Weekly update
27 November
At the initiative of the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), the representatives of the US Office of Naval Research Global (ONRG) and US Army Development Command (DEVCOM) visited Armenia in pursuit of blue-sky ideas. As said by armenpress.am the delegation looked to identify fundamental research that could potentially disrupt our conventional understanding of science and technology. The goal was to explore the breadth of scientific research in Armenia and enable brilliant minds to explore unconventional thinking in hope of creating awesome new technologies in the not so distant future. The US delegation, together with the FAST representatives, visited various scientific, educational, and technological centers both in Yerevan and surrounding regions, including Yerevan State University, National Polytechnic University of Armenia, American University of Armenia, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics and Institute for Physical Research located in Ashtarak, Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory, TUMO center and a number of tech companies, such as Synergy and PicsArt. According to FAST Foundation, the visit was intense , consisting of both formal and informal meetings with university rectors, professors, scientists, and the startup and tech community. Through these meetings the US delegation had a chance to learn about the ongoing research projects and achievements of local scientists, as well as to hear about their ideas and aspirations for the future.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1069298.html
26 November
At the meeting of the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Sochi “reference was made to the transport corridors,” according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also noted that corridors refer to both railways and highways, reports civilnet.am. “This will be our next agreement. Next week, the deputy prime ministers will summarize some of the results in Moscow and announce the decisions we have agreed on today,” Putin said following the meeting on November 26. Azerbaijan strives to open a transport connection between mainland Azerbaijan and its exclave of Nakhichevan via Armenia, which has emerged as a sticking point in Armenia-Azerbaijan post-war negotiations. A pledge to unblock “all economic and transport connections in the region” was included in last year’s ceasefire agreement but the term corridor, which comes with issues of sovereignty, was not. If established, the connection will remain under Armenian sovereignty, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a press conference Tuesday, adding that the ceasefire agreement says that all international roads will remain under the control of the countries in whose territories they lie. Azerbaijan refers to the transport link as the “Zangezur corridor,” implying that the Azerbaijani government would have some form of control over the route. The trilateral document, signed between the parties on November 26 in Sochi, does not include the word “corridor”. Here is the full translation of that statement:
https://www.civilnet.am/news/641239/in-sochi-putin-refers-to-the-opening-of-transport-corridors-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan/?lang=en
25 November
Armenia’s parliamentary opposition has claimed that a border delimitation and demarcation process with Azerbaijan that may begin soon is “hasty and premature.” According to azatutyun.am, speaking during parliamentary hearings on the matter initiated by the opposition Hayastan faction, head of the faction Seyran Ohanian insisted that there is no proper environment for starting such a process at the moment. The parliament’s opposition initiated the discussions after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian announced last week that Armenia had accepted new proposals from Russia on the “preparatory stage” for delimitating and demarcating its Soviet-era border with Azerbaijan. The announcement was made just two days after Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of provoking a major border incident in which at least seven Azerbaijani and six Armenian soldiers were killed. The worst Armenian-Azerbaijani fighting since last year’s 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh was also stopped through Russia’s mediation.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31578807.html
24 November
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Overchuk and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan also attended the meeting, Armenpress was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister. Issues related to the agenda of bilateral cooperation between Armenia and Russia, as well as the activities of the trilateral working group of the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan were discussed. The sides touched upon the prospects of restoration of transport communications in the South Caucasus region, the further course of the work carried out within the framework of the January 11 statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia, the President of Russia and the President of Azerbaijan.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1069028.html
23 November
Azerbaijan’s state-sanctioned Armenophobia is a targeted policy for keeping the two peoples living throughout the world in animosity, which threatens also the stability and the human rights system of those countries, warned the Armenian ombudsman Arman Tatoyan. According to armenpress.am, “This Azerbaijani policy of hate and animosity, which has deep institutional roots, is dangerous also for other countries, including the United States. Let me say how. This policy is keeping two peoples in enmity around the world. Dangers exist especially in countries where Armenians and Azerbaijanis live side by side. It is obvious that with this policy the Azerbaijani authorities could easily disrupt the stability of the given countries and lay the foundation for hate-fueled crimes. This is how the Armenian church and school were vandalized in San Francisco, I saw with my own eyes how shots were fired on the school. We have the same picture in other countries too, in France, Russia and Germany,” Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said at a press conference in the United States, where he is on a visit at the invitation of the Armenian National Committee of America.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1068894.html
22 November
Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan presented facts about the armed attacks of the Azerbaijani armed forces near the villages of Armenia, their blocking of roads with violation of human rights during the discussion with US Congressman Adam Schiff. In line with armenpress.am the discussion was organized by the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region, the Ombudsman’s Office said in a statement. The Ombudsman presented the November 16 Azerbaijani incursion into Armenia’s sovereign territory in Syunik, which was accompanied by the attacks of the Azerbaijani forces directly near the civilian settlements. He also presented the Azerbaijani incursions and human rights violations in Armenia’s Gegharkunik and Syunik provinces. Tatoyan told the Congressman that the Azerbaijani troops are illegally deployed on the roads between Armenia’s towns and villages, which endangers people’s life and health, distorts the normal life of the locals. The Ombudsman also touched upon the issue of the immediate return of Armenian prisoners of war, who are illegally held in Azerbaijan and their sham trials in Baku. He emphasized the importance of international response to this issue.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1068810.html
21 November
Turkey sets new conditions for normalizing its relations with Armenia, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirozyan said in a recent interview with the French Le Figaro daily that was published this week. In accordance with azatutyun.am, talking to the newspaper during his recent visit to Paris on November 11, Mirzoyan stressed that Armenia has always supported normalization of relations with Turkey without preconditions and is ready for that now despite the “huge Turkish support” for Azerbaijan in the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. “We have received positive signals from Turkey to reopen the dialogue, but it remains complicated. Ankara sets new conditions. Among them is a “corridor” connecting Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan,” the top Armenian diplomat said in the interview the transcript of which the Armenian Foreign Ministry released on November 20. Unblocking all transport links in the region is part of a Russia-brokered ceasefire that stopped the 44-day fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh last year. This includes Azerbaijan’s access to its Nakhichevan exclave via Armenian territory.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31571639.html
20 November
The Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev agreed to hold a meeting in Brussels on December 15 within the framework of the EU's Eastern Partnership Summit, ARMENPRESS reports the EU statement informs. “President Charles Michel of the European Council held phone calls on 19 November with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia, in follow up to discussions earlier this week on the situation in the region and in the context of preparations of the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in Brussels on 15 December. President Charles Michel proposed to host President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for a meeting in Brussels in the margins of the EaP Summit. Leaders have agreed to meet in Brussels to discuss the regional situation and ways of overcoming tensions for a prosperous and stable South Caucasus, which the EU supports. During the phone calls, the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders have also agreed to establish a direct communication line, at the level of respective Ministers of Defence, to serve as an incident prevention mechanism", reads the statement.
https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1068700.html
Sources: armenpress.am, civilnet.am, azatutyun.am