Author: Chalian Meline

Dreamers help revitalize city of Gyumri with technology

Chalian Meline
January 12, 2022 Florence Avakian Non-Profit 0

It was over 33 years ago that a devastating earthquake shattered Armenia’s second largest city, Gyumri. Since then, the city has been recovering, albeit very slowly. One of its great advantages has been the creation of the Gyumri IT Center (GITC) in 2005, initiated and financed by the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR). The goal of GITC was to develop and support a qualified labor force for the IT industry in Armenia which would encourage businesses already functioning in Yerevan to gradually open branches in Gyumri.

“This program would empower young talented people from Gyumri with technological abilities” so that this skilled labor force would attract businesses to follow. And most of all, these young skilled people would have a decent job and stop looking to other countries for employment benefits. They would stay in their homeland and work for its brighter future.

Now 16 years later, Gyumri has become the second hub of IT in Armenia with more than 30 high-tech companies headquartered there. GITC is not only helping Gyumri today, but it is also providing high-quality training to talented youth all across the homeland. In 2021, it opened a branch in Yerevan. GITC graduates are almost 100 percent employed with some getting jobs even before they graduate.

“As members of the FAR Board of Directors, one of the most critical roles we serve is to nurture and guide promising programs to advance and build a better life for the next generation of Armenians. From a pioneering idea 16 years ago, GITC has already impacted the lives of thousands of young Armenians who have acquired high level technological skills and good paying jobs in Armenia as a result of advanced training at GITC,” says Dennis Tarzian, FAR board member and one of the founders of GITC. 

GITC executive director Amalya Yeghoyan

Interestingly, the majority of GITC’s decision-making managers are women, including executive director Amalya Yeghoyan, who revealed in a telephone interview that GITC “is becoming a partner of the biggest technological companies like DISQO, SmartClick, etc…in scaling high quality training in the most advanced sectors of IT across all of Armenia and thus, securing employment.”

“We are very proud of Amalya and her growth as a leader who continually seeks new ways to partner with other tech companies and leading universities to ensure that GITC’s curriculum is evolving alongside the rapid changes in the technology sector,” continued Tarzian. 

The next vision for GITC leaders is to make Armenia “a regional hub” for high quality IT training. A program has already begun to train a group of high schoolers in engineering disciplines with amazing results.

Yeghoyan’s goal has always been to teach young people “how to fish, not receive fish for eating.” A graduate of Gyumri’s Pedagogical University majoring in English, her goal in the tech sphere was not to be proficient in the technical aspects of the industry, but instead “to be a good manager.”

Becoming GITC Executive Director in Gyumri in 2010, she was mentoring 50 percent male students, and 50 percent female. She proudly said that in the world Armenia has the highest percentage of females in tech, more than 35 percent.

In 2018, Yeghoyan joined the Ministry of Transport, Telecommunications and Information Technology in Armenia as deputy minister. “I made a decision as a female,” she said with understandable pride. “Women can be better leaders, but the most important factor is to be professional. Women should perform as professionals,” she stressed.

Since the pandemic began two years ago, GITC courses have been online. Since 2005, GITC has supported more than 5,000 young people to enter the burgeoning IT industry of Armenia. Many found positions, including senior ones, with the most famous tech companies. There are more than 200 students in its various technical education programs annually.

“GITC is unique,” she declared, “because it offers low fee technical education that is in high demand by employers. Though technical education is not cheap, it can develop and empower young people,” she added. “Thanks to the Fund for Armenian Relief, which subsidizes our trainings, it became affordable for young people, especially those coming from poor families. It is one of the few industries in Armenia where there are more jobs available.” She emphasized that it “is the only important program to prevent young talented people from leaving Armenia, and this is true for all developing countries. Technology is the answer.”

Apart from providing tech education and employment opportunities to talented young Armenians GITC is partnering with international and local organizations to support specific groups of populations in Armenia. After the Artsakh War, it has been providing tech skills to the veterans and family members of martyred soldiers through the funding from Armenian Bold Women Association, UMCOR Armenia and Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America. Up to 100 beneficiaries have already graduated this year and are ready to enter the IT labor market.

Another valuable partner is the California-based Armenian Educational Foundation. AEF supported the establishment of the Deep Engineering Laboratory and the program for high school students in Gyumri Polytechnic high school.

Ani Vardanyan

Twenty-two year old Ani Vardanyan was born in Russia and came to Armenia with her family in 2007. A graduate of the Polytechnic University in Yerevan, she understood at age 17 that technology, as a growing sector, is her field. As a student at GITC, she applied for a job and was admitted to Solicy Company in Yerevan as a software developer.

She related that IT development in Armenia is the key to making her country wealthy. Enthusiastically, she praised the GITC program which she said gave her “the technical skills, as well as training for the job interview in order to be a good employee.”

Armenia, she said, “is top in high technical innovation and research creativity.” There are up to 800 IT companies in Armenia that have hired 20,000 IT workers, and GITC graduates enter the field with 90-percent employment.

For Vardanyan, GITC “was so inspiring” with its advantages of “huge teamwork.” She readily shares her knowledge with other students and even trains others with them. “I owe all this to GITC.”

Shoghik Grigoryan

Shoghik Grigoryan was born in 1989 in Gyumri. After graduating from Yerevan State University, she completed the full GITC program. Later, she got married and moved to Stepanakert with one child.

“I received general theoretical knowledge at the university, but GITC allowed me to choose a specific Web programming profession.” This led to a job offering upon graduation in her favorite field. “I attach great importance to the period of study there. It gave me professional knowledge, but also the experience that I later applied to my teaching methods at Artsakh State University.” She also taught at Shushi Technological College.

During the start of the 44-day tragic war, she was in Artsakh, and moved to shelters, then to Armenia with the women and children. Her husband stayed to defend the homeland. “The war changed almost everything in our lives. Thousands of Armenians, including my students, relatives and friends gave the ultimate sacrifice. Luckily, her husband survived.

“The pain, anger and fear are still lingering. But Artsakh needs us more now. Of course, I will continue to live here, when my people need all of us more now.” Artsakh is in “great need of the GITC program, because as we became convinced during the war, it is critical to have qualified specialists in the field of IT.”

GITC, she continued, “was the only established institution during my studies that provided practical knowledge for requirements of the labor market. The important role of the Gyumri center is great because it is constantly evolving, innovating and basing its teachings on the demand of the IT market. It was number one when I studied, and it is number one today.”

A center like GITC “not only provides theoretical and practical knowledge and skills, it also prepares its students like no other schooling in the hi-tech business, where the demands are much higher than just technical knowledge.”

With GITC having many graduates in its 16-year existence, she called on all graduates “to always walk ahead of time, taking into account the rapid developments in our field, to always be ready to take everything new, and to develop and invest in them for the sake of strengthening our homeland.”

“There are always new challenges but as we look out into the future we hope to scale GITC with new approaches such as distance learning and self-paced online instruction to reach even more students. Armenia is blessed with a vast resource of talented STEM students; our job is to prepare them to compete for those jobs anywhere in the world and help young people become more optimistic about their future in Armenia,” concludes Tarzian.

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Turkish press: Religious minorities in Iran worship freely

Chalian Meline
Syed Zafar Mehdi   |16.01.2022


TEHRAN, Iran

The narrow, winding lanes of the Jolfa neighborhood in Iran’s central Isfahan province, along the southern bank of Zayandeh-Rud River, are still basking in the ambiance of Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.

The largest quarter of Armenian Christians in Iran, who make up the bulk of the country’s Christian population, is situated in the heart of Iran’s cultural capital and comes alive around Christmas every year.

Like many of his friends, for 34-year-old theater artist Kaveh Moallemi, a visit to Vanak Church, also known as the Holy Savior Cathedral, is an integral part of the annual Christmas festivities.

The 17th-century cathedral has long been a prime tourist attraction in Jolfa, which Moallemi refers to as a “mini country” of minority Christians in Iran.

“As an Iranian Christian, I feel at home in Jolfa,” he told Anadolu Agency. “To listen to church bells, go for prayer meetings, attend cultural events and mix with fellow Christians — it can’t get any better.”

In the capital of Tehran, there are also a few popular meeting points for the city’s small number of Christians, most notably St. Vartan Church on Dah Metri Aramaneh Street and St. Sarkis Church on Villa Avenue — not far from the city’s busy nerve center.

Mirzaye Shirazi Street and Nejatollahi Street, in the vicinity of the churches, witness a large rush of shoppers for Christmas, looking for Santa Claus dolls, artificial pine trees, colorful lights and pastries.

Christians in Iran, mostly of Armenian background, as well as Assyrians, Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals, number around 300,000 to 370,000, scattered across major Iranian cities like Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz and Tabriz.

While they appear to have the freedom to practice their religion and engage in trade and business, there have been controversies about their preaching and conversions that have dominated the news over the years.

Christians in Iran

Most Christians in Iran are financially well-off owing to their presence in important businesses, most famously in food and confectionaries. They own and run many shops in central Tehran and other cities.

Many attribute it to the fact that all government jobs are not open to religious minorities like Christians in Iran, while some believe it is because Armenian Christians have traditionally been associated with business and trade.

“The question of freedom or religious tolerance vis-a-vis religious minorities in Iran has no easy answers, but the overall picture is not very grim,” a member of the Iranian Christian Association based in Tehran told Anadolu Agency. He chose not to be identified for this piece.

He said government jobs are “fewer” for Christians but they have seats reserved in parliament — two for Armenian Christians and one for Assyrian Christians, voted by their respective community constituents.

Christian students, he elaborated, are free to apply for school and university admissions in Iran, as well as higher education scholarships. They also run their community-based schools, even though the curriculum is decided by the government.

“Having said that, some red lines have been earmarked that must not be crossed,” he told Anadolu Agency, referring to religious conversions, which has resulted in many being jailed over the years.

The Christian Broadcast Network, a US-based conservative evangelical television station, in a 2018 report claimed that Christianity was “growing faster” in Iran “than any other country,” pointing to the phenomenon of religious conversions in Iran that is banned by law.

According to official sources, dozens of Christian evangelists are currently imprisoned in Iranian jails, mostly for conversions and undermining security.

The Supreme Court in a path-breaking ruling in November said preaching Christianity through houses or churches does not constitute a crime, giving hope to many presently serving jail terms.

But it remains to be seen how the ruling will play out and whether the powerful clergy will give its nod.

Jews in Iran

In a country where “wiping Israel off the world map” is a popular rallying cry, a tiny minority of Jews also resides here, even though with little visibility in public spaces.

Quite remarkably, a popular synagogue in Tehran’s Yusuf Abad neighborhood, close to the city’s busiest intersection, functions without any security cover.

Siyamak More Sedgh, a Jewish Iranian politician and two-time member of parliament, cites it to make his point about religious tolerance in Iran.

“There are few countries where synagogues don’t require any form of protection and Iran is one of them,” Sedgh told Anadolu Agency, adding that there is “no record of organized crime” against religious minorities in the country where Islam is the state religion.

There are around 12,000 to 15,000 Jews in Iran, according to conservative estimates. Prior to the 1979 revolution, Iranian Jews numbered 150,000, many of whom fled abroad after the last monarch Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was deposed.

Some attribute mass the exodus of Jews to the execution of Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian on charges of spying for Israel after the revolution ended Iran’s diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv.

Today, Iranian Jews, a minuscule minority in a country of 80 million, share a good rapport with reformists and conservatives. They have one reserved seat in parliament, which Sedgh held between 2008 and 2020.

What has helped them integrate into the predominantly Muslim Iranian society is the fact that they see themselves are Iranian first.

Sedgh, who also heads Dr. Sapir Hospital and Charity Center, a Jewish charitable institution in Tehran, said the difference between Europeans and Muslims is that Muslim nations “have always respected followers of other faiths.”

“In Europe, the concept of religious tolerance became trendy when people turned their backs on religion and embraced laicism,” he said.

Armenia’s unique experience with COVID-19

Chalian Meline
Jan 12 2022

Whilst Armenia has suffered from many problems since the end of its recent war with Azerbaijan, its experiences with COVID-19 have seemingly been better than many countries. This is despite the fact that various social and institutional factors should have resulted in the opposite outcome.

– Armen Grigoryan –

An ambulance has deployed a mobile vaccination point against COVID-19 on the streets of Yerevan. May 2021. Photo: frantic00 / Shutterstock

The Armenian government’s pandemic management was influenced by economic concerns right from the beginning. This was quite understandable, as the country’s fast growing tourism and hospitality sector had been badly hit. This has recently been considered a key area for economic development. As political scientist Ivan Krastev noted in March 2020, “at a certain point, governments will be forced to choose between containing the spread of the pandemic at the cost of destroying the economy, or tolerating a higher human cost to save the economy.” Around the same time, economic forecasts varied for the country, with the Asian Development Bank’s rather optimistic expectation of 2.2 per cent growth contrasting with the 11 per cent decline considered possible by Armenia’s former Minister of Economy Vahram Avanesyan. Eventually, the pandemic and the country’s disastrous military confrontation in the autumn resulted in a decline of 7.4 per cent.

The only lockdown imposed by the Armenian government lasted from late March to May 2020 at the latest. This involved the closure of all businesses apart from medical institutions, infrastructure facilities, banks, pharmacies, supermarkets and food shops. The country also decided to suspend all public transportation. Later, only educational institutions were closed a few times for several weeks. It should also be remembered that the country’s social structure, which involves many low-income, rural and traditional households with multigenerational families, was also an additional risk factor. There was also a clear lack of discipline and control as many people kept gathering outside their apartment blocks to meet up and play board games.

Neighbouring experiences

In comparison with neighbouring Georgia, Yerevan seemingly failed to properly tackle the pandemic. Tbilisi imposed longer restrictions earlier and a mask mandate was more strictly observed by the country’s population. Georgia also introduced various additional measures, such as a curfew and a nationwide ban on the use of personal cars and motorcycles. In the last days of April 2020, Armenia experienced a considerable growth in active case numbers. By May 11th, the country’s death rate (15.9 per million) was much higher than that in Georgia (3.0 per million). The government’s approach was heavily criticised by the political opposition and civic groups. A clear unwillingness to adopt zero tolerance policies similar to those in Georgia and amend some regulations were some of the main reasons behind the public outrage. Whilst it was particularly clear that the police were unwilling to enforce restrictions, the courts tended to overrule fines for violations of the mask mandate.

However, the situation changed radically in a few months. The infection rate and number of deaths in Georgia grew sharply during September 2020. By November, it was clear that the situation in Armenia was improving despite fewer restrictions. It should also be noted that the possibility of visiting cultural events, cafes, restaurants, beauty parlours and gyms had an important therapeutic effect on the population. This was especially true following the psychological impact of the war. The author’s brief interviews with 28 persons of different sex and occupation, age 24 to 52, suggest that another lockdown similar to those experienced in several European countries would cause depression and other psychological disorders among a large segment of the population.

By summer 2021, before the spread of the delta variant, the situation in Armenia was essentially not of particular concern. Armenia even found itself on the EU’s safe country list. Wizzair flights from Vienna, which commenced in July, were full with many visitors, especially those from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. While in Georgia, there were a number of new cases, with many resulting in death between June and August. While Armenia experienced its highest number of cases and deaths per capita soon after the spread of the delta variant, the situation has stabilised in recent weeks. This is despite the fact that only 22 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated. The majority of people have not been wearing masks or paying attention to social distancing (even in closed areas, such as shops or public transport). At the same time, very few obeyed the requirement to wear masks in the open air as demanded by governmental decree imposed between November 1st and December 17th. However, the daily number of new cases has dropped from over 2000 in the period between October 20th and November 6th, to below 200 by December 16th. Meanwhile, in Georgia, where the population is about one third larger, the number of daily cases is still counted in the thousands, with a death rate surpassing that found in Armenia. At the same time, the smaller number of diagnosed cases in Armenia should not be attributed to the smaller number of tests. After all, unvaccinated employees of all public and private institutions have been obliged to take PCR tests every second week since October 15th and weekly since December 1st.

Social attitudes

When the infection rate and number of deaths reached its peak in late October and early November, there were suggestions that unvaccinated patients might be required to pay for treatment. It was also suggested that “green passes” might be required to enter shops, restaurants and other business premises after the new year. Still, the government reiterated that no new lockdowns were planned. In an interview on December 23rd, Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan said that the omicron variant had not yet been found in the country. She also stated that green passes might be required from mid-January and that paid treatment might be introduced from February. The feasibility of such measures is not clear, as paid treatment might encourage some people to avoid testing and hospitalisation until the last possible moment.

Few people in Armenia still worry about the presence of an unmasked person. In the spring and summer of 2020, such situations often resulted in altercations. There was even a stabbing on April 14th 2020, when two men brawled on a bus. Few people are also willing to discriminate against the unvaccinated. This attitude is essentially limited to a handful of activists on social media, who are also likely to continue restricting their own social interactions. Asking about others’ vaccination status is not popular either in the country. It is even quite surprising that the antagonism between vaccine enthusiasts and sceptics is so negligible, given the extreme political polarisation that Armenia has experienced over the last year. The war with Azerbaijan and the resulting disagreements over normalisation and border delimitation have contributed greatly to divides in Armenian society.

Armenia’s low vaccination rate still seems troublesome. The AstraZeneca (acquired with the EU’s support via the COVAX programme), Sinovac and Sputnik V vaccines have all been available since April 2020. Sputnik V is generally preferred by those planning to travel to Russia for work and other reasons, as Russia keeps refusing to recognise the other vaccines. Some increase in the pace of vaccinations could be observed in the autumn, as several hundred thousand doses of Moderna were donated by Lithuania, Norway and Slovakia. In December, the country’s first Pfizer vaccine doses were donated by Portugal. The government has also allocated 1.2 billion Armenian dram (about 2.22 million euros) for procurement of additional supplies from Pfizer. In November, the government also procured 400,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.

Some good luck?

It is also important to mention that, perhaps surprisingly, a number of richer countries with far better healthcare systems have registered higher death rates than Armenia. This was the case last winter and spring and now as well. For example, as of December 26th 2021, Armenia had experienced 2673 deaths per million. This is in comparison to Georgia (3397), the Czech Republic (3329), Slovakia (3001), Bulgaria (4443) and Hungary (3980). Meanwhile, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has the same vaccination rate as Armenia, the death rate is 4082. This situation is also reflected in the figures available for the last seven days, with even some Western European countries experiencing higher weekly death rates despite new lockdowns.

It is subsequently possible to hypothesise that a considerably higher proportion of Armenians have achieved natural immunity. In order to examine such a hypothesis and to determine the country’s progress towards herd immunity, a representative sampling of people who have neither been vaccinated nor had a positive PCR test would be needed. This investigation would have to involve people of different sex, age, occupation, health condition and lifestyle.

At the same time, several publications already show that lockdowns and other restrictive policies are clearly having negative middle and long-term effects on public health. In October 2021, a group of Hungarian scholars published research showing that about 5000 fewer malign tumour cases had been diagnosed in the 15 months since the beginning of the pandemic in comparison to previous periods. This means that more complicated treatment will be needed in the future. The number of people waiting for surgery in Hungary has doubled since the start of the pandemic. This is clearly having a negative effect on the population’s quality of life, as most of the postponed operations concern cataracts and knee and hip replacements. The number of children treated for mental health problems has grown by 40 per cent. There has also been a general growth in mental health problems, with the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and drugs increasing during this time. A notable increase in domestic violence and other violent crime is also evident within the data.

In most countries, the working class and small businesses have been the most affected by the economic consequences of repeated lockdowns, with disruption to education also ensuring that social divides will remain in the future. Notably, the director of the Motol University Hospital in Prague, Miloslav Ludvík, has suggested that lockdowns are simply postponing the end of the pandemic while harming countries’ economies and societies.

The number of COVID-related deaths in Armenia still could and should have been lower. However, this would have probably required selective protection targeting the elderly and other risk groups, rather than lockdowns and other restrictive measures.

Armen Grigoryan is co-founder and vice president of the Yerevan-based Centre for Policy Studies, and a member of the advisory board of the project Resilience in the South Caucasus: Prospects and Challenges of a New EU Foreign Policy Concept, implemented by the Institute of Slavic Languages and Caucasus Studies, University of Jena.

https://neweasterneurope.eu/2022/01/12/armenias-unique-experience-with-covid-19/


President of Artsakh Rep.: We are obliged to do and will do our best so that Artsakh always remains invincible

Chalian Meline
 News.am 
Dec 30 2021
President: We are obliged to do and will do our best so that Artsakh always remains invincible
22:23, 31.12.2021

Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has issued a New Year message. It reads as follows:

Dear compatriots,

Dear brothers and sisters in Artsakh, Armenia and the Diaspora,

By convention, every year on this very day we send warm words of congratulations and good wishes to each other, our relatives and friends, our Homeland and people. We wish that the outgoing year takes away all the difficulties and trials, and the New Year brings only success and prosperity to all families.

However, for the second year in a row, our people are marking the New Year in difficult and hard conditions, crushed by the blows of fate, with a heart weighed down by the pain of loss and oppressive grief, with wounded and torn apart Artsakh. Yes, this is our reality.

But, despite all that, there is another reality as well – that is Artsakh that continues to live and recover, its settlements that have turned into a construction site, the school bell calling the little Artsakhians to their classes, the fire lighting up in a new hearth every other day, a cry of a newborn baby in those hearths.

That is struggling and creating Armenians who cling to their soil, keep and develop it, who live in Artsakh reviving it with their hard-working and strong hands, with their unbending willpower and inexhaustible energy. That is you, our dear compatriots, each of you, who are here today, in your homes, in your Homeland.

That is Mother Armenia, the main pivot and value of the Armenian nation, the main refuge and guarantor of national goals and aspirations, that always stands behind Artsakh and the Diaspora. That is our brothers and sisters living in Mother Armenia and the Diaspora, who stand firmly by Artsakh, live by the pain and struggle of Artsakh. Bearing our cross in the national struggle, we are very grateful to Mother Armenia and the Armenians around the world for their unwavering dedication and struggle.

That is the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation, whose mission in Artsakh substantially contributes to the preservation of peace and stability in our region. We are deeply grateful to our friends.

That is our heroes who perished for our Motherland and immortalized themselves for centuries. The work they have left behind is immortal as well, and we are the very ones to continue it.

Therefore, for the sake of the sacred memory of our martyrs, the realization of their aspirations, the future of their descendants, we are obliged to do and will do our best so that Artsakh, that has been invincible for centuries, always remain like that.

Let’s celebrate the New Year with this very realization. May 2022 bring peace, fortitude, hope and faith to our people and Homeland.

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas!

Armenian MP: Azerbaijan speaks about so-called ‘corridor’ as established fact

Chalian Meline
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 24 2021

Azerbaijan speaks about the so-called “corridor” through Armenia as an established fact, according to MP Tigran Abrahamyan from the opposition With Honor faction.

“It’s not about how the Armenian authorities officially react to it; the problem is that even if there are no backstage arrangements on the issue, Azerbaijan and Turkey make statements, which seems very difficult to back down,” he wrote on Facebook on Friday.

“Simply put, Azerbaijan has assured its society that there will be a corridor. Moreover, it is already negotiating with its international partners on regional projects, which further exacerbates the situation with the corridor,” the lawmaker said.

He stated the choice is between “the bad and the worse” in the current situation.

Music: Narek Hakhnazaryan to perform at Royal Concertgebouw Concert Hall of Amsterdam

Chalian Meline
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 20 2021

Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan, winner of numerous prestigious international competitions, will perform in Amsterdam. The concert by the Armenian cellist will take place at the  Royal Concertgebouw Concert Hall in on December 27, Orer.eu reports. 

To note, the Concertgebouw is one of the world’s greatest concert halls famed for its amazing acoustic. The Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra regularly performs there as do some of the biggest names in classical music.

Some nine hundred concerts and other events per year take place in the Concertgebouw, for a public of over 700,000, making it one of the most-visited concert halls in the world.

Turkey: Azerbaijan to be "indirectly" involved in Armenia rapprochement

Chalian Meline
PanArmenian, Armenia
Dec 18 2021
– 14:33 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that Azerbaijan will be “indirectly” involved in proposed normalization talks with Armenia, Sputnik Turkey reports.

“After representatives are mutually appointed, they will get in direct contact and decide how and where to meet. It would not be correct to predetermine what the representatives will talk about, but priorities can be set, and a roadmap will be established,” Cavusoglu said when returning from a trip to the United Arab Emirates.

“Azerbaijan will be indirectly present in the process. Steps are being taken in coordination, so it won’t be a surprise for Azerbaijan. Both Russia and the United States support this process. We will decide together with Azerbaijan on the opening of the border.”

Cavusoglu said earlier Ankara and Yerevan will appoint special envoys soon to discuss steps to normalize relations, as well as launch charter flights from Istanbul to Yerevan. A spokesperson for the Armenian Foreign Ministry later welcomed the Turkish foreign minister’s announcement.

Yerevan police apprehending protesters who are blocking Marshal Baghramyan Avenue

Chalian Meline
News.am, Armenia
Dec 8 2021
15:24, 08.12.2021

The police have apprehended opposition activist Vahagn Chakhalyan, a member of the Kamq (Will) initiative, from Marshal Baghramyan Avenue—in front of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia building, where a demonstration of the relatives of the missing and captured servicemen is taking place.

These protesters have closed off the aforementioned avenue.

At one point, a shoving match occurred between police and protesters, and police began apprehending some demonstrators.

These missing and captured soldiers’ families, who are protesting at the entrance of the NA since the morning and have blocked Derenik Demirchyan Street—at the side entrance to the Armenian parliament building—have now closed off Marshal Baghramyan Avenue—in front of the main NA entrance.

They are protesting the fact that NA speaker Alen Simonyan had called the captive Armenian servicemen “deserters.”

All Azeri servicemen captured during Karabakh war freed, says Russian military brass

Chalian Meline
TASS, Russia
Dec 9 2021
At the moment, the work on releasing the Armenian prisoners of war is being carried out

ROSTOV-ON-DON, December 9. / TASS /. All Azerbaijani servicemen, captured during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, have been returned with the help of Russian peacekeepers, while efforts on releasing the Armenian soldiers are in progress, Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District Rustam Muradov told TASS on Thursday.

“Currently, all Azerbaijani servicemen have been returned, and work on releasing the Armenian prisoners of war is being carried out. There is a positive [development], and we have an understanding. I believe that this matter needs to be put to rest. And the Russian peacekeepers will complete this process,” the deputy commander emphasized.

The senior military official also stressed that he viewed the effort on releasing the POWs as the civil duty of peacekeepers.

“As a military man, I understand who the prisoners of war are, what they felt like while in captivity. I remember my first flight to Baku and after my return, I saw the faces of those who had already come back to Yerevan <…>. They were in tears and did not believe that they had returned home,” Muradov said.

Intense clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia flared up on September 27, 2020, in Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in the conflict zone, which facilitated a complete cessation of hostilities. According to the deal, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides maintained the positions that they had held. In addition, several regions came under Baku’s control and Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the region.