Author: Badalian Vardan

Turkish and Armenian envoys to meet in Moscow

Badalian Vardan
Dec 27 2021

The Turkish foreign minister’s announcement constitutes the latest development in efforts to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia.

December 27, 2021

Turkish and Armenian diplomats will meet in Moscow soon. 

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today that the first meeting between special envoys from both countries will be held in the Russian capital. 

“Aside from the first meeting, we also want communication to be held directly,” said Cavusoglu, as reported by the official Anadolu Agency. 

The meeting will focus on re-establishing relations between Armenia and Turkey. The Armenian side requested the meeting take place in Moscow. Cavusoglu added that flights between Turkey and Armenia will soon resume, according to Anadolu. The diplomat did not say when exactly the meeting will take place. 

Turkey cut off relations and its borders with Armenia in 1993 after Armenian forces captured the city of Kalbajar from Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan. Turkey reopened its airspace to Armenia in 1995, but the land border remains closed. 

Relations between Turkey and Armenia have historically been tense. During the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians were murdered in modern-day Turkey. Many scholars, as well as the US government, recognize the killings as a genocide. 

More recently, Turkey backed Azerbaijan militarily in its war with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in 2020. The conflict ended in an Azerbaijani victory and a Russia-brokered cease-fire. Armenia was part of the Soviet Union and maintains a close relationship with Russia today. 

Despite ongoing tensions, Turkey has worked to repair its relations with Armenia this year. As part of this endeavor, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has proposed a regional economic cooperation platform including Armenia. Earlier this month, Turkey named its special envoy to Armenia. Many obstacles remain to normalization, however, including opposition from some political parties in Armenia. 



https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/12/turkish-and-armenian-envoys-meet-moscow

Turkish Press: Turkiye-Armenia normalisation talks in Russia ‘expected in January’

Badalian Vardan
TRT World, Turkey
Dec 31 2021

The first meeting between Turkish and Armenian special envoys to discuss steps for normalising the ties between the two countries, is expected to be held next month.

“The date for the first meeting between special representatives of Turkiye and Armenia has not yet been set but it is expected to be held in January,” Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

The envoys at the first meeting will exchange views on a roadmap on which steps can be taken, including confidence-building steps, Cavusoglu noted.

“The first meeting will be important. Afterwards, they will continue in Turkiye and Armenia via videoconference,” he added.

On December 15, Turkiye appointed Serdar Kilic, a former ambassador to the US, as the special envoy to discuss steps for normalisation with Armenia. 

Three days later, Armenia appointed National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan its special representative for dialogue with Turkiye.

On December 27, Cavusoglu announced that Russia will host the first meeting between Turkish and Armenian special envoys to discuss steps for normalising the bilateral relations.

Moscow on Tuesday announced that it supports talks, noting that “the whole world will benefit from this re-establishment of neighbourly relations.”

Armenia reports 104 daily coronavirus cases, 4 die

Badalian Vardan

Save

Share

 12:52,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 31, ARMENPRESS. 104 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 344 930, the ministry of healthcare reports.

Nearly 8000 COVID-19 tests were conducted on December 30.

211 patients have recovered in one day.

The death toll has risen to 7972 (4 death cases have been registered in the past one day).

The number of active cases is 3894.

Armenpress: The ban on the import of goods of Turkish origin will not be extended

Badalian Vardan

The ban on the import of goods of Turkish origin will not be extended

Save

Share

 18:58,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Based on the results of the interdepartmental discussions in Armenia, a decision was made not to extend the embargo on Turkish goods, ARMENPRESS reports the Ministry of Economy of Armenia informs.

In particular, the Ministry notes that the ban on Turkish goods over the past year has had both positive and negative economic consequences.

“One of the positive consequences is a number of newly established or expanded productions in the light industry, construction materials, furniture production, as well as in agriculture, but the main negative effect of the embargo is the significant impact on inflation, which was reflected especially in a number of consumer goods. There are many requests from our businessmen to lift the ban on the import of Turkish goods”, the Ministry said.

During this year, a number of businesses have started to produce goods to replace Turkish ones. The Ministry assured that there will be consistency in ensuring the viability and competitiveness of such companies in the new conditions, assisting them with additional tools if necessary.

“By lifting the ban on the import of Turkish goods, the principle of reciprocity is expected to create more favorable conditions for the export of Armenian goods,” the Ministry said.

By the decision of October 20, 2020, the Government of the Republic of Armenia imposed a temporary ban on the import of final goods of Turkish origin. The ban was then extended until .




Economic activity index grew 5,2% in January-November 2021

Badalian Vardan

Save

Share

 13:39,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The economic activity index in Armenia grew 5,2% in 2021’s January-November compared to the same period of 2020, according to the Statistical Committee.

The volume of industrial output grew 2,7%, while construction volume grew 6,9%.

Trade turnover grew 7,9%, while service volumes (excluding trade) grew 7,3%.

The consumer price index grew 7,1%, the industrial output price index – 9,9%, while electric-energy output volume dropped 2%.

16,6% growth was recorded in the foreign trade turnover volumes – exports grew 19,4% and imports grew 15,1%.

Azerbaijan trying to cover up cases of vandalism: Armenian Embassy in Greece reacts to Baku’s propaganda

Badalian Vardan
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 22 2021
, 23:50

 1 minute read

The country that deliberately destroys cultural monuments is trying to cover up the numerous cases of vandalism committed, the Armenian Embassy in Greece said in a statement.

“Contrary to the rulings of the International Court of Justice, Azerbaijani officials continue to spread targeted racial hatred because they do not take any steps to stop the destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage,” the Embassy noted.

The comments come after Anastasia Lavrina and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Greece published a propaganda material (translated into Greek) telling about the Armenian side’s alleged “encroachments” on Russian Orthodox religious heritage on the territory of the Artsakh Republic.

The Embassy describes the video as “another provocative, groundless and false misinformation, which aims to spread hatred towards Armenians and try to drive a wedge in the relations between Armenia and its friends.”

“Artsakh has always been proud of the religious and cultural monuments in its territory, considering them a part of its historical and cultural heritage. The people of Artsakh are also concerned about the preservation of Russian religious and cultural heritage,” the Embassy said.

It emphasized that the state budget of the Artsakh Republic envisages expenditures for the preservation and restoration of historical and cultural monuments every year, as the preservation, study and use of historical and cultural monuments is one of the most important and special spheres of the history and culture of the Artsakh Republic.

Armenia highly values France’s consistent efforts aimed at lasting peace in region: Sarkissian congratulates Macron

Badalian Vardan

Save

Share

 13:49,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian congratulated French President Emmanuel Macron on the occasion of birthday, the Presidential Office reports.

“I value your personal contribution to the strengthening of friendly relations and the deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation between Armenia and France.

The centuries-old friendship between the peoples of Armenia and France and the high-level dialogue between our countries have an important potential to further expand the mutual partnership.

I hope with joint efforts we will contribute to the development of the Armenian-French comprehensive agenda and the implementation of new initiatives.

Armenia highly appreciates France’s consistent efforts, as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair country, and your personal engagement in particular, aimed at strengthening the lasting peace and stability in the region.

France’s attention to the issues relating to the Armenian prisoners of war, the protection of Artsakh’s historical-cultural heritage which came under the Azerbaijani control, as well as providing important assistance to the Artsakh-Armenians deserves special appreciation”, the Armenian President said in his congratulatory letter.

Railway to Armenian border to be completed by 2023

Badalian Vardan
Vestnik Kavkaza
Dec 18 2021
 18 Dec in 16:54

The railway to the border with Armenia should be completed by the end of 2023, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said.

Further, answering the questions of the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, he noted that stable cooperation with Azerbaijan is beneficial for Armenia. In this regard, the head of state expressed hope that relations with the Armenian side would normalize.

Catching up with David Gharibyan: Actor, producer, and Armenian media personality

Badalian Vardan

Dec 19 2021

By

 Markos Papadatos

 –


Armenian media personality, actor, and producer David (Davit) Gharibyan chatted with Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos on November 24 about his latest endeavors.

Regarding his future plans, he said, “We live in a time when the future is connected with the present in a rapidly changing exponential pattern and if everything goes according to plan, I will soon move to France to implement new fashion projects. I will continue to work in my country, combining it with French.”

“Let me inform you that the TV series ‘Ari Parenq’ is currently being broadcast in the USA and Armenia, of which I am one of the producers and there are plans to shoot ‘Ari Parenq 2’ in the future, or another TV series, already in the humorous genre, which will involve well-known TikTokers in Armenia,” he elaborated.

“I would also like to hold an award ceremony, which I will talk about in the future. I will continue my cooperation with my Bulgarian colleagues. I was very impressed by the Prince of Morocco, Mullah Ismail, with whom my telephone conversation was very encouraging and promising in terms of innovative cooperation. That’s all,” he said.

David Gharibyan and Nasko Lazarov. Photo Courtesy of hiLIFR

He opened up about some of his proudest moments of 2021. “One of the memorable days of this year is my visit to Bulgaria within the framework of ‘Mr. Bulgaria,’ where I was invited as a member of the jury. During that time, thanks to my good friend Nasko Lazarov, I met a number of new friends and colleagues, including Adrian Sina, the lead singer of Romanian Accent, the talented Romanian designer Catalin Botezatu, and the beautiful Bulgarian singer Andrea, as well as my compatriot, King of Poker Roger Hayrapetyan. I have a great desire to invite them to Armenia to get acquainted with our culture and traditions,” he said.

“I was very happy to go back to Barcelona, Spain, 10 years later, to visit my friends and to enjoy the Spanish fiestas, as well as my long trip to France, the most impressive moment of which was meeting my uncle in Paris, whom I had not seen for 30 years,” he said.

On his daily motivations, he said, “I do not want to sound arrogant, but I want to open a new creative page on the “Canvas of Unknownness” of space and time, weave my tapestry, from which warmth and light will be delivered, use my colors in the palette, leave my mark for the future.”

Photo Coutesy of hiLIFR

For his fans and supporters, Gharibyan said, “I think people in the field of art create for the sake of humanity, the well-being of people, without fans, it will be like a private house, without inhabitants, it will lose its role and significance.  Dear fans, the breath and presence of each of you leaves its contribution to my works, it is a caring food for further creation. Know the truth, I always need your support.”

“I wish all the inhabitants of the Earth peace and health. No wars and epidemics. Good luck to you,” he concluded.

For more information on actor, producer, and media personality David (Davit) Gharibyan, check out his IMDb page, and follow him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and check out his official website.

David Gharibyan and family. Photo Courtesy of David Gharibyan

https://ravermag.com/catching-up-with-david-gharibyan-actor-producer-and-armenian-media-personality/

International Studies expert: Armenia authorities refuse any anti-Turkish process

Badalian Vardan
News.am, Armenia
Dec 13 2021
10:13, 13.12.2021

The Armenian authorities refuse any anti-Turkish process. International Studies expert Suren Sargsyan wrote about this on Facebook. He added as follows:

“I believe you have noticed that Armenia’s authorities do not join any formal or informal anti-Turkish platforms, international alliances and formats. It is as a result of this very refusal that the [Armenian] authorities are in search of mediators, with a request to normalize relations with Turkey. This is a fact that cannot be denied.

“What is more worrying, however, is that the [Armenian] authorities have also stopped in any way resisting and in any way opposing and countering Turkey. Opposing in international relations is typical even of friendly but rival countries in order to advance personal interests. And this means giving up all opportunities having against Turkey, at some phase being deprived of all tools during the negotiations, remaining in the field of unilateral concessions.

“In fact, Armenia has ceased to be a headache for Turkey, whereas Turkey has not ceased to consider Armenia an enemy.”