Month: September 2023

By By Kathryn Armstrong & Nataliya Zotova for BBC

Refugees load their cars as they leave the Red Cross registration center, in Goris, on September 25, 2023.
Photo: AFP / Alain Jocard

More than 6,500 people have so far crossed into Armenia from the enclave, which is home to a majority of some 120,000 ethnic Armenians.

They left after the government in Yerevan announced plans to move those made homeless by the fighting.

It also warned that those who stayed could face ethnic cleansing.

Azerbaijan has said it wants to re-integrate the ethnic Armenians as “equal citizens”.

The first group of Nagorno-Karabakh refugees since Azerbaijan’s lighting assault against the separatist region entered Armenia .
Photo: AFP / Alain Jocard

The BBC has spoken to some of the refugees who arrived in the city of Goris on Sunday, close to the border between Armenia and Karabakh.

“I gave my whole life to my homeland,” said one man.

“It would be better if they killed me than this.”

A woman, Veronica, told the BBC that this was the second time she had become a refugee. The first time was during the conflict in 2020.

The main square of Goris was crowded. The theatre nearby was turned into a base for the Red Cross.

Tatiana Oganesyan, doctor and head of a foundation of doctors and volunteers that is now helping refugees in Goris, told the BBC that people who come to the doctors are exhausted, malnourished and psychologically crushed.

“People are shocked, they are telling us: I need pills, they are blue,” she said. Doctors then need to figure out their medication and find it for them.

“We have nothing,” said an elderly woman who just arrived in Goris. She pointed at her jumper, saying it was all she could bring with her from home. Her son was on crutches near her.

In the nearby village of Kornidzor, refugees who were being processed said they did not believe they could be safe under Azerbaijani rule and did not expect ever to be able to return home.

The Armenian government said in a statement on Sunday that hundreds of the refugees had already been provided with government-funded housing.

But it has not released a clear plan of how it could cope with an influx of people. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced last week that plans were in place to look after up to 40,000 refugees.

Armenians the BBC has spoken to have said they are prepared to take refugees into their homes.

Meanwhile, more than 140 people have been arrested in Yerevan on Monday following the latest anti-government protests, according to local media quoting the country’s interior ministry.

The Tass news agency said special forces had begun detaining demonstrators who blocked roads in Yerevan.

Police were also stationed outside the main government building, which houses the prime minister’s offices and which demonstrators have been trying to break into.

Protests first broke out last week over the government’s handling of the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pashinyan has been accused of granting too many concessions to Azerbaijan and there are calls for his resignation.

The Armenian separatist forces in the territory agreed to disarm on Wednesday, following a lightning-fast Azerbaijani military offensive.

Armenia has repeatedly said a mass exodus from the region would be the fault of the Azerbaijani authorities.

In a TV address on Sunday, Pashinyan said many inside the enclave would “see expulsion from the homeland as the only way out” unless Azerbaijan provided “real living conditions” and “effective mechanisms of protection against ethnic cleansing”.

He repeated that his government was prepared to “lovingly welcome our brothers and sisters”.

But David Babayan, an adviser to Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian leader Samvel Shahramanyan, told Reuters he expected almost everyone to leave.

His people “do not want to live as part of Azerbaijan – 99.9 percent prefer to leave our historic lands”, he said.

“The fate of our poor people will go down in history as a disgrace and a shame for the Armenian people and for the whole civilised world,” he told Reuters.

“Those responsible for our fate will one day have to answer before God for their sins.”

Nagorno-Karabakh – a mountainous region in the South Caucasus – is recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan, but has been controlled by ethnic Armenians for three decades.

The enclave has been supported by Armenia – but also by their ally, Russia, which has had hundreds of soldiers there for years.

Five Russian peacekeepers were killed – alongside at least 200 ethnic Armenians and dozens of Azerbaijani soldiers – as Azerbaijan’s army swept in last week.

On Sunday, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said it had confiscated more military equipment including a large number of rockets, artillery shells, mines and ammunition.

Despite Azerbaijan’s public reassurances, there are fears about the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, with only one aid delivery of 70 tonnes of food having been allowed through since separatists accepted a ceasefire and agreed to disarm.

Ethnic Armenian leaders say thousands are without food or shelter and sleeping in basements, school buildings or outside.

– This story was first published by BBC

Following the ceremony of signing documents, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan have made press statements.

First, the head of state made his statement.

Statement by President Ilham Aliyev

– My dear brother.

Distinguished guests.

Welcome to Nakhchivan. I am sincerely greeting you.

My dear brother, this is your second visit to Nakhchivan, and the documents signed during the visit will serve the development of Türkiye-Azerbaijan relations.

The construction of the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline is an important event in the history of our fraternal relations. It will give a new impetus to our relations and largely ensure the energy security of Nakhchivan.

Nakhchivan is the ancient land of Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, in 1920, Western Zangezur was severed from Azerbaijan by Soviet authorities, and thus, the geographical link between the rest of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan was cut off. When Armenia began to pursue the policy of aggression against Azerbaijan, it had territorial claims against Nakhchivan. Fierce battles were going on here as well, and precisely at that time, under the leadership of Heydar Aliyev, the great son of Azerbaijan – at that time he was the head of Nakhchivan – Nakhchivan put the enemy back in its place and managed to protect its territory. However, since Nakhchivan’s energy supply came from the rest of Azerbaijan at that time, Armenia cut off all electricity and gas lines, and Nakhchivan was practically under siege. There was no electricity, no gas, winters are very cold, so Nakhchivan lived without gas for 15 years.

However, according to the agreement signed with the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2005, the supply of gas from Iran to Nakhchivan was ensured as an exchange deal. The construction of the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline will create conditions for supplying natural gas to Nakhchivan through a second line.

In a few days, or rather, in three days, the Third Türkiye-Azerbaijan Energy Forum will be held in Nakhchivan with the participation of Turkish and Azerbaijani officials and international organizations, and I am sure that the results of this forum will be successful. Although Nakhchivan does not have gas or oil, it has the sun, and we have major plans for the construction of solar power plants in Nakhchivan. If these plans come true, Nakhchivan can become a green energy zone. Because there is a great potential for the construction of both solar and wind power plants, as well as hydropower plants, it will be possible to export at least 1000 megawatts of green energy from Nakhchivan to Türkiye in the future.

Five days ago, Azerbaijan fully secured its sovereignty. Whereas three years ago, as a result of the second Karabakh war, we ended the occupation, and on April 23 of this year we fully restored our territorial integrity by establishing a border checkpoint on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border in the direction of Lachin, five days ago we fully restored our sovereignty. As a result of the anti-terror measures carried out within 24 hours, actually even less than that, the Armenian army illegally stationed in the territory of Azerbaijan surrendered, accepted our conditions, and thus Azerbaijan fully secured its state sovereignty.

Although five days have passed, humanitarian aid has already started coming in from Azerbaijan to its Karabakh region and its ethnic Armenian population. Fuel, oil, diesel, gasoline, food, medicines and other humanitarian aid are being provided, and this once again shows that people living in the Karabakh region are citizens of Azerbaijan regardless of their ethnicity. Their security and rights will be ensured by the state of Azerbaijan.

A few days ago, a meeting was held between the representatives of the ethnic Armenians of Karabakh and representatives of the state bodies of Azerbaijan in the city of Yevlakh. A second meeting is being held today, the results of which I have not yet been informed about. However, I am sure that the process of integration of the Armenian population of Karabakh into Azerbaijani society will be successful.

My dear brother, when this incident happened, you were in America, in New York, attending a session of the UN General Assembly, and there, from the highest lectern in the world, you made statements expressing the interests of the state of Azerbaijan. You made fair statements, you made statements based entirely on international law: Karabakh is the land of Azerbaijan. This is both true and at the same time fully consistent with international law. At the same time, it is yet another fraternal step shown by Türkiye. During the second Karabakh war, you and the entire Turkish people were with us. In the first hours of the war, your words “Azerbaijan is not alone, Türkiye is with Azerbaijan” were a serious signal and message for many. The people of Azerbaijan have never and will never forget that political and moral support.

Two years ago, in the city of Shusha, which was liberated after a long occupation, the Shusha Declaration, a declaration of alliance, raised our relations to a new level. Today, these relations are at their highest, and we are now experiencing a very active period of our relations in all directions. We laid the foundation of the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline today. At one time, we laid the foundation of the TANAP project together, we inaugurated the TANAP pipeline, and today we are starting work on the construction of a gas pipeline from Türkiye to Nakhchivan, which is a part of Azerbaijan. The signing of the Protocol of Intent on the construction of the Kars-Nakhchivan railway is also a historic event. I am sure that this project will be successfully implemented and serve Azerbaijan, Türkiye and other countries as a component of the Middle Corridor.

At the same time, we have exchanged ideas regarding the expansion of the potential of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, and I informed you that the capacity of this railway will be increased from 1 million tons to 5 million tons in the coming months. The construction of the railway connecting Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan and Türkiye is also progressing successfully. The work in the territory of Azerbaijan will most likely be completed by the end of next year. In other words, all these historic projects show again how interconnected and close our countries are. By supporting each other, we also channel regional issues in the right direction. So, it is our common interest that there should be peace and tranquility in the region, there should be no wars, and the territorial integrity of countries should be ensured. Your support for Azerbaijan during the second Karabakh war, before and after, is an important factor in achieving this goal.

We are living in truly historic moments, days and years for Azerbaijan. The second Karabakh war, our historic Victory, the restoration of our sovereignty as a result of a successful operation five days ago are historic events, and we are rightly proud of them.

Important steps have been taken in all directions, including those to increase our turnover. Our turnover last year was more than 6 billion dollars, but it has increased by 40 percent in seven months of this year, and I am sure it will increase even more. It is true that the target is measured in high numbers. Some time ago, we aimed for a turnover of 15 billion dollars. At that time, the turnover was at about 2 billion dollars, but now it exceeds 6 billion dollars. We will probably reach it in the near future. A preferential trade agreement has also been signed, and the number of products on that list is also increasing. Therefore, I am sure that we will successfully achieve this.

My dear brother and distinguished guests, I sincerely welcome you to Nakhchivan again. I would like to once again express the immense love and affection of the Azerbaijani people for you. I wish you and the brotherly people of Türkiye continued successes and new victories. Thank you.

x x x

Then the President of Türkiye made a statement.

Statement by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

– Dear Mr. President, my dear Brother.

Ladies, gentlemen.

Dear representatives of the media!

I greet you with the most sincere feelings on behalf of myself and my delegation.

After the presidential elections, I made my first trip to Baku and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in June. This time, I am very pleased to be together with you in Nakhchivan, which connects Türkiye with the Turkic world. I am proud to observe the progress achieved by Nakhchivan since my last visit in 2008. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, I pay tribute to Heydar Aliyev, the National Leader of Azerbaijan, who played a tremendous role in enabling Nakhchivan to reach its current level.

Turkish-Azerbaijani relations are at an exceptional level that is unparalleled in the world. Within the framework of the motto “One nation, two states”, we continue our activities to strengthen our relations and cooperation in all fields. The Shusha Declaration I signed together with my brother Ilham has been a turning point that raised our relations to the level of alliance. Nakhchivan has a special place in our relations with Azerbaijan due to its strategic importance throughout history. Today, Nakhchivan has great potential in terms of economy, transport and energy lines. Together with the creation of regional transport lines, we will have the opportunity to fully unlock this potential.

The importance of the International East-West Middle Corridor passing through the Caspian Sea has been better understood as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the wars in our region. In this regard, the Igdir-Nakhchivan gas pipeline project, which we laid the foundation of a little while ago, will further deepen our partnership with Azerbaijan in the field of energy and also contribute to European energy security. In addition to the Kars-Nakhchivan railway project, contracts for residential buildings and electricity were signed a little earlier. Thus, we have once again expressed our determination to develop our relations in the fields of transport, logistics and energy.

On behalf of myself and my nation, I would like to thank our Azerbaijani brothers for their strong support in healing the wounds of the February 6 earthquakes. We will never forget the sincerity of our brothers who loaded their belongings on their cars and set off to help our nation.

After our press statements, we will inaugurate the military restoration and production complex, which we have modernized. This project will also make significant contributions to our cooperation in the field of defense industry.

Dear representatives of the media, critical processes took place in our region in recent days. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan could not find the necessary response to its legitimate and justified concerns, which it had been repeatedly expressing in the last three years after the second Karabakh war. As a result, it was forced to implement anti-terror measures in its sovereign territories. It was a source of pride for us that these measures were successfully completed in an extremely short time, with great care for the rights of civilians. I pray for Allah’s mercy on our brothers who were martyred during the events and extend my condolences to their relatives. I wish speedy recovery to our wounded.

We were lucky enough to see this prayer by the late Huseyn Javid, a prominent poet of Nakhchivan and a close friend of Mehmet Akif, being accepted a century ago:

Our country was spared from all troubles,

Long live our glorious army…

I heartily congratulate the victorious Azerbaijan Army on the occasion of both its historic victory and its humane treatment of civilians. Our Azerbaijani brothers have once again shown the justice and mercy characteristic of Turks to the whole world.

Following the recent victory, new windows of opportunity have been opened for comprehensive normalization of the situation in the region. I believe this opportunity must be appreciated. We expect Armenia to accept the hand of peace extended to it and be sincere. As I always emphasize, there are no losers in peace. The creation of peace, stability and prosperity in our region is our duty to our people. We are determined to fulfill this duty and we are sincere. We want the other side to show the same sincerity.

With these thoughts, I once again express my satisfaction to be visiting Azerbaijan. I once again thank the President and my dear brother Ilham Aliyev and all our Azerbaijani brothers for the hospitality shown to me and my delegation. May Allah make our love and brotherhood permanent. Thank you.

Official Yerevan on Thursday hit back at Moscow’s assertion that the actions of the Armenian government, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, are to be blamed for Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the resulting humanitarian crisis in Artsakh.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a press briefing on Thursday that Pashinyan’s recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity that supposes Baku’s sovereignty over Artsakh has resulted in the current situation in Artsakh.

“I would like to remind that the current situation in the Lachin corridor is a consequence of Armenia’s recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the territory of Azerbaijan,” Zakharova said. “This was formalized as a result of summits attended by the leaders of the two countries under the aegis of the European Union in October 2022 and May 2023.”

“We believe that placing the blame in this context on the Russian peacekeeping contingent is inappropriate, wrong and unjustified,” Zakharova told a news briefing.

Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan on Thursday said that Moscow’s statement has caused “confusion and disappointment” for Yerevan, asserting that Russia itself has, on numerous occasions, recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan.

Below is Badalyan’s complete statement.

Remarks by the official representative of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who yet again, claimed that the situation unfolding in the Lachin corridor is a consequence of the fact that Armenia’s recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan in October 2022 during a meeting in Prague based on the Alma Ata declaration has altered the mission of the Russian peacekeepers to that of ensuring the rights and security of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh has caused confusion and disappointment.

We are compelled to recall the following, already well-known chronology and important circumstances.

• The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has never been a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In essence, it has always been and remains an issue of the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
• In August 2022, Armenia agreed to Russia’s draft proposal on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, according to which the discussion of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh was supposed to be postponed for an indefinite period. Azerbaijan rejected the proposal, simultaneously announcing (as it did on August 31 in Brussels) that it is not going to discuss anything related to Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, and days later, on September 13, it launched military aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia.
• Russia not only did not pursue its proposal after Azerbaijan’s refusal, but also showed absolute indifference to the aggression against the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, leaving Armenia’s official letter to support the Republic of Armenia on the basis of the bilateral legal framework unanswered. Moreover, Russia conditioned the lack of stating the fact of the attack on Armenia and the resulting inaction under the false excuse that the interstate border between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not delimited. By this approach it either intentionally or not supports the obviously false and extremely dangerous thesis which claims that there is no border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, therefore, attacking the border and the invasion into the territory of Armenia are difficult to verify. With the same mindset, Armenia’s similar application in the framework of the CSTO did not receive a proper response either.
• Under these circumstances, on October 6, 2022, in Prague, Armenia and Azerbaijan reaffirmed their support of the Alma-Ata Declaration, which was signed back in 1991 by the former Soviet republics, including Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, who recognized each other’s territorial integrity along the former administrative borders of the Soviet states. Therefore, nothing new was decided in Prague: as of October 2022, the Alma-Ata Declaration had been in force for about 31 years. The agreements in Prague did not change anything in the context of the Trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, either. The only new development was that, based on the results of the Prague meeting, the EU decided to deploy a monitoring mission on the Armenian side of the interstate border between Armenia and Azerbaijan to contribute to the stability at the border.
• The Russian Federation has recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan multiple times, including after the signing of the Trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, and the most recent and perhaps most significant instance was when it stated that it recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in the document on establishing strategic relations with Azerbaijan.
• On December 12, 2022, the Lachin corridor was blocked, under the false pretext of protests organized by the authorities of Azerbaijan in the area of the control of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. Already in April 2023, in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, Azerbaijan installed an illegal checkpoint in the Lachin corridor. Although these actions were a clear and gross violation of the Trilateral statement, the Russian Federation took no counteractions. Instead, Russian peacekeepers on June 15, 2023, actively supported the attempt to raise the Azerbaijani flag on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, which is outside the scope of their mission and geographical area of responsibility. This was immediately followed by the total blockade of the Lachin corridor, bringing the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh closer to a true humanitarian catastrophe.
• In circumstances of such arbitrariness in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, the Azerbaijani side has resorted to steps such as the abduction of residents of Nagorno-Karabakh at the illegal checkpoint in the Lachin corridor: the case of abduction of Vagif Khachatryan on July 29, followed by the case of three students on August 28.
• Unfortunately, such practices of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh are nothing new. On December 11, 2020, the violation of the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh, the illegal occupation of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher villages, the capture and transfer of 60 Armenian servicemen to Baku took place in Nagorno-Karabakh with the presence and permission of representatives of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. At that time, the agreements of October 6, 2022, were not reached. The same applies to the events of Parukh on March 24, 2022, and Saribab on August 1, 2022, when Azerbaijan again violated the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh. The logical continuation of this are the shootings by Azerbaijani armed forces in the presence of Russian peacekeepers towards people carrying out agricultural works, one of which ended with the killing of a tractor driver from Martakert; the intimidation of the Nagorno-Karabakh population with night lights and loudspeakers again in the presence of Russian peacekeepers; the thousands of violations of the ceasefire regime by the Azerbaijani armed forces again in the presence of Russian peacekeepers.

We advise that the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry refrain from maneuvering the circumstances of the situation and thereby further complicating it in the absence of actions from Russian peacekeepers toward the prevention of the blockade of the Lachin corridor or its opening afterward.

We also reiterate that the Republic of Armenia is faithful to its commitment towards establishing stability in the region on the basis of mutual recognition of territorial integrity and borders. At the same time, we consider imperative for lasting peace the reopening of the Lachin corridor in accordance with the Trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, and in line with the Orders of the International Court of Justice, the prevention of a humanitarian catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh and addressing of all existing problems through the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue under international auspices.