Author: Hagop Kamalian

 10:45, 14 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh warned on March 14 that Azerbaijan is again spreading disinformation falsely accusing it of opening gunfire.

In a statement, the Nagorno Karabakh military denied opening fire.

“The statement released by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan claiming that the Defense Army units opened fire overnight March 13-14 at Azerbaijani positions deployed in the occupied territories of the Askeran region in the Republic of Artsakh is yet another disinformation,” the defense ministry’s statement reads.

 12:59, 14 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan revealed details about his March 13 phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Pashinyan said the call mostly revolved around the danger of escalation in Nagorno Karabakh. “I conveyed my information, my impression, I also underscored that I think that there are problems in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh.  The most important issue for me in this context is that a very surprising thing happened in Nagorno Karabakh, when the residents of Nagorno Karabakh protested outside the Russian peacekeeping contingent’s headquarters. And this happened after the killings of the police officers. I want to underscore that this also took place in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno Karabakh. This is a concern, and I found it necessary to convey these concerns to the Russian President,” Pashinyan said.

Asked whether or not Putin said anything in response, Pashinyan said, “Of course he said something.” Pashinyan said it would be inappropriate to reveal what Putin said. “If our Russian partners find it necessary they will publish what the president of Russia said.”

 19:43,

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. The Hague-based International Criminal Court has issued international arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Children’s Rights Commissioner under the President of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova, ARMENPRESS reports, the Hague International Criminal Court said in a press release.

“Today, , Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.

Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).

Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, born on 25 October 1984, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the  President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Ms Lvova-Belova bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute).

Pre-Trial Chamber II considered, based on the Prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.

The Chamber considered that the warrants are secret in order to protect victims and witnesses and also to safeguard the investigation. Nevertheless, mindful that the conduct addressed in the present situation is allegedly ongoing, and that the public awareness of the warrants may contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes, the Chamber considered that it is in the interests of justice to authorise the Registry to publicly disclose the existence of the warrants, the name of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants are issued, and the modes of liability as established by the Chamber.

The abovementioned warrants of arrests were issued pursuant to the applications submitted by the Prosecution on 22 February 2023”, reads the press release of the International Criminal Court.

 15:50, 3 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. In a brand-new series called TechTalk, ARMENPRESS explores the innovative tech scene of Armenia and the talents behind it. Hosted by ARMENPRESS tech reporter Karine Terteryan, TechTalk meets with developers and entrepreneurs shaping the booming startup sector of the country, as well as businessmen and educators who are integrating technologies in their projects.

ARMENPRESS TechTalk’s first guest is Startup Armenia Foundation co-founder Tigran Petrosyan. We covered a wide range of issues, such as the chances of Armenia becoming a tech hub, what it takes to have a successful startup, and of course no tech interview would be complete without a mention of AI.  

Below are excerpts from the TechTalk interview.

ARMENPRESS: Given the growth of startups in the country, do you think Armenia could become a tech hub?

Petrosyan: I notice a trend of becoming a tech hub. But there are challenges. The startup culture and entrepreneurship has become a trend and in all developing countries they are trying to somehow absorb other players in the sector. Many representatives of startup ecosystems from various countries tell me that their particular country is going to become a tech hub. We and the other members of the startup ecosystem are doing everything we can in order for Armenia to become a hub in any sense.

ARMENPRESS: Is Armenia competitive on a global level?

Petrosyan: Taking into account our size and economic condition, I think there are trends that Armenia will become at least one of the hubs if not the leading hub where good products and teams can be created and this will all become one of the locomotives of our country.

ARMENPRESS: What does it take for startups to grow and achieve global success?

Petrosyan: It’s not one particular thing; the development of startups depends on many things. I believe that what matters most is the team, because if the person knows what they are doing, has faith in their vision, then it is a lot more likely and easier to create a project.  In many cases there are ideas, but when you hear them out and realize that the given person and team lack the ability to realize this idea then the idea itself does no longer matter. But the opposite happens too, when there’s a team and you see that they want to bring change, perhaps their idea is a bit flawed but still you can rely on that team and achieve success by making some changes or even radically transforming the startup. Of course investments matter, the process gets complicated when there’s a good team but no investments, but at the same time a good team will always have investments because having investments isn’t as difficult as creating a good team. When creating startups people think ‘what if we aren’t good enough’? I’d advise everyone to make the steps forward and understand the reality while doing so. There’s only one way here, keep moving forward regardless of anything.

ARMENPRESS: In what direction is the startup ecosystem developing? Can we say that AI had a significant impact on the ecosystem? Is this seen in Armenia?

Petrosyan: Today, artificial intelligence is changing the world and all kinds of projects are trying to have AI components, in Armenia as well. We have projects that didn’t have that component before but now we see that they’ve incorporated it. It’s difficult to say whether or not AI is the future, all of that are interconnected things. Some technologies become obsolete and the new ones take over, but there is no such technology which we can describe as the technology of technologies.

ARMENPRESS: When the film industry began to develop, some people were saying that it would be the end of theater. Do you think that AI could take over jobs in the future and simply become the end for some sectors?

Petrosyan: I think that the sectors themselves will start integrating AI. I don’t think there’ll be a clash. AI is a good and supporting thing. AI helps projects to develop better solutions, become more flexible and faster. Industry will seek to integrate AI by all means.

[see video]

 11:33, 2 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 2, ARMENPRESS. The government of Armenia allocated 1,1 billion AMD for the blueprinting work of the new Ajapnyak metro station in Yerevan.

Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan said at the Cabinet meeting that the blueprinting work consists of three stages, with the first one already completed.

The Yerevan City Hall already allocated 545,000,000 AMD for the work, while the total cost is over 1,8 billion. The remainder will be covered by the City Hall later on.

Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Tigran Avinyan said that according to preliminary estimates the construction of the new station, featuring a metro bridge, will take 4 years. The blueprinting work will be completed by year-end. 

The station will be located near the Halabyan-Abelyan intersection. It is expected to significantly reduce traffic overload in the city by linking the Ajapnyak and Arabkir districts. 

Furthermore, Avinyan revealed that city authorities consider the possibility of opening one more metro station near the Petak trade center.