Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan to pay a visit to the USA

RA Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan will be in Washington, the capital of the United States of America, from September 26, the office of the Security Council reports.

"Within the framework of the visit, the Secretary of the Security Council will hold a number of working meetings," the statement reads. 

Armenia hands over two Kurdish fighters to Turkey: NSS and Ministry of Justice claim it's disinformation

Kurdish Firatnews website reported today that Armenia has handed over two Kurdish fighters to Turkey, referring to the Kurdish People's Self-Defense Forces (Kurdish - Hêzên Parastina Gel, HPG). HPG is the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

"In August 2021, when our friends Leheng and Alisher were on duty near the border of Armenia, they came face to face with the forces of the Armenian state. Our friends showed common sense to avoid a negative situation, but they were detained and arrested. Our friends who were subjected to criminal prosecution waged a legal battle and were released on February 23, 2022, by the appeal court of Armenia. Our friends, who should have been released according to international law and the laws of the Armenian state, were kidnapped and detained by the Armenian intelligence. Despite the promise of release as a result of the attempts, our friends, Lehen and Alisher, were handed over by the Armenian state to the Turkish state about a month ago. It is a shame for Armenia for the revolutionaries of Kurdistan, who are fighting to protect the existence and freedom of their people, feel the pain of all oppressed peoples, to hand them over to the genocidal Turkish state like this," the HPG statement said.

Later, the National Security Service of Armenia commented on the issue.

"Taking into account the groundless criticism of the RA National Security Service regarding the extradition of Atilla Çiçek and Hussein Yıldırım of Kurdish nationality to Turkey by some individuals who carry out socio-political activities on social networks and through various means of mass media, we inform you that the circulating false news not only does not correspond reality but also have no legal basis. Thus, an attempt is made to target the NSS."

It is reported that the process of handing over persons convicted within the framework of criminal proceedings is outside the scope of the Service's powers.

In a statement, the National Security Service also urges to refrain from the impermissible practice of disseminating disinformation that tarnishes the reputation of state institutions and undermines the external security of the country and warns that the Service will investigate the real motives and hidden motives of those who spread false news through verification operations within the scope of its powers.

RA Ministry of Justice also issued a statement regarding the topic.

"In addition to the NSS message, we inform you that the Ministry of Justice is authorized to transfer the convict to his country of citizenship to serve the rest of the sentence. However, the transfer of Kurdish people to Turkey, which was spread on the Internet by the Ministry of Justice, was not carried out.

Moreover, the issue of handover or transfer of the mentioned persons was not discussed in the ministry," the statement said.

There is no positive answer whether Azerbaijan recognizes the territorial integrity of Armenia - Pashinyan 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a post on his Twitter page, referring to his speech at the United Nations.

"In my UN speech, I posed a simple question: does Azerbaijan recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia in its internationally recognized borders? If so, we could proceed with a peace treaty. Unfortunately, there is no positive reaction. The question is - why?"

Çavuşoğlu claims Armenia needs peace and regional cooperation 

Armenia needs peace and regional cooperation. According to Hurriyet, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu announced this during a meeting with representatives of the Turkish community at the Consulate General of Ankara in Los Angeles.

Speaking about the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, he stated that Armenia should only be encouraged for this.

The Turkish minister also reminded the Armenian community in the USA, noting that it is quite active, but "there is a group of Armenians in the USA who are against the normalization of relations with Turkey, however, if Armenia needs peace and cooperation in the region, it should appreciate this the opportunity."

In this regard, Çavuşoğlu called on the Turkish community to be more active and establish serious ties in the public and political life of the United States.

ICRC representatives visited the Armenian servicemen captured as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression on September 13

For the first time, the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross visited the Armenian servicemen who were captured as a result of the Azerbaijani military aggression of September 13. The information about the visit was confirmed by Zara Amatuni, head of the ICRC delegation's communication programs.

The representatives of the Red Cross got acquainted with the conditions of detention of the captured persons, and their state of health, and helped establish contact with the families. 

It should be noted that based on Armenia's application, the European Court of Human Rights gave Baku a deadline of September 22, obliging it to submit data on Armenian servicemen under its control. There is no information about it yet.

Blinken met Pashinyan and discussed the security of Armenia

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken informed on Twitter about the meeting he had with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on September 22 within the framework of the UN General Assembly.

"Good meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan yesterday at the UN General Assembly in NYC, where we discussed Armenia’s security. We continue to urge the parties to engage in the peace process, as there can be no military solution to the conflict," he wrote. 

Other News

• Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with Jeyhun Bayramov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, within the framework of the UN General Assembly session in New York. 

• On September 24, RA Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with UN Deputy Secretary General, High Representative of the Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Ángel Moratinos in New York.

• As part of his working visit to the USA, on September 23, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh, Davit Babayan, visited the Consulate of the Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles.