23:39,
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 14, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani armed forces have violated the ceasefire regime on the line of contact with the Artsakh Republic, there are wounded, ARMENPRESS reports the Armenian Unified Infocenter informed,a dding that soon the Defense Army of Artsakh will provide official information.
By IWPR
By Tigran Zakaryan
Armenian analysts have responded with caution to apparent overtures between Yerevan and Ankara over a possible détente between the two countries.
Both Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have repeatedly hinted in recent weeks that they were prepared to begin talks on repairing bilateral relations.
The two countries have never established diplomatic ties and their shared border has been closed since the early 1990s. Relations further deteriorated last year over the 44-day Nagorony Karabakh war, in which Turkish military support for Azerbaijan may have played a decisive role in its victory.
However, last month Erdogan said that Turkey was willing to open talks towards normalising ties if Armenia also “declares its readiness to move in this direction”. He has also raised the prospect of creating a regional platform that would help establish links from Turkey’s Igdir to Azerbaijan, possibly via a rail route through Armenia.
In turn, Pashinyan told a September 8 cabinet meeting said that Erdogan’s remarks presented “an opportunity to discuss normalisation of Armenia-Turkey relations and de-blockade the Armenia-Turkey railroad and [other] communications. We are ready for such discussions”.
Pashinyan added that global players including Russia, US, EU, China and India would welcome such a move.
Oppositions figures have expressed scepticism about Pashinyan’s approach. Lawmaker Hayk Mamijanyan, of the Pativ Unem (I Have Honour) faction, said that Ankara’s lack of extensive preconditions made him question whether Turkey might have already have received some kind of assurances. Critics have previously accused Pashinyan of covert negotiations to end the Karabakh war, in which Azerbaijan took control of extensive territory previously controlled by Armenia.
Mamijanyan said that Pashinyan should “seek to dispel such doubts, or else [it means] he once again has decided to strike some sort of a backdoor deal”.
However CCA lawmaker Eduard Aghajanyan, who heads parliament’s foreign relations committee, dismissed suggestions of any back door negotiations.
He said that progress could not be made without separating Armenia’ relations with Turkey from those with Azerbaijan.
“We want Turkey to realise – and we ourselves need to do it too – that Azerbaijan and Turkey are totally different entities and individual players in the region, whose interests are not necessarily identical,” Aghajanyan said.
Eric Hacopian, a contributor to Civilnet media, noted that successive governments in Armenia had supported the idea of normalising relations with Turkey without achieving any kind of breakthrough. He said that Baku’s opposition may play a part in this stalemate.
“Azerbaijan thinks they can impose their will or get the worst for us-best possible for them deal and any kind of a Turkish rapprochement with Armenia actually would weaken the case,” Hacopian said.
He added, however, that domestic Turkish considerations might derail any fresh efforts to start talks, given that the National Movement Party (MHP) – part of Turkey’s ruling coalition – would likely oppose better relations with Armenia.
As a result, Erdogan would be reluctant to press forward with any dialogue as he will need MHP support in the upcoming 2023 elections.
“His [Erdogan’s] words are meaningless, only his actions matter,” Hacopian continued. “I do not see anything changing on the primary relationship between those two countries until the fall of the Erdogan regime.”
However, historian Hrant Ter-Abrahamyan said that the very fact of holding talks with Turkey was in itself significant, even though it was important to have realistic expectations about what could be achieved.
“There is a lot to talk about with Turkey and it is expected that Armenian society cannot have a positive attitude towards that state – that is quite natural for understandable reasons – but we need to be pragmatic,” he said. “If Armenia and Turkey have something to give and receive, if they expect something from us – and it is through a dialogue that such a thing can be revealed – then we should follow that path. We needed to have it done earlier.”
Ara Sahakyan of the opposition Hayrenik (Homeland) party, said that although Armenian-Turkish relations needed to be slowly normalised, the internal politics of both countries did not currently support this.
“It needs to be done slowly, stage by stage,” he said. “The authorities need to understand that succeeding in laying the foundations of Armenian-Turkish relations would be an achievement by itself. But it will take more than one generation to achieve that. Such matters are not resolved by an [Armenian] government which has 53 per cent of votes, but rather by large coalitions.”
Source: This article was published by IWPR and was prepared under the “Amplify, Verify, Engage (AVE) Project” implemented with the financial support of the Foreign Ministry of Norway.
14:39, 8 October, 2021
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the Competition Protection Commission of Armenia Gegham Gevorgyan and President of the Competition Commission of Greece Ioannis Lianos have signed a memorandum of cooperation in Greece, the Armenian CPC said in a statement.
In his remarks Gegham Gevorgyan said that the signing of the document puts the cooperation between the two commissions at a high level, which, according to him, will give a new impetus to the further development of the relations.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
When we’re discussing the great Old World wine regions it’s sometimes overlooked that Armenia is home to the world’s oldest wine cave, the Areni-1. In 2008, 6,000 years after the first 4100 B.C. vintage in the Vayots Dzor region, the Yacoubian family partnered with Paul Hobbs to make extraordinary wines near that famous cave. And yes, it’s that Paul Hobbs — one of the original Opus One winemakers and one of the most celebrated figures in California wine history.
Yacoubian-Hobbs’ vineyard near the Azerbaijan border in the south of Armenia is a perfect home for the native grape, Areni, thanks to its high altitude and volcanic soils. This _expression_ of the variety is a thrilling one with strong cardamom, cracked black pepper and lamb fat notes. Then it effortlessly concludes with an eloquent finish hinting at melon rind and cacao nibs. It’s a spectacular bottle tying together a modern wine with its most ancient roots.
The 2016 Yacoubianhobbs Areni, Armenia
The 2016 Yacoubian-Hobbs Areni can be found online at wine.com and at Solano Cellars in Albany.
12:52, 1 October, 2021
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is ready to re-launch the full process of the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship format based on the well-known principles and elements, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with his Czech counterpart Jakub Kulhánek in Yerevan.
FM Mirzoyan highlighted his meetings with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, as well as the OSCE Minsk Group-mediated meeting with the Azerbaijani FM in New York.
“[the meetings] once again assert that the peaceful resolution, a political resolution of the conflict remains in the agenda. During my meetings in New York I reiterated the readiness of the Republic of Armenia to resume the full process of the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict in the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairmanship format and based on the well-known principles and elements,” the Armenian FM said.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
15:30,
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. An Azerbaijani farmer was killed in a landmine explosion while carrying out agricultural works in the village of Bala Jafarli in the country’s north-western Qazakh district, Turan news agency reported.
The report said that the victim was a resident of the village of Khanlgar of the same district.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
U.S. Representatives are leading the charge to block U.S. arms and aid to Azerbaijan, as part of a series of eight pro-Artsakh/Armenia amendments to the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R.4350) filed this week, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). Other amendments demand Azerbaijan’s immediate release of Armenian POWs; call for an investigation of the use of U.S. technology in Turkish drones used against Artsakh and Armenia; explore ways to expand U.S. aid to Artsakh; and, designate Turkey’s “Grey Wolves” as a terrorist group.
The ANCA is leading a nationwide grassroots effort – anca.org/ndaa – to secure cosponsors for each of the amendments, which are set to be considered by the House Rules Committee as early as Monday, September 20th. The full U.S. House will have the opportunity to vote on each of the amendments ruled “in order” during consideration of H.R.4350. Amendments with strong, bipartisan backing are generally considered more favorably by Rules Committee members.
“We thank Representatives Cardenas, Pallone, Schiff, Sherman, Speier, Titus, and Valadao for offering their Congressional colleagues a long-overdue opportunity for an up-or-down vote on zeroing out all U.S. military aid to oil-rich Azerbaijan and other key pro-peace initiatives,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “In the wake of Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing last year of 100,000+ indigenous Armenians from Artsakh – amid Aliyev’s ongoing invasion and occupation of Armenian territory – the Congress must act in a bipartisan manner to hold both Azerbaijan and Turkey accountable for their violent anti-Armenian aggression.”
A brief overview of each of the eight amendments is presented below along with their lead sponsors, listed as numbered by the House Rules Committee:
Amendment #52 – Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA): Blocks Federal funds from being obligated or expended to provide any United States military or security assistance or cooperation to the defense or security forces of the Government of Azerbaijan.
Amendment #90 – Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA): Prohibits the transfer of United States security assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan.
Amendment #122 – Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ): Withholds U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan through the Section 333 Building Partner Capacity Program.
Amendment #123 – Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ): Requires a report from the Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, addressing allegations that some units of foreign countries that have participated in security cooperation programs under section 333 of title 10, U.S.C. may have also committed gross violations of internationally recognized human rights before or while receiving U.S. security assistance. This report would also includes recommendations to improve human rights training and additional measures that can be adopted to prevent these types of violations.
Amendment #408 – Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) / Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA): Requires a report within 180 days of all US humanitarian and developmental assistance programs in Nagorno Karabakh, including an analysis of the effectiveness of such programs and any plans for future assistance.
Amendment #560 – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) / Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA): Expresses the Sense of Congress that the government of Azerbaijan should immediately return all Armenian prisoners of war and captured civilians. It also urges the Administration to engage with Azerbaijani authorities, including through the OSCE Minsk Group, to make clear the importance of adhering to their obligations under the November 9 statement and international law to immediately release all prisoners of war and captured civilians.
Amendment #579 – Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV): Requires a report by the Secretary of State on the activities of the Grey Wolves organization (AKA Bozkurtlar & Ülkü Ocaklari) undertaken against U.S. interests, allies, and international partners, including a review of the criteria met for designation as a foreign terrorist organization.
Amendment #586 – Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA): Requires a report from the Secretary of Defense on U.S. parts found in Turkish Bayraktar drones deployed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno Karabakh and an assessment of potential violations of Arms Export Control Act.
Hagop Oshagan
The Works of the 20th Century Western Armenian Literature Titan Now Accessible to All.
The entire oeuvre of Hagop Oshagan, one of the giants of Western Armenian Literature, is now online and easily accessible to all, free of charge. The digitized materials can be found on the website of the Digital Library of Classical Armenian Literature (Digilib) of the American University of Armenia. The project was supported by the Armenian Communities Department of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
Thanks to this initiative, some 30 books from the author, including all the volumes of the “Panorama of Western Armenian Literature,” “The Humble Ones,” “Remnants,” and many more difficult to find texts have been fully digitized and are available in a searchable format.
Hagop Oshagan’s work is now available on the Digital Library of Classical Armenian Literature
All content is available now on the Digilib website.
For more information about this project and other initiatives visit the website and subscribe to the newsletter.
15:02, 7 September, 2021
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Suren Papikyan met on September 7 with Sebastian Molineus, the World Bank’s Regional Director for the South Caucasus, Mr. Papikyan’s Office told Armenpress.
Deputy PM Papikyan highlighted the long-term cooperation between the Armenian government and the World Bank, stating that many grant and loan programs have been implemented as a result of this partnership. He highlighted the Bank’s contribution to the upgrading of Armenia’s public administration system, the social, infrastructure development and reaffirmed his readiness to work closely on these directions.
Sebastian Molineus in turn congratulated minister Papikyan on their party’s victory in the recent snap parliamentary elections and on assuming office. He highly valued the Armenian government’s readiness for cooperation and expressed confidence that the new opportunities will be maximally used in the current partnering environment. Sebastian Molineus reiterated that the World Bank is ready to continue and expand the mutual partnership by assisting Armenia’s economic development.
The officials continued then discussing the cooperation opportunities in agriculture, water use, energy, tourism and infrastructure development. They attached importance to the development of small towns in Armenia for decentralization. Suren Papikyan stated that the government and the World Bank have a common agenda on these matters.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/. Armenia is ready to deepen strategic relations with Russia, which is Yerevan’s chief military-political ally and economic partner, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on Tuesday at a meeting with Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
“This is my first foreign trip as Armenia’s foreign minister. And this is hardly surprising. Russia is Armenia’s military-political ally and chief economic partner. In this connection, I would like to reaffirm Armenia’s willingness to continue to build its relations with Russia based on the treaty on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance of 1997 and the declaration on allied interaction,” he said.
According to Mirzoyan, Yerevan’s willingness to deepen relations with Russia is “fully reflected in the program of the government that was formed following early parliamentary elections.”
In the new program of the Cabinet, the team of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan highlighted the importance of deepening strategic relations with Moscow and continuing cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
Mirzoyan was appointed Armenia’s new Foreign Minister on August 19. Prior to that, he was the speaker of the Armenian parliament.