Category: 2023

 09:51,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held a phone call with his Portuguese counterpart João Gomes Cravinho on May 11.

The foreign ministry said in a readout that Mirzoyan and Cravinho ‘exchanged views around the Armenian-Portuguese bilateral agenda and discussed the importance of mutual high-level visits for maintaining the dynamics of political dialogue, as well as the prospects of development of cooperation between the two countries in trade-economic, cultural and IT’ sectors.

Partnership in international platforms, as well as issues relating to the Armenia-EU partnership were also discussed.

The two FMs also discussed regional security and stability. The Armenian foreign minister spoke about the latest developments around the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization of relations. FM Mirzoyan stressed that Azerbaijan’s continuous aggressive policy and provocations are aimed at disrupting the efforts aimed at the negotiations process, with the latest such manifestation being the May 11 provocations against the sovereign territory of Armenia.

The Armenian FM presented to his Portuguese counterpart the humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh resulting from the illegal Azerbaijani blockade of Lachin Corridor, emphasizing that Azerbaijan’s actions constitute a violation of not only the terms of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and norms of international humanitarian law, but also an explicit disregard for the unambiguous calls by international partners and the International Court of Justice ruling.

Lachin Corridor – the only road linking Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world – has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022. The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan on 22 February 2023 to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has so far ignored the order.

 10:36,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. The United States Department of State has commented on the May 11 Azerbaijani attack on Armenia, stating that ‘this kind of violence’ undermines the progress made by the two countries during their talks.

State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a May 11 press briefing that "this kind of violence, we believe it undermines the progress made by Armenia and Azerbaijan toward a durable and dignified peace," and called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach an agreement at their upcoming summit in Brussels on May 14th to "distance their forces along the border, as discussed by Secretary Blinken during their participation of these negotiations that we hosted here in Washington, D.C., at the beginning of May."

Commenting on the foreign ministerial talks hosted by the U.S. in early May, Patel said they view these negotiations "as important, positive steps in which we felt the two countries had the opportunity to engage on some important issues, see the other side’s point of view."

“And we believe that there continues to be a durable path forward. We believe that there is a peaceful solution to this. It’s why we, from the Secretary on down, have continued to be so deeply engaged on this. But I’m not going to get ahead of these talks themselves,” Patel added.

The State Department spokesperson added that the U.S. was “obviously were happy to host these two countries at the beginning of May.”

 “We believe that those talks were fruitful and laid the groundwork for a continuation of these talks beginning in Brussels, and we’ll let that process play out,” Patel said.

 10:45,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Two Armenian servicemen were wounded Friday morning when the Azerbaijani armed forces used a UAV to bombard their position in Gegharkunik Province, the defense ministry said in a press release.

“On 12 May, around 10:00, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire in the direction of Sotk by using a UAV,” the defense ministry said, adding that two servicemen of the Armed Forces of Armenia were wounded in the drone strike. One of the two wounded troops is in grave condition.

As of 10:30 the situation on the frontline was relatively stable, the ministry added.

The Azeri drone strike comes a day after Azeri forces bombarded Armenian positions in the same area in an unprovoked attack. 

 

 10:51,

STEPANAKERT, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has falsely accused the Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh military of breaching the ceasefire.

In a statement released on Friday, the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Army said that the Azeri defense ministry’s statement accusing them of violating the ceasefire is disinformation.

 “The statement released by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry accusing the units of the Defense Army of opening fire overnight May 11-12 at Azerbaijani positions deployed in the occupied territories of the Martakert, Askeran, Shushi and Kashatagh regions of the Republic of Artsakh is yet another disinformation,” the Defense Army of Nagorno Karabakh said.

 12:00,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan on Friday visited the wounded Armenian troops of the latest Azeri attack who are being treated at the Central Military Hospital, the defense ministry said in a press release.

Papikyan was briefed on the condition and course of treatment of the troops.

The defense minister wished speedy recovery to the servicemen.

 12:28,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan has said that the Armenian-Azerbaijani foreign ministerial talks were a “productive” phase in terms of approximating the stances around a possible peace treaty.

Speaking at a press briefing on May 12, Hovhannisyan told ARMENPRESS that there are a number of issues that have yet to be discussed during the upcoming May 14 Brussels summit.

PM Nikol Pashinyan said on May 11 that Azerbaijan sought to nullify the progress in the Washington talks with its latest aggression.

Asked what progress the prime minister was referring to, Hovhannisyan said the progress pertains to the sides having a better understanding on each other’s stances.

“This was done. The American side did everything possible to create a positive atmosphere. It was truly a productive phase for bringing closer the positions around a possible peace treaty. Of course, there are a number of highly important issues that have yet to be discussed, and that’s why the highest-level meeting is being organized in Brussels, which will be followed by the foreign ministerial meeting in Moscow, and there will be other meetings as well,” Hovhannisyan said.

Speaking about the Azeri military attack on Armenian positions in Sotk on May 11, Hovhannisyan said that Azerbaijan has been behaving in this manner ever since the 1990s.

“I’ve been serving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1995, and I can’t recall a single phase of negotiations without such provocations taking place either before or after the meetings,” he said.

 12:31,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. The meeting between Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov in Moscow is scheduled for May 19, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan said Friday.

“The meeting is planned for May 19, if no changes take place,” Hovhannisyan said at a press briefing.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are scheduled to meet in Brussels on May 14.

Hovhannisyan said the Moscow meeting can be viewed to some extent as a logical continuation of the Brussels summit, but noted that each format has its specificities.