Lily | #RecognizeArtsakh

"Azerbaijan should ensure that all prisoners can maintain regular family contact, receive letters and permitted parcels, obtain necessary medical care, and have adequate daily outdoor exercise." hrw.org/news/2026/09/21/arme…

Pashinyan proposes territorial swaps and abandonment of claims as Azerbaijan presses demands --- YEREVAN— Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on October 14 proposed exchanging territory with Azerbaijan to eliminate enclaves and exclaves, while calling on both countries to abandon historical claims, raising fresh concerns over the concessions Yerevan is prepared to make in pursuit of peace. In a video address, Pashinyan said border delimitation should follow the Alma-Ata Declaration and reaffirmed Armenia’s territory as 29,743 square kilometres. “There should be no enclaves or exclaves on either side of the border,” he declared, proposing swaps of equivalent areas. He also called for reopening regional transport routes, both under the TRIPP initiative and beyond it, allowing Armenia and Azerbaijan to establish transit connections through each other’s territories. More controversially, Pashinyan urged both sides to abandon mutual claims, naming Artsakh, Gardman, Shirvan, Nakhichevan and Baku’s so-called “Western Azerbaijan” narrative. He offered no explanation of how such a policy would affect displaced Artsakh Armenians’ right of return or longstanding Armenian claims concerning Artsakh. Pashinyan said discussions with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Turkmenistan left him believing his vision could be realized. Yet the proposal comes as Baku continues to demand changes to Armenia’s Constitution as a condition for signing a peace agreement. Although Yerevan insists its Constitution contains no territorial claims, Pashinyan’s government is drafting a new Constitution that would omit its reference to Armenia’s Declaration of Independence. His ruling Civil Contract party discussed the draft on October 13, but no referendum date has been announced. With Azerbaijan continuing to dictate key conditions, Pashinyan has yet to explain what concrete commitments Armenia would secure in exchange, or how the rights of displaced Artsakh Armenians would be protected. Under Armenia’s Constitution, changes to the country’s territory require a referendum.

🇪🇺 European Parliament: New resolution demands release of all hostages in Baku ⚖️ The @Europarl_EN on October 8 reiterated its longstanding demand for Azerbaijan to free political prisoners, who include the leadership and common citizens of the ethnically cleansed #NagornoKarabakh / Artsakh. It echoes a March 2025 resolution dedicated to the case of the Armenian hostages titled, ‘Unlawful detention and sham trials of Armenian hostages, including high-ranking political representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh, by Azerbaijan’. That resolution made clear the European body’s view that prisoners from #Armenia were being subjected to “sham trials” and should be released. Thursday’s resolution, which highlights the cases of two prominent Azerbaijani political prisoners, Ali Karimli and Anar Mammadli, also highlighted the ongoing illegal detention of Armenian prisoners. It calls for the “unconditional release” of Azerbaijan’s political prisoners and highlights recent alarming reports from @hrw and @amnesty flagging a “deterioration” in Azerbaijani prison conditions, ranging from a lack of ventilation to dehydration. The resolution further condemns transnational repression against Azerbaijan’s critics abroad and calls on #EU member states to treat any extradition requests from Baku with “rigorous scrutiny”. Christian Solidarity International welcomes this latest resolution. It provides vital institutional recognition that Armenian prisoners fall squarely within the scope of Azerbaijan’s widening political crackdown, which spares neither Armenians struggling for self-determination nor Azerbaijanis critical of their own government. Find out more and stand with the captives on our campaign page: 🔗 csi-int.org/campaigns/karaba… #Christianity #HumanRights #ReligiousFreedom

After the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, the Azeri regime is still holding onto the civilian political leadership of Artsakh: its prior presidents, ministers, and parliament members, as well as dozens of others as hostages to coerce further territorial concessions from Armenia. The regime threatens to invade Armenia if they don't cede several towns and villages inside Armenia's territorial boundaries. Today, Azerbaijani bulldozers are destroying what remains of Armenian heritage in Artsakh. If left without international support, the Armenian Genocide of 1915 will be finalized in the coming weeks and months. We must act now to hold Azerbaijan accountable by calling for the release of the hostages and enforcing sanctions until a safe and viable path for the return of the indigenous Armenians to Artsakh is achieved. Though today we commemorate the 109th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, the plight of the Armenians is not over – and we must recommit ourselves to end the ethnic cleansing and defend Armenians’ right to self-determination.