21:43,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Angola is leaving the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) because membership is not serving its interests, oil minister Diamantino Azevedo said on Thursday, reports Reuters.
Angola, which joined OPEC in 2007, produces about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, compared with 28 million bpd for the whole group.
The Holy Martyrs family of schools — Ferrahian High School, Cabayan Elementary School, and Pilavjian Preschool — continues its unprecedented growth and expansion with plans to acquire a 1.7-acre parcel adjacent to the North Hills campus.
With the blessing and support of Western Prelate Bishop Torkom Donoyan, as well as the Prelacy’s Executive Council and Board of Regents, the Holy Martyrs School Board has filed the necessary paperwork to open escrow on the large property abutting the entire western boundary of the existing campus.
“This undertaking comes at a critical point for our schools, with enrollment at an all-time high and with the overwhelming desire of the community at-large to be part of this dynamic and proudly Armenian academic environment,” said a statement from the Holy Martyrs Ferrahian, Cabayan and Pilavjian School Board.
The expansion of the North Hills property will facilitate the construction of new preschool and elementary school classrooms, parking lots, athletic fields, and other upgrades. These improvements will put into greater focus the schools’ vision to provide a singular and state-of-the-art home where our children will continue to learn, laugh, and excel. Indeed, this anticipated acquisition comes during the final permitting stages of a comprehensive remodeling and new construction plan for the North Hills campus.
The groundbreaking phase of that plan is poised to commence in the near future, as final building permits are issued.
Of course, this momentous development comes on the heels of the Encino campus’ recent expansion. In 2022, the school acquired the adjacent three-acre property on White Oak Avenue, effectively doubling its footprint and providing much-needed classrooms, parking, a second gymnasium and other facilities.
“Today, Ferrahian is proud to have more than 530 students who, like their 600 younger brothers and sisters at the North Hills campus, are afforded the opportunity to thrive academically, athletically, and socially in a uniquely nurturing and secure Armenian setting,” the school Board statement added.
“The future is bright for the Holy Martyrs family of schools, now approaching its 60th year of unparalleled service to our community. As the first Armenian day school in the United States, we have every intention to continue to lead the way for the next 60 years and beyond. The recent expansion efforts will ensure that this will be the case,” the statement said.
The Montrose Peace Vigil participants at the 2023 Montrose Christmas Parade
BY CATHERINE YESAYAN
From Vietnam to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine, to the war in Artsakh and, now, in Gaza. It seems the world is on fire and wars have become a regular part of our lives. Indeed, the events unfolding in today’s world are very disheartening.
When I was a kid growing up in Tehran, there was no notion of a war. However, after watching war movies, in my childish daydreams, I used to imagine that maybe, one day, there would be a war where I lived and the “enemy” would invade.
My parent’s bedroom had a short bedside chest that I had planned to hide in, in case there was a war and the bad guys were to enter our home.
Now, because of all the disturbing things happening in today’s world, who knows what fears kids may have nowadays?
George Eliot, an English novelist, once said, “Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.”
One “small thing,” that may help in times of war, to some degree, are peace vigils—typically organized by small action groups. One such example, here in Southern California, is the Montrose Peace Vigil.
First, let me tell you about the enclave of Montrose, a historic old town neighborhood in North Glendale. The area is known as the La Crescenta Valley. The business district of Montrose centers around its main street, Honolulu Avenue.
The “Peace Vigil” in Montrose was launched in 2006. The main aim of the initiative was to protest the war in Iraq, which had started three years earlier. Following the end of the Iraq War, the organization continued its effort and staged vigils to oppose various wars happening in the world.
Every Friday, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., members of the Montrose Peace Vigil gather, with their placards, at the northwest corner of Honolulu and Ocean View Blvd. to protest the ongoing wars.
Although the peace vigil is very close to my heart, over these many years, I’ve had the chance to participate in the weekly vigil on only a few occasions.
The Montrose Peace Vigil is the brainchild of Roberta Medford, who, when asked how the idea came about, said she was inspired by a similar vigil that had begun a few years earlier in Glendale.
The reason I started this piece by spotlighting the peace vigil is because they took part in the Montrose Christmas Parade, which I attended.
The Montrose Christmas Parade was created 45 years ago in an effort to bring the Christmas spirit to the local community.
Roberta is a woman brimming with enthusiasm and joy. She said that being included in the Montrose Christmas Parade took some negotiations and work, but finally, in 2008, the group was invited to participate in the parade.
Some of the very creative members of the peace vigil got together and, using large pieces of cardboard, built a little two-caboose train with a motor and music streaming— they called it the “Peace Train.”
The Christmas Parade is held on the first Saturday in December, typically a very cold night. This year marked the 12th year that the Montrose Peace Vigil participated in the parade.
Every year, in early November, I receive a save-the-date email from Roberta in regard to the Montrose Christmas Parade. I try to participate as often as I can. I love being in the parade as well as being a spectator.
Roberta lives within walking distance of the parade route. Each year, she invites the peace vigil participants to her home and offers hearty refreshments prior to joining the parade, which starts at 6:10 p.m. The group typically leaves for the parade around 5 p.m.
This year, around 150 groups took part in the parade, which focuses heavily on family. The groups included several schools from surrounding cities with drill teams, bands, and cheerleading groups. Also, many service and dance groups, as well as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts participated in the parade. Thousands of spectators gathered along the parade route.
The parade marks the start of the Christmas season in our neck of the woods, and a highlight of the event is when Santa Clause visits by helicopter.
There were several groups that I found fascinating, such as the folkloric Mexican dance groups and the school marching bands. But I was especially delighted when I saw two Armenian groups participating in the parade.
The first group I noticed was the Armenian General Athletic Union, or Homenetmen, “Shant” Chapter from the La Crescenta Valley. Members of the organization’s scouting and athletics youth programs were in attendance. The group consisted of 50 scouts, a few athletes, and about 30 parents.
The Homenetmen “Shant” chapter of La Crescenta was established in 1993. The chapter has over 600 members, including athletes, scouts, and volunteers from many age groups.
In the Western Region of the United States, there are 18 Homenetment chapters. Most of those chapters are located in Southern California.
The other Armenian group that participated in this year’s parade was the “Dance with Ani Studio.” The parade committee had invited the dance group to participate with 30 female performers, from seven to 13 years old. They were all very delighted to be there and to dance in the parade.
This concludes my report on the Montrose Christmas Parade.
Catherine Yesayan is a regular contributor to Asbarez, with her columns appearing under the “Community Links” heading. She can be reached at [email protected].
Artsakh's former State Minister Artak Beglaryan
The presidential decree signed in September ordering the dissolution of the Artsakh government should be nullified, said Artsakh’s former State Minister and Human Rights Defender Artak Beglaryan in an interview published on Thursday.
“Everything is very clear, there is even no need for discussion; the [presidential] decree on dissolving the Republic of Artsakh just needs to be cancelled. Beglaryan told news.am in an interview.
After Azerbaijan’s large-scale attack on Artsakh on September 19, Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan on September 28 signed a decree calling for the dissolution of Artsakh’s government institutions by January 1. The decree prompted the forced displacement of more than 100,000 Armenians from Artsakh, essentially leaving the area empty.
The September 28 decree does not have any legal ramifications because it is unconstitutional,” declared Beglaryan. “The [Artsakh] president has no authority to dissolve the republic. Secondly, it was signed under the threat of violence [by Azerbaijan], which was confirmed by both the president and the National Assembly.”
Beglayan said that the nullification is possible through another “presidential decree” or a decision by the Artsakh Supreme Court. He said this matter should be done without delay and without “dependence on other actors.”
“It is preferable that it happens before January 1 [when the decree comes into force],” Beglaryan said, adding that the decree has no legal significance and is merely “political.”
“It is necessary to show political will and give that clear message that we [Artsakh] will continue to function after January 1. Even if it [the decree] is not nullified, it doesn’t change anything; the state bodies of Artsakh continue to function,” explained Beglaryan.
CSTO Secretary-General Imangali Tasmagambetov meets with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in Yerevan on Dec. 21
The Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Imangali Tasmagambetov, arrived in Armenia on Thursday amid growing tensions between Armenia—a member state—and the Russia-led security bloc.
Tasmagambetov met with Foreign Minister Arart Mirzoyan and briefed Armenia’s top diplomat about the latest decisions taken at the CSTO’s recent summit held last month in Minsk. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Mirzoyan, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan and Armenia’s National Security chief Armen Grigoryan did not attend the summit, adding to the rift.
Pashinyan and his government blame the CSTO for not responding to Yerevan’s appeal after Azerbaijan breached Armenia’s sovereign territory in May 2021 and later in September of last year. Armenian authorities have said that the CSTO failed to properly condemn Baku during its annual summit held last year in Yerevan and reneged on the bloc’s mandate to assist member-states during military conflict.
The CSTO contends that it is ready to send a mission to the Armenia border.
According to the source, during the meeting, Mirzoyan and Tasmagambetov exchanged views on the situation in the region, as well as projects aimed at the development of transport and economic interconnectivity, including the “Crossroads of Peace” concept being advanced by the Armenian government.
Thursday,
Russia ‘Continuing’ Peacekeeping Mission In Depopulated Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh - Russian peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle at a
checkpoint near Stepanakert, October 7, 2023.
Russian peacekeepers are continuing their mission in Nagorno-Karabakh two months
after the mass exodus of the region’s ethnic Armenian population caused by an
Azerbaijani military offensive, Russia’s top general said on Thursday.
Armenia has denounced the peacekeepers for their failure to prevent or stop the
September 19-20 offensive that restored Azerbaijan’s full control over Karabakh.
President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have rejected the criticism.
The chief of the Russian army’s General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, also
praised the peacekeepers. Meeting with Moscow-based foreign military attachés,
he said that the 2,000-strong contingent swiftly halted the September
hostilities before ensuring Karabakh Armenians’ “safe departure” to Armenia.
“Our military contingent continues to carry out tasks as a guarantor of the
possibility of building a peaceful life and the return of residents to the
region,” added Gerasimov.
Even before their exodus, Karabakh’s leaders and ordinary residents made clear
that they would not live under Azerbaijani rule. More than 100,000 of them took
refuge in Armenia in late September.
The peacekeepers have since dismantled most of their observation posts along the
Karabakh “line of contact” that existed until the Azerbaijani assault. A senior
Russian diplomat said in early October that they should remain in the region
because their mission “will also be necessary in the future.”
Putin and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev discussed the issue when they
met in Kyrgyzstan four days later. They announced no agreements on the future of
the Russian presence in Karabakh.
Armenian Authorities Suspend Russian Radio Broadcast
RUSSIA -- A view of the main newsroom of Sputnik news, part of the state run
media group Russia Today, in Moscow, April 27, 2018.
In a move denounced by Moscow on Thursday, Armenian authorities have suspended
the radio broadcast of Russia’s state-run Sputnik news agency in Armenia after
it aired a program highly critical of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
The Sputnik Armenia news service’s weekly program broadcast on November 17 was
authored and presented by Tigran Keosayan, a Russian film director and TV
commentator of Armenian descent. It featured disparaging comments about
Pashinian and his government’s policies.
Keosayan and his wife Margarita Simonyan, who runs the Russian television
network RT and several other Kremlin-funded media outlets, are vocal critics of
the current Armenian government. Simonyan was banned from entering the South
Caucasus country last year.
Armenia’s National Commission on Television and Radio (HRAH) on Wednesday
accused Keosayan of making “mocking and derogatory” statements about Armenia and
its people in breach of Armenian law. It said foreign nationals also have no
“moral right” to do that.
The commission announced that it has therefore banned an Armenian radio station
from retransmitting any Sputnik Armenia programs for the next 30 days.
The Russian Embassy in Yerevan criticized the decision the following day, saying
that it limited Armenians’ right to “receive information from a source of their
choice.”
“This step cannot but look like a concession to those who are increasingly in
favor of breaking the traditional, mutually beneficial and mutually respectful
allied relations between Russia and Armenia,” the embassy added in a statement.
Russia - Film director Tigran Keosayan and his wife Margarita Simonyan attend an
event in Moscow, February 12, 2018.
For his part, Keosayan responded to the ban by attacking and insulting Pashinian
on his Telegram channel. The Armenian premier “once again proved the correctness
of all my words addressed to him,” he wrote on Thursday.
The embassy statement noted that the HRAH’s decision came just three days after
Russian and Armenian government officials met to discuss Yerevan’s discontent
with Russian television’s recent coverage of Armenia. The two sides made
differing statements on that meeting.
Russian Ambassador Sergei Kopyrkin was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in
Yerevan in October after Russia’s leading state broadcaster, Channel One,
derided and lambasted Pashinian during an hour-long program aired. The program
featured pro-Kremlin panelists who portrayed Pashinian as a Western puppet
tasked with ending Armenia’s close relationship with Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Armenian charge d’affaires in Moscow
the following day. Ministry officials condemned what they called anti-Russian
propaganda spread by Armenia’s government-controlled media.
In the last few years, Armenian Public Television has regularly interviewed and
invited politicians and commentators highly critical of Moscow to its political
talk shows. Their appearances in prime-time programs of the TV channel run by
Pashinian’s loyalists have become even more frequent lately amid rising tensions
between Moscow and Yerevan.
The HRAH on Wednesday also fined Sputnik Armenia 500,000 drams ($1,240) for the
latest talk show by former opposition parliamentarian Arman Abovian during which
he effectively accused Pashinian’s government of planning to cede much of
Armenia’s territory to Azerbaijan. The commission accused the broadcaster of
spreading false and unverified information.
Dozens Arrested After Fishing Ban In Armenian Lake
• Robert Zargarian
Armenia - Speedboats of the newly established water patrol service of the
Armenian police are seen in Lake Sevan, December 9, 2023.
More than two dozen Armenian fishers have been arrested after clashing with
officials enforcing a seasonal ban on fishing in the country’s Lake Sevan.
The Armenian government introduced the two-month ban on November 20 in an effort
to protect the vast lake’s endangered fish stocks during the annual spawning
period. But it was not until this month that it began enforcing the measure
extremely unpopular in Sevan’s coastal fishery-dependent communities.
Officers of a newly established water patrol unit of the national police and
representatives of the Sevan National Park clashed with residents of one of
those villages, Noratus, during a joint patrol on Tuesday.
According to a police report cited by Armenia’s Investigative Committee, their
two patrol boats were surrounded by as many as 200 smaller boats carrying angry
local fishers. The latter threw Molotov cocktails and other objects before some
of them boarded a Sevan National Park vessel and beat up its crew, the
law-enforcement agency said on Wednesday. The statement added that 26 attackers
were arrested and charged with “mass hooliganism” and violent assault after the
incident.
Noratus residents denied the official version of events as they blocked on
Wednesday a nearby highway to protest against the arrests and the fishing ban.
One of them said that the fishers themselves were attacked by the police while
trying to retrieve their fishing nets from the lake. Others accused the police
of sinking one of the fishing boats during the clash.
Armenia - A view of Lake Sevan, September 8, 2018.
The protesters also argued that fishing has long been their main source of
income in their community which is officially home to some 6,800 people.
“There is no other work here,” one middle-aged man told RFE/RL’s Armenian
Service. “Let them [the authorities] give us jobs, and everyone here would love
to stop fishing.”
“There is no spawning at the moment,” claimed another fisher. “The scientists
who say that are wrong. Spawning happens from January 1 to January 20.”
The authorities say that earlier this month they offered to delay the
enforcement of the ban by several days but were rebuffed by the locals.
Decades of overfishing are believed to have taken a heavy toll on Sevan’s main
species: trout and whitefish. The Sevan trout, an Armenian delicacy, became all
but extinct even before the collapse of the Soviet Union and the ensuing upsurge
in poaching. The lake’s whitefish population has also declined significantly
since the early 1990s.
Fishing bans repeatedly imposed by the current and former Armenian governments
have not been vigorously enforced until now.
Iran Reaffirms Opposition To Outside Powers In South Caucasus
Russia - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attends a meeting with Russian
President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, December 7, 2023.
“Extra-regional countries” must not be allowed to intervene in disputes in the
South Caucasus, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinian in a phone call late on Wednesday.
“Care must be taken that the Caucasus region does not become a field of
competition for extra-regional countries and that its issues are handled by the
countries of the region and without the interference of outsiders,” Raisi was
quoted by his office as saying.
Raisi thus reaffirmed Iran’s strong opposition to Western presence in the
region, which is shared by Russia. He described it as “harmful for regional
peace and stability” during an October 23 meeting with Armenia’s visiting
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
Mirzoyan travelled to Tehran to attend a multilateral meeting with his
Azerbaijani, Iranian, Russian and Turkish counterparts held there within the
framework of the so-called “Consultative Regional Platform 3+3” launched in
December 2021 in Moscow. Georgia continues to boycott the platform, citing
continuing Russian occupation of its breakaway regions.
Amid its deepening rift with Moscow, Pashinian’s government is now pinning hopes
on Western efforts to broker an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal. Russian
officials claim that the main aim of those efforts is to drive Russia out of the
South Caucasus, rather than bring peace to the region.
Yerevan is also seeking to deepen Armenia’s ties with the United States and the
European Union. In September, it hosted a joint U.S.-Armenian military exercise
criticized by Moscow and Tehran.
According to the official Armenian readout of Pashinian’s call with Raisi, the
two leaders discussed Armenian-Iranian relations and the implementation of
bilateral economic agreements. Raisi’s office said in this regard that he
“expressed satisfaction with the process of developing relations and
implementing agreements between the two countries.”
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
While all eyes have strayed from the conflict in Ukraine to the conflict on Gaza, no one has been noticing what is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh.
In September, the Turkish-backed state of Azerbaijan conducted a lightning incursion into the landlocked island of Nagorno-Karabakh, which Russian-backed ethnic Armenians had held since capturing it after the USSR broke up in the early 1990s.
In what remains one of the most astonishing political events of modern times, the Armenians stood down instead of fighting back. In doing so, they avoided the violence and bloodshed that have marked previous encounters between the two groups. Then, rather than risk the persecution they feared that the Azerbaijanis might mete out on them, the Armenians—some 120,000 of them—simply packed up their possessions and retreated across Azerbaijan to Armenia proper.
There were tears and recriminations but the community took the view that a safe life in its homeland was better than an uncertain life in contested territory.
A week ago, the story became even more miraculous. Armenia announced its intention to recognise Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory and the two sides agreed to normalise their relations, exchange prisoners and, by the end of this year, sign a peace treaty based on mutual respect.
These two sides have, in the past, been locked in deadly war, with some 38,000 killings between 1988 and 1994, and another 3,000 in the following 25 years. And yet, in late 2023, pragmatism finally overcame rhetoric and the two countries can now look forward to a future in which both can bloom and prosper side-by-side.
It’s hard to know why this happened but it may have had to do with the Armenians’ growing loathing of Putin (in return for which the Kremlin banned residents of Nagorno-Karabakh from flying Ukrainian flags) and even—we do not know—the receipt of tangible incentives to realign themselves alongside Azerbaijan within Turkey’s more welcome sphere of influence.
Had something similar happened in Gaza, I wonder what the world’s reaction would have been. Would those who carry banners in support of the Palestinians and who casually accuse Israel of apartheid and genocide have berated Gaza’s leaders and accused them of an unprincipled climb-down? Would there have been protests that the people of Gaza City and Khan Yunis, not to mention the Strip’s 1.7 million “refugees”, had been betrayed by spineless apparatchiks without a grain of commitment to the Palestinian cause?
The only answer can be yes: that is exactly what the world would have said, because the world evidently wants the Palestinian people to be locked into permanent enmity with Israel, and to act as a lightning rod for the world’s hatred of its bullying neighbour.
How do we know this? Because that is what we hear from the overwhelming majority of United Nations members, who last week voted for a ceasefire that would prevent Israel from defeating Hamas—in the name of “peace”. It is what we see, also, from the massive United Nations apparatus that keeps Palestinians in an enduring state of dependence, funding their complaints about the Zionist entity on its doorstep, and burnishing their sacred sense of victimisation.
Unembarrassed by this, UNRWA boasts that it is the largest agency of the United Nations, employing over 30,000 staff, 99 per cent of whom are locally recruited Palestinians, and registering nearly 6 million people as eligible for its services, compared with the 700,000 who took up residence in Gaza after the Arab attack on Israel at the founding of the state in 1948. And UNRWA is evidently adored by other arms of the UN, including UNICEF.
Had Hamas acted as the ethnic Armenians did in Nagorno-Karabakh, the world would have branded them as traitors. Or so one has to assume because no one has suggested that Hamas has behaved in anything other than an appropriate way in the face of Israeli rockets. Rather than backing down, and saving thousands of lives, Hamas has happily defied the IDF, sacrificing the Palestinian masses and goading Israel further by launching missiles of its own and threatening to replay October 7 again and again in the future, given the opportunity.
How can it be that less than a thousand miles away, one ruling faction—that of State President Samvel Shahramanyan—decided it was better to save lives and accommodate itself to reality while another ruling faction—that of Yahyar Sinwar (or possibly Ismail Haniyeh)—decided it was better for its people to hold out against reality and get slaughtered, and in the greatest possible numbers?
Yahya Sinwar (or possibly Ismail Haniyeh) has not been excoriated by the world. The world has not called for him to be captured, put on trial and punished for abusing those charged to his care, whether during this war or before it. Far from it. He is seen as heroic, a freedom fighter, and even—in a crass distortion of logic—a peace campaigner. His face flies on flags and his name is chanted in public gatherings, not only among the two billion Muslims who make up a quarter of the world but in the West among reasonable people and on campuses at respected universities.
How shocked the world would be if he were to say, “I was wrong to take my people down this disastrous path. If only I had seen, as President Samvel Shahramanyan has seen, the potential that exists in forging an accord with those we have fought against so wastefully for so long.”
Why do I think the world would have been outraged had Yahyar Sinwar (or possibly Ismail Haniyeh) fallen on his knees and begged the Palestinian people to forgive him? Because of the obduracy with which those who are paid to know better still cling to their hateful prejudices.
I used to admire the way that Sarah Montague handled interviewees on the BBC’s highly regarded weekday lunchtime news show, The World at One, and on the World Service programme HardTalk. She is cool, composed and persistent and her questions are to the point. Her tone changes, however, when she gets Israel in the sight of her gun. In a sequence of interviews on radio yesterday she was especially egregious—not only in the words she used but in her tone of voice, exposing a bias inappropriate to someone representing the UK’s foremost public broadcasting channel.
Here, her repeated questioning of Ehud Olmert about how long he thought the war in Gaza should go on was provocative, because the idea of waging war by calendar is preposterous. Her quoting of a phrase used by former UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace—that Israel’s attack was a “killing rage”—was provocative because it is self-evidently something quite different. Her asking Olmert whether he thought too many innocent Palestinians had died was provocative because it implies that he has a favoured death tally. Her suggesting that a one-off accident (the killing of the three hostages) was indicative of something more general about Israel is provocative because it promotes a judgement based on no knowledge of battlefield conditions.
In all these cases, Montague acted exactly as a cheerleader for Hamas might have done, letting the listener know not just where she stood but where they should stand too. Instead of questioning a string of very objectionable value judgements, she endorsed them.
In the same way, she appeared to accept, because she offered no challenge, the idea that Hamas could not be destroyed “because it’s an ideology”, that Israel has lost its moral authority, and that what is most urgently needed now is a rapid humanitarian truce, a set of notions which also serves to protect Hamas, which the BBC (like the three American university heads quizzed in Congressional hearings recently) still refuses, to its shame, to call a terrorist, genocidal, racist, repressive organisation that has totally failed to protect the wretched people it claims to represent.
Has this war gone on too long, as Montague asked? Absolutely. Have too many been killed? Absolutely. Could the war have been shortened and the number of deaths diminished? Yes, easily—by Hamas resigning, just as the Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh did in September, within 24 hours of Azerbaijani forces moving in. That was an honourable surrender, and the ethnic Armenians are greatly to be praised for it. There was a cost but the cost was face, not lives, and face is a trifle. By the end of December, Samvel Shahramanyan’s presidency will have been wound up and, with it, the post itself. He accepts this, in the name of the greater good. Now that’s real heroics.
Exactly the same could have happened at any time in Gaza. And yet Sarah Montague and all the bien-pensants of the BBC and the liberal establishment of which I consider myself a member have done nothing to push for it. Instead, they ally themselves with the accusation that Israel is the shameful party. It is deplorable.
In the most recent issue of the magazine I edit—Booklaunch—the cultural critic Keith Kahn-Harris has mused on the question of how those who have no skin in a game choose sides. Why do they find it so easy to cry with the Palestinians but not, say, with the Tamils (or the Sinhalese)? It’s a very good question and not one I know the answer to. But Sarah Montague, a supposedly impartial news host who adjudges that Israel has lost its moral authority, evidently knows better than me. She must do, because she represents precisely that inexplicable taking of sides.
On December 13, Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged prisoners that each side had detained at different times since the end of the Second Karabakh War in November 2020 (Turan.az, December 13). This historic exchange was made possible thanks to a significant breakthrough between the two countries on December 7. Baku and Yerevan issued a joint statement announcing a list of confidence-building measures to normalize relations and reach a peace agreement (Azertag, December 7). Azerbaijan agreed to release 32 Armenian servicemen as part of the agreement, and Armenia reciprocated by releasing two Azerbaijani soldiers. While a number of unresolved issues remain, the recent success in bilateral consultations has given new hope for a comprehensive peace agreement between the two sides.
The deal included other concessions beyond the exchange of prisoners. For example, Armenia agreed to support Azerbaijan’s bid to host the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. During the COP28 summit in Dubai, the countries of Eastern Europe agreed to back Baku’s bid, with Yerevan withdrawing its candidacy and throwing its support behind Azerbaijan (Azertag, December 11). The breakthrough was internationally lauded, with the United States, the European Union, and others issuing statements that supported progress toward a peace treaty (US Department of State, December 7; Twitter.com/charlesmichel, December 7).
The agreement was made possible through direct bilateral negotiations between Baku and Yerevan, without the involvement of third parties. This represents a key development and underscores the potential for increased bilateral engagement in the future (see EDM, October 25). The Western track of negotiations facilitated by the European Union and the United States has faced obstacles, resulting in the cancellation of several scheduled peace summits this year (see EDM, November 27). Simultaneously, Russia has been unable to reclaim its once-dominant mediator role in the region following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Baku and Yerevan have now turned their attention to finalizing the details of a prospective peace treaty. Some major questions remain regarding, among other issues, the inclusion of territorial and sovereignty guarantees in the peace deal, the return of ethnic Armenians to the Karabakh region, the re-opening of transportation channels, and the fate of the two countries’ exclaves on the territory of the other (see EDM, November 28). On December 6, during an international forum in Baku, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev stated his government’s position on most of these questions, declaring that Baku expects “firm, verified guarantees that there will be no attempt at revanchism in Armenia” (President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, December 6).
Armenia responded resolutely to Aliyev’s statement. A parliamentarian from the ruling Civil Contract Party denied any intention on Yerevan’s part to retaliate militarily, characterizing a possible renewal of conflict with Azerbaijan as suicidal for Armenia (Azatutyun.am, December 11). Baku feels that it is imperative to secure formal guarantees that Armenia will not violate any future peace treaty based on the occupation of thousands of square kilometers of Azerbaijani territory, the massacre of civilians, and, most importantly, the present revanchist sentiments among some members of Armenian society (Civilnet.am, October 23; YouTube, December 2). Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan earlier agreed that the lack of trust between the two countries is a challenge for peace talks. He emphasized that the development of a “mechanism” for the resolution of disputed issues and the creation of security guarantees are among the issues currently being discussed (Arka.am, November 16).
On the return of Armenian refugees, Aliyev reaffirmed that Azerbaijan is ready to accept the Armenians who left the Karabakh region in the aftermath of Baku’s “anti-terrorist operation” in September (President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, December 6). The Azerbaijani president said that those who want to return to the region can apply through the reintegration portal that Baku launched earlier this year (Reintegration.gov,az, accessed December 14). He also assured that the property and cultural heritage of these refugees will remain untouched and protected. Aliyev concluded that this process needs to be reciprocated in Armenia, with Yerevan providing opportunities for the return of Azerbaijanis to their ancestral homes in Armenia.
The European Union has voiced its support for Azerbaijan’s provision of security and protection of any Armenians returning to Karabakh. In an interview with the Armenian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, European Council President Charles Michel stated that the security of Karabakh Armenians should be enshrined within Azerbaijan’s constitution (Azatutyun.am, December 13). Michel added that “the authorities of Azerbaijan should be the guarantors of this issue” and dismissed demands from some Armenian groups for international guarantees.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have yet to agree on the re-opening of transportation links, including the future status of the Zangezur Corridor. Yerevan’s refusal to open Zangezur in accordance with the trilateral statement of November 10, 2020, has complicated negotiations. Azerbaijan has stated that it remains committed to the tripartite agreement and characterizes Armenia’s position as a violation of the document’s provisions (President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, December 6). The Azerbaijani government expects Armenia to provide easy passage through the Zangezur Corridor, which would mean no customs duties, no border checks, and no border security for cargo and passengers traveling from the western parts of mainland Azerbaijan to the country’s Nakhchivan exclave. Additionally, the construction of the Armenian section of the road has yet to begin, while the Azerbaijani portion is close to completion. Aliyev has asked that Yerevan or other international actors provide adequate investment for the completion of the Armenian part of the corridor.
Recent breakthroughs in peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan give hope that the unresolved issues will soon be addressed in a comprehensive manner to facilitate a lasting peace treaty. On December 14, Pashinyan stated that the exchange of prisoners between the two countries would stand as a “zero point” for resolving the remaining disagreements (News.am, December 14). Baku and Yerevan’s ability to find mutually beneficially compromises will be vital in providing for the future stability and security of the South Caucasus.
https://jamestown.org/program/armenia-and-azerbaijan-conclude-the-year-with-hopeful-prospects-for-peace/