Weekly update
22 January
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the prospects of further interaction within the framework of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in a phone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Kremlin press service reported on Saturday. According to tass.com the conversation was held at the initiative of the Armenian side. The practical aspects of the implementation of the agreements recorded in trilateral statements by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia from November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2021, were discussed, including the issues related to the delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border," the statement said. The viability of continued work along the lines of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Russia, the US, France) was noted, the Kremlin added. On December 17, 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry published the draft agreements between Moscow and Washington on security guarantees and the measures of ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. The first round of talks held on January 10-13, 2022, did not bring immediate results, currently Moscow is expecting Washington’s written response to its proposals.
https://tass.com/politics/1391841
21 January
The FBI on Wednesday raided Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar's home and campaign office in Texas as part of a wide-ranging federal probe relating to the former Soviet state of Azerbaijan and several U.S. businessmen, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News. In line with armenpress.am a federal grand jury in Washington is investigating the matter, but it's unclear if Cuellar is a target of the grand jury's probe, ABC News was told. After FBI agents executed a search warrant at Cuellar's home in Laredo, Texas, an aide to Cuellar said in a statement that the congressman "will fully cooperate in any investigation." "He is committed to ensuring that justice and the law are upheld," the statement said. Cuellar, who represents Texas' 28th Congressional District along the U.S.-Mexico border, has been in Congress since 2005. In recent years he has served as a co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, and repeatedly met with Azerbaijan officials, including the ambassador of Azerbaijan, Elin Suleymanov. The Armenian National Committee of America wrote on its Facebook page that Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan’s longtime ambassador in Washington, skipped town one step ahead of high-profile FBI raid and major federal criminal corruption probe into Azerbaijani bribery schemes (long an open secret in DC circles).
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1073694.html
20 January
The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative declared a new round of support for the projects in Artsakh that help the people facing a grave humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of the 2020 war, the press service of the humanitarian initiative told NEWS.am. Following the adjustment announced last year, 2021 Aurora Prize Laureate Julienne Lusenge has selected 13 projects that will receive the Prize funds and use them to alleviate the acute needs of the local population. Overall, with the Aurora Co-Founders’ matching contribution, Aurora will allocate $500,000 to the projects in Artsakh in this stage. Aurora will be able to support thirteen projects in Artsakh focused on healthcare (6 projects), education, culture, and sports (3 projects), social development (2 projects), humanitarian aid (1 project), and restoration (1 project). On December 12, 2021, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and UN Armenia organized a Christmas Market in Yerevan, Armenia. All proceeds from the event, around $25,000, is directed to the projects helping displaced people in Armenia, with Aurora using the money to ensure food security for displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh. Socially vulnerable families will be provided with food (potatoes, cabbage, cheese, etc.) for consumption during the winter season. In addition, those interested in cultivating potatoes will be given seeds originating from the Gavar region, famous for its high-quality potato crops. This initiative is expected to benefit over 3,200 people and the project will be implemented by the Azhdahak Social and Environmental Center NGO.
https://news.am/eng/news/683103.html
19 January
Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Wednesday that despite recent positions expressed by Azerbaijan’s leadership about the Karabakh conflict or its resolution, the international community does not agree with that position “whatsoever.” According to asbarez.com Mirzoyan was responding to questions from lawmakers in parliament, where one representative asked him to comment about Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev’s assertions that the Karabakh conflict ended with the 2020 war and that the OSCE Minks Group Co-Chairs have nothing else to do regarding Karabakh. “This isn’t the first time the Azerbaijan’s highest leadership is making destructive statements and declaration, to say the least,” said Mirzoyan. “This certainly hinders the discussion of all existing issues in a more constructive atmosphere.” Nevertheless, he said, the Azerbaijani leadership’s public statements do not always entirely or partially correspond to the approaches that are discussed behind closed doors. Nevertheless, he said, the Azerbaijani leadership’s public statements do not always entirely or partially correspond to the approaches that are discussed behind closed doors. “Azerbaijan’s posturing is one thing, the reality is another thing, the international community’s position is something else,” said the foreign minister. “Despite Azerbaijan’s position and attempts over the past year to misrepresent the Karabakh conflict as being resolved and that there is neither a conflict nor a Nagorno-Karabakh, the reality is that we’ve seen during this past year that the world doesn’t agree with this whatsoever, and reality isn’t that either,” the Mirzoyan said.
https://asbarez.com/yerevan-rebuffs-aliyevs-assertions-on-karabakh-minsk-group/
18 January
President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian had a talk to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the Presidential Office said. Armenpress.am reports that the Armenian President and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi discussed issues relating to the Armenia-UAE friendly relations and continuous cooperation. They touched upon boosting the bilateral mutual partnership in investments and different sectors of economy, implementing the agreements reached during President Sarkissian’s visit. A number of international and regional issues were also discussed.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1073276.html
17 January
The Armenian government has set up a task force to coordinate work on a railway that will connect Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Armenia’s Syunik province. The 45-kilometer railway will be part of broader transport links between the two countries envisaged by the Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh as well as follow-up agreements reached by Baku and Yerevan. According to azatutyun.am Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reported decisive progress towards establishing the rail link between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan after face-to-face talks held in Brussels in December. Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the construction of its Armenian section will likely cost Yerevan $200 million and take about three years. But Grigorian did not say when it will start. The task force formed by Pashinian’s government late last week is to deal with practical modalities of the transport project. It will be headed by Artashes Tumanian, Armenia’s former ambassador to Iran, and also comprise nine government officials and railway and construction specialists.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31658173.html
16 January
His name arouses passions, especially in light of the recent discussions between Armenia and Turkey on the normalization of diplomatic relations. According to evnreport.com the publication of Gerard (Jirair) Libaridian’s latest book “Armenia-Turkey: Statehood, History, Politics” (in Armenian) gives us the opportunity to better understand the permanence of his discourse on Armenian-Turkish relations and the difference between the interests of the Armenian state and those of the nation. A political and diplomatic advisor to Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan from 1991 to 1997, Jirair Libaridian held several key positions in matters of foreign policy, national security and conflict resolution. His experience and knowledge of the issues have led many to seek out his insights on these matters. As a co-author of a recent White Paper on Armenia’s post-war policy options, his positions on the failures of Armenia’s elites since 1998 regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have earned him deep enmity among some circles, both in Armenia and in the diaspora. This is based on his observations that the balance of power is not favorable to the Armenians vis-a-vis Azerbaijan and Turkey, and that there is no alternative to the normalization of relations for Armenia with its neighbors. Libaridian’s position appealed to the Turkish nationalist establishment, which only further marginalized him in Armenian circles.
https://evnreport.com/opinion/demystifying-the-past-to-reconcile-with-the-present/
15 January
Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan posted the following on his Facebook page:“Any action for the declared de-blockage of economic and transport relations concerning Armenia must be carried out by guaranteeing the rights of citizens of Armenia and first and foremost residents of borderline settlements at a high level, and those rights are enshrined by the Constitution of Armenia. In line with news.am, the actions or decisions of the top public administration bodies of Armenia must be based on the extent to which rule of law is ensured in Armenia. This, in its turn, implies strong guarantees of the life, ownership and all other rights of every person living in Armenia and full protection of those rights in real life. What is a fundamentally important issue is that during any implementation of point 9 of the trilateral statement signed on November 9, 2020 and the provisions stated in the trilateral statement signed on January 11, 2021, it is necessary to take into consideration the fact that the top leadership of Azerbaijan have implemented a policy of ethnic cleansing against the Armenians in Artsakh, continue and deepen Armenophobia and the hate propaganda and talk about the Armenian people with overt threats of genocide.
https://news.am/eng/news/623738.html
Sources: tass.com, armenpress.am, news.am, asbarez.com, azatutyun.am, evnreport.com