Author: Badalian Vardan

Armenians to rally in front of The New York Times building

Badalian Vardan
Public Radio of Armenia
Nov 1 2020

The Armenian Youth Federation will march to the The New York Times building in New York City to demand an immediate investigation and retraction of articles by the New York Times’ Turkey Bureau Chief, Carlotta Gall, regarding the conflict in Artsakh, reports the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“We demand that the New York Times investigate the sources for Ms. Gall’s claims, whether there was enough supporting authority to promulgate them, whether the conditions of the reporting allowed unbiased and accurate coverage of the Artsakh conflict, and (if not) why the New York Times failed to disclose such conditions to its readership,” ANCA said.

https://en.armradio.am/2020/11/01/armenians-to-rally-in-front-of-the-new-york-times-building/

TURKISH press: Russia vows to support Yerevan if fighting reaches Armenia as Pashinian seeks Putin’s help

Badalian Vardan
 MOSCOW POLITICS 
OCT 31, 2020 11:41 AM GMT+3
Reservists undergo a military training before leaving for the frontline in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, at a range in Armavir region, Armenia, Oct. 27, 2020. (AFP Photo)

Russia said on Saturday it would provide “necessary” assistance to Yerevan in its conflict with Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh if fighting reached Armenia’s territory.

“Russia will render Yerevan all necessary assistance if clashes take place directly on the territory of Armenia,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, calling on the warring sides to immediately halt fire.

Earlier on Saturday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to begin “urgent” consultations on providing security amid a conflict with Azerbaijan after fresh talks failed to agree to a cease-fire.

Pashinian sent the letter to Putin after Armenia and Azerbaijan failed to agree to a fresh cease-fire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during talks in Geneva on Friday and as fighting continued overnight and Saturday morning.

The announcement, released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, raised fears of an escalation in fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in fierce fighting for more than a month over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia in the wake of the break-up of the Soviet Union.

The flare-up of the conflict has left more than a thousand dead, with world powers so far unable to persuade either side to stop fighting.

Russia has a military base in Armenia and has a defense treaty with Yerevan.

“The prime minister of Armenia has asked the Russian president to begin urgent consultations with the aim of determining the kind and amount of aid which the Russian Federation can provide Armenia to ensure its security,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russia has previously said that its defense pact with Armenia does not extend to the occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

But Pashinian in his letter to Putin said that hostilities were getting closer to Armenia’s borders and reiterated that Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey was backing Baku, according to the statement.

He requested Moscow’s help, invoking the two countries’ close ties and a 1997 treaty on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a bitter conflict over Karabakh since Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan occupied the mountainous province in a 1990s war that left 30,000 people dead.

The current clashes broke out on Sept. 27 and fighting has persisted despite the repeated international attempts to secure a cease-fire.

The warring sides have three times agreed to cease-fires during recent talks mediated by Russia, France and the United States but the truces have all quickly fallen apart.

More than 1,200 people from both sides have been reported dead since the fighting began, but the actual death toll is believed to be substantially higher.

Nagorno-Karabakh: UK to provide food and medicine to people affected by the conflict

Badalian Vardan
The Government of the UK
Oct 31 2020
News story

UK announces £1million funding to provide relief to those affected by Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Published
From:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP

Thousands of people affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will receive urgent medical supplies, food and safer shelters from a new UK aid package, announced today by the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

The conflict escalated on 27 September. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, with growing numbers of civilian casualties and damage to homes and vital infrastructure.

Now much-needed medical supplies, including dressing kits and bandages, will be provided for civilians caught up in the crisis through a new £1 million UK aid package, in response to an appeal by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). People injured in the fighting, including children caught in the crossfire, will receive life-saving treatment at health facilities or from emergency responders supported by the ICRC.

Many of those affected have limited access to food and other essentials, and UK support will provide blankets, food parcels and basic hygiene items to vulnerable communities near to the fighting.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:

Today’s UK aid package will help deliver vital food, medicine and urgent healthcare to those affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We continue to urge both sides to engage with the OSCE Minsk group and seek a peaceful, negotiated, political solution which the people of the region so desperately need.

ICRC Regional Director for EURASIA, Martin Schuepp said:

The ICRC is most grateful to the UK for its contribution to the ICRC’s response in the region. The high-quality funding the ICRC receives from its donors, including the UK, enables the ICRC to deliver neutral, impartial and independent action to those affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence.

UK support will also help to improve the quality of often overcrowded shelters by installing or improving water tanks and toilets. It will also ensure the shelters are suitably equipped to keep warm as the region’s bitter winter approaches.

The UK, along with Canada, has repeatedly called for both sides to work towards a peaceful, political resolution to the conflict through the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk process and has expressed its full support for the work of the Minsk Group.

  • The new funding is in addition to our core funding to ICRC. In recent years, the UK has been the second largest donor globally to the ICRC, helping them to respond quickly to situations of armed conflict.

  • The ICRC is an independent, neutral organisation ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence.

Contact the FCDO Communication Team via email (monitored 24 hours a day) in the first instance, and we will respond as soon as possible.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 30-10-20

Badalian Vardan

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 17:39,

YEREVAN, 30 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 30 October, USD exchange rate up by 0.45 drams to 493.60 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.24 drams to 576.08 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.03 drams to 6.24 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.13 drams to 639.46 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 32.61 drams to 29680.93 drams. Silver price down by 14.09 drams to 365.24 drams. Platinum price down by 19.27 drams to 13647.86 drams.

European Parliament groups urge to establish international control for ceasefire in NK

Badalian Vardan

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 21:26,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The leading parties of the European Parliament urge to invest effective international mechanisms for the monitoring of the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh, ARMENPRESS reports, citing Ria Novosti, reads the joint statement of the European Parliament parties.

”We resolutely condemn the violation of the previously reached agreements. We urge to immediately and unconditionally cease the military operations. We also urge to invest effective international mechanisms for the preservation of the ceasefire”, reads the statement.

Armenia PM’s Wife Joins Military Service To ‘protect Homeland’ Amid War With Azerbaijan

Badalian Vardan
Republic World
Oct 28 2020
Written By

Vishal Tiwari

Anna Hakobyan, the wife of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will be defending her country’s border at the Nagorno-Karabakh region amid the armed conflict with Azerbaijan. The 42-year-old on October 26 in a Facebook post informed that she along with 12 other women will start military training exercises and in few days they will depart to assist the country’s forces in protecting borders with Azerbaijan. “Neither our homeland nor our dignity will be given up to the enemy,” Hakobyan wrote on Facebook.  

Read: Armenia, Azerbaijan Report More Fighting Despite Cease-fire

This will be Hakobyan’s second military training since the conflict with Azerbaijan broke out later last month. She along with several other women recently received training on how to use arms and ammunition as part of a seven-day combat training. Hakobyan on Tuesday said that after her earlier Facebook post regarding the training she has received many letters from women who want to volunteer. She also shared phone numbers asking them to contact if they want to join the all-women squad in defending the country’s borders. 

Read: Armenia PM Accuses Azerbaijan Of Ceasefire Violation

According to Public Radio of Armenia, Ashot Pashinyan, Hakobyan’s 20-year-old son is also fighting against Azeri forces in Karabakh after he decided to volunteer earlier this month. 

Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to two ceasefires in the past four weeks of the fighting, but both sides have failed to adhere to the agreements and have accused each other of breaking the truce. Both sides are determined to claim victory this time, which is making the international community worried. The United Nations has urged Baku and Yerevan to reach an agreement in order to prevent a major conflict from breaking out in the region.

Read: Armenia, Azerbaijan Accuse Each Other Of Truce Violations

The fight between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region has been going on for the past month since it had started on September 27 following skirmishes that began in July this year. Azerbaijan and Armenia have been at loggerheads since 1989, however, in 1994 both countries agreed to a Russia-brokered ceasefire agreement. Skirmishes have occurred in the years following the 1994 ceasefire but did not stretch this far. 

Explosions heard in Stepanakert City

Badalian Vardan

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 14:37,

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Two explosions were heard in Stepanakert city, ARMENPRESS correspondent reports from the Artsakh capital.

The air raid sirens were not activated at the time of the blasts.

The sounds of the explosions most likely came from the Artsakh Air Defense units’ interception of Azeri missiles.

Updates will follow.

15:00 – Situation calm in Stepanakert.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenian FM, U.S. Secretary of State reaffirm necessity to observe ceasefire

Badalian Vardan

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 20:20,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, who is in the USA on a working visit, met with U.S. Secretary Mike Pompeo on October 23, during which the sides reaffirmed the necessity of observing the agreements on immediate ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, as well as to continue the peace process in the sidelines of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs’ format.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, the situation resulted by the Azerbaijani large-scale aggression was the focus of the discussions.

Minister Mnatsakanyan informed the U.S. State Secretary about the war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces during the military operations, which are manifested in the deliberate targeting of the civilian population and infrastructures of Artsakh, humiliating treatment towards civilians and prisoners of war, cases of beheadings and murder.

”State Secretary Pompeo offered condolences on the occasion of victims.

The Foreign Minister of Armenia emphasized that this aggression of the Azerbaijani side is taking place with the direct involvement of Turkey, which is expressed by the direct military-technical support by the latter with the deployment of armed terrorists in the region. According to Minister Mnatsakanyan, Azerbaijan’s decision to become a zone of influence of Turkey and international terrorism – is a serious threat to regional security.

Minister Mnatsakanyan noted that the violation of the ceasefire agreements by Azerbaijan and the continuation of hostilities against the people of Artsakh once again demonstrate Azerbaijan’s goal of resolving the issue by military means.

Both sides reaffirmed the need to implement the agreements reached on the immediate ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, as well as the need to continue the peace process within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

All Armenian ex-presidents hold meeting

Badalian Vardan

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 15:16,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. All three former presidents of Armenia – Levon Ter Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan – held a meeting with participation of the former presidents of Artsakh.

“I am informing that due to the existing concerning situation of Artsakh and Armenia, one more consultation has taken place, which was attended by former presidents of Armenia Levon Ter Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan, Serzh Sargsyan and former presidents of Artsakh Arkady Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan,” first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s spokesperson Arman Musinyan said in a statement.

Earlier Ter-Petrosyan had already held a meeting with Ghukasyan and Sahakyan.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

CivilNet: Azerbaijani and Armenian Leaders Express Readiness to Resolve Issue Politically

Badalian Vardan
CIVILNET.AM

19:21

Azerbaijan is ready to stop the bloodshed and resolve the Karabakh issue politically, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with Russia’s TASS.ru news agency on October 19.

“In this case, the priority is the political will of the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders. From our side, that is present. I reaffirm our position once again, especially today, following the announcement of 13 liberated communities and following defeat by the Armenian army. Azerbaijan is showing its advantages in the battlefield. Despite this, not wanting to continue the bloodshed, and wanting to save people’s lives, we are ready for this issue to be resolved through political means,” said President Aliyev.

The president also noted that Azerbaijan is committed to to the basic principles of negotiations, which include the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno Karabakh, discussions regarding the future of Nagorno Karabakh, and return of refugees. And that following the settlement of these issues, the deployment of foreign peacekeepers will be agreed upon by Armenia and Azerbaijan, he noted.

On the same day the news agency also released an interview with Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who expressed readiness to meet President Aliyev in Moscow for talks on the conflict.

Responding to the reporter’s question about his openness to meet Aliyev, Armenia’s Prime Minister Pashinyan said, “The Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be resolved exclusively by peaceful means, that is our position.”

Pashinyan mentioned that the settlement of the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh should be based on compromise.

“And if there is no readiness from the other side, we are ready to fight to the end for the rights of our people, the rights of our compatriots in Nagorno Karabakh. This is the position of the Armenian government, the people of Armenia, the Armenian Diaspora, and I think it is an honest, constructive position,” Pashinyan continued.

The renewed fighting between the sides began on September 27, following an Azerbaijani offensive, backed by artillery fire and precision drone strikes. The New York Times reports that while Armenia’s limited air defenses have failed to stop the drones, but its troops, bolstered by volunteers and conscripts, have slowed the Azerbaijani advance. The use of Syrian mercenaries, deployed by Turkey to Azerbaijan, has added a new layer of security issues in the region.