Author: Ani Tigranian

Heads of CSTO states are wise people, will make a right decision: Chief of Joint Staff on issue of Secretary General

14:46, 6 February, 2019

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. The heads of CSTO member states are wise people and they will make a right decision over the issue of the Secretary General,  Colonel-General Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), said during today’s Moscow-Yerevan-Minsk-Bishkek-Astana video conference, reports Armenpress.

“The heads of the CSTO member states are wise and experienced people, they will make a right decision. The CSTO Joints Staff is an operating structure that is ready to implement any decision made by the heads of state”, he said, commenting on the current situation in the CSTO.

On November 2 Armenia’s Yuri Khachaturov was dismissed from the position of the CSTO Secretary General after Armenia applied to the CSTO member states to launch the process of recalling him as criminal case was filed against Khachaturov over the 2008 March 1 unrest in Yerevan. 

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 07-02-19

17:11, 7 February, 2019

YEREVAN, 7 FEBUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 7 February, USD exchange rate up by 0.43 drams to 488.69 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.81 drams to 554.22 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.03 drams to 7.40 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.23 drams to 630.65 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 10.11 drams to 20620.1 drams. Silver price down by 1.90 drams to 247.15 drams. Platinum price down by 35.77 drams to 12867.92 drams.

By Emre Aytekin

ANKARA 

Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Wednesday said Ankara could not be lectured by France which is notorious for atrocities committed during the colonial period in Africa.

Hami Aksoy’s remarks came after French President Emmanuel Macron’s declaration of April 24 as a national day marking the so-called Armenian genocide.

“We have no lessons to take from the arrogant French politicians who are ignorant [of basic history], which we know for the atrocities it committed in Anatolia while using the Armenians during the Independence War period, massacres in Algeria and the genocide in Rwanda,” Aksoy said, responding to a question in the Foreign Ministry building.

Aksoy went on to say that Ankara repeatedly told French officials, especially Macron, that the 1915 incidents should be discussed in the light of judicial, historical and academic angles; however, Macron ignored historical facts and decisions by the European Court of Human Rights and the French Constitutional Court.

He added that the main motive of Macron was to appeal to the Armenian voters in a bid to fulfill the promise he had previously made.

Emphasizing that an objective approach was essential to understand the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in which more than 500,000 Muslims were killed by the Armenian rioters, Aksoy said that the Turkish offer to establish a joint historical commission to shed light on the incident was still applicable.

Turkey’s position is that the deaths of Armenians in eastern Anatolia in 1915 took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties.

Ankara does not accept the alleged genocide, but acknowledges that there were casualties on both sides during the events of World War I.

Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as “genocide” but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy for both sides.

Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-slams-french-move-on-1915-armenian-events/1385583

Armenia sends measles vaccine to Georgia to combat outbreak

12:54, 2 February, 2019

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan has ordered to provide 30,000 doses of measles vaccinations to Georgia in order “for our neighbor country to more effectively and faster struggle with the measles outbreaks”.

Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan said on Facebook that he has spoken with his Georgian counterpart Davit Sergeenko about the outbreaks yesterday. “He informed me that 1028 new cases of measles have been detected until today, which is mostly associated with the fact that many children in the 90s were not vaccinated against measles. I was also informed that the daily detected 50-60 cases  have dropped to a daily of 35, thanks to the anti-pandemic actions that are being carried out in Georgia, including the intensive vaccinations of the population aged 20-40,” Torosyan said on Facebook.

According to Torosyan, the last confirmed case of measles in Armenia was back in 2007 – due to the high indicator of anti-measles vaccinations. “The last imported case was detected in December of 2018 in a passenger who arrived from Russia, and fortunately it did not spread in our country. I call on everyone to get the vaccinations envisaged by the national immunization program, and in case of having symptoms – contact a doctor,” he said.

The measles outbreak in Georgia is mostly centralized in Tbilisi.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan

Yenisey Krasnoyarsk (Russia), which are on a training camp in Turkey, played a test match against Gabala (Azerbaijan), and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Even though Armenian national football squad forward Artur Sarkisov plays at the Russian club, he did not enter the pitch in this match.

To note, Sarkisov turned 32 years old on January 19.