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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

Azerbaijani press: Azerbaijan to buy new mine detection robots – minister

Emil Lazarian
15:51 (UTC+04:00)
858

By Trend

Azerbaijan will purchase new mine detection robots to use them in the lands liberated from the Armenian occupation, Azerbaijani Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov told reporters, Trend reports.

Heydarov added that the number of mine detector specialists is being increased.

“The Armenia planted many mines in previously occupied lands,” the minister said. “The lands must be cleared of mines as soon as possible to speed up construction and restoration work. Currently, besides mine detecting devices, the work is also underway to purchase mine detection robots.”

“This work is being carried out by the Ministry of Emergency Situations in cooperation with Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) and the Ministry of Defense,” Heydarov added.

The minister added that the more greenery is, the more difficult is to find mines.

“But it is winter now, the grass is drying out, the mine clearance operations are being rapidly conducted,” the minister said.

Sports: Milan, Inter eye Mkhitaryan

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 13 2021

Reigning Italian Serie A champions Inter, as well as Milan are interested in the services of Armenia captain and Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, calciomercatonews reports.

Both Milan clubs want to acquire the 32-year-old footballer—whose current contract with Roma is expected to run until the end of this season—for free.

Roma have chosen a strategy of making their squad younger, and therefore it is unlikely that Mkhitaryan will play in Rome next season.

Yerevan Municipality spokesperson: Director of city’s bus operating company resigns

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 13 2021
Yerevan Municipality spokesperson: Director of city’s bus operating company resigns
22:44, 13.12.2021

Director of Yerevan Bus CJSC Elbak Tarposhyan has submitted his resignation letter, Spokesperson of Yerevan Municipality Hakob Karapetyan reported on his Facebook page.

“Summing up the results of the events with respect to public transportation in Yerevan today, we inform that:

– Drivers are back to work after discussions that the relevant subdivisions held with the drivers of buses under the subordination of Yerevan Municipality;

– The ongoing improvement of the working conditions of drivers is on the agenda of Yerevan Municipality, and the municipal authorities have already taken and will continue to take active steps in this direction;

– The municipal authorities are consistently making transport reforms that are of vital importance for our capital, creating safe, modern, comfortable and dignified transport for citizens of Yerevan. The potential problems and obstacles can’t distract the municipal authorities from implementing their goal,” Karapetyan wrote.

Newspaper: Who is accountable for Armenia losing at International Court of Justice?

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 8 2021
10:11, 08.12.2021

YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: About a month ago, pro-government figures were spreading information on the Internet that Armenia has filed a crushing lawsuit against Azerbaijan at the UN International Court of Justice. (…) the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague [on Tuesday] deemed it necessary to take additional action against both parties: Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Accordingly, Azerbaijan must take the necessary measures to prevent incitement to racial hatred against Armenians.

(…). The same judge [the Court president Joan Donoghue] called on Armenia as well to take steps to prevent incitement to racial hatred against Azerbaijanis (…) by issuing Baku’s [counter] lawsuit against Yerevan (…).

So, what has happened? The RA has returned all the [Azerbaijani] captives after [the] November 9 [statement on ceasefire], whereas Azerbaijan not only holds, but also tortures and tries our captives, returns [them] in parts, according to its expediency, but The Hague tribunal puts an equal sign between us and Azerbaijan, and applies a means of securing the lawsuit also against the RA.

And who is accountable for this situation inside our country? The group headed by Yeghishe Kirakosyan, the permanent representative of the RA government before the ECHR, had to not only file a lawsuit against Baku, but also substantiate and defend the lawsuit. And RA Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan, who regularly states that a criminal case has been filed on this or that Azerbaijani atrocity and they will be used in international instances to protect the rights of [Armenian] citizens, should have been able to gather evidence against Azerbaijan along the lines of the criminal cases that they would have been undeniable.

But it turns out that Armenia is in fact ending up in a vulnerable situation in the face of so much evidence. (…).

In short, having crystalline evidence, we lost in court again (actually at this stage). It remains to wait for the end of the examination.

Sri Lankan gemstones to enter Armenia

Emil Lazarian
Dec 9 2021

Thu, Dec 9, 2021, 09:23 am SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Dec 09, Colombo: The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Moscow, in collaboration with the National Gem & Jewellery Authority of Sri Lanka, and the Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka in Armenia Sargis Tarverdyan facilitated a virtual B2B meeting between Armenian precious stone buyers and Sri Lankan gem exporters on 2 December, 2021 with the objective of establishing links between the industry stakeholders of the two countries.

The virtual discussion comprised of presentations from 8 Sri Lankan gem exporting companies and an overview of the benefits of the Sri Lankan precious stone industry delivered by the Assistant Director of the National Gem & Jewellery Authority of Sri Lanka Ayoma Dias.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage, who is concurrently accredited to the Republic of Armenia, highlighted the opportunities for collaborations between the two countries given Sri Lanka’s rich gemstone resources and Armenia’s thriving gem & jewellery industry.

Counsellor to the Minister of Economic Development of the Republic of Armenia Gagik Mkrtchyan, Head of Gem and Jewellery Association of Armenia Hakob Darbinyan, Head of the Yerevan State Jewellery plant and several business representatives joined the meeting from the Armenian side.

At the conclusion of the productive meeting, the two sides decided to draw up a road map for further cooperation, share lists of interested Armenian buyers, and closely follow up with discussions to setup mutually beneficial partnerships.

 

Sheikha Moza meets President of Armenia and First Lady

Emil Lazarian
The Peninsula, Qatar
Dec 9 2021
Published: 09 Dec 2021 – 07:46 | Last Updated: 09 Dec 2021 – 07:48

Doha – HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, met on Thursday afternoon with President of Armenia HE Armen Sarkissian, and First Lady HE Nouneh Sarkissian, at the Qatar National Convention Center.

During the meeting, they discussed areas of mutual interest in education, innovation and research.

HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, was in attendance.

Armenia, Azerbaijan trade blame for border clashes

Emil Lazarian
Dec 9 2021

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan have traded blame for border clashes in which officials say at least one soldier has been killed and two others have been wounded amid simmering tensions between the ex-Soviet neighbors. Armenia’s military said Thursday that two of its troops were wounded after Azerbaijani forces opened fire on Armenian positions. Azerbaijan meanwhile said Armenian forces killed one of its soldiers in what it called “a provocation.” Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decades-old dispute over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Fierce fighting that erupted in September 2020 ended six weeks later with a Russia-brokered peace deal. Tensions escalated again last month.


AP: Armenia, Azerbaijan trade blame for border clashes..

Emil Lazarian
The Intelligencer
Dec 9 2021
Dec. 9, 2021Updated: Dec. 9, 2021 11:58 a.m.

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan on Thursday traded blame for border clashes in which officials say at least one soldier was killed and two others were wounded amid simmering tensions between the ex-Soviet neighbors.

Armenia’s military said that two of its troops were wounded after Azerbaijani forces opened fire on Armenian positions, while Azerbaijan said Armenian forces killed one of its soldiers in what it called “a provocation.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a decades-old dispute over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan but was under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.

Moscow brokered a peace deal last November to end six weeks of fighting over the territory, during which more than 6,600 people were killed. The Russia-brokered truce allowed Azerbaijan to reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas that the Armenia-backed separatists controlled.

Tensions on the two nations’ border have been building since May, when Armenia protested what it described as an incursion by Azerbaijani troops into its territory. Azerbaijan has insisted that its soldiers were deployed to what it considers its territory in areas where the border has yet to be demarcated. Clashes have been reported ever since.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks in Sochi. After the meeting, Putin said that the three leaders agreed to create, before the end of the year, mechanisms for delimitation and demarcation of the border between the two countries.

Vardevanyan: Armenia’s Constitutional Court orders immediate release of imprisoned opposition MPs

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Dec 9 2021

The top court of Armenia on Thursday ordered the immediate release of imprisoned opposition lawmakers, according to MP Aram Vardevanyan from the opposition Hayastan (Armenia) faction.

“The Constitutional Court has just delivered a ruling on the immunity of MPs based on our appeal,” he wrote on Facebook.

“The Constitutional Court has literally declared that a person who does not have the status of a deputy and is deprived of liberty cannot remain under arrest from the moment of acquiring a legal status of an MP,” Vardevanyan said, stating his colleagues must be immediately released after being unlawfully arrested for several months.

Three Hayastan faction MPs, including doctor Armen Charchyan, Artur Sargsyan and Mkhitar Zakaryan, are currently under arrest.

Residents of Armenia’s Vardenis shut down Martuni-Vardenis road in support of opposition alliance’s leader

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 9 2021
Residents of Armenia’s Vardenis shut down Martuni-Vardenis road in support of opposition alliance’s leader (PHOTOS)
17:55, 09.12.2021

Residents of Vardenis have shut down the Martuni-Vardenis road in support of Aram Harutyunyan (top candidate on the list of the “United Vardenis” Alliance) and are presenting their demands.

After the local self-government elections held in Vardenis when the “Aharon Khachatryan” and “United Vardenis” Alliances issued a statement on the formation of a coalition, the Investigative Committee of Sevan summoned Aram Harutyunyan (the first candidate on the list of the “United Vardenis” Alliance) to an interview and detained him.

Member of the “United Vardenis” Alliance Davit Shahnazaryan told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the residents have been keeping the road shut down and demanding the immediate release of Aram Harutyunyan for over two hours.

“The residents are also demanding a meeting with the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, the regional governor and deputy of the National Assembly Hayk Sargsyan. They are demanding a meeting with the latter since he recently made a statement stating that the picture in Vardenis needs to essentially change during the elections,” he said.

During the local self-government elections in Vardenis, the “Aharon Khachatryan” Alliance garnered 16.51% of the votes, while “United Vardenis” Alliance garnered 37.76% of the votes. Civil Contract Party, which garnered 46.11% of the votes after the elections and the proportional electoral list was headed by incumbent Mayor of Vardenis Aram Melkonyan, failed to form a local government.