Acting Minister of Emergency Situations Davit Tonoyan will today be appointed Armenia’s Defense Minister, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told reporters after Friday’s cabinet meeting.
Pashinyan stressed the need to focus on the creation of a “government of consent”, rather than a “government of coalition”.
“Today, Davit Tonoyan will be appointed Defense Minister; other appointments will come shortly,” he added.
Russian Armenian SMP Racing driver Matevos Isaakyan’s car went airborne and flipped twice during the World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Spa in Belgium, reported RIA Novosti news agency of Russia.
The video above shows the vehicle ending up in the barriers after catching air at a speed of 300 km/h.
Subsequently, Isaakyan told F1News that he underwent a medical examination and feels well.
He said that he looked at the footage, but “did not learn anything new.”
The cause of this incident is being looked into.
Watch video at
An antique bowl with Armenian inscriptions on it has been put on the market by a buying and selling website in Turkey.
The person selling this bowl has put it up for sale for US$200.
Also, the seller noted that even though the bowl has a slight damage, it is an original Armenian bowl.
In 2018, Russia will start delivering armaments to Armenia under a new credit line of $100 million. Vladimir Drozhzhov, deputy head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, announced this. Material from the iz.ru portal reviews the armaments which conflicting parties — Armenia and Azerbaijan — have received from Russia.
The agreement to provide the credit was signed 24 October 2017. The money is provided at the interest rate of 3 per cent for a period of up to 15 years. The ordered equipment and armaments will be delivered between 2018 and 2022. According to the terms of the agreement, Yerevan can use up to 90 per cent of the Russian credit money to pay for every concluded contract but must first make an advance payment of 10 per cent on its own.
There is no detailed data as to what exactly is to be delivered under this credit. Experts who have analysed regional military potentials have generally concluded that the deliveries are likely to comprise artillery (including self-propelled types), radio stations of artillery reconnaissance designed for counterbattery combat, and means of tactical air defence.
The United States announced in February 2018 that Armenia’s buying Russian armaments could lead to the imposition of sanctions on its state structures and private companies. “These sanctions aim to ensure that Russia faces consequences of its actions. By limiting the possibility of other countries to buy military equipment, we are depriving Russia of the revenue from its sale which could be used for continuing the international campaign of negative influence and destabilization,” the US Embassy in Armenia said, clarifying Washington’s position.
Not for First Time
After the property of the Soviet Army left behind in the South Caucasus was divided in 1992, Armenia continued to receive additional armaments and ammunition at least until mid-1996. According to some sources, it was part of delayed implementation of the agreements onthe division of property. Others said that those were new deliveries which bypassed existing prohibitions. According to the information which Lev Rokhlin, head of the State Duma Committee on Defence, publicized in April 1997, the transferred property could have been worth up to a billion dollars.
More specifically, over 80 T-72 tanks, a certain number of BMP-2 [infantry fighting vehicles], as well as up to 120 rocket and cannon artillery pieces were transferred. A certain number of portable antiaircraft missile systems and some 10,000 pieces of small arms were handed over too. Armenia also got some half a million artillery shells, the same number of 30-milimeter shells for the automatic cannons of BMP-2s, some 1,000 rounds for antitank missiles systems, nearly 350,000 hand grenades, and more than 227 million rounds for small arms.
Subsequent military-technical cooperation with Armenia was of targeted nature and was limited by the state’s difficult financial situation. Things only began moving forward in 2015 when Russia agreed to provide Armenia the first credit of up to $200 million for the purchase of armaments.
Under this credit, Yerevan will get 9K58 Smerch multiple launch rocket systems with ammunition, Igla-S and Verba portable antiaircraft missile systems, TOS-1A Solntsepek heavy flamethrower systems, Konkurs-M and Kornet-E antitank missile systems, and Tigr armoured vehicles. Avtobaza-M mobile electronic reconnaissance systems will also be delivered. Small arms and RPG-226 Aglen grenade launchers will be delivered too, along with communications equipment and engineering equipment. Yerevan has additionally ordered spare parts, aiming systems for tanks, and trucks.
Aside from this line, Yerevan additionally received as part of military aid in 2016 tactical ballistic missile systems Iskander-E, antiaircraft missile systems Buk-M1-2, and radio-electronic warfare systems.
On Other Side
Attentive observers will remember that Russia is delivering armaments not only to Armenia but also to Azerbaijan which is engaged in a conflict with the former over Nagorno-Karabakh. The scale of the deliveries is much larger: For a number of years, the post-Soviet “oil monarchy’s” defence budget alone was larger than Armenia’s entire state budget.
Moscow and Baku signed an intergovernmental agreement on military-technical cooperation as early as 2003. Azerbaijan has ordered a considerable package of armaments in Russia since 2005 (the statistics provided below are from the collection of articles titled Waiting for Storm: South Caucasus which was published by the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies).
Specifically, 162 tanks (62 T-72Bs and 100 T-90Ss) and over 400 other armoured vehicles (118 BMP-3s, as well as BTR-82As and BTR-80As) have been delivered. The number of purchased rocket and cannon artillery pieces and antitank systems has exceeded 300, including self-propelled artillery systems 2S19 Msta-S, 2S31 Vesna, multiple launch rocket system 9K58 Smerch, 100 antitank systems Kornet-E, and two divisions of tracked heavy antitank rocket systems Khrizantema-S, as well as 24 heavy flamethrower systems TOS-1A Solntsepek. Engineering equipment has also been delivered on a large scale.
Azerbaijan’s air defence forces have received from Russia two divisions of antiaircraft missile systems S-300PMU-2 Favourit, two batteries of antiaircraft missile systems 9K332ME Tor-M2E, as well as 300 portable antiaircraft missile systems 9K338 Igla-S.
Additionally, over the last 10 years, Azerbaijan’s security agencies have received 24 Mi-35M helicopters and 77 helicopters of the Mi-17 family. A license agreement for the production of 120,000 AK-74M assault rifles has been signed.
The contracts have only been implemented partially, among other things due to the delayed payments resulting from the sequestration of Baku’s defence budget since 2015. For example, a total of 200 BMP-3 vehicles have been ordered and the entire batch has not been delivered yet. Deliveries of other armoured vehicles as well as of antitank missile systems and TOS-1A systems have also been delayed.
Chaque semaine, « L’Epoque » paie son coup. Le musicien évoque, entre deux chips, ses origines, Deleuze, l’amour, et son utilisation de la métaphore.
LE MONDE | 30.03.2018 à 14h18 • Mis à jour le 01.04.2018 à 06h41 | Propos recueillis par Yoanna Sultan-R’bibo
Promis juré : « Etre journaliste, pas groupie du pianiste. » Première mise à l’épreuve le matin de l’apéro, par textos interposés : « M. Manoukian, bruit de perceuse au Café Crème, on s’installe en face, au Croco. » « Non, non, venez chez moi, ce sera plus cool. Et puis il y a mon piano. » « O.K. ! » On avait dit pas groupie ! Le photographe douche mon enthousiasme : « La rubrique s’appelle “Un apéro avec”, il me faut un décor de café ! »
Cheveux décoiffés, sourire charmeur, André Manoukian descend de chez lui. « Je vais toujours au café d’en face, mais c’est sympa ici. J’ai découvert ce coin du 3e arrondissement en déjeunant avec des journalistes de Libé. » Il sirote son jus de tomate comme s’il fumait la pipe, se prête avec naturel à la séance photo. « Ça va, ma coupe ? » Derrière mon Perrier, je crève d’envie de lui dire que j’ai tous ses disques, de lui parler de ce concert génial à Lyon, en 2006, d’enchaîner sur sa liaison avec Liane Foly. On avait dit « journaliste Le Monde ». « Parlez-moi de l’Arménie. »
Jazz et sonorités arméniennes
André Manoukian revient justement de l’ONU, à Genève, où il a donné avec Charles Aznavour, un concert en hommage à l’Arménie. Inkala (2008), Melanchology (2011), puis Apatride, sorti en novembre : ses albums solo mêlent tous piano jazz et sonorités arméniennes, comme un voyage vers cet Orient perdu. « Il y a dix ans, grâce à la musique, j’ai découvert que l’Arménie pouvait m’apporter autre chose que des névroses. »
« En milieu hostile, ou même sur un plateau, parler devient un réflexe de protection. Et la métaphore, un langage universel »
Le voilà parti dans le récit familial, marqué au fer rouge par le génocide. Celui d’un père, décédé en 2016, qui a cherché toute sa vie à « s’extraire de la communauté, après une enfance bercée par des récits de massacres ». Puis du grand-père…
ANCA-WR local chapter representatives and staff with LA City Councilmember David Ryu (center)
LOS ANGELES —The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region visited Los Angeles City Hall on March 7 to meet with Councilmember David Ryu and his staff. The ANCA delegation was comprised of board members from the ANCA Hollywood and ANCA San Fernando Valley East chapters, along with representatives of the ANCA Western Region.
Councilmember David Ryu represents Los Angeles’ Fourth District, which encompases the Sherman Oaks and Toluca Lake neighborhoods in the Eastern San Fernando Valley and Los Feliz and other neighborhoods adjacent to Little Armenia, Hollywood.
The ANCA delegation and Councilmember Ryu discussed a variety of topics pertaining to the Armenian-American community and district residents in general. Among the topics discussed were collaborating with the Councilmember on community cleanup efforts, neighborhood safety, and support of Armenian non-profits and youth groups who operate in the Council district, particularly in regards to securing use of sports and other facilities for youth activities.
“The meeting with Councilmember Ryu not only gave us an opportunity to highlight concerns of the Armenian community in his district but to energize, strengthen and solidify our relationship with his office. The Councilmember expressed a genuine commitment in working closely with the ANCA on issues of concern to the Armenian community. We look forward to a more synergistic collaboration with his office in the future,” said ANCA Hollywood Co-Chairwoman Lara Yeretsian.
ANCA San Fernando Valley East Chairman Levon Baronian, who participated in the meeting, stated, “We are grateful for our continued relationship with Councilmember Ryu. He has been a willing supporter of our activities in the past and we look forward to increased cooperation with him and his staff in working toward the realization of our common goals.”
Councilmember David Ryu, who is the first Korean-American to be elected to the Los Angeles City Council, emphasized his and his office’s commitment to diversity in his staff, which includes an Armenian-American. Ryu also expressed interest in visiting local Armenian institutions such as schools and community centers in the near future to become better acquainted with their activities and members.
Also in attendance at the meeting were ANCA-WR Boardmember Anahid Oshagan, ANCA Hollywood Co-Chairman Paul Seradarian and boardmember Joe Kahraman along with ANCA San Fernando Valley Boardmember and ANCA-WR Government Relations Director Serob Abrahamian.
With chapters throughout the State of California and in over a dozen other western states, the ANCA-WR works in cooperation with its national headquarters in Washington, DC, and its Eastern Region counterpart in Boston, to promote the concerns of Armenian Americans.
YEREVAN, MARCH 7, ARMENPRESS. The Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov met on March 7 with the RF delegation led by the Executive Director of the History of the Motherland Foundation Konstantin Mogilevsky and the Director of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Yerevan Sergey Rybinsky, to take part in the Conference dedicated to the 190thanniversary of the Treaty of Turkmenchay.
As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the parliament of Armenia, Eduard Sharmazanov offered condolences on the Russian An-26 aircraft crash while landing at Hmeymim Airport of Syria that claimed lives of over 3 dozens.
The parliament Vice President highlighted the holding of the Conference with the heading “The Treaty of Turkmenchay: 190 Years. The History and the Presentin Yerevan”, underlining that such events are important not only in terms of once again evaluating the past, but also informing the youth about the Armenian-Russian centuries-old friendship and common past.
“The victory in the Great Patriotic War is our peoples’ common victory, and the new generation should be well aware of that and recognize heroes. The Armenian and the Russian peoples’ friendship is anchored on Christian values. We have common values and we should preserve them,” he underscored.
In terms of the implementation of the initiatives and theprogrammes the guests underlined the support of the History of the Motherland Foundation and the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Yerevan.
The perspectives of the activation of the two peoples’ political, military, educational and scientific ties were discussed. It has been noted that the further development and deepening of the bilateral relations stems from the interests of the two states.
English –translator/editor:Tigran Sirekanyan
Vice Speaker of Parliament Arpine Hovhannisyan says the citizenship issue of President-elect Armen Sarkissian shouldn’t have become a subject of discussion because he had presented all required information.
Speaking to reporters in the parliament, Hovhannisyan stressed that the president-elect had presented all basis, in accordance to which his citizenship matter shouldn’t have become a subject of such great discussion.
“Under the British law, the citizenship is renounced immediately upon request for dual citizenship holders in case of non-native Brits,” she said.
Commenting on arguments that the opposition is demanding Sarkissian to present the documents proving that he has indeed renounced his British citizenship and is holding solely Armenian citizenship, Hovhannisyan said: “Whether or not Mr. Sarkissian will find it appropriate to publish those documents and at what phase he will find it appropriate are questions which are addressed not to me, but to Mr. Sarkissian”.
Armen Sarkissian was elected by the Parliament of Armenia on March 2. 90 lawmakers voted in favor, while 10 voted against his candidacy.
He is of no relation to incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan.
Tuesday, Appeals Court Upholds Guilty Verdict Against Babayan . Karlen Aslanian Armenia - Samvel Babayan, a retired army general critical of the government, attends an appeals court hearing in Yerevan, 26 February 2018. Armenia's Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a six-year prison sentence handed down to Samvel Babayan, a retired army general prosecuted on charges of illegal arms acquisition and money laundering which he strongly denies. It also rejected the appeals of two other suspects in the high-profile case who were sentenced by a district court in Yerevan to three and two years in prison in November. Babayan was arrested in March 2017 after Armenia's National Security Service (NSS) claimed to have confiscated a surface-to-air rocket system. The arrest came about two weeks before Armenia's last parliamentary elections. Babayan was unofficially affiliated with the ORO alliance led by former Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian and two other opposition politicians. ORO condemned the criminal case as politically motivated. Babayan has since repeatedly denied prosecutors' claims that he promised to pay other defendants, notably his longtime associate Sanasar Gabrielian, $50,000 for the delivery of the shoulder-fired Igla rocket. Gabrielian, who received the three-year prison sentence, insisted during their trial that it was he who commissioned the confiscated Igla. He claimed that he wanted to donate it to Nagorno-Karabakh's army. Both defendants appealed against the guilty verdict handed down by the lower court. They and the third suspect, Armen Poghosian, said they must be acquitted on all counts. Armenia - The Court of Appeals hands down a verdict on the appeals of Samvel Babayan and two other men accused of illegal arms acquisition, . "This is a fabricated case," Babayan told the Court of Appeals on Monday. He reiterated that he only advised Gabrielian to hoard the sophisticated weapon in a remote Karabakh village and then confidentially tip off a military official in Stepanakert. A trial prosecutor insisted, for his part, that the investigators have substantiated their accusations levelled against Babayan and the other defendants. Purported evidence presented by them includes a short segment of a wiretapped telephone conversation between Babayan and Gabrielian. Babayan said that his secretly recorded remarks were "taken out of context." He earlier petitioned the court to have the prosecutors publicize full audio of the phone call. The court refused to do that. Babayan, 52, led Karabakh's Armenian-backed army from 1993-1999 and was widely regarded as the unrecognized republic's most powerful man at that time. He was arrested in 2000 and subsequently sentenced to 14 years in prison for allegedly masterminding a botched attempt on the life of the then Karabakh president, Arkady Ghukasian. He was set free in 2004. Babayan criticized the current authorities in Yerevan and Stepanakert after returning to Armenia in May 2016 from Russia where he lived for five years. Armenian Parliament To Debate 2008 Crackdown On Opposition . Tatevik Lazarian Armenia - A man walks past burned cars on a street in Yerevan where security forces clashed with opposition protesters, 2 March 2008. The National Assembly agreed on Tuesday to debate an opposition-drafted resolution condemning the use of lethal force against opposition protesters in Yerevan in the wake of Armenia's disputed 2008 presidential election. The parliamentary resolution put forward by the opposition Yelk says that supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian protested against "the falsification" of the results of the election that formalized the handover of power from outgoing President Robert Kocharian to Serzh Sarkisian. It describes as "crude and illegal" the forcible dispersal of those protests on March 1-2 2008 which left ten people dead. The statement demands that law-enforcement authorities at last identify and prosecute those responsible for the killings. The parliament unanimously voted to include the draft resolution on its agenda even though its standing committee on legal affairs gave a formal negative assessment of the document last week. Gevorg Kostanian, the incoming committee chairman affiliated with the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), criticized the Yelk motion. Armenia - Opposition leader Nikol Pashinian addresses protesters that barricaded themselves in central Yerevan, 1 March 2008. Addressing fellow lawmakers before Tuesday's vote, Yelk's parliamentary leader, Nikol Pashinian, again blamed the authorities for what was the worst street violence in Armenia's history. "Ten years ago the police illegally used force against citizens fighting protesting against the falsification of the presidential elections, as a result of which ten people were killed in the center of Yerevan," he said. "Serzh Sarkisian managed to seize power only thanks to those killings," charged the outspoken politician who played a major role in Ter-Petrosian's 2007-2008 opposition movement. HHK lawmakers rejected such claims during parliamentary hearings on the unrest that were chaired by Pashinian earlier this week. Significantly, one of those lawmakers, Samvel Nikoyan, blamed not only Ter-Petrosian but also Kocharian for the bloodshed. Nikoyan disputed Kocharian's March 2008 claim that some of the protesters shot at security forces. Armenia - Armenian army soldiers are deployed on a street in Yerevan where security forces clashed with opposition protesters, 2 March 2008. Ter-Petrosian, who had served as Armenia's first president from 1991-1998, was the main opposition candidate in the February 2008 presidential ballot. He rejected as fraudulent official vote results that gave victory to Sarkisian. Many Ter-Petrosian supporters took to the streets to demand a re-run of the vote. Thousands of them barricaded themselves in downtown Yerevan on March 1, 2008 after riot police broke up nonstop demonstrations organized by Ter-Petrosian and his allies in the city's Liberty Square. Eight protesters and two police servicemen were killed as security forces tried to forcibly end that protest as well. Ter-Petrosian urged his supporters to disperse early on March 2, 2008 shortly after Kocharian declared a state of emergency and ordered Armenian army units into the capital. Dozens of opposition figures, including Pashinian, were subsequently arrested and prosecuted. The parliamentary statement proposed by Yelk also demands that Armenian prosecutors review those "fabricated" criminal cases. New Body To Oversee Armenian Judiciary . Astghik Bedevian Armenia - A district court building in Yerevan, 27Jun2017. The Armenian parliament will elect on Wednesday five of the ten members of a new and powerful body tasked with overseeing Armenia's courts. The remaining members of the Supreme Judicial Council will be chosen by the country's judges who took the bench at least ten years ago. The council is being set up in accordance with sweeping constitutional changes enacted in 2015. According to one of those amendments, its main mission is to "guarantee the independence of the courts and the judges." The council will nominate virtually all new judges that will be appointed by the Armenian president and the National Assembly. It is also empowered to take disciplinary action against judges or have them terminated altogether. The parliament discussed on Tuesday the five members of the council proposed by the ruling Republican Party (HHK) and its junior coalition partner, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). Lawmakers will vote for or against them in secret ballot. The candidates, among them Gagik Harutiunian, the outgoing chairman of Armenia's Constitutional Court, will have to be backed by at least 63 members of the 105-seat parliament in order to get elected to the judicial body. The HHK and Dashnaktsutyun control 65 parliament seats. The two other political groups represented in the legislature chose not to nominate any candidates. Instead, deputies representing the opposition Yelk bloc put tough questions to the five candidates on the parliament floor. In particular, Harutiunian was asked about the existence of political prisoners and opposition allegations of electoral fraud that have always been dismissed by the Constitutional Court. "I won't confirm or deny [the existence of political prisoners] for the following reason: I have not looked into any criminal case of this kind," said Harutiunian. Yelk's parliamentary leader, Nikol Pashinian, hit out at the long-serving Constitutional Court chief after the question-and-answer session. "The guy was vice-president, prime minister and Constitutional Court chairman # but doesn't know if there have been political prisoners in Armenia," he said. "This is his relationship to the truth." Pashinian also attacked another candidate, former Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian. He said that Armenian jails were "full of political prisoners" during Danielian's tenure. HHK parliamentarians rejected the criticism. "Nobody can call into question their [professional] qualities that are needed for their tenure at the Supreme Judicial Council," one of them, former Prosecutor-General Gevorg Kostanian, said during the debate. Incidentally, another candidate nominated by the ruling party, Liparit Melikjanian, ran for the parliament on the Yelk ticket as recently as one year ago. He accused the Armenian authorities of pursuing "anti-national policies" during the election campaign. "I may sympathize with the Yelk bloc in terms of political views but I think that my political career is over now," Melikjanian said on Tuesday. Armenian courts have long been notorious for their lack of independence from the executive branch. They are still mistrusted by many citizens despite having undergone frequent structural changes in the last two decades. Corruption among judges is thought to be another serious problem. Sarkisian Encouraged By Faster Economic Growth Armenia - President Serzh Sarkisian meets with Prime Minister Karen Karapetian and other senior officials in Yerevan, . President Serzh Sarkisian hailed on Tuesday robust economic growth recorded in Armenia last year, while acknowledging that it did not have a serious impact on living standards. Sarkisian said the Armenian economy expanded by at least 7.4 percent in 2017 as het met with Prime Minister Karen Karapetian and other senior officials to discuss the socioeconomic situation in the country. "This is certainly a good indicator," he said. "But we must also bear in mind that one year of strong economic growth cannot have an impact on broad sections of our society." The rapid growth, the president went on, should continue unabated for two or three more years before its positive effects can be felt by most Armenians. He noted in that regard that the Armenian government achieved "good economic indicators" in January as well. The Finance Ministry made a more modest growth projection last month: 6.7 percent. It had originally forecast a 3.2 percent growth rate. It revised that target upwards to 4.3 percent in September. Armenia's National Statistical Service (NSS) has yet to report an official growth figure for 2017. So far it has released only detailed separate data on the performance of different sectors of the economy. In particular, Armenian industrial output rose by over 12 percent, according to the NSS. In its five-year policy program approved by the parliament last June, Karapetian's cabinet pledged to ensure that the domestic economy grows by around 5 percent annually. Sarkisian announced on Tuesday that his administration will finalize "within several weeks" a 12-year "strategy for Armenia's socioeconomic development." A statement on the meeting released by the presidential press service gave no details of that strategy. Sarkisian will complete his second and final presidential term on April 9. He is widely expected to become prime minister and thus extend his decade-long rule. Press Review "Zhoghovurd" reports that the Armenian government is determined to complete a controversial reform of the national pension system that triggered street demonstrations in Yerevan in 2014. It will become mandatory in July for all Armenian workers self-employed individuals born after 1973. The paper is critical of the new pension system, saying that it should not be introduced in Armenia because average wages there are quite low. It says that a higher pension tax envisaged by the reform will only cut those wages in real terms. "Zhamanak" says that hardly anyone was surprised by Gagik Tsarukian's decision to endorse President Serzh Sarkisian's pick for the next head of state, former Prime Minister Armen Sarkissian. The paper links this decision to what it sees as a "profound transformation of the government system in Armenia." Tsarukian is keen to adapt to this ongoing change, it says. "Building a party and making it a success in Armenia is a very difficult task," writes "Hraparak." "Especially if that party does not make use of government resources its chances of electoral success become slim # and the likelihood of splits within it greatly increases. That explains why the history of non-governing parties in Armenia has been one of volatility and upheavals. Such parties fail to achieve important results because financial resources and public platforms mainly serve pro-government forces." Karapet Rubinian, an opposition figure who has served as deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament in the past, tells "Aravot" that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's latest statements on "historic Azerbaijani lands" in Armenia may be a prelude to renewed fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. Rubinian also speculates that Aliyev's decision to bring Azerbaijan's next presidential election forward by six months is apparently connected with the ongoing political transition in Armenia. (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org