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In Memory of Edward Alexander
Edward Alexander(1920-2023)
Edward Alexander of Bethesda, Maryland, passed away on October 5, 2023, at the age of 103. He was a career diplomat in the Foreign Service during the Cold War where he served as a Public Affairs Officer in West Berlin; Budapest, Hungary; Athens, Greece; and East Berlin, GDR. He played a key role in the visits of President Kennedy to Berlin in 1963 and Richard Nixon to Bucharest in 1969. During his tour as Deputy Director for the Soviet Union and East Europe, Alexander traveled throughout the Soviet bloc supervising American press and cultural affairs, at which time he was the most senior Armenian-American official in the U.S. government.
After graduating from Columbia University with a degree in musicology followed by a master’s degree from the Columbia School of Journalism, he entered the U.S. Army in World War II, serving in Europe on the staffs of Generals Eisenhower and Bradley in the Psychological Warfare Division. After the war, he worked as Public Relations Director to Sir Laurence Olivier on the two Shakespeare films “Henry V” and “Hamlet.” In 1950, he joined the Voice of America, organizing broadcasts to Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Tatarstan and was appointed Chief of the Armenian Service, where he remained for ten years.
Following his Foreign Service postings, he served on the Board for International Broadcasting, overseeing Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty broadcasts, at the State Department in the Freedom of Information Division, and was spokesman to three international conferences on human rights. He was official escort and interpreter for the White House visit of Catholicos Vazgen I with President Bush in the Oval Office and also for the visit of former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Shortly after Armenia’s independence, Alexander was invited to Armenia to serve as advisor to the Foreign Ministry.
He lectured about Armenia at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR), Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Diplomacy, The Library of Congress, the Armenian Embassy and several universities. Alexander wrote three books: The Serpent and the Bees – about the 15-year attempt by the Soviet KGB to recruit him; A Crime of Vengeance – about the Berlin trial of the murder of Talaat Pasha; and Opus – a novel about the search by two Armenian diplomats for a stolen Beethoven manuscript.
After the 1988 earthquake, he served as chairman of St. Mary’s Church Earthquake Committee, collecting nearly $400,000 in donations and clothing. He also served as chairman of the William E. Docter Fund Scholarship Committee dispensing educational grants to young Armenians throughout the country. Alexander was an avid tennis player well into his nineties, a golfer, a jazz authority and devotee of gin martinis.
He was born in New York City in 1920 to John der Alexanian, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, and Nevart Faljian Alexanian. Alexander is survived by his wife Roseann, son Mark and his wife JoAnn Palazzo, son Scott and his wife Cathy Davis, and son Christian and his wife Arlene Saryan, and five grandchildren: Derek, Maya, Miranda, Garen and Sean Alexander.
On a future date yet to be determined, a memorial service will be held and his remains will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his memory to Traveling Doctors (for Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh refugees) at www.travelingdoctors.org or via mail: Traveling Doctors, 175 Sand Key Estates Dr., Clearwater Beach, FL 33767, or to the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research at naasr.org, or via mail: NAASR, 395 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478.
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The post In Memory of Edward Alexander appeared first on The Armenian Weekly.
YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Russian peacekeepers should stay in Nagorno-Karabakh despite the restoration of Azerbaijani control over the territory and its almost complete depopulation, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said on Monday.
His remarks contrasted with other signals sent by Moscow in recent days. In particular, the official TASS news agency said on Friday that a Russian military delegation will visit Yerevan to discuss with Armenian officials the peacekeepers’ withdrawal from Karabakh.
The Russian Defense Ministry denied the report hours later. But it reported over the weekend that the peacekeepers continued to dismantle their observation posts along the Karabakh “line of contact” that existed until Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 military offensive.
“The role of our [peacekeeping] contingent is in demand, and I believe that it will also be necessary in the future,” Galuzin told the Russian news agency RBC. “Firstly, the question remains of making sure that those residents of Karabakh who stay there feel secure. It cannot be ruled out that some of those who left Karabakh today will at some stage decide to return, and the presence of peacekeepers will become an additional factor of calm for these people.”
“So I would not say that the activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh have exhausted themselves,” he said.
The number of Karabakh Armenians remaining in their homeland is believed to be negligible, a fact acknowledged by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. The more than 100,000 other residents of the region have fled to Armenia since September 20 because of being unwilling to live under Azerbaijani rule.
Nevertheless, Galuzin said, Moscow still believes that an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty discussed by the conflicting sides should address the issue of “the rights and security of Karabakh’s Armenian population.” It has presented Baku and Yerevan with “some ideas on this score,” he added without elaborating.
The Russian diplomat also said that Moscow hopes to broker the peace treaty and help the sides delimit the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and work out terms for opening it to trade and cargo shipments. He dismissed similar efforts by the European Union, claiming that their main goal is to drive Russia out of the South Caucasus.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev were expected to reach a framework peace deal on the sidelines of last week’s EU summit in Spain. However, Aliyev withdrew from the talks at the last minute, citing pro-Armenian statements made by France. European Council President Charles Michel indicated afterwards that he will likely hold a trilateral meeting with Aliyev and Pashinyan in Brussels later this month.
The Armenian government urged the Russian peacekeepers to step in to protect Karabakh’s population hours after the start of the Azerbaijani assault. The absence of such intervention led Yerevan to accuse Moscow of not honoring its obligations spelled out in a 2020 truce accord brokered by it.
Galuzin rejected the criticism. Echoing Putin’s statements, he said Pashinian himself downgraded the peacekeepers’ status and legitimized Baku’s military action by recognizing Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan during earlier talks with Aliyev organized by the EU.
The fall of Karabakh and the resulting exodus of its population added to unprecedented tensions between Russia and Armenia increasingly calling into question their long-running alliance. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Pashinyan on September 25 of seeking to ruin Russian-Armenian relations and reorient his country towards the West.
Galuzin reiterated Moscow’s condemnation of Yerevan’s “unfriendly” moves, notably the decision to recognize jurisdiction of an international court that issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March.
Despite the mounting tensions, Pashinyan phoned Putin on Saturday to congratulate him on his 71st birthday anniversary. Official readouts of the call said they discussed the situation in and around Karabakh.
In a telephone conversation with the European Council President Charles Michel, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan essentially said he will invade eight villages in Armenia, which he believes are being “occupied.”
During the phone call of Saturday, Aliyev told Michel that those eight villages “still are being occupied by Armenia” and emphasized the importance of their “liberation.” He has not specified, which villages he is referencing.
Aliyev also voiced his grievance with Michel regarding an announcement that was publicized following a meeting on Thursday in Granada, Spain between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, President Emmanuel Macron of France, German Chancellor Olaf Shulz and Michel.
Aliyev said that including Azerbaijan in the text of the statement from a meeting that did not include his participation was “wrong” and “anti-Azerbaijan,” stressing that his decision to not attend the meeting was because of Macron’s participation.
According to Azernews.az, Aliyev told Michel that France’s announcement to provide military support to Armenia would not benefit peace in the region and accused Paris of further aggravating the situation and create a new conflict in the region.
“If any new conflicts occur in the region, France would be responsible for causing it,” Aliyev told Michel.
Aliyev also complained about a resolution adopted by the European Parliament last week urging the EU to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan has fully restored its sovereignty by using the right of self-defense in accordance with international law and the UN Charter, and neutralized illegal military units existing in its territory. In this regard, the steps taken by Azerbaijan were in full accordance with international law,” Aliyev told Michel, referring to its large-scale attack last month on Artsakh, which displaced more than 100,000 Artsakh Armenians and depopulated the region.
In a post on the social platform know as X, Michel expressed EU’s commitment to theArmenia-Azerbaijan normalization process.
Michel said he “reiterated the need for mutual respect of territorial integrity & sovereignty, and for advancing on border delimitation and stressed also need to ensure Karabakh Armenians’ security & rights, also over the long term.”
Tehran Said to be Pushing for Corridor via Iran
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey again preconditioned the normalization of relations between his country and Armenia with Yerevan’s acceptance of a land corridor connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhichevan. Meanwhile, a top Armenian diplomat warned on an imminent invasion by Azerbaijan to fulfill its goal of establishing the so-called “Zangezur Corridor.”
“If Armenia honors it commitments, specifically the opening of the ‘Zangezur’ corridor then Turkey will step-by-step normalize relations,” Erdogan reportedly told his cabinet on Monday, demanding that Armenia adopt a policy of peace and development, the Turan news agency reported.
Armenia’s Ambassador to the European Union Tigran Balayan warned on Monday that Azerbaijan may attack Armenia in the coming weeks to open a land corridor to Nakhichevan unless the West imposes sanctions on Baku.
“We are now under imminent threat of invasion into Armenia because if [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev is not confronted with very practical steps taken by the so-called collective West, then he has no reason or incentive to limit himself to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Balayan told BrusselsSignal.eu.
“He and some of his Turkish counterparts have declared that they need to open a land corridor through Armenia’s sovereign territory,” said Balayan.
Asked just how imminent the attack is, he said: “I think if bold steps are not taken, it’s a matter of weeks.”
The EU and the United States voiced strong support for Armenia’s territorial integrity following the latest escalation in Karabakh. But they signaled no sanctions against Azerbaijan, which is becoming a major supplier of natural gas to Europe.
Balayan suggested that the sanctions include price caps on Azerbaijani oil and gas imported by the EU. He said the 27-nation bloc should also suspend a visa facilitation agreement with Baku if the latter refuses to withdraw troops from Armenian territory seized in 2021 and 2022.
Last month Armenian leaders, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, warned of Azerbaijani troop build-up on its border with Armenia and the line-of-contact in Artsakh. With no international partner heeding the warning, Azerbaijan attacked Artsakh on September 19 forcing the depopulation of the region as more than 100,000 Artsakh residents fled to Armenia.
That attack has raised concerns that Azerbaijan will make good on its promise to create the corridor by force.
President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan “reminded” European Council President Charles Michel during a phone call over the weekend that Armenia allegedly is “occupying eight Azerbaijani villages,” without specifically referencing the villages.
Tehran also has vocally and strongly opposed changing of the current borders in the region with the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff saying that such a change would give NATO a “foothold” in the region.
Yet Tehran is posturing to create the land corridor through Iran telling Baku that it is willing to discuss such an opportunity. Aliyev has also announced that his country will construct a road and a railway that pass through the shared Arax river and its bridge.
So a groundbreaking ceremony for a bridge over the Arax river that will connect Iran with Azerbaijan was seen by many as the start of the process to move away from the Zangezur Corridor plan and toward a link via Iran.
However, Erdogan’s statements on Monday, coupled with his meeting with Aliyev in Nakhichevan days after Azerbaijan’s invasion of Artsakh, signal that Baku and Ankara intend to press for —if not forcibly take — Armenian sovereign territory for such a corridor.