Category: 2023

 13:24,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenia proposes to enhance the capacity of the EU monitoring mission in Armenia, Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan has said.

He said that the number of observers is insufficient for monitoring Armenia’s international borders with Azerbaijan. “We are proposing all our partners to increase both the number of personnel and other capacities, in order for the observers to be able to carry out monitoring more properly,” Grigoryan told reporters in Jermuk.

[see video]

 13:55,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense of Armenia Suren Papikyan held a meeting on April 28 with Colonel-general Alexander Lentsov, the new Commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh.

“I welcomed Colonel-general Alexander Lentsov on assuming his new position and wished him successes during the peacekeeping mission. We discussed the operative situation and existing problems around Nagorno Karabakh and in the area of responsibility of the peacekeeping contingent and a number of issues aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno Karabakh. I emphasized the need for steady implementation of all terms of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and attached importance to efforts aimed at swiftly lifting the blockade of the Lachin Corridor,” Papikyan said on social media.

The Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin, military attaché Colonel Igor Shcherbakov, and the former Commander of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh Major-general Andrei Volkov attended the meeting.

[see video]

 14:06,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited the Yerablur Pantheon military cemetery in Yerevan, Armenia on April 28.

Colonna placed a wreath at the monument commemorating Armenian fallen troops in the Nagorno Karabakh wars.

[see video]

Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan accompanied the French Foreign Minister during the visit.

 14:28,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. On 27 April, at the Permanent Representation of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) in the Republic of Armenia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh Sergey Ghazaryan received a group of journalists from leading Brazilian media who arrived in Armenia on an exploratory visit. 

The Foreign Minister presented the situation around Artsakh, touched upon the challenges facing the Artsakh Armenians, as well as answered questions raised by the journalists, the Artsakh foreign ministry said in a press release. 

Sergey Ghazaryan thanked the media representatives for their interest for Artsakh and emphasised that such meetings are of great importance in raising international awareness of besieged Artsakh.

 15:29,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and France reiterated readiness to further expand the comprehensive agenda between the two countries and enrich the special relations in various sectors.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna delivered a joint press conference on April 28 after holding a meeting in Yerevan.

“The highest level of political dialogue between Armenia and France and the mutual determination to strengthen it is evident, which was reiterated with the participation of the leaders of the two countries in the Ambitions: France-Armenia forum last year, as well as with the signing of the 2021-2026 Armenian-French Economic Cooperation roadmap. We agreed to ensure the implementation of the roadmap with practical steps, it is our mutual keenness to have tangible results in this sector which will match our political dialogue,” Mirzoyan said.

He pointed out the productive cooperation with the French Development Agency as an important factor for promoting the economic agenda.

“We attached high importance to close cooperation in a number of other areas, such as education, science, culture and healthcare. I shared our satisfaction on how France shares Armenia’s successes, for example the opening of the Tumo centers in Paris and Lyon,” Mirzoyan said.

Mirzoyan said they also discussed the operations of the educational institutions encompassing all French educational circles in Armenia.

He said that every year Armenia holds the Days of La Francophonie events.

“We were pleased to note the inter-parliamentary cooperation both bilaterally and multilaterally in parliamentary platforms which has a special place in our bilateral comprehensive agenda. We underscored the importance of strengthening de-centralized cooperation, which is rapidly developing and has significant potential for expansion,” the Armenian FM said.

 15:52,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has reiterated France’s support to Armenia given the challenges the country is facing.

Colonna said that it is an honor for France to be one of the countries that stand by Armenia to support it in overcoming the challenges.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, FM Colonna said that the main issue discussed during their meeting was the peace talks with Azerbaijan.

“We had a lengthy discussion about the regional situation. France expresses its full support to the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. France is not alone in this, France does this with the EU and the US, naturally by maintaining contact with the OSCE and the UN, which can have a useful role in this process. We all know that the path to peace is difficult and often long. I am saying this in Yerevan, like I said in Baku, this is the only path that will allow to achieve fair and sustainable peace, create new prospects for the future of the two countries. We encourage everyone to join that path. Fair and sustainable peace means peace which is based on respect for international law. In Prague, the President of France and the President of the European Council made efforts in order for Armenia and Azerbaijan to make an important step and reiterate their commitment to the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, by which they mutually recognize each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. We believe that is important to strengthen this achievement, perhaps by carrying out the delimitation works as a priority,” FM Colonna said.

At the same time, the French FM said that respect for the principle of territorial integrity is important and said that the Azerbaijani military advance into the sovereign territory of Armenia is unacceptable.

“Respect for territorial integrity means refraining from any kind of use of force. I’ve said this in Baku as well,” she said.

“International law must be respected, therefore we can’t accept the unilateral steps made by Azerbaijan,” she said.

 16:27,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan’s installation of a checkpoint in Lachin Corridor contradicts the 9 November 2020 statement, French FM Catherine Colonna said during a joint press conference with Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan.

“If Azerbaijan is concerned over the transparency of flows, there are several other methods to approach this issue, rather than taking unilateral steps. Fair and sustainable peace means peace that respects and protects human rights. We work for our peoples and we want humanitarian steps to contribute to the formation of an atmosphere conducive to negotiations, be it the issues of prisoners of war or those missing, or other difficult issues. We continue to call for the restoration of unimpeded movement along the Lachin Corridor in accordance with the assumed obligations, as well as the ruling of the International Court of Justice. The blockade has been going on for already several months, this is not acceptable, this doesn’t comply with commitments to international law and creates risks for a humanitarian crisis for the population of Nagorno Karabakh,” FM Colonna said.

Colonna called for negotiations around the security and rights of the population of Nagorno Karabakh.

“The population of Nagorno Karabakh must be able to continue to live in peace and security, with respect to its culture and traditions,” FM Colonna added.

The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022. 

The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan on February 22 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 ruling.

 16:20,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna is visiting Armenia in a difficult period of time when the country is facing serious challenges and threats to regional security, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with his French counterpart.

“Today during our meeting I expressed gratitude for France’s principled positions expressed on all levels in various formats. Including in the direction of eliminating the consequences of the Azerbaijani aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, and in advancing the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairing country,” FM Mirzoyan said.

FM Mirzoyan attached special importance to French President Emmanuel Macron’s involvement in establishing peace and stability in South Caucasus.

The Armenian FM said that Azerbaijan, disregarding the criticism by the international community and ignoring the February 22 ruling of the International Court of Justice, has now already officially blocked the Lachin Corridor in gross violation of the clause 6 of the 2020 trilateral statement, by installing a checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor which is the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers. “This is yet another, but perhaps with its consequences an extremely dangerous and explicit violation of the trilateral statement. It is impossible not to see the real threat of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh behind the explicit calls by the Azerbaijani authorities aimed at achieving exodus in Nagorno Karabakh, the hate speech and this violation. This must be clear for the international community as well.  In this context I once again emphasize the imperative of practical steps by UN member states having international security mandate, including by ensuring the deployment of an international mission to NK and Lachin Corridor and unimpeded access of international humanitarian organizations,” FM Mirzoyan said.

 16:54,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. More than two years since signing the 2020 trilateral statement, Azerbaijan still refuses to release all Armenian prisoners of war and captive civilians in violation of the terms of the agreement, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at the April 28 joint press conference with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.

“Despite Armenia’s readiness to solve the existing problems through constructive negotiations, Azerbaijan continues the occupation of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and aggressive actions, which are provocative and contradict the statements adopted with results of the meetings in Prague and Sochi,” FM Mirzoyan said, noting that the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration has a fundamental role in the context of these statements and Armenia remains fully committed to the declaration.

FM Mirzoyan said that Armenia is committed to the efforts for establishing stability in the region. He said that Armenia continues negotiations with Azerbaijan around the peace treaty draft.

“I must underscore that the imperative of resolving all existing issues without force or the threat of force is crucial for comprehensive and lasting settlement, and addressing the issues of the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh under an internationally guaranteed format of dialogue,” FM Mirzoyan said, adding that Armenia sincerely expects France’s continuous strong involvement and efforts in these issues.

 17:06,

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenia doesn’t set apart the platforms of negotiations around a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, FM Ararat Mirzoyan said on April 28.

“Armenia doesn’t put a difference between the platforms, there is one peace process and the negotiations are taking place around the same text of the peace treaty and its provisions. We are grateful to all the capitals that are providing a platform, who try to be a bridge in this process. There is no such issue for Armenia to negotiate in a specific place, be it Moscow, Brussels or Washington,” Mirzoyan said.