Weekly update

28 May
Armenia has criticized statements made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has been solved and that the Minsk Group has nothing more to do. According to hetq.am the Armenian Foreign Ministry, in a statement , accuses Baku of attempting to present the Nagorno-Karabakh issue as a territorial dispute while it is about the realization of the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh and the exclusion of the threat of ethnic cleansing. “We call on the leadership of Azerbaijan not to disrupt the discussions conducted in the existing formats with warmongering, expansionist rhetoric,” the ministry’s statement reads. Aliyev, according to Azerbaijani press reports, declared that the Karabakh issue had been resolved during at speech he made yesterday at the opening of a “smart village” in Artsakh’s Zangelan region.
https://hetq.am/en/article/144991

27 May
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev reportedly ruled out on Friday any negotiations with Armenia on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. In line with azatutyun.am Aliyev also said that the planned demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border will uphold Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh. In March this year, Azerbaijan presented Armenia with five elements which it wants to be at the heart of a peace treaty between the two nations. They include a mutual recognition of each other’s territorial integrity. Yerevan said they should be complemented by other issues relating to the future of status of Karabakh and the security of its population. Baku effectively dismissed the Armenian counterproposals before Aliyev’s latest meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian held in Brussels on Sunday. Pashinian indicated on Wednesday that the two sides continue to disagree on the agenda of talks on the peace treaty.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31871892.html

26 May
An Armenian human rights lawyer accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of grossly understating the number of Armenian prisoners of war and other captives still held by Azerbaijan. As reported by azatutyun.am Pashinian put the “confirmed” total number of captives at 39 when he spoke on Wednesday about the Armenian government’s efforts to secure their release. Siranush Sahakian, a lawyer representing Armenian POWs in the European Court of Human Rights, said he is taking at face value the number of Armenian prisoners acknowledged by Baku. “Data and evidence possessed by our organization show that apart from these 39 prisoners the Azerbaijani armed forces also captured 80 other individuals who now have a status of the forcibly disappeared,” she told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31870248.html

25 May
Armenia and Azerbaijan have launched negotiations on border demarcation following a trilateral meeting in Brussels with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and European Council President Charles Michel on May 23.  According to armenianweekly.com Pashinyan and Aliyev agreed to host the first joint meeting of the border commissions along the interstate border in the coming days during their third trilateral summit in Brussels, which Michel described as “frank and productive.” That same day, Armenian deputy prime minister Mher Grigoryan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Shahin Mustafayev were appointed the heads of a bilateral commission on border delimitation and demarcation. Grigoryan and Mustafayev held their first meeting on May 24 at an undisclosed location along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. They “reiterated their readiness to work on delimitation and other relevant issues, including border security issues within the commissions,” according to a statement from the Armenian Foreign Ministry. 
https://armenianweekly.com/2022/05/25/armenia-and-azerbaijan-launch-border-demarcation/

24 May
President of the EU Council Charles Michel welcomed the first meeting of the Border Commissions held today on Armenia-Azerbaijan border. According to armradio.am “Warmly welcome first meeting of Border Commissions held today on Armenia-Azerbaijan border to advance discussions on delimitation of inter-state border and how best to ensure stable situation,” Charles Michel said in a Twitter post. He described it as “tangible progress” following trilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday.
https://en.armradio.am/2022/05/24/eus-charles-michel-welcomed-the-first-meeting-of-armenian-azerbaijan-border-commissions/

23 May
The trilateral meeting of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev took place in Brussels. According to armenpress.am as a result of the discussion, agreements were reached on the further course of work on the opening of regional communications, on the launch of the work of the Commission on Border Demarcation and Security, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release. Issues related to the preparations for the negotiation process on normalization of relations between the two countries, humanitarian issues, as well as the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict were also discussed.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1083879.html

22 May
The State Minister of the Artsakh Republic Artak Beglaryan attended the opening ceremony of the “Future Armenian” initiative’s demographic forum launched in Stepanakert. Addressing the participants, the State Minister welcomed the idea of ​​holding a forum, which provides an inclusive environment for many professional Armenians to present their observations and proposals for the solution of the demographic problems facing Artsakh. “Artsakh is of exceptional importance for the Armenians in the past, present and future. Demography is one of the important directions for guaranteeing the future of Artsakh. Therefore, this forum is welcome, and will seriously support the state efforts to develop and implement a demographic strategy,” said the State Minister.
https://en.armradio.am/2022/05/22/artsakh-of-exceptional-importance-for-armenians-state-minister-beglaryan-attends-demographic-forum-in-stepanakert/

21 May
Shouting "Nikol, traitor" and "shame", anti-government protesters today marched from Yerevan’s France Square to the Presidential Residence, where Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan was scheduled to meet with visiting Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda. According to hetq.am Hayastan faction MP Gegham Manukyan told reporters that PM Pashinyan has no public mandate to negotiate peace with Turkey and Azerbaijan. The protesters then marched to Republic Square, where the "Armenian Forum for Democracy" event was to take place at the "Marriott Hotel.  Hayastan faction MP and parliamentary vice-speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan, in a Facebook post today, wrote that the opposition seeks to form a provisional government in Armenia that will organize a modernized joint security system for Armenia and Artsakh."Any status of Artsakh within Azerbaijan is unacceptable for the movement. A reliable land connection must be ensured between the two Armenian states. The right of the people of Artsakh to security and self-determination must be guaranteed," Saghatelyan wrote.
https://hetq.am/en/article/144736

Sources: hetq.am, azatutyun.am, armenianweekly.com, armradio.am, armenpress.am