17:04, 4 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 4, ARMENPRESS. On July 3, Fly Arna airline began operating flights Yerevan-Hurghada –Yerevan. Flights will be operated 2 times a week: on Wednesdays and Sundays, “Armenia” International Airports CJSC said in a statement.
“And on July 4, the airline started operating flights on the route Yerevan—Sharm el-Sheikh — Yerevan. Flights will be operated 2 times a week: on Mondays and Saturdays (starting from July 14 – on Wednesdays as well)”, it added.
The Saint Hovhannes Mkrtich (St. John the Baptist) Armenian church, also known as Kanach Zham/Green Church, in Shushi has been completely destroyed by the Azerbaijanis, Artsakh’s State Service for the Protection of Historical Environment sounded the alarm on Facebook on Monday.
Now it is being converted into an Orthodox church under the name of renovation, it said.
Among the monuments of Shushi, the church of St. John the Baptist in the Upper District is of particular interest. It is called "Green Church" because the dome of the church used to be green.
There is an inscription on the year of construction above the entrance to the bell tower of the church, which says: "Babayan Stepanos Hovhannes. In memory of his deceased brother Mkrtich, 1847."
“Recently, a social media user, Elnur Allahverdiev, returned to the thankless work of Russification of the Green Church. It should be noted that the rush of Russification of the church is not a new phenomenon for Azerbaijan. At one time, Fuad Akhundov unjustifiably considered the church Russian Orthodox. In the mid-1960s, a decision was made in Baku to expand the Armenian part of the city in order to expand the “living space” for Azerbaijani settlers, and, obviously, to remove the Armenian traces of Shushi. During this time, three surviving Armenian churches and one Russian church were destroyed, as well as several Armenian cemeteries with beautiful khachkars and monuments. The Green Church, which Fuad Akhundov considers "Russian Orthodox" without reason, has turned into a gallery,” the service said.
YEREVAN – The Government of Armenia, in cooperation with the World Bank, the European Union and the United Nations Development Program, today launched the “Growth and Recovery for the Strengthening, Upgrading and Prosperity of Armenia” platform in support of Armenia’s promising sustainable development, green recovery and growth.
The discussion, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan, was attended by World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus Sebastian Molineus, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Sweden to Armenia Patrik Svensson, UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia Natia Natsvlishvili, Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, and representatives of other organizations.
The goal of the GREEN Armenia platform is to combine and optimize policies and investment initiatives to support Armenia’s transition to a green economy. Today’s event was the first in a series of thematic dialogues, jointly organized by beneficiaries, to come up with innovative ideas and to learn about global knowledge, which is key to building resilience to climate change.
Deputy Prime Minister Hambardzum Matevosyan welcomed the participants of the discussion, emphasizing that the Armenian Government highly appreciates such initiatives in terms of summarizing the work done, learning lessons and outlining the next steps. “This is best expressed in the Government’s Action Plan 2021-2026, by which we have planned a number of measures, from increasing the share of green energy to the promotion of alternative vehicles, the introduction of related infrastructure, afforestation, and other necessary works,” the Deputy Prime Minister said, adding that, on the way to building a modern low-carbon economy, Armenia attaches importance to ensuring an inclusive, participatory process with the active participation of international partners, the private sector, civil society, and academia.
According to Sebastian Molineus, World Bank Regional Director for the South Caucasus, the GREEN Armenia platform will assist Armenia in its efforts to transition to a sustainable economy. “The green transition may be a stimulus for Armenia’s economy, but it will be necessary to set priorities in cooperation with the private sector and international development partners and implement low- carbon, resource efficient policies and programs, in line with environmental goals,” said Mr. Molineus.
According to EU Ambassador Andrea Wiktorin, the green agenda, which is considered one of the leading priorities set by the EU for Europe and the planet, implies much more than the reduction of emissions. “It implies systemic changes in economies, societies and industries. In the case of Armenia, this opportunity is clear. A greener economy will not only improve the quality of life of the Armenian people, but will also stimulate sustainable growth and new jobs,” the EU Ambassador said, hoping that the GREEN Armenia platform will contribute to an open and transparent transition to a green economy.
According to UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia Natia Natsvlishvili, making Armenia’s economy greener is the right policy in these difficult times, and it can serve as a national strategic framework to ensure an equitable and inclusive transition to a sustainable, zero-emission, climate-friendly economy, while minimizing potential challenges that can be faced by the affected population and communities. Ms. Natsvlishvili reaffirmed the UNDP’s readiness to combine efforts with the EU, the World Bank and other partners to assist the Government of Armenia in a fact-based, equitable and strategic policy of green transition, contributing to economic growth, human development and the unique natural capital of the country.
During the discussions, the Government presented its vision for the transition to a green economy in Armenia and its policy on climate and environment, which will help strengthen Armenia’s resilience. The representatives of the scientific-educational community, the public sector and international organizations presented their experience and position on the challenges and opportunities on the way to the transition to a green and resilient economy.
Deputy Prime Minister Matevosyan praised the efforts and readiness of all partners and stakeholders to combine their knowledge, experience and resources for the sustainable growth of the country through the GREEN Armenia platform.
https://indiaeducationdiary.in/first-policy-dialogue-of-the-green-armenia-joint-platform-takes-place/
Azerbaijan and Armenia, the two uneasy neighbours in the troubled region of Caucasus, fought a bloody war over the disputed Karabakh territory two years ago and continue to have many political differences.
On Monday, Türkiye, which borders the two former Soviet republics, called on both countries to take concrete steps towards reconciling with each other through the forging of better communication channels in order to open the critical Zangezur Corridor.
"We strongly support the Zangezur Corridor, which will provide a connection between the western regions of Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan," said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
"We are expecting the opening of the corridor immediately," he added.
The corridor is part of a strategic transportation route extending from the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to Kars, Türkiye’s eastern province, passing through Armenian territory near the country’s border with Iran. As a result, its opening is dependent upon the development of a comprehensive Armenian-Azerbaijani agreement.
At the end of 2020’s 44-day Karabakh War, which culminated with a triumphant Azerbaijan, the two countries signed a trilateral ceasefire agreement alongside Russia that consisted of sections on the opening of transportation routes.
As was stated in the ceasefire deal’s article 9, “All economic and transport connections in the region shall be unblocked. The Republic of Armenia shall guarantee the security of transport connections between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in order to arrange unobstructed movement of persons, vehicles and cargo in both directions.”
Azerbaijan strongly believes that article 9 encompasses the opening of the Zangezur Corridor and although Russia, whose border guards are supposed to be responsible for overseeing transportation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, does not refer to the route as the Zangezur Corridor nor as a ‘corridor,’ it does support its opening.
The Zangezur Corridor runs through Azerbaijan and Armenia territories reaching Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan's autonomous region, which neighbours Türkiye. (Zeyd Abdullah Alshagouri / TRTWorld)
While Armenians have not publicly embraced the idea of opening the corridor, Yerevan, the capital of the landlocked state, has recently begun to approach the project in a positive way, according to Azerbaijani officials and other sources.
What is the Zangezur Corridor?
Zangezur, which is currently part of southern Armenia, has been a disputed territory since World War I. Under the communist Soviet Union, the area, which is located between Baku’s Nakhchivan autonomous region and Azerbaijan, became part of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR). Today, Armenia considers the area its Syunik province.
During the Soviet era, Moscow built two railways to connect Nakhchivan with main Azerbaijani territory in a region that Baku now refers to as the Zangezur Corridor, sometimes called the Nakhchivan Corridor by Azerbaijani media and analysts. But these railways became unusable during the First Karabakh War, which began in 1992.
Baku now aims to rebuild the Soviet-era railways and to construct highways in the area to connect Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan region. Furthermore, the corridor is also part of a big transportation project connecting Baku with Istanbul.
In a specific sense, the Zangezur Corridor aims to give Azerbaijan unrestricted access to its Nakhchivan enclave without any Armenian checkpoints while it passes through Armenian territory near the Tehran-Yerevan border. In a general sense, the corridor is a geopolitical project connecting Europe with Central Asia and China through the Azerbaijan-Türkiye route.
Why is the Zangezur Corridor a big deal?
The Zangezur Corridor plays a crucial role in increasing regional connectivity — not only throughout Caucasia, but also across greater Eurasia, joining Turkish, Russian, Central Asian, Iranian and Armenian territories and linking Europe to Asia.
The connectivity the corridor will enable will also help galvanise trade relations between different states. While NATO and Russia have been on different pages regarding many issues from the Ukraine conflict to the Middle East, both appear to have positive views on opening the transportation route.
According to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the corridor, as part of the International North–South Transport Corridor, will also serve as a linking point between Russia and Iran, increasing Tehran’s access in the region.
But Iran, which has strong ties with Armenia, does not want to see the Zangezur Corridor functioning, according to experts. As a result, Tehran is concerned by a possible Armenia-Azerbaijan-Türkiye rapprochement, which Iran believes would weaken its political positions, compromising its national and regional interests.
“Iran considers Türkiye's land connection with Azerbaijan and its opening to Central Asia via Azerbaijan as a threat to its national unity and territorial integrity,” said Otabek Omonkulov, an Uzbek academic, who is an expert on Central Asia politics, in an earlier TRT World interview.
Türkiye’s land connection with Azerbaijan also means that Ankara will have better access to Turkic states in Central Asia, with which it has strong historical and cultural ties.
"The corridor that is going to pass through here is going to unite the whole Turkic world," said Aliyev last year. Aliyev repeated this point with conviction in November during the meeting of the Organisation of Turkic States.
"One of the most important aspects of the Zangezur Corridor is that it will connect the Turkic world. Thus, the geography of the torn Turkic world will be connected with transport and logistics projects," said Rashad Mammadov, Azerbaijani ambassador to Türkiye in May.
Besides improving connectivity between Central Asia, the ancestral homeland of the Turks, and Türkiye, experts believe the corridor will also link trade routes across a broad network from China to Europe, significantly boosting interregional connectivity far and wide.
FREEHOLD, NJ – History in all its forms – from the beauty of houses lovingly preserved to a fifth-grader's essay about the horrors of the Armenian genocide – received recognition recently from the Monmouth County Historical Commission.
The Historical Commission announced the winners of the 2022 Fifth-Grade History Essay Contest.
“This year marks the Historical Commission's 29th year of holding the annual essay contest, and each year I am captivated by the student’s historical essays,” said Commissioner Lillian G. Burry, liaison to the Historical Commission.
James Badishkanian from Oak Hill Academy in Middletown was awarded first place for his essay, “A Boy From Dikranagerd.” And it was a riveting essay about his great-grandfather Robert's harrowing survival of a genocide by Turks in the town of Dikranagerd in Armenia.
The attack there killed Robert's family, except for one other brother. They were two of eight siblings. The two eventually made their way to America, where Robert and his wife, Rose, worked in various jobs in the early 1900s and ultimately became owners of a bridal gown business in Orange, still in operation today, the essay said.
As James put it "this is a very heartbreaking part of my family history, but it is very important to keep tragic events from happening again. My appreciation for history has grown."
Other students' essays were also recognized by the commission:
For example, second place went to Riley Lanigan from Atlantic Highlands Elementary School for her essay, “The Presidential Table.”
This was a story she learned from her grandmother about her great, great, great grandfather Peter Glass who emigrated from Germany in 1844 and was known for his marquetry work with wood.
In 1864 he was commissioned to make a tilt-top table for President Abraham Lincoln, which he did using 20,000 pieces of inlaid wood, the essay said. The table was on display in Chicago when the president was assassinated, but it still went to the Lincoln family. It now is at the Illinois Governor's Mansion. Riley said in the essay she was proud of her ancestor, she wrote, not just for his artistic skill, but that his gift was in honor a president who abolished slavery.
Third place was awarded to Madeline Dougherty from St. Leo the Great School in Middletown for her essay, “Twin Lights History,” and to Julianna Saliga from St. James Elementary School in Red Bank for her essay, “The Vietnam War Memorial Museum.”
“Many of our students write about historical sites they visited, and some write about their family’s history, which we believe helps increase their interest in history,”
Burry said.
The commission also announced the recipients of the county’s 2022 Historic Preservation Awards.
The awards are presented to individuals or organizations "who have undertaken restoration and preservation projects for historic buildings in Monmouth County.
“The Preservation Awards are a marvelous way to express our gratitude to those who have dedicated their time and money to preserve historical buildings in Monmouth County,” said Burry.
“Preserving these buildings and structures takes a lot of patience, and I am truly grateful to those who have committed themselves to helping conserve Monmouth County’s history.”
The Historical Commission recognized:
For information about the County’s Historical Commission visit the County’s website at www.visitmonmouth.com.
https://patch.com/new-jersey/freehold/armenian-genocide-essay-fifth-grader-honored-monmouth-county
Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Alen Simonyan received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to Armenia Joel Lyon.
Alen Simonyan congratulated him on appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Republic of Armenia, wishing him fruitful activity.
“Embassies are a cornerstone for the further development of bilateral relations. I am full of hope that your activity will have a significant contribution to the Armenian-Israeli relations and will contribute to the further development of the inter-parliamentary cooperation,” the Parliament Speaker said.
In the context of inter-parliamentary ties, the activity of the parliamentary friendship groups was highlighted.
The sides noted that the existence of historical and cultural ties between our peoples and the similarity of destinies are important preconditions for creating a favorable atmosphere of cooperation.
They exchanged views on establishing lasting stability in the region.
Employees of Artsakh’s State Service for the Protection of Historical Environment have discovered a khachkar (cross-stone), among others, during their recent trip to the Koshik Anapat monastery in the Martakert region of Artsakh.
The khachkar with an inscription can be considered newly discovered, since it is not registered in the state lists and is not represented in the works of authors-topographers, the monument watch said in a statement on Tuesday.
The monument is made of brown-pink stone (dimensions: 82 × 46 cm). In the central part of the khachkar there is a large sculpture of a large carved cross, surrounded by a floral woven ornament and other ornaments. Noteworthy is the inscription on the reverse side of the monument, according to which Grigor, the grandson of Hasan (Hasan), erected this cross to save his soul in the days (times) of Heghine.
“It is known that Heghine is considered a saint in Artsakh. In Christianity, she is known as Queen Heghine, Srbuhi, mother of the great Konstantin, who is credited with the invention of the cross in 327. And the most important thing is: ‘Mrs. Heghine Hayots Metsats, from Agvan, wife of Prince Grigor Mamikonyan’,” the statement said.
Koshik Anapat is one of the main spiritual centers of the Khaghbakyan princes from Artsakh, about which there is a number of accurate historical data.
The Bayraktar drones, which Turkey sold to Azerbaijan for billions of dollars, were shooting Azerbaijani soldiers dead during the second Karabakh War, the "Iranian Journalist Diary" Telegram Channel wrote.
"In the video, the [Azerbaijani] war veteran says that his 52 comrades-in-arms were killed by the Bayraktar. Azerbaijani officials have not yet made any statement in this regard," the aforesaid Telegram channel added.
Russia has helped Armenia and Azerbaijan reach an agreement on a road in the "Zangezur corridor." A 6km small road section remains to be agreed, a high-ranking source familiar with the situation told Izvestia daily of Russia.
According to this source, the Avtodor—the Russian state infrastructure and highway service company—will help to complete the coordination of this route, and the delay is due to the mountainous terrain. The Soviet-era roads will be used for the remaining 40 kilometers of this route. The source states: "Yerevan accelerated the approval of the project after Baku planned not to build a route through Armenia, but through Iran."
"Unblocking" means the construction of a transport corridor in the Syunik Province of Armenia, along the southern border between Armenia and Iran. It will connect the main part of Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan autonomous region.
One of the sources noted: "Azerbaijan and Armenia have long agreed on a railway corridor to Nakhchivan, back in the fall of last year. But at the last meeting of the deputy prime ministers on June 3, they were able to agree on a future route—except for the missing 6km section."
In the rest, according to the interlocutor, the old Soviet roads will be used, which until 1992 connected Nakhchivan with Azerbaijan via Armenia.
Izvestia’s interlocutor noted that the Armenian side accelerated the negotiation process after Baku signed a memorandum with Tehran in March on the plan to build a road from Azerbaijan's East Zangazur economic zone to Nakhchivan—and via Iran.