Weekly update
11 September
The US is doing everything to bring the parties together under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, US Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy told reporters in Yerevan. According to armradio.am, she noted that the fundamental issues of peace and security require negotiation and diplomacy. “Secretary Blinken has made our commitment to this process very clear on several occasions,” Ambassador Tracy emphasized. “It’s obviously a very tough environment, 30 years of war and tensions are not going to be resolved overnight, but we understand that there are some fundamental issues that have to be addressed, and one of them is that we do not consider the status of Karabakh resolved,” the Ambassador added. She noted that the US will continue to keep that on the agenda of the Minsk Group. Asked about the perspectives of dialogue, Ambassador Tracy noted: “I don’t want to speak for the parties. The Government of Armenia has made clear that the issue of prisoners held by Azerbaijan is to be resolved before it’s possible to talk about wider issues.” “As you know, the United States has made efforts in this regard, our Russian colleagues have made efforts in this regard with some success. We hope to get to a place where we have all the prisoners returned, and it is certainly the call that we have been making,” she added.
https://en.armradio.am/2021/09/11/the-status-of-karabakh-yet-to-be-resolved-us-ambassador-to-armenia/
10 September
In an op-ed by The Post Online, Armenia’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Tigran Balayan notes that “the reluctance of Europe to take a side is ruining the belief in the European values, the hopes for reconciliation, cherished by millions of Armenians and Azerbaijanis.” In line with armradio.am, in an article titled “It is time to take a side” the ambassador emphasizes the importance of taking sides in order to contribute to the peace in the South Caucasus and to halt the aggressive rhetoric and antagonistic actions of the Azerbaijani dictator. Aliyev has become a promoter of war and conflict, an exporter of chaos and instability. The aggressive behavior of the Aliyev regime is moving beyond the borders of the South Caucasus, affecting the neighboring countries and posing threat to the entire region. Reluctance of Europe to take a side is ruining the belief in the European values, the hopes for reconciliation, cherished by millions of Armenians and Azerbaijanis.
https://en.armradio.am/2021/08/10/time-for-europe-to-take-a-side-armenian-ambassador-says/
9 September
Former Armenian residents of Hadrut, Karvatchar and Shushi, areas in Artsakh now occupied by Azerbaijan, demonstrated outside the Government Building in Yerevan, demanding that the government provide them with housing or land to build on, reported Hetq. Svetlana Abrahamyan moved to Karvatchar with her family from Yerevan in 2004. Abrahamyan taught Russian in the Brajur village school in Artsakh’s Shahumyan District. Last year’s war forced them to move back to Armenia, and they now rent an apartment in Yerevan. “We never thought this is how we’d end up. We decided that we’d always live there. So what if we weren’t Karvatchar natives? We got accustomed to the place and tied our life and future plans to that place,” she told Hetq. Former Hadrut residents told Hetq that a letter they sent to the Armenian government, asking for housing assistance, has not elicited any satisfactory response.
https://hetq.am/en/article/135520
8 September
On September 6, Azerbaijani and Turkish militaries launched their joint exercises in the Lachin District, across which the corridor connecting Yerevan and Stepanakert passes. The "Caucasian Knot" reported that on June 28-30, 2021, the "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk-2021" military exercises were held in Baku with the participation of 600 Turkish and Azerbaijani servicemen. The frequent exercises of the two countries contribute to the transition of the Azerbaijani Army to NATO standards, analysts believe. In accordance with the military cooperation agreement with Turkey, tactical exercises with live fire have started in the Lachin District, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence (MoD) has informed.In the course of the in Karabakh conflict escalation in the fall of 2020, Turkey repeatedly expressed support for Azerbaijan. In December 2020, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Baku for a victory parade. The Azerbaijan-Turkey exercises indicate their readiness for a joint response in case of a revenge attempt undertaken by Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, analysts have noted.
https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/56663/
7 September
On September 6, the Azerbaijani side opened fire at the Armenian positions and the direction of peaceful settlements from the positions located in the direction of Karmir Shuka-Taghavard settlements of the Martuni region of Artsakh, Ombudsman of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan said in a statement. According to armenpress.am “The house of one of the residents of Taghavard has been damaged from the shooting. Three bullets hit the wall of the house, one – the window of one of the bedrooms. 6 civilians, one of them a minor, live in the house damaged from the Azerbaijani fire”, the Ombudsman said. After midnight, the Azerbaijani side continued the shots. Russian peacekeepers and the law enforcement agencies of Artsakh have been notified about the incident. “The Azerbaijani positions located near the vicinity of the peaceful settlements are a direct and real threat to the life, health and other vital rights of the people of Artsakh and distort the normal life and operation of the people in those settlements”, he said, adding that the failure to hold the perpetrators accountable leads to repetition of such cases. “Comprehensive investigation of all ceasefire violation cases, including the involvement of Russian peacekeepers, should be on the agenda”, the Artsakh Ombudsman said.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1062554.html?fbclid=IwAR1Mp18ECGU38yfGdJLhXXJnK-OiA35uu_pGm5j5FTnumh8mQGO5YYNZH5w
6 September
During a discussion organized by the Union of Journalists of Armenia entitled “Against media restrictions, for the sake of free speech and the right to be informed”, human rights lawyer, co-founder of Path of Law non-for-profit organization Siranush Sahakyan spoke about two initiatives: criminalizing heavy insult and accreditation of journalists in the parliament, 168.am reports. In her speech Siranush Sahakyan discussed how much this process complies with international standards. “The definition of defamation implies to both offending and defamatory statements. Both of them defend the targeted person’s dignity, honor and business reputation. The Civil Code is created for protecting these goods and that is where we have good options for defense of reputation, and the state has nothing to do with that because the relations are private and the perceptions are quite subjective,” says Siranush Sahakyan. According to the human rights lawyer, it is unclear why the state needs to use its resources for protection of private objects. The human rights lawyer thinks that it is necessary to remind the authorities about the amendment of the Criminal Code: it used to have Article 317, which was de-criminalized. It was about insulting authority representatives, and according to today’s government, which used to be the opposition in the past, that article was a threat against free speech.
https://en.168.am/2021/09/06/42724.html
5 September
Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received the newly appointed Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovayev, armradio.am reports. The interlocutors discussed a wide range of issues related to the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, emphasizing the importance of resuming the peace process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. Minister Mirzoyan expressed the support of the Armenian side to the joint statements of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs after the 44-day war, where the need for a stable and lasting settlement of the conflict based on well-known principles and elements is emphasized. Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the urgency of addressing priority humanitarian issues. In this context, the Foreign Minister stressed the need for the unconditional repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages held in Azerbaijan.
https://en.armradio.am/2021/09/06/armenian-fm-russian-co-chair-emphasize-the-need-to-resume-the-karabakh-peace-process/
4 September
US State Secretary Antony Blinken sent a congratulatory message to Ararat Mirzoyan on the occasion of assuming the position of the Foreign Minister of Armenia. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the MFA, the message runs as follows, “As a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, we remain committed to working with you to support a comprehensive and sustainable political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We encourage reengagement in substantive negotiations under the auspices of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs as soon as possible. The United States is a partner in your government's efforts to strengthen the rule of law, combat corruption, and bolster democratic institutions, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. The U.S. Embassy team in Yerevan is ready to assist you and your government maintain robust ties between our two countries. Together, we can advance our joint interests in Armenia's sovereign, democratic, peaceful, and prosperous future.”
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1062360.html
Sources: armradio.am; www.hetq.am; The "Caucasian Knot" , armenpress.am; www.168.am.