Author: Alex Nanijanian

New Electoral Code will be adopted on Monday – politician (video)

Alex Nanijanian
  • 18:00 | October 25,2018 | Politics
  • Armenian:
  • Rus

Politician Ruben Mehrabyan believes that there cannot be a government in the parliamentary system that has no majority in the parliament.

Snap parliamentary elections should have been held earlier, instead of December. According to the political scientist, the new Electoral Code will nevertheless be adopted on the next Monday.

“I think, regardless of RPA’s electing or not electing, there are deputies in the parliament who will vote for it. This time the voting process will be better organized and the necessary votes will be provided. ”

The politician is confident that the Civil Contract party will again have victory during the election of the future parliament. It is more intriguing to find out which force will occupy the honorable second place. “With my impressions, the Luys bloc or PAP will take the second place.”

And when asked what force will occupy the fourth place, the politician preferred to abstain, noting that there are many candidates, it depends on which forces will take part in the elections.

Referring to the visit of US President’s National Security Advisor John Bolton to Armenia, the political scientist mentioned that there is nothing new over the settlement of the Artsakh issue, but John Bolton’s visit to Armenia was also conditioned by the revolution.

“Bolton has also come to the region to get acquainted with the processes. The United States is trying to hear answers of many questions, analyze, and formulate for future strategies.”

168: Requiems to be held in Armenian churches on Aznavour’s funeral day

Alex Nanijanian
| 10:57 | October 5 2018
Category
Culture

Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II has departed to France to attend the funeral of French-Armenian singer Charles Aznavour October 5-6.

On October 6, at 12:00, requiems will be held in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiatsin and the primary churches of the Armenian Church Dioceses.

Charles Aznavour died at the age of 94 in France on October 1.

France pays tribute to late singer Aznavour

Alex Nanijanian
The Bismarck Tribune
October 6, 2018 Saturday
France pays tribute to late singer Aznavour
 
 
PARIS (AP) – France paid tribute to Charles Aznavour on Friday in a solemn and subdued ceremony that contrasted sharply with the singer’s joyful character.
 
One of France’s most famous personalities, Aznavour died earlier this week at 94.
 
On a mild, sunny morning in Paris, politicians and celebrities gathered near the site of Napoleon’s tomb in the courtyard of Les Invalides, where French president Emmanuel Macron welcomed Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Former French Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande and actor Jean-Paul Belmondo were among those attending the ceremony.
 
Aznavour, born to Armenian parents who fled to Paris in the 1920s, became one of the Armenian diaspora’s most recognized voices and a vocal defender during a performing career spanning eight decades.
 
Covered by a French tricolor flag, Aznavour’s coffin arrived in the courtyard carried by military personal to the sound of a traditional Armenian tune. A spray of red, blue and orange flowers – the colors of the Armenian flag – was then laid close to the casket.
 
“Every Armenian sees him as a close relative,” Pashinyan said. “Because Aznavour is the one who lifted Armenia to the roof of the world.”
 
Born Shanoun Varenagh Aznavourian, the singer cut the Armenian suffix from his stage name but never forgot his Armenian roots.
 
Friday’s ceremony in Paris marked the second time in a year that France paid tribute to one of its musical icons after hundreds of thousands gathered on the Champs Elysees in December to mourn the death of Johnny Hallyday.
 
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Azerbaijani Press: Baku to raise Armenian PM wife’s "humanitarian Karabakh visit" attempt before Russian MFA

Alex Nanijanian
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Oct 5 2018
5 October 2018 15:38 (UTC+04:00)
424

By  Trend

Azerbaijan will raise an issue before the Russian Foreign Ministry about the initiative of the Armenian prime minister’s wife Anna Hakobyan to organize an illegal visit of Russia’s women to Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, Leyla Abdullayeva, spokesperson of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, told Trend Oct. 5.

She was commenting on Hakobyan’s campaign “Women for Peace” and in this context the intention of a group of women from Russia to visit the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

“As a woman and mother, I can understand Hakobyan’s campaign in terms of humanitarian principles,” Abdullayeva said. “The main purpose of this campaign is allegedly to prevent the deaths of young soldiers, innocent people. Then it is necessary to thoroughly approach this problem and answer the question “What are the soldiers of Armenia doing in the territory of Azerbaijan?”

“Hakobyan incorrectly chose targets for her humanitarian mission, because in order to prevent the deaths of young people, she must first of all start from the society Armenia, to urge Armenia to stop occupation of Azerbaijani lands and call on Armenian women and mothers to refrain from sending their children to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” Abdullayeva noted.

It is obvious that this campaign in its current form, especially in anticipation of the election, is intended for the internal audience of Armenia, she said.

 

“However, it should be taken into account that such campaigns, primarily attempts under the guise of a “humanitarian mission” to motivate a group of women from Russia to visit the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, aren’t consistent with the mandate of Russia as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, don’t serve to the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and don’t correspond to the spirit of the conversation between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in Dushanbe. This issue will be raised before the Russian Foreign Ministry by the Azerbaijani Embassy in Moscow.”

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Sports: Armenia to hold a professional boxing event in December

Alex Nanijanian
MediaMax, Armenia
Oct 1 2018
 
 
Armenia to hold a professional boxing event in December
 
 
Photo: Mediamax
 
 
Head of Punch Boxing Promotions Aram Davtyan has announced that Armenia will organize a professional boxing event in December 2018.
 
“I think we’ll hold the event in Tsaghkadzor on December 8. Our team examined the hotel, Golden Palace, and returned certain that it complies with international standards for events of this kind. However, I can name the date and venue only in about two weeks, when it is decided who’s going to compete in the main fight,” said Davtyan.
 
According to him, the hall with capacity of 1700 will host 7 or 8 fights and ticket prices will start at AMD 5000.
 
“We have yet to make the final list of the boxers, although our Narek Abgaryan, Gor Yeritsyan and Aram Avagyan will be there. We want Avagyan to face Evgeny Smirnov in the main fight, but I can’t give concrete information about that yet,” he added.

Russian approves draft law on EEU-Iran free trade deal

Alex Nanijanian
Iran Daily
Saturday
Russian approves draft law on EEU-Iran free trade deal
 
 
The five-nation economic bloc of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia struck the provisional free trade deal with Iran on the sidelines of the Astana Economic Forum on May 17, Sputnik reported.
 
The provisional agreement is expected to last for three years, with the signatories committing themselves to enter into talks on a full-fledged free trade deal within a year since the accord’s entry into force.
 
“Approve the draft federal law … and table it in the State Duma in accordance with the established procedure,” the government said in a statement, posted on its official website.
 
The provisional agreement will cover a limited set of goods to ensure swift adaptation of exporters to a new level of relations.
 
The agreement is aimed at reducing tariffs and also removing non-tariff barriers to increase predictability and boost mutual trade.
 
In May, Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari said Iran has become a partner of a great economic union. The agreement will bear positive fruit for the whole region.
 
Shariatmadari said that his country, which exports goods worth $20 billion per year, is a good partner for the EEU and “is interested in the simplification of export procedures, the elimination of trade barriers and the establishment of stable economic and trade relationships”.
 
The chairman of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Tigran Sargsyan, hailed the agreement signed by Iran and the EEU, which he portrayed as “the first step toward establishing a new type of economic relationship” between the parties.
 
“The Iranian market is very large and dynamic and that is why it is so appealing to our business leaders,” he said.
 
“Of course we are worried, but we have our own economic interests and we will attempt to implement all of the terms of the agreement,” Sargsyan said.
 
According to Rakhim Oshakbayev, the director of the Talap Center and a Kazakh political scientist who specializes in studying the EEU, the agreement between Iran and the EEU is a consequence of the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran deal.
 
“I think this is positive and it would mean that the foreign policy of the United States is not completely effective,” he said.
 
The EEU bloc was established in 2015, after it superseded the Eurasian Economic Community that functioned from 2000 to 2014.
 
The union has an integrated single market of 183 million people and a gross domestic product of over $4 trillion.
 
Armenia also welcomed the free trade agreement between the EEU and Iran.
 
Armenia, the only EEU member state in the Caucasus, has been positioning itself as a trade partner to Iran via a free trade zone on its southern border.
 
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said We hope that it will stimulate our commercial ties [with Iran,]” he expressed. “It opens up opportunities. We hope to utilize those opportunities in full.”
 
Armenian Minister for Economic Development Artsvik Minasian said the deal would allow Armenia to serve as an important transit route between Iran and the wider EEU market. “This is also an opportunity to manufacture some products in the Meghri free-trade zone,” he told Azatutyun, Armenian news service.
 
Meghri, Armenia’s border town with Iran, has become an important part of Armenia’s economic strategy after a trade hub has opened there in December, 2017. The hub offers generous business terms for companies operating there.
 
“Companies operating in the Meghri will be exempt from profit tax, value added tax, excise tax and customs fees,” the provincial governor’s press secretary, Vazgen Sagatelyan, told Eurasianet recently.
 
“We expect the zone to attract 50 to 70 companies in the coming years, investing $100-130 million and creating more than 1,500 jobs.”

Former MP of Armenian Parliament filed a lawsuit against Holy See of Holy Etchmiadzin for unpaid debts

Alex Nanijanian
Arminfo, Armenia
Sept 7 2018
Former MP of Armenian Parliament filed a lawsuit against Holy See of Holy Etchmiadzin for unpaid debts

Yerevan September 7

Ani Mshetsyan. Former MP of the Armenian parliament Aragats Akhoyan filed a lawsuit against the Holy See of St. Echmiadzin for outstanding debts. “Holy Etchmiadzin owed a large sum of money to the construction company headed by me for the repair work, and I was forced to apply to the court, unable to make them pay the debts for many years,” Akhoyan told a reporter.

He said that the construction company he owned for 7 years was repairing the Catholicosate, but the services were not paid for. “As a result, our company incurred substantial material losses: we want to restore justice and return the debt,” the former MP noted.

It is noteworthy that before appealing to the court, he tried to solve the problem “amicably” through negotiations with the Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II. “However, he again deceived us,” Akhoyan said.

Nevertheless, the former MP risked and decided to try his luck a second time and sign another contract with the Holy See of St. Echmiadzin for the provision of construction services. “Last September we received another order from Echmiadzin, started to implement it and again received nothing, after which we broke the contract and held talks with the Catholicos. But since we did not manage to solve anything peacefully, we were deceived again, we filed a lawsuit in court, “Akhoyan concluded.

President Sarkissian highlights export of Armenian products at Armenia EXPO 2018

Alex Nanijanian
ArmenPress, Armenia
Sept 7 2018
President Sarkissian highlights export of Armenian products at Armenia EXPO 2018

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. 18th Armenia EXPO 2018 international universal trade-industrial expo-forum launched on September 7 at the Yerevan Expo center, reports Armenpress.

The event was attended by President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian.

Chairman of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia Arsen Ghazaryan welcomed the guests and informed that this year the Expo is attended by over 200 subjects.

He said representatives from 10 countries arrived in Armenia to participate in the Expo.

President Sarkissian, after touring the pavilions, told reporters that he was mainly interested in the pavilions of the participants who export their products.

“We saw companies which currently export their products to the Eurasian area. One of my questions concerns whether they are satisfied with the customs duties, whether there are problems or not. This is very important since our country should have this direction, become a modern country to be able to export its products across the world, and first of all, to neighbors and the Eurasian area”, the President said.

He also commented on the issue of export of agricultural goods by rural people.

“One of the main problems, of course, is to receive small loans also with little interest rates, the second one is to have an opportunity to export their goods as the farmers have no opportunity to export their goods to large market, therefore, this issue is very important. The third one: the elderly people were complaining that there is a problem of generation change, the youth doesn’t want to stay and live in the village. This is a major problem for us since in this case we have a great gap in the rural areas”, he said.

Armenia EXPO 2018 international universal trade-industrial expo-forum is attended by companies from Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Germany, Poland, Iran, Italy, US and India.

The Expo will remain open until September 9.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Baku discusses the possibility of the arrival of Armenian football players for the League of Europe matches.

Alex Nanijanian
Arminfo, Armenia
Sept 1 2018
Baku discusses the possibility of the arrival of Armenian football players for the League of Europe matches.

Yerevan September 1

Alexander Avanesov. “We would not want to get ahead of football processes. Let the teams determine their own applications for matches against “Garabagh”. After that it will be possible to return to this issue. If we receive an appeal on this matter, it will be considered, “said the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Hikmet Hajiyev, 1news.az, commenting on the possibility of refusing the arrival of the London Arsenal player in Baku for the Europa League match against Azeri” Garabagh ” the national team of Armenia Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

As is known, “Arsenal” was in group E, in which, besides “Garabagh”, there were also Lisbon “Sporting” and Ukrainian “Vorskla”. In the latter, by the way, is another Armenian football player – Gegham Kadimyan. After the two clubs got into one group with “Karabakh“, the question arose whether the Armenian footballers will come to the matches of the Europa League in Baku. Moreover, the final of the Europa League this season will also take place in Baku. And “Arsenal”, in the opinion of bookmakers, is one of the main favorites of the tournament. The fan page of the London club on Twitter “Afcstuff” announced immediately after the draw that Heinrich Mkhitaryan will miss the Baku game against “Garabagh”, as “Azerbaijan prohibits entry for citizens of this country because of strained relations with Armenia“, and there it is added that for these reasons, Mkhitaryan will also miss the final if Arsenal breaks in there.

Let’s remind that in October 2015 Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not come to the Europa League match against Gabala as part of his former club – the German “Borussia”.