After the resolutions on Iran, Syria, Belarus, Greece, and the financial-economic crisis in general, the EU decided to also refer to the Karabakh problem. Adoption of a document on Armenia by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, in which it proposes to replace the French mandate with the mandate of EU in the OSCE Minsk Group, looks at least odd from the legal point of view. European Union is a separate international structure that has nothing to do with the OSCE, and in this case it is necessary to replace not only France, but also the United States and Russia, if not the institute of co-chairs at all.

The forthcoming regular visit of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to the region is already calling for comments and all kinds of assumptions about the object of the visit. However, this visit, as well as all previous ones, will not give any new results. It will only be intriguing if Baku once again speaks of the “inadmissibility of France to co-chair the Minsk Group”. But such a development is rather unlikely, since it is one thing to speak following in the footsteps of Turkish politics, and another - to report the French directly. All the more so when Baku understands the futility and ridiculousness of such proposals.

The Republic of Artsakh celebrates its 20th anniversary of declaration of independence. But the conflict is as far from being settled as it was in 1994, at the end of the national liberation war. Unfortunately, the Nagorno-Karabakh, or rather the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict has long been an instrument in the hands of the world powers to solve their own problems. And any expert or politician knowledgeable about the problem knows it perfectly well that no regulation is possible in the coming 2-3 years, or even more.

Niyazi Niyazov, the dean of the international relations faculty of Saint Petersburg State University, said Baku doesn’t exclude resumption of hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh.

Karabakh issue continues to dominate Armenia’s internal political agenda. Azerbaijani authorities turned provocations into tradition, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan stated, referring to recent incident on the line of contact of NKR and Azeri armed forces. “Diversions aim at frustrating the mediators’ efforts toward maintaining ceasefire, withdrawal of snipers from the line of contact as well as promotion of conflict settlement negotiations,” he said. Kocharyan called on international community to give adequate assessment to Azerbaijan’s provocative actions, aimed at undermining the peace process.

The 1988 events in Sumgait, Azerbaijan, shocked the entire Armenianhood. Dozens of people were slaughtered, majority of them after tortures and severe beatings. Over 200 apartments were robbed and burnt. Thousands of refugees remained homeless. This year changed the lives of many people. 27-year-old Manvel Yeghiazaryan was not an exception…

Ruben Hovhannesyan was a beginning theater actor and could not even imagine that several years later he will be one of the fighters of legendary Arabo detachment in the Karabakh war, which changed the life of the Armenian people drastically.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian commented on Artsakh defense army’s report on Azeri attempt at subversive attack in the environs of Chaylu settlement, Mardakert region. “Before every summit conference with Armenian President, Baku was attempting to frustrate negotiations through provocative statements and threats of war. This time, Azeri’s failure to gain their end triggered an open provocation after June 17 trilateral meeting.” “Obviously, Azeri side’s actions were pre-planned. Azeri authorities lost no time in organizing subversive operation once they left negotiation hall,” the Foreign Minister emphasized, adding that sudden attacks under the cover of night are characteristic for Azerbaijan.

Yerevan hosted a conference of the Social International Committee of CIS, Caucasian and Black Sea states, which brought together representatives of socialistic parties from 13 CIS and European countries: Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Moldova, Greece, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Palestine and Azerbaijan. Summarizing the conference results, Secretary General of Social International Luis Ayala noted that they have managed to fulfill all the planned tasks during the two-day conference. “Our primary goal is to spread democracy in all those countries where we are represented. In some countries, for example in Armenia, we have managed to form an open society, while in some countries it is a long-lasting process,” he said.

The political week in Armenia started with debates on the Nagorno Karabakh problem.