Author: Frangulian Shushan

Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine shows nearly 95% protection

Frangulian Shushan

   

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 17:33,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. A new vaccine that protects against Covid-19 is nearly 95% effective, early data from US company Moderna shows, reports BBC.

The results come hot on the heels of similar results from Pfizer, and add to growing confidence that vaccines can help end the pandemic.

Both companies used a highly innovative and experimental approach to designing their vaccines.

Moderna says it is a “great day” and they plan to apply for approval to use the vaccine in the next few weeks.

However, this is still early data

The trial involved 30,000 people in the US with half being given two doses of the vaccine, four weeks apart. The rest had dummy injections.

Karabakh Truce Deal Not to Change Iran-Armenia Transit Routes: Official

Frangulian Shushan
Iran Front Page
Nov 14 2020


Seyed Abbas Araqchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, says some forged maps are unfortunately going viral on the Internet.

“Unfortunately, wrong and misleading information coupled with fabricated maps are being spread in cyberspace. There have been claims such as the cutting off of Iran’s border with Armenia, the creation of a corridor inside Aremenia or even inside Iran, the change of the region’s geopolitics, etc., which are not basically true and have been made with specific political and propaganda objectives,” he said.

Araqchi then touched upon the main map of the agreement.

“As it can be seen in this map, the claim that a geographical strip is to be created next to Iran’s border with Armenia is totally groundless,” said Araqchi, the Iranian president’s special envoy who presented Iran’s Nagorno-Karabakh peace initiative.

“What is mentioned in the Karabakh ceasefire agreement is to create a road corridor, or let’s say a transit route, inside the Armenian territory which would extend from Nakhchivan toward the Azerbaijan Republic’s mainland and whose security will be guaranteed by Russia, and whose exact course is not yet clear,” he noted.

“This is not a new idea and was proposed long ago, and even if the plan is implemented, there will be so many ifs and buts. However, it will cause no change in Iran’s transit routes toward Armenia or the Azerbaijan Republic,” he said.

“Still, our consultations are going on with all sides. Just Wednesday afternoon, I had a lengthy discussion with the Russian ambassador to Tehran in this regard,” he added.


Russian peacekeepers move to area of operations in Nagorno Karabakh

Frangulian Shushan

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 10:41,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The Russian peacekeepers sent to observe the armistice in Nagorno Karabakh are moving to their positions, TASS reported citing the Russian Defense Ministry.

“The military columns will have to travel more than 250 kilometers and deploy a peacekeeping contingent with the deployment of Russian observation posts along the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the Lachinsky corridor,” TASS quoted the defense ministry as saying.

It was reported earlier that Russian Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft have already delivered more than 400 Russian peacekeepers to Armenia.

“At present, twenty Il-76 military transport aircraft with commanding officers of the Russian peacekeeping forces and military personnel of the 15th peacekeeping brigade have landed in the Republic of Armenia. The military transport aircraft have delivered more than 400 military personnel, armored personnel carriers, armored vehicles and communications devices,” the ministry said.

A total of 1,960 servicemen, 90 armored personnel carriers, 380 units of car and special equipment will be deployed.

Editing by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenian General Benevolent Union calls for unity and resilience

Frangulian Shushan

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 11:55,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 11, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is calling on all devotees of the Armenian people – individuals, humanitarian or social organizations, as well as all political parties within or outside Armenia – to unite and rise as new challenges are ahead, the AGBU said in a statement.

“For 44 days our global nation has experienced a myriad of emotions – pride, excitement, fear, anger, frustration, sadness. We may be afraid of the future and questioning what lies ahead but this is when Armenians show their true strength and character. We are survivors. We have learned over millennia of existence that no matter what obstacles or powers try to control us, our spirit will endure. Our legacy on civilization is marked with achievement after achievement. It is in these times when we feel knocked down that we must look at our history as the greatest story of existence, endurance and resilience.

For 44 days Armenians from all corners of the earth have merged efforts and voices. Strangers have become comrades and partners in collaborations. The sudden attack on our lands released the shackles of labels among our communities to unite us as never before. It is this story that will write a new chapter in which we continue to work together and build bridges to the future. Each of us will contribute to the healing and rebuilding that is necessary to support our nation and our people.

It is our duty to find peace within ourselves and reemerge ready to come together with this same spirit of nation building.

We owe this to our many heroes, those who have lost their lives, those who have suffered injury and those with pain in their hearts. Armenia needs us all. Artsakh needs us all. We need each other more than ever.

We call upon all devotees of our nation – individuals, humanitarian or social organizations, as well as all political parties within or outside Armenia – to unite and rise as we confront any challenges in the days ahead.

AGBU is here and ready to serve. Ready to connect and to rebuild. Ready to support our people, our institutions, our government and our church, and lead as necessary as we move forward together”, the statement says.

Fierce battles for Shushi continue, two Azerbaijani servicemen captured

Frangulian Shushan

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 21:01, 9 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 9, ARMENPRESS. The Artsakh Defense Army units continue fierce battles for Shushi, Armenian defense ministry’s spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan said on Facebook. “Defense Army units continue fierce battles for Shushi. Fire strikes are being delivered on the adversary’s groups. Two Azerbaijani servicemen were captured”, she said.




Armenian President holds farewell meeting with Italian Ambassador

Frangulian Shushan

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 15:17, 6 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian held today a farewell meeting with Ambassador of Italy Vincenzo del Monaco, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The President highly valued the activity of Ambassador Vincenzo del Monaco and thanked for his efforts and personal contribution to the development and deepening of the Armenian-Italian relations.

During the meeting the officials discussed the military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan and Turkey against Artsakh. The sides stated that the Nagorno Karabakh has no military solution and its settlement is possible only through negotiations.

The meeting also touched the current level and development potential of the Armenian-Italian relations. They stated that the historical and cultural ties between the two friendly peoples are a good base for further intensifying the relations.

The Italian Ambassador thanked President Sarkissian for the great contribution in the bilateral relations. “I regret a lot that I have to leave Armenia when there are many sufferings and human losses, when the war is so close. I take with me your friendship, the Armenian trace of wonderful people”, he said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Azerbaijan continued bombing civilian settlements during the day, no casualties by preliminary data

Frangulian Shushan

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 18:59, 5 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. During the day the Azerbaijani side continued targeting civilian settlements of Artsakh.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the State Service of the Emergency Situations of Artsakh, heavy artillery was used against Martuni. Air raid siren was activated in the city for some period.

Shushi was periodically bombed by Grad multiple rocket launcher. There are many destructions here. Civilian and public objects are again under the target.

Stepanakert was bombed twice during the day. No major destructions occurred here. According to preliminary data, there are no casualties.

​​​​​Armenia, Azerbaijan vow to avoid targeting residential areas

Frangulian Shushan
Associated Press
Oct 31 2020
 
 
Armenia, Azerbaijan vow to avoid targeting residential areas
 
By AVET DEMOURIAN GMT
 
Explosions are seen behind the mountains during a military conflict outside Stepanakert, the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. The Azerbaijani army has closed in on a key town in the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh following more than a month of intense fighting. (AP Photo)
 
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijan promised Friday to avoid shelling residential areas amid the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, a pledge that follows a day of talks in Geneva even as Azerbaijani troops pushed deeper into the separatist territory.
 
The two sides agreed they “will not deliberately target civilian populations or non-military objects in accordance with international humanitarian law.” They also promised to help recover and exchange the remains of soldiers left on the battlefield and in a week’s time submit lists of prisoners of war for the purpose of “providing access and eventual exchange.”
 
The talks between foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan were sponsored by the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France. The co-chairs said in a statement issued after the talks that Armenia and Azerbaijan also promised to offer their proposals regarding possible cease-fire verification mechanisms.
 
Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. The latest outburst of hostilities began Sept. 27 and left hundreds and perhaps thousands dead, marking the worst escalation of fighting since the war’s end.
 
 
A U.S.-brokered truce frayed immediately after it took effect Monday, just like two previous cease-fires negotiated by Russia. The warring sides have repeatedly blamed each other for violations.
 
During Friday’s talks, co-chairs of the Minsk Group urged the sides to honor their cease-fire commitments. “The Co-Chairs will continue working with the sides intensively to find a peaceful settlement of the conflict,” they said in a statement.
 
While the top diplomats held tense talks in Geneva, Azerbaijani forces continued pressing their offensive into Nagorno-Karabakh after more than a month of heavy fighting.
 
Intense clashes were going on in the south of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s Defense Ministry said. The Azerbaijani military reported that areas in the Terter and Gubadli regions of Azerbaijan came under Armenian shelling.
 
On Thursday, Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist leader said Azerbaijani troops had advanced to within 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) of a strategically located town just south of the region’s capital, Stepanakert.
 
In a somber acknowledgment of Azerbaijani gains, Arayik Harutyunyan urged residents to mobilize all their resources to fend off the attack on Shushi, a town that sits on the main road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
 
 
 
“The one who controls Shushi controls Nagorno-Karabakh,” Harutyunyan said, standing next to the Shushi cathedral that was badly damaged by Azerbaijani shelling earlier this month.
 
In Stepanakert, a group of people boarded a bus bound for Armenia to escape the fighting.
 
“I don’t want to leave. I want to stay home in the village but they told us that we should leave,” said Valya Sogomonyan, who fled her village in the Askeran region. “Azerbaijanis are shelling our village. We are leaving our house and all our things behind.”
 
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has insisted that Azerbaijan has the right to reclaim its territory by force after three decades of international mediation have produced no result. He said that Armenia must pledge to withdraw from Nagorno-Karabakh as a condition for a lasting truce.
 
Azerbaijani troops, which have relied on strike drones and long-range rocket systems supplied by Turkey, have reclaimed control of several regions on the fringes of Nagorno-Karabakh and forged into the separatist territory from the south.
 
According to Nagorno-Karabakh officials, 1,166 of their troops and 39 civilians have been killed. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t disclosed their military losses, but say the fighting has killed at least 91 civilians and wounded 400.
 
But Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that, according to Moscow’s information, the actual death toll was significantly higher and nearing 5,000.
 
Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Aida Sultanova in London contributed to this report.
 
 

Creation process of militia begins in Armenia’s Tavush province

Frangulian Shushan

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 12:43,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Following the creation of the legislation on militia in Armenia, the first units of the militia have already been formed in Tavush province.

The Tavush Governor’s Office stated that this is a strict necessity in the province, especially during the current war situation in Artsakh. Thanks to the militia, the bordering villages will be safer and more secure.

“After the Prime Minister’s call, the creation of voluntary units has started quite actively in Tavush province. In past days we managed to form the first big unit consisting of 3 battalions which are engaged in combat and firefighting training these days. Several more such units will be also formed. This is also putting a base for the creation of militia”, Tavush Governor Hayk Chobanyan said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenians hope their fighting spirit will save them amid Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Frangulian Shushan
The Irish Times
Oct 28 2020

Amanda Coakley in Stepanakert
about 4 hours ago

0

The children are gone and only a few women remain. Stepanakert, the de facto capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, has become a city of men. The streets are quiet aside from the odd ambulance, military Jeep or Lada banger grunting along. The supermarket shelves are thinning and the menu options at the Armenia Hotel leave much to be desired.

So much of this war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which erupted on September 27th, is from another time. In the south it’s mostly trench warfare, where young men huddle in shallow narrow trenches. Decaying bodies are scattered across no man’s land – there are reports of wild pigs tearing at rotting flesh at night.

In villages, families are packed on to buses and sent to Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. Some refuse to leave and retreat to a life underground. Every day brings rumours of Azeri advances, fresh propaganda and stories of loss.

In Stepanakert you can talk about the war, but you cannot analyse it. The Armenians’ love for this land, and their willingness to die for it, has hindered their ability to talk about it frankly. A dark flash crosses their face when you mention Azeri gains or press for facts about strategy.

They are a nation of fighters and firmly believe their fighting spirit, coupled with their advantage of having the higher ground in Nagorno-Karabakh, will save them in the end. When asked in an interview with this reporter how the Armenians can defend against Azeri drones, which have been supplied by Turkey and Israel and have inflicted heavy losses, the president of Nagorno-Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, said: “This is a sacred war, and the side who fights a sacred fight, wins.”


At the media centre in Stepanakert, which tightly shepherds international journalists, every opportunity to show us a shot-down drone is taken. The reality is the Armenians can’t defend the sky on their own: they need support from outside, and that has been slow to come.

If someone randomly hands you a piece of fruit in Nagorno-Karabakh it’s not because they think you’re hungry. They are giving you a part of their home which they have had to flee because of the fighting. It’s a tender moment and should be treated with respect.

On the many minibuses out of Stepanakert, the bag of fruit is treated with a special reverence. It’s likely the succulent apples and king oranges, which are called Arqayanaring, will fade before the end of this most recent escalation. After three humanitarian ceasefire announcements, the bellicose rhetoric and fighting continues – but the fruit is symbolic of the essence of this conflict. On both sides it’s about ownership of every blade of grass in Karabakh.

On Tumanyan Street, Hovik Asmaryan and his wife Isabel, Syrian Armenians from Aleppo, serve free meals all day to soldiers and journalists alike – “It’s my duty to my country,” Hovik says.

One of the most remarkable meals this reporter has had in Nagorno-Karabakh was served on the front line in the company of a group of young soldiers aged between 18 and 20. Arthur, a cheeky boy of 18, was working as a chef before the war and had taken over kitchen duties in the trenches.

Without a moment’s notice he whipped up some chicken with lentils and bread. It was wholesome and honest and came peppered with questions regarding how much carbohydrates the Irish eat compared to the Armenians. The decision was made not to debate such a contentious issue – there would be no winner.

Daily life is quiet in Stepanakert but wrapped around the silence is a determination to win the war. The people here are a broad cast of characters. The well-dressed family alone in a shelter every night drinking Karabakhti vodka in memory of the dead. The young soldiers guarding the hotels who are glued to social media, waiting to be called up to the front.

The volunteers asleep in hotel lobbies after walking 4km across the worst front lines under heavy shelling to deliver supplies to the troops. The Baudelaire-loving colonel in a military bunker sitting with a Finnish rifle and reading Dante’s Divine Comedy.

The city seems oblivious to the encroaching front line. This is both a comfort and a cause for concern. Mass is still said daily, and the bakeries still churn out delicious fresh bread. It could be the calm before the storm, or the energy these men need to protect their homeland.