The Response to the 44-day Karabakh War in the “Zhamanak” Daily Newspaper

Abstract

The 44-day Karabakh war of 2020 received a wide response from the “Zhamanak” newspaper published in Turkey. The newspaper described the events taking place in Armenia and Artsakh, based on information received from Armenia, as well as from various publications of Azerbaijani and international media. The publications of “Zhamanak” show that the newspaper is totally knowledgable about the Artsakh problem. The newspaper describes in detail the reasons for the start of the 44-day war, showing that the July events and statements of the Republic of Armenia have exhausted negotiations and the conflict was already inevitable. Throughout the war, “Zhamanak”, by providing information reported by Armenian, Azerbaijani and international media, shows that Azerbaijan is a pre-aggressive party, emphasizing the fact that Armenia has no motives for starting a war. From the first days of the war “Zhamanak” considers the course of hostilities unpredictable, noting either the possibility of a long war, similar to the first Artsakh war, or the probability of a quick cessation of hostilities. Despite the fact of being critized, “Zhamanak” does not consider the resignation of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister E. Mammadyarov a coincidence, highlighting that he was a peace supporter, who made a great contribution to the negotiations between the two countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Although the newspaper is published in Turkey, it presents the course of the 44-day war from a pro-Armenian perspective and laments its outcome. A few days after the ceasefire was announced, the following statement appeared in the newspaper: “the country is in deep darkness”.