Author: Ani Kharatian

Azerbaijani Press: Pashinyan Accuses Baku of Being Unconstructive

Ani Kharatian
Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Press
Saturday
Pashinyan Accuses Baku of Being Unconstructive
 
 
Paris / 15.09.18 / Turan: If the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs want a settlement of the Karabakh conflict, first of all Azerbaijan should be called to order. This was stated by Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, who is visiting Paris.
 
“If Baku thinks that threats can force us to make concessions, it’s wrong. Azerbaijan will not understand that today’s Armenia is different; this is Armenia, around which the whole Armenian community has rallied, with its new potential. And aggressive actions of Azerbaijan will not be against Armenia or Artsakh, but against the Armenians, and they will meet a counterattack from the united Armenian nation,” he said.
 
Pashinyan gave a negative answer to the question whether his meeting with the head of Azerbaijan on the settlement will be held.
 
He also said that he discussed the Karabakh issue with the French President.
 
“He asked if there was really an opportunity to seriously discuss the issue of solving the problem. In this regard, we exchanged views, and I told him that, from my point of view, the leadership of Azerbaijan is not so sincere when it talks about the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. This will be possible only if there is an atmosphere of settlement in the region. But we hear threats, and it’s simply not realistic to talk about a settlement in such conditions,” Pashinyan said. -02D-

“Armenia has made dynamic progress in terms of democracy’, Speaker of Parliament says

Ani Kharatian
| 18:46 | September 13 2018
Category
Politics

Speaker of Parliament Ara Babloyan says he is convinced that Armenia has made dynamic progress in terms of democracy during the past years.

“My main emphasis after the meetings with the president, the prime minister, the human rights defender, is that we have made dynamic progress in terms of democracy in the past years. We do not have the right to make backwards steps,” the Speaker told reporters. He added that democracy should now be strengthened even more.

Speaking about the parliamentary Q&A with Cabinet members on September 12, Babloyan said that the Prime Minister was given extra time on the floor in order for his speech to be completed in parliament, and not in the rally. “This is a more accurate approach. We must discuss serious issues, raise questions and get answers in the body where the political forces are represented,” he said.

During the September 12 parliamentary Q&A, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was given additional time to speak. He spoke about the circumstances which led to the release on bail of Yuri Khachaturov, the CSTO Secretary General who is charged amid the ongoing investigation into the March 1 case.

Armenia is sending 100 soldiers to Syria as part of humanitarian mission

Ani Kharatian
AMN Al-Masdar News, Iran
Sept 13 2018


By Leith Aboufadel
 



BEIRUT, LEBANON (12:30 P.M.) – The Armenian Army is sending approximately 100 soldiers to Syria as part of a humanitarian mission, Armenian Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan stated on Wednesday, as quoted by Panarmenian.

“These are the humanitarian experts of the Armenian Armed Forces, including doctors, sappers, as well as personnel who will ensure their safety,” Tonoyan said.

Armenia has played an integral role in alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Syria, as their constant aid shipments have helped a large number of Syrians.

Both Syria and Armenia maintain close diplomatic and economic relations, with the latter refusing to cutoff ties to Damascus, despite pressure from the U.S. and other western states.


Armenia to send doctors, sappers to Aleppo

Ani Kharatian 
Interfax - Russia & CIS Military Newswire
 Monday 6:51 PM MSK
Armenia to send doctors, sappers to Aleppo
YEREVAN. Sept 10
Armenia is planning to send military medics, engineers, mine clearance
experts to Syria to provide assistance to Aleppo residents, Armenian
Deputy Defense Minister Gabriel Balayan said.
"Those are doctors, engineers, mine clearance experts, people of a
humanitarian occupation, who will help Aleppo residents, mainly its
Armenian community. On the basis of a request of the Syrian
government, we will send experts, who would try to provide assistance
to civilians by means of their knowledge, in addition to humanitarian
aid we are sending," Balayan told Armenia's Radio Liberty.
The group, which is to be sent, will not be a member of any coalition, he said.
"It is exclusively Armenia's assistance. The group is being sent as
part of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 of 2015
and an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation with Syria. That is
a result of the Armenian-Syrian agreement. The group will be
subordinate to a relevant Armenian agency. But we also do not rule out
certain cooperation with Russia or other parties, if the need should
arise in the process," Balayan said.
The deadline of the sending and the duration of the work have not been
definitively determined, because talks are still ongoing, the deputy
minister said.

Armen Rustamyan: During his visit to Moscow Pashinyan must confirm that Armenia’s approaches to Karabakh issue remain unchanged

Ani Kharatian
Arminfo, Armenia
Sept 6 2018
Armen Rustamyan: During his visit to Moscow Pashinyan must confirm that Armenia’s approaches to Karabakh issue remain unchanged

Yerevan September 6

Ani Mshetsyan. The fact that the format of the meeting between the heads of Armenia and Russia is bilateral shows that both sides have a desire to meet, Alen Simonyan, an MP from the Yelk faction stated in a conversation with journalists in the Parliament of Armenia on September 6.

Simonyan said that there were cases when Armenian officials went to Moscow, but never met with their Russian counterparts. “It is quite normal that during this time, two meetings were held between the RA Prime Minister and the President of the Russian Federation. During this period the parties studied various situation problems,” Simonyan said.

As for the criticism of RPA MPs against Pashinyan’s statements addressed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Simonyan said: “The political force that learns about the extradition of Ramil Safarov from the press has no right to talk about diplomacy. Armenia is building the right, partnership relations with both Russia and the United States and Europe. “

In contrast to Simonyan, the head of the ARF “Dashnaktsutyun” faction Armen Rustamyan believes that tension appeared in the Armenian-Russian relations. “However, I think that our strategic relations are so important for both countries that all problems will be mitigated. In any case, we hope that during the Pashinyan-Putin meeting all problems will be solved. This can have a decisive significance for us “, Rustamyan stressed.

He also noted that during this meeting it is very important that Armenia once again present its position on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “Different statements sounded, but I think this is a good opportunity to discuss this issue again,” the deputy said.

Asked if Nikol Pashinyan has a concept on the Karabakh settlement, Rustamyan said: “Even at the first meeting of Nikol Pashinyan with representatives of our faction, it became obvious to us that the latter, in the negotiation process, will rely on the will of the people of Artsakh. In the upcoming meeting it is worth discussing ways to prevent war, as well as the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements, which Azerbaijan tries to avoid, given the changes in Armenia. We should note that we stand for continuing the negotiation process with two conditions – full compliance with the ceasefire regime and the inclusion of Artsakh in the negotiations, “Rustamyan said.

To note, a working meeting between Pashinyan and Putin will be held in Moscow on September 8. According to ArmInfo’s information, the initiative of the visit and the meeting was made by the Armenian side, however, the apparatus of the RA prime minister does not comment on this information.

US sanctions against Russia will affect the economy of Armenia. minister

Ani Kharatian
  • 05.09.2018

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  • Armenia:

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There are still no analyzes of the impact of the US sanctions against Russia on the Armenian economy. But, of course, it will have an effect. RA Minister of Economic Development and Investments Artsvik Minasyan announced this in a briefing with journalists.


According to him, the ministry does not yet have a complete idea, but as soon as it has it, it will present it to the public.


“Influences can naturally occur, they should be presented in a balanced way, both negative and from the point of view of providing certain opportunities,” he said.


He also referred to the Armenian-American economic relations, noting that today they are at a qualitatively new level. Minasyan said that the RA government is making efforts to have a mutual investment agreement with the US, which will make it possible to increase the investments of American organizations and implement new mechanisms in terms of trade circulation.  


“I have already said that investment projects exceeding one billion dollars are proposed, of which it is realistic to invest 240 thousand dollars in the coming period. Some of them have already been implemented and relate to high technologies, logistics capabilities, high-productivity agricultural processing sector, creation of high-quality hotel services, etc. We have proposals from the American side that refer to the healthcare system, the education sector, etc., the minister added.

168: ‘Reforms should have direct and organic link with our national interests’, says Armenia’s PM

Ani Kharatian
| 12:19 | August 30 2018
Category
Politics

During today’s Cabinet session Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan touched upon one of his previous statements according to which the adaptation period is considered over: not it’s time for major reforms which in their turn will give new impetus of economic and political development to Armenia.

“I think we need to record our methodology of reforms, taking into account the existing political realities in Armenia. In general, it is accepted to say that the reforms are so-called a painful process. I think we need to give up this logic since our algorithm of reforms should be the extensive dialogue with the public, approval of consent on this or that reforms”, the PM said, adding that if they have sufficient facts for making reforms which convinced themselves, they need to present the same facts to the public.

According to the PM, their reforms, actions on this direction are going to be effective. He reminded that they have a new governance system which is historically called direct democracy, and all actions should derive from this logic.

“We can launch the dialogue with the public regarding the changes in the Tax Code next week, and our task will be to form public support, perception over the proposed models. We need to carry our extensive reforms, they must be well-thought, have a direct and organic link with our national interests and the tasks proposed by the recent peaceful, velvet revolution n Armenia. I think we all need to announce the launch of a new stage of our activity in this regard, therefore, I wish all of us professionalism, wisdom and success”, the PM said.

Armenia confirms interest in Indian weapons

Ani Kharatian
PanArmenian, Armenia
Aug 25 2018
– 16:10 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan has confirmed Armenia’s interest in acquiring Indian weapons.

Indian media reported earlier that Armenia has expressed interest in obtaining the Pinaka rocket system developed by India’s Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), which is a laboratory under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

“A delegation of the Armenian Armed Forces has met industry representatives in India to learn more about many types of weapons,” Hovhannisyan said in a tweet on Saturday, August 24.

“Among them are weapons of particular interest.”

KM Rajan, the director of the Indian laboratory, said on Friday: “Armenia has shown an interest in the Pinaka rocket system and so we carried out extensive firing trials for their delegation last month at Pokhran in Rajasthan. The results were excellent. Since it is a government-to-government decision, we are yet to receive word about an official agreement of the procurement. Armenia is interested in both versions of the rocket.”

Armenian-Chinese friendship school opened in Yerevan

Ani Kharatian
  • 19:18 | August 22,2018 | Social
  • Rus

On August 22, the Armenian-Chinese friendship school opened in Yerevan, which has been constructed by the assistance of China.

All the programs of the school will be taught in Armenian, with the difference that the Chinese language will be among the priorities in the school.

All students from the 5th to 12th grades can be admitted to he Armenian-Chinese friendship school both from Yerevan or other Armenian provinces. Special teachers will also come from China. A special dormitory building is built adjacent to the school for the latter and the students. There are 27 classes in the school, with 15 students each. The school is designed for 405 students.

The total cost of this educational project is more than $ 12 million, which includes the costs of the complete construction and equipment of the school.There is a gym, laboratory, library, computers labs.

Spartak Vardanyan, Acting Director of the Armenian-Chinese friendship school, told “A1+” that this cooperation in the Armenian-Chinese educational sector will boost Chinese investment opportunities in Armenia.

“Pupils of N103 high school are currently studying at the school, and teachers are the same. This school will definitely be different from the former educational institution because new conditions dictate new requirements. An in-depth study of Chinese language will be mandatory for all grades: 3 hours a week for pupils from the 5th to 12th grades, and more than 4 hours a week for higher classes. Chinese language textbooks have been donated by the Chinese side, mainly with cooperate with the Confucius Institute,” he said.

He also informed that the school can provide additional services for those wishing to learn Chinese.

To note, the results of the students’ previous academic years were taken into consideration during the Armenian-Chinese school admission.

“The principle of admission has been calculated with mean arithmetic, as I think this option is fair. It is the right approach, the correct calculation has taken place and I think the results will become known tomorrow. The admission was free, 330 new students were enrolled, and 70 pupils continue their high school from N103 school, “Lyudmila Apresyan, Deputy Director of the School, told “A1 +.”

Even if the pupils of the graduating class are going to study the Chinese language for a year, they are sure that this period will be enough.

“Learning in this school is a great success because knowledge of Chinese language will open new doors for success,” said Nune Mkhitaryan.

“I will be a dance instructor and travel to China. I am convinced that I will make it faster and learn the language as soon as possible,” said another student Nelli Harutyunyan.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and China’s Ambassador to Armenia Tian Erlong also attended the opening ceremony of the Armenian-Chinese friendship school.

Pashinyan inquired whether Armenians were learning the language easily or not. The ambassador replied: “In the case of Armenian linguistic abilities, it is quite easy; there are about 1000 people in Armenia that learn Chinese language today.” Then he added that the front part of the building was built from the Armenian obsidian.

Ex-army general Manvel Grigoryan’s detention extended for two months

Ani Kharatian
Panorama, Armenia
Aug 17 2018

The detention of lawmaker Manvel Grigoryan, an influential retired general of the Armenian Armed Forces, has been extended for two months, Arevik Khachatryan, the head of the Pubic Relations Department of the Armenian Prosecutor General’s Office, told Panorama.am.

She detailed the motion on extending the MP’s detention has been filed by the Special Investigative Service (SIS).

“The court has granted the motion filed by the SIS investigator to extend the detention,” she said.

On 19 June, the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction ruled to arrest Grigoryan, who had earlier been stripped of his parliamentary immunity.

He has been charged with embezzling army supplies and illegally possessing firearms, after security agents raided his Etchmiadzin villa to discover and confiscate large quantities of illegally stored weapons, explosives and cars, including military vehicles.

The findings also included canned and preserved food labelled “Not for Sale: Soldier’s Ration”, as well as clothing, hygiene items and medicine donated to servicemen during the 2016 April War.