Author: Vardan Badalian

Asbarez: Moscow Accuses EU of Attempting to ‘Squeeze Russia out of the Region’

Vardan Badalian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

EU vehicles travel to the Armenia border on the first day of a civilian mission on Feb. 20


Moscow had the strongest reaction to date to the European Union’s Armenia mission that launched on Monday, with the country’s foreign ministry accusing the EU of attempting to “squeeze Russia out of the region,” the Tass news agency reported.

“Regrettably, this is not the first time we see that the European Union is sparing no efforts to win a foothold in our allied Armenia,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Monday in a written response to a reporter’s question. “We see solely political motives, which are far from the interests of real normalization of relations in the South Caucasus.”

Zakharova said that Russia “is sparing no effort to squeeze Russia out of the region and weaken its historical role as a key security guarantor. Baku’s openly voiced negative views about this initiative are being ignored.”

According to Zakharova, “the European Union’s record of settling regional conflicts is quite dubious.”

“I don’t think Brussels can boast any achievements in this field. It is enough to remember the European Union’s mediatory efforts and its mission in Kosovo,” she added.

Zakharova stressed that a key factor for stability and security in the region in the foreseeable future is the package of agreements between the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders.

“The shortest way to improve the situation in the region lies via the comprehensive implementation of these agreements, including the unblocking of transport communication, the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, establishment of ties between peoples, experts, religious circles, parliamentarians of the two countries, and through peace treaty talks. Russia is ready to continue to promote this,” Zakharova said.

Russia on Friday accused the West of derailing the process to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, when Zakharova reacted to a recent State Department statement, which accused Russia of disrupting the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group in the mediation of a settlement for the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

“If anyone has derailed the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement efforts then it’s they themselves, the Western countries, led by the United States,” Zakharova said at a news conference on Friday.

“The OSCE Minsk Group format was sent into the ash heap of history after the American and French co-chairs stopped cooperating with their Russian counterpart in February of 2022 under a made-up pretext,” Zakharova said, adding that no explanation has been issued since.

President Harutyunyan, State Minister Vardanyan and Speaker Tovmasyan visit Stepanakert memorial

Vardan Badalian

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YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Arayik Harutyunyan, State Minister Ruben Vardanyan and Speaker of Parliament Artur Tovmasyan visited the Stepanakert Memorial Complex to pay tribute to the memory of the fallen heroes on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Artsakh Movement, also known as Karabakh Movement.

Other government officials were also accompanying the top leadership, Harutyunyan's office said in a press release.

Armenian community commemorates lives lost

Vardan Badalian
Sept 23 2022

By MELISSA CHEN
 

Azerbaijan launched unprovoked attacks on sovereign, internationally recognized territory of the Republic of Armenia on Sept. 14, killing 207 Armenian servicemen and civilians and displacing 7,600 civilians.

The recent outbreak of violence between the two countries is the deadliest since a 44-day war in 2020 in the Nagorno-Karabakh territory. The territory is a majority Armenian enclave that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has claimed independence since 1991. Nagorno-Karabakh has historically been at the center of territorial disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics where conflict has been simmering for decades.

“There’s always been skirmishes on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the decades, but there hasn’t been this type of blatant violence deep inside Armenian territory in towns [and] villages,” said Syuzanna Petrosyan, associate director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies. “We’re not talking directly on the border. We’re talking about kilometers inside, where there’s communities of people, schools and pastures.”

Though a ceasefire halted last Tuesday’s attacks, many Armenians fear another full-scale war between the two countries, Petrosyan said, as Azerbaijan continues to make claims on Armenian territories.

“The people living [in Nagorno-Karabakh] don’t want to be part of Azerbaijan because they’re Armenian, and they know that for them being incorporated, fully controlled by Azerbaijan, means ethnic cleansing,” Petrosyan said. “Now that war has ended, and Azerbaijan has new claims on the Republic of Armenia, but there’s been so much history of violence and trauma. Every time Azerbaijan has come to a territory, there’s torture and crude violence.”

Mane Berikyan, a sophomore majoring in international relations, was working in the Armenian Institute when, soon after they happened, she found out about the attacks. She learned her aunt’s family woke up to the sound of shelling in Vardenis, one of the settlements that was attacked. 

“I think it was the most scared I’ve ever felt for my family’s safety,” Berikyan said. “It’s not the first time that their village has been [under fire] just because it’s close to the border, but it’s the first time that it was with this intensity and with other major towns deep inside Armenia, not very close to the border.”

Berikyan said that for a few hours, her relatives could not evacuate, but eventually male civilians were able to drive women and children to the capital. 

Gegham Mughnetsyan, an archivist at the Armenian Institute, was also working when the news of the attacks broke. He said another student worker at the Institute mentioned his brother was in the army serving in the attacked stretch of the border. Both he and Berikyan were attempting to get in contact with their families.

“It was a very chaotic moment where there is this war 5,000 miles away, but it was directly affecting the students in the middle of their work at USC,” Mughnetsyan said. “And we had to, at the moment, also scramble to get information from Armenia and try to find some sources …everybody was in this state of trying to look over the internet to try to find trustworthy information to see if this was war again.”

Berikyan said many Armenian students at USC are feeling scared, but also angry and “invisible” due to the administration’s silence on the conflict, despite the size of the Armenian community on campus. Around 700 Armenian students attend USC, with many hailing from Los Angeles — home to one of the largest Armenian diasporas in the world. Many Armenian students are also dismayed at the lack of resources offered by the administration during the difficult time. 

“We have a lot of events coming out soon,” Berikyan said. “We’re trying to channel the anger and fear into something productive, but it’s easy to just feel paralyzed and like you’re not able to do anything about it being so far away from your family and loved ones who are in danger.”

Armenian students coordinated several efforts in response to the crisis, including a fundraiser to support displaced Armenian civilians, an open letter jointly issued urging University communities to action and a vigil honoring lives lost in the recent attacks. 

During the initial week of the attacks, the USC Armenian Student Association started a fundraiser for Kooyrigs, a nonprofit organization providing on-the-ground humanitarian aid to displaced Armenian families. Donations have exceeded $2,000 so far. 

USC ASA also joined other ASAs at prominent universities across the nation in issuing an open letter Tuesday to their university communities. The letter calls for students and faculty to oppose Azerbaijan’s “assault on humanity” and demonstrate their solidarity with Armenians. 

The letter noted “horrifying developments,” such as a series of videos released Sept. 16 showing Azerbaijani soldiers celebrating the mutilation of female Armenian soldiers. Christine Almadjian, a senior majoring in law, history and culture, said Azeris, the main ethnic group in Azerbaijani, have international messaging channels where they created GIFs of such videos—one channel, Telegram, made more than 3,000 of them.

“It’s been the laughingstock of the Azeri channels and even among other officials,” Almadjian said. “They laugh at the fact that our identities are constantly at stake and at risk because of their violence. These are just aspects of the Armenian reality. These are things students have to cope with.”

The letter also called attention to the risk of cultural genocide in Armenia under Azerbaijan. The letter cited a recent Cornell University and Purdue University report detailing how Azerbaijan wiped out many Armenian cultural heritage sites under their jurisdiction. The letter additionally went on to mention Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Armenia on the weekend of Sept. 17. During her visit, Pelosi expressed strong support for Armenia, highlighting the country’s position as a democracy in a “sea of autocracy.”

On Wednesday evening, the Armenian Student Association held a candlelight vigil in the Religious Center Courtyard in support of Armenia under attack, where a priest was invited to make remarks and lead a prayer. Students lit candles and stood for a moment in silence to pay respects to those who died in the fighting.

The date of the Sept. 21 vigil held a deeper meaning to those who attended as well— it is the date Armenia won its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Araxi Malazian, a senior majoring in civil engineering, said that a day that traditionally called for celebration was sadly overshadowed by the recent violence. 

Malazian learned about last week’s attacks on social media after waking up and said she appreciated the vigil after an incredibly stressful week juggling “helping out in whatever way I can,” grieving and daily life.

“It just felt a little bit surreal to wake up to that and go about the rest of my day,” Malazian said. “So it’s nice to have events like [this, where] there’s something I can do to pay respect and show support.”

Baku Condemns Pelosi While Ankara Accuses Her of ‘Sabotage’

Vardan Badalian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Latest, News, Top Stories

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivers an address at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan on Sept. 18


Kremlin offers more muted reaction to Pelosi’s visit to Armenia

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s strong condemnation of Azerbaijan’s “illegal attacks” on Armenia has angered Baku and Ankara, both of which said her remarks were unacceptable.

Pelosi voiced the condemnation on Sunday during a visit to Armenia, where she headed a Congressional delegation along with representatives Frank Pallone, Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry, in a statement, called Pelosi’s assessment of last week’s attack on Armenia’s sovereign territory “baseless.”

“The baseless and unjust accusations against Azerbaijan made by Pelosi are baseless and unacceptable,” the Azerbaijani foreign ministry said, calling a “severe blow” to efforts to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Such one-sided steps and baseless announcements do not benefit the strengthening of the fragile peace in the region. Just the opposite, they exacerbate tensions,” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said.

Turkey’s Vice-President Fuat Oktay took to Twitter called Pelosi’s remarks “one sided,” saying she was “sabotaging diplomatic efforts.”

He called on the White House to clarify whether announcements by “Pelosi and a group of officials who enjoy the support of the Armenian lobby reflect Washington’s positions.”

Oktay called on the international community to work “in a responsible manner at a time when there is a need for lasting peace in the region.”

The Kremlin was more subdued in its reaction to Pelosi’s visit to Armenia.

“The Kremlin is willing to welcome House Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Yerevan, if it will help resolve the situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border,” the Kremlin’s spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said Monday.

He said that Russia will welcome concrete steps—not just loud an populist words—that can benefit the settlement of relations and stabilization of the borders.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 9/13/2022

Vardan Badalian 
                                        Tuesday, 

Armenia Appeals To Russia For Military Aid


Armenia - Russian soldiers march at Yerevan's Victory Park during an official 
ceremony to mark the 77th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, 9 
May, 2022.


Armenia appealed to Russia for urgent military intervention on Tuesday in 
response to what it called Azerbaijani aggression against its sovereign 
territory.

During an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, Armenia’s 
Security Council decided to ask Moscow to invoke and “put into action” relevant 
articles of a Russian-Armenian treaty on mutual defense.

It also requested assistance from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty 
Organization as well as the UN Security Council.

The appeal followed Pashinian’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin 
during which they discussed heavy fighting that broke out at various sections of 
the Armenian-Azerbaijani border shortly after midnight. Russian Foreign Minister 
Sergei Lavrov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan also spoke by phone.

The Armenian military accused Azerbaijani forces of shelling its border 
positions and trying to advance towards Armenian territory “in some directions.” 
Baku claimed, for its part, that its troops are thwarting cross-border sabotage 
attacks by Armenian army units. Yerevan strongly denied that claim.

Russia has a military base in Armenia. Some of its troops were redeployed closer 
to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border following the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Kremlin did not immediately issue a statement on Putin’s latest conversation 
with Pashinian.

Putin and Pashinian met last week on the sidelines of an economic forum held in 
the Russian city of Vladivostok. Speaking at the forum, the Armenian premier 
warned that Azerbaijan could provoke another escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict zone soon.



U.S. Urges Halt To Fighting Between Armenia, Azerbaijan


UKRAINE – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to media before departure 
at the railway station in Kyiv, September 8, 2022.


U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for an immediate end to heavy 
fighting that broke out on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border early on Tuesday.

“The United States is deeply concerned about reports of attacks along the 
Armenia-Azerbaijan border, including reported strikes against settlements and 
civilian infrastructure inside Armenia,” Blinken said in a statement.

“As we have long made clear, there can be no military solution to the conflict,” 
he said. “We urge an end to any military hostilities immediately.”

The statement followed Blinken’s phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol 
Pashinian. According to the official Armenian readout of the call, the top U.S. 
diplomat expressed Washington’s readiness to help “stabilize the situation.”

Pashinian was reported to inform Blinken about his administration’s decision to 
appeal to Russia, the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization and 
the UN Security Council for help. He also said Yerevan expects “adequate” 
international reaction to what it sees as Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia.

The hostilities were also discussed by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan 
and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried in a separate call.

The fighting coincided with the ongoing visit to the South Caucasus by Philip 
Reeker, the recently appointed U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. Reeker 
held talks with Pashinian and Mirzoyan late last week. He is due in Baku later 
this week.



Russia Reports Another Armenian-Azeri Truce


Armenia - Armenian soldiers take up positions on the border with Azerbaijan, 
August 2, 2022.


Russia claimed on Tuesday to have brokered another Armenian-Azerbaijan ceasefire 
agreement to stop heavy fighting that raged on the border between the two South 
Caucasus states overnight and in the morning.

“We expect that the agreement, reached as a result of Russian mediation, on a 
ceasefire from 9 a.m. Moscow time (10 a.m. Armenian time) on September 13 of 
this year will be carried out in full,” read a statement released by the Russian 
Foreign Ministry.

Armenia and Azerbaijan did not immediately confirm the announcement.

A senior Russian lawmaker, Grigory Karasin, said that the situation on the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani is now “relatively calm.” He said President Vladimir Putin 
personally intervened to halt the hostilities after a phone conversation with 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.

Speaking in the Armenian parliament at 11:30 a.m. local time, Pashinian said 
that while the “intensity” of the hostilities has decreased Azerbaijani troops 
are continuing to attack Armenian army positions at “one or two sections” of the 
frontier.

The Armenian Defense Ministry reported early in the afternoon a “considerable 
decrease in the intensity of shelling.” Still, it said Azerbaijani forces are 
making more attempts to seize or advance towards its border posts in Gegharkunik 
and another province, Syunik.

“Armenian army units are continuing to accomplish their combat tasks in full,” 
the ministry added in a statement.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Suren Papikian spoke with his Russian counterpart 
Sergei Shoigu in the morning. According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, the 
two men agreed to take “necessary steps to stabilize the situation.”

Shortly after Pashinian’s phone call with Putin, Armenia formally appealed to 
Russia and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for 
urgent help in the face of what it described as a large-scale Azerbaijani attack 
on Armenian territory.

Moscow did not publicly side with Armenia, its main regional ally. The Russian 
Foreign Ministry statement said “problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be 
resolved only by political-diplomatic means.”

Pashinian revealed that at least 49 Armenian soldiers were killed in the 
fighting that broke out at several sections of the border shortly after 
midnight. The Azerbaijani side did not release any casualty numbers as of 
Tuesday afternoon.

Armenia - A house in the border village of Sotk destroyed by Azerbaijani 
shelling, .

Azerbaijani forces reportedly shelled not only Armenian border posts but also 
Armenian villages close to the border. At least three civilian residents of 
those communities were wounded and many others evacuated as a result, according 
to authorities in Yerevan.

The conflicting sides continued to blame each other for what was the worst 
fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone since the 2020 
Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Yerevan shrugged off Baku’s claims that it retaliated 
against Armenian special forces that launched cross-border sabotage attacks.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry also claimed that Yerevan is trying to delay 
the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty which Baku says must uphold 
its sovereignty over Karabakh.

Pashinian likewise linked the escalation to discussions on the treaty. He said 
Baku is trying to force Yerevan to accept the Azerbaijani terms of such a deal. 
They are highly unfavorable for the Armenian side and would not even guarantee 
Armenia’s territorial integrity, he said.

The issue dominated Pashinian’s August 31 talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham 
Aliyev in Brussels.



Iran Repeats Warnings Over Border With Armenia


Armenia/Iran - The Arax river separating Armenia and Iran.


Iran again warned against attempts to strip it of direct access to Armenia when 
it reacted to heavy fighting on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian telephoned Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to 
brief him on the hostilities that broke out along several sections of the 
frontier shortly after midnight. One of those sections is close to Iranian 
territory bordering Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province.

Raisi expressed serious concern over the escalation, saying that “the region 
cannot tolerate another war.”

“The historical borders of Iran and Armenia are considered the bedrock of 
prosperity, convergence and security of the region,” he was quoted by his office 
as telling Pashinian.

In this regard, the Iranian Foreign Ministry emphasized the importance of 
respecting the territorial integrity of both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Any change 
to the border between the two South Caucasus states is unacceptable to Tehran, 
said a ministry spokesman.

Syunik is the sole Armenian province bordering Iran. Baku has been pressing 
Yerevan to open an exterritorial corridor connecting Azerbaijan to its 
Nakhichevan exclave through the province. The Armenian government rejects these 
demands while expressing readiness to restore Armenian-Azerbaijani transport 
links.

Iranian leaders are also strongly opposed to the land corridor, fearing a loss 
of the common border with Armenia.

“The Islamic Republic will not tolerate policies or plans that lead to the 
closing of the Iran-Armenia border,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali 
Khamenei, warned in July.

According to the Armenian government’s press office Raisi recalled Khamenei’s 
warning during the phone call with Pashinian. The Iranian president also said 
that Armenia’s national security is important to Iran, added the office.



Fighting Continues On Armenia-Azerbaijan Border


Armenia - Defense Ministry spokesman Davit Torosian at a news briefing in 
Yerevan, .


Fighting reportedly continued along Armenia’s long border with Azerbaijan on 
Tuesday evening despite a ceasefire agreement announced by Russia in the morning.

The Armenian Defense Ministry said that there has only been a significant 
decrease in the “intensity of shelling” at various sections of the heavily 
militarized border which began on the night from Monday to Tuesday.

“Using special forces, the enemy has been trying to secure positional advances, 
notably towards [the villages of] Nerkin Hand, Verin Shorzha, Artanish and 
Sotk,” said the ministry spokesman, Davit Torosian.

Nerkin Hand is located in Armenia’s southeastern Syunik province while the three 
other communities are part of Gegharkunik province. Both regions border western 
Azerbaijan.

Gegharkunik Governor Karen Sargsian confirmed that there has been no letup in 
“intensive combat” in his region.

“In the morning gunfire stopped for about 40 minutes but then resumed and is 
still going on,” Sargsian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

He said that the provincial administration helped to evacuate some local 
residents, mostly children and women, and took others to bomb shelters.

In this image taken from a YouTube footage released by Armenian Defense Ministry 
on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022, shows Azerbaijanian servicemen crossing the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border and approaching the Armenian positions.

The Defense Ministry accused the Azerbaijani army of deliberately targeting 
civilian areas. At least one of the Gegharkunik villages, Sotk, was seriously 
damaged by shelling.

The ceasefire deal announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry was supposed to 
take effect at 10 a.m. local time. It was not officially confirmed by Armenia or 
Azerbaijan.

The conflicting sides continued to blame each other for the bloodiest 
hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone since the 2020 
Armenian-Azerbaijani war. In particular, Yerevan says that Baku is thereby 
trying to force the Armenian side to make unilateral concessions in peace talks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is doing its best to help stop 
the fighting which left at least 49 Armenian soldiers dead.

The United States and the European Union similarly called for an immediate end 
to the violence. Senior U.S. and EU officials held a series of phone calls with 
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

Belgium - EU Council President Charles Michel meets with Armenia's and 
Azerbaijan's leaders in Brussels, August 31, 2022.

“There is no alternative to peace and stability - and there is no alternative to 
diplomacy to ensure that,” tweeted European Council President Charles Michel.

Michel announced that the EU’s special envoy to the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar, 
will travel to Baku and Yerevan to “work on preventing further escalation.”

Michel has hosted four face-to-face meetings between Pashinian and Azerbaijani 
President Ilham Aliyev over the past year. They most recently met in Brussels on 
August 31. Michel said right after that summit that Aliyev and Pashinian agreed 
to intensify negotiations on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.

Also urging “strict respect for the ceasefire” was French President Emmanuel 
Macron. He spoke with Pashinian by phone overnight. A statement released by the 
presidential Elysee Palace also cited Macron as calling for “respect for the 
territorial integrity of Armenia.”

“France will take the matter to the United Nations Security Council, of which it 
currently holds the presidency,” added the statement.



Putin, Pashinian Talk Amid Fighting On Armenian-Azeri Border


Russia - Russian Preisdent Vladimir Putin greets Prime Minoster Nikol Pashinian 
during a forum in Vladivostok, September 7, 2022


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian telephoned the presidents of Russia and France 
early on Tuesday shortly after the start of what Armenia described as 
large-scale shelling of its territory by Azerbaijani forces.

An Armenian government statement said Pashinian presented to Russian President 
Vladimir Putin details of Azerbaijan’s “aggressive and provocative” actions that 
began shortly after midnight.

“Nikol Pashinian found the Azerbaijani side’s actions unacceptable and stressed 
the importance of adequate reaction from the international community,” said the 
statement. “The interlocutors agreed to be in operational contact.”

Putin and Pashinian met last week on the sidelines of an economic forum held in 
the Russian city of Vladivostok. Speaking at the forum, the Armenian premier 
warned that Azerbaijan could provoke another escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict zone soon.

The two leaders held four phone calls last month. They spoke twice in the space 
of a week in early August amid an upsurge of violence in Karabakh.

The government’s press office released a similar readout of Pashinian’s call 
with French President Emmanuel Macron.

“President Macron found a further deepening of the tensions unacceptable and 
stressed the need to deescalate the situation,” it said.



Heavy Fighting Reported On Armenia-Azerbaijan Border (UPDATED)


ARMENIA -- An Armenian flag flies at an Armenian army post on the border with 
Azerbaijan, June 18, 2021


The Armenian military said early on Tuesday that Azerbaijani forces are using 
artillery, combat drones and automatic weapons to strike its positions along 
various sections of Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan.

The Defense Ministry in Yerevan said that the “intensive” shelling began shortly 
after midnight.

“The exchange of intensive gunfire is continuing,” the ministry spokesman, Aram 
Torosian, said an hour later.

In another update, Torosian said that the fighting continued unabated as of 4 
a.m. local time. “The Armenian armed forces are giving [the enemy] an adequate 
response and fully accomplishing combat tasks set for them,” he said.

Torosian added that they suffered casualties but did not give any numbers. He 
also said that “in some directions” Azerbaijani troops are trying to advance 
towards Armenian territory.

Residents of several Armenian border communities told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service 
that they are hearing powerful explosions and gunfire. The mayor of, Verin 
Shorzha, a border village in eastern Gegharkunik province spoke of “intensive 
gunfire” coming from Azerbaijani army positions across the local section of the 
long border.

According to a former local government official, several shells landed in 
another Gegharkunik community, Sotk, forcing some parents to evacuate their 
children to safer locations.

Another, serving Gegharkunik official was quoted by news.am as saying that some 
residents of the nearby village of Norabak are fleeing their homes.

The fighting also affected communities in Armenia’s southeastern Syunik 
province. In the local village of Karashen, an Azerbaijani shell hit a wedding 
hall, eyewitnesses said, adding that nobody was hurt as a result.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry accused the Armenian side of launching 
a “large-scale provocation” along three border districts in western Azerbaijan.

In a statement, the ministry claimed that Armenian commando units crossed those 
border sections to try to put landmines near Azerbaijani army posts there. The 
Azerbaijani side, it said, hit Armenian military infrastructure and took other 
“urgent measures” in response to those raids.

Torosian, the Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman, flatly denied those claims, 
insisting that the fighting was initiated by “Azerbaijan’s military-political 
leadership.” He said that the Azerbaijani military laid the “information 
groundwork” for it in recent days.

Baku has alleged Armenian truce violations along the frontier on a daily basis 
following the August 31 meeting of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian held in Brussels.

Yerevan dismissed those claims as “disinformation.” Some Armenian commentators 
suggested that Baku may be preparing the ground for another escalation in the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Asbarez: Congressional Leaders Demand U.S. Humanitarian Assistance to Artsakh

Vardan Badalian
by Contributor

 

 September 2, 2022

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

 

 0

Call for End to U.S. Aid Blockade to At-Risk Artsakh Population

WASHINGTON—Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV) were joined by a bi-partisan group of over 45 Members of Congress in calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power to “take immediate steps dedicating significant resources” to support the at-risk Armenian population of Artsakh, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

“Our American blockade on U.S. humanitarian aid to Artsakh – as a practical matter – effectively abets Azerbaijan’s attempts to strangle Artsakh’s population, ethnically cleansing the indigenous population of a region at the very core of the ancient Armenian homeland,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “It’s wrong. Our government knows it’s wrong. It has to stop – and, with sufficient Congressional leadership, it will.”

The Congressional letter, sent on the thirty-first anniversary of the Republic of Artsakh’s declaration of independence, notes that, “the people of Artsakh continue to face severe hardships caused both by the deadly 44-day war that Azerbaijani forces provoked in 2020 and the ongoing aggressions committed against innocent civilians.”  The letter specifically calls on the State Department and USAID to “to significantly increase funding that will directly assist the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh, including assistance for housing, food security, water and sanitation, health care, rehabilitation, and demining and UXO clearance services they need to safely rebuild their lives, homes, and communities. We also urge you to take every action possible to protect the historic and cultural Armenian sites in territory held by Azerbaijan, which many reports indicate are currently under threat.”

Members of Congress also asked for an update on Biden Administration efforts to assist the people of Artsakh and to conduct an updated needs assessment on the humanitarian crisis there, to be shared with Congress to best determine Fiscal Year 2023 U.S. assistance levels.

Joining Representatives Pallone and Titus in cosigning the Congressional letter on Artsakh assistance are Representatives: Nanette Barragan (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Andre Carson (D-IN), Judy Chu (D-CA), David Cicilline (D-RI), Katherine Clark (D-MA), Lou Correa (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Jason Crow (D-CO), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jim Himes (D-CT), William Keating (D-MA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), James Langevin (D-RI), John Larson (D-CT), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Susie Lee (D-NV), Mike Levin (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), James McGovern (D-MA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Scott Peters (D-CA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Katie Porter (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Jackie Speier (D-CA), David Trone (D-MD), and David Valadao (R-CA).

On August 22nd, ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian, in letters sent to Congressional leadership and rank and file U.S. Senate and House members, called for Congressional inquiries into the Biden administration’s effective blockade on humanitarian aid to Armenian families of Artsakh.  “America must not be complicit in the ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh by Azerbaijan,” stressed Hamparian.

Text of Congressional Letter to Secretary of State Blinken and USAID Administrator Power

September 2, 2022

Dear Secretary Blinken and Administrator Power:

We are deeply concerned by the lack of meaningful humanitarian aid to the vulnerable Armenian population in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and urge you to take immediate steps dedicating significant resources to these individuals.
 
The people of Artsakh continue to face severe hardships caused both by the deadly 44-day war that Azerbaijani forces provoked in 2020 and the ongoing aggressions committed against innocent civilians. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has acknowledged that over 90,000 refugees displaced to Armenia, the majority of whom are women, children, and elderly, are suffering through an acute humanitarian crisis.

The $5,000,000 in Fiscal Year 2021 funding that USAID has committed, and the assistance allocated through the United Nations’ Armenia Interagency Response Plan (IA-RP) have been wholly insufficient to address this crisis. Many families have bravely returned to their homes in Artsakh despite the ongoing threat of violence from Azerbaijani troops and the food, shelter, and energy insecurities they face. We are also extremely concerned that the individuals who remain in Artsakh have not received any of the previously allocated U.S. assistance.

Our country has historically promoted peace in Artsakh through U.S. government-funded landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance efforts. We have also supported rebuilding through millions of dollars of direct aid for humanitarian assistance initiatives like maternal health care and clean drinking water projects. The need for this assistance has only grown due to Azerbaijan’s indiscriminate bombing campaigns in 2020 and the ongoing provocations by their troops which further endanger food, water, energy, and other critical resources for these communities. It is especially urgent because of the recent evacuation and closure of the Lachin/Berdzor corridor, forcing Armenian families to leave their homes and shutting off a vital route used for transportation and communications between Artsakh and Armenia.

We strongly urge the Department of State and USAID to significantly increase funding that will directly assist the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh, including assistance for housing, food security, water and sanitation, health care, rehabilitation, and demining and UXO clearance services they need to safely rebuild their lives, homes, and communities. We also urge you to take every action possible to protect the historic and cultural Armenian sites in territory held by Azerbaijan, which many reports indicate are currently under threat.

We request an update on the specific actions the Biden Administration has taken to help at-risk Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh and any planned actions moving forward, including information on programs, partners, budgets, and deliverables. This update should differentiate between which resources were allocated to the Republic of Armenia to aid displaced people and the assistance allocated to those still living in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Additionally, the most recent publicly available report from USAID on Nagorno-Karabakh from February 2021 is outdated and no longer provides the data that we need to make sound policy decisions. We strongly urge you to conduct an updated needs assessment on the humanitarian crisis and share it with interested stakeholders as soon as possible.

We appreciate your consideration of these requests and look forward to your timely reply.

Sincerely,

Henrikh Mkhitaryan being with "Inter" speaks of his talent. Luís Figo

Vardan Badalian

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 18:06,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. The legendary Portuguese football player Luís Figo referred to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the former captain of the Armenian national football team, the midfielder of Inter Milan, ARMENPRESS reports, during the press conference held in Yerevan, Figo mentioned that Henrikh Mkhitaryan being with "Inter" speaks of his talent. "Inter" is one of the best clubs in Italy.

"It is always important that Armenian players strive for more and appear in strong championships. It will also help the Armenian national team. In addition, they are always an example for children and help them to love football more. I myself had many idols at a young age, whom I tried to resemble," said Figu.

Yerevan Mayor demands bomb shelters for capital city

Vardan Badalian
NEWS.am
Armenia – Aug 22 2022
15:07, 22.08.2022

The basements of schools and kindergartens should be cleaned of unnecessary and obsolete property, Hrachya Sargsyan, the mayor of the Armenian capital, said during a working meeting at Yerevan City Hall today.

According to the mayor, basements must be re-equipped into bomb shelters. The progress report, however, did not satisfy Sargsyan. In the mayor's opinion, the responsible bodies didn't follow up on the assigned task.

"You didn't follow up on anything, and that's why nothing was done. This problem came to light back during the war. Back then we were looking for bomb shelters and hiding places. In the end, it turned out that the property from the 1970s, which turned out to be unusable, had never been written off. For some reason they decided to put this property in basements," complained Sargsyan and called for the problem to be solved as soon as possible.

Starmus IV: Searching Humanity’s Future Among the Stars

Vardan Badalian

Starmus IV: Searching Humanity's Future Among the Stars

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 10:00,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 16, ARMENPRESS. Have you ever imagined that a day will come when manned flights to the Moon will become as usual and routine as Yerevan-Moscow or Paris-New York flights? What about a day when mankind will have to abandon Earth to find a new home among the stars in order to preserve its existence? These once seemingly sci-fi ideas are being discussed more and more among scientific community.

The fourth edition of the Starmus Festival was a unique platform for leading specialists to discuss these ideas.

Starmus IV: Life and the Universe

STARMUS IV festival took place in 2017 in Trondheim, Norway. The theme of the fourth festival was: Life and the Universe, and the festival featured eleven Nobel Prize laureates and many astronomers, biologists, chemists, economists, astronauts and artists.  Over 2300 delegates attended Starmus IV in Trondheim. Among the Starmus IV delegates were space explorers Charlie Duke who spoke on the legacy of Apollo 16, Sandra Magnus who gave an account of her experience during her missions, Harrison Schmidt, from Apollo 17, the last mission to the Moon, who offered insights into future space missions and Terry Virts who discussed the perspectives on Earth and our place in the Universe. The festival also featured film director and producer Oliver Stone, musicians Steve Vai, Grace Potter, Nuno Bettancourt, Anne Brun, The Pineapple Tree, Jennie Abrahamson and DJ BK Duke and Larry King. 

The main speaker at the event, just like in the previous two festivals, was the science rock star Stephen Hawking.

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Three legendary astronaut-moonwalkers on one stage

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt, from Apollo 17, the last mission to the Moon, appeared for the first time on one stage at the panel discussion on their experience on the Earth’s satellite.

The three American astronauts to have walked on the Moon share their experience

Neil deGrasse Tyson himself was moderating the discussion. Charlie Duke joked that after landing on the surface of the Moon he exclaimed “fantastic” about 900 times. “When you look out at the bright Lunar landscape which is mostly grey, and you look up in the horizon and there’s a sharp horizon break between the Moon surface and the darkness of the sky, and you look up and there’s just this jet-black sky, what a contrast, you never get over it..you say I’m on the Moon’…”

Harrison Schmitt, the only scientist to have walked on the Moon, spoke about the importance of sending humans to Mars.

“In the long-range, Mars is a clear objective for humanity, with long-range being this century probably. Now the question becomes what is the fastest and most expeditious and less-risk way of doing that, and I think it is going to be by way of the Moon. I think we will have to get two or three generations of young people involved in this to learn how to deal with the risks of deep space, which are very different from the risks of the near-Earth orbit. And that’s why the Moon becomes so important. Buzz indicated that there are many engineering and operational issues that can be dealt with and learned about three days away on the Moon rather than nine months away if you use chemical propulsion. So the Moon I think is clearly a critical path of getting human-beings to Mars and getting them there permanently,” Schmitt said.

Duke shared Schmitt’s view and said that everything must begin from the Moon, by developing systems which are renewable and long-lasting. “When we get to Mars we’ll essentially be on our own. When you say “Hello Houston” from up there, Houston won’t be able to answer for the next ten to fifteen minutes.” 

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to have walked the surface of the Moon, was participating in the discussion remotely from his home in Florida, wearing a shirt that said “Get Your Ass to Mars”. On the path of getting to Mars, Aldrin highlighted the need for establishing cooperation between countries who have the capacity.

 

Mankind is doomed to leave planet Earth

Mankind must leave planet Earth in the future: Stephen Hawking said in his remarks at the fourth Starmus.

He called for leading nations to send astronauts to the Moon by 2020.

They should also aim to build a lunar base in 30 years' time and send people to Mars by 2025, Hawking said as quoted by the BBC.

Prof Hawking said that the goal would re-ignite the space programme, forge new alliances and give humanity a sense of purpose.

Hawking delivering remarks

"Spreading out into space will completely change the future of humanity," he said.

"I hope it would unite competitive nations in a single goal, to face the common challenge for us all. "A new and ambitious space programme would excite (young people), and stimulate interest in other areas, such as astrophysics and cosmology".

He addressed the concerns of those arguing that it would be better to spend our money on solving the problems of this planet along with a pointed criticism of then-US President Donald Trump.

"I am not denying the importance of fighting climate change and global warming, unlike Donald Trump, who may just have taken the most serious, and wrong, decision on climate change this world has seen," he said.

Prof Hawking explained that human space travel is essential for the future of humanity precisely because the Earth was under threat from climate change as well as diminishing natural resources.

"We are running out of space and the only places to go to are other worlds. It is time to explore other solar systems. Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I am convinced that humans need to leave Earth," the Cambridge University theoretical physicist explained.

Prof Hawking said that there was no long-term future for our species staying on Earth: it would either be hit by an asteroid again or eventually engulfed by our own Sun. He added that travelling to distant worlds would "elevate humanity".

"Whenever we make a great new leap, such as the Moon landings, we bring people and nations together, usher in new discoveries, and new technologies," he continued.

"To leave Earth demands a concerted global approach, everyone should join in. We need to rekindle the excitement of the early days of space travel in the sixties."

He said that the colonisation of other planets was no longer science fiction, though he did pay tribute to the genre in his closing remarks.

"If humanity is to continue for another million years, our future lies in boldly going where no one else has gone before.
"I hope for the best. I have to. We have no other option". 

There are extraterrestrial apocalypses, such as asteroid impacts “guaranteed by the laws of physics and probability.” On Earth, Hawking cited melting polar ice caps, loss of animal life and dwindling physical resources, among other ill portents.

“The Earth is becoming too small for us,” he said. 

At a neighborly 4.37 light-years away, the planet Proxima B in the Alpha Centauri system is a promising target, Hawking said — except that with current technology, interstellar travel is “utterly impractical.”

“The human race has existed as a separate species for about 2 million years. Civilization began about 10,000 years ago, and the rate of development has been steadily increasing,” Hawking said as quoted by the Washington Post. “If humanity is to continue for another million years, our future lies in boldly going where no one else has gone before.

The Spacewalker

Starmus IV also featured the European premiere of The Spacewalker -  a Russian historical drama film about cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first human to perform a spacewalk. Leonov himself served as a consultant for the film. 

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From Science to Music and Film: Laureates of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication

Under the name of the greatest scientist of the 20th and early 21st centuries, Stephen Hawking, and sponsored by Starmus, the Stephen Hawking Science Medal is a prestigious award which recognizes the merit of popular science on an international level.

The Stephen Hawking Medal winners at the fourth Starmus included American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. The organizers of the festival noted that Tyson’s “efforts have helped popularize science around the world – bringing new enthusiasm and interest to many disciplines within Science.”

In the film category, the medal was awarded to The Big Bang Theory sitcom, and in arts to French composer Jean-Michel André Jarre.

2017 Stephen Hawking Medal Winners

 

The astronaut watching the sunrise from the International Space Station

The closing remarks at the festival were delivered by retired American astronaut Terry Virts.

Virts conducted two spaceflights to the ISS aboard the NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour and the Soyuz TMA-15M. He was the commander of the ISS and spent a total of 200 days in space.

He spoke about his days in space and details of the mission. He said that he took more than 300,000 photos in space which were sent to NASA and used for the 2016 IMAX A Beautiful Planet film.

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Presenting a spectacular photograph of the sunrise on Earth taken from space, Terry Virts concluded his speech with the following words:

“Life on Earth is not always fun, it’s not great. Everybody is a human being, everybody makes mistakes, everybody has problems. And in the last couple of years, whenever something really bad has happened I can close my eyes and I can kind of go back to space and think of the sunrise or sunset like this and think ‘there’s been a billion of these sunsets before, there’s going to be a billion more in the future, somewhere on Earth right now this is happening, if you’re an astronaut you are lucky enough to see this right now, so whatever is going on here in my life, whatever problems I am having, I can kind of take myself back there and go ‘it’s all going to be ok, no matter how bad things seem, it’s really not going to be that bad in the big picture’. So I guess it is the perspective that it is a big universe, things are going to be ok, they may seem terrible now but the sun will rise again tomorrow, if you are on the space station the sun will rise again in 90 minutes.”

Read also:

A Look Back At First STARMUS Festival

From rhino with spider legs to secrets of black holes: Looking back at STARMUS II Festival

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