Author: Rose Khoyetsian

 14:49, 3 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) haven’t yet visited Rashid Beglaryan, the Nagorno-Karabakh resident arrested by Azerbaijan, ICRC Armenia communications manager Zara Amatuni told ARMENPRESS.

Amatuni added that they are following the case and are taking relevant steps through dialogue within the framework of the ICRC powers to ensure certain progress in this issue.

Speaking about Vagif Khachatryan, the other man from Nagorno-Karabakh who’s also under arrest in Azerbaijan, Amatuni said that the ICRC visited him on July 29, the day of his arrest.

 “Our delegates, including our doctor, visited Vagif Khachatryan in Baku in accordance with our procedures, to get information on his condition, check his state of health and review the detention conditions,” Amatuni added.

The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities had initially announced that Rashid Beglaryan, a resident of Nagorno-Karabakh, accidentally crossed into Azerbaijani-held territory while intoxicated and was subsequently arrested on August 1. However, the Nagorno-Karabakh prosecutor’s office later said that Beglaryan was actually kidnapped by Azerbaijani servicemembers while walking towards Armenia.

The other arrested Nagorno-Karabakh resident, 68-year-old Vagif Khachatryan, was kidnapped by Azerbaijani border guards during his ICRC-facilitated medical evacuation to Armenia through the blockaded Lachin Corridor on July 29. 

Khachatryan faces fabricated war crime charges in Azerbaijan.

On August 2, prominent Armenian attorney Siranush Sahakyan ruled out due process in Azerbaijan regarding Vagif Khachatryan. She said that the kidnapping of Vagif Khachatryan by Azerbaijan constitutes extraordinary rendition in terms of international law.

The Nagorno-Karabakh resident’s kidnapping has been condemned by the Armenian foreign ministry as a war crime.

Vagif Khachatryan’s daughter revealed earlier this week that the Azeri border guards threatened the ICRC staff with force at the illegal checkpoint in Lachin Corridor. She denied the charges against her father and asked for international support to achieve his release.

 19:18,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and Nagorno Karabakh complicates the negotiation process, ARMENPRESS reports, Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan stated on July 25 at the trilateral meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, which took place in Moscow.

Mirzoyan emphasized that the meetings and negotiations are quite intense. On some issues there are concrete results, on some issues perspectives are visible where the parties can reach a mutual agreement, but there are also problematic issues on which the positions of the two sides are very far from each other.

"We are constructive and conduct negotiations on all platforms and in all directions. Alas, the situation in the world, in particular, Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh complicates the negotiation process," the Armenian FM said.

He emphasized that there is now a serious humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the situation is close to a real humanitarian disaster. "The situation is getting more serious hour by hour. Neither food nor medicine enters Nagorno-Karabakh, the supply of gas and electricity is stopped, and if we do not manage to find a solution and Azerbaijan does not stop the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the humanitarian disaster will have a negative impact on the overall negotiation process. However, I repeat that the Armenian side is constructive. We will continue the negotiations," the Armenian FM concluded.

Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia is interested in peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

"Our efforts are aimed at stabilizing the situation both on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as well as solving humanitarian problems, unblocking economic and transport links, developing communication between people, civil societies, experts-political scientists," he said.

 18:13,

YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. Iran is focused on establishing peace in the Caucasus region, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Hossein Amirabdollahian said, expressing Tehran's readiness to hold a meeting in the "3+3" format with the participation of Armenian and Azerbaijani officials, ARMENPRESS reports, citing IRNA agency.

"The South Caucasus region is of great importance for Iran," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said during a press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

"Iran welcomes the convergence between the countries of the region and the progress in the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan," Hossein Amirabdollahian said.

"Iran is focused on establishing peace in the Caucasus region," he said, adding that his recent meeting with Azerbaijani President Aliyev, his meeting with the Prime Minister of Armenia in recent months and today's meeting with the Foreign Minister of Armenia can be considered as Iran's endeavors of establishing stable peace and security in the region.

According to him, Tehran believes that peace and security among its neighbors correspond to the common interests of the countries of the region.

"The Caucasus region should not turn into a theater of power struggles and competition, as this would delay peace in the region," the Iranian FM said, adding that lasting peace requires friendly and fluent dialogue between governments and nations.

"We welcome the "3+3" format between the countries of the region, and Iran announces its readiness to hold that meeting, in which Armenia and Azerbaijan will also participate," he concluded.

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that “Azerbaijan is creating a ghetto in Nagorno Karabakh today”.

He said this in an interview with AFP, the transcript of which is posted on Prime Minister’s website.

“Any genocide you know wasn’t like that they woke up one day and started killing people, slaughtering people. Let’s go back to the Holocaust, the one that the world knows the best. Did Hitler come to power and the next morning pulled out the sword and started chasing the Jews in the streets? It lasted years, it was a process, which could have been well predicted. It was expressed in rhetoric, it was expressed in policy.

Now in Nagorno Karabakh they have created a ghetto, in the most literal meaning of the word. I say again, sometimes we do not deliver the terms understandably, we just give people headlines, “humanitarian crisis”. Some percentage of our audience well understands all the details of what’s going on, but the majority does not understand, that’s not their business, that’s not their activity.

But Azerbaijan is creating a ghetto in Nagorno Karabakh today. What’s the international community’s reaction? Russia asks us how we justify our good relationships with the West, is that what you expect of them to make a semi-statement that the Lachin Corridor should be opened? Yes, the Lachin Corridor has to be opened. The International Court of Justice rendered a decision back on February 22. That is a decision of the highest international court.

By the way, Russia really doesn’t well recognize the jurisdiction of that court, but the international community, with the exception of Russia, recognizes it as the highest court. And now Russia asks us “Is this what you expected of the West, when establishing such close relations with the EU and other partners, your expectation was that they would say, for example once a week that the Lachin Corridor should be opened?” In the same way as we justify our relations with the West, in the same way we justify our relations with Russia. Like according to the logic of some western circles our relationship with Russia is not justified, because Russia is not fulfilling all its obligations, and is not meeting all of our expectations, similarly, Russia tells us the same about the West”, said Pashinyan.