Author: Eduard Nalbandian

Vardan Voskanyan: TikTok with the ‘Armenia’ pointer

Eduard Nalbandian
Panorama
Armenia –

Vardan Voskanyan, an expert on Iranian studies, has reflected on a meeting of the Turkic-speaking countries held in the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata on Tuesday.

The leaders of the countries’ special services also met with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, the expert said on Telegram.

“It’s worth noting that the meeting with the heads of special services of Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan was attended by two representatives of Azerbaijan, particularly the heads of the State Security Service and Foreign Intelligence Service, which indicates how seriously the Baku dictatorial regime, in fact, takes such events coordinated by Turkey, which have far-reaching pan-Turkic goals,” Voskanyan wrote.

He highlighted that Turkmenistan did not participate in the meeting, which “causes a geographical and geopolitical gap in the establishment of the illusory Turan.”

“Therefore, from the security point of view concerning Armenia, the meeting should be of interest to us not only because it involves Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which are in alliance with Armenia within the CSTO, as well as hostile countries Azerbaijan and Turkey, but also because Turkmenistan is not taking part in it,” Voskanyan said.

“In general, it is such important events that should be part of the real agenda, which Armenia should deal with in a broad sense, rather than the short-term clown tricks with which they are trying to direct us, figuratively speaking, to TikTok with the pointer”Armenia,” where the ‘key agenda’ of discussion imposed on us is conditionally someone’s ‘nose picking’,” he added.

Surprising meetings. Why is there no mention of Bakoyan’s physical violence and financial exploitation?

Eduard Nalbandian
News.am 
Armenia – July 18 2022
“Hayeli.am” : Surprising meetings. Why is there no mention of Bakoyan’s physical violence and financial exploitation?
16:20, 18.07.2022

“Hayeli.am” referred to the news that Armenian Yezidi politician Rustam Bakoyan allegedly physically abused and financially exploited his Armenian ex-girlfriend. His ex-girlfriend accused Mr. Bakoyan of physically abusing her several times and robbing her of a large sum of money.

The site writes: “On July 6th, 2022 a meeting of the chairman of the board of the Central Council of Yezidis Germany, Mrs. Zemfira Dilovani, and Mr. Bakoyan took place in the Armenian embassy in Berlin. On the Facebook page of the Central Council of Yezidis in Germany, the meeting between Mrs. Dilovani and Mr. Bakoyan is being hailed and looked upon with great satisfaction, but no critical word nor sentence were the accusations that Mr. Bakoyan is accused of addressed.

Mrs. Dilovani, who publicly complained a while ago in an online conversation with Dr. Irfan Ortac on air at the Alevi TV station Yol TV that she as a female chairperson of the board of ZED (Central Council of Yezidis in Germany) is often not taken seriously or noticed by male Yezidis, seems to have no problem meeting with a politician who is accused of physical and psychological violence against women, despite her own alleged experiences as a woman in a leading position. However, not only Mrs. Dilovani seems to have no problem with the alleged actions of Bakoyan.

For example, Sahir Alias, nephew of the current and controversial spiritual leader Baba Sheikh Ali Alias and online activist posted a photo with Mr. Bakoyan on his Instagram profile on July 10, 2022, with the following caption:

“It was nice to meet you Mr. @rustambakoyan, I hope we can find a good solution for the Yezidis worldwide. Fighting for human rights/fighting for the Yezidi rights.”

Apparently, it seems to be no problem for Mr. Sahir Alyas to meet with Mr. Bakoyan despite the massive accusations, even less so does he seem to be interested in the “human rights” of Mr. Bakoyan’s ex-girlfriend.

We are amazed and shocked that Yezidi activists, dignitaries, and public figures have no problem meeting with Mr. Bakoyan without voicing any criticism about the allegations made against him.

This meeting is particularly surprising in light of the fact that Sahir Aliyas presented and introduced himself in public as a champion and representative of women’s rights.

We hope that all parties involved will apologize publicly for this misconduct and take a clear position on the accusations made against Mr. Bakoyan.”

China’s Xi wishes Biden a speedy recovery from COVID

Eduard Nalbandian

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 12:14,

YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS. Chinese President Xi Jinping wished his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden a speedy recovery from coronavirus in a message on Friday, Reuters reports citing state television.

Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19, had mild symptoms and would work in isolation, the White House said on Thursday.

Armenian and Egyptian weightlifters shine in landmark mixed event at USA National Championships

Eduard Nalbandian
July 5 2022
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  • By Brian Oliver

    •  

  •  Tuesday, 5 July 2022

Olympic medallists were among weightlifters from seven countries who competed at – but not in – the USA National Championships in Las Vegas.

In a landmark event on the weightlifting calendar, the inaugural USA Weightlifting (USAW) Friendship Cup, international mixed gender teams of two performed alongside Americans who were competing in their own competition.

The format was devised by Ursula Papandrea, USAW’s general secretary who was recently elected first vice-president of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

The Friendship Cup was not an IWF-sanctioned event but mixed gender competitions and new formats have been discussed within the weightlifting community in recent months and its status could change before the 2023 version is held, possibly at The Arnold strength sports festival.

Papandrea, who will attend her first IWF Board meeting in her new role this week, said: “At a time when the weightlifting community seems quite fractured, I hope the Friendship Cup highlights the similarities between athletes as opposed to their differences.

“The intent is to bring a sense of unity among athletes, who are the potential leaders of tomorrow.

“There should be a bond between all weightlifters that outweighs any of our differences.”

The winners were Sara Samir (who competes as Sara Ahmed) from Egypt and Andranik Karapetyan of Armenia.

Another Armenian, the super-heavyweight Gor Minasyan, paired with the American Madeline Staniszewski – in her first international competition – for second place, and the third place went to Maddison Pannell of the host nation and Joshua Uikilifi of Tonga.

Friendship Cup athletes lifted in their respective bodyweight sessions of the US Championships, and their team score was achieved by combining their Sinclair points totals – a global measure of performance across all weight categories.

The 16 athletes, drawn into eight mixed teams, came from seven countries in four continents.

The field included four Olympians, four world medallists and medallists from the African, European, Oceania and Pan American Championships.

Armenia sent five men to the Friendship Cup, while the US entered four women.

Egypt and Tonga each fielded two athletes while Botswana, Kenya and Uganda had one each.

All four of the American women who took part in the Friendship Cup also won medals in the National Championships – the 55kg national champion Pannell, 87kg gold medallist Laura Alexander, 64kg clean & jerk silver medallist Maddie Staniszewski and 76kg snatch silver medallist Allee Tallman.

Kuinini Manumua, a 2020 Olympian for Tonga who holds dual citizenship, won the women’s +87kg title at the National U-25 Championships and placed fourth in the Friendship Cup with the Armenian Samvel Gasparyan, the 2021 European champion at 102kg.

It was a rare appearance on the platform by Samir, who became the first woman from the Arab world to win a weightlifting medal at the Olympic Games in 2016 and is one of Egypt’s top female sports stars.

She has not competed since August 2019 in an IWF event.

Egypt was banned from international competition for two years in 2019 because of a doping scandal in 2016, in which Samir was not involved.

Samir was then one of six Egyptian athletes who tested positive for a stimulant at the African Games in Morocco in 2019.

She and the others agreed to serve a two-year suspension that expired in January this year.

Because the substances detected were not steroids, the standard length of ban was halved.

In videos posted on social media in March, Samir showed herself lifting 150kg in the 76kg category, which would have won her the gold medal in clean and jerk in three weight classes – 76kg, 81kg and 87kg – at the 2021 IWF World Championships.

In Las Vegas, where the competition ended on Sunday, Samir weighed in at 80kg and made 110-147-257, earning the top female Sinclair score of 297.

The best men’s performance was from the super-heavyweight Varazdat Lalayan of Armenia, who made 201-220-421 for 424 Sinclair points.

Meanwhile, another big star of Egyptian weightlifting, the 2016 Olympic medallist Mohamed Ehab, has announced his retirement.

He is expected to go into coaching and has been appointed to a development role by the Egyptian Sports Ministry.

Armenian military denies another statement of Azerbaijani defense ministry

Eduard Nalbandian

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 11:11, 6 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 6, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Defense denied Azerbaijani accusations on opening fire at the border.

“The Azerbaijani defense ministry released another disinformation according to which overnight July 5-6 the units of the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire from various caliber firearms at the Azerbaijani positions located in the eastern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border”, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said, adding that “the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively stable and is under the full control of the Armenian Armed Forces”.

Armenian PM congratulates US President on Independence Day

Eduard Nalbandian

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 10:25, 4 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory letter to US President Joe Biden on Independence Day, the PM’s Office said.

The letter reads:

“Dear Mr. President,

I warmly congratulate you and the good people of the United States on the US Independence Day.

Every year on July 4th, millions of Americans, including many of our American-Armenian compatriots are celebrating the most important day of the United States – the Independence Day. Since the declaration of Independence the people and all governments of the United States have consistently moved on the path of establishing and strengthening freedom, human rights, rule of law and democracy. The role of the United States in democracy plays a significant role in the establishment of human rights and rule of law not only in different parts of the world, but also in terms of creating a predictable and peaceful development environment for nations of regions.

The friendship and partnership between our countries and peoples are based on common values, mutual trust and friendship. I am happy to record that the cooperation between our governments in strengthening democracy and the commitment of both sides give tangible results.

Once again congratulating you on Independence Day, I wish you and the people of the United States welfare and peace.

Please, accept, respectful President, the assurances of my highest respect”.

Sports: ‘We want to elevate ourselves and others with us’: Navasartian Games unite Armenian community

Eduard Nalbandian
KTLA
July 3 2022
Ellina Abovian

A three-day celebration of athletic achievement and Armenian heritage kicked off this weekend in Los Angeles after a two-year hiatus.

The 45th anniversary of the Navasartian Games is put on by the L.A. chapter of Homenetmen, which spans five continents and has 30,000 members.

“Launched in East Los Angeles in 1975, now it boasts the participation of 300 teams, 3,200 athletes, 1,100 scouts and attracts over 35,000 spectators over a period of eight weeks each year,” the Navasartian Games said on their website.

The organization is dedicated to serving children within the community through athletics, scouting and public service.

“I feel like I have been inspired to keep trying and even if I lose, I can just keep trying to win and get better,” said athlete Mila Festekjian.

Festekjian’s parents played basketball for the organization in the 1980s, and she and her sister Ava are keeping alive the tradition and legacy founded more than a century ago by Shavarsh Krissian, who died during the Armenian genocide.

“I think it’s amazing that his vision was fulfilled through the work of the generations that followed him,” said Katy Simonian of the Victory Ball Committee.

Everyone is welcome to participate. Hrashq, which means “miracle” in Armenian, is Homenetmen’s program for athletes with special needs. Founding members created a coaching system, tailored to the needs of every child.

Nanor Kabakian’s son Aren has autism with a severe apraxia of speech.

“For years, I’ve been dreaming to be able to have my son participate in a community organization alongside his brother, who does not have any challenges,” Kabakian said.

Aren wrote a poem about his experience.

“We’re all different, yet alike in that we all want to be loved,” he wrote.

For Homenetmen member Quint Chemnitz, it’s all part of the mission.

“We always say it’s in our blood. We want to elevate ourselves and others with us,” he said.

Turkish press: Türkiye, Armenia agree to allow border crossing for visiting 3rd country citizens

Eduard Nalbandian
Handan Kazanci   |01.07.2022


ISTANBUL

Turkish and Armenian officials have agreed to open the land border for third country citizens visiting both countries as soon as possible, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Envoys for the normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan “agreed to enable the crossing of the land border between Türkiye and Armenia by third country citizens visiting Türkiye and Armenia respectively at the earliest date possible and decided to initiate the necessary process to that end,” the ministry said in a statement.

Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic and Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, special representatives for the normalization, held their fourth meeting in Vienna, Austria’s capital.

“They also agreed on commencing direct air cargo trade between Türkiye and Armenia at the earliest possible date and decided to initiate the necessary process to that effect,” the statement said.

The Turkish and Armenian officials also “discussed other possible concrete steps that can be undertaken towards achieving the ultimate goal of full normalization between their respective countries,” it added.

“Finally they reemphasized their agreement to continue the normalization process without preconditions,” the statement said.

The first round of normalization talks was held in Moscow on Jan. 14, where both parties agreed to continue negotiations without any preconditions, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Turkish and Armenian envoys met for the second time in Vienna on Feb. 24, and the third meeting was held on May 3 in the Austrian capital.

Also, a historic bilateral meeting took place between the foreign ministers of Türkiye and Armenia on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on March 12.

As part of the efforts, Türkiye and Armenia have also resumed commercial flights as of Feb. 2 after a two-year hiatus.

The two countries have been divided on a range of issues, including Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, and 1915 events during the Ottoman Empire era, and the border between the two neighboring countries has been closed since 1993.

Foreign Minister of Artsakh on joining Azerbaijan: People in the Auschwitz camp also had "rights and freedoms"

Eduard Nalbandian
ARMINFO
Armenia – June 20 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo.Artsakh can never be part of Azerbaijan, and the official Stepanakert has repeatedly spoken about this. This was announced on June 20 at the presentation  of the book “The Karabakh conflict and the foreign policy of the  Republic of Artsakh” by NKR Foreign Minister David Babayan.

According to him, both the Armenian people and official Yerevan are  also well aware of this. “We will stand to the last and never allow  our red lines to be crossed,” he said.

Touching upon the issue of the future status of Artsakh, Babayan  pointed to its complexity. “The Karabakh conflict is one of the most  difficult in the world, it can probably be equated to the  Palestinian-Israeli one in terms of difficulty. We cannot expect a  quick settlement. It will not be possible to reach a settlement in a  short time, so you need to be realistic and understand that the final  settlement is a task of the distant future,” Babayan said, calling in  this vein to protect and defend Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to him, there are all possibilities for this.   “Consequently, if there is no comprehensive settlement, Artsakh will  continue to maintain its status as a de facto independent and  sovereign state, and then we’ll see,” the head of the foreign  ministry said.

To clarify whether this issue is being discussed now, Babayan  admitted that the issue of status is not being discussed now. The  head of the NKR Foreign Ministry noted that of course, they want a  speedy settlement of the conflict, but at the same time, the red line  for them is that they will have nothing to do with Azerbaijan in this  issue in any way or depend on it.

Speaking about the negotiation process, the head of the NKR Foreign  Ministry noted that one should remember that “we face a state in  which hatred towards Armenians is being planted.”

At the same time, he expressed his conviction that the Armenians need  to learn a lot from the enemy, who has a very organized approach to  many issues. “You know, it is not so easy to take such bold steps. We  have lost about 80% of our state. Remember the massacre of 1915. And  what, did the Turks and Azerbaijanis repent of something? Do you  expect Azerbaijan to change overnight?  Especially when they see how  certain circles are scourging Russia,” he said.

Referring to the statements of the Prime Minister of the Republic of  Armenia Nikol Pashinyan from the rostrum of the Parliament regarding  Artsakh, where the security of the population of Artsakh was  indicated as a key factor, and not its status, Babayan noted that he  has no idea what any leader of Armenia can think, and even more so  take steps to make Artsakh a part of Azerbaijan.

“I don’t want to believe in this. As for rights and freedoms, we have  no future as part of Azerbaijan. I will give you a good example. The  poor fellows kept in the Auschwitz concentration camp , also had  “rights and freedoms” – they had the right to sleep – one hour, and  the right to walk, were free in their barracks – to roll over from  side to side in their beds. These are also “rights and freedoms”. But  the future in Azerbaijan, is even worse than this,” he said,  emphasizing that they will continue to preserve their de facto  independence.

At the same time, speaking about a comprehensive settlement, Babayan  stated that the peace treaty should be signed by Artsakh, Azerbaijan  and Armenia, and if something does not suit Baku in this format, then  everything will remain as it is now de facto, and de jure it’s all a  matter of time.

“But, de facto, we do not see ourselves as part of Azerbaijan, what  should we negotiate with them about.  They closed this page for  themselves, and we closed it,” the NKR Foreign Minister said, adding  that the Armenian authorities have not officially stated that Artsakh  should become part of Azerbaijan, and this is not acceptable.

According to him, even if the world says that Artsakh should do this,  they will not take this step, they cannot be forced to do so.

“Then it’s better to die with dignity in the struggle than to become  a slave who is constantly raped,” said the head of the Foreign  Ministry.

Regarding the lowering of the bar, Babayan noted that what kind of  bars are in question, only red lines remained. “We have only one red  line left – the status, what levels can we talk about. If we lower  the bar, then Azerbaijan is moving forward step by step. We do not  see ourselves as part of Azerbaijan. This is a fact,” he said, adding  that Artsakh society is united in this issue.

At the same time, he urged not to blame anyone for what happened to  the Armenian people throughout its history. According to the head of  the NKR Foreign Ministry, “Armenians themselves are to blame for all  their troubles.”

PM Pashinyan highlights opening of regional infrastructures in a meeting with Mikhail Mishustin

Eduard Nalbandian

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 20:26,

YEREVAN, JUNE 20, ARMENPRESS. The meeting of the Prime Ministers of Armenia and Russia Nikol Pashinyan and Mikhail Mishustin took place in Minsk, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

The head of the Russian Government said in his speech,

“Welcome, dear Nikol Vovaevich,

I warmly recall our meeting during your official visit. First of all, let me convey the warm greetings and best wishes of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. I would like to emphasize once again that we highly value our special relations with fraternal Armenia. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries and the 25th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance.

Russia is Armenia’s main foreign trade partner and the investor in the Armenian economy. According to the results of January-April of this year, the mutual trade turnover increased by 30%, exceeding $ 890 million. I think there is still room for growth. The volume of Russian capital in the Armenian economy is more than $ 2 billion, there are opportunities to grow here as well, it will be important for Russian investors to expand their investments in Armenia.

There are major Russian companies operating in Armenia – oil and gas, transport, digital technologies, other sectors – we hope that the Armenian Government will continue to create favorable conditions for Russian companies. We are interested in expanding bilateral cooperation, launching new productions, promoting joint projects in various fields, first of all in industry, energy, transport, digitalization. These issues are in the focus of our intergovernmental commission. By the relevant decision of the Government, all restrictions on the entry of Armenian citizens to Russia by land have been lifted. We expect that in the near future the flow of tourists will be restored and will even grow further. In my opinion, this is very important for the populations of Armenia and Russia.

We also pay special attention to the unblocking of transport and economic infrastructure in the South Caucasus, in accordance with the agreement of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The practical work is being carried out within the framework of a trilateral working group co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers. Its regular session took place during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

And today our meeting is taking place within the framework of the sitting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, Russia and Armenia are advocating strengthening of the Eurasian integration on the basis of the four freedoms: free movement of capital, labor, services, and goods. Within the framework of the Union, we are taking joint steps to reduce the impact of sanctions imposed by non-friendly countries, our decisions contribute to the stabilization of the economies of the EEU countries.

I suggest we should go through all these points, dear Nikol Vovaevich”.

In turn, Prime Minister Pashinyan said,

“Dear Mikhail Vladimirovich,

I am very glad to see you, we meet regularly. 

I also recall with warmth our last meeting in Moscow in the sidelines of my official visit. I want to emphasize that it was very effective, I want to thank you for responding quickly to all the issues that need a solution in order to maintain the high pace of our trade and economic relations.

I would especially like to emphasize the decisions you have made regarding the Upper Lars checkpoint. You know that, unfortunately, it is still the only land route that connects Armenia and Russia. There are concerns about the current economic conjuncture, with some problems arising in connection with the increase of land economic flows; the decisions you have already made and which we have already agreed on are very important. We are also talking about this with our Georgian partners so that the trade turnover between Russia and Armenia does not face artificial restrictions.

In this context, the opening of regional infrastructure, the unblocking of the whole region is very important. I would like to thank once again Alexey Overchuk and Mher Grigoryan, who are working very intensively with the Co-chair of the Republic of Azerbaijan on these issues. I hope that the work done will result in concrete decisions, as you know that the opening of economic and transport infrastructure in the region is important for all countries in the region. In the current situation, it is of special significance.

Today we will discuss not only issues on the bilateral agenda. The agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union is also very important for us. You rightly noted that both Armenia and Russia are interested in making the Eurasian Economic Union a more effective format. Of course, we are pleased with how this mechanism works, but there is always room for improvement.

I am very happy to welcome you once again, I hope we will have a meaningful conversation today.”