Category: 2021

Nagorno-Karabah, routes with Turkey, Russia, Iran reopen

Babken Chilingarian
Asia News, Italy
Jan 14 2021
 
by Vladimir Rozanskij
 
 
Thanks to Putin's mediation, prospects for the region's economic revival are reopening. Russian soldiers to de-mine the territories and the rebuild the interrupted routes. Pašinyan did not obtain the return of prisoners. Internal opposition is growing.
 
Moscow (AsiaNews) – The corridors that allow transport between Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Iran, …) will soon be reopened. This was assured by Russian President Vladimir Putin after 4 hours of discussion with Armenian Nikol Pašinyan (photo 2) and Azerbaijani Ilham Aliev (photo 3).
 
The negotiations, held on 11 January, failed to resolve all of the problems inherent to the conflict, but have presented some prospects for the region's economic revival. Battered by armed clashes in recent months, its peace is for now guaranteed by Russian and Turkish "peacemakers".
 
Putin has guaranteed that the transport corridors will be reopened thanks to the work of Russian soldiers who will de-mine the territories and rebuild the interrupted passages.
 
The two leaders in conflict listened to the Russian president with expressions far from conciliatory: Aliev was very cold and Pašinyan extremely nervous (his arrival was in question until the last moment); then there was a lack of the Turkish "guest of weight", President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who in recent speeches insisted on the need for Turkey to participate in all post-war processes in the region.
 
Putin seems to want to impose the exclusive tripartite format of the negotiations, while Aliev has continually talked about the "interests of our neighbouring countries". With the reopening of transport, Azerbaijan obtains the reestablishment of direct contact (especially rail) with the Nakhichevan region (Azerbaijani area in Armenian territory) and with Turkey itself.
 
In turn, Prime Minister Pašinyan insisted on Armenian opposition to the status of Nagorno Karabakh and on the issue of the exchange of prisoners. However, he substantially agreed on the economic agreements proposed by Putin, which also reopen the links between Russia and Iran, and "can lead to more effective guarantees of security".
 
The leader of the opposition in Pašinyan, head of the "Movement for the Salvation of the Fatherland" Vazken Manukyan, intervened yesterday against the negotiations. In harsh terms, he said that the Moscow meeting marks a new humiliation for Armenia, which has not obtained the return of prisoners and has complied with all of Aliev's requests. Manukyan again called for the resignation of Pašinyan, "who is unable to defend the interests of our country".
 
In Georgia too, reactions to the agreement have been rather negative, as the proposals of the Putin-Aliev-Pašinyan trio reduce the role of Tbilisi to a simple transit area for communications between the north and south of the Caucasus, without being able to intervene in the economic mechanisms.
 
Convoys to Baku and Ankara will now pass through Nakhichevan, excluding Georgia, which also maintains a strategic role in the transport of gas and oil. However, the Georgian political scene is blocked by the discussion on yet another withdrawal from politics of billionaire Bidzina Ivanišvili (photo 4), founder and leader of the ruling party, the "Georgian Dream".
 

Slowing Armenian Strangulation in Azerbaijan

Emil Karabekian
Church Militant
Jan 14 2021
Slowing Armenian Strangulation by Azerbaijan
News: Commentary
by Trey Blanton •  ChurchMilitant.com •  
While Muslims in Azerbaijan consolidate their stranglehold on conquered Armenian territory, humanitarian aid to the area is being used to slow the process.
 
The president of Muslim-majority Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met in Moscow Monday — their first face-to-face since the end of hostilities between their peoples on Nov. 9.
 
Church Militant has reported on the nearly seven-week conflict, which was sparked in September when Azerbaijan invaded the Republic of Artsakh — an Armenian enclave known to Azerbaijanis as Nagorno-Karabakh. The conflict ended in a tenable peace deal brokered by Russia.
 
'Restoring' or 'Reversing' Heritage?
 
The irony has not been lost on Armenians. It was under Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin that Armenia's historical lands in Artsakh were first gifted to Azerbaijan. Now, in the post-Soviet period, the international community rejects the right of the enclave's Armenian population to self-determination.
 
With military conflict halted for the moment, President Aliyev of Azerbaijan has vowed multiple times to "restore" Azerbaijan's heritage in Artsakh, which has historically been populated almost exclusively (90%) by Armenians.
 
 “Aliyev's 'restoration' may include … the destruction of Christian buildings or their conversion to secular or Muslim use.Tweet
 
Aliyev's "restoration" may include the construction of airports and railroads in the conquered territory and, as many Armenians fear, the destruction of Christian buildings or their conversion to secular or Muslim use.
 
History: Rife With Conquest, Occupation
 
Aliyev's actions follow historically validated methods of conquest. The most famous example in the West: the Norman Conquest of Britain, in which William the Conqueror invaded England and consolidated his rule after the Battle of Hastings and his coronation in London. He did so by giving land to those loyal to him and securing their possessions with motte-and-bailey castles across the land.
 
Even more historical examples come from the Turks themselves and their Muslim-Arab predecessors. Raymond Ibrahim's book, Sword and Scimitar, describes the 14-century pattern. For example, the Seljuk Turks invaded Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and won a resounding victory at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. Though the Turks failed to conquer Constantinople in the 11th century, they took over most of the region and established the Sultanate of Rum.
 
In war, the players that don't win it all take what they gain and build it up as their own. Reversals occurred back-and-forth due to the involvement of the Crusaders, the Mamelukes and the Mongols until finally, the Turks won it all in 1453 when Constantinople fell.
 
Armenians today are all too familiar with the concept that history never stops. They remember the plight of their grandparents during the Armenian Genocide of 1915, when 1.5 million Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians and others — all Christians — were slaughtered or driven out into arid regions of neighboring countries.
 
Economic, Educational Help
 
Humanitarian organization Christians in Need Foundation (CINF) is looking past the turmoil caused by the Wuhan virus and the attack by Azerbaijan to continue its work strengthening education and cultivating trade skills in the capital of Artsakh, Stepanakert.
 
CINF recognizes the need for the Armenian diaspora to support their homeland and has worked ambitiously to counter the growing power of Armenia's Turkic neighbors by focusing on improving the local economy.
 
CINF began in 2014 with an attempt to bring eight Syrian Christians into the United States for educational purposes; their visas were denied by the Obama administration.
 
“Armenians' survival may depend on the skill of the people of Artsakh to live while cut off from foreign support.
Undeterred, CINF decided to go instead to the students of the Near and Middle East, beginning with Artsakh. Classes have been successful in teaching English and Italian to Armenian students in Artsakh in preparation to learn courses in the Practica Project. The Project promotes local business growth in various trades including hospitality, tailoring, cosmetology, ham and wine-making.
 
The onset of COVID-19 has moved preliminary courses online and increased construction costs by $250,000 for what will become its vocational school. More financial help is needed.
The project has already seen $30,000 worth of donated equipment for use by Italian artisans who will travel to Artsakh to give the students hands-on experience in a simulated restaurant, carpentry shop and hair salon.
 
Preserving Ancient Christian Communities
 
CINF Executive Director Stephanie Havens shared with Church Militant why she is passionate about the organization's work:
 
 
CINF works through education to preserve ancient Christian communities such that they can independently sustain their communities and defend their traditions. Throughout the Middle and Near East, Christian communities with ancient roots are threatened, both physically by their neighbors and ideologically by progressivism.
 
Likewise, the ancient Christian communities throughout the Middle and Near East preserve many of the first traditions of Christianity. In many ways, they are our strongest link back to the origins of the Faith. We do what we do not only to protect these Christian communities, but also for the rest of the Western world. It is our hope that these ancient Christian communities will stand as models of the Christian faith, encouraging throughout the West, especially among the youth, a return to these traditions and values.
 
As Azerbaijan and its puppet master in Turkey greedily eye the remaining Armenian territory, Western nations are ignoring the jihadi expansion. The world ignored Hitler's increasing aggression until it was too late. A week prior to Hitler's invasion of Poland he famously said, "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"
 
CINF knows Armenians' survival may depend on the skill of the people of Artsakh to live while cut off from foreign support.
 
For Havens and the rest at CINF, careful planning with Artsakh's minister of education will help ensure students and teachers are safe in September from the ever-morphing threats of viruses and terrorists alike.
  

More bodies retrieved from combat zones amid ongoing search operations in Artsakh

Jane Topchian

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 11:10,

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. Search and rescue teams looking for the remains of the Karabakh war victims have found the bodies of 7 servicemen in Fizuli and Jabrayil, as well as the section between Artsakh and the Syunik province, bringing the total number of retrieved bodies since the war ended to 1229, the Artsakh authorities said.

Artsakh State Service of Emergency Situations spokesperson Hunan Tadevosyan told ARMENPRESS that they are now conducting search operations in Karintak, Mataghis and Talish.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

18-year-old on-duty serviceman dies from heart disease, says Artsakh military

Babken Chilingarian

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 11:24,

STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. A Defense Army soldier died Tuesday evening in Artsakh, with the official preliminary cause of death reported as pulmonary heart disease. The 18 year old serviceman, Radik E. Tatosyan, was serving in a military base deployed in the eastern direction, the Defense Ministry of Artsakh said in a news release.

“An investigation is being conducted to determine details of the incident,” the Defense Ministry said, extending condolences to the family and friends of the soldier.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Azerbaijan continues grossly violating international humanitarian law – Artak Beglaryan

Hovik Karapetian

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 12:02,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan continues to heavily violate international humanitarian law speculating the issue of captured civilians and war prisoners, Chief of the Artsakh Presidential Staff Artak Beglaryan said on Twitter.

“Many PoWs and civilians from wartime, 64 PoWs and some civilians from postwar period are prisoned there without Azerbaijan’s confirmation to ICRC and Russian mediators”, Beglaryan said.

Ruling faction to nominate former military prosecutor for member of Supreme Judicial Council

Vatche Chakhmakhchian

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 12:48,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. The ruling My Step faction of the Armenian Parliament will nominate the candidacy of former military prosecutor Gagik Jhangiryan for the member of the Supreme Judicial Council.

“I have agreed to be nominated by the ruling faction, but I am not holding a political position, I am not becoming a member of the political team. I am going to a professional work”, he told reporters.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

URGENT: President Sarkissian hospitalized with coronavirus-related double pneumonia

Ani Basmajian

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 11:56,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. President Armen Sarkissian is hospitalized, his office said in a news release.

Sarkissian has COVID-19 and was being treated at home before being hospitalized.

“The disease still has a complicated course. President Sarkissian has the symptoms characteristic to this condition, including fever and double pneumonia.”

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenian, Russian Prosecutor Generals discuss cooperation in extradition fields

Hagop Kamalian

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 13:07,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. Prosecutor General of Armenia Artur Davtyan met with Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov during his working visit in Moscow, the Office of the Armenian Prosecutor General told Armenpress.

The officials praised the high level of the cooperation between their offices and expressed readiness to further deepen it in accordance with the strategic partnership and friendship spirit between Armenia and Russia.

They stated that the current legal-contractual base creates necessary conditions for the protection of rights of the Armenian and Russian citizens, raises the efficiency of the joint fight against international crime.

The Armenian and Russian Prosecutor Generals also discussed the partnership in the fields of extradition, as well as a wide range of issues of mutual interest.

The meeting also touched upon the activity of the representatives of the Russian prosecution in Artsakh during the Russian peacekeeping mission. Artur Davtyan said the Defense Army of Artsakh continues its functions on ensuring the security of Artsakh-Armenians, but added that the deployment of the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh has greatly increased the security guarantees and created grounds for the strengthening of the stability in the Line of Contact.

Based on the results of talks the Prosecutor Generals of Armenia and Russia signed a 2021-2022 cooperation program.

Artur Davtyan has been awarded by Igor Krasnov with the Certificate of the Russian Prosecutor General for his major contributions to the strengthening of the rule of law and the international cooperation.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Ruling faction head says return of Armenian POWs from Azerbaijan remains a priority

Jhanna Virabian

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 14:37,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. Head of the ruling My Step faction of the Armenian Parliament Lilit Makunts says the issue of the return of Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan remains a priority.

“This is a vital issue and all efforts must be made at all possible channels for solving this humanitarian issue”, she told reporters in the Parliament.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

“Syunik is our statehood’s backbone” – Pashinyan holds meeting on security measures

Emil Lazarian

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 15:22,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan chaired a consultation today to discuss the situation related to the change of the border environment of Syunik province and the actions taken in the direction of ensuring security.

“Dear colleagues, our today’s consultation is dedicated to the issues of the Syunik Province, and today we must discuss a rather broad range of issues. Due to the known events, Syunik’s border environment was subjected to significant changes, and today we must discuss the actions which are being implemented in Syunik for ensuring the security of the Republic of Armenia, we must discuss the work that has been done so far and how and in which directions we should continue these works. Certainly, socio-economic and communication issues are very important, environmental issues are also important, and we have a rather broad circle of issues to discuss.

I’ve had numerous occasions to say that I find Syunik to be our statehood’s backbone, and we must take all measures to ensure the security of the Republic of Armenia in Syunik, not only in Syunik, but in the territory of the entire republic, but in this regard Syunik has special significance. Firstly, we must discuss the types of social and economic programs that we should implement in the communities which have gained a new border status, basically having appeared in a status of a border town. And today we will make decisions, we will reach agreements and we will agree on the further course of implementation of these agreements,” the PM told the officials in his opening remarks.

PM Pashinyan was then briefed on the process of ensuring the security of Syunik’s border communities and roads, the work on positioning border points, the process of compensating the potential property damages suffered by residents and the process of solving other issues.

The improvement of roads, communication infrastructures, solution of socio-economic problems and other directions of activities were discussed.

Pashinyan tasked government officials dealing with the process to continue working as part of the inter-departmental task force, which in turn will rapidly respond to the issues and give solutions.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan