Day: May 22, 2024

“Esmaeili himself made a second call and spoke to Ale-Hashem, 
who told him: “I don’t feel good, I don’t know what happened, I don’t know where I am, I’m under trees, I don’t know, I don’t see anyone, I’m alone.” They took an ambulance with medical personnel and drove to the… pic.twitter.com/nrJUGfR7XY

— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) May 22, 2024

Luxembourg on Wednesday, doubled down on earlier calls, and urged Baku to release all Armenian prisoners of war.

“We urgently demand that Baku immediately release all prisoners of war and provide comprehensive information on the missing persons. Justice and humanity require the release of these people without delay, and it is a demand that the families get the answers they deserve,” said the speaker of the Luxembourg parliament, Claude Wiseler, in an address at the Armenian parliament on Wednesday.

Wiseler’s declaration comes less than a week after the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies unanimously adopted a measure expressing support for Armenia and called for the release of Armenian POWs by Azerbaijan, referencing a relevant order by the International Court of Justice issued last year.

The motion also condemned what it called “Azerbaijan’s unjust military operation” in Artsakh, which resulted in the forced exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians from Artsakh.

During his speech in Armenia’s parliament on Wednesday, Wiseler also echoed the sentiments voiced in the resolution about the displaced Artsakh Armenians.

“I am addressing you with a big, heavy heart, being aware of the tragic events that shook the Nagorno-Karabakh region. More than 100,000 Armenians were forcibly displaced as a result of the groundless and unjust military operations carried out by Azerbaijan on September 19, 2023,” Wiseler said.

“As guarantors of humanitarian values and fundamental rights, we cannot remain indifferent to this suffering. This event not only caused a large displacement, but also threatens the ancient and antique cultural values of Armenia. Churches, ancient monuments, tombstones are under the threat of destruction and decay, and we cannot remain indifferent to the erasure of Armenia’s identity and history,” he added.

Wiseler also reiterated calls for the need to define the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Let me assure [you] that support for the people of Armenia remains unwavering and resolute. It was in this spirit that last year the parliament of Luxembourg adopted the third motion regarding the situation in Armenia. Our unanimous decision and vote was a testament to our shared values and determination to stand with you on the road to peace,” said the visiting parliament speaker.

The Azerbaijani Milli Majlis — parliament — was quick to condemn and protest Wiseler’s statements in Yerevan, calling them “biased and absurd.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Milli Majlis accused the Luxembourg parliament speaker of thwarting the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“There is no doubt that these interference attempts are aimed at preventing successful results in the peace process. We insist that the Parliament of Luxembourg and its President divert their ‘support’ elsewhere,” the Azerbaijani legislature’s statement said.

“We would like to remind the Armenian side that welcoming and supporting unilateral approaches, fabrications and lies of third parties outside the region to the processes taking place in the region do not benefit either the peace process or confidence-building steps,” the Milli Majlis warned.

At Least 2 CSTO Member States Assisted Azerbaijan in the 2020 War, Pashinyan Says

Against the backdrop of weeks-long protests against his border policies, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan again touted the decision to delimit the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan by ceding four villages to Azerbaijan in the Tavush Province.

Pashinyan told lawmakers in parliament on Wednesday that the April 19 agreement that saw the unilateral handover of the Tavush villages was a significant achievement for Armenia, and described it as a blueprint — or a guideline — for delimiting other sections of the border.

Azerbaijan did not return any Armenian territories it is currently occupying through the said agreement, which according to the Armenian government was based on the borders outlined by the 1991 Alma Ata declaration. Baku continues to backtrack on its commitment in the process and has not publicly recognized Armenia’s territorial integrity as Yerevan and Pashinyan have so hastily on numerous occasions.

“The agreement cannot fail proceed,” Pashinyan said. “I don’t see such a possibility. It can go ahead slowly, it can go a little faster, but the process must progress because the two sides have already signed [the document.]”

Pashinyan then went on to show a 1976 Soviet military map, which he said served as “a legal basis” for his transfer of land to Azerbaijan.

The April 19 decision and the subsequent verification of it last year by a commission headed by the Armenian and Azerbaijani deputy prime ministers sparked the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement, whose leader, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, has called for Pashinyan’s resignation.

Pashinyan told lawmakers that before making the decision on the border delimitation, “dozens of discussions were held in the Armenian government and in the Security Council and other formats.”

“In fact, these decisions and approaches have undergone  legal review, to determine whether our decisions are de-jure justified. And I have no doubt that these decisions are legally justified, since their legality is recorded by our relevant state institutions, and there simply cannot be any doubt,” Pashinyan insisted.

The prime minister also touched on the growing rift between his government and the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. Earlier this year he announced that Yerevan would freeze its membership in the group, while last month the foreign ministry announced that it would discontinue its financial obligations.

Pashinyan told parliament that at least two CSTO member-states participated and assisted in the 2020 War against “their ally” Armenia.

“I know that at least two CSTO member countries participated in preparing for war against us. These countries may have created an illusion that they wanted to help us or that they allegedly helped us,” said Pashinyan claiming that the issue of Karabakh had been “closed” for these countries and their ultimate goals was “eradicate the independent Republic of Armenia.”

Pashinyan then referenced remarks made by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who, during a visit last week to occupied Shushi in Artsakh, boasted of his country’s support in remarks addressed to his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev.

“I remembered our conversation before the [Nagorno-Karabakh] war [in 2020], before your battle for freedom, when we were talking philosophically at lunch together. It was then that we came to the conclusion that a war can be won,” Lukashenko said in Shushi last week, addressing Aliyev.

“With this border delimitation process, we have deprived many people of the opportunity to incite border clashes,” Pashinanyan told lawmakers, recalling his own words from 2022 when he said that “if we manage to preserve Armenia’s statehood for one to two years, then its existence will be guaranteed for the next 50-100 years.”

Pashinyan Continues to Defend Land Handover to Azerbaijan – Asbarez.com  Asbarez Armenian News

NPR News: 05-22-2024 5PM EDT

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Luxembourg Urges Baku to Release Armenian POWs – Asbarez.com  Asbarez Armenian News