YEREVAN, Armenia — Azerbaijan has agreed to reopen the only highway linking Armenia to the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh provided local leaders accept aid from Azerbaijan as well, a senior Azerbaijani official told POLITICO on Saturday.
The news comes after authorities in the ethnic Armenian-controlled exclave — inside Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders — announced earlier in the day that it would accept humanitarian shipments from the Russian Red Cross via an alternative road from Aghdam, inside Azerbaijani government-held territory.
According to Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, “Azerbaijan expressed its consent as a goodwill gesture to ensure simultaneous opening” of the so-called Lachin Corridor for ICRC cargo. The road connects the mountainous territory to Armenia. The acceptance, he said, would pave the way for a separate deal to allow passage from Armenia. “In the Lachin checkpoint, Azerbaijan’s customs and border regime must be observed,” he said.
For close to two months, aid organizations including the Red Cross have said they have been unable to transport supplies of food and fuel into Nagorno-Karabakh, despite a 2020 ceasefire agreement between the two sides guaranteeing free use of the road under the supervision of Russian peacekeepers. With essential provisions running low, local Armenians say a humanitarian crisis is already unfolding and the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo, last month issued a report warning that a “genocide” was under way.
Both the U.S. and the EU have urged Azerbaijan to reopen the Lachin Corridor. The South Caucasus country denies it is orchestrating a blockade, and has insisted the Karabakh Armenians must accept humanitarian supplies from inside Azerbaijan.
Arayik Harutyunyan, the former de facto president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, told POLITICO in July that he would refuse to accept the supplies despite a deteriorating humanitarian situation because “Azerbaijan created this crisis and cannot be the solution to it.”
Harutyunyan, who resigned last month amid the ongoing crisis, was due to be replaced on Saturday in a presidential election. However, according to Hajiyev, the “sham elections” are a “serious setback and counterproductive” for the situation.
Instead, he reiterated a call from the Azerbaijani government for the Karabakh Armenians to lay down their arms and accept being governed as part of Azerbaijan. “It is the only way to a lasting peace where Armenian and Azerbaijani residents of Karabakh can live and coexist,” he said.
Hajiyev later clarified in a statement on social media that the Lachin Corridor would not be opened immediately, but under the terms of a deal allowing indefinite access for Azerbaijani aid from Aghdam.
KORNIDZOR, Armenia — Maria Musayelyan gave birth to twin girls on Sunday — now she’s worried about being able to keep them alive.
With Azerbaijan accused of blocking all supplies to the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, fears are growing over the fate of the 100,000 people living there.
“There were days during my pregnancy when I know I didn’t get enough food. And now it’s not just about food,” the 25-year-old lawyer said in a telephone interview from the region’s capital, Stepanakert. “There’s no toilet paper, no toothpaste, no baby formula, no clothes for the children.”
Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians fought a war against Azerbaijan in the early 1990s; hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed or forced to flee their homes as the Armenians took control and declared the independence of their unrecognized breakaway state — inside Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized borders but cut off from the rest of the country by trenches and fortifications.
Azerbaijan turned the tables in 2020 with a lightning offensive that reconquered key parts of the enclave. The war was halted by a Russian-brokered ceasefire, but in recent months Azerbaijan has tightened the noose on the Lachin Corridor, a mountainous road that is the only link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
Blockade
In Kornidzor, an Armenian village on the border with Azerbaijan, a line of white aid trucks — laden with hundreds of tons of flour, cooking oil and other supplies from the Armenian government — has been stuck at an army checkpoint for the last month. Azerbaijan is refusing to let it pass. Nearby, half a dozen boys chase a football up and down a dusty field, every now and then letting out a cheer as it bounces off the burned-out armored vehicle rusting behind the goal.
Aid organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, are also warning that they are unable to get food and fuel into the breakaway region and that a humanitarian crisis looms.
“The situation is close to catastrophe,” said Sergey Ghazaryan, the foreign minister of Nagorno-Karabakh’s unrecognized government. “There’s no sphere of life that isn’t suffering.”
Azerbaijan insists there is a solution — it’s just not one that’s palatable for Karabakh Armenians hoping to preserve some semblance of independence.
Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s foreign policy adviser, insisted to POLITICO that “the Lachin road is open” — while refusing to explain why the Red Cross and other international organizations are unable to use it.
He said his government wants aid to be delivered, just not via the Lachin Corridor from Armenia but from the Azerbaijani city of Aghdam, because it “historically links Karabakh to mainland Azerbaijan” and is “less costly and more convenient.” Russia tentatively backs the idea, while the EU and the U.S. say it’s not an alternative to Lachin.
Baku’s motive for the shift is clear. While the Lachin Corridor offers Nagorno-Karabakh a contiguous lifeline to Armenia, deliveries through Aghdam — which lies to the east of the enclave — would require long, looping transit through Azerbaijan.
Karen Minasyan/AFP via Getty Images
“Why are the Armenians refusing to use the Aghdam road?” Hajiyev asked. “Because they don’t seek reintegration — they simply seek separatism and they seek irredentism and would like to preserve their illegal puppet regime on the territory of Azerbaijan.”
Ghazaryan warned that Azerbaijan’s offer to bring in aid via Aghdam is an effort to force the Karabakh Armenians to give up their independence and accept being part of Azerbaijan. ““If we accept the opening of the Aghdam road and supply from the Azerbaijani side, we legitimize the crime they are committing,” he said.
“In case of the reopening of the Lachin Corridor we will reestablish our self-sufficiency and there will be no need to receive cargo from Aghdam,” he added.
For now, the Armenians are hanging on, but the humanitarian cost is rising.
In July, one Karabakh Armenian doctor said miscarriages had tripled as a result of malnutrition and a lack of medical care, while local media reported a woman lost her baby after she was unable to get to hospital due to a shortage of fuel for the ambulance.
Agricultural work has all but ground to a halt without fuel to power farm machinery or get food from the countryside to the Karabakh Armenian capital, local officials said. They also claim Azerbaijani forces have fired on farmers in their fields, making it almost impossible to sow crops and harvest hay for their animals.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s leadership is calling on the EU, U.S. and others to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan and to push for a return to the status quo ante to prevent a catastrophe.
At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council last week, nations including the U.S., U.K., France and Russia acknowledged the ongoing blockade and called for aid to be allowed in.
But the debate underlined how far apart the two sides are.
Yashar Aliyev, the country’s permanent representative to the U.N., responded to Armenian allegations by holding up printouts of Instagram posts purportedly showing Karabakh Armenians eating food and living life as normal. “People are happy,” he said. “They are dancing at their wedding party. This is a celebration. Very tasty cookies!”
Looking for help
Pressure is growing on Azerbaijan to relent.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, published a report earlier this month calling the situation “an ongoing genocide.”
Luis Moreno-Ocampo | Roel Rozenburg/AFP via Getty Images
Russia’s failure to guarantee safe passage in and out of the region, which it vowed to do under the terms of the 2020 ceasefire, means the Karabakh Armenians are looking West for security assurances.
“We’ve been seeing two major trends since the start of the war in Ukraine,” said Tigran Grigoryan, head of the Regional Center for Democracy and Security think tank in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. “Russia’s interest in the region is decreasing and its priorities are shifting. Militarily, diplomatically, politically, they don’t have the leverage they used to have.”
Azerbaijan is seeking to reassure the international community that warnings of an ongoing ethnic cleansing campaign are overblown. It has hired London lawyer Rodney Dixon to write a rejection of the Moreno Ocampo report.
“If you’re going to make an allegation as serious as genocide, you have to look at all the factors,” Dixon said. “There might be many other issues between the parties, but there’s no evidence that’s been identified a genocide is underway.”
He said Azerbaijan’s offer to redirect aid via Aghdam shows it is not intent on driving out Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population.
But there are doubts as to the Azerbaijani government’s long-term intentions.
“No plan, white paper or document setting out a positive vision for the future of Karabakh Armenians has ever been made public by the Azerbaijani authorities,” said Laurence Broers, an expert on the conflict and associate fellow at Chatham House.
According to him, assurances that locals will receive equal treatment under the constitution of Azerbaijan fail to acknowledge that they “are not just any population but one that has been in protracted conflict with the Azerbaijani state for decades.”
“The Aghdam offer would be more credible if it was linked to deescalation — rhetorically and militarily — and to a vision for an ongoing transformation of the troubled relationship between Azerbaijani state and Karabakh Armenian population,” Broers said.
Meanwhile, in Stepanakert, Musayelyan and her neighbors struggle to survive.
“We are eating whatever can be grown here, mostly vegetables — there’s some potatoes, some pears, some plums,” she said.
Moscow launched a barrage of drone attacks early Sunday at a port in Ukraine’s Odesa region used by Kyiv to export grain, a day ahead of talks between Russia and Turkey where reviving a U.N.-backed grain deal will be high on the agenda.
Kyiv’s air defenses shot down 22 out of the 25 Iranian-made drones destined for the Danube River port infrastructure, Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram on Sunday. At least two people were reported injured.
The Danube River has become Ukraine’s main route for shipping grain after a deal brokered by Turkey and the U.N. allowing Kyiv to use the Black Sea for exports collapsed in July. Moscow has stepped up its attacks of Danube port infrastructure in recent weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Russia on Monday, where Turkey is expected to push for the restoration of the Black Sea grain deal.
“Russian terrorists continue to attack port infrastructure in the hope of provoking a food crisis and famine in the world,” said Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, on Telegram following the Russian attack.
Ukrainian officials also said Russian shelling had injured four people in the country’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region Sunday morning, while one person had died after attacks on Saturday in the country’s northeastern Sumy region. POLITICO couldn’t independently verify the reports.
That also comes after a top Ukrainian general leading the country’s counteroffensive said on Saturday that Kyiv’s troops had breached Russia’s first defensive line near Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine after weeks of mine clearance.
In a sign that Russia is also increasingly looking at all possible options to shore up its forces, Moscow has been appealing for fresh recruits through advertizing in the Caucasus and Central Asia, the U.K.’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday. Online adverts offering up to €4,756 in initial salaries have been spotted Armenia and Kazakshtan, as well as schemes offering fast-track Russian citizenship for those who sign up.
Around 280,000 people have signed up for military service in Russia so far this year, the country’s former President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday. Last year, Russia announced a plan of increasing its troops by 30 percent to 1.5 million.
Even as war rages in Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of Russians are eyeing popular holiday destinations for a summer break — or even a safe haven to wait out the conflict.
While a weaker ruble and growing economic woes means many ordinary families will be spending the warmer months on their dachas or taking a break inside Russia, those with enough cash to travel are wasting little time jetting off to sunny spots across Europe and Asia.
That means countries still willing to take their money are tapping into a lucrative market. But that can come at a cost, and the politics of taking tens of thousands of tourists from a pariah state is already creating trouble in paradise for some popular destinations.
Here are six of the top places Russians are spending their vacations.
Turkey
As lazy travel writers so often put it, Turkey is a nation that straddles East and West. That old cliché has taken on new meaning since the start of the war in Ukraine, with the NATO member state offering support to Kyiv while at the same time refusing to impose sanctions on Moscow.
Ankara, as a result, has seen much-needed foreign cash flood into the country as Russians look to move their assets abroad. It’s also one of the only European destinations not to have banned flights from Russia: While the EU’s skies are closed, Turkish operators are offering flights from Moscow to sunny destinations like Antalya and Bodrum for as little as €130.
In the first half of the year, Turkey’s tourism revenues grew by more than a quarter, hitting $21.7 billion, statistics released this week show, with as many as 7 million Russians expected to visit the country this year.
Some have even decided to stay — as many as 145,000 Russians currently have residency permits. But while they’ve escaped political instability and the risk of conscription, they are sharing their new home country with tens of thousands of Ukrainians who’ve fled Russia’s war.
That’s created tensions in resort towns like Antalya, which is popular with both Russians and Ukrainians. And given Turkey’s growing anti-migrant sentiment in the wake of May’s presidential elections, both groups could be at risk of being sent home.
Georgia
The South Caucasus country holds an almost mythical status in the minds of Russians — and its reputation for having some of the best nature, food and hospitality in the former Soviet Union has made it a go-to destination for middle-class holidaymakers, who flock to its Black Sea beaches and snow-capped mountains or kick back in trendy Tbilisi.
In 2022 alone, more than 1.1 million Russians visited Georgia, up from just 200,000 the year before. That number is on the rise after Moscow in May relaxed rules banning direct flights.
Under the ruling Georgian Dream party, Tbilisi has sought closer relations with the Kremlin since the start of the war and aimed to profit off Russian wanderlust. But many locals are less sure.
In 2022 alone, more than 1.1 million Russians visited Georgia, up from just 200,000 the year before | Jan Kruger/Getty Images
In a poll conducted in March, only 4 percent of the 1,500 people surveyed said Russians are welcome in Georgia, while a quarter said Russians were tolerated because of the cash they spend when they visit. More than one in three insisted Russian visitors should be banned until Moscow relinquishes control of the occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia — accounting for around a fifth of Georgia’s territory.
Tensions are on the rise, with local Georgian and Ukrainian activists staging protests against Russian cruise ships docking in the port city of Batumi over the weekend. Clips shared by local media show Russian holidaymakers defending Russia’s 2008 war against Georgia and taunting the demonstrators from their balconies.
Thailand
It’s not only about the gleaming luxury resorts and party beaches. For Russians, the appeal of traveling to Thailand has a lot to do with the month of visa-free travel they’re granted.
The number of Russians visiting Thailand has shot up by more than 1,000 percent over the past year, according to a Bloomberg report. Official statistics show 791,574 Russians traveling to the country in the first half of this year alone.
The party city of Phuket has seen a particular influx, with close to half of all villassold theresince January being bought up by Russians — either as holiday homes or as party pads where they can wait out the war.
That rise in tourism comes as Moscow has also sought to forge closer ties with the kingdom. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov — one of the most committed supporters of the war in Ukraine — flew into Bangkok in July to hail “the importance of boosting cooperation in trade and investment.”
United Arab Emirates
Dubai isn’t to everyone’s taste. But the billionaires’ playground and its pristine beaches have become a sought-after destination for many wealthy Russians looking for a friendly welcome — and a place to spend huge sums in opulent malls.
The number of Russians jetting to the Gulf nation shot up by 63 percent last year, making them the second largest tourism market. The UAE has also seen a surge in Russian expats, who report feeling more at ease in the desert city than in Western countries because there are no public displays of support for war-ravaged Ukraine.
The influx comes as ties between Russia and the UAE are also booming, with Russian firms relocating to the Gulf nation and the Kremlin selling vast volumes of discounted oil to the country.
But analysts warn that pressure from the U.S., U.K. and EU is making it increasingly difficult to the UAE to profit from sanctions evasion, meaning Russian tourists may find their welcome doesn’t last forever.
Cyprus
The island of Cyprus has long been known as Moscow on the Med — a homage to the country’s largest tourist market.
Those beach holidays are now largely out of reach for ordinary Russians, after Cyprus followed other EU member states in banning commercial flights from Russia and last year imposed an €80 fee for visas. The decision, officials say, has cost the country €600 million worth of income.
The island of Cyprus has long been known as Moscow on the Med | Roy Issa/AFP via Getty Images
But, for those who can stump up the costs, flights from Russia with a brief stop in Istanbul or Yerevan cost around €250. Cyprus has also been one of the most prolific issuers of so-called “golden passports,” which offer EU citizenship in exchange for as little as €2.5 million in investment.
While no statistics exist on how many Russians have taken advantage of the scheme, the country has been under pressure to cancel travel documents for sanctioned oligarchs. As many as 222 passports have already been withdrawn, including those belonging to several Russian billionaires.
Ukraine
For Russians with regular jobs and limited cash to spend abroad, country houses and holiday parks are still the most popular option.
Until recently, many of them would be headed to Ukraine’s occupied Crimean peninsula. An iconic spot for vacations and sanatorium breaks since the days of the Soviet Union, many Russians have bought second homes or paid for package holidays to the region’s Black Sea coast since it was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Now, a spate of explosions at military facilities and Kyiv’s insistence that Crimea will come back under its control when it wins the war has worried many Russians.
With air traffic close to the border diverted, one of the only remaining routes into the peninsula is across the car and railway bridge opened by President Vladimir Putin in 2018. That bridge has repeatedly been struck by Ukrainian forces looking to disrupt Russian military convoys.
As a result, officials say, hotels are on average more than half empty — despite heavy promotions and discounts. Local proprietors say the situation is even more dire than the government is prepared to admit.
Sprinkle the sequins and pump up the volume: The annual Eurovision Song Contest reaches its climax on Saturday with a grand final broadcast live from the United Kingdom’s city of Liverpool.
There will be catchy choruses, a kaleidoscope of costumes and tributes to the spirit of Ukraine in a competition that since 1956 has captured the changing zeitgeist of a continent.
Last year, 161 million people watched the competition, according to the organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), making it one of the world’s most-watched events.
Here’s what to expect as acts from across Europe – and beyond – vie for the continent’s pop crown.
Who’s competing?
This year, 37 countries sent an act to Eurovision, selected through national competitions or internal selections by broadcasters. The winner of the previous year’s event usually hosts the contest but, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues, the UK is doing the honours this year on behalf of 2022’s winner, Ukraine.
Alyosha is competing for Ukraine this year. The country has won three times since it began taking part in 2003 [Martin Meissner/AP Photo]
Six countries automatically qualify for the final: last year’s winner and the five countries that contribute the most funding to the contest – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
The others must perform in the semi-finals with 20 acts chosen by public vote on Tuesday and Thursday.
The qualifiers are: Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland.
The final takes place on Saturday at the Liverpool Arena.
Australia?
Eurovision is not just geography. Eurovision is hugely popular in Australia and the country was allowed to join the competition in 2015. Other entrants from outside Europe’s borders include Israel and Azerbaijan.
Who are the favourites?
It is hard to predict the winners in a contest whose past winners have ranged from ABBA to Finnish metal band Lordi, but bookmakers say Swedish diva Loreen, who won in 2012, is the favourite with her power ballad Tattoo.
Finland’s Käärijä was a crowd-pleaser in the semifinals with his pop-metal party tune Cha Cha Cha and Canadian singer La Zarra, competing for France, is also highly ranked for her Edith Piaf-style song Évidemment.
Mae Muller of the United Kingdom is hoping to turn in a strong performance on Saturday night [Martin Meissner/AP Photo]
And never underestimate left-field entries like Croatia’s Let 3, whose song Mama ŠČ! is pure Eurovision camp: an anti-war rock opera that plays like Monty Python meets Dr Strangelove.
What happens in the final?
About 6,000 people will attend the final, hosted by longtime BBC Eurovision presenter Graham Norton, Ted Lasso and West End star Hannah Waddingham, British singer Alesha Dixon and Ukrainian rock star Julia Sanina.
Each competing act must sing live and stick to a three-minute limit but is otherwise free to create its own staging – the flashier the pyrotechnics and more elaborate the choreography, the better.
Russia’s war in Ukraine will lend a solemn note to a contest famed for celebrating cheesy pop.
The show will open with a performance by last year’s winner, folk-rap band Kalush Orchestra, and singer Jamala, who won the contest in 2016, will perform a tribute to her Crimean Tatar culture. Ukraine has won the competition three times since the country started taking part in 2003.
One person who will not be appearing is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He asked to address the final by video but the EBU said that such a talk would breach “the nonpolitical nature of the event”.
How is the winner decided?
After all the acts have performed, viewers in participating nations can vote by phone, text message or app but are not allowed to vote for their own country.
This year for the first time, viewers watching from non-participating countries can also vote online, with the combined “rest of the world” votes being given the weight of one individual country.
Croatia’s Let 3 are singing an anti-war rock opera [Martin Meissner/AP Photo]
National juries of music industry professionals also allocate between one and 12 points to their favourite songs, with an announcer from each country popping up to declare which has been granted the coveted “douze points” (12 points).
Public and jury votes are combined to give each country a single score. Ending up with “nul points” (zero points) is considered a national embarrassment. The UK has suffered that fate several times – most recently in 2021. It bounced back last year, however, when Sam Ryder came second and is hoping this year’s contestant, Mae Muller, will also turn in a strong performance.
Where can I watch?
Eurovision is being shown by national broadcasters that belong to the EBU, including the BBC in the UK, and on the Eurovision YouTube channel. In the United States, it is being shown on NBC’s Peacock streaming service.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered a morose speech in Moscow’s Red Square that lasted barely 10 minutes, during which he doubled down on his justification for the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“A real war has once again been unleashed on our motherland,” he said in the speech during annual celebrations marking Russia’s World War II victory. “Western elites talk about their exceptionalism, dividing people and provoking bloody conflicts, sowing hatred, Russophobia and aggressive nationalism, destroying traditional family values.”
For nearly eight decades, Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade has been not just a memorial to the 27 million Soviet citizens who died fighting Nazi Germany in World War II, but also a carefully curated show of Russia’s strength.
This year, however, May 9 celebrations across the country were canceled or cut short, and the usual procession of uniformed troops and heavy weaponry in the capital appeared a shadow of what it was before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In previous years, a host of foreign dignitaries have traveled to Moscow for the festivities. But this time, only the leaders of seven other former Soviet republics made the journey — representing Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Belarus and Armenia.
While the increasingly isolated Putin pledged that his troops would ultimately succeed in Ukraine, the military hardware on show suggested its armed forces are scraping the barrel for equipment.
Instead of a long line of advanced battle tanks rumbling through the streets toward the Kremlin as in previous years, the procession was led by one single, Soviet-era T-34 tank — the kind used in action against the Nazis on the Eastern Front.
Aside from a few dozen armored personnel carriers, heavy tactical vehicles used by Chechen forces and long-range anti-aircraft systems, the bulk of Russia’s once-feared arsenal was nowhere to be seen — likely in action in eastern Ukraine. Or lying wrecked on the battlefield.
“There was lots of hardware that looks tank-adjacent, but isn’t officially a tank,” one Moscow resident watching the parade told POLITICO on condition of anonymity, given strict laws targeting anyone accused of discrediting the armed forces.
Across the border, a barrage of Russian rockets rained down on Kyiv overnight, with air defenses repelling an estimated 15 missiles. Ukraine commemorated the end of World War II the day before, on May 8, aligning with Western Europe for the first time.
Meanwhile, the part of Russia’s celebrations organizers say honors those who fell in the fight against fascism almost 80 years ago — the march of the so-called Immortal Regiment, where Russians hold pictures of their loved ones who died — was canceled.
In a country where hundreds of thousands of young men are fighting Putin’s bloody war, talk of casualties is becoming more sensitive day to day.
Azerbaijan says it has set up a checkpoint on the only land route to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan has said it has established a checkpoint on the only land route to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a step that was followed by claims of border shootings by both Azeri and Armenian forces.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians and the region broke away from Baku in a war in the early 1990s.
Azerbaijan said on Sunday that it had established a checkpoint on the road leading to Karabakh, saying the move was essential due to what it cast as Armenia’s use of the road to transport weapons.
Azerbaijan “took appropriate measures to establish control at the starting point of the road”, the foreign ministry said.
“Providing border security, as well as ensuring safe traffic on the road, is the prerogative of the government of Azerbaijan, and an essential prerequisite for national security, state sovereignty and the rule of law.”
Armenia said the checkpoint at the Hakari bridge in the Lachin Corridor was a gross violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement that ended a 2020 war.
It called on Russia to implement the agreement, which states that the Lachin Corridor, the only road across Azerbaijan that links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, must be under Russian peacekeepers’ control.
“We call on the Russian Federation to ultimately implement the trilateral statement,” Armenia’s foreign ministry said of the agreement that was brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The United States government said it was “deeply concerned” by Azerbaijan establishing the checkpoint on the only land route to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, saying it undermines efforts towards peace in the region.
The US State Department also said there should be free and open movement of people and commerce on the Lachin Corridor, and urged both sides to resume peace talks.
Pictures of the bridge posted on social media by Azeri officials showed one side of it blocked by vehicles and soldiers.
Armenia’s defence ministry said a soldier named Artyom Poghosyan was killed at approximately 07:50 GMT when Azeri forces opened fire on an Armenian position in Sotk, an Armenian village east of Lake Sevan. Azerbaijan denied it killed the soldier.
Azerbaijan then claimed that Armenian soldiers fired on Azeri units at approximately 11:10 GMT in the Lachin district, a claim Armenia denied.
Azeri civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists have been facing off since December 12 with Russian peacekeepers on the Lachin Corridor.
Armenia says the protesters are government-backed agitators who are effectively blockading Karabakh. Azerbaijan denies blockading the road, saying that some convoys and aid are allowed through.
In recent months, Armenia has repeatedly called on Moscow to do more to support the peace and ensure unfettered access between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh through the Lachin Corridor.
Pro-Armenian sentiment expressed during the Australian Open sparks a complaint from Azerbaijan tennis officials.
Karen Khachanov has defended himself after his support at the Australian Open for the contested Armenian enclave Nagorno-Karabakh sparked a strongly worded complaint from Azerbaijan tennis officials.
The Russian, who has Armenian roots, wrote a message on a television camera lens after his fourth-round win at Melbourne Park, which said: “Keep believing until the very end. Artsakh, hold on!”
In a previous round, the player, who reached the semifinals on Tuesday, wrote: “Artsakh stay strong.”
The ethnically Armenian area of Nagorno-Karabakh, known by separatists as the Artsakh Republic, broke away from Azerbaijan with Armenian support after a bloody post-Soviet ethnic conflict in the early 1990s.
In 2020, Azerbaijan launched a second war in the region, successfully winning back part of the territory controlled by the Armenian-backed separatists.
In a letter posted online, the Azerbaijan Tennis Federation said it has protested to Australian Open organisers and the International Tennis Federation.
It demanded Khachanov be “punished” with “harsh measures”.
“Writing heartfelt wishes on the camera lens is a kind of tradition in tennis, but Khachanov abused this, using it in his dirty plans,” it said.
Khachanov said he was not aware of the letter and had not been told to stop his post-match messages “so far”.
“I say many times I have Armenian roots,” he told reporters at Melbourne Park after his quarterfinal victory on Tuesday. “From my father’s side, from my grandfather’s side, even from my mom’s side. I’m half Armenian … to be honest. I don’t want to go deeper than that, and I just wanted to show strength and support to my people. That’s it.”
The Australian Open has taken a stance on political issues during this tournament, banning Russian flags after one was hung next to a court where a Ukrainian player was playing.
Russian and Belarusian players were banned from Wimbledon last year after the invasion of Ukraine but are able to compete as individual athletes without national affiliation at the Australian Open.
Belarus is being used as a key staging ground for Russia’s war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special operation”.
MOSCOW (AP) — Two years after Azerbaijan and Armenia ended a war that killed about 6,800 soldiers and displaced around 90,000 civilians, tensions between the countries are again high in a dispute over a six-kilometer (nearly four-mile) road known as the Lachin Corridor.
The winding road, which is the only land connection between Armenia and the ethnic Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan, has been blocked by protesters claiming to be environmental activists since mid-December, threatening food supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh’s 120,000 people.
The dispute raises fears that new fighting could break out. It also could destabilize Armenia’s chronically excitable politics. As well, it casts doubts on the competence and intentions of Russia, whose peacekeeping troops are charged with keeping the road secure.
ROOTS OF THE DISPUTE
Mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh, smaller than the U.S. state of Delaware, has significant cultural importance to both Armenians and Azeris. It had a substantial degree of autonomy within Azerbaijan when it was part of the Soviet Union. As the USSR deteriorated, Armenian separatist unrest broke out, later turning into a full-scale war after the Soviet Union collapsed.
Most of the Azeri population was driven out by the end of the fighting in 1994. Ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia took control not only of Nagorno-Karabakh itself but of sizable surrounding Azerbaijani areas.
For the next quarter-century, Nagorno-Karabakh was a “frozen conflict,” with Armenian and Azerbaijani forces facing off across a no man’s land and occasional clashes. In September 2020, Azerbaijan launched a full-scale assault to take the region. The fierce fighting lasted six weeks.
The war ended with a Russia-brokered armistice under which Azerbaijan regained control of parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and all the surrounding territory previously occupied by Armenians. Russia sent a peacekeeping force of 2,000 troops to maintain order, including ensuring that the Lachin Corridor remained open.
CURRENT TROUBLE
In mid-December, Azeris claiming to be environmental activists began blocking the road, saying they were protesting illegitimate mining by Armenians. Armenia contends the protests are orchestrated by Azerbaijan. In turn, Azerbaijan alleges that Armenians have used the corridor to transport land mines into Nagorno-Karabakh in violation of the armistice terms.
After more than a month of blockages, food shortages in Nagorno-Karabakh have become severe as reserves run low. The local government on Friday implemented a coupon system allowing only limited purchases of rice, pasta, buckwheat, sugar and sunflower oil. Local authorities have called for a humanitarian airlift for critical supplies, but Azerbaijan hasn’t given authorization for the region’s airport to operate.
Azerbaijan also has sporadically cut gas supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh — most recently on Saturday evening — and electricity supplies are reduced.
Although Russia is tasked with ensuring the Lachin Corridor’s operation, it has taken no overt action to end the blockade.
The European Parliament has called for Russian peacekeepers to be replaced by a mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe — even though it criticized the OSCE for failing to resolve Nagorno-Karabakh’s status during the decades that preceded the 2020 war.
CONSEQUENCES
With its attention focused on the fighting in Ukraine, Russia has taken a wait-and-see approach to the Lachin Corridor blockade, angering Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan this month refused to allow Armenia to host military exercises of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization alliance, saying that “Russia’s military presence in Armenia not only fails to guarantee its security, but it raises security threats for Armenia.” Armenia hosts a Russian military base.
Russia’s involvement in ending the 2020 war was seen as a significant accomplishment that boosted its influence in the region. The esteem it gained could be lost if it doesn’t take stronger measures to open up the road.
Pashinyan’s assenting to the Russia-brokered agreement to end the fighting was widely unpopular in Armenia, with opponents accusing him of being a traitor and large protests demanding his resignation. Failure to resolve the current dispute, leaving Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenians suffering and isolated, could provoke new unrest — and Pashinyan is aware of the potential power of such protests, having become prime minister himself on the heels of large demonstrations in 2018.
Over the past few months, Russia and Armenia’s relationship has become fraught with tension over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Russia has blamed Armenia for a breakdown in peace talks with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in the latest sign of friction between Moscow and Yerevan over the conflict.
For months, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet republics, have tried to discuss a peace deal for the contested region in the South Caucasus.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is home to a mainly ethnic Armenian population. The two neighbour’s conflict over the region began at the start of the 20th century and has broken out into war twice, the latest in 2020.
Moscow on Thursday accused Armenia of bailing on peace talks and asked Yerevan to return to the negotiating table.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “It is difficult to assess Yerevan’s position when their official statements differ so significantly.”
She said Armenia’s decision to abandon peace talks scheduled in December in Moscow “prevented us from discussing the peace treaty”.
“If our Armenian partners are really interested in solving these problems, … then instead of engaging in scholasticism, it is necessary to continue working together,” Zakharova said.
The village of Taghavard in Nagorno-Karabakh was divided between Azerbaijan and Armenia after the Second Nagorno-Karbakh War in 2020 [File: Artem MikryukovReuters]
Growing tensions
For the past month, Azerbaijani civilians who say they are environmental activists have protested along the Lachin corridor, the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Yerevan has called the action an Azerbaijani government-endorsed blockade.
Baku says the group has legitimate concerns over suspected unlawful Armenian mining projects and has denied that the region is blocked.
The issue has caused tension in the relationship between allies Armenia and Russia. Yerevan has repeatedly criticised Russia’s peacekeepers, who have been placed at the Lachin corridor since 2020 to ensure free movement. Armenia has said they are not doing enough to ease the bottleneck. But Moscow has said it is doing everything possible.
On Tuesday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said: “Russia’s military presence in Armenia not only fails to guarantee its security, but it raises security threats for Armenia.”
On the same day, Armenia announced it would not host military drills by the Russian-led alliance of post-Soviet states, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CTSO).
Pashinyan said it would be “unreasonable to hold CTSO exercises on the territory of Armenia”.
Despite the cancelled drills, the Kremlin said Yerevan remains a “close ally” and it planned to ask Armenia to clarify its position.
UNITED NATIONS — A senior U.N. official urged the international community Tuesday to prevent Armenia and Azerbaijan from resuming their conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region as the two countries accused each other of violating a Russian-brokered peace agreement.
U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs Miroslav Jenča said a renewed conflict would likely impact the wider south Caucasus region and beyond. He urged redoubled diplomatic efforts to achieve a lasting peaceful settlement between Armenia and Azerbaijan “before it is too late.”
The former Soviet countries have been locked in a decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. During a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan reclaimed broad swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories held by Armenian forces. More than 6,700 people died in the fighting that was ended by a Russia-brokered peace agreement.
Jenča said there has been “a glimmer of hope” for progress in ongoing diplomatic efforts following renewed violence in mid-September that killed 155 soldiers from both countries. But regrettably, he said, tensions on the border and around areas put under control of Russian peacekeeping forces in the 2020 peace agreement “have not abated as hoped.”
He pointed to several incidents that have raised tensions, the latest reportedly involving protests near a Russian peacekeeping post on the Lachin road, the only artery between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Jenča said it has been reported that the protests were against what the demonstrators claimed is the illegal exploitation of mineral resources and the environmental impact on the surrounding area. He said the U.N. understands the protests were continuing Tuesday but it is not in a position to verify or confirm the allegations.
In recent days, he said, both Armenia and Azerbaijan have written to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and to the Security Council offering widely differing accounts of the situation, alleging violations of commitments by the other side, and challenging each other’s claims.
The U.N. welcomes the commitment of Russian peacekeeping forces “to facilitate and ensure the safe passage through the corridor,” Jenča said, citing media reports and statements from Russian peacekeepers indicating that some humanitarian and medical supplies have gotten through.
Armenia’s U.N. Ambassador Mher Margaryan told the council his country called the emergency meeting because since Dec. 12, the Azerbaijan initiated “massive campaign of state-sponsored protests along the Lachin corridor” has blocked the only supply route in and out of Nagorno-Karabakh creating “an evolving humanitarian crisis.”
At least 1,100 civilians have been stranded along the blocked highway for the past week, and transferring patients for urgent treatment in Armenian hospitals “has become impossible, which has already resulted in fatality of a critically ill patient,” he said.
“By orchestrating an unlawful blockade of the Lachin corridor under the made-up pretext of environmental concerns,” Margaryan said, “Azerbaijan has effectively targeted a population of 120,000 people by isolating them in precarious humanitarian conditions during the winter season.”
Azerbaijan’s U.N. Ambassador Yashar Aliyev told the council that under the November 2020 Russian-brokered deal the Lachin district was returned to Azerbaijan which committed to guarantee the security of people, vehicles and cargo moving along the road.
“Neither the government of Azerbaijan nor the protesting activists have blocked the Lachin road,” he said.
“Video clips shared on social media show unimpeded passage of the various types of vehicles, including ambulances and humanitarian convoys,” Aliyev said. “The claims regarding alleged humanitarian consequences of the situation are equally false. This is nothing other than another manifestation of reckless manipulation by Armenia of the situation for obvious malign political purposes.”
Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Anna Evstigneeva expressed concern about reports of blockage of the Lachin corridor, saying in recent days Russia “has been taking every effort to ensure prompt settlement of the situation.” As a result, she said, natural gas supplies have been delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh and traffic on the road was partly unblocked.
Russia calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to observe the cease-fire and no-use-of-force agreements achieved under its mediation, “to demonstrate restraint, and keep from steps that may escalate tension,” Evstigneeva said.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Monday to try to broker a settlement to a longstanding conflict between the two ex-Soviet neighbors, but announced no breakthrough.
The peace talks took place as Putin’s military delivered a new missile barrage targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure in the conflict that has entered its ninth month.
After meetings with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Putin said they had to remove continuing points of disagreement from a prepared statement that was to have formed the basis of a peace deal. He called the meetings “very useful” but declined to answer a reporter’s question about the remaining sticking points, saying they were too delicate to discuss publicly.
Before the meeting with Pashinyan, Putin had said the goals would be to ensure peace and stability, and unblock transportation infrastructure to help Armenia’s economic and social development.
A joint statement released after the talks said the two sides pledged to refrain from the use of force, to negotiate issues based on respect for each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders. It said Armenia and Azerbaijan would work to normalize relations, foster peace and stability, as well as the security and economic development of their region.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.
“We see the approaches of our colleagues to what is happening on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and around Karabakh,” Putin said Monday. “This conflict has been going on for a decade, so we still need to end it.”
The meetings concern implementation of a 2020 peace deal that Russia brokered. During a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan reclaimed broad swaths of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent territories that Armenian forces held for decades. More than 6,700 people died in the fighting. Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to the region to serve as peacekeepers.
Pashinyan said Monday that he would press for Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from the Russian peacekeeping zone in Nagorno-Karabakh, and seek freedom for Armenian prisoners of war. An extension of the Russian peacekeeping mandate was also under discussion, Russian state news agencies reported. Putin told reporters afterward that extension of Russia’s peacekeeping mission would depend on resolution of other issues.
A new round of hostilities erupted in September, when more than 200 troops were killed on both sides. Armenia and Azerbaijan traded blame for triggering the fighting.
Russia is Armenia’s top ally and sponsor. In a delicate balancing act, it maintains a military base in Armenia but also has developed warm ties with Azerbaijan.
In an apparent reflection of tensions with Armenia’s leadership, Putin noted last Thursday that the Kremlin had advised Pashinyan’s government before the 2020 hostilities to agree to a compromise in which Armenian forces would give up Azerbaijani lands outside Nagorno-Karabakh that they seized in the early 1990s. Putin lamented that “the Armenian leadership has taken a different path.”
During the 2020 fighting, Azerbaijan reclaimed not only those territories but significant chunks of Nagorno-Karabakh proper.
PRAGUE (AP) — Leaders across Europe hailed on Thursday their united front against Russia’s war on Ukraine at a summit that also saw the heads of old foes Turkey and Armenia meet face-to-face for the first time since they agreed last year to put decades of bitterness behind them.
The inaugural summit of the European Political Community brought together the 27 European Union member countries, aspiring partners in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, as well as neighbors like Britain — the only country to have left the EU.
Russia was the one major European power not invited to the gathering at Prague Castle along with Belarus, its neighbor and supporter in the war against Ukraine; a conflict fueling an energy crisis and high inflation that are wreaking havoc on Europe’s economies.
“Leaders leave this summit with greater collective resolve to stand up to Russian aggression. What we have seen in Prague is a forceful show of solidarity with Ukraine, and for the principles of freedom and democracy,” said U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss.
Her Belgian counterpart, Alexander De Croo, said “if you just look at the attendance here, you see the importance. The whole European continent is here, except two countries: Belarus and Russia. So it shows how isolated those two countries are.”
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said the fallout from the war is something they all have in common.
“It’s affecting all of us in the security sense, and its affecting all of us through our economies, through the rising energy costs. So the only way that we can handle this is working together, and not just the European Union. All the European countries need to work together,” he said.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal was in Prague for the meeting, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the leaders by video link.
“There are no representatives of Russia with us here — a state that geographically seems to belong to Europe, but from the point of view of its values and behavior is the most anti-European state in the world,” Zelenskyy said.
“We are now in a strong position to direct all possible powers of Europe to end the war and guarantee long-term peace,” he said. “For Ukraine, for Europe, for the world.”
The new forum is the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron and is backed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. They say it should aim to boost security and prosperity across the continent.
Critics claim the new forum is an attempt to put the brakes on EU enlargement. Others fear it may become a talking shop, perhaps convening once or twice a year but devoid of any real clout or content.
“We will never accept (a situation) where this platform brings harm to our accession negotiations,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters. “Our expectation is for the European Political Community to help strengthen and contribute to our relations with the EU.”
But the host of the event, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, said it had been a success.
“We don’t replace existing formats of cooperation. We did not adopt any official resolution. We just feel the need of having space for informal exchange of views on ongoing events in Europe and beyond,” Fiala told reporters. He said the next meeting will be held in Moldova, then others in Spain and the U.K.
The summit did create space for a series of meetings. Erdogan and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held landmark talks. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was also present at what appeared to be an informal gathering of the three leaders.
Turkey and Armenia, which have no diplomatic relations, agreed last year to start talks aimed at putting decades of enmity behind them and reopen their joint border. Special envoys appointed by the two countries have held four rounds of talks since then.
Truss, Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte held talks on migration, as the U.K. seeks further help in preventing migrants from reaching its shores without authorization. Macron was even cautiously optimistic that the EU and the U.K. might be able to be put their Brexit differences behind them.
“I do hope this is a new phase of our common relations and that this is the beginning of the day after,” he told reporters.
Macron listed topics on which leaders agreed to work by the next summit in Moldova, including protecting “key facilities” like pipelines, undersea cables, satellites. “We need a European strategy to protect them,” he said, after two gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea were apparently sabotaged.
But some old enmities also found a new forum to air themselves in. Referring to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Erdogan said that “a certain gentleman became very disturbed” by his remarks in one meeting. Erdogan was also critical of the Greek leadership in Cyprus.
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Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.
YEREVAN, Armenia, October 29, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– According to the Regional Reporter, a digital news aggregator covering the current military conflict over Artsakh known as Nagorno-Karabakh, the newly established humanitarian ceasefire brokered by the US failed shortly after it took effect on Oct. 26.
The Defense Ministry of Armenia reported that on Oct. 28, Azerbaijan launched missiles at the city of Stepanakert – the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh multiple times using different means, including the Smerch rocket system. According to the Ministry of Defense as well as war correspondents from WarGonzo, one of the bombs was directly fired at the Maternity Hospital of the city. WarGonzo also reports that sources in Istanbul have confirmed Turkish F-16 jets have also been used today to target civilian settlements of Artsakh by direct order from President Erdogan. Armenia’s Defense Ministry has not confirmed this fact yet. As a result of these attacks, an entire neighborhood was severely damaged and civilian infrastructure, cars and buildings burned down. Azerbaijan also fired Smerch rockets at the city of Shushi, leaving many civilians dead and wounded.
Earlier today the city of Barda in Azerbaijan was heavily bombed causing deaths among the civilian population. Azerbaijan accused Armenia of being responsible for the attacks, however, Armenia has officially denied firing at the city. In recent hours multiple tweets by Azerbaijani and Turkish people have surfaced online saying Syrian terrorists were responsible for the attacks and were planning more. The allegations were made by Azerbaijani people and were assumed to be related to Azerbaijani-Turkish leaderships not paying the Syrian fighters for being recruited to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenians all around the world have been organizing protests to raise awareness about the ongoing war in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh initiated by Azerbaijan on September 27. Today, during one of the peaceful protests in France, a group of Turkish and Azerbaijani people attacked Armenian protesters with hammers and knives. Police have arrived at the scene. One Armenian protester was hit with a hammer on the head and a few others were injured.
To stop disinformation surrounding the current conflict with Turkey and Azerbaijan and spread awareness in the international community, a group of Armenian journalists and IT professionals created Digital News Aggregator regionalreporter.org. Regional Reporter team with 80 employees are dedicated to providing transparent and unbiased information to its audience on all continents.
See the complete press release here. Press kit Regional Reporter info@regionalreporter.org https://regionalreporter.org
YEREVAN, Armenia, October 20, 2020 (Newswire.com)
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According to Regional Reporter, as the conflict in Artsakh continues to escalate, Azerbaijan continues to violate human rights by actively bombing areas outside the conflict zone, brutally executing prisoners of war and refusing to exchange captives and withdraw wounded soldiers from the battlefield.
On Oct. 16, members of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces called the brother of an Armenian soldier and told him they beheaded his brother and were going to post his photo on social media. Several hours later, the brother found that photo on his killed brother’s social media page.
The Greek diplomats in Baku feel threatened as specific incidents against the embassy members are undertaken, posing a threat to their security. The situation around the Greek Embassy in Azerbaijan escalated quickly after the urgent visit of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias to Armenia on Thursday and their open diplomatic support for Armenia.
Armenia’s Ministry of Defense reports that due to Azerbaijan’s aggression many civilian settlements were damaged in the territory of Armenia proper. Schools in the Armenian villages of Sotk and Kut were damaged by adversary drones that caused shattered windows and cracked walls. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry reports, “After the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan reached an agreement on the establishment of humanitarian truce on Oct. 18, 2020, an attempt was made to reach an agreement to withdraw the wounded soldiers from the battlefield, through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross. However, this step was categorically rejected by Baku.”
“If the only solution to the current conflict is the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh, there is no need to hesitate. As an individual, I am in favor of self-determination,” the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo told Nouvelles d’Armenie. “Baku is clearly the aggressor in this conflict, supported by Turkey.”
Syrian Observatory activists have confirmed that the Turkish government has transported a new batch of mercenaries from Syria to Azerbaijan, comprising over 400 fighters of “Sultan Murad,” “Al-Hamza Division,” and other factions. According to them, the total number of Syrian fighters sent to Azerbaijan has risen to at least 2,050.
YEREVAN, Armenia, October 17, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– To stop disinformation surrounding the current conflict with Turkey and Azerbaijan and spread awareness in the international community, Armenia’s tech community leaders came together to form the Global Awareness initiative.
Latest news from the front line of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh:
Contrary to the claims of the Azerbaijani side that the two videos of executions of two Armenian prisoners of war were fabricated by Armenia, a thorough analysis of the video proves that the footage and content were real. The analysis was released by an ex-British Army officer and open source analyst Nick Waters in an investigative journalist article for bellingcat. This video was initially posted on Azerbaijani Telegram channels alongside a description stating that the two men captured were Armenian soldiers. By analyzing several criteria, such as the uniforms, weapons, geolocation and date in the videos, the author concludes that the video is genuine and the detainees appear to have been transported away from Armenian lines and towards Azerbaijani lines before they were executed.
Major General of the Libyan National Army Ahmed al-Mismari confirms that Turkey sends terrorists to Azerbaijan. ”Thousands of terrorists, Syrian and of other nationalities, have been sent to Libya by Turkey using the Mitiga and Misrata airports. Now Turkey uses those airports to send Libyan, Syrian and other terrorists to Azerbaijan,” Ahmed al-Mismari told Sky News Arabia.
On October 16, violating the ceasefire agreement signed on October 10, Azerbaijan launched heavy shelling again on Stepanakert and other communities in Artsakh. The office of the human rights defender of Artsakh, Artak Beglaryan reports that three peaceful civilians were wounded in the village of Shosh. No data on the casualties is reported yet.
Two Hamza Militants, who came back to Syria after fighting for Turkey in the war against Artsakh, were interviewed. They reported that Syrians were used as human shields while the Azerbaijani army was always at least 200 meters behind them. He also stated that around 1,000 fighters were sent initially, out of which 300 were allowed to return, while most of the rest died.
Armenian doctors in Artsakh performed surgery and treated an Azerbaijani captive. He is currently under medical care. This comes shortly after a video was leaked where Azerbaijani soldiers brutally killed two handcuffed and unarmed Armenian prisoners of war and beheaded a soldier.
The Parliament of Luxembourg unanimously adopted a motion condemning the Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh, Turkey’s involvement in the conflict and supporting all initiatives for an immediate ceasefire.
A poster with a little Azerbaijani girl, who is seemingly crying, has gone viral on social media as part of an anti-Armenian campaign. Around the same time, images and videos of the shooting’s backstage surfaced online where the mother of the little girl was encouraging her to cry harder, then proudly noting her ‘little princess’ was a model. Many called this “exploiting children to encourage audience pity.”
In the presence of the honorary consul of Armenia, the Milan City Council has unanimously approved a motion calling on the Italian authorities to recognize the Republic of Artsakh and condemn the Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression.
In a recent Twitter trend, a few days before the war, Azerbaijani people were discussing whether or not they would kill an Armenian child. An overwhelming number of responders stated that they wouldn’t even hesitate to do so, as “Armenians are the enemy of the Azerbaijani people.” Some of them mentioned that had they killed babies in the 90s war, there would be no Armenians to fight today.
YEREVAN, Armenia, October 15, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– To stop disinformation surrounding the current conflict with Turkey and Azerbaijan and spread awareness in the international community, Armenia’s tech community leaders came together to form the Global Awareness initiative.
Latest news from the frontline of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh:
In the afternoon of Oct. 14, the Minister of Defense of Armenia reports that the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan have targeted hospitals in Artsakh where civilians also receive medical treatment. During the day, there has been more shelling in the town of Martuni, their artillery hit a local kindergarten. These are violations of the humanitarian ceasefire and gross violation of international humanitarian law.
On Oct. 14, Azerbaijan targeted the territory of the Republic of Armenia adjacent to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The attack was made on sheer assumptions that the military equipment, which was on Armenian soil, “intended” to start fire towards Azerbaijan. As a result of Azerbaijan’s unprovoked aggression on the territory of Armenia, a 14-year-old teenager was wounded.
The Democratic nominee for president, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris both issued separate statements on the escalating military conflict in Karabakh. In his statement, Joe Biden particularly said, “I am deeply concerned by the collapse of the October 10 ceasefire and the resumption of fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh.” Biden also added that the Trump Administration must tell Azerbaijan that it will not tolerate its efforts to impose a military solution to this conflict.
Azerbaijani peace activists Narmin Shahmarzade and Giyas Ibrahimov have been called to the Prosecutor’s Office for questioning. They were told that though there is “freedom of speech,” the views they express publicly can “result in something more serious against the state’s interests.” The two activists also have received harassment statements, as well as threats to their lives. On Oct. 13, three journalists were detained for their professional activities.
Azerbaijan’s MOD has published a video “they filmed in captured Hadrut.” But an analysis by a Russia-based verification team claims the video was actually filmed in a neighboring village, Tagaser. The analysts suggest that some parts of the video might have been recorded during Azerbaijan’s militant invasion of Hadrut’s two days ago. The publishing of the video comes after Ilham Aliyev’s unfounded claims that Hadrut had been successfully captured by the Azerbaijani Army, which the Ministry of Defense of Artsakh immediately denied.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Turkey has recruited hundreds of fighters from Syrian militias to join Azerbaijan in fighting Armenia over the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Hundreds more are preparing to go, according to two Syrians involved in the effort.
YEREVAN, Armenia, October 13, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– To stop disinformation surrounding the current conflict with Turkey and Azerbaijan and spread awareness in the international community, Armenia’s tech community leaders came together to form the Global Awareness initiative.
Latest news from the frontline of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh:
The National managed to talk to a Syrian fighter from the Sultan Murad Brigade currently in Azerbaijan. The National reveals that army officers order Syrians to attack, while Azerbaijani troops, who were supposed to be fighting with them, “are kilometres behind us.” “The Turks put us in such a position that we can’t any more escape from here,” said Ibrahim, who accepted the job to support his family.
The General Prosecutor of Azerbaijan accuses the WarGonzo blogger Semyon Pegov of “illegally crossing” the border of Nagorno-Karabakh, openly supporting terrorism, and calling for anti-state acts. These accusations came after he showed a video of himself in Hadrut with the Artsakh Defense Army, dismissing the statement of Ilham Aliyev that Azeri troops had captured the town. Azerbaijani people have also openly threatened and demanded Pegov’s death for his “pro-Armenian” coverage.
The government of Azerbaijan is getting increasingly worried as people in Baku start protesting about the classified losses in the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh conflict. People demand for the numbers to be revealed, as they don’t believe that the statement by the president, claiming their losses are less than the Armenian ones, is legitimate.
Despite numerous warnings, Azerbaijan keeps targeting the civilian population and infrastructure in an aggressive manner. According to the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh, as of October 9, 20 civilians have been killed and 101 injured since the attacks started on September 27. All attacks on civilians were pre-planned and targeted.
Azerbaijani army has repeatedly violated the humanitarian ceasefire announced two days ago. During the first night of the ceasefire, the army kept shelling not only the capital Stepanakert, but also Shushi, Martuni and many other villages. Civilians had to spend the night in shelters. Houses and other properties were severely damaged.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, under the guise of humanitarian cargo, a significant number of attack UAVs are being supplied to Azerbaijan from Turkey and Israel.
Global Initiative reports that a humanitarian ceasefire was announced to take effect on Oct. 10, 12:00 local time by Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and Azerbaijan. However, less than an hour after the effective time, Azerbaijan opened fire.
Press Release –
updated: Oct 11, 2020
YEREVAN, Armenia, October 11, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– To stop disinformation surrounding the current conflict with Turkey and Azerbaijan and spread awareness in the international community, Armenia’s tech community leaders came together to form the Global Awareness initiative.
What’s happening on the frontline of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia reports that before the announcement of the humanitarian ceasefire, Azerbaijan attempted a subversive-intelligence infiltration in the direction of Hadrut. Russian military journalists from WarGonzo report that the adversary is assumed to be part of a foreign army, possibly Turkish Special Forces. The attempt came after Ilham Aliyev’s announcement on Oct. 9, 2020, about having captured the Hadrut region. However, president Aliyev’s statement was immediately officially denied by the Ministry of Defense of Armenia as well as by reporters from WarGonzo, who were physically in the Hadrut area.
After 11 hours of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a humanitarian ceasefire was confirmed to start at 12:00 local time. Leading up to the ceasefire, Azerbaijan ramped up its shelling on Armenian civilian targets. At 12:00 it stopped. According to the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, the ceasefire lasted only about an hour before Azerbaijan launched attacks on the Southern province of Armenia proper, capital Stepanakert of Artsakh, and Hadrut.
The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army reports that less than 2 hours before the ceasefire between Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and Azerbaijan takes effect, the Azerbaijani army launches drone strikes towards the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
The Staff of the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh got concrete information that the Azerbaijani subversive group which entered Hadrut town in the morning killed 2 civilians in their home – the mother and her son with a disability.
YEREVAN, Armenia, October 10, 2020 (Newswire.com)
– To stop disinformation surrounding the current conflict with Turkey and Azerbaijan and spread awareness in the international community, Armenia’s tech community leaders came together to form the Global Awareness initiative.
What’s happening on the frontline of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)
CNN held an interview with the president of Azerbaijan, where he was asked about the presence of Turkish F-16s in their territory. The president confirmed they are in the base. The statement of the president contradicts the one made by his assistant Hikmat Hajiyev a day before, where he claimed there were no F-16 fighter-jets on their soil.
The Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh published a document, where it’s clearly seen that under the authoritarian regime of the Aliyev clan there has been a rise in Armenophobia across Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, the situation is not only in politics but also among the people of Azerbaijan and the educational system.
Recently there have been thousands of pages created by Azerbaijani people trying to spread national propaganda across Facebook and Instagram. Facebook removed 589 Facebook accounts, 7,906 Pages and 447 accounts on Instagram, which were used to boost pro-government activities. These accounts even attacked influential people like Cardi B and Elton John, threatening and forcing them to remove their posts. Facebook cited these as “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”
The City Council of Geneva City just adopted a Resolution (49 yes, 18 abstentions, 2 no) condemning the military aggression of Azerbaijan, recognizing the right of the Armenians from Karabagh to self-determination, and demanding from the federal government to freeze the assets of the Aliyev family in Switzerland.
