Day: November 11, 2023
Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to France Leyla Abdullayeva responded to Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan and the moderator who addressed some biased questions to the parties regarding Azerbaijan at the panel discussion held within the framework of the Paris Peace Forum, according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting Oxu.az.
Nikol Pashinyan blamed the Azerbaijani side for the failure of the five-lateral meeting in Granada during the panel discussion in which he participated together with his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili and said that Azerbaijan refused the earlier agreed meeting.
Leyla Abdullayeva, a listener in the discussion, first drew attention to the bias of the moderator’s questions.
“Moderator, you emphasized that you are worried about the “threats” made by Azerbaijan against Armenia in France. I would like to point out that these “threats” are completely unfounded. Because what Azerbaijan has done so far is to restore its sovereignty over its territories recognized by the international community. We actually won what belongs to Azerbaijan according to international law. Azerbaijan has repeatedly declared that it is interested in peace. It was not just a declaration, Azerbaijan initiated the normalization process with Armenia immediately after the war in 2020 and, of course, Azerbaijan is a supporter of direct dialogue with Armenia.”
Then Leyla Abdullayeva responded to Nikol Pashinyan’s accusations:
“I think the position of the President of Azerbaijan regarding the meeting in Granada has been clearly stated. A day before the meeting in Granada, the French foreign minister visited Armenia and announced the decision to send weapons to Armenia. Was this decision to arm Armenia and support the revanchist ideology in the country really for the purpose of serving peace and normalization in the region? On one hand, France intended to participate as a mediator. So the country that openly takes the side of a country and openly arms it then claims itself a mediator. On the other hand, the leaders refused the participation of the President of Türkiye. These explanations were clearly expressed by Azerbaijan.”
Leyla Abdullayeva’s speech was met with applause from the audience in the hall. Although Nikol Pashinyan took the microphone to answer the Azerbaijani ambassador, he did not respond to the points made by the Ambassador and changed the topic to Azerbaijan calling Armenia Western Azerbaijan.
The post Azerbaijani Ambassador responded to Armenian PM at Paris Peace Forum appeared first on Azerbaijan In Focus.
Opinion | This is why Ukraine stands with Israel https://t.co/tux165NFvM
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) November 11, 2023
Russian authorities detained left-wing opposition activist Lev Skoryakin in Moscow after he was kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan, probably by special services, a Russian independent human rights project reported on Nov. 3, citing Skoryakin’s lawyer.
The activist has spent two weeks in a Moscow detention facility and was subjected to torture, the “Political Prisoners. Memorial” project wrote. Skoryakin, who previously fled to Kyrgyzstan, was reportedly kidnapped there overnight on Oct. 17 and taken to Russia the next day.
“Most likely, Skoryakin was pressured to say that he allegedly decided to return to Russia of his own free will. It was impossible to legally extradite him to Russia due to the refusal of the Kyrgyz prosecutor’s office and the fact that he was an asylum seeker,” the human rights defenders added.
The detention facility’s employees denied that Skoryakin was in their institution, while other Russian government agencies haven’t reported on his whereabouts, according to the “Political Prisoners. Memorial” project.
Read also: How Russia’s liberal tech companies became the foundation of Putin’s war effort
In 2021, Skoryakin and another anti-Kremlin activist, Ruslan Abasov, organized a protest near one of the headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow. They unfurled a banner with the inscription “Happy Chekist Day,” where “chekist” means an agent of Soviet secret police, and lit road flares.
After the protest, Skoryakin and Abasov were detained in Russia for 1.5 years, after which Skoryakin managed to flee to Kyrgyzstan. In February, Russian law enforcement arrested Skoryakin in absentia in the case of “unlawful behavior committed by a group of people using weapons” and put him on a wanted list.
Skoryakin planned to leave Kyrgyzstan for Germany and already received a humanitarian visa but didn’t manage to leave in time as his internal Russian passport was confiscated four days before the kidnapping.
The “Political Prisoners. Memorial” project has recognized Skoryakin as a political prisoner.
We’ve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Russian authorities detained left-wing opposition activist Lev Skoryakin in Moscow after he was kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan, probably by special services, a Russian independent human rights project reported on Nov. 3, citing Skoryakin’s lawyer.
The activist has spent two weeks in a Moscow detention facility and was subjected to torture, the “Political Prisoners. Memorial” project wrote. Skoryakin, who previously fled to Kyrgyzstan, was reportedly kidnapped there overnight on Oct. 17 and taken to Russia the next day.
“Most likely, Skoryakin was pressured to say that he allegedly decided to return to Russia of his own free will. It was impossible to legally extradite him to Russia due to the refusal of the Kyrgyz prosecutor’s office and the fact that he was an asylum seeker,” the human rights defenders added.
The detention facility’s employees denied that Skoryakin was in their institution, while other Russian government agencies haven’t reported on his whereabouts, according to the “Political Prisoners. Memorial” project.
Read also: How Russia’s liberal tech companies became the foundation of Putin’s war effort
In 2021, Skoryakin and another anti-Kremlin activist, Ruslan Abasov, organized a protest near one of the headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow. They unfurled a banner with the inscription “Happy Chekist Day,” where “chekist” means an agent of Soviet secret police, and lit road flares.
After the protest, Skoryakin and Abasov were detained in Russia for 1.5 years, after which Skoryakin managed to flee to Kyrgyzstan. In February, Russian law enforcement arrested Skoryakin in absentia in the case of “unlawful behavior committed by a group of people using weapons” and put him on a wanted list.
Skoryakin planned to leave Kyrgyzstan for Germany and already received a humanitarian visa but didn’t manage to leave in time as his internal Russian passport was confiscated four days before the kidnapping.
The “Political Prisoners. Memorial” project has recognized Skoryakin as a political prisoner.
We’ve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.