Australia Foreign Minister reacts to call urging recognition of KarabakhJuly 23, 2021 - 15:18 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Marise Payne has formally responded to the Armenian-Australian community's #RecognizeArtsakh petition at the request of Parliament, reaffirming the Federal Government's post-2020 Nagorno Karabakh War position of supporting the right to self-determination equally with the OSCE Minsk Group's other conflict resolution principles, reported the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU). The petition, which was the sixth most signed with 3,164 signatories from the preceding 150 posted on the Australian Parliament's website, was presented to the House of Representatives on February 15, 2021 by Ken Dowd MP, Chair of the Standing Committee on Petitions, after Azerbaijan's Turkey-backed military operations resulted in their occupation of the indigenous Armenian Republic of Artsakh (Karabakh). In her response to the petition, which called on the Federal Government to "recognise the fundamental right to self-determination of the indigenous Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh", Minister Payne reiterated the Australian Government’s support for the OSCE Minsk Group process and support for a peaceful solution guided by all three of the Helsinki Final Act principles, including the "equal rights and self-determination of people". This follows years of tireless advocacy by the Armenian-Australian community, led by peak advocacy group ANC-AU, addressing the Government's long-held support of Azerbaijan's "territorial integrity" whilst omitting reference to the "equal rights and self-determination" and "non-use of force" when citing the principles. In her letter, Minister Payne also acknowledged the concerns of the Armenian-Australian community and the significant loss of life on both sides. Minister Payne also declared Australia's continued support for the mandate of all three Co-Chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group's to negotiate a permanent settlement to the conflict, and urged both sides to work with the body to establish a lasting peace. "While we will continue to fight for Australia to recognize the rights to self-determination of the Republic of Artsakh, we appreciate the consistency of our Government's position that equally supports all three principles to peace in Nagorno Karabakh and the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group," said ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian. "To that end, it is worthwhile noting that while Armenia has demonstrated its willingness to engage in meaningful discussions with the OSCE Minsk Group and work towards lasting peace in the region, Azerbaijan continues to unleash aggressive military tactics – even invading the internationally recognised borders of Armenia since the 13th May 2021." Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | About 173 million drams and more than 30 beneficiary funds. "The Power of One Dram" is 4 years old In June 2020, the exclusive joint corporate social responsibility initiative of Idram and IDBank "The Power of One Dram" was launched. Aliyev travels to Turkey at Erdogan's invitation On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Armenia: Protesters march to parliament, some spend the night on street The protesters did not disperse despite heavy rain that began at around 2 a.m. local time. Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. |