cease-fire violations by azeris

[Yervant1]

Armenian side on way to force Azerbaijan into peace, gain international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh – Eduard Sharmazanov

16:37 • 04.04.16

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The Armenian side is now following the way of forcing the enemy into peace and gaining international recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), Vice-Speaker of Armenia’s Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov told reporters.

“Unilateral recognition has never been our aim. Our aim is that the Nagorno-Karabakh people exercise its rights in conformity with international norms, principles laid down by the OSCE Minsk Group,” he said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh FM clearly stated that their aim is international recognition, and Armenia, as guarantor of Nagorno-Karabakh’s security will spare no effort for the Artsakh people to live in a secure, free and independent country.

Asked whether he is satisfied with Russia’s response as Armenia’s strategic partner, Mr Sharmazanov said that in their joint statements the factions of Armenia’s Parliament stressed that the Armenian side is not satisfied with statements equating Azerbaijan and the Armenian side.

“A statement by our six parliamentary factions clearly read that a spade must be called a spade – a criminal must be called a criminal. Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bülbüloğlu publicly stated it was their initiative, and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are well aware of which of the sides provoked the hostilities. And those states have numerous technical possibilities to find out which of the sides is the aggressor and terrorist. And any statement without discrimination - irrespective of whether it is made in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Moscow, Paris or Vienna – cannot facilitate the peace process. Equating is inadmissible,” Mr Sharmazanov said.

The primary expectation is that the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army force Azerbaijan into peace.

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2016/04/04/sharmazanov/1982904

[Yervant1]

Broadcasts from Artsakh TV 04/04/16

https://youtu.be/u3oCrBFRTD4

https://youtu.be/jMX0uE_iNtA

https://youtu.be/21Dt8lRfE-A

https://youtu.be/NmYslt2TI-I

https://youtu.be/APVUENTndj0

https://youtu.be/MG3UCqHs1hU

https://youtu.be/WR4zvPdW3QY

https://youtu.be/uWakjzAk9Uc

https://youtu.be/32nyjh_6l6A

https://youtu.be/FkLYxxB0XIk

[Yervant1]

 

Knesset Deputy Speaker slams Azerbaijan over Karabakh escalation

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April 4, 2016 - 18:35 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Deputy Speaker of Israel’s KnessetTali Ploskov expressed her support for the Armenian people and strongly condemned Azerbaijan’s actions againstNagorno Karabakh.

At a meeting with her Armenian counterpart Hermine Naghdalyan, Ploskov characterized Azerbaijan’s activities as terrorism against the whole region.

Sharing the Armenian people’s concerns, the Israeli Deputy Speaker expressed readiness to raise the awareness of the Azeri agression and called on Baku to stop the policy that leads nowhere.

On the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

As many as 18 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 35-40 were wounded in the course of military operations. A civilian, 11-year-old Vaghinak Grigoryan was also killed, with 6 other civilians, including two kids, wounded, Besides, three elderly Armenians were brutally killed in Talish.

As of April 4, the Azerbaijani side has lost 20 tanks and over 5 armored vehicles, including an IFV, as well as 1 TOS-1A Solntsepyok multiple rocket launcher, 2 military helicopters and 6 unmanned aerial vehicles.

One Karabakh tank has been destroyed so far.

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/209585/

[MosJan]

tgherqin Haverj PArq Astvats HOgginin Lusavori !!!

[MosJan]

Gamavor ur es ? please mi hat gry qo HAnrahayt Xosq@

[Yervant1]

Transdniestrian Moldavan Republic expressed full support to Artsakh

by Nana Martirosyan

Monday, April 4, 20:19

On April 4, at the initiative of the Transdniestrian party, a telephone conversation took place between Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Pridnestrovian Moldovian Republic Vitaly Ignatiev, the press- service of Nagorno-Karabakh's Foreign Ministry reports.

The parties touched upon the issues related to the large-scale military hostilities unleashed by Azerbaijan along the Line of Contact between the armed forces of the NKR and Azerbaijan in the early hours of April 2, as well as the unfolding situation.

On behalf of the authorities and the people of the Transdniestrian Moldavan Republic, Vitaly Ignatiev expressed full support and sympathy to Artsakh, as well as hope for the earliest stabilization of the situation.

The parties expressed conviction that the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict can be settled by exclusively peaceful means.

http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=A427F610-FA78-11E5-9D010EB7C0D21663

[Yervant1]

Vahagn Chakhalyan: Hundreds of Armenians from Javakhk are ready to leave for Karabakh if necessary

• by Karina Manukyan

• Monday, April 4, 19:21

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Hundreds of Armenians from Javakhk are ready to leave for Karabakh if necessary, Javakhk public activist Vahagn Chakhalyan mentioned in his statement.

"Erdogan-Aliyev duet continues conducting crimes against Armenians. Each violation of Artsakh and Armenia's borders should be punished. Armenians of Javakhk condemn Azerbaijan's provocative actions on the line of contact and express their support to Artsakh's Armenians. Hundreds of Armenians from Javakhk are ready to leave for Karabakh if necessary", Chakhalyan stated.

On April 1 night, the Azerbaijani army attacked the positions of the NKR Defense Army along the entire line of contact, using artillery, armored vehicles and air force. The adversary targeted also the populated areas and civil facilities. Fierce battles are still going on along the line of contact. The situation remains critically tense. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has published a Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Situation Report. "Official sources from Armenia and Azerbaijan state that at least 30 soldiers and 3 civilians have died as a result of the fighting," the report says.

http://www.arminfo.am/index.cfm?objectid=8F9BC620-FA70-11E5-9D010EB7C0D21663

[Yervant1]

Azerbaijani army attacks journalists’ car near Karabakh frontline

April 4, 2016 - 21:28 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani armed forces continue shelling the north-eastern section of the Nagorno Karabakhcontact line, firing from mortars, cannons, also using unmanned aerial vehicles.

Speaking to a group of foreign and local journalists, a Karabakh army Colonel urged them to maintain distance from each other, as unmanned drones were still flying nearby.

Only after the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Army destroyed the drone, the journalists were able to move forward to hotspots of military actions.

“Can you see the soil I am standing on? No Turk will ever set foot in this land. Even if I fall, I am sure my fellow comrades will have my back,” an Armenian artilleryman said.

“Precision lies in the core of Armenian artillery. We are ready to fire every single moment.”

Also, the soldiers urged reporters to immediately return to safer areas, as the rival’s drones could target them any minute.

And they were right: on the way back, three shells landed some 30m, 50m, and 55m far from the journalists’ car. No casualties were reported.

On the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

As many as 20 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 70 were wounded in the course of military operations. In addition, five civilians have been killed, including two children.

26 soldiers have gone missing so far.

As of April 4, the Azerbaijani side has lost 20 tanks and over 5 armored vehicles, including an IFV, as well as 1 TOS-1A Solntsepyok multiple rocket launcher, 1 BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, 2 military helicopters and 3 unmanned aerial vehicles.

Seven Karabakh tanks have been neutralized since April 2. The Armenian side has lost eight positions (300 meters overall).

http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/209595/

[Yervant1]

Armenia has 20 casualties: 26 soldiers reported missing and 72 wounded

20:55 | April 4,2016 | Politics


Since April 2, the Armenian side has suffered 20 casualties in the course of clashes between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, a Karabakh official said in his Twitter.

Twenty-two servicemen have been wounded and another 26 are missing.

The Armenian side has lost 8 positions in the southern and northern directions of the Contact Line, as well as 7 tanks, Artak Beglaryan, Spokesman for the Karabakh government, tweeted.

The Armenian side estimates Azerbaijan’s casualties at about 300.

http://en.a1plus.am/1232457.html

[Yervant1]

Aram I Catholicos: Entire Diaspora is recruited at Karabakh’s side

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22:10, 4 April, 2016

ANTELIAS, APRIL 4, ARMENPRESS. His Holiness Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I held a second phone conversation with President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Bako Sahakyan and stated: "The entire Diaspora is recruited at Karabakh’s side, and with united spirit, will and faith is ready to assist Karabakh, in every sense."

As "Armenpress" was informed by the Press Service of the Great House of Cilicia, during the conversation, President Bako Sahakyan gave broad information about the recent military operations and achievements. He greatly appreciated the Armenian Diaspora’s strong support shown towards Karabakh.

 

His Holiness Aram I praised the courage and combat efficiency of our brave soldiers in Karabakh

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/842201/aram-i-catholicos-entire-diaspora-is-recruited-at-karabakh%E2%80%99s-side.html

[Yervant1]

Azerbaijani losses: 18 tanks, 3 infantry fighting vehicle, 2 helicopters, 6 UAVs, more than 300 casualties

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21:57, 4 April, 2016

YEREVAN, APRIL 4, ARMENPRESS. The losses of the sides during the recent military actions in the line of contact of Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan are the following:

Adversary’s losses: 18 tanks, 3 battle vehicles, 1 military/engineering hardware, 2 helicopters, 6 UAVs, 1 MM-21 artillery system, more than 300 casualties. Number of wounded has yet to be clarified.

Nagorno Karabakh losses: 7 tanks, 20 casualties, 6 of whom officers and non-commissioned officers, 72 wounded, 8 of whom officers and non-commissioned officers. 4 casualties among civilians, 1 of them a child.

As “Armenpress” reports, this data was published by the Defense Army Operative Division head, Colonel Viktor Arstamyan during a press conference in the operative information center in Stepanakert. The Colonel stressed that the Defense Army forces are combat-ready and are able to carry out their military duty.

Regarding the territories, Viktor Arstamyan noted that the depth of the adversary’s penetration is 200-300 meters, and there are no settlements there. Currently 5 military positions are under the adversary’s control in the Kazakhlar-Nyuzger direction, and 3 positions in the Talish-Matakhi-Tapkatakoyunlu direction.

“On early morning of April 3, the adversary carried out new attacks in the Horadiz-Nyuzger direction by using armored vehicles. Defense Army units and civilian settlements in Martakert and Talish were bombarded. These attacks were suppressed. The battles in the Kazakhlar-Nyuzger and Tapkarakoyunlu-talish directions continued throughout the day. On the morning of April 4 the adversary carried out new attacks by using armored battle vehicles. The attacks were blocked. Battles continued throughout the day”, Viktor Arstamyan said.

He informed that the adversary for the first time fired the “TOS” heavy flamethrower system, which had no result. The adversary tried to use a UAV, which was destroyed by the Defense Army. The adversary is widely using UAV’s as reconnaissance striking machines. The Defense Army has destroyed some of them.

http://armenpress.am/eng/news/842199/azerbaijani-losses-18-tanks-3-infantry-fighting-vehicle-2-helicopters-6-uavs-more-than-300-casualties.html

[Yervant1]

Prayer for Motherland and its Defender

23:12, 04 Apr 2016

Siranush Ghazanchyan

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan attended the prayer for Motherland and its Defender held at St. Grigor the Illuminator church on April 4, delivered by Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

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http://www.armradio.am/en/2016/04/04/prayer-for-motherland-and-its-defender/

[Yervant1]

Senator Kirk urges Obama to hold Aliyev fully accountable for Karabakh violence

22:46, 04 Apr 2016

Siranush Ghazanchyan

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U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) today released a statement in response to Azerbaijan’s launch of military operations against Nagorno Karabakh:

“It is unacceptable and reckless for Azerbaijan to blatantly violate its ceasefire agreement with Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic with a series of deliberate, offensive attacks last weekend. Baku’s warmongering has led to numerous Armenian deaths, both civilian and military, as well as significant Azerbaijani causalities. I strongly condemn Azerbaijan for instigating this violence against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, and urge Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to stop his aggressive military onslaught.

“In addition, I call on President Obama and the State Department to hold President Aliyev fully accountable for this violence, and to support the implementation of the pro-peace steps laid out by Reps. Royce and Engel that include an agreement from all sides not to deploy snipers along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact, the placement of OSCE-monitored, advanced gunfire-location systems and sound-ranging equipment to determine the source of attacks along the line of contact, and the deployment of additional OSCE observers along the line of contact to better monitor cease-fire violations.”

http://www.armradio.am/en/2016/04/04/senator-kirk-urges-obama-to-hold-aliyev-fully-accountable-for-karabakh-violence/

[Yervant1]

Nagorno Karabakh FM Mirzoyan to CNN: Azerbaijan shelling civilian populated areas

http://panorama.am/news_images/520/1557319_3/untitled_7.thumb.jpg

Politics 21:26 04/04/2016 NKR

“As you already know, in the early hours of April 2, Azerbaijani initiated an unprecedented escalation along the entire Line of Contact between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh Republic. The Azerbaijani military fired artillery shelling not only on the advance positions of the NKR Defense Army, but also populated areas, which resulted in many casualties, including civilians”, - said Karen Mirzoyan, the Foreign Minister of Nagorno Karabakh Republic in live interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson later in the evening of April 4.

The UN Security Council adopted four resolutions between April and November, 1993, calling for “effective and permanent” ceasefire, as well as “immediate implementation of the reciprocal and urgent steps” in that direction. Peace talks between Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan have been facilitated by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe since March 1992 within the frameworks of so-called Minsk Group, co-Chaired by Russia, United States and France since mid-1990s.

Ceasefire agreement between Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, facilitated by Russia's representative to the CSCE/OSCE Minsk Group Vladimir Kazimirov, was signed on May 5, 1994, which had been maintained with only sporadic violations along the Line of Contact and international border till the latest Azerbaijani large scale offensive in the night of April 2, 2016.

Over the last two years Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, the OSCE Minsk Group co-Chairs and over 80 U.S. Congressmen proposed (Royce-Engel bill) concrete measures to de-escalate situation and establish ceasefire monitoring equipments along the borders. Azerbaijan has been repeatedly rejecting these calls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmG6qBKrZ9k

http://www.panorama.am/en/news/2016/04/04/Nagorno-Karabakh/1557319

[Yervant1]

As much as I hate for this to get bigger than what has happened in order to save lives, the butcher aliyev will only understand if he loses more territory so that his countrymen turn against him, to put an end to all this.

[Yervant1]

Reuters
April 4 2016


Armenia warns Nagorno-Karabakh clashes could turn into all-out war

BAKU/YEREVAN | By Nailia Bagirova and Hasmik Mkrtchyan

Armenia's president warned on Monday that an outbreak of violence in
breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh risked spiralling into all-out war, after a
third day of fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenian-backed
separatists.

Ex-Soviet states Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a war over the
territory in the early 1990s in which thousands were killed on both
sides and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The war ended with a fragile truce in 1994 marked by only sporadic
violence over the years. But that ceasefire was shattered over the
weekend with the fiercest fighting in years, killing dozens of people
on both sides.

Despite calls from international mediators for an immediate halt to
the fighting, the two sides exchanged artillery fire and reported
clashes at several locations on the fringes of the mountainous enclave
on Monday.

Azerbaijan's defence ministry said three of its soldiers were killed
on Monday, while a representative of Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist
leadership said four of its military personnel had died.

"A further escalation of military action could lead to unpredictable
and irreversible consequences, right up to a full-scale war,"
President Serzh Sarksyan said at a meeting with foreign ambassadors in
the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

A return to war would destabilise a region that is a crossroads for
strategically-important oil and gas pipelines. It could also drag in
the big regional powers, Russia and Turkey. Moscow has a defence
alliance with Armenia, while Ankara backs Azerbaijan.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a statement by Ankara
strongly supporting Azerbaijan was one-sided.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous enclave with a large ethnic Armenian
population that lies inside the territory of Azerbaijan. The violence
was a re-awakening of a long-festering ethnic conflict between the
mainly Muslim Azeris and their Christian Armenian neighbours.

Tensions flared as the Soviet Union started to disintegrate. With help
from Armenia, the region's ethnic Armenians took up arms to try to
throw off rule from Azerbaijan.

By the time of the 1994 ceasefire, they had pushed Azeri forces out of
almost all of Nagorno-Karabakh and taken control of surrounding
districts.

CONTACT LINE

Armenian television cited the Nagorno-Karabakh military as saying 20
of its troops had been killed and 72 wounded in the three days of
fighting to date.

Armenia's Defence Ministry said an Azeri drone had attacked a bus
carrying Armenian volunteers to Nagorno-Karabakh, killing five people.

Each side blamed the other for starting it the weekend outbreak of violence.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday held phone calls with
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and German Foreign Minister
Frank-Walter Steinmeier and stressed the need for an urgent ceasefire.

Envoys from France, Russia and the United States, joint mediators in
the conflict, are to meet in Vienna on April 5 for talks on the latest
fighting.

The clashes were around the "contact line," a heavily-mined
no-man's-land that, since the 1994 ceasefire, has separated the
Armenian-backed forces, in the foothills of the Karabakh mountains,
from Azeri troops dug into defensive positions in the plains below.

Azerbaijan's military and the Armenian-backed forces attacked each
other with tanks, helicopters, missile systems and artillery. Each
said they had captured small chunks of territory from the other side.

On Monday, the fighting was slightly less intense than in previous
days. The two sides exchanged fire but there was no sign of any
concerted offensives, accounts from Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh
officials indicated.

The Armenian-backed military said it had destroyed an Azeri army unit,
while Azerbaijan said it had struck a separatist command point.
Nagorno-Karabakh said that if Azerbaijan attacked Karabakh's largest
city Stepanakert it would be met with a "very painful" response.

In Paris, Hovhannes Guevorkian, a Karabakh representative, said
Azerbaijan had ceased attacking with helicopters and armed vehicles,
but was now firing heavy artillery "non-stop" at towns in the southern
and northern parts of the territory.

"There is an accumulation of Azeri forces all along the front line
especially in the north and south of the country," he said.

Reuters was not able independently to verify these assertions.

Azerbaijan's defence ministry said it wanted to stop the fighting but
that Armenian-backed forces were still "aggravating the situation",
attacking Azeri positions and shelling nearby settlements, forcing
Azeri troops to defend themselves.

The separatists, and their backers in the Armenian government, said
Azerbaijan was the aggressor.

Underscoring the economic risks of a return to war, Azerbaijan's manat
currency, which has already slumped in value because of low world oil
prices, on Monday suffered its biggest fall against the dollar since
December.

Azerbaijan has always vowed to restore its control over
Nagorno-Karabakh but in 1994, poor and riven by political infighting,
it had to accept the truce. Since then though, it has grown wealthy
from exporting oil, and spent heavily on rebuilding its military.

(Additional reporting by Margarita Antidze in TBILISI, John Irish in
PARIS and Caroline Copley in BERLIN; Writing by Christian Lowe and
Alexander Winning; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__uk.reuters.com_article_uk-2Dnagorno-2Dkarabakh-2Dfighting-2DidUKKCN0X10M9&d=CwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=lXoR2g0EJ2pLVFM89hJc8vMMErnyNw_WIiav2okVegQ&s=X_zUJWyGULiWgM1jm2uTnzAFPuHrTq3SoC4NdYsFuxY&e=

[Yervant1]

Russia Behind the Headlines
April 4 2016


Why the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is a no-win situation for Moscow

April 4, 2016 Vladimir Mikheev, special to RBTH

With the largest border clashes since 1994 pushing Armenia and
Azerbaijan to the brink of a full-fledged war over the disputed
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, the recent developments that may have
reactivated the latent conflict are now under the spotlight.

The core reasons for the latest flare-up in hostilities between
Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh
remain largely obscure. Yet several developments in the region in the
last six or seven years have inadvertently contributed to Armenia and
Azerbaijan inching toward a military conflict.

Mismanagement of foreign policy has allowed bellicose rhetoric on both
sides to spread the illusion of a military solution to the territorial
dispute rooted in the self-proclaimed republic, an enclave
constituting 21 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan that has been
under Armenian control since a ceasefire in 1994 brought an end to a
war over the region in the early 1990s after the breakup of the USSR.

Part of the blame rests with the Minsk Group, charged in 1992 by the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with
finding an acceptable solution to the dispute. Negotiations are
proceeding at a snail’s pace.

The only excuse to be found is that territorial disputes, by
definition, especially burdened with ethnic and religious overtones,
are the hardest to deal with. The stalemate between Russia and Japan
over the ownership of the South Kuril Islands is a case in point.

Baku ups the stakes

The first warning trial balloon, most probably aimed to test the
reaction of Moscow, was sent up into the air by none other than the
highly reputed Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia, Polad Bulbuloglu.

In a recent interview with the Govorit Moskva radio station,
Bulbuloglu was surprisingly straightforward: “The attempts of a
peaceful solution to this conflict have been underway for 22 years.
How much more will it take? We are ready for a peaceful solution to
the issue. But if it’s not solved peacefully then we will solve it by
military means.”

Baku seems to have been emboldened by the gradual build-up of its
armed forces, capitalizing on the steady flow of oil revenues. Under
the presidency of President Ilham Aliyev, which has lasted for more
than a decade, the Caspian Sea state’s annual military spending has
surged by almost 30 times. Last year, defense expenditures totalled
some $3.6 billion – a figure that exceeds the entire Armenian state
budget.

Since 2010, Azerbaijan has purchased modern tanks, combat helicopters,
air-defence systems, and other military hardware from Russia, spending
some $4 billion in the process.

Occasionally, Aliyev has boosted the nationalist feelings of his
compatriots by claiming he would recover the “occupied lands,” i.e.
Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding Armenian-controlled territories.
Today, it looks like he wants to honor this pledge.

Yerevan as the underdog

With a 2015 defense budget equivalent to about $500 million, Armenia
cannot match the military capabilities of Azerbaijan. It has long
maintained the balance of power vis-à-vis its stronger neighbor by
relying on its alliance with Russia.

Yerevan concluded bilateral defense agreements with Russia and is a
member of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. In
2013, Armenia neglected the persistent overtures of the European Union
to become its “associate member” and, instead, chose to join the
Russia-led Eurasia Economic Union.

In February, Russia provided a $200 million loan to Armenia to fund
the purchase of new weapons. However, the list under consideration, as
noted by Azerbaijan’s Trend News Agency, includes neither Iskander-M
nor SU-30SM fighters, meaning there is no risk of tilting the balance
of military power.

Nevertheless, one element in the equation matters. Moscow recently
deployed new MiG-29 fighters at its Erebuni military base in Armenia,
close to the Turkish border.

While it is quite clear that Moscow acts as a security provider for
Armenia, the Kremlin also tries hard not to appear prejudiced against
Azerbaijan. And this policy seems to irritate some regional actors.

Is Erdogan playing Baku off against Moscow?

Following the latest outbreak of violence in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian
defense and foreign affairs ministers telephoned their counterparts in
Armenia and Azerbaijan to urge the cessation of hostilities. Russian
President Vladimir Putin appealed to both conflicting parties to be
reasonable and insisted on an “immediate ceasefire.”

In contrast, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan phoned only his
Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, to express his condolences over
the death of Azerbaijani soldiers, thus taking sides, which was
foreseeable.

Against the dire state of relations between Turkey and Russia, with
Erdogan basically being ostracized by the Kremlin, the reignited
conflict over the disputed Caucasus enclave gives Moscow yet another
headache and could well count as a point scored in the psychological
warfare between the two states.

Ankara has nothing to lose but stands to gain should Moscow become
entangled in complicated diplomatic manoeuvres in order to pacify both
Armenia, its staunchest and most formal ally in the region, and
Azerbaijan, which continues to maintain a privileged relationship with
Russia.

Moreover, should Moscow make a faux pas, abandon its balanced approach
to the warring parties and show favoritism to Armenia, it would most
certainly alienate Azerbaijan, to the joy of the present Turkish
leadership.

Damaging in some way or another the relations between Baku and Moscow
seems to be one of the motives of encouragement provided by Turkey to
Azerbaijan at a moment when the UN, the OSCE, and major world powers
are calling for restraint.

Adding fuel to the fire

Trying to identify the main culprit in the re-eruption of violence in
Nagorno-Karabakh, that is, who fired the first shot, could well be
futile. However, the opinion of Thomas de Waal of Carnegie Europe
should be duly noted.

“It is more likely that one of the two parties to the conflict – and
more likely the Azerbaijani side, which has a stronger interest in the
resumption of hostilities – is trying to alter the situation in its
favor with a limited military campaign,” De Waal wrote in a blog
posting.

“The dangerous aspect to this is that, once begun, any military
operations in this conflict zone can easily escalate and get out of
control,” he stressed.

A serious danger may lie in the provisions of the 2011 Agreement on
Strategic Partnership and Mutual Support between Turkey and
Azerbaijan. The parties pledged to render support to each other using
“all possible means” in the event of an attack or aggression against
one of them. Getting involved in yet another conflict would buy
additional time for President Erdogan as it allows him to further
stoke ultra-nationalist feeling at home.

No less worrisome is that the conflict is acquiring religious
connotations. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has
condemned “the attack by Armenian forces on the borders of occupied
Azerbaijani territories” and Yerevan's “disrespect of the (unilateral)
ceasefire” announced by Baku. Azerbaijan is a member of the OIC, and
is receiving support specifically as an Islamic nation.

However, the international, both regional and global, context makes
the conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh not just a risky adventure but a
geopolitical mistake for the warring parties.

Reignited conflict in a region plagued by an intensified yet
inconclusive war against the jihadists of ISIS comes at the most
inopportune moment. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has urged the
archenemies to return to peace talks under the auspices of the OSCE,
and has reiterated that there is “no military solution to the
conflict.”

Actually, this is the crucial riddle. Why? Neither side is naïve or
reckless enough to believe that the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute has a
military solution. Why would Azerbaijan and Armenia take up arms? For
them it is a lose-lose situation. Just as it is for Russia, which is
unhappy with the continuous animosity and squabbling in its soft
underbelly.

The opinion of the writer may not necessarily reflect the position of
RBTH or its staff.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__rbth.com_international_troika_2016_04_04_why-2Dthe-2Darmenia-2Dazerbaijan-2Dconflict-2Dis-2Da-2Dno-2Dwin-2Dsituation-2Dfor-2Dmoscow-5F581805&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=IoBBZQc8mOZxRFNUvrpXFxY_aWyBCEehi94FLghk_Ro&s=aYQGWEYl43tp_qzxfdgNQiB_Uba57ixroY83uR41x58&e=

[Yervant1]

NewsWire.com
April 4 2016


Turkey Threatens Armenia With “Another Armenian Genocide”

Posted on April 4, 2016 by Sean Adl-Tabatabai

Turkey are to begin military operations against the Republic of
Armenia – just a century after they attempted to wipe the country off
the face of the earth in the brutal killing of 1.5 million of its
citizens in what is known today as the Armenian Genocide.

According to Russian intelligence sources Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has voiced concerns that the 3 million population
nation of Armenia has become the “greatest threat to world peace”, and
has vowed to “do something about it”.

Whatdoesitmean.com reports:

Once gaining their own nation, however, this report notes, Armenia was
forced to come to the aid of the Christian Armenian’s living in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Islamic Republic of Azerbaijan—who had
vowed, since 1988, to eliminate Christianity from their borders
altogether, and which led to the Nagorno-Karabakh War that ended in
1994 with a death toll over 30,000 and the displacement of nearly 1
million more.

Though this war has remained a “frozen conflict” for the past 22
years, MoD experts in this report say, this past week it became “hot”
when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan traveled to his $100
million American palace outside of Washington D.C. to meet with his
paid Mercury LLC lobbyists—who then immediately began warning US
politicians that the 3 million populated Christian nation of Armenia
had now became the greatest threat to world peace known in our times.

Within hours of Erdogan’s US lobbyists from Mercury LLC giving such an
outlandish and absurd warning, this report continues, Turkish backed
Azerbaijan launched a “massive attack” with tanks, artillery and
helicopters against the Armenian protected Christians in the
Nagorno-Karabakh region with their Russian Ambassador, Polad
Bulbuloglu, stating “The attempts of a peaceful solution to this
conflict have been underway for 22 years. How much more will it take?
We are ready for a peaceful solution to the issue. But if it’s not
solved peacefully then we will solve it by military means”—a statement
fully backed by Erdoğan too.

With Turkey being the key supplier of weapons and military hardware to
the Islamic State terrorists for the genocide of Christians in Iraq
and Syria, the MoD says in this report, Armenia’s President Serzh
Sargsian ordered his foreign ministry to “draft a treaty on mutual
military assistance with Nagorno-Karabakh” to protect these Christians
from “Erdoğan’s wrath” lest these Christians suffer the same fate.

Vice speaker of Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) Sergei
Zheleznyak further warned that Turkey was the “third force” behind the
war developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, this report
continues, describing them as a provocation—which back in February,
NATO stated it was growing “nervous” about should Erdoğan’s
provocations against Christians erupt into a full scale war with
Russia.

NATO’s fears are, indeed, justified, this report notes, (and as we had
previously reported on) after President Putin, this past November
(2015), ordered thousands of additional Federation military forces to
Armenia should Erdoğan attempt the war moves he has begun this past
week against the Christian Armenian peoples living in
Nagorno-Karabakh.

And as to exactly why Erdoğan, and his son Bilal who funds ISIS, are
intent on igniting a war in Nagorno-Karabakh, this report concludes,
is due to the ongoing talks between Russia and the Obama regime to
coordinate their attack on the Turkish supported Islamic State capital
of Raqqa (in northern Syria) which the US is preparing for a massive
increase of Special Forces troops to conduct—and if successful, would
destroy Turkey’s dream of Middle East dominance and cost them millions
of dollars.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__yournewswire.com_turkey-2Dthreatens-2Darmenia-2Dwith-2Danother-2Darmenian-2Dgenocide_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=vkp-ZH8VlzWhwuW6XA1eFwLZmj6zIOnWdarzFSBRHCM&s=nuDfMZjcYhECP0iJGKDKVK00jMR2oLZflX7PV5c-ajQ&e=

[Yervant1]

Conservative Party, Canada
April 4 2016


Conservatives Call for an End to Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh

April 4, 2016

April 4, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OTTAWA – Official Opposition Foreign Affairs critic, Tony Clement, and
deputy critic, Peter Kent, expressed deep concern today over the
lethal armed clashes that erupted this weekend along the
Nagorno-Karabakh border, and urged an end to hostilities and renewed
efforts to find a peaceful solution.

Clement and Kent issued the following statement after reports of 30
troops being killed, in what is the worst escalation of violence since
a ceasefire agreement was reached in 1994, ending all-out war in the
region:

“We strongly encourage Armenian and Azerbaijani forces to end this
violence. As it has been reported that Azerbaijan initiated these
attacks, we also urge the Liberal Government to demand Azerbaijan be
held to account through negotiations being facilitated by the Minsk
Group of Russia, France and the United States. Any effort to
compromise the negotiation process through armed intervention is
unacceptable. The Conservative caucus supports an immediate return to
a true ceasefire, and meaningful negotiations.

“The Conservative caucus has long recognized the deep ties between
Canada and Armenia. Under our Government, resolutions were adopted
which recognized the Armenian Genocide and which designated April as
‘Genocide Remembrance, Condemnation and Prevention Month.’ Our
Conservative Government also sent a delegation of senior ministers to
Yerevan to mark the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide in 2015.”

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.conservative.ca_conservatives-2Dcall-2Dfor-2Dan-2Dend-2Dto-2Dviolence-2Din-2Dnagorno-2Dkarabakh_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=IiVhVWG7T9U-Jh_7cbrYv43Uk1vSVtm6NNk4OGcK2cE&s=yjJWv_7SZrd9M0Xk6s_jEvOIMuNcTCcm7t_doQgRdR8&e=

[Yervant1]

Smerch Attack: Azerbaijan unleashes deadly force against Karabakh

KARABAKH | 05.04.16 | 10:39

Azerbaijan has reportedly used a Smerch heavy multiple rocket launcher
in shelling Armenian positions in Nagorno-Karabakh as fighting in the
region entered a fourth day on Tuesday.

According to Nagorno-Karabakh’s Ministry of Defense, the Russian-made
deadly system was used in the southern direction of the Line of
Contact where fierce clashes have been going on since the latest
outbreak of hostilities on April 2.

The Karabakh military reports no casualties after the application of
Smerch, a weapon designed to defeat personnel, armored and
soft-skinned targets in concentration areas.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry also says that Azerbaijan has
continued to actively use unmanned aerial vehicles against civilian
population and military positions. One of Azeri drones has reportedly
been shot down by Karabakh forces.

Tensions, meanwhile, have also been observed at the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border overnight. Armenia’s Defense Ministry says
the situation has particularly been tense in the direction of the
villages of Berdavan and Koti in Armenia’s Tavush province. One
Armenian serviceman was reportedly wounded in skirmishes.

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__armenianow.com_karabakh_71222_armenia-5Fkarabakh-5Fazerbaijan-5Ffighting-5Fsmerch-5Fuse&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=YaSYms0msaX61HHOvKu3pdbLS2Gq5mvXS7F5hRMWH7k&s=4HApjxBaO09fHCuCN2dXFmLBh0pZlEUc8RngtocGZK8&e=

[Yervant1]

12:30, 05 Apr 2016
Siranush Ghazanchyan

http://www.groong.com/news/attachments/msg568831/pngtFVK9cLnl0.png

“I guess Erdogan doesn’t read history. Nagorno Karabagh’s rightful historical owners are Armenians. Stalin gave it to Azerbaijan,” System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian said in a facebook post.

The comments come after Turkish President Regep Tayyip Erdogan stated that “Nagorno-Karabakh will inevitably return to Azerbaijan.”

Serj Tankian says Eastern Turkey will one day return to its rightful owners as well. “This guy’s such a douche that anyone standing next to him or supporting him looks like a douche.”

http://www.armradio.am/en/2016/04/05/serj-tankian-to-erdogan-eastern-turkey-will-one-day-return-to-its-rightful-owners/

[Yervant1]

WAR

The first pictures of Max Sivaslian on the Armenian front (ARF volunteers)

http://www.armenews.com/IMG/arton124237-480x321.jpg

Journalists working in very difficult conditions and are not allowed for security reasons, to approach the front line. Max Sivasian could nevertheless make the heights of Shaumyan. He sends his first pictures in this region as well as a group of volunteers who leave Armenia to engage in combat. This is the occurrence of ARF members. Our photographer who covered the 1991 to 1994 conflict reported "heavy bombardment onto the asphalt road Stepanakert".

http://www.armenews.com/IMG/Volontaires_02_copy-480x321-480x321.jpg

http://www.armenews.com/IMG/Volontaires_08_copy-480x321-480x321.jpg

http://www.armenews.com/IMG/Volontaires_09_copy-480x321-480x321.jpg

http://www.armenews.com/IMG/Volontaires_06_copy-480x321-480x321.jpg

http://www.armenews.com/IMG/Volontaires_10_copy-480x321-480x321.jpg

Tuesday, April 5, 2016,

Ara © armenews.com

http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=124237

[Yervant1]

Los Angeles Armenians protest in support of Armenians in Karabakh (photos, video)

09:56 • 05.04.16

http://www.groong.com/news/attachments/msg568833/pngPnc0RTyBNX.png

Armenians Los Angeles on Monday held a protest action to voice their anger against Azerbaijan’s policy of aggression and express support to the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The crowd gathered outside the Armenian Consulate in Glendale, one of the most densely Armenian-populated cities in the Los Angeles County.

The protest attracted many Armenians, including young activists, who extended their solidarity to the Armenians, condemning Azerbaijan’s violence.

The crowd is at the protest site chanting slogans and singing national and patriotic songs, as well as delivering prayers, our correspondent reports from Glendale. Vardan Karapetyan, a member of the municipal council, has also joined the protest.

The youth activists have also voiced a proposal for creating a team of volunteers to join the military operations on the Nagorno-Karabakh frontline. They say that some are already on their way to the battle site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=fZyrnNyDcMU

http://www.tert.am/en/news/2016/04/05/la-protest/1983480

[Yervant1]

14:56, 05 Apr 2016
Siranush Ghazanchyan

As of 12:00 all military actions were ceased along the Nagorno Karabakh line of contact. NKR President’s Spokesperson David Babayan confirmed the news to Public Radio of Armenia.

He added that the situation at the frontline is currently calm.

“The military actions of the past days have not changed the military balance in the region,” Babayan said.

http://www.armradio.am/en/2016/04/05/all-military-actions-ceased-along-nagorno-karabakh-line-of-contact/

[Yervant1]

KARABAKH | 05.04.16 | 14:08


Alina Nikoghosyan
ArmeniaNow intern
RELATED NEWS

Smerch Attack: Azerbaijan unleashes deadly force against Karabakh

Military experts in Armenia believe that Azerbaijan’s application of heavy weapons against the Defense Army and civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh is a sign of its weakness rather than strength.

In recent days reports from the frontline suggest that Azerbaijan has been using its most deadly force, including TOS-1A heavy flame throwers and Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers, in shelling Armenian military positions as well as areas populated by civilians.

According to Armenian authorities, there has been little damage from the use of these weapons due to “poor professionalism” of the Azerbaijani military.

Military expert Karen Vrtanesyan, meanwhile, describes it as a “desperate step” on the part of Azerbaijan that has failed to gain any significant ground in its latest military operations against Nagorno-Karabakh.

“At the moment I qualify it as a desperate step because they are using heavy weapons for a small tactical achievement. In other words, they won’t gain anything big, but they are trying to use everything they have,” Vrtanesyan told ArmeniaNow.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Monday also implied that Azerbaijan has been paying a high price for its insignificant advancement in Nagorno-Karabakh that still did not provide it with high ground.

Military authorities in Yerevan and Stepanakert estimate that Azerbaijan has lost more than 300 troops as well as a considerable amount of tanks, artillery, aircraft and other pieces of military hardware since the outbreak of fighting on April 2. As of late Monday, the Karabakh authorities acknowledged the deaths of 20 soldiers, saying that 72 were wounded and 26 were missing in action.

In Vrtanesyan’s opinion, in the current clashes the Azerbaijani side is wasting not only its weapons and armor, but also its human resources. “This way, the Azerbaijani side is wasting its resources, and their financial losses in this connection are also considerable. The matter concerns the loss of commandos whose training is very costly. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions,” he said.

The expert considers that in the meantime the Armenian side manages to give an adequate response. “We don’t have all of those types of weapons in Karabakh, but the weapons that are available there are used with maximum effect,” Vrtanesyan concluded.

http://armenianow.com/karabakh/71236/armenia_karabakh_conflict_guns_use_azerbaijan_experts