Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am Regional countries could potentially launch counterterrorism actions inside Azerbaijan, says Artsakh SaveShare 09:52, 17 October, 2020STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS/HH. Turkey’s involvement in the NK conflict with its support to Azerbaijan and transfer of mercenaries from terrorist organizations from Syria and Afghanistan doesn’t simply focus on assisting the Azeris to in their goal of capturing Artsakh, according to the Artsakh presidential advisor Davit Babayan.Babayan says Turkey instigated the war and exploited it with the purpose of deploying the thousands of terrorist not only deep inside Azerbaijan, but also to Russia and Iran – something the Armenian side has warned of and these warnings have been confirmed. “The infiltration of terrorists is extremely serious. According to our intelligence data there are already several thousands of terrorists who have been transferred to Azerbaijan through Turkey. But not all of them are participating in the attacks on Artsakh. They are separated into four parts: one part is at the Artsakh front, the other is deployed at the border with Russia, the third is deployed at the border with Iran, and the fourth part is deployed in different locations inside Azerbaijan, in order to clampdown any potential domestic discontent in Azerbaijan, and we already see that such discontent is maturing very quickly because of the large numbers of Azerbaijani military losses and victims. That is, these mercenaries are there also for suppressing domestic unrests.We see that the terrorists have already infiltrated into Russian territory. We had warned from the beginning that some of these mercenaries are stationed at the border of Dagestan, and a potential infiltration into Russia can’t be ruled out. This became reality afterwards. The Russian foreign intelligence agency officially announced about this. According to the published information, these mercenaries have reached Chechnya, and four of these terrorists have been eliminated there. The other syndicate entered Volgograd, where they plotted terror attacks, the jihadists were plotting to bomb government buildings, military barracks, industrial facilities and one of Russia’s historic monuments, the “The Motherland Calls.”It is already clear that these terrorists appeared in Russia from Azerbaijan, where in turn they were taken to by Turkey, after being recruited in Syria. This all shows that the neighboring countries are also concerned. And not only are they concerned, they are eliminating these terrorists in their territories. We can’t rule out a potential situation when these countries will start eliminating these terrorists inside Azerbaijan itself. And I think everything is going towards that scenario,” Babayan said in an interview to Hayastani Hanrapetutyun (Republic of Armenia, HH) newspaper. HH – Please elaborate on the reports on these terrorists infiltrating Iran.Babayan - The Iranian side is one of the targets of the terrorists. You are aware that one of the targets of Turkey, Azerbaijan and the terrorists is to strike the reservoir built on Araks River. It was built by the Iranian side and is mostly serving the needs of Iran, because Northern Iran is factually in an ecological disaster. The abovementioned reservoir is somewhat helping, so to say – it is the only source of saving that territory. And now, Turkey, the terrorists and Azerbaijan want to take over that territory. And they seek doing so through mercenaries. Moreover, these terrorists have most probably already infiltrated into Iranian territory. This can’t be of no concern to Iran. As we see, this is a serious problem which is conveying a new quality to the concerns of other countries and their actions.HH- Is the Iranian government’s official response already known?Babayan - We shouldn’t wait for an official response. I am more than sure that appropriate measures are already underway.HH - What is Turkey seeking to accomplish by creating chaos not only in the region but also virtually all neighboring countries. The Turkey which had initially adopted the “no problems with neighbors” principle has problems with everybody today. Moreover, not only with neighbors.Babayan – Turkey has a very rich experience of struggling when it is in a very difficult and multi-layered adventurism. We shouldn’t underestimate [Turkey]. One of its goals is to undermine the Armenian statehood. Next, support Azerbaijan, and by getting established there Turkey is making its first step on the path of realizing its dream of pan-Turkism. Probably that’s why they didn’t find it necessary to notify anyone, including their NATO allies, about their actions. Turkey has already entered Azerbaijan and it won’t leave it on its own will.Interview by Ishkhan Kishmiryan; Editing and Translating Stepan Kocharyan https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031860.html?fbclid=IwAR0koyZsFaxUlApuK_KIjO3EDhIJusLyBdXefyYc_wR1H9kGU86MR5sl7pw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am ‘Want to return to Artsakh, walk in Shushi’ – Daniel Decker expresses support to Armenian people SaveShare 10:55, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. American singer Daniel Decker says he is constantly following the developments taking place in Armenia and Artsakh. He arrived in Armenia immediately after the 2016 April War for standing by and expressing his support to the Armenian people. These days as well, amid the ongoing Turkey-backed Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh and Armenia, Daniel Decker is again in Armenia to express his support to the people. He is going to meet with the children from Artsakh and sing a song for them.The singer gave an interview to ARMENPRESS, talking about his love towards Armenia, the visit to Artsakh and other issues. -You once have stated that you consider yourself Armenian, you are in love with Armenia. You have also acquired Armenian citizenship. When and how did you get acquainted with our country? What did attract you in Armenia?-I got acquainted with Armenia as a result of the cooperation with musician Ara Gevorgyan. At that time my interest to Armenia started growing, I wanted to know more not only about the music, but also the history and cuisine. I loved Armenians a lot.-You not only perform Armenian songs, but also raise issues concerning Armenians. You have often raised the issue of the Armenian Genocide and have been criticized by Turks. Do you still continue to talk about that?-I am always talking about that issue. I was not born in Armenia, and this fact enables me to talk about Armenia from other perspective. If you raise your issues, people would consider it natural, but when I am talking about that topic, question arises “why, what happened, what is the importance of that issue”.-You are repeatedly stating in social media that you are closely following the developments taking place in Armenia. You even visited Armenia after the 2016 April War for supporting our country. You are again with us today…-When I got informed about what is taking place, I was very concerned and decided to come here. My Armenian friends told me there is no need to visit, but I was understanding that it was necessary. Many are supporting Armenia these days. I am not a powerful man, I do not have an army, I am just a man, but I think that I should have come to Armenia and state that “I am with you and support you, that you need to be strong”. Now I am feeling sadness and angry. I regret for the soldiers who have been killed, for the families whose houses have been destroyed. Shushi, where I performed in 2017, has been targeted. I get angry over the ongoing barbarism, but I think it is necessary to fight and win, defend Armenia and Artsakh.-Do you have any plans to give a charity concert here as a sign of support?-I do not have preliminary plans with a concert. I am going to visit the children who came from Artsakh to Armenia, talk to them and perform a song for them. -What will say about Artsakh?-I loved Artsakh. The people of Artsakh are kind, peaceful, they don’t want war, they just want to live freely and peacefully. I think the people of Artsakh have a right to decide how to live. If they wish to become independent, they should become so. I am proud that I have been in Artsakh, I want to go back there, walk in Shushi, Stepanakert and other cities.Interview by Anjela HambardzumyanPhotos by Tatev DuryanEditing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Full version of the interview is available in Armenian. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031863.html?fbclid=IwAR1V05iK1YCRby2a-3PL4wFTlXbwvq3ejkQ5yUd3yTyGuMsVl0KP53QMyrg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am LA County Sheriff welcomes peaceful protests of Armenians, condemns attacks on Artsakh civilians SaveShare 15:15, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced that they condemn the ongoing violence and attacks against the civilian population of Artsakh and welcome the peaceful protests of Armenians in LA, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shared the statement of the Sheriff on Facebook.In the statement the LASD said it is monitoring the ongoing incidents in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, “which, while, 7,200 miles away from Los Angeles, is of extreme and immediate importance to so many within the LA community”. “We hear you and we understand. In fact, Los Angeles County is home to more people of Armenian descent than anywhere in the world outside of Armenia itself. We witness, denounce and condemn the violence and attacks occurring upon civilians in Artsakh. We welcome peaceful protests of solidarity here in Los Angeles and stand with you in our shared demand for peace”, the statement says. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031888.html?fbclid=IwAR1pfDrxXllMhzxogOFndTxypAkDsSW5g0G2Mr1cGZQ_f5kPfsEX0SFBFy0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Why would BBC change course now, they have been doing this for over hundred years. Check their bias about Armenian Genocide, they love turkish delight, I hope they choke on it! Armenpress.am Armenians in London urge BBC to tell the truth about incidents taking place in Artsakh SaveShare 16:02, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Hundreds of Armenians held a protest outside BBC building in London, urging to present the truth about the ongoing military operations unleashed by Azerbaijan and Turkey against Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and Armenia.“Stop spreading Azerbaijani and Turkish lies”, “BBC, tell the truth”, the protest participants said. They were holding the flags of Armenia and Artsakh and stated that the British community deserves to know the truth.Armenians worldwide are holding similar protests, urging leading media outlets to tell the truth to the international community.On September 27 Azerbaijan, with the support of Turkey, launched a massive attack against the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), by using all its ammunition, targeting also the civilian infrastructures both in Artsakh and Armenia. There are confirmed reports that there are mercenaries in the Azerbaijani army brought from Syria by Turkey for fighting against the Armenian side.On October 10 an agreement has been reached in Moscow between the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers on cessation of hostilities in the NK conflict zone for humanitarian purposes. However, minutes after the agreement entered into force Azerbaijan again launched attacks against Artsakh and till now continues violating the humanitarian truce.Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031894.html?fbclid=IwAR3C6LTFr7E57tkTS-3IuRS6GZnODNYc-6x3TkKbpY-kuGpVGxuuTuhRfTg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am Positions of Russia and US on Nagorno Karabakh generally coincide - Russian Ambassador SaveShare 17:23, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The positions of Moscow and Washington coincide on the fundamental issues of the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Russian Ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with Channel One, reports TASS.“It was a pleasant surprise when a joint statement was issued by the three presidents [co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, the United States]. We have so few events where the American and Russian positions coincided, we called on the parties to restrain, to stop fire and to transfer everything into a diplomatic channel”, the ambassador said. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031900.html?fbclid=IwAR3t-3O1So6Q1BGNaDawHDRnYivnp_UtSLm4-5BBxldem2NiwQBdL4knI9g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am 3 Azerbaijani UAVs downed in the territory of Republic of Armenia, 1 in Artsakh SaveShare 18:19, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The air defense units of Armenia destroyed 3 Azerbaijani UAVs in the airspace of the Republic of Armenia on October 17 in the period of 16:30-17:45, ARMENPRESS reports spokesperson of MoD Armenia Shsushan Stepanyan informed.She added that another UAV was destroyed in Artsakh. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031906.html?fbclid=IwAR1pfDrxXllMhzxogOFndTxypAkDsSW5g0G2Mr1cGZQ_f5kPfsEX0SFBFy0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am Clashes continued intensively, Azerbaijan suffered serious losses – President of Artsakh SaveShare 19:17, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Military operations along almost entire Artsakh-Azerbaijan contact line continued on October 17, ARMENPRESS reports President of ARtsakh Arayik Harutyunyan wrote on his Facebook page.‘’Particularly fierce clashes took place in the southern direction. The Defense Army excellently fulfils its military tasks, inflicting heavy manpower and military equipment losses’’, Harutyunyan wrote. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031909.html?fbclid=IwAR3lDVNL--ZkxzdZYoE_pP9-hY1NgLwbtef5YLlOt7XJMnpItH0MebTEKkc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am Azerbaijanis attack peaceful Armenians in Israel with sticks and stones SaveShare 19:59, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Nearly 20 Azerbaijanis attacked Armenian peaceful protesters with sticks and stones in Israel who were holding a motor march with the flags of Armenia and Artsakh against the military cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan, representative of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem Father Tiran told ARMENPRESS.‘’During the motor race nearly 20 Azerbaijanis with 3-4 cars blocked the way of our protesters, started to break the cars with stones and sticks, as well as hit the Armenians in the cars. Clashes started between our protesters and them, during which 4-5 young Armenians received minor injuries, while an elderly Armenian lost consciousness, who has been hospitalized. At the moment all feel well’’, Father Tiran said. He noted that during the incident the Azerbaijanis caused property damage of 5-10 thousand dollars.Father Tiran added that the Israeli Police arrived at the scene and arrested some of the Azerbaijanis, who had provoked the incident.The attackers had Azerbaijani flags with them. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031915.html?fbclid=IwAR2cI6XmLt-la66JS520l9THLCw_QySku1Zdar51NuRopNdndEzK3qkLTes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am Azerbaijan presents strikes against hospital as destruction of ammunition depots SaveShare 20:48, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has released a footage presenting the strikes against a hospital in Artsakh's north-eastern direction as a destruction of ammunition depots.ARMENPRESS reports spokesperson of MoD Armenia Shushan Stepanyan shared the footage on her Facebook page, emphasizing that the footage shows the deliberate strike against a hospital in Artsakh's north-east that took place on October 14, which Azerbaijanis present as a destruction of ammunition depots. The press service of Artsakh's Defense Army informed on October 14 that the Azerbaijani armed forces targeted a hospital in the north-eastern part of Artsakh, where civilians also receive treatment. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031918.html?fbclid=IwAR34Uhkt9HU7P9-tKfCBa3xbsUhwCtdRyk1-OH5PgDHaZ7su1sryK6AvGdA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am 8 civilians died in Artsakh following ceasefire agreement SaveShare 20:52, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Following the ceasefire agreement reached in Moscow on October 10 based on the consultation between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, 8 civilians have been killed in Artsakh, ARMENPRESS reports Human Rights Defender of Artsakh said in a press conference on October 17.''Since September 27 at least 36 civilians have died, 115 have been injured. 20 of the 36 victims have been killed in their houses’', he said, adding that the Azerbaijani side uses high-precision air force, which gives them an opportunity to identify their targets. '' We assume that in many cases targeted, deliberate strikes were carried out on the civilian population. Following the October 10 ceasefire agreement, Azerbaijan continued targeting civilian population, as a result of which 8 civilians have been killed, yesterday and today 6 civilians were injured, 3 in Shosh village and 3 in Stepanakert. In both cases exclusively residential areas were targeted'', Beglaryan said. Since September 27, Azerbaijan targeted over 130 settlements of Artsakh, damaging nearly 7800 immovable property, over 1310 infrastructures, public or industrial facilities, over 720 movable property.The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh said that as a result of the Azerbaijani bombardment some residents of Artsakh have been forced to abandon their homes and move to other parts of Artsakh or Armenia. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031921.html?fbclid=IwAR0kgj-fK_USvCinGmg6Zgq0MBHdHP0H78b-vH1Nbmr4tMtfhoUFBSLkCa8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Armenpress.am Artsakh ready to provide humanitarian corridor to besieged Azeri troops if ceasefire is observed SaveShare 23:56, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. If Azerbaijan observes the humanitarian ceasefire, the Defense Army of Artsakh is ready to provide humanitarian corridor to besieged Azerbaijani troops, Vahram Poghosyan, spokesperson of Artsakh's President, told ARMENPRESS.''If starting from the agreed time Azerbaijan observes the humanitarian ceasefire, the Defense Army is ready to provide humanitarian corridor to besieged Azerbaijani troops'', Poghosyan said. Armenia, Azerbaijan agreed on a humanitarian ceasefire starting from October 18 midnight. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1031942.html?fbclid=IwAR1tCx7byTyA1igzHShrF2CHFYrQO-C_b_x9KE24c5ZADFweYQ2WIdmWkKU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 MEDIA RELEASEGeoffrey Robertson QC: Australia Should Support Rights to Self-Determination of the Armenians of Artsakhhttp://www.anc.org.au/images/cms/1/news/geoffrey-wigs.jpgLONDON: Australian human rights barrister of the London-based Doughty Street Chambers, Geoffrey Robertson QC has followed up his pivotal op-ed in The Australian newspaper by appearing on The Wigs podcast, where he has called upon the Australian Government to condemn Azerbaijan's Turkey-backed attacks on the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU)."Australia is an independent observer, Australia is committed to world peace, Australia is committed to human rights and to the international criminal court," Robertson said. "So Australia should be, I think, supporting Armenia to the extent that it should, at the United Nations, and – even in public pronouncements – express its grave concern at the invasion of Nagorno Karabakh, and urge that the Karabakh people who should be entitled to their right to self-determination."Robertson, who called out both Turkey and Azerbaijan for their attacks on Armenia and Artsakh in his op-ed last week (click here), added that Australia should not be concerned with the empty and aggressive political threats made by the authoritarian leadership of the dictatorships and proposed self-determination as the "obvious solution"."It may irritate Turkey, it will irritate Turkey and Azerbaijan, but it seems to me ... most independent observers who've actually observed the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh in recent years have said, and I say too, there is an obvious solution. Keep Nagorno-Karabakh independent, or make it a province of Armenia, which it is really, and return some of the buffer areas that were captured in the 1992 war to Azerbaijan," he said.Robertson said in his op-ed: "It would be intolerable if Artsakh were to be invaded and its people killed or forced to flee. Yet this is the declared objective of Turkey. They will not surrender Artsakh and nor should they. Australia should not hesitate in its support for them – not for the sake of Christianity but for democracy."Robertson told The Wigs podcast that his motivation for writing the article was his personal witnessing of the democratic Republic of Artsakh."I wrote the article because I'm one of the few Australians to have ventured into this beautiful little country, country in the clouds I call it because it's got lots of high mountains that are kept with clouds, beneath which are thousands of amazing early Christian churches," he explained."Armenia was the first country to convert back in 300 AD and you couldn't find churches almost as old as that in Nagorno-Karabakh or Artsakh, as it was historically known a place for Highland Armenians throughout its history. And that history is the reason why it's being bombed and strafed, it's 170,000 people who have their own little democracy."Robertson added: "I've been there to actually undertake a study of how democratic they are. I met all their judges. I met their 45 lawyers they have for 170,000 people and I looked at their politics and their elections and so forth. And it is truly an independent democracy."Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) Executive Director, Haig Kayserian praised Robertson for "calling out Australia for fence-sitting"."The Armenian-Australian community is frustrated and disappointed with our Government's current passive position on this brazen military aggression by the two neo-Ottoman dictatorships, who have already threatened to continue the genocidal work of their grandfathers," Kayserian said."Now we have one of the most credible defenders of human rights, Mr. Geoffrey Robertson warning Australia of the impending humanitarian crisis. As we have seen throughout history, failure to call out and condemn an aggressor and an enabler out by name – especially when they are bombing civilians and openly threatening ethnic cleansing – only emboldens said aggressor to continue committing war crimes."Kayserian added: "Geoffrey Robertson QC, Prime Minister Trudeau (Canada) and President Macron (France) are joined by several Federal MPs from Australia – including Trent Zimmerman, Tim Wilson and John Alexander, along with The Australian Greens, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Greek, Assyrian and Kurdish communities, the NSW branch of the Young Liberals, among others, in openly condemning this military aggression by Azerbaijan and Turkey. We call on our Government to do the same."Listen to The Wigs podcast with Geoffrey Robertson QC, co-anchored by Armenian-Australian barrister Emmanuel Kerkyasharian, by clicking here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Azerbaijan tries to take Khoda Afarin Dam under control to have leverage on Iran – Davit BabayanSaveShare2 11:28, 18 October, 2020STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Turkey, Azerbaijan and terrorists are trying either to dismantle the Khoda Afarin Dam, located at the border of Iran and Artsakh, or take it under their control in order to have an influential leverage later on Iran, advisor to the President of Artsakh Davit Babayan said during today’s press conference, commenting on the Azerbaijani attack in the direction of the reservoir hours after the new humanitarian ceasefire entered into force on October 18.“Overall, the ceasefire is in force in some sections, but there are directions where the adversary continues its anti-Armenian policy and is trying to enter into the defensive system of the Artsakh Defense Army in some sections. At the moment infiltration attempts in several sections of the frontline continue, but they are being repelled. For us the most important is to avoid losses. Heavy clashes are underway in some sections, especially in the southern direction”, he said, adding that the Defense Army and volunteers are successfully repelling the adversary and all its encroachments. As for the issue of the bodies of Turkish, Azerbaijani terrorists which are in the Armenian side, Babayan said due to a critical epidemic situation has been created in some sections. “There are so many bodies that there is a serious sanitary problem these days”, he said.Commenting on the terms of the ceasefire, the advisor to the Artsakh President said it is termless. Several Azerbaijani officials have announced that it will last for several days, but Babayan said there is no such thing. “If they announce in that way, it means they have a plan to start another aggressive actions in several days”, Babayan said.Armenia and Azerbaijani agreed on a new humanitarian ceasefire, which was supposed to come effective at 00:00, October 18. However, minutes after the ceasefire came into force, Azerbaijan again violated the agreement, launching rocket-artillery strikes in the northern direction from 00:04-02:45 and missile strikes in the southern direction from 02:20-02:45.Today, early morning, the Azerbaijani forces again launched an attack in the southern direction.Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 Turkish aggressive policy backfires as Europe, Arab countries form anti-Erdogan axis – researcherSaveShare15 16:07, 16 September, 2020YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. A Turkish survey vessel’s return to port from eastern Mediterranean near Greek shores was a tactical step, argues analyst Ruben Safrastyan, the interim scientific director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Armenian Academy of Sciences.“If we generally evaluate Erdogan’s foreign policy in the recent years, we see that it has the following peculiarity: he tries to increase tensions around Turkey. In these conditions he may take a small step back and in exchange expect a big concession from the other side. I think the Turkish vessel’s return from Greek waters was the manifestation of this very tactic,” Safrastyan said. Safrastyan argues that Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policy in the Mediterranean is aimed at strengthening and expanding his circle of influence at all cost and to subsequently gain material benefits namely the major gas reserves underwater. The expert on Turkey argues that Erdogan seeks to monopolize natural gas use and become a regional supplying hub, therefore these actions are aimed at both increasing geopolitical influence and becoming a center in the energy carrier sector.Ruben Safrastyan says Turkey is carrying out its aggressive policy in a number of countries in the region and is expecting that these actions would increase its reputation or influence, but it backfired as Ankara received a strong counter response from what Safrastyan calls an "anti-Turkish axis" comprising Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Egypt, France and others. “Therefore I wouldn’t say that Erdogan’s aggressive policy is giving the results he expected,” Safrastyan said.He noted that Europe is actively speaking about possible sanctions against Turkey, and didn’t rule out that this issue will be raised during the upcoming EU leaders sessions in a week. Aside from European countries, an "anti-Turkish axis" is also being formed among Arab countries since they very well realize the Turkish threats, according to Safrastyan.Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 18, 2020 Report Share Posted October 18, 2020 (edited) Click Share 13 below to watch the video! 30-rocket salvo, 1 blast: Only in Azeri “untalented” propaganda - Ganja disinformation debunked SaveShare13 15:25, 17 October, 2020YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani fabricated reports alleging that the Armenian side has delivered a missile strike on civilian facilities in Azerbaijan’s second city of Ganja are yet another fake news in the barrage of the Azeri disinformation campaign which seeks to mislead the international community at all cost, the Armenian Defense Ministry’s official news outlet Zinuzh Media reported in a video debunking the accusations. “A powerful explosion occurred at midnight in Ganja, the second largest city of Azerbaijan, followed by such a cycle of developments, seasoned with fabrications and obvious lies, which once again overtly shows that Baku is capable of anything to ensure its desirable propaganda background, even at the cost of their own citizens’ lives. Immediately after the explosion the Azeri TV channels were on the scene providing live coverage of the rescue operations – whereas even if hypothetically this were to be a missile strike no one could’ve ruled out a potential second strike. Meaning, if that really was a strike, the local authorities ought to at least tried to beware from the possible second or third strike and evacuate the civilians. But for some reason they were more than sure that no more so-called strikes would happen. The Azeri presidential assistance was equally quick to claim that the so called strike was fired from Armenia with a SCUD missile, with absolutely no evidence whatsoever. And this was happening only minutes after the explosion, whereas identifying the type of any missile strike requires rather long analysis. Bizarrely enough, the same propaganda machine began circulating a video allegedly showing what they described as Armenian forces carrying out rocket strikes at Ganja from a GRAD system, presenting it to be the cause of the blast. But Baku is extremely untalented in propaganda, and this particular case was no exception. Only one explosion took place in Ganja, whereas the video showing the alleged GRAD shooting shows at least 30 rockets being fired. How could only one explosion happen from several dozens of fired rockets? Perhaps this is only possible in the Azeri propaganda tales. Moreover, in order for a GRAD multiple rocket launcher to be able to hit Ganja the system should’ve been positioned no farther than 20km from the city, such as the city’s suburbs, which in turn would hypothetically mean that the Armenian forces have virtually entered Ganja.Minutes after the blast, Azerbaijan started circulating a shocking picture of a dead child, alleging that the child was killed in the blast. Even the most superficial study of the image proved that it was fabricated as well: the photo depicting the child was taken 4 years ago in Syria. The most shocking claim was the completely baseless accusation that the strike was carried out from Armenia, without any evidence." Armenia has numerously officially announced that “not a single missile, shell or even bullet” was fired from the territory of Armenia at the direction of Azerbaijan.Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan Edited October 18, 2020 by Yervant1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 Greek City Times Oct 18 2020 Hundreds of Turkish military personnel are orchestrating Azerbaijan’s invasion of Artsakh: reports by PAUL ANTONOPOULOS According to a report by Russian newspaper Kommersant, a significant Turkish force remained on Azerbaijani territory after the completion of military exercises in the summer. They have reportedly taken on a coordinating role in operations against Armenian forces in Artsakh. The role of Turkey in the violent conflict between the indigenous Armenians of Artsakh and the invading Azerbaijani military and their Syrian mercenary allies is explained in Kommersant. According to the report, citing military and diplomatic sources, Azerbaijan’s invasion attempt was “deliberately planned and provoked by Turkey.” According to these sources, in recent months, Ankara has actively pushed Baku to launch hostilities, promising “comprehensive political, diplomatic, intelligence and military-technical support,” the newspaper reported. According to the Russian newspaper, with the completion of joint Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercises in July and August, a significant Turkish force remained on the territory of Azerbaijan and reportedly took on the role of coordinating Azerbaijan’s invasion of Artsakh. According to the report, there are 600 Turkish soldiers, 200 of whom are classified as “regular war battalions,” are deployed in Azerbaijan. The rest as follows: 50 trainers in Nakhichevan (autonomous Azeri enclave detached from Armenia proper by Artsakh and Armenia’s Syunik province). 90 military advisers in the capital Baku, in charge of staff coordination. 120 aviation executives at Gabala base. 20 unmanned aircraft pilots at Daliar Airport. 50 trainers at Gevlach Airport. Also: 50 trainers in the 4th Army Corps in Pirikeskul. 20 more officers at the “Heydar Aliyev” military base in Baku. Also, according to the report, Turkey provided the Azerbaijani army with 18 light infantry armor, 10 vehicles and a multi-missile launch system, as well as a total of 34 aircraft (six planes, eight helicopters and 20 unmanned drones). At the same time, in the period September-October, flights by Turkish transport aircraft (C-130, CN-235, A400M) to Azerbaijan, through the airspace of Georgia, have been at high levels, despite Georgia’s denial. Yesterday, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said during his visit to Armenia that Turkey is the source of all hostilities in the region. Last week Russia brokered a ceasefire between Armenian forces in Artsakh and Turkish-backed Azerbaijani soldiers and Syrian militants. However, just minutes after the ceasefire was to begin, Turkish-sponsored forces broke it by targeting Armenian positions. “We face serious security challenges in our immediate neighborhood, but we are trying to find diplomatic solutions in order to maintain peace and stability in the region. In both cases, it is crucial and important that the international community states a clear distinction between those who add fuel to the fire and those who take a constructive approach and adhere to peaceful solutions to a dispute,” he said, as reported by Greek City Times. Dendias also emphasized that Turkey’s intervention in yet another conflict is very worrying. “Tensions in Syria, Iraq, Cyprus and Libya have one source – Turkey. This country ignores the European Union’s calls to respect international norms,” he said. During his visit to Yerevan yesterday, Dendias also visited the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex and Armenian Genocide Museum. In a Tweet, Dendias would write “I met with my Armenian counterpart Mnatsakanyan. Strong Greek and Armenian ties and excellent relations reaffirmed.” He also met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan where they “exchanged views on regional developments.” After meeting the Armenian Prime Minister, Dendias would also meet with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian. The Greek Foreign Minister would tweet “Historic bonds of friendship between Greek and Armenian people, and growing cooperation in focus.” Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russian military observers should be deployed along the line of control in Artsakh to ensure the ceasefire between Armenian forces and the Turkish-backed Azerbaijani military and Syrian jihadist mercenaries. https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/10/18/turkish-military-artsakh/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 Israel will lose Armenian friendship for good, if they don't stop the arm sales!Ha'aretz, IsraelOct 18 2020 PODCAST: Why Is Israel Arming Azerbaijan Against Armenia? Listen to Yossi MelmanIsrael's cynical policy of 'Sell, sell, sell' has created strange regional bedfellows and strained traditional alliances. PLUS: Is Israel merely between lockdowns?Haaretz Weekly Haaretz’s veteran intelligence and strategic affairs analyst Yossi Melman joins host Simon Spungin to discuss Israel’s continued sale of weapons and ammunition to Azerbaijan, which is engaged in a bloody conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in of the South Caucasus.Want to get an email every time a new episode is available? Click "Follow" and you'll never miss out.Amid shifting and cynical regional alliances, how has Israel found itself on the same side of this conflict as Turkey? What role should the Holocaust play in Israel’s relations with the Armenian people, themselves the victims of genocide? And are there any regimes to which Israel won’t sell weapons?We also discuss the coronavirus crisis, as Israel finds itself – possibly – between lockdowns; the renewed protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to go on trial in December for corruption; and the ongoing process of normalization process between Israel and several Arab and Muslim states. Listen to the podcast athttps://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/podcast-why-is-israel-arming-azerbaijan-against-armenia-listen-to-yossi-melman-1.9244557 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 New York TimesOct 18 2020 At Front Lines of a Brutal War: Death and Despair in Nagorno-KarabakhTimes journalists find civilians huddling in basements as a three-week-old conflict over the disputed Caucasus territory hints of a long and punishing fight.By Anton TroianovskiOct. 18, 2020Updated 1:31 p.m. ETSTEPANAKERT, Nagorno-Karabakh — On the front line, the stench is overwhelming. The remains of fighters have been lying there for weeks.In the trenches, there is fear. The Armenians are defenseless against the Azerbaijani drones that hover overhead and kill at will.At the military graveyard, bulldozers have scraped away a hillside. It is already lined with two rows of new graves, along with soon-to-be-filled, freshly dug, rectangular holes.The three-week-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over a disputed territory in the Caucasus Mountains, where Europe meets Asia, has settled into a brutal war of attrition, soldiers and civilians said in interviews here on the ground in recent days.Azerbaijan is sacrificing columns of fighters, Armenians say, to eke out small territorial gains in the treacherous terrain of Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian enclave that is part of Azerbaijan under international law.Civilians who have stayed behind live in their damp and unheated basements, converted in recent weeks with makeshift kitchens, and where some sleep on flattened cardboard boxes. The shelling and missile barrages into the towns in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan have killed dozens of civilians and hundreds of soldiers and have filled the nights with terrifying flashes and booms.In the city of Stepanakert in Nagorno-Karabakh, which I visited over four days last week with the photographer Sergey Ponomarev, artillery fire could often be heard in the distance. Late Friday the city itself came under attack. Air raid sirens and bangs and thuds sounded throughout the night, as hotel guests rushed repeatedly for the basement. At least one of the shells landed by the city center, illuminating my hotel window with a bolt of yellow light.Manushak Titanyan, an architect in Nagorno-Karabakh, has already lost one of her buildings to the violence: the House of Culture in the hilltop town of Shusha, its roof gone, a piece of it stuck in a tree across the street, the plush red seats coated in dust, the stage curtain tangled amid the rubble.Damage to the House of Culture in Shusha, Nagorno-Karabakh.Credit...Sergey Ponomarev for The New York TimesNow she fears for her three sons, the youngest 18, who are at the front lines. She has kept herself busy by sewing military uniforms in an emergency workshop that the authorities set up in a factory in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. When the building shook on a recent afternoon with the rumble of a nearby explosion, she barely skipped a beat and kept on sewing.“War is probably the most terrible thing in the world,” Ms. Titanyan said. “All the most horrible things that man ever created rear their heads in their most horrible manifestation.”For the region’s populace, the war is a continuation of on-off violent strife over both territory and history, with roots going back more than a century. Armenians and Azerbaijanis lived side by side in the Soviet days, until conflict over the disputed mountain territory called Nagorno-Karabakh exploded in the late 1980s into riots, expulsions and a yearslong war.Nagorno-Karabakh has been effectively independent since Armenia won the war in 1994, after the deaths of some 20,000 and the displacement of about a million people, mostly Azerbaijanis.Azerbaijan launched its offensive on Sept. 27 and began making small territorial gains, backed by intense artillery fire and precision drone strikes. Armenia’s limited air defenses have failed to stop the drones, but its troops, bolstered by volunteers and conscripts, have slowed the Azerbaijani advance.In some parts of the front, the Armenians have dug new trenches, and killed large numbers of Azerbaijani soldiers attempting to advance on foot, according to Armenian accounts.Azerbaijan, an oil and gas hub on the Caspian Sea, has deployed superior firepower, using advanced drones and artillery systems it buys from Israel, Turkey and Russia. But three weeks into the conflict, Azerbaijan has failed to convert that advantage into broad territorial gains, indicating that a long and punishing war looms. It could morph into a wider crisis, pitting Azerbaijan’s main partner, Turkey, a NATO ally, against Russia, which has a mutual defense alliance with Armenia.On Saturday, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced they had negotiated a truce, mediated by France, to allow bodies to be collected and prisoners to be exchanged. But as with a Russian-brokered cease-fire reached a week earlier, the fighting has continued, with each side accusing the other on Sunday of violating the truce.“Their war effort against the Armenians is principally an attrition fight,” Michael Kofman, a military analyst at CNA, a nonprofit research and analysis organization in Arlington, Va., said of Azerbaijan’s campaign. “It’s not really well organized with a clear theory of victory.”Outgunned, Armenia has thrown conscripts and volunteers into the battle. Some of the latter are veterans of the 1990s war, like Artur Aleksanyan, a retired special forces colonel who said he was in the hospital recovering from surgery when the current conflict began. He said he now leads a volunteer unit in the trenches to the north, battling to halt the Azerbaijani advance.It has been 15 years since he last wielded a weapon, Mr. Aleksanyan said Saturday in an interview in Stepanakert, where he was picking up a bag full of radio equipment before driving back to the front. He lifted his uniform to show the bandages around his belly which he has to change eight times a day and rapped his knuckles against his artificial kneecap, a reminder of his last war.But this conflict is nothing like the 1990s, Mr. Aleksanyan said. Then, the Kalashnikov rifle was the principal weapon. This time, there are few exchanges of small-arms fire. Of his unit’s 17 days at the front, he said, 15 days were spent in the trenches, taking cover from artillery barrages that came as frequently as every 20 minutes. There they are surrounded by craters where Azerbaijan has been systematically destroying Armenian tanks and other equipment, using modern “suicide drones” that loiter over a battlefield before diving down to an opportune target.“They’re so fast that we can’t manage to hunt them down,” Mr. Aleksanyan said. “I won’t say that we are not afraid. We are all afraid.”Mr. Aleksanyan and other Armenian fighters said that despite Azerbaijan’s fearsome firepower, its foot soldiers proved easy targets when they tried to advance. Their bodies had not been collected, Mr. Aleksanyan said, and filled the battlefield with a putrid stench.“You knock down one guy, and they don’t run away,” said a soldier back from the front, Tigran Saakyan, dressed in a brown-and-tan knit sweater under his military jacket. “You knock down a second guy, you knock down a third guy, and they keep coming anyway — coming like robots.”At a military base in Stepanakert, Mr. Saakyan and his comrades, some of them in their 50s, were waiting to be blessed by military clergy. Narek Petrosyan, a deacon in the Armenian Apostolic Church, said that when soldiers’ relatives call him asking for word from the front, he tries to give them hope, even if he knows that their loved ones have died. A separate group of clergy is charged with delivering that news.“We tell them that this is a holy war, and we are prepared to sacrifice our lives for each other,” he said.More than 700 Armenian soldiers have already been killed, along with scores of civilians on both sides. Azerbaijan has not been disclosing its military death toll. But the government said Saturday that 14 civilians were killed in Ganja, Azerbaijan’s second-largest city, in an overnight missile attack by Armenia.Officials say that more than half the people of Nagorno-Karabakh have fled their homes, though the martial law currently in effect bars men of military age from leaving the territory. Those who stayed behind include women who want to be close to their husbands, sons and fathers sent to the front lines. The coronavirus is far down the list of people’s worries, even though international aid organizations warn that cramped bomb shelters are spreading infection.Alyona Shakhramanyan, 33, and her neighbors from the fifth floor of an apartment building in Shusha, the hilltop town, moved three weeks ago into a section of their dirt-floor basement. They fashioned a door out of a sheet of corrugated plastic and taped cardboard over the openings in the concrete walls. One of the women is sick — a cold, they say, that she caught because of the drafty air.Ms. Shakhramanyan’s brother, who, like her husband, is at the front, has not been answering his phone. When she went outside to do laundry the previous day, she was frightened by the buzz of a drone. Rocket artillery hit the nearby Holy Savior Cathedral twice earlier this month, and the paving stones outside it were still stained with the blood of a Russian journalist critically injured in the second strike.“No one helps us here,” Ms. Shakhramanyan said. “We are on our own.”At the military cemetery in Stepanakert, the resting place of fighters who died in the 1990s, the authorities removed a retaining wall and dug into a hillside to make way for the new casualties. Amid the artificial-flower wreaths and simple grave sites on the freshly graded, rocky dirt, a man whose brother was gone spread his arms in grief.“These are fresh — our guys,” he cried, his voice trailing off. “What is there to say?” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/18/world/europe/Nagorno-Karabakh-war-Armenia-Azerbaijan.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 These are the kind of monsters that wants us to live under their rule. How can you trust them? Public Radio of ArmeniaOct 18 2020 Azerbaijani military forces beheaded an Armenian soldier -Human Rights Defender Today, the Human Rights Defender received an alarming call certifying that Azerbaijani military forces beheaded an Armenian soldier several days ago.The initiated proceedings have revealed the following data:On 16 October, at around 13PM a member of the Azerbaijani armed forces called the brother of an Armenian soldier and said that his brother is with them; they beheaded him and were going to post his photo on the Internet. Afterwards, several hours later, the brother found the photo of on his killed brother’s social media page.The conviction is that these were members of Azerbaijani army who posted the Armenian solder’s photo on his social media page. There were two phone calls with Azerbaijani soldiers who used hate speech with intention to humiliate the Armenian killed soldier’s brother. As the latter informed the Human Rights Defender, the calls were made from the Armenian soldier’s phone number.These are cruel and terroristic methods. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia has recorded other cases of torture and atrocities; these activities are ongoing.All data is duly documented and will be presented to relevant international bodies.Perpetrators of such criminal actions should be punished by all means of international criminal law.https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/19/azerbaijani-military-forces-beheaded-an-armenian-soldier-human-rights-defender/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 Zee news, India Oct 18 2020 Special Report: Pakistan exposed in Armenia-Azerbaijan battle! The battle for the area of Nagorno-Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not stopped for the last two weeks. Pakistan and Turkey are supporting Azerbaijan in this fight. Oct 18, 2020, 21:46 PM IST Watch the report at https://zeenews.india.com/video/world/special-report-pakistan-exposed-in-armenia-azerbaijan-battle-2318458.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 I wish that whatever erDOGan is selling was true! Deflection!TASS, RussiaOct 18 2020 Erdogan claims Russia, US, France are supplying weapons to ArmeniaRenewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh ANKARA, October 18. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed Russia, the United States, and France are supplying weapons to Armenia."What are they saying about our support to our Azerbaijani brothers? What are the Minsk three - the United States, Russia, France - saying? They support Armenia. They offer all possible support in terms of weapons," he said on Sunday.Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.Following Russia-initiated consultations in Moscow, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed on a humanitarian ceasefire from 11:00 Moscow time on October 10 to exchange prisoners and the bodies of those killed. However, the ceasefire has reportedly been violated.The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs - Russia, France and the United States. https://tass.com/world/1213497 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 Panorama, ArmeniaOct 18 2020 Hydrologist comments on Azerbaijani aspirations about the Khudaferin DamThe reservoir built near the Khudaferin bridge on Araks River has been one of the main military targets of the Azerbaijani forces in the recent days. The reservoir has been build through funding from the Islamic Republic and used mainly secure water supply of Iran.Advisor to Artsakh Republic President Davit Babayan earlier informed that the Turkish-Azerbaijani terrorist forces attempt to damage the reservoir at any cost, while the representative of the Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan warned against possible ecological disaster. What reservoir is targeted by the Azerbaijani forces and what consequences the possible strike of the enemy forces may have? The matter is about Khoda Afarin Dam which is located on the border of Iran and Artsakh. Khoda is the Persian word for "God" and the Dam was named by Iranians in the name of God. The Dam built on Araks river was inaugurated in 2010. Its purpose was hydroelectric power generation and irrigation of some 75,000 ha land in northers regions of the Islamic Republic.Considering the acute ecological situation in Iran, especially in northern provinces, the shortage of water resources amid the climate change as well as the watershed in the area, the dam is considered as a "Gift from God" for Iran. Like in 2016, the Azerbaijani forces have again targeted the dam, aiming to damage it. If the dam is damaged by the Azerbaijani forces, it will have the worst effect on Iran as the nearby villages may suffer losses. Hydrologist Qnarik Hovhannisyan told Panorama.am that the Khoda Afarin Dam feeds Lake Urmia which is one of the largest saltwater lakes. "Urmia river rises from Lake Urmia flowing through Atropatene and used for irrigation of nearby lands and water supply of villages. Those settlements will also suffer major losses. Apart from that, if damaged, the water may wear away of the land topsoil, causing soil erosion. In other words, amid the ongoing climate changes, any damage to the dam may cause a natural disaster."Qnarik Hovhannisyan calls on the adversary not to threaten with strikes at the dam as a similar disaster Azerbaijan may face itself."If we target Mingachevir reservoir, the waters may run off a significant part of Azerbaijan, including Baku. The mentioned reservoir is two or three times larger than Akhuryan dam in Armenia. Thus they should take time to ponder before threatening us," said Hovhannisyan. https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2020/10/18/Khudaferin-dum/2383338?fbclid=IwAR21syFR6yUIp9EkSWhiWeJVCX6dPUjoeZs6rtTz5zABIv3q-M9LwzLGIS4&__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=ebccd3078302425f5bd1d0435b1a0b88eaf35e96-1603061619-0-ASo_-9CktJuYNgfskZgZa0tB1YsaJpcvpCFwQbBpQ_biL3_D7iyaN7LIyjln1yC5bG6E26Pbpf6Js1oNUibf1kVHLy_iTEe3Flu86aYAlhDwir6Bn_U7Cck6MOPmHNV7f70WgHCxYOzaHf6QG7MJWeij9-EIuChvJIAVYeUF0BQooQlVyJuyZSdTvCzg2baz9CuswavPc4S5leKMMfe-PNte_cH_peeznc5oThek3g72vY0RTsVvZSPv39Or4fdhPiKrw0ZzY7O4CvS5WfematN6EwKNRGpLnMzIaz4aFiTESi7e4ivjyW5G6ybCFtJCj9YHZ-8K8MMilAS_p5jk7YVEbXQYGcUvi7O3xgaMbc8nOq1yPAIQvL8Bt0Af1B8p7HOIGgGYu1BfGcFCq-hmKK-xxpn8PiYPP0WZH8tRftlr#.X4yYNN0w4Yg.facebook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 The Guardian, UKOct 18 2020 Letters: beware hypocrisy on Nagorno-KarabakhThe big players should look to their own history of occupation before they criticise smaller nations in the south CaucasusSun 18 Oct 2020 06.00 BSTShare via EmailI write as an academic and Anglo-Armenian. Your coverage of the Armenian-Azerbaijani war over Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh gave a graphic account of the horrors on the ground (“Fresh Azerbaijani shelling shatters peace after fragile ceasefire agreed”, World, and “Putin faces grave dangers in Russia’s ‘near abroad”, editorial). This dispute pits territory (legally Azerbaijan’s) against ethnicity (the enclave of 150,000 is 90% Armenian). To spare civilians (and military personnel) from all sides, I would urge the EU and/or UN to immediately deploy peacekeepers along the line of contact (as was done in Kosovo), so that a diplomatic settlement can be worked towards.It seems to me that there is gross hypocrisy among the various stakeholders: Armenia is accused of illegally occupying land while, it says, it is protecting a persecuted minority. This is the same argument successfully deployed by Turkey (illegally occupying north Cyprus for nigh on 50 years) and the same could be argued for Britain occupying the Falklands, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and South Ossetia in Georgia and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Either all of these occupations in defence of (alleged) persecuted minorities are valid and should stand or they are all invalid and all should immediately withdraw from occupied territories. The only reason why Armenia is being steered towards handing back NK/Artsakh is that this is a small (3 million population), relatively poor country with limited political clout.Dr James Derounian, visiting professor, University of Bolton,Winchcombe, Gloucestershirehttps://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/18/beware-hypocrisy-on-nagorno-karabakh-letters?fbclid=IwAR21syFR6yUIp9EkSWhiWeJVCX6dPUjoeZs6rtTz5zABIv3q-M9LwzLGIS4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 The Journal, Ireland Oct 3 2020 'The people who are dying were born in 2002, 2003, why are they at war?' Irish-Armenians are calling for the international community to intervene as deadly fighting continues in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Saturday 3 October 2020 20:00 IRISH-ARMENIANS ARE calling for the international community to intervene as deadly fighting continues in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Close to 200 people have been killed and many others injured since fighting erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan last weekend. The landlocked region Nagorno-Karabakh, which is also known as Nagorny Karabakh or Artsakh, has been at the centre of a decades-long dispute between the two ex-Soviet republics. Soviet authorities merged the predominantly ethnic Armenian territory with Azerbaijan in 1921. After the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenian separatists reclaimed the region in a move supported by Armenian authorities. An ensuing war left 30,000 people dead and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Despite a ceasefire mediated in 1994 by Russia, the United States and France – the so-called Minsk Group, peace negotiations have stalled and fighting erupts frequently. The clashes during the week are the worst in the region since 2016, when over 100 people were killed. Both Armenia, a majority-Christian country, and Azerbaijan, a majority-Muslim country, have accused each other of initiating the recent hostilities, but the fighting appears to be driven by an attempt by Azerbaijani forces to recapture the region. ‘What hurts me the most is to see my mam crying’ Vahe Sasunts, a 23-year-old Irish-Armenian who lives in Kildare, said he and his family are worried for relatives in Armenia. Vahe’s parents, Tigran and Janna, left Armenia in the mid-1990s and his mother is originally from Nagorno-Karabakh. His family have been unable to contact some of their relatives since last Sunday. Vahe said a number of his cousins and uncles are in the army reserves and could be called upon to fight. “Since Sunday our family is just constantly checking the news, we feel like we’re in a CNN headquarters or something, just constantly glued to news to try to get any bit of information. “Every day they’re releasing statements of who has passed away, we’re always just hoping that it’s not family members. Even if it’s not, you’re seeing names and you’re seeing dates of birth and it still hurts. You’re seeing the dates of birth of people who are passing away and you’re seeing 2000, 2001, 2002, and you’re thinking, ‘Christ, I’ve a sister who was born in 2003′. “What is someone who is basically sitting the Leaving Cert this year, what is someone of that age, that mindset, doing in trenches, in such dire circumstances?” Vahe’s family have been able to contact some relatives, but not all of them and he is worried for their safety. They have visited Armenia several times in the past, and relatives have also come to Ireland. “I haven’t heard from them since Sunday. My uncles and cousins are a part of the reserves. It’s such a small population [in Armenia], they don’t look at your age, they don’t look at if you’re 17 or 60. You could be called upon [to fight].” Vahe said it’s “terrifying” to watch the situation unfold, noting that it must be difficult for Azeris too, adding “they’re sending children to fight as well”. Vahe, the eldest of five siblings born and raised in Ireland, said “everything I live and breathe is Irish” but it is “deeply painful” to watch what is happening in Armenia. What hurts me the most is to see my mam crying and worried. You’re glued to the TV, to Facebook, to Instagram – any medium you can get information from. Some of the footage that I see is just horrendous, you don’t wish it on either side. He said members of the Irish-Armenian community, which numbers a few hundred families, are discussing the issue among themselves and trying to find ways to help. One man who has been living in Ireland for six years said his two brothers are currently fighting on the Armenian side, and his nephew was badly wounded during the week and is in a coma. Turkey and Russia Since the fighting started last Sunday, Turkey has declared its unconditional support to its ally Azerbaijan and provided military assistance. Russia plays a complicated role in the conflict. Moscow provides Armenia with security guarantees, through the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, but these do not extend to Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Russia also supplies weapons to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, and is one of the co-chairs of the Minsk Group tasked with mediating the conflict. Russia this week was among those to call for a ceasefire. Vahe pointed out that “Russian ideals don’t align with what happened two years ago” in Armenia. In the spring of 2018, mass street protests brought current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to power. He has since cracked down on corruption and introduced popular judicial reforms. “From 2018 onwards, it felt like Armenia was carving a path to prosperity, real democracy, real freedom of speech and freedom for people. “It was really inspiring and to see, and to see what’s happening now across the border feels like 50 steps backwards, like we’ve gone back in time. We shouldn’t be at war in the 21st century,” Vahe told us. The US and several European countries have also called for an end to the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. The UN Security Council on Tuesday called on both sides to “immediately stop fighting” and “return to meaningful negotiations without delay”. The council members said they “strongly condemn the use of force and regret the loss of life and the toll on the civilian population”. In a joint appeal on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron urged the two sides to return to negotiations aimed at resolving the longstanding dispute. Armenia’s foreign ministry said yesterday that Yerevan “stands ready to engage” with France, Russia, and the United States “to re-establish a ceasefire regime”. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev ruled out peace talks with Armenia earlier in the week. Oil and arms Vahe said the United Nations, NATO and others need to do more than call for a ceasefire. He wants them to help facilitate peace talks and consider peacekeeping missions in the region, similar to those in countries such as Lebanon. “It feels like the international community isn’t doing their part.” He said simply asking both sides to abide by a ceasefire won’t work and sends a signal that the “international community isn’t planning on doing any peacekeeping missions or getting involved any time soon”. Vahe said part of the reluctance to get involved may be down to the fact countries don’t want to anger Turkey because of its vast military resources and strategic position in the region, or Azerbaijan because of its vast oil reserves. “I don’t like this whole point the finger at each other and say ‘they started it, they started it’. It’s as clear as day that one side has the funds, has the mercenaries, has the artillery,” Vahe said. He noted that “the biggest worry” for many Armenians is Turkey and Azerbaijan’s “huge” military budget. “Turkey openly expresses their desire for pan-Turkism and see Armenia as being in the way of having their brother Azerbaijan connected with them.” Genocide The Armenian Genocide resulted in the killing of some 1.5 million ethnic Armenians in Turkey and adjoining regions by the Ottoman government between 1914 and 1923. More than 30 countries have recognised the killings as genocide, though Ankara fiercely disputes the term. Speaking of Turkey, Vahe said: “100 years ago they tried to do an ethnic cleansing and failed. And that led to our people being dispersed across the globe. “We have relations across the globe, like Irish people have relations across the globe.” He said this fact has started to “bite [Turkey] back” because Armenians “have a voice on the centre stage” with celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Cher, both of Armenian descent, raising issues faced by the country. “People who have a huge following and are openly saying, you know, this is the reason why I’m here, this is the reason I’m abroad, it’s because of a genocide that happened that 100 years ago that to this day hasn’t been recognised,” Vahe said. He believes most Armenian and Azeri people don’t want the fighting to continue, stating: “I personally don’t think people want war, I don’t think it’s in anyone’s interests to want war, but what governments want is a different thing.” Contains reporting from © AFP 2020 https://www.thejournal.ie/irish-armenians-on-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-5221262-Oct2020/?amp=1&fbclid=IwAR1OOqTNHBVr0vRmfz3DdzPmVPBU47kNZinhHu-i8LhN8bJIRL4G7iVF-1c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted October 19, 2020 Report Share Posted October 19, 2020 The National Interest Oct 13 2020 Critical Junction: Why America Should Explore a Relationship With Artsakh The West might recognize Artsakh and guarantee that it remains its own country. Such a U.S. diplomatic gesture would be the right response and would also send a diplomatic signal to Turkey that its regional aggression will backfire. by Michael Rubin Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have accused each other of violating a ceasefire deal brokered by Russia. The flare-up of the long-simmering conflict between the two neighbors and former Soviet states last month has already cost dozens of lives and sent thousands of people fleeing. United States policy is confused. On the day violence erupted, a State Department spokesman issued a statement infused with moral equivalency. She did, however, state that “the United States believes participation in the escalating violence by external parties would be deeply unhelpful and only exacerbate regional tensions.” And, yet, that is exactly what Azerbaijan did when it welcomed an intervention by Turkey which reportedly sent both F-16 fighter jets and Syrian mercenaries to reinforce Azeri forces attacking their Armenian counterparts in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). U.S. diplomats—and many of their Western counterparts—look at the Caucasus as a quagmire cursed by history. Armenia, of course, has a millennia-old history. Azerbaijan was briefly independent after the collapse of imperial Russia in 1918. Nagorno-Karabakh was historically populated by Armenians—and the area remains dotted by Armenian churches (some of which Turkey and Azerbaijan now seek to destroy)—but, in 1923, Joseph Stalin, general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, awarded the region to Azerbaijan. The irony of subsequent U.S. policy is that for decades during the Cold War, both Republicans and Democrats worked to counter the Soviet threat but since Armenia and Azerbaijan regained their independence in 1991, the State Department has committed itself to continuing Stalin’s legacy. Congress has been more clear-eyed. In 1992, it adopted the Freedom Support Act, section 907 of which banned U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan. In October 2001, the Senate amended the Freedom Support Act to waive its restrictions on Azerbaijan. The logic was that Azerbaijan, although a dictatorship, was a U.S. ally in the Global War on Terrorism. Azerbaijan deliberately courted the West—especially pro-Israel groups—highlighting Baku’s own antagonism toward Tehran. In hindsight, that was a mistake (which, full disclosure, was my mistake as well). Armenia was also a dictatorship and largely pro-Russian, making its case in Washington more difficult. That has changed. In 2018, Armenians ousted their long-time dictator and embraced democracy. There has never been a problem with the cultural aspects of Yerevan’s pro-Russian orientation, but any continued diplomatic orientation is less the result of popular desire and more necessity given the Trump administration’s disinterest in engaging and cultivating Armenia’s pro-Western turn. Azerbaijan’s dictatorship, meanwhile, has only become more repressive. In July, protestors stormed the foreign ministry, shaking dictator Ilham Aliyev’s confidence. Just as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan uses ethnic conflict and international aggression to distract from his own domestic failings, so too has Aliyev. This is playing out now. Certainly, the White House should end its waivers of Section 907 and, if it does not, Congress should work to roll back its earlier amendment that allowed such a waiver. Much more is needed, however. Rather than simply defer to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the so-called “Minsk Group,” perhaps a better response from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his team would be to embrace the Kosovo model. Like Artsakh, Kosovo had a long history. Like Artsarkh, dictators forced it technically into unsatisfactory unions where it experienced conflict and repression. The West stood up to Serbia’s dictatorship and history of ethnic cleansing, however and, in 2008, Kosovo became Europe’s newest member. Part of the negotiated agreement, of course, was that it remains independent and not join neighboring Albania. The West might recognize Artsakh and guarantee that it remains its own country. Artsakh has a longer history and greater claim to independence than many other states today. Not only would such a U.S. diplomatic response be the moral and ethical response, but it would also send a diplomatic signal to Turkey that its regional aggression and use of Syrian mercenaries, some of whom are Islamic State veterans, will always backfire. Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/middle-east-watch/critical-junction-why-america-should-explore-relationship-artsakh-170627?amp&__twitter_impression=true&fbclid=IwAR1vH-Bic7g9X_Zg1i4nvzYlBIDJivHxHROqihc1u_GQ7G-uTPc7KD5fC3Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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