Opinions & Editorials

In recent months, several political developments seemed to enhance Armenia’s position vis-à-vis that of its enemies, i.e., the verdict at the International Court of Justice, the placement of 100 European Union monitors on Armenia’s territory, and the resolutions adopted at the French Senate and National Assembly (the two houses of the French parliament). In addition, the tragic earthquakes shattering Turkey’s provinces (as well as Syria) had temporarily put a limit to Turkey’s aggressive stance...

After two years of a devastating war, Azerbaijan’s unrelenting pressure, in terms of border incursions, false negotiations and constant demands for concessions, recently, a turn of events offered a respite, some breathing room to recover and maybe even return to normalcy. In addition, nature’s fury could lead to changes in regional politics. The powerful earthquake in Turkey, which also devastated Syria, shook fundamentally the architecture of that country’s foreign policy, which will become more apparent in...

Until recently, Armenia faced a threat to its sovereignty from Azerbaijan. After the 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev demanded the opening of the “Zangezur Corridor,” which effectively would bisect Armenia’s territory, thereby compromising its sovereignty. This was Aliyev’s condition for signing a peace treaty after the disastrous 44-Day War. As if that were not enough, Mr. Aliyev invented another plan to completely take over Armenia’s territory, proclaiming it “Western Azerbaijan.” Indeed, Mr....

Another hot topic was tossed into the already superheated public debate in Armenia amid the Armenia-Russia standoff, blockaded Lachin corridor and the stalled Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty negotiations, among other issues. Indeed, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration’s initiative to send rescuers and aid to Turkey rocked the news and social media in Armenia. Most opposition voices criticized the initiative, while the government sources and regime-friendly news outlets defended the move, on several grounds. The debate continues...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s transformation from posing as a strategic ally of Armenia to that of a sworn enemy has spanned a spectacular political trajectory over the last two years, since the 44-Day War, which Azerbaijan waged against Armenia in 2020, with the active participation of the Turkish army, Israeli drones, Pakistani pilots and Islamist jihadist mercenaries. That war blew the cover of mystery draped over the strategic partnership between Armenia and Russia, as...

News of incidents which took place in Jerusalem on January 27 through 29 have alarmed the world Armenian community, as a group of extremist Jewish settlers have attacked an Armenian restaurant and the Armenian Patriarchate, shouting incendiary slogans, such as “Death to the Arabs, Death to the Christians.” When cornered in this recent incident, the Armenians, who trace their history in the Holy City to the sixth century AD, reminded their attackers, who asked a...

Armenia can hardly handle one calamity at a time but a rapid succession of disastrous occurrences is shaking the country to its core. The closure of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan with its ensuing humanitarian consequences had left the Armenian nation reeling from Yerevan to the remote corners of the diaspora. We were in a national dialogue to find out a solution to the blockade and help the 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) to survive....

During the victory parade in Baku on December 10, 2020, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey stood on the dais as a hero next to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, as he extolled the memory of Enver Pasha, one of the planners of the Armenian Genocide, and declared, “We are here to realize the dreams of our ancestors,” meaning to bring the century-old genocidal policy to its logical conclusion. Today, Mr. Erdogan wishes to project a...

Throughout history Armenians have been notoriously divided, even in the face of catastrophe, and that, more often than not, has contributed to our historic losses. Today, as Artsakh nears the point of extinction, are we speaking with one voice? Apparently not. We hear pro-Russian comments from Stepanakert and anti-Russian statements from Yerevan. If this dissonance were based on agreed upon disagreements, we would be gratified that finally Armenians have come to the realization that in the...

It has been almost a month since Artsakh’s blockade by Azerbaijan in full view of the Russian peacekeeping forces. Yet, there is a general apathy in the world and even in the world Armenian community — shocking, as the destiny of 120,000 Armenians is on the line. On December 31, the Guardian newspaper published a summary of worldwide problems by its correspondents around the world mentioning hotspots to be watched during the new year. They...