cease-fire violations by azeris

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Nov 17 2020

Turkish government keeps groups of Syrian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh – SOHR

Very reliable sources have informed the Syrian Observatory that the Turkish government will keep groups of Syrian fighters in Azerbaijan, despite the suspension of military operations and the agreement reached between Armenia and Azerbaijan with Russia’s mediation.

Separately, Syrian Observatory have monitored the arrival of a new batch of nearly 30 fatalities of Turkish-backed mercenaries in Syria, after they had perished in earlier military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to SOHR statistics, the death toll of the Turkish-backed mercenaries since the Turkish government sent them to the frontlines in late September has reached 293, including 225 fighters whose bodies were brought to Syria while the rest of bodies remain in Azerbaijan.

SOHR says the total number of Syrian fighters thrown into Nagorno-Karabakh battles has reached 2,580, of whom 342 fighters returned to Syria after they had given up and forgone their payments.

Last week UN human rights experts expressed concern over the use of mercenaries in and around the conflict zone until a statement on ceasefire was reached.

The UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries said last week there were widespread reports that the Government of Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s assistance, relied on Syrian fighters to shore-up and sustain its military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, including on the frontline.

The UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries said the fighters in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone must be withdrawn

https://en.armradio.am/2020/11/17/turkish-government-keeps-groups-of-syrian-fighters-in-nagorno-karabakh-sohr/

[Yervant1]

How about Armenia? Does it have the right to choose it's allies?

TASS, Russia

Nov 17 2020

Putin: Turkish support for Baku in Karabakh geopolitical consequence of USSR’s collapse

The Russian leader stressed that Azerbaijan is an independent sovereign state which has the right to choose its allies as it likes

MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Turkey’s siding with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be seen as a geopolitical consequence of the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

"As for Turkey, Turkey’s role, it is well known, it has been repeatedly said in Azerbaijan and the Turkish side has never made any secret of that: they have been unilaterally supporting Azerbaijan," Putin said in an interview with the Russian media aired by the Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 television channels. "Well, what can I say? It is a geopolitical consequence of the collapse of the former Soviet Union."

The Russian leader stressed that Azerbaijan is an independent sovereign state which has the right to choose its allies as it likes.

https://tass.com/world/1224829

 

[Yervant1]

Asbarez.com

Paris City Council Urges France to Recognize Artsakh

November 18, 2020

http://asbarez.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/paris.jpeg

Armenians in Paris celebrate Artsakh

The City Council of Paris has adopted a resolution, calling on the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs to urge France to recognize the Republic of Artsakh, Armenia’s Foreign Ministry reported in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

The resolution cites numerous factors for this initiative, including the military aggression by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, which was sponsored by Turkey and the involvement of jihadist militants from Syria. It also highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh that resulted from the Azerbaijani air strikes as a result of which 80 percent of the infrastructures of Stepanakert have been destroyed.

The resolution also notes that France, which is an OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair, did not participate in the signing of the ceasefire on November 9 under the mediation of Russia, where the victory of power predominated over the victory of a dialogue.

It also says that despite the deployment of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), the existence of Nagorno Karabakh is under existential threat.

Below is the translated text of the Paris City Council Resolution.

Taking into consideration the mobilization of French elected officials who call for the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh, including a group of parliamentarians from different political parties, who tabled on October 19, 2020 a “Motion for a resolution on the recognition of the Republic of Artsakh”,

Taking into consideration that on September 27, 2020, a military offensive was initiated by Azerbaijan, politically and militarily supported by Turkey, with the use of jihadist fighters from Syria,

Taking into consideration that following air strikes by the armed forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan, dozens of civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh were injured and killed and that 80 percent of the urban infrastructure of Stepanakert, including school and hospital facilities, was largely destroyed,

Taking into consideration the humanitarian situation and all the victims in the region,

Taking into consideration that despite calls from France, mediator in this conflict as co-chair of the Minsk Group, for the immediate cessation of hostilities from their start, the situation has become increasingly critical and that on several occasions ceasefires were declared and all were violated within an hour of their declaration,

Taking into consideration that a ceasefire was concluded on November 9 under the aegis of Russia, which France was not invited to sign,

Taking into consideration that under the ceasefire agreement, the two armies remained on the positions occupied on that date to the detriment of the Armenian people and the population of Nagorno-Karabakh,

Taking into consideration that despite the presence of a Russian intervention force, Nagorno-Karabakh is threatened in its very existence,

Taking into consideration that the Mayor of Paris has spoken on several occasions to call for an end to the violence and to recall the support of the City of Paris for the Armenian people wherever they live,

Taking into consideration that the relations of friendship between the City of Paris and the Armenian people are old and unwavering, that they were reminded to the Armenian authorities by our colleague Anouch Toranian, who accompanied an observation mission of the UGBU Europe at the height of the fighting,

Taking into consideration that the City of Paris has a tradition of supporting populations who are victims of massive human rights violations,

Taking into consideration that the City of Yerevan is a member of the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF),

Taking into consideration that it appears crucial for the City of Paris to provide support to the residents of Nagorno Karabakh,

The Council of Paris expresses the wish:

That the Mayor of Paris send a letter to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, inviting France to recognize the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh),

That the French Government, lifting the ban on territorial communities maintaining relations with Nagorno-Karabakh, authorize them to cooperate with Nagorno-Karabakh in the context of humanitarian aid,

So that the City of Paris can provide emergency humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh through an on-site operator in order to come to the aid of the populations who are victims of the conflict as closely as possible,

That the City of Paris provide aid in the amount of €50,000 to the population of Nagorno-Karabakh as well as to the displaced persons who fled it to take refuge in the Republic of Armenia. This assistance, provided through the Armenian Fund of France, is added to the €50,000 provided through the Paris-based International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), to Yerevan.

http://asbarez.com/198583/paris-city-council-urges-france-to-recognize-artsakh/?fbclid=IwAR1fmgUwPJDmU0Ihc5kFWXOxdUDKF9YDtgGICOPEmPYAHnDOKSBIkIhUfMw

[Yervant1]

French Senate puts into voting draft resolution on need to recognize Artsakh

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10:05, 19 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 19, ARMENPRESS. Hours after the Paris City Hall has called on the French government to recognize the Republic of Artsakh, the Senate of France decided to put into voting a draft resolution on the need to recognize Artsakh, Foreign Minister of Artsakh Masis Mayilyan said.

“It has been signed by the presidents of the first 5 major political factions of the Senate which symbolizes the common consensus in the French Senate over the independence of Artsakh”, the Artsakh FM said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

[Yervant1]

Good luck with that, fake sultan has a dismal record.

Public Radio of Armenia

Nov 19 2020

The guns fell silent in Nagorno-Karabakh, now we are working on cultural ceasefire – Macron

The guns fell silent in Nagorno-Karabakh. We are now working for a heritage and cultural ceasefire, with Armenia, Azerbaijan, our partners in the Minsk group, to preserve and restore the treasure of diversity and wealth of the whole region, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a Twitter post.

Les armes se sont tues dans le Haut-Karabagh. Nous œuvrons à présent en faveur d’un cessez-le-feu patrimonial et culturel, avec l’Arménie, l’Azerbaïdjan, nos partenaires du groupe de Minsk, pour préserver et restaurer le trésor de diversité et de richesse de toute la région.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron)

November 19, 2020

Macron said France is ready to provide, within the framework of Unesco and the Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflicts, its expertise and full support for the protection of the cultural and religious heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surroundings.

La France est prête à apporter, dans le cadre de l’Unesco, avec l’Alliance pour la protection du patrimoine dans les conflits, son expertise et son plein appui pour la protection du patrimoine culturel et religieux du Haut-Karabagh et de ses environs.

pic.twitter.com/BGs5jfdeqS

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron)

November 19, 2020

Earlier today Emmanuel Macron had a phone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The situation in Artsakh was discussed during the conversation. Both sides stressed the need to resume the work of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in full format.

They referred to the issue of ensuring safe repatriation for tens of thousands of people who have fled their homes in recent weeks and preserving the religious, historical and cultural heritage of Artsakh.

The need to maintain peace and defuse the situation in the region was emphasized on both sides. In this regard, the Prime Minister of Armenia noted the fundamental importance of international recognition of the Artsakh Republic.

https://en.armradio.am/2020/11/20/the-guns-fell-silent-in-nagorno-karabakh-now-we-are-working-on-cultural-ceasefire-macron/?fbclid=IwAR17ZW6d3GrR0mEtL95zDIHlPalMJk27Ymxy9VpR-7sHq8WxviCMgj1N3OA

 

[Yervant1]

Middle East Monitor

Nov 19 2020

Iran's mistake in its Nagorno-Karabakh policy sees Turkey reaping the rewards

November 19, 2020 at 11:33 am

Muhammad Hussein

November 19, 2020 at 11:33 am

It is unusual for Iran to have a sudden change of heart in its foreign policy. Indeed, it can be said to be one of the firmest and most blatant when it comes to its projection of regional influence, and its rhetoric is just as bold. This has changed with the recent conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh.

At first, Iran supported Armenia subtly while publicly remaining "neutral". However, there were reports that it sent 200 heavy armoured vehicles and supplies to help Armenia in its fight against Azerbaijan. Then there were reports of Iran shipping Russian arms to Armenia, which Tehran denied. There were also reports that Iran had allowed and facilitated the passage of hundreds of fighters from the designated terrorist group the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who were allegedly heading to Nagorno-Karabakh to fight alongside Armenian troops.

These reports triggered numerous protests across the north-west of Iran, where many of the country's Azeri citizens live. Dozens of protestors were arrested for expressing their support for Azerbaijan.

Towards the end of the conflict earlier this month, however, when Azeri forces were clearly gaining the upper hand, Iran backtracked on its stance and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei acknowledged Azerbaijan's right to the Armenian occupied territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Iran has since welcomed the peace deal that was agreed upon.

Why the sudden change of heart by Tehran? When it comes to the southern Caucasus, Iran is historically and geographically one of the primary powers alongside Russia and Turkey. It even provided mediation for Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1992 before those talks fell through, and was attempting to push itself as a mediator in this conflict too, before Russia took on that role.

READ: Where does Iran stand on the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh?

Iran was also acting on its own insecurities over its sizeable Azeri population. As the country's largest minority at around a quarter of the population, nationalist ambitions have reportedly been growing amongst Iranian Azeris. There is speculation that Iran supports Armenia in order to curb such ambitions.

There are also the interests that Iran shares with Russia, which is a key ally of Armenia. Just as Iran and Russia support the same side – the Assad regime – in Syria, and have similar goals to curb US and Turkish influence in the region, Iran may also have supported Armenia for that very same reason, as it judged the Nagorno-Karabakh front to be identical to the others.

As Azerbaijani forces captured the strategic city of Shusha and were on the verge of taking the rest of the occupied territory, however, Iran realised that its strategy was wrong. It was backing the losing side, not least because Russia did not go to Armenia's rescue as many thought it would.

Armenia/Azerbaijan fighting rages – Cartoon [sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

Weighing up its options, Tehran probably decided that the opportunity for bilateral cooperation with Azerbaijan was the best it could hope for. Nevertheless, despite its attempts to save face, the Azerbaijani victory resulted in exactly what Iran feared: a victory for Turkey and its foreign policy. While Ankara continues to support the Syrian opposition against the Iran-backed Assad regime, and contributed to the Libyan government's pushback against Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar earlier this year, Azerbaijan's success in recapturing Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding provinces is certainly of the biggest benefit to Turkey.

It was Ankara, after all, which openly supported Baku by selling it the kind of drones which worked so effectively in Syria and Libya, and devastated the Armenian forces. It was also Turkey which conducted joint military training exercises with Azerbaijan shortly before the fighting with Armenia broke out; deployed F-16 fighter jets in the country in case of Armenian attacks; and offered its direct military support if necessary.

Factor in the increased cooperation between the two countries in recent years, and the issue becomes clearer. Last month, as the conflict was still raging, it was announced that the strategic Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) was ready to begin operations and deliver gas directly from Azerbaijan to Europe for the first time. With much of the TANAP passing through Turkey, it means that it will import more gas from Azerbaijan and reduce its dependence on Russia and Iran, as will the other countries benefiting from the pipeline.

READ: Turkey's strategic victory in Nagorno-Karabakh

It was reported earlier that Azerbaijan has become Turkey's main supplier of gas over the first eight months of this year, surpassing both Russia and Iran. Moreover, it was revealed in June that Turkey's state gas grid operator Botaş is to build a gas pipeline to supply the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan, which immediately threatened to sideline Iran's gas supply to the area.

Following the Russian-brokered peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Turkish parliament yesterday approved the deployment of troops to Nagorno-Karabakh to help facilitate its implementation. This gives Turkey a further stake in the region and allows the presence of its military there along with Russian troops, leaving Iran as the only neighbouring power without a say in the matter.

The result of this is that Turkey has drawn the southern Caucasus closer into its sphere of influence, while Iran missed the opportunity of doing so because of a seemingly uncertain policy towards the conflict. Iran now has to keep abreast of events while building on whatever cooperation it still maintains with Azerbaijan and considering Russia as a potential partner.

All of this is a far cry from Iran's potential as a reliable mediator in the 1990s. It now seems that the only influence it can exert in the southern Caucasus and Azerbaijan is cultural.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

 

 

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20201119-irans-mistake-in-its-nagorno-karabakh-policy-sees-turkey-reaping-the-rewards/

[Yervant1]

The Guardian, UK

Nov 19 2020

The ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan comes with great risks for Armenia

Dale Berning Sawa

While Azerbaijanis can rightly celebrate a return to homes they were driven from 30 years ago, Armenian culture is in peril

Thu 19 Nov 2020 09.00 GMT

The ceasefire brokered last week between Azerbaijan and Armenia has largely been cast as a means to end a decades-long territorial dispute. But, of course, reality might not be as smooth. In a region every bit as geopolitically fraught as the Balkans, the Caucasus has always been a patchwork of peoples pulled and shoved between greater powers, suffering successive waves of conquest and “ethnic cleansing”.

Zoom in more closely right now, though, and while Azerbaijanis can rightly celebrate a return to homes they were driven from 30 years ago, for the Armenian people at large, the risks could not be greater.

In signing the ceasefire agreement, Armenia has agreed to progressively hand back to Baku territories around Karabakh that it has occupied – militarily – since the 1990s. Culturally, though, it’s not so simple. The people living in these parts have, not all but in large part and since antiquity, been Armenian. It’s why they fought for independence in the first place.

They call the enclave Artsakh. Its deep-cut valleys and mountain ridges are dotted with more than 3,500 monasteries, churches, distinctive Armenian khachkars (cross stones) and gravestones. In addition to this Armenian Christian heritage, there is a wealth of pre-Christian sites and a smaller percentage of Muslim monuments, all of which have been meticulously listed. Teams are now scrambling to compile an official list of what exactly is in the districts to be handed back to Azerbaijani control.

Because, when it comes to Armenian heritage, Baku has terrible form. A report by political analyst Simon Maghakyan and anthropologist Sarah Pickman last year presented extensive details of what they termed a 30-year campaign by Azerbaijan of comprehensive “cultural cleansing” in Nakhichevan, the other territory the two states previously disputed. Satellite imagery, extensive documentary evidence and personal accounts showed that 89 churches, 5,840 khachkars and 22,000 tombstones were destroyed between 1997 and 2006, including the medieval necropolis of Djulfa, the largest ancient Armenian cemetery in the world.

The Azerbaijani response has consistently been to simply deny that Armenians had ever lived in the region. And that is precisely what observers fear will now happen across Artsakh, too. Last week president Ilham Aliyev tweeted, “Karabakh is ours! Karabakh is Azerbaijan!”, and his officials denied the historic Armenian nature of the region’s most fabled treasures. As Armenians removed bells, crosses and khachkars for safekeeping from the ninth-century Dadivank monastery in the Kalbajar district, Azerbaijan’s deputy culture minister, Anar Karimov, commented that these removals were illegal – and those items were actually Albanian.

From the 1950s, in a bid to establish links to antiquity and bolster claims of indigeneity, Soviet Azeri scholars embraced a revisionist cultural theory that drew a line between the Turkic Azeri people and Caucasian Albania, a country to the north of the Kura river. Specialists, including Danish archaeologist Carsten Paludan-Müller (a member of the Cambridge Heritage Research Centre), say that the theory is baseless. And the Dadivank monastery’s own walls suggest as much. While, according to archaeologist and Yerevan State University professor Hamlet Petrosyan, not a single Caucasian Albanian inscription has been found in Artsakh, this monastery alone is clad in more than 100 inscriptions in Armenian script.

There have been instances of monuments being Albanised (with the Armenian inscriptions removed) but doing so at Dadivank simply would not be practicable – and wouldn’t be a guarantee of the monument’s ultimate safety anyway. Experts point to the town of Agulis in Nakhichevan, and its cathedral, all of which was methodically laid to waste by the Azerbaijani military, starting in 1997. Paludan-Müller is sure we will see something similar again. “It’s going to be very difficult to avoid the destruction,” he says. “And there is a risk now that Nagorno-Karabakh will lose its Armenian population.”

Conflict in the region has deep roots. More than a third of the current Turkish population descends from the muhacir, the Muslim refugees (primarily Russian, Balkan and Caucasian) who fled persecution as the Ottoman empire collapsed. Europe and Russia’s involvement – and converse support for the Christian Greek and Armenian communities – is a humiliation that Turkey, as Paludan-Müller puts it, has never forgotten, and with which the Azeris identify.

The Armenian diaspora’s strong presence in the US, France and other western countries after the 1915–22 genocide only exacerbates the Turkish sense of a western or Christian bias towards Armenians. Moreover, Armenian scholarly emphasis on the Azerbaijani identity as a 20th-century construct belies the fact that the Azeri language, too, has ancient, pre-Turkic roots.

At the same time, Turkey and Azerbaijan deny the Armenian genocide, which saw up to 1.5 million Armenian people killed in Anatolia. And though ancient Armenian populations inhabited an area stretching from the Mediterranean to the Black and Caspian seas, it was Turkish policy until the mid-20th century to destroy Armenian heritage throughout its territory, and erase them from their maps.

In the decades following the emergence of the Karabakh liberation movement in 1988 and the first Armenia-Azerbaijan war in 1992, Armenian presence in Artsakh has engendered a remarkable body of scholarship. Art historians have delved into the wealth of illuminated manuscripts dating back to medieval Armenian monasteries; the particular regional iconography on the carved khachkars; the unusual, vaulted single-nave churches.

There was also Petrosyan’s discovery, in 2005, of the first-century BC Hellenistic city of Tigranakert and the exceptional raft of subsequent findings – agate gems, glass amphoriskos, painted burial amphoras, fourth-century Sasanian seals, a curious church entrance layout that connects it to ancient Jerusalem, and cave sanctuaries that connect it to ancient Greece. Petrosyan warns that this heritage has been targeted in the recent conflict.

His grief and anger are palpable – but with little hope that the situation will improve. The Djulfa cemetery, after all, was a Unesco-listed world heritage site before it was destroyed. “We have had neither military nor political clout. There is no difference between Azerbaijan wiping out our people or our culture. We are our culture.”

• Dale Berning Sawa is a French-South-African writer based in London

• This article was amended on 19 November 2020 to correct the dates between which monuments in Nakhichevan were destroyed

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/19/ceasefire-agreement-azerbaijan-great-risks-armenia

[Yervant1]

MEMRI - Middle East Media Research Institute

Nov 19 2020

Russian Journalist: In The Caucasus, 'Moscow Has Taken An Important Military Trophy From Right Under Erdoğan's Nose'; 'Turkey Will Retaliate'November 19, 2020

On November 14, 2020, Russian media outlet Vzglyad journalist Dmitry Bavyrin published an article, titled "Turkey has not accepted the end of the war in the Caucasus," commenting on Turkey's attitude toward the Russia-brokered truce in Nagorno-Karabakh.[1]

According to Bavyrin, Turkey cannot accept the end of the war in Caucasus, since it realizes that Russia, has taken an important military trophy "from right under [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan's nose." According to Bavyrin, this means that Moscow needs to be ready for provocations, because Turkey will retaliate.

"Russia stopped [Erdoğan] one step away from achieving his cherished goal. This means that he will take revenge, that provocations will continue... And that the confrontation between Moscow and Ankara in the South Caucasus has not been stopped," Bavyrin wrote.

It is worth noting that on November 16, two Turkish Air Force aircraft – a C-130B military cargo plane coded 61-0963 and an A400M military cargo plane coded 18-0093 – landed in Iğdır, at the Armenia-Nakhchivan border.[2] Furthermore, on November 17, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey approved the presidential decree on sending troops to Azerbaijan.[3] Commenting on the decree, Ismet Yılmaz, AKP MP who heads the parliamentary defense committee, stated: "Turkey is Azerbaijan; Azerbaijan is Turkey."[4] It should be stressed that Russia reiterated several times that there is no agreement about the deployment of Turkish peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh.[5]

(Source: Facebook.com/KASSOUNY)

On November 16, two Turkish Air Force aircraft – a C-130B military cargo plane coded 61-0963 and an A400M military cargo plane coded 18-0093 – landed in Iğdır, at the Armenia-Nakhchivan border (source: Twitter.com/bedbolukbasi?lang=en).

Following is Bavyrin's article:[6]

"You Throw Ankara Out Of The Door, But It Climbs Back In Through The Window"

"Russian peacekeepers have begun their new duties in Nagorno-Karabakh. And, judging by the behavior of the Turkish side, one can conclude that [the Turks] are not very happy about it. It looks as though Moscow has taken an important military trophy from right under Erdoğan's nose, which means that [Moscow] needs to be ready for provocations: Turkey will retaliate.

"'The ambit of the mobility of Turkish observers will be limited to the premises of the monitoring center within the Azerbaijani territory... not on the territory of the former conflict... No peacekeeping units of the Republic of Turkey will be sent to Nagorno-Karabakh.'

"With these words, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov once again refuted claims that the new security structure in the South Caucasus will also be implemented by the Turkish military as peacekeepers.

"'Once again,' since this has been stated by Russian [officials] repeatedly and at various diplomatic levels. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has done this at least twice.

"This statement had to be repeated not because it was not clear the first time (the Turks will be observers, not peacekeepers, and not at the line of demarcation of the sides, but at the Azerbaijani monitoring center) but because they, [the Turks], insist on the opposite. Although Armenia, even in case of total despair, would not ever agree to such a scenario, because that would mean not just to accept the fact of the defeat in Artsakh, but also to make a mockery of all the Armenian tragedies at once, and with special cynicism.

"Just on Thursday [November 12, 2020], during a telephone conversation with the foreign ministers of Russia, France, and the United States (the so-called 'Troika' for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which was formed back in 1995), Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan ruled out any role for Ankara in the peacekeeping operation, 'despite the steps it has already taken in this direction.'[7]

"'This [deployment of Turkish peacekeepers] cannot be a topic for discussion only between Moscow and Ankara. Armenia and Azerbaijan must agree to this,' Peskov explained. In his opinion, the persistent circulation of rumors can be caused by 'differences in understanding.'

"Of course, this might be the case. But then one will have to admit that our conceptual mindset is fundamentally different from the one of the Turks.

"Thus, on Thursday morning, the Turkish news agency 'Anadolu' propagated the claims of Defense Minister Hulusi Akar about Ankara's direct participation in the peacekeeping mission. We can assume that he was referring to the same monitoring center, although he did not explain it well. But here is his own remark, quoted by 'Anadolu' on the evening of the very same day when Lavrov and Peskov made their refutations:

"Where is Turkey? Turkey is in [the settlement process], both at the negotiation table and on the field. Tomorrow a large delegation from Russia will arrive. We are going to discuss tactical and technical details, what are the sites and the duties.

"So the issue of the Turkish presence goes to the third round: You throw Ankara out of the door, but it climbs back in through the window. What does it mean 'we are going to discuss'? How should one understand the _expression_ 'on the field'?"

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev: "Karabakh." Russian President Vladmir Putin: "Is Ours" (Source: Facebook.com/KASSOUNY)

"Turkey Is A Full-Fledged Party In The Conflict, Not A Peacemaker"

"The first rumors appeared on the same night when Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan announced the end of the war and the new borders of Artsakh. The Turkish peacekeepers were mentioned by the President of Azerbaijan, as if by accident, but [thereafter] the rumors have to be refuted for several days in a row.

"It all looked as if Aliyev had agreed on something like this with Erdoğan, but his idea was not accepted by Moscow, and the president of Azerbaijan did not insist. In the end, he got everything he wanted, and the too-strong influence of Turkey on the Azerbaijani army is perceived by his generals ambiguously and causes a split in the ranks of the winner.

"Ankara was initially called the main instigator of the new war. In fact, [the war] was won by Turkish drones operated by Turkish generals. And since Azerbaijan had never reported on the purchase of such weapons, the hypothesis appeared that the Turkish army had rented them to its neighbors together with specialized personnel.

"The planning of the operation was also done by Turkey (or so Yerevan claims). The transfer of fighters from Syria to the conflict zone, which was confirmed by the intelligence services of Russia, France, and the United States, could also have been organized by Ankara through its bribed gangs of Turkomans.[8] In other words, Turkey is a full-fledged party to the conflict, and not a peacemaker.

"Moreover, Erdoğan has repeatedly called on the Azerbaijanis to go all the way and 'liberate all the occupied lands' (which is absolutely unacceptable from the point of view of Russia's interests). And when it became clear that this will not happen, he allegedly tried to persuade Moscow to resolve the conflict through the division of influence in the South Caucasus. At least, this is what sources in the Armenian media claim.

"This overlaps with a full-fledged conspiracy theory, according to which the Russian Mi-24 helicopter was actually shot down not by Azerbaijanis, but by Turkish militants.[9] And not out of thoughtlessness, but deliberately – they wanted to prevent the conclusion of an agreement on terms different from those of Ankara. This, again, is just a purely Armenian theory and a paranoid one in its own way. But the behavior of the Turkish side in recent days suggests that Erdoğan, to put it mildly, is dissatisfied with what is happening. If there are national celebrations in Azerbaijan, then Turkey, its most loyal 'fan', is in no hurry to show joy, despite the end of the bloodshed and Baku's unconditional victory.

"Instead, again and again, statements appear to feed the rumors about the Turkish presence in Karabakh and that 'nothing has been decided yet.' As if the Turks are trying to jump on the bandwagon of the departing train and are not ready to accept the fact that Russia intends to deal with the issue without them."

"Russia Stopped [Erdoğan] One Step Away From Achieving His Cherished Goal"

"If so, it is no longer a question of 'differences of understanding,' but of a real provocations and subversions. Armenians are now, to put it mildly, on the edge – the forced acceptance of painful and humiliating (for their national dignity) peace terms has already led to riots in Yerevan, to the storming of parliament and to the looting of the prime minister's office.

"Even if unsubstantiated, persistent rumors about Turkey taking a foothold in the conflict zone is adding fuel to the fire. In this regard, one cannot even say which is the most significant sentiments Armenians have with the Turks: either they are the architects of Baku's current victory or the organizers of the genocide (something that Ankara still refuses to recognize).

"Let Erdoğan knock on the locked door, one can gloat because the Sultan will not have a new military base in the South Caucasus, even if he bursts with anger. But at the same time, the intensity of passions and Turkish perseverance should be considered to be a potential threat.

"The Turkish leader has long demonstrated to the world his stubbornness and readiness to use the most radical methods. In some interpretations, he has matured to become a real mastermind who successfully chose the time to attack the Armenians (programmed [in parallel with] difficult elections in the United States) and weakened another pro-Armenian player, France, by setting the Islamic world against Macron.

"Combined with a pack of modern drones, a gang of maneuverable terrorists, and multi-stage intrigues, an image of an evil genius from the Marvel movies comes to mind.

"Russia stopped him one step away from achieving his cherished goal. This means that he will take revenge, that provocations will continue, that all these words about the Turkish peacekeepers are not without reason. And that the confrontation between Moscow and Ankara in the South Caucasus has not been stopped, but, at best, passes to a new level. A hot proxy war gives way to a cold one with its spies, propaganda, provoked crises, and created zones of instability.

"One should expect surprises from Erdoğan and extremely unpleasant ones."

[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 9031, Editor Of AKP Mouthpiece On The Russia-Brokered Armenia-Azerbaijan Truce: Turkey's And Azerbaijan's Victory In Karabakh Allows Turkey To Reach The Turkic World; Turkey Is Now A Global Power, This Coincided With The Collapse Of The West's Unilateral World Order, November 15, 2020; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 9044, Armenian Expert: Russia 'Stopped A Complete Turkish Victory And Prevented Turkish Military Deployment In Artsakh,' Put Iran 'Out From The Game', November 18, 2020; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 8986, Presence Of Fighters From Syria In Nagorno Karabakh Ramps Up The Pressure On Russia To Intervene, October 23, 2020.

[2] Twitter.com/bedbolukbasi?lang=en

[3] Tass.com/world/1224859, November 17, 2020; Hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/son-dakika-haberi-azerbaycana-asker-gonderilmesine-iliskin-tezkere-tbmmde-kabul-edildi-41665121, November 17, 2020.

[4] Aa.com.tr/tr/azerbaycan-cephe-hatti/azerbaycan-tezkeresi-tbmm-genel-kurulunda-kabul-edildi-/2047141, November 17, 2020.

[5] Tass.com/politics/1222931, November 12, 2020.

[6] Vz.ru, November 14, 2020.

[7] On November 17, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has signed a decree, relieving Zohrab Mnatsakanyan from the post of Foreign Minister. Mnatsakanyan submitted his resignation on the same day. En.armradio.am/2020/11/17/zohrab-mnatsakanyan-from-relieved-from-the-post-of-armenias-foreign-minister, November 17, 2020. On November 18, Armenian President Sarkissian appointed Ara Ayvazyan as foreign minister. En.armradio.am/2020/11/18/ara-ayvazyan-appointed-minister-of-foreign-affairs, November 18, 2020.

[8] See MEMRI TV Clip No. 8453, Arab Militants Fighting Against Armenia In Azerbaijan, October 10, 2020; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 9016, Armenian Expert Tashjian: Today The 'Gates Of Vienna' Are Open In Front Of Erdogan; There Is No Front To Contain Erdogan's Ambitions And Revival Of The 'Army Of Islam', November 9, 2020.

[9] Tass.com/russia/1223715, November 14, 2020.

https://www.memri.org/reports/russian-journalist-caucasus-moscow-has-taken-important-military-trophy-right-under-erdo%C4%9Fans?fbclid=IwAR0o2VNtwmAxniswU9uZ-qwm2vQAlUvDNPyEVRMPR92QXxr7tdT3MT_bGbE

[Yervant1]

Azeris destroy domes of Armenian church in Karabakh's Shushi

November 20, 2020 - 11:05 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Azerbaijanis have destroyed the domes of Saint John the Baptist Church, commonly known as Kanach Zham (Green Chapel), in the city of Shushi, which has come under Azerbaijan's control in the recent war against Nagorno-Karabakh.

A photo of an Azerbaijani soldier that has been shared online features the church standing in the background, but the domes are gone in another one.

Video and photo evidence of Azerbaijan's vandalism against the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral of Shushi, the St. Astvatsatsin Church of Mekhakavan and other Armenian cultural sites has been published too.

The ancient Armenian monasteries of Dadivank and Amaras, the ruins and the archeological site of Tigranakert, and hundreds of other historic monuments will be left to Azerbaijan, under a statement on the cessation of hostilities in Karabakh. At the moment, Russian peacekeepers have been deployed to the area near Dadivank to ensure the safety of both the church and the perishoners.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev have signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has said he has agreed to the deal signed by Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.

[Yervant1]

Azeri troops filmed shooting at Great Patriotic War memorial in Karabakh

November 19, 2020 - 13:22 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijani soldiers have been filmed desecrating another monument in Nagorno-Karabakh, according to fresh footage spreading online.

In particular, a memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Great Patriotic War, erected in the village of Avetaranots, Askeran region, was targeted by the Azerbaijanis.

The video features Azeri troops practicing shooting at bottles they have placed on the monument.

Earlier, a photo of the desecrated monument to the Armenian state and military leader Vazgen Sargsyan, erected in Shushi, was published. In the picture, an Azerbaijani soldier is sitting on the head of the statue, while the monument itself is smeared with paint.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev have signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has said he has agreed to the deal signed by Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.

The ancient Armenian monasteries of Dadivank and Amaras, the ruins and the archeological site of Tigranakert, the iconic Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi and hundreds of other historic monuments will be left to Azerbaijan, under the statement on the cessation of hostilities in Karabakh. At the moment, Russian peacekeepers have been deployed to the area near Dadivank to ensure the safety of both the church and the perishoners. The cathedral in Shushi, meanwhile, has already been vandalized: inscriptions in Azerbaijani have been painted on the walls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yervant1]

Armenia's allies failed to help, that's why we are here!

Tehran Times

Nov 20 2020

Iranian MP rails against Turkey’s role in Nagorno-Karabakh

1. Politics

November 20, 2020 - 21:1

TEHRAN – Ahmad Bighash, an Iranian lawmaker, has criticized “Turkey’s direct interference” in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, calling on the Parliament to take a firm stance against the country’s role in the Azerbaijan-Armenia crisis.

Speaking at an open session of the Parliament on Wednesday, the lawmaker said the Parliament should firmly respond to “Turkey’s interference in the internal affairs” of Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency (ICANA).

“If we don’t take a revolutionary action, we will face a huge geographical disaster,” Bighash warned.

He added, “Today, in order for you to witness and record it in history, I declare that strategic studies and political analysis show that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran are just like Iraq, Libya, and Egypt on the way to be depleted of geopolitical power in the Middle East [West Asia] region through the mysterious policies of the UK, U.S., and Israel.”

The lawmaker regretted that Turkey does not understand this danger.

“Unfortunately, Turkey does not realize this great danger, and recently, by directly interfering in the internal affairs of the two independent states of Azerbaijan and Armenia and changing the political map of the region, paved the way for NATO, Israel, and America to deeply move into the geopolitics of the Caspian Sea,” the lawmaker noted.

Bighash pointed out that while important regional developments are occurring, the Parliament “in the deadly neglect of Iran's foreign policy apparatus”, is busy discussing “superficial issues.”

“Therefore, a very decisive stance is expected to show a serious reaction to the recent events in northwestern Iran,” Bighash said, suggesting that the Parliament should issue a statement on “Turkey’s interference in the region,” and officially announce that “Iran does not recognize this geographical demarcation and corridor that Turkey wants.”

The lawmaker was apparently referring to the corridor that will be established between the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and mainland Azerbaijan in accordance with the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement that was signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia on November 10.

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/454869/Iranian-MP-rails-against-Turkey-s-role-in-Nagorno-Karabakh

 

[Yervant1]

You all could have helped, before it got to this stage.

Public Radio of Armenia

Nov 20 2020

Scholars urge Italian authorities to intervene to prevent destruction of Armenian monuments in Nagorno Karabakh

Scholars, professors from universities, and academies from Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Belgium and the US have appealed to the Italian government to make the necessary efforts to avoid the eradication of the millenary Armenian presence in Nagorno-Karabakh “as happened in Turkey after the 1915 genocide”, to take action for a peaceful solution in the region “in respect of self-determination.”

They also urge the Italian authorities to intervene to prevent the destruction of Armenian monuments in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan as it happened in Nakhijevan.

In an open letter they express concern that “despite the deployment of Russian troops, there is a real risk that the millennial Armenian physical and cultural presence could be erased forever from Nagorno-Karabakh as happened in Turkey after the 1915 genocide and in the Nakhichevan region, where in recent decades the entire Armenian cultural heritage has been destroyed by the Azerbaijani authorities.

The open letter launched by a group of Armenian scholars is addressed to the President of the Republic, the President of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the presidents of the Senate and Chamber Foreign Commissions and the Vatican Secretary of State.

“As scholars of Armenian culture, but also as Italian and European citizens, we therefore ask the authorities of our country to engage with the international community in order to reach a political solution that recognizes the Armenians’ right to live in this territory in complete safety and with respect for their self-determination.”

 

https://en.armradio.am/2020/11/20/scholars-urge-italian-authorities-to-intervene-to-prevent-destruction-of-armenian-monuments-in-nagorno-karabakh/

 

[Yervant1]

German lawmakers propose to impose arms embargo on Turkey

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16:28, 21 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The German Left Party and the Green Party have submitted a bill to the Bundestag, proposing to impose an arms embargo on Turkey for its militaristic policy and human rights violations in the Eastern Mediterranean, Nagorno Karabakh, Libya and Syria, Deutsche Welle reports.

The proposal has been sent to the Federal Council on November 20. It’s expected to enter into the agenda of the Council for discussion in coming weeks. The bill proposes to suspend the export of all types of military equipment, weapons to Turkey, as well as to cancel the previously adopted contracts on export.

The parties stated that Ankara seeks to have modern weapons systems, aims at building a big and independence military industry. They noted that Turkey should not be provided with such an opportunity because it can lead to further destabilization of the situation in the region and serious consequences for the European countries.

According to Deutsche Welle, in 2018-2019 33 exports of military equipment were carried out to Turkey. German companies have sold military equipment and materials to Turkey worth nearly 12 million 800 thousand Euros, as a result of which Ankara managed to create a large butch of UAVs.

The party also stated that Greece has already proposed the EU to impose an arms embargo on Turkey, but that proposal was vetoed by Hungary, Germany, Italy, Spain and Malta.

Reporting by Sedrak Sargsyan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

[Yervant1]

More evidence of Azerbaijan's use of Syrian mercenaries against Karabakh

November 21, 2020 - 14:52 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - More evidence of Azerbaijan's recruitment of mercenaries has landed online. Bellingcat researcher Alexander McKeever has identified the geographical location of photos taken by Syrian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Using pictures featuring mercenaries and a screenshot from a video of Azeri President Ilham Aliyev visiting territories his army has captured, McKeever has managed to identify the location as Jabrayil (Jrakan)․

The images of fighters have been spreading on social media from prior to the end of the war. Multiple sources, including the fighters themselves, have published evidence of their participation in hostilities on Azerbaijan's side.

In the war that lasted 44 days, the Turkish armed forces supported Azerbaijan militarily, also by transferring terrorist mercenaries from Libya and Syria to fight against Karabakh. Armenia was the first to report on Turkey's deployment of thousands of Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan. International media publications followed suit, as did reactions from France, Russia, Iran and Syria. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army has unveiled footage of the interrogation of two such terrorists captured on the front.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev have signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has said he has agreed to the deal signed by Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.

[Yervant1]

Greek City Times

Nov 21 2020

Greek community president in Armenia: History repeated itself and Armenia was left alone again

by Paul Antonopoulos

The president of the Greeks of Armenia spoke with Proto Thema about the tragedy in Artsakh that Armenians are facing after the military loss against the Turkish-sponsored invasion by the Azerbaijani military and Syrian mercenaries.

“Unfortunately, an entire generation of Armenians perished in the vortex of the war,” Maria Lazareva, president of the Union of Greek Communities of Armenia said when describing the frustration and anger people are feeling over the new national tragedy they are experiencing after the defeat in Artsakh.

In recent days, thousands of people are finding themselves to soon be under Azeri rule and have taken refuge in Armenia or areas of Artsakh protected by Russian peacekeepers.

Burning home in Artsakh.

Many are burning their homes and reclaiming the bones of their dead to take them with them.

“History repeats itself and Armenia was once again left alone. Thousands of Armenians in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan are fleeing to the Free Zones or to Armenia,” she explained.

“The situations is reminiscent of what these people experienced during the 1915 Genocide by the Young Turks. People in Armenia open the doors wide to those in need of a shelter, offering them a temporary shelter, clothes, food,” said Lazareva.

Military helmets.

“It is a national voluntary effort in these difficult times,” said added, noting that the defense forces had to face not only Azerbaijan on the battlefield, but also its supporters, including Turkey and Israel, which provided it with means and know-how.

At the same time, the political crisis in Yerevan is intensifying, with opposition parties and thousands of people continuing to protest against the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, blaming it for the national tragedy the country is experiencing.

On Monday, President Armen Sargsyan also directly demanded the resignation of the Pashinyan government and the formation of a National Unity government that will call new elections thereafter.

“Unfortunately, during these difficult times for Armenia, society is dangerously divided into two camps. One side claims that Russia intervened well, otherwise the bloodshed would continue and the catastrophe would be complete,” said the president of the Greek community.

“The other side speaks of betrayal and national catastrophe,” she continued.

Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh.

“During difficult times, it is important for there to be unity between the Armenians in the national center and the Diaspora, in order to heal the wounds left behind by the last war,” she explained.

“There are still prisoners, people missing and an unspecified number of dead. Efforts to host and rehabilitate refugees have begun in both the free zones of Artsakh and in Armenia, but this will take time,” said Lazareva.

There was one Greek who died in Artsakh. The martyr was a student born in Armenia but studying in Russia who had returned to defend Artsakh, as previously reported by Greek City Times.

Lazareva also categorically denied a list that was made public with the names of seven non-commissioned Greek officers who fought in Artsakh, with two losing their lives.

“This is fake news and propaganda, which has absolutely nothing to do with reality,” she concluded.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2020/11/22/greek-community-armenians-azeri/

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Nov 21 2020

4th report on Azerbaijani atrocities against Armenians to be submitted to international organizations

The Human Rights Defenders of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh have completed the 4th closed report on atrocities committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces against captured ethnic Armenians and corpses. It is the 4th report covering only torture and cruelty and refers to the period from November 4-18. They have already started preparation of the 5th report.

This report provides concrete evidence of all atrocities and war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces. All these were committed only because of Armenian ethnicity. These are the result of the Azerbaijan’s state-supported policy of hate speech.

The report contains evidence and analysis confirming the Azerbaijani policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide through terroristic methods in Artsakh.

The Ombudsmen do not publish the content of the report given the severity of atrocities and torture committed by Azerbaijan. It will be submitted to international bodies, as well as to relevant state bodies of Armenia.

 

https://en.armradio.am/2020/11/21/4th-report-on-azerbaijani-atrocities-against-armenians-to-be-submitted-to-international-organizations/

[Yervant1]

Kashmir Observer

Nov 21 2020

Unesco Pitches Heritage Mission To Nagorno-Karabakh

Agencies | November 21, 2020

Armenians visit a last time the 12th-13th century Orthodox Dadivank Monastery on the outskirts of Kalbajar on November 12, 2020 | Photo: AFP

New York- UN cultural agency Unesco has proposed a field mission to Nagorno-Karabakh to draw up an inventory of cultural assets in a region at the centre of recent fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The list would serve to ensure protection of the region’s most significant heritage, said Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay, after a historic cathedral in Nagorno-Karabakh was badly damaged by shelling last month.

Azoulay proposed the mission at meetings this week with representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan, said a Unesco statement.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on November 9 announced a Russian-brokered peace accord that ended a six-week war with Azerbaijan over the region that left thousands dead and tens of thousands displaced.

Armenia agreed to hand over swathes of disputed territory controlled by Armenian separatists since a post-Soviet war in the 1990s.

Azoulay met representatives of the two countries this week, and on Friday reiterated that the international community had a duty to protect cultural heritage and preserve it for future generations “beyond the conflicts of the moment.”

She repeated a call “for the protection of heritage in this region and the absolute necessity of preventing any further damage.”

Unesco experts have not been able to visit the affected zone, the organization said.

To this end, “Unesco will work with all interested partners to create the conditions” for a technical mission to the region.

“Unesco will work with all interested partners to create the conditions for such a mission. High-level consultations have begun with the States co-chairing the Minsk Group” mediating a solution to the conflict.

https://kashmirobserver.net/2020/11/21/unesco-pitches-heritage-mission-to-nagorno-karabakh/

[Yervant1]

CounterPunch

Nov 20 2020

Why Artsakh Still Matters to American AnarchismBY NICKY REID

The news broke like a fever last Monday night. A deal had been signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan to end the bloody month long war in Nagorno-Karabakh which had claimed the lives of thousands on both sides. This is a good thing right? How could any peace be bad? But something felt all wrong about this one. Armenia’s Prime Minister announced the deal on Facebook before adding that said deal was “unbelievably painful for me and our people.” The response of those Armenian people back in Yerevan was equally pained but somewhat less somber. They rioted and stormed the buildings of their government peacemakers, demanding their resignation for treason. That’s because this was not a peace deal made between equal sides on an even playing ground. It was a hostage situation with one side, Azerbaijan’s side, armed to the teeth and openly backed by some of the most powerful and merciless militaries in the world, who helped that nasty little gas station threaten the impoverished Armenians to concede to the demands of their tormentors on nothing short of the pains of genocide.

The Nagorno-Karabakh region had already been affectively ethnically cleansed. It’s ethnic Armenian population cut in two with 90,000 of their 150,000 citizens in exile as refugees back in mainland Armenia. Shushi, the region’s second largest city, had just been captured and a Second Armenian Genocide seemed terrifyingly imminent. What’s more, a major player in this bloody conflict was oddly absent from the deal. The Armenian Government was poorly represented along with the Russians who had failed miserably to defend their allies. The viciously racist regime of Azerbaijan was there with their neo-Ottoman Turkish puppet masters. But what of the Republic of Artsakh? The autonomous nation they were supposedly fighting over. They were nowhere to be found. Apparently their opinion on their own fate was irrelevant to the masters of the universe, even though it was their republic being ransacked and sold off to foreign “peacekeepers.”

Most Americans had never heard the words Nagorno-Karabakh before late September. Even fewer have heard of it’s proper name, Artsakh. But the mountainous dark garden, as it’s Russo-Azeri name alludes to, is an ethnic Armenian exclave which has struggled gallantly to maintain their autonomy from the Ottomans and their Turkic ancestors for centuries. Like many nations in the volatile Southern Caucuses, Artsakh is a mountain stronghold that breeds warriors. It had been its own autonomous republic within the Azerbaijani autonomous republic in the Soviet Union, but had been divided from the nearby Armenian autonomous republic by none other than Joseph Stalin in the 1920’s in what was rumored to be a strange attempt to curry favor with the recently de-Ottoman-ized Turkish Republic, who had just murdered 1.5 million ethnic Armenians less than a decade earlier. This cruel gift clearly failed to impress, as by the early 1960’s Turkey was fully in league with NATO and helping America to spark the Cuban Missile Crisis by letting them park their nuclear-tipped Jupiter Missiles in their territory and aimed at Ivan’s head. This cat and mouse game between the Russians, the Turks, and the Americans would come to define both Armenia and Artsakh’s fate.

With the fall of the Soviet Union, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh took to the streets peacefully and voted to return to Mother Armenia. Azerbaijan responded with a brutal 6 year long war that would claim the lives of tens of thousands and lead to atrocities committed by both sides. The Russians mostly just sat on their hands as the Soviet Union continued to unravel. A ceasefire was finally brokered by the Minsk Group, a ménage of malevolent meddlers consisting of France, Russia, and the United States, and the proverbial can was kicked down the road. In the meantime, the rag-tag Armenians who had fought the militarily superior Azerbaijani’s to a stand still decided to take matters in their own hands. Sick of leaving their fate up to everyone but themselves, they chose to secede from the UN recognized borders of Azerbaijan and declare independence as the Republic of Artsakh. Even Armenia failed to recognize the will of their own people, but they did continue to occupy 7 districts of Azerbaijan to keep their ethnic brethren from being completely cut off from the outside world like the Gaza Strip. The two remained close to the point of even sharing Presidents over the years. Never the less, conflicts continued to spark along those contentious borders, but nothing like what erupted this fall.

Contrary to what many would have you believe, the latest Nagorno-Karabakh war was far from spontaneous. It was barely even a war. It could be more accurately described as a siege lain by Azerbaijan at the behest of its sponsors in Turkey, the US, and Israel for two distinct geopolitical reasons. The despotic Turkish regime of Recep Erdogan sought to continue its blood spattered campaign of Ottoman revanchism which has killed thousands from Libya to Idlib. Meanwhile, their NATO handlers back in Washington along with their partners in crime in Jerusalem quietly sought to sow discord among the populace of Armenia and Azerbaijan’s southern neighbors in Iran, a sanction/Covid weakened nation which including large populations of both Azeris and Armenians. The siege began in late September, but all indications point to it being planned months if not years in advance. Under the Trump Administration, Azerbaijan’s US military aid exploded from $3 million in 2017 to a whopping $100 million by 2019. These are the tools used by Baku to ethnically cleanse Artsakh in 2020, along with Turkish drones and Israeli cluster bombs, not to mention US/Turkish trained Syrian jihadists.

This wasn’t a war. It was a well choreographed massacre. Whole villages were hollowed out. Ancient churches were bombed. Prisoners were tortured and journalists were targeted. It was a Yankee funded campaign to strip a proud nation of it’s autonomy, and that’s why this tragedy should matter to anarchists, even western anarchists like me. Artsakh wasn’t punished for simply being Armenian. They were punished, including by their supposed allies, for having the gall to define their own sovereignty outside of the confines of northern colonialist constructs like the UN. A Stalinist dunce like Azerbaijan’s Sultan Ilham Aliyev was able to parade around with his jihad to restore his nation’s UN recognized borders while he launched a second Armenian Genocide because his totalitarian farce of a government is granted more legitimacy than the democratic will of the people of Artsakh, who now find themselves held hostage by the white saviors of another UN Peacekeeping mission. These words make me sick because they have nothing to do with peace. An occupied nation can never be at peace. Is Gaza at peace? How about the Warsaw Ghetto? *** your statist peace. It is a stench in the nostrils of free people everywhere.

I took this crime personally because I am a Panarchist. A school of anarchist thought that embraces localism as a far more democratic and far less imperialistic alternative to globalist internationalism. It is my belief that secession is a basic god given human right afforded to all people, and that all people have the right to voluntarily establish their own nations anywhere as long as that right is afforded to all people. Under this understanding, Stepanakert would have as much right to declare its independence from Artsakh as Artsakh has to declare independence from Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan does from Russia. Tyranny thrives on size. The more massive a system is, be it a monarchy or a liberal democracy, the less truly democratic it becomes. Which leads me to the other reason Artsakh should still matter to Americans. Artsakh is our future, for better or worse.

The Soviet Union was never the mythic “Evil Empire” dreamed up by the CIA and their friends in Hollywood. But it was a superpower built on the foundation of a popular if misguided revolution and torn asunder by a monolithic gulag-warfare state. Does that sound familiar? In the final days of the Soviet Union, this massive benevolent society began to burst at the seems with divisions of every kind imaginable- territorial, cultural, religious, linguistic, economic…. In the end it didn’t simply collapse, it disintegrated into 15 sovereign states and dozens of unofficial ones. This became a massive crisis, but from an anti-statist point of view it could have just as easily become an opportunity. The only truly egalitarian societies that have ever thrived have been small autonomous movements sparked in times of great crisis- Paris, Catalonia, Chiapas, Rojava, CHOP…. These are the revolutions fought without pogroms, the ones that, for however short a period of time, managed to replace tyranny, not with more tyranny, but with hope and mutual aid.

This is how we save Artsakh. This is how we save Palestine and Yemen and Kurdistan. This is how we save ourselves. We create a million Artsakh’s until their are too many embers for the massive tyrants to stomp out. We become a storm of Artsakh’s, disintegrating the cowards of America, Turkey, Israel, and Russia in a vat of caustic chemical voluntarism. We stop trying to be the answer for everyone and create true solidarity by being the answer for ourselves and no one else. Armenia’s reliance on massive Russia betrayed them. Can you imagine if instead they could rely on Donetsk, Luhansk, Chechnya, Dagestan, and roaming tribes of Cossacks in Russia’s wild and mineral rich Siberian far east? If Turkey had to contain sultanates and confederations of Alevi, Kurds, Maoists, and Shiites? If America had to do war with sovereign citizens in New Hampshire, Mormon Fundamentalists in Arizona, and Black Nationalists in Mississippi who all formed pacts with the people we kill on the other side of the world? If all Black and Brown lives mattered or else? If Artsakh has taught us anything it is that false nationalist unity is the last thing we need in an age of division. What we need is swarm solidarity.

….And all the sultan’s horses and all the czar’s men couldn’t put globalism back together again….

Think About it, dearest mother***ers. It could be a beautiful crisis.

Nicky Reid is an agoraphobic anarcho-genderqueer gonzo blogger from Central Pennsylvania and assistant editor for Attack the System. You can find her online at Exile in Happy Valley.

 

https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/11/20/why-artsakh-still-matters-to-american-anarchism/

[Yervant1]

120 French artists, actors support Armenians against Azeri aggression

November 21, 2020 - 11:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - 120 prominent French artists and intellectuals have issued a statement in support of Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the French Embassy in Yerevan reports.

Joining the call are world-renowned actors Alain Delon, Claudia Cardinale, Jean Reno, Fanny Ardant, Danny Boone, Juliette Binoche, Pierre Richard, Jean Dujardin, world-renowned intellectuals Jacques Attali, Claude Lelouch, Michel Hazanavicius, famous TV personality Stephen Burn, world-famous chef Alain Ducasse.

“More than a century after the Armenian Genocide at the hands of Ottoman rulers in 1915, the same people are again victims of two authoritarian regimes which, in Baku and in Ankara, incite inter-ethnic hatred in order to endow their power with a new bloody trophy,” the open letter reads.

“The fate of the Armenians has just been brutally damaged in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region they call Artsakh. Humble and proud people, firmly attached to their rocky, wonderful soil, have lived there for more than two millennia. They wanted to continue their existence where their ancestors had built their homes, their schools and their admirable monasteries."

The artists say Karabakh is a mere territory for Baku and Ankara.

They also cited evidence that Azerbaijan used cluster bombs prohibited by international law.

"The fight was totally unequal. The Armenians did not want this war, but they were forced to fight for their survival. For the Azeri regime, it is only a matter of nationalist pride. In the 21st century, such a detestation of humans, such exaltation of hatred, arouses the deepest indignation and has absolutely no place to exist,” the letter says.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev have signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has said he has agreed to the deal signed by Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan.

[Yervant1]

Hopefully from this day on, instead of building new churches we need to build new effective weapons so that we can defend the old churches!

SKY NEWS

Nov 22 2020

'I don't want to say goodbye': Armenian monastery guarded by military set to pass to Azerbaijan

A Russian tank is stationed at the Armenian Dadivank monastery, which is in territory due to be ceded to Azerbaijan within days.

By Diana Magnay, Moscow correspondent, at Dadivank monastery

Sunday 22 November 2020 19:21, UK

The Cathedral Church at the Dadivank monastery is packed.

The Armenian chant, or sharakan, used during Holy Mass sounds especially melancholy this Sunday - a beautiful tenor voice filling the small domed space as members of the congregation wipe away tears.

Perhaps they have lost loved ones in this war. Perhaps they grieve their nation's defeat.

Perhaps it is grief that this holy place for Armenian Christians will pass into Azerbaijani hands on Wednesday.

Image: Azerbaijan has promised that Armenian Christians will have continued access to Dadivank

This is the last Sunday when the medieval monastic complex at Dadivank remains de facto theirs.

"It is our heritage and we should look after and protect it," says Sona Khachaturyan who has come to visit from the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

"Unfortunately it will become part of Azerbaijan. It's painful but I don't want to say goodbye because I'm sure I'll be back."

The Russian tricolour flag flies at the entrance to the monastery complex.

A Russian tank sits in the courtyard, barrel pointing at the oncoming traffic.

Image: A Russian tank sits in the courtyard at Dadivank monastery

Azerbaijan has promised that Armenian Christians will be provided with continued access to Dadivank and other religious sites in territories that will soon be theirs.

The Russians are here to make sure they keep their word.

"Azerbaijanis are not Turks but they behave like them," says Father Shmavan, who came from Yerevan to help officiate the service.

"The Ottoman Turks promised that everything would be okay but when the Young Turks came to power they started the Armenian genocide.

"There were a lot of promises made by the Aliyev dynasty starting with Heydar and finishing with Ilham Aliyev, but they don't keep their promises."

Image: Bishop Hovhannes Hovhannisyan presides over Holy Mass at Dadivank Cathedral Church

The deportation and mass killing of around 1.5 million ethnic Armenians as the Ottoman Empire collapsed is a wound which will never heal for Armenians and the huge Armenian diaspora.

It was the bogeyman in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's wartime rhetoric.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are the only two states which still refuse to recognise the genocide.

No wonder Father Shmavan has little faith in their promises.

Now the fear and the language of cultural genocide is reappearing.

Image: Sunday's Holy Mass service was the last before the monastery becomes part of Azerbaijan

Much of Armenia's cultural heritage was destroyed when Western Armenia was absorbed into Turkey in the first part of the 20th century.

With the territorial losses incurred as a result of this war, Armenia is squeezed again.

These ancient sites though are impressive for their resilience. During Soviet times when Kalbajar was in Azerbaijani hands, locals kept their cattle in the Dadivank monastery.

The layer of soot from the fires they burnt helped preserve the 12th century frescoes underneath which were only revealed during renovations in the early 1990s.

 

 

 

We decide to visit the 4th century monastery complex at Amaras.

It is still under Armenian control but is situated in the south eastern corner of Nagorno-Karabakh where Azerbaijan has recaptured a lot of territory. It is isolated and precarious.

The little white church at its centre is surrounded by thick, fortified walls. When Eastern Armenia was under Russian control in the 19th century, Amaras was a frontier fortress.

Now again it is a militarised zone. The Azerbaijani positions are three kilometres away, at the top of the hill on the horizon.

The Russian flag flies over the ramparts but an Armenian unit is stationed here for now. The entrance is through a hole in the wall.

The soldiers have barbecued a pig and invite us to eat with them inside the fortified walls. There is no electricity so we eat by the light of our mobile phones.

"It is surprising that you see me eating at a table because all my friends are still in the trenches," says Artak Hovhannesyan.

"If you stand at this monastery and look right, left and behind the trenches are still full."

The Russian peacekeepers have an initial mandate of five years but that will most likely be extended.

Despite their presence, both sides will need to keep their trenches manned. As this conflict re-freezes, this kind of military effort is needed to maintain the new status quo.

https://news.sky.com/story/i-dont-want-to-say-goodbye-armenian-monastery-guarded-by-military-set-to-pass-to-azerbaijan-12139563

 

 

[Yervant1]

All these factors were there even before the war, why in hell the West did nothing to stop it? They did it for Kosovo, why not for Armenians?

Public Radio of Armenia

Nov 22 2020

Aude-de-France Regional Council urges to ensure respect for Nagorno Karabakh people’s right to self-determination

The Aude-de-France Regional Council has adopted a resolution, calling on the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, to ensure respect for the Nagorno Karabakh People’s right to self-determination.

The resolution reads:

Taking into account the unleashing of hostilities by Azerbaijan against the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh,

Given the serious suspicion of the use of weapons by the Azerbaijani armed forces prohibited by international conventions,

Considering France’s responsibility as a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, together with Russia and the United States, in finding a lasting solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan,

Given the undeniable presence of jihadist militants in the Azerbaijani army,

Given the tragic impact of the conflict on the local population, the loss of thousands of lives, the destruction of thousands of homes, the de facto subordination or exile of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh,

Taking into account the military assistance provided by Turkey to Azerbaijan, which greatly destabilized the conflict in favor of Azerbaijan,

Taking into account the agreement reached between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, which freezes the conflict in its favor without the involvement of any internationally recognized court,

Considering that this agreement violates the sovereign territory of Armenia by creating a “corridor” under the protection of Russian peacekeepers,

Considering that the non-settlement of the status of Nagorno Karabakh is fraught with the risk of resumption of the armed conflict,

Taking into account the unleashing of hostilities by Azerbaijan against the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh,

Given the serious suspicion of the use of weapons by the Azerbaijani armed forces prohibited by international conventions,

Considering France’s responsibility as a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, together with Russia and the United States, in finding a lasting solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan,

Given the undeniable presence of jihadist militants in the Azerbaijani army,

Given the tragic impact of the conflict on the local population, the loss of thousands of lives, the destruction of thousands of homes, the de facto subordination or exile of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh,

Taking into account the military assistance and intervention assistance provided by Turkey to Azerbaijan, which greatly destabilized the conflict in favor of Azerbaijan,

Taking into account the agreement reached between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 10, which freezes the conflict in its favor without the involvement of any internationally recognized court,

Considering that this agreement violates the sovereign territory of Armenia by creating a “corridor” under the protection of Russian peacekeepers,

Considering that the non-settlement of the status of Nagorno Karabakh is fraught with the risk of resumption of the armed conflict,

Taking into account the choice of the people of Nagorno Karabakh under the referendum of December 10, 1991,

Considering the serious threats to the destruction of the centuries-old Armenian cultural heritage due to the fact that they are in fact under the control of Azerbaijan,

Taking into account the historical-cultural ties uniting France and Armenia and, in particular, since the time when France opened its doors to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide of in 1915,

Aude-de-France Regional Council:

• Expresses its fraternal support to all the Armenians of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, the whole world, France and the region of Aude-France,

• Supports the proposal for a resolution on the need to recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic submitted to the Senate on November 18, 2020, in accordance with Article 34-1 of the French Constitution;

• Appeals to the Government to reaffirm the objection expressed by the President of the French Republic Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007 regarding Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

• Calls on the European Union (EU) to condemn the hostilities unleashed by Azerbaijan backed by Turkey, and to impose economic sanctions against the latter by imposing tariffs on its exports to the EU;

• Calls on the French Government, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to apply to the United States, Russia, China, and the United Kingdom to rescind the November 10 agreement; on its territory,

• Calls on the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, to ensure respect for the right of nations to self-determination, and the principles of the inviolability of borders in the context of this crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan;

• Calls on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to take all necessary steps to protect the Armenian cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh;

• Will support, directly or indirectly, initiatives organized in France to provide humanitarian assistance to Armenians affected by the conflict.

https://en.armradio.am/2020/11/22/aude-de-france-regional-council-urges-to-ensure-respect-for-nagorno-karabakh-peoples-right-to-self-determination/

 

[Yervant1]

Public Radio of Armenia

Nov 22 2020

France, Russia and the US bear a special responsibility for Karabakh, French FM says

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has emphasized the great responsibility that the Minsk Group countries bear in the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“France, Russia and the United States have a special responsibility. Because they were the ones who were entrusted by the UN to monitor compliance with the commitments assumed by the parties to the conflict. As co-chairmen of the Minsk Group, we made a lot of efforts to achieve a ceasefire. Three times in one week initiatives were undertaken to achieve a cessation of hostilities, in particular, by my Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov and by the United States, Michael Pompeo, but at that moment it did not work, “Le Drian said on Sunday during an interview with the French news channel LSI.

“We bear the responsibility that the international community has entrusted to us. And Armenia itself wants us to keep this responsibility. All this requires us to adhere to a balanced position,” he said.

“Both the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaderships stressed the importance of preserving our role. But this does not prevent France from providing assistance to Armenia now – an airplane with humanitarian supplies arrives in Yerevan, another one will leave there next week,” the minister said. During the interview, he especially stressed that “Armenia is a friendly people for France.

“However, it should be admitted that there is uncertainty regarding the ceasefire reached – and we want the necessary clarifications to be made to us in this regard. They concern displaced persons, since there are many Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and we strive to ensure that those Armenians, who were driven from their places of residence, return there,” the French minister said.

“It is also the issue of mercenaries – their withdrawal should be achieved, and all three countries – the co-chairs of the Minsk Group agree with the necessity of this,” he continued.

“There is also the issue of protecting religious and cultural heritage. In this regard, French President Emmanuel Macron took initiatives jointly with UNESCO, which I discussed on Saturday with my colleagues from Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Le Drian said.

“Only after the settlement of these problems can we move on to the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. At the moment it is not possible to discuss this. And the Armenian leadership agrees with this,” Le Drian said.

The French Foreign Minister said that the topic of Nagorno-Karabakh was discussed by him during the recent visit of US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to Paris.

 

https://en.armradio.am/2020/11/22/france-russia-and-the-us-bear-a-special-responsibility-for-karabakh-french-fm-says/

[Yervant1]

News Cast

Nov 20 2020

France demands international deployment to implement Armenia-Azerbaijan peace accord

By Pratyaksha Mitra on November 20, 2020No Comment

Paris: – It was decided in the peace accord, signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with Russian initiative, that Russian peacekeeping force will be deployed there. But now, Turkey also is making moves to deploy its soldiers and France has become aggressive against this. French President Emmanuel macros has made a strong demand that the Minsk group, who had mediated in the previous Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, must participate in the implantation of the peace accord.

http://images.newscast-pratyaksha.com/english/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/turkey-france.jpgWar flared up between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in September, in the Nagorno Karabakh region. The war has ended after a long 40 days and the intervention of Russian President Vladimir Putin proved vital in ending the war. As per the peace accord signed with the Russian initiative, Azerbaijan will retain the parts won by it. At the same time, it was noted that the Russian military would remain deployed in the region connecting Armenia with Nagorno Karabakh. The military and security agencies of Azerbaijan will be present in the regions awarded to Azerbaijan, into the peace agreement. But now, reports are being received that Turkey has started moves to have its military deployed in the region. The Turkish parliament has passed a bill to that effect. Claims are also being made that Turkey is talking to Russia over the issue. The possible Turkish deployment in Nagorno Karabakh has become a cause of concern for France and it is believed that the demand for an international squad has emerged from the same concern.

French President Macron has raised the issue of the refugees who left Nagorno Karabakh during the period of the war. Macron said that repatriation and settlement of these refugees is an important issue. The French President demanded the presence of the international squad saying that therefore, the participation of the Minsk Group will be important for proper implementation of the peace accord. The Minsk Group has French representation along with the United States and Russia. Turkey had strongly opposed the Minsk Group and had fired salvos of criticism against it. Taking the same thing into account, the French President seems to have proposed participation of the Minsk Group.

In the last few years, France has vehemently opposed the aggressive Turkish policies and at times has even resorted to action. The two countries are consistently at loggerheads over the issues of Syria, Libya, immigrants in Europe, tensions in the Mediterranean Sea and terrorism and the tension between the two countries is said to be scaling dangerous levels.

http://www.newscast-pratyaksha.com/english/france-demands-international-deployment-to-implement-armenia-azerbaijan-peace-accord/?fbclid=IwAR2PDc4SzqRGsEWZVFzWhyu_je-BXIroxwij7f3-vMllfLMT27_3io-MhxQ

[Yervant1]

The National Interest

Nov 23 2020

How to Revive Real Diplomacy Between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Even with the cease-fire, America and France may yet be able to find a solution through the Minsk Group. Michael Rubin is on the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh.

by Michael Rubin

STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH - The Holy Mother of God Cathedral in Stepanakert, the largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh and the capital of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh, symbolizes the tragedy of recent fighting. Refugees—or “displaced Armenians” as UN bureaucrats call them—sleep in the basement with little hope of returning to Shusha, a mountaintop town, now controlled by Azerbaijani forces. The buildings of Shusha are visible when fog lifts, but Russian peacekeepers have blocked the road less than two miles away from the cathedral and warn that they cannot protect anyone who goes closer from the possibility of being shot by Azerbaijani snipers or the Syrian Arab mercenaries brought in by Turkey who support them.

Armenians are shell-shocked. The Nagorno-Karabakh dispute in its current iteration predates the fall of the Soviet Union when the largely Armenian region separated from Armenia proper by Josef Stalin and made an autonomous oblast within Azerbaijan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh voted overwhelmingly for independence, a move Azerbaijan tried—and failed—to crush militarily. The local military trained to defend their mountainous terrain from Azerbaijani soldiers and a stalemate persisted for the past thirty-six years. But when air raid sirens sounded early on September 27, a Sunday morning when most residents were home or at church, the regional military found itself fighting not only Azeris, but also Turks, Syrian mercenaries handpicked by Turkey from amongst their most radical proxy groups, and Israeli-made drones. The Armenians managed to hold their Azeri adversaries at bay for almost six weeks but, in the end, the qualitative edge given to the Azerbaijanis by Turkey and Israel proved too much.

Armenia and Artsakh accepted a hasty ceasefire imposed upon them by Russia as the least bad option given the apparent willingness of Azerbaijan and Turkey to conduct wholesale ethnic cleansing. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was triumphant. “This [ceasefire] statement constitutes Armenia’s capitulation. This statement puts an end to the years-long occupation. This statement is our Glorious Victory!” he tweeted, adding, “There is no issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status in this statement.” In other words, Azerbaijan had achieved through force and a surprise attack what it had not achieved in the diplomatic talks to which it had committed itself. That might have been bad enough, but Aliyev continued to argue that he had no intention to negotiate further regarding recognizing the status of Armenians in the region and their nearly three-decade-old self-governing entity.

Among the collateral damage from the forty-five-day war has been the Minsk Group’s diplomatic credibility. Russia appears to have hoodwinked and outplayed its American and French co-chairs in cutting a separate deal which enabled it to insert its own forces into the region in contradiction to its previous commitments to rely on neutral peacekeepers likely drawn from Scandinavian countries without a history in the region.

The United States, distracted by its election system and a White House skeptical of asserting Western influence abroad, has been largely silent with the exception of some pro forma but ultimately meaningless statements. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s call for a return to the negotiating table is alone unlikely to persuade Azerbaijan. After all, from Aliyev’s perspective, his alliance with Turkey and its jihadist militias and its gratuitous violence toward Armenian prisoners pays more than diplomacy.

Absent American and French leverage, Aliyev might be right. But his triumphalism may also have been premature. He bragged about liberating Shusha but, while Azeri special forces and Arab militiamen may have reached the mountaintop town, Putin may have had the last laugh. There are no roads into Shusha from Azerbaijan passable by ordinary vehicles; all existing roads pass through Artsakh and are blocked by Russian peacekeepers. Aliyev has promised an Azeri return to Shusha but is unable to deliver. He has reportedly asked Putin for permission to build a new road but has yet to receive permission.

Fresh graves for war dead in Stepanakert. Photo by Michael Rubin/AEI.

The United States and France should seize this opening and demand that any road construction be tied to the return of Shusha’s population to the city and a return to Azerbaijan’s Minsk Group commitments. Washington and Paris may have lost leverage by inaction when tested, but Aliyev would be foolish to believe that his economy and he and his wife’s personal assets can resist the full wrath of U.S. and European financial pressure. Nor is Putin likely going to fall on his sword for Aliyev when Russia has already achieved its goal: troops in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan may be an absolute dictatorship and a family fiefdom, but domestic politics still matter and amplify U.S. leverage. Aliyev may appear triumphant, but he is savvy enough to know that Azeris will soon learn the cost of their military victory. Not only do they now have jihadi Syrian militias on their soil who apparently refuse to leave, but they have also become a Turkish satellite state with Turkish troops on their territory. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s military assistance was not altruistic, but rather came at the cost of Azerbaijan’s true independence. Aliyev may view Erdoğan as an equal, but Erdoğan sees Aliyev as a subordinate, little different than the president of his puppet state in northern Cyprus. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan lost several thousand troops. Their families may be silent for now, but Aliyev’s inability to repopulate Shusha—the crown jewel of his expensive campaign—could amplify the domestic pressure he faces when Azeris realize their president was stupid to trust Putin.

Aliyev also erred in his refusal to negotiate Artsakh’s status. Armenia has long deferred recognition of the republic out of deference to the Minsk process. By embracing unilateralism, Aliyev is empowering Armenia to do the same. In the past, Yerevan may have also believed that such action could be provocative and upset the status quo. With Russian troops now separating Azeri forces from their Armenian counterparts, such considerations could fall by the wayside. Indeed, Aliyev’s actions could put a Kosovo solution for Nagorno-Karabakh on the table.

In short, the United States and France have more leverage in the Minsk Group than their leaders now realize. At first glance, the new status quo appears a defeat for Armenia and the idea of self-determination for Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. But Aliyev’s miscalculations, mistakes, and triumphalist rhetoric may have just opened the door to a new status quo. It is time for the State Department and Quai d’Orsay to seize the opportunity.

Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-revive-real-diplomacy-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan-173143

[MosJan]