Author: Albert Nalbandian

President Serzh Sargsyan received today the President of the National Bank of Argentina Carlos Melconian.

The President welcomed the guest to our country and using the opportunity once again congratulated him on his appointment as President of the National Bank of Argentina. President Sargsyan wished Carlos Melconian all the best on that responsible position. The President of Armenia noted that in Armenia we always respond with joy and pride to the achievements of our compatriots residing abroad because their accomplishments bring honor and good reputation to the entire nation, promoting and deepening also our bilateral relations. According to the President, in the strengthening of the Armenian-Argentine high level relations the role of prominent representatives of the Armenian community is significant and among them the input of the famous businessman Eduardo Ernekian. Serzh Sargsyan expressed hope that the visit of the President of the National Bank of Argentina will contribute to the establishment of a close cooperation between the banking systems of Armenia and Argentina.

The interlocutors stressed the importance of such visits which, according to the parties, give a new impetus to the bilateral relations and provide a good opportunity to discuss various issues pertinent to the interstate cooperation.

Carlos Melconian conveyed to the President of Armenia warm greetings from the President of Argentina Mauricio Macri and his great desire and readiness to deepen and strengthen the Armenian-Argentine relations.

At the meeting, the President hailed the significant contribution of the people and authorities of Argentina to the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide.

In the context of the bilateral cooperation, the President of Armenia and President of National Bank of Argentina stressed the importance of expanding and enhancing the bilateral trade and economic ties. They concurred that towards that end the National Bank of Argentina can play a considerable role.

Carlos Melconian noted that the visit to Armenia was important for him not only from the professional and ceremonial points of view, but also emotionally since he was visiting the land of his ancestors who at the beginning of the previous century as a result of the Armenian Genocide had been forced to find refuge in the distant Argentina. The President of the National Bank of Argentina spoke with pride about the Armenians residing in Argentina who, according to Carlos Melconian, enjoy great respect and influence in the Argentine society.

Vice-President of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov describes the trilateral meeting between the Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan in Saint Petersburg as “encouraging and useful.”

According to him, no breakthrough was expected, the Armenian side anticipated “talks on resumption of talks.”

“The meeting solved the minimum goal – exclusion of resumption of military actions in the conflict zone,” Sharmazanov said.

“The meeting was useful, considering that it was a step towards peace, not war,” he said. The Deputy Speaker did not rule out, however, that peace could be temporary, “as we’re dealing with an unpredictable neighbor.”

“If the mediators want serious progress, our position is clear: there are ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995, which should be a landmark for all, including Azerbaijan,” Sharmazanov said.

He stressed the importance of commitment to all provisions of the agreement, which Nagorno Karabakh is also a party to. “No progress is possible without the participation of Nagorno Karabakh,” he added.

Asbarez – A lawsuit filed last year by His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of seeking the return of the historic Sis Catholicosate has been rejected by Turkey’s Justice Ministry, the Cilician Catholicosate press service reported Thursday.

The lawsuit, which was filed on April 27, 2015, in Turkey’s Constitutional Court detailed, with relevant documentation and archival materials, the critical role the Sis Catholicosate played in the lived of Armenians living under Ottoman rule, the forced deportation and exile of the His Holiness Sahag II, the Sis Catholicos and the entire clergy, as well as the eventual seizure of the property, whose ruins still stand in that city now renamed Kozan.

In August of last year, the Constitutional Court agreed to hear the case. However it decided to send the docket to Turkey’s Justice Ministry, which after reviewing the case urged the court to reject the lawsuit.

In a May 11 letter, the Turkish Justice Ministry, through rationalizations and other justifications, urged the court to drop the case, at which time the court gave the Catholicosate 15 days to present an appeal.

The Catholicosate legal team, on May 26, presented its appeal, in which it deemed the Justice Ministry’s reasoning and rationale baseless and reasserted the demand to return to the Sis Catholicosate to its rightful heir, the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia.

Catholicos Aram I and the Catholicosate are awaiting a final verdict on the status of the lawsuit from Turkey’s Constitutional Court.

The collector Leon Black is the legal victor in a dispute over the ownership of a famed Picasso sculpture and will take possession of it, the reports.

On Wednesday, the parties who had been fighting over the plaster bust of the artist’s muse (and mistress) Marie-Thérèse Walter, announced that they had agreed that Mr. Black would get to keep the work, “Bust of a Woman,” and a rival owner, representing the Qatari royal family, would receive financial compensation of an undisclosed amount.

“We are pleased that the dispute has been settled and Mr. Black will receive his sculpture,” Gagosian Gallery Spokesperson Jeffrey Schneider said in a statement sent to

“Today’s settlement shows without question that the Gagosian Gallery purchased and sold this sculpture in good faith and without any knowledge of Picasso and Pelham’s prior dealings, as we have said all along,” the statement reads.

A settlement had been announced in May, but the court did not disclose any details regarding who would keep the painting.

In a legal action filed in January 2016 in federal court in Manhattan against the Qatari family’s agent, Mr. Gagosian claimed that he bought the 1931 sculpture in May 2015 for about $106 million from Ms. Widmaier-Picasso, and then sold it to an undisclosed New York collector.

But the Qatari family’s agent, Pelham Holdings, run by Guy Bennett, maintained in its own court documents that it had secured an agreement with Ms. Widmaier-Picasso to buy the work in November 2014 for 38 million euros, or about $42 million.

Congressman Adam Schiff has commended the overwhelming vote by the German Bundestag to recognize the ‎Armenian Genocide‬.

“With this acknowledgement of the facts of the genocide, Germany joins a host of other European countries in recognizing and condemning the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923,” Rep. Schiff said.

“The German vote is particularly courageous as it comes in the midst of negotiations with Turkey regarding the flow of refugees and migrants into Europe. It sends a clear message that the truth of genocide cannot be silenced and that temporary expediency can never justify complicity in genocide denial,” he added.

“Our own Congress should demonstrate the same willingness to defy Turkish threats, and the same moral integrity and commitment to principle by following Germany’s example,” Adam Schiff said.

The Minsk Group Co-Chairs are looking forward to a meeting of the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan in June.

US Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick made the statement on Twitter after talks with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

On May 24-25, Ambassador of Armenia to Sweden Artak Apitonian visited the Östergötland county of Sweden.

Ambassador met with the Governor of Östergötland Elizabeth Nilsson. During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed the prospects of development of direct cooperation between the regions of Armenia and Sweden, as well as shared views on the agenda of Armenian-Swedish bilateral relations and their enhancement.

During the visit, Ambassador met with the heads of several machinery production, agricultural and other companies of the region, which presented the main areas of their operations. Ambassador introduced the investment climate in Armenia to the Swedish businessmen providing relevant information materials. The parties shared views on the prospects of cooperation with the Armenian counterparts.

Ambassador Apitonian also visited the Linköping University and met with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Folke Sjöberg. Ambassador expressed his gratitude for the continued cooperation of the Linköping University with several higher educational institutions of Armenia within the framework of the EU Erazmus+ and TEMPUS ARMENQA program of Implementation of National and Sectorial Qualifications Frameworks in Armenia. Ambassador suggested to further develop the cooperation between the universities with particular focus on advanced training of teachers, student exchange programs as well as arrangement of joint scientific conferences and exchanges.

During the visit Ambassador met also with the Director of Mjärdevi Science Park of Linköping Ms. Lena Miranda. The prospects of cooperation with the ICT sector of Armenia were discussed during the meeting.

Prior to the approval by a Turkish parliamentary committee of a bill stripping parliamentarians of their immunity, a physical fight broke out on May 2 between members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party. , both physically and through hate speech. Paylan called the attack a premeditated “lynching” campaign in a press statement on May 3. This was the second fight in parliament in the past five days.

In a statement following the attack, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) said it had repeatedly and unsuccessfully called on the U.S. government to condemn the political prosecution, persecution, and threats directed against Agos Editor Hrant Dink prior to his 2007 murder. The statement reads:

“Prior to his 2007 murder on the streets of Istanbul, the ANCA repeatedly – but, ultimately, unsuccessfully – called on the U.S. government to condemn the political prosecution, persecution and threats directed against this courageous Armenian journalist for his “crime” of speaking honestly about the Armenian Genocide

American presidents like calling for a “full, frank and just acknowledgement of the facts,” as long as they’re not the ones doing the acknowledging. Brave talk, but no action, a sad surrender to foreign pressure.

It was Hrant – living under Erdogan’s dagger – who demonstrated the courage that U.S. leaders lacked.

Despite all our efforts and the clear facts on the ground, the U.S. Department of State and The White House could not find their way to utter even one public word in his defense. One expression of concern. One word on his behalf. That is, until his death.

It was only after Hrant Dink was murdered in cold blood that the U.S. government found its voice, condemning a murder it did nothing to prevent.

Let us work to ensure that the same fate does not befall Garo Paylan – a truth teller and peace maker who deserves the support, not the silence, of the elected representatives of the American people.”

“Following the April developments, the day of recognition of Artsakh by Armenia is not far away,” California Courier editor-in-chief Harut Sassounian told reporters in Yerevan today. He’s a strong believer that Artsakh should be declared an integral part of Armenia.

“Armenia’s earlier position was understandable. Recognition of Artsakh could endanger the negotiation process, but the situation has changed after the April events.

As for the Armenian Genocide recognition, Harut Sassounian said “the US has long recognized it.”

“If Obama refrained from uttering the word ‘genocide’ in his April 24th address, that’s his problem, because he will be remembered in American history as a liar President,” the publisher said.

London-based Mahmud Uzuni, an ethnic Kurd, who served a sentence in Turkey for his pro-Armenian views, also urges Ankara to get rid of historic lies.

He’s visiting Yerevan as representative of the Turkish-German Association “Union Against Genocide,” whose members visit Tsitsernakaberd every April 24 to apologize to Armenians and join the civilized world to call for Armenian Genocide recognition by Turkey.

Uzuni says it’s his obligation to apologize for the crimes committed by Kurds against Armenians.