Onnik James, Author at Onnik James Krikorian - Journalist, Photojournalist, Consultant

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Confidence Building Measures

by Onnik James | Feb 23, 2022 | Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh, Social Media

In a Commonspace piece published last month, Johnny Melikian and Ramazan Samadov argue that the unblocking of regional economic and transport links represent an unprecedented opportunity for achieving peace and stability in the South Caucasus. Though the authors note that the wounds from the war will take time to heal, it is this connectivity that could prove to be the most significant development emerging from the 2020 ceasefire agreement.

However, progress along this path has been slow, and even when it does emerge, tensions between the sides could still linger. There is therefore the need to build trust and nurture cooperation and communication, and it is here that civil society can play an important role. Part of a Joint Liaison Group on Confidence Building Measures, a group of Armenian and Azerbaijani experts and practitioners facilitated by the LINKS Europe Foundation and the European Union, Melikian and Samadov offer five suggestions:

1. Comprehensive Study. It is in the interest of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, and of their regional and international partners, that plans for the opening up of connectivity in the South Caucasus are ambitious. They must however also be based on facts and realistic calculations. For this reason, it is important that a major comprehensive study is commissioned as soon as possible that will consider different options and scenarios, mainly from a financial, economic, social and environmental perspective to provide all interested sides with both a base line of the point of departure and a road map for the future.

2. Regional Development Fund. In parallel, work should start on the establishment of a regional development fund, using the latest best practices approaches, including through the involvement of the private sector. The fund should include the major international financial institutions, as well as the countries of the region.

3. Widening People-to-People Contacts. The process of connectivity needs to be seen also through the prism of people-to-people contacts. The impact on families and local communities needs to be constantly monitored and assessed, and border communities in particular need to be prepared for what will be a seismic change in their life. A regional commission, with the representatives of border communities should be set up to study, monitor and follow this process and recommend remedial action where necessary.

4. South Caucasus Social and Economic Forum. The South Caucasus Social and Economic Forum, to be held alternating between the three countries of the region with participation from governments, universities, think tanks, civil society and business. The forum can become an annual feature in the calendar of the region where new ideas are launched and discussed.

5. Joint Economic Zone on the Armenia-Azerbaijan-Georgia border to serve as a showcase for regional trade and industrial cooperation. In this regard the three countries of the region should consider the establishment of a Special Economic Zone near the point where the border between the three countries meets near the so called Red Bridge. The area, part of which is at the moment a dangerous minefield, should be cleaned and should be rehabilitated to be turned into a showcase for regional trade and industrial co-operation.

In conclusion, Melikian and Samadov again stress the need for significant progress in the post-war environment. “The noise and smell of war has dominated life in the South Caucasus for more than three decades. A generation has grown up knowing nothing else, and the next one is following,” they wrote. “We owe it to this and future generations to work for peace and cooperation in the region, and the opportunities that are within the grasp of the people of the region should not now be squandered.”

The Joint Liaison Group on Confidence Building Measures has previously called for the creation of a regional youth centre in Georgia, a common cultural heritage foundation, and other activities in the area of education, media, and deradicalisation. The group has also called on the EU to launch a comprehensive and inclusive diplomatic initiative that can lead to the signing of a South Caucasus Peace and Stability Pact by the end of 2030.

Source: Armenia-Azerbaijan connectivity is crucial for the future of the South Caucasus, and important also for partners beyond https://www.commonspace.eu/opinion/armenia-azerbaijan-connectivity-crucial-future-south-caucasus-and-important-also-partners

CONFLICT VOICES e-BOOKS

Conflict Voices – December 2010

Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict
Download in English | Russian

Conflict Voices – May 2011

Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict
Download in English | Russian

Azerbaijani MPs Expected in Yerevan

by Onnik James | Feb 18, 2022 | Armenia, Azerbaijan, European Union, Nagorno Karabakh

To very little publicity, let alone fanfare, a delegation of Azerbaijani MPs is expected to arrive in Yerevan, Armenia, next week to attend a meeting of the Bureau and Committees of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. Euronest is an inter-parliamentary forum comprising members of the European Parliament and the parliaments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

It was established in 2011 by the European Commission as part of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP). Next week’s meeting will take place 21-22 February at the Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex.

Assuming the visit does go ahead, it will be the first visit by deputies from either country to attend an international event in the other following the 2020 Karabakh war. For now, their visit is expected given that it is mentioned on the official website of the National Assembly of Armenia.

Members of the parliaments of the Eastern Partnership countries and the European Parliament will take part in the meetings. The visit of the members of the European Parliament, as well as the parliaments of Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia to Yerevan is planned.

Public Radio of Armenia also reported that an Azerbaijani delegation is expected to attend though, with the exception of the Yerevan Bureau of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), more details were not available. According to RFE/RL, however, the Azerbaijani delegation expressed its readiness to attend the meeting in Yerevan and three names were reported – Azerbaijani MPs Azar Karimli, Tahir Mirkishili, and Soltan Mammadov.

Update 21 February 2022: It now appears that only Mirkishili and Mammadov will attend:

Fevralın 22-də Ermənistanda AVRONEST Parlament Assambleyasının komitə iclasları keçiriləcək.

Tədbirlərdə AVRONEST PA-da Azərbaycan nümayəndə heyətinin üzvləri Tahir Mirkişili və Soltan Məmmədov iştirak edəcəklər.https://t.co/SAGeP6iwSj pic.twitter.com/6CQhQULpFA
— Soltan Mammadov (@SoltanMammadov) February 21, 2022

This development is particularly significant because in 2015, when a plenary session of Euronest was held in Yerevan, the Azerbaijani delegation refused to attend for political reasons. Nonetheless, RFE/RL quotes the head of the Euronest Armenian delegation, Maria Karapetyan, as reminding people that such visits have occurred in the past, with Armenian deputies visiting Baku and Azerbaijani deputies visiting Yerevan.

And despite the sensitivities of the recent war, Karapetyan also noted that two Armenian deputies visited Azerbaijan for Euronest in the year following the April 2016 war. This included then Republican Party MP Armen Ashotyan.

Such visits, of course, have not been uncommon in the past with even senior members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) visiting Baku. In 2010, ARF Bureau Member Giro Manoyan visited Baku. And in 2012, Vahan Hovhannisyan, visited Baku to attend Euronest when it was held there, even meeting with the Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev, just as the Catholicos of All Armenians, Karekin II, did in 2010.

The following year, Azerbaijani’s main religious leader, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade, visited Yerevan. In 2011, then Minister of Interior Ramil Usubov became the highest ranking Azerbaijani official to visit Armenia to attend a meeting of CIS Interior Ministers in Yerevan. This aside, of course, from occasional visits by athletes for international sporting events or civil society exchanges such as that in 2019 of journalists.

Though the event has received little coverage other than that from RFE/RL, if the participation of Azerbaijani MPs in Yerevan next week does take place then it would confirm some speculation that there might be now the green light from both sides to see more such visits between the two countries and possibly represent progress in the possible normalisation of relations following the 2020 war.

And if it does happen, what will also be interesting is how they travel.

Though many reacted as if AZAL has only used Armenian airspace since October last year, that’s not strictly true. Before 2014, Azerbaijani registered aircraft had reportedly used it and in 2006 an AZAL flight carrying the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs flew direct from Baku to Yerevan. Such a route, rather than by normal flights via Tbilisi, might cost more, but it would also be highly symbolic if the delegation were to travel from Baku to Yerevan the same way.

Update 21 February 2022: Both Mirkishili and Mammadov appear to be in Dubai so it’s possible they could travel to Yerevan from there.

CONFLICT VOICES e-BOOKS

Conflict Voices – December 2010

Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict
Download in English | Russian

Conflict Voices – May 2011

Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict
Download in English | Russian

Perspectives from Armenia on the Aliyev-Pashinyan Teleconference

by Onnik James | Feb 18, 2022 | Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh

In a podcast with ANN/Groong, Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan, the founder of the Center for Political and Economic Strategic Studies, offered his opinion from Yerevan on the recent teleconference between the Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Council President Charles Michel held on 4 February 2022.

Poghosyan said that he believed the video conference focused mainly on humanitarian issues. This resulted in the return of 8 Armenian detainees held in Azerbaijan and the return by Armenia of the remains of 108 Azerbaijanis from the Karabakh war of the early 1990s. He also said that he did not exclude the possibility that there was a follow-up on discussions and agreements made at the previous Sochi and Brussels meetings.

In a video released prior to the teleconference, Macron stated that it was important to do this after Brussels. Poghosyan believes that this related to the construction and reconstruction of the Soviet-era railway connecting Azerbaijan through Armenia to Nakhichevan, Armenia to Iran via Nakhichevan, and the potential connection from Armenia to Russia via Azerbaijan.

When asked if the announcement of a €2 billion assistance package to Baku was an attempt by the EU to create its own separate format with Armenia and Azerbaijan away from Moscow, Poghosyan believes that it was not. Macron and Michel continue to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin before meeting with Aliyev and Pashinyan, he said. They all want peace and stability in the South Caucasus region, Poghosyan noted.

“Franky speaking I don’t believe we have competition,” he said. “I believe that at least from France and the European Union perspective there is no competition, somehow to create an alternative platform, try to replace Russia, or thwart Russian efforts, but I have an understanding that there is some preliminary agreement or at least discussed policy or strategy implemented by Russia and the European Union.”

He also highlighted how neither the €2.6 billion for Armenia nor €2 billion package for Azerbaijan are direct financial aid. Providing the example of Armenia’s package, he said that Yerevan will only receive €40 million financial aid per year for 5 years, making €200 million in total. The remaining €2.4 billion will take the form of either loans or guarantees for loans from other financial donors for specific projects.

Poghosyan believes this will be similar for Azerbaijan’s financial assistance package. Though in both cases the actual amount could therefore turn out to be less, it can only be hoped that they can contribute to the necessary process of post-war reconstruction and development.

CONFLICT VOICES e-BOOKS

Conflict Voices – December 2010

Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict
Download in English | Russian

Conflict Voices – May 2011

Short essays on the Nagorno Karabakh Conflict
Download in English | Russian

WildFest – Enemy Domination

by Onnik James | Feb 9, 2022 | #TbilisiUnderground, Georgia, Music

Wildfest / Enemy Domination, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik James Krikorian 2022

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic I’ve not been going to many indoor gigs in Tbilisi at all. Indeed, I think I’ve only been to one in almost two years since the pandemic began, and that was only for the new year that recently passed if you don’t count special events staged for live-streaming with a skeleton and select audience. However, I have been to two outdoor events, last in December, another last June, and also another special live-streamed event.

It was damn cold, I have to say, but managed to take photographs. For more on the underground punk and metal scene in Tbilisi see the dedicated section on this website or the project’s Facebook page. There is also a Twitter account here.

Wildfest / Enemy Domination, Tbilisi, Georgia © Onnik James Krikorian 2022

Back on Track: Armenia-Azerbaijan Track II Diplomacy in Tbilisi, Georgia

by Onnik James | Feb 2, 2022 | Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabakh

UPDATE, 8 May 2022: Caucasus Edition has since posted its summary of the event and what was discussed on their website here.
—

Though there have been many online Zoom discussions between Armenian and Azerbaijan activists, analysts and academics during and especially since the 2020 Karabakh War, there have been precious few actual in-person meetings. In part, this has been because of pandemic travel restrictions, but not only. For example, one meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani analysts due to be held late last year was postponed because of the November border skirmishes and has still yet to be held. If it will at all, of course.

Unfortunately, even when such events have been held, there has been little publicity or awareness surrounding them. This, in my opinion, is a fundamental mistake just as it always was before the war. If we’re at the stage of talking about Armenia-Azerbaijan and Armenia-Turkey normalisation, then Track II meetings of Armenian and Azerbaijani civil society should be normalised in the minds of both publics. Of course, there are exceptions to this unfortunate habit of holding everything behind a shroud of secrecy.

Ahmad Alili, the Director of the Baku-Based Caucasus Policy Analysis Center (CPAC), for example, has been one.

Armenian and Azerbaijani experts discuss the role of CBMs in support of lasting peace in the SC in Kachreti, #Georgia. The workshop organised by LINKS Europe in association with the CPESS (#Armenia) and CPAC (#Azerbaijan), with the support of the #EU. https://t.co/GfjDEIXQOY
— Ahmad Alili (@AhmadAlili) September 30, 2021

It’s for that reason that it was encouraging and refreshing to discover that Caucasus Edition held a one day symposium, The Future of Armenia-Azerbaijan Relations in Tbilisi, Georgia, on the 17th January. Some 50 Armenian and Azerbaijani as well as international professionals and activists involved in cross-border cooperation and conflict-resolution initiatives to date were invited to the event.

There’s still a long way to go, of course, and until such events can be held in Armenia and Azerbaijan, rather than third countries such as Georgia, and with the participation of all, it is admittedly hardly ideal. There also remains the need to make such events more inclusive and open to others, but they nonetheless remain desperately necessary. On that, one good sign – the US Embassy in Baku has already announced that grants are now available for just that.

Hopefully, there can now also be a proper focus on alternative narratives as well as on media and social media, something that I know the International Crisis Group’s Zaur Shiriyev also believes is necessary too. Anyway, Caucasus Edition will likely publish something on what was discussed later so I will leave that to them. For now, a few photos from the event.