By Harut Sassounian,

Mayor of New York City Eric Adams seems to have a special affinity for Azerbaijan and Turkey. We will soon find out if that special relationship has overstepped the bounds of legality.

A year ago, I wrote an article about Mayor Adams who notoriously had declared: “After I retire from government, I’m going to live in Baku.”

The New York Daily News published an article in 2021 under the title: “NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams accepted foreign travel to countries with a history of corruption.” The article disclosed that “Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has accepted thousands of dollars in travel and other perks from China, Turkey and Azerbaijan, three countries with a well-documented history of suppressing their citizens.”

Adams recently acknowledged that he had traveled to Turkey eight times. In August 2023, he boasted during a Turkish flag-raising ceremony in Manhattan that there were probably no other mayors in New York City history who had visited Turkey as frequently as he has. In August 2015, the Turkish government paid thousands of dollars for then-Brooklyn Borough president Adams to visit Turkey for six days where he signed a sister city agreement with Istanbul’s Uskudar district. The Turkish consulate paid up to $4,999 for his airfare, hotel stay and ground transportation, according to Adams’ disclosure with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB). The New York Daily News reported that in 2016, “Azerbaijan’s tourism ministry paid up to $4,999 for Adams to visit its capital Baku for four days, according to the borough president’s COIB disclosure.” Adams has held fundraising events for his campaign in the Azeri and Turkish restaurants Baku Palace and Ali Baba in New York City. On Sept. 19, 2023, Mayor Adams attended an event hosted by President Erdogan’s wife Emine at the Turkish House in New York City.

Last Thursday, 10 FBI agents raided the home of the Mayor’s chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, to investigate “whether Mayor Eric Adams’s 2021 election campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations, according to a search warrant obtained by The New York Times.” The 2025 reelection campaign of Adams paid Suggs’ company nearly $100,000 for fund-raising and campaign consulting services.

“Investigators sought to learn more about the potential involvement of a Brooklyn construction company with ties to Turkey, as well as a small university in Washington, D.C., that also has ties to the country and to Mr. Adams,” the NYT reported. “According to the search warrant, investigators were also focused on whether the mayor’s campaign kicked back benefits to the [KSK] construction company’s officials and employees, and to Turkish officials.” The City news website reported that 84 donors, most of them employees of KSK Construction Group, whose founders are from Turkey, had contributed over $69,000 to the Mayor’s campaign. However, “multiple people listed in Adams 2021 campaign donation records as KSK employees either said they did not donate to Eric Adams or refused to state whether they had ever donated,” The City reported.

During last Thursday’s raid, the FBI searched for records of travel to Turkey and documents linking the government of that country and its intermediaries to the Adams campaign, seizing three iPhones, two computers and various files from Suggs’ home. Investigators also sought documents regarding Bay Atlantic University, a Turkish-owned university in Washington, D.C. that opened in 2014. In 2015, Adams “visited one of the school’s sister universities in Istanbul, where he was given various certificates and was told that a scholarship would be created in his name,” according to the NYT.

Last Thursday, the New York City Mayor, who had traveled to Washington, D.C. for meetings with Senior White House, Members of Congress and other mayors, abruptly cancelled his meetings and returned back to New York City the same day as the FBI raid.

The NYT reported: “The [search] warrant suggested that some of the foreign campaign contributions were made as part of a straw donor scheme, where donations are made in the names of people who did not actually give money. Investigators sought evidence to support potential charges that included the theft of federal funds and conspiracy to steal federal funds, wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, as well as campaign contributions by foreign nationals and conspiracy to make such contributions.”

In July, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted seven individuals who fundraised for the Mayor’s 2021 campaign on multiple counts, including conspiracy and bribe-taking and conspiracy to funnel illegal donations, according to the NYT.

The FBI investigation has not targeted Adams personally. He said that he “had no clear knowledge, direct or indirect, of any improper fundraising activity — and certainly not of any foreign money.”

But if it is proven that he had conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign funds, the Mayor may have to retire in Baku or Istanbul much earlier than he expected.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has nominated his candidacy in the US presidential elections, has expressed his indignation that the American media selectively covered the wars going on in different parts of the world and did not cover the Armenian ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh. Ramaswamy’s interview.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/100010165424378/videos/2091937501179848/

“How many hours of your show—or minutes or seconds—have you dedicated to what Azerbaijan has done to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh?… Zero is probably the answer,” said Ramaswamy, noting that many media outlets have done the same.

He noted that Azerbaijan’s actions against Armenians in September, when ethnic cleansing took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, were met with “pin-drop silence.”

In terms of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine, Vivek Ramaswamy stated that if the US supports Ukraine, it should have intervened in “ten other conflicts” right now.

According to Vivek Ramaswamy, there is no reference to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan because the mass media believes that it will not receive attention.

In a recent exclusive interview with Artsakh Public Television, Samvel Shahramanyan, the President of the Republic of Artsakh, shed light on the significant developments and negotiations that unfolded in Artsakh during September.

President Shahramanyan disclosed that Armenian authorities were well-informed about the agreement’s content and actively engaged in discussions.

The President recounted the challenging situation when the Azerbaijani military was in close proximity to Stepanakert. This prompted the initiation of negotiations aimed at halting the military operation. He had to establish direct contact with high-ranking Azerbaijani representatives, whom he was familiar with previously. After extensive negotiations, on September 20, an agreement calling for a cessation of military operation was accepted, which included provisions for the dissolution of the Armed Forces, the surrender of weapons, and the scheduling of a meeting in Yevlakh.

The President emphasized that leaving Artsakh with heavy military equipment/weaponry via the Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor and the Azerbaijani base was an unacceptable option for Azerbaijan. So, it was decided to transfer the weaponry to the Russian side for destruction. The President addressed the significant casualties resulting from the Stepanakert explosion, attributing them to the fact that many individuals sought refuge in a restricted depot of the Artsakh Defense Army where the explosion occurred. Basic safety protocols were not adhered to in that location. They took the gasoline from the depot by themselves. A criminal case has been initiated. President Shahramanyan concluded the interview by emphasizing their primary agenda: engaging in negotiations aimed at enabling the people of Artsakh to return to their homeland. He underlined the importance of initiating discussions about Artsakh’s status and the safe return of its residents, a matter of interest for various world political centers, and even Azerbaijan, as the international community holds Baku accountable for the forced displacement of Artsakh Armenians.

In 2004, Hungary committed a dual offense by extraditing an Armenian individual to Azerbaijan. This person, who was an Azerbaijani army officer, had brutally killed a sleeping Armenian colleague in Budapest.

During his visit to Armenia on Friday to solidify bilateral relations, Hungary’s foreign minister did not refute allegations that Hungary obstructed a collective condemnation of Azerbaijan’s recent military actions in Nagorno-Karabakh by European Union member states.

This conduct is characteristic of the current Armenian government, which is often criticized for its perceived corruption and for maintaining friendly relations with countries that are considered adversaries of Armenia, such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Hungary.

Szijjarto’s visit came one month after the Azerbaijani offensive that restored Baku’s full control over Karabakh and forced its entire ethnic Armenian population to flee to Armenia.

While there are few updates related to Armenian POWs being held captive in Baku for over 1,000 days, the Armenian government has quietly filled up its prisons by cracking down on any form of political opposition.

Today, there are more than a dozen political prisoners from opposition parties being held on frivolous charges and accusations, more than the previous two administrations combined. Earlier this year, both Google and Apple issued warnings that the Armenian government is actively using Israeli phone hacking software “Pegasus” to spy on political figures in the country. Main stream media in Armenia has provided little to no coverage of the status and sheer number of political prisoners held by the Armenian government. In addition to the arrests, over a dozen political and community leaders who have been critical of the Armenian government’s inaction related to the humanitarian disaster in Artsakh have been barred from entering the country. Yet, foreign organizations such as FreedomHouse, continue to rate Armenia as “Free.” Today, several individuals, including Mamikon Aslanyan, Suren Manukyan, Mikayel Arzumanyan, Grigory Khachaturov, and Armen Ashotyan, are held as political prisoners in Armenia. It is important to note political prisoners are individuals who have been incarcerated or detained due to their political beliefs, activities, or affiliations rather than any criminal behavior.

They are often held by a government or ruling authority as a means to suppress dissent, opposition, or activism that challenges the established political order. The detention of political prisoners is generally considered a violation of human rights and a breach of principles such as freedom of expression, assembly, and association.

Armenian people are humiliated in a way that, perhaps, has never happened in our centuries-old history.

NEWS.am spoke with Arshak Karapetyan, former head of the Intelligence Department of the RA Armed Forces, advisor to the RA Prime Minister for 2018-2021, former first deputy chief of the RA Armed Forces General Staff, former Minister of Defense, about involvement in the political struggle, Armenian-Russian relations and disagreements with the authorities. about

Many people in Armenia and the Diaspora are interested in why Arshak Karapetyan decided to make wide-ranging statements and enter the political struggle right now, two years after he was released from the post of Minister of Defense.

The thing is that before I did not think about engaging in politics and I did not imagine myself in politics. At that time, any of my statements could be considered political, and I did not want that. Now I, we all witnessed the loss of Artsakh and the treacherous behavior of the current authorities. As a result, the Armenian people are humiliated in a way that, perhaps, has never happened in our centuries-old history. Our enemy captured the leaders and generals of Artsakh (now it doesn’t matter how we treat them) in order to judge and humiliate them. As a patriot, I feel deeply offended. And many Armenians share that feeling.

In your address to the patriots, you accused N. Pashinyan’s government of cowardice and betrayal, calling the members of the government “a group of dilettantes and cowards”. Accusing the head of the country of betraying national interests is a very loud statement. Explain to our readers what, in your opinion, is the prime minister’s betrayal. At the same time, you appealed to the leadership of Russia, asking and demanding “to more decisively prevent attempts to destroy the Armenian people and their statehood”. How will you interpret your statements?

Let’s find out what betrayal is. Usually, when we say treason, we mean someone passing information to the enemy. But treason is also considered a conscious action or inaction in favor of the enemy, which led to serious consequences, in this case, the loss of Artsakh. It is treason to refuse to protect one’s own citizens, and Armenian citizens with Armenian passports lived in Artsakh. We are all witnesses to this betrayal, and I cannot find another word.

You never hid your sympathy for the Russian Federation, you graduated from the military academy in Russia. Some consider you a pro-Russian figure. In your statement, you also addressed “Russian brothers and allies”. However, against the background of the position of the Russian peacekeepers, which can be called at least passive, and, in general, Moscow’s recent actions, or rather, inaction, perhaps not everyone in Armenia will agree that the Russians are really our brothers. Many believe that Armenia should look for allies not in Moscow, but in Washington, Paris and Brussels. What is your opinion about the strategic vector of our country’s development?

In my message, I mentioned that I consider the mission of the Russian peacekeepers ineffective. As for the pro-Russian positions, I will say it clearly. I am pro-Armenian and have always been so. I studied not only in Russia, but also in the USA and Great Britain. And I have a good idea of the goals and problems of these countries. Our history has shown that the Armenian and Russian peoples are brothers. The graves of Russian soldiers have remained in Armenia since royal times. During the last few years, it was the Russians, the citizens of Russia who protected us, the Armenians, and died on our land, right? Remember the helicopter shot down in 2020 and the peacekeepers killed in Artsakh. I am sure that in our geopolitical conditions, Russia is the only country that is really interested in preserving the state of Armenia. But this is the topic of a separate conversation.

In your message, you used the concept of “state and citizen security” several times. It seems that you, as the former head of the Department of Defense, and the current authorities of Armenia have different ideas about security.

My point of view on issues of national security never coincided with the point of view of the current authorities of Armenia for the simple reason that they are, to put it mildly, not competent in this matter. They do not understand that National security is a comprehensive concept and consists of military, economic, energy security, etc. And to change the vector of national security, it is necessary to change not one component, but the whole. In our case, the change of the vector will lead to serious economic and energy problems. It will inevitably affect the export of our products to the Russian Federation, the supply of gas from the Russian Federation in general and its cost. And the consequences can be disastrous for our state. We have been building our country’s security system for decades. This system has ensured peace in our land for more than 30 years. Simultaneously

As of today, more than 3,000 people forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh have left Armenia.

“Three thousand individuals who were forced to leave Nagorno-Karabakh have already departed Armenia due to their disapproval of Nikol Pashinyan’s stance towards Artsakh. These displaced individuals, who have endured significant losses in terms of their homes and livelihoods, attribute their predicament to Pashinyan’s ascent to power, driven by vengeful sentiments and animosity towards the Artsakh people. The people of Artsakh have persevered through numerous empires over the past three millennia, yet they found themselves unable to withstand the harsh actions of the autocratic leader Pashinyan.”

Uniting Armenians behind the Man who divided Armenians and destroyed Artsakh

I witnessed Garo Palin’s speech at the university. If we had superimposed a picture of Pashinyan over his image, one might have mistaken it for Pashinyan himself addressing the audience. He emphasized the urgency of uniting for peace without delay,

stressing that tomorrow may be too late. He lauded the effective functioning of Armenia’s judiciary, the freedom of its media, the vibrant democracy, and the booming economy all while portraying Pashinyan in a way that made it seem as if the previous regime had never existed in Armenia. off course lots of Pashinyan supporters.

By Harut Sassounian,

The most common question among Armenians these days is: Why did the United States government support Israel so strongly and promptly, but not Armenia and Artsakh?

This question became more pertinent after Politico disclosed last week that Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned: “Azerbaijan may invade Armenia in the coming weeks.”

During an October 3 phone call with Cong. Nancy Pelosi, Anna Eshoo and Frank Pallone and others, Blinken reportedly told them: “the State Department was looking at avenues to hold Azerbaijan accountable and isn’t planning to renew a long-standing waiver that allows the U.S. to provide military assistance to Baku.” Blinken added: “the State [Dept.] saw a possibility that Azerbaijan would invade southern Armenia in the coming weeks.” Politico wrote that two other unidentified sources confirmed the phone conversation. Cong. Pallone tweeted on Oct. 11 that “Aliyev is moving forward with his objective to take Southern Armenia.” On Oct. 15, in a written statement to Armenpress, State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller said that the Politico article “is inaccurate and in no way reflects what Secretary Blinken said to lawmakers.” However, Politico said it firmly stands by its report.

Surprisingly, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Oct. 11 that the “risk was “extremely low,” and that there was no military buildup on either side of the border. Thus, the Prime Minister contradicted what Tigran Balayan, Armenia’s ambassador to the European Union, said on Oct. 6: Azerbaijan is actively preparing an invasion of Armenia within weeks.

More importantly, Blinken and other US officials have repeatedly said that they are committed to “Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” They have stated that “they are deeply concerned by Azerbaijan’s military action, declaring that the use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable.” However, the U.S. government not only ignored its own warnings to Azerbaijan, but also the occupation of Artsakh and parts of Armenia proper. The United States, France and Russia have apparently decided that Turkey and Azerbaijan are much important for them than Armenia, regardless of the agreements Russia signed with Armenia and the sympathies of Western countries for Armenians. They have offered Armenians merely sympathetic words with zero action. Such shameful behavior has emboldened the dictator in Baku to move forward with impunity with his expansionist plans. These major powers did not even have the courage to pass a UN Security Council resolution to condemn Azerbaijan or impose sanctions.

Understandably, most Armenians are furious at the Israeli government for permitting its arms manufacturers to provide 60% of Azerbaijan’s advanced weapons which have killed and wounded thousands of Armenian soldiers during and after the 2020 War.

The more important issue is: why the United States is so protective of Israel, but not Armenia? The short answer is: due mostly to the activism of the Jewish-American community. There was a time when Jewish Americans were discriminated against in many ways. From the 1920’s until after World War II, American universities limited the number of Jewish students they admitted. After World War II, the United States even refused to accept thousands of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust.

However, Jewish Americans overcame many obstacles by playing prominent roles in all aspects of American life, such as business, science, arts, literature, music, films, theater, comedy, media, civil rights and politics. As of January 2023, there were 37 Jewish Americans in Congress: 10 Senators and 27 House members. Sen. Chuck Schumer is the Senate Majority Leader. The US government contributed $53.6 million to build the US Holocaust Memorial Museum on donated federal land. Over the years, scores of Jewish Americans have served on the US Supreme Court. Shelley Greenspan is the White House Jewish Liaison. In the State Dept., Ellen Germain is the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt is the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband Douglas Emhoff is a Jewish American. There are several Jews serving in high-level governmental positions, such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Deputy Director of the CIA David Cohen, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy Eric Lander, Deputy Health Secretary Rachel Levine, and National Security Agency cybersecurity director Anne Neuberger.

80 years ago, when 400 Rabbis asked to meet with Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, they were turned down. But last week, a group of Jewish Americans met with Pres. Joe Biden in the White House which was lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag. They have come a long way.

In the category of “Israel lobby in the United States,” Wikipedia mentions Christians United for Israel with over seven million members, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) which has three million members and $100 million annual budget, and J Street with an annual budget of $2 million. On the other hand, Armenian-Americans have two advocacy groups: the Armenian Assembly of America and Armenian National Committee of America with limited budgets. Armenians need to hire powerful US lobbying firms to counter those of Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Armenians should increase their involvement in political campaigns and run for elective office. College students should specialize in political science or international relations. Armenians should increase their contacts with the US media; write letters to the editor and commentaries in local and national newspapers. The community should support financially the Armenian advocacy groups and contribute to the fundraising campaigns of political candidates. By playing prominent roles in American life, Armenians can influence domestic and foreign policy of the United States and help support Armenia and the Armenian Cause.