We remain committed to working in partnership with civil society and individuals within the government who are truly committed to strengthening rule of law. At the same time, information gleaned by the investigations into police misconduct, as well as information gathered by credible independent reports, will inform future decisions about participation in Embassy programs and activities. Amidst the calls for further protests this evening, we strongly urge all parties to sincerely work for a peaceful resolution of the situation.
On one hand, Russia and the West are pushing Yerevan to make progress on finding a political solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. But on the other, Sarkisian is aware that any major concessions could threaten his position in office, and potentially even topple the government. Though the hostage crisis is not driven solely by concerns over Nagorno-Karabakh, it is strongly influenced by them and is proof of the instability that a diplomatic deal on the region could produce.
“Maria Zakharova mentioned that Turkey can have a positive investment in the conflict settlement process, as it has repeatedly supported Azerbaijan’s activities. I perceive Zakharova’s remarks this way, it’s clear that Turkey won’t become a participant to negotiation format, Armenia will be against, and even in case of such a perspective Armenia won’t allow it. Russia hasn’t changed its policy, essence of which is balance maintenance between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and Turkey will divert that balance, which isn’t beneficial for Russia,” Russian Turkologist said.
There are indications that the Russian government is now prepared to push harder for a two-step solution to the Karabakh conflict by pressing Armenia to withdraw its forces from five (of the seven) regions of Azerbaijan other than Karabakh and then later to negotiate about some future autonomous status for the separatist Karabakh territory after that happens. That is something most Armenian political leaders and the Armenian public more generally oppose, but now their country may not be able to block such a resolution of this “frozen” conflict.
“The occurrence was qualified as a failed attempt of military coup. Military officers in Istanbul stopped the traffic on all the bridges, few movements were observed in different parts of the city. In Ankara, where I live, 2-3 military helicopters were flying rather low targeting some parts of the city, including the Police department of the Parliament. While attacking the Parliament building shooting from the helicopter was recorded. The eyewitnesses claim that civilians have been killed as well.”
The US and Russia are working on a number of different issues, including resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the US Secretary of State John Kerry said in an interview with NBC.
“The country’s security along its border perimeter is ensured at a proper level. However necessary measures are being taken in view of the latest reports,” Peskov said. At the same time, he noted that the situation in Turkey, Armenia and Kazakhstan cannot be considered in the same way.”
“I’ll be meeting with the President of Armenia and members of the Parliament to determine how we in the United States can help facilitate a successful conclusion to these negotiations,” Costa said.
“As you know the death penalty had been removed from our legal system. We will discuss… what further measures we should take to prevent such future attempts,” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday morning when the arrests of pro-coup officers and soldiers were in full swing across the country.
More than 160 people, many of them civilians, are now confirmed dead – while over a 1000 others were wounded following overnight clashes, gunfire and explosions, principally in Turkey’s major cities of Ankara and Istanbul. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has insisted his government is back in charge and promised to purge the armed forces of rebels.
