Author: Eduard Nalbandian

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian attended the sitting of the Council of CIS Foreign Ministers in Tashkent.

Issues of improvement of efficiency of the organization’s activity, conduct of political consultations between the Foreign Ministries were on the agenda.

The CIS Foreign Ministers exchanged views on a number of pressing international issues and adopted a statement on unacceptability of intolerance against Christians, Muslims and representatives of other religions.

Reference was made to the deepening of cooperation in the fields of cyber security, culture and education.

The Council approved a draft decision on proclaiming Armenia’s Goris as CIS Culture Capital 2018.

The next sitting of the Council will take place in Moscow in October 2017.

Russia continues to take all legal actions to protect blogger Alexander Lapshin, who was handed over to Azerbaijan by Belarus, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, TASS reports.

Peskov reminded that Lapshin holds several citizenships, including that of Russia. “Therefore, we treat him as our national,” he said.

“We continue to legally protect his interests. We are not holding negotiations, but taking all legal measures to defend his interests,” Peskov noted.

Alexander Lapshin, who holds Russian, Israeli and Ukrainian citizenship, was handed over to Baku on February 7 and escorted out of the airport by law enforcement agents.

On December 15, 2016, police in Belarus detained Alexander Lapshin, a popular travel blogger, for his prior visits to Nagorno Karabakh and for his criticism of the Aliyev regime.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan has one quality that the Premier League’s top No.10s lack, according to Jamie Carragher, the Daily Star reports.

The ex-Liverpool defender believes Manchester United star Mkhitaryan has pace to burn unlike team-mate Juan Mata, Arsenal ace Mesut Ozil and Manchester City’s David Silva.

Mkhitaryan impressed in the role as United eased past reigning champions Leicester to move within striking distance of the top four.

The Red Devils made a sluggish start at the King Power Stadium, prompting Jose Mourinho to move Mkhitaryan from the wing to a more central position.

And the Armenia international wreaked havoc, opening the scoring after racing behind Leicester’s defence to fire past Kasper Schmeichel before half time.

“Great technicians but they don’t have that pace.

“I think that was vital in the first goal.”

The Georgian Government has given nod to a deal with Gazprom on the terms of gas transit to Armenia, Minister of Energy Kakha Kaladze has declared, Gruzia Online reports.

The Minister said the parties would shift to partial monetization of payments for the transit of Russian gas to Armenia.

Kaladze noted that “the changes will not increase Georgia’s dependence on Russia.”

Previously, Russia paid Georgia for gas transportation by supplying natural gas in the amount of 10% of the transported gas volume, but the agreement expired on December 31.

“As a result of multi-round talks we managed to reach an optimal proposal with the exiting circumstances taken into account,” Kakha Kaladze told reporters after the government sitting. “The government discussed and decided to sign the deal,” he added.

The Minister said the rates will be among the highest in Europe.

Last year Georgia transported 2.1 cubic meters of natural gas through its pipeline from Russian to Armenia, of which 0.3 cubic meters stayed in Georgia.

Photo: Reuters/Omar Sobhani

 

The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for twin blasts near parliament offices in Kabul on Tuesday which they said had killed or wounded scores of people.

The attack targeted a minibus carrying staff from the NDS, Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency, and as many as 70 people were killed or wounded, the insurgents said.

There was no immediate confirmation of casualty numbers from the police.

The attack, which ended a period of relative calm in the Afghan capital, occurred in a crowded area during the afternoon rush hour as workers were returning home.

Officials said a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Darul Aman area of the city near the new Indian-financed parliament building and was followed immediately by a car bomber in an apparently coordinated operation.

Earlier on Tuesday, a suicide bomber killed seven people and wounded nine when he detonated his explosives in a house in the southern province of Helmand used by an NDS unit.

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani has arrived in Armenia for an official visit at the invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, President’s Press Office reports.

Hassan Rouhani was welcomed at Zvartnots Airport by President Serzh Sargsyan.

The formation of a new Lebanese government—which will be headed by  was announced Saad Hariri—was announced on Dec. 18, which includes two members of the Lebanese-Armenian community, the Armenian Weekly reports.

Armenians Avedis Gidanian of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and former Minister of State for Administrative Development Jean Oghassabian are a part of the new Cabinet, according to Armenia’s Hay Dzayn news outlet. Gidanian was appointed State Minister of Tourism, while Oghassabian will likely head the newly-created State Ministry for Women’s Affairs.

The four key ministerial portfolios—the Finance Minister, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Defense Ministry, and the Interior Ministry—were given to Ali Hasan Khalil, Gebran Bassil, Yaacoub Sarraf, and Nouhad Machnouk, respectively, according to Lebanon’s The Daily Star newspaper.

Hariri described his Cabinet as a national consensus government, underlining that it will “exert efforts during its short-term,” which will not exceed few months. “Its first mission will be to reach with the Parliament a new electoral law that abides by proportional representation and the right representation,” said Hariri, as reported by the Daily Star.

The Cabinet includes 22 newcomers and only one woman. Along with the State Ministry for Women’s Affairs, four other new ministries have also been established: State Ministry for Refugees Affairs, State Ministry to Combat Terrorism, State Ministry for Presidential Affairs, and State Ministry for Human Rights.

Photo: EPA

 

An Iraqi paramilitary force says it has seized a key road west of Mosul, effectively encircling the city controlled by so-called Islamic State, the BBC reports.

The Popular Mobilisation (Hashd al-Shaabi) declared it had taken control of the road between Tal Afar and Sinjar after linking up with Kurdish forces.

IS militants still control the section of the road between Tal Afar and Mosul.

Meanwhile, an air strike reportedly hit another bridge in Mosul, as troops advanced further into eastern areas.

There is now only one functioning bridge left spanning the River Tigris, which flows through the city.

About 50,000 Iraqi security forces personnel, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Arab tribesmen and Shia militiamen are involved in the five-week-old offensive to drive IS militants out of their last major urban stronghold in the country.

There has been a long-standing support from the US to the region and supported for the Minsk Group process to try to find a resolution to the Karabakh conflict, Bridget Brink, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, told reporters in Yerevan.

She said the support has been consistent and voiced hope it would continue after Donald Trump’s election as US President.

Bridget Brink said the US supports the agreements on two confidence-building measures on expansion of Andrzej Kasprzyk’s monitoring mission and implementation of an investigation mechanism reached in Vienna.

Bridget Brink said the status quo has been unstable for a long time, and the April events came to prove that. “We would like to see those confidence-building measures implemented. The resolution of the Karabakh conflict would be very positive for the region,” the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State said.

By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

An unprecedented U.S. presidential campaign came to an end with the unexpected victory of Donald Trump!

Since the November 8 elections, there has been endless speculation by self-styled Armenian analysts about the President-elect’s business ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey, wrongly concluding that he would side with Armenia’s enemies! Since Trump has made no comments on Armenian issues, no one can really know what his position is likely to be….

Beyond Trump’s sweeping campaign promises to “drain the swamp in Washington,” and “make America great again,” no one can predict what he might do on domestic or foreign policy fronts. In addition, there is no guarantee that he will stick to the positions he assumed during the campaign. In recent months, and particularly since the election, Trump has moderated his views on a number of major issues, such as banning all Muslims from entering the United States, building a wall along the Mexican border, deporting 11 million illegal aliens, and repealing Obamacare. As Pres. Obama explained during his November 14 press conference, Trump is a pragmatist, not an ideologue with fixed opinions.

Consequently, rather than speculating about what Trump may do as President, let’s follow Hillary Clinton’s wise advice to keep “an open mind” and give Donald Trump “a chance to lead!”

Since the President-elect has not yet taken a concrete position on Armenian issues, now is the time for Armenian-Americans to ask friendly Republican members of Congress to convey the community’s vital concerns to Trump and his team. It would be much more difficult to make such contacts once the President is inaugurated in January and has given his marching orders to the new Cabinet. Meanwhile, Turkish and Azeri officials are busy establishing their own contacts with Trump’s transition team and Congress through their high powered lobbyists in Washington! Furthermore, while many heads of state, including those of Armenia and Azerbaijan, have sent congratulatory messages to the President-elect, Turkish President Erdogan personally telephoned Trump, urging closer ties between their countries!

Already there are warning signs that two of Trump’s closest aides, who may be appointed to top positions in the new administration, are rabid Turkophiles:

1) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has repeatedly declared his admiration for Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey, viewing him as a hero;

2) Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn wrote an article in The Hill last week, calling on the U.S. government “to adjust our foreign policy to recognize Turkey as a priority. We need to see the world from Turkey’s perspective.”

While Armenian-American ties with the President-elect are practically non-existent, the community has fortunately cultivated excellent relations with many reelected members of Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, who can adopt bills and pass resolutions on issues of importance to Armenia and Armenians.

Over 90% of the Congressional candidates endorsed by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) were elected on November 8. In the House of Representatives, 117 out of the 122 candidates endorsed by ANCA won their election bids, including Congresswomen Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo, Armenian-American Democrats from California. Regrettably, Cong. Robert Dold (Republican-Illinois), Co-Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, was not reelected; and candidate Danny Tarkanian (Republican-Nevada) lost his bid for the House.

In the U.S. Senate, 7 of the 11 candidates endorsed by ANCA won their election bids on November 8. Armenian Caucus member Cong. Chris Van Hollen (Democrat-Maryland) was elected to the Senate after defeating Turkish Caucus member Cong. Donna Edwards in the Maryland Primary. Unfortunately, Senator Mark Kirk (Republican-Illinois), a staunch supporter of Armenian issues, was not reelected.

Significantly, while 11 members of the Congressional Armenian Caucus did not return to the House due to failure to win, retirement, resignation or seeking other office, the Turkish Caucus suffered a greater loss, with 19 of its members not returning to the House, including Co-Chair Ed Whitfield (Republican-Kentucky) who resigned earlier this year due to an ethics probe.

The substantial electoral success, enjoyed by Congressional friends of the Armenian community, bodes well for the pursuit of Armenian issues in the new Congress. Given that the Republican Party will be controlling both Houses of Congress and the White House, it is incumbent upon Republican Armenians to win over more members of the majority party, while Democrat Armenians can build on their long-established ties with the minority party. After all, the Armenian Cause, as a nonpartisan issue, should be supported by both parties!