Tag: 2020 Artsakh War

Is Armenia a nation-state? While the answer may seem obvious at first glance, upon closer examination, the question's significance becomes apparent, writes Tigran Yegavian.

The 2020 Artsakh War served as a stark reminder of the transformative role that drones are playing on the modern battlefield. Davit Khachatryan argues, however, that the overemphasis surrounding drones requires a more sober and critical analysis.

After being forcibly displaced by Azerbaijan, a group of men from Artsakh transformed the interior of a dilapidated hospital in the Ararat region of Armenia and built eight separate apartments for their families. A photo story by Ani Gevorgyan.

An Armenian film, “1489” won the Main Jury and the International Federation of Film Critics prizes at the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam in 2023 amid upheaval and controversy that triggered a series of withdrawals and boycotts of the festival for its perceived silence regarding Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

Azerbaijan has been using military and diplomatic coercion to achieve its maximalist and expansionist objectives, employing wide-ranging tools of hybrid war while also deceiving and harassing international actors. Sossi Tatikyan explains.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of Armenian nationals crossing the U.S.-Mexico border following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War. This trend speaks to the urgency and desperation of those leaving a country plagued by conflict. Maral Tavitian’s investigation.

The issue of tiny but strategically placed Soviet-era enclaves in Armenia and Azerbaijan has come to the forefront of peace talks in recent months. Hovhannes Nazaretyan maps it out.

California Superior Court Judge Gassia Apkarian, an advisor to the Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ), says that the forced deportation of the Armenians of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) by Azerbaijan constitutes genocide. The CFTJ, created in the aftermath of the 2020 Artsakh War, oversees the collection of firsthand testimonial evidence from survivors of war through in-depth, recorded interviews to be a living memorial to crimes against humanity, for study, education and legal action.

Over a year after Russian troops were deployed to Artsakh, here’s what we know about the Russian presence there, with the historical background for Moscow’s drive for boots on the ground in Artsakh.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of February 18: An Armenian soldier is wounded by Azerbaijani gunfire in Artsakh; Baku threatens to arrest Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan; Armenia’s former President Robert Kocharyan says Armenia should consider joining the Union State of Russia and Belarus and more.

As Armenia works to rebuild its positions following the 2020 Artsakh War, it must assess the challenges, threats and risks of the security environment and clarify a position that reflects state and national interests.

Are Armenians doomed to endure the contemptuous kleptocracy of the “old” and the cynical defeatism of the “new”? Gaidz Minassian proposes an alternate vision, one that was conceived of by Aram Manoukian over a century ago.

Western attempts to infiltrate into the sphere of Russian influence have meant to weaken Russia and maintain constant tension. Could this result in larger clashes with more unpredictable consequences, this time between large geopolitical players?

A year after the end of the war in Artsakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan are far from a sustainable peace. Regardless of how many olive branches are gifted to the leaders of the two sides, we are once again back to a “no war, no peace” situation, writes Tatev Hayrapetyan.

Since the end of the 2020 Artsakh War, Russia has enjoyed an effective monopoly over the negotiation process. Recent initiatives by the EU suggest that Europe may be taking a more proactive role in the South Caucasus.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of November 12: This week marked one year since the November 9 trilateral statement that ended the 2020 Artsakh War; Azerbaijani forces place customs checkpoints on the portion of the Goris-Kapan highway that now runs through Azerbaijani controlled territory; a second Armenian civilian in Artsakh is killed and three others wounded by Azerbaijani forces.

This is not a story about war. This is the story of what happens after the bullets, missiles, bombs and drones no longer fly through the autumn air. Maria Titizian recounts her journey to Artsakh last year, two days after the signing of the trilateral statement ending the war.

A year has passed since the end of the 2020 Artsakh War. The ceasefire statement signed by the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, brought a new geopolitical reality to the region.

Armenia’s government has introduced a number of benefits for the tech industry. Will these benefits contribute to the development of the sector and are they sufficient to solve the existing challenges?

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of November 5: Covid numbers continue to surge in the country; the ECHR obliges Baku to pay compensation to the families of two Armenian captives in cases dating back to 2014; as the anniversary of the trilateral statement that ended the 2020 Artsakh War nears, the Kremlin says it will present a comprehensive report.

On September 16, 2021, Armenia instituted proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Azerbaijan on the basis of violations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Armenia’s agent at the ICJ and international law expert Levon Gevorgyan who was an advisor and part of Armenia’s legal team at The Hague speak to EVN Report about the landmark case.

Back in early October, a resident of Martakert was shot dead by Azerbaijani fire while he was driving a tractor. A Russian peacekeeper was sitting right beside him at the time. What is behind Azerbaijan’s provocations?

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of October 22: Five Armenian POWs are returned from Azerbaijani captivity; Azerbaijan presents its case against Armenia at the International Court of Justice; a number of employees from the State Revenue Committee are arrested on corruption charges.

Will the 2022 state budget be able to solve or alleviate the socio-economic and security problems Armenia is facing?

A unique combination of causal factors at different levels made the 44-day war possible. Tigran Grigoryan presents a systematic and comprehensive explanation of the structural conditions and circumstances behind Azerbaijan’s large-scale offensive.

Controversy erupted after the Hayastan All Armenian Fund transferred 60% of funds donated during and after the war to the state budget. The absence of a complete audit almost a year since it was first proposed leaves donors still asking “where is the money?”

The UK embassy in Azerbaijan and British companies were very active during and after the 2020 Artsakh War. While the spilled blood was still fresh, British businesses were already focused on the profits to be made.

Gaidz Minassian delves into the turbulent spaces of history, memory and identity and deconstructs why the mother of all battles—the construction of a State on its sovereign pillars—was undermined.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are not interested in peace. With the new realities on the ground following Azerbaijan’s military success, the Armenian Government should be careful when promising an “era of peace” to its people.

What has Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Artsakh War revealed? Tigran Yegavian reviews a recently published White Paper that looks at a number of misconceptions, failures and dysfunctions within Armenian statehood and attempts to diagnose those ills and offer possible solutions.

Since the end of the 2020 Artsakh War, tensions between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Azerbaijan have been escalating. Although an outright military confrontation seems unlikely, it would have devastating consequences for the region.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of October 1: Iran conducts large-scale military training near its border with Azerbaijan; PACE adopts resolution regarding the humanitarian consequences of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; ICJ to hold hearings on Armenian and Azerbaijani claims in mid-October; Armenia’s former Minister of Defense arrested on embezzlement charges and more.

Since the 2020 Artsakh War, France has been at the forefront of diplomatic activity in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. What goal is Paris hoping to achieve with this issue that is so far removed from the concerns of the French?

Simon Maghakyan, who lectures on international relations at the University of Colorado, Denver and is a visiting scholar at Tufts University has been researching Eurasian politics of cultural erasure since 2005. He speaks to EVN Report about the threat of the destruction of Armenian historical monuments that are now under Azerbaijani control.

Armenia instituted proceedings against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice on the basis of violations of the Convention on Elimination of Racial Discrimination. A week later, Azerbaijan submitted its own claim against Armenia. Gabriel Armas-Cardona breaks it down.

Dictators are emboldened by the silence of those who claim to be proponents of human rights and justice. Turkey’s Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s Aliyev must be held accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity, writes Irina Ghaplanyan.

Does the Armenian diaspora have a role in the process of state building? Tigran Yegavian presents a brief history of Armenia-Diaspora relations starting with Armenia’s independence and offers some insights to rectify the absence of an effective relationship.

Armenia will be looking to take advantage of its chairmanship of the CSTO to create a new Crisis Response Center. If its supposed allies continue their indifference even at the organizational stage, they should all be asking themselves why they are together in the first place.

Canada has a finely-crafted international image as a champion of human rights. While different factors contributed to the outcome of the 2020 Artsakh War, one of them, the Turkish Bayraktar drone used against Artsakh, was heavily reliant on target acquisition optics made by a Canadian company.

After enlisting in the US Army at the age of 17 and serving several tours in Afghanistan, Joe Kassabian returned and published his novel “Hooligans of Kandahar.” Kassabian also hosts a popular military history podcast series called Lions Led by Donkeys. During a recent visit to Armenia, Kassabian spoke to EVN Report about the 2020 Artsakh War, the frustration of the biased coverage of the war, the absence of nuance, and how he plans on never shutting up about the cause of Armenia.

After launching an attack against Artsakh in 2020, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has taken every opportunity to take personal credit for Azerbaijan’s military successes, along with his family.

Azerbaijani Armed Forces used internationally banned cluster bombs and weapons containing white phosphorus during the 2020 Artsakh War. The use of incendiary weapons caused severe burns to dozens of soldiers and irreversible loss to the environment.

China considers Turkey a key strategic partner under the Belt and Road Initiative. It has also intensified economic relations with Azerbaijan and is keen to diversify its commercial routes to Europe. Was China a silent observer or did it have any role to play during the 2020 Artsakh War.

A complex set of issues is impacting water resources, from poor management to threats to water security in Armenia and Artsakh. EVN Report’s Maria Titizian spoke to Stepan Khachatryan, a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and water resources specialist, who is also supporting the coordination of the Kaps Reservoir, the largest industrial hydro-engineering project in Armenia.

When Lilit Odabashian puts her mind to something, she makes it happen. Like Armenians all over the world, Lilit was devastated at what was happening during the 2020 Artsakh War. She decided to start a Facebook group called Buy Armenian to encourage people to buy Armenian products as a way of trying to do her part. As the group grew and took on a life of its own, her husband Nishan joined the initiative and they launched the Buy Armenian website that features over 800 vendors.

Following the 2020 Artsakh War, the creation of a new geopolitical reality in the region by Baku and Ankara opened a "Pandora's Box" forcing the main stakeholders to re-articulate their geopolitical agenda.

After remaining on the sidelines of the 2020 Artsakh War, the EU seems to be back with a renewed and impressive strategy for Armenia. With this new agenda, is the EU trying to counterbalance the influence of other regional players?

Today marks the one year anniversary of the Tavush clashes. This article looks into the chronology of events as they developed, the subsequent narrative that was perpetuated in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the consequent reactions of regional and international powers.

Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 Artsakh War was a collective failure of all state bodies and institutions. The new Armenian government must construct a foreign policy doctrine defined by “strategic engagement.”

After its victory in the 2020 Artsakh War, Azerbaijan started massive restoration projects in the seven conquered regions of the Republic of Artsakh. These projects will undoubtedly impact Armenia.

After the shocking defeat in the war, the use of the notion of “remedial secession” has not been consistent, neither by the authorities nor by other political forces in Armenia. Sossi Tatikian explains.

Twenty-six political parties and alliances of parties have registered with the Central Electoral Commission to take part in the upcoming snap parliamentary election in Armenia. Everything you need to know about them is in this essential primer.

Armenians may be wary of going to the polls in the upcoming snap parliamentary elections, but democracy remains the only option on the ballot.

A day after the trilateral agreement ending the 2020 Artsakh War was signed, the first contingents of Russian peacekeepers were deployed. Six months in, clarifications regarding the size, mandate and mission of the peacekeepers are still not clear.

The 2020 Artsakh War highlighted the interests, strategies and positions of Iran and Russia, both regional powers, regarding the resolution of the Karabakh Conflict.

Following Moscow’s facilitation of the ceasefire agreement ending the 2020 Artsakh War, some are asking whether Armenia should pursue “more Russia or less Russia.” The reality of the matter is that geography is inescapable.

Armenia is at the wrong end of global cyber security indexes. The lack of a comprehensive cyber security national policy makes the country's network and information systems vulnerable. The 2020 Artsakh War clearly proved this.

Azerbaijan increased its military spending by 17% in 2020; this was among the largest annual increases in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Ani Avetisyan breaks down the numbers of the military expenditures of both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia has about 15,000 active COVID-19 cases. Even if that number decreases by June 20, there will most likely be thousands of eligible voters who are positive. With no mail-in voting and no opportunity to vote in advance, election administrators face a constitutional conundrum.

Approximately 11,000 soldiers were injured during the 2020 Artsakh War. As they are healing and trying to reintegrate back into society, they are often facing bureaucratic red tape and an inaccessible physical environment.

Although Nikol Pashinyan and Donald Trump are different in demeanor and policy, both lean heavily on the populist playbook. Each is more comfortable fighting against resistant forces rather than governing through institutions.

Azerbaijan and Turkey are highly incentivized to make the Meghri corridor a reality as soon as possible. For Azerbaijan it’s to have a direct link with its exclave of Nakhijevan. For Turkey, it opens up a direct connection with Azerbaijan and the Turkic world beyond.

Following the 2018 Velvet Revolution, a group of civic activists came together and formed the Citizen’s Decision Social Democratic Party. Gor Hakobyan, Secretary of the Executive Board of the party says their objective was to be part of the country’s political processes. He talks to EVN Report about the need to change the political culture in Armenia, especially in the current polarized political climate following the 2020 Artsakh War. Instead of finding solutions and devising strategies, the “two sides” are blaming one another, he says.

With Russia and now Turkey having new footholds in the South Caucasus following the 2020 Artsakh War, will Washington under the Biden administration attempt to counter these new developments?

The November 10 ceasefire agreement ended the 2020 Artsakh War, but the issue of demarcating the new state borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been a major concern since then.

The 2020 Artsakh War put to the test long-held assumptions about the roles of neighbors and global players in the region. Some maintained and reinforced their significance and role in the region, others raised their importance and some were invisible.

When Armenia declared independence in 1991, there was still a large contingent of Soviet troops in the country. Russian military presence, however, stretches back to the early 19th century and now, after the 2020 Artsakh War, is expanding.

Amalya Yeghoyan, Project Manager of Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF), speaks about a number of their programs including women’s entrepreneurship, programming courses for veterans of the 2020 Artsakh War and the recently launched Armenian Engineering City.

Instead of playing semantics, PM Nikol Pashinyan should have taken responsibility for the war's disastrous outcome and resigned. A golden opportunity to push the democratic movement forward was squandered.

The demand for the Prime Minister’s resignation by the Army’s General Staff is a violation of the civilian-military doctrine that has served as an institutional and normative standard within Armenia’s state system and establishes a highly dangerous precedent.

Armenia’s top military brass called for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation on Thursday. Pashinyan considered it to be an attempt at a military coup and said that the era of leniency is over. A recap of the deepening political tensions in the country.

Arthur Khachatryan, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s Supreme Body says that the Homeland Salvation Movement, an alliance of opposition political parties that came together during the 2020 Artsakh War, will continue applying pressure, holdin

Several popular myths that had become deeply entrenched in Armenian society began collapsing after the war. Today, new myths are being constructed. Will Armenians risk fooling themselves into disingenuous politics and disastrous policy based on a set of new myths?

Given the growing sense of global multipolarity and the apparent twilight years of the American-anchored liberal international order, Armenia cannot solely rely on friends and allies around the globe to ensure its survival. A more realistic approach is necessary.

War casualties are one of the major components of Armenia’s demographic crisis. Beyond their immediate impact, they also leave traces for years afterwards.

The operation of the Southern Gas Corridor raises the geopolitical significance of Azerbaijan and Turkey, contributing to the further isolation of Armenia from regional projects. The EU seems to limit its concern about human rights violations and war crimes in Artsakh to mere lip service.

Arman Tatoyan, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender spoke to EVN Report about Azerbaijan’s criminal politicization of the release and return of Armenia POWs following the 2020 Artsakh War; the gross violations of the rule of law and human rights in the demarcation process of Armenia’s borders with Azerbaijan; Armenophobia and hate speech at the state level in Azerbaijan; the fate of IDPs and the threat to Armenian historic, cultural and religious monuments now under Azerbaijani control.

The EU’s weak stance and incapacity to act during a time of great need for the Armenian people still reverberates. Today, Armenians are asking themselves if they can afford to trust the EU again.

The 2020 Artsakh War changed the geopolitical picture in the South Caucasus, impacting all the countries in the region. While there were clear winners and losers, some countries both won and lost.

Haykak Arshamyan, the Executive Director of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund speaks to EVN Report about the Fund’s activities during the 2020 Artsakh War, lessons learned and the vision for the future.

Armenia can either unify around a shared vision for the future or digress into internal political strife. Artin DerSimonian explores what a unified Armenian vision for the future could include if the country is to continue on the path of healthy socio-economic development.

HALO Trust is working to clear unexploded ordnance from schools, homes, gardens, fields and public spaces in Stepanakert and other towns and cities following the 2020 Artsakh War. Nick Smart, Regional Director, Europe for HALO Trust talks about the situation, the challenges and needs in the coming years to ensure the land is safe.

This opinion piece argues that Armenia can pursue a strategy that can lead to the defense of democracy with respect to the right to self-determination of peoples by aligning itself with other stateless nations.

During the 2020 Artsakh War, Azerbaijani forces violated the rules of war and committed severe war crimes. International human rights lawyer, Ara Ghazaryan, who has taken numerous cases to the European Court of Human Rights, speaks about the nature of these crimes and what steps are being taken.

The past year has been extremely tumultuous for Armenia: from COVID-19 to the 2020 Artsakh War. In recent weeks Armenia's currency has fluctuated to the point that the Central Bank of Armenia was forced to intervene. EVN Report's Harout Manougian talks about his experience with the blips in the exchange rate.

David Barsamian of Alternative Radio speaks with Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor Emeritus at MIT about the Azerbaijani offensive in Artsakh, how the roots of the conflict stretch back through history when borders were drawn by powers pursuing their own self-interests and the need for international diplomacy.