new promising era New Promising Era "President" & VP Nikol Pashinian

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Fake sultan kept non of his agreements with Armenia, why be any different this time?

 

Armenpress.am

‘What are Armenia’s guarantees that Azerbaijan won’t violate possible peace treaty?’ Marukyan to int’l community

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16:21, 25 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, ARMENPRESS. Ambassador-at-large Edmon Marukyan has expressed doubt that Azerbaijan would adhere to the terms of a possible peace treaty with Armenia given Baku’s continuous violations of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, and called for international guarantees.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Marukyan addressed the United States, France, Russia and the EU – all of whom are calling on Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign a peace treaty – asking them whether or not they are ready to guarantee the implementation of a possible peace treaty by Azerbaijan.

“Violating the trilateral agreement signed on November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan has set up a checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor. The co-chair countries of OSCE Minsk Group, USA, France, Russia, as well as the EU's [High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission] Josep Borrell have expressed their concerns in this regard. It is interesting that all these 3 countries and the EU are urging the parties to come to agreements and sign a Peace Treaty. An important question arises here, if Azerbaijan continuously violates the statement signed on November 9, 2020, then, what are Armenia's guarantees that it will not violate the signed Peace Treaty also? Are the same members of the international community: USA, France, Russia, EU ready to guarantee the implementation of the Peace Treaty to be concluded with Azerbaijan?” he tweeted.

 

 

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Azeri actions in Lachin Corridor aimed at committing ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh, Pashinyan warns EU’s Michel

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09:22, 26 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 26, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has held a phone call with President of the European Council Charles Michel.

“Views were exchanged around the military-political and humanitarian situation in the region,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a readout.

The Armenian Prime Minister “emphasized that the Azerbaijani side’s steps in the Lachin Corridor are aimed at the consistent implementation of its policy of committing ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh and fully depopulating Nagorno Karabakh.”

PM Pashinyan also “stressed the importance of an adequate reaction by the international community to Azerbaijan’s actions undermining regional security, as well as implementation of practical steps in the direction of the unconditional fulfillment of the International Court of Justice ruling.”

The Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations process was also discussed.

“The sides attached importance to consistent efforts in the direction of ensuring stability and peace in the region.”

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

The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - ordered Azerbaijan on February 22 to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has so far ignored the ruling.

 

 

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Armenpress.am

Only goal of France, EU over Armenia-Azerbaijan relations is restoration of peace - FM Colonna

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12:11, 28 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. The only goal of France and the EU regarding the regional situation and the Armenia-Azerbaijan relations is the restoration of peace and atmosphere of trust, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told reporters in Jermuk on April 28.

“Only a peace treaty will allow to truly resolve all outstanding issues stemming from this situation. That is why the EU sent a monitoring mission, which is a civilian mission, an unarmed mission. The goal of the mission is to record the situation on the ground, which allows the EU countries to have direct, first-hand reports on the situation. We believe that the mission is very useful, and it is also due to the work of this mission that we will be able to move forward on the path of peace,” FM Colonna said.

She said it was important for her to visit Jermuk to express support to the EU monitoring mission and on the other hand to see the situation with her own eyes. “Naturally we get informed on the situation based on documents, but seeing it with your own eyes on the ground is also very important, and with this visit we once again reiterate our support to the friendly people of Armenia,” FM Colonna added.

“We understand the situation better by seeing the advancement on these new positions,” she added.

 

 

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Armenia expects France’s support in deploying international fact-finding mission to Lachin Corridor, NK

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13:21, 28 April 2023

YEREVAN, APRIL 28, ARMENPRESS. The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan said on Friday that France can help Armenia in both resolving its security-related issues and the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

“France can definitely bring much benefit in many issues and help Armenia,” Grigoryan told reporters in Jermuk. “As you know, the EU civilian mission was deployed to Armenia as a result of the meeting in Prague, where the President of France had an important role. France continues to seek ways for helping Armenia. Also as a Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group it continues to be engaged in the NK issue. As you know, the French Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group has arrived to Armenia together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France. At this moment we see great interest from France for a resolution of the situation in Lachin Corridor,” Armen Grigoryan said.

He added that Armenia is carrying out intensive work with its international partners in order for an international fact-finding mission to be sent to Lachin Corridor and Nagorno Karabakh. Grigoryan said that this issue is also being discussed with France and Armenia expects to receive support.

Secretary Grigoryan stressed that they offered Foreign Minister of France Catherine Colonna to visit Jermuk in order to have a better understanding of the situation.

“From our discussions I have an impression that the minister has a full understanding of the situation,” Grigoryan said.

Asked by ARMENPRESS about the current phase in conveying peace treaty proposals between Armenia and Azerbaijan given Baku’s statement claiming that Armenia hasn’t conveyed its proposals for more than 40 days, Grigoryan said: “Negotiations are expected soon, discussions are underway. Azerbaijan was also late in the past when we had conveyed our proposals. That’s very normal. We didn’t convey for one reason, because negotiations were planned, that’s the reason. I think Azerbaijan is simply engaged in a policy of deviating the attention of the international community from other important issues.”

[see video]

 

 

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April 29 2023

Is Armenia Sliding Toward Authoritarianism?

Political persecution, human rights violations, spying on opposition figures, and other instances of illiberal behavior should worry observers of the country.

by Aleksandar Srbinovski

Despite high expectations following the Velvet Revolution of 2018 that overthrew the regime of ex-President Serzh Sargsyan, the democratic landscape of Armenia has remained bleak in recent years. The current government of the country is steadily backsliding towards non-democratic governance, and perhaps even authoritarianism.

Of special concern has been the persecution of political activists and journalists, as reflected in the annual reports of a number of NGOs specialized in evaluating the functioning of democratic institutions. Reports about Armenia’s democratic environment also include human rights violations, the persecution of political activists and members of LGBTQ+ community, as well as instances of domestic violence.

For instance, Freedom House, in its most recent annual report, downgraded its assessment of political rights and civil liberties in Armenia. The report revealed that large-scale measures were being taken against political dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists by the country’s authorities.

Moreover, in its report last May, Google’s Threat Analysis Group revealed the unlawful use by “government-backed actors” of spyware called Predator, created by the North Macedonian company Cytrox. The software had been used to target journalists, dissidents, and human rights activists in the country, with local media outlets reporting that the electronic devices of several Armenian opposition politicians have been hacked. Yet Predator is not the only spyware being used; an Armenian opposition leader Artur Vanetsyan once claimed that the Pegasus spyware had been installed on his phones in 2021. Despite the claim and the following scandal, the use of Pegasus against Armenian journalists and opposition figures has apparently not been discontinued. According to a study conducted by social media specialists in Armenia in November 2022, Pegasus may still monitor the key opposition and media personalities.

The worrying developments do not stop with such spying. It is apparent that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has also begun persecuting members of the previous government he overthrew. For instance, two former defense ministers have been arrested on what have been described as politically-motivated charges. Former Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan, who served from 2008 to 2016, was arrested in 2020 on charges of embezzling over $2 million in state funds. The same charge was also brought against another former defense minister, David Tonoyan, who was detained in 2021.

The ex-minister Tonoyan, two other generals, and an arms dealer were arrested by the National Security Service (NSS) in September 2021 as part of a criminal investigation into the supplying of an allegedly outdated missile to Armenia’s armed forces. However, experts believe the arrest of Tonoyan had a political motivation—he was simply made a scapegoat for Armenia’s defeat in the six-week war with neighboring Azerbaijan in 2020. Having served as the defense minister between 2018 and 2020, Tonoyan resigned a week after his country’s capitulation in the war over Karabakh but obviously could not escape the persecution. It’s worth noting that Tonoyan, contrary to what one would assume, defended Pashinyan’s signing of the trilateral statement of November 2020 that ended the war. “Despite the fact that the Armenian Armed Forces, the entire system of the Ministry of Defense and the government did their best to be successful, calling the agreement reached to end the Karabakh war a ‘betrayal’ or ‘defeat’ is an insult,” he said in response to criticism voiced following Armenia’s signing of the deal.

The political persecution does not stop there; members of the country’s political opposition have been targeted, namely Dashnaktsutyun (Armenian Revolutionary Federation) party members. Artavazd Margaryan, head of Dashnaktsutyun faction in the Council of Elders (the municipality council) of Artashat, was detained for seventy-two hours along with the party’s activist Gerasim Vardanyan in January this year. The arrest was mocked by Margaryan’s lawyer, who posted on social media: “The detention is obviously illegal; it is devoid of any logic. You won’t believe it, but Margaryan had such charges only because he has a phone.”

Some arrests may end up in a tragedy, as was in the case of Armen Grigorian. A notable opposition personality, Grigorian fainted in court and later passed away in the summer 2022. He was put in pre-trial custody for two months, despite committing no crimes and despite lawyer and family concerns about his health. As each day went by, his immune system got worse.

Rapid Political Change

What is perhaps most surprising is how fast Armenia’s trajectory from budding democracy towards increasing illiberalism occurred. After the ruling government won the snap elections in the summer of 2021, things began to shift quickly. The government resumed its interrupted task of finding “the enemies of the people”—a process evocative of Stalin-era purges—with increased speed after receiving what Prime Minister Pashinyan calls a “steel mandate” from his people following the 2020 war. The representatives of the Armenian diaspora communities living in various countries around the world were one of the initial targets in this fight. For instance, the authorities in Yerevan refused to let Mourad Papazian, the chairman of an Armenian diaspora organization in France, enter the country in July 2022. Papazian, who has never committed a crime, was solely prohibited from entering Armenia due to his alleged involvement in anti-Pashinyan protests in Paris in 2021.

Pashinyan’s blacklist does not stop with Papazian. At Zvartnots airport on August 1, Armenian security personnel approached two Dutch-Armenians, Massis Abrahamian and Suneh Abrahamian, and informed them that they had been designated persona non grata in Armenia. Similar to Papazian, these two diaspora activists were prohibited from entering the country because they spoke out against Armenia’s current government.

Also notable is how quickly religious freedoms have also been declining in the country. In 2020, the NSS launched an investigation into Sashik Sultanyan, the chairperson of the Yezidi Center for Human Rights, after the latter publicly stated that Armenia’s Yazidi community was facing discrimination. Despite the criticism by international human rights NGOs, Sultanyan’s trial was in progress as of late 2022. If convicted, the activist will face six years in prison on the charge of being a part of an “anti-state” conspiracy.

Likewise worth mentioning is the deteriorating condition of media freedom as well. According to the Resource Center on Media Freedom in Europe, media freedom remains restricted in Armenia, “among threats of violence, strong political inferences, and expensive defamation lawsuits.” An Armenian-based NGO, the Committee to Protect Freedom of _expression_, has recorded fifteen cases of journalists experiencing physical violence between January and September 2022. Moreover, most print and broadcast outlets are affiliated with political or larger commercial interests.

Despite earlier promises during and after the 2018 Velvet Revolution that brought Nikol Pashinyan and his team to power, and even the 2021 snap elections during which the war-torn society gave another chance to the incumbent government after the devastating defeat in the conflict against Azerbaijan, the political climate in Armenia has been changing, unfortunately in the negative direction. As one Armenian expert expresses, the country`s leader “has turned hatred into a principle of governance and lies into a form of governing.”

Aleksandar Srbinovski is a journalist with over fifteen years of experience working in print and online media. He has worked for Nova Makedonija, Newsweek, Europa, Blic, Politika, ABC News, Vecher, TV Sitel, and Skok. He holds a BA in journalism from the Saints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje and has pursued continued training with the University of Oklahoma.

Image: Shutterstock.

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/armenia-sliding-toward-authoritarianism-206438

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Armenpress.am

Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN warns of Azerbaijan’s policy of systematic erasure of the Armenian traces

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10:30, 3 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 3, ARMENPRESS. The Protection of Cultural Heritage in Armed Conflicts UN Security Council Arria-formula meeting took place on May 2, organized by the Permanent Missions of France and the United Arab Emirates.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and representatives of several UN member states delivered remarks at the event.

Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN Mher Margaryan also delivered remarks.

Margaryan warned that today, the millennia-old Christian Armenian sites in Nagorno-Karabakh are on the verge of total extermination.

Margaryan said that Armenia has consistently requested that a UNESCO fact-finding mission be deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent areas in order to help preserve the vast and unique cultural heritage of the region, yet, Azerbaijan continues to obstruct efforts of the international organizations for independent and impartial assessment of the facts on the ground, having opted, instead, for the policy of systematic erasure of the Armenian traces, putting into practice a pseudoscientific theory that denies the historical sites of their Armenian origin.

Below is the full transcript of Margaryan’s speech:

“I thank the Permanent Missions of France and the United Arab Emirates and the cosponsors for convening today’s meeting, as well as the distinguished briefers for their valuable remarks and welcome the participation of Director-General Azoulay. The UNESCO has an important mandate in protecting cultural heritage at risk, and I would like to acknowledge the critical role of the Orgaization in this regard.

 

Armed conflicts and military actions can have devastating impact on objects of cultural heritage, which are of irreplaceable value to the entire mankind as unique expressions of history, identity and cultural memory. As such, their integrity and preservation must be upheld at all times.

 

In our region, we have first-hand experience going through the devastating loss of cultural property. The Armenian heritage was under heavy attack during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh launched by Azerbaijan in 2020. The Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Cathedral of Shushi, for example, was deliberately shelled, twice within a few hours, resulting in the partial destruction of the Church.

 

Today, the millennia-old Christian Armenian sites in Nagorno-Karabakh are on the verge of total extermination, targeted to promote the distorted narrative that the Armenian people are alien in the region. Armenia’s deep concern in relation to the fate of the cultural property in Nagorno-Karabakh is also based on the previous history of total and intentional eradication of the Armenian heritage by Azerbaijan. In Nakhijevan, for example, thousands of monuments, including 89 medieval churches and more than 5,000 cross-stones were annihilated, in an effort to remove traces of the Armenian civilizational presence.

 

Azerbaijan is yet to commit, in good faith, to the implementation of the Order on Provisional Measures issued by the International Court of Justice at the request of Armenia in December 2021, according to which Azerbaijan shall “take all necessary measures to prevent and punish acts of vandalism and desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage, including but not limited to churches and other places of worship, monuments, landmarks, cemeteries and artefacts”.

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

Armenia has consistently requested that a UNESCO fact-finding mission be deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent areas in order to help preserve the vast and unique cultural heritage of the region, yet, Azerbaijan continues to obstruct efforts of the international organizations for independent and impartial assessment of the facts on the ground, having opted, instead, for the policy of systematic erasure of the Armenian traces, putting into practice a pseudoscientific theory that denies the historical sites of their Armenian origin. Only today, the chairman of what is called the State Committee for Work with religious Organizations of Azerbaijan went on record saying that the Medieval Armenian Dadivank monastery “belongs to Caucasian Albania” and “sooner or later it will be controlled by the Albanian-Udi religious community”.

 

Destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage continues to be extensively monitored and reported, including through the use of modern technologies. I would like to recall, in this regard, that on 28 April, last Friday, Armenia hosted a panel discussion at the UN, which looked into the role of new technologies in preventing genocidal acts, such as cultural heritage destruction. The event featured a research project at the Cornell University entitled “Caucasus Heritage Watch”, which relies on digital satellite technologies to monitor and document cultural heritage in the region, revealing large-scale damage and destruction in the territories under Azerbaijan’s control.

 

I would like to conclude my intervention by encouraging UNESCO to also utilize digital technologies to identify, monitor and act upon the facts of destruction of cultural heritage in any part of the world, and in our region in particular.

 

Thank you.”

 

 

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Armenpress.am

Blinken says Armenia and Azerbaijan make 'significant progress' in talks

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09:59, 5 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 5, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Azerbaijan made "significant progress" in addressing difficult issues in negotiations this week in the United States, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement after the talks concluded.

“This week I hosted Azerbaijan Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenia Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan for bilateral peace negotiations at the George P. Schultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center,” Blinken said in a statement. “After an intensive and constructive series of bilateral and trilateral discussions, the parties made significant progress in addressing difficult issues. Both demonstrated a sincere commitment to normalizing relations and ending the long-standing conflict between their two countries. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed in principle to certain terms and have a better understanding of one another’s positions on outstanding issues. I have proposed the Ministers to return to their capitals to share with their governments the perspective that, with additional goodwill, flexibility, and compromise, an agreement is within reach. They will continue to have the full support and engagement of the United States in their effort to secure a durable and sustainable peace,” he added.

 

 

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May 5 2023

“I could have found a thousand reasons not to come” – Speaker of the Armenian Parliament in Ankara

• JAMnews
  

• Yerevan

Armenian Speaker of Parliament in Ankara

“Despite the difference in the positions of Armenia and Turkey on a number of issues, we hope that this meeting will serve as a basis for establishing the Armenian-Turkish parliamentary dialogue and forming the necessary basis for its continuation,” Alen Simonyan, the speaker of the Armenian parliament, said at a meeting with his Turkish counterpart.

Simonyan participated in a summit of speakers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, where he also met with the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, Mustafa Şentop.

In a conversation with the latter, Simonyan also raised the issue of closing Turkish airspace for flights from Armenia to third countries and expressed hope that they would be able to contribute to solving the problem. Şentop confirmed that the ban is connected with the opening of the Nemesis monument in Yerevan. The speaker of the Armenian parliament replied that there are many reasons why bilateral relations have stopped, and added that his visit expresses “an impulse to move forward.”

On April 29, Turkey closed its airspace to aircraft of the Armenian company Flyone Armenia, which operates flights to Europe through Turkish airspace. Then it turned out that the ban applies to all flights from Armenia to third countries, but does not apply to flights to Turkey itself. Later, Ankara clarified that the decision was made due to a “provocative step”, the unveiling of the Nemesis monument on April 25 in memory of the participants in the operation of the same name.

Operation Nemesis was a retaliation action developed by the Dashnaktsutyun party in 1919, as revenge on the leaders of the Ottoman Empire who organized the genocide and massacres of Armenians in Baku in 1918.

• Armenia commemorates victims of genocide in Ottoman Turkey during negotiations with Ankara
  
• Is Armenia ready to recognize the Treaty of Kars? Comments


• Armenian national team loses to Turkey, but leaves field to applause

“I don’t want this to be perceived as a manifestation of state foreign policy”

On the installation of the Nemesis monument, the speaker stressed that this decision was made by the local government.

“And I don’t want the installation of the monument here to be perceived as a manifestation of Armenia’s state foreign policy,” Simonyan stated.

“If you wish, you can always find reasons and opportunities for worsening relations. I, too, could find a thousand different reasons not to come to Turkey. But I am here to tell Turkish society that Armenia is ready for peace and normalization of relations without preconditions.”

Simonyan vowed that Armenia is absolutely sincere in its efforts to normalize relations.

“You need to understand that the path will not be easy, but we must move forward. I hope that the Turkish partners will also move forward, and we will take advantage of this historic opportunity, and open a new page for us and the region,” he said.

Opinion on Armenian-Turkish relations

The devastating earthquake in Turkey has led to a temporary thaw in decades-long icy relations

“There are certain achievements”

In a conversation with Mustafa Şentop, Simonyan said that he noticed “certain achievements” in the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations and, according to him, Armenia shows “constructive involvement” in the process, in particular on the issue of opening the Armenian-Turkish land border for citizens of third countries and those with diplomatic passports. He expressed regret that he himself was not able to cross the land border with a diplomatic passport to participate in this event.

Mustafa Şentop and Alen Simonyan

Şentop noted that Turkey seeks to normalize relations with Armenia, but emphasized the importance of the Azerbaijani factor for his country:

“A possible early resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is beneficial not only to the conflicting parties, but to the entire region.”

To which Simonyan replied that Armenia “is guided by a peaceful agenda, while Baku’s approaches are not constructive; Azerbaijan is acting from a maximalist position.”

The statesmen also discussed issues related to the return of Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan and the post-war situation in the region.

Baku on rapprochement between Yerevan and Ankara

Azerbaijani political observers weigh in on trilateral relations

“Armenia has no territorial claims against its neighbors”

These words came from Alen Simonyan at the conference.

“And we expect that our neighbors will be guided by this principle,” he added.

The speaker recalled the meeting of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and France, held in Prague on October 6, 2022, at the initiative of the head of the European Council, at which the parties recognized each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

He raised the matter of territorial claims in the context of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, in particular the “unprovoked military provocations and aggression” against the sovereign territories of Armenia, the blocking of the Lachin corridor, and the installation of an “illegal checkpoint” there.

“Any situation arising from the use of aggression against Armenia cannot become the basis of a stable and lasting peace,” he said.

https://jam-news.net/armenian-speaker-of-parliament-in-ankara/

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Armenian MPs raise the issue of the threat of genocide by Azerbaijan in Artsakh in Turkey

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12:30, 6 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. At the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the members of the Armenian delegation raised the issue of the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, emphasized the danger of the genocide of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan, ARMENPRESS was informed from the parliament of Armenia.

The MPs presented what work they carried out within the framework of the session of the PA.

The focus of the agenda was the role of parliamentary diplomacy in the dynamics of global change. Reports on different topics were made by different countries.

The focus of the agenda was the role of parliamentary diplomacy in the dynamics of global transformations. Reports on different topics were made by different countries.

"First, I reflected on the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the recent events, the installation of a checkpoint and I called on Azerbaijan to respect the statement signed by them on November 9, to which, of course, they reacted furiously," said Babken Tunyan, the head of the Armenian delegation.

During the session, Gevorg Papoyan stressed that Azerbaijan has illegally blockaded Artsakh and Artsakh Armenians.

"I emphasized that these people are now facing many social problems, there is a shortage of medicine and food. And there, in fact, there is a danger of genocide. And, of course, Azerbaijan is the first to blame and responsible for this," said Papoyan.

"I emphasized that these people are now facing many social problems, there is a shortage of medicine and food. And there, in fact, there is a danger of genocide. And, of course, Azerbaijan is the first to blame and responsible for this," said Papoyan.

The members of the parliamentary delegation of Armenia also sent an admonition to the Secretary General, Azerbaijani citizen Asaf Hajiyev, who, being an international civil servant, violated the principle of political neutrality.

Babken Tunyan informed that recently, using the organization's social network platforms, he made one-sided statements. Speaking as an official in an interview with the Turkish media, he made inadmissible remarks against Armenia and several other countries, threatening to use force.

"We gave the last warning. We called on him not only to remove these publications, but also to never try to make such expressions in the future," Tunyan said.

 

 

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PM Pashinyan to meet with Aliyev in Brussels – FT

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10:30, 8 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will hold a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on May 14 in Brussels, Financial Times reported citing officials with knowledge of preparations.

European Council president Charles Michel will host the meeting on Sunday, Financial Times reported.

The Brussels meeting is an “important sign of progress”, one of the three officials told Financial Times on condition of anonymity as it is not yet public, adding that the EU and US efforts were “mutually reinforcing” and “complementary two-track processes”.

There are also plans for the three leaders to hold another meeting on June 1 with German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Moldova, two of the officials told Financial Times.

 

 

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Lawmaker hopes Speaker’s Ankara visit for PABSEC will contribute to normalization with Turkey

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11:40, 10 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 10, ARMENPRESS. The installation of the Nemesis monument in Yerevan was discussed between Speaker of Parliament of Armenia Alen Simonyan and his Turkish counterpart in Ankara where Simonyan was on a visit for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) meeting, MP Babken Tunyan said on May 10.

Tunyan, a member of the Armenian delegation to PABSEC, said at a press conference that numerous other issues were discussed.

Another Armenian delegate to PABSEC, Gevorg Papoyan, stressed that BSEC is an economic organization but because of conflicts between member states the participants are mostly discussing political affairs.

Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan also participated in the session.

Tunyan highlighted that Simonyan’s visit to Turkey is a significant event. “And we hope that it will contribute to the normalization of relations with Turkey despite all the difficult problems and challenges facing us,” he said.

Asked by reporters whether or not the Nemesis monument issue was discussed at the meeting, Tunyan said: “The issue relating to the Nemesis monument became subject to discussion during the meeting between Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan and his Turkish counterpart Mustafa Şentop, where we also participated. The Turkish side said that they don’t understand how that monument was opened on the backdrop of the efforts for normalization of relations. Mr. Simonyan answered by saying that if there is the will for normalization of relations, we don’t believe that such events could become an obstacle for normalization because there’ve been, are, and will perhaps be far more significant obstacles,” Tunyan said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that Turkey would take action if the monument isn’t removed. But Tunyan said that the Turkish side did not communicate such approach to them in Turkey. During the session Tunyan was elected Deputy President of PABSEC.

Nemesis was unveiled in Yerevan on April 25 to honor the participants of Operation Nemesis, a 1920s program of assassinations of Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide.

In response, Turkey closed its airspace to Armenian flights heading to a third destination and threatened to take further actions if it isn’t removed.

On May 9, Yerevan city authorities announced that they have no intention of removing the monument.

 

 

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Azerbaijan attempts to dictate its conditions to Armenian side in talks - Ambassador-at- large Edmon Marukyan

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10:15, 11 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is attempting to dictate its conditions to the Armenian side in the negotiations, Ambassador-at-large Edmon Marukyan said on May 11 amid the Azerbaijani shelling of Armenian positions in Sotk.

“The provocation unleashed by the Azerbaijani side on the border of Armenia once again proves Azerbaijan's constant policy of putting pressure on the Armenian side through force and threats. Shelling the Armenian positions and the ambulance evacuating wounded soldiers shows Azerbaijan’s indiscriminate actions and an attempt to dictate its conditions to the Armenian side in the negotiation process,” Marukyan tweeted.

The Azerbaijani military has been shelling Armenian positions near Sotk since 06:00, May 11.

Three Armenian servicemen have been wounded in the attack.

Furthermore, the Azerbaijani forces shelled an ambulance which was evacuating the wounded Armenian troops.

 

 

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Azerbaijan seeks to deviate int’l attention from Lachin Corridor by escalating situation elsewhere, warns Armenian PM

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11:14, 11 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS. By escalating the situation in Sotk, Azerbaijan seeks to deviate attention from its illegally installed checkpoint on Lachin Corridor, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned Thursday.

He said that the Azerbaijani side wants to deviate the attention of the international community and the Armenian society from the checkpoint, and make it go forgotten by creating a new crisis in a new area. Pashinyan said that this has been Azerbaijan’s tactics.

“They attempted to make the September aggression forgotten through blocking the Lachin Corridor with fake eco-activists, they attempted to make the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh forgotten through crossing the state border of Armenia in Tegh village, and then attempted to make the border trespassing in Tegh go forgotten through installing the checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. By escalating the situation in Sotk, they are attempting to make the illegal installation of the checkpoint on Lachin Corridor go forgotten. Despite Azerbaijan’s attempt, all these issues naturally continue to be in our primary agenda,” Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting on May 11.

PM Pashinyan attached importance to continual active communication with the international community on these issues.

4 Armenian troops were wounded when Azerbaijan launched an artillery and mortar attack near Sotk on May 11.

 

 

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Difficult to recall any joint document that Azerbaijan hasn’t breached so far, says Pashinyan

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12:22, 11 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 11, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that with its latest actions in the direction of Sotk, Azerbaijan is calling into question the fundamental agreements that have been reached on 6 October 2022 in Prague and 31 October in Sochi.

“These documents emphasize that Armenia and Azerbaijan are recognizing each other’s territorial integrity based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. The questions that arises in this context is the following: If Azerbaijan recognizes Armenia’s territorial integrity, then why does it fire on the sovereign territory of our country, especially when the sides should refrain from the use of force or the threat of force under the 2022 Sochi trilateral statement. Today, Azerbaijan again grossly violated these written, public agreements and generally it is difficult to recall any joint document that Azerbaijan hasn’t violated so far,” Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

 

 

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Broad range of issues discussed at Brussels-hosted Armenia-Azerbaijan talks

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21:17, 14 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev discussed on May 14 during a trilateral meeting issues related to the unblocking of regional transport and economic infrastructures, border delimitation and border security between the two countries, the treaty on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the need to address the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, as well as other issues related to the POWs, missing persons and other humanitarian issues.

An agreement was reached to continue the discussions on June 1 in Chisinau within the framework of the summit of the European Political Community, where a five-sided meeting with the participation of the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of Azerbaijan, the President of France, the Chancellor of Germany, and the President of the European Council is scheduled, and in July, within the framework the tripartite meeting in Brussels between the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of Azerbaijan, and the President of the European Council, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

 

 

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