Author: Shushan Frangulian

Noravank Monastery blends into the red rocks on the heights of Armenia. Azerbaijan is nearby, lurking. The priest of one of the temples in the complex turns his back to the altar and stands in front of a group of visitors, some of whom are faithful. One of them brings a message of peace in the face of growing conflict over the territory of Nagorno Karabagh. The priest stands still, raises his arm and replies vehemently: “We will not let them take our land away from us. Fight. We are not kneeling.”

Noravank is located on the road that connects the capital Yerevan with one of the hottest spots in the South Caucasus: the corridor that connects Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh, a territory inhabited by about 120,000 Armenians that has remained within the borders of Azerbaijan since Josef Stalin decided to cede the territory to the Azeris.

sinuous. at a distance. hidden. The border is trapped between mountains that seem to drown out the noise of war So hot That can be activated at any time.

On Thursday, both countries accused each other of initiating a firefight at the border that left at least one Azerbaijani soldier dead and four Armenians wounded.

In 2020, countries clashed in arms for 44 days. Azerbaijani military superiority made itself felt. Armenia lost around 5,000 troops and over 70% of the Artsakh region. Currently, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinián denounces before the international community that Baku is violating one of the points of the peace agreement signed between the two countries after that war: the obligation to ensure free movement along the road that connects Armenia with Nagorno.

On the way to the Lachin corridor, they begin to see each other austere trenches alternated with Armenian checkpoints. They report that Azerbaijani soldiers entered their territory in April. The clashes resulted in eight deaths: four on each side. Between trenches and trenches, small altars of dead soldiers appear by the side of the road with their photo in uniform and the Armenian flag.

clarion traveled to the point closer to the corridor. The checkpoint that Azerbaijan set up on April 3 to block the border is no longer accessible. Armenian military forces say they cannot guarantee the safety of people attempting to cross it. Only a few Red Cross ambulances and United Nations vans are allowed to circulate.

even along the way Russian patent parade military trucks. The soldiers stop to rest along the way. They smoke and speak little.

“The situation is very complicated,” admits one of them, the youngest of the group. And he goes further: “The responsibility lies with the three presidents”. Indicates the presidents of Armenia, Pashinián, and of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. But also to the Putin government, which should guarantee compliance with the peace agreement signed in 2020. None of that happens. Russia looks to Ukraine in war mode.

in conversation with clarion and other international media, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Paruyr Hovhannisyan, complains that Russia is too “cautious” and “is not fulfilling its obligations”. “For them, relations with Turkey are more important, as well as with Azerbaijan, and this is also related to the gas and oil they export through Azerbaijan,” she complains.

Even in this border area the labor monitors of the European Union. They observe, take pictures, talk to people. They move between Yerevan and Stepanakert. They assure that “for now” the situation is calm. None of them will stay too long in the place.

On the other side of the mountains, more than two thousand meters high, they report it the population of Nagorno Karabakh is experiencing a situation of siege. They must have access to vouchers for increasingly scarce food rations; medicines are no longer enough and basic services are cut.

The harsh Caucasus winter went through it without gas replenishment. This territory, which has its own Parliament, officials and uses the same currency as Armenia, it is not recognized as autonomous from any country in the world and today is surrounded by them.

“The possibility of an escalation of violence is very high”, warns the vice-rector. But the fear runs deeper: “Azerbaijan intends to go as far as possible. Aliyev always claims that the territory of present Armenia is West Azerbaijan. In accordance with this aggressive program, It is not only Nagorno-Karabakh, it is also the territory of Armenia”.

He Supreme Patriarch of Armenians, Karekin IIalso spoke to clarion and other media about the delicate situation at the border. “Periodically the Azrebaijan army penetrates our territory and tries to conquer more towns and cities. The euphoria that gave him the victory in 2020 he encouraged them”, he assures.

“I think the purpose is very clear: leave Artsakh without Armenians, provoke a new genocide”warns Karekin II and alludes to the great ghost that hovers in the history of this nation: the massacre of a million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 at the hands of the young Turks.

The silence of the people takes possession of this city in southeast Armenia. Goris is only 30 kilometers away from the Lachin Corridor and is the closest city to the border. There is a military base at the entrance to the city. Contemplative or vigilant, everyone is waiting for something to happen.

Southern Armenians live mainly from agriculture. Here they say that in this region the inhabitants are tough and that’s why they live longer. There has not been a mass exodus since the last war broke out in 2020. They stayed to protect their homes.

Zuren is 69 years old. He is retired but still works. This morning she left the taxi and is resting in the shade of a tree.

“Before living well, it was a dream. Now the situation is bad. We can no longer visit our family in Nagorno. We have them here, very close, behind the mountain, and we don’t see them. The world must understand that we are a nation with a lot of history. This is our land and they are denying us as a people.”the Mint.

Amidst this swarm of modest buildings with little trace of Soviet heritage is the city’s main square. Seated on a bench is Natalí, a 22-year-old teacher. She smiles a lot and stands out. Armenians laugh little. “What we live is very sad, people don’t know what’s really going on. We don’t live a normal life. – he underlines – People are worried about their children, about their future, but nobody wants to leave here”.

“We are not well we are in a war situation. We tell them we’re not moving from here. We believe they can advance, but we are not afraid,” challenges Vazgen, a 36-year-old opening maker.

to the cities of Goris and Khachardzan are separated by an undulating journey of 300 kilometersbut they are united by the Azerbaijani border fence.

Of the 420 people who live in this docile town in northwestern Armenia, 80% of the men have participated in the war. In the school where they study 65 students stands a kind of altar with photos of two men who died in the last clash. They are your heroes.

The mayor of the city, Gagik Shahnazaryan, is to be reckoned with for his deep blue eyes. He says Khachardzan has soldiers and volunteers at the border, which is only 40 kilometers from this wet and green village. He assures that although “the threat is always there”, they remain “ready to defend” the people.

“In our history We have always been in danger, but we have always overcome it and we will overcome this too.”says the mayor of a city that named its main street Argentina in recognition of the infrastructure contribution of the Armenian diaspora.

Khachardzan and Goris are keeping their guard up that this Sunday, when the President of Azerbaijan and the Prime Minister of Armenia finally meet in Brussels, a sign of agreement that makes them -finally- sleep peacefully.

Goris, Armenia. special Correspondent

ap

Source: Clarin

https://newsrebeat.com/world-news/166876.html

Since active fighting ceased between Armenia and Azerbaijan in November 2020, following the 44-day war, there have been numerous attempts to normalize ties and relations between the two neighbors. The most recent attempt was made in Washington DC, where the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in early May 2023. The two sides discussed the draft bilateral Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations. Separately, another high-level meeting is scheduled to take place in Brussels from May 13–14 under the auspices of European Council President Charles Michel. But if there were any hopes for finally seeing the two countries move forward in peace negotiations following the meeting in DC and ahead of the scheduled meeting in Brussels, the fighting that erupted on May 11 speaks to the fragility of the situation three years after the war, despite numerous attempts to inch the countries closer to a peace deal.

In a press statement issued by Blinken on May 4, the Secretary of State said, “After an intensive and constructive series of bilateral and trilateral discussions, the parties made significant progress in addressing difficult issues. Both demonstrated a sincere commitment to normalizing relations and ending the long-standing conflict between their two countries.”

That “sincere commitment” was nowhere to be seen following the return of the foreign ministers to their home countries. In statements issued by the Ministries of Defense, both sides accused each other of shelling on May 11. According to the statements, four Armenian servicemen were injured and one Azerbaijani serviceman died as a result.

The recent high-level meetings also took place following a months-long blockade of the Lachin Corridor — the only route connecting Armenia to the contested Karabakh region across Azerbaijani territory — following the installation of an Azerbaijani border checkpoint on the corridor on April 23.

Tensions remain and reached new heights at the start of the European Weightlifting Championship in Yerevan, Armenia, on April 14, 2023. A man, who was identified later as an employee of Armenian public television, ran onto the stage, grabbed the Azerbaijani flag during the opening ceremony, set it on fire, and ran off the stage with the flag in his hands. Azerbaijani athletes immediately withdrew from the competition, citing safety concerns.

The flag burning followed deadly clashes between the two countries near the Lachin Corridor on April 11, which left a total of seven soldiers dead — four Armenia soldiers and three Azerbaijani soldiers. There were also reports of at least eight soldiers left wounded during the clash.

Also in April, Armenian security forces detained two Azerbaijani soldiers for illegally crossing into Armenia. Official Baku said the soldiers got lost due to inclement weather. Both soldiers were charged with illegal border crossing, smuggling, and illegal circulation of weapons and ammunition. On April 18, according to reporting by the Armenian Service for Radio Liberty, charges against one of the soldiers were changed. The serviceman stood accused of killing a security guard after crossing into Armenia. On May 8, one of the servicemen was sentenced to eleven and a half years in prison for illegal border crossing, smuggling, and illegal circulation of weapons and ammunition. The investigations related to the second serviceman are still ongoing at the time of writing this story.

Following the sentence on May 8, the Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the sentence in a strongly worded statement, accusing Armenia of ignoring its legal responsibility in accordance with international humanitarian law and the principles of humanism. Armenia has also leveled similar accusations against Azerbaijan with regard to at least 33 remaining Armenian prisoners of war (PoWs) in Azerbaijan. According to the representative of Armenian prisoners of war at the European Court of Human Rights, Siranush Sahakyan, in addition to the confirmed 33 Armenian prisoners, there are some 80 “unconfirmed” PoWs who remain in captivity in Azerbaijan based on the evidence collected by the Armenian side.

The meeting in the US as well as the upcoming meeting in Brussels, follow a series of mediated meetings between the two countries since the end of hostilities in 2020. In November 2021, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia met in the Russian city of Sochi to discuss bilateral relations in a meeting organized by Russian President Vladimir Putin. A month later, the leaders met in Brussels, this time chaired by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. In February 2022, there was a videoconference call with the leaders and French President Macron. The leaders met again in April and in May 2022. In a separate meeting under EU auspices in March 2022, the countries sent their senior representatives “to continue the engagement to ensure follow-up to agreements reached at leader’s level,” according to a statement by the European Council from April 2022. Michel mediated another meeting that took place in August 2022. In October 2022, in a landmark breakthrough, leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan pledged to mutually recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty at the European Political Community summit held in Prague. Another meeting took place in October between Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Geneva to kick off the work on the future peace treaty.

Throughout these meetings, there have been multiple reports of ceasefire violations, with each side blaming the other for the flare-ups.

The Nagorno-Karabakh area has been under the control of its ethnic Armenian population as a self-declared state since a war fought in the early 1990s, which ended with a ceasefire and Armenian military victory in 1994. In the aftermath of the first war, a new, internationally unrecognized, de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was established. Seven adjacent regions were occupied by the Armenian forces. As a result of that war, “more than a million people had been forced from their homes: Azerbaijanis fled Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and the adjacent territories, while Armenians left homes in Azerbaijan,” according to the International Crisis Group, an independent organization that works to prevent wars and shape policies. Following the second Karabakh war in 2020, Azerbaijan regained control over much of the previously occupied seven regions. Azerbaijan also captured one-third of Karabakh during the war. On November 10, 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a ceasefire agreement brokered by Russia.

(Washington) The United States is hosting difficult peace talks in Washington on Monday between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed enclave of Nagorny Karabakh.

The discussions, under the aegis of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, are supposed to last until Thursday in the presence of the heads of diplomacy of the two countries, the Armenian Ararat Mirzoyan and the Azerbaijani Djeyhoun Baïramov.

The two Caucasian countries clashed in two wars in the early 1990s and in 2020 for control of Nagorny Karabakh, a mountainous region mostly populated by Armenians that seceded from Azerbaijan three decades ago.

Tensions, already high, redoubled when Baku announced ten days ago that it had set up a first road checkpoint at the entrance to the Lachin corridor, the only axis linking Armenia to the separatist enclave already subject to a months-long blockade that caused power shortages and blackouts.

Armenia considered this a violation of the ceasefire negotiated with Azerbaijan.

These negotiations under American mediation come a few days after a tour of the region last week by the head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna.

She urged Azerbaijan to immediately restore “unhindered traffic along the Lachin Corridor”, a vital route in this enclave of Nagorny Karabakh, and said she believed in a peaceful settlement despite deep differences between the belligerents.

Mr. Blinken, who is also particularly active on this file, was to meet Monday behind closed doors with the protagonists gathered in a conference center on behalf of former Secretary of State George Shultz, near the federal capital.

A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity said Monday he expected “frank discussions.”

“Our goal is to make sure ministers sit down at the table and talk to each other” for several days, he added, in an attempt to achieve “a just and lasting peace.” “.

The negotiations relate specifically to “an agreement on the normalization of relations” between the two countries, he further indicated, stressing that “all issues are discussed”.

Blinken, who has been advocating for “direct dialogue” for months, discussed US support for the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process in separate conversations with their leaders over the weekend. .

To Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, he “expressed the deep concern of the United States over Azerbaijan’s erection of a roadblock at the entrance to the Lachin Corridor that could undermine efforts to build confidence in the peace process,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Mr. Blinken “stressed the importance of reopening the Lachin Road to commercial and private vehicles as soon as possible,” the statement added.

He told Mr Aliyev of “his belief that peace is possible”.

The day before, Mr. Blinken had also spoken with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the State Department said.

The head of American diplomacy has maintained contact at regular intervals with the leaders of the two countries.

He has already participated in two trilateral meetings last November, then last February on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, without these discussions leading to an agreement.

For its part, Russia deployed in 2020 in Nagorny Karabakh a contingent of peacekeepers supposed to ensure circulation on the Lachin corridor, but its isolation on the international scene due to the war in Ukraine limits its room for maneuver.

The United States and the European Union have thus imposed themselves as mediators in the process of normalization between Baku and Yerevan.