Category: 2023

EU to send 100-strong civilian mission to Armenia — von der Leyen

Suren Karakhanian
 TASS 
Russia – Feb 18 2023
European Commission President said that the EU is a committed partner of Armenia

MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. The European Union plans to send a 100-strong civilian mission to Armenia next week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on Twitter.

"Next week, the EU will send a 100-strong mission contributing to peace and stability," she said. "We welcome progress made on democratic reforms and will develop further the potential in our Economic Investment Plan."

The European Commission president said she was glad to meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, adding that the EU is a committed partner of Armenia.

Pashinyan and von der Leyen met on February 17 to discuss various aspects of cooperation between Armenia and the EU.

On January 23, the foreign ministers of the European Union have agreed to establish a civilian European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) to promote settlement in the Caucasus. The two-year mission will be mandated to "conduct routine patrolling and report on the situation, which will strengthen the EU’s understanding of the situation on the ground," the European Union External Action Service (EEAS) said. Experts in Brussels say that the establishment of the mission has a special significance amid the EU’s confrontation with Russia as it will help strengthen the European Union’s influence in the South Caucasus.

https://tass.com/world/1578239

Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders discuss peace at first meeting in months

Jirair Kafian
Feb 18 2023
By Reuters

Armenia and Azerbaijan held talks with the United States in Munich on Saturday, the first meeting between the leaders of the South Caucasus nations since October amid heightened tensions over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Tensions have escalated over a two-month blockade of the Lachin corridor, the only land route giving Armenia direct access to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia said the progress of work on a draft peace treaty was discussed during Saturday’s talks between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, which took place during the three-day Munich Security Conference.

“Prime Minister Pashinyan reaffirmed the determination of the Armenian side to reach the signing of such an agreement that will truly guarantee long-term peace and stability in the region,” said a statement on the prime minister’s website.

It said there had also been discussion about the unblocking of regional transport infrastructures and the implementation of delimitation between the two countries.

“I think Azerbaijan and Armenia need to demonstrate that the transition from long-lasting standoff, mutual hatred and hostility must end,” Aliyev said on a panel discussion.

“I think (the peace agreement) could be a good example of how countries which had serious, historical disagreements can get together and turn the page of hostility.”

Russian news agencies reported that Aliyev said Baku had proposed creating checkpoints on the border with Armenia.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians and it broke away from Baku in a first war in the early 1990s.

Azeri civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists have been facing off since Dec. 12 with Russian peacekeepers on the Lachin corridor.

Yerevan says the protesters are government-backed agitators. Baku denies blockading the road, saying that some convoys and aid are allowed through.

Saturday’s meeting was the two leaders’ first face-to-face encounter since late October, when Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted talks in the Black Sea city of Sochi. A Dec. 7 meeting in Brussels was scrapped.

Azerbaijani President announces progress in Armenia’s position on peace treaty

Emil Lazarian
Feb 18 2023
ByNews Desk

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated that there is progress in Yerevan’s position on the issue of a peace treaty. The country’s leader announced this following a trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Munich on February 18.

“Three days ago we received new proposals from Armenia. We are studying them. At first glance, there is progress in Armenia’s position, but this is not enough,” Aliyev said.

He also noted that the meeting was constructive and many issues were discussed.

On February 16, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the side had completed work on a draft peace agreement with Azerbaijan and sent it to Baku, as well as to the member states of the OSCE Minsk Group. He noted that the Armenian side understands that the document should be acceptable to Azerbaijan. Therefore, the draft peace treaty was drawn up in such a way that in the end it was possible to obtain a document that could be signed at any time.

On February 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with Ilham Aliyev the situation in the South Caucasus region.

The situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border escalated in the fall of 2022. Yerevan and Baku accused each other of the escalation, and also reported deaths on each side.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have disputed ownership of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Then the region, which is inhabited mainly by Armenians, announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan SSR. During the military conflict of 1992-1994, Baku lost control over Karabakh.

https://www.weeklyblitz.net/news/azerbaijani-president-announces-progress-in-armenias-position-on-peace-treaty/

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https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/azerbaijani-president-says-some-progress-made-1645286.html

Armenia, Azerbaijan highlight Nagorno-Karabakh schism in Munich standoff

Ani Kharatian
Reuters
Feb 18 2023
By Alexander Marrow

(Reuters) – The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan bickered over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region on Saturday, highlighting their disparate positions and offering scant evidence that lasting peace was on the cards as they met in Munich.

Tensions between the two ex-Soviet neighbours have escalated over a two-month blockade of the Lachin corridor, the only land route giving Armenia direct access to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev's first face-to-face encounter since October began with talks hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, following which both sides said progress on a peace deal had been made.

But at a subsequent panel discussion on "building security in the South Caucasus", the two men demonstrated how far apart the two sides remain on Nagorno-Karabakh, the Lachin corridor blockade and the direction of future negotiations.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians and it broke away from Baku in a first war in the early 1990s.

Azerbaijan regained much of the lost territory in a six-week conflict in 2020 that killed thousands and was ended by a Russia-brokered truce and the dispatch of Russian peacekeepers.

"I think Azerbaijan and Armenia need to demonstrate that the transition from long-lasting standoff, mutual hatred and hostility must end," Aliyev said during the panel.

The conciliatory tone ebbed away as he then accused Armenia of occupying Azerbaijan's lands for almost 30 years and criticised a senior Nagorno-Karabakh separatist official.

"Azerbaijan has adopted revenge policy," Pashinyan said, going on to question whether they wanted to use their meeting for "enflaming intolerance, hate, aggressive rhetoric" or for making things better.

PEACE PROPOSALS

Baku is studying Yerevan's draft peace proposals, Aliyev said. Russian news agencies reported that Aliyev also said Baku had proposed creating checkpoints on the border with Armenia.

Azeri civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists have been facing off since Dec. 12 with Russian peacekeepers on the Lachin corridor.

Yerevan says the protesters are government-backed agitators. Baku denies blockading the road, saying that some convoys and aid are allowed through, something Aliyev repeated on Saturday.

Pashinyan said the last time a bus full of Armenian children had tried to pass through the corridor masked Azeri men had prevented them from doing so.

After the trilateral talks with Blinken, Pashinyan's office said he had reaffirmed Armenia's determination to reach an agreement that will "truly guarantee long-term peace and stability in the region".

Aliyev said: "I think (the peace agreement) could be a good example of how countries which had serious, historical disagreements can get together and turn the page of hostility."

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow in Moscow; Editing by Jason Neely, Helen Popper, Alexandra Hudson)

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/leaders-armenia-azerbaijan-set-first-meeting-since-october-2023-02-18/

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EU to send 100-strong civilian mission to Armenia next week

Manouk Vasilian
Panorama
Armenia – Feb 18 2023

The European Union plans to send a 100-strong civilian mission to Armenia next week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"Next week, the EU will send a 100-strong mission contributing to peace and stability," she said in a tweet. "We welcome progress made on democratic reforms and will develop further the potential in our Economic Investment Plan."

The European Commission chief said she was glad to meet with the Armenian premier, adding that the EU is a "committed partner of Armenia."

Pashinyan and von der Leyen met in Munich on Friday to discuss various aspects of cooperation between Armenia and the EU.

On January 23, the foreign ministers of the European Union agreed to establish a civilian European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) to promote settlement in the South Caucasus. The two-year mission will be mandated to "conduct routine patrolling and report on the situation, which will strengthen the EU’s understanding of the situation on the ground," the European Union External Action Service (EEAS) said. 

Pashinyan applauds Zelensky at Munich Security Conference, leaves hall

John Hovhannisian
Panorama
Armenia – Feb 18 2023

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan left the Munich Security Conference hall after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s speech on Friday.

Zelensky opened the Munich Security Conference via a video link, delivering a strong criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A video of the meeting released by the official website of the conference shows Pashinyan applauding weakly after the Ukrainian president’s speech and then leaving the meeting hall to return only after the Q&A session.

The three-day gathering in Munich bought together around 40 heads of state and government, as well as politicians and security experts from almost 100 countries.

Residents evicted from former Armenian Defense Ministry building not allowed to set up tents

John Hovhannisian
Panorama
Armenia – Feb 18 2023

The rapid response team of the Armenian ombudsperson’s office visited the families evicted from the former building of Armenia’s Defense Ministry on the outskirts of Yerevan early on Friday.

Police officers on Thursday evicted residents of the building who, according to the authorities, were living there illegally. Over 20 residents were detained while resisting eviction.

The building located on the Yerevan-Ashtarak highway was given to Armenia’s State Revenue Committee in April 2022.

The Human Rights Defender’s Office reports that the residents shared their concerns, including over their places of residence and living conditions, at the meeting with its team.

The ombudsperson’s office summed up the residents’ concerns and sent a relevant notice to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

Late in the evening, the team paid another visit to the evicted families who said they were not allowed to set up tents and hold a protest.

The ombudsperson’s representatives discussed the matter with on-duty police officers.

Eventually, the residents were allowed to set up temporary tents.


Lawyer slams Armenian Public TV over Sasun Mikayelyan interview

Paul Hambardsumian
Panorama
Armenia – Feb 18 2023

Lawyer Raffi Aslanyan, a former prosecutor of Yerevan, has sharply criticized the Public TV Company for airing an interview with Sasun Mikayelyan, a pro-government MP and chair of the Yerkrapah Volunteers Union, on Friday.

“The Public TV Company had no right to broadcast Sasun Mikayelyan’s interview,” he wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

“It indicates that the state-controlled media wasting public funds couldn't stand above that level,” the lawyer stated.

In the interview aired late on Friday, Mikayelyan responded to his critics using foul language which was censored.

Armenia’s History Museum to host temporary exhibition on Karabakh movement

Aram Torosian
Panorama
Armenia – Feb 18 2023

The History Museum of Armenia will launch a temporary exhibition entitled “Karabakh Movement-35” next week.

The opening of the exhibition will take place under the front arcade of the History Museum on February 21, at 3pm.

Photographs and documents from both the museum's collection and the archives of individual researchers will be presented. The purpose of the exhibition is to present the history of the Karabakh movement from a distance of 35 years, organizers said.

On the same day, after the opening of the exhibition “Karabakh Movement-35,” the “Treasures of Artsakh: A Virtual Exhibition from 15 Armenian Museums” initiated by the History Museum of Armenia and the Armenian Museum of America will be launched.

MSC2023: PM Pashinyan to participate in panel discussion alongside Azeri, Georgian leaders and OSCE Secretary General

Emil Lazarian

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 01:04,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is scheduled to participate in a panel discussion alongside Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the Secretary General of the OSCE Helga Schmid at the Munich Security Conference.

The Moving Mountains? Building Security in the South Caucasus panel discussion will be moderated by the Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Christoph Heusgen.