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ARF Western US to Raise Funds to Rebuild Artsakh Villages and Support Soldiers

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with-artsakh-logoGLENDALE—In a statement issued Friday, the ARF Dashnaktutyun Western US Central Committee appealed to the community to raise much-needed funds to help rebuild areas of Artsakh most hard-hit by recent Azerbaijani attacks, as well as to provide support to families of fallen soldiers.

Below is the complete text of the announcement.

The heroic people of Artsakh have once again spilled blood defending our homeland. As a clarion call, a mother, while burying her son, expressed the sentiment of the courageous people of Artsakh, “We lost precious lives defending our land. We will not give up one inch of that land to the aggressors.”

The savage attacks by Azerbaijani forces beginning on April 2, along the Nagorno-Karabakh-Azerbaijan border has not only destabilized the region, but also rekindled the possibility of full-scale war threatening the existence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and its people. Although the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army withstood the attacks and delivered a strong response, several villages have been left in ruins, especially the regions of Talish, Mardakert, and Madaghis. The unprovoked aggression has resulted in the loss of civilian and military lives and has taken its toll on the injured soldiers.

We reiterate our solidarity with the government and people of Artsakh, as well as the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, as they confront yet another breech of the cease fire by Azerbaijan.

The ARF Dashnaktutyun Western US Central Committee, heeding the call from our brethren in Artsakh, has pledged to play a central role in the effort to rebuild the devastated areas as quickly as possible so that the residents may return to their normal lives, and to send a decisive message to Azerbaijan that its military threats will not deter the spirit of the Armenian people and the development of Artsakh.

We call upon all Armenians to join the ACF “With Artsakh” and AYF “With Our Soldiers” efforts in order to actively bring their financial and moral support to free and independent Artsakh.

The National Liberation Struggle for Artsakh began in 1988 and war threatened its existence in the 1990’s. The ARF Western US, with its members, supporters and the vast and diverse affiliate organizations has continually stood with Artsakh and spared nothing to ensure its survival. The time has come to recommit to assisting our brave brothers and sisters in the homeland.

Karabakh Update: army: Bodies of 2 soldiers were found

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Karabakh soldier bodySTEPANAKERT. – In accordance with the earlier achieved agreement, and by the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross of the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides and the field assistants of the Personal Representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Chairman-in-Office, search for casualties was conducted Friday, at the zone of contact between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces.

As a result, the Armenian side found the bodies of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Defense Army military servicemen, Junior Sergeant Robert Abajyan (born in 1996), and Private Andranik Zohrabyan (born in 1996).

Press service of the NKR Ministry of Defense informed that violation of ceasefire agreements was not recorded during the search.

 

“The Lavrov document” does not exist, and peacekeepers will be deployed only in the final stage of the conflict resolution: Igor Popov

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pp.thumb(Tert.am)A question was raised during the press conference of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in Yerevan today what kind of proposals the OSCE Minsk Group offers now, taking into consideration the fact that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow has new proposals. So, it would be interesting to hear about these new proposals.

The Russian co-chair Igor Popov answered the following: “Lavrov has repeatedly said about a new document, so-called “Lavrov document”, which does not exist. There are recommendations by the co-chairs, which have been discussed in the last few years. There are several variants, but they are based on three principles and six elements of the conflict settlement, which has been repeatedly stated the by the co-chairs of the OSCE.

Let me remind about these principles: the right to self-determination, exclusion of the use of force, territorial integrity, and most important among the six basic elements are the return of the territories and the status settlement of NKR. I repeat once again the question of the status of Karabakh and the return of the territories.

These are complete, are not subordinate to one another. This has been discussed, the so-called “Lavrov document”. In addition to these two principles, in addition to these two elements, there is also the question of the return of the refugees, issue of the status and the width of corridor, connecting Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, where, naturally, there must be peacekeeping activities. It is intended that the peacekeepers will be deployed in the final stage of the settlement, when the agreement on the peaceful settlement of the conflict is signed,” – Popov said.