OSCE Chairman-in-Office “carefully following” Lachin corridor situation, announces visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan

OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani said that he is carefully following the situation around the Lachin corridor and announced that he will hold visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office held two separate telephone conversations with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, the OSCE said in a press release.

“The conversations with the ministers focused on the situation in the South Caucasus region, with a particular emphasis on the Lachin corridor. Minister Osmani emphasized that he is carefully following the situation around the Lachin corridor. He expressed his concerns about its effect on the daily lives of the civilian population. He called for all sides to ease tensions and engage in constructive and productive dialogue.

Azeri FM calls U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and falsely accuses Armenia of "obstructing constructive initiatives"

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov again put false accusations against Armenia.

In a phone call with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried, the Azeri FM falsely accused Armenia of "constantly obstructing a number of constructive initiatives by the Azerbaijani side aimed at normalizing relations in the post-conflict period."

During the phone conversation, the Azeri foreign ministry said that Bayramov and Donfried discussed the cooperation agenda between Azerbaijan and the U.S., as well as the current situation in the region.

Any mission can be sent to Nagorno-Karabakh only with the consent of both sides of the conflict - Peskov responded to Pashinyan's statement

The issue of sending a UN Security Council peacekeeping mission to Nagorno Karabakh has been on the agenda more than once, but any mission can be involved only with the agreement of both sides of the conflict, Baku, and Yerevan. According to TASS, the spokesman of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, said this.

"There are constant contacts at different levels. Of course, this topic has been on the agenda many times. But it is clear that any mission can be sent only with the consent of both parties to the conflict," said Peskov, answering the question of whether the leaders of Russia and Armenia discussed this topic.

Yesterday's speeches of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan confirmed that the only possible choice for Artsakh is fighting - Ruben Vardanyan

Yesterday's speeches of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan confirmed that the only possible choice for Artsakh is fighting, Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan wrote about this on his Facebook page.

"You have to fight, relying on your own strength.

To fight with the support of the citizens of Armenia, who in the last elections voted for the political forces that declared full support for Artsakh in their programs.

Fight with the active support of the Diaspora, which has always stood by the motherland in extreme situations.

We call on the international community to stand by Artsakh, protecting Artsakh from annihilation and occupation," the post says.

We should show by personal example what patriotism is by decently serving the people - Davit Babayan 

We should show by our personal example and steps what patriotism is, not only with words, toasts, and appeals but by decently serving our own people.

Former Foreign Minister of Artsakh Davit Babayan expressed this point of view live on Facebook, adding that they will continue to work to preserve Artsakh.

"Me and my friends, party members, all members of the Artsakh conservative party will continue our mission to preserve Artsakh. Now we are in the most difficult phase of our history, and 2023 will be a very important period for us. Here it is very important that each of us should consider this important. I will continue to serve our people and the state as much as I can, I have a number of plans and I will try to communicate more often through such meetings and inform the public about them. But the fact that I am unfailingly connected to the state and the people is unequivocal, regardless of the position or position I hold. According to me, there should be one position: the trench of the nation's destiny," Babayan said.

The Ministry of Defense of Armenia informed CSTO about the cancellation of military exercises on January 5 

On January 5, the Ministry of Defense informed the Joint Staff of the CSTO that it considered the military exercises planned in Armenia to be inappropriate.

Answering the question of "Azatutyun", how do they explain the CSTO's statement today that they did not receive an official notification from Yerevan about canceling the military exercises, while yesterday the Prime Minister said that the notification had already been sent, the Defense Ministry spokesperson Aram Torosyan said.

"As the Prime Minister stated, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, taking into account the created military-political situation, considered the holding of the "Unbreakable Brotherhood-2023" military exercise in Armenia to be inappropriate and informed the Chief of the Joint Staff of the CSTO in an official letter on January 5.

According to the spokesperson of the Armenian military department, on January 10, Vladislav Shegrikovich, press secretary of the CSTO Joint Staff, informed the media that the Joint Staff received the official letter from the RA Ministry of Defense and is considering holding the military exercise in another CSTO member state.

Ararat Mirzoyan referred to the EU observation mission in a telephone conversation with the Swedish Foreign Minister

On January 11, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Sweden Tobias Billström.

Ararat Mirzoyan congratulated his colleague on assuming the presidency of the EU Council.

The parties discussed a number of issues related to regional security.

Minister Mirzoyan presented to the interlocutor the details of Azerbaijan's blocking of the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world - the Lachin Corridor, and the resulting humanitarian crisis.

Other News

• The American Conservative published an interview with Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.