Author: Alex Jidarian

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop an agreement on mutual military assistance with Nagorno Karabakh, immediately after Azerbaijan launched an offensive against Artsakh.

President Sargsyan also declared that “should military actions continue and escalate into larger scales, the Republic of Armenia will recognize the independence of Nagorno Karabakh.”

The document has not been brought to the National Assembly, and it’s still unclear when it will be considered.

“The text of the document is being developed. Several versions are being worked out. We’ll make conclusions depending on the situation,” says Vahram Baghdasaryan, head of the Republican faction.

In general, all parliamentary forces agree on the opinion that the adoption of the document is a must. They believe it is the real step that Armenia can take in response to the current situation.

Head of the ARF faction Armen Rustamyan says the document will seek to solve two main issues. “First, it should be clearly mentioned that Armenia is the guarantor of NKR independence and security.”

Although the Armenian Revolutionary Federation favors the creation of a military-political union, it doesn’t mind reinforcing the two principles through an agreement on mutual military assistance.

According to Rustamyan, the second important provision that should be incorporated in the document is that “any assault against Karabakh will mean an assault against Armenian borders, with all consequences deriving from this.”

Some say the agreement on mutual military assistance could serve a basis for the recognition of Artsakh’s independence. “It’s not recognition, but a legal-political basis for standing next to Nagorno Karabakh,” MP Alexander Arzumanyan says. According to him, it’s more effective at this point than the recognition of independence

What is the main issue the agreement is meant to solve? What will Nagorno Karabakh gain from it? “Under this agreement we’ll assume political and military responsibility for NKR. We’ll say that Armenia will not stay apart in case of any assault against Karabakh,” Arzumanyan says.

Russia will continue its arms sales to both Azerbaijan and Armenia despite the latest flare-up of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview broadcast on Saturday.

Medvedev, who travelled to both Armenia and Azerbaijan this week, said Russia had no intention to halt its arms sales to any side of the conflict.

“If we imagine for a minute that Russia has given up this role (of arms seller), we well understand that this place will not stay vacant,” Medvedev told the weekly “Vesti on Saturday” programme on Russian state TV.

“They will buy weapons in other countries, and the degree of their deadliness won’t change in any way,” he said. “But at the same time, this could … destroy the existing balance of forces (in the region).”

Moscow believes the possible involvement of other major arms exporters to the region “will most likely complicate the situation further”.

“I believe weapons may and should be bought not only to be used one day, but to be a deterrent factor,” Medvedev said. “This aspect must be considered by both sides of the conflict.”

Ten more suspects have been arrested in three European countries as police step up efforts to prevent further attacks after the Brussels bombings, the BBC reports.

Seven were detained in Brussels, two reportedly in Germany and one in Paris.

An investigation is continuing into Tuesday’s bomb attacks, which killed 31 people in Brussels and have been linked to November’s Paris attacks.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, visiting Brussels, said that so-called Islamic State (IS) would be destroyed.

Standing alongside Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, he expressed condolences for the victims and solidarity with Belgium, declaring “Je suis Bruxellois”.

The Western alliance would continue its fight to destroy IS, Mr Kerry said.

“We will not be intimidated. We will not be deterred.”

The replica of one of the cross-stones of Old Jugha will be installed in the park next to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Press Service of the Armenian Ministry of Culture reports.

The solemn opening ceremony will be attended by the Presidents of the two countries, Armenia’s Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan and Costas Kadis, the Minister of Education and Culture Kostas of Cyprs.

The cross stone is dated 1598. The author of the replica is Ruben Nalbandian, founder of a unique school of cross-stone making.

In 2010 the art of cross-stone making was added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Photo: Kirill Kallinikov / Sputnik

 

Russia has sent five additional Mig-29 fighter jets and a multipurpose helicopter to its military base in Armenia, the Defense Ministry reported, Russia Today reports.

The aircraft have been transported to a military airfield in the Armenian capital of Yerevan and will soon arrive at Erebuni airfield, where planes attached to the 102th military are based, the command for the South-Eastern Military District said on Saturday.

“Soon military engineers will assemble generation 4+ fighter jets and the Mi-8MT helicopter, which will then enter service,” the report said.“The unit’s pilots will start practice flights on the new Mig-29s in mid-March.”

Four of the fighter jets are regular Mig-29s, which were recently overhauled. Another one is an upgraded Mig-29S version, which has double the payload amounting to four tons and several other improvements. The new aircraft strengthen the 18 Mig-29s and 7 Mi-24P helicopter gunships already based at Erebuni.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo walked out of a news conference on Tuesday after being questioned about his record in away matches this season, the BBC reports.

Ronaldo, 31, has scored 32 goals this season but has not netted away from the Bernabeu since 29 November.

“Who else has scored more goals away from home than me since I arrived in Spain?” said Ronaldo, the all-time top scorer in the Champions League.

“Name one player who has scored more than me. No answer? OK. Thank you.”

Ronaldo was speaking at a news conference before the first leg of Real’sChampions League last-16 tie against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.

In December, the Portuguese became the first player to score 10 goals in the competition’s group stage.

Eleven of his goals this season have come away from home, but he has not scored in his past four away games.

“It’s understandable that people have doubts,” said Ronaldo. “It’s like with a son when you give him everything and then when you take it away, he cries.

“I hope that I can keep this ‘bad form’ up until the season’s end.”

At least 50 people have been killed after a truck bomb targeted a police training centre in the western Libyan city of Zliten, the BBC reports.

Media in Libya said the attack struck the al-Jahfal training camp.

The training centre had been a military base during the rule of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya has been hit by instability since his overthrow in 2011, and there is concern Islamic State (IS) militants are gaining a foothold there.

The Lana news agency, run by the internationally-recognised government, said at least 50 people were killed and 127 injured in the blast, which was reportedly heard 60km (40 miles) away in Misrata.

Urgent calls for blood donations are being made to Zliten residents, the agency said

Photo: AFP

A light aircraft has crashed on take-off near the airport in the Indian capital, Delhi, killing 10 people, the BBC reports.

The Beechcraft King Air plane chartered by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) came down after hitting a wall in Dwarka district and burst into flames.

The plane was carrying members of the border patrol force, officials said.

India’s air safety record has been good in the past few years, despite a rapid increase in the number of private airlines and air travel in the country.

The last major crash happened in the city of Mangalore in May 2010, killing at least 160 people.

The twin-engine plane was on its way to Ranchi in the eastern state of Jharkhand from Delhi’s international airport when the incident happened.

Photo:  Sputnik/ Grigori Sysoyev

 

Any force that threatens the Russian military in Syria should be destroyed, Russia President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with the Russian Defense Ministry, reports.

Islamic State said on Saturday that the married couple who killed 14 people in a mass shooting in Southern California were its followers, and FBI agents raided a home apparently belonging to a friend of the husband, reports.

Islamic State’s claim came in an online audio broadcast three days after U.S.-born Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his Pakistani wife Tashfeen Malik, 29, opened fire with assault rifles on a holiday party for civil servants in San Bernardino, 60 miles (100 km) east of Los Angeles.

The pair, who had left their six-month-old baby daughter with relatives, were killed two hours later in a shootout with police SWAT team members.

Federal agents tore through a garage door to search a house in Riverside, a few miles (km) southwest of San Bernardino, on a street where neighbors said Farook once lived.

An FBI spokeswoman confirmed agents made a “precautionary tactical entry” while serving a federal search warrant, but she declined to give details.