Author: Jane Topchian

U.S. Embassy in Armenia Issues Travel Warning

Jane Topchian

October 29,  2020



The U.S. Embassy building in Yerevan

The United States Embassy in Yerevan issued a travel warning urging U.S. citizens to keep away from “all of Ararat, Vayots Dzor and Syunik provinces,” and not to travel to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Below is the statement.

The U.S. Embassy in Armenia urges U.S. citizens to exercise caution when traveling within Armenia. The U.S. Embassy has instructed Embassy employees and their families not to travel to the areas listed below and urges U.S. citizens to avoid travel to:

Tavush province east of the M4 and M16 Highways north of the Dilijan National Park and up to the border with Georgia.

Gegharkunik province east and south of Lake Sevan and east of the M10 Highway.
All of Ararat, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik provinces.

The U.S. Embassy will continue to monitor the security situation and provide additional information as needed.

CivilNet: U.S. Says Armenia Has Accepted Ceasefire but Azerbaijan not Yet

Jane Topchian
CIVILNET.AM

20:59

“Under the President’s direction, we have spent the entire weekend trying to broker peace between Armenia & Azerbaijan. Armenia has accepted a ceasefire. Azerbaijan has not yet. We are pushing them [Azerbaijan] to do so,” said U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien on Face the Nation.

Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers traveled to Washington on October 23 for a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. State Department officials.

Hostilities began between following an Azerbaijani offensive on the Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh on September 27.

After two failed Russian-brokered ceasefires, the U.S. State Department invited Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov to Washington in an attempt to end hostilities and begin negotiations.

“Our view remains, as does the view of nearly every European country, that the right path forward is to cease the conflict, tell them to de-escalate, that every country should stay out, provide no fuel for this conflict, no weapons systems, no support,” said Pompeo.

U.S., Russia, and France are co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Minks Group, tasked with spearheading peace talks over Nagorno Karabakh.

Yesterday, the U.S. Embassy in Baku said it has received credible reports of potential terrorist attacks and kidnappings against U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in Baku, including against hotels such as the J.W. Marriott Absheron, as well as potentially other locations in Baku. 

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Jane Topchian
  • 26.10.2020

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The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia officially announces once again that the Armenian side is strictly observing the humanitarian ceasefire regime established from 08:00.

The statements of the Azerbaijani side that, allegedly, the Armenian side violated the humanitarian ceasefire regime, do not correspond to reality and have an obvious provocative nature.

In this regard, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia emphasizes the early introduction of clear parameters for maintaining the ceasefire regime and the initiation of the exchange process of prisoners of war and other detained persons, as well as the bodies of the dead, through the mediation of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Turkey’s efforts to have military presence in South Caucasus are against Russian interests – expert

Jane Topchian

Turkey’s efforts to have military presence in South Caucasus are against Russian interests – expert

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 00:23,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan emphasizes that given the factor that Russia has a military base in Armenia, Turkey will try to reinforce its de-facto military presence in Azerbaijan with de-jure presence, turkologist Ruben Melkonyan told ARMENPRESS, commenting on the announcement of the vice president of Turkey Fuat Oktay, saying that they will not hesitate to send their troops to Azerbaijan if Baku applies.

”In fact, Turkey is trying to legitimize the presence of its troops in Azerbaijan deployed during the unprecedented Azerbaijani-Turkish military exercises and have a military base there”, Melkonyan said.

Melkonyan sees Turkey’s ambitions for a Syrian scenario, by which Turkish and Russian troops control some Syrian territories, but this plan of Turkey is not in the interests of Russia.

”Syria is one region, South Caucasus is another. South Caucasus has traditionally been in the interests of Russia. I think Turkey’s attempts to have military presence in this region directly contradicts the interests of Russia. Naturally, this once again shows Turkey’s direct involvement in Nagorno Karabakh conflict”, he said.

According to Melkonyan, it’s obvious that Turkey will use Azerbaijan as a tool. He does not rule out that yielding to provocations, Azerbaijan may ask or offer Turkey to deploy troops in Azerbaijan. ”These issues will lead to a complicated political situation in Azerbaijan, putting at risk Azerbaijan’s sovereignty”, Melkonyan said.

United Nations Security Council to hold closed meeting on Nagorno Karabakh conflict

Jane Topchian

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 03:08,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS.  The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold on October 19 a closed meeting on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, a source from the UNSC told RIA Novosti.

According to the source, the meeting is convened in response to a request from Russia, France and the United States – the Co-Chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Russia will soon provide one more mobile lab to Armenia

Jane Topchian

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 15:57,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 17, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan met with Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergei Kopyrkin, the ministry told Armenpress.

At the beginning of the meeting the minister thanked Russia for the multilateral support provided in the healthcare sector, in particular in the fight against COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS.

“One more mobile lab will be provided to Armenia soon by the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor)”, the minister said and once again thanked for the support.

Minister Torosyan presented the situation in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone and thanked Russia for all the efforts aimed at the settlement of the conflict.

“The situation now is that our healthcare system is operating in 3 directions: the 1st direction – planned actions, the 2nd direction – coronavirus pandemic, which is gradually growing, and the 3rd direction – given the overload of Artsakh’s healthcare system due to the Azerbaijani military operations, Armenia’s healthcare system is also providing a respective assistance to mitigate the overload. Of course, this creates some difficulties, but we are managing to overcome it”, he said.

The sides expressed mutual readiness to continue and strengthen the cooperation in the healthcare field.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

22 civilians killed, 95 injured from Armenian side as a result of Azerbaijani aggression

Jane Topchian

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 20:54, 8 October, 2020

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 8, ARMENPRESS. As a result of the Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and Artsakh 22 civilians have been killed and 95 were injured, ARMENPRESS reports the Armenian United Information Center informs.

A total of 5800 estates, residential buildings and other buildings have been damaged in Artsakh and Armenia.

20 of the 22 civilian victims are from Artsakh, 2 from Armenia. 93 of the 95 injured are from Artsakh, two from Armenia.

The two civilian victims in the Republic of Armenia were residents of Vardenis and Mets Masrik.

A number of reporters were injured on October 8 during the bombing of Shushi Cathedral, one of them, a Russian journalist, is in critical situation. Doctors of Artsakh are sparing no efforts to save his life.

Earlier two French reporters of Le-Monde had been injured in Martakert. One of them was in critical situation, but doctors of Artsakh were able to save his life.

Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

Armenpress: Justice Yervand Khundkaryan is sole candidate nominated for Presidency of Constitutional Court

Jane Topchian

Justice Yervand Khundkaryan is sole candidate nominated for Presidency of Constitutional Court

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 19:16,

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS.  Justice Yervand Khundkaryan is the sole candidate nominated for the position of President of Constitutional Court, Justice Edgar Shatiryan told reporters amid the ongoing confirmation hearing. 

The session of the high court which is convened to elect a chief justice will continue tomorrow, he said.

“The voting hasn’t taken place yet,” Shatiryan said. “One candidate is self-nominated,” he added, referring to Khundkaryan.

“One of the justices nominated another candidate, but this candidate filed a recusal afterwards,” he said, without elaborating who the second candidate was.

He did not deny unconfirmed news reports that the second candidate was Justice Ashot Khachatryan, who was nominated by Hrayr Tovmasyan, the former President of the Constitutional Court who was ousted by parliament but retained his position as Justice.

He said the confirmation hearing of Khundkaryan will resume tomorrow.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia’s high tech industry grows 24% in 2020 Q1

Jane Topchian

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 18:48,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 22, ARMENPRESS. Turnover in the high tech industry sector grew 24% in 2020 Q1 compared to the previous year’s same period, PM Nikol Pashinyan said on social media.

He said the turnover reached $176,000,000 from $142,000,000.

According to the Prime Minister, the number of employees in the sector grew 13%, reaching 16442 from 14533, and the number of active organizations reached 1118 from 1007 (11% growth).

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Armenia denounces Azerbaijani authorities’ refusal to allow Red Cross officials to visit captive Gurgen Alaverdyan

Jane Topchian
Panorama, Armenia
Sept 18 2020

Armenian Defense Minister, Head of the Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons, Davit Tonoyan, on Thursday hosted Head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Armenia Claire Meytraud, the ministry’s press service reported.

Speaking about the videos spread by the Azerbaijani media concerning Gurgen Alaverdyan, an Armenian officer who mistakenly crossed into Azerbaijan and was captured there in late August, Tonoyan expressed concerns over their content.

The minister underlined that the Azerbaijani authorities’ refusal to allow ICRC representatives in Baku to meet with the Armenian captive is a gross violation of international human rights, particularly the commitments assumed by Azerbaijan under the international humanitarian law.

At the same time, the Armenian defense chief thanked the ICRC Yerevan Office head for the efforts made by the delegation to protect the rights of POWs and civilians under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan.

Claire Meytraud, in turn, assured that the delegation is taking all necessary steps to ensure all the procedures stemming from the status of Gurgen Alaverdyan and other Armenian captives in Azerbaijan.

The officials also discussed the activities aimed at assessing the level of applicability of international humanitarian law in the Armenian Armed Forces.