A court in Baku has completed the sham trial of 13 more Armenian prisoners of war, the Azerbaijani media report.

The Armenian POWs have been sentenced to 6 years in prison for “sabotage operations”.

They are the followings: Yeghishe Astanyan, Karen Aramyan, Tigran Avagyan, Grigor Gevorgyan, Hovsep Manukyan, Gevorg Martirosyan, Robert Gevorgyan, Vagharshak Avetisyan, Volodya Hakobyan, Andranik Sukiasyan, Andranik Manukyan, Grigor Saghatelyan and Eduard Kirakosyan.

Azerbaijan continues violating the provisions of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement on the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh, in particular the point relating to the return of prisoners of war, hostages and other detained persons.

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The Biden administration’s rhetorical willingness to confront both Turkey and Russia has been reassuring but policy needs to extend beyond promises.

by Ara Papian

Crafting a China strategy dominates the Biden administration’s foreign policy agenda, but Russia remains America’s most active adversary, challenging the West from Ukraine to Central Asia. Western inaction—more than Russian enterprise—has allowed this to happen.  In effect, the White House consistently folds with a full house when the Kremlin holds only a pair of twos.  

Russia has also benefited from the failure of Turkey to act as a counterweight to its ambitions. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has acted more as a liability to NATO than an asset. The most recent example of this is when Turkey purchased Russian S-400 missiles and provocations of Greece and Cyprus. Indeed, Russia and Turkey cooperated during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh last year in which Turkey helped its satellite state, Azerbaijan, to wrestle parts of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian control in fulfillment of Erdoğan’s neo-Ottoman aspirations. Turkey also muted NATO’s response to the recent aviation piracy incident in Belarus. 

The Biden administration’s rhetorical willingness to confront both Turkey and Russia has been reassuring but policy needs to extend beyond promises. The key to an effective policy in this direction is in Armenia. The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War shook up the status quo. Russia tied Armenia’s hands and allowed Azerbaijan and Turkey a victory on the battlefield. It even turned a blind eye to Turkey’s deployment of thousands of Syrian jihadists against Armenian forces. Russia then used the ceasefire agreement to shred the Minsk Group status quo and impose its forces as “peacekeepers” in the region. 

The Azeri elite, historically close to the Kremlin oligarchy, secured political capital by winning the war, tightening their grip on power. But it was a Pyrrhic victory. Russian troops now sit close to pipelines traversing Azerbaijan. At a minimum, Moscow can make offers Baku cannot refuse as Russia leverages its military presence into contracts for Russian energy, transport, and infrastructure companies.  

While Armenia has close cultural ties to Russia, much like in 1921 when the Lenin-Ataturk pact divided the young independent Armenian Republic between Soviet Russia and Turkey, Russia continues to backstab Armenia and curtail its independence. Russia’s current military presence in Armenia was never meant to serve its declared objective of protecting its host from a Turkish aggression and was merely a way for Russia to maintain its presence in a vital region. However, Armenia remains Russia’s Achilles heel. Its freedom movement helped catalyze the Soviet Union’s dissolution. The present-day aspirations of the Armenian public to be governed independently and democratically pose a threat for the Kremlin and may have demographic implications for Russia’s south. 

The United States has a unique opportunity. The Armenian public understands Russia’s betrayal. Anti-Russian sentiment in Armenia is at the highest level since independence from the Soviet Union. The Kremlin also knows that the country is now a low-hanging fruit for the West. 

The United States has a choice: it can capitalize on the situation or remain passive and let Russia take over Armenia and subsequently Georgia. Inaction has consequences. Successful Russian-sponsored aggression damages U.S. credibility and ultimately erodes the embrace of the West and its values.  

President Joe Biden’s Armenian Remembrance Day statement, which he delivered on April 24, was a great start. But it is not enough. The United States needs to be present. The United States should sponsor new bilateral and multilateral arrangements. A U.S.-French-Greek alliance, for example, would bolster Armenia’s security against Turkish and Azeri threats, and help solidify Armenia’s place in the West. In effect, Biden should seek a revised Eisenhower doctrine.  

Sixty-five years ago, President Dwight D. Eisenhower promised that a country could request American economic or military assistance if threatened by armed aggression, especially from the Soviet Union. An updated American strategy—a Biden Doctrine—could tame the geopolitical ambitions of Russia and Turkey. Supporting Armenia is further consistent with Biden’s declared objective of putting human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy.  

Washington silence, however, will send the wrong signal to potential allies and undermine America’s ability to advance human rights and its global security agenda. It will also embolden dictators from Vladimir Putin to Aleksandr Lukashenko in their transnational repression and state terrorism.  

Ara Papian is Armenia’s former Ambassador to Canada and a governing board member of the National-Democratic Axis (NDA), a pro-Western political movement in Armenia that advocates for a Major Non-NATO U.S. Ally status for Armenia. 

Image: Reuters

Source: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/chaos-caucasus-could%C2%A0%C2%A0%E2%80%98biden-doctrine%E2%80%99-contain-russia-and-turkey-189954?fbclid=IwAR0vEMmIQOjD2UTAQAGn0ojuBLYVFUDNz3_CPy1IRuJ6dW34EdWmPUPjxxE

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Former Armenian MP Naira Zohrabyan has set up a non-governmental organization, she said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

“As I have stated, I will continue to be at the forefront and with my supporters and colleagues we are starting the Security and Democracy NGO,” she wrote.

“Our agenda is broad, including human rights, naturally, the issues of prisoners of war and missing persons, political monitoring, issues of democracy and security,” Zohrabyan said, adding the organization will not serve the political interests of any force and will monitor both the government’s and the opposition’s activates.

“Yes, it is going to be difficult to make our voice heard amid this pervasive absurdity, falsehood, populism, lies, great public depression and disappointment. But we are going to give it a try,” she said, stating the June 20 snap elections not only failed to resolve the country’s systemic problems, but also further deepened them. 

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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has again claimed that Azerbaijan resolved the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh during last year’s war and will not hold talks with Armenia on the territory’s status.

Aliyev said on Thursday Yerevan should recognize instead Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh through a “peace treaty” proposed by Baku.

“The Azerbaijani people are rightly unhappy to see statements … made in France and America to the effect that the conflict must be resolved,” he told Azerbaijani state television. “I am again telling them that I, the president of Azerbaijan, have already resolved that issue, period. There is no Nagorno-Karabakh, no status.”

Speaking one day after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Aliyev claimed that Moscow agrees with his stance. “Russia and Azerbaijan believe that the war is over and revanchist tendencies in Armenia must not be allowed,” he said.

In a joint statement released in April, the U.S., Russian and French mediators co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations on a “comprehensive and sustainable” resolution of the Karabakh conflict based on their pre-war peace proposals. They expressed readiness to facilitate such talks, including with renewed visits to the conflict zone.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian cited this statement last week when he disputed Aliyev’s claim that Azerbaijan’s victory in the six-week war put an end to the long-standing dispute. Pashinian made clear that Yerevan will continue to pursue “the realization of the Karabakh people’s right to self-determination.”

France’s ambassador to Armenia, Jonathan Lacote, called on Friday for renewed peace talks mediated by the three world powers.

“The reality is that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be determined through negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group,” Lacote told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service in an interview.

He said the French ambassador to Azerbaijan did not join other Baku-based diplomats in visiting the Azerbaijani-controlled Karabakh town of Shushi (Shusha) earlier this month because Karabakh’s status remains unresolved.

The U.S. and Russian ambassadors in Baku also steered clear of the trip organized by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

As recently as on June 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that that “the question of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status remains unresolved” and “it must eventually be settled with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.”

Still, Lavrov said the mediators should not rush to try to broker an Armenian-Azerbaijani agreement on the status at this stage. They should focus instead on confidence-building measures in the Karabakh conflict zone, he told reporters in Moscow.

The Russian-brokered agreement that stopped the Armenian-Azerbaijani war last November calls for a number of such measures, notably the restoration of transport links between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Lacote acknowledged Russia’s role in halting the war and maintaining the ceasefire in and around Karabakh.

“The current reality is that Russia is ensuring the security of the Karabakh Armenians,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for Russian [peacekeeping] forces, there would have been no Armenians in Karabakh now.”

The French diplomat said at the same that the truce accord brokered by Putin “did not solve all issues,” including Karabakh’s status, and needs to be complemented by an Armenian-Azerbaijani “political process” mediated by the Minsk Group co-chairs.

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The word of hatred was introduced by Nikol Pashinyan to the RA political field. He had taken the hammer and was running through the streets. Ishkhan Saghatelyan on Pashinyan’s proposal on cooperation

We said before the elections that if this government is reproduced, not only will the crisis not be overcome, but it will have new manifestations, because the root cause of the crisis has not been removed, the security and political crisis in the country continues. Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a representative of the ARF Supreme Body and a member of the “Armenia Alliance”, said this today, speaking about Pashinyan’s reference to the decision of the Constitutional Court.

“The enemy is in the sovereign territory of Armenia today, it has more than a thousand soldiers, the security of our country is in serious question, therefore, if there are no people on the streets these days, it does not mean that the crisis is over,” Saghatelyan said.

It should be noted that Nikol Pashinyan said today during the Government sitting that this election became a way to resolve the internal political crisis for the first time in the history of Armenia.

Speaking about Pashinyan’s statement that in the post-election situation they are ready to cooperate, free from hate speech, violence, insult, Saghatelyan noted that first it should be clearly stated that the word hate was introduced by Nikol Pashinyan in the RA political field.

He’s all his power is built entirely on lies, he divided the society into “whites”, he took a hammer and ran through the streets, he said, “I will cut your paws, lay on the asphalt, break your jaw,” and so on. In other words, the word of hatred was spread by the number one official in Armenia, “he stressed.

Ishkhan Saghatelyan mentioned that before this statement Pashinyan should have made inquiries about his behavior, if he had done it, he should have taken two possible steps. According to Saghatelyan, the first is that first of all all the political prisoners who are now should have been released.

The other is that he still continues to spread hate speech through his “fakes”, YouTube pages, publish defamatory films and videos about us. As long as you have not done these two actions, you simply do not have the right to talk about a constructive relationship, the elimination of hate speech. So, all this is another show, he said nice words to the ears of some circles, but in the practical field, I am sure that there will be no change, because from the moment he refuses to spread hate speech and his main way of working, he will have problems. “Because his power is based on that,” said the member of the bloc.

Speaking about the future activities of taking the mandates, Ishkhan Saghatelyan reminded that they said that they would be a new quality opposition, they would use all the tools provided by the National Assembly to give new strength to the struggle they had started.

“We will use all the opportunities to set up a commission of inquiry, organize hearings, conduct inquiries, propose legislative changes. In this sense, we will do what is possible, but this does not mean that we will leave the street, because we are not in a standard, classical state, we have lost 75% of Artsakh, we have had huge human losses, we do not rule out the loss of statehood under this government. “Therefore, our steps and actions will be non-standard. In the classical sense, we will not go and sit in the National Assembly to ask questions, get answers, make speeches and this will limit our opposition activities,” he emphasized.

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By Wally Sarkeesian

See below: Comparing Greece PM Credentials to Armenian PM you will understand why Armenia lost the war

How Greece with well educated strong Business and political background Prime minister Build the economy, Military and created Alliance with neighboring countries stood up to the Enemy Turkey, Thanks to Greece intelligent voter for choosing the right person for the right job…

While Armenian voters choose A Prime Minister with no Business experience, no military experience no diplomatice experience no higher education. just because Pashinyan told them that the former government are “Corrupt” and planted the seeds of hatred into Armenian people very successfully… instate the Prime Minister they choose concentrating on the enemy building advance military creating alliance with other countries he concentrated by attacking and focusing on his local political opponent with vengent… Yet been in power for 3 years he never prove any major corruption that worthy of his fake so call revolution…

Consequently Armenia was badly defeated lost vast majority of land thousands dead and injured soldiers half the army destroyed and daily Azerbaijani attack on Armenian border villages and holding hundreds of Armenian POW. unfortunately the same Armenian Voters During 2021 election had the opportunity to choose from 25 political parties candidates unfortunately they choose the same capitulator and re elect him as Prime Minister moreover with landslide victory for the second term… sorry to say but this speak volume about some of Armenian voters intelligent… “Elections have consequences and leadership make or break a country” this is not the first time some of these Armenians in Armenia screw up after 1918 first republic 1920 these Same Armenians decided to join communist Russia and become part of USSR for 75 Years then again when soviet union collapse all most all countries under soviet union left some with blood they become part of west yet again Armenian stayed with Russia until today yes they keep calling independent Armenia no sorry it is “COLONY” consequently Russia yank all factories from Armenia told Armenians if you want job come to Moscow since then Armenia is really a Russian colony…

H could a person be reelected with this much crime

Artsakh’s 75 % 187 village 6 towns 9396 displaced families 38154 citizens 107 schools given away 17 kindergarten Committed Monasteries and churches 161591 cross stone Handed Berder castles sanctuary 394000 historical cultural monuments 12 museum 20345 exhibition The numbers of captive victims and missing persons are not clear yet. 688761 votes received in the parliamentary extraordinary elections.Political Nonsense, 688761 citizens???

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Journalist Tatul Hakobyan Lectures at Washington’s St. Mary Armenian Church

JULY 20, 2021by Haykaram Nahapetyan,

WASHINGTON – A few hours before departing to the airport to fly back to Yerevan, prominent journalist from Armenia Tatul Hakobyan met community representatives at Washington’s St. Mary Armenian Church.

Briefing about the post-war situation in Armenia, he reflected on the challenging circumstances in which the foreign diplomacy of Armenia found itself following the most recent aggression by Turkey and Azerbaijan. The new foreign minister of Armenia will have to negotiate an onerous agreement with Ankara and Baku that may touch upon delimitation of the borders, recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and possibly that of Turkey. That’s why no high-ranking diplomat or politician from the ruling party’s inner circle is willing to become the minister of foreign affairs. “I know that ten people have already rejected assuming this high position,” the journalist noted.

Hakobyan believes he found the best solution to the problem: he thinks that Prime Minister Pashinyan needs to take full responsibility for the situation and assume the position of foreign minister of Armenia in addition to that of prime minister in order to be fully in charge of the upcoming difficult talks. He cited the precedent of Israel where about ten years ago Benjamin Netanyahu occupied the two key positions of prime minister and foreign minister of the country simultaneously.

However, soon after the event media reports surfaced that Armen Grigoryan, the former director of the National Security Council, will be appointed to the vital position of the top diplomat of Armenia. Subsequently, this rumor was also refuted, keeping the question of the top diplomat in total uncertainty.

Hakobyan thinks that Azerbaijan will continue to hold the Armenian POWs to use them as trump cards in the upcoming complex negotiations. He rejected the news that France was ready to deploy troops in Armenia after the most recent aggression by Turkey and Azerbaijan.

After concluding his remarks, Hakobyan sold copies of his books that covered both the Karabakh conflict and Armenian-Turkish relations.

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Lilit Makunts, who is third on the Ruling Civil Contract Party’s electoral list for the snap parliamentary elections on June 20, has submitted a parliamentary mandate withdrawal petition to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia.

As is known, Makunts will be appointed as Armenia’s new ambassador to the United States, and her respective agrément has already been received.

To date, the CEC has received two petitions for giving up parliamentary seats. Earlier, second President Robert Kocharyan, who heads the opposition “Armenia” bloc, had submitted a similar petition.

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Ռոբերտ Քոչարյան/ Robert Kocharyan 49m · Dear compatriots,Today Aram Vardevanyan, the official representative of the ′′ Armenia ′′ alliance, presented the application on my decision to resign from the MP’s mandate.It turned out that I was a deputy of both Artsakh’s and Armenian parliamentarians at the time, but I have always been a man of executive power with character.

I’m sure it’s better to give up my teammates, each of whom I’m sure will become a good deputy With this step I also express my consent to the thousands of teammates who have passed me the opinion that after Artsakh’s Republic and President of the Republic of Armenia, I should not be tempted by the MP mandate. Finally, I was voted as a candidate for the Prime Minister of the Federation.At the same time, I consider stressing that not going to the National Assembly does not mean getting out of the battle. Fraction is the presence of the Alliance in the National Assembly, and I continue to be the leader of the Alliance and will contribute to our expected victories with consistent daily work.I’m sure everything will be alright.Robert Kocharyan

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