South Caucasus Weekly Review looks into major developments in Armenia, Georgia & Azerbaijan

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

South Caucasus Weekly Review: 10-16 Oct 22

This project of Azernews is designed to cover major weekly developments in the South Caucasus nations.

HIGHLIGHTS

Yerevan, Paris discuss regional situation, Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization

Armenian PM attends summit of CIS heads in Astana

EU technical group arrives in Armenia to discuss deployment of civilian mission

Georgian parliament approves agreement on technical cooperation with Germany

UN General Assembly elects Georgia as member of Human Rights Council

Georgia’s Defense Minister attends NATO meeting

Azerbaijan identifies Armenian perpetrators involved in Ganja missile strikes

Baku: Macron’s false allegations disrupt France’s mediating role in Azerbaijani-Armenian peace talks

Azerbaijani, Armenian foreign ministers negotiate draft peace deal in Astana

ARMENIA

Yerevan, Paris discuss regional situation, Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and French representative in the EU Council, adviser to the President Isabelle Dumont have discussed the regional situation, as well as Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization, Azernews reports, citing the Armenian media.

The French Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Brice Roquefeuil also attended the meeting held on October 10 in Yerevan.

The sides discussed problems concerning the execution of the agreements reached at Prime Minister Pashinyan's meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on September 26 in Paris.

The officials also exchanged views on the outcomes of the October 6 Prague meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders under the auspices of the European Council and French presidents.

The formulation of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan based on the UN Charter and the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, as well as the implementation of border delimitation work, as well as the maintenance of the EU civil mission on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, were emphasized.

Armenian PM attends summit of CIS heads in Astana

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the summit of the heads of the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in the Congress-Centre of Astana, Kazakhstan, on October 14.

The leaders of CIS states met in a narrow-format meeting, which was followed by an expanded format summit attended by delegation representatives.

Humanitarian cooperation, ensuring security and other issues were on the agenda of the summit.

Prior to the summit, the session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CIS member states held in, Astana, where Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

EU technical group arrives in Armenia to discuss deployment of civilian mission

The advance team of the European Union’s monitors arrived in Armenia on October 14 to discuss the issues relating to the exact deployment location of the EU civilian mission along the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Azernews reports, citing Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Paruyr Hovhannisyan.

Armenian Security Council Secretary, Armen Grigoryan welcomed the members of the EU Technical Assessment Mission to Armenia and reaffirmed Yerevan's readiness to support the mission in all matters. Grigoryan also highlighted the mission's role as an additional security guarantee in the region.

The parties discussed a number of issues related to the scope of the mission's functions.

When questioned about the prospective relocation site of the EU civilian mission, Hovhannisyan indicated that these issues are currently being discussed.

In response to the question that the CSTO has also expressed readiness to send observers, the deputy minister said: “We are open to all proposals thanks to which our security will be strengthened, and we will avoid the situation we had in September”.

Within the framework of the first meeting of the European Political Community in Prague, Armenian Prime Minister Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met on October 6, 2022 under the aegis of the French President, as well as the President of the European Council. Armenia agreed to support the EU civilian mission along the border with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan agreed to cooperate with the mentioned mission to the extent it will be concerned. The mission will start its work in October, for a maximum period of two months. The purpose of the mission will be to build confidence and, through its reports, support the border commissions.

GEORGIA

Georgian parliament approves agreement on technical cooperation with Germany

The Parliament approved the agreement on technical cooperation between Georgia and Germany with 92 votes, Azernews reports, via the Georgian media.

As the Deputy Regional Minister, Mzia Giorgobiani said, the Agreement allocates €2,1 million as a grant to Georgia, “to be directed to the project “Sustainable Urban Development in Georgia,” assigned to the GIZ in cooperation with the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure,” she stated

UN General Assembly elects Georgia as member of Human Rights Council

The UN General Assembly elected Georgia, along with thirteen other nations, to serve on the UN Human Rights Council for the years 2023–2025 on October 11.

The council's 47 members are chosen from regional groupings on the basis of geographical location, and the member countries are in charge of advancing and defending human rights across the world.

Georgia was initially elected as a member of the UN's international organization in 2015 for the term 2016-2018.

Along with Georgia, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Sudan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, South Korea, Vietnam, Romania, Chile, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Belgium, and Germany presented their candidates for the council.

Georgia’s Defense Minister attends NATO meeting

Georgia’s Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze attended the meeting of the contact group of Ukraine in the Ramstein format. The meeting, organized by the US Department of Defense, was held at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The Defense Ministry reports that at the meeting, the situation created as a result of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the needs of the country, as well as the security challenges facing US allies and partners, were discussed. Defense ministers and high-ranking military personnel of more than 50 like-minded countries participated in the meeting.

Within the framework of his visit to Brussels, Burchuladze held a meeting with the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg. Later, he also met the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, and discussed issues of deepening practical cooperation between NATO and Georgia.

AZERBAIJAN

Azerbaijan identifies Armenian perpetrators involved in Ganja missile strikes

Azerbaijan has identified Armenian perpetrators involved in missile attacks on Ganja city during the 44-day war in 2020, Azernews reports, citing Prosecutor-General Kamran Aliyev.

Aliyev made the remarks while visiting the territory destroyed as a result of the Armenian missile attack on Ganja city on October 11, 2020.

Three criminal cases have been filed, and the criminals have been identified, he underlined.

The Prosecutor-General further stated that during the first and second Karabakh wars (in 1988-1994, 2020 respectively) Armenians frequently utilized mercenaries in warfare.

"Azerbaijan has evidence of the participation of mercenaries from Armenia in the second Karabakh war. The identities of those mercenaries are also known. Azerbaijan sent petitions to the countries of which they are citizens, work to this effect continues," Aliyev said.

Despite significant challenges, Azerbaijan continues to work on the extradition of mercenaries who participated on the Armenian side during the second Karabakh war, he underlined.

"Unfortunately, some states don't provide sufficient assistance in this regard. However, as you know, after the second Karabakh war, Azerbaijan prosecuted the perpetrators of the Khojaly genocide. These mercenaries will be held accountable as well. On the other hand, the country uses the documents of these criminal cases in the International Court of Justice and other international forums. The evidence presented to Azerbaijan reveals that the policy of Armenia as a state contradicts the norms of international law," Aliyev stressed.

Baku: Macron’s false allegations disrupt France’s mediating role in Azerbaijani-Armenian peace talks

President Emmanuel Macron’s false allegations are undermining France’s mediation role in the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace talks, Azernews reports, citing the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

The ministry made the statement in response to Macron's anti-Azerbaijani remarks in his televised interview on October 12.

The ministry emphasized that the claims, largely addressed to the domestic audiences, explicitly defend Armenia and are unacceptable.

“We reject the French president's groundless charges against Azerbaijan,” the ministry stressed.

It went on to say that Emmanuel Macron is the president of the country that has not condemned Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani territories for nearly 30 years.

Despite the fact that his country is a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the French president has said nothing about Armenia’s illegal activities in the formerly occupied lands, its gross violation of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, and the rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis, as well as Armenia's disrespect for fundamental principles of international law, and its failure to implement the UN Security Council resolutions, the ministry recalled.

Unfortunately, the French president remains tight-lipped on Armenia's refusal to fulfill the provisions of the trilateral statement posing threat to the regional security by planting mines in Azerbaijani lands.

Azerbaijan, for its part, despite the Minsk Group's inability to function, did not reject the French president's mediation initiatives for the rehabilitation of ties with Armenia, and so far, two quadrilateral meetings have been held under Macron's auspices (February 4, 2022, and October 6, 2022).

“However, the French president's views on Azerbaijan call into doubt his neutrality and impartiality of the mediation efforts,” the ministry stressed.

In light of Azerbaijan's attempts to ensure regional peace, stability, and prosperity by restoring ties based on international legal principles, France's one-sided stance and unjustified accusations compel to rethink this country's mediation efforts, the statement added.

Azerbaijani, Armenian foreign ministers negotiate draft peace deal in Astana

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan met in Astana to negotiate a draft peace treaty under the aegis of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Azernews reports, citing the Foreign Ministry.

“The meeting between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, and Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan has started in Astana,” the ministry tweeted.

During the trilateral meeting on October 14, Bayramov highlighted that the previous meeting in a similar format was conducted in May in Dushanbe, emphasizing that the present meeting is an excellent chance to examine progress since then.

He underlined that a bilateral meeting on the peace accord was held on October 2 in Geneva, during which Azerbaijan provided Armenia with the major elements of the prospective peace deal and is awaiting Armenia's reply in this regard.

The minister added that Azerbaijan submitted the basic principles of the peace treaty in February, and at the end of the quadrilateral conference in Prague (October 6), both Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to mutually recognize and respect each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, which should be regarded as progress toward signing the accord.

The sides also exchanged views on potential directions of the normalization between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Bayramov highlighted the importance of starting practical actions based on the progress achieved during the negotiations of the trilateral working group on the opening of communications.

It was reported that the border delimitation commissions had already been established, with two meetings already held, and a third meeting scheduled for the near future. Bayramov emphasized that Azerbaijan is in favor of taking concrete steps in certain directions in this process.

The minister emphasized the importance of full implementation of the trilateral declarations by Armenia. He added that Armenia continues to plant mines in Azerbaijani territory and refuses to give mine maps, torpedoing the normalization of relations.

During the discussion, perspectives on other humanitarian concerns conducive to the normalization process were also sounded.

Earlier, Bayramov and his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan met to negotiate a draft peace treaty in Geneva on October 2.

The bilateral meeting was organized in accordance with the task assigned to foreign ministers to develop the text of the peace treaty as agreed by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on August 31 in Brussels under the auspices of European Union Council President Charles Michel.