Author: Emma Jilavian

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received today the Russian State Duma delegation headed by Leonid Kalashnikov, Chairman of the Committee on for CIS, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots. The delegation visits Armenia to hold a joint sitting with the Armenian National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Foreign Relations.

The President attached importance to Armenia’s relations with its strategic partner Russia and the consistent deepening of cooperation in all directions.

Serzh Sargsyan noted that the Armenian-Russian collaboration within integration frameworks comes to supplement and reinforce the bilateral relations, opening new perspectives for mutually beneficial cooperation.

The President voiced hope that the results of the joint sitting in Yerevan will contribute to the reinforcement of interstate ties.

The parties noted that despite the negative influence of international economic processes on the economies of EEU member states, there is still a huge potential for economic growth.

President Sargsyan underlined that Armenia is a supporter of integration processes and attaches importance to the active work towards furthering of those processes.

 

 

 

There is no military solution to the Karabakh conflict, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani told reporters in Yerevan after his talks with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

“Armenia and Azerbaijan are friendly countries for Iran, and we hope to witness establishment of peace and stability in the region. This meets the interests of the region. The issue has no military solution. We want to see a peaceful settlement,” Iran’s President said.

Speaking about economic relations between Iran and Armenia, Hassan Rouhani said there is a huge potential for cooperation, which should be fully utilized. He stressed that further efforts are needed for deepening the cooperation in the field of energy.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan noted that the gas and power exchange continues under bilateral agreements reached between the two countries.

Hassan Rouhani attached importance to finding new transit routes. In this regard, he emphasized the importance of completing the work to link the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea. He said the implementation fo the program will facilitate the international cargo shipments and will make it possible for the Iranian goods to reach the European market through the shortest transport route.

“This will not only be the shortest and safest route for Iranian goods, but will also seriously boost the commodity turnover between the two countries,” President Sargsyan said.

“President Obama and his Administration, as have past administrations, have repeatedly mourned and acknowledged that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire,” Spokesperson for the US Department of State Mark Toner told a daily briefing.

“We also called for a full and frank acknowledgement of the facts of what happened around those deaths. And that remains our policy. I don’t want to get into terminology or how we referred to it. We acknowledged that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred, as I said, and we want to see a full historical accounting of those events,” the Spokesman said.

The comments come after UN Ambassador at an event honoring the Nobel Prize laureate Elie Wiesel’s life and work.

The Council of the European Union discussed current multilateral and bilateral relations with the six Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

Ministers had an exchange of views on the implementation of the Partnership and possible deliverables to be achieved in 2017, notably with a view to the next Eastern Partnership Summit in November 2017 in Brussels.

The Council reaffirmed the high importance it attaches to the Eastern Partnership, as a specific dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), offering close political association and economic integration with the EU and tangible results to citizens

The Council welcomed progress in negotiations of a new framework agreement with Armenia.

The Council said it looks forward to consideration in due course of the possible opening of a visa dialogue with Armenia.

Scholar George Gawrych got through no more than five sentences during his presentation on his book about Turkish army officer Mustafa Kemal Atatürk before students raised their voices in protest Thursday at the Aronstam Library in Manzanita Hall, according to the website of the.

Over 20 protesters stood up from their seats, turned their backs on Gawrych and repeatedly chanted “Turkey guilty of genocide” and “genocide denialist.”

Gawrych waited briefly as other attendees voiced their opinions to let him speak, until he began walking up and down the aisle trying to get the protestors to face him.

Two police officers who guarded the entrance escorted Gawrych, a Baylor University Boal Ewing chair of military history, out of the library to sounds of chanting protesters.

“Our initial message was to stop the denial of genocide that cost the lives of millions,” said Eric Badivian, an Armenian protestor.

Many Armenians feel that Gawrych’s book “The Young Atatürk: From Ottoman Soldier to Statesman of Turkey” praises a leader who played a role in the Armenian genocide.

“This man coming here and claiming these claims that genocide didn’t happen is completely absurd and people know,” Badivian said. “There’s factual evidence to this happening all around.

Gawrych was unable to speak about his book or comment on the protest once police had him leave the library.

The Armenian Student Association, Alpha Epsilon Omega and Alpha Gamma Alpha sent a protest-letter to William Watkins, dean of students, expressing their concern and disappointment in having the guest lecturer at CSUN.

“It is quite bizarre that an event revolving around the ignorance and injustices against humanity is being allowed to take place on campus,” as stated in the letter to Watkins.

Watkins later replied in an email sent to the organizations, addressing their concerns.

“The university shares your commitment to the pursuit of truth about all aspects of Armenian history and to never forgetting those who have suffered from the tolerance and actions of others,” Watkins wrote in the email.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Indonesia Edward Nalbandian and Retno Marsudi held a meeting in Jakarta today. The parties discussed the development of bilateral relations, as well as a number of urgent issues on regional and international agenda. They attached importance to the intensification of the political dialogue between the two countries, the need to boost the inter-parliamentary ties, expand the legal framework, encourage educational and cultural exchange.

The interlocutors discussed the perspectives of cooperation within different integration frameworks.

The Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Indonesia referred to the situation in the Middle East, the Syrian crisis, the fight against terrorism and conflicts.

The Indonesian FM briefed Minister Nalbandian on the processes taking place in South-Eastern Asia and presented her country’s approaches. Edward Nalbandian presented the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries towards furthering the Karabakh peace process.

Edward Nalbandian invited Retno Marsudi to visit Armenia.

At the end of the meeting the Foreign Ministers signed an agreement on elimination of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports, also as a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Indonesian Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education Mohammad Nazir signed a Letter of Intents on cooperation in the fields of science, technology and higher education.

The Foreign Ministers of the two countries made a statement for the press following the meeting.

About 50 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were reported at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces last night.

The rival used weapons of different calibers as it fired over 900 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

The Azeri forces used Instiglal and SVD sniper rifles (83 shots) in the northern, southern and eastern directions of the line of contact.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep full control of the situation at the frontline and confidently continue with their military duty.

Photo: EPA

 

At least 20 people have died after a fire broke out in a hospital in eastern India, local police say, the BBC report.

They say the fire started in an intensive care unit (ICU) of the SUM hospital, a private facility in the city of Bhubaneswar in Orissa state.

Dozens of patients were taken to other medical facilities in the city.

About 120 firefighters were mobilised to tackle the blaze, which was later brought under control. PM Narendra Modi said he was “anguished” by the fire.

Most of the victims reportedly died from smoke inhalation.

Many of the injured are in a critical condition. Earlier reports had put the death toll at 23.

Having designed many architectural artworks ordered by Ottoman Empire between the 18th and 19th century, the Balyan Family, a dynasty of famous Ottoman imperial architects, is getting its own mausoleum years after the deaths of its most prominent members. Built in the Balyan Family Graveyard in Üsküdar Surp Haç Armenian Cemetery, the Balyan Family Mausoleum was constructed by the Hraç and Hagop Kırmızıyan brothers, reports.

Designed with inspiration from the altar section of the Armenian Church in Besiktas, the mausoleum project was constructed with three-meter-long one-piece marble pillars and a tomb and arch placed on top of them. The block marbles in the background feature the names of the prominent family members as well as an Ottoman tughra.

Completed and carried out in two years, the project covers the clean-up and restoration of all of the sarcophagi belonging to the Balyan family, and the creation of a mausoleum befitting the creations of a dynasty that crowned Istanbul’s skyline with their artworks.

Among their buildings that grace today’s silhouette of Istanbul are the Dolmabahce Palace and the Ortakoy Mosque.