Weekly update
5 June
The Azerbaijani armed forces have attempted to carry out fortification works in the territory of Armenia near the area of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border for several times in the recent period which have been prevented on time by Armenian units, the country's Defense Ministry said on Saturday in a released statement, reported panorama.am. According to the source, on June 3, the Azerbaijani armed forces attempted to carry out land works with a tractor in the borderline areas in the territory of Armenia. The works were ceased after warning shots of the Armenian units. The Azerbaijani side was clearly notified about the necessity to rule out any similar attempts. The movement of the Azerbaijani military and the areas are visible from Verin Shorja and Kut villages of Gegharkunik province and has raised concerns among the local residents which is reflected in the reports of the Human Rights Defender," the ministry added.
https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2021/06/05/Azerbaijan-fortification-Armenia-MoD/2513886
4 June
“The criminal cases against 16 Armenian servicemen, as well as the torture and psychological pressure of other Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians set a precedent for the malicious violation of international law. It is clear that Azerbaijan is using captives as political hostages and tools to pursue other goals,” explained Armenia’s foreign ministry. In line with asbarez.com, “Official Baku also blatantly defies the relevant decisions of the ECHR on providing information on Armenian servicemen and civilians held in Azerbaijani captivity,” added the foreign ministry. “Azerbaijan continues to conceal the true number of the prisoners, denying the captivity of dozens of Armenian servicemen and civilians,” the foreign ministry said. “Furthermore, Azerbaijan denies the detention of those whose captivity in Azerbaijan has been documented both through video and testimonies of repatriated prisoners, which raises suspicions for a number of serious crimes.”
https://asbarez.com/202969/azerbaijan-uses-captives-as-political-tools-to-pursue-other-goals-says-yerevan/
3 June
The Lenin-Ataturk deal of 1920, which in fact was the prelude to the “Molotov-Ribbentrop” pact, cost the Armenian nation the loss of a huge homeland and the sacred Mount Ararat. According to greekcitytimes.com, the Artsakh war in 2020 was another example of the performance of that mechanism, resulting in the dismemberment of Artsakh, and creating a Russian-Turkish monitoring center on its border to control the movement of Armenian troops. Today the aforementioned mechanism has found application against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia too. The Kremlin has “tied the hands” of the Armenian Army by the ceasefire statement of 2020 November 9, according to which Russia is the guarantor of the ceasefire with the right to punishment in ceasefire violation cases. It is already evident that Russia is ignoring the actions of the Azerbaijani military troops in the territory of Armenia, thus exposing the existence of their agreements with Baku.
https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/06/03/armenia-fighting-russian-turkish/
2 June
The director and two other employees of a morgue were fired on Wednesday as the Armenian authorities faced accusations of showing disrespect to the bodies of Armenian soldiers killed during last year’s war in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to azatutyun.am, at least 3,800 of them died during six weeks of heavy fighting with Azerbaijani forces stopped by a Russian-brokered ceasefire in November. Hundreds of others remain unaccounted for. Their relatives have regularly staged protests in recent months to demand that the Armenian government do more to recover the bodies of their loved ones or shed more light on their whereabouts. Many of them distrust official data on still unidentified bodies of dead soldiers kept at Armenian morgues. On Monday, some angry relatives forced their way into the mortuaries to count the number of corpses and body parts stored there. They took pictures inside a morgue in Abovian, a town 15 kilometers north of Yerevan.The photographs circulated on social media showed plastic bags filled with human remains lying on the ground in its basement, which was not refrigerated to prevent their decomposition. They caused uproar in the country, with many accusing the authorities of dishonoring the Armenian soldiers killed in action.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31287328.htm
1 June
Caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, reported Armenpress. In his speech Emmanuel Macron said, ”Armenia has encountered a serious security crisis. I am speaking about the release of all the hostages, including war prisoners and other detainees. I want to emphasize the necessity for preserving the cultural heritage in Nagorno Karabakh and its surrounding regions, which must be done unconditionally. The Azerbaijani forces should withdraw from the sovereign territory of Armenia and I call on the sides to return to their initial positions. We will try to assist in the establishment of dialogue. We also provided exceptional assistance to the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross engaged in supporting the war prisoners kept in Azerbaijan and their families, as well as the search operations of those missing in action.’ Afterwards, Pashinyan and Macron continued negotiations in a private conversation, discussing the future steps for the settlement of conflict in the sidelines of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ format and the opportunities for a peaceful settlement of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1054073.html?fbclid=IwAR3SbZLz1q1CmUjTXO2j9jYMmTjttj3Hn0r46OXKku5reWGj713HeXbjgPY
31 May
Political scientist Hrant Mikaelyan, commenting on the resignation of Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan, recalled a document recently published on the Internet, according to which Armenia is allegedly preparing to surrender part of its territories to Azerbaijan. According to jam-news.net, it was partially “declassified” by Mikael Minasyan, the former ambassador to the Vatican and the son-in-law of the ex-President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. Minasyan stated that the acting prime minister agreed to conduct demarcation and territorial concessions, adding that Nikol Pashinyan is doing this instead of withdrawing Azerbaijani servicemen from the territory of Armenia, who since May 12 have moved deep into the country in the direction of the Syunik and Gegharkunik regions and refuse to retreat, despite Armenia’s repeated demands. Minasyan also warned that the Armenian leadership is discussing the transfer of five villages of the Tavush region and one village of the Ararat region to Azerbaijan.
https://jam-news.net/armenian-foreign-minister-explains-his-resignation/
30 May
Hetq, based on the factual evidence and professional assessments at its disposal, attempted to ascertain that Azerbaijani forces used Turkish rockets to strike the Holy Savior (Ghazanchetsots) Cathedral in Shushi on October 8, 2020. On that day, Azerbaijani forces twice struck the Holy Savior Cathedral (built in 1868-1887), which is not only the diocesan center of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Artsakh, but one of the most prominent symbols of Armenian identity in Shushi and Artsakh. In addition, during the war, local Armenians took refuge in the basement of the church. The Azerbaijani military first struck the cathedral shortly after noon on October 8, followed by another attack that evening. During the second strike, Russian journalists and their Armenian escort were in the church and were injured. Both strikes hit the southern part of the church roof with great accuracy. The Hetq team (Editor-in-Chief Edik Baghdasaryan, photographers Hakob Poghosyan, Saro Baghdasaryan) visited the church after the first strike, filming there and on the way to Shushi, during which the team recorded the sound of an enemy UAV in the sky.
https://hetq.am/en/article/131468
29 May
The Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian have issued a statement regarding ongoing Azerbaijani aggressions on the international border with Armenia. According to armraadio.am, their full statement is below: “We are alarmed by the ongoing actions of Azerbaijani forces on Armenian soil in the Gegharkunik region and surrounding area that have resulted in the death of an Armenian soldier and the reported kidnapping of six more. It is imperative that the State Department hold Aliyev accountable for his deadly aggressions. We will continue to work with the Biden Administration and our colleagues to ensure the United States is using every diplomatic tool we have, including sanctions, to end these atrocities, and plan to put forward a series of tangible actions the U.S. must take to secure peace and accountability.”
https://en.armradio.am/2021/05/29/armenian-caucus-co-chairs-alarmed-by-azerbaijans-actions-on-armenian-border/
Sources: panorama.am, www.asbarez.com, www.greekcitytimes.com, www.azatutyun.am, www.armenpress.am, www.jam-news.net, hetq.am, armraadio.am.