Skip to main content

Author: Chalian Meline

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijan to supply gas to Khankandi, nearby settlements

Chalian Meline
11:33 (UTC+04:00)
965

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan’s Azerigaz Production Association has stated that the natural gas supply to Khankandi and other nearby settlements will be fully restored on March 29.

The association stated that the natural gas supply will be restored on March 28th, with preliminary testing taking place. In this regard, consumers are advised to use natural gas with caution and to strictly adhere to technical safety rules.

“The supply of natural gas to the territory of the Karabakh economic region will be fully restored after the completion of test work on March 29,” the statement said.

In recent days, the Armenian media has portrayed the gas supply problems on these territories as some kind of “sabotage”.

It is noteworthy that all of this coincided with the release of new information about the peace talks. As a result, it appears that Armenia is once again using fabrications to postpone the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, as well as the opening of communications and the Zangazur corridor.

However, it is quite obvious that the malfunction of gas distribution lines in the territories included in the Karabakh economic region, which have been operating without maintenance for many years, has caused problems with gas supply.

Furthermore, despite the heavy snowfall, Azerigaz employees dispatched to the site are taking the necessary steps to mitigate the effects of the accident on the difficult terrain.

Another point worth noting is that the gas supplied to Khankandi is not Azerbaijani, but rather Armenian. The pipe is located on Azerbaijani territory, and Azerigaz has accepted responsibility for resolving the issues that arose as a result of Armenia’s fault.

“Gas is delivered to the territory where Russian peacekeepers are stationed temporarily from Armenia. After occupying a portion of Azerbaijani territory during the First Karabakh War, the separatists destroyed the gas pipeline connecting Aghdam and Khankendi, effectively cutting themselves off from the Azerbaijani gas network,” the Baku-based news website Day.az wrote.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that Armenia intends to use the situation as a tool for political manipulation.

“We would like to remind that Armenia, which for many years kept the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with a population of more than 400,000 people in a gas blockade, carried out water terror using the Sarsang reservoir for about 30 years, denied the existence of landmine maps that put an end to the life and health of hundreds of people for a long time, concealed information about the fate of about 4,000 Azerbaijanis who went missing in the early 1990s, and now makes baseless accusations against Azerbaijan – this is nothing but the political hypocrisy of this country,” the ministry stated.

The ministry also underlined that the only way to ensure peace and stability in the region is the full implementation of the provisions of the joint statements, including the complete withdrawal of the remnants of Armenian illegal formations from the region and the normalization of relations on the basis of the principles of international law.

Once again, technical accidents on gas pipelines are a common problem that occurs all over the world. The same problems often arise on the Armenian territory as well. In addition, there had also been problems with gas supply to Khankendi in the past, when Azerbaijani territories were under occupation.

As a result, looking for hidden motives in the issue of gas supply to Khankandi is pointless, and it is clear that Armenia is only attempting to postpone the signing of a peace agreement.

Riot of Baku-style imagination: Is the gas supply of Nagorno-Karabakh an internal affair of Azerbaijan?

Chalian Meline
ARMINFO
Armenia –
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.Gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh is an internal affair of Azerbaijan. Such an odious statement was made today by the head of the press service of the  Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Leyla Abdullayeva, who thus apparently  decided to justify the humanitarian terror perpetrated by the  Azerbaijani authorities against the civilian population of  Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The Armenian Foreign Ministry tried a few days ago to interfere in  the internal affairs of Azerbaijan regarding the participation of  international organizations in an event held in Azerbaijan (in the  Armenian Shushi, occupied by Azerbaijan, ed. note) a few days ago,  and now it is trying to interfere in the internal affairs of  Azerbaijan on a different topic,”  Abdullayeva noted, reacting to the  statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry regarding the need to  resume gas supply to Artsakh.

Considering this scandalous statement as insufficient, the Baku  diplomat decided, for reliability, to accuse Armenia of being  unconstructive and spreading unfounded allegations. As if it is not  Azerbaijan since March 8 that has been terrorizing the population of  Artsakh by opening and closing the gas pipeline valve, but Armenia.

And in conclusion, she also decided to make “recommendations” to  Armenia to ensure the implementation of its obligations under the  tripartite statements, “including the withdrawal of the remnants of  the armed forces located in the region”, and thereby contribute to  regional peace and security, and not act with unsubstantiated claims.

At the same time, Abdullayeva for some reason forgot that the only  one who does not fulfill the agreements under these conditions is  Baku, which not only, in violation of the 8th paragraph of these  statements, holds Armenian prisoners of war and civilians hostage,  but also prevents the assessment mission from arriving in the region  UNESCO, as well as the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. And in  parallel with this, the Azerbaijani military is invading the  sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia day by day,  capturing more and more new areas.  Moreover, taking into account  this statement of official Baku, one can assume what fate awaits the  Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh if they suddenly will be under the  jurisdiction of Azerbaijan. After all, the Karabakh liberation  movement was started in 1988 not from the good life of Armenians in  the NKAR.  And then, the Azerbaijani authorities humiliated and  terrorized the Armenian population in every possible way, did  everything so that they left their homes and left Nagorno-Karabakh.  This policy continues today.  And the entire civilized world turns a  blind eye to these egregious actions of the Azerbaijani authorities –  petrodollars and energy resources have eclipsed their brains and  clouded their eyes.

It should be noted that since March 21, the population of Artsakh has  been deprived of gas again. ” As a result of the direct intervention  of the Azerbaijani side, the gas supply to the Artsakh Republic was  again disrupted. We have sufficient grounds to claim that during the  repair works of the gas pipeline exploded on March 8, the Azerbaijani  side installed a valve, through which it disrupted the gas supply  hours ago.  Azerbaijan uses the unfavorable weather conditions to  create additional humanitarian problems for our population and makes  a criminal action.  The command of the Russian peacekeeping force  stationed in Artsakh was immediately informed about the situation,  together with which the Artsakh authorities are making appropriate  efforts to restore gas supply.  At the same time, we urge citizens to  use electricity as sparingly as possible to avoid possible power  outages,” the Artsakh Information Headquarters said in a statement.   The situation has not yet been resolved. More than 100,000 people  freeze in their homes in Artsakh amid the inaction of the  international community.

IMF forecasts 1.5% economic growth for Armenia in 2022

Chalian Meline

Save

Share

 16:50,

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Thanos Arvanitis, conducted discussions during March 1–16, 2022 for the sixth review of Armenia’s economic program, which is supported by an IMF Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). The SBA was approved on May 17, 2019 and will expire on May 16, 2022, the IMF said in a statement.

At the conclusion of the discussions, Mr. Arvanitis issued the following statement: “The IMF team has reached a staff-level agreement with the Armenian authorities for the conclusion of the sixth, and final, review of the economic reform program supported by a three-year Stand-By Arrangement. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, which is scheduled to consider this review in mid-May. About $36 million (SDR 25.716 million) would become available after the Board meeting, bringing total disbursements under the program to about $430 million.

The Armenian economy has continued to recover, posting 5.7 percent growth in 2021, and continuing to grow strongly in early 2022. Annual CPI inflation has steadily declined to 6.5 percent in February supported by monetary policy tightening. Fiscal policy helped to cushion the impact of the shocks on the economy in the last two years, but remains anchored on the broader objective of debt sustainability, and tax policy and administration reforms continue to broaden the tax base. The fiscal deficit is estimated to have narrowed to 4.7 percent of GDP in 2021, largely on the back of lower government spending. The external position has strengthened, especially in 2021, as the current account deficit narrowed during the Covid-19 pandemic while remittances stayed strong, and the Eurobond issuance and the SDR allocation added to international reserves. The banking system has remained adequately capitalized and liquid, and asset quality has improved.

The regional and global spillovers from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, however, weigh on the outlook and would inevitably have a notable impact on Armenia. The wide-ranging sanctions on Russia, higher food and fuel prices, lower remittances, increased global financial market volatility, are expected to widen the current account deficit, lead to a pickup in inflation, and reduce economic growth in the coming months. While there is considerable uncertainty about the magnitude of the impact on Armenia, as the situation is still evolving, our preliminary assessment is that the economy could grow at around 1½ percent in 2022—a much slower pace than previously expected”.

Man with hammer attacks Armenia opposition movement members at Northern Avenue

Chalian Meline
News.am, Armenia
15:13, 16.03.2022

An unidentified man on Tuesday attacked members of Armenia’s opposition Liberation Movement, at Northern Avenue in downtown Yerevan, who are carrying out a signature campaign demanding the resignation of PM Nikol Pashinyan. Armenian News-NEWS.am learned about this from the aforesaid movement.

The respective statement added as follows, in particular: “The police on duty on location reacted quickly and isolated the perpetrator. Moreover, the perpetrator had a hammer and other objects with him.

The special police detachment, which arrived at the scene minutes later, apprehended the man who carried out the attacked.

“Two more provocative incidents were recorded on March 15, which [also] were prevented by the police.”

Armenian opposition boycotts parliamentary debates on election of new president

Chalian Meline
panorama.am
Armenia – March 2 2022


The two opposition factions in the Armenian parliament on Wednesday boycotted the debates on the election of the country’s new president at a special sitting on Wednesday.

The caretaker parliament speaker, Hakob Arshakyan, said that 65 MPs had nominated High-Tech Minister Vahagn Khachaturyan for president.

After the announcement, MPs from the opposition Hayastan (Armenia) and With Honor factions left the sessions hall.

Earlier, the parliamentary opposition factions said they would not field any presidential candidates.

Addressing the parliament, Khachaturyan thanked the ruling Civil Contract faction MPs for their trust.

“I am confident that we will definitely realize all our visions for Armenia’s future, because that is what we are called to do,” the candidate said.

“We need wisdom, stability, unity and trust,” he added.

Khachaturyan needs 81 votes in the first round, but the Civil Contract faction holds 71 seats in the parliament. In the second round, however, 65 votes in favor are enough to elect a new president.

Armen Sarkissian stepped down as Armenian president on January 23.

Blueprinting of Garden of Life commemorating Artsakh war victims to be completed in May

Chalian Meline

Save

Share

 09:44, 2 March, 2022

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. The blueprinting works of the Garden of Life – a park dedicated to the victims of the Artsakh war – will be ready in May, according to Sirekan Ohanyan, the Director of the Yerevan Project’ CJSC of Yerevan Municipality.

The park will be located in the Botanical Garden of Yerevan.

The Garden of Life will include a monument on the hill, for which a separate blueprint tender will be announced.

Construction works will also include renovation of the water supply infrastructures, including irrigation water.

A new entrance from the Tsarav Aghbyur Street is planned, and a parking lot for 200 cars.

The total blueprint area is 30 hectares.

“We will have a memory park with modern solutions, a park of life with the following content: life goes on, no one is forgotten. We will have a garden full of life,” Ohanyan added.

 

Interview by Anna Gziryan

Ombudsman: Azerbaijani authorities are obligated to release all Armenian captives

Chalian Meline
 NEWS.am 
Armenia – Feb 23 2022


14:25, 23.02.2022

YEREVAN. – Azerbaijan keeps the Armenian captives for political bargaining. The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, told this to a press conference Wednesday.

When asked about the statements of the Azerbaijani MP in Yerevan that “all the captives have been released,” Tatoyan noted that he is familiar with the cynical speech that “the [Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)] conflict is over, and all the captives—returned.”

The ombudsman reminded that these two issues are interrelated, and the Azerbaijani side makes an artificial division between these captives—until the signing of the trilateral declaration on November 9, 2020 and after that—, extorts testimony from Armenian captives through torture, then calls them “terrorists.”

“All these [court] trials [in Azerbaijan against the Armenian captives] are a crime in itself, an attempt—in the eyes of the world community—to ensure a legitimate justification for not returning the captives. This is done for political and military bargaining purposes. (…). The conflict is not over. This is important in order to record that they are captives,” Tatoyan stressed.

“Azerbaijani delegates need to remember this when they are attempting to mislead the world community. We will not allow it. They can fool their own society. They commit crimes, then talk about peace,” added the ombudsman of Armenia.

Max. protection, lighter, cheaper: Armenian military veterans develop modern ballistic vest with nano particles

Chalian Meline

Save

Share

 10:15, 14 February, 2022

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Winners of the 100 Ideas for Armenia project are developing a new type of ballistic vest which would offer maximum safety as well as comfort and endurance.

The project is under development by military veterans Davit Davtyan, Raman Mnatsakanyan and Artur Aghoyan, whose active-duty service in the armed forces gave them first-hand experience of bulletproof vests.

Davtyan says the heavy and inconvenient ballistic vests they used while serving during the 2020 war made them launch this project. Davtyan says their idea is to create composite bulletproof vests made of ultrafine nano-particles.

“When speaking about armored vests we must remember three important points: it must meet the requirements in terms of application, it must be light and made from waterproof high endurance materials. The materials we are planning to use and the composite that we will make implies first of all endurance. The armored vests in the market so far can be used for 5 years or a little more. We offer 10 or more years. In terms of weight, the vests used in the military now are up to 5kg in case of full protection, while our offered variant will weigh 2kg. As for the price, our vest will be graded international Level 4 and will have a price of up to 400 dollars instead of a few thousand,” Davtyan said.

Davtyan says the use of ultrafine particles will enable them to enter the international market because it will give maximum result compared to the existing alternatives.

Meanwhile, Artur Aghoyan said it is important to create a science-industry-university cooperation chain, something that is widely used around the world.

After completing some of the scientific work, the team already received positive reactions from international partners.

Reporting by Gayane Gaboyan

RA NA convenes extraordinary meeting in connection with ratification of so-called "Shusha Declaration" by Azerbaijani, Turkish parliaments

Chalian Meline

Feb 15 2022
Naira Badalian

ArmInfo.On February 23, at 12:00, the National Assembly of Armenia will gather for an extraordinary meeting in connection with the ratification of the  so-called “Shusha Declaration” by the parliaments of Azerbaijan and  Turkey.

An extraordinary meeting will be convened on the initiative of the  deputies of the Hayastan opposition faction.  The faction proposes  the National Assembly to issue a statement condemning the  ratification of the “Shusha Declaration”, which, in particular,  proposes the National Assembly “to express deep concern over the  ratification by the parliaments of Azerbaijan and Turkey of the  declaration signed on June 15, 2021 in Azerbaijani-occupied Shushi by  the presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan “.

“The declaration was signed by the Turkish-Azerbaijani  military-political union within the concept of “One nation, two  states.” Although the document states that it is not directed against  a third party, nevertheless, its content is entirely directed against  the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh, against the Armenian people.  It  fixes the strategic goals of the two states that carried out a 44-day  aggression against the Republic of Artsakh – against the  self-determination of the people of Artsakh, the sovereignty of the  Republic of Armenia, the territorial integrity and rights of the  Armenian people, who survived the genocide “and scattered around the  world,” MP from Hayastan faction Andranik Tevanyan stated.

It is noted that the wording on the “Zangezur corridor” used in the  declaration shows that Turkey and Azerbaijan reach public agreements  on the implementation of joint expansionist programs.

The authors of the statement condemn the agreement of the two states  to fight against the international recognition of the Armenian  Genocide by distorting the content of the issue and bringing it into  the field of historical research.

The “Shusha Declaration” is based not on the UN Charter or security  principles adopted by the OSCE, but on the “ethnic security”  approach. This is contrary to the basic norms of international law.  According to the Law on International Treaties of 1969, all  international treaties of the Vienna Convention that are contrary to  the peremptory norms of general international law are void and cannot  have international legitimacy.

The National Assembly declares that the “Shusha Declaration” with its  provocative and destructive nature is unacceptable for the Republic  of Armenia. This is a serious challenge to regional and global  security, does not contribute to the peaceful development of our  region, contradicts the normalization of Armenian- Turkish relations  on the principle of “without preconditions” and raises serious doubts  about the real behavior and intentions of official Ankara,” the  document says.

Armenian Defense Ministry calls on Azerbaijan to refrain from spreading disinformation

Chalian Meline

Save

Share

 11:27,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense of Armenia announced on February 19 that the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan continues periodically releasing disinformation falsely accusing the Armenian military in opening fire at Azerbaijani military positions at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

“Particularly, in the evening of February 18, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan released a statement falsely claiming that on the same day the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire in the direction of the Azerbaijani combat positions deployed in the north-eastern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

The Ministry of Defense of Armenia calls on the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan to refrain from the conduct of spreading false information regarding the border situation, which doesn’t anyhow contribute to the establishment of stability on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border,” the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said.