Author: Albert Nalbandian

Armenia has some of the World’s Most enchanting Monasteries

Albert Nalbandian
The Daily Beast
Aug 9 2020
PEACE AND QUIET

Because secluded mountain-top churches and unspoiled nature have never sounded more appealing.

Published Aug. 09, 2020 6:28AM ET 

By now you’ve no doubt found a coping mechanism for COVID angst—maybe you fold down into child’s pose, zone out with some deep inhales, or simply pour yourself a stiff drink. Me, I like to close my eyes and conjure up one of the most peaceful places I know: Geghard monastery, in the mountains of Armenia. Some days I can almost taste the air inside, cool and pure and sweet with frankincense. Around me, candles flicker in the dimness against rough-hewn walls blackened by smoke and time. Ethereal harmonies spiral up to the soaring cupola, from which a skylight casts a beam of light that warms my forehead if I stand just so. I’m not religious, but in Armenia’s monasteries, I found a glimmer of divine serenity that followed me home.

You’re never far from a church in Armenia, a deeply Christian country bordered by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Iran. Today more than 90 percent of Armenia’s citizens—and millions of diaspora Armenians abroad—belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, an ancient Oriental Orthodox institution that shares similarities with Coptic, Syrian, Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Indian Churches. In fact, Armenia was the first nation to make Christianity its official region, in 301 AD, some 80 years before the Roman Empire did the same. That head start is one reason the country’s most breathtaking Christian sites are also some of the world’s oldest—take, for example, Echmiadzin Cathedral, said to be the first cathedral on earth, completed (in its first iteration) in 304 AD. 

But you don’t have to know this history—much less follow the Gospel—to be blown away by the buildings themselves, and to find rejuvenating quietude within their walls. Crowned by conical domes that pierce through clouds and tower over forests and meadows, Armenian churches are dramatic, and drool-emoji photogenic, especially viewed from afar. Get closer, and you might spot zoomorphic carvings of suns or grapevines or (long-extinct) Persian lions, holdover motifs from Armenian Zoroastrianism. Step inside, and hypnotically interlaced stone crosses, faded frescoes of wide-eyed saints, and secret nooks and passageways will jump-start your imagination and make you want to go exploring like a kid in a haunted house. 

A word of advice to first-time visitors to Armenia: Lest monastery fatigue set in, limit yourself to two or three churches a day. Skip the umpteen-stop package itineraries. Roads in Armenia are notoriously curvy, tours long and information-packed, and monasteries filled with curiosities that merit your slow, clear-eyed attention. There may be more churches in Armenia than there are seeds in a pomegranate, but these seven monastic sites—ranging from tiny chapels to grand ecclesiastical complexes—are especially pilgrimage-worthy.  

Khor Virap, Ararat, Armenia, Europe

Khor Virap

Plastered on t-shirts, printed on postcards, and painted wistfully on walls of Armenian restaurants from Los Angeles to Tbilisi to Paris, Khor Virap is one of the most celebrated symbols of Armenia. When it comes into view, you’ll understand why: The monastery appears to float above a parched plain that stretches to the foot of Mount Ararat, the snow-capped dormant volcano where Noah’s ark supposedly came to rest. It’s all phenomenally scenic, especially on windy winter mornings when the air is at its clearest. Though remnants remain of the original 7th-century chapel, the current structure, with one lone spire, dates to the 1600s. Inside, take the wobbly steel ladder down into the pit where Armenia’s chief evangelizer, Gregory the Illuminator, is said to have been jailed for 12 years by the pagan King Tiridates III. 

Etchmiadzin Cathedral 

Etchmiadzin is to Armenian Apostolic Christians what St. Peter’s Basilica is to Catholics and the Western Wall is to Jews: a place of unparalleled religious significance. Called Mayr Tachar (“Mother Church”) by Armenians, it is the seat of the catholicos, the Armenian equivalent of the pope. Its 65-foot-high cupola, ornate bell towers, and central nave blanketed in florid Persianate frescoes make it one of the grandest religious sites in the Caucasus. The site was previously a pagan altar to the fire god Vahagn, so when Gregory the Illuminator built the cathedral, it symbolized the nation’s embrace of Christianity over paganism. Tip: Luckily for travelers crunched for time, Echmiadzin is a 30-minute drive from the capital city of Yerevan, but before striking out, contact Armenia’s Tourist Committee to ensure the interior isn’t closed due to ongoing construction. 

Tatev 

To Armenian art scholars, Tatev Monastery is synonymous with medieval manuscript production, its prestigious specimens once shipped as far afield as Crimea and Italy. But today the complex is better known for its Wings of Tatev cable car, the “world’s longest reversible aerial tramway,” according to Guinness World Records, which swoops a whopping 5,800 meters up to the 9th-century mountaintop monastery over a clover-green gully. 

Garni Temple

Garni

What is a Parthenon-like Greco-Roman temple doing in the backwoods of Armenia? No one is quite sure, but theories abound: Some scholars believe Garni is a shrine to the Zoroastrian sun god Mihr, while others have posited that it’s the tomb of a Romanized Armenian king or even of the Roman emperor Trajan himself. Though not a church per se, the site holds major spiritual importance for thousands of Armenian Neopagans (newfound adherents to Armenia’s pre-Christian rites) who gather there for ceremonial dances, nature worship rituals, and—until a law forbade it a few years ago—animal sacrifice. Note the smattering of gray slabs interspersed with the lighter stone of the colonnade—these were incorporated in the temple’s reconstruction 1975 for easy differentiation from the original building materials.   

Keghart

Geghard is arguably the crown jewel of medieval Armenian architecture, its chapels hewn into a cliffside set among steep, scrubby peaks. Khachkars, uniquely Armenian “cross stones” bearing mesmerizing carvings of crosses, suns, and other religious and nature motifs, are strewn throughout the complex; you’ll find yourself stopping to simply stare at them as you would a trippy psychedelic animation. As you walk the grounds, ducking into the various churches, chapels, and old priests’ quarters cut into the rock, make a point to seek out Proshyan Dynasty’s zhamatun, or tomb. The doorway to this room is crowned with a primitive pagan relief of two lions with dragon tails flanking a ram’s head. What’s going on is anyone’s guess—so linger for a few minutes and let your imagination run wild. Tip: Combine a visit to Geghard with Garni, a 15-minute drive away. 

Noravank Monastery

Noravank

One of the most splendid church façades in all of the Caucasus can be found at Noravank, a monastery and one-time residence of the Orbelian Dynasty. Momik is the mastermind builder behind the cantilevered stairs (an astonishing architectural feat for the 13th century) that trace up the front entrance; he also carved the lace-like khachkars still standing at the site.  See if you can spot the tympanum bearing an uncannily East Asian-looking representation of God; legend has it that invading Mongols spared Noravank because they saw themselves reflected in that image. Indeed, in both architecture and in manuscripts, Armenians would often depict their subjects with the features of the enemy du jour in hopes that their work would not be destroyed.  

Sevanavank 

Lake Sevan sprawls 1,900 square miles and covers nearly one sixth of Armenia’s surface area. It’s beloved by Armenians for its tranquil beaches and sweet, rosy-fleshed trout, but to visitors, the lake’s main attraction is the 9th-century Sevanavank monastery. It takes a wheezy hundred-step climb to reach the small yet charming church, but the panoramic lake and mountain views from an altitude of 6,200 feet are well worth the sweat stains. Among the twenty-some khachkars spread around the grounds is a unique example bearing a depiction of Jesus on the cross, one of only three such cross stones known to exist. 

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After reopening, Armenian economy continues to struggle

Albert Nalbandian
BNE Intellinews
July 31 2020
Yerevan can’t shake off the economic storm that is COVID-19.
By Ani Mejlumyan for Eurasianet July 30, 2020

On a normal evening, the Calumet bar in central Yerevan has a packed crowd of hipster locals, repatriated Armenians, and tourists dancing to modern versions of classic Armenian folk tunes. After midnight on weekends, it’s so crowded the Armenian phrase applies: “If you drop a needle it won’t pass through.”

These days, it’s a very different scene. On a recent visit, there were fewer than 10 customers. The music was soft, and several of the clientele were playing checkers or backgammon.

Customers are afraid of the closed space – the bar is underground with no windows – and in any case aren’t spending much. “Indoor places frighten people,” said Sevag Davidian, a co-owner. On top of that, he told Eurasianet, “customers can’t spend as much as they used to. Almost nobody is ordering expensive drinks,” opting for $1-2 beers rather than the $8 Long Island iced teas. Overall, business is down 80 percent, Davidian said.

When Armenia ended its coronavirus lockdown in early May, even as the epidemic’s spread was accelerating, the government cited the need to keep the economy going and let people get back to work. For a time after reopening, Armenia had one of the world’s worst infection rates. And nearly three months on, the economy has continued to suffer.

Nevertheless, many Armenians believe the government had no choice. “We have enough information now, including the reactions of people and businesses to these kind of [lockdown] measures, to say that fully shutting down the economy is not the most effective measure,” Artak Manukyan, an economist and a member of parliament for the ruling My Step coalition, told Eurasianet.

For the most part, Armenians have supported the government’s strategy. Ninety percent of Armenians are worried about the coronavirus’s impact on the economy, with 71 percent “very concerned,” according to a newly released poll by the International Republican Institute. At the same time, 71 percent of those polled were overall satisfied with the government’s response.

Some economists disagree. “Lifting the lockdown in May was a mistake,” said Hrant Mikaelian, an economist at the Yerevan think tank Caucasus Institute. Mikaelian draws a comparison with neighbouring Georgia, which imposed a stricter lockdown and kept it in place for much longer than did Armenia.

While Georgia has had a significantly lower spread of the disease – 1,160 total infections and 17 deaths, compared to more than 38,000 infections and 728 deaths in Armenia – its economy performed roughly the same. In May, according to government data, Armenia’s economy contracted 12.8 percent compared with May 2019, while Georgia’s contracted 13.5 percent. “Georgia’s economic decline is very similar to what we see in Armenia,” Mikaelian told Eurasianet. “But compared to Armenia, Georgia saved hundreds of lives.”

In June, Armenia’s economy declined 7.5 percent compared with the same month a year before; the comparable statistics for Georgia are not yet available, but it was in late May and early June that Georgia ended its lockdown. “From what we could observe in May, the absence of the lockdown did not save the Armenian economy. It was the pandemic that hit the economy hard, not the lockdown itself,” Mikaelian said.

In its July update on Armenia, the World Bank also suggested that the ongoing spread of the disease could continue to slow the economy: “The recovery is likely to remain sluggish. The lifting of most mobility restrictions was accompanied by a strong increase in new infections (on average 550 new cases in the first week of July). This remains a barrier to economic recovery.”

Armenia’s service sector, including bars and restaurants, has led the slowdown.

Many small business have been able to stay afloat with the help of a variety of government stimulus efforts. Kond House, another trendy bar in Yerevan, got an interest-free loan and its employees a one-time payment that helped it survive the difficult spring, said owner Narek Bakhtamyan. Now, helped by a large outdoor space and a clientele of mostly locals, the bar is relatively thriving, he said.

“It was definitely the right decision to open up in May,” Bakhtamyan told Eurasianet. “There was a time at the beginning of the pandemic when even if we were allowed to stay open no one would have come, everything was confusing. During the one-and-a-half months of lockdown, they managed to strengthen the health care system and opened up the economy as quickly as they could.”

But Davidian, of Calumet, said the government aid he got wasn’t enough and that there really was no choice but to reopen his basement bar, given what he saw as the futility of the coronavirus fight and the ineffectiveness of the bailout.

“If the lockdown had been properly implemented in the beginning, the situation would be different, but it wasn’t. By May it made no sense to keep the economy closed, the damage was already done,” he said. “And if the government support was more comprehensive, businesses could handle a longer lockdown, but in this case it wasn’t.”

Economic projections around the world have become progressively more pessimistic as time has passed, including in Armenia. “Before, we were projecting a 2 percent decline [for 2020], now the central bank says it will be 4 percent,” Manukyan of My Step said.

To help soften the blow from the service sector decline, the government has been spending on infrastructure to try to jump start the economy: Manukyan said that the government has started 100 new construction projects. “It’s clear that the 2020 decline will linger, affecting the economy for two more years,” he said. “In 2023 there is a chance to fully return to normal.”

Ani Mejlumyan is a reporter based in Yerevan.

This article originally appeared on Eurasianet .

We have deaths every day due to gross failings by the authorities – Vanetsyan

Albert Nalbandian
Panorama, Armenia
July 31 2020

The new office of Homeland party and Development Foundation was inaugurated in Artashat town on Friday. The Head of the Party Artur Vanetsyan cut the red ribbon, after which a meeting with supporters and party members was held.

Vanetsyan delivered remarks during the meeting, noting that over the short period of time the Foundation has delivered efficient results through financing different projects and initiatives that brought tangible results.

Reflecting on the ongoing situation in Armenia, Vanetsyan pointed out to the grave situation in the county, insisting the authorities have failed in all directions due to the lack of effective governance.

“I can state that due to gross failings people die every day. The news about new deaths has become a daily routine for the public which is a consequence of the mistakes by the authorities and their lack of understanding of the seriousness of the situation,” Vanetsyan stressed, adding more negative consequences will come up in the economic sphere.

“We may face an economic collapse soon and a serious downfall that would have implications on the social condition of each of us. Our party has always emphasized that a citizen in Armenia should live well, yet we see a serous decline because of the incompetent and incapable leadership,” Vanetsyan aid.

Speaking of the recent escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijan border, Vanetsyan pointed to the professionalism and courage of the Armenian Armed Forces. “Glory to the RA Armed Forces that were able to prevent the unbridled provocations of the adversary on the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border,” said the Leader of Homeland party.

Ruling faction MPs will soon meet with Constitutional Court judge candidate

Albert Nalbandian

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 13:59,

YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. The ruling My Step faction of the Armenian Parliament will most likely hold a meeting with Vahram Avetisyan, who has been nominated for the position of the Constitutional Court judge by the government, in the coming days, faction MP Sisak Gabrielyan told a press conference in Armenpres.

“I think that the other political forces will also meet with him. There will be meetings with the factions, and maybe, our positions will be more understandable”, he said.

Asked how unexpected the nomination of this candidate by the government was, given that names of other peoples were being mentioned, the lawmaker said: “It was unexpected for me because I am not a subject nominating a candidate. Let me avoid commenting on the candidate, especially when he has been my lecturer. I know him, he is a very good specialist. The rest will be clear after the voting by the ruling and the other factions”, the lawmaker said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian Ambassador to Netherlands publishes article about Baku’s threats and Turkey’s behavior

Albert Nalbandian

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 11:35,

YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Ambassador to the Netherlands Tigran Balayan has published an article in the Daily Netherlands Dagblad, about the recent clashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border which resulted in casualties.

Armenpress presents the full text of the article:

“While the rest of the world is trying to address the coronavirus crisis and its consequences on July 12 the armed forces of Azerbaijan, after artillery shelling, attempted to conquer Armenian border posts. There was a lot of damage and sixteen lives lost on both sides. This was a clear violation of the trilateral truce concluded in 1994.

This ceasefire ended the war between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh, which was supported by Armenia. Almost four year war had preceded, with 35,000 killed. Azerbaijan started that war in response to the intention of the people of Nagorno Karabakh to reunite with Armenia. In 1921 it was separated from Armenia and given to Azerbaijan by Soviet leader Stalin.

The artillery violence is also a violation of the international humanitarian law, because it targeted civilian infrastructure, including villages and homes have been shelled and directly endanger lives.

Armenia has made numerous attempts to draw the attention of other countries to the threat of large-scale violence and called for immediate action. Nevertheless, the mentioned provocation of the armed forces of Azerbaijan to destabilize the situation on the border came as a surprise for the international community The signs, however, were obvious. Azerbaijan faced a financial (licences of 4 banks were revoked) and political crisis, involving tough action against the opposition. Also sharply declining oil prices and the country suffered from the pandemic. Borders were closed, so Azeris sometimes were stuck a few meters away from the national border and denied access to their homeland. In this situation, the Azerbaijani authorities stepped up their rhetoric, even launching claims about the territory of Armenia. Also large scale military exercises were held (with more than 10,000 soldiers)  in the border area. All this to distract the attention of the public from the various crises and protest of the population on tackling COVID-19.

The neglect of human lives and absence of any responsibility of one’s action is vividly expressed in the statement of the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan: “Armenia should not forget that our rockets are directed to its Nuclear Power plant, and we can fire them causing a catastrophe for Armenia”. Azerbaijan has been saying for years that the nuclear power plant poses a threat to the surrounding area, but experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency consider the plant as safe.

Another worrying aspect is the provocative role of Turkey in which the highest political and military leaders openly encourage use of force and promise all possible support in an eventual war against Armenia. Erdogan says: “We will never leave our brother, Azerbaijan, alone. We will support Azerbaijan till the end”. 

Fighter planes and espionage drones have been flying in recent days above the unilaterally closed border between Turkey and Armenia. In support of Azerbaijan, Turkey closed its border with Armenia during the war in 1993. The supply of arms to Azerbaijan has also intensified: a dangerous behavior of a NATO member state that has not been condemned by its allies.

Further intensification of this conflict and its eventual expansion will only lead to a humanitarian disaster with deadly victims and refugee flows.

The message of Armenia is unequivocal: There is no alternative to a peaceful settlement. 

We remain committed to this and are working on de-escalation and on an environment, which promotes peace. The international community should support this narrative and urge all sides to strengthen the 1994 cease-fire regime, agree to the proposal on deployment of the OSCE monitors along the trenches, as well as establish an OSCE investigative mechanism into alleged ceasefire violations. Only in this way a lasting peace will be in the sight”.

U.S. House to Consider Measures Blocking Transfer of Defense Articles to Azerbaijan

Albert Nalbandian
July 14,  2020

Representatives Pallone and Sherman are leading two amendments to the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act which would limit U.S. defense transfers to Azerbaijan.

Key Votes to Take Place Monday July 20, in Wake of Deadliest Azerbaijani Attacks since 2016

WASHINGTON—In the wake of the worst Azerbaijani cross-border attacks against Armenia in years, the U.S. House of Representatives is set to consider a number of pro-peace amendments to a major Pentagon authorization bill, including one that would block U.S. defense transfers to Azerbaijan, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“With Azerbaijan escalating its cross-border attack, these amendments offer Congress the opportunity to confront and constrain Aliyev’s aggression,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “As we approach Monday’s vote on these measures, we ask – with all urgency – that our friends and supporters call on their U.S. Representative to vote yes on the Sherman and Pallone amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.”

Amendment #66 to the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 6395), offered by Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA), would mandate that “no funds authorized by this bill can be used to transfer defense articles or services to Azerbaijan unless the President certifies to Congress that the transfer of such defense articles or services does not threaten civil aviation.” The government of Azerbaijan has issued a standing threat to shoot down any civilian airplanes traveling between Armenia and Artsakh’s Stepanakert airport. This measure is cosponsored by Reps. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and TJ Cox (D-CA)

Amendment #397, spearheaded by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) would require that the Defense Department submit a report to Congress on a U.S. military aid program (known as Section 333) that has sent over $120 million worth of defense assistance to Azerbaijan over the past several years. Congressman Pallone announced his amendment during a video interview with ANCA Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan earlier today. This measure is cosponsored by Reps. Sherman, Speier, and Schiff.

House votes are expected on these amendments as early as the morning of Monday, July 20th.

To call on your U.S. Representatives to support the Sherman and Pallone amendments, visit anca.org/alert.

Since July 12, Azerbaijan has launched a series of cross-border attacks against Armenia’s northern Tavush region, resulting in 16 casualties to date, including Major Garush Hambardzumyan, Captain Sos Elbakyan, and Junior Sergeants Smbat Gabrielyan and Grisha Matevosyan from the Armenian Armed Forces.  While no Armenian civilian casualties have been reported, targets have included Tavush Textile, a factory which produced face coverings used during COVID-19 pandemic, forcing its closure to ensure the safety of its workers.

Just days prior to the attack, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called ongoing Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group moderated peace talks regarding Artsakh “meaningless” and threatened to resolve the issue militarily.  The Azerbaijani Government has reportedly been fomenting protests in Baku, where sporadic angry mobs have urged military attacks against Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, and the Republic of Artsakh’s second-largest city, Shushi.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 07/13/2020

Albert Nalbandian 
                                        Monday, 
Armenia, Azerbaijan Urged To De-Escalate Tensions
Switzerland -- Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanian of Armenia and Elmar 
Mammadyarov of Azerbaijan and international mediators meet in Geneva, January 
30, 2020.
International mediators on Monday urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to avoid further 
ceasefire violations and resume peace talks “as soon as possible” following 
deadly skirmishes on the border between the two warring nations.
In a joint statement, the U.S., Russian and French diplomats co-heading the OSCE 
Minsk Group condemned the “serious breach of the ceasefire” but did not 
explicitly put the blame on Yerevan or Baku.
They said they and the head of an OSCE mission monitoring the ceasefire regime 
in the Karabakh conflict zone have been “in direct contact with Armenian and 
Azerbaijani officials” since the outbreak of fierce fighting at a western 
section of the border on Sunday.
“The Minsk Group Co‑Chairs condemn the recent ceasefire violations and call upon 
the sides to take all necessary measures to prevent any further escalation, 
including by use of the existing direct communication channels between them,” 
read the statement.
“The Minsk Group Co-Chairs also call on the sides to resume substantive 
negotiations as soon as possible and emphasize the importance of returning OSCE 
monitors to the region as soon as circumstances allow,” it said.
The European Union’s foreign policy spokesman, Peter Stano, issued a similar 
statement on the escalation.
“The EU calls on the sides to strictly respect the ceasefire, devote energy and 
resources to fighting the coronavirus pandemic, meaningfully re-engage in 
substantive negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs 
and prepare their populations for peace,” he said.
The co-chairs already urged the conflicting parties to strengthen the ceasefire 
regime during a June 30 video conference with the Armenian and Azerbaijani 
foreign ministers. They insisted that “there is no military solution to the 
conflict.”
The mediators also said after those talks that the ministers agreed to hold 
another video conference in July and meet in person “as soon as possible.”
German Medics Arrive In Coronavirus-Hit Armenia
Armenia -- A German medical team arrives at Zvartnots airport, Yerevan, July 13, 
2020.
A team of German healthcare workers arrived in Armenia on Monday to help their 
Armenian colleagues deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
They were flown to Yerevan by a German Air Force plane that also delivered 
medical supplies to the country hit hard by the pandemic.
The 16 medics were greeted at Zvartnots international airport by Armenia’s 
deputy ministers of health and foreign affairs as well as the German and 
European Union ambassadors in Yerevan.
“The German experts will be working alongside their Armenian colleagues for two 
weeks,” tweeted the German Embassy. “We stand at Armenia’s side!”
According to an Armenian government statement, Germany’s government has 
organized the mission in collaboration with two European charities and the World 
Health Organization. The mission is part of a broader EU scheme designed to help 
partner countries contain the spread of the virus.
Similar medical teams have also been sent to Armenia by France, Russia, 
Lithuania and Italy over the past month. They were deployed to local hospitals 
treating COVID-19 patients.
The EU Delegation in Yerevan announced that the German government will also 
provide coronavirus-related financial aid to Armenia. “Germany will be 
allocating 2.75 million euros ($3.1 million) for a project addressing COVID-19 
in Armenia through research cooperation in order to establish medium to 
long-term systemic, integrated risk management,” the delegation said in a 
statement.
The Armenian government has recorded 32,151 coronavirus cases and 573 deaths 
caused by them so far. The continuing spread of the virus led the government on 
Monday to extend a state of emergency in the country by another month, until 
August 12.
Health Minister Arsen Torosian spoke of a “slight positive dynamic” in the 
coronavirus crisis, saying that in recent days there have been fewer infected 
people awaiting hospitalization at home. But he cautioned that virtually 
intensive care hospital beds remain occupied by COVID-19 patients.
Armenia Rounds On Turkey Over Azeri Border Clash
Azerbaijan -- Azeri President Ilham Aliyev receives prayer beads from his 
Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Baku, February 25, 2020.
Armenia accused Turkey of trying to heighten tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict zone on Monday after Ankara blamed Yerevan for the latest deadly 
skirmishes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry decried “yet another manifestation of Armenia's 
aggressive nationalism” in a statement issued late on Sunday hours after the 
outbreak of heavy fighting there. It accused Armenia of continuing to occupy 
Azerbaijani territory and hampering the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh 
conflict.
“Turkey will continue, with all its capacity, to stand by Azerbaijan in its 
struggle to protect its territorial integrity,” added the statement added.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry dismissed these “utterly false and misleading” 
claims and charged that the Turkish government is trying to “instigate 
instability in our region.”
“This provocative attitude by Turkey and its groundless accusations against 
Armenia attest to the fact that this country has been acting not as a member of 
the OSCE Minsk Group but as a party involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” 
read a ministry statement. “This fact makes it even more impossible for Turkey 
to play any role in issues related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within 
international and particularly the OSCE framework.”
Successive Turkish governments have lent Azerbaijan full and unconditional 
support throughout the Karabakh conflict. They have made the establishment of 
diplomatic relations with Armenia conditional on a Karabakh settlement 
acceptable to Baku.
Armenia has always rejected this precondition. It has forged close military ties 
with Russia to counter what many Armenians see as a serious security threat from 
Turkey. From Yerevan’s perspective, the presence of thousands of Russian troops 
in Armenia precludes Turkey’s direct military intervention on Azerbaijan’s side.
Incidentally, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep 
Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone on Monday. Their press offices did not list the 
Karabakh dispute among the issues discussed by the two leaders.
Russia ‘Seriously Concerned’ About Armenian-Azeri Fighting
        • Aza Babayan
        • Sargis Harutyunyan
Russia -- The Russian Foreign Ministry buiding, Moscow.
Russia called for an immediate end to heavy fighting which continued on the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani border for the second consecutive day on Monday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov phoned his Armenian and Azerbaijani 
counterparts to discuss the tense situation there.
“We find inadmissible a further escalation threatening the security of the 
region,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “We are calling on 
the conflicting sides to show restraint and strictly adhere to the ceasefire 
regime.”
“For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry is ready to provide necessary 
support for stabilizing the situation,” added the statement.
Three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed and several others wounded shortly after 
the fighting broke out at a western section of the long border in disputed 
circumstances on Sunday afternoon. It continued overnight, leaving another 
Azerbaijani serviceman dead. The Armenian army reported no combat deaths within 
its ranks.
Both sides reported on Monday morning continuing skirmishes involving mortar 
fire. The Defense Ministry in Yerevan claimed that Azerbaijani forces also used 
an attack drone and shelled an Armenian border village.
Each side again accused the other of provoking the escalation with attempts to 
seize enemy positions in the mountainous area between Armenia’s northern Tavush 
province and the Tovuz district in western Azerbaijan.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian condemned Baku’s “provocative actions” during a 
cabinet meeting in Yerevan. “I can assure you that their provocative actions do 
not remain unanswered,” he said, appealing to the nation.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held an emergency session of his 
national security council to discuss the deadly truce violations. “We thwarted 
the [Armenian] attack and gave an adequate response, avenging the death of our 
soldiers,” he said, according to the Trend news agency.
Russia -- (L-E) Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanian, Russian Foreign 
Minister Sergei Lavrov and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov meet 
in Moscow, April 15, 2019
Foreign Ministers Zohrab Mnatsakanian of Armenia and Elmar Mammadyarov of 
Azerbaijan stood by their countries’ official versions of events during their 
separate phone conversations with Lavrov. Mammadyarov also said that the 
fighting is contributing to “third countries’ involvement in the 
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.”
It was not clear if Mammadyarov referred to Russia or Turkey, his country’s 
closest ally. Ankara was quick to blame Yerevan for the latest escalation and 
reaffirm its unconditional support for Baku.
Earlier in the day, the secretary general of the Collective Security Treaty 
Organization (CSTO), Stanislav Zas, called an emergency meeting of the Permanent 
Council of the Russian-led defense alliance, of which Armenia is a member, to 
discuss the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani frontier.
The meeting was postponed indefinitely a couple of hours later, however. A 
spokesman for Zas refused to say who initiated the delay. He only told RFE/RL’s 
Armenian service that the CSTO Secretariat and member states need to ascertain 
the “format” of the discussion beforehand.
Zas and Mnatsakanian also spoke by phone on Monday. “Constant contact with the 
CSTO Secretary General is maintained, and efforts within the CSTO framework are 
continuing,” said the official Armenian readout of the phone call.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2020 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Armenia ranks 9th in COVID-19 cases per one million inhabitants

Albert Nalbandian
News.am, Armenia
July 7 2020
July 7, 2020  18:17

Armenia now ranks ninth in the world in the number of coronavirus cases per one million inhabitants, leaving behind the US, Italy, Spain.

A total of 29,285 cases of COVID-19 have already been registered in the country, and this means 9,882 cases per one million residents.

Qatar, San Marino, and Bahrain are the top three countries in the world in this respect.

The death toll in Armenia has reached 503.

The total number of tests conducted so far is 125,088. Also, 11,711 people are currently being treated.

According to the latest data, 16,907 people have recovered thus far.

A new article sheds lights on Armenia’s military ties with UK in 1918-1920

Albert Nalbandian
MediaMax, Armenia
July 7 2020

It has been published in English in the Review of Armenia Studies, the science magazine of Armenian National Academy of Sciences. The full text of the article is available here.

 

“The study of archived documents and notes of involved Armenian and British figures makes it clear how important military cooperation was between Armenia and Great Britain. The information about the batch of weapons and other military supplies, which Great Britain delivered to Armenia in 1920, sheds light not only on the history of foreign relations but also on the real reasons of Armenia’s military failures that happened in the fall of the same year,” notes Artsrun Hovhannisyan.


Amman: Jordanian Intelligence foils a terrorist act targeting the Armenian Church and a commercial store

Albert Nalbandian

Al-Rai  (الرآي) , Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan



 


Jordanian Intelligence foils
a terrorist act targeting the Armenian Church and a commercial store


المخابرات تحبط عملاً إرهابياً
لاستهداف كنيسة ومحل تجاري


 


[Translated from Arabic exclusively for the Armenian News
Network Armenian News by Katia M. Peltekian]


 


AMMAN – Ghazi Al-Mirayat.



 


The General Intelligence forces foiled a terrorist attack by
four suspects who had planned to target a church and a commercial store in
Amman and arrested them earlier this year. The attack was planned to show
support to the ISIS terrorist group.


 


The four defendants attempted to join the terrorist
organization by crossing the Jordanian border, but the tight security measures
along the Jordanian borders prevented them from sneaking out of the country. Thus,
they planned to carry out armed operations on the Jordanian territories.


 


For their plans, the four chose to carry out the terrorist
act with explosives and decided to blow up a church and a liquor store (a store
that sells alcoholic drinks). But because they found difficulty in manufacturing
explosive devices, they changed their plans to using automatic assault weapons.


 


The State Security Court held a public session headed by Military
Judge Brigadier Dr. Ali al-Mobaideen to look into the case. When the defendants
were asked how they would plead to the charges brought against them by the
State Prosecution, they responded that they were not guilty. Three of the defendants
are also facing charges of promoting the ideology of a terrorist group.


 


The details of the case, as stated in the indictment, reveal
that all the defendants are residents of the Al-Wehdat area in Amman, and they are
friends. Following the events in Syrian and Iraq, and the emergence of the ISIS
terrorist organization in 2014, the defendants began following the news and
reports on ISIS via the Internet and shared these contents with each other
until they became convinced that ISIS is the “true” organization that seeks to
implement Islamic Law. They soon pledged their allegiance to ISIS to obey its
teachings.


 


And because the defendants saw it necessary to support the
organization, they agreed in 2017 to join the ranks of the fighters and fight
for the organization. However, they were unable to do so due to the tight
security measures along Jordan’s borders.


 


By the beginning of 2018, as a result of the defendants’
inability to join the organization and fight with its elements in Syria, two of
the 4 suspects decided to carry out an armed operation inside Jordan to show
their support to ISIS. After they identified a few targets, they settled on two
specific ones: the Armenian [Apostolic] Church in the Achrafieh neighborhood of
Amman, and a liquor store in Al-Wahdat only by virtue of their proximity to
their place of residence.


 


The two main suspects then decided to form two separate
cells to carry out the terrorist. It was planned that the first cell would
include themselves and one of the other suspects to attack the liquor store in
Al-Wahdat. The second cell would include the original two and the fourth
suspect to carry out a terrorist attack on the Armenian Church.


 


In March of 2018, one of the suspects was arrested and referred
to the State Security Court for the crime of promoting the ideologies of a
terrorist group. He was sentences to 5 years in prison. However, this did not deter
the remaining three as they continued to formulate the right time and place to carry
out their terrorist attack. However, by the end of the year, another one of the
group was also arrested, thus exposing the two remaining suspects who were
also arrested last January.


 


 


The
original in Arabic: http://alrai.com/article/10542479/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%A8%D8%B7-%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%81-%D9%83%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A9-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%84-%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A?fbclid=IwAR0AM2K_OdXoC7RK2N0ayBEWXybr2iuwUaiHI6Hjt4N_tm3kpX03JZOjaXY