Author: Garnik Tadevosian

Iran, Armenia ink MoU to boost bilateral trade ties

Garnik Tadevosian
Mehr, Iran
Jan 24 2021

TEHRAN, Jan. 24 (MNA) – Islamic Republic of Iran and Republic of Armenia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for enhancing and increasing bilateral trade-economic relations.

Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Alireza Razm-Hosseini in a meeting with Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Karubian on Sunday pointed to the development of bilateral cooperation between the two countries of Iran and Armenia and put the current value of Iran’s export of non-oil products to Armenia about $300 million.

Upon singing and sealing the Memorandum of Understanding, trade volume exchange between the two countries of Iran and Armenia will register a considerable hike, Razm-Hossein added.

The Iranian minister of industry described Armenia as an important country in Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and said that Islamic Republic of Iran has a positive evaluation of trade with EAEU member states.

At the special emphasis of Iranian President to join EAEU, Republic of Armenia can play a leading role for increasing and developing trade-economic relations in this respect, he continued.

He reiterated that Iranian government will throw its weight behind private sectors of the two countries for developing trade exchanges regarding products with economic justifications.

Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan Karubian, for his part, said that his country is ready to pave suitable ways for the Islamic Republic of Iran to enter target markets of other countries.

He placed special emphasis on facilitating trade and economic exchanges as well as removal of barriers facing traders of the two countries.

MA/FNA13991105000269

Congress should recognize Artsakh as independent country, says Adam Schiff

Garnik Tadevosian

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 15:07,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. Congressman Adam Schiff says that the US Congress must recognize Artsakh as an independent country.

Speaking to Asbarez, Schiff added that the OSCE Minsk Group should resume the negotiations for resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee also spoke about the issue of curbing Turkey’s role in the region.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Over 50 thousand refugees return to Artsakh

Garnik Tadevosian

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 19:51,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 22, ARMENPRESS. 87 refugees returned to Artsakh in one day accompanied by the Russian peacekeepers and the military police, who had left their houses as a result of the war, ARMENPRESS reports the Defense Ministry of Russia informed.

‘’A total of 50 thousands and 390 people have returned’’, reads the statement of the Russian Defense Ministry.

Unblocking communications: Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan to lead trilateral task force from Armenian side

Garnik Tadevosian

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 15:11, 12 January, 2021

YEREVAN, JANUARY 12, ARMENPRESS. The trilateral working group chaired by the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Ministers with the purpose of unblocking all economic and transport communications in the region will be chaired from the Armenian side by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, his office said in a news release.

The trilateral task force is being created in pursuance of a statement signed between Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan at the January 11 summit.

The working group, which will deal with the implementation of clause 9 of the 2020 November 9 statement between the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani leaders, will hold its first meeting by January 30, 2021.

The results of the first meeting are expected to elaborate the primary directions of work in pursuance of clause 9 of the agreement, prioritizing railway and road communications, as well as define other agreed directions between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Mobilization of foreign terrorist fighters in conflicts a new alarming trend, Armenia’s envoy to UN says

Garnik Tadevosian
Public Radio of Armenia
Jan 16 2021
– Public Radio of Armenia

Armenia remains firmly committed to the global fight against terrorism and is actively engaged in international and regional activities aimed at the implementation of the counter-terrorism conventions and their additional protocols, as well as the relevant resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, Armenia’s Permanent Representative to the UN Mher Margaryan said at the UN Security Council VTC Meeting on “20th Anniversary of Resolution 1373 (2001) and the Establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Committee: Trends, challenges and opportunities.”

He stressed that mobilization of foreign terrorist fighters in conflicts represents a new alarming trend.

“Our region is not immune to the scourge of terrorism and its radical ideology and violent practices. Amidst the outbreak of an unprecedented global pandemic, on 27 September 2020 Azerbaijan, with the direct support of Turkey, employed thousands of foreign terrorists fighters in a large-scale military aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh),” Armrnia’s envoy to the UN said.

“The offensive led to massive loss of human life, displacement of tens of thousands of civilians, destruction and desecration of religious and cultural heritage and other gross violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law. The ISIL-style torture, inhuman treatment and executions of prisoners of war and civilian hostages by the Azerbaijani forces was widely disseminated and glorified in the media outlets and social networks,” he added.

Mr. Margaryan noted that “he recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters by Turkey from the Middle East and their transfer to Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone is a well-established and documented fact, acknowledged by law enforcement agencies of several countries and extensively reported by independent observers.

“The UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries of the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner in its Statement of 11 November 2020 has referred to “widespread reports that the Government of Azerbaijan, with Turkey’s assistance, relied on Syrian fighters to shore-up and sustain its military operations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, including on the frontline. The fighters appeared to be motivated primarily by private gain, given the dire economic situation in the Syrian Arab Republic. In case of death, their relatives were reportedly promised financial compensation and Turkish nationality,” the Ambassador stated.

“It is even more disturbing that the Syrian fighters deployed to Azerbaijan are allegedly affiliated with armed groups and individuals that, in some cases, have been accused of war crimes and serious human rights abuses during the conflict in Syria, thus seemingly perpetuating a cycle of impunity and risking further abuses of international law,” Mher Margaryan stated. 

Armenpress: Minister Arshakyan presents latest achievements of Armenian technology field to Dutch Ambassador

Garnik Tadevosian

Minister Arshakyan presents latest achievements of Armenian technology field to Dutch Ambassador

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 11:00,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, ARMENPRESS. Minister of High technological industry Hakob Arshakyan received on January 13 Ambassador of the Netherlands to Armenia Nico Schermers, the ministry told Armenpress.

At the meeting the minister highlighted raising the efficiency of the cooperation between Armenia and the Netherlands at various directions of the high technological field, as well as implementing and developing joint programs.

The Dutch Ambassador said it’s an honor for him to work in Armenia and added that he is aware of the achievements of the Armenian technological sector, is interested in the high technologies and is ready to contribute to expanding the technology cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Arshakyan introduced the Dutch Ambassador on the latest achievements of the Armenian technological sector, the ongoing projects, including the Virtual Bridge, the Engineering City and the Cybersecurity Excellence Center.

“Through our various projects we aim at creating communication between the provinces and Yerevan, as well as connecting Armenia with the technology centers of the world, by creating cooperation opportunities with the leading companies and potential investors”, the minister said, adding that Armenia has a great potential of technology mind.

The Dutch Ambassador expressed readiness to work on deepening the bilateral cooperation in the field of high technologies.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Inside the Armenian ghost town with a population of three

Garnik Tadevosian
The Times, UK
Jan 10 2021
PHOTOGRAPHY SPECIAL
Photographer Yulia Grigoryants visits the last scientists at a former Soviet research base
Yulia Grigoryants
Sunday , 12.01am GMT, The Sunday Times
On the snow-covered flanks of Mount Aragats in Armenia stands an almost deserted research station. Once upon a time it was a vibrant centre of physics concerned with the study of cosmic rays — high-energy subatomic particles thrown out by our sun, exploding stars in distant galaxies and even black holes. Now just a skeleton crew remains at the site, surrounded by empty buildings from a bygone era.
 
The Aragats Cosmic Ray Research Station was established in 1943, when Armenia was part of the Soviet Union. In its heyday about 100 scientists were based here, 3,200 metres above sea level. Today that number has dwindled to just three — two researchers working on a monthly rotation and a chef, living an isolated existence in winter, except for the occasional delivery of food and supplies.
 
There had been great hopes for the station in its early years, including ambitions to conduct the world’s largest experiment to detect very high-energy cosmic rays. But years of war, economic turmoil and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 thwarted the project. Advancements in technology mean computers have now all but replaced humans on similar projects. Today giant particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider at Cern lead the field.
 
Yet work still continues at Aragats. Over recent years the station has focused on recording and analysing space weather and investigating radiation that hits the Earth’s surface during thunderstorms.
Artash Petrosyan, 70, the research station’s chef, takes a stroll around the deserted site
©YULIA GRIGORYANTS
Artash in the kitchen where he has worked for more than 30 years. It once used to feed about 100 scientists
©YULIA GRIGORYANTS
Lab assistant Karen, 26, plays pool alone on a dusty table to kill time between shifts
©YULIA GRIGORYANTS
A room serving as both office and bedroom for lab assistants working on rotation
©YULIA GRIGORYANTS
Ageing electronic equipment for measuring particle showers, created when high-energy particles from deep space collide with those in the Earth’s atmosphere
©YULIA GRIGORYANTS
Dinner for two as the site’s occupants, Karen and Artash, sit down together to eat. Same time again tomorrow?
©YULIA GRIGORYANTS
A tattered poster from 1988 — when the station was a globally renowned centre for the study of cosmic rays
©YULIA GRIGORYANTS
A forest of cables links equipment that powered advanced particle detectors focusing on high-energy cosmic rays
©YULIA GRIGORYANTS
The only way to reach the research station in winter, when the average temperature drops to -14C, is a nine-mile hike through howling winds and heavy snow
©YULIA GRIGORYANTS

Lavrov comments on post-armistice Azeri attack on two villages in Artsakh

Garnik Tadevosian

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 12:41,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 30, ARMENPRESS. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov has commented on the post-armistice incident which happened in Nagorno Karabakh, when on December 13 the Azerbaijani military violated the ceasefire and attacked two villages – Hin Tagher and Khtsaberd, in the Republic of Artsakh.  

In an interview to TASS, Lavrov said the incident had taken place in a location where at that time Russian peacekeepers were not deployed.

“There haven’t been any provocative actions against Russian peacekeepers so far,” Lavrov said.

“The only noticeable violation in the line of contact on December 13 took place in a location where there are no Russian peacekeepers. The steps initiated by the command of our peacekeeping contingent in contacts with our Azerbaijani and Armenian colleagues allowed us to avoid an escalation of the incident. We will further continue making all efforts to not allow ceasefire violations.”

Lavrov added that the situation in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone has a tendency of resolution.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenian National Security Service chief visits Russia

Garnik Tadevosian

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 14:32,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. The Director of the National Security Service Armen Abazyan is visiting Moscow, Russia.

“We confirm the news, he is in Moscow. We can’t provide further details,” a spokesperson for the Armenian National Security Service told ARMENPRESS.

Abazyan had visited Moscow again earlier in December.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Tsarukyan presents details of his meeting with PM Pashinyan

Garnik Tadevosian

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 18:24,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. President of ‘’Prosperous Armenia’’ Party Gagik Tsarukyan told the reporters that during his meeting with PM Pashinyan he told him what he had said in his public speeches, ARMENPRESS reports Tsarukyan said at the National Assembly.

‘’My position has not changed. He wanted to meet, I did not reject and we met. I told him what I have said publicly. I told that his resignation is the only way to overcome this situation’’, Tsarukyan said, adding that the remaining questions should be addressed to PM Pashinyan.