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

President of Artsakh receives AGBU delegation

Emil Lazarian

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 14:16, 8 June 2022

STEPANAKERT, JUNE 8, ARMENPRESS. President of the Republic of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan received today the delegation of the Armenia branch of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) led by President Vasken Yacoubian, the Presidential Office said.

The process of the ABGU programs and its new initiatives in Artsakh were discussed.

The meeting was also attended by State Minister of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan.

President Harutyunyan praised the long-term cooperation with the organization and stated that the future of Artsakh depends on the content and success of the programs being implemented in the Republic both with public and charity funds.

Asbarez: Moscow, Ankara Advance ‘3+3’ Caucasus Cooperation Platform

Emil Lazarian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 June 8, 2022

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu during a joint press briefing in Ankara


Russian Foreign Minister Arrives in Yerevan

The foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey announced on Wednesday that a meeting of representatives to create a South Caucasus cooperation forum will take place in the near future.

The project, known as the “3+3” initiative is an Ankara-proposed scheme—supported by Azerbaijan—that envisions Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Iran and Turkey will come together to form a regional economic and geopolitical alliance.

While Georgia has refused to take part in the so-called platform, due to its long-time enmity with Russia, representatives from the other five countries held a meeting earlier this year in Moscow to discuss the process. These discussions are taking place in tandem with talks between Yerevan and Ankara to normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey, as well as separate talks between Yerevan and Baku in hopes of achieving a “peace treaty.”

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was visiting Ankara on Wednesday, made the announcement about a potential meeting at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu.

“We agreed on how to continue the work in the South Caucasus. You know about the 3+3 format created at the initiative of Turkey. We held the first meeting in Moscow, the Georgian colleagues could not participate, but we emphasize that we will always be happy to see them there. The next meeting is being planned in the near future,” Lavrov said, according to the TASS news agency.

Lavrov left Ankara on Wednesday evening and arrived in Yerevan, where he was greeted by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (right) welcomes Sergei Lavrov to Yerevan on June 8

Lavrov and Mirzoyan are scheduled to meet on Thursday. The top Russian diplomat is also scheduled to meet with Armenia’s prime minister and president. Lavrov is in Yerevan to attend the foreign ministers’ summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, known as the CSTO.

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold a detailed exchange of views with the Armenian leadership in Yerevan on the course of implementation of the agreements reached between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia on November 9, 2020, January 11 and November 26, 2020,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced during a press briefing on Wednesday.

She added that matters related to “bilateral allied relations, the expansion of cooperation between Moscow and Yerevan within the EEU, CSTO and CIS shared integration unions, as well as the strengthening of coordination on international platforms will be discussed.”

“Moscow emphasizes, with satisfaction, that taking into account the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Armenia, which is being celebrated this year, the bilateral contacts stand out with high intensity. (…). There is a dialogue every day along the lines of Russian institutions abroad. On June 10, Sergey Lavrov will attend in Yerevan the meeting of the CSTO Council of Foreign Ministers,” Zakharova said.

She said that after this meeting, the 2022-2024 plan of consultations on foreign policy, defense, and security of the CSTO member states in will be signed.

Russia to Assist Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Talks – Lavrov

Emil Lazarian
June 9 2022
By AFP

Russia said Thursday it was ready to broker a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as Moscow seeks to reassert its influence on the world stage after invading Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with his Armenian counterpart in the capital Yerevan on Thursday, reaffirming Moscow’s willingness to help negotiate a deal following the 2020 war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Increasingly isolated Russia has lost its status as mediator in the decades-long territorial dispute between the two ex-Soviet republics.

The European Union is leading the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization process, which involves peace talks, border delimitation, and the reopening of transport links.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Brussels in April and May for talks on a future peace treaty mediated by European Council President Charles Michel, and have agreed to “advance discussions.”

Lavrov told a press conference on Thursday: “we confirm our readiness to assist the signing of a peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku.”

“The process is under way and we are ready to participate as mediators, advisors, and a contributing party.”

In autumn 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia fought over Karabakh in a war that claimed more than 6,500 lives, before ending with a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement.

The deal — which saw Yerevan cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades and Russian peacekeepers deployed to oversee the truce — was regarded as source of national humiliation in Armenia.

Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno-Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The ensuing conflict claimed around 30,000 lives.

Roads will remain under the sovereignty of countries they pass through: Mirzoyan, Lavrov comment on opening of communications

Emil Lazarian
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenia – June 9 2022
June 9, 2022, 13:49

 1 minute read

The meeting of the working group on unblocking of regional communications was positive, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.

“The rail routes have been agreed on, discussions on the roads and the regime that will be established are nearing completion. It will be simplified, but will definitely be based on the acknowledgement of sovereignty of the Armenian territory. There can be no ambiguity here. There are things that are related to practical actions on the ground, which are related to the creation of infrastructure meant for long years. That’s why here it’s better to weigh everything thoroughly,” Lavrov said.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said, in turn, that there is a common understanding on some issues here, and this is first of all related to the understanding that all roads that will be opened or reopened will remain under the sovereignty and authority of the countries they pass through.

“There is no place for corridor logic, and this is common understanding,” Mirzoyan emphasized.

At the same time he noted that there are details which the parties divert on, but the work continues, and I think we will reach mutually acceptable solutions on these issues.

Opposition MP addresses chief prosecutor, ambassadors over police violence against protesters in Yerevan

Emil Lazarian
Panorama
Armenia – June 9 2022

Taguhi Tovmasyan, an MP from the opposition Pativ Unem bloc and head of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs, has appealed to Armenia’s Prosecutor General Artak Davtyan and the Russian, U.S. and EU ambassadors in the country regarding police violence against peaceful protesters in Yerevan last week.

Dozens were injured in clashes between riot police and opposition demonstrators near the parliament building in downtown Yerevan on June 3. The skirmishes erupted after protesters attempted to break through a police cordon at the intersection of Proshyan and Demirchyan Streets.

In a public post on Facebook on Thursday, Tovmasyan said she called the attention of the chief prosecutor and the diplomats to the use of special means, including stun grenades, by police officers at the protest without warning. She cited opposition leaders’ claims that the special means were outdated, which led to grave injuries among policemen and civilians.

The MP urged Artak Davtyan to instruct the competent authorities to check the legality of the decision on the use of special means by the police as well as to investigate reports suggesting they were outdated.

Tovmasyan also called on international partners to publicly comment on the police brutality against peaceful protesters in an effort to prevent its recurrence.

Mirzoyan: There is definitely no political crisis in Armenia

Emil Lazarian
https://arminfo.info/full_news.php?id=69922&lang=3ARMINFO
Armenia – June 9 2022
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo. There is definitely no political crisis in Armenia.  Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced this on November 9 in Yerevan at a press  conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, at a request  to comment on the protests in the country.

According to him, to confirm his words, he can cite two arguments –  the snap parliamentary elections held last summer in the summer,  which resolved the then political crisis, answered many questions and  was recognized by all international organizations as transparent and  democratic. “And secondly, we follow the actions, and the small  number of participants in the rallies does not speak of popular  support,” he said. At the same time, Mirzoyan noted that in a  democratic country, which is Armenia, everyone has the right to  peaceful rallies. “If we move away from the issue of law and touch on  the logical side of this issue, then I can express my private  opinion. Here I see issues related to sanity,” the Armenian Foreign  Minister said, emphasizing that the parliamentary opposition can  exercise its right to criticize authorities from the parliamentary  platform, which, unfortunately or fortunately, it does not do.

“The rally organizers say that the Republic of Armenia is pursuing  the wrong policy on the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, the normalization  of Armenian-Turkish relations and the agenda of the Azerbaijani-  Armenian negotiations,” he said. Mirzoyan added that he could  understand the opposition if they talked about the need to cancel the  statement of November 9, 2020, withdrawing from the delimitation  process and unblock communications, or the statements of January 11  and November 26, 2021, the delimitation process. But since the  opposition does not do this, according to him, all this suggests that  the topics discussed by the opposition are just ugly speculations. 

It should be noted that since May 1, the Resistance Movement has been  holding actions of disobedience throughout the republic demanding the  resignation of current Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia  Nikol Pashinyan and his team. The Movement is convinced that the  current government in Armenia is pursuing a policy that is disastrous  for the Armenian state and Artsakh, and cannot represent the  interests of the country in the international arena.

https://arminfo.info/full_news.php?id=69921&lang=3

“Sunrise Stepanakert” festival to gather artists from Artsakh, Armenia and Diaspora

Emil Lazarian

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 09:57, 9 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Sunrise Stepanakert multimedia art festival will launch in Artsakh on June 24.

The festival, which is being held for already the second time, includes photo, digital art exhibition, musical performances, film screenings and creative master classes.

The festival was co-founded by Diaspora-Armenian girls, who came to Armenia within the frames of the IGorts program of the Office of High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs and stayed here.

In an interview to ARMENPRESS, co-founder of the festival Shushan Keshisian said that there was a big desire to do something for Artsakh. Initially, a charity event was organized in Yerevan, and the funds raised were directed to assisting the people displaced from Artsakh.

“The charity event was in the form of an exhibition – photos, graphic design, illustration. We started working with Lilit Hakobyan on the sidelines of this initiative. After successfully holding the event, we thought to hold it in Artsakh. And this idea united us and we started working. We visited Artsakh, discussed and understood that it should not merely be an exhibition, but a festival that will involve a concert program, a film-watching, master classes and so on”, she said.

This year the program of the festival, as well as the team have expanded. Co-founder Lilit Hakobyan said that last year the festival was attended by around 800 people, but this year 1200 visits are expected. Artists from both Artsakh, Armenia and the Diaspora will participate in the festival. The works of foreign artists will also be displayed at the exhibition.

“By uniting Armenians of Artsakh, Armenia and the Diaspora, we want to emphasize that the dawn begins after every sunset. The message is that life continues, we should be reborn and do that through art. For us it’s important that Artsakh feels itself a part of the international platform. It is not isolated, but a part of the whole. We are happy to have participants from abroad, whose works will also be displayed”, Lilit Hakobyan said.

The festival will last until July 3.

Free transportation from Yerevan to Stepanakert will be available.

The organizers plan to hold the festival annually.

Interview by Anna Gziryan

Armenia interested in intensifying activities of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship – FM

Emil Lazarian

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 13:09, 9 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is interested in activating the works of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship – the negotiation format having an international mandate by the international community, aimed at the comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Yerevan on June 9.

The FM reminded that the principles for the settlement of the NK conflict have been developed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

“Our discussion today, of course, focused on the possible document on normalization of the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as on issues relating to the settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. I reaffirmed the readiness of the Armenian government to make efforts to achieve stability and peace in the region. In this context addressing the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is vital which will include the key points on ensuring the security and all rights of the people of Artsakh and determining the final status of Nagorno Karabakh”, the Armenian FM said, recalling the latest statement of the Armenian and Russian leaders where they affirmed the importance of using the potential and experience of the OSCE MG Co-Chairmanship institute in accordance with its international mandate.

Armenian Ombudswoman meets with US Deputy Assistant Secretary Kara C. McDonald

Emil Lazarian

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 13:26, 9 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Kristinne Grigoryan met today with the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Kara C. McDonald, the Ombudswoman’s Office said.

During the meeting Ombudsperson Kristinne Grigoryan presented the situation of human rights in Armenia.

Kara C. McDonald congratulated Kristinne Grigoryan on assuming office and discussed the challenges relating to the protection of human rights. She expressed readiness for further cooperation.

Hard Rock Cafe Yerevan to provide its employees with best conditions of international market

Emil Lazarian

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 14:15, 9 June 2022

YEREVAN, JUNE 9, ARMENPRESS. Hard Rock Cafe Yerevan will provide its employees with the best conditions of the international market – competitive salary, health insurance and an opportunity for constant growth.

Hard Rock Cafe Yerevan, which will open in Pushkin str. 3/1, will provide its future staffers with broad educational and training opportunities.

The Job Fair of Hard Rock Cafe was held on June 9, during which the list of jobs required for Yerevan, the job requirements and the criteria for the employees were presented.

Hard Rock Cafe Yerevan Director Bob Khalil told reporters that the preference will be given to Armenians as they better know the desires and demands of the local clients.

“Hard Rock Cafe is not just a restaurant or a café, it’s an entire experience, an environment involving the highest level of standards and service”, Bob Khalil said, adding that Hard Rock Cafe will bring also a new high quality and a perfect service culture.

Dom Arena director Arsen Hovhannisyan added that many people have applied for the job.

“It’s already over two weeks we have started collecting CVs. Interviews will soon launch in two stages, and then the participants will be selected. Next week specialists will arrive to hold training. The best 60 will be selected and will work in our field”, he said.

Hovhannisyan said that when they were discussing with ANIF (Armenian National Interests Fund) bringing the project to Armenia, it was noted that the company will not only bring a restaurant, but also knowledge, experience, corporate governance culture, which, unfortunately, is lacking in the sector.

Asked whether the state’s participation to the project is not worrying given that every business wants to be independent, Arsen Hovhannisyan said that the cooperation is built in a way that the business is quite free in making decisions. “Of course, there is accountability, well-built relations, but the relations here are within the corporate governance”, he said.  

Food Republic and Hard Rock International signed a contract on opening Hard Rock Cafe in Yerevan. ANIF participates in the program within the framework of the Anti-Crisis fund programs of the ANIF subsidiary company established to mitigate the economic consequences of COVID 19. ANIF has 48% participation in the project. 

The opening of Hard Rock Cafe in Yerevan is expected in the second quarter of 2022.

The first Hard Rock Cafe opened in downtown London in 1971.

Today the brand is present in more than 68 countries.