cease-fire violations by azeris

[Yervant1]

Foreign Policy

Oct 29 2020

‘We Don’t Believe in a Political Solution’ in Nagorno-Karabakh, Fighters Say

After a month of heavy fighting over the disputed enclave between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a negotiated settlement seems far off—and civilians are paying the price.

By Liz Cookman | October 29, 2020, 5:37 PM

ARTUNI/KHOJAVEND, Nagorno-Karabakh—Here there is only one thing more concerning than the constant thump of artillery shells and rocket fire—and that is the distant whirring of a drone, capable of locking on its target from long range and with devastating consequences.

One vehicle lies mangled in the grass near the trenches that mark the front line of deadly fighting, shot from the sky by Armenian forces battling Azerbaijan for control of this enclave between the two countries. Soldiers say it is a Soviet-era An-2 biplane that has been repurposed and fitted with explosives for kamikaze bombing attacks. Its carcass has been left out like a defiant warning.

For over a month, the two countries have been locked in a bitter conflict over the mountainous region—referred to as the Republic of Artsakh by Armenia—which is technically part of Azerbaijan, but which is populated by, and governed by, ethnic Armenians. They are the worst hostilities in the ethnic and territorial conflict since the end of a six-year war in 1994, and sophisticated military equipment, such as drone technology acquired by Azerbaijan from Israel and Turkey, as well as the apparent use of Syrian mercenaries, is complicating things.

A drone that Artsakh Defense Army soldiers claim they downed near Martuni, Armenia, close to the front line with Azerbaijan, on Oct. 25. Soldiers say it is a Soviet-era An-2 biplane that has been repurposed and fitted with explosives for bombing attacks. Liz Cookman for Foreign Policy

The death toll is already large, if a far cry from the carnage of the 1990s. At least 1,068 Armenian troops are dead, and 40 civilians; Azerbaijan does not release casualty information. In Armenia, a country with a population of less than 3 million, hardly a single family has been untouched by tragedy. Diggers roam the cemetery in the capital, Yerevan, constantly digging fresh graves to try to keep up with demand as dozens of families grieve for their loved ones.

Thousands more are missing, but three attempts at a humanitarian cease-fire—brokered by Russia, France, and the United States—to recalibrate and retrieve the dead were all broken within hours. Another round of peace talks are set to begin on Thursday in Geneva, but on the front line there is no talk of compromise, only of winning.

“We believe in peace and that’s what we are aiming for—victory is peace. I don’t see us living together with Azerbaijanis,” a group of volunteers told me from the trenches, staying tight against the dirt walls as shells thundered all around.

A woman mourns her grandson, who was fighting on the front line, after no news of his whereabouts for one week, in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert on Oct. 23.. Liz Cookman for Foreign Policy herey

The young men said they signed up to fight on the morning of Sept. 27, the same morning the violence began. They knew something had happened when they woke up and the phone lines were down. The volunteers have some military training, with military conscription mandatory for men between 18 and 20. Many cut their teeth during skirmishes in 2016, often referred to as the “April War.”

It’s not without risk. A few minutes before we spoke, Arman, 27, a hotel worker in normal times who did not want to give his full name, received a call with news that his friend had been killed while fighting near the southern city of Hadrut.

But the violence and death isn’t pushing the fighters away from winning their fight on the battlefield, despite the repeated international efforts at mediation. “It’s up to us to solve this; we don’t believe in a political solution,” said Hyak, 31, who works in a bank and also declined to give his full name. “Look at Syria, for 10 years they are not able to solve this. We call all Armenians to come here and help us solve this. If [politicians] could solve it, they would have done it already.”

Despite a small national population, the Armenian diaspora numbers around 7 million, and many have already rallied to the cause, raising funds to help refugees or traveling at short notice to lend a hand.

“Armenians need to support us, not on the internet but in real life,” Hyak said.

The men smiled with pride as they spoke. Although their lives are on hold—Hyak had been planning to get married before the conflict flared up—dedication to the cause runs deep within the Armenian psyche. Both sides are stubborn in their narratives, perhaps explaining why little political progress has been made over the past several decades.

Armenian accusations of a looming genocide, coupled with allegations about Turkey’s regional ambitions, have fueled intransigence in Yerevan. Azerbaijan, for its part, has shown little willingness to compromise, either. The lack of flexibility from either party means the conflict risks spiraling beyond the help of mediation.

The young men I spoke to were all from Martuni—or Khojavend in Azerbaijani—a city that lies close to the border with Azerbaijan. Its name roughly translates as “ready to fight.”

The city, latticed with scars from previous conflicts, has been hit hard by intensive shelling over the past month, and fewer than 500 remain out of a prewar population of more than 5,000.

Those who remain live a hybrid life of conflict and mundanity. The old men who stayed shuffle around in camouflage and slippers, carrying guns. Some walk streets strewn with the debris of the buildings that once lined them, taking shopping bags home while seeming to ignore the chaos around them.

As the bombardments begin in the late afternoon, people and even stray dogs take shelter indoors. Intact windows are more or less a thing of the past, and the plastic sheeting nailed across the window frames shudders as each shell hits. If civilian casualties aren’t higher, that may be because people here have plenty of practice dashing into bunkers.

Still, both sides have accused each other of targeting civilians. I visited heavily damaged houses in the Nagorno-Karabakh city of Askeran and the capital, Stepanakert, as well as the Cathedral of the Holy Savior in Shushi, which was partially destroyed in a double attack.

In a deeply Christian society and a country surrounded by Muslim nations, the targeting of a church feels to many in Armenia like an attack on local identity. The image of its collapsed dome cuts deep, yet in an act of resilience and a statement of survival, a local soldier and journalist married there this week, surrounded by rubble.

The press secretary of Armenia’s defense ministry said on Wednesday that a maternity hospital was targeted by Azerbaijani forces, and a video allegedly showing two Armenian prisoners of war being executed is being investigated by the Council of Europe.

But the Artsakh Defense Army, the armed forces of the Republic of Artsakh, has also been accused of missile attacks on Ganja, one of Azerbaijan’s largest cities. On Wednesday, Azerbaijan said missiles killed 21 civilians and injured many more in the city of Barda in what would have been the deadliest attack of the war.

Ultimately it is ordinary people who will pay the price of the two countries’ inability to come to an agreement, even if they maintain that they are defiant.

“I can’t leave the city. My sons are on the front line and I have to wait for them. It’s not right if they come back and they see the door closed,” said Lida Mkrtchyan, 62, a school teacher from Shushi, who has three sons on the front line—like most of the people in who’ve stayed behind.

Rossa Sargsyan, 83, wept as she showed the damage to the Stepanakert house she has lived in for 63 years. She said the force from the attack was so strong it knocked her neighbor out of bed.

“It doesn’t matter if I stay in a house or a barn, they will not make me leave,” Sargsyan said.

“We are waiting for the victory to come and everything will be restored.”

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/29/fighters-say-no-political-solution-nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan-war/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 29 2020

Armenian forces improve positions from Berdzor to the shores of Araks River

Today, throughout the day, hostilities continued along the entire frontline, but not with great intensity, official representative of Armenia’s Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan told a daily briefing.

“In the southern section, in the direction of the front line from Berdzor to the shores of Araks River, our Armed Forces managed to improve certain positions,” Hovhannisyan said.

“In addition, fighting against subversive groups continues in the vicinity of villages in Martuni and Askeran regions of Artsakh. Today, the fighting took place in the direction of Sghnakh and Avetaranots villages, as well as the adjacent hills and forests,” Hovhhannisyan stated.

He said the subversive groups penetrate in different directions, the fight against them implies certain tactics of separate combat operations, not like the typical intensive combat battles characteristic of regular all-out battle or the fifth-generation war.

During the day, the shelling of different settlements of Artsakh in different directions continued. Mainly artillery and missile means were used.

https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/29/armenian-forces-improve-positions-from-berdzor-to-the-shores-of-araks-river/

[Yervant1]

Greek City Times

Oct 29 2020

Armenian babies become military targets as Azerbaijan attacks maternity hospital in Artsakh (VIDEO)by Paul Antonopoulos

The Turkish-backed Azerbaijani military continue to mount war crimes against the Armenians in their invasion attempt of Artsakh, this time attacking a hospital.

Azerbaijan deliberately targeted and heavily damaged the maternity ward of Stepanakert’s Maternal and Child Health Center in Stepanakert, demonstrating that Armenian babies are legitimate military targets.

Thankfully, no one was killed in the Azerbaijani strikes that took place yesterday against the hospital.

Artak Beglaryan, the Ombudsman of Artsakh, confirmed in a video that there were no casualties but the missile blast was powerful.

#Breaking!
My video message & introduction on the #Azerbaijan|i today's deliberate strike on the Republican medical center of #Stepanakert, including Maternity & child hospital.
Intl community bears responsibility for these #WarCrimes as doesn't stop them.#DontBeBlind pic.twitter.com/tla9VvBXSg

— Artak Beglaryan (@Artak_Beglaryan) October 28, 2020

 

Not content with only striking a hospital however, the Azerbaijani military also targeted civilian infrastructure in the city of Shushi, resulting in one death and five wounded.

In fact, three of the wounded are emergency workers who were struck by a rocket when they arrived at the scene to assist.

The devastating aftermath of Azerbaijan shelling Shushi today. Not a single military target here either. Just attempt at pure terror of its Armenian population.

1 killed, 5 wounded. 3 of the wounded are emergency workers who got hit with a rocket after arriving to help. pic.twitter.com/OzCYJWQdIb

— Serge (@Zinvor) October 28, 2020

 

However, 90 year old Sergey Hakobyan was wounded at his home in Shushi as a result of Azerbaijani missile attack.

Sergey Hakobyan.

He is now under medical care at the hospital and there is no threat to his life.

To date, the Turkish-sponsored invasion of Artsakh that began on September 27, has resulted in the Azerbaijani military and their Syrian mercenary allies to do material damage to more then 150 civilian settlements.

These attacks have resulted in 11,6000 private immovable properties being damaged, as well as 1,600 private movable properties like vehicles, and 2,100 infrastructure, public and industrial objects.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/10/30/armenian-babies-artsakh/

[Yervant1]

But Mr. Putin you say balance should be found! How is that possible when your pal, the fake sultan wants everything.

TASS, Russia

Oct 29 2020

‘Balance of interests’: Putin’s formula for settling Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

According to the Russian president, the conflict must be settled so that people could feel safe

MOSCOW, October 29./TASS/. A balance of interests between Azerbaijan and Armenia must be found in order to iron out the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the ‘Russia Calling’ VTB Capital Investment Forum on Thursday.

"What is or where is this long-term settlement? [it is] in finding a balance of interests that would suit both sides - the Azerbaijani people who we have unwavering respect for, as well as the interests of the Armenian people," the president said.

The conflict began with ethnic clashes, Putin recalled. "The then leadership of the Soviet Union took no effective action to ensure safety of the people. Armenians took up arms and did it themselves," he noted. "Whether what they did was good or bad, but it was initially the negative developments on the ethnic ground that prompted them to action," he added. This brought Nagorno-Karabakh itself and seven territories of Azerbaijan under the control of Armenia, Putin noted. Now, Azerbaijan insists on its right to get the seven territories that have nothing to do with the ethnic conflict back, and then to look into who Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to, he added. "Everyone has their own truth. There are no simple solutions, since the knot is tied in a very complicated way," the Russian leader stressed.

Russia’s position remains open, he emphasized. "We initially went on a premise that the possibility of transferring five plus two regions to Azerbaijan must be discussed with ensuring a certain regime for the Karabakh zone and cooperation with Armenia," he explained.

According to the president, the conflict must be settled so that people could feel safe; at the same time conditions must be created for an efficient development of the territories. "[This] would make it possible, including for many of the participants in our today’s discussion, to take part in the development of these territories, to invest," the president noted. "And there is room for investment there. People are very efficient and talented in both of these countries," he stressed.

The decades-long conflict hinders an efficient development of the two sides, he added. An end must be put to hostilities and casualties at the first stage, the parties must sit down to the negotiating table and find a consensus and a balance of interests based on proposals from the OSCE Minsk Group, Putin believes.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia have imposed martial law and launched mobilization efforts. Both parties to the conflict have reported casualties, among them civilians.

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/politics/1218065

 

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 29 2020

Australian Government Minister Paul Fletcher raises Nagorno Karabakh ethnic cleansing concerns in Parliament

Australia’s Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety & the Arts, Paul Fletcher MP has used a speech in the Federal Parliament to raise his concerns at the threat of ethnic cleansing against the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh (Republic of Artsakh), reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).

The Member for Bradfield, which covers some Armenian-populated suburbs in Sydney’s Upper North Shore, was the first Federal parliamentarian to speak about the Republic of Artsakh’s rights to self-determination in 2010, when he told the House of Representatives: “I support the application of the principle of self-determination for Nagorno Karabakh.”

In 2019, Minister Fletcher joined the Australian Friends of Artsakh network, which now has over 60 prominent Australians in support of the indigenous Armenian people’s rights to self-determination.

In his latest speech to Parliament, Fletcher revisited the history of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh): “In the early 1920s, Stalin placed Nagorno-Karabakh under Azerbaijani rule, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union created a vacuum for conflict to escalate in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There was a war from 1988 to 1994, and in 1991 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh declared themselves an independent state. A ceasefire was reached in 1994, but that has sadly not eliminated hostilities.”

On September 27 2020, Turkey-backed Azerbaijani forces launched a full-scale attack along the entire line of contact with the Republic of Artsakh, which has resulted in independent reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch condemning the dictatorship in Baku for committing war crimes through the use of cluster munitions on the civilian population of capital Stepanakert. Genocide Watch has issued an Emergency Alert on the plight of the Armenians in light of Azerbaijan’s aggression.

Fletcher added: “With no sign of the situation improving, this is an exceptionally concerning situation, and there is the very worrying scenario of the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh. The prospect of hundreds of thousands of people being forced from their homes and traditional lands is shocking.”

Officials from Turkey and Azerbaijan have said a ceasefire is only possible if Armenians leave Nagorno Karabakh.

“It is very important that this hostility not continue. It’s very important that stability be returned,” Fletcher said.

Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) Executive Director Haig Kayserian thanked Fletcher for his statement.

“We thank Mr. Paul Fletcher for raising the threat of ethnic cleansing, which does shine a spotlight on the threat of another genocide being faced by the Armenian people by the Neo-Ottoman dictatorships of Turkey and Azerbaijan,” said Kayserian.

“This does not mean we will stop calling on the Australian Government and all its ministers to stop referring to this as fighting or conflict, and rather commit to the fact that this existential threat Armenians are facing is due to the belligerent attacks by the expansionist regimes in Ankara and Baku.”

https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/29/australian-government-minister-paul-fletcher-raises-nagorno-karabakh-ethnic-cleansing-concerns-in-parliament/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 29 2020

Shushi is the beating heart of all Armenians – Artsakh President

Today, at this crucial historical moment, when Turkish-Azerbaijani and terrorist gangs attacked Artsakh with all their military resources, aiming to exterminate or expel the Artsakh Armenians living in their homeland for thousands of years, we are fighting to the death in unequal conditions in all respects, Artsakh’s President Arayik Harutyunyan said in an adddress from the Ghazanchetsots Church in Shushi.

“Now they are not only threatening our homeland and existence along the entire front line, but have also invested serious military resources, aiming to take possession of the proud Armenian fortress city at all costs,” the President said.

“Shushi is not just a city, it is a symbol of the determination of the Armenian people to live in their own cradle, a symbol of the victories of the Armenian people. Shushi is the beating heart of all Armenians,” he added.

As the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Artsakh, he called on everyone to “unite and defend our Shushi, our Artsakh, our national dignity.”

https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/29/shushi-is-the-beating-heart-of-all-armenians-artsakh-president/

[Yervant1]

Thank you Maria Lazareva!!!!!!!!!

Greek City Times

Oct 29 2020

Greek leader in Armenia: This war is not over some piece of land, it is a Holy War for survivalby Guest Blogger

The President of the Greek Community in Armenia, Maria Lazareva, spoke about her community and the war in Artsakh in an interview with Inga Abgarova to the Greek Russian-language newspaper Mir and Omonoia.

“When in 2014 I was packing my suitcase to go to the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone in Donbass (Russian-speaking region of eastern Ukraine), my friend wondered, “well, why do you need to go there, what have you forgotten there?!” – What, – I was indignant in response – our Greeks are there, there is a line of separation going through Greek villages!

These days, of course, I have to be in Artsakh because Greeks are there too. Not to mention the fact that I am half Armenian. You can talk a lot about historical justice and redistribution of borders, dig into textbooks and pick up old maps. You can shake your fists from the high stands and discreetly keep silent in the shade of the palm trees. But there are moments in life when the rumble of shells and the whisper of foresight overrides the quiet voice of blood. In this particular case, he is forever entwined with a different voice – faith. Common for both Armenians and Greeks. Because in the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, only Greek and Armenian icons are opposite each other. And the inscriptions are in two languages, Greek and Armenian writing. This has been the case since the time the Savior came to our sinful world… And is it possible for earthly monsters to destroy this connection?!” – Inga Abgarova.

—-

Maria Lazareva was born in the small town of Stepanavan to a family of teachers. Her father is Pontic Greek and her mother is Armenian. She began to study Greek in Sunday School of her hometown, and then, already studying at the Armenian State Pedagogical University, she continued to take private lessons. She had a chance to improve her language on special a scholarship in Greece in either Thessaloniki or Ioannina.

Today she teaches Greek herself at the community Sunday School, which she has led since 2019. Maria’s candidacy for this post was proposed by the then head of the Federation of Greeks of Armenia, Arkady Khitarov, who was able to see in his assistant for youth affairs the serious potential of the future leader.

Lazareva Maria.

Maria also worked with the magazine “Andin” and translated the poems of Constantine P. Cavafy into Armenian. She also writes her own poems, regularly appears with articles on various internet portals, and is engaged in social marketing.

We contacted Maria by phone and asked her to answer our questions.

Maria, we talk with you during very difficult days, not only for Armenia, but for the entire Christian world. It goes without saying that the Greeks of Armenia cannot stay away from the terrible events of recent weeks. Tell me about your Federation, how does it live, how does it breathe?

The Federation of Greek Communities of Armenia will soon turn 30 years old. In recent years, our federation has been renamed into the Union of Greek Communities of Armenia. Our Union includes Greek public organizations operating in Armenia and Artsakh, the main goal of which is to consolidate the Greek population of Armenia, spread Greek culture and the Greek language, etc.

There are now about a thousand Greeks living in Armenia. Unfortunately, due to migration which began at the end of the last century and at the beginning of the present century, the Greeks, along with many Armenians, left Armenia. The trouble was that among the migrants there were many young families of working and productive age. This, of course, led to the fact that our Greek community lost two or three generations of Greeks, and the compact Greek settlements in the villages of Madan, Yagdan and Hankavan gradually disappeared, taking with them most of the speakers of the Pontic dialect. That is why there are so few people in Armenia now who understand the Pontic dialect. There is no question of teaching Pontic: there are no teachers or textbooks. A new generation in Sunday schools is learning Modern Greek as a foreign language.

Maria, I know that you have always paid special attention to young people…

I have always believed and continue to believe that youth is the strength and tomorrow of our Greek community in Armenia. In general, we have excellent youth, some do not even bear Greek surnames, but “Hellenismos” and national identity are in everyone’s blood. They love Greece and its culture. We are the generation that once spent every summer in children’s camps in Greece. Unfortunately, recently such camps are no longer organized, and it is necessary to unite Greek children. That is why we organized last year a camp for children of Greek origin living in Armenia with the financial support of the Armenian government. The camp was attended by about 20 children from all Greek communities in Armenia. For two days we taught the children Greek dances, myths, greetings, the Greek anthem, etc. The feedback from the participants was only positive.

Maria, tell me how well the Greek community has established relations with the state bodies of Armenia?

Eleven national minorities live in Armenia, and all of them are full members of Armenian society. There is a Council for National Minorities, in which all eleven national minorities are represented.

Some minorities have their own representatives in the People’s Assembly. We – Greeks do not have our own deputy in Parliament because we are few and already have a state, while Assyrians, Kurds and Yezidis do not, so they have been given the highest tribune of the country to voice their problems, and not only their own. I say “not only”, because in July, when the topic of Hagia Sophia arose, we, the Greeks of Armenia, asked one deputy, a Yezidi by nationality, to read from the rostrum of the Armenian People’s Assembly our call to condemn Erdogan’s act at the state level. This is just one example of our cooperation with the government. At the beginning, I spoke about the state funding of our Greek camp. Many state projects have been implemented to preserve national identity. Armenia is a democratic country, they love us here, respect our culture.

I cannot but ask you about the Greek community of Artsakh…

Greeks appeared in Artsakh two-three centuries ago, as did the Greeks in Armenia. There they worked in copper mines. The village of Mehmana in Artsakh was once inhabited exclusively by Greeks.

Mehmana.

Of course, over the years, the number of Greeks in Artsakh has also decreased, now there are about 40 Greeks from mixed families. These days we are in daily contact with the chairman of the Greek community of Artsakh. Most of the women of the community are in Armenia with their children and the men defend their homeland.

How do the Greeks of Armenia react to what is happening in Artsakh?

The Greeks of Armenia are citizens despite many having a second citizenship – Greek. We were born, raised, educated here, our native language is Armenian, no matter how strange it sounds. Our men serve in the Armed Forces of Armenia, like all citizens of the country. From time immemorial, the Greeks lived side by side with the Armenians, sharing their fate and pain with them. This means that at present not only the homeland of the Armenians is in trouble, but also the homeland of the Greeks in Armenia and Artsakh. We, like the entire Armenian people, want and demand peace, we want to live peacefully in our homeland, in our homes. But now it is simply impossible because if our soldiers lay down their arms, it will be another genocide. For us, this war is not over some piece of land, it is a holy war for survival, as we call it in Armenian “goyapaykar” – a struggle for survival.

Tell me, what is being done to inform, in particular, the public in Greece about the events in Artsakh?

– From the first day of the war, all official information about military events has been translated into Greek in Armenia. Personally, I had a number of interviews with Greek websites, TV and radio channels about the war in Artsakh.

In Greece, they are well aware of what is happening here and, fortunately, most Greeks do not succumb to Turkish and Azerbaijani propaganda. The Greeks know well the Armenians, whom they consider their “aderfia/αδερφια” – “brothers,” and the Turks with their brothers – the Azerbaijanis, who have already gotten used to falsifying their history.

The Armenians have no doubts about the unconditional support of the Greek people. One of the proofs of this is the visit of the Greek Foreign Minister to Yerevan…

It should be noted that until today, Foreign Minister Minister Nikos Dendias was the only foreign minister who did not confine himself to calls for a ceasefire by telephone, but flew in to familiarize himself with the situation.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, right, and Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, both wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, greet each other prior to their talks in Yerevan, Armenia, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. (Tigran Mehrabyan, Armenian Prime Minister Press Service/PAN Photo via AP)

Of course, I do not have all the details about the meeting Dendias had with our politicians, but summarizing what the press writes about this meeting, I can say that in the current difficult situation, Greece supports the Armenian people, condemning the foreign intervention that provoked hostilities.

In this sense, Armenians and Greeks should be united and support each other, because having a Turk as a neighbor means always being on alert. How many proverbs Armenians and Greeks have about the Turks. What are all these proverbs talking about !?

Can we talk about the support of the Greeks of Armenia and, in particular, Artsakh, in the current situation from the periphery of other Greek diasporas in the world?

From the very beginning of hostilities, we diligently follow all the initiatives from the Greeks of Greece and the diaspora. The Pontians of Greece, Australia, the USA support us not only morally, but also financially. It means a lot to us. We have never even met some of them, but they consider us brothers. A Greek for them remains a Greek, regardless of whether he lives in an internationally recognized state or not. Every day I receive calls and letters from Greeks asking how to come here and fight side by side with us. Of course, at the moment the Armenian troops do not need external military support, but all this is very touching. Thanks everyone.

Maria, praying to the Almighty for peace, I want to ask, what, in your opinion, is the forecast for the development of the situation?

Do you know the _expression_ “They tried to bury us, but did not know that we were seeds”? This is said about the Armenians. There have been more difficult times in the history of the Armenian people, but these people survived and conquered death because they are invincible.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/10/30/greek-armenia-war-for-survival/

 

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 29 2020

Turks threaten Armenians in Vienne, attack police (video)

Turks threatened Armenians in Vienne, France attacked the police and carried out multiple provocative actions, the Diaspora High Commissioner’s Office reports.

This is the 4th time this happens in the past 24 hours.

On Wednesday Turks attacked peaceful Armenian protesters, as they closed the A7 Autoroute in France to raise awareness about the ongoing attacks against Artsakh.

Last night three people were stabbed during the ‘Defend Armenia’ demonstration in Fresno.

https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/29/turks-threaten-armenians-in-vienne-attack-police-video/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Oct 29 2020

Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing doomed to failure – Armenia MFA

During the last three days, the peaceful settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh have been under continuous attacks with the use of various types of missiles, artillery and UAVs, as well as air force of Azerbaijan.

Since the second half of October 28 till now Stepanakert, Shushi and Martakert have been under continuous attack. Stepanakert and Martakert are under the most intense bombing, which have resulted in heavy damages among civilian population and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Amid the pandemic, the hospitals and other healthcare infrastructures have been targeted. There are numerous casualties and wounded.

“The war crimes of the Azerbaijani regime against the civilian population are accompanied by the direct involvement of Turkey and the foreign terrorist fighters, and pursue the objective to annihilate the Armenian people of the Nagorno-Karabakh,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement,

“Despite the calls of the international community and the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Azerbaijan persistently rejects the implementation of the ceasefire agreements and the introduction of the verification mechanisms to maintain the ceasefire in the conflict zone,” the Ministry added.

It noted that “while pursuing its genocidal intent and evading the responsibility, Azerbaijan simultaneously launched a campaign based on falsification and fabrications to mislead the international community.”

“Azerbaijan’s policy of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing is doomed to failure and will encounter the resolute resistance of the people of Artsakh, which will be carried out through all the means necessary for self-defense,” the foreign Ministry stated.

https://en.armradio.am/2020/10/29/azerbaijans-policy-of-ethnic-cleansing-doomed-to-failure-armenia-mfa/

[Yervant1]

Ha'aretz, Israel

Oct 29 2020

Opinion Disunited by Genocide: How Armenia’s Relations With Israel Have Come to a Dead End

Common wisdom asserts that Jews and Armenians are natural allies, bound by a ‘covenant of fate.’ But that's not at all how Israel sees its relations with the Republic of Armenia

Eldad Ben Aharon

The current fiery debate about Israel's involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emphasizes, among other things, the common wisdom that Jews and Armenians, as victims of genocide – the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, embody the moral and historical imperative of the notable statement, "Never again."

While most Jews and Armenians would agree with the framing of shared suffering and confronting future genocide, it is not mirrored in the relations between Israel and the Republic of Armenia.

The current Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh has brought to light, once again, an obvious question: Why has Israel been supporting the Azerbaijanis in this conflict and not standing with what seem like their ‘natural’ ally: Armenia?

To answer this question sufficiently one needs to examine the history of oscillating relations between Israel and the Republic of Armenia. In what follows, I am not advocating for a policy change but offering my historical analysis as to why, for more than three decades, relations between Israel and the Republic of Armenia have not really been working.

Firstly, since the early 1990s, the first Armenian president Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan (1992-1998) believed in establishing Armenia as a democratic nation-state with a free economy, and peaceful relations with all its neighbors, including Turkey.

Toward this end, Ter-Petrosyan embedded an approach of "relations without preconditions" in Armenian foreign policy. Relations without preconditions specifically refers to the recognition of the Armenian genocide as a compulsory step to normalize relations with Yerevan.

Ter-Petrosyan waived this condition, despite its very important part in Armenian identity. Israel’s government, nor its parliament, has never formally recognized the Armenian genocide, despite decades of efforts by opposition parliamentarians to pass a recognition resolution.

Secondly, because Ter-Petrosyan knew he couldn't offer oil, gas or any natural resources to Israel, he sought to establish his ties with Jerusalem based on the brotherhood and shared destiny of Jews and Armenians as victims of genocide.

He admired the state of Israel as a model nation-state that bloomed from the ashes of the Holocaust and despite Arab hostility, to establish a country in the heart of the Middle East.

Specifically, Ter-Petrosyan identified the geopolitical similarities of Armenia of the early 1990s and Israel in the 1950s, as countries emerging from violent conflict and atrocities of genocide. For the Armenian president, Israel provided a favorable example of how to confront hostile neighbors and develop a modern country.

For the state of Israel, however, Ter-Petrosyan’s sympathy was simply not enough. Not only was the Republic of Armenia a poor post-communist country, but its lack of natural resources and a well-known dispute with Turkey about the Armenian genocide complicated Israel’s political calculus. Nevertheless, at least formally, Israel agreed to establish formal diplomatic ties with Armenia in 1992.

Thirdly, Turkey was a bigger attraction. In the same year as the Republic of Armenia’s founding, 1991, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seemed to be on the path for resolution, with the Madrid conference which led to the signing of the Oslo Accords two years later.

Solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was extremely important for Turkey’s relations with Israel. Since the 1950s, Ankara had conducted semi-covert relations with Jerusalem because of pressure from Arab and Muslim states to side with Palestinian interests. The Oslo Accords of 1993 gave Turkey the perfect reason to reveal their relations with Israel, and led to the exchange of ambassadors for the first time since 1956.

As a result, during the 1990s, Turkey and Israel experienced a great boost from bilateral tourism, the trading of goods and technology, cultural exchanges, and even mutual military training. These were the "golden years" of Israeli-Turkish relations that continued until Erdogan come to power in 2002.

From Israel’s perspective, the notional brotherhood between Armenians and Jews, sharing the same destiny as victims of genocide, was not as meaningful as robust economic, strategic, and cultural relations with Turkey.

It was absolutely clear to the Israeli diplomatic elite that an alliance with Ter-Petrosyan would only draw negative attention from the Turks and would definitely not benefit Israel.

Fourthly, there was the issue of Iran. Israel has always been wary of closer contact with Yerevan because of its strategic partnership with Tehran, which includes cooperative ties in energy, trade and tourism.

Israel considers post-revolutionary Iran its most significant strategic threat, with Iranian leaders serially calling for Israel’s destruction and also promoting Holocaust denial. Iran’s persistent ambitions to obtain nuclear military capacity, and its clandestine uranium enrichment program, are a central focus of Israel’s national security concerns.

Israel always kept its relations with Armenia low profile, sending mixed signals, and masking its intentions. The Israeli embassy in Georgia is responsible for conducting Israel’s relations with Armenia. This is a classic example of sending a mixed signal: formal diplomatic ties, but from a "safe" distance.

Still, the Republic of Armenia never gave up on relations with Israel. Over the last 28 years, consecutive Armenian presidents and foreign ministers keep on knocking on doors in Jerusalem, offering relations without preconditions.

The Armenians made numerous attempts to convince Israel to exchange ambassadors and to open an embassy in Yerevan, but from Jerusalem’s point of view, opening an embassy would mean angry phone calls from Baku and Ankara, and significant financial ramifications.

skip - Lena Zaqaryan tweet

The Embassy of the Republic of #Armenia was officially opened in #TelAviv, #Israel on the eve of #RoshHashanah, the #Jewish New Year.https://t.co/uYB82halSv pic.twitter.com/HR3SpAy9km

— Lena Zaqaryan (@LenaZaqaryan) September 18, 2020

Since 2002, Armenia has been trying to open an embassy in Tel Aviv. While the execution of this step took quite a lot of effort and was postponed a number of times, the Armenian foreign office finally took the step in the summer of 2020, hoping that its initiative would melt the ice and improve bilateral relations.

When the Armenians announced the grand opening of in 2019, Israel formally encouraged it, noting that "opening the Armenian embassy in Tel Aviv will help to take the friendship between the two peoples to the next level and will encourage further exchange between the countries."

Israel, for its part, had nothing to lose in such a situation. Considering that it was not a mutual step, Jerusalem could always argue that the Armenians received nothing in return, in particular no recognition of the Armenian genocide.

The Armenian gesture was useful PR for Israel’s government, showing that Israel is an emerging power with proliferating normalized diplomatic relations under the Netanyahu administration. The Armenian step was not only flattering to Israel but also sent a veiled message to Azerbaijan: that Israel has a strong and independent foreign policy and can conduct diplomatic relations with whomever it wishes, including Baku’s biggest enemy.

However, when the current round of violence in Nagorno Karabakh begun in late September 2020, Armenia recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv for consultations just two weeks after it had officially opened, due to evidence showing that Israel continued to arm Azerbaijan during the ongoing conflict.

Specifically, an Israeli-made drone was seen in a video published by the Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense striking Armenian targets in Nagorno-Karabakh. Dozens of Armenians have reportedly been killed within a week from those "kamikaze" drone attacks.

That, of course, was unacceptable for Yerevan. Israel's Foreign Ministry made a passive statement announcing that it regretted the Armenian decision, emphasizing that "Israel values our partnership with Armenia." This message mirrors Jerusalem’s zero effort policy towards the Armenians.

Despite common wisdom about a covenant of fate between Jews and Armenians, in the current geopolitics of the Caucusus and the Middle East, the relations between Israel and the Republic of Armenia have come to a dead end.

The Armenian policy of relations without preconditions has been interpreted by Jerusalem as a sign of weakness, driving Jerusalem to its zero-effort policy with Yerevan, while doubling up on its arms deals with Azerbaijan.

Yerevan does not represent a convincing enough strategic advantage for Jerusalem to reconfigure its alliances in the region. In short: Armenia wants Israel more than Israel wants Armenia.

Even if the current conflict in Nagorno Karabakh dissipates into a longer-term but still fragile ceasefire, there is no obvious breakthrough in sight for equitable relations between Israel and Armenia.

Dr. Eldad Ben Aharon is a lecturer at Leiden University and a Minerva Fellow and Associate Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt. He is writing a book on Israeli–Turkish–American relations in the last decade of the Cold War through the prism of the Armenian genocide. Twitter: @EldadBenAharon

 

 

 

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/.premium-disunited-by-genocide-how-armenia-s-relations-with-israel-have-come-to-a-dead-end-1.9270625

[Yervant1]

Jamestown Foundation

Oct 29 2020

Russia Watches as Karabakh War Reaches Decisive Turning Point Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 17 Issue: 153 By: Pavel Felgenhauer

October 29, 2020 05:55 PM Age: 2 hours

Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan (Bayramov), Russia (Lavrov) and Armenia (Mnatsakanyan) (Source: Axar.az)

For more than a month now, Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been fighting for the disputed territory of Karabakh and surrounding Armenian-occupied districts. Thousands of soldiers on both sides have perished, and at least hundreds of civilians have been killed and injured. But there has still been no letup in the violence, despite efforts by the great powers to impose a ceasefire.

The Karabakh conflict was effectively frozen for over 26 years, since May 1994, when Moscow forcefully mediated a ceasefire agreement the first time. Over the ensuing decades, bloody skirmishes erupted periodically on the line of conflict (LoC) established in 1994. A particularly heavy Azerbaijani-Armenian flare-up erupted in April 2016, known as the “Four-Day War.” But overall., the LoC did not change much throughout the years.

The Minsk Group, a Karabakh conflict mediation body within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), was created in 1992; but it has been essentially dormant over the past several years. Russia—a co-chair of the Minsk Group and a dominant power in the region—was active in trying to promote a solution to the Karabakh problem. In 2011, during a Russo-Azerbaijani-Armenian summit in Kazan, Russia, an agreement seemed close. Yet after Vladimir Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012, Russian interest seemed to fade, as the country became distracted by other issues and the overall escalation of its confrontation with the West. Still Moscow continued to maintain a semblance of trying to preserve the Azerbaijani-Armenian balance of power. Russia sold large quantities of weapons to both sides—for cash to oil-rich Azerbaijan and on credit to poor Armenia, a member of the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Eurasian Economic Union. In 2016, Russia intervened diplomatically in the Four-Day War, effectively forcing both sides to accept a ceasefire. When the latest clashes erupted, on September 27, 2020, many foreign governments expected and hoped that Moscow would again act decisively to refreeze the Karabakh conflict—perhaps with some adjustments to the LoC.

In early October, as the fighting intensified, Putin called both Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, demanding they agree to an immediate ceasefire. In talks in Moscow chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan—Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Jeyhun Bayramov, respectively—signed a ceasefire agreement on October 10. It collapsed almost immediately (see EDM, October 13). Moscow tried to solidify the tentative ceasefire with a follow up mil-to-mil Azerbaijani-Armenian detailed agreement (Militarynews.ru, October 12). Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu became involved, with phone calls to his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts, and demanded they comply (Interfax, October 14). But those diplomatic efforts failed as well.

On October 16, six warships of Russia’s Caspian Flotilla, including three corvettes armed with nuclear-capable long-range Kalibr cruise missiles, engaged in war games backed up by Southern Military District Air Force jets. The participating units operated in the Caspian just north of the Absheron Peninsula, the location of the Azerbaijani port-city and capital Baku, the country’s biggest and most populous city. The Russian maneuvers began suddenly, only a couple of weeks after the Caspian Flotilla engaged in massive Kavkaz 2020 strategic war-games, in which Armenian soldiers took part but Azerbaijan refused. Kavkaz 2020 ended one day before Azerbaijani forces attacked the LoC in Karabakh on September 27, beginning the war. According to Admiral (ret.) Viktor Kravchenko, a former chief of the main naval staff, the mid-October snap Caspian Flotilla naval exercises just north of Baku were mean as a signal to Azerbaijan and its sponsor, Turkey, to stand down in Karabakh: “The [south Caucasus] region is within Russia’s sphere of interests, and we have sufficient forces, including Kalibr cruise missiles, to project force.” Officially, the snap Caspian Flotilla exercise “was not aimed at any foreign nation” (Militarynews.ru, October 16).

Nether Russian diplomatic pressure nor the military demonstration by the Caspian Flotilla sufficed: The fighting in Karabakh did not stop. Russia’s peace-making efforts were backed up by France and the United States—the two other co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group—also with little success. The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan traveled to Washington, met with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and politely, once again, committed their governments to “implement and abide by the humanitarian ceasefire agreed in Moscow on October 10, reaffirmed in the statement issued from Paris on October 17, in accordance with the October 1, 2020, joint statement of US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Putin.” Trump promptly congratulated Aliyev and Pashinyan after declaring that a deal to end the Karabakh fighting “is easy” (Interfax, October 26). The fighting continued, with both sides blaming each other.

Three great nuclear powers working in apparent cohesion have so far utterly failed to stop the war. Azerbaijan is wining on the battlefield, and President Aliyev has stated he is ready to talk with Prime Minister Pashinyan, perhaps in Moscow, and is ready to agree to a ceasefire. But Armenia must first agree to a speedy withdrawal of its armed forces, relinquishing control of the so-called “security buffer zone” of Azerbaijani territory surrounding Karabakh since 1994, and eventually withdraw from Karabakh, too. Aliyev claims he is ready to allow ethnic-Armenian residents of Karabakh to continue to live there and enjoy some “cultural autonomy” under Azerbaijani rule; but Azerbaijani refugees must be allowed to return, and important sites like the ancient Karabakh capital—the mountain fortress city Shusha—must be given back (Interfax, October 28).

Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces have performed a slow but steady deep flanking maneuver in the valley of the Aras River, north of the Iranian border, defeating the opposing Armenian forces and repelling attempted Armenian counterattacks to cut off the advancing armor pincer (see EDM, October 19). Azerbaijani military units have bypassed the main Armenian defense fortifications and now may attack the heart of “Artsakh” (Armenian name for Karabakh) from the unfortified rear. Azerbaijani armor is in the vicinity of Lachin, a strategic town on the main supply road from Armenia proper to Karabakh. The Yerevan-backed separatist Karabakh leader, Arayik Harutyunyan, has announced that Azerbaijani forces are only five kilometers from Shusha and called for “everyone” to defend the city: “Who controls Shusha controls Karabakh” (Interfax, October 29). Armenian defenses and morale may be collapsing. The Karabakh cause could be lost; and with it may fall Pashinyan, seen in Moscow as a Western “stooge” (see EDM, October 8). If that was, indeed, one of the Kremlin’s key strategic objectives, Russian efforts to impose an overall ceasefire might suddenly become more effective once the Armenian prime minister is replaced.

 

https://jamestown.org/program/russia-watches-as-karabakh-war-reaches-decisive-turning-point/

[Yervant1]

Azerbaijan-Turkey-Pakistan: A new axis of evil against Armenia & India

YEGHIA TASHJIAN

The roots of the conflict in Artsakh

Artsakh historically has always been part of Armenia, and when the region was annexed to Persian and Arab rule, Artsakh (later known as Nagorno-Karabakh), was governed by Armenian nobility.

Following the collapse of the Russian Empire during World War I, Transcaucasia became the stage of wars between various countries over territories. In 1918, the Ottomans led by Enver *****, formed the “Army of Islam” in the Caucasus in order to continue their genocide against the Armenians and build a land bridge with other Turkic nations to create a Pan-Turkic empire stretching from Turkey to Central Asia and beyond.

The geography of Armenia, located at the center of the Turkic people has always been an obstacle to Turkey’s expansionist dream of unifying the Turkic nations. In 1921 as the Bolsheviks consolidated their power in South Caucasus, Joseph Stalin formally transferred the Armenian-populated highlands of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Soviet Azerbaijan to try to placate Turkey.

Although the Armenians in Artsakh continued to desire reunification with Armenia, the conflict was largely dormant during the Soviet era. During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the conflict was revitalized. The Armenians of Artsakh declared their independence as the Republic of Mountainous Karabakh intending to reunify with the newly independent Armenia.

The declaration was rejected by the newly independent Azerbaijan, leading to the Nagorno-Karabakh War from 20 February 1988 to 12 May 1994, resulting in a ceasefire in May 1994 with the defeat of Azerbaijan and the de facto independence of the Republic of Artsakh. Today, Artsakh is a semi-presidential democracy and has permanent diplomatic missions in Armenia, Australia, France, Germany, Russia, the United States, and one for Middle East countries based in Beirut.

Artsakh Armenians have shown to the world that a nation’s will for freedom and liberation is costly but not impossible. However, Azerbaijan continued its enmity and racist announcement against the Armenians. To consolidate its power and arm itself, Baku had engaged in strategic relations with both Turkey and Pakistan.

A Turkish-Azerbaijani-Pakistani “Honeymoon”

Turkey has been assisting Pakistan when it comes to Kashmir, and Islamabad returns the favor by pledging support to Turkey in its aggressive policies in South Caucasus and Western Asia.

During his speech in the United Nations General Assembly, Turkish President Raceb Tayyib Erdogan told that the Kashmir “conflict” must be mentioned and it is a “burning issue” that threatens the stability in the region. “We are in favor of solving this issue through dialogue within the framework of the UN resolutions and especially in line with the expectations of the people of Kashmir” Erdogan added.

In response T.S. Tirumurti, India’s permanent representative to the UN told Turkey to “learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations” (Hindustan Times 23/9/2020). India condemned this statement and said that it “constitutes gross interference in India’s internal affairs and is completely unacceptable. Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its policies more deeply”.

Coming to Azerbaijan, Pakistan was among the first states to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence in 1991 and since then is the only country that has not established diplomatic relations with Armenia. In 2003, a defense agreement was signed between Baku and Islamabad, which allows Azerbaijani military staff, in particular special force units, to take part in annual military drills along with Pakistani armed forces.

The main reason driving Pakistan-Azerbaijan politico-military cooperation in Baku’s enmity to Yerevan over the crisis over Artsakh. When it comes to Kashmir, President Ilham Aliyev stated during his meeting with the then PM of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif in October 2016; “Azerbaijan fully supports the settlement of the Kashmir problem based on the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council”. (The Diplomat, 13/1/2017). There is no doubt that Pakistan will try to make additional inroads into the defense market of Azerbaijan, as Islamabad is trying to search for partners to counter India in the UN.

Meanwhile, according to FreeNews.am, as per a telephonic conversation between two locals in the bordering region near Artsakh, it was reported that two Azerbaijanis mentioned about the presence of Pakistanis in the territory. In Baku, Azerbaijanis raised Pakistan’s flags “in gratitude for Pakistan’s support to Azerbaijan in its war against Armenia”. This would not be surprising as Pakistani and Afghani “Mujahideens” were recruited in the Azerbaijani army during the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) liberation war (1990-1994) waged by Artsakh Armenians against Azerbaijan.

How India and Armenia can balance the Ankara-Baku-Islamabad axis?

Both Armenia and India have a mutual concern about the growing partnership between Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan. Islamabad being backed by its two partners tried to consolidate its position on Kashmar while Baku does the same over Artsakh. Moreover, the Pan-Turkic aspirations of both Ankara and Baku should concern the Hindus in India. Ankara employs a pan-Islamic and Pan-Turkic dream to unify all the Turkic nations and expands its influence over Central Asia, something that threatens India’s national security and territorial integrity.

Simultaneously, Armenia should develop a strategic partnership with India. On various occasions Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinian declared that Armenia fully defends India’s position on the Kashmir (News.am, 27/9/2020). In September 2019, Pashinyan had a meeting at UNGA session with his Indian counterpart, PM Narendra Modi and both reaffirmed to strengthen the economic and political ties between the two countries. To strengthen the military ties, in March 2020, India and Armenia signed a $40 million worth deal for the sale of four Swathi weapon locating radar (WLR) stations.

A WLR is designed to detect the trajectory of an artillery shell. Using the detected path, one can narrow down on an enemy artillery firebase, and direct return fire to successfully destroy it. (Delhidefencereview, 29/3/2019). Moreover, the Yerevan City Council approved a proposal in April to install a statue of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi in the Armenian capital (Panorama.am, 28/4/2020).

When I was in New Delhi, in February 2020, in my speech at the international conference “Human Rights: National and International Issues and Challenges” I have stated that in order to balance the Turkish-Azerbaijani-Pakistani axis, Armenia and India must enhance strategic and security relationships and coordinate in international forums. Both are being threatened by Turkey’s expansionist policies and are eager to contain it. There is a fear that Turkey with Pakistan’s help may send Syrian mercenaries to Kashmir and engage in terror activities. Moreover, given Pakistan’s assistance to Baku, some Armenian lawmakers are moving to condemn Pakistan’s policy on Kashmir. This can be a historical moment if the Indian parliament moves forward and recognizes the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

(Yeghia Tashjian is a regional analyst and researcher. He founded the New Eastern Politics forum/blog in 2010. Currently, he is the Regional Officer of Women in War, a gender-based think tank. The views expressed are personal.)

https://www.indiapost.com/azerbaijan-turkey-pakistan-a-new-axis-of-evil-against-armenia-india/amp/?fbclid=IwAR1oNQ1RfOXRDLHxiMdzAkQyXfNf7xEeK2PgXL8Ykt9hKufZnw6jAVYryqA

[Yervant1]

Naharnet, Lebanon

Oct 29 2020

Scuffles as Lebanese Armenians Rally at Turkish Embassy

by Naharnet Newsdesk 3 days ago

Lebanese Armenian students and the youth sector of the Tashnag Party staged a protest Monday outside the Turkish embassy in Rabieh.

The protesters condemned “the breach of the truce agreement between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan and Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan in the conflict (with Armenia) over the region,” the National News Agency said.

“Protesters hurled stones and firecrackers at security forces tasked with protecting the embassy as scuffles erupted between the two sides,” NNA added.

http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/276160-scuffles-as-lebanese-armenians-rally-at-turkish-embassy?fbclid=IwAR21Tv64QRAazREB5N6KR-uKXBjhl_VvRaOoQmrFWZfRGpcR0xWMZ4GDOHo

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

Artsakh shoots down another Bayraktar combat drone

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09:07, 29 October, 2020

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The Air Defense forces of the Defense Army of Artsakh have shot down another Bayraktar combat drone, the Defense Ministry of Artsakh said in the morning of October 29.

The “stable-tense tactical situation” at the Artsakh-Azerbaijan conflict zone wasn’t significantly changed overnight October 28-29.

The Azerbaijani armed forces again began bombarding residential areas of Artsakh’s towns and cities after midnight and early morning October 29. “In particular, the Azerbaijani forces bombarded Stepanakert, Shushi and nearby peaceful settlements with Smerch multiple rocket launchers,” the defense ministry said.

The Defense Army said it maintains control over the tactical situation and confidently continues its mission.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033117.html?fbclid=IwAR2tj5LDJEvxnxSKtbIay_6q9aWX2dkuYU4iP3Y8YrG7rqoFlvBpHuvNMOo

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

Fierce fighting resumes amid continuing Azeri attacks on Artsakh

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09:18, 29 October, 2020

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Intense fighting continues in various directions of the frontline at the Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact on October 29, the Artsakh presidential spokesperson Vahram Poghosyan said amid renewed Azeri attacks.

“The Defense Army is engaged in fierce battles particularly in the sections of Avetaranots, Sghnakh and Aknaghbyur of Askeran region,” he said, adding that the Azerbaijani armed forces have suffered large personnel losses.

The Azeri military are again bombarding towns and cities of Artsakh, namely Stepanakert and Shushi.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033118.html?fbclid=IwAR07l-AMQes0sn_X8YJipLCYQassXzJqD5cdFrxckx70HpxWHUithcmlGmY

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

Tycoon Samvel Karapetyan vows to rebuild Stepanakert hospital after Azeri air strike

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10:46, 29 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The billionaire tycoon Samvel Karapetyan, the owner of the Tashir Group conglomerate, has vowed to rebuild the maternity hospital of Stepanakert City that was destroyed by the Azerbaijani bombardment on October 28.

“I want to assure Artsakh’s people that we will certainly build a new, modern maternity hospital in Stepanakert. New lives will be born there again,” Karapetyan told RIA Novosti.

The maternity hospital of the capital city of Artsakh was hit by an Azeri air strike.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033127.html?fbclid=IwAR1RxhIatRdlf-zO67le8_wHRNtX-YN0aZ_X52WaHy5uDfciurVe4FREu5M

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

Azeri “criminal regime” bears responsibility for escalation, Artsakh warns amid new war crimes

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11:24, 29 October, 2020

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani military is bombarding the city of Stepanakert and the towns of Shushi and Martakert in Artsakh using the Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers, the Ministry of Defense of Artsakh said.

“Once again violating the requirements of international humanitarian and customary laws, Azerbaijan has opened fire exclusively on peaceful settlements, leading to victims among the civilian population of Artsakh. The Azerbaijani military-political leadership is committing another war crime. The Azerbaijani criminal regime bears entire responsibility for the further escalation of the situation,” the Defense Ministry said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033131.html?fbclid=IwAR0pGIuwSbQ1ddDCc2IWKSdYdF3ARMBTdD7OiDhi3B-OCDnZlzwOoOm97fM

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

Lawmaker urges Diaspora-Armenians to be cautious, not to give in to Turkish-Azeri provocations

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11:53, 29 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Head of the opposition Bright Armenia faction of the Parliament Edmon Marukyan calls on Armenians living abroad to be cautious and not to give in to provocations of Turks and Azerbaijanis.

“I want to call on our compatriots living in different countries to be as cautious as possible, not to give in to any Turkish-Azerbaijani provocation”, he said during parliamentary briefings, reminding the October 28 incident in France when Turks attack Armenian peaceful protesters with a knife.

At night Turks in France went to the streets looking for Armenians, voicing threats. “In general, transferring the conflict from the battle field to other places is impermissible. I call on our compatriots to be cautious and refrain from any actions which can lead to confrontation. We are in war, the war is taking place in the frontline, outside of this we cannot endanger the peaceful way of life of Armenians”, he said.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033135.html?fbclid=IwAR1CpnwEqaZXpr5H4_wZy75bD677qtIE-PfbY128Ye7LNn3ePwc5vvKVUBw

[Yervant1]

Just like what they did in 1915 during the Genocide years, hundred years have passed and yet they remain the same nothing has changed.

 

 

Armenpress.am

Turkish mob armed with improvised weapons chant death threats, search for Armenians in Lyon, France

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12:00, 29 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. A mob of hundreds of Turkish nationalists took to the streets overnight in Lyon, France searching for Armenians and chanting death threats. The incident follows the attack on a peaceful Armenian demonstration earlier on October 28.

A Lyon citizen, Natali Bianco, said on social media that the Turkish mob was armed with baseball bats, pipes and other improvised weapons. “In just a few minutes we saw how hundreds of Turkish young people were causing chaos in the city center, waving flags, baseball bats, pipes and smoke. They stormed into the city center chanting “death to Armenians”, “Allah Akbar”, and other slogans. They were obviously looking to start a fight and were threatening passersby who were daring to even look at them.”

Many of them were gesturing the sign of the Grey Wolves, the Turkish ultranationalist organization. Police were dispatched to the scene. The eyewitness said she was “shocked” from the half-hour long “war”.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033136.html?fbclid=IwAR27NpvxtQxIEg6IFAagT4mSFUj78U2YqnFMt4WBvhPU4b2mk2b2ngkbhlk

 

 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Yervant1

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

OAS chief sure NK conflict will end if Azerbaijan stops aggression against Artsakh

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12:03, 29 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Secretary General of the Organization of American States Luis Almagro is sure that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will end immediately if Azerbaijan stops its attacks against Artsakh.

“Aggression against Artsakh should stop now”, he said on Twitter.

The OAS Secretary General shared the post of Ombudsman of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan where he informed that on October 28 Azerbaijan targeted the maternity hospital in Stepanakert.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033137.html?fbclid=IwAR3euQVyqV8_jARLyjMXofzE8mnvV-eor9JBdyTKqdb9MitCWVL0UhzE9jI

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

PHOTOS: Town of Martakert after Azerbaijani air force bombing

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12:09, 29 October, 2020

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani military continues bombarding towns and cities of Artsakh, striking the peaceful residential areas with various weapons, including missiles and bombs.

Photos showing the aftermath of the recent bombing were released by the Artsakh State Service of Emergency Situations. The images show the town of Martakert, which the Azeri air force bombed with air strikes. Heavy damages took place. No casualties were reported among the civilians.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033138.html?fbclid=IwAR39ekIXCvU5QpU9Y7JmFCHEcwNhRQf90snMktR-FfyxxOY3Zcj6Iuy1MKo

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

Azerbaijani military death toll rises to 6854

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13:01, 29 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The death toll in the Azerbaijani army has reached 6854 as a result of the large-scale aggression and military operations launched against Artsakh, the Armenian Unified Info Center said.

As for the military equipment, the Azerbaijani losses include 226 UAVs, 16 helicopters, 25 warplanes, 632 armored equipment and 6 TOS launchers.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033146.html?fbclid=IwAR1XRhM1ttgiDlJZltwLwbYK4b5EQeX1tijnqoJCSj-kD8kkjmIX9Ni3mB8

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‘How long are we going to close our eyes on Turkish expansionism?’ – French MP

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13:05, 29 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. French lawmaker Valérie Boyer is concerned over the fact why France is not imposing tough sanctions on Turkey.

The MP posted a video on social media and stated that Turks in the French city of Vienne have attacked the police. “Turks attacked the police and want to catch Armenians as they did in 1915. How long France will stay neutral? How long are we going to close our eyes on the Turkish expansionism?” the French MP said.

On October 28 Turks attacked Armenian peaceful protesters with a knife in France.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033147.html?fbclid=IwAR39ekIXCvU5QpU9Y7JmFCHEcwNhRQf90snMktR-FfyxxOY3Zcj6Iuy1MKo

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Member of Spanish Congress of Deputies urges government to refrain from selling arms to Azerbaijan

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16:54, 29 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Member of the Congress of Deputies of Spain from Plural faction Míriam Nogueras i Camero is urging the country’s government to refrain from selling weapons to Azerbaijan, to promote the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict based on the _expression_ of will of the majority of the NK people, the Armenian Embassy in Spain told Armenpress.

“The Plural faction of the Spanish Congress, under the initiative of MP Míriam Nogueras i Camero, has submitted a proposal to the Congress, urging the government

-to refrain from selling weapons to Azerbaijan

-to promote at the international level the peaceful settlement of the conflict based on the _expression_ of will of the majority of the Nagorno Karabakh people

-to condemn Turkey’s military support to Azerbaijan, initiating sanctions on Turkey for its aggressive and expansionist actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus”, the Embassy said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 

 

https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1033186.html?fbclid=IwAR1N14MRs0pACwY74bj_L4ek0ajkU295flPHoXCug7yQeyCwbG9uLzoux0c

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Many people already rushing to Artsakh to save Shushi from the clutches of the enemy

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23:44, 29 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Following the address of the President of Artsakh to the nation, many people are hurrying to Artsakh with small and large detachments, Vahram Poghosyan, spokesperson of the President of Artsakh, wrote on his Facebook page.

''The address of the President of Artsakh to the nation from Shushi city has had a great resonance. We receive numerous calls from our compatriots of different regions of Armenia and Yerevan.

The threat facing the Armenian citadel-city has not only sincerely worried them, but many of them are already hurrying to Artsakh with small and large detachments to save Shushi from the clutches of the enemy. It's only the personal contribution of each of us that can save Shushi and make the desired breakthrough in the military operations.

We are waiting for you'', Poghosyan wrote.

 

 

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