Echmiadzin Catholicos Visits Artsakh

Catholicos-Patriarch Karekin II (Nersessian) of Echmiadzin has made a pastoral visit to the Republic of Artsakh, formerly the autonomous Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the republic's proclamation of independence. More here.

Azerbaijan Renews Call for Armenian Withdrawal

Azerbaijan has renewed its call for Armenia to withdraw from its occupation of Azerbaijani territory. Since the conflict over Artsakh (formerly Nagorno-Karabkah) in the late 1980s and early 1990s the armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh have occupied roughly 20% of Azerbaijan's territory (that figure includes the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was an autonomous Armenian republic under Azerbaijan during the Soviet era). More here.

Armenia, Artsakh, and Abkhazia in the News

President Serzh Sargsian of Armenia has repeated Armenia's intention not to recognize the independence of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Kosovo until the status of the Armenian Republic of Artsakh on the territory of what was Nagorno-Karabakh and southwestern Azerbaijan. Although the governments of Armenia and Artsakh are close the former does not formally recognize Artsakh's independence from Azerbaijan in the hope of resolving the dispute between Azerbaijan and its former region peacefully. More on President Sargsian's statements here.

In other news, representatives of Abkhazia's Armenian minority recently met with President Sergey Bagapsh of Abkhazia to discuss the role of the community in developing the country. More on that here. The Armenian government, despite its reluctance to recognize Abkhazian independence, is active in supporting that country's Armenian minority, as evidenced by its recent donation of Armenian-language books to Abkhazia's Armenian schools.

And lastly, the Russian government has given Abkhazia a loan of $67 million to rehabilitate its railway system, which was damaged during the country's war for independence with Georgia. More on that here.