The Paros Foundation has launched a resettlement program as part of its Emergency Relief, Resettlement and Reconstruction-Artsakh Project to help those families that have fled Artsakh and will not be able, or are unwilling to return. The Paros Foundation is attempting to raise $200,000 in funds that will be matched with another $200,000 if we meet this goal. Many families have lost everything because of the war and our goal is to quickly help resettle as many of them as possible to avoid losing them to another country for work or a place to live.

“This year we lost almost 3,000 people to the Corona virus and at least another 3,000 people to the war. If we don’t act quickly to help resettle these refugee families from Artsakh, we stand to lose another 50 or 60,000 to emigration,” 
-Peter Abajian, Executive Director

The Paros Foundation’s Resettlement Program will take a comprehensive approach to refugee resettlement including thoroughly screening families, securing them permanent homes in Armenia including renovation and furnishings, and engaging the family in appropriate economic activities to help them provide for themselves. The first priority for families to resettle will be those from rural Artsakh, and in particular, multi-generational families whose lives were uprooted from territories now under Azeri control. The Armenian and Artsakh governments are establishing noble and aggressive plans for repatriation of families to Artsakh, however, it is clear that many large families will be unable or unwilling to return to their homes and thus will consider leaving Armenia.

Making An ImpactThe Paros Foundation was launched in 2006 and has implemented more than $8.6 million worth of projects in Armenia through its unique model of philanthropy and community partnership.  These projects are located throughout the country with the majority of work focused in Gyumri and in the Tavush Region, along the border with Azerbaijan.  Thanks to the generous support of the Strauch Kulhanjian Family, all administrative expenses are underwritten, allowing 100% of donor contributions to be allocated in their entirety to the projects.

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Foreign Minister of Armenia Ara Ayvazian gave a speech at the 27th Meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, noting that those few Armenians who remained in the territories that were captured by Azerbaijani armed forces were killed or tortured and expelled by Azerbaijani armed forces from their ancestral homeland.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia, FM Ayvazian particularly said,

‘’Ms. Chairperson, I would like to join colleagues and thank the Albanian Chairmanship, your team for tireless efforts and leadership of this Organization throughout the year.

The year 2020 has been marked and profoundly affected by the unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet for the people of Artsakh and Armenia the large-scale war unleashed by Azerbaijan with the direct involvement of its allies – Turkey and foreign terrorist fighters and jihadists – added another dimension to the already dire situation.

During the 44 days of war Azerbaijan and Turkey, in a clear defiance of their international obligations and in violations of their commitments towards the OSCE, despite numerous calls made by OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries, despite three agreements to cease hostilities, despite persistent calls of international community, continued the offensive. The aggression was accompanied by numerous gross violations of the laws and customs applicable in armed conflicts, by war crimes including deliberate targeting of civilian population and critical infrastructure, executions, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners of war and civilian captives, beheadings, mutilation of dead bodies and other well documented crimes with the ultimate purpose of ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population from their ancestral lands.

In this context, we welcome the consensus reached on the draft Ministerial Council Decision on the Prevention and Eradication of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which we consider as the most important outcome of this Ministerial.

Today we should acknowledge the efforts of the Russian Federation and personal engagement of President Vladimir Putin in establishing a ceasefire and stopping war also through providing peace-keeping forces on the ground. We are also grateful to France and the US for their efforts and engagement to achieve a ceasefire.

The actions of Azerbaijan and its allies created new dangerous precedent for addressing conflict situations in the area of responsibility of the OSCE.

First, it is the recruitment, transfer and deployment of foreign terrorist fighters and jihadists from Syria and Libya in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone by Turkey which flagrantly violates the international obligations and OSCE commitments on combating the phenomenon of the foreign terrorist fighters. This is the first time ever that two OSCE participating States have deployed terrorist fighters and jihadists in support of their armed forces in the context of conflict in the OSCE area of responsibility, a fact that was acknowledged not only by a number of the OSCE participating states, but the relevant UN body.

Second, Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh was greatly instigated and supported politically and militarily by the Turkish leadership in its pursuit of expansionist power projection into the South Caucasus and beyond.

Third, Azerbaijan and its allies unleashed the war against Artsakh falsely claiming the legitimate right to use force, which is a clear breach of international law. Furthermore, Azerbaijan and Turkey now insist that the situation resulting from the use of force, aggression and war, large-scale violations of international law, war crimes and ethnic cleansing, should be considered as resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We strongly condemn the use of force against the right of people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination and we will not accept any attempt to deprive the people of Nagorno-Karabakh of their rights.

Despite assurances that have been voiced out today as well, Armenians have been ethnically cleansed from the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh recently occupied by Azerbaijan, those few who stayed were killed or tortured and expelled by Azerbaijani armed forces from their ancestral homeland. This reality clearly attests to the fact that Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be placed under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan.

The comprehensive resolution of the conflict aimed at achieving lasting and sustainable peace in the region include:

• Status of Artsakh based on realization of the right of self-determination, security of its people;
• De-occupation by Azerbaijan of the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh;
• Safe and dignified return to their homes of the recently displaced population of Artsakh;
• Preservation of Armenian cultural and religious heritage on the territories that fell under the control of Azerbaijan.

Immediate and unconditional exchange of prisoners of war and hostages based on principle all for all, repatriation of remains should be implemented without any further delay.

The trilateral statement of November 9 should be considered without prejudice to the final political and durable settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Only political, negotiated settlement that will respect rights of all may bring peace and reconciliation to the South Caucasus region.

At the same time, to achieve this Turkey, whose genocidal record against Armenians is well known, should abandon its destabilizing policy and refrain from any actions which could further fuel tensions. In this context we call on all OSCE participating States to continue exerting pressure on Turkey to withdraw its military personnel from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, from the South Caucasus, together with its affiliated terrorist fighters. So far there is no sign that foreign terrorist fighters are being withdrawn from the conflict area. Quite opposite, there are persistent reports on further spread of terrorist fighters and mercenaries and plans to resettle them in areas of NK, which is currently occupied by Azerbaijan.

The lasting and sustainable resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be achieved through the negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, which is the only internationally mandated mechanism to deal with settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In this context we took positive note of the statement of heads of delegations of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries issued earlier today, which once again showed the unity and determination of the Co-Chair countries in pursuing negotiated comprehensive and sustainable settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

We also concur that all the foreign mercenaries, brought in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone by Turkey and Azerbaijan, should be withdrawn fully and promptly from the region.

In conclusion, I would like to welcome Sweden as incoming Chair and wish them every success.

Thank you’’.

Vahe Sarukhanyan

During the September 27 war unleashed by the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem against Artsakh, the Hetq team gathered evidence on the weapons used by the enemy against Artsakh. Hetq Editor-in-Chief Edik Baghdasaryan and photographer Hakob Poghosyan photographed the wreckage of various missiles and drones.

The collected material revealed that the Israeli Harop type UAVs used by Azerbaijan, known as “kamikazes”, i.e. suicide drones, use French and Swiss devices.

Canadian, American and Austrian companies have stated their position

Before referring to the French and Swiss devices, let us remind our readers that the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones damaged during the war were proved to have carried cameras of the Canadian company WESCAM. WESCAM is a subsidiary of the American company L3Harris Technologies.

But before the Artsakh Defense Army shot down the Bayraktars, there were already reports in early October that Canadian technology was being used on Turkish drones. Later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that their exports must not violate adopted principles and laws. The Canada Import and Export Authorization Act prohibits the sale of weapons if they can be used to violate international humanitarian law or human rights. For his part, Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne decided to freeze the supply of military equipment to Turkey and launch an investigation. This caused dissatisfaction in Turkey.

A Turkish Bayraktar TB2 UAV, shot down by Artsakh air defense units on October 19, was carrying a WESCAM-made CMX-15D remote-controlled camera manufactured in September. (see photo)

American companies also came under pressure regarding their military supplies to Turkey. In late October, Armenian-Americans demonstrated outside the headquarters of the American company Viasat, which sells satellite communications and equipment to Turkey. The company’s products and communication technologies are used for Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and Anka-S combat UAVs. A Viasat representative told the protesters that it intended to cut off supplies to Turkey and would soon apply to US government agencies to investigate how Turkey uses its technologies. The company official said he was unaware that their products had been used against civilians and to bomb hospitals.

Armenian-Americans also protested in front of the Lockheed Martin military-industrial company (photo), which, in cooperation with Turkish Aircraft Industries, manufactures F-16 fighter jets for the Turkish Air Force. The existence of the latter in Azerbaijan during the war was also established, and the Armenian side officially stated that they were also used on the military front. In addition, the American company produces target detection and identification systems for these fighters, as well as missiles for S-70B Seahawk helicopters. Lockheed Martin did not respond to the action of the American-Armenians. Instead, and due to the actions of the Armenian-Americans, the American law firm DLA Piper and the lobbying company The Livingston Group dropped Azerbaijan as one of their clients.https://www.facebook.com/v3.2/plugins/quote.php?app_id=468673766529308&channel=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticxx.facebook.com%2Fx%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter%2F%3Fversion%3D46%23cb%3Df22a602112a66cc%26domain%3Dhetq.am%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fhetq.am%252Ff15944db8f0e298%26relation%3Dparent.parent&container_width=930&href=https%3A%2F%2Fhetq.am%2Fen%2Farticle%2F124955&locale=en_US&sdk=joey

Soon afterwards, it was reported that the Austrian company Rotax would no longer supply engines used on Bayraktar TB2 drones. Rotax is a subsidiary of Canadian Bombardier Recreational Products and stopped cooperating with Turkey on the orders of the Canadian company. It should be noted that the engines of Rotax were produced for light and ultralight aircraft for non-military purposes, and their sale was carried out by international intermediaries. In this case, Italy carried out supplies to Turkey.

“As they are not manufactured for special military purposes, nor do they meet the standards of EU licensed goods, they can be exported to Turkey legally without prior permission,” said Wolfgang Schneider, an official with the Austrian Ministry of Economy. However, international economic law stipulates that the export of goods requires a permit from the Ministry of Economy if they are “manufactured or modified for military purposes or used for domestic application, human rights violations or terrorist purposes.”https://www.facebook.com/v3.2/plugins/quote.php?app_id=468673766529308&channel=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticxx.facebook.com%2Fx%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter%2F%3Fversion%3D46%23cb%3Df22a602112a66cc%26domain%3Dhetq.am%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fhetq.am%252Ff15944db8f0e298%26relation%3Dparent.parent&container_width=930&href=https%3A%2F%2Fhetq.am%2Fen%2Farticle%2F124955&locale=en_US&sdk=joey

French and Swiss equipment on Harop UAVs

The use of Israeli UAVs by Azerbaijan is not new. Artsakh’s air defense system first encountered them in September 2011, when a hybrid of the Hermes-180 and Hermes-450 devices was damaged in the sky over Vazgenashen, a village in Artsakh’s Martuni region.

Harop drones released by the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) company were first used on the Artsakh front in 2016, in the April Four-Day War. We have various photos of Israeli UAVs damaged by Artsakh anti-aircraft systems in that war, including the destroyed Harop. The photos below were taken on April 7, 2016.

Furthermore, the IAI manufactured drone carried a 15.2 kg warhead, with an explosive mass of 5.7 kg, produced by Rafael, another Israeli company. (see photo)

The fact that the UAV shot in 2016 and October of this year are of the same type is evidenced, specifically, by their folding, semi-triangular wings and hinges under the wings.

There are various reconnaissance, strike and suicide missiles in the Azerbaijani arsenal, but only the wings of the Harop have such a structure.

Among the devices used on the Harop, we have singled out the electric motor produced by the Swiss company Faulhaber Minimotor SA (a subsidiary of the German company Faulhaber) and the potentiometer made by the French company Eurofarad (a part of the Exxelia group).

These are just some examples of how seemingly innocent details were used in the deadly weapons used indiscriminately by Azerbaijan during the recent war.

Hetq also has details of other weapons, produced by companies in countries that are far from this conflict, both geographically and in terms of their involvement, that were used against Artsakh’s non-military targets.

The reality is that today the most modern technologies, created mainly for civilian purposes, are sold by their manufacturers, among others, to military-industrial enterprises pursuing business interests, and then end up in the hands of their client states, headed by authoritarian or dictatorial leaders who are quite willing to commit terrorist acts against civilians.

As a result, a small detail created in some part of the world becomes an important screw in launching a deadly weapon that takes innocent human lives. This is the arms business, the killing business.

Source: https://hetq.am/en/article/124955

The 17 political parties who are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have unanimously named Vazgen Manukyan as their candidate to lead the country.

“The 17 political parties, whose ranks expanded further today by forming the Homeland Salvation Council, decided to nominate Vazgen Manukyan’s candidacy,” Homeland Party leader Artur Vanetsyan told reporters.

Vazgen Manukyan served as the first Prime Minister of Armenia from 1990 to 1991 under President Levon-Ter Petrosyan. He then served briefly as Defense Minister.

He was the President of the Public Council from 2009 to 2019.

At the moment there is no serious problem in Berdzor, there is no danger, I am here, many other residents are in Berdzor together with me, Berdzor town mayor Narek Aleksanyan said this in a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“There was no clear instruction that Berdzor shall be cleared out [by Armenians],” Aleksanyan emphasized in particular.

The mayor and the acting head of the Kashatagh regional administration, Mushegh Alaverdyan, continue to carry out their respective duties.

After the ceasefire, Berdzor is controlled by Russian peacekeepers. According to Narek Aleksanyan, on Monday they said that there should be no flag of any country in the town, and therefore the flag of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) was taken down.

According to the mayor, there are no Azerbaijani soldiers in Berdzor at the moment.

Narek Aleksanyan talked to some of the residents still in Berdzor a while ago, and he says that they were in a normal mood, but, of course, we cannot speak about being completely safe.

As for the nearby Aghavno and Sus villages, according to the mayor of Berdzor, the situation is the same there, too; the Russian peacekeepers are there, some of the residents have moved, whereas the rest continue to live there.

For several days, the people of Berdzor were rushing to pack their belongings and leave because they did not know under whose control—the Armenians or the Azerbaijanis—the town will be as of Tuesday.

On November 9, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a joint statement on a complete cessation of hostilities— which Azerbaijan had launched on September 27—in and around Artsakh. Accordingly, Russian peacekeepers are deployed in the region to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities. But this statement also stipulates the handover of part of Artsakh lands to Azerbaijan.

US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt said in an announcement today that his country welcomes Greece’s decision to purchase the fifth generation F-35 stealth fighter jets.

Pyatt emphasized that this was supposed in Washington “at the highest levels.”

“We have signaled our support for procurement and are working closely together on a future acquisition program, which would enhance Greece’s defense capabilities, ensure interoperability with US Armed Forces and improve regional stability,” said the ambassador.

Although some in Greek media claimed that the US was reversing its decision in procuring the F-35 fighter jet, the American ambassador ensured that these reports “are false and misrepresentations of US policy.”

“We take great pride in our defense and security partnership with Greece and work daily to advance that from strength to strength, including through Greece’s future acquisition of the F-35,” Pyatt said.

The American ambassador explained that procuring the fighter jets is a “multi-year process that would naturally build upon the successes realized in Greece’s F-16 Viper upgrade program.”

In a letter of request earlier this month, Theodoros Lagios, General Director of the Armaments and Investment Department of the Greek Ministry of Defense, stated the importance of Greece acquiring the U.S.-made jets.

“It is important for Greece to receive the first F-35s in 2021. We request you to examine our request urgently,” Lagios said.

Citizens, the representatives of arts and culture sector have gathered again at Charles Aznavour square in Yerevan on Monday. For the third day in a row they are raising the urgent need to address the issue of the return of Armenian war prisoners held in Azerbaijan and the bodies of those killed in the Karabakh war.

One of the organizers of the initiative, actor Hrant Tokhatyan informed that a group of intellectuals plan to hand over a letter to the French Embassy in Yerevan, requesting assistance in making Azerbaijan implement taken commitments in line of with the trilateral statement signed on November 9.

On Sunday, the intellectuals gathered outside the Russian Embassy on Sunday with the same request.

“We are submitting these letters on behalf of all people who are here or support our initiative in any way. Our appeal to all diplomatic missions accredited to Armenia is the following – exert pressure on Azerbaijan to return the Armenian PoWs and allow to retrieve the bodies of the dead,” Tokhatyan said.

In his words, they have asked the Diaspora Armenians as well to apply to authorities of their states too residence as well as international structures to initiate the return of the captives.

by Michael Rubin

STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH—For much of Europe and the Middle East, the refugee crisis in Syria was a human tragedy. Syrian children sell chewing gum in the streets of Mosul and pick produce on farms in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Jordanian television highlights the plight of refugee girls who once dreamed of becoming doctors or lawyers taken as second wives in order to escape refugee camps. Syrians board rickety boats and rafts in a desperate attempt to reach Europe. Some do, but many don’t make it.

It is that success, perhaps, that now leads Erdoğan and his ally Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to replicate the strategy in Nagorno-Karabakh. Documents captured during the recent Armenia-Azerbaijan War as well as prisoner interrogations reveal that Turkey facilitated the transport of more than 7,700 Syrian Islamists to Azerbaijan in the months before the September 27 outbreak of fighting. Several journalists reporting from Azerbaijan independently confirmed the presence of Syrian mercenaries there.

With the ceasefire, many journalists have moved onto the next story but the Syrian mercenaries—at least those who survived the fighting—have remained in Azerbaijan. For all Aliyev’s rhetoric about Karabakh as the heart of Azerbaijan, few Azeris want to live there: Azerbaijan is an oil-rich country and most of the jobs and infrastructure are around Baku, 250 miles away. In Karabakh, those returning from the front suggest that Syrian mercenaries are both sending for their family members to come to Azerbaijan and seeking to then settle in southern areas of Karabakh that have now reverted to Azerbaijan. While Erdoğan and Aliyev might celebrate ridding the region of Christians, replacing them with mercenaries will be a ticking time bomb for the southern Caucasus. They not only will create tension within majority Shi’ite Azerbaijan, but if they try to link up with jihadists in the northern Caucasus, they could both destabilize the region and trigger greater Russian intervention in the region. 

Turkey planned the timing of the war perfectly. Erdoğan understood Washington was distracted both by looming elections and by the COVID-19 crisis. There is no longer any reason to be passive, however. Minsk Group co-chairs France, Russia, and the United States should demand that Azerbaijan detain all mercenaries. Just as many Islamic State veterans and their family members remain incarcerated at al-Hol, in northeastern Syria, so too should the Syrian mercenaries of the Nagorno-Karabakh war be detained as illegal combatants. To do nothing would not only pour fuel onto the fire of regional instability, but would also guarantee further religious violence and demographic games as Erdoğan and now Aliyev conclude that they can, quite literally, get away with murder.

From the author: According to Turkish parliamentarians and provincial officials, Erdoğan’s top authorities offer Sunni Syrian Arabs an opportunity both to avoid refugee camps and to gain the privileges of Turkish citizenship so long as they settle either in predominantly Alevi areas in Hatay or in Kurdish towns and villages in southeastern Turkey. In both cases, Erdoğan’s goals are simple: utilize Sunni Islamists to dilute minority populations or tip the balance in close-held districts to his own party.

STEPANAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH—For much of Europe and the Middle East, the refugee crisis in Syria was a human tragedy. Syrian children sell chewing gum in the streets of Mosul and pick produce on farms in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Jordanian television highlights the plight of refugee girls who once dreamed of becoming doctors or lawyers taken as second wives in order to escape refugee camps. Syrians board rickety boats and rafts in a desperate attempt to reach Europe. Some do, but many don’t make it.

Turkey hosts the most Syrian refugees of any country and, to Turkey’s credit, the country and its people have dedicated substantial resources to their health and well-being. Where others see tragedy, however, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sees opportunity. Not only has he weaponized the threat of dumps of refugees on European shores in order to blackmail Europe into greater diplomatic concessions, but he has also used the predominantly Sunni refugees to wage demographic warfare against Turkish minorities whose identities Erdoğan resents or seeks to dilute. According to Turkish parliamentarians and provincial officials, Erdoğan’s top authorities offer Sunni Syrian Arabs an opportunity both to avoid refugee camps and to gain the privileges of Turkish citizenship so long as they settle either in predominantly Alevi areas in Hatay or in Kurdish towns and villages in southeastern Turkey. In both cases, Erdoğan’s goals are simple: utilize Sunni Islamists to dilute minority populations or tip the balance in close-held districts to his own party.

In Kurdish-dominated areas in Syria, Erdoğan has utilized a variation of the same strategy. While he couched Turkey’s military incursions first in terms of counter-terrorism and more recently in the rhetoric of creating a safe-haven or buffer zone in order to enable the repatriation of Syrian refugees, the reality of his policy has been to ethnically cleanse Syrian border regions to force out Kurds, Christians, and Yezidis and to replace them with Sunni Arab Islamist communities. In each case, the fact that diplomats looked the other way enabled and affirmed Erdoğan strategy.

Michael Rubin is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). You can follow him on Twitter: @mrubin1971

Germany failing EU leadership test, Greek foreign minister says.

ATHENS — Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias accused Germany of failing to live up to its leadership role in the EU by rejecting pleas from Athens to impose an arms embargo on Turkey.

“I really fail to understand Germany’s reluctance to use the enormous power of its economy to set a clear example to countries that they must obey international law,” Dendias said in an interview with POLITICO.

Against a backdrop of heightened tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greece has appealed to European partners in recent weeks to stop arms sales to Turkey. Athens argues such weapons could be used against two EU member countries, Greece and Cyprus, if there is an escalation of disputes over territorial waters.

Greece has specifically called on Germany not to allow the delivery of six Type 214 submarines ordered by Turkey. Athens argues the vessels would upset the balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Dendias noted the deal for the submarines dated back to 2009, when the Turkish government and its foreign policy were very different.

“I understand the financial issue, but I am sure Germany also understands the huge contradiction of providing offensive weapons to a country that threatens the peace and stability of two EU countries. This is the definition of the word contradiction,” he said.

Dendias said he did not understand why Greece should even have to raise the matter with Berlin “instead of Germany realizing by itself, from the checks and balances of its own system, that this is not compatible with its role in Europe.”

Greece and Turkey are both members of the NATO alliance, but with long-standing disagreements on a variety of issues, including sea boundaries. Their relationship has reached a low point in recent months.

Over the summer, the countries came close to a military conflict, as the the Oruç Reis, a seismic vessel owned by Turkey’s General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration, started research activities in disputed waters. Turkish and Greek naval flotillas faced off against each other for weeks. Turkey has been conducting research and drilling off Cyprus in recent months as well.

Germany has tried to play the role of the mediator, with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visiting Athens and Ankara several times to push for a restart of diplomatic talks. Chancellor Angela Merkel helped avert a potential conflict by calling both Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

But Greece has voiced dissatisfaction with what Dendias has branded a policy of “appeasement” pursued by Germany toward Turkey. Athens argues Germany should be firmly on the side of its fellow EU members, Greece and Cyprus.

Summit call

In the interview, Dendias called on EU leaders to send a clear message to Turkey at next month’s European Council summit. But he stopped short of explicitly demanding EU sanctions on Ankara.

He said Europe should give a “logical answer” to Turkey’s recent actions that would match European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s pledge to lead a “geopolitical” Commission.

Shortly before the last EU summit, the Turkish vessel returned home, and both sides agreed to restart talks. At the summit on October 2, EU leaders warned Ankara it could face sanctions over its activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, but refrained from taking any action — only for the Turkish ship to resume its mission a few days later.

This time around, Turkey has again signaled the ship will return to port in advance of the summit, saying its mission will last until November 29. The summit is scheduled to begin on December 10.

Dendias suggested that if EU leaders followed the same course as last time, it would mean they had not learned their lesson.

“If you do the same things you did in the past and expect another outcome in the future, this is something described with the word ‘naive’ — and that’s a mild term for it, I would say,” Dendias said.

“Europe would send the wrong message to all the countries in the broader region. Whoever acts arbitrarily, whoever violates international law, whoever blackmails, is at the end of the day left unpunished or is even rewarded.”

Dendias declined to specify what the EU’s message should be. He said it should depend on whether Turkey shows a real change in attitude in the coming days and weeks.

Dendias said he is looking forward to working with the next U.S. administration. Both President-elect Joe Biden and his nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, know the region and Greek-Turkish problems very well, he said.

“I believe that the region needs the presence of the United States and particularly its military presence, in a way that would offset the lack of European military presence in the region,” he said.

Dozens of intellectuals, representatives of arts and culture sector gathered on Saturday at Charles Aznavour square in Yerevan pay tribute to memory of servicemen who have fallen during the Artsakh war.

“After signing the disgraceful deal, many people from Armenia and around the world became engaged in efforts to bring Armenian captives and retrieve the bodies of those killed,” Actor Hrant Tokhatyan said, addressing the public.
He praised and thanked Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan for the immense work, adding joint efforts with those engaged in works of returning the PoWs may yield positive results.

“If we join our efforts, we will see the result. We bow to the memory of all those who fell in the war and those who are missing. We are trying to bring back them to their families and homes. This is the main issue for responsibility. wWhen bidding a final farewell to renowned actors and artists it is accepted to give a loud applause. Let us do that for all our heroes today,” Tokhatyan said.

Following his speech, the public erupted in loud applause.