Author: Jalatian Sonya

Armenpress News Agency, Armenia
 Sunday
99th anniversary of Aparan's heroic battle celebrated with festive events
YEREVAN, MAY 28, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of the First Armenian
Republic Day on May 28, ‘Revival’ Memorial complex of Aparan town of
Aragatsotn province became the main ceremony place.
The ceremony was attended by the leadership of the province and town,
guests from neighboring communities and Yerevan, the local people.
One of the major events of the Armenian history – the Battle of
Bash-Aparan, took place on this part of Aparan which played a
significant role for the establishment of the first Armenian
independent statehood.
During the ceremony wreaths were laid at the busts of commanders
Drastamat Kanayan and Sedrak Jalalyan.
The Aragatsotn Governorate told Armenpress Governor Gabriel Gyozalyan
congratulated the participants, stating that the Armenian people
celebrate the Republic Day with great pride and enthusiasm. “This
significant holiday symbolizes the greatest will to establish and
maintain the statehood and desire to live with dignity of the Armenian
people who passed numerous ways of struggle and achieved key victories
on that path”, Gyozalyan said.
The festive ceremony was followed by an exposition by militaries and a
concert with participation of famous artists, musicians.

 news.am, Armenia
May 18 2017
Armenian president: Yerevan seeks self-determination for Karabakh
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from Armenian]
Armenia seeks to guarantee the people's right of self-determination,
not the preservation of the status quo in Azerbaijan's breakaway
Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has said in
comments about the state of the negotiating process, News.am reported
on 18 May.
The president was speaking at the first session of the new Armenian parliament.
Comprehensive solution
He noted, however, that any change in the status quo of the conflict
would only be acceptable if a comprehensive solution is reached.
Sargsyan added that Armenia has always supported the settlement of the
conflict based on mutual concessions based on the recognition and
implementation of Karabakh's right for self-determination.
"Yes, it [the solution] must be based on mutual concessions but not on
unilateral concessions, yielding to Azerbaijan's threats that
otherwise the war is inevitable. Yes, we do not want the preservation
of the status quo, not anymore. We do not want to shift the burden of
solving the issue on the next generations. And our joint efforts with
the [OSCE] member states to settle the issue pursue this aim,"
Sargsyan was quoted as saying.
Sargsyan stressed that the proposal made in December 1997 - an
apparent reference to the OSCE's "step-by-step deal" was aimed at
establishing a ceasefire and not resolving the Karabakh conflict. "The
Armenian sides were receiving dubious security guarantees and no less
dubious and unclear prospects for the political settlement of the
conflict, going for disproportional concessions instead," he was
quoted as saying.
The president also criticised the idea that the status quo of the
conflict is in Armenia's favour. "When Baku distorts the facts, saying
that we are allegedly trying to preserve the status quo, it can be
viewed as part of the opponent's logic. But it is unacceptable for
such an opinion to be voiced in Armenia," the website quoted him as
saying.
Right to self-determination
Sargsyan noted that, for the first time in history of the Karabakh
talks, references are being made to the people's right of
self-determination.
"For the first time in the history of negotiations on the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, it has been fixed that the
Nagorno-Karabakh's final legal status, determined by the free will of
the Artsakh [Karabakh] people, will have legally binding force. That
is to say, it will be binding for Azerbaijan as well and guaranteed by
the international community. Unlike previous stages, it was also fixed
in the working documents that Artsakh representatives will have a
decisive voice in the settlement," Sargssyan was quoted as saying.
"In short, it is becoming clear and vivid how the political solution
to the conflict will be shaped. In this regard, the Azerbaijani
president confessed in an outburst of sincerity that the [OSCE Minsk
Group] mediators were forcing him to accept Nagorno-Karabakh's
independence. This is the essence of the negotiating process of the
last years," News.am quoted Sargsyan as saying.

States News Service
May 18, 2017 Thursday
OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL, ON FORTHCOMING CLOSURE OF OFFICE IN YEREVAN,
COMMENDS WORK OF ITS STAFF
VIENNA, Austria
The following information was released by the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE):
OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said today that the
Organization had to start the process of closure of the Office in
Yerevan, since no consensus could be reached on the future mandate of
the Office.
The closure of the OSCE Office in Yerevan follows months of
negotiations and extensive efforts by the 2016 German OSCE
Chairmanship and the 2017 Austrian OSCE Chairmanship to resolve the
deadlock on the extension of the Office's mandate.
The OSCE opened its field presence in Armenia in 2000. Zannier said
that the Office in Yerevan, with its dedicated staff, had made a
significant contribution in assisting and advising the Armenian
authorities on the implementation of OSCE commitments. "Co-operation
with Armenia has always been very fruitful," he said.
The OSCE's activities in the country included, among others,
assistance with police reforms and support for reviewing and
streamlining the national regulatory frameworks affecting business
activity and the daily lives of citizens. In 2006, the Office in
Yerevan established a Programme Implementation Presence in the Syunik
region to contribute to sustainable development.
Secretary General Zannier emphasized that the OSCE will seek to
continue its engagement with Armenia in line with existing OSCE
commitments across all three security dimensions the
politico-military, the economic and environmental and the human
dimension.
The Office in Yerevan will discontinue its operations on 31 August 2017.