Month: December 2023

The International Court of Justice has issued a statement that Azerbaijan must let the ethnically-Armenian displaced civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh back into their home region, despite its official status as Azerbaijani territory.

Despite concerns that even a framework agreement to normalise relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan would not come by the end of this year, an unexpected joint statement issued by Baku and Yerevan late last Thursday, 7 December, has sparked optimism that this could still happen. The two countries fought a devastating 44-day war three years ago, but a peace deal has so far remained elusive.

Though joint statements are not new, they had always been issued as part of trilateral talks either facilitated or mediated by Russian President Vladimir Putin or European Council President Charles Michel. This time, however, the statement was issued bilaterally by the Armenian Prime Minister’s Office and the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration with no third-party involved.

The development is particularly significant given the impasse in the Michel-facilitated Brussels Process, with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pulling out of EU-mediated talks in Granada and Brussels in October, and Yerevan rejecting offers of Russian-hosted talks as Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan increasingly turns westwards.

Even more confident following its victory over ethnic Armenian forces in Karabakh that resulted in the exodus of just over 100,000 of its residents to Armenia, Baku considers that the EU is increasingly siding with Yerevan by supplying the latter with albeit modest non-offensive military support in addition to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) EUMA mission deployed on its border since February.

Indeed, on an 8 October visit to Tbilisi  , Aliyev had suggested that it is now time for Armenia and Azerbaijan to negotiate either bilaterally in a third country such as Georgia or on their shared border. This came to a head when Azerbaijan also cancelled planned talks scheduled to be held between the two foreign ministers in Washington DC on 20 November.

On the same day, Baku again invited Yerevan to engage bilaterally with no intermediaries. The next, apparently taken unawares, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan suggested that commissions from both countries would meet on the border. Azerbaijan agreed, though the meeting on 30 November lasted three hours with no reported outcome other than the plan to meet again.

Last week’s joint statement, however, was different as it involved the administrations of the Armenian Prime Minister and Azerbaijani President, apparently alone. Baku would release 32 Armenian captives, Yerevan would release 2 Azerbaijani detainees, and the parties would support each other in the international arena.

“As a sign of good gesture, the Republic of Armenia supports the bid of the Republic of Azerbaijan to host the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, by withdrawing its own candidacy”, the joint statement read  in what was arguably an unprecedented announcement. The following day, the international reaction was overwhelmingly positive.

“Establishing and deepening bilateral dialogue between sides has been a key objective of the EU-led Brussels process: today’s progress is a key step. I now encourage the leaders to finalise the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal ASAP”, Charles Michel posted on X  .

In Azerbaijan, the bilateral nature of the agreement was widely celebrated though Armenian analysts were either dismissive or mainly silent, fearful that it could also represent a shift away from either the Brussels format, US-facilitated bilateral talks between the Foreign Ministers, or both. Some in Yerevan, however, suggested that Georgia might have mediated with the US to help finalise the agreement.

Yet, the day after the statement, MP Sargis Khandanyan, Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, rejected such suggestions, repeating that the process was bilateral without intermediaries, though adding that, while its significance should not be underrated, it should not be overestimated either. He also said that the exchange of prisoners would occur in “hours or days”.

At time of publication, however, there has been no news of those prisoners being released.

Nonetheless, until it becomes known whether Armenia and Azerbaijan will return to bilateral or trilateral talks, the joint statement has at least encouraged those hopeful for an agreement to come soon. For now, that remains unclear. Speaking on Armenian Public TV on Saturday, Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan could only say that a deal could come “by the end of the year… or as soon as possible”. The same was expected at the end of last year.

https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Armenia/Armenia-and-Azerbaijan-a-rare-declaration-rekindles-hopes-for-peace-228965

Borussia Mönchengladbach and Armenian national team forward Grant-Leon Ranos spoke about the performance of the national team in the qualifying round of the European Championship-2024.

"The defeat against Latvia? Every game had its own meaning. We need to learn from our matches and keep improving. As we have seen already, we need to constantly concentrate in all matches to get the best possible result for us," Ranos told Telecomasia.net.

Armenia finished in fourth place in qualifying Group D with eight points in eight matches. Turkey and Croatia got direct access to Euro 2024 from this qualifying group.

Earlier it became known that ex-Kuban and Spartak midfielder Aras Ozbiliz is running for the post of the president of the Football Federation of Armenia.

https://www.telecomasia.net/news/football/borussia-forward-ranos-armenian-national-team-has-great-potential-we-had-good-euro-2024-qualifiers/

Cyprus and Armenia have reiterated their preparedness to confront unforeseen threats, Defence Minister Michalis Georgallas said on Tuesday following a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Suren Papikyan, on an official visit to Cyprus.

The reception took place early in the morning, followed by private discussions between the delegations of the two countries.

Both ministers stressed the long-standing relationship between the two nations, their defence cooperation and trilateral cooperation with Greece.

Among other topics discussed were the Cyprus problem, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Georgallas also briefed his counterpart on recent provocations in Pyla and Ayios Dhometios and on Nicosia’s proposal concerning the humanitarian aid for Gaza.

The minister highlighted Armenia’s significant friendship with Cyprus and said that the current visit “builds upon the long-standing bilateral relationships, confirming the bonds of friendship, mutual trust and respect between the two countries.”

Moreover, he mentioned that he provided an opportunity to discuss strengthening these ties, with discussions covering bilateral defence cooperation, cooperation at the regional level, threats and challenges faced and readiness to counter unpredictable threats.

Papikyan highlighted the centuries-old relationship between Cyprus and Armenia and said his country strongly supports a resolution to the Cyprus problem based on UN resolutions.

He added that the two countries face common threats and join forces to counter them, confirming that they are not only friends but also allies.

Additionally, Papikyan mentioned discussions with his counterpart about developing cooperation in defence and security matters, expressing further prospects for bilateral collaboration that should be exploited.

He thanked Nicosia for its principled stance on Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity before extending an invitation to Georgallas to visit Armenia, which was accepted.

DENVER | Much of the federal relief aid sent to Colorado’s child care providers during the pandemic helped keep doors open and businesses solvent.

But one small stream of federal COVID funding — $23 million — was used for innovation in the sector rather than its survival. That money was distributed through the CIRCLE Grant program and helped fund more than 200 projects around the state. The projects included weekly bilingual preschool classes for Armenian-American children, a training program for Head Start parents working as classroom aides, and a loan program to help child care employees cover emergency expenses.

While the grant funding represents a fraction of the $678 million in federal COVID relief sent to Colorado’s early childhood sector, program leaders are proud of the grassroots efforts it sparked.

“Once again, we are seeing that folks that are closest to the problems have the best solutions,” said Jennifer Stedron, executive director of Early Milestones Colorado, which distributed the CIRCLE grants.

The yearlong grants ranged from $10,000 to $300,000. Many of them focused on making child care more accessible to families. In some cases, that meant creating new infant and toddler classrooms or sending mobile preschools to underserved neighborhoods. In others, the goal was to better meet specific needs, say, by adding programs for bilingual students or children with disabilities.

The nonprofit Armenians of Colorado Inc. used its $35,000 CIRCLE grant to pilot a free Saturday preschool class that incorporated both English and Armenian. A dozen children attended the program last spring at the First Baptist Church of Denver, some who didn’t know a word of Armenian and some who spoke only Armenian. They listened to poems and stories in Armenian and also did activities in English, including one on the Easter bunny.

The idea was to “show the kids you can use both languages to have academic and social interactions,” said Simon Maghakyan, an activist in the Armenian community and a CIRCLE Grant consultant for Armenians of Colorado. “It’s important they see value in both.”

Some of the children, who ranged in age from 2 to 5, had never attended any kind of preschool, he said. For most, it was “their first introduction to either language in the written form.” The two languages have different alphabets.

The Armenian community has deep roots in Colorado, with some of the earliest immigrants arriving in the late 1800s. Statewide, there are about 5,000 people of Armenian descent. The Armenian Genocide during the World War I era, as well as more recent displacements, have gradually brought more Armenians to the United States and Colorado.

But it’s still a relatively small group, and because of assimilation pressures and the dominance of English globally, it can be a struggle to maintain the Armenian language, Maghakyan said. That’s why the Saturday preschool program is important. The CIRCLE grant supplied only enough money to plan and run a three-month pilot, but leaders with the organization hope to find a way to keep it going in the future.

Besides funding new programming for children, many CIRCLE grant projects focused on supporting the chronically underpaid early childhood workforce with increased wages, training, or other benefits.

The Denver nonprofit WorkLife Partnership used its CIRCLE grant to offer a program that’s usually available to employers for a fee to child care providers free of charge. The program helps employees quickly access small loans at a lower interest rate than payday lenders would charge.

The process is simple: Employees struggling with a large or unexpected expense, such as a security deposit, utility bill, or car repair, can request a $1,000 loan through WorkLife with no credit check or collateral requirement. The money lands in their bank account in as little as 24 hours. They then pay back the loan through monthly payroll deductions over the course of a year. With interest and a $20 administrative fee, the total repayment on a $1,000 loan is $1,116.

Logan Jones, financial services manager for WorkLife, said, “it’s really designed to be an anti-payday loan.” It helps employees, especially those with bad credit, avoid exorbitant interest rates when they’re in crisis.

He said about 15 employees at two participating Denver area child care centers have taken advantage of the loans, most often for housing costs. Borrowers don’t have to say why they’re seeking the loan, but many do later in voluntary surveys, he said.

Jones said that although the loan benefit was offered free to child care providers through the CIRCLE grant, many didn’t take advantage of it because there were so many CIRCLE grant opportunities and offers at the same time.

“It needs to be staggered out longer,” Jones said.

Stedron, of Early Milestones, agreed that the one-year grant timeline was too short.

“I wish they could have gone on forever, certainly more than one year,” she said.

https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/an-armenian-preschool-shows-how-the-state-used-covid-funds-to-spark-innovation/