On Armenia

 Protesters storm Armenian parliament and govt. headquarters

A brutally honest opinion on the war for Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh

Kevork Almassian: I can’t remember a day in the modern history of Armenia that is worse than losing most parts of the independent region of Artsakh. The Armenian genocide was a great tragedy but losing Artsakh paves the way for another ethnic cleansing of the Armenians not only today but also in the near future. 

Armenia, the oldest Christian nation on earth, has been DEFEATED by (Muslim) Azerbaijan, which was backed by (Muslim) Turkey, in a war which began in September.  The Christian world . . .  stood by and did nothing.

This was truly a spectacle to watch from afar.  For weeks, Armenia shouted "We're winning."   Most recently though, it went like this:

Nov 7 - "We're winning"

Nov. 8 - "We're winning:

Nov. 9 -- We surrender.

In a little less than two months, Armenia's visually confirmed losses included:

• 185 T-72 tanks
• 90 armored fighting vehicles
• 182 artillery pieces
• 73 multiple rocket launchers
• 26 SAMs (including 5x S-300 and 1x Tor)
• 14 radars/jammers
• 1 Su-25 fighter jet
• 4 UAVs
• 451 other Vehicles

Those numbers represent about forty percent (40%) of Armenia's pre-war assets; wiped out in WEEKS.

But what is truly striking about this is that Azerbaijan, which has next to ZERO military experience, defeated Armenia at all!

Of course, the role of Turkey played a big part in Armenia's defeat.   

Yet most striking of all, on the streets of victorious Azerbaijan, is being waved the flag of . . . Israel.

The country whose very essence, above all other aspects of its existence, is full of people who HATE Christ so viciously, their Talmud claims he is "In hell, boiling in hot semen"  seemed to be a massive (but sneakily quiet) force in the Azerbaijan victory over Christian Armenia. 

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/news-nation/armenia-oldest-christian-nation-on-earth-has-been-defeated-by-muslim-azerbaijan

Russia Achieves Ceasefire In Nagorno-Karabakh

Moon of Alabama,

10 November, 2020

The war over Nagorno-Karabakh has ended for now. The Armenian Autonomous Oblast within Azerbaijan will continue to exits with Russian peacekeepers currently deploying to control its borders. Most of the Armenian occupied territories will be handed back to Azerbaijan. A Russian controlled land corridor will connect Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

bigger

This is the outcome that Russia had long proposed during previous peace negotiations.

Armenia, under the western-installed Prime Minister Pashinyan, has barely managed to defend the ethnic enclave. Azerbaijan did not achieve its hoped for control over all of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan, with its wealth of gas and oil money, had been able to arm itself with hundreds of drones from Turkey and Israel that allowed it to achieve air superiority. The Armenian defenders were not trained to sufficiently camouflage themselves from air threats. Their old air defenses were not capable enough to detect and defend against small drones. They therefore lost hundreds of tanks and artillery pieces to suicide drone attacks.

Azerbaijan, and the contingent of 'moderate rebels' mercenaries it had rented from Turkey, failed to invade the mountainous core of Nagorno-Karabakh. They lost several thousand men, many more than the defending Armenians, while trying to do that.

Armenia had to agree to the ceasefire after Azerbaijan gained control of Shusha, a town on the 'Lachin corridor' supply road between Stapanakert in Nagorno-Karbakh and Armenia. Azerbaijan had to agree to the ceasefire after its forces yesterday shot down a Russian helicopter flying within Armenia. Any further move after that would have brought Russian forces into the war.

After the announcement of the ceasefire Armenians stormed government buildings in Yerevan. Prime Minister Pashinyan, who had neglected the military while trying to make nice with the 'west', is likely to get removed from his office.

With this outcome Russia has strengthened its position in the Caucasus while Turkey's attempt to insert itself into the region had only limited success.

Russian helicopter shot down over Armenia and a "painful" truce negotiated

 Azerbaijan Says It Shot Down Russian Helicopter "By Mistake" & Offers "Compensation"

Zero Hedge, 

9 November, 2020

Update: Azerbaijan has quickly owned up to the downing of the Russian military helicopter early Monday evening (local time). According to TASS citing official statements from Azerbaijan's foreign ministry:

Azerbaijan downed Russian helicopter by mistake, the republic's Foreign Ministry announced.

Baku is ready to compensate Moscow for the downed helicopter.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed condolences over the death of the crew members of the downed Russian helicopter.

Though the incident is still being investigated, the Russian Ministry of Defense put out a statement indicating two of its pilots were killed. The MoD said a portable air-defense system was fired on the gunship from the ground near the village of Yeraskh close to the border with Azerbaijan.

Unconfirmed footage of the shoot down is circulating via Russian sources:

The incident comes after Azerbaijan's army has reportedly been making big gains on the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh over the past days.

* * *

There are breaking reports out of Interfax and Sputnik Armenia that a Russian helicopter has been shot down over Armenian territory related to intense fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh contested border region.

Interfax is reporting that two Russian pilots were killed in the fiery crash and at least one other injured. Rescue operations and an investigation are underway.

Russian Mi-24 gunships have reportedly been active over Armenian territory.

The largest public radio broadcaster of Armenia has aired the following early details:

A Russian helicopter has crashed in Armenia’s Ararat Province, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reports. The Ministry says it received an alarm from Ararat Regional Crisis Management Center at 6:39 pm today.

The helicopter crashed in the gorge between the villages of Yeraskh and Paruyr Syak. Fire and rescue brigades have been dispatched to the scene.

Armenian military news sites are circulating nighttime footage of what appears to be a helicopter going down, but the video is unverified.

BREAKING NEWS: VIDEO REPORTEDLY SHOWING THE RUSSIAN HELICOPTER GETTING SHOT DOWN IN ARMENIA BY AZERBAIJANI FIRE FROM NAKHICHEVAN. pic.twitter.com/PHV0I2J6g9

— 301🇦🇲 (@301_AD) November 9, 2020

Early reports also suggest the downing may have been from a MANPAD fired from the ground or possibly other type of portable air-defense system.

The Russian Ministry of Defense appears to have confirmed that it's lost one of its Mi-24 gunships over Armenian territory near the border.  "The Russian Mi-24 helicopter crashed in Armenia after being subjected to fire from the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry reports," according to Russia's RT.

Russia's military has thus far been monitoring the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, warning Azerbaijan not to extend the battle into Armenian sovereign territory.

While Moscow has a defense pact with Yerevan, it's thus far sought to not get involved. However this may immediately change things. Russia's Sputnik details further that the Russian gunship had been escorting a convoy which departed from Russia's lone military base on Armenian soil in Gyumri:

A Russian Mi-24 (NATO reporting name: Hind) military helicopter has crashed on the territory of Armenia near the village of Yeraskh after it was shot from the ground by unknown forces using a man-portable air-defence system (SAM), Russia’s Defence Ministry has stated. The crash was caused by a loss of control after a missile hit the aircraft, the ministry added.

The report notes further: "At the time of the time of the attack, the helicopter was escorting a convoy from Russia’s 102nd military base, which is located in Armenia, as it was moving past Yeraskh, near the border with Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic."

When was the last time America did ANY peacemaking?

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced a peace deal with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, mediated by Russia. The content of the arrangement is “unbelievably painful” and “not a victory,” he said.

Pashinyan said he personally made the “very difficult” decision, as a result of the current military situation, believing it to be the best under the circumstances.

“I kneel before all our victims, I bow to all our soldiers, fighters, generals and volunteers, who have protected their homeland with their lives. They have saved Artsakh,” Pashinyan wrote in a Facebook post, using the Armenian term for Nagorno-Karabakh.

We fought till the end. And we will win. Artsakh stands.

https://www.rt.com/russia/506236-pashinyan-aliev-putin-karabakh/

Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that Baku and Yerevan have struck a deal to end the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, and that Russian peacekeepers will be deployed along the line of contact.

The agreement will create conditions for a long-term settlement of the crisis in the interests of both peoples, Putin said shortly after midnight Moscow time on Tuesday (22:30 GMT Monday), confirming reports of the armistice Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan described as “painful” but necessary.

https://www.rt.com/russia/506238-putin-russian-peacekeepres-karabakh/

Crowds besieged the parliament and government offices in Armenia’s capital Yerevan after a peace deal with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh was announced, involving Armenia surrendering some territory.

Gunshots could be heard in the streets of Yerevan as the angry protesters stormed the government building, looking for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in the early hours of Tuesday, after he announced the “painful” agreement to give up land to Azerbaijan in exchange for the end to bloodshed.

https://www.rt.com/russia/506241-armenia-karabakh-deal-protest/

Russia vows military assistance to Armenia

 Russia Vows "All Necessary Assistance" To Armenia In Nagorno-Karabakh, Threatening Regional War

Zero Hedge,

2 November, 2020

In a major weekend development Russia said that should Azerbaijan spread its military operations against Armenia beyond the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region, it will give "all necessary assistance" to Armenia, with which Moscow has a defense pact:

Russia would be prepared to render "all necessary assistance" to treaty partner Armenia if the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict expanded to Armenian territory, Russia's Foreign Ministry declared Saturday.

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan with President Putin, via Kremlin.ru

Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow "will render Yerevan all necessary assistance if clashes take place directly on the territory of Armenia."

This after over the past month there's been no less than three failed ceasefire attempts, with the last couple lasting a mere hours before large-scale shelling resumed from both sides. 

The Russian statements makes the potential for the conflict to spin out into a regional war more likely, given Turkey has already made similar vows to its ally Azerbaijan. Turkey's government has outright called for the "liberation" of Armenian ethnic held Nagorno-Karabakh. And Armenia's military has accused Turkey of already actively supporting the Azeri Army through air support and foreign mercenaries transferred from northern Syria.

According to Moscow Times, "Russia has reportedly set up a small military outpost on the border of Armenia in an apparent attempt to keep Azerbaijan’s offensive from spilling over into Armenian territory."

Armenia is clearly pressing for greater Russian involvement. "The prime minister of Armenia has asked the Russian president to begin urgent consultations with the aim of determining the kind and amount of aid which the Russian Federation can provide Armenia to ensure its security," Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Meanwhile neither side nor their international backers appear willing to back down or deescalate anytime soon. On Monday Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said the Azeri Army will not stop its operations in Karabakh and adjacent areas until total withdrawal of Armenian forces from "occupied Azerbaijani lands".

Ironically this continues the trend of NATO member Turkey stoking the conflict even as NATO leadership in Brussels urges both parties to come to the table for peace talks.

News from Armenia - 16 October, 2020

Turkeys Planned Attack on 

Armenia

A VISIT TO A TOWN OF PEOPLE BURIED ALIVE: ‘ONLY MOSCOW CAN SAVE US CHRISTIANS’ 

Gian Micalessin, writing in il Giornale – Translated from the Italian by Tom Winter

Fort Russ,

16 October, 2020

Martuni, Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) – In Martuni, devastated by bombs, the inhabitants live hidden in catacombs. “Europe won’t help, but Russia is slow.”

Martuni. It was first to be assaulted. The first to weep over the victims of the Azeri missiles. The first city of Nagorno Karabakh to be abandoned, as its inhabitants fled en masse toward Armenia. It is the city of lost men. Barely 400, perhaps fewer, are left of its 6,000. and it’s hard to find even the shadow of these few.

Martuni is a ghost town, asleep and silent. The City Hall, a sad, circular building in grey marble, floats in a sea of broken glass and debris. Its windows and portals are gon. In 20 days missiles and bombs have transformed all into a carpet of ruins. Everywhere around you cannot find a stone, piece of asphalt, or a tree that doesn’t bear the marks of shrapnel and explosions. Here and there, sticking out of yards and streets, are the threatening silhouettes of unexploded shells. And of the survivors, hardly a shadow. . . . Martuni’s ghosts peep slowly and cautiously out of a trap door. They climb up a ladder, stick out their heads, make a sign to wait. They are suspicious, afraid, bewildered. Prisoners of this miniature Stalingrad glare at anyone who can reveal their lair, put their shelters at risk, make their safety even more precarious. They keep you hanging there between the desert and the abyss for more than half an hour, then one jumps out. His name is Armen. He has the pallor of one who has not seen the light of the sun for days, and the hollow eyes of nights of sleeplessness.

I’m coming with you. I’ll show you what they have done to this city!” He pops us in a hurry, practically runs to the piazza. 20 paces later I get why the hurrying: The first mortar shell comes in, whistling 200 meters away. Another, and a third one come in a bit farther off. “This was my father’s house, says Armen, pointing at a mess of debris. “The missile hit it not quite 11 hours after the ‘cease-fire’. My dad, a 79 year old man, who never hurt anyone, was blown to bits in his bed.” Still running, Arman takes us back to the basement of the town hall. In the ruins of the city we do not meet a soul. “The women – he says – went to Armenia with the children. We men have received weapons and we alternate between the front and the shelters in town. Those who, like my wife, did not leave — to be close to those on the front line — live underground.”

Now we are back at the town hall. two stories under the glimmering and yellow light of bare lightbulbs, we make out the faces of women and the aged. They sit in silence on cots lined against a wall, midst water bottles, sacks of bread, baskets of potatoes, pomegranates, and tomatoes. A woman keeps crying, another with her face in her hands. Only Veniera, Armen’s wife, manages a smile.

“I don’t have kids — I could stay close to my husband and close to those who are fighting for their homeland. But I’m glad you came from Europe and Italy to tell about our despair”. I ask her if that’s enough. Veniera raises her eyes, smiles. “We are Christians like you, but from Europe we know we cannot expect much. If anyone will save us, it will be only Russia. This has always been the case in the past. I just wonder why it’s taking so long this time.”

Iran hit by fire from Azerbaijan troops

 IRAN FIRES ARTILLERY AND MISSILES AT AZERBAIJAN

Hal Turner,

13 October, 2020

After previously warning all sides in the Armenia - Azerbaijan conflict to stop ongoing stray shelling of Iranian territory, Iran was hit yet again by fire from Azerbaijan troops.  This time, Iran responded and fired heavy artillery and missile barrages at Azerbaijan just minutes ago.  

In response to what had become incessant shelling of Iranian territory, as well as because of repeated violation of the state borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran by Azerbaijani forces, the Iranian military launched a series of missile and artillery strikes on the territory of Azerbaijan. 

At the moment, it is known that several rocket and artillery strikes were carried out on the territory of Azerbaijan, and again after the Azerbaijani military tried to use a kamikaze drone, sending it across the border with Iran, the drone was shot down by Iranian air defense systems.

This marks an unprecedented and major escalation in the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

More details as info becomes available.  Updates to appear below . . . .

UPDATE 6:58 PM EDT --

It is now known that due to the attack against areas with Azerbaijani forces, the Azerbaijan offensive against positions of the NKR/Armenian forces was SEVERELY disrupted.

Although the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan does not report losses, this attack by Iran is already confirmed to have caused losses in equipment and and in manpower.

UPDATE 7:24 PM EDT --

Armenia has SHOT DOWN an Azerbaijan SU-25 fighter jet.

As seen in the image above, an "IGLA" surface-to-air weapon, fired from a MANPAD (shoulder-fired) is seen impacting the SU-25, causing it to come down.

Here is a file photo of the IGLA system:

Interview with Armenian President Armen Sarkissian

Ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

 Armenia & Azerbaijan agree to ceasefire in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh starting SATURDAY after talks in Moscow

RT,

10 October, 2020

Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to halt hostilities in contested Nagorno-Karabakh after marathon talks in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. The armistice is set to take effect at noon on October 10.

The agreement was reached at the trilateral consultations involving the foreign ministers of the two warring parties, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Lavrov, who acted as a mediator. The negotiations lasted some 10 hours and wrapped up in the early hours of Saturday local time.

Baku and Yerevan agreed to suspend all military actions, starting at noon on Saturday, for “humanitarian” reasons. The pause in fighting will allow for captured prisoners to be swapped and the bodies of soldiers fallen on the frontlines to be exchanged, Lavrov told the media.

The Red Cross will help to facilitate the exchanges.

Lavrov indicated that the deal is meant to serve as a stepping stone to a lasting peace, adding that the warring sides will embark on negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group to “reach peaceful resolution” of the conflict.

"The Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia under the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group are starting meaningful negotiations to reach peaceful resolution [of the conflict] based on the basic settlement principles as soon as possible," Russia's top diplomat said.

The exact parameters of the ceasefire are still being fleshed out, according to Lavrov.

Specific parameters of the ceasefire regime will be agreed separately

The talks were held after both sides accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to Moscow. The Russian leader called on Baku and Yerevan to cease hostilities and return to negotiations on Thursday.

The invitation came after Putin held several rounds of calls with both Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Earlier, Russia, together with France and the US – which are all co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) so-called Minsk mediation group on Nagorno-Karabakh – repeatedly called on both sides to return to the negotiating table.

The conflict between the two neighbors has been raging since September 27 when both sides engaged in heavy fighting. The breakout of violence was caused by a longstanding dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh – an Armenian-populated region recognized as part of Azerbaijan’s territory. The clashes, which have seen the use of heavy artillery and air strikes, have led to multiple military and civilian casualties.

A dire warning to Russia

 A dire warning to Russia

The US Pentagon has a strategy to allow Russia's access 

to Iran to be destroyed in the war against Armenia prior to 

nuclear war against Russia

Hal Turner delivers his message in his usual more-than-direct method and gives a 

devastating picture of the war against Armenia, the oldest Christian country in the 

world.

He provides a strategic  analysis in which he posits that the Deep State neocons have a policy to allow for the destruction of Armenia by Azerbaijan and Turkey along with their jihadist proxies in order to cut Russia's links with its ally Iran. He says that Russia has a very short period to react strongly to this threat and come in behind their Christian brothers in Armenia.

While some of his knowledge of the history of the region shows something to be desired in its accuracy and his analysis may seem to be overblown I think that in the current situation this message would be ignored at peril and should be placed alongside everything else we know.

Whatever you do do not believe the mainstream media - even RT and Sputnik are not going to give you any clues.

Part one

He quotes an update at deagle.com which earlier predicted a decrease of the US population to 99 million.

Today I cannot get onto their website.

Part two

For background  I am reposting here a discussion I had with Margo a few months

ago about deagle.com