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Last week, the nine leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), composed of former Soviet Republics, met in Astana, Kazakhstan. In attendance were the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the heads of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

At this meeting, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan confronted each other about the conflict between their countries in front of the other participants, primarily Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Aliyev’s remarks were full of falsehoods. He alleged that after the 2020 war, Armenia planted “1,400 anti-personnel mines made in Armenia…near the border with Lachin district in 2021. The roads leading from one Azerbaijani military position to another were also mined.” He claimed that “the clashes, their active phase, lasted a maximum of eight hours,” even though Azerbaijan continues violating the ceasefire to this day. He lied, saying that “Azerbaijan had no intention of occupying the territory of Armenia, as some may assume.” He ignored the fact that the Azeri army continues to remain inside Armenia’s borders since its earlier incursion on May 12, 2021.

Aliyev tried to ingratiate himself to Putin, by claiming that “As a result of the mediation efforts of the Russian side, I would like to emphasize that it was the Russian side that came up with a ceasefire proposal. Some attribute this to other countries which is completely unfounded. As a result of the mediation efforts of the Russian side, the clashes, as I said, were stopped.” Aliyev was thus contradicting reports that the United States brokered the ceasefire. He also acknowledged that Azerbaijan “resolutely rejected” the offer by the European Union to place a civilian mission on the Azerbaijani side of the border. “Therefore, the mission will be located on the territory of Armenia,” he said.

Aliyev harshly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron who had made sympathetic remarks about Armenia. Aliyev complained that Macron “made insulting, unacceptable, false and provocative statements…. He accused Azerbaijan of engaging in a horrific war….” Once again, Aliyev tried to ingratiate himself to Putin by telling him that Micron made “biased statements…against the Russian Federation, namely, that ‘Russia played the Azerbaijani game.’” As a result, Aliyev said he rejected any future mediating role for France in the Karabagh conflict. He also complained about “anti-Azerbaijan statements” made by the French foreign minister, the French Senate recognizing Karabagh, and a second resolution “being prepared in the French Senate in mid-November.” He blamed these developments on the influence of “the Armenian Diaspora in France.”

Aliyev accused Armenia of organizing ‘provocations’ against the Embassies of Azerbaijan in France, Lebanon and the United States. He falsely claimed that: “we have no doubts that the acts of terror and vandalism were organized by Armenia. Why am I saying this? Because in the 1990’s, Armenian special services carried out [in Azerbaijan] 32 terrorist acts — explosions in the subway, buses, ferries and trains. As a result of those heinous terrorist acts, more than 2,000 Azerbaijan civilians were killed!”

Aliyev then tried to turn the Karabagh conflict into a religious war accusing Armenians of “extreme degree of hatred for the Azerbaijani people and the entire Muslim world,” forgetting that Armenia and Armenians enjoy the most cordial relations with many Islamic countries.

Aliyev lied once again by claiming that Azerbaijan has fulfilled “all the provisions of the November 2020 agreement after the war.” Dozens of Armenian prisoners of war remain in Baku jails, two years after the war. He also lied about Armenia not providing “unhindered access from Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhichevan.” However, Armenia repeatedly announced its readiness to provide such a road, while Azerbaijan has not reciprocated.

Aliyev concluded his speech by stating that his ‘patience’ is ‘not unlimited,’ and threatened that unless he gets what he demands from Armenia, “we will be left with no other option but to act accordingly.”

Prime Minister Pashinyan spoke next, countering Aliyev’s lies. Calling Azerbaijan’s September attack “an unprovoked military aggression against Armenia,” Pashinyan condemned Azeri soldiers for committing war crimes by executing Armenian prisoners of war in contravention of the Geneva Convention.

Pashinyan also accused Azerbaijan of intending “to occupy more territories of Armenia.” He blamed “the inadequate response of the regional security organizations [Collective Security Treaty Organization] … which has caused very sharp questions in the Armenian society.” He asked if the CSTO recognized the borders of the former Soviet Republics.

Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan is only now demanding to know the fate of missing Azeri soldiers in the Karabagh war of 1990’s, revealing that 777 Armenians are missing from that war and 217 from the 2020 war.

Pashinyan criticized Azerbaijan for falsely describing as ‘corridor’ the agreed upon road between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. He said that despite the fact that the 2020 agreement “clearly mentions” Karabagh, Azerbaijan claims that it “does not exist.”

Pashinyan also responded to Aliyev’s false claim that Armenia had mined Azeri territories after the 2020 war. Pashinyan stated that “such mining has taken place entirely within the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. And it is our right to take some security steps to protect the territorial integrity of our country.”

Pashinyan also contradicted Aliyev’s false claim that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan was of religious nature. Pashinyan reiterated Armenia’s close relations with many Muslim countries.

Pashinyan denied that Armenia had organized any attacks on Azerbaijani embassies in foreign countries. Where is the evidence, he asked.

Concluding his remarks, Pashinyan once again spoke about his baseless expectation of peace with Azerbaijan and Turkey, given their ongoing hostility toward Armenia. Peace cannot be achieved by one side while the other side is trying to kill you.

An enemy who is constantly attacking you and pointing a gun to your head cannot be considered a reliable partner for peace.

The U.S. media in recent months published several articles covering New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ controversial statements, foreign travels, and fundraising activities.

Before becoming Mayor on January 1, 2022, the Daily News (NY) published an article on February 6, 2021 with the title: “NYC mayoral candidate Eric Adams accepted foreign travel to countries with a history of corruption.” The newspaper reported that “Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has accepted thousands of dollars in travel and other perks from China, Turkey and Azerbaijan, three countries with a well-documented history of suppressing their citizens.”

Adams acknowledged that he has traveled to Turkey eight times. In August 2015, the Turkish government paid thousands of dollars for then Brooklyn Borough President Adams to visit Turkey for six days where he signed a sister city agreement with Istanbul’s Üsküdar district. The Turkish consulate paid up to $4,999 for his airfare, hotel stay and ground transportation, according to Adams’ disclosure with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB). An entity called the World Tourism Foundation, which hosted Adams in Antalya, Turkey, was listed as paying up to $4,999 for travel expenses, the Daily News revealed.

In 2016, “Azerbaijan’s tourism ministry paid up to $4,999 for Adams to visit its capital Baku for four days, according to the borough president’s COIB disclosure,” the Daily News reported. “I am honored to come to our sister city in Azerbaijan,” Adams said in a statement.

The New York City News Service disclosed that according to campaign funding records, “donations from individuals affiliated with organizations in the immigrant communities he wooed with these trips later went to the Adams mayoral campaign.”

In March 2018, just after forming his mayoral campaign committee, “Adams attended a party celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, at Baku Palace restaurant in Sheepshead Bay [NY],” according to the NY City News Service. Adams told the cheering crowd of Azeris: “After I retire from government, I’m going to live in Baku.” He received $7,000 in campaign contributions.

In July 2018, Adams held a fundraiser at the Ali Baba Turkish restaurant in Manhattan, raising $16,000. Turkish businessman Murat Guzel gave Adams $5,000 on July 12, 2018, and an additional $5,100 the following month. However, the Adams campaign had to return $8,100 back to Guzel as he had exceeded the $2,000 campaign donation limit. Also in July, Behram Turan, chairman of the board of directors of the Turken Foundation, donated $3,000 to Adams, NY City News Service reported.

The Turkish Anadolu Agency quoted Adams as saying: “Turkey has played a major role in shaping mankind… I am a friend of the Turkish people.”

Among Mayor Adams’ closest friends is Armenian restaurateur Zhan “Johnny” Petrosyants who has a checkered past. Politico reported that he “was charged in a money laundering case in federal court eight years ago. He and his twin brother, Robert, were indicted on 11 counts for taking part in a check-cashing scheme that involved medical billing companies. Johnny Petrosyants pleaded guilty to one of those counts and was sentenced to probation and community service, while his brother was sentenced to six months in federal prison. Together with another defendant, they had to forfeit nearly $700,000.” The Petrosyants brothers and Mayor Adams are often seen together in private clubs and restaurants.

The New York Times published on August 22, 2022, a lengthy article with the title: “Eric Adams After Dark: A Private Table and Tarnished Friends.” The newspaper reported that the Mayor spent at least 14 evenings in June at the upscale Manhattan Restaurant, La Baia, managed by the Petrosyants brothers. Adams usually spends three to four hours a night there and leaves well after closing time. The NY Times wrote that if the Mayor did not pay for his meals, he would be violating the city’s ethics laws. Furthermore, “being granted access to private clubs without paying membership dues risks violating ethics rules, said [Richard] Briffault, the former Conflicts of Interest Board chair.”

La Baia restaurant’s liquor license is under the name of Marianna Shahmuradyan who has several children with Robert Petrosyants, according to The NY Times. In April 2018, Shahmuradyan contributed $5,000 to Adams’ campaign, $3,000 of which was returned to her for exceeding the $2,000 donation limit.

Another one of the Mayor’s Armenian connections is Ronn Torossian who owns a PR firm in Manhattan. He is a controversial figure who did lobbying work for the government of Turkey, as I reported in 2017.

The Daily Beast published an article about Torossian under the title: “Why Is NYC Mayor Eric Adams Glued to This ‘Toxic’ PR Guru?” He was described as “an aggressive PR executive” who “is well-known for his street-brawler tactics.” He organized the Mayor’s election night lavish victory party at a private member-only club where Mayor Adams has repeatedly partied as Torossian’s personal guest. The Mayor and Torossian were introduced by Zhan Petrosyants, according to The Daily Beast. “Seven former staffers, who spoke with The Daily Beast anonymously out of fear of reprisals from Torossian, described him as a ‘toxic’ person from whom the incoming mayor of New York should maintain his distance.”

The NY Times wrote that “in his short time as mayor, Adams has occasionally waded into murky ethical waters. After pledging to pay his own way on a trip to Puerto Rico, he acknowledged flying on an entrepreneur’s private jet. He later said he paid for his seat but did not provide documentation.” Additionally, “the Conflicts of Interest Board ruled that Adams could not give his brother Bernard a $210,000 job as head of the mayor’s security detail. Bernard Adams was then redirected to an adviser role with a $1 salary.”

With his multiple ‘murky’ dealings, it remains to be seen if Mayor Adams will be able to complete his term in office and realize his dream of retiring in Baku!

Turkish denialists found out last week that they can’t defeat Armenians in California.

Contrary to extensive Turkish lobbying efforts, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on Sept. 29, 2022, a bill designating April 24, Genocide Remembrance Day, as a State Holiday. The bill, initiated by California Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian on February 7, 2022, was adopted unanimously by both legislative chambers of the State at the end of August. It had earlier passed unanimously through three separate committees in each of the chambers.

Assembly Bill 1801 mandates the closing of all community colleges and public schools throughout California on April 24 of every year. State employees will be given time off with pay. The bill states: “The Legislature finds and declares that Genocide Remembrance Day would be a day for all to reflect on past and present genocides, but especially those that have felt the impact of these atrocities and groups that have found refuge in California, including, but not limited to, the Holocaust, Holodomor, and the Genocides of the Armenian, Assyrian, Greek, Cambodian, and Rwandan communities. Genocide Remembrance Day would be observed annually on April 24, also known as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, during the week the state of California traditionally recognizes Genocide Awareness Week.”

The bill further states: “Public schools and educational institutions throughout this state may include exercises, funded through existing resources, remembering and honoring the many contributions that survivors of genocide have made to this country. The State Board of Education may adopt a model curriculum guide to be available for use by public schools for exercises related to Genocide Remembrance Day.”

In a belated and failed attempt, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), issued on Sept. 6, an Action Alert asking Gov. Newsom to block the bill after it was adopted unanimously by the California Legislature. The Turkish Action Alert was also posted on websites in Turkey, urging millions of Turks around the world to send messages to Gov. Newsom. The Action Alert contained two sample letters addressed to Gov. Newsom, along with his email, postal address and fax number. The Turkish messages contained the usual denials about the Armenian Genocide, ignoring the fact that all U.S. 50 states had acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, along with both Houses of Congress, and Pres. Joe Biden.

On the eve of Gov. Newsom’s Sept. 30 decision on the bill, the ATAA posted a second Action Alert in the afternoon of Sept. 29 urging him to veto it. Unfortunately for ATAA, the Governor signed the bill on that same day. The ATAA posted a sheepish message on its Facebook page on Sept. 30 with a typing error: “Regretfully sharing the devastating Mrs. [probably meant to write ‘news’] for Turks in state of California. CA Governor Newsom signs.”

After signing the Genocide bill, Gov. Newsom declared: “Genocide commemoration is more than a history lesson. It is a powerful tool to engage people across generations in the sanctity of human rights, the enormity of crimes, and how to prevent future atrocities. Establishing a state holiday that commemorates genocides — both past and present — provides space for groups to heal and sends a powerful signal about our California values. Importantly, California continues to lead by example, with a strong record of providing refuge to countless groups suffering through the atrocity of genocide.”

California Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, the sponsor of the bill, stated: “As a member of a community impacted by genocide, it’s hard to describe how much this means to those of us who have endured the often intentional denial of our pain and history for so long. Today, the largest state in the union and the 5th largest economy in the world has taken a stand to annually recognize the impacts of genocide. To all those who have been lost to genocide, we remember you. To all those who live with the impacts of genocide, we stand with you.”

California Assemblymember Laura Friedman told The California Courier: “In recognizing ‘Genocide Remembrance Day’ on April 24th as a state holiday in California, we’re acknowledging the tragedy and horrors of the Armenian Genocide and the devastation of genocides that followed. We’re also honoring the victims and survivors throughout history, and educating future generations so that we can prevent such atrocities from occurring again.”

The Turkish Action Alerts were futile because they had the impossible goal of blocking a widely-acknowledged historic fact, the Armenian Genocide.

The only thing that Turkish denialists and their government should now do, after over 100 years of lies, is acknowledge the truth and make appropriate amends to descendants of the Armenian Genocide. Such an action would be in the best interest of Turkey itself. After that, Turkish citizens would no longer live with a guilty conscience and resort to embarrassing cover ups whenever they are reminded of the Armenian Genocide.

As I wrote in my December 2006 article, Ahmet Ertegun, the Founder and CEO of Atlantic Records and son of Mehmet Ertegun, Turkey’s Ambassador to the U.S., had told me in a meeting in Los Angeles prior to his death that he could not understand why Turkish officials kept denying the Armenian Genocide — a fact known to the entire world. He made it clear that his purpose in acknowledging the Genocide was not to appease Armenians. He believed that it was, first of all, in Turkey’s interest to acknowledge the Genocide, because doing so would help Ankara’s application for membership in the European Union and get rid of the stigma that had haunted his native land for so many years.

It is now up to Turkey and Turkish denialists to decide what course to take. They can either acknowledge the obvious truth of the Armenian Genocide or continue denying an undeniable historic fact and become the laughing stock of the world.

Last week, two Azeris arrogantly declared themselves to be the leaders of the fake “West Azerbaijan Goycha-Zangezur Republic,” which claimed to include Lake Sevan and the Syunik province of the Republic of Armenia. This announcement was made a few days after the barbaric attack on the eastern border of Armenia by Azerbaijan!

President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has frequently referred to large areas of the Republic of Armenia as part of Azerbaijan, giving them fake Azeri names. Here is what he said in September 2013: “Azerbaijan’s state flag should be waved in Shusha [Shushi], Khankendi [Stepanakert], and Azerbaijanis should live in their historical lands in the future. Our historical lands are Irevan [Yerevan] khanate, Goyce [Lake Sevan] and Zangezur regions. There will be times; we will live in these lands. I believe it, I am sure. Everyone should put their efforts in order to achieve it.” Furthermore, Aliyev stated in March 2015: “Azerbaijan will restore historical justice and reclaim not only the breakaway Nagorno Karabakh region and areas around it, which are currently held by Armenians, but also parts of present-day Armenia.” He boastfully envisaged that after “liberating Karabakh, we, Azerbaijanis, will return to our ancient lands — Yerevan, Goyca [Lake Sevan], Zangezur [Armenia’s Syunik region], etc. The younger generation must know that our lands are not limited to the current territories of independent Azerbaijan. We must go back to those lands as well and we will.”

If the President of Azerbaijan makes such outrageous statements, it is not surprising that other Azeris parrot his baseless claims.

Last week, two Azeris, Rizvan Talibov and Mehmet Ali Arslan, proclaimed themselves to be the “President and Vice President” of “West Azerbaijan Goycha-Zangezur Republic” and declared its independence, with its capital in Ghapan or Vardenis, Armenia.

These Azeris attended the inauguration of the first representative office of this fake Republic in Ankara, claiming that Turkey was the first country to recognize it. “President” Talibov declared that Turkey and “West Azerbaijan Goycha-Zangezur” are “one nation, two states.” He must have forgotten about the Republic of Azerbaijan which uses the same slogan.

Regrettably for the Azeris, their euphoria was short-lived. Eurasianet.org published an article on Sept. 22, titled, “The rise and fall of Azerbaijan’s ‘Goycha-Zangezur Republic.’” This “Republic” lasted for three days, even though Azerbaijan’s pro-government initially publicized this fake news. Tural Ganjali, a member of Azerbaijan’s parliament had immediately endorsed the non-existent “Republic.” However, Ganjali deleted his Facebook post within hours and most Azeri websites removed all references to this “Republic.” The pro-government media discredited not only the “Republic” but also its equally fake “President” Talibov who had been appointing ministers and adopting decisions.

Azerbaijan’s news agency, APA, condemned Talibov, stating that he “actually has no scientific knowledge about or research on “Western Azerbaijan. He knows neither the history nor the geography of Western Azerbaijan. It is impossible to find a single serious person around him, and most of the people he named, appointed, and included in the structures do not even know about it. Talibov ‘appoints’ and gives ‘authority’ of the highest positions to anyone, regardless of their identity or political views in return for flattery or a meal or 5-10 manats [a few dollars].”

A member of Azerbaijan’s parliament Hikmat Babaoghlu wrote on Sept. 21: “The so-called ‘Goycha-Zangezur Republic’ is a political-ideological terror against Azerbaijan.” Babaoghlu continued: “Such a political hypocrite [Talibov] has no moral right neither to create the ‘Goycha-Zangezur Republic’ nor even to pronounce these holy names. Because this idea, while Azerbaijan is insisting on the issue of the Zangezur corridor, creates the impression that Azerbaijan does not intend to open a corridor in Zangezur, but to create a state there. This is a real provocation against the opening of the corridor.”

This is not the first time that such a lame-brained idea has been floated by someone in Azerbaijan, according to Eurasianet.org. “In 2020, an Azerbaijani academic in Turkey, Gafar Chahmagli, formed what he called the Republic of Western Azerbaijan (Irevan), which would have had an even larger territorial reach. That project (which also was called the Irevan Turkish Republic) was connected to another group with apparent government links, the West Azerbaijan Community (WAC), but it did not get the (brief) level of state endorsement as the Goycha-Zangezur Republic.”

Greatly disillusioned, “President” Talibov wrote on his Facebook page: “While we were expecting attacks from Armenians, some of ‘ourselves’ attacked us with an unseen aggression, full of slander!!”

All those Azeris who condemned Talibov and Arslan must not have realized that they were indirectly also condemning President Aliyev who has made similar baseless statements about territories of the sovereign Republic of Armenia.