French Defense Minister to visit Armenia

 13:23,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced his upcoming visit to Armenia.

Lecornu's trip will become the first visit by a French defense minister to Armenia.

In an interview with RTL, Lecornu said his delegation will include parliamentarians and representatives of the industrial sector.

“I will soon travel to Armenia with a big delegation composed of parliamentarians and representatives of the industrial sector,” he said.

Lecornu added that France is supplying arms to Armenia exclusively for defensive purposes. “Armenia is our friend which is facing a serious security challenge. It is our duty to help Armenia protect its territorial integrity,” the French defense minister added.

Turkish Press: Erdoğan urges Aliyev to avoid tensions with Armenia

Turkish Minute
Feb 19 2024

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday told Azerbaijan’s visiting leader that he wanted Baku to avoid future border flareups with Armenia and to pursue a lasting peace, Agence France-Presse reported.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Ankara — Baku’s most important military and diplomatic supporter on the global stage — after having rare talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

The Munich meeting’s stakes were raised by a deadly clash last week along the Azerbaijan-Armenian border that Yerevan said killed four Armenian troops.

The German chancellory said Aliyev and Pashinyan had agreed to push for peace and avoid the use of force.

Erdoğan said he also hoped that last week’s flareup “will not be repeated.”

“There is no doubt that the signing of a permanent peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia would be a new source of hope for peace, tranquility and stability in our region and in the world,” Erdoğan said at a joint media appearance.

Pashinyan had warned after last week’s exchange of fire that Azerbaijan was preparing for a “full-scale war” with its historic foe.

Azerbaijan has been emboldened by its capture of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory in a swift offensive that settled one of the world’s most intractable conflicts last year.

The war saw almost the entire ethnic-Armenian population of Karabakh — estimated at more than 100,000 people — flee to Armenia.

It also created a deep rift in Armenia’s relations with its regional ally Russia that appeared to push Yerevan closer to agreeing to an elusive peace deal with Baku.

“With the end of the [Armenian] occupation in Karabakh, a historic window of opportunity opened for permanent peace,” Erdoğan said.

“It is important that this window of opportunity does not close.”

Aliyev said the war helped “resolve a historical issue that could not be resolved by peaceful means.”

“Azerbaijan will never forget this brotherly support,” Aliyev said of Turkey’s diplomatic backing and weapons sales.

Senators Portantino and Archuleta Urge Azerbaijan to Immediately Release Armenian POWs


SACRAMENTO — A senate resolution authored by Californian State senators Anthony J. Portantino and Bob Archuleta was introduced on Tuesday, calling on President Joe Biden to take immediate steps to address the ongoing illegal detention of Armenian POWs, civilians, and government leaders by Azerbaijan.

“It is unacceptable that we are allowing Azerbaijan to continue their genocidal policies and illegally hold and detain innocent Artsakh residents,” stated Senator Portantino.

“It is beyond sad that concrete steps have yet to be taken to address the ethnic cleansing of Armenians and the continued illegal detention of Armenian POWs, civilians and leaders. Azerbaijan and the Aliyev regime must be held accountable for these atrocities and the US and the international community should and must be more strident in its defense of Artsakh and Armenians being illegally held,” Portantino added.

“The remaining POWs, hostages, and other detainees must be immediately released by Azerbaijan and returned safely to their families,” said Senator Archuleta.

“In disregard of human rights and international law, Azerbaijan continues to hold Armenian civilian, military, and political leaders hostage. With over 100,000 Armenians forcibly displaced from their homes in Artaskh, California and the United States must unite in holding the Azerbaijani government responsible for these repeated, horrific assaults on the Armenian people,” added Archuleta.

The resolution is particularly personal for Senator Portantino, as several of those being held are friends and associates with whom he has met and socialized with, both in Artsakh and in his Glendale District Office.

Senator Portantino had recently hosted former Artsakh Foreign Minister and Advisor to the President David Babayan in Glendale, after being briefed in Artsakh by Babayan shortly after the 44-Day War. Minister Babayan is one of the government officials being illegally held by Azerbaijan. Senator Portantino was invited to go to Artsakh after the 44-Day War by the Human Rights Defender, Artak Beglaryan.

Sen. Portantino with former Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan Sen. Portantino with Artsakh’s former State Minister Artak Beglaryan

“We welcome the introduction of the resolution, which sheds light on the suffering of the people of Artsakh, especially POWs, hostages and detainees illegally held captive by the tyrannical regime of Azerbaijan,” said Ruben D. Karapetian, Government Affairs Director of the Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region.

“The release of all Armenian POWs, hostages, and detainees is paramount and only feasible by holding Azerbaijan and members of the Aliyev regime accountable for its continued violations of international law,” Karapetian added.

In September 2020, Azerbaijan launched a war of territorial expansion against the Armenians of Artsakh that resulted in the ethnic cleansing of over 70 percent of Artsakh territory. Azerbaijan perpetrated widely documented human rights abuses, including the unlawful targeting of schools, homes, hospitals, and churches with prohibited weapons.

For more than eight months, Azerbaijan held 120,000 people under a blockade, in isolation from food, water, medical supplies, fuel, electricity, and other basic needs. Following the illegal blockade, the Armenians of Artsakh endured a large-scale assault by the genocidal Aliyev regime in September 2023, resulting in the forced exodus of more than 100,000 people.

Currently, dozens of Armenian prisoners remain in Azerbaijani custody, with over 80 Armenian soldiers and civilians still missing. Additionally, Azerbaijan has held eight former military and political leaders of Artsakh captive since September 2023. According to the Third Geneva Convention, to which Azerbaijan is a signatory, the release of POWs and captured civilians upon the cessation of hostilities is required. Azerbaijan has still not fulfilled its international legal obligations.

SJR 11 calls on the Biden Administration to urge Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian POWs, hostages, and other detained persons. It also calls on Biden to impose Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act violations on Azerbaijan for the illegal detention, torture, and extrajudicial killing of Armenian POWs and hostages.

Armenpress: 7 Turkish citizens received refugee status in Armenia in 2023

 09:44, 9 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. 8,761 persons, including 3,658 citizens of CIS states and 266 citizens of EU states, were granted residency status in Armenia in 2023, according to official data published by the Statistical Committee.

5,073 of the 8,761 people received temporary residency status. The remaining 3,274 and 414 received permanent and special residency status respectively.

Most of the residency status recipients are citizens of Russia and India (3,350 and 2,035 respectively). 2,137 citizens of Russia and 41 citizens of India received permanent residency status.

Another 370 foreigners applied for asylum in Armenia in the second half of 2023.

193 of them (citizens of 14 different countries and 1 stateless person) received refugee status (94 Ukrainian citizens, 28 Haitian citizens, 17 Iraqi citizens, 16 Syrian citizens, 11 Iranian citizens, 7 Turkish citizens and 6 Yemeni citizens).  Most of them are aged between 35 and 64. Most of the asylum seekers were citizens of Iraq (109), Ukraine (91), Iran (57), Egypt (42), Russia (13) and Turkey (9).

In the same period, authorities revoked refugee status of 35 persons. 98 asylum applications by 187 persons were suspended.

Asbarez: AEF Hosts Annual Oratorical Contest, Awards Prizes to Winners from Local Armenian Schools

2024 Oratorical Middle School Contestants and Judges


The Armenian Educational Foundation’s Fifth Annual Oratorical Contest drew in over 150 supporters on January 27 at UCLA’s Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, California. This year’s Oratorical Contest was held in collaboration with the UCLA Center for World Languages.

Representatives from eight local Armenian schools competed in both English and Armenian in the Middle School and High School Contests. The participating schools included:

  • A.G.B.U. Manoogian-Demirdjian School;
  • Armenian Mesrobian School;
  • Armenian Sisters’ Academy;
  • C & E Merdinian Evangelical School;
  • Chamlian Armenian School;
  • Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School;
  • Rose & Alex Pilibos Armenian School;
  • Sahag Mesrob Armenian Christian School.

This year’s competition covered a wide array of topics, including the connection between community and longevity, the influence of an Armenian role model, the impact of a non-profit organization in Armenia, and the effects of instant gratification on society. The judging criteria were based on the American Legion National Oratorical Contest guidelines.

The professional experience of the panel of judges encompassed a variety of backgrounds, including education, language, law, broadcast journalism, digital media, and film.

The distinguished judges for the middle school competition were:

  • Alex Bastian, Esq. (President & CEO, Hotel Council of San Francisco);
  • Tereza Hovhannisyan (Lecturer of Eastern Armenian Language, UCLA Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department);
  • Zaven Keuroghlian (Co-Founder & CEO, Zartonk Media);
  • Sev Ohanian (Screenwriter & Film Producer);
  • Dr. Shant Shekherdemian (Associate Professor of Surgery & Interim Chief of Pediatric Surgery, UCLA, Associate Director for Healthcare Outreach, UCLA Promise Armenian Institute);
  • Vruir Tadevosian (TV Host & Journalist, Horizon Armenian TV).

2024 Oratorical High School Contestants and Judges

The distinguished judges for the high school competition were:

  • Armine Amiryan (Head of News, USArmenia TV);
  • Dr. Hagop Gulludjian (Kachigian Senior Lecturer of Armenian Language & Culture, UCLA Near Eastern Languages & Cultures Department);
  • Ani Hovannisian Kevorkian (Documentary Filmmaker);
  • Araksya Karapetian (News Anchor, FOX 11/Good Day LA);
  • Dr. Lilit Keshishyan (Project Director, USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, Lecturer, USC Writing Program);
  • Gegham Mughnetsyan (Chitjian Researcher Archivist, USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies).

Teni Karapetian, Director of Film Publicity at Netflix, acted as Mistress of Ceremonies of the Middle School Contest while Haig Boyadjian, Vice President of Development at the Children of Armenia Fund, was the Master of Ceremonies for the High School Contest.

The winners of the 2024 AEF Oratorical Middle School Contest were Arpa Bostanian (6th grade) representing Armenian Sisters’ Academy for the Armenian language competition, and Harout Karadanaian (8th grade) from A.G.B.U. Manoogian-Demirdjian School for the English language contest. The 2024 AEF Oratorical High School Contest winners, who received the Richard G. Hovannisian Scholarship, were Natelle Ezadjian (10th grade) representing Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School for the Armenian language contest, and Narod Ekmekjian (11th grade) from Armenian Mesrobian School for the English language contest. Each winner was awarded with a $1,000 prize.

Sev Ohanian remarked, “I was absolutely blown away by the exceptional caliber and passion exhibited by all of the students. It was an honor to witness such brilliance, and I am truly grateful for AEF for the work they do to tirelessly nurture and elevate our community’s educational landscape.”

Dr. Lilit Keshishyan commented, “It was an absolute pleasure judging the AEF Oratorical Contest. Events like these showcase not only the eloquence and confidence of the students sharing their ideas, but also the organizations, teachers, and parents that empower them. The energy in the room was inspiring.”

AEF’s purpose in hosting the Oratorical Contest is to promote public speaking in Armenian youth, with the hope of encouraging and shaping a future generation of leaders, motivators and influencers who can become a positive force and promote progress within their community.

For more information on the Armenian Educational Foundation or to donate online, please visit the website.

Asbarez: After NATO Praises Partnership with Armenia, Moscow Warns Yerevan

NATO's Caucasus envoy Javier Colomina during a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on Jan. 19


Russia on Wednesday warned Yerevan that its recent efforts to forge close relations with NATO and the West might not yield the desired results, saying history has shown that those seeking rapprochement with NATO risk losing their sovereignty and independence.

The Russian reaction was a direct response to NATO’s Caucasus representative Javeier Colomina, who in an interview with Armenpress’ Lilit Gasparyan said he was encouraged by Armenia’s decision to seek closer ties with the security alliance.

“We are very encouraged by the decisions that Armenia has decided to take in their foreign policy and defense policy, the shift they have decided to implement,” Colomina said, calling his trip to Yerevan on January 19 a success.

The NATO representative said Armenia’s decision to become closer with NATO “is difficult to implement and will probably take a long time, but, of course, we encourage our partners to get closer to us, and that is what Armenia is doing.”

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing on Wednesday that Yerevan’s “rapprochement” with NATO can have troubling consequences for Armenia.

“We have already seen what a rapprochement with NATO has led to for many countries: involvement in conflicts, loss of sovereignty and independence, being forced to submit to the will of a foreign nation in all senses of the word and in all spheres, and most importantly, the lack of opportunity to realize one’s own national interests,” said Zakharova.

“Probably, here we should start from the basic realities, and assess what the national interests of each country, particularly of Armenia, are,” Zakharova added. “We should probably analyze that, we should probably open the map, we should look at which region and between which neighbors that country is located.”

Moscow’s unusually quick response to the NATO representative signals that the Russian government is more concerned about Yerevan’s westward tilt than it has suggested in public statements.

Zakharova underscored that NATO and the United States are not trustworthy allies and said historically those nations that have forged alliances with them have wound up on the losing side, because, she said, “I haven’t seen any examples in the last 30 to 40 years” of NATO or the U.S. fulfilling the promises they make to those allied nations.

In his interview with Armenpress, Colomina said that NATO considers Russia a threat, adding that Russia “already made a strategic mistake invading Ukraine. And they need to understand that NATO will be ready to defend every inch of our territory.”

AW: Pianist Kariné Poghosyan presenting Valentine’s Day concert at Carnegie Hall

Kariné Poghosyan

NEW YORK—Pianist Kariné Poghosyan will perform a concert in honor of the 100th anniversary of the premiere of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at 8 p.m. at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. This concert, presented by The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the United Nations, will also feature works by Alberto Ginastera, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Tania León and Arno Babajanian.

“‘Rhapsody in Blue’ is to me one of those iconic works that speaks to absolutely everyone,” says Poghosyan. “It is a stellar example of what Gershwin was aiming for with his compositions – erasing boundaries between different genres and styles of music. Therefore, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its premiere, I have created a program that highlights that magical combination of classical, jazz and Latin elements, alongside works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Alberto Ginastera and Tania Leon, with a bit of my Armenian roots sprinkled in through virtuosic selections by Arno Babajanian.”

The Armenian-American Poghosyan made her orchestral debut at the age of 14 playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and her solo Carnegie Hall debut at 23, and she has since gone on to win numerous awards as well as perform in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. This year, Poghosyan released her third album Folk Themes on Parma Recordings’ classical label Navona Records. “A body of work that’s passionate and exploratory, Folk Themes illustrates much tenderness and vibrancy via Poghosyan’s riveting playing” (Take Effect Reviews).

Poghosyan has been praised on the world stage for her “bewitching detail and thunderous power” (New York Music Daily). Her most recent concerts include two sold-out recitals at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, the second of which was a CD release concert of her Rachmaninoff and Stravinsky recording on Centaur Records. This recording has since garnered rave reviews, with Gramophone Magazine praising its “masterly textural layering and resounding climaxes,” and the American Record Guide stating, “A more heroic program would be hard to find, and few could play as well as the Armenian-American Poghosyan.” WWFM radio host Jed Distler described her performance as “big piano playing, but big in the sense of being in the moment, being present, and totally owning her vitality and imagination.” 

Poghosyan is the winner of the New West Symphony Discovery Artists Competition, the Thousand Islands International Piano Competition, CSUN Symphony Concerto Competition, the Artists International Auditions and was a top prize winner in the Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition, Five Towns Music and Arts Competition, and the Arno Babajanian Piano Competition.

She received her M.M. and D.M.A. degrees at the Manhattan School of Music, under Dr. Arkady Aronov, completing her D.M.A. in a record-breaking two years, with a thesis on Aram Khachaturian for Piano. Poghosyan is currently based in New York, where she teaches at her alma mater, the Manhattan School of Music.

During the pandemic, Poghosyan performed 100 Facebook live concerts, which received coverage from Stephanie Simon of NY1, Rick Rowe of ABC, Katie Couric’s newsletter Wake-up Call, as well as in an article in the Pianist Magazine. She also has a monthly virtual concert series on her Patreon, with a global audience of patrons tuning in on Zoom to enjoy the professional studio broadcasts. This past season, she performed solo recitals at Ehrbar Saal in Vienna and the Soraya Performing Arts Center in Northridge, California, as well as concerti performances with Wallingford Symphony and Evanston Symphony Orchestras. This season, Poghosyan has made her solo recital debut in Milan, Italy, as well as the Sheldon in Saint Louis.

Tickets for the Valentine’s Day concert are $35-75 (seniors and student discounts available at the box office with valid ID) and are available at www.carnegiehall.org, the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.




Azerbaijani court extends detention of ex-Karabakh leader

FMT – Free Malaysia Today
Jan 25 2024

Ruben Vardanyan was initially detained while attempting to flee after Baku retook the region in September.

Reuters

BAKU: A court in Azerbaijan today extended by four months the detention of Ruben Vardanyan, a former head of the breakaway ethnic Armenian government in Nagorno-Karabakh and a man Baku regards as an illegal separatist.

Azerbaijan retook the breakaway region in September, prompting a mass exodus of the ethnic Armenians living there and Azerbaijani security forces detained Vardanyan while he was trying to flee, according to his wife.

Once a billionaire banker in Russia, Azerbaijan is investigating him on charges of financing terrorism, establishing or joining an illegal armed group, and illegally crossing the state border.

A court official confirmed to Reuters his detention had been extended by four months.

Vardanyan was head of the breakaway Karabakh ethnic Armenian government in late 2022 but was dismissed after just four months and opted to stay there.

Vardanyan’s family, who describe him as “humanitarian (who) has never been involved in any military activities”, says he is being illegally held in Azerbaijan and have called for his release.

Russia rejects criticism of peacekeepers in Karabakh

eurasianet
Jan 15 2024
Lilit Shahverdyan Jan 15, 2024

Russia's Foreign Ministry has angrily defended the performance of the country's peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh. 

In September last year the 2,000-strong peacekeeping contingent did not intervene as Baku launched a lightning offensive to retake the region, which resulted in near-complete emptying of its Armenian population. 

And that came at the end of a nine-month blockade of the region during which the Russian troops were of limited help in getting supplies into Karabakh and transporting Karabakhis to Armenia for medical treatment. 

A number of Armenian officials, most recently Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan, have complained publicly about what they saw as the peacekeepers' failure to protect the roughly 100,000 local Armenians. 

"From September 19, ethnic cleansing started in NK. Until now, we haven't received any explanation of how the ethnic cleansing occurred in the presence of Russian peacekeepers. We haven't seen any explanations," Grigoryan said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stridently disagrees.

"We believe that these [accusations] are attempts to falsify the facts to avoid responsibility. There was no mass death of Nagorno-Karabakh civilians or significant damage to civilian facilities," she said at a briefing on January 12.

That is arguably true. Azerbaijani troops did not target Karabakhi civilians en masse, though there were sporadic reports of atrocities in villages. The exodus of the Armenians from Karabakh was nonetheless violent and chaotic. As locals were fleeing, over 200 people died in a fuel depot explosion and an estimated 64 died during the trek to Armenia, which saw days-long traffic jams. (An estimated 220 Karabakhi soldiers lost their lives trying to resist the onslaught.) 

"No one has the right to insult the peacekeepers, and we will respond to those who insulted them," Zakharova added. 

She also bristled at the use of the term "ethnic cleansing," which has been used by many other Armenian officials, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

"Regarding the claims of ethnic cleansing in Karabakh, I would like to be presented with any facts, any documents, or statements from any international organization that is considered authoritative in Yerevan, for example, the United Nations or another organization," she added.

The peacekeepers were stationed in Karabakh under a Russia-brokered ceasefire in November 2020 immediately after Azerbaijan's victory in the Second Karabakh War and seizure of lands in and around the region. The Russian troops operated amidst ambiguity, with no clearly defined mandate.

Questions about the efficacy of the peacekeeping effort arose early on. In December 2020, Russian peacekeepers were unable to prevent Azerbaijan from seizing two Karabakh villages in their purported zone of responsibility. Over the next three years, Azerbaijan continued incursions into Karabakh, capturing additional territories and putting civilians at risk along the border.

In December 2022, as Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin corridor, the sole route connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world, the peacekeepers were unable or unwilling to unblock it. The blockade continued for over nine months until Azerbaijan's decisive offensive in September that resulted in the dissolution of the de facto republic through another Russia-brokered ceasefire and the surrender of local defense forces. In the ensuing days, the entire population of Karabakh evacuated to Armenia, leaving the region empty save for a few dozen inhabitants, all while Russian peacekeepers looked on. 

Russia said several of its troops were killed during Azerbaijan's offensive, including a senior officer, but did not reveal details of the incident nor the precise number killed. 

After Azerbaijan established full control over the region, the Russians dismantled several observation posts. They now coordinate their peacekeeping activities exclusively with Azerbaijan. The peacekeepers' news bulletin keeps recording the absence of ceasefire violations and continuous interactions with Baku "to ensure the security of the civilian population." 

Most recently, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister signaled the possible withdrawal of peacekeepers in 2025, as the 2020 tripartite agreement initially stipulated.

Armenian officials have not commented on Zakharova's remarks.

Lilit Shahverdyan is a journalist based in Stepanakert. 

https://eurasianet.org/russia-rejects-criticism-of-peacekeepers-in-karabakh 

Nicolas Anelka and FFA President discuss the prospects for building football academy in Armenia

 18:08, 18 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 18, ARMENPRESS.  French retired football player Nicolas Anelka and the President of the Football Federation of Armenia Armen Melikbekyan discussed the prospects of establishing a football academy in Armenia, the Football Federation of Armenia said.

On January 18, Nicolas Anelka visited the FFA Technical Center/Football Academy and familiarized himself with the infrastructures.