Iravunk: Armenia Never Had Professional Ambassadors In Georgia, Says

IRAVUNK: ARMENIA NEVER HAD PROFESSIONAL AMBASSADORS IN GEORGIA, SAYS PARLIAMENT MEMBER

09:33 * 27.06.14

We have never had formally trained professional diplomats in Georgia,
a lawmaker from the country’s Armenian-populated region of Javakhk has
said, commenting on the President Serzh Sargsyan’s decision to appoint
the ex-minister of sports as Armenia’s ambassador to the Georgia.

“Yuri Vardanyan is sports professional, so I think has to study the
aspects of the Armenian-Georgian relations to make his work effective,”
Shirak Torosyan told the paper in an interview.

Asked whether he thinks the appointment will offer any advantages to
the bilateral relations, Torosyan said he expect the success of the
Armenian-Georgian friendship has to depend on the ambassador. “Armenia
has never appointed a professional ambassador to Georgia ever since
gaining independence. Individuals accomplished in different areas have
been appointed but they were never diplomats. So it has become a kind
of tradition. As for the Armenian-Georgian relations, I don’t think
they have to be linked to the ambassador’s work. The ambassador is
just required to use his potential to better develop those relations,”
he answered.

Armenian News – Tert.am

Eurasian Integration Remains Only Choice If No Alternative Found – O

EURASIAN INTEGRATION REMAINS ONLY CHOICE IF NO ALTERNATIVE FOUND – OPINION

10:25 * 27.06.14

In an interview with Tert.am, the coordinator of the Eastern
Partnership Program’s Armenian National Platform commented on the
possibility of continuing the suspended European Choice initiative.

Boris Navasrdyan said he even expects the project to be an alternative
to the Eurasian integration plan by offering better solutions to
problems and difficulties in most different areas.

“Even after [the Eurasian integration], many political, economic and
security-related problems will keep demanding a solution in Armenia.

And only an alternative can propose such a solution, because I am
convinced that the Eurasian [Union] cannot give an answer to those
solutions. And that will be reflected in the form of most different
problems which we will encounter in the months to come. And we want
it or not, the presence of those problems and the absence of ways
to reach a solution will require another initiative, trend, idea
or approach. So I believe the European Choice is the idea which may
propose that role. And that’s the only initiative, because I don’t
see any other way,” he noted.

Navasardyan said he thinks Armenia needs a common platform enabling a
cooperation between the civil society and the political forces. “And
as we saw from the actions and reactions of parties, they are not
ready to collaborate with one another to coordinate like-minded
representatives of civil society and political forces. There is
no willingness or resolve yet, so we have to characterize that as
passiveness by political parties. And more importantly, there is
no collaboration among political parties sharing common ideas. And
because the political component did not find any definition in the
initiative, it is too early to speak about the institutional format. I
am hopeful it will happen one day, and we will be able to speak about
the status. If that’s not possible, then the civil society already
has different formats,” he added.

Armenian News – Tert.am

"Police Beat Me With A Truncheon": Accused Tells Court Of Police Tor

“POLICE BEAT ME WITH A TRUNCHEON”: ACCUSED TELLS COURT OF POLICE TORTURE

06.26.2014 13:26 epress.am

One of the defendants in the scandalous “gang case,” Artur Manukyan,
said in court yesterday that he was tortured in police custody.

Manukyan claims that he was unable to make any phone calls and speak
with his family for 3 days after he was arrested; instead, he was
lying on the floor, beaten up, with handcuffs on his hands.

The accused claims he was beaten also while in the detention facility,
his legs tied and he, hung upside down.

“The cleaning lady was mopping the floors; they took the dirty bucket
[from her] and poured the dirty water on my head, and they were
beating me on the head with a truncheon. From where to begin?

“Five, six days later I was taken to court, issued an arrest warrant,
then again taken to the detention facility. Then, on September
30, if I’m not mistaken, they took me to NSS [National Security
Service], where the doctor wouldn’t see me because of my serious
health condition. I even heard him say, you’ve brought the guy here,
what, to dump him on us? I was again taken to the detention facility,
then 4 days later again brought to NSS. For one year, I was deprived
of calling and seeing my relatives,” he said.

The defendant said only one of the affidavits he wrote himself —
on September 25, 2011. There is another affidavit attributed to him
(dated September 22), but Manukyan says he was arrested on September
23, so he couldn’t have written it himself.

Recall, in this case, 5 people are arrested and accused of committing
burglary in September 2011. The accused (and their lawyers) claim that
they are being tortured and testimony obtained under such conditions
shouldn’t be admitted in court and become grounds for prosecution.

One of the accused, Arman Dallakyan, 41, died on September 7, 2013,
in the hospital for prisoners. His mother told Epress.am that not only
was her son beaten, but also his parents weren’t allowed to take him
his medication.

http://www.epress.am/en/2014/06/26/police-beat-me-with-a-truncheon-accused-tells-court-of-police-torture.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb15i2ubsls

Vers Ou Penche L’Armenie?

VERS OU PENCHE L’ARMENIE?

RIA Novosti
26 juin 2014

Par Iouri Gorodnenko, RIA Novosti

L’Union economique eurasiatique (UEE) entrera en vigueur le 1er janvier
2015. Les hommes politiques americains se sont exprimes a plusieurs
reprises – et negativement – a ce sujet. Au second semestre 2014
Washington devrait redoubler d’efforts pour empecher l’integration
eurasiatique. L’Armenie sera certainement sa prochaine cible après
l’Ukraine.

Erevan devrait prochainement adherer a l’accord sur la creation de
l’Union economique eurasiatique. Il serait donc possible pour celui
qui s’y oppose de saboter l’UEE de l’interieur en organisant un coup
d’Etat dans l’un de ses pays membres.

Ensuite, l’Armenie est sur la route qui mène aux regions petrolifères
de la mer Caspienne.

Enfin, une base militaire russe se situe sur le territoire armenien:
il est donc possible d’organiser des provocations contre les militaires
russes pour les impliquer indirectement dans un conflit militaire.

L’opposition

L’activite des ambassadeurs americain John Heffern et polonais Zdzislaw
Raczynski confirme que l’Armenie pourrait etre la prochaine sur la
liste de Washington après l’Ukraine. Ils sont en consultations avec
les leaders de l’opposition armenienne, Levon Ter-Petrossian (Congrès
national armenien) et Raffi Ovannissian (Heritage), qui participent
activement aux activites antirusses.

Ter-Petrossian appelle desormais a changer de gouvernement “rapidement”
et a transformer le referendum constitutionnel en “rassemblement
national de defiance envers le gouvernement”.

Dans l’ensemble, la rhetorique antirusse de l’opposition, qui contrôle
près d’un tiers des sièges du parlement, est extremement primitive.

Par exemple, les arguments suivants sont encore cites pour “prouver”
l’implication de la Russie dans la politique du genocide armenien:

– Le ministre russe des Affaires etrangères Alexeï Lobanov-Rostovski
aurait declare a la fin du XIXe siècle: “Nous avons besoin d’une
Armenie sans Armeniens”;

– Le gouverneur du Caucase au debut du XXe siècle Grigori Golitsine
a dit: “Je ferai en sorte que le seul Armenien reste a Tiflis soit
un Armenien empaille au musee de la ville”.

Mais le fait est qu’aucune de ces phrases n’a ete confirmee par des
sources historiques. Neanmoins, dans le contexte de vide ideologique
general, ces phrases imaginees de deux dirigeants russes ont servi
de fondement pour une puissante campagne russophobe.

Le gouvernement

Comme l’a demontre l’Euromaïdan, plus le travail ideologique du
gouvernement est faible et plus la corruption est importante, plus
il est facile d’organiser un coup d’Etat.

Le parti republicain armenien au pouvoir ressemble aujourd’hui
plutôt a un club d’affaires. Son ideologie officielle est le > de Gareguine Njdeh. Le concept ethno-religieux
de cet homme d’Etat de la Première republique (1918-1920) date d’un
siècle. A l’ère des technologies mediatiques et de la mondialisation,
le monde a tellement change que ces thèses de cent ans sont devenues
complètement archaïques.

De plus l’ideologie de Gareguine Njdeh, comme tout nationalisme, ne
travaille pas pour l’unification mais la confrontation, notamment avec
les Turcs. Un pays entoure de peuples turcs ne peut pas vivre en etat
de conflit permanent, alimente par des idees de suprematie “aryenne”.

Historiquement ce pays a toujours ete au croisement des civilisations
et des cultures: a l’epoque antique – entre l’Empire romain et la
Perse (Parthie); au Moyen Âge – entre Byzance et le califat arabe;
aujourd’hui – entre le monde russe et islamique. Les Armeniens ont
ainsi toujours trouve un terrain d’entente meme la où cela semblait
impossible – et ont donc eu la reputation de population tolerante et
accueillante. Le nationalisme prive au contraire la nation de tous
ces avantages.

Enfin, Gareguine Njdeh a activement collabore avec les nazis pendant
la Seconde Guerre mondiale considerant les Armeniens, de meme que les
Slaves, comme des sous-hommes. Pour les descendants de l’un des pays
vainqueurs, il est donc offensant d’en faire un heros.

Le parti republicain armenien a manifestement besoin d’elaborer une
nouvelle ideologie, differente du nationalisme du debut du XXe siècle
oriente sur le soutien de l’Occident.

Le besoin d’une nouvelle ideologie

Bien sûr, en parallèle avec l’integration eurasiatique, la
question de la recherche d’un nouveau fondement identitaire se pose
pour l’Armenie. Et comme le gouvernement a decide de changer la
Constitution, c’est visiblement le moment pour y apporter certains
changements qui pourraient prevenir le deroulement en Armenie du
scenario ukrainien par l’Occident:

– Reconnaître le russe comme deuxième langue nationale;

– S’orienter sur la priorite de l’idee de cohesion entre toutes les
nations vivant sur ce territoire dans la politique de l’Etat.

Sans oublier la formation d’une nouvelle ideologie reconciliatrice
et non basee sur le nationalisme.

L’Armenie fait penser aujourd’hui a l’arche de Noe, echouee près du
mont Ararat coince entre deux puissants tourbillons geopolitiques.

D’une part, la vague d’integration europeenne arrive via la Georgie et
l’Ukraine. De l’autre, une tempete du radicalisme islamique belliqueux
approche de la Syrie et de l’Irak. A l’interieur l’opposition fait
chavirer l’arche et l’entraîne au fond. Les integrateurs europeens
de Moscou lui apportent leur “aide” (Echo de Moscou, Vedomosti), qui
appellent la Russie a ne pas cooperer avec des “pays economiquement
en retard et politiquement non libre”.

Par ailleurs, il convient de rappeler que c’est en unissant leurs
efforts que la Russie et l’Armenie parvenaient a tenir le coup pendant
les epoques les plus difficiles.

Arriveront-elles a faire face une nouvelle fois aux defis a venir?

C’est du cap choisi aujourd’hui par l’arche armenienne que cela
dependra.

L’opinion de l’auteur ne coïncide pas forcement avec la position de
la redaction

http://fr.ria.ru/discussion/20140626/201642973.html

Armenian Economic Association Best Paper Awards

Armenian Economic Association Best Paper Awards

Press Release
Armenian Economic Association
Contact: Shushanik Hakobyan
email: [email protected]

The Armenian Economic Association (AEA) is proud to announce the
winners of the awards for the best economics papers presented at its
2014 Conference in Yerevan, June 20-22.

The following are the recipients, their affiliations, and the titles
of their papers, in each of three categories of awards:

The recipients of the IMF best paper awards (sponsored by IMF):
1. Gayane Barseghyan, the Central Bank of Armenia and American
University of Armenia
Title: Income Distribution and Macroeconomics: The impact of
Technological Progress
2. Vahagn Jerbashian, University of Barcelona and CERGE-EI
Title: The Impact of Doing-business Regulations on Investments in ICT

The recipients of Grigor Artzruni awards — young scholars (sponsored
by USAID/FED):
1. Lilia Aleksanyan, Université Paris 1 – Panthéon Sorbonne
Title: Economic and Financial Determinants of Firm Bankruptcy:
Evidence from French Manufacturing Firms
2. Saba Devdariani, ISET, Georgia
Title: Improving on the ‘Ramdom Path’-Algorithm
3. Michael Ghukasyan, Yerevan State University
Title: Dynamic modeling of the structure of Armenia’s economy (in Armenian)

The recipients of the Armen Alchian awards — general interest
(sponsored by USAID/FED):
1. Aleksandr Grigoryan, American University of Armenia
Title: Migration and Power
2. Nune Hovhannisyan, Loyola University Maryland
Title: Technology Sourcing through International Business Travel
3. Gurgen Aslanyan, CERGE-EI
Title: Are Bismarckian Pensions Immune to Unskilled Immigration?

The Armenian Economic Association 2014 conference was jointly hosted
by Yerevan State University (YSU), the Russian Armenian University
(RAU), and the American University of Armenia (AUA) on June 20-22,
2014. It was concluded with a workshop on Modeling Market Risk on June
23rd, at YSU.

The Conference brought together academics and researchers from
Armenia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Serbia,
Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Presentations over the three days included over 45 papers which
addressed topics in international trade, economic development, macro
and microeconomics, migration, finance, political economy, and labor
markets among others.

The meetings were opened by PM Hovik Abrahamyan at YSU. He was shortly
followed by a keynote speech by Mattias Polborn, Professor and
Director of Graduate Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign,
USA. On Saturday, the keynote speaker at the opening at RAU was
Haroutioun Samuelian, Vice Governor, Central Bank of Lebanon. The
luncheon speaker on Sunday at AUA was Teresa Daban Sanchez, Resident
Representative to Armenia, International Monetary Fund.

The conference was in part sponsored by YSU, RAU, AUA, the Central
Bank of Armenia, and the USAID/FED program. For more details, please
visit the conference homepage at

AEA employs the conference format to advance scholarship in economics
and create an environment nurturing of research. Please write us with
your feedback on this and past conferences and suggestions for future
academic gatherings.

Stay tuned for the 2015 conference call for papers.

About AEA:
Follow AEA:
Become a member:

http://aea.am/conferences.html.
http://www.aea.am/aboutus.html
https://www.facebook.com/ArmenianEconomicAssociation
http://www.aea.am/membership.html
www.aea.am

What Are Armenian Officials Discussing In Karabakh? – Newspaper

WHAT ARE ARMENIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSSING IN KARABAKH? – NEWSPAPER

June 26, 2014 | 07:42

YEREVAN. – Five official delegations have traveled from Armenia to
the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), or Artsakh, in the last 10 days,
and all of them have met with NKR President Bako Sahakyan, Zhoghovurd
daily reported.

“Such attention toward and the frequent visits to Artsakh by the
officials of the native land perhaps are not accidental.

“As Zhoghovurd’s diplomatic sources claim, the discussions [between]
the delegations heading for [the NKR capital city] Stepanakert and
the NKR authorities are related to the problems that have risen in the
case of Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union, especially
NKR’s status, as well as the possible options to solve the problem of
the customs checkpoint to be set up on the [Armenia-Karabakh] border.

“That is why each administration is trying to understand what it has
to do,” Zhoghovurd wrote.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am

Intersections: Reflections On A Return To The Homeland

INTERSECTIONS: REFLECTIONS ON A RETURN TO THE HOMELAND

Glendale News Press, CA
June 25 2014

By Liana Aghajanian
June 25, 2014 | 3:54 p.m.

After three years away, I am back in Armenia, writing to you from a
fourth-floor balcony overlooking a city perpetually caught between
East and West.

Warm winds have overtaken the capital, Yerevan, in the last few days,
but they are stirring up more than the dust left behind by construction
taking place across the city.

This is a place where your memories and ideas about “homeland” are
convoluted and blown away, scattered among the high-rise buildings
growing taller and taller by the day.

This is a place where you realize “homeland” is often best kept
within the confines of nostalgia and neatly framed paintings hanging
in dining rooms across Los Angeles.

I can come here over and over again, and every time, it isn’t just
the 12-hour time difference or overwhelming dry heat to which I
must adjust.

It is the fact that this is a country, not a concept — a thought
that perhaps hits home when the heavy door of an apartment complex
opens and the cool air comes rushing back at you, trapped within
seven flights of stairs you must climb in pitch-black darkness.

It is the fact that reality is hard not to overlook here when you
visit the police station to see the activists who protested rising
electricity prices being let out one by one after being brutally
taken away by police earlier in the day.

It is the corner fruit grocer, the one that keeps a goldfish tank above
the cash register enticing you with several varieties of apricots,
the ones you completely devour before you even get halfway up the
street, slicing them open with your bare hands as the juice drips on
your shoes.

It is sitting in a pub called “Heisenberg” completely modeled off
the brilliant series “Breaking Bad,” with the chemical formula for
methamphetamine painted on the wall.

Homeland carries more weight than just a geographical location. It
is the longing to discover and rediscover, the need to relate and
even the realization that sometimes there are more differences,
more stark realities than we like to admit.

Homeland is the place where you grew up, the place next door to the
country you’re in now, the one where you were born and the one you
fear you may never get to visit. It is sometimes all of these things
combined, too.

And then, it’s also coming to the realization that sometimes the
concept of homeland isn’t in the places we set foot in at 3 a.m.,
bleary-eyed and worn out, attempting to climb into the back seat of
a lovely blue Lada.

It’s the space in between — the need to go, to escape, that unsettled
feeling that the most comfortable space you can find is the one in
which you’re moving. This is a mark of the immigrant experience —
especially the Armenian one, where a defining characteristic of our
collective history seems to always encompass the necessity or desire
to keep moving on.

So I’ve come to the Caucasus for the summer, unsure of what brought me
here. Perhaps it was longing to learn about myself and others just a
little bit more. Or perhaps it was that intrinsic need to leave and
land in a place long enough to feel the need to move on again.

LIANA AGHAJANIAN is a Los Angeles-based journalist whose work has
appeared in L.A. Weekly, Paste magazine, New America Media, Eurasianet
and The Atlantic.

,0,4979131.story

http://www.glendalenewspress.com/opinion/columnists/liana-aghajanian/tn-gnp-intersections-reflections-on-a-return-to-the-homeland-20140625

Pallone Hosts Farewell Meeting With Armenian Ambassador To The Unite

PALLONE HOSTS FAREWELL MEETING WITH ARMENIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES

PolitickerNJ
June 25 2014

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06),
co-chair of the Congressional Armenian Issues Caucus, hosted a
farewell meeting with Tatoul Markarian, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the United States.

Ambassador Markarian has been stationed in Washington for the last
nine years.

“Ambassador Markarian has dedicated his life to public service and the
people of Armenia, said Congressman Pallone. “Throughout his tenure
in Washington, he has been a powerful advocate for Congressional
recognition of the Armenian genocide, and foreign aid assistance to
both the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and Armenia.”

Tatoul Markarian was appointed Armenian Ambassador to the United
States on March 19, 2005. Prior to assuming this position, Ambassador
Markarian served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Armenian
coordinator for the U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue as well as
the NATO-Armenia Political-Military, Special Representative of the
President of Armenia for Nagorno Karabakh negotiations and as Advisor
to Foreign Minister. Before joining the Armenian Foreign Service,
Ambassador Markarian served in newly-independent Armenia’s legislative
and executive branches.

“I am proud of the work we have been able to accomplish with Ambassador
Markarian. I wish Ambassador Markarian and his family well and I look
forward to continuing the important U.S.-Armenian relationship with
the next Ambassador for many years ahead,” added Pallone.

http://www.politickernj.com/75576/pallone-hosts-farewell-meeting-armenian-ambassador-united-states

Analysis: WTO Terms And Armenia’s Eurasian Integration; New Obstacle

ANALYSIS: WTO TERMS AND ARMENIA’S EURASIAN INTEGRATION; NEW OBSTACLES ARISE

ANALYSIS | 25.06.14 | 11:31

Photo:

By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent

RELATED NEWS

Russian deputy PM: Armenia to compensate WTO partners for Eurasian
integration

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who visited Yerevan on June
22-23, did not indicate any date of Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian
Economic Union (EEU). He cited the fact that it was on June 23 that
in Sochi consultations were held on the issue of Armenia’s membership.

“Hopefully, good news reaches us from Sochi,” the top Russian diplomat
said in Yerevan.

Meanwhile, consultations of the Eurasian Economic Commission in the
southern resort city in Russia were conducted with the participation
of deputy prime ministers of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. The
main issue was the forthcoming signing by Ukraine of an Association
Agreement with the European Union and the future relations between
the EEU and Kyiv. In the official statement issued on the results of
the meeting it was only said on the part of Armenia that the issue
of Armenia’s joining the EEU had been discussed.

No representative from Armenia participated in the meeting. First
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov stated that Armenia’s
accession to the EEU would entail talks on compensation for its World
Trade Organization (WTO) partners. It looks like a statement about
the impossibility of Armenia’s accession, at least for the time being.

Armenia is a member of the WTO since 2003, Russia joined the
organization in 2013, and Kazakhstan and Belarus are not members of
this organization. Kazakhstan has already submitted its application,
but has received no reply yet. The customs duties in WTO-member
countries are significantly lower than those that exist in the Customs
Union member states. And in the event of Armenia’s entry into the
EEU it will have to pay compensation to other WTO members.

Most likely it was confirmed during Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s
visit to Tbilisi on June 20. Georgia is a member of the WTO since
2000, and now a free privileged customs regime is being applied
between Armenia and Georgia. But it will be canceled after the June
27 signing by Georgia of an Association Agreement with the EU and in
the case of Armenia’s accession to the EEU.

There are more and more obstacles arising to Armenia’s accession to the
Russian-led trade bloc. Earlier, on May 29, in Astana, Kazakhstan’s
President Nursultan Nazarbayev set a condition to Armenia citing a
demand from Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that Armenia should
enter the EEU only within its internationally recognized borders,
in other words, without Nagorno-Karabakh. President Sargsyan has
already confirmed that it will be so, although some analysts and
ordinary citizens found unacceptable the separation of Armenia and
Karabakh even by a customs checkpoint.

But apparently, Sargsyan knew that there were more serious obstacles,
in particular, the position of Georgia, which today is the only transit
country for Armenia. Georgia has no reason to help Armenia and Russia
to strengthen their alliance, and, apparently, it was made clear to
the Armenian leader during his recent visit to Tbilisi.

No one knows yet what compensation Armenia will have to pay to
WTO-member countries, but it is obvious that Yerevan will have
neither means nor desire to pay for membership in the EEU that in
economic terms promises only losses. The benefit from this union for
Armenia is only in terms of security and stability that Russia uses
to blackmail Armenia and prevent its Euro-Atlantic integration.

But in order “not to anger” Russia, Armenia does not necessarily
have to join the EEU, all it needs is to periodically state that
it has chosen the path of Eurasian integration and close relations
with Russia. The main thing is that Armenia continues to block the
regional communications lobbied by the West and Iran and stop short
of challenging Russia’s monopoly.

http://armenianow.com/commentary/analysis/55554/armenia_eurasian_union_accession_russia_lavrov_analysis
www.president.am

BAKU: Russia Interested In Rapid Settlement Of Nagorno-Karabakh Conf

RUSSIA INTERESTED IN RAPID SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Trend, Azerbaijan
June 24 2014

Bilaterally and as a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk
Group, Russia is interested in the rapid settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said on June 23, News-Armenia reported.

“There is a basis for solving the problem,” Lavrov said at a joint
press-conference with Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian on
June 23. “There are principles and it is important that they are
consistent. It is necessary to work out the actual implementation
parameters and the sequence of settlement.”

Lavrov said that Russia will seek to continue a direct dialogue
between the presidents.

“Russia will support any efforts that will bring a solution to the
conflict,” he added. “The French colleagues promote ideas that will
allow implementing all principles of the settlement.”

Lavrov also stressed that Russia is ready to exert every effort.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in
1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a
result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied
20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and
seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently
holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.