Yervant1 Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 Armenpress.am Canadian parliamentary committee to hold hearings on Azeri blockade of Lachin Corridor SaveShare 10:35, 16 January 2023YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. The Canadian parliament’s foreign affairs committee is expected to hold hearings this week on the blockade of Lachin Corridor. “Conservatives on Canada’s Foreign Affairs Committee are working with other opposition parties to convene urgent hearings on the Artsakh / Nagorno-Karabakh Lachin Corridor blockade. Our committee must meet this week. Azerbaijan must end the blockade,” Canadian Member of Parliament Garnett Genuis tweeted.Canadian Member of Parliament Stephane Bergeron also tweeted that at the initiative of Bloc Québécois party and support from Conservatives and New Democrats the committee will hold a hearing on the “Azerbaijani blockade of the corridor linking Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia. Azerbaijan is keeping the Lachin Corridor blocked since December 12, 2022. The blockade has led to a severe humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1101733.html?fbclid=IwAR31fGrvj44OVUrprNg6QAK1ZMk5qiiQOLHGPe6OPZbX-E0ag9jXPGDnG5Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted January 17, 2023 Report Share Posted January 17, 2023 Armenpress.am After Azerbaijan's invasion of Armenia, CSTO and Russia should have provided us with military assistance - President SaveShare 22:08, 16 January 2023YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, ARMENPRESS. It is no secret that Armenia-Russia relations have a strategic level, and Russia is the guarantor of Armenia's security, but after the attack of Azerbaijan on Armenia on September 13, 2022, problems with Russia arose, ARMENPRESS reports President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan announced after meeting with Estonian President Alar Karis on January 16, addressing the journalist's question whether Armenia can trust Russia as a guarantor of security. "Before that, Azerbaijan carried out military operations in Karabakh, but we could not appeal to any country, neither to Russia, nor to CSTO members, because it was not in the territory of Armenia, but on September 13, the attack was on the territory of Armenia, in three regions and in various places there was an advance of up to 7 km by Azerbaijan. This was the case that both the CSTO member states and Russia should have provided us with military assistance. We also expected political statements. Neither one, nor the other has happened so far. Of course, it should be noted that Russia also took part in the negotiations to end the war, in which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the President of the European Council Charles Michel actively participated," the President emphasized.He thanked all those who supported the cessation of the hostilities. According to him, Armenia, like Estonia, is a small country and needs the support of international organizations or individual countries to ensure the security of the country. "In this case, Estonia is a member of the European Union and NATO, which are guarantors of political and military security, and which justifies itself. We also expected our expectations to be justified, but in some sense those expectations were not fully justified," Khachaturyan stressed. He emphasized that the negotiations will continue, and eventually Armenia will announce its position publicly.According to the President of Armenia, Azerbaijan's aggressive moods have increased. "This is evidenced by the views of the Azerbaijani president at the press conference held 5 days ago, and we must be sure that in the event of an attack we will not be alone," emphasized the Armenian President. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1101815.html?fbclid=IwAR1uNBP19HniSwV7wZNe14EaBXHEPzfLSsXxvlJc2MN1GPA5C1WSLLE3t3k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted January 18, 2023 Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 Armenpress.am Clear steps by international partners are imperative to stop NK blockade. Mirzoyan to his Austrian counterpart SaveShare 19:42, 17 January 2023YEREVAN, JANUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan, who is in Vienna on a working visit, met with Austrian Federal Minister of European and Foreign Affairs Alexander Schallenberg on January 17. As ARMENPRESS was informed byfrom the MFA Armenia, the Armenian and Austrian Foreign Ministers noted with satisfaction that there is an active political dialogue between the two countries and expressed readiness to take active steps to further enrich the bilateral agenda. In this context, the development of trade and economic cooperation, the activation of business ties and the implementation of investment programs were emphasized.During the meeting, Minister Mirzoyan presented to his counterpart the day-by-day worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's blocking of the Lachin Corridor, stressing that Azerbaijan's actions aimed at etnic cleansing of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. The Armenian FM emphasized the imperative of clear actions by international partners to stop the inhuman blockade of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. The parties also exchanged ideas on the EU monitoring mission that ended on December 19, 2022 and the implementation of a possible new mission. Regional issues, Armenian-Austrian cooperation in international organizations and promotion of common agendas were also discussed at the meeting. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1101904.html?fbclid=IwAR1i2JikyYDhwmMUTT8nIu8gN0WN8MQzEp0NnXOsYyshvOEkSyuE-mkPITk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 18, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted January 19, 2023 Report Share Posted January 19, 2023 Armenpress.am Azerbaijan’s ultimate goal could be the complete derailment of peace process, warns Armenian Prime Minister SaveShare 17:07, 18 January 2023YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS. The blockade of the Lachin Corridor and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statements are directly violating their own international obligations, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said. The Armenian PM said that Aliyev’s statements and the blockade of the corridor create new obstacles for the peace process, but didn’t rule out that perhaps this is Azerbaijan’s ultimate goal.The PM made the remarks during parliamentary questions time when asked to comment on Aliyev’s recent territorial demands, as well as the international reaction. “I think, and our international contacts also show that the international community’s perception on this situation is increasing and growing. And I think that generally these statements have a provocative nature, they seek to create escalation. It is our accurate reaction to these statements that should be a certain factor of stability in the region. Essentially, we are very clearly stating that based on the Prague agreements we are ready to move towards the signing of the peace treaty,” PM Pashinyan said. The Armenian PM emphasized that the Azeri president’s statements are first of all contradicting the agreements that have been reached.By saying the perception of international community, the PM said he means that it is becoming obvious in the world that the blockade of the Lachin Corridor and Aliyev’s statements itself are a violation of the international obligations assumed by Azerbaijan. The PM said he believes that negotiated and political solutions are the best method to maintain the situation stable in the region. “And we are ready to continue the same way we assumed our readiness and responsibility. It is obvious that the international community is recording that the blockade of the Lachin Corridor and Azerbaijan’s aggressive statements are creating new obstacles for the peace process. But, one question. Who said that this itself isn’t what Azerbaijan wants? Who says that this itself isn’t Azerbaijan’s far-reaching goal, to entirely derail the peace process with that kind of provocative statements and by using our possible reactions,” the PM said, highlighting the need to maintain the method of attitude from the Armenian side.He said the Armenian side’s reaction to the Azeri actions must be asymmetric, i.e. active international diplomacy and further empowerment of domestic institutional capacity and state institutions, maintaining the reforms agenda and the peace agenda. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1101984.html?fbclid=IwAR1vE66UaCcMZdpZxcZNQFpGkfiooxgeFvLCv6PU_aSenhF0XLMMvwVoR0Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted January 20, 2023 Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 TFI Global Jan 19 2023 Leaving Armenia alone is the biggest mistake Putin can make in his lifetime by Rohit Yadav Dark clouds are gathering on Armenia for some time now. A tragedy is about to happen in Eurasia’s South Caucasus region. Armenia which looked at Russia when Azerbaijan attacked its honour and pride has felt neglected. Therefore, Armenia is now slipping away from Russia’s centre of influence. And losing Armenia will be the biggest mistake Russian President Vladimir Putin can make. On January 10th, Nikol Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia, declared that his country would not be hosting Russian-led military drills this year, directly contradicting a statement made by Moscow a week earlier. At the same time, Pashinyan launched a remarkable attack on the Russian military presence in Armenia, claiming that it was more of a “threat” than a defence for his nation. On January 10th, Nikol Pashinyan, the prime minister of Armenia, declared that his country would not be hosting Russian-led military drills this year, directly contradicting a statement made by Moscow a week earlier. At the same time, Pashinyan launched a remarkable attack on the Russian military presence in Armenia, claiming that it was more of a “threat” than a defence for his nation. Lately, the Lachin Corridor, the only route linking Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh to Armenia, was blocked on December 12 by “Azerbaijani activists” supported by the Ilham Aliyev regime of Azerbaijan. The transportation of supplies for the 120,000 Armenians who live in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh depends on this road. No supplies of food, medicine, or gasoline have reached Artsakh in more than a month. In order to starve and freeze the Armenian population of the region to death, Azerbaijan has been maintaining a siege on the Armenians of Artsakh while breaking international law. Source- Wikipedia Local Armenians in Artsakh say, “We feel that a genocide is unfolding in front of us once more, just as it did in 1915.” Through the blockade, Azerbaijan has shown its goal to win back Nagorno-Karabakh by hook or crook. It regularly violates the ceasefire. Russia needs to step in and stop being a passive negotiator in the whole conflict. Putin only needs to call Aliyev and demand that he stop the illegal blockade. As soon as Azerbaijan removes its embargo, Russia must assist Artsakh by organising an airlift to the airport at Stepanakert and securing emergency relief supplies in Armenia for prompt delivery. European Union, and the United States, are actively exploiting and trying to gain from Russia’s ambiguous stance on Armenia. The statement by Armenia’s leader shows that Yerevan can dissolve its nominal alliance with Moscow and entirely alter its geopolitical trajectory over time. Putin needs to act now. Otherwise, Armenia would slip away. https://tfiglobalnews.com/2023/01/19/leaving-armenia-alone-is-the-biggest-mistake-putin-can-make-in-his-lifetime/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted January 21, 2023 Report Share Posted January 21, 2023 Armenpress.am Armenian Foreign Minister to meet NATO Secretary General SaveShare 14:51, 20 January 2023YEREVAN, JANUARY 20, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on January 23 at the NATO Headquarters, the NATO Press Office said in a press release. There will be no media opportunity, the NATO Press Office added. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102184.html?fbclid=IwAR3o007Jku7aUvlgl1bgOinfmIRsAyCb1H9gMgWrdyahf24L37ET-FA8wto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted January 25, 2023 Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 Armenpress.am Against the background of the EU's decision, the CSTO considered it possible to send an observation mission to Armenia SaveShare 19:46, 24 January 2023YEREVAN, JANUARY 24, ARMENPRESS. The CSTO continues to work towards sending an observation mission to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, ARMENPRESS reports the rbc website said, citing CSTO Press Secretary Vladimir Zaynetdinov. According to him, after the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed such a request to the CSTO, the Collective Security Council developed a draft decision "On joint measures to provide assistance to the Republic of Armenia"."Work on the draft continues. After the end of the approval procedure, the draft will be submitted for consideration by the organization's statutory bodies," Zaynetdinov noted, noting that it is early to specify the dates. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102466.html?fbclid=IwAR0weamMWedO1SnEvCkZKNqdu0h2vLwEflEjPZlbyXnPYJ_svoIYw9PlqcU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted January 25, 2023 Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 Armenpress.am President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to visit Armenia SaveShare 11:32, 25 January 2023YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will visit Armenia as part of a regional trip, the Armenian Presidential Office confirmed. “Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will arrive to Armenia in the coming days on a regional visit,” Aghassi Margaryan, the Head of the Department of Public Relations of the President’s Office of Armenia told ARMENPRESS. Margaryan said the visit will take place at the invitation of the Armenian side.As part of his regional trip the Egyptian president is currently in India and will also visit Azerbaijan. In Armenia, President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will meet with President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan. Margaryan said the Egyptian leader’s trip is a “long awaited visit”.Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan’s 2022 visit to Egypt for the COP 27 - UN Climate Change Conference contributed to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s upcoming visit. According to Margaryan, Khachaturyan’s visit in 2022 enabled Armenian Ambassador to Egypt Hrachya Poladyan to make greater efforts to organize the visit. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102495.html?fbclid=IwAR18Pa39rmNSdcfJDUnPvsCN4NMaYeAj3IDH0h2R6A0wSpqbCFwTzFofdb4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted January 26, 2023 Report Share Posted January 26, 2023 Jan 25 2023 EU approves new monitoring mission for Armenia, over Russian and Azerbaijani objections Armenia sees the new EU mission as a force for peace and security, but there is no buy-in from Azerbaijan or Russia.Arshaluis Mgdesyan Jan 25, 2023The EU will deploy a 100-strong monitoring mission to Armenia's border with Azerbaijan for a term of two years, a more robust version of an earlier short-term mission that ended in December.The Armenian authorities had lobbied for and have enthusiastically welcomed the move, seeing it as a deterrent against fresh Azerbaijani offensives.But it remains to be seen how an increasingly assertive Baku can be deterred by a mission of unarmed civilian observers.The move is opposed by Yerevan's strategic ally Russia, which has a decades-long military presence in Armenia and whose peacekeepers have been deployed in the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh region since the end of the 2020 war.The decision to deploy the civilian monitoring mission was made at the January 23 meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the EU within the framework of the Common Security and Defense Policy.A European Council press release said the mission's aim was to strengthen stability in the Armenian-Azerbaijani border areas as a complement to EU mediation efforts between the two countries. No precise date was given for the mission's deployment.The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said the launch of the mission marks "a new phase in the EU's engagement in the South Caucasus."Borrell later said about 100 observers would take part in the mission.A previous, limited, iteration of the mission consisted of 40 monitors and operated for a term of two months, from October 20 to December 19, 2022.Its deployment was a response to the worst escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border since the end of the 2020 war last September, which caused the death of over 300 military personnel from both sides.Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan hailed the news of the second mission, tweeting:"We very much welcome the EU's decision to send a fully-fledged civilian mission to Armenia. We will readily cooperate with the mission and support its activities. This mission will contribute to the peace, stability and security of the region." Ruling party MP Sargis Khandanyan said the mission would "contain the escalation of the situation on the border." While the observers will be unarmed and unable to intervene in case of Azerbaijani offensive, he acknowledged, at least they will "register cases of ceasefire violations and inform the EU about the situation."Azerbaijan received the news coldly. The Foreign Ministry warned that the mission must"duly [take] into account the legitimate interests of Azerbaijan" and "not be exploited for derailing the normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia."It also said "some" EU member states, which it did not name, had pursued "biased approaches" during the term of the initial monitoring mission.Earlier, on January 10, President Ilham Aliyev had called the EU's intent to deploy a second mission a "very unpleasant fact."Opposition came from Russia as well. On January 18, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the deployment of a new mission "could only be counterproductive" in building trust since it would not have the approval of the Azerbaijani side.Since Armenia's defeat in the 2020 Second Karabakh War, peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been conducted on parallel, even competing paths. One has been led by the EU, with support from the United States, and the other by Russia.Russia, traditionally Armenia's lone strategic ally, is falling out of favor among Armenians, due in no small part to its refusal to intervene after the Azerbaijani incursions into Armenian territory last September.This could be a factor in the EU's thinking, according to Armenian political scientist Benyamin Poghosyan."The EU understands that there is dissatisfaction in Armenia towards Russia and now is a good time to use this situation to strengthen its positions and weaken Russia's positions in Armenia," Poghosyan told Eurasianet.Arshaluis Mgdesyan is a journalist based in Yerevan. https://eurasianet.org/eu-approves-new-monitoring-mission-for-armenia-over-russian-and-azerbaijani-objections Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 27, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 27, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted January 29, 2023 Report Share Posted January 29, 2023 Jan 28 2023 Egypt El-Sisi on a diplomatic visit to Armenia By Al Mayadeen English Source: Agencies Today 18:57 El-Sisi is expected to hold a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart tomorrow. According to the press office of the Armenian president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt has arrived in Yerevan on an official visit to hold meetings with his Armenian counterpart Vahagn Khachaturyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Read more: Armenia praises Iran’s support for sovereignty of nations "The Egyptian president was received at Yerevan Zvartnots International Airport by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan, head of the presidential office Khachatur Poghosyan, and other officials," the statement read. Back in October, the Armenian Prime Minister said that he may sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan while waiting for a clear assessment of the situation. Read more: India and Egypt to develop bilateral ties Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two conflicts over Azerbaijan's Armenian-populated area of Nagorno-Karabakh, one in 2020 and one in the 1990s. Clashes erupt every now and then between both sides despite a Russian-backed ceasefire agreement. Back in November, Turkey and Egypt agreed to hold bilateral discussions after having cut ties for years since the early years of the Arab Spring. The Egyptian Presidency had announced the "beginning" of new, improved, diplomatic relations between the countries. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/egypt-el-sisi-on-a-diplomatic-visit-to-armenia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted January 31, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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MosJan Posted February 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted February 2, 2023 Report Share Posted February 2, 2023 Feb 1 2023 Armenian Representative Denies Baku's Accusations Of Mining Azerbaijan's Territory Sumaira FH Armenia's representative on international legal issues, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, denied Azerbaijan's statements in the International Court of Justice in The Hague that Armenia transports landmines through the Lachin corridor and places them near settlements, the Armenpress state news agency reported YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st February, 2023) Armenia's representative on international legal issues, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, denied Azerbaijan's statements in the International Court of Justice in The Hague that Armenia transports landmines through the Lachin corridor and places them near settlements, the Armenpress state news agency reported. Earlier, the International Court of Justice announced that it would hold public hearings on January 31 in connection with Azerbaijan's lawsuit against Armenia under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. During the hearings, Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elnur Mammadov stated that Baku had new evidence of Armenia mining Azerbaijani territory. "Armenia has placed mines in its sovereign territory for purely defensive purposes, taking into account repeated acts of aggression by Azerbaijan. Armenia does not place mines outside its sovereign territory, especially in civilian areas, and does not attempt to target citizens based on race," Kirakosyan said as quoted by the news agency. "Azerbaijan collected the mines it is complaining about from the sovereign territory of Armenia, which was occupied by the Azerbaijani armed forces in 2021-2022. Therefore, Azerbaijan is trying to create a false evidence base based on the mines it collected after its illegal acts of aggression to justify its claim. This claim is groundless. I hope that the Court will not allow Azerbaijan to abuse the court proceedings by trying to take advantage of the consequences of its own illegal actions," he said. https://www.urdupoint.com/en/world/armenian-representative-denies-bakus-accusat-1634892.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted February 2, 2023 Report Share Posted February 2, 2023 Feb 1 2023 Armenia releases map of territories ‘seized by Azerbaijan’ since 2020 1 February 2023 ByOC Media An Armenian soldier on the border with Azerbaijan in the southern Syunik Province. Photo: Tom Videlo/OC Media. Armenia has released a map claiming to show the territory seized by Azerbaijani forces during clashes since the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. The map was presented on Monday during Armenia’s bid for interim measures against Azerbaijan at the at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This is the first time either side has given details of the extent of territory that Azerbaijani forces have taken control of within Armenia since the 2020 war. The map presented by Armenia at the ICJ. The map shows territory within Armenia’s borders that the authorities claim to have lost during clashes in May and November 2021 and in September 2022. It includes swathes of land in southern and eastern Armenia. In contrast to two previous major wars and sporadic fighting in and around the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, the conflict that flared up between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 2021 took place along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, with Azerbaijan encroaching into Armenian territory. In September last year, the Azerbaijani army conducted a largescale incursion into Armenian provinces leaving hundreds dead. It was the deadliest escalation of the conflict since the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan are currently seeking provisional measures against each other from the 15-judge ICJ, based in the Hague. The ICJ is the main judicial body of the United Nations, and the forthcoming judgements have binding force for UN member states. The hearings at the ICJ, held on 30 January upon Armenia's recent request for provisional measures, focused on the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor. Armenia requested that Azerbaijan be obliged to ‘cease its orchestration and support of the alleged “protests” blocking [the Lachin Corridor]’. Azerbaijan responded with a demand to force Armenia to contribute to demining in the Lachin Corridor and areas Azerbaijan took control of during the 2020 war, as well as to stop laying additional mines in Nagorno-Karabakh. The court heard Azerbaijan’s appeal on Tuesday. Since the Lachin Corridor was blocked by Azerbaijanis claiming to be ‘eco-activists’ over 7 weeks ago, Nagorno-Karabakh has been almost entirely cut off from Armenia and the rest of the world. [Read on OC Media: Plastic flowers at a funeral: small-town life under blockade] The latest hearing is part of a larger lawsuit at the Hugue that Armenia filed against Azerbaijan in 2020, accusing the Azerbaijani government of racial discrimination against Armenians. Azerbaijan submitted an almost identical countersuit, arguing that Armenia had violated the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. https://oc-media.org/armenia-releases-map-of-territories-seized-by-azerbaijan-since-2020/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yervant1 Posted February 2, 2023 Report Share Posted February 2, 2023 Armenpress.am Antony Blinken appoints new Senior Advisor on the Caucasus Negotiations SaveShare 23:44, 1 February 2023YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 1, ARMENPRESS․ US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has appointed Louis L. Bono Senior Advisor on the Caucasus Negotiations, ARMENPRESS reports, citing the statement of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “ In this capacity, Mr. Bono will work with regional leaders to advance the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan and to address Russia’s ongoing occupation of sovereign Georgian territory. Mr. Bono brings a wealth of multilateral and bilateral experience to the position, having served as Acting Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations Offices in Vienna and Chargė d’Affaires, ad interim to the Holy See. He has also served as Director of the Basrah Regional Office, on the National Security Council, and as an advisor to the Deputy Secretary of State and to the Under Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs. He is retired from the Army Reserves, where he was an instructor at West Point and the Army War College.The United States is committed to helping Armenia and Azerbaijan negotiate a comprehensive peace agreement, including a long-term political settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Mr. Bono will engage bilaterally, with likeminded partners, including the European Union, and with international organizations, such as the OSCE, to facilitate direct dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan. His appointment also reaffirms the importance the United States places on Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the role of the Geneva International Discussions on Georgia, the only international format addressing Russia’s ongoing occupation of 20 percent of Georgia’s territory”, reads the statement. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1103119.html?fbclid=IwAR2ccbZKyVGI99Ry3_GKZyYgkcVw8hWP3rMS-kiE1oQDke_-w_LM9vb4W_g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MosJan Posted February 2, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2023 lavrov Mamat Quunnnnemmm !!!! Bozi vastak !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Yervant1 Posted February 3, 2023 Report Share Posted February 3, 2023 (edited) Feb 2 2023CAUCASUSThere are no good alternatives to Russian influence in the Caucasus Western analysts portray Moscow as a negative regional force, but the US and EU should be careful what they wish for.FEBRUARY 2, 2023Written by Anatol Lieven & Artin Der SimonianMuch Western commentary is now celebrating the decline of Russian power in the Caucasus as a result of the war in Ukraine, denouncing Russia as a wholly negative force in the region and suggesting that the United States, NATO, or the European Union could replace it. This analysis is largely wrong on all counts.Russian influence has not been as negative as it suggests; and the West is in no position to replace it, both for local geopolitical reasons, and because neither the United States, NATO nor the EU has any will to dispatch the military forces to the region that would be necessary to ensure stability.Insofar as they encourage Western hostility to Russia in the region while being unable to propose serious alternatives to Russian power, these arguments are highly irresponsible and risk contributing to a return of ethnic conflict to a region that has seen far too much of it.These mistakes of analysis begin with the origins of the conflicts in the region. It has become a constant trope of this approach that it was Moscow — both before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union — that started these conflicts and has deliberately perpetuated them in order to maintain its regional hegemony. From the point of view of Georgians and Azeris, it does indeed look this way; but from the point of view of their Abkhaz, Ossete and Armenian opponents, Russia has supported their fight for national freedom, and it is only Russian help that has prevented them from being crushed.In the case of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, the origins of this war predate the Soviet Union. Clashes between Armenians and Azeris in the modern era began when Russian imperial rule was severely weakened during the 1905 Revolution and again following the collapse of the empire itself in 1917 — a pattern repeated when the Soviet Union began to unravel in the late 1980s.Alignment between most Armenians and the Russian Empire was cemented by their mutual hostility to the Ottoman Empire. In 1915-16, when the Ottoman government massacred its Armenian minority, only the advance of the Russian imperial army saved a last remnant of the Armenians of Turkey from extermination. After the First World War, when Armenia once again faced the likelihood of being crushed between Turkey and Azerbaijan, the advance of the Red Army and the country’s incorporation into the Soviet Union, saved the Armenians from this fate.As to Nagorno-Karabakh, far from initiating this conflict (except in the sense that in the 1920s, the Soviet government tried to square an impossible ethnic and territorial circle by creating an autonomous region within Azerbaijan), from the 1960s to the 1980s, it was Soviet Armenian governments that sought its transfer to Armenia — a quest that Moscow refused for fear of provoking renewed ethnic conflict. Since the end of the Soviet Union, the extent of Russian help to the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh has been subject to much disagreement.What cannot be denied, however, is that it has been the Russian military alliance with Armenia itself, the deployment of Russian military forces in Armenia, and Russia’s nuclear shield that have deterred Turkey, a NATO member, from attacking Armenia in order to help the Turkic people of Azerbaijan, much as Ankara invaded Cyprus in 1974 to help the Turkish community there after the military junta in Greece overthrew President Makarios. Armenians do not forget that the West did not defend Cyprus then, any more than it defended Armenia after the First World War. This is why, despite worries about the decline of Russian power and Armenia’s anger at Moscow’s failure to forcefully intervene against Azerbaijan to defend Nagorno-Karabakh (which is not covered by the Russian-Armenian security treaty), Yerevan is not expected to leave the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) anytime soon.Had Russia not intervened in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War of 2020, where it was able to introduce a belated ceasefire that secured the deployment of Russian peacekeeping forces to the region, the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh — who were attacked by an Azerbaijani army heavily supplied by Turkey as well as by Israel — would at worst have found themselves ethnically cleansed.While distrust toward Moscow has only grown among citizens of the Republic of Armenia since Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan rose to power through the anti-corruption and pro-democracy Velvet Revolution in 2018, the same does not apply to the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh where Russian peacekeepers are seen as their only security.It is true that in recent years Moscow has conducted a difficult diplomatic balancing act between Armenia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. Despite its alliance with Armenia, the Russian government has not wished to drive Azerbaijan completely into the arms of NATO. Turkey’s increasing estrangement from NATO and the United States has also created valuable strategic opportunities for Russia, as demonstrated by Turkey’s semi-neutral approach to the war in Ukraine.Russian ambiguities, however, find their mirror image in the deeply conflicted approach of the West to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On the one hand, Western public opinion (insofar as it has paid any attention to the issue at all) has generally sympathized with the Armenians. Religious and cultural affinities play a role, as does the influence of the large Armenian diasporas in the United States and France, and the fact that Armenia is a (somewhat flawed) democracy, whereas Azerbaijan is a hereditary dictatorship of the Aliyev dynasty, whose founder was a high-ranking general in the KGB. The importance of the Armenian diaspora for U.S. domestic politics (especially elections in California) was underlined by Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Yerevan (but not Baku) in September 2022.On the other hand, the West can hardly officially recognize Nagorno-Karabakh’s secession from Azerbaijan while denouncing Crimea’s secession from Ukraine as wholly illegal (even though Western recognition of Kosovo independence might seem to provide a legitimate precedent for both). Moreover, Turkey is still a NATO member, even if now a semi-detached one. The West cannot afford completely to alienate Turkey, and, as Ankara’s veto on Sweden’s NATO accession demonstrates, Turkey has considerable power to embarrass the West.Azerbaijan’s dictatorship does not make the West less anxious for buying Azerbaijani oil and gas any more than the West allows democratic criticism of the Gulf autocracies to prevent it from buying their energy. Finally, hardline anti-Iranian circles in Washington hope to use Azerbaijan, and separatist nationalism among the Azeris of Iran as weapons against the Iranian state. This also explains Israel’s weapons supplies to Azerbaijan.Caught between these contradictory but deeply-rooted impulses, the United States and Europe are probably structurally incapable of developing a coherent and viable strategy for the Caucasus, let alone of mobilizing the resources and will necessary to intervene decisively in the region. Caution would seem to be the most appropriate course.https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/02/02/there-are-no-good-alternatives-to-russian-influence-in-the-caucasus/ Edited February 3, 2023 by Yervant1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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