Author: Antonian Lara

Photo by Mikhail Fomichev/Sputnik

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave instructions to sign an agreement with Armenia on creating a united regional air defense system in the Caucasian collective security region, according to a document posted on the government’s legal information web portal on Wednesday, TASS reports.

‘I decree to accept a proposal by the Russian government on signing an agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Armenia on creating a united regional air defense system in the Caucasian collective security region,” the president’s instruction said.

“I hereby instruct the Defense Ministry of Russia to hold negotiations with the Armenian side with the involvement of Russia’s Foreign Ministry and sign the said Agreement on Russia’s behalf upon reaching consent and permit making minor amendments to its draft approved by the government,” the document said.

A European Commission report on Turkey, held back until after the general election on Nov. 1 accuses Ankara of backsliding on the rule of law, freedom of expression and judicial independence, Reuters reports.

A copy of the draft annual progress report on Turkey’s EU candidacy, seen by Reuters, also cites a severe deterioration in the security situation and an increasing politicization of the state administration as Justice and Development Party (AKP), in power for the last 13 years, tightens its grip.

The EU body, which is urgently trying to secure Turkey’s help to stem flows of Syrian refugees and other migrants from Turkey to Europe, insisted it had not delayed the report for political reasons.

It also said it was up to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to decide when the progress reports on candidate countries, usually released in October, are approved and published.

In the forensic language of the Commission’s department for enlargement negotiations, the draft describes an overall drift toward more authoritarian governance in Turkey.

“The outgoing government has made efforts to reinvigorate the EU accession process,” it says. “However, this commitment was offset by the adoption of key legislation in the area of the rule of law, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly that ran against European standards.”

It depicts a court system increasingly under the thumb of the government or subject to undue political duress.

“The situation has been backsliding since 2014,” it said. “The independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers have been considerably undermined and judges and prosecutors have been under strong political pressure.”

The report also hinted at criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s personal exercise of power, saying the president remained engaged in a wide range of foreign and domestic policy issues, leading to criticism in Turkey that he was overstepping his constitutional prerogatives.

EU officials and diplomats said Brussels decided to keep the potentially explosive document under wraps until after Turkey’s Nov. 1 parliamentary election – the second national vote this year as the initial one on June 7 failed to produce a government – because the EU was seeking Ankara’s cooperation in stemming the flow of Syrian and other refugees to Europe.

“It just makes sense not to release the report while we are trying to enlist their help with the refugee crisis,” a senior Commission official said.

In similarly pragmatic vein, Juncker told the European Parliament on Tuesday that, despite human rights concerns, “whether we like it or not, we have to work with Turkey.”

A Service of Commemoration of the Armenian Martyrs of 1915 will be held at Westminster Abbey at 7.00pm on Wednesday 28^th October.

The service will be attended by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, His Excellency Dr Armen Sarkissian, the Armenian ambassador to the Court of St James, and members of the Armenian Government.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport John Whittingdale discussed the preparations for the event at a .

 

The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (EAFJD) has a statement, urging the Turkish citizens living in Europe to vote for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halklarin Demokratik Partisi, HDP) on November 1, 2015 in the 25th general elections in Turkey. The statement reads:

HDP is a progressive force in Turkey which stands up for a well-functioning democracy and is actively struggling for peoples’ rights in their vernacular and with respect to their ethnic, cultural, religious beliefs and background.

The EAFJD’s support for the HDP is accounted for by the shared values and approaches towards several issues of mutual interest. The EAFJD has been in an ongoing dialogue with the HDP since the latter’s foundation in 2012, and has already supported the candidacy of several ethnic Armenians as candidates of the HDP.

The EAFJD expects the Turkish authorities to ensure a free and fair campaign. As during the elections in June of the current year, EAFJD is continuously and closely monitoring the course of events.

The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy wishes the HDP further success in the upcoming parliamentary elections. A strong HDP parliamentary presence in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey would mean the presence of a party for freedom, equality, peace and justice.”

The team spent three days in Armenia to take photos for the world’s most famous fashion magazine.

American-Armenian photographer David Mushegian first visited Armenia a few months ago and was stunned by the beauty of his historic homeland. When he was offered to take photos of ethnic costumes for the Russian Vogue, he advised a trip to Yerevan. He was joined on the trip by Victoria’s Secret Angel Stella Maxwell.

The Vogue team was hosted by Armenian artist Lusik Aguletsi, who collects Armenian national costumes and keeps her own museum. Lusik herself is always dressed in taraz – the Armenian national costume.

The team also visited Armenia’s legendary duduk player Djivan Gasparyan, 86.

Should the negotiation fail, Armenia will recognize the Nagorno Karabakh and take all other steps to ensure Artsakh’s security, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said at the National Assembly today.

Asked about Armenia’s steps in case of Azerbaijan’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union, Minister Nalbandian said the issue is not on the agenda. “All members of the EEU have the tight for their opinion, and such decisions should be made by a consensus,” he added.

Speaking about the recent escalation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the line of contact between Karabakh and Azerbaijani forces, Edward Nalabndian said: “The Co-Chairs have issued targeted statements, clearly indicating who’s responsible for the ceasefire violations. They offer to create mechanisms for investigation of border incidents, and declare that Armenia has accepted the proposal, while Azerbaijan refuses to do so.”

“Thus, the Co-Chairs make it clear that Azerbaijan bears full responsibility for the ceasefire violations and border incidents,” the Minister said.

He reminded that Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY) of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee recently sent , proposing three concrete pro-peace steps that would, “in the short-term, save lives and help to avert war.”

“This means the initiative of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs finds support not only among different international structures, but also national parliaments, including the US Congress. Moreover, James Warlick has reacted to the letter, saying he fully agrees with the Royce-Engel proposals for Karabakh peace,” Minister Nalbandian stated.

“We also welcome, because that’s what we have always been saying. It’s about withdrawal of snipers, reinforcement of the ceasefire regime and creation of mechanisms for investigation of border incidents,” the Minister  concluded.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov over an alleged violation of Turkish airspace by a Russian warplane, the ministry said in a statement Monday, RIA Novosti reports.

According to the statement, a Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace in the province of Hatay near Syria on October 3. The aircraft left Turkish airspace after being intercepted by two Turkish F-16 fighter jets.

“The Russian ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry, where a strong protest was voiced to him. The protest was also voiced by Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu in a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Sinirlioglu has discussed the incident with his counterparts from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy and is seeking a discussion on the issue with NATO Secretary General [Jens Stoltenberg] and German Foreign Minister [Frank-Walter Steinmeier],” the statement reads.

The Turkish Hurriyet Daily News reports quoting Turkish military sources that Russia has informed Turkey that the violation of Turkish airspace near the Syrian border on Oct. 3 was due to a “navigation error.”

The Russian authorities informed the Turkish military attaché in Moscow about the error, Russian Embassy officials in Ankara told Hürriyet Daily News.

Member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Moscow-led security alliance of former-Soviet republics, signed an agreement on military contingent and cargo transportation, Serzh Sargsyan, the president of Armenia, said on Tuesday, TASS reports.

“An agreement was signed on cooperation in the sphere of transporting military contingent and moveable property as well as military-purpose products,” Sargsyan told journalists following the summit of the CSTO member states in Tajikistan.

The Armenian leader added that the CSTO members also decided to extend an agreement on the logistics and technical support of railways in the countries of the post-Soviet security bloc.

Member-states the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) have approved a decision on introducing rotation of the post of the secretary general, CSTO chief Nikolay Bordyuzha said on Tuesday.

“It was considered useful to switch in the future to the rotation system of the general secretary’s post. The heads of states set the task to devise a respective draft decision by December and introduce changes to the legal basis and the CSTO Charter, what we will do now,” Bordyuzha said.

The Collective Security Treaty was signed in 1992 and the organization itself was set up 10 years later. Russia, which held the presidency in the CSTO, passed the rotating chair this year to Tajikistan.

The CSTO, which comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, regularly holds military drills on the territories of its member states.

There is a growing belief within the US government that the Islamic State militant group is making and using crude chemical weapons in Iraq and Syria, a US official has told the BBC.

The US has identified at least four occasions on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border where IS has used mustard agents, the official said.

The official said the chemical was being used in powder form.

The US believes the group has a cell dedicated to building these weapons.

“They’re using mustard,” the individual said of IS. “We know they are.”

The mustard agent was probably being used in powder form and packed into traditional explosives like mortar rounds, the official said.

“We’ve seen them use it on at least four separate occasions on both sides of the border – both Iraq and Syria.”

On September 8, the feast of the birth of the Holy Virgin Mary, with the blessings of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians; the icon of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide was placed in the St. Gregory the Illuminator Mother Cathedral of Yerevan for veneration and prayers of our faithful.

The icon of the Holy Martyrs was consecrated on April 23, during the of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide.

The icon will reside in the Mother Cathedral for a month.