Foreign Policy Research Institute By Aaron Stein Feb. 8, 2022 On February 3, 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Kyiv, where he met with his Ukrainian counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelensky, for a pre-planned meeting to co-chair the tenth High-Level Strategic Council between the two countries. The two sides signed a series of bilateral agreements, including a deal on the co-production of drones and a free trade agreement. The Turkish-Ukrainian defense relationship is mutually beneficial and serves as the core component of a rapidly expanding bilateral relationship. The relationship took on new importance in 2019, following Turkey’s downturn in relations with the United States and the imposition of sanctions for Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air and missile defense system. Ankara is keen to explore non-American suppliers for export-controlled items or American-origin technologies that are subject to U.S. end-user agreements, while Ukraine’s Motor Sich hopes to alleviate funding shortages. This relationship is slated to be the lynchpin of current and future Turkish aerospace efforts, beginning with cooperation on drones and helicopters and, potentially, on jet-powered drones and fighter jets. However, all of this progress may be upended by a Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the outcome of a large-scale conflict could threaten the regime in Kyiv and upend the security situation in the Black Sea. The Russian military has positioned enough forces and equipment on Ukraine’s borders to topple the regime in Kyiv. Moscow has significant military overmatch and could choose any number of military options ranging from punitive air and artillery strikes, a limited military incursion in the Donbas, to the toppling of the Zelensky government. The Turkish position has been to balance its relations with Kyiv and Moscow. This policy is grounded in Turkish affirmation of Ukrainian sovereignty, balanced against Ankara’s ongoing effort to retain cordial and functional ties with Moscow. As Erdogan explained to pro-government media on his plane ride home, Ankara’s ideal outcome in this crisis is for Russia to de-escalate and to agree to direct, bilateral talks with Kyiv with a Turkish mediator. Erdogan has been explicit and has repeatedly offered to mediate leader-to-leader talks. He has also cast blame on the United States for mishandling the crisis and the West, more broadly, for making it worse. Erdogan’s opinion on the topic fits with the Zelensky government’s handling of the crisis and Kyiv’s criticism of the West for overhyping the threat of invasion and exacerbating Ukrainian economic woes. The Kremlin has managed to shroud its ultimate ambitions in secrecy, leaving outside observers to guess about the ultimate intent of a potential military operation. Ankara has attached considerable significance to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s potential visit to Turkey after the Winter Olympics in Beijing and views the invitation as part of the government’s broader effort to mediate the crisis by engaging with both sides. This visit—should it happen—may coincide with Russian offensive operations in Ukraine, so the trip could be delayed or cancelled outright. In any case, one potential outcome is that Ankara hosts a victorious war leader who would use the leader-to-leader visit to lend credibility to the military campaign and position Turkey to affirm a military victory, rather than find an off-ramp to current tensions. The broader challenge that Ankara now faces is that a large-scale Russian operation in Ukraine will upset the fragile balance in the Black Sea region. Turkish elites have made a series of political decisions over the past decade that suggests Erdogan’s circle believes that great power war is unlikely in Europe and Turkey’s near abroad. In December 2017, Ankara has made the decision to purchase the Russian S-400 air and missile defense system, despite being told that such action would lead to the country’s removal from the F-35 co-production consortium. The F-35 serves as the backbone of Western tactical air power and was slated to serve as Turkey’s front-line fighter. Ankara was removed from the consortium in 2019 and has since invested heavily in comparatively low-tech (and low cost) unmanned platforms, some of which are now partly produced in Ukraine. A Russian invasion of Ukraine would upend Ankara’s assumption about regional, large-scale conflict and could have a series of cascading consequences for Turkey, ranging from negative economic effects to increased tensions in the Black Sea. Ankara’s agreements with Kyiv could also be at risk. If Moscow opts for regime change, it is unclear what a pro-Russian government in Ukraine would do vis-à-vis the aerospace agreements with Turkey. The suspension of any agreement could have secondary effects on Turkey’s future drone development and could even extend to its design efforts for an indigenous jet fighter. In the past, Ankara has sought to decouple from the United States on the purchase of aerospace products. This decision stems from Turkey’s removal from the F-35 consortium and broader Western discomfort about how Western-origin technological products are used in the Turkish TB2 drone in regional wars, ranging from Nagorno-Karabakh to Ethiopia. Turkish elites have adopted an autarkic vision for the future of the country’s defense products in order to insulate the country from Western pressure. The relationship with Ukraine is a pillar of this policy precisely because the country manufactures the engines that Ankara is interested in using to power its next generation of drones. In short, Ankara has a vested interest in retaining cordial ties with the current government in Ukraine. If these agreements were suspended, then Ankara would have to consider a different approach. Its leadership could continue to invest in indigenous products, or it could once again turn to the United States or suppliers in the West. The Turkish government has also flirted with Russia although the United States has promised to impose sanctions on Moscow in the event of war, which could complicate any further Turkish-Russian cooperation. The Turkish-Russian relationship is multi-faceted, so Ankara faces an equally difficult challenge in severing ties with Moscow. Ankara, therefore, may not join the United States and Brussels in sanctioning Russia and, instead, continue to position itself as a potential arbiter between the two sides, even after a Russian invasion. The tensions between Ukraine and Russia have obvious implications for Turkish security. Ankara has ample incentives to “fence-sit” in the near term. This policy does not preclude defense cooperation with Ukraine, or even supporting broader NATO responses to reassure member states and to punish Moscow for an invasion. However, it does not mean that the United States should expect Erdogan to second U.S. actions and seek to engage with Russia continuously, even in the event of a conflict. The broader challenges that Ankara will face, though, are going to be outside of its control. The scope and size of a Russian military response depends on thinking in the Kremlin. For now, the signs point to a large-scale offensive. The Turkish relationship with Ukraine may, in fact, be at risk in such a scenario, and, beyond this, the security environment in the Black Sea could degrade and negatively impact Turkish interests. The Ukrainian-Turkish relationship is nuanced and complicated, but it also impacts Ankara’s thinking about its place in the world, as well as its defense relationship with the United States. The security situation in Turkey’s near-abroad can change rapidly and at any moment. Ankara has few good options to manage Russian actions, but it appears committed to trying to meet with Putin and to mediate a solution. The Russian government, at this time, appears to have no interest in any Turkish role. A large-scale war would test recent Turkish elite assumptions about the future of great power conflict and could have broader implications for the defense industry. Only time will tell, but, at some point, Ankara may have to make broader decisions about its future foreign policy that either risk its relations with Moscow or strain its ties with the West. * The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a non-partisan organization that seeks to publish well-argued, policy-oriented articles on American foreign policy and national security priorities.
Author: Emil Lazarian
“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS
RFE/RL Armenian Report – 02/08/2022
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Putin, Macron Vow More Karabakh Peace Efforts
• Aza Babayan
Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron
attend a joint press conference, in Moscow, February 7, 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have
pledged to continue jointly seeking an end to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
through the OSCE Minsk Group co-headed by their countries and the United States.
Putin and Macron met in Moscow on late Monday for talks that focused on the
deepening crisis over Ukraine. They said after the nearly six-hour talks that
the Karabakh issue was also on the agenda.
“We reaffirmed the importance of the work of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs,
including for solving pressing humanitarian and socioeconomic issues in the
region,” Putin told a joint news conference.
Macron likewise said Moscow and Paris are keeping up joint efforts within the
Minsk Group framework.
Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev last month mocked the U.S., Russian and French
diplomats leading the Minsk Group and questioned the wisdom of their continued
activities.
“They must not deal with the Karabakh conflict because that conflict has been
resolved,” Aliyev said, again pointing to the outcome of the 2020 war with
Armenia.
A senior Russian diplomat said a few days later that the U.S., Russian and
French mediators should be able to resume their visits to Karabakh. Armenian
officials backed that statement.
The U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, Lynne Tracy, insisted last week that the
conflict remains unresolved. An Armenian government statement cited her as
backing continued peace efforts “under the aegis of the co-chairmanship of the
OSCE Minsk Group.”
Parliament Majority Blocks Rise In Minimum Wage
• Anush Mkrtchian
Armenia - A session of the National Assembly, Yerevan, December 7, 2021
The Armenian parliament rejected on Tuesday an opposition proposal to increase
the national minimum wage by about 50 percent.
A bill drafted by lawmakers from the main opposition Hayastan alliance would
raise it from 68,000 drams ($140) to 100,000 drams per month. They say that the
measure is needed to offset the increased cost of living which has hit Armenia’s
low-income families particularly hard.
“The cost of the minimum consumer basket rose by 21.7 percent, to 73,400 drams,
last year,” said Hayastan’s Aghvan Vartanian, the main author of the bill.
"Water, gas and electricity became more expensive. Consumer prices went up by
[an average of] 7.2 percent while food prices by 11.7 percent [in 2021.]”
The pro-government majority in the National Assembly refused to even include the
bill on the parliament agenda. Deputies representing it said the sharp rise
sought by the opposition would be premature. Babken Tunian, the chairman of the
parliament committee on economic issues, said that it would reflect negatively
on Armenian businesses and ultimately hurt the poor as well.
The minimum wage was most recently raised more than two years ago. Consumer
prices in Armenia have risen significantly since then, largely reflecting a
global trend.
A senior official said last November that the government is planning to
gradually bring the minimum wage to 85,000 drams by 2026. It will “take the
first steps” in that direction in 2023, he said.
According to the government’s Statistical Committee, the median monthly wage in
Armenia reached 204,000 drams ($425) last year. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian
said last week that it has risen by about 25 percent since 2018. But he
acknowledged that higher-than-projected inflation practically nullified the gain.
U.S. Agency ‘Deeply Concerned’ About Karabakh Churches
• Sargis Harutyunyan
NAGORNO-KARABAKH -- A view shows Ghazanchetsots Cathedral damaged by recent
shelling during a military conflict over the breakaway region of
Nagorno-Karabakh, in Shushi/Shusha. October 8, 2020
A U.S. government agency has expressed serious concern over the Azerbaijani
government’s plans to erase Armenian inscriptions from churches in areas in and
around Nagorno-Karabakh retaken by Baku as a result of the 2020 war.
Azerbaijan’s Culture Minister Anar Kerimov said on February 3 that he has set up
a working group tasked with removing “false” Armenian traces from churches which
he claimed had been built by Caucasian Albania, an ancient kingdom that covered
much of modern-day Azerbaijan’s territory.
Armenia strongly condemned the development on Tuesday, saying that it is part of
Baku’s attempts to “illegally appropriate” Armenian cultural and religious
heritage.
“It once again demonstrates the fact that the cases of vandalism and destruction
of Armenian historical, cultural and religious heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh
during the 44-day war and the following period are deliberate and pre-planned,
and are part of a policy of depriving Nagorno-Karabakh of its indigenous
Armenian population,” said Vahan Hunanian, the Armenian Foreign Ministry
spokesman.
Hunanian accused Azerbaijan of defying the International Court of Justice (ICJ),
which ordered it last December to “prevent and punish acts of vandalism and
desecration affecting Armenian cultural heritage.” He also called for an
“immediate intervention” by UNESCO, another United Nations body.
The head of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Nadine
Maenza, echoed the Armenian concerns on the federal government agency’s Twitter
page.
“We are deeply concerned by Azerbaijan's plans to remove Armenian Apostolic
inscriptions from churches,” she said. “We urge the government to preserve and
protect places of worship and other religious and cultural sites.”
Over the past year Armenian officials have accused the Azerbaijani authorities
of systematically desecrating or destroying Armenian monuments in Karabakh.
According to them, at least two churches have been torn down since a
Russian-brokered ceasefire stopped the six-week war in November 2020.
They have also accused Baku of vandalizing Karabakh’s Holy Savior Cathedral
located in the Azerbaijani-controlled town of Shushi (Shusha). The 19th century
Armenian church was stripped of its conical domes and covered in scaffolding a
year ago. Azerbaijani officials said it will undergo a major reconstruction.
The Shushi cathedral was twice hit by long-range Azerbaijani missiles during the
war.
An armored personnel carrier of the Russian peacekeeping forces is seen near
Dadivank Monastery, November 24, 2020.
There are also lingering concerns about the fate of the medieval Dadivank
monastery located in the Kelbajar district just west of Karabakh.
Although the district was handed over to Azerbaijan shortly after the 2020
truce, Russian peacekeeping forces set up a permanent post at Dadivank to
protect Armenian clergymen remaining there. For almost a year, the Azerbaijani
side has not allowed the peacekeepers also escort Karabakh Armenian worshippers
to the monastery for religious ceremonies.
Baku claims that Dadivank and just about every other church in the region is
“Albanian.” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev underlined this decades-long
policy in March 2021 when he visited a medieval Armenian church in Karabakh’s
southern Hadrut district captured by the Azerbaijani army.
“All these inscriptions are fake, they were added later,” Aliyev claimed there.
Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamian, the head of the Artsakh (Karabakh) Diocese of the
Armenian Apostolic Church, complained on Tuesday that for all their public
statements the Armenian authorities remain “passive” in the face of what he too
sees as Azerbaijani efforts to erase Armenian traces.
“They only talk and don’t act,” Abrahamian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Armenia Rounds On Belarus Leader
• Astghik Bedevian
BELARUS - President Alexander Lukashenko delivers his annual address to the
nation and the National Assembly in Minsk, January 28, 2022.
Armenia on Tuesday shrugged off Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s
claims that it will have no choice but to join a Russian-led “union state” of
former Soviet republics.
In a televised interview with a pro-Kremlin Russian journalist broadcast on
Monday, Lukashenko predicted that Moscow will cobble together a “union of
sovereign states” with common defense, national security and economic systems
over the next 10 to 15 years. He said it will compromise not only Russia and
Belarus but also Central Asian states, Armenia and even Ukraine.
“Armenia has nowhere [else] to go,” claimed the long-serving Belarusian
strongman. “Do you think anyone needs them?”
“They have already seen that. Nikol Vovaevich [Pashinian] has seen that,” he
added in reference to the Armenian prime minister.
Pashinian’s government hit back at Lukashenko through the Armenian Foreign
Ministry and pro-government parliamentarians.
Kazakhstan - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (L) and Armenian Prime
Minister Nikol Pashinian talk during a CSTO summit in Astana, November 8, 2018.
“We believe that the Belarusian president’s peculiar geopolitical analyses aim
to first and foremost serve his domestic political agenda and have nothing to do
with Armenia and its foreign policy,” the ministry spokesman, Vahan Hunanian,
said in written comments to the press.
Lawmakers representing Pashinian’s Civil Contract party went further, launching
scathing attacks on Lukashenko on the Armenian parliament floor.
“The leader of a partner state has no right to express such thoughts about
another partner state,” one of them, Vagharshak Hakobian, said.
Another Civil Contract deputy, Hovik Aghazarian, accused Lukashenko of “doing
the Russian authorities and Russian statehood a disservice.”
Aghazarian also said: “Before making statements, Lukashenko had better inspect
the airport of [the Belarusian capital] Minsk, which looks more like a pigsty.”
Russia and Belarus signed a Union State treaty in 1999 and have been negotiating
on and off since then.
Lukashenko for years resisted much closer integration between the two nations
envisaged by the treaty. But the authoritarian president has grown more
supportive of the project since Moscow helped him stay in power following a
disputed 2020 presidential election and his ensuing crackdown on dissent which
led to more Western sanctions against Belarus.
Russia – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander
Lukashenko attend a news conference in Moscow, September 9, 2021
Artur Khachatrian, a lawmaker from the main opposition Hayastan alliance, said
the Armenian authorities have only themselves to blame for Lukashenko’s
“unacceptable” remarks. He said they have become too reliant on Russia in
dealing with serious security challenges facing Armenia after the 2020 war in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The government deliberately lowered the degree of this country’s sovereignty,
and of course Lukashenko and others will not hesitate to take advantage of
that,” charged Khachatrian.
Lukashenko, who has a warm rapport with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, has
repeatedly raised eyebrows in Yerevan in the past with pro-Azerbaijani
statements on the Karabakh conflict and arms supplies to Baku. In 2018, he also
questioned Armenia’s role in the Collective Security Treaty Organization after
Armenian law-enforcement authorities indicted Yuri Khachaturov, the then
secretary general of the Russian-led military alliance.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2022 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Chorus of Condemnation Grows Over Baku’s Plans to Erase Armenian Heritage in Artsakh
The Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi is being dismantled by Azerbaijanis
U.S. Religious Freedom Group Joins Calls for Accountability by Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan’s decision to establish a government commission to erase all Armenian traces from centuries-old churches and monuments has prompted a growing chorus of condemnations from the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, official Yerevan and Stepanakert, as well as international bodies, among them the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
One of the first steps taken by official Baku since the end of the 2020 war has been the overt destruction of Armenian churches and monuments in territories that are currently being occupied by Azerbaijan, in an effort to erase all traces of Armenian heritage—a policy started in the 1990s when Azerbaijan destroyed tens of thousands of Armenian churches, monuments and tombstones in Nakhichevan.
The plan to establish a commission was announced late last week by Azerbaijan’s culture minister, Anar Karimov, who said that Armenian churches and other monuments will be appropriated as Albanian through a group of “experts” who will be assembled to oversee this matter.
The Holy See of Etchmiadzin on Tuesday condemned Baku’s anti-Armenian advances, saying this policy goes against all norms of humanity and civilization and is a “manifestation of hostility and hate against Armenia, Artsakh and Armenian people.”
“The Holy See of Holy Etchmiadzin calls on all countries engaged in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process—first and foremost the co-chairing states of the OSCE Minsk Group—sister churches and religious institutions, international professional organizations to strictly respond to the fact of undisguised cultural genocide implemented by Azerbaijan and to stop and prevent such expressions of vandalism,” a statement from Etchmiadzin said.
Artsakh’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday stated that the establishment of such a commission is in direct violation of a ruling by the International Court of Justice, which, in December, demanded that Azerbaijan take the necessary measures to prevent all acts of vandalism committed against the Armenian cultural heritage and punish those responsible.
“We strongly condemn the decision of the Azerbaijani authorities to establish a special commission tasked with, according to subsequent statements by officials, destroying the traces of the Armenian identity of cultural and religious monuments located in the territories of Artsakh occupied by Azerbaijan,” said a statement by Artsakh’s foreign ministry.
“This serves as another convincing proof of the fact that Armenian cultural monuments that have come under the control of the Azerbaijani authorities is in real danger of being completely destroyed or torn off from their historical roots,” added the foreign ministry, saying that falsifying history and perpetrating cultural genocide by Azerbaijan are an integral part of the broader anti-Armenian policy systematically pursued by Baku for several decades.
“If at the initial stage of the Azerbaijani-Karabagh conflict, manipulations with history and culture served as a justification for the deportation of the Armenian population from the former Azerbaijan SSR, now they are aimed at legitimizing the results of the illegal use of military force by Azerbaijan against Artsakh,” the Artsakh foreign ministry emphasized.
“There is a strong belief among the international community and in expert circles that the destruction of cultural monuments is an attack on the dignity of peoples, their values and ideals in order to undermine the nation’s ability to withstand historical trials and develop. By declaring war on Armenian history and culture, Azerbaijan is trying to achieve exactly this goal,” said the Artsakh foreign ministry. “The destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage is not only an attempt to deprive the people of Artsakh of their rights, including the right to culture, but also a challenge to the international community and a threat to peace and security. Over the past decades, the international community represented by the UN, in response to the increasing number of cases of deliberate destruction of cultural monuments during conflicts across the world, has developed a position according to which the destruction of cultural sites is a war crime and amounts to acts of terrorism,” explained the Artsakh foreign ministry.
Official Stepanakert also called on the international community to take decisive steps to ensure that Azerbaijan adheres to the decisions of the International Court of Justice and other international legal and human rights conventions.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan on Tuesday condemned Azerbaijan’s official efforts at cultural destuction.
“The establishment of such a working group at the state level aimed at deliberate and illegal looting of the historical and cultural heritage of the neighboring people and depriving them of their historical memory, is unprecedented even in the history of conflicts. It once again demonstrates the fact that the cases of vandalism and destruction of the Armenian historical, cultural and religious heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh during the 44-day war and its aftermath, are deliberate and pre-planned, and are part of the policy of annihilating Nagorno-Karabakh’s indigenous Armenian population,” Hunanyan said.
“In view of the current situation, the immediate intervention and unimpeded involvement on the ground of the international community, in particular UNESCO, is becoming more urgent for the preservation and prevention of the cases of vandalism against the Armenian monuments of Artsakh, which are part of the universal cultural heritage,” added Hunanyan.
“This policy of destruction and distortion of the identity of the Armenian historical and cultural heritage and religious sanctuaries contradicts Azerbaijan’s statements on achieving reconciliation in the region, and creates serious obstacles to the establishment of lasting peace in the region,” Hunanyan said.
Joining the chorus of criticism of Baku’s most recent policy was Chair of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Nadine Maenza who expressed concern over Azerbaijan’s plans to remove Armenian Apostolic inscriptions from churches.
“We urge the government to preserve and protect places of worship and other religious and cultural sites,” Maenza said in a social media post on Tuesday.
The Armenia-Greece Friendship Association, in a statement, also condemned Baku’s plans to erase Armenian traces from monuments, Greece’s Embassy in Yerevan said in a Facebook post.
“The Armenia-Greece Friendship Association condemns the initiative of the Azerbaijani government to set up a working group to destroy the Armenian presence from the Armenian temples in the territories occupied by Azerbaijan under the pretext that those temples belonged to the Caucasian Albanian Church,” said the statement.
The Armenia-Greece Friendship Association called on UNESCO and other international organizations to take a stand and do everything possible to prevent it.
Tatoyan Says Azerbaijan is Holding POWs to Advance Political, Military Interests
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan (right) meets with Britain’s Ambassador to Armenia, John Gallagher on Feb. 8
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan on Tuesday told Britain’s Ambassador to Armenia that Azerbaijan continues to detain Armenian prisoners of war in an effort to advance Baku’s military and political interests.
John Gallagher, the UK ambassador, was briefed by Tatoyan about the violations of rights of Armenia’s border residents by the Azerbaijani armed forces, with concrete facts and examples. Tatoyan also emphasized the need for Azerbaijani armed forces to immediately withdraw from the roads in the vicinity of Armenian villages and stressed the need creating a demilitarized security zone.
The human rights defender also spoke about the urgency for the return of Armenian captives illegally being held in Azerbaijan, as well as the fact that those people are held there for political and military interests, for trade purposes.
Tatoyan praised Britain for its commitment to human rights and highlighted his office’s cooperation with various British human rights institutions.
Other issues discussed during the meeting included inconsistencies within Armenia’s judiciary, as well as the protection of rights of women and children were also discussed.
Tatoyan told Gallagher that during the COVID-19-related restrictions in Armenia a working group was formed at his office dealing with the protection of women’s, children’s rights, the prevention of domestic violence. He also presented the current challenges in the field of the protection of rights of children.
Armenpress: Russian peacekeepers visit Dadivank
Russian peacekeepers visit Dadivank
09:45, 8 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. The servicemen of the Russian peacekeeping force in Nagorno Karabakh visited the Dadivank Monastic Complex, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a press release.
The abbot introduced the history of the 12th century monastic complex to the peacekeepers.
The Russian Ministry of Defense noted that Dadivank is one of the biggest complexes of medieval Armenia. It is named Dadivank after St. Dadi, a disciple of Thaddeus the Apostle who spread Christianity in eastern Armenia.
US figure skater Nathan Chen sets world record in short program at Beijing Olympics
10:02, 8 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. US figure skater Nathan Chen set a new world record in the short program at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, reports TASS.
Chen scored 113.97 points. The previous world record was set during the 2020 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships by Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu (111.82 points).
Armenian captives are held in Azerbaijan for political, military interests: Ombudsman tells UK Ambassador
10:30, 8 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan had a meeting with Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Armenia John Gallagher, discussing a number of issues relating to human rights, the Ombudsman’s Office said.
Arman Tatoyan introduced the Ambassador on the problems existing in the judiciary.
Protection of rights of women and children were also discussed. The Ombudsman said that during the COVID-19-related restrictions in Armenia a working group has been formed at his Office dealing with the protection of women’s, children’s rights, the prevention of domestic violence. He also presented the current challenges in the field of the protection of rights of children.
The meeting sides also highlighted the role of reporters in guaranteeing freedom of speech and ruling out hate speech.
Tatoyan also presented to the Ambassador the violations of rights of Armenia’s border residents by the Azerbaijani armed forces, with concrete facts and examples. He emphasized the urgency of the return of Armenian captives illegally held in Azerbaijan, as well as the fact that those people are held there for political and military interests, for trade purposes.
The Ombudsman said the Azerbaijani armed forces must be withdrawn from the roads near to the Armenian villages, sometimes even near to the houses of the residents, and stressed the necessity of creating a demilitarized security zone.
Arman Tatoyan highlighted UK’s role in the field of human rights, as well as the cooperation with the British human rights institutions.
In his turn the UK Ambassador highly appreciated the high quality of the cooperation with the Armenian Ombudsman, as well as expressed readiness for further joint work.
Armenian Defense Minister visits military bases in south
11:23, 8 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan visited several military bases in the southern parts of the country on February 7.
Papikyan inspected the ongoing construction works and the training of the on-duty personnel.
The Defense Minister particularly focused on the social conditions at the barracks, and the food supply.
On the same day, Papikyan visited the Zangezur Garrison Hospital, which is equipped with modern medical devices and necessary medications.
The Defense Minister talked with servicemembers who are receiving treatment at the hospital and wished them speedy recovery.
Asbarez: Las Vegas Armenian Organizations Host Farewell Reception in Honor of Ambassador Baibourtian
Ambassador Baibourtian with representatives of Las Vegas-based Armenian organizations Very Reverend Father Sasoon Zumrookhdian (right) during opening remarks Ambassador Baibourtian (right) presenting a Certificate of Appreciation to Honorary Consul Adroushan Andy Armenian
LAS VEGAS—Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles Ambassador Armen Baibourtian took part in a farewell reception organized by the Armenian community of Las Vegas on the occasion of his term in office coming to an end.
The event, which was hosted by Very Rev. Fr. Sasoon Zumrookhdian, was held on February 2, at the St. Geragos Armenian Apostolic Church Tajirian Hall. It was organized under the patronage of the Honorary Consul of Armenia in Las Vegas, Adroushan Andy Armenian.
Ambassador Baibourtian presenting a Certificate of Appreciation to ANCA Nevada Co-Chair Lenna Hovanessian Esq. Ambassador Baibourtian presenting a Certificate of Appreciation to ANCA Nevada Co-Chair Hera Armenia Esq. Fr. Artsakh Badoyan and Parish Chair Garo Bayramian of St. Garabed Church presenting Ambassador Baibourtian with an award
In attendance at the farewell reception were Rev. Fr. Artsakh Badoyan, Pastor of the St. Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church, Rev. Samuel Agulian, Pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Church, and representatives of various Armenian community organizations in Las Vegas.
Consul General Baibourtian highlighted the exemplary work undertaken by Adroushan Andy Armenian as the Honorary Consul of Armenia in Las Vegas and presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the Consulate.
Ambassador Baibourtian with ARF representatives Hovig Maknissian and Paul Yeghiayan A scene from the farewell reception Very Reverend Father Sasoon Zumrookhdian (right) during opening remarks
Ambassador Baibourtian also presented Certificates of Appreciation to the co-chairs of the Armenian National Committee of America-Nevada, Lenna Hovanessian and Hera Armenian. He noted that their work has been valuable in leading advocacy to promote the Armenian cause, supporting initiatives for the benefit of the Homeland, and for spearheading the Holocaust & Armenian Genocide Education Bill in Nevada last year.
At the closing of the reception, Pastor of Las Vegas’ St. Garabed Armenian Apostolic Church, Rev. Fr. Artsakh Badoyan presented Ambassador Baibourtian with an award.
NATO’s build-up near western borders poses threats to CSTO — Secretary General Zas
13:14, 9 February, 2022
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 9, ARMENPRESS. NATO’s military build-up on the territory of neighboring countries creates threats to Belarus and Russia and impacts security of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas said at the Valdai International Discussion Club, reports TASS.
“NATO is substantially building up its forces on the western borders of the zone of the CSTO’s responsibility and developing military infrastructure on adjacent territories”, the CSTO chief said at the Valdai Club’s conference titled: “Collective Security in a New Era: the CSTO’s Experience and Prospects.”
“Military activity is increasing and militarization of the whole region is actually underway. This creates threats not only to Belarus and Russia but adversely affects the provision of security of our entire organization, the CSTO,” Zas said. “I have the audacity to state this on behalf of the entire organization because this is what is written in the CSTO’s development strategy through 2025,”, the post-Soviet security bloc’s chief said.