Author: Suren Karakhanian

The Armenia-Azerbaijan border

A notion introduced by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who suggested to separate the Karabakh conflict settlement issue from the effort to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, was revived on Friday when Armenia’s National Security chief Armen Grigoryan proposing that such an approach must be “actively discussed.”

“We have repeatedly said that the Karabakh issue is not a territorial issue for us. In that sense, the security and rights of Karabakh Armenians are fundamental for us,” Grigoryan told Armenpress in an interview published Friday. “In one of his speeches in the National Assembly, Prime Minister Pashinyan mentioned that there is an idea to separate the Nagorno-Karabakh issue from Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. We must now actively discuss that option and decide how to proceed.”

Grigoryan invoked the government’s stated “peace agenda” policy as a strategy, and claimed that an opportunity to normalize relations with Azerbaijan exists.

“That possibility becomes even more grounded when we consider that the Armenian government—the political majority—is taking responsibility for the implementation of the peace agenda, realizing that it is not an easy way. I think the commitment of the Armenian government and the political majority to the peace agenda is an important factor for the assessments coming from different international platforms,” Grigoryan told Armenpress.

Grigoryan’s interview is another sign of the government’s ongoing effort to distance itself from Artsakh, constantly invoking the November 9, 2020 agreement, which ended the military aggression but saw Armenian territorial concession to Azerbaijan. Earlier this month, the government announced that by September the Armenian Armed Forces would completely pull out from Artsakh.

The National Security chief was opaque when asked about the fate of Artsakh and its Armenian residents, saying that there was a possibility that a peace agreement would be signed with Azerbaijan, without a final status determination for Karabakh.

As for security guarantees for Artsakh Armenians, Grigoryan claimed that there were “international guarantees” in place to ensure the security of Artsakh residents, which he said “is the presence of the peacekeeping troops of the Russian Federation. We need to work on the further improvement of that guarantee, but the demilitarization of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem is an important idea.”

Grigoryan said that the government is following a roadmap to advance normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. That so-called roadmap includes the processes of delimitation of borders, as well as the opening of transit routes being ironed out by two separate commissions. He announced that the delimitation commission will hold another meeting in mid-August in Moscow.

However, he did acknowledge that Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of delaying the opening of the transit links, but added that Armenia has expressed its willingness to open regional communications.

When asked about whether the so-called peace treaty would include Armenia recognizing Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, Grigoryan said that in 1991 Armenia already passed legislation to that end.

“We have said many times that Armenia and Azerbaijan have recognized each other’s territorial integrity and inviolability of borders by the agreement on the formation of the CIS signed in 1991 and later ratified. And this is part of the legislation of both Armenia and Azerbaijan today. It should be expressed at the bilateral level as well. And as we said, there is nothing unacceptable for us in such a perspective, and Armenia, yes, has no territorial claims from Azerbaijan,” said Grigoryan.

He also touched on the humanitarian toll of the 2020 war saying that resolving those issues “is a necessary component of peace. Including issues of preservation of cultural heritage.”

“All those questions, of course, need to be addressed. By the way, in the last two years, Armenia has transferred 130 bodies of Azerbaijanis missing since the first Karabakh war to Azerbaijan. We are ready to cooperate actively on this issue as well and we expect the same from Azerbaijan. The Armenian side has more than 770 missing persons since the first Karabakh war. The number of our missing persons in the 44-day war is 203,” announced Grigoryan.

As for the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia, Grigoryan reflected on the agreements reached on July 1 between the special envoys, who decided that the land border between the two countries would open to third country citizens and air cargo transportation will also commence.

“It is clear that we will remain committed to those agreements, especially given that Russia, the United States, France, Iran, Georgia, and the EU support the process of normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations,” said Grigoryan.

Following similar steps by Lithuania and Poland, the people of Norway and Canada have started crowdfunding campaigns to buy Turkey-made Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) for Ukraine.

Norwegians plan to collect 55 million kroner (about $5.5 million) and transfer it to the aid fund at the Ukrainian Embassy, media reports said.

The related campaign was published on the Spleis fundraising website.

“Give a Bayraktar from a Norwegian to the Ukrainian people – show solidarity with Ukraine’s fight against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. Lithuania collected one Bayraktar in three days, Poland collected three Bayraktars and Ukraine collected three Bayraktars in a few days. Of course, Norway must do at least the same,” the statement on the website read.

Canadians meanwhile aim to raise C$7 million (around $5.5 million) to buy the drone for Ukraine before the country’s Independence Day.

Poland and Lithuania both raised the target amount but drone maker Baykar said it would give the drones to these countries free of charge, asking for the money raised to be used to aid the Ukrainian people.

Pictures shared by the Lithuanian government a week ago showed the drone, featuring the logo of a hawk in Lithuania and Ukraine's colors, has already been delivered.

Ukraine has bought more than 20 Bayraktar TB2 armed drones from Baykar in recent years and ordered a further 16 on Jan. 27. That batch was delivered in early March.

Baykar late last month said it would be donating three drones to Ukraine after a crowdfunding campaign there raised enough funds to buy “several” of the Bayraktar TB2 model.

The company said the crowdfunding campaign in Ukraine had reached the milestone in a few days and that business leaders as well ordinary people contributed to the fund.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government previously imposed an embargo against Baykar for the Bayraktar TB2’s subsystems following its use by Azerbaijan in Karabakh, previously referred to as Nagorno-Karabakh.

In April 2021, Canada canceled export permits for drone technology to Turkey after concluding that the country sold the equipment to the Azerbaijani military forces during fighting in Armenian-occupied Karabakh. Export licenses were initially suspended in 2019 during Turkish military activities in Syria. Restrictions were then eased but reimposed during the conflict in the Caucasus.

Among its claims, the Canadian government asserted that the drones used by Azerbaijan in the conflict had been equipped with imaging and targeting systems made by L3Harris Wescam, the Canada-based unit of L3Harris Technologies Inc.

Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2s played a vital role during the conflict that erupted between Azerbaijan and the fellow ex-Soviet republic of Armenia, Turkey’s counterterrorism operations in Syria and retaliatory moves against the country's Russia-backed regime, and most recently in Ukraine where they have been used against Russian heavy military gear, from air defense systems to even naval platforms.

Following Canada's export decision, the Turkish company said that the UCAVs have been equipped with the Common Aperture Targeting System (CATS) developed by leading defense contractor Aselsan, replacing those acquired from abroad, namely from Canadian companies.

BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 20. The Armenian armed forces have begun work on creating combat positions in the direction of Azerbaijan’s Shushakand village, Khojaly district, Trend reports.

On July 19, the Armenian armed forces began to carry out engineering and construction work. In response to this illegal activity, units of the Azerbaijani army opened warning fire. The command of the contingent of Russian peacekeepers was also informed about this.

A group of peacekeepers who arrived on the scene sometime later, instead of stopping this illegal activity of the Armenian armed forces, ensured their safety and, moreover, created conditions for the continuation of work.

The question arises: where is the command of the Russian peacekeepers looking?