Armenia

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said at the VIII Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on September 12 that the issue of Artsakh’s status has been resolved.

A truck loaded with Russian humanitarian aid for Artsakh has arrived in Stepanakert through the Akna (Aghdam)-Askeran road, Artsakhpress news agency reported on 12 September.

Regional Post discussed the many challenges and opportunities for the Armenian economy with Vache Gabrielyan, the Dean of the Manoogian Simone College of Business and Economics at the American University of Armenia (AUA). Dr. Gabrielyan’s insights come from a deep understanding of the issues, also given that he has served Armenia in a range of capacities in the public sector, including Vice-Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia (2008-2010), Minister of Finance (2010-2012), Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia and the Minister of International Economic Integration and Reforms (2014-2018).

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement made public on 10 September expressed his country’s concern over the humanitarian situation in Artsakh. “The United States is deeply concerned about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said. He also called on to simultaneously open the Lachin corridor and the road from Aghdam for the supply of humanitarian aid.

The Rolling Stone magazine published a plea by the Armenian-American celebrity Kim Kardashian and philanthropist and physician Eric Esrailian to US President Joe Biden, calling on him to intervene on behalf of the people of Artsakh facing the threat of a genocide by Azerbaijan. 

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held a phone conversation with Yuri Kim, the U.S. acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs reported on September 7.

On 4 September the Russian official news agency TASS published an article based on a conversation with an unnamed diplomat denouncing several points expressed by the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his team. “It may happen that one morning we wake up and see that Russia is no more here,” Pashinyan has said in an interview with the Italian La Repubblica, reminding that it had happened twice over the 20th century.

The Armenian Defense Ministry on 6 September announced holding joint military exercises with the US military. The exercises Eagle Partner 2023 are to be held from 11 to 20 September in Armenia’s Zar Training Center in the framework of preparation for participation in international peacekeeping missions, the report said.