Author: Badalian Vardan

Daniel Ioannisyan: “Nikol Pashinyan’s unexpected decision to move the elections to December significantly increases the chances of sabotage”

Badalian Vardan
| 19:48 | October 22 2018
Category
Politics

Daniel Ioannisyan posted the following on his Facebook page: “Not only the Republican Party of Armenia and the Prosperous Armenia Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun, which committed a “slight” sabotage, but also the government are to blame for the rejection of the Electoral Code.

In particular, Nikol Pashinyan’s unexpected decision to move the elections to December significantly increased the chances of sabotage.

One of the major promises that Nikol Pashinyan had made was to make amendments to the Electoral Code prior to the elections, and we should not have begun the electoral process without an amended Electoral Code. In this case, if such sabotage was committed, the public would have had the opportunity to exert pressure on the National Assembly.”


Sports: Reaction to Armenia’s 4-0 win against Macedonia

Badalian Vardan
Public Radio of Armenia
Oct 17 2018
18:31, 17 Oct 2018

Armenian footballers took to social media to express their delight with the 4-0 win over FYR Macedonia in a UEFA Nations League fixture and express gratitude to fans.

“Very pleased with our performance last night, we need to keep going. Love to everyone,” Armenia captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan said in a Facebook post.

Forward Yura Movsisyan, who scored his first goal after the return to the national squad, thanked fans and pledged “to do better.”

London’s Arsenal has also referred to the win. “Henrikh Mkhitaryan bossed it for Armenia in their 4-0 win over Macedonia,” the team tweeted.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan set up two goals and scored one as he led Armenia to a 4-0 win over Macedonia in a home match.

View tweets at

Azerbaijani Press: MFA: Armenia should stop its unsuccessful attempts to mislead int’l community

Badalian Vardan
AzerNews, Azerbaijan

Oct 15 2018

15:00 (UTC+04:00)

Trend:

There is no other way for sustainable development of Armenia, rather than withdrawal of troops from occupied Azerbaijani lands, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press service told Trend on Oct. 14.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry was commenting on the resolution adopted during the 17th summit of the Organization of La Francophonie in which there is a point about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“The Resolution on “Crisis situations, Getting out of crisis and Peace-building in the Francophone Area” adopted at the 17th summit of the Organization of La Francophonie contains a paragraph on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It reaffirms full support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and calls on to promote a climate conducive to peace, and implement previous agreements as well as urge to resume the process of negotiations aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict based on the fundamental principles of the Helsinki Final Act, inter alia the non-use of force or threat, territorial integrity, equal rights and the self-determination of peoples,” said the press service.

The Foreign Ministry noted that according to the language of the Helsinki Final Act the responsibility for use of force falls on Armenia, as this country continues its aggression against Azerbaijan and keeps Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan under military occupation.

“We would like to underline that the Helsinki Final Act clearly declares that “States will refrain in their mutual relations, as well as in their international relations in general, from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State”. When it comes to the principle of self determination of peoples the Helsinki Final Act reads concretely the following “The participating States will respect the equal rights of peoples and their right to self-determination, acting at all times in conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and with the relevant norms of international law, including those relating to territorial integrity of States”. I believe the document is self explanatory enough and there is no room for any further explanation and interpretation,” said the ministry.

Despite the efforts of Armenia to misuse the Organization of La Francophonie, the Summit Resolution states that the Helsinki Final Act constitutes the basis of the conflict settlement, said the Foreign Ministry.

“Armenia should stop its unsuccessful attempts to mislead the international community and start fulfilling its commitments, especially withdrawing its armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, according to the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and the Helsinki Final Act. We believe that after the elections in Armenia the new government of the country will recognize that there is no other way for sustainable development of Armenia, rather than withdrawal of its troops from occupied Azerbaijani lands,” said the ministry.

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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

It is in RA’s economic interests to hasten the extraordinary elections. adviser to the prime minister

Badalian Vardan
  • 05.10.2018

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  • Armenia:

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It is in RA’s economic interests to speed up the extraordinary parliamentary elections. This is what Arsen Gasparyan, chief advisor to the RA Prime Minister, said in a conversation with journalists, noting that what he said yesterday after the government session was not correctly interpreted in the media, presenting that there is a difference between his and the Prime Minister’s statements.


“I must say that there is absolutely no difference, all members of our team have a clear approach that it is really in Armenia’s economic interest to speed up the extraordinary parliamentary elections,” he said, the newspaper writes.


He mentioned that he wants to give some clarifications to the fact that since June of this year, there is a great interest in Armenia among foreign businessmen. “As I said yesterday, many investors, both foreign and diaspora representatives, have expressed their interest in cooperating with Armenia and making investments during the last two months. What I just said was related to their interest, because their interest is growing, and because the demand of the people is for early elections, it is extremely important that all these aspirations of foreign investors are realized and the picture is complete. Now they have a government whose goal is to strengthen democracy in Armenia, and we have a parliament that the people are against. Therefore, these extraordinary parliamentary elections are important for the development of the RA economy,” he said.


According to Arsen Gasparyan, foreign investors are interested in Armenia’s water resources, they are particularly interested in the construction of reservoirs. There are also many people interested in digitization. According to him, investors are also interested in the fields of tourism, agriculture, energy, especially alternative energy, and light industry.


According to him, the interest is from Asia, particularly from China, Europe, the Middle East, and the USA. “I see a big change in the atmosphere of democracy. They see the legitimacy of how the new RA government is trying to support investors to create new jobs for the Armenian population,” he said.


It is noteworthy that the day before the same Arsen Gsaparian stated that the holding of extraordinary elections will not have any impact on investments, as the situation in Armenia is stable. He claimed that investors are not waiting for anything, but keep reaching out to them. “This happened especially in August, also in September. And, according to him, the holding of extraordinary parliamentary elections should not be connected with the investment policy,” he said.


However, he was opposed by the SRC chairman Davit Ananyannoting that businessmen are waiting for the extraordinary parliamentary elections to invest.


“Business takes a wait-and-see position where the political situation is not stable and waits for what kind of political solutions there will be. So the Prime Minister’s point of view is definitely correct. The longer the waiting period, the worse it is for the country, I say this as an economist. The shorter that period, the better for the economy”, said the Chairman of the SRC before the Government session on October 4.

“We lived with his songs,” President Emmanuel Macron’s eulogy for Charles Aznavour

Badalian Vardan
| 14:00 | October 5 2018
Category
Culture

President of France Emmanuel Macron delivered a eulogy for Charles Aznavour during the national homage ceremony in Les Invalides complex in Paris.

The French president spoke after Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan.

In his speech, Macron stressed that Aznavour wanted to live a century, which he had promised to do.

“And it was his final challenge for life. He always wanted to live insatiably, laugh, dream, but death struck few years before this threshold. And we were surprised, and we grieved a lot, because we didn’t think that something could oppose his legendary will. This emptiness brought darkness on us. He was the healing for thousands, he was a power, and now he is leaving us,” Macron said.

The French president added: “We got used to this man always being present in our lives and unite us all. He had become one of France’s faces. All of us sing Charles Aznavour, sometimes forgetting the lyrics,” Macron said.

“We lived with his songs,” he said. “The son of an Armenian immigrant was a state within a state, a homeland within a homeland.”

Prime Minister’s Administrative Resources

Badalian Vardan
| 18:36 | September 18 2018
Category
Politics

Yerevan City Council’s election campaign poses serious questions about its impartiality and independence that we keep hearing from May 17th. The campaign has not even finished, and each day presents new unexpected violations. In order to gain political capital, this election, that one may argue sets the tone for the upcoming national elections, must have unequivocally followed the rule of law. Yet, that’s not the case. The Revolutionary government takes no effort to follow even basic ethical norms and violates the provisions of the Electoral Code. The biggest hypocrisy is the fact that the main violator is the state leader—Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

By participating in the City Council election campaign, Mr. Pashinyan in essence use abuses his executive resources. Perhaps if he wasn’t participating in the election campaign so aggressively, his election violations could have gone unnoticed. However, he is violating the election law, as he is relying on executive resources to campaign and support only one particular candidate (see Armenian Electoral Code, Article 23.1).

Furthermore, by supporting a specific political party, Mr. Pashinyan essentially acts in his capacity as the Prime Minister and issues orders in his official capacity (See Electoral Code, Article 23.3.1). His orders are so ridiculous that even people under his direct subordination question those orders.

What are the safeguards that the executive resources the Prime Minister is relying upon to influence the City Council’s election now will not be continuously used for the same goals in other rounds of these elections, let alone during the upcoming parliamentary elections?

MARIAM ARAKELYAN

Erdogan Says Opening of Border With Armenia Impossible Until Nagorno-Karabakh Settlement

Badalian Vardan
Sputnik News Service, Russia
Saturday 4:50 PM UTC
Erdogan Says Opening of Border With Armenia Impossible Until Nagorno-Karabakh Settlement
 
 
BAKU, September 15 (Sputnik) – The opening of the border between Turkey and Armenia and the establishment of diplomatic ties remain out of question until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is settled, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
 
“Without the settlement of the conflict, without the return of refugees to their homes, talks on opening borders and establishing any relations are out of question,” Erdogan said, speaking at the Azerbaijani military parade marking the centenary of the victory of the Caucasian Islamic Army, who fought on behalf of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and captured Baku from Armenian Dashnaks and Bolshevik forces.
 
The statement comes as Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev earlier in the day accused Armenia of shelling several areas controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, citing the data of the country’s defense ministry.
 
In a comment to Sputnik, the diplomat stressed that Baku would resist attempts to drag out the conflict settlement and warned that “the responsibility for the steps that Azerbaijan could have to take, applying its inalienable rights on the basis of the UN Charter, will entirely rest with Armenia.”
 
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dates back to 1988, when the Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh region, which was then part of the Azerbaijan Socialist Republic, announced its willingness to secede and join the Armenian republic instead. The military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted after the region proclaimed its independence and the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in 1991.
 
In 1994 a ceasefire agreement was reached, however, in 2016 the two sides renewed clashes leading to numerous casualties on both sides.

“Yerevan holds a special place in the Parisians’ hearts” – Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo

Badalian Vardan
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 15 2018

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who is paying a working visit to France, met with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Friday.

As the press department at the government reports, Pashinyan and the Mayor of Paris emphasized the importance of developing and strengthening cooperation between the twin capital cities. Nikol Pashinyan expressed conviction that the Armenian-French cooperation will be continued which will surely give its fruits.

“Armenia’s new leadership intends to not only preserve the current level of Armenian-French relations, but also to give new breath and dynamics to the agenda of bilateral cooperation.” the Prime Minister said, prioritizing the ever-growing cooperation between the Yerevan and Paris municipalities, in which great is Mrs. Hidalgo’s personal contribution. The head of the Armenian government said he is aware that the municipal administrations keep in close touch everyday and share best practices with each other.

According to the prime minister, the experience of Paris – one of the best managed cities in the world – is valuable in all spheres. Nikol Pashinyan expressed the hope that a constructive dialogue will be established with Yerevan’s new mayor and tangible results of cooperation will be recorded.

Anne Hidalgo, too, highlighted the development and deepening of Armenian-French relationships and praised the Armenian community in Paris, emphasizing that several members of the community have achieved great success in various fields of activity and have made a significant contribution to the development of the city, as well as in public and political life.

“Yerevan holds a special place in the Parisians’ hearts, and we are eager to further strengthen the ties with the Armenian capital,” Anne Hidalgo said.

After the meeting, a reception was held in the municipality of Paris in honor of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, attended by Armenian community representatives. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo delivered speeches.

RPA ready to cooperate with any political force, including 2nd President Kocharyan – Sharmazanov

Badalian Vardan
| 14:27 | August 28 2018
Category
Politics

The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) is ready to cooperate with all political forces, including 2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, Vice Speaker of the Parliament, RPA spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov told reporters in the Parliament.

“The RPA is a consolidated political force. We are ready to cooperate with all political forces, including Robert Kocharyan. As a state, political figure Robert Kocharyan has much to say and do in Armenia’s political field. This is my private opinion”, he said.

Sharmazanov thinks that Kocharyan will engage in politics, moreover, he is already engaged in politics.

168: Dan Bilzerian receives Armenian citizenship

Badalian Vardan
| 12:11 | August 27 2018
Category
Society

American-Armenian professional poker player, “King of Instagram” Dan Bilzerian received an Armenian citizenship, Mnatsakan Bichakhchyan – head of the passport and visa department of Armenia Police, said on Facebook.

“Dan and Adam Bilzerian brothers participating in the oath ceremony on the occasion of receiving an Armenian citizenship”, Mnatsakan Bichakhchyan said, posting the respective photo.