Breaking
The letter warns, “We believe you are the only one who can rescue these Christian hostages,” and condemns the Biden administration’s inaction, stating, “Almost two years ago, Azerbaijan ethnically cleansed more than 120,000 Christian Armenians from their ancestral homes, while the Biden administration refused to take action.”
The leaders praise Trump’s past support, referencing his Oct. 23, 2024, statement: “When I am President, I will protect persecuted Christians, I will work to stop the violence and ethnic cleansing, and we will restore PEACE between Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
European Parliament to Debate Motion for a Resolution on Azerbaijan’s Unlawful Detention of Armenian POWs
The European Parliament will discuss a motion for a resolution on Azerbaijan’s arbitrary detention of Armenian prisoners and sham trials during its plenary session on March 12.
- Calls on Azerbaijan to immediately release all arbitrarily detained individuals, including Armenian POWs and civilian hostages.
- Expresses alarm over credible reports of ill-treatment, coerced confessions, and the denial of legal defense for Armenian detainees.
- Condemns the forced closure of ICRC and UN offices in Baku, which hinders support for detainees and humanitarian oversight.
- Criticizes the EU’s continued engagement with Azerbaijan despite human rights violations, including the post-2020 war crackdown on civil society.
- Calls on EU Delegations and Member State embassies in Baku to demand access to observe trials of political prisoners.
- Urges the European Commission to impose sanctions under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime on individuals responsible for ongoing abuses.
- Stresses the need for Azerbaijan to avoid delaying the signing of a peace treaty with Armenia, highlighting the benefits of stability in the region.
Members of Congress Urge to Continue Strengthening U.S.-Armenia Ties During Hearing
During the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee hearing on March 11, 2025, Representatives Bill Keating (D-MA), Gabe Amo (D-RI), and Dina Titus (D-NV) underscored the importance of bolstering U.S. assistance to Armenia.
Rep. Keating highlighted the aspirations of several European nations, stating, “In Europe, countries like Moldova, Georgia, Kosovo, and Armenia are seeking greater U.S. economic cooperation and assistance in fostering democratic efforts in those areas.”
Rep. Amo cautioned that freezing foreign assistance jeopardizes U.S. credibility, especially with countries like Armenia that are strengthening ties with the U.S., stating, “The message that we are sending is one that is detrimental to our commitment to countries like Armenia who need us to be committed in this relationship.”
Rep. Titus underscored the strategic value of such support, noting, “Fostering more responsive governance in Armenia, boosting civil society engagement in Georgia, supporting political pluralism in Bosnia and Herzegovina—these are the kinds of programs that are soft power that do not only further the values that we have but also help our national security.”
Azerbaijan’s Ethnic Cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and Genocidal Policy
Pakistani Human Rights Activist and Nobel Laureate Syeda Ghulam Fatima to Attend Ruben Vardanyan’s Trial in Baku
Syeda Ghulam Fatima, a Pakistani human rights activist, 2016 Aurora Prize Finalist, and Nobel Laureate, has announced her intention to travel to Baku to attend the trial of former Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.
“It’s easy to condemn injustice from afar, but real change requires action. That’s why I have decided to go to Baku to attend the trial”.
Armenia Threatened by Aggression as Azerbaijan Joins Invaders’ List of Info Justice
Baku is threatening to annex another large area of Armenian territory: a strip of land in southern Armenia near its border with Iran. The strip of land coveted by Azerbaijan is located in the Syunik region, also known as Zangezur. It is Armenia’s most mineral-rich province and accounts for 15% of Armenia’s national territory. The Zangezur Corridor is a proposed transport corridor linking Azerbaijan to the landlocked territory of Nakhchivan, crossing through Armenia without Armenia having any control over it. In an interview with Azerbaijani media on January 7, 2025, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev said that Armenians “should not be a geographical barrier between Turkey and Azerbaijan. The Zangezur Corridor must and will be opened. The sooner they understand this, the better”.
Spain MP: ‘Western Azerbaijan’ Narrative Aims to Justify Ethnic Cleansing of Karabakh Armenians
“As we all know Azerbaijan has begun a new propaganda campaign in an attempt to rewrite history with the so-called claim of ‘western Azerbaijan’, which encompasses nearly the entire territory of Armenia. This narrative’s goal is to justify the ethnic cleansing of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and prepare grounds for a new invasion by calling Armenian lands ‘historic Azerbaijan’, Spanish Member of Parliament Jon Iñarritu has said.
Driven by Fear from Nagorno-Karabakh
My Father Could Not Walk; He Stayed in the Forest’: The Forced Deportation of the Population of Sznek
Robert Musayelyan, an 83-year-old man from the village of Sznek in Nagorno-Karabakh, has been missing since September 19, 2023, following the Azerbaijani army’s attack on the peaceful population of Artsakh. His son, Edward, shared the heartbreaking details of his father’s disappearance during an evacuation:
“My father could not walk; he stayed in the forest: there was no one to inspect the forests.”
Despite extensive searches and DNA tests, Robert’s fate remains unknown, while others from his group were either captured, killed, or returned. The lack of attention to the forests, where many were left behind, has left countless families in agony, waiting for answers.
Displaced Karabakh Armenians Urge Switzerland to Champion Their Right of Return
Representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh’s displaced Armenian population are appealing to Switzerland to advocate for their right to return to their homeland on the international stage. Swiss Parliament’s lower house adopted a resolution in December 2024, supporting the Karabakh Armenians’ right to return; the upper house will debate it next week.
Photo of the Week
Protests in Yerevan demand the immediate release of Armenian prisoners detained in Azerbaijan, calling for sanctions against Azerbaijan.
Photo Courtesy of Civil Net.
Security
Armenia in the CSTO: A Strategic Look
By Silvia Boltuc
Armenia has frozen its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) since February 2024. The country has also ceased financial contributions and engagement in CSTO activities.
Renewed Acrimony Overshadows Armenian- Azerbaijani Peace Process as Baku Makes Territorial Claim
The Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process is going sideways, with belligerent rhetoric displacing hopes that a lasting settlement is within reach.
Economy
Ambassador Makunts and U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman Discuss Bilateral Relations and Double Taxation
Education
Armenian Minister of Education Meets U.S. Ambassador to Strengthen Cooperation in Education, Science, and Cultural Heritage
The meeting focused on cooperation in the field of education, particularly opportunities for collaboration in higher education and science within the framework of the Academic City project.
Opinion
Freedom House Betrays Freedom by Erasing Armenian Victims
By Michael Rubin
Such a betrayal has ramifications. Dictators hate when Democrats shine a light on their reality. If Freedom House shows total eradication of democracies can relieve them of attention and criticism, then they will not even turn their conquests into tourist museums like China does in Tibet and east Turkestan (Xinjiang). It will simply seek to complete genocide as Azerbaijan now does in Nagorno-Karabakh. Whether purposely or not, Freedom House has become complicit.
Azerbaijan’s Information Warfare Against France
By Sossi Tatikyan
Azerbaijan is becoming increasingly ambitious, aiming to position itself as a middle-power state and independent regional and global player that can challenge France, a NATO, EU and UN SC member. Similar to Russia, Turkey and other illiberal autocratic regimes, it selectively invokes principles of sovereignty and non-interference and contests the international law, multilateral institutions, mediation mechanisms and the rules-based global order to avoid international scrutiny while pursuing its geopolitical ambitions.
Lessons from Nagorno-Karabakh: What Taiwan’s Leadership Could Face After a Chinese Invasion
By Michael Rubin
Here, events 3,500 miles away from Beijing in Baku may give a hint. In September 2023, Azerbaijani forces invaded and ethnically cleansed Nagorno-Karabakh. Five days prior to Azerbaijan’s invasion of Artsakh, Acting Assistant Secretary of State Yuri Kim told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “We will not tolerate any military action. We will not tolerate any attack on the people of Nagorno- Karabakh. That is very clear.”