Month: October 2016

More than 40 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

The rival fired more than 4,000 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions. More intensive firing was reported in the northern direction of the lien of contact, where more than 500 shots were fired from The DShK large-caliber machine gun.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army resorted to response actions to pressure the activeness of the rival, retaining full control over the situation at the frontline.

The 2nd plane cartrying humanitarian aid for  people in war-torn Syria took off from Armenia today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

Vardan Makarian, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration and Ivan Volynkin, Russian Ambassador to Armenia,  were at the airport to see off the plane.

The Russian Defense Ministry helps deliver the humanitarian aid to Syria. The first military transport aircraft Il-76 of the Russian Defense Ministry delivered to the Hmeymim airbase about 40 tons of canned foods, vegetables, baked goods, flour, sugar.

The 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded for developing the world’s smallest machines, the BBC reports.

Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L Feringa will share the 8m kronor (£727,000) prize for the design and synthesis of machines on a molecular scale.

They were named at a press conference in Sweden.

The winners join a prestigious list of 200 other Physics laureates recognised since 1901.

On October 5, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the OSCE Mission conducted a planned monitoring of the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan to the south of Gulistan settlement of the Shahumyan region.

From the positions of the NKR Defense Army, the monitoring was conducted by Field Assistant of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova), Personal Assistant to the Personal Representative of the CiO Simon Tiller (Great Britain) and representative of the OSCE Chairmanship, staff member of the German Foreign Ministry Klaus Keller.

From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring was conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, his Field Assistant Khristo Khristov (Bulgaria) and staff member of the Office Peter Svedberg (Sweden).

The monitoring passed in accordance with the agreed schedule. No violation of the cease-fire regime was registered.

From the Karabakh side, the monitoring mission was accompanied by representatives of the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defense.

The delegation headed by Armenia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ashot Hovakimyan participated in the 67th session of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees held in Geneva October 3-7.

Opening remarks by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon were followed by UNHCR Filippo Grandi’s speech.

Referring to the global challenges related to refugees, Ashot Hovakimyan pledged Armenia’s willingness to continue the effective cooperation with the UNHCR Office to address the needs of displaced people and support the refugees and asylum seekers.

The Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister referred to the issue of Armenian refugees, who have been forced to leave their homes in Azerbaijan because of the latter’s policy of ethnic cleansing. He presented the Azerbaijani military aggression against Nagorno Karabakh unleashed in April this year, which was accompanied by harsh violations of international humanitarian law.

Ashot Hovakimyan noted that Armenia has provided refuge to more than 20 thousand Syrian refugees, being the third country in Europe with the number of Syrian refugees hosted.

In response to Armenia’s delegate’s speech, High Commissioner Filippo Grandi noted that the UNHCR Office will maintain support for the solution of problems displaced people face. He attached importance to the soonest resolution of the Karabakh conflict and expressed his support to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ efforts.

The second plane with Armenian humanitarian aid to Syria landed at Hmeimim airbase, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs.

Tigran Gevorgyan, the Consul General of Armenia to Aleppo, was at the site to receive it.

has included young Armenian footballer Vahan Bichakhchyan in the list of 60 of the best young talents in world football.

“Considered by some to be as talented as his countryman Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Bichakhchyan was handed his senior debut at the age of 16 for Shirak. He came on as a substitute in the Europa League first qualifying round second leg against Georgia’s Dila Gori and scored a screamer to help the team progress to the next stage. The goal made him the youngest Armenian to score in Europe,” The Guardian writes.

“Used mainly as right winger, his style is similar to Kevin De Bruyne’s: he has a good eye for goal and is always ready to take on opponents one-on-one, also reminding observers of a young Wayne Rooney. Bichakhchyan had, by mid-September, scored two goals and provided one assist in eight matches in this debut season for Shirak and had precisely the same stats for Armenia Under-19s after being considered too good for the Under-17s,” the paper writes.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian received today the delegation of the German Bundestag headed by Vice-President Johannes Singhammer.

Minister Nalbandian noted that the frequent visits of German lawmakers to Armenia are a testament to the importance of parliamentary diplomacy.

Edward Nalbandian availed himself of the opportunity to express gratitude for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide by the German Bundestag, and for the principled stance of German MPs on the issue.

Johannes Singhammer presented the goals of German MPs’ visit to Armenia and the results of the meetings.

Minister Nalbandian briefed the guests on Armenia-EU relations, the ongoing negotiations on a new legal framework.

Edward Nalbandian referred to Armenia’s approaches towards the situation in the Middle East, the issues of minorities in the region, the struggle against terrorism and other regional processes.

Minister Nalbandian presented the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs towards elimination of consequences of Azerbaijan’s April aggression and settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

On October 5, the letter of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan was transmitted to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra՝ad Al Hussein with regard to his statement made at the opening of the 33^rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on September 13, where he noted that his “Office has had no access to the conflict situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, including since the events of April 2016”.

Pointing to the absence of any appeal for access to Nagorno Karabakh from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, the NKR Foreign Minister expressed regret that for more than two decades the Office had not been able to visit the NKR, not even after the Azerbaijani aggression this April.

“In our view, the OHCHR should be able to verify well-documented cases of massive and grave human rights violations and war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces both against Nagorno Karabakh civilian population and its military personnel. We strongly believe that the international community has to react to these crimes in order to prevent their recurrence; otherwise, the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators would encourage further use of force by Azerbaijan against the people of Nagorno Karabakh”, the letter reads.

Assuring that the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh Republic are very open to have a genuine cooperation with the OHCHR with a view of strengthening democratic norms and principles as well as protection of human rights in situations of conflict, the NKR Minister of Foreign Affairs invited the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Nagorno Karabakh or to dispatch a team in order to make an impartial and objective assessment of the human rights situation and the crimes perpetrated against the people of Nagorno Karabakh in April this year.

Terrorist groups continued shelling the peaceful population in Nor Kiugh, Mogambo and Muhafaza neighborhoods of Aleppo after midday, the Armenian Kantsasar newspaper reports.

According to the source, two Armenians were killed and one was wounded in the attack. The victims are identified as Gaspar Shatoian (born in 1986) and Movses Movsessian (born in 1987).