Antonian Lara – Page 26 – Armenian Directory & News

EU to convene emergency meeting on Ukraine on February 24

February 24, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

20:10,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. The leaders of the EU member states and government will convene an extraordinary summit on February 24 in connection with Russia’s recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, ARMENPRESS reports reads the letter of the President of the European Council Charles Michel addressed to the leaders of the 27 EU member states.

“The aggressive actions of the Russian Federation violate international law, the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. They also undermine European security. It’s important that we be united and determined like in the past to jointly clarify our collective approach and actions. That is why I want to invite you to the special session of the European Council to be held on February 24 in Brussels,” the letter reads.

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijan to ban use of maps with corrupted toponyms

February 21, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

14 February 2022 13:52 (UTC+04:00)

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By Sabina Mammadli

The Azerbaijani Digital Development and Transport Ministry has developed an action plan to prevent the use of geographical maps with distorted toponyms, Trend has reported.

Deputy Minister Rovshan Rustamov made the remarks during the presentation of the Azerbaijani Social Research Center’s report on disinformation and hybrid threats to Azerbaijan.

Rustamov mentioned that Azerbaijan is keeping a close eye on Armenia’s distortion of Azerbaijani toponyms on maps online.

“As a result of the Azerbaijani ministry’s appeals to Google and other companies, thousands of historical Azerbaijani toponyms have been restored,” Rustamov said.

He insisted that the public would be informed as soon as possible.

Earlier, Azerbaijani NGO leaders asked UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay to send an expert group to Armenia to assess the current state of Azerbaijan’s centuries-old cultural and historical heritage.

NGOs said that by pursuing a policy of both ethnic and cultural genocide, Armenia has purposefully erased all traces of Azerbaijanis, the historical and ancient residents of these territories, plundered, destroyed, embezzled and distorted the Azerbaijani people’s cultural legacy. At the same time, ancient place names in these areas were changed with Armenian ones.

“We provided a number of precise facts in our earlier appeals to UNESCO. For example, along with other facts, we have emphasized that the Blue Mosque, the Gala Mosque, the Shah Abbas Mosque, the Tapabashi Mosque, the Zal Khan Mosque, the Sartib Khan Mosque, the Haji Novruzali Bay Mosque, the Damirbulagh Mosque, the Haji Jafar Bay Mosque, the Rajab Pasha Mosque, the Mohammad Sartib Khan Mosque, the Haji Inam Mosque and more than 300 other mosques located in Armenia were deliberately destroyed, appropriated or used for other purposes in the early 20th century. Only the Damirbulagh Mosque functioned as intended until 1988, but it has now been completely demolished and replaced by a high-rise building,” the statement added.

It noted that over 500 Azerbaijani cemeteries in Armenia, such as Aghadada, Ashaghi Shorja, Gullubulagh and Saral have been destroyed. The tomb of great Azerbaijani poet Ashig Alasgar, whose tombstone was erected in his native village in ancient Goycha district, was also destroyed.

10-year-old jaguar dies at Yerevan Zoo

February 16, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

13:30,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. A 10-year-old jaguar at the Yerevan zoo has died, the zoo’s administration said in a statement on February 15.

Yerevan Zoo Director Arevik Mkrtchyan said the jaguar did not display any clinical symptoms other than “difficulty breathing” in the past days.

The jaguar was found unresponsive in the morning and was put on antibiotics treatment, after which the animal became active and started to eat, but then suddenly died.

Specialists from various inspection agencies were called in to look into the cause of death.

According to the zoo director the preliminary cause of death could be bronchopneumonia.

Laboratory studies, including histopathology results will come back in 3-4 days.

The jaguar was brought from Georgia in 2013.

Stefan Airapetjan to represent Estonia at Eurovision 2022

February 15, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

Public Radio of Armenia

Feb 14 2022

, 13:53

Less than a minute

Estonian-Armenian Singer Stefan Airapetjan will represent Estonia at Eurovision Song Contest 2022 after winning the national selection – Eesti Laul.

Stefan will travel to Turin with the song ‘Hope,” he co-authored with Reismann.

After a round of quarter finals in December and 2 semi finals which were broadcast earlier in February, Estonian broadcaster ERR hosted a final line-up of 10 songs in the running to be Estonia’s Eurovision hopeful in May.

Eesti Laul has been the format used for selecting Estonia’s Eurovision Song Contest entry since 2009. In this year’s final of 10 (which had been arrived at from an opening field of 40 contenders), there were four artists who had previously represented Estonia at Eurovision.

Georgia’s Belt And Road Initiative – Accelerating Trade Between Central Asia And Europe

February 10, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

Silk Road Briefing
Georgia’s Belt And Road Initiative – Accelerating Trade Between
Central Asia And Europe
Feb. 7, 2022
Azerbaijan and Georgia play key roles within the framework of China’s
Belt & Road Initiative, Soso Nibladze, the CEO of the Hualing Free
Industrial Zone (FIZ), has stated. The zone is based in Kutaisi and is
an important connecting hub between Tbilisi (the capital of Georgia)
and Georgia’s Black Sea Ports of Poti and Batumi.
Hualing FIZ was built by Hualing Group with Chinese investments and
began operating in 2015. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Hualing FIZ
was able to increase its investor client base in 2021 with 25 new
companies registered during the past year.
“One of the most important initiatives of 2021 was a project related
to wood processing and furniture production, developed together with
investors from Canada and China. This project provides for the
production at the FIZ and further export.” Niblaze stated.
Nibladze said the initial budget for this project was US$1.5 million,
and in general, it is planned to increase it to US$7 million.
Further investment into the zone is expected shortly, with a Chinese
company to start the production and export of ferroalloys and silicon
metal at the Hualing FIZ. The total volume of the investments amounted
to US$5 million, and it is also expected to increase this as the
business develops. Nibladze also pointed to a recycled plastic
project, launched at the FIZ in 2021. Investments in this project
amounted to about US$2 million.
He said Hualing FIZ conducts most of the negotiations with
manufacturers of the light industry sector. One of these is a German
investor, dealing with the production and export of textile products.
Nibladze said the negotiations on this project (signing the contract)
are at the final stage.
“About 2,000 people will be employed once the project is launched, and
the total investment in it is about €3 million”
Among the projects in the green energy field, Hualing FIZ has
attracted solar panel production – and the largest project in this
sector in the European-Caucasus region. The total investment for this
project has reached US$10 million, with the exports mainly for the
North American market.
According to Nibladze, the Hualing FIZ now has 90 resident companies,
of which 70% are in trading, 25% in manufacturing and 5% in the
services sector.  This success is expected to lead to an agreement
with the Georgian government to expand the zone’s territory to 58
hectares, up from the existing 36 hectares. There are additional
prospects to expand the FIZ to 200 hectares.
The main export destinations for goods manufactured or traded at
Hualing FIZ are the South Caucasus and Central Asia, the European
Union, North America, and Mexico. The FIZ closely cooperates with
investors from Azerbaijan, whose Baku Port to the east, on the Caspian
Sea connects with Central Asia, Iran and the INSTC route to India.
“Many Azerbaijani companies expressed their interest in cooperation
with Hualing FIZ, mainly companies involved in the pharmaceutical,
manufacturing, and construction sectors” Nibladze stated.
“There are bottleneck issues in global logistics that will continue to
be problematic, but at the same time, we expect that there will be a
great demand for exports to regional countries.” he said. There have
been problems with the Baku-Tblisi-Kars railway connection through to
Turkey and Europe with the proposed route and investment now looking
to be something of a White Elephant given the changes presented as a
result of the 2020 Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict and Georgian Government
policy. The BTK has yet to carry a single passenger; the start of
passenger services in 2020 was truncated by the Georgian government
banning foreign visitors (even if they didn’t get off the train).
Cargo services on the 800-odd kilometres from Kars to Baku via Georgia
take about three days, meaning its not the high-speed line it was
initially promoted as. Additional hold ups take place due to train
gauge changing as the BTK crosses into Georgia. The Georgian
Government are currently wondering why they donated so much territory
for the construction of the BTK through Georgia; with Covid meaning no
tourists, very little delivery of raw materials for their
manufacturing industries, and no substantial exports of Georgian goods
either to Central Asia or Turkey on the train, although this may be
alleviated when the pandemic has calmed down.
The Caspian-European BTK transit issues aside, the development of
Chinse and locally invested Free Trade and Industrial zones along the
Belt and Road Initiative is a primary example of the BRI moving from
being an infrastructure investment play to being a cashflow generator
based on that initial investment. This means that while critics may
point to a slow-down of overall Chinese investment in overseas
financing, investors along the BRI – such as the Hualing FIZ – can now
generate profits and help their own invested clients manufacture and
trade. BRI infrastructure investment is now showing up with the end
result being increased trade turnover and exports, with the ultimate
success measurement of BRI infrastructure investments to be measured
in this increased capability rather than the project financing.

Asbarez: Another Church Vandalism by Azerbaijani Forces Caught on Video

February 10, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

by Asbarez Staff

February 8, 2022

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories, Videos

Officials work with collection owner to find venue for salvaged carpets of Shushi museum

February 10, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

14:14, 9 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport has offered the owner of the carpet collection from the Shushi Carpet Museum to display the collection at the best available museums in Armenia.

When asked to clarify, the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Ara Khzmalyan told MP Elinar Vardanyan in parliament that the ministry is now working with the owner of the collection.

Around 170 carpets were saved from the museum when Shushi was under heavy Azeri bombardment during the 2020 war before its fall.

The carpets were temporarily stored at the National Museum-Institute of Architecture in Yerevan, but the administration of the institute notified the ministry officials that the carpets must be moved elsewhere.

Khzmalyan said he’s met several times with the collection’s owner.

“We have the following picture: we have a policy of bringing together values, not allocating a new building for each value, because when the exhibits on display are rich and various there are more visitors. Realizing the necessity for displaying these carpets, its political importance, we offered to organize the display in the best, modern museums. Take into consideration that this is a private collection. I think there isn’t anything better to offer today. Otherwise we’ll have to build a new museum, perhaps this could be discussed, I don’t know,” Khzmalyan said.

Macron thanks French diplomats, soldiers for repatriating Armenian PoWs

February 7, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

Feb 7 2022

February 7, 2022 – 19:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – President of France Emmanuel Macron has thanked French diplomats and soldiers for helping repatriate eight Armenian prisoners of war from Azerbaijan.

“Eight Armenian detainees were released by Azerbaijan and transferred from Baku to Yerevan. They are reunited with their families, from whom they had been separated for several months,” Macron said in a tweet.

“Thank you to our diplomats as well as to our soldiers mobilized in this operation. We are moving forward!”

The moves came on the footsteps of a recent virtual meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azeri leader Ilham ALiyev, which was also arranged by Macron and European Council President Charles Michel.

Armenpress: US Congressman urges Azerbaijan to release the Armenian POWS and civilian captives immediately

February 7, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

US Congressman urges Azerbaijan to release the Armenian POWS and civilian captives immediately

13:05, 5 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. The ANCA and ANCA Eastern Region join with the Armenian National Committee of Illinois – ANC of IL and Armenian Americans across the Prairie State in thanking Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8th District) for condemning Azerbaijan’s brutal attacks against Armenian civilians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, and Maragha and demanding accountability for their crimes, ARMENPRESS was infomred from the Facebook page of the ANCA. In a powerful statement in the Congressional Record on February 3rd, Rep. Krishnamoorthi went on to “condemn Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against Armenia, and call on the Azerbaijani government to immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian POWs and captive civilians.”

Rep. Krishnamoorthi’s statement runs as follows,

“Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI. Madam Speaker, today I rise to condemn the violence inflicted upon Armenians on the 34th anniversary of the Sumgait Pogroms in Azerbaijan. I believe that condemning these actions today will help prevent renewed aggression against citizens of Armenian descent who continue to live in Azerbaijan, while bringing attention to efforts to erase these atrocities from our collective memory. Further, I reaffirm our nation’s commitment to an enduring, peaceful, and democratic resolution of the Artsakh conflict.

From 1988 to 1990, the Armenian population in Soviet Azerbaijan was the target of ethnically targeted pogroms in the cities of Sumgait, Kirovabad, and Baku. Beginning on February 27, 1988 in Sumgait, Armenian Christians were indiscriminately murdered, raped, and maimed by mobs of criminals and thugs. According to independent reporting, police in Baku allowed the pogroms to continue for 3 days, during which lime Armenians were burned alive and thrown from windows,

Despite vocal U.S. and international protests over the Sumgait Pogroms, renewed anti-Armenian pogroms were launched in Kirovabad on November 21, 1988 that lasted for seven days. Fourteen months later in the capital,Baku, another pogrom was launched against its Armenian minority. These vicious attacks killed hundreds of unarmed civilians and displaced tens of thousands of Armenians fleeing systematic violence as refugees.

These pogroms set the stage for decades of aggression by Azerbaijan. In September 2020, Azerbaijan bombed the Republic of Artsakh with Turkish support, targeting Armenian schools and religious sites, and killing innocent civilians. Over a year later, Azerbaijan still illegally holds and tortures Armenian prisoners of war (POWs) from 2020, despite signing a joint statement requiring all captives to be released.

Madam Speaker, on this 34th anniversary of the Sumgait Pogroms, I want to emphasize the importance of remembering these crimes against humanity. I call on the Azerbaijani government to acknowledge that these atrocities occurred, and that it seeks justice for the victims by prosecuting those who committed these horrific acts of violence. I also call upon the government of Azerbaijan to take all appropriate action to prevent further tragedies of this nature, and to respect the rights of all minorities living within its borders. I condemn Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against Armenia, and call on the Azerbaijani government to immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian POWs and captive civilians”.

Turkish press: Ancient Armenian church in Turkey’s Diyarbakır to be renovated

February 7, 2022March 12, 2026 Antonian Lara

DIYARBAKIR FEB 06, 2022 – 6:33 PM GMT+3

Surp Sargis church in southeastern Diyarbakır province, Turkey, Feb. 6, 2022. (AA Photo)

An ancient church belonging to Turkey’s Armenian community in southeastern Diyarbakır province is expected to undergo restoration, officials told Anadolu Agency (AA).

The Surp Sargis Armenian Church, built in the 16th century in the Alipaşa neighborhood of Sur district, Diyarbakır province, has an area of 3,769 square meters (40569.18 square feet).

Owned by the Diyarbakır Surp Giragos Armenian Church Foundation, the church, whose upper structure was completely destroyed, is also known as the Paddy Church as it was used as a paddy factory for a long time.

An inscription, now in the Diyarbakır Archaeology Museum, says the Christian place of worship was last repaired in 1840.

Cemil Koç, head of the Culture Ministry’s Directorate of Surveying and Monuments in Diyarbakır, said the 16th-century building deteriorated over time due to a decline in congregations.

He said the premises was used as a warehouse by various public institutions in the past.

The official added that the “monumental” building has immense importance for Diyarbakır. “Measurements that will form the basis of the building survey and projects are being made. Material samples have also been taken, which will help in getting more information about the church’s architectural style.”

Ergün Ayık, the head of the foundation, said the building is one of the two surviving churches in Diyarbakır, and that they have begun the process to return it to its former condition.