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1. Statement: ANC-UK opposes the closure of the OSCE Minsk Group
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| James Ford, Deputy Head of Mission at the UK Delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), in a statement welcomed the closure of the OSCE Minsk structures on August 26.
The full statement can be read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/permanent-council-decision-on-closure-of-the-osce-minsk-structures-uk-statement-to-the-osce
The OSCE Minsk Group has long served as the only international balanced mediating mechanism addressing the conflict between Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Armenia and Azerbaijan. Its mandate is essential to ensure that peace efforts are not reduced to arrangements imposed through threats and the use of force. Armenia has been repeatedly coerced into making concessions under military pressure, a dynamic that undermines any prospect of a just and lasting peace.
We call on the British government to support the preservation of balanced mediation efforts that prioritise human rights, justice and long-term stability in the South Caucasus, rather than rewarding coercion and legitimising the use of force. |
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| The National Assembly of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) has issued an urgent appeal to OSCE participating countries, including the United Kingdom, on behalf of the 150,000 Armenians forcibly displaced from their homeland on August 20. The statement warns against dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group without securing guarantees for the safe and dignified right of return, protection of rights under international law, and the inclusion of Artsakh’s representatives in future negotiations.
“Legitimising the ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijan and considering the conflict resolved would leave an indelible and bloody stain on the history, authority, and principles of the OSCE”, says the appeal. |
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| The organisation Europeans for Artsakh has issued a statement on August 13 expressing deep concern over gaps in the recent Washington declaration, warning they threaten prospects for a fair and lasting settlement in the South Caucasus.
They stress that true peace is impossible without:
1. The immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian hostages and prisoners unlawfully held in Baku.
2. The collective, safe, and dignified right of return for the Armenians of Artsakh to their ancestral homes under robust international guarantees.
3. Effective protection of Armenian Christian and cultural heritage in Artsakh through international monitoring, including satellite-based mechanisms, to prevent destruction and erasure.
The statement also voices concern over the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group and strongly support the Swiss NK Peace Initiative. “Only peace that guarantees fundamental rights, justice, and security for all can be considered real peace”. |
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2. Stephen Doughty visits Armenia
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| The UK’s Minister for Europe, North America and the Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty MP, visited Armenia on August 26 for the second round of the Armenia–UK Strategic Dialogue. Stephen Doughty met with Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan, along with other high level meetings.
The talks covered closer cooperation on defence and cyber security, expanding trade and investment, strengthening cultural and educational exchange, and supporting Armenia’s role in the upcoming international summits in 2026: The European Political Community Summit and the 17th Conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17). The parties also discussed the Armenia/UK Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), while Armenia recognised the potential of United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF) to further boost trade and investment. |
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| On 26 August, Stephen Doughty MP, the UK’s Minister for Europe, North America and the Overseas Territories, visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan. Stephen Doughty laid a wreath, placed flowers at the eternal flame and honoured the memory of the 1.5 million innocent victims.
He was welcomed by Edita Gzoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, who spoke about the Azerbaijani-organised massacres in Sumgait, Kirovabad and Baku, and the freedom fighters of the Artsakh War, highlighting their link to the Armenian Genocide. The delegation also visited the Wall of Remembrance, learning about foreign figures, including Britain’s James Bryce, who raised their voices against the massacres of Armenians.
The ANC-UK is grateful for this visit and for paying respects to the victims. But the question remains: when will the UK officially recognise the Armenian Genocide? |
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3. UK Parliamentarians raising the issues of Armenia and Artsakh
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4. Save the Arq statement on the Illegality of the second Cows’ Garden Agreement
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5. Three analysis of the Washington Declaration
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Three experts analyzed the “Washington Declaration” signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and the United States of America on August 8.
“Central to the accord is a tacit ‘pact of forgetting,’ embodied in Article 15, which bars legal recourse through international justice mechanisms within a month of signing—a move that raises concerns about accountability for those who lost homes or rights. While Azerbaijan’s authoritarian system may weather such compromises, Armenia faces significant domestic backlash, particularly regarding the constitutional referendum needed to eliminate its claim over Nagorno-Karabakh and to pass the deal”.
By Laurence Broers, Chatham House.
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/08/us-intervention-opens-new-page-armenia-azerbaijan-peace-talks-challenges-remain
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“The deal grants Azerbaijan substantial gains—especially via the transit corridor to Nakhchivan—while leaving Armenia politically strained and without immediate benefits. Russia’s diminished regional clout offers Western opportunity, but its potential comeback—especially through a Trump-Putin thaw—poses risks. Europe must assert itself now: by providing financing, technical expertise, and oversight to ensure corridor transparency and stability, and by counterbalancing the murky interplay of U.S. and regional geopolitical interests”.
By Jim O’Brien, European Council on Foreign Relations.
https://ecfr.eu/article/peace-in-the-caucasus-ensuring-europe-plays-a-role-after-trumps-ceremony/
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“While this accord is being hailed as a breakthrough, it leaves critical issues unresolved — Armenia’s sovereignty, the release of Armenian hostages, and the rights and protection of displaced Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. True peace cannot be achieved by overlooking these fundamental concerns. Without genuine diplomacy to confront them head-on, the Washington agreement risks joining the long list of failed initiatives in the region”.
By Hrair Balian, Modern Diplomacy.
https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2025/08/18/more-diplomacy-not-minefields-needed-to-secure-peace-in-the-south-caucasus/ |
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6. Two BBC documentaries on Armenia
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| The BBC documentary Sunrise in Armenia, aired through Paramount Pictures’ international TV networks, has achieved an exceptional 98.5% viewership, far surpassing global averages.
The film highlights Armenia’s breathtaking landscapes, cultural treasures and identity, reaching millions of viewers worldwide. According to Armenia’s Tourism Committee, this international success is expected to boost global awareness and strengthen Armenia’s position as a must-visit destination. |
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| BBC Podcast has released a documentary on how young Armenians are using drones and 3D scanning to digitally preserve their cultural heritage. At the ancient Yererouk Basilica, near the border with Turkey, engineers are mapping every detail of the church to recreate it in full-colour 3D. The project, led by TUMO in Yerevan, is training a new generation to connect with and protect Armenia’s 2,000-year-old Christian heritage.
The documentary also underlines the urgency of this work, as dozens of Armenian churches and monasteries in Artsakh were reported damaged or destroyed after Azerbaijan’s 2023 assault, with Armenians still barred from returning. |
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7. News articles and recent developments
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| The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has informed the families of the 23 Armenian captives illegally held in Baku that they will no longer be allowed to visit them. The decision, taken at the request of the Azerbaijani government, will soon lead to the closure of the ICRC’s Baku office.
“The Red Cross won’t be visiting anymore, they have no connection to the captives now,” a relative told RFE/RL on July 30. “It was our only bridge to them. Now even that’s gone”.
The Armenian prisoners, victims of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, are being exposed to fake “trials”, denied fair legal protections, and increasingly cut off from the outside world. The ICRC had been the only international body able to check on their condition, deliver hygiene items, and facilitate family video calls. |
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| The UK’s Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has fined British lawyer Rory Fordyce £32,500 and barred him from holding legal management roles for five years for failing to properly vet funds tied to the family of Eldar Mahmudov, Azerbaijan’s former national security minister.
The tribunal found Fordyce’s anti-money laundering checks “rudimentary, piecemeal and naive” in a property deal involving over £1.9 million, with money traced to Mahmudov’s sister.
Iinvestigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. |
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| A leaked report has revealed that Belarus supplied weapons to Azerbaijan which were used against Armenia during the 2020 Artsakh war. The files show that the Belarusian arms company Tetraedr signed at least 16 contracts with Azerbaijan, including upgrades to Pechora-2TM missile systems. Many of these deals were routed through offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands linked to Azerbaijani businessmen.
The war unleashed by Azerbaijan in 2020 and the subsequent attack in 2023 ethnically cleansed the entire Armenian population of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).
Iinvestigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. |
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| On August 4, units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire on an excavator engaged in construction work on inter-position roads, located 4,500 meters northeast of the Verishen settlement in the Syunik Province, according to the Ministry of Defence of Armenia. There were no casualties reported. |
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| On 24 August, the day of remembrance of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Hero Ashot Gulyan (Bekor), the Artsakh Tourism & Culture Development Agency confirmed the destruction of his monument in the occupied city of Stepanakert.
“The destruction of monuments is not merely vandalism, but part of Azerbaijan’s systematic policy aimed at erasing the memory of heroes and the cultural identity of the people of Artsakh. Such actions grossly violate international conventions on the protection of cultural heritage and the rights of Artsakh Armenians to preserve memory, history, and to return to their homeland”, said the organisation. “The best protection of cultural heritage is the guarantee of the inalienable right of the people of Artsakh to return”. |
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| As of July 15, not a single statue or bust remains in Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh. All 25 monuments that once formed the city’s monumental heritage have been removed, according to the Artsakh Agency for the Development of Culture and Tourism. The first to be dismantled was the monument to Stepan Shahumyan, after whom the city had been named for over a century. |
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| 11 August marks the start of Navasard, the first month of the ancient Armenian calendar, celebrated as the beginning of the New Year in Armenian tradition, a time of joy and abundance. Festivities honoured the Navasardian deity, protector of crops and provider for the hungry. This year, according to the ancient calendar, Armenians welcome the year 4518. |
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Make your donation
Please give today to help our campaigns
To continue our ever growing work in advocacy we urgently need funds to have paid staff. All our efforts are done on voluntary basis. Please donate so we can carry on working for the Armenian Cause and raise the concerns of the British Armenian community.
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You can now donate monthly!
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Why Donate?
The Armenian National Committee of the United Kingdom (ANC-UK) is the largest and most influential British-Armenian political grassroots organisation.
Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Britain and affiliated organisations around the world, ANC-UK actively advances the concerns of the British-Armenian community on a broad range of issues.
The work achieved by ANC-UK is currently on a volunteer basis. However, we are hopeful that in the coming years through the financial support of our community, the ANC-UK chapter will have the necessary funds to open a full-time office employing an Executive Director and a part-time Administrative Assistant.
Setting up an ANC-UK office will allow for our organisation’s goals to be achieved as they have been throughout the diaspora in the United States of America, Canada, Australia and Europe.
As a grassroots organisation, we rely upon you, our community and friends for financial assistance to advance our cause. Your donations support our goal of having a full-time office, to advocate on issues important to all British-Armenians and the Armenian cause.
Thank you for your consideration of our request for your support.
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