10:33,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Sports commentator Karen Giloyan has been appointed deputy minister of education, science, culture and sport of Armenia.
The respective decision has been signed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Karen Giloyan has long served as head of the sports department at the Public TV.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
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16:22,
STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 28, ARMENPRESS. The search and rescue teams of Artsakh’s State Service of Emergency Situations were barred from entering Hadrut.
“As planned, three teams were departing for search and rescue operations in the Hadrut direction,” State Service of Emergency Situations spokesperson Hunan Tadevosyan told ARMENPRESS. “We couldn’t contact the teams in the morning, however a short while ago we contacted them and it turned out that they weren’t allowed to go any further from the outskirts of the Shekher village. They are now returning.”
Several Azerbaijani news outlets reported earlier about alleged resumption of battles between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops near the village of Togh of the Hadrut region. The reports mention victims and wounded.
The Ministry of Defense of Armenia commented on the reports, noting:
“We remind that the village of Togh is under the complete control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.
The Artsakh Defense Army is strictly adhering to the ceasefire, no unit has taken part in any action in the given section, moreover, no emergency incident relating to the Artsakh Defense Army units was recorded.
Nevertheless, the Armenian side is attempting to find out additional information, not ruling out the possibility that we are dealing with an Azerbaijani information provocation.”
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Azerbaijan’s defence ministry says its army units were attacked by “a leftover Armenian armed group of six” in Nagorno Karabakh, killing one Azerbaijani serviceman and wounding another.
The ministry said the attack took place in the Khojavend region on Sunday afternoon and was thwarted, leaving all six armed attackers dead.
“At about 15:30, an illegal armed group or rather a leftover detachment of the Armenian armed forces consisting of six troops attacked the Azerbaijan Army units in the vicinity of the Aghdam village of the Khojavend region.
“As a result of the attack, a soldier of the Azerbaijan army… was killed and … another serviceman was wounded … who has been evacuated and is in a stable condition now,” said the ministry in a statement.
“All six members of the illegal armed group were destroyed”.
The defence ministry vowed to take strong “decisive measures” if repeat attacks by Armenian troops happen.
The term ‘leftover’ used by the ministry likely refers to the personnel of the Armenian armed forces who have failed to leave the Nagorno Karabakh area despite the Russian obligation on their withdrawal.
Under the November 10 midnight deal signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia to end the 44-day Nagorno Karabakh War, Russia would deploy a peacekeeping contingent of approximately 2,000 soldiers in parallel with the withdrawal of all Armenian armed forces.
“The peacekeeping forces of the Russian Federation shall be deployed concurrently with the withdrawal of the Armenian troops”, reads the original statement.
It is not clear if the delay in withdrawal is in coordination with Russia, or Armenia has refused to withdraw, or some of its troops have gone rogue. It appears there is a secrecy about it and no information is available on the open sources.
The 9-point agreement also called the tripartite statement essentially says Azerbaijan holds on to areas of Nagorno-Karabakh it regained during the war; Armenia agrees to withdraw by December 1 from the remaining 3 of the 7 adjacent districts (Azerbaijan took back 4 districts during the war); Russia deploys 1,960-strong peacekeeping forces in the Nagorno Karabakh area in parallel with with the withdrawal of the Armenian military; civilian transport/communications/ infrastructure are restored; prisoners of war are exchanged; refugees/displaced people from the both sides are returned to their homes under the UN commissioner’s supervision.
The new clash comes after there was another incident mid December, raising questions over Russia’s role.
The recent incidents show that there still exists Armenian military presence in the Nagorno Karabakh although Russia completed the deployment of its peacekeeping contingent in mid November.
15:41, 24 December, 2020
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan is in Moscow, Russia, on a working visit, his Office told Armenpress.
“The main purpose of the visit is to contribute to the return of Armenian captives from Azerbaijan.
Taking into account the specifics of the topic, details on the visit and the meetings will not be published”, the Office said in a statement.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund will cover the short-term housing and food needs of more than 100 people displaced from Hadrut currently living in different hotels.
Many people from Artsakh were left without shelter as a result of the war, and displaced families from Artsakh continue to stay in Armenia accommodating in different temporary shelters, guest houses and hotels.
Last week the deputy director of the Hayastan All Armenian Fund Ararat Khlghatyan visited Artsakh to meet with State Minister Grigory Martirosyan and Minister of Urban Development Aram Sargsyan. The current status of the Fund’s projects implemented in Artsakh was monitored and the details of new projects were discussed.
“The Himnadram will try to fund the renovation of war-damaged apartments and houses in Artsakh by investing about 2 million USD.” said Haykak Arshamyan, Executive Director of the Fund.
The Hayastan All Armenian Fund continues to stay true to its mission by contributing to the proportional development of Armenia and Artsakh.
13:52, 16 December, 2020
STEPANAKERT, DECEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan says he contacted several organizations and servicemen on the ground regarding the information on the troops who went missing in Khtsaberd village. “According to the information that I gathered, a military unit consisting of around 60 servicemen went missing during these days in the direction of the village of Khtsaberd in Hadrut region, and it is highly likely that the video published by the Azerbaijani side shows this very unit,” he said.
“This incident is totally unacceptable and it must be quickly and strictly investigated by law enforcement agencies to determine all circumstances and the circle of those guilty. The authorities of Artsakh and Armenia are obliged to take immediate actions to repatriate all our prisoners of war as soon as possible. In addition, it is necessary to provide clear information to the families of the prisoners of war and conduct maximally transparent public communication to avoid disinformation and unnecessary tensions,” Beglaryan said.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
10:38,
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan has departed for Russia, his office said in a news release.
Kocharyan will be in Moscow on a “three-day private visit”.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan