Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s spokesperson says that the Armenian premier and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed the Armenian leader’s recent statement on the Russian-made Iskander missile systems, among other issues during their latest phone conversation.

“As a result of combining the existing facts and data, the Prime Minister of Armenia concluded that he hadn’t been briefed correctly regarding this situation. Moreover, the Prime Minister’s statement doesn’t have anything to do with the content and quality of the Armenian-Russian allied relations in the military and military-industrial cooperation sector. There is no doubt that Russian weapons are one of the best in the world. The Republic of Armenia continues closely cooperating with the Russian Federation in the military industry and high-tech sectors, and intends to take steps to deepen it even more,” Pashinyan’s spokesperson, Mane Gevorgyan, told Armenpress.

Turkish media were going to come to Armenian PM Nikok Pashinyan’s rally through Georgia, @wargonzo Telegram channel reported, citing sources in Istanbul.

Turkish media – particularly TRT – have applied for coverage of tomorrow’s events in Yerevan. TRT journalists now also work on the territory of neighboring Georgia.

On March 1 the Prime Minister of Armenia is gathering a rally in his support due to the fact that the head of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan and other Armenian generals demanded his resignation.

Besides, sources report that certain government structures of Armenia agreed to the arrival of the Turkish media, but this visit had to also be coordinated with the Russian security officials, who are responsible for the security of the border and other strategic facilities on the territory of Armenia. According to our information, the Russian side did not begin to coordinate the arrival of Turkish media in Armenia from the territory of Georgia, the report says.

The author of the Telegram channel, Russian journalist Semyon Pegov, covered the last war in Artsakh. Wargonzo is also known for its sources in various countries, including Turkey.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan commented on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s February 26 contradictory statements and hate speech targeting Armenians.

ARMENPRESS: Yesterday, at the press conference for foreign media the President of Azerbaijan made a number of statements, including new threats against Armenia, comments on the issue of prisoners of war and the status of Artsakh.  How would you comment on those statements?

Anna Naghdalyan: The hours-long press conference of Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev on February 26 was another manifestation of hate speech towards the Armenian people, aimed at diverting the attention of the Azerbaijani society from domestic issues by manipulating the image of the Armenian people as a “useful enemy.”

Of course, it will be difficult to address all the contradictory statements made in the speech of the President of Azerbaijan within one question. However, it is necessary to emphasize that;

First, the President of Azerbaijan continues the policy of Armenophobia, which is the primary source of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The words “Armenians are not Azerbaijan’s enemies” said by the President Aliyev, who has previously declared the Armenian people as number one enemy of Azerbaijan, are dissolved by hostile rhetoric towards the Armenian people, its state institutions, the army, so they cannot be credible.

Second, despite the increasing calls of the international community for the immediate release of Armenian servicemen captured in violation of the first provision of the November 9 statement, the President of Azerbaijan justifies violations of his country’s international obligations, including international humanitarian law and human rights law, in fact by threatening with new captives. Moreover, the claim by the President of Azerbaijan that all Armenian captives have been returned was made when the relevant Azerbaijani authorities passed information to the reputable  international bodies on the existence of Armenian prisoners of war.

Third, we have repeatedly stated that the use of force by Azerbaijan with the support of Turkey can not be considered a resolution to the conflict. In order to establish peace and security in the region, the consequences of military aggression must be eliminated, the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh must be exercised, including  on the basis of the right to self-determination proposed by the Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Fourth, the Armenian army is the guarantor of the right of the Armenian people to live and create free and dignified life in their homeland, which, at the cost of the self-sacrifice of many Armenians, thwarted the genocidal aspirations of the Turkish-Azerbaijani-terrorist alliance towards the Armenian people. Aliyev’s press conference once proved the imperative of rearmement and modernizing of the Armenian armed forces.

The statements of the Azerbaijani leadership demonstrate that Azerbaijan is not ready to undertake steps for peace and stability in the South Caucasus, moreover, its statements nullify any possibility of building trust.

ARMENPRESS: The President of Azerbaijan once again referred to the “corridor” through the territory of Armenia. What corridor is he referring to?

Anna Naghdalyan: We have touched upon this issue more than once, but I will repeat once again that the provision 9 of the November 9 trilateral statement does not contain any provisions on the establishment of a corridor. Any road or communication route passing through the territory of Armenia is and remains exclusively under the jurisdiction of the sovereignty of Armenia.

ARMENPRESS: The President of Azerbaijan made statements on the need for the return of Azerbaijani refugees to Artsakh. Is there any discussion in that direction?

Anna Naghdalyan:  The November 9 trilateral statement calls for the return of displaced people to their places of residence under the supervision of the United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Refugees. However, at least four months after the statement, the Azerbaijani side is posing impediments towards the entry of international organizations, including the UN specialized agencies, into Artsakh, disrupting the implementation of humanitarian missions.

It is clear that the people displaced during the recent large-scale war must return in the first place; the November 9 statement is aimed primarily at eliminating the humanitarian consequences of that war. This refers to the residents of Hadrut, Shushi and other settlements fallen under the Azerbaijani control. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani armed forces not merely prohibit the return of the displaced, but also try to make it impossible by burning and destroying their settlements.

Such behavior clearly indicates that the Azerbaijani leadership is trying to cover up the infamous policy of ethnic cleansing and annihilation of Armenians from Artsakh making announcements on  the coexistence between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has refused to fire the head of the general staff of the country’s armed forces after he was dismissed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the presidential office said on Saturday.

ashinyan dismissed the head of the general staff Onik Gasparyan on Thursday after what he had called an attempted coup to remove him, but the move had to be signed off by the president.

Video: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan marches through the streets of the capital Yerevan with his supporters after accusing the military of mounting an attempted coup. (AFP)

According to the president’s statement, posted on the presidential office website, the move to dismiss Gasparyan was unconstitutional.

The army has called for the resignation of Pashinyan and his government after what critics say was the disastrous handling of a bloody six-week conflict between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh last year.

(Reporting by Nvard Hovhannisyan; Writing by Maxim Rodionov; editing by Matthias Williams)

Aram Gabrielyanov, a Russian-based journalist and chairman of the board of directors of Izvestia newspaper, commented on Nikol Pashinyan’s scandalous statement about the inefficiency of Russian Iskander complexes in his telegram channel. “If the topic of” Iskanders “is touched upon, I will tell. About a month ago in Moscow, I had a difficult, long conversation with the Chief of General Staff of the RA Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan. I can not tell you everything, but if Nicole raised the topic of this unique weapon, I will quote literally what Onik said, and the judgments leave you.

“On the third day of the war, I, as the head of the General Staff, decided to use Iskander in the direction of two strategically important facilities, one of the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipelines. Pashinyan categorically forbade it, although the Russians made it clear that it is your business, it is your war. Three days before the attack on Shushi, I asked Pashinyan for permission to strike with two Iskanders directly at the enormous accumulation of enemy manpower on the outskirts of Shushi. Pashinyan categorically forbade it, saying that the international community would curse us if we killed several thousand enemy soldiers at the same time.

The only time I was allowed to use Iskander was in Shushi. I used it. We used it, several tanks were brought into the city. In two days I received an order to leave Shushi and retreat. ” In an interview with 1in.am yesterday, Nikol Pashinyan referred to the statement of the third President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, according to which he is surprised why “Iskander” was not used on the 3rd or 4th day of the war. Nver Mnatsakanyan asked Pashinyan if that hint was addressed to him, to which Nikol Pashinyan replied. “That hint may be addressed to me, but I think the one who is rejected should know the answers to many questions, not ask questions that he knows the answers to. “And maybe they will answer why the” Iskander “(the rocket) did not explode or exploded, for example, by 10%.” During the monitoring, does that happen? Pashinyan noted. “I do not know. Maybe it was a weapon of the 80s? ”

Source: https://livenews.am/press/2021/90629/24/14/59/?fbclid=IwAR38UguWzRKplaQHyBjfKV6xcragUzo4gWLT9GRL08C1tGTLxiiEuu2F1KY

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia (RA) demands the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government. It has issued a respective statement, which reads as follows in part:

“The General Staff of the RA Armed Forces expresses its resolute protest over the dismissal—for short-sighted and unjustified reasons—of the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces, which was carried out without taking into account the national and state interests of the Republic of Armenia, based solely on personal and ambitious sentiments. In such difficult conditions for the country, such a decision is an anti-state and irresponsible step.

The RA Prime Minister and the Government are no longer able to make proper decisions in this critical and crucial situation for the Armenian people.

For a long time, the RA Armed Forces patiently tolerated the current government’s “attacks” aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces; but everything has its limits.

Inefficient governance of the current authorities and serious mistakes made in foreign policy have brought the country to the brink of collapse.

Due to the current situation, the RA Armed Forces demand the resignation of the RA Prime Minister and the Government, at the same time warn to refrain from using force against the people whose children have died defending the Homeland and Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)].

The [Armenian] army has always been with the [Armenian] people, as the people [have been] with the army.”

VARUZHAN NERSESYAN , AMBASSADOR, REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA TO THE U.S. 

As a leader in the advancement of human rights and democracy, America is respected around the world for effectively deploying its diplomatic and economic influence to solve global problems and find peaceful solution to regional conflicts.

With the Biden administration pledging greater diplomatic engagement, defense of democracy and prioritization of human rights, we hope more attention will be given to the fragile situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In late September, amid a global pandemic and the hotly contested election season, Turkey and Azerbaijan launched a war in Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, that left thousands dead and displaced tens of thousands more.

As one of the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, set up in 1992 to help resolve conflicts in the region, the United States recently called for a “negotiated, comprehensive, and sustainable settlement” for Artsakh. We applaud this call but, with no consequences for their aggression, Turkey and Azerbaijan will learn the wrong lessons from this conflict.

Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s backing, disregarded the U.S. role as a peacemaker, flaunting its disdain for even the most basic of international norms. Using Azerbaijan as a client state for conducting war, Turkey openly admitted to subverting an active peace process co-chaired by its NATO allies, the United States and France.

Turkey employed NATO’s AWACS system, as well as American F-16s in support of Azerbaijan in open violation of its agreement to refrain from deploying these aircrafts. Turkey was credibly accused by both Western governments and respected media outlets of recruiting and transporting Syrian jihadist fighters into the region.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan repeatedly shelled maternity hospitals, markets, and cathedralsfar from the frontlines and used internationally prohibited cluster munitions in residential areas and incendiary weapons like white phosphorus bombs.

In an effort at ethnic cleansing, there has been widespread desecration of Armenian cultural and Christian religious heritage in the occupied territories. Since the latest ceasefire, Azeri soldiers have posted torture of Armenian POWs to social media. Horrific videos posted online featured the ISIS-style beheading of elderly civilians by Azeri forces.

Lasting peace is not possible if Azerbaijan and Turkey go unpunished. They will continue their aggression toward Armenians and beyond.

Recently, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev claimed that areas within the Republic of Armenia—including capital city Yerevan—all belong to Azerbaijan. Without strong international repudiation, such statements can lead to renewed violence. Given the history in the region, including the Armenian genocide of a century ago that Turkey continues to deny, these claims cannot go unnoticed.

In the latest demonstration of hostility, Turkey and Azerbaijan have conducted military exercises along Turkey’s border with Armenia, far from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenians in the United States and across the world hope the United States will take a principled stand by supporting a comprehensive political settlement of the conflict. This cannot happen as long as the root cause of the conflict—the issue of the status—has not been resolved.

As a starting point, America must join us in demanding that Azerbaijan unconditionally return an estimated 200 Armenian prisoners of war. Absent this basic humanitarian gesture, dialogue and negotiation cannot succeed.

Second, the Biden administration can cut off foreign assistance to Azerbaijan’s military. In FY 2018 and 2019, the Trump administration provided more than $100 million in military and security aid to Azerbaijan—resources that were likely used against Armenian civilians and soldiers.

Further, all arms export licenses to Turkey and Azerbaijan must be rejected. Global economic and political sanctions need to be imposed on the Erdogan and Aliyev governments.

The U.S. Congress should follow the principled example of both houses of the French Parliament and a number of other European parliaments, which have voted in favor of the self-determination of the Republic of Artsakh.

As part of its co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group, we urge the United States to support de-occupation by Azerbaijan of the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh. This includes the safe and dignified return of the recently displaced population of Artsakh to their homes.

Finally, the United States must oppose any role for Turkey in either peacekeeping or the peace process in Artsakh. The international community cannot reward Ankara for outright aggression that undermines a globally mandated peace process.

If Azerbaijan and Turkey are allowed to hijack the OSCE Minsk Group peace process that America co-chairs—using force to twist regional security architecture toward their expansionist aspirations—they will not stop.

As we are now seeing in Syria, Libya, Cyprus, the Aegean and Artsakh, Turkey is becoming a regional menace, using mercenary armies of jihadists and states like Azerbaijan to project and expand its power.

To contain belligerent behavior by Turkey and its clients like Azerbaijan, the United States must enforce international norms through economic and diplomatic means. The alternative is a more dangerous world for everyone.

Varuzhan Nersesyan is the ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to the U.S.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/america-must-contain-azeri-turkish-aggression-opinion-1571455

Russian-made Iskander (SS-26 Stone) ballistic missile systems are “completely useless”, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said yesterday.

The Armenian Prime Minister argued that the Iskander ballistic missiles are problematic and useless.

This is how Pashinyan responded to former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who stated that he would have used Iskander on the fourth day of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Sargsyan also asked why these complexes did not affect the oil and gas facilities of Azerbaijan.