16:46, 1 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS. Cyprus Airways has announced plans to launch a new scheduled route to Yerevan, Routes Online reported citing a statement from the airline.
The service from Larnaca to Yerevan’s Zvartnots International will operate twice a week using Airbus A320 aircraft. Although the airline has not confirmed the start date, it said flights would be seasonal.
Greece’s Aegean Airlines also offers a one-stop option between Larnaca and Yerevan via Athens.
18:15, 1 August 2022
YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS. Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister of Armenia Arayik Harutyunyan, who is in Georgia on a working visit, held meetings with Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili and Head of the Government Administration of Georgia Revaz Javelidze, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.
Irakli Garibashvili welcomed Mr. Harutyunyan’s working visit to Georgia and highly appreciated the high level of Armenian-Georgian political dialogue.
It was noted that the relations between the two countries are developing dynamically, which is a good basis for further expansion of partnership.
Arayik Harutyunyan thanked for the warm reception and conveyed to the Prime Minister of Georgia the warm greetings of the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Mr. Harutyunyan emphasized that Armenia is interested in deepening multi-sectoral cooperation with Georgia and promoting the bilateral agenda.
The interlocutors discussed issues related to the agenda of the Armenian-Georgian partnership, referring also to the regional situation and developments.
In turn, Irakli Garibashvili asked to convey his warm greetings to Prime Minister Pashinyan.
During the meeting with Head of the Government Administration of Georgia Revaz Javelidze, issues related to the collaboration between the public administration bodies of the two countries and the reforms implemented in different directions were discussed.
Raffi Hovannisian
Armenia’s first Foreign Minister and the founder of the Heritage Party Raffi Hovannisian was barred from entering Artsakh on Sunday, said an announcement from the party.
Hovannisian, who served in Armenia’s parliament and was a presidential candidate in the disputed 2013 elections, was en-route to Stepanakert to attend his grandson’s baptism on Sunday when he was prevented from entering Artsakh territory by Russian peacekeeping contingent.
According to the Heritage Party statement, the commanding officer of the post showed Hovannisian an order, which include his photograph. The soldiers at the checkpoint gave no reason for the ban, but confirmed that “it could have emanated from the very ‘top’ of official Yerevan,” the Heritage Party statement said, adding that the Artsakh government was “taken aback.”
Reportedly, the Artsakh authorities scrambled for many hours to address the matter but ultimately were unsuccessful to clarify and then resolve the situation. The Heritage Party statement said that Artsakh authorities “claimed a possible linkage to Baku’s dictatorship.”
“The cowardice of this self-entitled command points in one direction alone. It can only be one person, a failed leader, who must leave the scene together with his xenophobic neighbor for the sake of true regional peace and security,” said Hovannisian, who presumably was pointing his finger at Armenia’s authorities.
The border checkpoint near Aghavno in Artsakh’s Berdzor region
“A small group of us was headed to Stepanakert,” Hovannisian’s assistant Mamikon Sargsyan told Azatutyun.am. “The baptism of Raffi Hovannisian’s grandson—Garin Hovannisian’s son—was going to take place in the Nor Shen village in [Artsakh’s] Martuni region.”
At around 2 p.m. local time, Sargsyan explained, the Russian peacekeeping contingent meticulously examined the documents of Hovannisian’s guests, who are U.S. citizens and had obtained permission to enter Artsakh. After several hours, in the evening, the peacekeepers announced that only Raffi Hovannisian was banned from entering Stepanakert.
Sargsyan explained to Azatutyun.am that the Russian soldier approached Hovannisian and in an apologetic tone, showed him the order on his cellphone. The order read: “Raffi Hovannisian’s entry to Artsakh is banned.”
Hovannisian’s aide explained that for several hours—from 7 to 11 p.m. local time—they were attempting to resolve the issue through Artsakh authorities. Having received no explanation, at around 11 p.m., Hovannisian’s entourage continued on to Artsakh and Raffi Hovannisian went to Goris, from where the Heritage Party announcement was issued. Artsakh president’s spokesperson had no comment when asked for clarification from Azatutyun.am.
Armenia’s National Security Service told Azatutyun.am that “Russian peacekeepers had banned Raffi Hovannisian from entering Artsakh,” adding they should provide explanations. The Russian peacekeeping contingent did not issue a statement, nor did Armenia’s NSS provide a clear explanation.
Massis and Suneh Abrahamian were barred from entering Armenia
The chairman of the Armenian National Committee of Netherlands and his daughter, a member of the Armenian Youth Federation of Netherlands were banned from entering Armenia on Sunday.
In a social media post, Suneh Abrahamian reported that after waiting at Zvartnots Airport in Yerevan for 12 hours, Armenia’s security officials told her that she was banned from entering the country and was considered a persona non-grata. On Monday, it was revealed that her father, Massis Abrahamian, was also shown the same treatment and both were told to return home.
Suneh Abrahamian, wrote on her Facebook page on Sunday that she had gone to Armenia to participate in a camp in Syunik organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Youth Office.
“Yesterday evening upon arriving at the airport in Armenia to participate in the ARF Youth Office voluntary camps in Syunik, I was immediately put in a small room and interrogated. After taking my passport and keeping me for 12 hours without any explanation, I was informed that my entry to my homeland was rejected and I am a persona non grata for the Armenian authorities. Words cannot describe the disappointment and pain I feel for being denied my homeland. Currently I am waiting at the airport to return to the Netherlands,” said Abrahamian in her Facebook post, adding that she is a member of the Garegin Njdeh Armenian Youth Federation chapter of the Netherlands.
The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy, headquarters in Brussels, demanded that Armenia’s authorities to immediately stop this process and “put an end to the anti-national attitude toward Armenian Cause leaders and activists, especially the youth who are have their first experiences in that realm.”
With the Abrahamians ban, the Armenian authorities have thus far refused entry to three Diaspora Armenians.
On July 14, Mourad Papazian, a member of the ARF Bureau and a co-chair the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF) was similarly turned back at Zvartonts International Airport.
Weeks later, the Armenian government explained that the reason for Papazian’s ban was his alleged active role in a protest against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan while he was visiting Paris in June 2021. Papazian had traveled to Armenia at least on four occasion since June 2021, the most recent of which was in May when he accompanied Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to Armenia for an official visit.
On Thursday Papazian announced that a complaint has already been filed on his behalf to reverse the decision.
Upon Papazian’s dismissal from Armenia, the ARF Bureau, the CCAF as well as the ARF Western U.S. Central Committee issued statements condemning the government’s actions, with the latter emphasizing that the Armenian government does not have the right to refuse entry to any Armenian.
By Mark Dovich
Azerbaijani forces attempted a major incursion across the line of contact into Karabakh Monday morning local time, the region’s authorities said.
“On August 1, starting at 9:00, Azerbaijani units in several sections of the northern and northwestern border zone of the Artsakh Republic resorted to provocations by making attempts to cross the line of contact, which were stopped by (Artsakh) Defense Army units,” the Artsakh Defense Army announced.
Karabakh forces suffered no casualties, though the situation along the line of contact remained tense into Monday evening, it said.
In a follow-up, the Artsakh Defense Army refuted “information circulating on the internet about heated battles in one part of Artsakh or another,” urging people to “exclusively follow official information.”
Karabakh Foreign Minister David Babayan echoed those sentiments in his own Facebook post, stressing that “everything is under the control of our armed forces” and calling on people to “rely exclusively on official sources of information.”
In its statement, the Artsakh Defense Army added that “the leadership of the (Artsakh) Republic, together with the command of the (Artsakh) Defense Army and the Russian peacekeeping contingent, is taking appropriate steps to resolve the situation” along the line of contact.
Earlier in the evening, Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan convened a meeting with his defense and security chiefs to review the “operational and tactical situation” in and around Karabakh, Harutyunyan’s office reported.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry has denied the incursions, saying the Artsakh Defense Army’s statements have “a provocative and misleading goal.”
Earlier in the day, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry called on social media users in the country not to share footage of Azerbaijani troop movements in and around Karabakh.
12:19, 28 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. The Cabinet approved the 2030 Education Development Program bill.
The last time an education development program was adopted was in 2011, and it is imperative to stipulate the conceptual provisions of human capital development – recognized as a priority by the government – in the document, according to Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Artur Martirosyan.
“…financial means directed to education aren’t expenses, but rather necessary investments for the development of the state and the society,” he said. “The center of the program is the person, and revealing the capabilities of the person.”
The final goal of the program is to develop a competitive educational system.
The three strategic directions are defined as: development of a universal inclusive active-learning educational environment across Armenia, increasing effectiveness of education and internationalization and export of education services.
“Not a single child will be left out of the compulsory education system,” Martirosyan said.
The bill will be presented to parliament soon.
15:47, 28 July 2022
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani Armed Forces opened fire from various caliber firearms around 12:00, July 28 in the direction of Armenian military positions deployed in the eastern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Armenian Ministry of Defense said.
The Azeri fire was suppressed with countermeasures.
There are no casualties on the Armenian side.
PanARMENIAN.Net – Azerbaijanis have razed to the ground another Armenian cemetery in the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).
Footage depicting the act of vandalism committed by Azerbaijanis has been shared on Telegram channels.
Azerbaijan, meanwhile, has been hindering the deployment of a UNESCO mission that would document the cultural and historical heritage of the region and prevent the destruction of significant monuments.
Since the end of hostilities in the fall of 2020, dozens of Armenian cemeteries, churches, monuments and memorials have been destroyed by the Azerbaijani military.
Opposition activist and public figure Avetik Chalabyan’s brother, Ara Chalabyan, has stepped down from his position as head of the Armenian Central Bank’s Corporate Services and Development Directorate.
He announced his resignation on Facebook on Thursday without giving any reasons for it.
“Starting today I am no longer working at the Central Bank of Armenia, where I have been for quite a time, received and gave back a lot. I celebrate the freedom in my life and will conquer the world as one of my good colleagues likes to say,” he wrote.
Avetik Chalabyan was released from custody late on Wednesday more than two months after being arrested on charges rejected by him as politically motivated.
ArmInfo. By promising to return to Parliament with its own agenda this September, the parliamentary opposition must mean bringing the “street” agenda into Parliament, Suren Surenyants, Chairman of the Political Council, Democratic Alternative party, said in an interview with ArmInfo.
“In other words, they will be demanding the premier’s resignation in Parliament. However, the difference between the street and Parliament is that if you demand the premier’s resignation, it implies not only shouting, but concrete steps, such as impeachment. But this opposition has no necessary potential,” Mr Surenyants said.
The very fact of the opposition returning to Parliament a year after working there “with its own agenda” is rather absurd. Nothing less can be supposed in this context than “returned” Ishkhan Saghatekyan not any longer at the service of, for example, Robert Kocharyan.
By and large, there is no united parliamentary opposition as there is no parliamentary faction With Honor. And the Armenia bloc is so motley that it allows surprises to be expected this autumn, such as its disintegration. However, the expert does not see any prospects for opposition MPs’ resignations.
“In any case, if the demands for Pashinyan’s resignation will continue to be accompanied with such slogans as ‘no Turkification’, I do not see any special prospects for the re-organized parliamentary opposition. With ‘street pressure’ lacking, the Parliament will not adopt any statements or documents in favor of the renewed opposition agenda this September,” Mr Surenyants said.