blockade and regain full control over the Armenian-populated region. They 
insisted that Baku comply instead with the Russian-brokered 2020 ceasefire that 
commits it to guaranteeing unfettered commercial and humanitarian traffic 
through the Lachin corridor.

“There is a clear decision to keep that road [to Aghdam] closed,” Davit 
Ishkhanian, the Karabakh parliament speaker, told reporters in Stepanakert. He 
visited the Karabakh protesters camped out on that road later in the day.

Ngorno-Karabakh-- Karabakh protesters block the road to Aghdam, .

Baku pushed for an alternative, Azerbaijani-controlled supply line for Karabakh 
after tightening the blockade in mid-June. Russian peacekeepers and the 
International Committee of the Red Cross have since been unable to ship any 
food, medicine or other basic necessities to Karabakh residents.

A senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told the BBC on Wednesday 
that renewed humanitarian traffic through Karabakh’s blocked land link with 
Armenia is conditional on the opening of the Aghdam road. Aliyev reportedly 
underlined this condition on Tuesday in a phone call with French President 
Emmanuel Macron whose government is increasingly critical of the blockade.

The European Union, the United States and Russia have also repeatedly called for 
the immediate lifting of the blockade. The Azerbaijani side has dismissed their 
appeals. It has also ignored a February order by the International Court of 
Justice to “take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of 
persons, vehicles, and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.”

The Karabakh Armenians remain adamant in rejecting the Aghdam route despite 
struggling with growing shortages of food. The Karabakh authorities admitted on 
Tuesday that the region is running out of flour. They said that from now on each 
family in Stepanakert and other Karabakh towns will be allowed to buy only one 
loaf of bread a day.




Former Armenian Defense Chief To Remain In Jail

        • Artak Khulian

Armenia - Former Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan testifies before pro-government 
lawmakers, Yerevan, August 1, 2023.


A court in Yerevan on Wednesday again refused to release Davit Tonoyan, a former 
Armenian defense minister facing corruption charges, from custody pending a 
verdict in his long-running trial.

Tonoyan was arrested two years ago in a criminal investigation into supplies of 
allegedly outdated rockets to Armenia’s armed forces. The National Security 
Service charged him, two generals and an arms dealer with fraud and embezzlement 
that cost the state almost 2.3 billion drams ($5.9 million). All four suspects, 
among them former army chief of staff Artak Davtian, have denied the accusations 
during the trial that began in January 2022.

The Anti-Corruption Court ruled to keep Tonoyan under arrest one day after a 
three-hour hearing on yet another petition to free him submitted by his lawyer. 
The lawyer, Avetik Karapetian, was not optimistic about his client’s release 
when he spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service after the hearing.

“It would be naïve to expect a just decision from the court given its decisions 
made before,” said Karapetian.

This and other courts had rejected at least five such petitions, citing witness 
tampering concerns expressed by prosecutors. Karapetian dismissed those 
concerns, arguing that all witnesses in the case have already testified during 
the ongoing trial behind the closed doors.

The lawyer said that Tonoyan, who was sacked in the wake of the disastrous 2020 
war with Azerbaijan, remains behind bars for political reasons. But he stopped 
short of explicitly accusing the Armenian government of ordering law-enforcement 
authorities to fabricate the charges.

Tonoyan likewise claimed shortly before the start of the trial that he is being 
made a scapegoat for Armenia’s defeat in the six-week war. He he too avoided 
pointing the finger at Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

In early August, Tonoyan agreed to testify before an ad hoc parliamentary 
commission tasked with examining the causes of the defeat. The two opposition 
blocs represented in the National Assembly have been boycotting the work of the 
commission. They say that it was set up last year to whitewash Pashinian’s 
wartime incompetence and disastrous decision making.

Tonoyan called for an end to the opposition boycott when he appeared before the 
commission made up of only pro-government lawmakers. Some opposition figures and 
other critics of the government scoffed at the appeal, saying that the 
ex-minister is desperate to get the authorities to set him free.



Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Armenian FM holds meeting with outgoing Ambassador of the Netherlands

Raffi Khondkarian

 17:13,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. On August 25, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan held a meeting with Ambassador of the Netherlands Nicolaas Schermers on the occasion of the end of his diplomatic mission in Armenia.

The sides touched upon the undertaken and outlined steps towards deepening bilateral cooperation between Armenia and the Netherlands, as well as the Armenia-EU partnership agenda, the foreign ministry said in a readout. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia highly appreciated the efforts made by the Ambassador in this direction in the last three years, awarded him with an honorary medal of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia and wished him success in next steps in diplomatic career.

During the meeting, the interlocutors also touched upon the issues on regional stability, particularly discussing the worsening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan. Highlighting the importance of the clear positions expressed by international organizations and countries, including the Netherlands, Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized the urgency of taking steps towards the immediate lifting of the blockade of the Lachin corridor blockade in accordance with the Orders of the International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6, 2023.

Minister Mirzoyan stressed that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is close to turning into a humanitarian catastrophe and can significantly undermine the efforts of Armenia and the international community to establish stability in the region.

ANCA ramps up pressure on Biden Administration to break Azerbaijan’s Artsakh blockade

Raffi Khondkarian
 ANCA Diaspora, ANCA News 0

The latest ANCA action campaign advocates for a U.S.-led resolution at the UN Security Council urging Azerbaijan to end its Artsakh blockade, airlift assistance to Artsakh and enforce U.S. military aid restrictions to Azerbaijan.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) ramped up pressure on the Biden Administration and Congress this week, issuing a nationwide call to action in support of a United Nations Security Council resolution demanding Azerbaijan lift its genocidal blockade of Artsakh’s indigenous Christian population.

Over 200,000 letters from pro-Artsakh advocates have already reached President Biden, Vice President Harris, and U.S. Senate and House members, calling for immediate steps to “avert an impending genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) caused by Azerbaijan’s 250+ day blockade of the Lachin Corridor – the only humanitarian lifeline linking Artsakh to Armenia.”

Specifically, Armenian Americans and their allies are urging the U.S. to:

— Lead a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh, and calling for the immediate reopening of the Lachin (Berdzor) Corridor consistent with the binding provisional order issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ);

— Suspend any new, current or pending U.S. military or security assistance to Azerbaijan, and fully enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act;

— Provide emergency U.S. humanitarian assistance to the Armenian victims of Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh, including by means of a humanitarian airlift;

— Apply statutory sanctions against Azerbaijani officials responsible for the genocidal blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pro-Artsakh advocates can take action by visiting anca.org/UN.

Last week, on the eve of the United Nations Security Council discussion of the humanitarian impact of Azerbaijan’s more than 250-day blockade of Artsakh, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) appealed to United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, urging her to introduce a UN resolution calling for an immediate end to Azerbaijan’s eight-month blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, including allowing unfettered humanitarian access to Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In their August 15 letter, Senators Menendez and Padilla asked Amb. Thomas-Greenfield, who is currently serving as President of the UN Security Council, to “work with all UNSC members to pressure the Azerbaijani government to lift the blockade and prevent what the evidence suggests is a coordinated effort to ethnically cleanse the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

In an August 14 letter to President Biden, Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) urged the U.S. to lead a UN Security Council resolution calling on Azerbaijan to immediately comply with the orders of the International Court of Justice as well as an independent report on the human rights and humanitarian situation. “Though the U.S. government, the European Union, UN experts, and Russia have condemned the blockade and called for the corridor to be opened to regular traffic, Azerbaijan has ignored such statements for months. The U.S. Department of State and USAID have tried to use diplomacy to put an end to Aliyev’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor, but the time for statements and such calls has clearly long passed. The United States must take concrete actions and immediately use other tools to press Azerbaijan to return to compliance with international law and order,” wrote Rep. Schiff.

On August 22, Rep. Schiff issued a video appeal calling on the U.S. government to lead a UN Security Council resolution and to enforce Section 907 restrictions on U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan.

Fellow Congressional Armenian Caucus co-chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Katie Porter (D-CA) and Dina Titus (D-NV) also went on the record calling for U.S. leadership to lift Azerbaijan’s Artsakh blockade. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) condemned Azerbaijan’s “genocide against Christian Armenians” in multiple social media statements regarding the Artsakh blockade.

During the August 16 UN Security Council meeting, Amb. Thomas-Greenfield offered remarks “urging the government of Azerbaijan to restore free movement through the corridor – so commercial, humanitarian and private vehicles can reach the population of Nagorno-Karabakh.”  All sitting members of the UN Security Council called for the immediate reopening of the Lachin Corridor and to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to the region. Pressure continues on the U.S. and other UN Security Council members to pass a resolution or issue a declaration demanding Azerbaijan lift its Artsakh blockade.

Earlier this month, the First Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno Ocampo issued a report that determined Azerbaijan’s deliberate blockade of the Lachin Corridor constitutes an act of genocide under Article II, (c) of the Genocide Convention: “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”

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The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is the largest and most influential Armenian-American grassroots organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.


French, Chinese foreign ministers discuss Nagorno-Karabakh

Raffi Khondkarian

 11:57,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 19, ARMENPRESS. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during a phone call, according to the French foreign ministry.

A readout issued by the French foreign ministry said that Colonna and Yi discussed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Ukraine and Niger, in addition to other issues pertaining to bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.  Azerbaijan has been ignoring the order ever since. The ICJ reaffirmed its order on 6 July 2023.

Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.

Armenpress: Armenia and China discuss launching direct flights

Raffi Khondkarian

 21:38,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS. The Chinese Ambassador to Armenia, Fan Yong, has said that discussions are underway with Armenia on organizing direct flights between the two countries.

Speaking at a press briefing, Ambassador Fan Yong also said that the two countries are developing investment cooperation in the financial integration sector based on mutually beneficial grounds, and are ready to deepen it.

“According to statistics, China’s investments in Armenia comprise approximately fifty million dollars, whereas Armenia’s investments in China comprise fifteen million dollars. Certainly, I can’t say that these are large numbers, but I think we can work around it,” the Ambassador added.