News

By publicly reprimanding girls for wearing niqabs, the Mufti of Chechnya is provoking a conflict, Leonid Syukiyainen, an Islamic scholar, believes. According to Adats, only senior men in the family have the right to such criticism, said Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations.

Nikol Pashinyan's chances of retaining power are close to zero, says Armen Vardanyan. His colleague, Stepan Danielyan, has noted that Pashinyan is trying to shift responsibility to the army commanders and authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Prime Minister initially had chances to avoid the war, Naira Airumyan asserts.

The military servicemen, whom they decided to demobilize in Azerbaijan, include parents with many children, guardians of disabled persons and minor relatives.

Armenian authorities have announced a start of payments to Karabakh refugees, but the help programme to the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, who had lost their homes, has not yet been approved. The people who have lost their homes are forced to live with relatives or rent apartments at their own expense.

The Chechen authorities are preparing for the New Year holiday with a concert, to which they will invite 500 people and allocate more than 4 million roubles. The event will be held with the participation of Ramzan Kadyrov, who shortly before spoke out for modest New Year festivities.

The Russian and Turkish armed forces signed an agreement to open a monitoring centre in Azerbaijan, which would monitor violations of the ceasefire using drones.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) obliged the Russian authorities to pay compensation for moral damage in the amount of 12,500 US dollars to Aminat Makhmudova for failure to comply with a court's decision on transferring custody of children to her. At present, the children stay in Dagestan with the former husband of Aminat Makhmudova.

Some residents of Berdzor, Agavno, and Sus, controlled by Russian peacekeepers, decided to stay home, despite the transfer of the Lachin District to Azerbaijan. People request more information regarding the status of the above settlements.

A TV report about an "educational conversation" between the Mufti of Chechnya and young women wearing niqabs has become another episode of the campaign organized by the authorities, who are seeking from women of the republic to meet the requirements for their appearance.

Within the next three years, the Azerbaijani authorities intend to build a new road between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia instead of the Lachin corridor, as well as to create a transport corridor between the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and Azerbaijan.

On November 30, four pickets in support of journalist, Abdulmumin Gadjiev, were accompanied by more active support than before, said Idris Yusupov, a picketer.

In the Lachin District, which has today come under Azerbaijan's control, they began setting up commandant posts. The peacemakers have cleared the section the Lachin Corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia of unexploded ordnances.

On December 1, the Lachin District came under the control of Azerbaijani troops, with the exception of a five-kilometre-wide corridor that ensures Nagorno-Karabakh's communication with Armenia. According to Baku, the district suffered a huge damage over the years while it remained outside the control of Azerbaijani authorities.

The Armenian authorities are making insufficient efforts to return the prisoners of war (POWs), Nina Karapetyants believes. Results in POWs exchange can be achieved through a direct dialogue of the parties in conflict, Arthur Sakunts has noted. POWs can be used to solve some issues, for example, territorial ones, Artak Kirakosyan is sure.

The "Grozny" TV Channel has shown a story about the "educational conversation" of the Chechen Mufti and the girls who had worn niqabs. After the talk, the girls took off their dark bandages covering faces.

The Karabakh authorities have no information on the status of the city of Berdzor (Lachin) in the context of the December 1 planned transfer of the Lachin District to Azerbaijan, but townspeople have already left the city, considering it unsafe for living.

Armenian authorities have approved the granting of vacations to the regular soldiers who took part in hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, their parents have informed. Also, lists of soldiers in need of medical treatment will be compiled.

In Yerevan, participants of the "March of Unity" requested the French Ambassador to influence Azerbaijan, where soldiers and civilians are being held captive. Armenian President Armen Sarkisyan has appealed to Vladimir Putin with a request for such mediation.

In anticipation of the transfer of the Lachin District to Azerbaijan, scheduled for December 1, the Armenian population leaves their houses and sets them on fire.

Before signing the statement to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian President agreed with the arguments of the Armenian Prime Minister, who ruled out the possibility of surrendering the city of Shushi to Azerbaijan, Nikol Pashinyan himself claimed.