Author: Talar Tumanian

Zelensky offers Putin to start negotiations on ending military operations

Talar Tumanian

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 15:48, 25 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky addressed the Russian President Vladimir Putin and offered to start negotiations over ending the military operations.

“I’d like to once again address the President of the Russian Federation,” Zelensky said in a video address published on social media. “Military operations are taking place all over Ukraine. Let’s sit around a negotiations table in order to stop the bloodshed,” he said.

The Ukrainian president also criticized European partners for what he described as extremely slow support

Where was the outpouring of empathy when my country was at war?

Talar Tumanian
  Feb 24 2022

As an Armenian, I feel our pain was ignored. And my trauma means I’m struggling to empathise as I should with Ukraine today

Tatev Hovhannisyan
War is a strange thing – it makes you both empathetic and cold-hearted.

As an Armenian, I experienced two huge wars – the first Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994) and the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Now in my 30s, I still live in a country where people are praying every night not to receive word about a new war and casualties in the morning.

Unfortunately, this morning, we received exactly that. This time, the war is not in Armenia, but in Ukraine.

Ukraine is not far from my country, but this doesn’t change my reaction to it. Ukraine could be in Antarctica and I would still feel the same sharp emotion – like my heart is being squeezed and I want to scream ‘stop’.

As soon as I got the news, I put myself in the shoes of every Ukrainian. I really felt for them. I imagined young people in love, with big plans for the future or for their wedding day, who will not live to see them happen. It is heartbreaking.

But empathy was just the first reaction I had this morning. It was followed by something different: a pang of what I would describe as heartlessness. I suppose this is a product of trauma.

I remembered being in almost exactly the same situation in Armenia, but with a slight difference. The world was not supporting us. It was just watching our pain in silence.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m genuinely happy to see how the international community is supporting Ukraine, how people in different countries are protesting in the streets, how millions are adding the Ukrainian flag to their profiles on social media. But this unity and empathy feels so different from what I experienced in 2020.

Thousands of young people aged 18 to 20 died in Armenia and Azerbaijan barely two years ago. And I don’t recall much international solidarity happening then.

Please, spare me explanations about the differences between wars. War is war. It’s a tragedy. It means being able to smell death. It’s mourning a parent and a partner. It’s an evil that takes away your sleep and your laughter. It’s an invisible pain in your heart. Let’s not talk about geopolitics here.

What really shocks me is the hypocrisy. How can this be the same world, the same society, the same media? Where were they when people in another part of the world were fighting for 44 days during the pandemic?

I don’t care about politics, land, negotiations, economics – I just want to live in a peaceful country where parents don't have to fear that they will not see their children again

I remember feeling so helpless at the time and trying to throw myself into work. I’m not sure it helped much but at least it alleviated my anger towards the world.

My international friends were silent, too. They didn’t change their profile pictures. Most didn’t text me messages of love and solidarity. There were just two friends (one from Africa and one from Europe) who did so, and I’ll be forever grateful to them. Believe me – when you are in pain, every word of support matters to you. It’s a silver lining. These messages remind you that you are not alone, and can even make you smile.

The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict turned my life upside down. I am not the same anymore.

I might be silent about it, appear happy and back to normal, but every night I think about the more than 4,000 Armenian families who lost their sons in the 2020 war and the 200 families whose sons are still missing in action. I think about Azerbaijani families, too, who also have losses. I’m sure all human beings mourn and love exactly the same way.

For me, it’s all about humanity. I don’t care about politics, land, negotiations, economics – I just want to live in a peaceful country where parents don't have to live in fear that they will not see their children again.

There are times I wish I had not been born in this region, where life is so unstable and fragile, where you don’t have certainty in tomorrow.

I live in constant fear of change – either from ongoing war, an earthquake or political tensions. It’s hard to keep up with it all when you are an ordinary person who doesn’t want to be involved in politics and just wants to live a normal life.

The main lesson I learned from the war is not to expect any help or solidarity from outside. You are alone and you need to live with your permanent wounds as there will always be scars. I guess my scars are too fresh and deep – that’s why there isn’t more room to feel others’ pain.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/ukraine-russia-war-armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-where-was-empathy/

AW: Most Armenian residents support diplomatic relations with Turkey, according to new poll

Talar Tumanian
February 9, 2022 Lillian Avedian News 13

Yerevan, February 2021 (Photo: Government of Armenia/Facebook)

A majority of residents of Armenia support restoration of diplomatic relations with Turkey, as long as critical national interests are not conceded, according to a recent poll.

The US-based International Republican Institute (IRI) published the results of its latest public opinion survey on January 31, 2022. The poll was conducted between November 22 and December 5, 2021 through phone interviews with 1,512 Armenian citizens. 

According to the results of the survey, 73-percent of Armenians believe that Armenia should simultaneously pursue a dialogue with Turkey while seeking its recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Seventy-percent support preconditions to the normalization of bilateral relations, including Turkey’s non-interference in the Artsakh peace process. 

While 44-percent of respondents feel that Armenia should not pursue normalization of relations with Turkey under any circumstances, 53-percent disagree with this statement. 

“History shows that these countries have had difficult bilateral relations throughout the years,” said Stephen Nix, director of IRI’s Eurasia Division. “A desire among the Armenian people to strengthen ties with Turkey is a very positive development.” 

Armenian and Turkish officials have taken several concrete steps in the past months to restoring diplomatic ties. On January 14, special envoys appointed by each country held an initial round of talks, during which they “agreed to continue negotiations without preconditions aiming at full normalization.” Deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament Ruben Rubinyan and Turkish ambassador Serdar Kılıç will meet for the second time on February 24 in Vienna, Austria. 

According to the IRI poll, 90-percent of Armenians identified Turkey as the country posing the greatest political threat to Armenia, while 77-percent chose Azerbaijan. Turkey and Azerbaijan are also perceived as the greatest security threats to Armenia among 88-percent and 81-percent of respondents, respectively. 

The greatest share of respondents (25-percent) said that Armenia should not start the process of delimiting and demarcating the Armenia-Azerbaijan border until after the final resolution of the Artsakh conflict and the signing of a peace agreement with Azerbaijan. Public opinion on this question among the remainder of participants was split evenly. While 16-percent said it is not currently in the interest of Armenia and Artsakh to launch the demarcation and delimitation process, 15-percent said Armenia should start the process as soon as possible. Others supported preconditions to initiating the process, including the restoration of the armed forces (16-percent) and clarification of the principles guiding the process (14-percent). 

Armenia and Azerbaijan have seemingly reached a deadlock on negotiations to delimit and demarcate their shared border. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev agreed to “push the process of establishment of a bilateral commission with the advisory participation of the Russian Federation” on border delimitation and demarcation, in a statement signed at a November 26 trilateral summit in Sochi. During a meeting on December 14 with European Council President Charles Michel, the leaders agreed to take “further tangible steps” to “reduce tensions on the ground to ensure a conducive atmosphere for the talks” on delimitation and demarcation.  

In January, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) of Armenia Vahan Hunanyan said that Pashinyan and Aliyev had agreed on the mutual withdrawal of Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers from their border posts during the meeting in Brussels. Hunanyan was responding to a statement by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov that Baku would not accept any “preconditions” to the start of the border demarcation and delimitation process. 

On February 3, Bayramov reiterated that Armenia has set “certain conditions for the beginning of the work of the commission on the delimitation and demarcation process,” which are unacceptable to Azerbaijan.

“Armenia, which held Azerbaijan’s lands under occupation for 30 years, has no legal, political or moral right to impose any conditions on the delimitation of borders,” he said during a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart. 

In response, Hunanyan said that the full implementation of the agreements reached in Sochi and Brussels requires concrete steps to increase the level of security on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. 

“It is also logical amid the fact that it is difficult to imagine the implementation of delimitation in the borders where ceasefire violations are observed every day,” he told Armenpress news agency.

The largest percentage of participants (28-percent) in the IRI poll said that territorial and border issues are the most important problems facing the country, followed by national security (15-percent). Ninety-six percent said that the resolution of the Artsakh conflict is important for the future of Armenia. While 35-percent said that recognition of the Republic of Artsakh as an independent state would be an acceptable solution to the Artsakh conflict, 34-percent supported unification of Artsakh with Armenia, and 11-percent, the establishment of the status of Artsakh within Russia. 

“With the recent Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and a history of military confrontation in the region, Armenians are understandably concerned about national security and threats along the border,” said Nix. “They would like to see a resolution to these long-standing territorial issues.”

European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev meet via video conference (European Council, February 4)

French President Emmanuel Macron praised the results of a virtual February 4 meeting with Pashinyan, Aliyev and Michel. The leaders discussed “recent releases of detainees, ongoing joint efforts to search for missing persons, as well as the upcoming restoration of railway tracks,” according to a joint statement from Macron and Michel. Pashinyan’s office added that the parties exchanged views on the “reduction of tensions on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border” and “access of international organizations to Nagorno-Karabakh.” 

Three days after the meeting, eight more Armenian prisoners of war were released from Azerbaijan. The MoFA of Armenia said that the repatriation took place “with the mediation of the French government and European Union.” 

“We are going forward!” Macron tweeted about the return of the POWs. 

French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a joint press conference in Moscow, February 8, 2022 (Photo: Kremlin)

Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed a number of issues regarding the Artsakh conflict, including “missing persons, refugees, borders and the communications infrastructure,” during a February 8 meeting in Moscow. The leaders expressed “coinciding views on a number of matters,” according to Macron.

  •  Bio
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Lillian Avedian is a staff writer for the Armenian Weekly. Her writing has also been published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Hetq and the Daily Californian. She is pursuing master’s degrees in Journalism and Near Eastern Studies at New York University. A human rights journalist and feminist poet, Lillian's first poetry collection Journey to Tatev was released with Girls on Key Press in spring of 2021.


Head of Diocese of Artsakh warns Armenians to “come to senses” as cultural heritage faces Azeri annihilation

Talar Tumanian

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 10:47, 16 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani government continues the destruction of Armenian cultural monuments and churches in the occupied territories of Artsakh, falsely claiming that the Armenian writings and inscriptions on the churches are fake.

The Azeri authorities flagrantly announced that “Armenians left traces on Azeri monuments which must be cleaned,” and even commissioned a task force to do so.

After it was reported that UNESCO wants to visit Artsakh, the Azeri authorities launched a commission to rewrite history and attempt to mislead the international community as if there are no Armenian monuments in Artsakh.

Speaking to ARMENPRESS, Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, the Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church, expressed concern and noted that now they are sounding the alarm in various platforms.

“What else should we do now. What the Azerbaijanis are now doing with our cultural heritage is nothing new. As a nomadic people, they always had an eye on what’s ours. The same continues today. We must come to our senses to understand how to keep our heritage. Why should someone else come and say ‘I’m here to keep it’. The Azerbaijani leadership is already preparing its intentions and plans, they know their national strategy. Regardless of what foreign diplomatic or religious meetings take place, they either maintain a passive stance or they say ‘we’ll think’. As a result they do what they’d planned.”

The trilateral meeting of the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill and the Azerbaijan-based Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office (CMO) Allahshukur Pashazadeh took place at the Danilov Monastery, the headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow in October 2021. Karekin II voiced the issue of the fate of Shushi’s Ghazanchetsots Cathedral at this meeting. There were hopes that the church would be preserved. But now, the Azeri authorities want to capture and appropriate all cultural monuments in the territories of Artsakh which they have occupied.

Bishop Abrahamyan says the Azerbaijanis ignore these meetings, and even ignore calls from international organizations such as UNESCO.

“They do whatever they want, it’s their signature, they destroy whichever monument they want, change or demolish the others. We are unable to bring back our captives, when did the war end? People have become living monuments in Baku, it’s difficult to imagine the physical and emotional sufferings and torture they are going through. The whole world tells Azerbaijan to release the Armenian captives, but they don’t release them,” Vrtanesyan said.

In a situation like this, the Bishop says Armenians should rely on themselves. He said that the Artsakh authorities are doing everything they can to prevent the Azeri atrocities.

“We must come to our senses, work correctly to preserve our national, religious identity. It is the legacy of our ancestors. We were reckless, and failed to keep them, and now we are getting what we are getting. I can’t say for a fact that the Shushi church will be preserved. During the abovementioned trilateral meeting the Azeri side said that Italian specialists have arrived for renovation. But we all know and we’ve seen what the Azeris mean by saying ‘renovation’, it’s a synonym for destruction for them. Today, our nation must sign a contract with themselves, stipulating that we have nothing else to surrender to the enemy. If every person were to make this clear decision for themselves, this will become a national alliance, a so-called “document” to resolve the future fate and security of the nation. If not, we will stay torn apart like this,” the Bishop said.

Interview by Liana Sargsyan

Out-migration in Armenia increasing

Talar Tumanian
EurasiaNet.org
Feb 10 2022
Ani Mejlumyan Feb 10, 2022
Boarding at Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport. (iStock/Getty)

Nearly 44,000 more Armenians left the country in 2021 than returned, a record figure for the last several years, according to newly released official data. 

The theme of out-migration has been a hot topic and highly politicized issue in the country, and the recent numbers confirm what many believed: that many more Armenians are leaving – in particular for migrant labor abroad – than coming home. 

In total, 43,874 more Armenians left than entered the country in 2021. That reversed a trend of three straight years when the country recorded positive balances: 15,317 in 2018, 10,506 in 2019, and 12,092 in 2020. 

The migration figures did not come as a surprise, as Armenians struggled both with a declining economy and a deteriorating security situation following the 2020 defeat in the war with Azerbaijan. On top of that, loosening COVID pandemic restrictions meant many people who had wanted to leave before that were finally able to. 

“Out-migration for employment to Russia averages 60-70,000 a year,” the head of the country’s Migration Service, Armen Ghazaryan, told RFE/RL. “Those people didn’t go anywhere in 2020 and naturally we had to have these people leave in 2021.”

The figures indicated that many Armenians, as expected, did return in the last quarter of 2021. In the first three quarters of the year about 103,000 more Armenians left the country than returned, 64,000 of those in the first quarter alone. 

Migration figures in Armenia tend to track perceptions of economic and political stability. Following a 1998 attack on the country’s parliament that killed the country’s prime minister, the speaker of parliament and six other lawmakers, net migration topped 60,000 in 2000 and 2001. Following the 2008 global financial crisis, the figures topped 40,000 in both 2010 and 2011. 

But the current government, which took power in the 2018 “Velvet Revolution,” had made it a point of pride that more Armenians who had sought their fortune abroad were returning home. 

There are no precise numbers of how many people actually live in Armenia. The last census was conducted in 2011, and counted 3,018,854 people. The country was supposed to conduct another census in 2020 – the law requires one every 10 years – but it was delayed because of the pandemic. The state Statistics Committee has been testing a system to conduct an online census in 2022. 

The national police also track data of people who register or unregister at addresses; in 2020, 33,203 people unregistered from their addresses, and that number jumped to 38,932 in 2021. Not everyone who moves abroad reports when they leave an address. Nevertheless, that data still offers a more precise picture of people who have definitely left the country, said Anna Hovhannisyan of the Armenia office of the UN Population Fund in an interview with RFE/RL.

 

Ani Mejlumyan is a reporter based in Yerevan.

Asbarez: ARS Social Services Helps Tenants Avoid Eviction During Pandemic

Talar Tumanian
by Contributor

 

 February 7, 2022

 

in Community, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

ARS Social Services case manager Lousin Markarian provides State of California Emergency Rental Assistance Program services to a client

GLENDALE—As part of its ongoing work and efforts through the State of California Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), since mid-June 2021, the Armenian Relief Society of Western U.S., Social Services Division has helped over 200 households avoid eviction due to COVID-19-related unpaid rent, totaling to $3,013,525 in requested rental assistance.

In January 2021, almost a year after COVID-19 surfaced, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. This act provided eligible households with both renter protections and funding. As a result, separate budgets and separate applications were established for LA City and LA County residents.

L.A. City funds ran out almost immediately, while L.A. County funds remained available for months on end. The funds were eventually redistributed to address LA City’s residents’ higher needs for rental and utility debt and now, both LA City and LA County residents are encouraged to apply using the same application.

To be eligible, renters must reside in incorporated LA County, have an income between 30 to 50 percent of Los Angeles’ average median income (AMI), and have financial hardship as a result of COVID-19. Having a landlord willing to participate in the program is also very helpful, but not necessary.

Whether it’s lay-offs, COVID-19 related medical costs, or incurred costs simply due to stay-at-home orders, tenants are finding it more difficult than ever to afford their rental payments in a city where housing had already presented itself as a crisis way before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Many have had to downsize their homes, take in more roommates, borrow money from friends and family, or worse, take out high interest loans to evade homelessness.

Participants are encouraged to go online and apply on their own as soon as possible. This proves to be a bit difficult for the community as many either lacked internet or the technical skills required to navigate the site. To alleviate this digital gap, ARS Social Services staff assists interested clients over the phone and in person to assess eligibility and book appointments to facilitate the application process in its entirety. This includes, but is not limited to, recording each client’s and household member’s information, calculating rents owed, providing landlord contact information, and uploading proofs of household income.

“Many of the clients are very thankful that we are helping them, especially Armenian and other minority clients because, although the application is available in several languages, it isn’t the most accessible,” said ARS ERAP Case Manager Lousin Markarian. “Some clients are illiterate, some clients have disabilities, and almost all clients lack the digital literacy needed to navigate the application, upload their documents, and check their application statuses once submitted. Having people and organizations like us available through the entire process really gives applicants a sense of hope and security.”

Operating in Glendale, staff has a high language capacity and is available to assist Armenian, Spanish, English, and Farsi speaking applicants and with COVID-19, capacity has actually expanded to assist applicants all over LA County through over-the-phone appointments. As a result, the ARS ERAP team is able to assist over 30 households a week in completing their rental assistance applications- not to mention following up with prior applicants with application status updates and requests for additional funding.

Although first-time applicants are usually renters, landlords can also initiate the process and are more than welcome to receive assistance in doing so from ARS Social Services.

“This is a very helpful program and she’s been very kind to me,” said Gilbert Reodica, a local Glendale renter who received assistance from Markarian on-site and spoke with Vic Keossian, ARS ERAP Program Supervisor. “I am just hoping I get approved, because the reduced hours are tremendous. Before, I worked six days and this time I work three to four days. So this will be so great if I am approved,” he added.

If you are interested in rent and/or utility assistance, contact ARS Social Services to find out if you’re eligible. Program Supervisor Vic Keossian can be reached at (818) 253-4741.

Whether COVID-19 poses a language barrier, technical difficulty or any other obstacle, ARS Social Services is here to help. If you or a loved one have been impacted by COVID-19 in any way, please call ARS Social Services at (818) 241-7533 to find out how the team can be of service to you. The division offers free food assistance, housing navigation, senior services, case management, access and linkages to public benefits, employment support and more year round.

ARS Social Services is committed to providing comprehensive social services to low-moderate individuals and families through offices located in Glendale, Pasadena, and Hollywood. Services include case management, completion of forms, assistance with housing and transportation issues, senior services, Covid-19 outreach and system navigation services, employment services, referrals, English as a Second Language/Life Skills classes, refugee youth mentoring, homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing, food pantry services, and more. The ARS Social Services main office can be reached at (818) 241-7533 or at [email protected].

Armenia’s Covid-19 infections grew by 4192 in the past day

Talar Tumanian
Feb 4 2022
February 4, 2022 – 12:05 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Armenia grew by 4192 to reach 383,458 on Friday, February 4 morning, according to information provided by the Health Ministry.

Fresh figures also revealed that 2510 more people recovered, 10 patients died from Covid-19, while two others carrying the virus died from other causes in the past 24 hours.

A total of 8857 tests have been performed in the past day, the National Center For Disease Control and Prevention said.

So far, 346,224 people have recovered, 8075 have died from the coronavirus in the country, while 1545 others carrying the virus have died from other causes.

Delicate balancing act for Turkey over Ukraine may end in disappointment

Talar Tumanian 
Ahval


Feb 03 2022

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is visiting Kiev on Thursday
for meetings with his Ukrainian counterpart.

The talks are aimed at strengthening a military-industrial partnership
opposed by Russia and back NATO offers to prevent a possible Russian
invasion of the country. But Erdoğan's efforts to exert Turkey's
influence and mediate a solution to the tensions may end in
disappointment with possible repercussions for Turkey's regional
standing, Le Monde’s Marie Jégo reported.


An excerpt of the article follows below:

Supporting Ukraine without irritating Russia is the balancing act that
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to undertake in
Kiev on Thursday. His visit is a strong political signal to his
Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, at a time when tension is
at its highest between Kiev and Moscow, with a large Russian military
presence along the border with Ukraine and in Belarus.

The game is shaping up to be a close one for Erdoğan, who prides
himself on having a privileged relationship with both sides, to the
point of having offered to mediate in the conflict.

"By bringing the two leaders [Ukraine’s Zelensky and Russian Vladimir
Putin] together in our country if they so wish, we can pave the way
for restoring peace," he said on Jan. 26, adding that a Russian
invasion of Ukraine would be an "irrational move on Russia's part".

Erdoğan's offer of mediation was immediately rejected by the Kremlin,
quick to accuse Turkey of feeding "militaristic sentiment" in Ukraine.
At issue is the delivery of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 armed drones to the
Ukrainian army, which used them in October to hit a Russian howitzer
operated by the separatists of the Donbass supported by the Kremlin.

In the eyes of Ukrainian military experts, the possibility of
replicating in Donbass the winning combination of Turkish drones and
Ankara's military expertise, as Azerbaijan did at the time of the
autumn 2020 conflict to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, is a real
temptation.

The October strike was "a provocation", Putin insisted in a telephone
conversation described as heated with Erdoğan on Dec. 3. Since that
episode, relations between the two presidents have cooled slightly. Mr
Putin has just declined his counterpart's invitation to visit Turkey,
postponing the visit until "when the epidemic situation and agendas
allow".

Despite Russian warnings, Ankara's support for the pro-Western
government in Kiev is not waning, on the contrary. Turkey is not ready
to give up its defence agreements with Kiev and is even more unlikely
to recognise Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula, the
original land of the Turkic-speaking Tatars, once under the protection
of the Ottoman Empire.

The annexation was never recognised by Ankara, despite Russian
insistence. To make matters worse, Turkey continues to support
Ukraine's and Georgia's bid to join NATO.

For the time being, the agreements to be signed on Thursday between
Erdoğan and Zelensky - a free trade treaty and several
military-industrial agreements - can only increase the Kremlin's ire.
Since 2019, Turkey and Ukraine have considerably developed their
security partnership. Between 2019 and 2021, the two presidents met
five times, which shows how well they are getting along.

Not content with buying the Bayraktar TB2s, which tipped the military
balance in favour of Turkey's allies in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh,
Ukraine has also started producing them on its soil.

The cooperation with the Ukrainian military-industrial complex, which
has kept some nice remnants from the Soviet era, especially in terms
of aircraft engine manufacturing, is a real boon for Ankara, which is
anxious to cushion the sanctions imposed on its defence industry after
the acquisition of the Russian S-400 anti-missile system in 2019 and
the war waged in the autumn of 2020 in Nagorno-Karabakh.

As evidence of this growing cooperation, the Turkish company Baykar,
which produces the TB2 armed drone, has just acquired a plot of land
not far from the Ukrainian air base of Vasylkiv, south-west of Kiev,
where a training centre for the piloting and maintenance of drones is
being built.

Baykar also plans to invest with Ukrainian engine manufacturer Motor
Sich and its design office Ivchenko-Progress. In the autumn of 2021,
Motor Sich has committed to supplying the Turkish defence contractor
with turboprop engines for its new Akinci combat drone, which is more
powerful than the TB2 and which Kiev is considering acquiring. In
addition to the joint production of engines and the An-178 military
transport aircraft, Kiev and Ankara are also planning to produce
corvettes together at the shipyards of Mykolaïv, a Ukrainian port on
the Black Sea.

"For the Ukrainians, it is important to have one more partner on their
side, especially one with such a geographical position," explains
Bayram Balcı, director of the French Institute of Anatolian Studies
(IFEA) in Istanbul. For the Turks, it is urgent to deepen ties with
Ukraine, especially in view of Russian actions in the Black Sea. Since
the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Moscow has become the dominant
power in the Black Sea, taking over a large part of Ukraine's ships
and port infrastructure.

Prior to 2014, this role was played by Turkey, which had 44 surface
ships compared to Russia's 26. Since then, Moscow has reversed the
trend, with 49 surface ships. In addition, the Russian fleet stationed
in Crimea has been reinforced. Warships and submarines operating there
have now been equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, capable of hitting
targets 2,400 km away, while more Russian spy ships are plying the
waters to gather intelligence.

Despite the cordial understanding with his "friend" Putin, the Turkish
leader increasingly perceives Russia's military expansion in the
region as a threat to his country's geopolitical and energy security,
especially as Russia's posture in the Black Sea appears to be
increasingly aggressive, and not only towards Ukraine.

In June 2021, Russian forces fired warning shots at the British
warship HMS Defender, which was en route from the Ukrainian port of
Odessa to Georgia. And Russia's military elite is upset about the "Sea
Breeze" exercises, organised annually since 2019 by the United States,
which has invited 32 other countries, including Ukraine, to take part
in the summer of 2021.

Despite his anti-Western bias, Mr Erdoğan has constantly pleaded for a
greater NATO presence in the Black Sea. His concern has been
heightened by the discovery of an apparently vast natural gas field
off the Turkish coast in the summer of 2020.

In 2014, Turkey had condemned the annexation of Crimea, while
remaining outside the sanctions imposed by the United States and the
European Union against Russia.

Anxious to accommodate all the players, Erdoğan wants both to
strengthen his commitment to NATO, to restore its image tarnished by
the purchase of S-400, and to protect its cooperation with Russia in
Syria and in the energy field - nearly 40 percent of gas consumed in
Turkey is supplied by the Russian company Gazprom.

"The Turkish position is quite risky. The fact that Russia controls
the situation in Syria is a real sword of Damocles for Turkey," Balcı
said. In this respect, the region of Idlib, the last bastion of the
rebellion against Bashar-Al-Assad, a province adjacent to Turkey where
nearly 3 million displaced people have found refuge, is its Achilles
heel. A large-scale Russian attack on Idlib would surely create a new
wave of refugees.

"This new influx of Syrians to Turkey, which already hosts nearly 4
million, would affect the Turkish authorities and also the countries
of the Mediterranean," says the researcher.

An open conflict between Russia and Ukraine would be a tragedy, both
for Europe and for Ankara, which would be forced to end its balancing
act between NATO and Russia and give up its ambitions as a regional
power.

(This article originally appeared in Le Monde. A link in the French
language is available here.)
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2022/02/01/entre-la-russie-et-l-ukraine-l-exercice-d-equilibrisme-du-president-turc-erdogan_6111829_3210.html__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!-4xPQWKcOUHo9psc8t_lj1YXyVDyubFyfyn_OIH5uOd9RJkGp3E3aLAermoUJw$
 

*

Syria’s Assad highlights need of establishing objective dialogues between Arab countries

Talar Tumanian

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 20:59,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. The Arab countries must hold objective dialogues based on the interests of their peoples, President of Syria Bashar al-Assad said at the meeting with the Foreign Minister of Oman, SANA reports.

President al-Assad considered that what they need, as Arabs, is to lay the foundations for the methodology of political relations and to hold objective dialogues based on the interests of the people, adding that dealing with changes in reality and Arab society requires changing the political approach and thinking, based on “our interests and our position on the international arena.”

Issues relating to the bilateral cooperation were also discussed during the meeting.

Azerbaijan announces operation of test trains via ‘Zangezur corridor’

Talar Tumanian
  News.am  
Armenia – Jan 25 2022
13:30, 25.01.2022

Azerbaijan has announced its operation of test trains along the “Zangezur corridor.”

Reports with such headlines have appeared in the Azerbaijani media. But reading these reports explains the real situation. Accordingly, the "corridor" is only on paper, or rather—in just the titles.

In actual fact, it is about the construction of the 23-kilometer section of a railway in the now-Azerbaijani-controlled Jabrayil region, and the operation of test trains there. This railway section is part of the 110.4km long Horadiz-Aghbend route.

"The project is expected to be completed in 2023," the Azerbaijani media added, in particular.

Azerbaijan seeks to get a "corridor" through Armenia's Syunik Province. According to the Azerbaijani side, the matter is not about the opening of regional communications, but about a "corridor"—and with the logic of "the Syunik corridor in exchange for the Lachin corridor."

https://news.am/eng/news/683690.html