The Region in Brief
Artsakh
62-year-old Artsakh resident Rashid Beglaryan has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Azerbaijan. According to Azerbaijani authorities, Beglaryan was convicted for committing war crimes and will serve the first five years of his sentence in a strict regime correctional institution. The final court session in this contentious case took place on June 7. Azerbaijani prosecutors accused Beglaryan of involvement in the so-called “Khojalu genocide,” a claim disputed by many witnesses and international journalists. Born in 1962, Beglaryan was detained by Azerbaijani border guards near the village of Aghavno in August 2023, during Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh.
Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran has resumed operations as of July 15, 2024, following negotiations between the two countries. The ambassador and embassy staff have returned to Tehran, where the embassy is now located at a new address. The Iranian government has ensured the security of the embassy in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Efforts are currently underway to restore consular services, with further updates to be provided soon. The embassy was closed amid deteriorating ties between the two countries, after a gunman killed the security chief and wounded two guards at the Azerbaijani embassy.
Iran
Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mehdi Sobhani has emphasized the importance of respecting the rights of Artsakh Armenians. Sobhani reiterated Iran’s recognition of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity while simultaneously advocating for the rights of the Artsakh Armenians. He further elaborated on the significance of addressing this issue for long-term peace in the region. “That question is like a wound, and that wound must be healed. And if that wound is not healed, it is possible that it will open again. When we talk about sustainable peace, that wound should also be taken into account,” he said. “We hope that, just as the Armenians of Artsakh left their homes involuntarily, such conditions will be created so that they can return to their homes voluntarily.”
Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed a strong desire for the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, emphasizing the establishment of lasting peace between the two nations. Erdogan highlighted recent positive developments from both sides, arguing that Armenia’s prime minister is taking constructive steps, and Azerbaijan’s president supports a peace agenda. “The opening of the Zangezur corridor will be the crowning achievement of the peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Erdogan stated, adding that Turkey might consider opening its border with Armenia if the peace agreement is signed.
Hoory Minoyan
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Iranian Ambassador to Armenia is being duplicitous. On the one hand, he publicly claims Iran recognizes artificial Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity while, on the other hand, his government privately claims the lands today under the occupation of the artificial Azerbaijan republic, invented in 1918 for the first time in the history of the region, were integral parts of Iran they lost to Russia in the Russo-Persian war and lay a claim to them to this day. Iran knows that the only TRUE Azerbaijan that ever existed is to the south of the Araz River inside Iran and nowhere else. Iran also knows exclusively Armenian-populated Artsakh had always been an Armenian territory and should have the courage to say so instead of playing dirty politics. They can’t claim or pretend to be neighborly when Armenia is geographically protecting them by separating their historical Turkish and pseudo-Turkish enemies from uniting against Iran while defending the FALSIFIED territorial integrity of a state that never existed and was artificially created.