Author: Hunanian Jack

The 8^th informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Eastern Partnership countries will be held in Yerevan on November 17.

The event will bring together EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, Deputy Secretary General of the European External Action Service Jean-Christophe Belliard, high-ranking delegations from Eastern Partnership participating countries.

The heads of delegation will give a joint press conference upon the conclusion of the meeting.

The same day the Eastern Partnership Ministers for Science and Technologies will hold dialogue dedicated to issues of research and innovation.

The delegations will be hosted by President Serzh Sargsyan.

Photo: EPA

 

Syria’s leader has said he hopes US President-elect Donald Trump will be an ally in fighting terrorism but remains “cautious in judging him,” the BBC reports.

Bashar al-Assad said Mr Trump would be a “natural ally” if he fulfilled a campaign pledge to fight terrorism.

But he said it was “dubious” whether Mr Trump could “live up to his promises”.

Mr Trump had previously said it was “madness” to oppose both Syrian forces and IS militants, and that fighting Syria could lead to fighting Russia.

Speaking to Portugal’s RTP state television, Mr Assad said: “We cannot tell anything about what he’s going to do, but if… he is going to fight the terrorists, of course we are going to be [an] ally, natural ally in that regard with the Russians, with the Iranians, with many other countries.”

Mr Assad said that Mr Trump’s pledge to focus the fight on Islamic State (IS) militants was “promising”, but added: “Can he deliver?”

“What about the countervailing forces within the administration, the mainstream media that were against him? How can he deal with it? That’s why for us it’s still dubious… That’s why we are very cautious in judging him.”

Current US policy is to strike against IS and other jihadists while supporting moderate rebels opposed to President Assad.

Mr Assad regards those groups as terrorists.

At the invitation of President Serzh Sargsyan, at Saturday night the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta Fra Matthew Festing arrived to the Republic of Armenia on a state visit.

The official welcoming ceremony for the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta Fra Matthew Festing and his delegation took place at the Presidential Palace. Later,  the President of Armenia and the Grand Master held a meeting with the participation of the official delegations.

“Your Most Eminent Highness, it gives me a special pleasure to greet you in Armenia. I am greatly honored to welcome you and your delegation. The visit of the Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to Armenia is a very important event in the history of our diplomatic relations and it, I am sure, will allow us to invigorate our cooperation.

Ties between the first Christian nation and the oldest Christian Order had formed back in times of the crusades and were based on mutual respect and mutual benefit. We share the same Christian values, and they constitute the base which allows us today to form active interstate relations. I am aware that the agenda of your visit to our country is pretty full. I hope that in the process you will have the opportunity to familiarize with our people, our Christian culture which in a way is similar to the common Christian culture but is also unique, special. Welcome to Armenia,” said the President of Armenia in his welcoming remarks.

The Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta Fra Matthew Festing thanked the President of Armenia for the warm welcome and hospitality and stressed the importance of his state visit to Armenia from the viewpoint of further strengthening of the bilateral relations. “I was really delighted for the opportunity to meet with you at the Saint Peter’s Cathedral where you had arrived to participate at the holy mass dedicated to the memory of the saint martyrs of the Armenian Genocide. I believe that it is critical that the Christian nations and representatives of the Christian organizations establish very close relations, considering prevailing in these times secular morals. It is particularly important in the light of the extraordinary problems which we face nowadays, particularly, the flow of migrants, problems of refugees and their movements. I believe in that context it is crucial for us to maintain a constant contact, exchanging views and coordinating our approaches. That is why these relations are so important,” said His Most Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta Fra Matthew Festing at the meeting with the President of Armenia.

The CSTO Collective Security Strategy was adopted at the CSTO Collective Security Council session in Yerevan today.  The Strategy outlines the priorities of the organization until 2025 and determines all main directions of cooperation.

“The CSTO member states reiterated their willingness to build relations with the international community on the basis of inseparability of loyalty and security, to avoid the use of force or the threat of force and give preference to diplomatic methods, when solving emerging problems,” Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told reporters, as he summed up the results of the Yerevan summit.

Upon the conclusion of the meeting, the participants adopted a statement, expressing the approaches on key issues on international agenda. The Heads of State reiterated the role of the Organization as an important tool contributing to the maintenance of peace and stability, ensuring the security and sovereignty of the member states.

“Within the framework of the CSTO the partners expressed support to the agreements on Nagorno Karabakh reached at the Vienna and St. Petersburg summits, which are targeted at preventing the rise of tension, stabilizing the situation and promoting the peace process,” President Sargsyan said.

“During the sitting the participants stressed the need to solve the Karabakh conflict exceptionally through peaceful means and expressed support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs based on the norms and principles of international law, the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, namely the non-use of force or the threat of force, the territorial integrity of states and the right of peoples to self-determination,” President Sargsyan said.

 

 

 

The situation at the border is relatively calm, the number of shots has decreased, Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan told reporters today.

He said the Armenian side refrains from responding to shots from the Azeri side to avoid tension.

The Minister stressed however, that the Armenian side is always ready to rebuff any assault. “We’re always alert and are always ready to resist any ‘storm’,” he added.

Seyran Ohanyan said that the process of installation of video devises at the border that had started in 2013, has intensified after the military actions in April this year.

“The four-day war showed that the installation of engineering equipment all along the defense line creates conditions for the conduct of contemporary military actions,” the Minister said.

He said more intensive work is being carried out at sections that have undergone changes.

The U.S. Embassy has issued a statement on the events in Yerevan late on Friday:

The U.S. Embassy is deeply concerned by the shocking images and credible reports of violence and excessive use of force by the police to disperse protestors during the night of July 29-30. We are just as concerned by credible reports that journalists and their equipment were specifically targeted by the police during these operations, in what appears to be clear violations of the freedom of the press. We urge the Armenian government to take immediate steps to prevent a repeat of last night’s actions and to direct the Armenian security forces to maintain order in a manner that upholds all Armenian citizens’ rights to freedom of expression and to peaceful assembly – freedoms that are guaranteed in the Armenian Constitution and are the core values of any strong and functioning democracy. At the same time, we also urge protestors to responsibly exercise their freedom of assembly by exercising restraint, eschewing violence, and avoiding the active standoff at Erebuni police building.

We welcome the Armenian Human Rights Ombudsman’s efforts to document the reports of violence against protestors, journalists, and passersby, and to advocate for the rights of those in detention. The Prosecutor General’s launch of a criminal case into violence against journalists is a positive initial step, and we call on the government to allow a full, independent, and transparent investigation into all allegations of human rights violations, and to prosecute all those involved to the fullest extent of the law. We also urge the government to take immediate steps to ensure similar violations of Armenians’ constitutional and human rights do not recur.

As friend to Armenia and a partner in its democratic development, the U.S. Embassy is deeply concerned by what the events of last night indicate about the rule of law and protection of civil rights in Armenia. We remain committed to working in partnership with civil society and individuals within the government who are truly committed to strengthening rule of law. At the same time, information gleaned by the investigations into police misconduct, as well as information gathered by credible independent reports, will inform future decisions about participation in Embassy programs and activities.

Amidst the calls for further protests this evening, we strongly urge all parties to sincerely work for a peaceful resolution of the situation.

Photo: Alexandra Mudrats/TASS

Well-known journalist Pavel Sheremet has been killed in central Kiev, the Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper reported on Wednesday, reports.

According to the publication, “On Wednesday morning, well-known journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed in a car bomb explosion. The car belonged to the Ukrainskaya Pravda head Yelena Pritula, but she was not in the car, the report says.

The car in which Sheremet was riding exploded at the corner of Bogdan Kmelnitsky and Ivan Franko streets.

Pavel Sheremet was born in Minsk on November 28, 1971. In 1998, he took a job as a special correspondent of the Novosti program on Russia’s ORT TV channel and in January 1999 took the post of the managing editor of the Russian and foreign bureau of the TV channel’s information programs. He was the presenter of the weekly analytical program Vremya. Since 2009 he was editor of the politics and society in the Ogonyok magazine.

For the past five years, Sheremet had been staying in Kiev, working for Ukrainskaya Pradva and Vesti radio.

Radisson Blu upper upscale international hotel was solemnly opened in Armenia’s capital Yerevan today. President Serzh Sargsyan was present at the opening ceremony.

The President of Armenia toured the premises of Radisson Blu Hotel Yerevan, which joined the ranks of the luxury hotels in Yerevan, familiarized with the works and investments, created jobs (nearly 135), and services offered by the hotel.

“We are truly excited to bring our  signature style and Yes/Can! service to Yerevan. We are thankful to our partner, Golden Palace LLC for the fruitful collaboration, the perfect new 5 star product, which is combined with an amzing location that has it all –  tranquility, garden greens, proximity to all attractions, plus a magnificent view of the city and Mount Ararat. Putting all of these together does make the Radisson Blu hotel, Yerevan, the place to be and to experience memorable moments,” said George Miu, the General Manger of  Radisson Blu Hotel Yerevan.

“We are delighted that Radisson Blu has chosen Armenia as its next stop to grow and develop in the area,” he added.

The sides in Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have moved much closer to success than ever before but it is too early to disclose the details, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after talks with his Azerbajani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov, TASS reports.

“We have grounds to think that we are now moving much closer to success than ever before,” Lavrov said.

However, the foreign minister said he will not disclose the details of agreements reached between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia at their meeting in St. Petersburg on June 20.

“For obvious reasons, we are not publicly disclosing details of those ideas that were discussed at the meeting. The leaders of the three countries agreed after the meeting on June 20 that they will carefully treat those sprouts of hope that are appearing. Not because we are hiding something, it is just an ethical norm at negotiations,” he added.

Talking about his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that took place on July 11, Lavrov said: “The conversation was rather useful, and this will help us move forward towards realization of the understanding reached by the presidents of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia at the meeting in St. Petersburg on June 20,” the foreign minister concluded.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter-Steinmeier today departs on a three-day visit to the South Caucasus region, and will travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Before his departure, Steinmeier said that despite much turbulence in Europe, one must not lose sight of the situation in the South Caucasus. “The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict risks to re-escalate at any time,” said Steinmeier. “As Chair of the OSCE we have the responsibility to hedge this risk as far as possible.” As measures to this end Steinmeier named the consolidation of the ceasefire, confidence-building measures and negotiations that should soon be taken up.

Steinmeier also stressed that the settlement of territorial conflicts in Georgia has to remain high on the agenda. With a view to the Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly that will take place in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on 1-5 July, Steinmeier said: “By speaking at the opening session of the Parliamentary Assembly I wish to underline our support to strengthening parliamentarianism in the OSCE area.”