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

CivilNet: Berdzor will be handed to Azerbaijan in accordance with ceasefire statement

Emil Lazarian
CIVILNET.AM

30 Jun, 2022 10:06

  • Nagorno-Karabakh’s Berdzor (Lachin) town must be handed over to Azerbaijan in accordance with the November 9, 2020 statement, says Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan.
  • Canada will open a full embassy with a resident ambassador in Armenia.
  • Armenia’s government announces plans to raise the minimum wage in 2023 from $167 to $184 a month.

Credits: Ruptly

Russian State Duma passes bill at first hearing on recognizing national driving licenses of Armenian citizens

Emil Lazarian

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 09:57, 30 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 30, ARMENPRESS. The Russian State Duma adopted a bill at first hearing on recognizing the national driving licenses of Armenian citizens in Russia if they carry out entrepreneurial or working activity in Russia, reports TASS.

“The expected changes suppose recognition of national driving licenses of citizens of Armenia in the territory of Russia for entrepreneurial and labor activities related to driving”, the bill says.

Turkish Press: Türkiye, Armenia to open land border for visiting third country citizens

Emil Lazarian
Turkey – July 1 2022

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 has said.

Envoys for the normalisation 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..,” the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

It was also decided to “initiate the necessary process to that end“.

The statement came after Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic and Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, special representatives for the normalisation process, 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 normalisation between their respective countries”, it added.

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

READ MORE: Türkiye, Armenia reaffirm goal of ‘achieving full normalisation’ of ties

Normalisation talks

The first round of normalisation talks was held in Moscow on January 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 February 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 February 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. The border between the two neighbouring countries has been closed since 1993.

Armenia: Opposition MPs resign, get sacked from key posts

Emil Lazarian
PanArmenian
Armenia – July 1 2022
July 1, 2022 – 17:02 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Lawmaker Armen Gevorgyan from the opposition Armenia bloc has resigned as the chairman of the parliament’s Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration.

“Today’s situation dictates clear rules of political, public and human ethics, which I cannot ignore, and which do not allow me to continue serving as the chairman of the Committee,” Grigoryan said in a statement on his Telegram channel on Friday, July 1.

“Such decisions can also be the best opportunity to rethink and evaluate the acquired political experience and new knowledge, they can also become a stimulus for the formation of my personal future vision.”

Also Friday, the ruling Civil Contract party sacked parliament Vice Speaker Ishkhan Saghatelyan and Chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs Vahe Hakobyan – both of them from Armenia bloc.

Saghatelyan said in an interview with the Armenian Service of RFE/RL that the opposition will probably relinquish all the other posts they currently hold at the parliament.

Deputy PM speaks about “new phase” in Armenian-American relations

Emil Lazarian
Armenia – July 1 2022

“Bilateral intergovernmental consultations grew from economic frameworks into strategic dialogues. I am happy that today we have a rich agenda which covers many areas, from legal reforms and prevention of corruption to energy and information technology,” the Deputy PM said, speaking on June 30 during the celebration of US Independence Day.

 

“I should note with satisfaction that in the spring of 2022, the annual sessions of the Armenian-American strategic dialogue were resumed and on May 2, the launch of the concluding session was given in Washington by the Armenian Foreign Minister and US Secretary of State. Among the achievements of the 2022 strategic dialogue is also the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation signed by the heads of the foreign agencies of the two countries. I am sure that the deepening of cooperation in this field will open up new opportunities for Armenia,” Hambardzum Matevosyan said.

Armenian opposition slams ruling team for ouster of two MPs

Emil Lazarian
Panorama
Armenia – July 1 2022

The opposition factions in the Armenian parliament, Hayastan and Pativ Unem, denounced the ruling team for the decision to strip two opposition MPs of their seats.

Lawmakers from the ruling Civil Contract party voted unanimously on Friday to oust Hayastan bloc’s Ishkhan Saghatelyan and Vahe Hakobyan as deputy parliament speaker and chairman of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, respectively, for absenteeism.

In a joint statement, the opposition factions claimed the move was aimed at “distracting public attention from security challenges facing the country, the risk of a new war they have warned about, the Berdzor issue and new concessions, as well as their failure to repatriate prisoners of war.”

“The international community is persistently trying to ignore the setback in parliamentarianism, while there should have been an immediate and sharp response to such a conduct of the authorities,” the opposition said.

“The move indicates that the incumbent authorities are only concerned about keeping their posts, are busy with political persecution and are unable to deal with the challenges facing the country. They have no legitimacy and do not represent the interests of Armenia and Artsakh,” reads the statement.

Newspaper: Artsakh permanent representation in Russia closing?

Emil Lazarian
NEWS.am
Armenia – July 1 2022
10:14, 01.07.2022

YEREVAN. – Hraparak daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: RA Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to RF [(Russian Federation)] Vagharshak Harutyunyan’s relations with both the Russian official elite and the staff of Armenia’s embassy are not going so smoothly.

And the second news reported by our embassy sources is that the permanent representation of Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] in the Russian Federation, which has been operating since the [19]90s, may soon be closed. The role of this structure will be carried out by the second envoy of the [Armenian] embassy [in Moscow].

His candidacy also has caused an internal dispute between the [Armenian] MFA and the ambassador. Vagharshak Harutyunyan insisted that one of his close associates, Suren Sahakyan, who worked as [RA] Deputy Minister of Defense from January to July 2021, be appointed to this position. (…).

The MFA has its candidate. He is one of Artsakh’s deputy FMs, but our diplomatic source does not specify the name. (…).


ANCA shares findings from recent fact-finding mission in Artsakh

Emil Lazarian

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 14:25, 2 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan shared findings from her recent, three-person ANCA fact-finding mission to Artsakh in testimony submitted this week to the U.S. Senate panel drafting the FY23 foreign aid bill, ANCA reports.

Yerimyan underscored the longstanding calls for to end all U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan and the delivery of an urgently needed $50 million aid package to Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh).

“Having recently returned from a fact-finding mission in Artsakh, I can bear witness to the devastating humanitarian impact of Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh’s civilian population,” stated Yerimyan. “As many as 100,000 Armenians were displaced. Many schools and hospitals, destroyed during the war, remain in ruins. Countless homes remain uninhabitable. The maternity ward of the state hospital has been rendered completely unusable. In addition to losing at least 70% of their indigenous lands, the Armenians of Artsakh now live upon a landscape littered with landmines and, especially, unexploded ordinance, posing a threat to the daily lives of children and families.”

Yerimyan continued, “Azerbaijan, for its part, continues to illegally hold and abuse Armenian prisoners of war, in contravention of the ceasefire agreement and Baku’s own commitments under international law. During our recent ANCA visit to Artsakh we interviewed a repatriated POW – an 80-year-old female civilian who was captured in her village home, witnessed the beating of her husband, and was tortured herself.”

Yerimyan made the case that Congress should hold the Aliyev regime accountable for the ethnic-cleansing of Artsakh and Baku’s ongoing occupation of sovereign Armenian territory by cutting off all U.S. military aid to its armed forces. She also pressed for a long-term developmental investment in Artsakh, to help its families “rebuild their lives and resettle in safety upon their indigenous Armenian homeland.”

In May, Yerimyan, ANCA IT Director Nerses Semerjian, and Programs Director Alex Manoukian were joined by ANC International’s Gevorg Ghukasyan in a week-long fact-finding mission to Artsakh.  While there, they worked closely with the ANC of Artsakh, which was launched in September 2021, to focus on protecting the rights of Artsakh’s citizens, securing international recognition of the Artsakh Republic, and restoring Artsakh’s territorial integrity.

The ANCA team discussed Artsakh’s geopolitical challenges with Foreign Minister David Babayan and learned new details about the plight of the 100,000 Armenian refugees forced from their ancestral homes during the 2020 war from Artsakh Republic Minister of Social Development and Migration Armine Petrosyan.  Artsakh Human Rights Ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan discussed the effects of Azerbaijan’s ongoing attacks on border villages and the water and gas challenges facing the Artsakh population.  During meetings with Vardan Tadevosyan, the founder and director of the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center, the ANCA team learned more about the life-changing assistance the center provides for soldiers and civilians injured during the 2020 Artsakh war, while working with children and adults with physical and mental disabilities. The ANCA team also met with representatives of The HALO Trust, whose demining efforts have saved countless lives in Artsakh for over two decades, in part through ANCA-supported U.S. assistance.

Secretary for West of Indian Foreign Ministry to visit Armenia

Emil Lazarian

 

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 17:11, 2 July 2022

YEREVAN, JULY 2, ARMENPRESS. On July 4, the Secretary for West of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India Sanjay Verma will arrive in Armenia, Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said in a statement on social media. 

Sanjay Verma will participate in the 8th session of the Armenian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation in the Fields of Trade, Economy, Technology, Science, Education and Culture.

Another opposition legislator resigns from position of deputy chair of parliament committee

Emil Lazarian
NEWS.am
Armenia – July 1 2022
16:50, 01.07.2022

Opposition MP Artur Khachatryan on Friday submitted his resignation from the post of vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia. He wrote about this on his Facebook.

“Today, the members of the CC [i.e., the MPs of the ruling majority “Civil Contract” Faction of the NA] dealt another blow to Armenian parliamentarism, state institutions of the Republic of Armenia, and Armenian statehood. The CC majority of the parliament adopted decisions to recall NA Vice President [and opposition lawmaker] Ishkhan Saghatelyan and chair of the NA Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, [and opposition legislator] Vahe Hakobyan, from their [respective ] positions.

The decisions were adopted unanimously—in line with the most odious traditions of the Soviet Union.

 (…) the only concern of CC members is their chairs. (…).

(…). However, I consider it unacceptable to from now on hold a political position in this tragicomic political situation.

Accordingly, I hereby announce that as of today I am resigning from the position of Deputy Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs,” the opposition MP wrote, in particular.