Infocom

We condemn and reject Nikol Pashinyan's completely groundless accusations against Azerbaijan - MFA of Azerbaijan

"The aggressive rhetoric of the Armenian leadership, which threatens the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and ignores its international obligations, shows that Yerevan is not interested in peace in the region." This is stated in the comment of Aykhan Hajizadeh, the head of the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, in response to the speech of RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on March 23. "We condemn and reject completely groundless accusations directed at Azerbaijan by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who persistently repeats the statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry on March 18," he emphasized. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan also advises Pashinyan to learn from history and guide Armenia, which has occupied Azerbaijani territories for 30 years, carrying out ethnic cleansing against hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis, and not to hinder the peace agenda that Azerbaijan is advancing from 2020, as well as to stop encroachment against the territorial integrity and interference in Azerbaijan's internal affairs. "It is unacceptable that the return of former internally displaced persons who became victims of Armenia's ethnic cleansing policy to their homeland is considered as a violation of the Tripartite Declaration by Azerbaijan. In the same way, the Armenian side has no moral right to present itself as a "defender of the rights" of the Armenian residents of Azerbaijan. It is absurd that Armenia, not only by destroying the property belonging to Azerbaijanis, both in its territory and in the cities and villages occupied for 30 years, but also by illegally resettling Armenians in those territories, opposes the implementation of Azerbaijan, the resettlement in their sovereign territories and historical lands. This statement directly contradicts the Prague and Sochi agreements, which Armenia refers to from time to time," the representative of the department said.

22:58 - 23 March, 2023

Azerbaijan is developing the situation to a new escalation - Pashinyan

At the beginning of the government session, the RA Prime Minister referred to the March 18 speech of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in which he stated that if Yerevan does not recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Baku will not recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia either. "He openly and literally said that 'Armenia must accept Azerbaijan's conditions and agree to carry out delimitation on Azerbaijan's terms, otherwise there will be no peace agreement.' It is difficult to call this anything other than an act of aggression against RA and a gross violation of the agreements reached the highest level because the statement adopted as a result of the quadrilateral meeting on October 6, 2022 states: "Armenia and Azerbaijan confirmed their commitment to the UN Charter and the 1991 Almaty Declaration, through which both sides recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty. They confirmed that this will be the basis for the work of the commissions on border demarcation issues. This is a statement that was also accepted by the head of Azerbaijan, a similar statement was also accepted by the President of Russia, the Prime Minister of Armenia, and the President of Azerbaijan in Sochi on October 31 of the same year, where it is said: "We agreed to refrain from the use of force or the threat of its use, to discuss and resolve all problematic issues solely on the basis of mutual recognition of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, in accordance with the UN Charter and 1991 of the Declaration of Almaty". According to Pashinyan, after these statements, which are a direct record of the fact that the borders of the Soviet republics have turned into state borders, Azerbaijan continuously talks about delimitation based on some historical maps, which is absolutely unacceptable, for the simple reason that it contradicts at the highest level. written agreements reached. "This behavior of Azerbaijan to violate them is the reason why we continue to insist that reliable international mechanisms are needed for the implementation of both the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty and the agreements reached in the Stepanakert-Baku format regarding the security and rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. mechanisms". Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that Azerbaijan's unpunished violations of internationally agreed agreements encourage them to resort to new provocations, recalling the incident that happened yesterday in Yeraskh (a soldier was killed by enemy fire) and expressing condolences to his parents and relatives. "I draw the attention of the international community to the obvious fact that Azerbaijan is developing the situation towards a new escalation. This is further substantiated by Azerbaijan's absurd talk of the so-called "Western Azerbaijan" at the state level, which is an open act of encroachment on the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. And in general, I must emphasize that this speech once again shows that our government has read Azerbaijan's messages correctly from the very beginning, and this continuous policy and slander, questioning the right of RA to exist, is the reason for the non-resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Pashinyan stated.

11:58 - 23 March, 2023

March 18 should have marked the return of the Armenian population to Talish and not the vandal act of demolishing their houses - Nikol Pashinyan

At the beginning of the government session, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about the blocking of the Lachin corridor and that Azerbaijan has already blocked the gas supply to Artsakh for the 13th time, starting from December 12, 2022. "It is difficult to describe the speech of the leader of Azerbaijan in the ethnically cleansed Talish village of Nagorno-Karabakh as anything other than aggressive. What happened in the village of Talish is fundamental, solid proof of the ethnic cleansing and genocidal policy implemented by Azerbaijan. In that village, depopulated as a result of the 44-day war, Azerbaijan demolishes houses owned by Armenians and builds houses for Azerbaijanis instead. What we have been warning about for a long time is now a reality. The leadership of Azerbaijan shows its model of guaranteeing the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh or "integration". to demolish the houses belonging to Armenians with the right of ownership, to build houses intended for Azerbaijanis instead of them, to erase the Armenian inscriptions from the ancient Armenian monuments, and to consider the issue resolved," said Pashinyan. He emphasized that these actions of Azerbaijan are illegal and openly contradict the 2020 point 7 of the tripartite statement of November 9, which states: "Internally displaced persons and refugees return to NK territory and adjacent regions under the supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees." According to Pashinyan, the above means that March 18 should have been marked by the return of the Armenian population to Talish and not by the vandal act of demolishing their houses. According to Pashinyan, the above-mentioned means that March 18 should have been marked by the return of the Armenian population to Talish and not by the vandal act of demolishing their houses. "These actions of the leadership of Azerbaijan were followed by the statement of our compatriots who emigrated from Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring regions, who demand from the leaders of the countries that signed the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to ensure the safe and dignified return to their historical lands and former settlements, in accordance with the commitments made on November 9, 2020, human and humanitarian law. As one of the addressees of the said statement, I want to clearly emphasize that I consider the said demand fair, and the RA government should take all political and diplomatic measures to protect the rights of the authors and beneficiaries of the statement. It should be reminded that on March 20, the representative of the NKR Refugee Union, Saro Saryan, issued a statement on behalf of the representatives of the forcibly displaced Armenian population from Nagorno Karabakh, stating: "We demand from the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to recognize the urgent imperative to restore the violated rights of Armenian refugees, to ensure their safe and dignified return to their historical lands and former settlements, in accordance with the assumed obligations, human and humanitarian law." Already on March 22, a number of NGOs responded to this statement, emphasizing: "The organizations created by forcibly displaced persons, representing their interests, dealing with rights protection and acting on their behalf, which have been dealing with similar issues for 2.5 years, did not authorize the NGOs that signed the statement to act for the displaced residents of Hadrut region, Shushi, Kashatagh, Karvachar on their behalf, even more so, to appeal to the leader of the enemy Azerbaijan."

11:47 - 23 March, 2023

Ararat Mirzoyan and Sergey Lavrov will meet in Moscow

On March 20, the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan and Sergey Lavrov will take place in Moscow. This was reported by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova. "During the negotiations, the ministers will discuss steps aimed at further development of bilateral cooperation, strengthening of cooperation within the framework of the CIS, EAEU, CSTO. The main topics of discussion will be regional issues, including the settlement of the situation in the Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh in general, as well as the implementation of tripartite agreements between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. We expect that the upcoming meeting will help improve the quality of the dialogue with Yerevan, as well as work towards strengthening security and stability in the South Caucasus," Zakharova stated.

17:36 - 16 March, 2023

The guarantor of Artsakh’s security is Russia, as after the 44-day war RA cannot fully fulfill that function - Pashinyan

During the press conference, Nikol Pashinyan answered the question that if there's an escalation in the direction of Artsakh, the Republic of Armenia will ensure the security of Artsakh and whether the Republic of Armenia continues to be the guarantor of the security of Artsakh. "Why did I sign the statement of November 9? Perceiving that in that kind of situation RA cannot be the full guarantor of the security of Nagorno Karabakh, therefore, it was necessary to create a system that would guarantee the security of Nagorno Karabakh. According to the tripartite declaration and according to the decision of the Federal Council of the Russian Federation, which allows the President of the Russian Federation to send troops to Nagorno-Karabakh, all this has been recorded that the guarantor of the security of Nagorno-Karabakh is the Russian Federation. Not because Armenia is refusing to do it, but, unfortunately, because of the defeat in the 44-day war, cannot fully fulfill that function. Therefore, by its own commitment, the guarantor of the security of Nagorno-Karabakh is the Russian Federation." According to Pashinyan, on the other hand, there is a defense army in Nagorno-Karabakh, which Azerbaijan tries to present as the army of Armenia. "I want to say again that RA does not have an army in Nagorno-Karabakh." According to him, Azerbaijan is also trying to justify that the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army should be dissolved and should not exist. "If there is no danger of genocide and ethnic cleansing... NK can imagine how many billions they spend to maintain the army, at least it will not need to have a defense army on that scale. The existence of the PA is the biggest proof of genocide preparations."

14:58 - 14 March, 2023

In the conversation with the President of the Russian Federation, I emphasized that there are problems in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh - Pashinyan

During his press conference, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gave details of what was discussed during the telephone conversation with the Russian President yesterday, March 13. "Our conversation with the president of the Russian Federation yesterday was mainly devoted to the danger of escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh, I simply conveyed my information, and impressions, and also emphasized that I think there are problems in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh," he said. Nikol Pashinyan also mentioned that, in his opinion, something very unexpected happened in Nagorno-Karabakh, in front of the headquarters of the Russian peacekeeping force. "And for me, the most important issue in the context of RA-Russian relations is that a very unexpected thing happened in Nagorno-Karabakh when a protest action of Nagorno-Karabakh residents took place in front of the headquarters of the Russian peacekeeping force. And this happened after the murder of the police officers. I want to emphasize that this also happened in Nagorno-Karabakh in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces. And this is a concern, I considered it necessary to convey those concerns to the President of the Russian Federation," said Nikol Pashinyan. Pashinyan did not consider it correct to say what the Russian president reacted to.

13:17 - 14 March, 2023

On the initiative of the Armenian side, Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Nikol Pashinyan

At the initiative of the Armenian side, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. This was reported by the press service of the Kremlin. The practical aspects of the implementation of the tripartite agreements were discussed, including the steps aimed at ensuring stability and security on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, restoring economic and transport ties, and preparing a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Referring to the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, Vladimir Putin emphasized the need to solve all problems in a constructive way, with close communication and interaction between the parties and Russian peacekeepers.

13:47 - 13 March, 2023

The Azerbaijani side invites "Representatives of Armenians of Artsakh" to hold the second meeting in Baku

The office of the President of Azerbaijan informs that the "representatives of the Armenians of Artsakh" have been invited to hold the second meeting in Baku in the coming days. It is noted that contacts regarding reintegration and implementation of infrastructural projects will continue at the meeting. It should be reminded that that on March 1, the representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan had a meeting at the headquarters of the Russian peacekeeping troops stationed in Ivanyan village of Artsakh. The Armenian side reported that the issue of restoring the unimpeded passage of vehicles through the Lachin Corridor and confirming the fact of the purposeful use of the corridor was discussed. The Azerbaijani side noted that "discussions were held regarding the reintegration of Armenians living in Karabakh into the Republic of Azerbaijan." At the same time, a government meeting was held on March 1 under the chairmanship of Artsakh Republic President Arayik Harutyunyan, during which he announced: "I want to declare with all responsibility that any integration process with Azerbaijan is excluded. However, this does not mean that we will avoid contacts to solve infrastructural and humanitarian problems," the president said.

12:50 - 13 March, 2023

The need to immediately send an international fact-finding mission to the NK and Lachin Corridor is becoming more and more urgent - Nikol Pashinyan

During the Government session, referring to the sabotage attack that took place on March 5, Nikol Pashinyan mentioned that Azerbaijan is pursuing several goals with the March 5 terrorist attack. It should be reminded that the police of the Artsakh Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that around 10:00 a.m. on March 5, a sabotage group of the Azerbaijani armed forces targeted and opened fire on the shift car of the police passport and visa department staff in the area called "Khaipalu". As a result of the subversive infiltration, 3 police officers were killed, and another officer received a gunshot wound to the chest and is in the Republican Medical Center. According to Nikol Pashinyan, the first goal of the March 5 terrorist attack is to disturb further negotiations with the representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh and to create the necessary background for a new military provocation. "In this regard, I must emphasize that the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh issued a statement yesterday, expressing readiness to continue the conversation with Azerbaijan, and this is an extremely important statement. I think it is necessary to create reliable international mechanisms so that an uninterrupted and institutional conversation between Baku and Stepanakert takes place, and this can become an effective guarantee of the implementation of the above-mentioned international agreement," RA Prime Minister said. The next goal of the March 5 provocation, according to Pashinyan, was to create false evidence that weapons and ammunition are being transported from Armenia to NK. "This topic is important for Azerbaijan, especially after the February 22 decision of the International Court of Justice, when the court unequivocally rejected Azerbaijan's request to apply a temporary measure against Armenia, by which Azerbaijan accused Armenia of carrying out landmines. With that refusal, all the accusations against RA about landmines collapsed on all international platforms for several months. And here, in the incident of March 5, Azerbaijan tried to present evidence of the transfer of weapons from Armenia to NK, which did not work for two reasons: first, the police "UAZ" was not going to Stepanakert but left Stepanakert, and secondly, the attack of Azerbaijan, and also the trajectory of the car was recorded by the cameras of the NK Ministry of Internal Affairs, which made it obvious that in addition to documents and weapons, the police cars had no nothing else happened," emphasized Nikol Pashinyan. It should be reminded that according to the decision of the International Court of Justice of February 22, Azerbaijan is obliged to take the measures agreed upon by it to ensure the uninterrupted movement of people and goods in both directions through the Lachin Corridor. The International Court of Justice rejected Azerbaijan's request to apply temporary measures against Armenia. Azerbaijan demanded to apply intermediate measures and to oblige Armenia to "end the laying of mines and the transportation of mines through the Lachin Corridor". According to Pashinyan, the next important goal of Azerbaijan was the following. "Bloody terrorism is used to form new discourses, new informative words, which will cover an important fact. The fact that Azerbaijan does not comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice on February 22 regarding the Lachin Corridor. This decision is not implemented for about 15 days, and this is solely the responsibility of Azerbaijan. On the contrary, Azerbaijan goes to new provocations to further aggravate the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Emphasizing all of this, the need to immediately send an international fact-finding mission to the NK and Lachin Corridor is becoming more and more urgent in order to prevent Azerbaijan from unleashing new aggression and Azerbaijan's obvious preparations to subject the NK people to ethnic cleansing and genocide, which is expressed by not fulfilling the decisions of international courts by keeping the Lachin Corridor closed, creating military provocations and terrorist actions. At the same time, I consider it necessary to reaffirm the desire to achieve peace in the RA region and the commitment to the peace agenda," Nikol Pashinyan concluded.

12:01 - 09 March, 2023

We have a new escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh - Nikol Pashinyan

With the Lachin Corridor closed for nearly three months, we have a new escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Nikol Pashinyan announced this during the Government session, recalling the sabotage attack that took place on March 5. Pashinyan emphasized that all three soldiers who died were born in Nagorno-Karabakh. It should be reminded that the police of the Artsakh Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that around 10:00 a.m. on March 5, a sabotage group of the Azerbaijani armed forces targeted and opened fire on the shift car of the police passport and visa department staff in the area called "Khaipalu". As a result of the subversive infiltration, 3 police officers were killed, and another officer received a gunshot wound to the chest and is in the Republican Medical Center. "This circumstance becomes especially important considering the statement made by the President of Azerbaijan in Munich on February 18, 2023. He admitted that there is an international agreement according to which they should discuss with the representatives of Nagorno Karabakh the issue of their rights and security. However, the President of Azerbaijan emphasized that they are going to have these discussions with people born and living in Nagorno-Karabakh. On March 1, a meeting of representatives of NK and Azerbaijan took place at the headquarters of the Russian peacekeeping force in NK, and 4 days after that, Azerbaijan launched the provocation of March 5, which was nothing but a terrorist act," said Pashinyan.

11:28 - 09 March, 2023

Aliyev expressed hope that Armenia will respond positively to Azerbaijan's comments on the proposals of the peace forum

Azerbaijan has submitted its observations on the proposals of the peace conference to Armenia and is waiting for a response from Armenia. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev announced this today, March 8, during a press conference after the meeting with President of Latvia Egils Levits. "Today, I presented the situation in the South Caucasus to the President of Latvia, especially regarding the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We hope that Armenia will respond positively to our observations regarding the peace agreement proposal," said Aliyev. Aliyev noted that some time ago they presented their proposal to Armenia, based on the norms and principles of international law. "Then we received comments from Armenia and sent our observations on them. The process is ongoing," he said.

17:24 - 08 March, 2023

We call on the parties to show restraint: Russian Foreign Ministry commented on the Azerbaijani sabotage attack that took place in Artsakh

Russian Foreign Ministry expresses serious concern regarding the increase in tension in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. "Over the past few days, violations of the ceasefire have been registered. On March 5, an armed incident took place, as a result of which there were victims on both the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. We call on the parties to show restraint and take steps to defuse the situation. We reaffirm to strictly observe the provisions of the statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia of November 9, 2020, on the ceasefire and all military operations in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone. Any issue related to security and life assurance in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping force must be resolved peacefully. The incident once again confirms the imperative for Baku and Yerevan to return to negotiations as soon as possible within the framework of the implementation of the provisions of the tripartite statements, including in connection with the unblocking of regional communications, the demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the preparation of a peace treaty." It should be reminded that the Artsakh Ministry of Internal Affairs police reported that around 10:00 a.m. on March 5, a sabotage group of the Azerbaijani armed forces targeted and opened fire on the shift car of the police passport and visa department staff in the area called "Khaipalu". As a result of the subversive infiltration, 3 police officers were killed, and another officer received a gunshot wound to the chest and is in the Republican Medical Center.

16:55 - 06 March, 2023

A peace treaty should come from the parties, not from the US or other countries - Louis Bono

The US is ready to continue supporting Azerbaijan and Armenia in signing a peace treaty. Louis Bono, Senior Adviser on Caucasian Negotiations of the US State Department, stated this in a conversation with journalists after the meeting with Ilham Aliyev in Baku. "The peace agreement must be stable. And it should come from the parties (Armenia and Azerbaijan - ed.), not from the USA or other countries," said Louis Bono. He noted that it is important for Washington that Azerbaijan and Armenia have contacts, regardless of the mediation format. "Our final goal is to achieve peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Peace is beneficial to both sides. At the Munich meeting, both sides announced that they want peace," he said. Bono added that tomorrow, March 7, he will leave for Armenia. "The purpose of my visit is to encourage dialogue and a new meeting between the (region-ed.) parties," he said. It ahould be reminded that the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received Louis Bono, the senior adviser of the US State Department on Caucasian negotiations, in Baku today. During the conversation, thoughts were exchanged about the settlement of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the negotiation process regarding the peace treaty.

15:01 - 06 March, 2023

Bayramov discussed the "situation around Lachin road" with an ICRC representative in Azerbaijan

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov met with the head of the representative office of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Azerbaijan Dragana Kozić. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. According to the report, during the meeting "the situation around Lachin road was discussed". It is noted that Jeyhun Bayramov "expressed his satisfaction with the free movement of vehicles, including those of the ICRC, goods, and citizens on the Lachin road". The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan asserted that "taking into account the fact that in recent months, means of transport have passed through Lachin road, the Armenian side has no grounds to claim that Lachin road was closed by Azerbaijan and that a humanitarian crisis was created as a result." Since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan has closed the Lachin Corridor connecting Artsakh to Armenia, as a result of which 120,000 residents of Artsakh, including 30,000 children, are under siege. 5 children are in the neonatal and intensive care units, and 6 patients are in the intensive care unit, and 3 are in critical condition. During this period, 122 Armenians and 4 foreigners in need of emergency medical care were transferred to Armenia through the mediation of the Red Cross. One of the patients died in Artsakh. Azerbaijan has blocked the only gas pipeline feeding Artsakh from Armenia. Fan power outages are carried out 6 times a day for 1 hour. There is a food coupon system. It should be reminded that according to the decision of the International Court of Justice of February 22, Azerbaijan is obliged to take the measures agreed upon by it to ensure the uninterrupted movement of people and goods in both directions through the Lachin Corridor.

17:09 - 25 February, 2023

EU launches a civilian mission in Armenia to contribute to stability in border areas

The European Union is launching today the EU civilian mission in Armenia (EU Mission in Armenia / EUMA) under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The EUMA was formally established by a Council Decision on 23 January 2023. Through its deployment on the Armenian side of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, the objectives are to contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence and human security in conflict-affected areas, and ensure an environment conducive to the normalization efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU. The total – exclusively civilian - staff of the EUMA will be approximately 100, including around 50 unarmed observers. The Operational Headquarters of the mission will be in Yeghegnadzor, in Armenia’s Vayots Dzor province. EEAS Managing Director of the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) Stefano Tomat will serve as the Civilian Operation Commander, while Markus Ritter will serve as the Head of Mission.

15:16 - 20 February, 2023

We are planning a visit of the Foreign Minister to Syria in the near future - Pashinyan

During today's session, the government allocated more than 157 million AMD from the reserve fund to the Ministry of Emergency Situations in order to compensate for the costs of the humanitarian aid sent to Turkey and Syria affected by the earthquake. Then, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan summed up his visit to Turkey yesterday, after which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he considers the criticism against them unacceptable. "I can't imagine any situation where millions of people just across the door need support in a natural disaster and anyone can be indifferent, that's totally unacceptable on any basis and for any reason." Pashinyan reminded that they have repeatedly emphasized the vision of changing the quality of relations in the region. "I'm sorry that such a certain atmospheric change is taking place in the conditions of such an unprecedented disaster, but perhaps also objectively human tragedy makes people more understandable to each other. Maybe it is also an objective reality. I hope that this can really become a new starting point for the establishment of relations in the region, for the establishment of relations between Armenia and Turkey." The head of the executive also emphasized that he considers the work in the direction of Syria to be very important. "Many objective and subjective circumstances made humanitarian aid to Syria less accessible. I must record that Armenia was one of the first countries to make a decision and send humanitarian aid to Syria. We were also planning the visit of the Foreign Minister to the Syrian Arab Republic. If our Syrian partners do not mind, we will make such a visit in the near future, and I think that the Chief Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs should visit Syria in order to express our support." Pashinyan also mentioned that the Armenian rescuers who went to Syria have already returned to their homeland, and those who went to Turkey will return by land today. It should be reminded that the delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan was in Ankara, the capital of Turkey on February 15. Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu had a private conversation in Ankara, followed by an extended meeting, after which the ministers made statements.

12:48 - 16 February, 2023