19:09, 7 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. By the decision of Prime Miister Nikol Pashinyan, Vahe Gevorgayn has been appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports the decision is published in the official website of the Government.
Gevorgyan held the position of the advisor to the Foreign Minister before the appointment.
‘'IGorts’' program’s 22 participants of the first stage repatriated. 50 professionals receive certificates
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19:19, 7 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. At the government of the Republic of Armenia at the closure ceremony of the ‘'Igorts’' 2020 program 50 professionals received certificates. ARMENPRESS reports High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan, ministers, vice-ministers, program participants, who came to Armenia from 19 countries a year ago and worked at 19 state institutions were present at the closure ceremony.
Head of the Program Implementation and Monitoring Department of the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs, head of ‘'iGorts’' program Liana Simonyan said, what ‘'iGorts’' gave an opportunity to diaspora professionals to work at state institutions of Armenia. ‘'The participants of our program, who were 52, according to the professional needs presented by the state bodies, implemented activities at the state system and had opportunity to invest their experience and knowledge in the improvement and development of respective fields. We chose specific standards – the participant had to have masters or higher degree, be sufficiently patriotic, be ready to live one year and work in Armenia'', Simonyan said.
According to her, the 52 participants were from 19 countries Russia, the Netherlands, USA, Germany, Austria, Lebanon, China, Ukraine, Iran, Georgia, Israel and so on. Speaking about the goals of the program Liana Simonyan mentioned that by ‘'iGorts’' program they wanted to use the human potential of the diaspora in the development of the management system, also facilitate the professional repatriation.
Zareh Sinanyan thanked the participants. In the framework of ‘'iGorts’' 2020 programs were implemented in healthcare, education, culture, social work, territorial administration, economy and investment fields. All of our participants are great professionals in their fields. 22 of participants made a decision of repatriation, 14 will stay at state system and 8 will work at private fields’', mentioned Sinanyan, thanking all the participants and the coworkers of High Commissioner of the Diaspora.
Minister of Healthcare of Armenia Anahit Avanesyan thanked the participants for their work. ''This program had great success and I hope that in the future greater progress will be made’',- said Avanesyan.
Hayk Margaryan, who is one of the repatriated by the program, in conversation with ARMENPRESS mentioned that today he was appointed as the director of the centre of innovation and entrepreneurship. While talking about repatriation, he emphasized that for him it was very important to live in Armenia. Now he lives in Armenia with his wife and two children.
Heads of Armenian, Georgian parliaments meet in the sidelines of 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments
20:02, 7 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. In the sidelines of the 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Kakha Kuchava on September 7.
As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the parliament, during the meeting the President of the National Assembly of Armenia noted that Armenia attaches great importance to the sustainable development of friendly relations with Georgia and the deepening of multidimensional cooperation, adding that the cooperation based on the Armenian-Georgian mutual trust is an important factor for security, peace and sustainable development in the region. Alen Simonyan informed his colleague that he attaches great importance to the close cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries and the Armenian-Georgian friendship group will be re-formed in the parliament soon, which will promote further effective cooperation.
Speaking about the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Alen Simonyan thanked for all the efforts made by Georgia in this process. Speaker of the Georgian parliament Kakha Kuchava once again congratulated Alen Simonyan on the occasion of being elected President of the National Assembly, assessing it as a good opportunity for giving new impetus to bilateral cooperation. He expressed satisfaction over the activities of the parliamentary friendship groups during the previous convocation of the National Assembly, expressing confidence for more effective cooperation in the future.
Alen Simonyan pointed out the construction of the "Friendship Bridge", which is of strategic importance, expressing conviction that it would best contribute to the deepening of the cooperation of the neighboring states, the growth of trade turnover, development of infrastructures and tourism. He noted that this program, funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the governments of Armenia and Georgia, can become a symbol of centuries-old Armenian-Georgian friendship.
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Two Armenian Soldiers Freed By Azerbaijan
Armenia - A view of an area in Armenia's Syunik province where Armenian and
Azerbaijani troops are locked in a border standoff, May 14, 2021. (Photo by the
Armenian Human Rights Defender's Office)
Azerbaijan released on Tuesday two Armenian soldiers who went missing near the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border in July.
The soldiers, Aramayis Torozian and Artur Nalbandian, were flown to Yerevan from
Baku by a Russian military plane.
The Russian Sputnik news agency reported that they were freed in exchange for an
Azerbaijani serviceman arrested in Nagorno-Karabakh late last month. It said the
prisoner swap was brokered by Major-General Rustam Muradov, the outgoing
commander of Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in Karabakh.
According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, Nalbandian and Torozian disappeared
in thick fog early on July 14 after a military vehicle driven by the latter
headed to a disputed portion of the border located in Armenia’s Syunik province.
The soldiers were believed to have strayed into Azerbaijani-controlled
territory. Authorities in Azerbaijani never issued any statements on their
capture and whereabouts.
The incident occurred in a border area where Azerbaijani forces reportedly
advanced several kilometers into Armenian territory in May. They have since been
locked in a standoff with Armenian troops.
Dozens of other Armenian soldiers remain in Azerbaijani captivity. Most of them
were taken prisoner in Nagorno-Karabakh shortly after last year’s
Armenian-Azerbaijani war.
Many of these POWs have been given lengthy prison sentences in recent months in
trials condemned by the Armenian government. Yerevan regularly demands their
unconditional release, saying that they are held in breach of a Russian-brokered
agreement that stopped the six-week war. Baku says the agreement does not cover
them because they were captured after the ceasefire took effect in November.
Armenia Deplores Turkish-Azeri Drills Near Karabakh
A Russian peacekeeper stands guard on a road in the town of Lachin on December
1, 2020.
Official Yerevan criticized Azerbaijan and Turkey on Tuesday for holding joint
military exercises near Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced the start of the exercises on Monday,
saying that they are taking place in the Lachin district which was mostly
retaken by Baku shortly after last year’s war over Karabakh.
A 5-kilometer-wide stretch of the district currently serves as the sole overland
link between Armenia and Karabakh. It is controlled by Russian peacekeeping
forces deployed in the disputed territory under the terms of a Russian-brokered
agreement that stopped the war last November.
The Defense Ministry in Baku said the drills are aimed at improving the
interoperability of Azerbaijani and Turkish troops “during combat operations.”
It did not specify the number of soldiers involved in them.
“We regard the conduct of the Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercises near the
borders of Armenia, Artsakh (Karabakh) and the Lachin corridor as an action
damaging de-escalation steps … and undermining efforts to establish a lasting
peace, security and stability in the region,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry
spokesman, Vahan Hunanian, said in written comments.
There was no public reaction to the drills from Moscow.
The recently appointed Russian co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Igor Khovayev,
held talks in Yerevan with Armenia’s and Karabakh’s leaders on Monday.
Turkey provided decisive military assistance to Azerbaijan during the war.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev thanked Ankara for that aid when he and his
Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited in June the Karabakh town of
Shushi (Shusha) captured by the Azerbaijani army in November.
Armenia’s Former Chief Prosecutor Arrested
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Outgoing Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian speaks with journalists,
Yerevan, September 13, 2013.
Aghvan Hovsepian, Armenia’s former prosecutor-general, was arrested on Tuesday
on a string of corruption charges denied by him.
Hovsepian, 68, served as prosecutor-general from 1998-1999 and 2004-2013. He
went on to become the first head of a newly created law-enforcement agency, the
Investigative Committee, in 2014. He ran the committee until the 2018 “velvet
revolution.”
The Special Investigation Service (SIS) said Hovsepian was charged with bribery,
money laundering and illegal entrepreneurial activity. It claimed that he also
misappropriated properties worth 800 million drams ($1.6 million) while in
office.
A statement by the SIS did not specify the source of a 190 million-dram bribe
allegedly paid to Hovsepian or name “a number of companies” which it said were
illegally managed by him during his tenure.
“In the interests of the criminal case, we cannot give other details at this
point,” a spokeswoman for the law-enforcement agency, Marina Ohanjanian, told
RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Hovsepian’s lawyer, Gagik Khachikian, said his client strongly denies the
accusations carrying up to 12 years in prison and will challenge his arrest in
court.
“Aghvan Hovsepian is in a combative mood,” Khachikian wrote on Facebook.
“Naturally he does not accept the accusations. I am convinced that all the
bubbles will quickly burst.”
Hovsepian used to be one of Armenia’s most powerful state officials. As chief
prosecutor, he played a major role in a government crackdown on the opposition
launched after the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan. Dozens of opposition
members, including Nikol Pashinian, were jailed on controversial charges at the
time.
Hovsepian resigned in June 2018 one month after Pashinian swept to power as a
result of mass protests that toppled the country’s former leader, Serzh
Sarkisian.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
The joint Azerbaijani-Turkish military exercises in the vicinity of Lachin corridor disrupt de-escalation efforts, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vahan Hunanyan said in comments to Sputnik Armenia.
The remarks come as the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry announced joint drills with Turkey in the Lachin region.
“We consider the conduct of Turkish-Azerbaijani military drills on the borders of Armenia and Artsakh, as well as in the vicinity of Lachin corridor as actions disrupting the steps towards de-escalation,” the Spokesperson said, adding that it is “inconsistent with the spirit of the Statement of November 9, 2020, and undermines the efforts of establishing lasting peace, security and stability in the region.”
Armenia will host the prestigious international Summit of Minds for third time this fall, the President’s Press Office informs.
The annual Summit of Minds held in Chamonix, France, has been hosted by Armenia since 2019.
The traditional Armenian Summit of Minds has developed into a unique Armenian brand today. An exceptional agreement on its organization was reached in September 2018, when the President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian participated as the keynote speaker at the annual Summit of Minds.
The Summit unites famous figures of the world’s political, economic, scientific and cultural circles. It is a unique platform for exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience, the main goals of which are to present new ideas on key issues of global interest, to establish trust-based partnerships through direct discussions.
With the aim of expanding the geography of the summit, discovering new ideas and opportunities, the Summit of Thought will be held in several countries this year.
In September 2021, the main world macro issues will be discussed in the French city of Chamonix The topics will cover economy, geopolitics, society, environment and technology, their development in the coming years and the potential impact on investment and business decisions.
The summit will be held in Armenia in October and in Canada in November. The summit is scheduled to be held in the United States next year.
The first Armenian Summit of Minds, which was held in Dilijan in 2019 brought together about 300 participants, including famous and influential politicians and statesmen, scientists, businessmen and investors, heads of major companies and media outlets from around the world.
The second Armenian Summit of Minds was held online due to the coronavirus epidemic and the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh. The organizers and participants of the summit addressed the military aggression of Azerbaijan in the context of global challenges.
The third Armenian Summit of Minds is scheduled for October 23-24, 2021 in Dilijan. It will be held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian, the main partners are The Monthly Barometer analytical magazine and the Central Bank of Armenia. The main topics will include geopolitics of the South Caucasus region, development of technologies, namely artificial intelligence, biotechnology in the 21st century. Well-known speakers from different countries will deliver reports.
At the recent online meeting with the summit participants, President Armen Sarkissian. “The most powerful resource Armenia has is the human being. I am one of those who believe that human resources are much richer, stronger and more powerful than natural resources, because that is the future, that is the 21st century.”
Azerbaijani-Turkish military exercises in Qashatagh is a provocation, and the Armenian authorities should react accordingly, security expert, lawmaker from the opposition "I Have the Honor" bloc Tigran Abrahamyan wrote on Facebook.
"Any accumulation and movement of forces in the occupied territories of Artsakh are dangerous especially when that is taking place near the areas of Goris-Kapan roadway or the territories adjacent to Sev Lich (Black Lake). If we consider also the presence of the Turkish forces and the recent border incidents, the picture becomes clearer," added Abrahamyan.
The servicemen of the Russian peacekeeping contingent ensured the safety of more than 60 pilgrims during a visit to the Amaras monastery complex near the line of demarcation of the parties in Artsakh, the Russian defense ministry reported.
"The personnel of the Russian peacekeeping contingent performs the task of ensuring the safety of pilgrims at the Amaras complex. Pilgrims arrive both centralized as part of a column, and by private vehicles," said Viktor Kulikov, a representative of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.
Peacemakers ensure the safety of pilgrims while traveling and visiting the Amaras monastery complex and during church services.
"We came from Armenia, we really wanted to come, but there were problems with fear and the opportunity to come, but thanks to the peacekeepers that we were able to calmly come here. We calmly drove all the way, it was just morally difficult for us, but we see that peacekeepers are fulfilling their tasks and we are calm about it. They are very generous and even asked about our well-being in Armenian. Thank them for this, " said pilgrim Gayane Mkhitoryan.
"Everything is fine with security now, with the presence of peacekeepers, they are here every major service. The services are held in peace. Seeing the Russian flags, we feel free, we feel friendship and, most importantly, security, " said the deacon of the Amaras monastery, Vilen Grigoryan.
Russian peacekeepers escorted pilgrims from Stepanakert to the Martuni district who attended a service at the monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the source said.
The Office of the Armenian Human Rights Defender has again registered excerpts from the public speeches of the President of Azerbaijan (given in Absheron on August 26, 2021, and in Shushi on August 31) which generate Aremonphobia and enmity. The materials in Armenian and English were sent to the National Assembly of Armenia, to the executive authorities as well as to the NGOs, for the purpose of suing them in their activities.
As Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan reported, the studies of the Office of the Human Rights Defender and the monitoring of materials in Azerbaijani prove that the President of Azerbaijan continues to generate Armenophobia against the residents of Armenia and Artsakh, and the entire Armenian population by his public speeches and statements; the President of Azerbaijan threatens the Armenian population and makes insulting and aggressive expressions- his speeches are obviously fascistic.
"The killings, tortures and the atrocities that the servicemen of the Azerbaijani armed forces committed against the Armenian servicemen and civilians are the direct consequence of that policy. The violations of the rights of the border residents of Armenia are the direct consequences of that policy as well. Moreover, the monitoring proves that after each such speech or statement, shootings occur on the border villages of Armenia and on the Armenian positions located in their immediate vicinity; the tensions on the border increase, as a result of which servicemen are injured and killed," according to the statement.
It is noted that the Office of the Human Rights Defender conducts a continuous study of the speeches and statements of the Azerbaijani authorities for the purpose of documenting the evidences of their policy of Armenophobia and enmity.
The materials are studied from their primary sources in Azerbaijani and conducted for the purpose of preventing human rights violations and eliminating existing ones.
Challenging political and military situation is developing in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)’s area of responsibility, with the most unfavorable conditions manifested on the Tajik-Afghan border, Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the CSTO Joint Staff, stated on Tuesday, according to TASS news agency report. Sidorov's remarks came at the opening ceremony of the Rubezh-2021 military exercises.
"The political and military situation in the CSTO responsibility zone remains tense. The most disadvantaged situation is in the Central Asian region, which is developing amid the Taliban’s (banned in Russia) takeover of Afghanistan, bordering Tajikistan. A high level of activity of international terrorism and religious extremism also persists in the region," according to Sidorov.
Joint exercises with the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces of the Central Asian region of collective security (CAR CRDF) ‘Rubezh-2021’ started today on the Edelweiss training range in Kyrgyzstan. The participants will practice conducting combat operations to destroy illegal armed formations that have invaded the territory of one of the CSTO countries.