Weekly update
2 April
On March 24, 2022, as a result of Azerbaijani aggression, the area around the village of Parukh in the Askeran region of the Artsakh Republic, the former settlement of Karaglukh and the homonymous height, were occupied by the enemy, and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces immediately proceeded to the well-known script of the destruction of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage in the occupied territory. According to armradio.am, apart from its strategic importance, the area is also important for its unique historical-cultural and historical-natural environment. According to the government list of immovable monuments of culture and history, about 20 monuments are officially registered in the above-mentioned territories, including 2 churches (one of them is the 13th century Holy Mother of God church), the famous Shikakar-Karaglukh fortress, and cultural monuments of archeological value, cemeteries, khachkars, and tombstones. The Shikakar cave is also located in here, where a research was conducted by the Azokh international archaeological expedition in 2011. However, the area has not yet been sufficiently studied, which is also confirmed by the research conducted in the area in December 2021, as a result of which thirty more monuments were discovered.
https://en.armradio.am/2022/04/02/azerbaijan-destroying-the-armenian-cultural-heritage-in-parukh-and-karaglukh/
1 April
Despite the fact that the current crisis around Nagorno- Karabakh is clearly not provoked by the situation in Ukraine, and the settlement of this conflict will be within its own logic, it would be wrong to completely deny the influence of the Ukrainian factor in all this. Sergei Markedonov, Leading Researcher at the MGIMO Institute for International Studies, Editor- in-Chief of the Journal of International Analytic told Arminfo. "The Western informational narrative, one way or another, has a huge resource of influence beyond the US and Europe as well. Accordingly, the latest assessments of the campaign in Ukraine may well contribute to the formation of interpretations, according to which Moscow no longer has time for Transcaucasia. The latter may well lead, moreover, it is already leading to Baku's attempts to push back the "red lines," he stressed.
https://arminfo.info/full_news.php?id=68620&lang=3
31 March
Prime Minister Pashinyan presented to the Russian President the situation after the incursion of Azerbaijani troops into the responsibility zone of the Russian peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh and noted with regret that the situation has not been resolved, moreover, according to some information, new provocations by Azerbaijani units are possible in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping force. In line with armenpress.am Prime Minister Pashinyan provided details on the actions of Azerbaijan to intimidate the residents of the villages of Nagorno Karabakh with loudspeakers and to exert psychological pressure. Nikol Pashinyan reiterated that these actions and the incursion of Azerbaijani units into the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping force in Nagorno Karabakh in the presence of peacekeepers raise questions and thanked the Russian President for a positive attitude to the issue of carrying out investigation of the situation.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1079504.html
30 March
No significant ceasefire violations were recorded overnight March 29-30 at the line of contact in Artsakh, and the operative-tactical situation remained tense, the Artsakh authorities said in a statement published through the official InfoCenter. According to armenpress.am the Azerbaijani troops are still deployed in the same posts on Karaglukh and there haven’t been any changes in positions. The Artsakh authorities said they continue working with the Russian peacekeeping contingent’s command and through various diplomatic means to withdraw the Azerbaijani Armed Forces to their initial positions and stabilize the military-political situation. At the same time, the Artsakh military is fulfilling its functions by continuously improving the defensive fortifications and mechanisms of Artsakh, the InfoCenter said.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1079277.html
29 March
The Biden Administration called for just $24 million in U.S. assistance to Armenia in the White House Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal released Monday – $21 million less than what Congress allocated and the President approved for FY 2022 just weeks ago, reported the Armenian National Committee of America. asbarez.com reads: “We are disappointed that President Biden’s annual budget – released in the wake of a government watchdog report documenting over $164,000,000 in U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan – flat-lines U.S. aid to Armenia at just over $24 million and fails to include any specific dollar amount for U.S. assistance to Artsakh,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We look to our Congressional allies, coalition partners, and community activists to work through the foreign aid appropriations process to dramatically boost U.S. aid numbers for both Artsakh and Armenia.”
https://asbarez.com/biden-proposes-almost-50-cut-aid-for-armenia-no-figure-for-artsakh-aid/
28 March
The security situation around Nagorno Karabakh was discussed at today's sitting of the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia, assessing it as extremely tense. According to hetq.am the analysis of the situation shows that the Republic of Azerbaijan, trying to find imaginary justifications, is paving the way for new provocations and attacks in the direction of Nagorno Karabakh, including accusing the Republic of Armenia of un-constructive actions in the issue of the peace treaty. In the current situation, the Security Council considers it necessary to reaffirm the earlier position of the Republic of Armenia and offers the Republic of Azerbaijan to immediately start negotiations on a comprehensive peace treaty. The Security Council, drawing the attention of the international community on the chances for armed clashes in Nagorno Karabakh and on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, considers it necessary to launch international containment mechanisms to prevent further military escalation and ethnic cleansing in the region.
https://hetq.am/en/article/142797 (See also an article headlined “International Community Must Prevent Azerbaijan’s Creeping Ethnic Cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh” in evnreport.com)
27 March
Yesterday, the Security Council of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), headed by President Arayik Harutyunyan, wrote a letter to President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, aiming to draw the latter's attention to Azerbaijan's aggression against the village of Parukh and the height of Karaglukh, since this territory is completely in the zone of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers. Artsakh minister of state Artak Beglaryan noted this in a statement he released Sunday. In line with news.am in the letter, we also asked to increase the personnel and technical means of the peacekeeping contingent in Artsakh, which will help to carry out the peacekeeping mission along the 500-kilometer line of contact more effectively. It is also necessary to discuss the possibilities of expanding the functions and mechanisms of the peacekeeping contingent so that they have all the necessary levers (including military ones) to efficiently guarantee the security of the population of Artsakh,” also reads the statement by the Artsakh minister of state.
https://news.am/eng/news/693553.html
26 March
Russia has accused Azerbaijan of violating a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh and called for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from an area in eastern Karabakh occupied by them this week. According to azatutyun.am the Azerbaijani army on Thursday captured Parukh, a village in Karabakh’s Askeran district, before advancing towards strategic hills to the west of it controlled by Karabakh Armenian forces. Fighting in that area continued for the second consecutive day on Saturday despite the presence of Russian peacekeeping troops. In a statement released on Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Azerbaijani army units “entered the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent” in breach of the 2020 truce accord. It also confirmed that they used Turkish-made combat drones to strike Karabakh Armenian positions near Parukh.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31772115.html
Sources: armradio.am, arminfo.info, armenpress.am, asbarez.com, hetq.am, news.am, azatutyun.am