Author: Garnik Zakarian

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received today Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Georgia to the Republic of Armenia Giorgi Saganelidze.

Pleased with the current level of political dialogue between Armenia and Georgia, the Prime Minister said more vigorous efforts are needed to overhaul economic cooperation and tap the existing potential.

Giorgi Saganelidze stressed that the Armenian-Georgian relations are based on centuries-old friendship between the two peoples, and Georgia is interested in developing mutually beneficial cooperation with our country.

During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed a broad range of issues high on bilateral cooperation agenda. In particular, they exchanged views on the joint projects and future plans in energy, logistics, transportation and other areas.

Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan attended a reception at the Armenian Embassy in Russia on November 28.

Representatives of the Russian legislative and executive authorities, outstanding political analysts and experts, heads of Armenian community organizations, public and political figures who have contributed to the deepening of Armenian-Russian relations were present at the reception.

The Armenian Defense Minister briefed the attendees on the ongoing reforms in the Armed Forces, the new cooperation programs with different Diaspora organizations within the framework of the Army-society ties.

During the meeting the participants exchanged views on the reinforcement of the Armenian-Russian strategic partnership, the deepening of friendly relations between the two countries, as well as the need for steps stemming from the regional developments.

About 80,000 people have been told to evacuate their homes as wildfires swept into Israel’s third largest city of Haifa, the BBC reports.

The fires follow a two-month drought and are being fanned by strong winds in the north of the city.

Wildfires are also threatening homes near Jerusalem and in the West Bank.

Israel’s police chief said arson was suspected in some cases and PM Benjamin Netanyahu said any such attacks would amount to “terror”.

“Every fire that was the result of arson or incitement to arson is terror in every way and we’ll treat it as such,” he was quoted by Haaretz newspaper as saying.

“Anyone who tries to burn parts of the state of Israel will be severely punished,” he said.

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan received today the Ambassadors of EU member states accredited to Armenia and the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia Piotr Switalski.

The Prime Minister emphasized the sincere and open dialogue and cooperation with the EU in all directions and stressed the importance of exchange of experience and implementation of the European culture in our country in the fields of business management, fight against corruption, protection of human rights, implementation of judicial reforms.

Speaking about the government program, Karen Karapetyan noted that the main goal of the executive is to create maximally fair, free and equal field for business and promote investment programs.

The Prime Minister briefed the diplomats on plans to create foundations that will co-finance active, openly operating business and encourage them to be law-abiding taxpayers. He said he does not see a way of development of the country without fight against shadow economy and corruption in all spheres.

Piotr Switalski, in turn, underlined that he’s impressed by the Prime Minister’s and government’s ambitions and reforms agenda.  The Ambassador stressed, that as a friend of Armenia, the European Union is willing to help the country develop the economy, improve the business field, the tax and customs management.

Referring to the fight against corruption, Mr. Switalski hailed the measures envisages by the government and voiced willingness to cooperate in that direction.

The EU Ambassador attached importance to the implementation of reforms in the organization of electoral processes, independence o the judicial system, defense of human rights.

The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire 100 times at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces over the weekend, the NKR Defense Ministry reported.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired over 2,300 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions.

A group of servicemen were spotted clearing mines at a neutral zone, in the northern direction of the line of contact.

The rival was thrown back as a result of response actions taken by the NKR Defense Army.

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

On the sidelines of his working visit to the Republic of Belarus, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held private talks with Head of RF Government Dmitry Medvedev in Minsk.

Highlighting the fact that the two countries are first of all bound by allied relations of strategic partnership, Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and Dmitry Medvedev stressed the need to take steps to further expand bilateral trade and economic relations, considering that the involvement of Armenia and Russia in the Eurasian Economic Union opens up new opportunities and prospects for cooperation.

 

 

 

October 19 marked the 24th anniversary of formation of the Rocket Forces and Artillery.  On this occasion Representatives of the General Staff of RA Armed Forces, Colonel Zorayr Gabrielyan and Colonel Artavazd Yaghmuryan presented the path of the rocket forces and artillery, the achievements registered in the course of 24 years. They also referred to the newly acquired Russian missile systems.

Armenia will face no technical difficulties using the Iskander and Smerch systems, Artavazd Yaghmuryan told reporters. He said relevant specialists had been trained before acquiring the systems.

He said the Republic of Armenia is authorized to make decisions on the necessity of using the missile systems.

Zorayr Gabrielyan added that “Russia possesses no technical means to prevent the use of those weapons.”

The systems now serve as a restraining factor, but according to the agreement, there are no restrictions on their use. The systems belong to our Armed Forces, and we’re going to plan their use and apply them without any restrictions if necessry, the high-ranking military officials assured.

Portugal’s former Prime Minister Antonio Guterres has been officially appointed as the next UN secretary general, the BBC reports.

Mr Guterres, 67, will become the world’s top diplomat on 1 January when Ban Ki-moon’s second five-year term ends.

The Portuguese, who led the UN refugee agency UNHCR for 10 years, was chosen from among 13 candidates last week.

He said he would fulfil his role with gratitude and humility.

Mr Guterres, who trained as an engineer, entered politics in 1976 in Portugal’s first democratic election after the “Carnation revolution” that ended five decades of dictatorship.

As head of the UNHCR refugee agency from 2005 to 2015, he led the agency through some of the world’s worst refugee crises, including those in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

During that time, he repeatedly appealed to Western states to do more to help refugees fleeing the conflicts.

On October 3, AGBU welcomed member of Turkish Parliament Garo Paylan to its Central Office in New York. As part of his tour of the United States, Paylan met with AGBU President Berge Setrakian and AGBU Central Board members Ani Manoukian and Vasken Yacoubian.

In his welcoming remarks, Mr. Setrakian paid tribute to Mr. Paylan’s courage in coming forward with his intervention in the Turkish Parliament on April 24 and for his activism in defense of human rights in Turkey.

During the meeting, both parties discussed the role of the diaspora in supporting the democratic process in Turkey. This meeting was the first to take place between AGBU and Paylan and will set the groundwork for future interactions.

Paylan was one of three Armenians elected to the Turkish Parliament in June 2015. A founding member of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), he has a track record for defending minority rights in Turkey and has been vocal in calling for the country’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Before his election to the Parliament, he served on the central committee of the HDP and worked with Armenian schools in Istanbul to promote multilingual education.

About 50 cases of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani side were registered at the line of contact with the Karabakh forces over the weekend.

The rival used firearms of different calibers as it fired over 600 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions, The NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army confidently continue with their military duty and resort to response action sin case of necessity.