Author: Janet Ekmekjian

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 10-01-22

Janet Ekmekjian

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 17:42,

YEREVAN, 10 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 10 January, USD exchange rate up by 0.17 drams to 482.96 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.62 drams to 546.90 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.06 drams to 6.44 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 1.49 drams to 655.86 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 60.25 drams to 27834.64 drams. Silver price up by 0.04 drams to 345.33 drams. Platinum price down by 103.41 drams to 14906.42 drams.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized Biden over the Armenian Genocide Declaration

Janet Ekmekjian
Tittle Press
Jan 4 2021
BYNEWSDESK
JANUARY 4, 2022


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 26 condemned US President Joe Biden’s recognition of the Armenian genocide, saying the move would have a “devastating effect” on relations between the two countries.

Speaking on television after the cabinet meeting, Erdogan pointed to the deaths of millions of Native Americans and told Biden to “look in the mirror” before accusing the Turkish nation of genocide.

“You cannot stand up and label the Turkish nation as genocide,” Erdogan said in his first keynote address.

On April 24, Biden became the first US president to use the word genocide in his official statement to describe the massacre and deportation of Armenians in the last days of the Ottoman Empire during World War I. This date marks the anniversary of the gathering in Istanbul on April 24, 1915, of thousands of Armenian intellectuals suspected of hostility to the Ottoman government.

Previous US administrations have refrained from using the term genocide for decades to avoid provoking Turkey, a NATO ally and important regional power.

However, Biden felt an opportunity to “historically acknowledge what happened in 1915” on the basis of “deep respect for the importance of universal human rights,” US Ambassador to Armenia Lynn Tracy told RFE / RL’s Armenian Service. April 26.

Describing Biden’s position as “baseless and contradictory,” Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s position that the issue should be left to historians, not politicians. For years, Turkey has said it will open its archives to a joint history commission to address the problem.

“We believe that these comments were included in the declaration after pressure from radical Armenian groups and anti-Turkish circles. However, this situation does not reduce the destructive impact of these comments,” Erdogan said.

He added that he would meet with Biden during the NATO summit in June to discuss “opening a new door” in relations.

“Now we need to look at what steps we can take towards the future. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to implement the policy required by the new low level, which has sunk our relations. “

Tense US-Turkish relations

Biden’s statement comes at a time when relations between Turkey and the United States are already strained over Ankara’s purchase of the S-400 missile system from Russia, US relations with Kurdish forces in Syria, which Turkey considers to be linked to Kurdish militants, and more. .

Erdogan also criticized the United States for failing to resolve the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, mediated by the United States, Russia and France, and said Washington was on the side of the massacres.

“Unfortunately, more than 1 million Azerbaijani brothers have been expelled from Karabakh. All of Karabakh has been burned and destroyed, ”he said, referring to the displacement that took place about 30 years ago.

Turkey last year backed Azerbaijan in the conflict in which it reclaimed part of its territory in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan lost to ethnic Armenian forces in the early 1990s.

Combining Turkey’s view of history, Erdogan later described numerous “Armenian lies” and criticized the West for “double standards.”

During and immediately after World War I, Armenians and many historians say that about 1.5 million Armenians were killed in what Armenians called the “Great Crime.” Armenians have documented massacres, robberies, rapes of women, looting of property and other atrocities.

As the successor to the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, as a state, protested against the use of the word genocide, saying that hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Anatolia at that time died of war, famine, cold and disease.

Turkey’s official position is that the Armenian revolutionaries formed the fifth column allied with Russia during the First World War, and that the mass deportations and accompanying deaths of Armenians were not premeditated or deliberate. Turkey estimates that several hundred thousand Armenians died.

“Mass graves of Turks killed in our country can be found, but Armenian mass graves can not be found anywhere,” Erdogan said.

“One million Turks and Kurds are said to have been killed by Armenian gangs. April 24 is the day of the arrest of the leaders of the Armenian gangs [in Istanbul]. In fact, nothing has happened today in terms of human tragedy, “Erdogan said.

Erdogan also said that in the last decades and years of the Ottoman Empire, about 10 million ethnic Turks and Muslims were killed or expelled from the Balkans and the Caucasus due to Western-backed ethnic nationalism and Russian expansion.

“Half of our nation comes from exile,” he said. “As Turkey, we never try to use our pain.”

AP, TRT Haber, Anadolu Agency and Yeni Şafak report

Putin sends New Year felicitations to Sarkissian

Janet Ekmekjian

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 11:34, 29 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 29, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on New Year and Christmas holidays.

“The Armenian-Russian relations are based on the good traditions of friendship, cultural and spiritual closeness,” Putin said in a message addressed to Sarkissian.  “I am sure that next year our bilateral allied partnership and constructive cooperation in various areas will continue to develop for the benefit of our brotherly nations and strengthening of regional stability and security.”

President Putin also wished “robust health, good luck and happiness” to President Sarkissian and his family, and “peace and welfare” to the citizens of Armenia, the Armenian presidency said in a statement.

Rudenko: Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan finalizing parameters for launching joint infrastructure projects

Janet Ekmekjian
News.am, Armenia
Dec 29 2021
17:53, 29.12.2021

Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan are finalizing, within the framework of a trilateral working group, the parameters for launching joint infrastructure projects. This was stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko in an interview with RIA Novosti.

"We consider this format one of the key ones in the work toward normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. Currently, as the leaders of the three countries had agreed in Sochi [(Russia)], the parameters for the launch of joint infrastructure projects are being finalized," he said.

According to him, the respective approach of the Russian side is that the relevant decisions can be stable only if there is a consensus between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"Therefore, we are coming up with a one single ‘package’ in favor of a balanced security of the interests of the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides," added the Russian official.

Rudenko recalled that, the whole range of issues of unblocking transport and economic ties in the South Caucasus, including the restoration of both railway and motorway communication in the region, is considered within the framework of this mechanism.

COVID-19: Armenian CDC reports 59 new cases, 7 deaths

Janet Ekmekjian

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 11:14,

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. 59 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative total number of confirmed cases to 344,540, the Armenian National Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) said in a statement.

4669 tests were administered (total 2,540,319 tests).

248 patients recovered, raising the total number of recoveries to 330,841.

7 people died, bringing the death toll to 7950.

As of December 27, the number of active cases stood at 4250.

Azerbaijan’s pro-government media: Just following orders

Janet Ekmekjian
EurasiaNet.org
Dec 20 2021
Dec 20, 2021

Every day, sometimes multiple times a day, editors at news outlets in Azerbaijan get identical WhatsApp messages, usually with a file attached labeled: “Recommendations.”

For example, on a recent day it was about Iran. Baku and Tehran were suffering through a period of heightened tensions, and Azerbaijan’s government was trying to thread a needle: stand up to what it saw as aggression from its much larger neighbor, without letting things escalate too far.

So Azerbaijan’s media got specific instructions. 

A screenshot of a message "recommending" how journalists cover the meeting with Iran's president.

“Based on President Ilham Aliyev's speech on Iran, it is requested to expand the campaign on Iran-Armenia relations, drug trafficking, and looting of the occupied territories [in and around Nagorno-Karabakh] by these two countries,” went one October 15 message, hours after Aliyev had spoken at a video summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States. 

A few hours later, media agencies got another message. This time they were asked to be careful with their wording: no expressions that insult the “honor and dignity” of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. There should be no mention of “South Azerbaijan,” as Azerbaijani nationalists refer to the northern provinces of Iran, populated heavily by ethnic Azerbaijanis. Media should use “hard logic and facts” to make the case that “instead of making false accusations against Azerbaijan, Iran should apologize.”

Azerbaijan’s media got to work immediately, airing all sorts of never-before-voiced accusations against Tehran. 

The news agency APA published a lengthy piece detailing Iranian companies’ involvement in Armenia’s long occupation of Azerbaijani territory. The Trend News Agency followed up with an interview with member of parliament Javid Gasimov in which he alleged that Iran had been sowing “drug plantations” for 30 years on Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territory. Another state-affiliated media outlet, Axar, quoted an analyst who claimed that Iran had used Karabakh not only for drug trafficking but for money laundering. 

None mentioned Khamenei specifically, or “South Azerbaijan.” 

These sorts of messages from above arrive regularly, instructing Azerbaijan’s media every day on what to cover, and how. Eurasianet obtained a cache of the messages, which provide unique insight into how the state’s tight control over the media works. 

It’s not clear where the messages originate; the versions Eurasianet obtained had been forwarded from the original source. But journalists familiar with the instructions told Eurasianet, on condition of anonymity, that they believed they came from the office of the president. 

On September 20, a week before the one-year anniversary of the start of the war with Armenia, “we ask you to produce materials and start public discussions with a tempo increasing every day,” the message read. “The keywords are ‘Victorious Azerbaijani people’ and ‘Triumphant Supreme Commander-in-Chief.’”

Then, as the one-year anniversary of Azerbaijan’s victory approached, the tone was again to gradually change: “From November 1 to November 7, the policy is to significantly reduce the sad content (crying and so on) and to reorient toward Victory Day.”

On August 26, media were requested to exhaustively cover the birthday of first lady and first vice president Mehriban Aliyeva, “but without the effect being artificial,” it clarified. 

On October 16, following a controversial rise in household utility prices, journalists were given the names and phone numbers of government energy officials to interview. 

Often the instructions are on what not to cover. When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was visiting Azerbaijan with Aliyev, he made a joke about the fact that Jahangir Asgarov, the president of Azerbaijan’s flagship airline AZAL who was accompanying the two leaders, did not have a moustache. The exchange was captured on video but shortly after, media got a message: “Please do not broadcast the mustache joke […] that part of the video can be presented on social media by making that section inaudible.”

When Aliyev was interviewed by Italian newspaper La Repubblica, he was asked about an investigative report, known as the Pandora Papers, that detailed his family members’ and associates’ vast real estate holdings in London. Aliyev parried the question, and the transcript was accurately recorded on his website. But the media were requested to ignore it: “Hello, please do not highlight the part about the ‘Pandora papers’ in President Ilham Aliyev’s interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in headlines and stories.” 

Azerbaijan is far from the only country whose government tries to steer media coverage. In Georgia, government representatives are known to have cozy relationships with heads of friendly media, speaking to them regularly by phone and communicating on Facebook messenger groups. In Armenia’s pre-revolution days, the president’s office also spoke regularly with affiliated media to discuss coverage; the current government doesn’t have as many ties with the press, but it too has been steadily increasing control over media since taking over in 2018.

The difference in Azerbaijan is the formalization of the process, and the fact that there are very few outlets that aren’t subject to the instructions.

Until the 2000s, media was relatively diverse in Azerbaijan, expressing a wide variety of perspectives, said Khaled Aghaly, a lawyer specializing in Azerbaijani media law. But the government has over the years steadily cracked down on independent media, while building up a network of friendly media outlets. 

“The result of this policy is that the government is now able to control broadcasting and other media outlets that are most influential in influencing public opinion in Azerbaijan,” Aghaly told Eurasianet. “Unfortunately, [government] media policy in Azerbaijan is to spread content that praises the government, praises what it does, and promotes it to the public.”

Occasionally, the wires get crossed.

A message sent out on October 7 was related to a proposal to switch around the country’s national holidays. The new calendar would mark May 28 as Independence Day and October 18 as Restoration of Independence Day. 

The proposal was a controversial one, as it involved sensitive political reinterpretations of the country’s history. May 28 had been marked as Republic Day; it was the anniversary of the founding of the first Azerbaijan Republic in 1918. October 18 had previously been Independence Day; it was the anniversary of the declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. 

Many in Azerbaijan’s current opposition believe the government tries to downplay the legacy of the first republic for political reasons, and the holiday rearrangement was seen in that light. 

“The government's goal in these matters is clear. Their goal is to erase from history the struggle for independence in which the Aliyevs did not participate,” Arif Hadjili, the leader of the opposition Musavat party, told Berlin-based news outlet Meydan TV. 

But media were to explain it another way. 

In a lengthy explanation of the logic behind the new calendar, the message argued that it would “ensure a clearer and more pronounced _expression_ of the political and legal succession between the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the modern Republic of Azerbaijan.” It continued: “It also fully refutes the Armenian argument that the former Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was never part of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan and gained independence as a result of the September 2, 1991 referendum.”

Several state-affiliated media simply copy-pasted the text and published it on their website, but with varying attributions.

The news agency APA published the text, word-for-word, as coming from the mouth of member of parliament Ziyafat Asgarov. The next day, another news site part of the APA group, Lent.az, published the text verbatim as well, this time attributing part of it to Asgarov and another part to a historian, Boran Aziz.

And it kept coming. A week later, the identical text appeared in the state-owned newspaper Sas purportedly written by another MP, Ceyhun Mammadov. Then, in the news website Telegraf, it was attributed to yet another MP, Konul Nurullayeva. 

“The MP believes that” the new holiday schedule would “‘ensure a clearer and more pronounced _expression_ of the political and legal succession between the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the modern Republic of Azerbaijan,’” Telegraf wrote. “It also fully refutes the Armenian argument that the former Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was never part of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan and gained independence as a result of the September 2, 1991 referendum,” she is reported to have told the newspaper.

 

Russian Foreign Ministry wishes “peace and patience” to Armenia and Azerbaijan

Janet Ekmekjian

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 14:49, 24 December, 2021

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict is one of the most complex, prolonged and bloody conflicts, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing.

She wished peace and patience to Armenia and Azerbaijan in settling the conflict.

“I wish patience to Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as to all those experts who are working, including from the Russian side, to those who are directly controlling the situation”, Zakharova said.

The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman expressed hope that everything will be solved if all sides make maximum efforts.

She said that the Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan agreements of 2020 November 9 have been overall implemented in the passing year.

Armenians have sought their fortunes and found sanctuary in Arab countries for centuries

Janet Ekmekjian
Arab News
Dec 23 2021

  • Armenians have a long history as one of the most ancient and sophisticated communities in the Middle East 
  • Those who escaped the 1915 genocide found a warm welcome in the cosmopolitan cities of the Levant 
JAMES DRUMMOND

LONDON: When Armen Sarkissian, the president of Armenia, stepped off his plane in Riyadh in October this year, he became the first president of the small, former Soviet republic to visit Saudi Arabia. 


For nearly 30 years, since Armenia declared its independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, there have been virtually no diplomatic relations between it and some Islamic countries. 
One reason for the absence of ties is the long-running Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, which, on the face of it, pits Christian Armenia against Muslim Azerbaijan. This, along with the Armenian genocide of 1915 by Ottoman Turks, dominates Yerevan’s relations with many Middle Eastern countries. 
Geopolitically, the continued presence of several thousand Russian troops in Armenia has ensured the country remains firmly within Moscow’s sphere of influence, leaving successive governments with little room to maneuver. 




The first Armenian presidential visit to Saudi Arabia since it achieved independence. (AFP)

Beyond politics, however, relations between Armenians and Arabs, especially on a personal level, have been a good deal closer. Indeed, Armenians have been seeking their fortunes and finding sanctuary in Arab countries for centuries, for the most part harmoniously, albeit often as members of a low-profile community.  
Armenia, a country of 3 million, is a small land-locked state, plagued by earthquakes and hemmed in by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, and Azerbaijan to the east. Yerevan, the capital, is a Tsarist gem with an overlay of Soviet kitsch and striking modernism. 
The ruins of the medieval capital at Ani bear testament to the fact that, before the First World War, Armenians lived west of Mount Ararat across much of eastern Turkey. But the events of 1915 (and before) propelled tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Armenians into a diaspora to the south. 
There they found a warm welcome in the cosmopolitan cities of the Levant among existing communities of their compatriots.  




Armenians were major builders in the Ottoman Empire. (AFP)

Armenians were famous builders. Indeed, Sinan Pasha, the great architect of the Ottoman Empire, was reportedly of Armenian heritage. Many in the diaspora carved out niches as middle-men, translators, bankers and merchants. One such character, a Mr. Youkoumian, is an anti-hero of Evelyn Waugh’s comic novel “Black Mischief,” set in a fictionalized Ethiopia in the 1930s. 
The Armenians were able to maintain their identity through the Ottoman Empire’s millet system and later through the colonial mandates. Under these systems, payment of taxes and settlement of personal status disputes involving births, deaths, marriage and inheritance were devolved to religious leaders. 
As such, the Armenian bishops and archbishops were responsible for the behavior of their communities. From Aleppo to Cairo, from Basra to Beirut, the church was, and is, the center of Armenian life, providing welfare to the needy and education to the young. 
This has resulted in a strong sense of community and identity, which was nurtured and supported by philanthropy. Calouste Gulbenkian, for instance, an early Armenian pioneer of the oil industry, became fabulously wealthy and funded dozens of Armenian schools, orphanages and churches across the Middle East through his foundation. 



For the most part, these communities were apolitical. An exception to this was the career of Nubar Pasha, a famous prime minister of Egypt in the late 19th century. He served three terms of varying lengths, helped negotiate the terms of the construction of the Suez Canal, reformed the system of consular courts under which the colonial powers maintained a parallel justice system, and managed fickle rulers such as the energetic but spendthrift Ismail Pasha. 
Nubar Pasha’s patron, Boghos Bey, was an Armenian who became secretary to Muhammed Ali Pasha, the founder of modern Egypt. When Alaa Al-Aswany chose the title for his brilliant novel “The Yacoubian Building” he was paying homage to the Armenian contribution to Cairo. 
In the eastern Mediterranean, Beirut’s Burj Hammoud is often seen as the Armenian area of the Lebanese capital. It was formed first as an area of refugee settlement after the First World War and took in thousands who had fled the massacres in eastern Turkey and northern Syria. 

29,743 square km – Area of Armenia

3 million – total population according to 2011 consensus

Inland, Anjar on the Beirut-Damascus highway is also an Armenian town known for its beautiful archaeological remains and as the former headquarters of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon. 


Under Lebanon’s confessional system, Armenians are guaranteed six seats in the 128-seat parliament, but have maintained a low political profile. 
To the south, the Cathedral of St James is at the center of the Armenian area of the Old City of Jerusalem, the smallest of the four quarters. 
The Armenians are one of the three primary custodians of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, reputedly built on the site of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the Old City. The monks in their distinctive black cowls kept the traditions of the Armenian church alive during the long decades of Soviet atheism in Armenia itself.
In Syria, Aleppo was the center of the Armenian population. The famous Baron Hotel in the city was owned and managed by the Mazloumian family. There, as a relatively prosperous minority, the Armenians are believed to have largely supported the Assad regime. 
As a result, Jdaideh (New), an historic area outside the old walls of Aleppo and the quarter most associated with the Armenians, has been heavily damaged in the course of the civil war. Distressing images of old palaces and museums being blown up pervade the internet. 
And in Iran, from which modern-day Armenia receives much of its energy supplies, there is the famous Holy Savior Cathedral, also referred to as the Vank, in the district of New Julfa in Isfahan. 
In the early 17th century, as part of a scorched earth policy to try to head off the Turkish armies, Shah Abbas of Persia forcibly settled thousands of Armenians south of the river Zayande that runs through Isfahan. Armenians remain a sizable minority in Iran. 
Today the Kardashians, Cher, Andre Agassi and Charles Aznavour, to name just a few, are famous scions of Armenia internationally. But, closer to their homeland, the Armenians have a long history as one of the most ancient and successful communities in the Middle East. 

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1991596/middle-east


Also at: 
The Arab Armenians Are Here to Stay!
https://www.albawaba.com/editors-choice/arab-armenians-are-here-stay-1460035
View the videos of the interview:

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1991456/world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m4mBuKOYvg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuvET03uqjM


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQqxjALnD0U


Route connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea can boost regional cooperation, Armenian PM says

Janet Ekmekjian
Public Radio of Armenia
Dec 21 2021
, 15:07

 

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered remarks during the 11th sitting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and Georgia. The Prime Minister touched upon the cooperation between the two countries in various spheres, as well as regional processes.

Prime Minister Pashinyan, in particular, said,

“Honorable Mr. Prime Minister,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am glad for the opportunity to discuss the issues and programs on the agenda of cooperation between our countries.

First of all, let me state that the further development and deepening of relations with Georgia is among the important priorities of our country’s foreign policy. I am more than convinced that there are all the prerequisites for that.

There is no doubt that the friendship coming from the depths of the centuries, which is anchored on common values and historical heritage, creates a solid foundation and fertile ground for our further cooperation.

However, I have to state that in the recent years the pandemic has created the most difficult challenges for the whole world, and the Armenian-Georgian trade and economic relations are no exception. In addition to the pandemic, additional complications have been created for the Armenian economy – the latest developments in our region, the war. However, our cooperation has not stopped, we have continued to work towards the implementation of the agreements enshrined in the minutes of the 10th sitting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Republic of Armenia and Georgia.

Dear colleagues,

The current level of Armenian-Georgian trade and economic relations does not reflect the potential of the two countries. It is obvious that in this respect the bilateral cooperation has not yet reached the desired level, there is a need to expand it. There are opportunities to expand cooperation in industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, information technologies and communications, transport, energy, tourism and and other areas. In this regard, this session of the Intergovernmental Commission should become a platform for discussing opportunities to further expand bilateral cooperation in various directions of economic relations. Within the framework of the session, I hope we will also outline concrete steps to achieve our goals.

Transport infrastructure and logistics are of key importance for the development of trade and economic relations.

Bilateral cooperation between Armenia and Georgia in the transport sphere is a priority for us. We cooperate within the framework of a number of international transport structures, attaching great importance to the implementation of the Persian Gulf-Black Sea international transport route and other initiatives in the field of transport. It is worth mentioning that the route connecting the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea can really boost regional cooperation. By the way, I would like to mention an important circumstance that Prime Minister Garibashvili stressed that we consider the relations with Georgia not only in the bilateral dimension, but also in the context of regional cooperation. This is very important in the context of our relations. Yes, Armenia and Georgia have a serious field of cooperation, and we can provide mutual assistance to each other.

By the way, talking about the Persian Gulf- Black Sea route, I want to emphasize that there are two projects here: road and rail routes. For the development of the road route, we are implementing the construction of the North-South road, which connects the Armenian-Georgian border with the Armenian-Iranian border. We are in active discussions with our Iranian and Georgian partners for the most effective operation of the road, and it is very important that we reach a full understanding here. By the way, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that if we manage to reach an agreement with Azerbaijan on Armenia-Azerbaijan road communication, this project will significantly transform, becoming the North-South, East-West route.

In this regard, I would like to inform you that based on the results of the meetings mediated by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in Sochi on November 26 and the President of the European Council Charles Michel in Brussels on December 14, an opportunity has emerged to reach an agreement with Azerbaijan on the resumption of road communication. And we have already reached a solid agreement with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the resumption of railway communication. I am talking about the restoration of the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railway, and we hope to complete that work during the next 2-3 years. Of course, we must work so that our agreements are clearly recorded.

I also want to honestly say that some experts express opinion that this project may not be beneficial for Georgia, I mean the opening of the railway communication. I must strongly disagree with that position, because if the Armenia-Nakhichevan- Islamic Republic of Iran railway is opened through Julfa, we will have the most efficient and optimal railway communication between the Persian Gulf and the Black Sea, and that railway will pass through the territories of Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, becoming a key factor not only for economic development, but also for regional security.

Dear Colleagues,

Continuing the topic of transport communication, I must note with satisfaction that this year the regular direct flights and passenger transportation between Armenia and Georgia have increased, the cargo transportation has also increased. We will continue to make additional efforts in these directions to ensure further sustainable growth. In this context, I would like to once again emphasize the opportunities of expanding the railway transport cooperation and the further growth of passenger and cargo transportation by this route.

Armenia and Georgia have extensive experience in energy cooperation. Georgia, as a transit country, has a great role in terms of reliable and secure supply of energy resources to Armenia.

I would like to inform you that the Armenian side is ready to support the development and signing of all technical annexes to the current construction agreement on the Armenia-Georgia high-voltage power transmission line, as well as the start of construction of new networks and the HVDC converter station in the north of Armenia.

Our countries have great potential to expand cooperation in the fields of digitalization, telecommunications, high technology, cyber security, postal services and startups. We offer our Georgian partners to examine the opportunities of opening a branch of “TUMO” Center for Creative Technologies in Georgia.

Speaking about cooperation in the field of healthcare, I must mention that Armenia and Georgia have been actively cooperating since the beginning of the pandemic. Due to the exchange of experience, we managed to carry out a number of joint preventive actions. I think that in this area it is necessary to continue to develop the partnership between the two countries’ emergency management systems in the field of healthcare and cross-border cooperation, as well as the provision of mutual assistance in emergency medical cases.

I am pleased to note that active contacts in the fields of education and science are entering a practical phase. Based on the proposal of the Georgian side, the Armenian side has already begun to carry out relevant work, which will facilitate the inclusion of teachers teaching Armenian language and literature in Georgian secondary schools in the certification process, which aims to improve the qualification of specialists. In turn, we will consider the possibility of implementing joint Georgian language programs in Armenia, expecting the support of Georgian partners in this issue. We are interested in increasing the scope and volume of Georgian language teaching in Armenia, we think that it will be a very logical continuation of our relations if we achieve concrete results in this area.

At the same time, I would like to emphasize the importance of developing opportunities for the implementation of joint educational and research programs in the field of education, particularly in the field of higher education, both in bilateral and international cooperation formats. I hope that we will be able to cooperate effectively on the maintenance and development of the physical infrastructure of public schools teaching in Armenian. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that it is very important for us that the Armenians of Georgia fully master the Georgian language, as our perception is that the Armenian community of Georgia must continue to remain a factor contributing to stability, unity and solidarity in Georgia. The stability and development of Georgia is more than important for us.

It is important for our countries to expand cooperation in the field of culture, as our peoples can present rich cultural heritage and potential to each other, while cooperation in the humanitarian field is particularly important for ensuring the continuity of friendly traditions between the two peoples. At the same time, I am convinced that we need to develop a qualitatively new agenda for Armenian-Georgian cultural relations, that is, to shift from a purely participatory framework to the field of joint cultural initiatives, including the joint applications for cooperation with international organizations. I am glad that there is already an active dialogue in this direction.

Speaking about cultural cooperation, I would like to thank our Georgian colleagues for the renovation of the new building of the Petros Adamian State Armenian Drama Theater in Tbilisi, as well as for the continuous support to the troupe.

Considering the already signed “Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Government of Georgia on Cooperation in the Field of Tourism”, the structures responsible for tourism development of the two countries should continue their efforts to ensure effective cooperation, in particular, through developing joint packages by travel agencies. In this context, we offer our Georgian partners to develop an action plan to strengthen the Armenian-Georgian cooperation in the field of tourism. This idea is not new, we have talked, we should encourage our tourism organizations to introduce joint packages to the market, that is, the direction should not be Armenia or Georgia, but the direction should be Armenia-Georgia, Georgia-Armenia at once. With a record high in 2019, our experience showed that this type of cooperation is very effective, can bring results.

In order to further develop cooperation in the field of sports and youth, it is necessary to intensify the organization of joint training camps for national teams of different sports, joint trainings in Armenia and Georgia, and seminars for sport doctors and coaches.

Decentralized cooperation between the regions of Armenia and Georgia also has great opportunities for development. In this context, the possibility of further involvement in various cross-border cooperation programs funded by international organizations should also be considered.

Mr. Prime Minister, if you are not against the idea, I think, for example, that at the level of the heads of our border regions, we can also create an opportunity for some cooperation, trying to ensure the development of our relations at all levels.

I also see great potential in the field of ecology, given that global environmental challenges are transnational in nature. Addressing them requires expanding international cooperation, joining efforts at the global and regional levels.

Dear Colleagues,

Concluding my speech, I would like to thank all the participants of the session of the Intergovernmental Commission for making the session a reality and for the effective work. I am convinced that the agreements reached based on the results of the session will give a new impetus to our bilateral cooperation in all possible directions.

Thank you.”



Armenia has won Junior Eurovision 2021!

Janet Ekmekjian
ESCXTRA
Dec 19 2021
 Maria Chugunova 

Junior Eurovision 2021, which just took place in Paris, has finished! Congratulations to Armenia, the winner of this year! Maléna recieved 224 points with her song “Qami Qami”!

In a nail biting voting sequence, Armenia topped the scoreboard with 224 points. Poland’s Sara James finished in second place with 218 points. The full online voting results were also revealed!

Maléna’s victory gives Armenia their second Junior Eurovision win after previously winning the competition in 2010 with the song Mama, performed by Vladimir Arzumanyan.

Our XTRA VOTE participants also predicted Armenia as a winner of Junior Eurovision 2021! You can check the full results below!

Armenia wins Junior Eurovision XTRA VOTE 2021: Here are the final results!

The ESCXTRA Team also took their rankings altogether and made a choice for the Junior Eurovision winner this year. Our team members selected Armenia as their winner as well! Check our full Top 10 for JESC 2021: 10 to 7 and 6 to 3 !

Junior Eurovision 2021: Our Top 10 (2 & 1)

https://escxtra.com/2021/12/19/armenia-has-won-junior-eurovision-2021/