Author: Boris Nahapetian

France-Artsakh Friendship Circle: France must recognize the Republic of Artsakh on the basis of international law

Boris Nahapetian
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Alina Hovhannisyan

ArmInfo.Armenians of the Ottoman Empire annihilated by the authorities of their own state amid the indifference of the international community.

This is stated in the statement of the France-Artsakh Friendship Circle on the occasion  of the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire in  1915, the Information and Public Relations Department of the Ministry  of Foreign Affairs of the Artsakh Republic reports.

According to the source, the France-Artsakh Friendship Circle  reaffirmed its unshakable support to the citizens of Artsakh and  commitment to recognizing the democratic state they have built over  30 years.

The statement says that as a result of the war unleashed by  Azerbaijan in September 2020, a significant part of Artsakh was  occupied, and Azerbaijan, under the leadership of its ally Turkey, is  pursuing an anti- Armenian racist policy at the highest level.

“The France-Artsakh Friendship Circle believes that after  Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh and the crimes of the Baku  regime, France, which is the co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk  Group, should immediately abandon its fruitless neutral policy and  recognize the Republic of Artsakh on the basis of international law,”  the message says.

UN Secretary General will visit Ukraine on April 28

Boris Nahapetian

Save

Share

 12:11,

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. UN Secretary General António Guterres will visit Ukraine on April 28, ARMENPRESS reports, citing TASS, the office of Guterres said in a statement on April 22.

“The Secretary-General will visit Ukraine next week. On April 28, he will hold a working meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and President Volodymyr Zelensky,” the statement said.

The Secretary-General’s press service stressed that Guterres plans to meet with UN partners working in Ukraine to discuss plans for expanding humanitarian assistance to the population.

Pashinyan, EU’s Toivo Klaar highlight need for resolution of NK conflict under auspices of OSCE MG Co-Chairmanship

Boris Nahapetian

Save

Share

 16:13,

YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a meeting with the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar.

The Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin also attended the meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Highlighting the Armenia-EU cooperation, the Armenian PM highly appreciated the President of the European Council Charles Michel’s efforts aimed at stability in the region, which, jointly with other international partners’ efforts contribute to regional dialogue.

Reiterating Armenia’s commitment to the democratic reforms agenda, Nikol Pashinyan expressed satisfaction over the allocation of 2,6 billion euros to Armenia as part of the EU Eastern Partnership program’s economic and investment package and implementation of development programs.

Toivo Klaar thanked the Armenian Prime Minister for the assessment and reiterated the EU’s commitment to deepen partnership with Armenia and continue efforts aimed at regional peace.

The interlocutors exchanged views over the course of implementation of the agreements reached at the April 6 Brussels meeting of PM Pashinyan, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Issues related to the Nagorno Karabakh issue, the delimitation and demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan and unblocking of economic and transport infrastructures of the region were discussed.

Both sides emphasized the necessity for a comprehensive resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

The course of implementation of the programs planned under the Eastern Partnership investment package was discussed.

In this context Ambassador Wiktorin presented ongoing works and upcoming actions. The programs are aimed at strengthening democracy in Armenia, boosting the economy and development of SMEs, energy and infrastructure sectors.

Ukrainian military has 2500-3000 casualties, says Zelensky

Boris Nahapetian

Save

Share

 12:56,

YEREVAN, APRIL 16, ARMENPRESS. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that between 2500 or 3000 Ukrainian troops were killed in action during the fighting against Russian forces.

Zelensky told CNN’s Jake Tapper that there are about 10,000 Ukrainian troops who have been injured and that it’s “hard to say how many will survive.”

Civilian casualties are more difficult to quantify, he said.

“It is very difficult to talk about civilians, since south of our country, where the towns and cities are blocked — Kherson, Berdyansk, Mariupol further east, and the area to the east where Volnovakha is — we just don’t know how many people have died in that area that is blocked,” Zelensky said.

According to Zelensky Russia’s military casualty stands at 19,000 to 20,000. However Russia has so far acknowledged 1,351 military casualties.

Armenian MP: Azerbaijan will look for new targets on the way to achieve its goal

Boris Nahapetian
Panorama
Armenia –

The Azerbaijani military aggression toward the village of Parukh and the Karaglukh heights was aimed at stepping up pressure on the Armenian-held part of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition With Honor faction said on Saturday.

“The status quo of the post-war period has already created quite a difficult situation for Artsakh and Armenia, but Azerbaijan is attempting to build on its advantage to ensure final control over the ‘veins’ of Artsakh’s vital security and to achieve a complete exodus of Armenians from Artsakh,” he wrote on Faacebook.

In Abrahamyan’s words, Azerbaijan thus seeks to take full control of Artsakh swiftly.

“Naturally, the main supporters of this process are the Armenian authorities, who give a green light to Azerbaijan with their statements,” the lawmaker stated.

He referred to the advancement of the Azerbaijani troops in the Martakert region a few days ago, adding it “is a part of this chain.”

“Although the official statements suggest that there is an agreement on the withdrawal of Azerbaijanis to their initial positions, there is no guarantee that they will comply with the agreement or will not advance towards another area.

“Obviously, on the way to achieve its goal, Azerbaijan will look for new targets and vulnerable areas, which must be countered immediately,” Abrahamyan said.

Turkish press: Russia hails positive developments between Azerbaijan, Armenia

Boris Nahapetian
 ISTANBUL APR 07, 2022 – 12:36 PM GMT+3

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov walks out after the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2021. (AP File Photo)

The Kremlin on Thursday welcomed the positive developments between Azerbaijan and Armenia after the leaders of both countries ordered their top diplomats to launch preparatory work for peace discussions.

“The progress on concluding such a document is a very, very positive fact and is welcomed,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

Peskov’s remarks came after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian told their foreign ministers to start preparing for peace talks, after a meeting mediated by the European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels on Wednesday.

“An agreement was reached during the meeting … to set up a bilateral commission on the issues of delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijan border, which will be in charge of ensuring security and stability along the frontier,” Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said.

The meeting came after a flare-up in Nagorno-Karabakh on March 25 that saw Azerbaijan capture a strategic village in the area under the Russian peacekeepers’ responsibility, killing three separatist troops.

COVID-19: 19 new cases, no deaths in Armenia in past 24 hours

Boris Nahapetian

Save

Share

 11:18, 7 April, 2022

YEREVAN, APRIL 7, ARMENPRESS. 19 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 422,629, the ministry of health said.

2683 tests were conducted on April 6.

The recoveries rose by 18 in a day, bringing the total number to 410,270.

No death case has been registered. The death toll stands at 8619.

As of April 7, the number of active cases is 2061.

Armenian Ambassador, UK Minister of State discuss Nagorno Karabakh

Boris Nahapetian

Save

Share

 16:10, 1 April, 2022

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. The United Kingdom’s Minister of State (Minister for Europe) at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office James Cleverly met with Armenia’s Ambassador to UK Varuzhan Nersesyan.

“Useful discussions on the importance of a diplomatic solution on Nagorno-Karabakh and development of UK and Armenia future partnership opportunities as we celebrate 30 years of relations”, the UK Minister of State said on Twitter.



Southern Calif. Armenian Democrats Call On Democratic Party of Orange County to Hold Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan Accountable

Boris Nahapetian
 by Contributor

 

 

 

in Latest, News, Top Stories
 0
Screenshots of a video of Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan, L.A. Turkish Consulate Can Oguz, and Armenian Genocide denier Ergun Kirlikovali laughing and joking about making “Armenians disappear”

GLENDALE—Following the video of Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan meeting with L.A. Turkish Consulate Can Oguz, well-known Armenian Genocide denier Ergun Kirlikovali, and others in November 2020, laughing and joking about making “Armenians disappear” during the Artsakh War, Southern CA Armenian Democrats (SCAD) the first and most prominent Armenian American Democratic Club in California and the U.S. calls on Democratic Party of Orange County & Democratic leaders to hold Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan accountable in a written letter below:

March 23, 2022

Dear Democratic Party of Orange County Chair Ada Briceño,

We were recently made aware by Armenian-Americans in Orange County of a November 2020 meeting that Irvine’s Democratic Mayor Farrah Khan had with Mr. Ergun Kirlikovali, LA Turkish Consul General Can Oğuz, and others where Mayor Khan and Mr. Kirlikovali positively acknowledge, with dark humor, the pleasure of making Armenians “disappear.”

Armenian-American Democrats are as appalled by what happened in the meeting as all should be. Making jokes and laughing at the systematic and brutal annihilation of an entire race is reprehensible under any circumstance. In a civil society such intolerance towards victims of crimes— and especially crimes against humanity—should not be tolerated under any circumstances.

The government of Turkey has an official position of denial of the Armenian Genocide. Mr. Kirlikovali, who Mayor Khan has appointed to a Mayoral committee, is well known as America’s most notorious denier of the Armenian Genocide, yet at that meeting, Mayor Khan pledged to “stand with [the Genocide denialist group] no matter what.” On social media, Mr. Kirlikovali has confirmed that the substance of the joke was, indeed, Genocide denial.

We understand that Mayor Khan is being considered for endorsement by the Democratic Party of Orange County. We urge you and your county party to condemn her actions as soon as possible, and certainly refrain from supporting a Democrat who is communicating such hate to a part of her own community while supporting Armenian Genocide denialists. 

California’s Democratic Lieutenant Governor, Eleni Kounalakis, canceled a meeting with Mr. Kirlikovali because he is a genocide denialist or sympathizer. “I was deeply disturbed to hear that the upcoming U.S. Turkish Business Council meeting would feature panelists who are Armenian Genocide deniers,” Kounalakis said. “Now and always, California stands strong on the side of truth and justice for this still-unpunished crime.”

The Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, supported and acted on broader divestment of our public funds from the Turkish Republic due to their ongoing denial of the Armenian Genocide and horrendous human rights record. As he has stated for every April 24 Armenian Genocide Remembrance as Governor, “Let us recommit ourselves to making certain that we never forget the Armenian Genocide, and that we always speak out against hatred and atrocities anywhere they occur.” This must include condemning Mayor Farrah Khan’s hateful actions and statements.

We urge you and the Democratic Party of Orange County to condemn these hateful statements, and to not support or endorse Mayor Khan.

Sincerely,

Leonard Manoukian
President, Southern California Armenian Democrats

Dr. Armond Aghakhanian
Founder and Honorary President, Southern California Armenian Democrats
Member, Burbank Unified School District Board of Education

Dr. Kevork Abazajian
Orange County Director, Southern California Armenian Democrats

cc: California Democratic Party Chair, Rusty Hicks; State Controller Betty Yee; Congresswoman Katie Porter; Congressman Lou Correa; Congressman Mike Levin; State Senator Tom Umberg; State Senator Dave Min; Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris; O.C. Supervisor Katrina Foley

Southern California Armenian Democrats (SCAD) is the first and the most prominent Armenian American Democratic Club in California and U.S., working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout California. SCAD’s goals are to represent the collective Armenian-American viewpoint on matters and policies of the Democratic Party, increase and strengthen the number of Armenian-American Democrats, influence and guide California State policy on matters of interest to the Armenian-American community, and maintain the viability of our free institutions.

For more information, please visit the website.

Armenian Ambassador briefs US State Department’s Dereck Hogan on Azerbaijani provocations

Boris Nahapetian

Save

Share

 11:30,

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Ambassador to United States Lilit Makunts briefed the US State Department’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Dereck Hogan on the recent Azerbaijani ceasefire violations.

“On March 25, H.E. Lilit Makunts, Ambassador of Armenia to the USA, met with Dereck Hogan, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. Ambassador briefed on the recent Azerbaijani provocative actions, ceasefire violations that continue till today, as well as Azerbaijani deliberate actions aimed at disrupting the normal operation of vital infrastructures of Artsakh,” the Armenian Embassy in the United States said in a statement.