Author: Hambardsumian Paul

Armenia, Azerbaijan agree to peace talks two years after Nagorno-Karabakh fighting

Hambardsumian Paul
Deutsche Welle, Germany
April 7 2022

EU leaders brokered the agreement, which will see a joint border commission established. The two countries’ leaders met for the third time in six months as tensions continue to flare in the region.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to kick-start peace talks over the long-disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory, following a Wednesday meeting of the two countries’ heads of state.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia said in a statement that he and his Azeri counterpart had agreed to set up a bilateral border commission by the end of April.

The two leaders “instructed their foreign ministers to begin preparations for peace talks,” Pashinyan’s statement read.

No statement from Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev was immediately available.

The summit came more than two years after renewed heavy fighting over the region in 2020, which saw 250,000 people displaced.

Since the 1990s, tensions have simmered between the two breakaway ex-Soviet republics over Nagorno-Karabakh — the border territory sandwiched between the two nations.

In a 1991 war, Yerevan forces occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, which is home to ethnic Armenians but was internationally recognized as belonging to Baku.

The fighting lasted four years, ending only after Russia’s intervention. Some 30,000 people were killed.

Although a peace agreement was signed in 2008 to solidify a resolution, there have been flashes of violence in the region over the years.

In 2020, those tensions boiled over, resulting in heavy fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azeri forces deployed ballistic missiles, cluster munitions and drones to take back the region.

In November, the conflict officially ended following a peace deal that saw Armenia relinquish control of the region and Russian peacekeepers step in.

Wednesday’s meeting was hosted by the European Council in Brussels.

It’s the third in six months between the country’s leaders.

With proposed talks, there’s renewed hope that this agreement can be sustained despite clashes recorded as recently as November.

European Council President Charles Michel, who engineered the discussions, said he was “confident” that the talks are going in the right direction for the two parties, but also “it doesn’t mean that everything is solved, of course.”

sl/sms (Reuters, AFP)

Asbarez: ArmHighTech 2022 Showcases Homegrown Drone-Makers

Hambardsumian Paul
by Contributor

 

 April 8, 2022

 

in Armenia, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Davaro is one of the Armenia-based companies that is manufacturing drones

YEREVAN (Armenpress)—The Third ArmHighTech International Exhibition of Defense Technologies showcased a wide range of military and civilian-grade technologies, such as strolling munitions, drones and even technologies designed for assisting people with disabilities.

The spotlight, however, was mostly on drone-makers that offer relatively cheap and easily controlled UAVs.

The Armenian Davaro drone-maker showcased its UAVs, which have an endurance of 20 hours in-flight and 500 kilometer range, equipped with a 15kg warhead. Davaro also offers combat drones with up to 150 kilometer firing range. The company unveiled its new laser-guided reconnaissance and combat models.

“They are designed to strike enemy airfields, weapon depots, mostly stationary targets,” Davaro representative Armen Yenokyan said.

He added that they are now developing a control system that would include artificial intelligence in controlling the combat operations.

UAVLAB, another drone-maker known for its Bzez (Beetle) loitering munitions, launched the production of other combat UAVs and is perfecting the control system.

“We can control two drones from this machine. It is entirely made in Armenia,” UAVLAB representative Alexander Jaghinyan said.

Arshavir Stepanyan, the representative of ProMAQ, a company specializing in reconnaissance and combat drones, as well as unmanned cargo transport helicopters and radio-locating and communication systems, said that the cooperation with the government is dynamically growing especially since the 2020 war in Artsakh. “This is a sector developing every day, we are having new ideas and goals every day, new projects that are being realized. The market is developing dynamically,” he said.

Other participants at the exhibition included Aragats, a company manufacturing thermal vision scopes and surveillance systems since 1992. Levon Margaryan from Aragats said they are working with the military since day one. “We are showcasing some of our thermal vision scopes. Around 80% of the displayed items passed all government tests and are used by the military for many years,” he said.

The Scientific-Research Institute of Communication Means was showcasing its brand-new Nairi radio-locating station – a radar capable of being deployed and brought to operational mode within few minutes. The radar has a range of up to 4000 kilometers and detects medium and large flying vehicles.

Isatech Robotics presented two new models: a tracked, remotely controlled transport SUV designed for transporting cargo and medevac operations in hazardous terrains; and a remotely controlled combat machine. The latter is capable of substituting a soldier on the battlefield and is fully able to engage in combat. Isatech Robotics also offers technologies for assisting war veterans who’ve sustained disabilities.

The first ever Armenian company specializing in building and producing innovative rehabilitation devices – QaylTech – was also presenting its products.

The Oqni company was also among participants. Oqni is an Armenian startup with an aim to create a full cycle of AI-driven prosthetics.

ArmHighTech 2022 was held from March 31 to April 2 in Yerevan.

Opposition MP: Pashinyan expresses superficial concern over Azerbaijan’s actions in Artsakh

Hambardsumian Paul
Panorama, Armenia
April 8 2022

Armenian MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition With Honor (Pativ Unem) bloc blamed Nikol Pashinyan for failure to raise the issue of the latest Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh in the Brussels meeting with the Azerbaijani president on April 6.

“The Azerbaijani aggression in the village of Parukh of the Askeran region and the Karaghlukh heights, which preceded the Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Brussels, has not actually been addressed,” he wrote on Facebook on Friday.

The lawmaker stressed the issue was shifted to the field of Russian-Azerbaijani relations, with the inaction of Russian peacekeepers named the main problem, rather than the Azerbaijani invasion.

“Obviously, Russian peacekeepers did not meet the expectations of the Artsakh people, failing to stop the Azerbaijani aggression and the Azerbaijani troops did not withdraw to their initial positions,” the MP said.

“But there is another painful aspect. In fact, Pashinyan expresses superficial concern over the actions of the Azerbaijani troops, but states that it is not for Armenia to deal with the problem and it cannot impede relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, much less become an agenda issue.

“On the other hand, Azerbaijan continues to reinforce its positions in the parts of Karaghluh it has invaded, making it quite foggy, if not impossible, for the Azerbaijani soldiers to return to their initial positions through negotiations with Russia.

“This means that either the situation around Karaglukh will remain tense with unpredictable developments, or the Artsakh people will be convinced that it is better to come to terms with the current situation and the territorial loss,” Abrahamyan said.

Artsakh National Security Service to have military active-duty combat division

Hambardsumian Paul

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 14:18, 30 March, 2022

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. The National Security Service of Artsakh will have a military (combat) division for active duty service.

The bill on amending the law and creating the division was presented to parliament of Artsakh.

The current law states that the national security service is divided into three bodies – intelligence, counter-intelligence and military counter-intelligence.

The amendment will add the fourth – combat division body in the system in order for “strengthening the process of active-duty service (combat shift) of national security service officers at the Artsakh Republic state border (line of contact) and to regulate further legal relationships.”

President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi expresses willingness to pay official visit to Armenia

Hambardsumian Paul

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 12:37, 1 April, 2022

YEREVAN, APRIL 1, ARMENPRESS. President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi expressed desire to visit Armenia at a meeting with Ambassador of Armenia Hrachya Poladyan.

Ambassador Poladyan presented his credentials to President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. During a brief conversation, Poladyan conveyed Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan’s warm greetings and best wishes to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Ambassador Poladyan said that Armenia is awaiting President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s official visit to Armenia with big expectations.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said he will take the opportunity and visit Armenia. He congratulated Ambassador Poladyan on the occasion of the presentation of credentials and spoke highly about the traditionally friendly relations between Armenia and Egypt and wished good luck to the Ambassador in his mission, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

Film: Armenia’s ‘Light Drops’ wins Best Drama at Alternative Film Festival in Toronto

Hambardsumian Paul
Panorama
Armenia,

The Armenian film “Light Drops” (Drops of Light) by filmmaker Arman Chilingaryan has been awarded Best Drama at the Alternative Film Festival in Toronto, Canada.

The festival winners were revealed on March 27.

“Light Drops” is a drama set in the 1990s in Armenia.

The movie was produced with the financial support of the National Cinema Center of Armenia.

Incidentally, famous actor Vigen Stepanyan (1952-2021) played his last role in the film.

Scriptwriters – Arman Chilingaryan, Garik Mashkaryan
Director of photography – Arto Khachatryan
Production design – Nerses Sedrakyan
Composer – Leon Tevanyan

Town chief confirms strategic height under Karabakh army’s control

Hambardsumian Paul
PanArmenian.net
Armenia –
– 12:20 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – Karaglukh, a strategic height in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) is under the control of the Defense Army, the chief of the nearby Khramort community, Zorik Abrahamyan, said on Thursday, March 25, according to 5 TV.

Earlier on Thursday, Azerbaijan used drones to launch an offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh, capturing a village and positions nearby and injuring one Armenian soldier.

Abrahamyan said the situation is “manageable,” revealing that the Artsakh troops have provided a “corridor” to the Azeri troops to leave the Armenian positions and the village.

It was reported on Friday, however, that lengthy negotiations of the Russian peacekeeping troops have not yielded significant results, and the Azeris have not returned to the starting positions

Provocations against Artsakh are not one-time, countermeasures needed against them – lawmaker

Hambardsumian Paul

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 14:04,

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, ARMENPRESS. Any discussion connected with the current situation and the future of Artsakh is demanded as the latest global and regional developments put new challenges before the Armenian people, Member of Parliament of Artsakh Gegham Stepanyan said during the parliamentary hearings.

According to the MP, the post-war situation in Artsakh needs to be analyzed seriously from the perspective of keeping the security issues of the people of Artsakh under constant attention, restoring the lost defense capacities and correctly combining the actions of the peacekeeping troops in the overall system. “In the previous days there was a certain activeness in the parliamentary cooperation platform, but our discussions could not be limited by topics relating only to education, culture and technologies”, he said.

He said the issues on strengthening the security of the border settlements of Artsakh and overcoming the situation caused by the recent humanitarian crisis must be definitely included in the agenda of political issues and the ideas proposed over these issues must turn into an action plan for the relevant authorities.

“Following the 2020 September war unleashed by Azerbaijan and its allies against Artsakh and particularly after the November 9 trilateral statement, we are living in a completely different, harmful security environment full of daily dangers. It’s an impression that our adversaries are still implementing a pre-designed comprehensive plan with a precise schedule and filled with calculation of our weak sides, but we are thinking every day and still cannot agree over a counter step against the provocation conducted yesterday. The psychological pressures on the bordering villages and obstructing the farming works in that settlements with all possible means are measures which are definitely not one-time. They are being done with an expectation to get some “result”, and the explosion of the main pipeline supplying gas to Artsakh in this period of the year and in such conditions when most of the population is using the natural gas for heating and hot water, of course, has been a calculated step”, Stepanyan said.

Russia ready to support negotiations process between Armenia and Azerbaijan – Foreign Ministry

Hambardsumian Paul

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 15:38,

YEREVAN, MARCH 17, ARMENPRESS. Russia welcomes the readiness of Armenia and Azerbaijan to start preparations for a peace treaty and stands ready to support the negotiations process, the Russian Foreign Ministry representative Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing.

“We welcome the readiness of Armenia and Azerbaijan to start the preparations for a peace treaty and we reaffirm our readiness to support the negotiations process,” Zakharova said.

She added that it is too early to speak about possible timeframes of the signing of the peace treaty.

On March 14, 2022 Armenia officially the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship to organize negotiations for the signing of peace agreement with Azerbaijan.