Author: Jhanna Virabian

Manchester United are close to completing the signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund after the clubs agreed a £26.3m fee, according to reports.

The 27-year-old Armenia midfielder has agreed personal terms with United after talks with his representative and will undergo a medical within the next week.

Mkhitaryan has been regularly linked with United and new boss Jose Mourinho appears set to land his man.

He has a year left on his Dortmund deal but is set to move to the Premier League rather than sign a new contract.

An attacking midfielder, Mkhitaryan captains the Armenia national team and joined Dortmund in 2013 from Shakhtar Donetsk for £23.5m.

 

 

 

The wording used in the Bundestag resolution on the Armenian Genocide includes interesting elements, expert of Turkish studies Ruben Melkonyan told reporters today.

“The bill refers to the “Genocide in the Ottoman Empire 101 years ago, which is an important message to the world that even 101 years after the genocide the process of its perception of the genocide extends into the international community,” Melkonyan said.

On the other hand, he said, the bill refers to the “Genocide of Armenians and other Christian minorities.” “Thus, the resolution comes to prove that there has been a genocide against Christians in the Ottoman Empire, which points to the state policy of xenophobia. Although this somewhat shadows the exceptionality of the Armenian Genocide, the positive emphasis is obvious,” the expert said.

As for Tukish reactions to the scheduled vote, Melkonyan said “this is the first challenge the Turkish diplomacy has to withstand without its foreign policy architect Ahmet Davutoglu, and the first international trial for the newly-appointed Prime Minister.”

There are 630 Deputies in the Bundestag, and this complicates the adoption of the bill, Melkonyan said. He’s not optimistic about the perspectives of the passage of the bill, as real political interests often conflict with the moral issues, and political interests often triumph.”

He said, however, that “even if the bill fails to pass, it will bring a positive wave that might contribute to the acknowledgement of the fact of genocide among the German public.”

The Azerbaijani side kept violating the agreement on ceasefire at the line of contact with Karabakh forces last night, the NKR Defense Ministry reports.

The rival used artillery weapons of different calibers, also as 60 and 82 mm mortars and hand-held antitank grenade launchers.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army keep control of the operational situation and confidently continue with their military duty.

 

 

 

Director of the Regional Research Center Richard Giragosian is confident Azerbaijan is planning a new attack. He believes that neighboring Georgia can play a role in preventing a new assault, considering its good relations with Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey.

“It’s in Georgia’s interest to prevent Azerbaijan from inciting new war, Georgia can show Azerbaijan all risks and threats of war,” Giragosian said in Tbilisi.

“We want all countries of the region, including Georgia to show Azerbaijan the threats of military actions to the security and stability in the region,” the expert said.

According to Gioragosian, escalation in Karabakh poses a great danger to Georgia, as a transit country. Georgia is already in a complex condition, he said. On one hand, the country has good relations with Azerbaijan, especially in the fields of economy and energy, at the same time it’s trying to reinforce relations with Armenia.

A new military attack by Azerbaijan will threaten the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, as well, the expert said.

“This is a serious challenge not only to the region, but also the international community – the US, the EU and Russia,” Giragosian said. He added that denouncement of the 19914 ceasefire agreement is also a threat to regional and international security.

The intensity of the armed conflict in Nagorno Karabakh is not reducing, Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolay Bordyuzha said, TASS reports.

“The threat of escalation of so-called frozen conflicts is still there. Unfortunately, the intensity of the armed confrontation in Nagorno Karabakh is not reducing,” Bordyuzha said at the 5^th Moscow conference on internationals security.

President Serzh Sargsyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry today at the initiative of the American side, President’s Press Office reports.

Issues related to the situation established as a result of gross violations of the ceasefire regime by Azerbaijan earlier this month were discussed.

President Sargsyan stressed that the irresponsible steps of Baku have caused a great harm to the negotiation process.

The US Secretary of States reiterated the full support of the US to the process of peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

The parties agreed there is no alternative to a peaceful solution and noted that it’s necessary to find mechanisms of mutually acceptable solution on the ground of basic principles.

The interlocutors emphasized the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, taking into consideration that it is the only internationally recognized format for the settlement of the issue.

Five Nobel Prize winners will lecture at the Yerevan State Medical University from April 11 to 15.

“The “Nobel Days in Yerevan” initiative will provide an opportunity to communicate with Nobel Prize winners, to learn how they present scientific issues. The lectures are meant not only for students, but also the faculty,” Rector of the Medical University Mikael Narimanyan told reporters today.

“The event is unprecedented not only for Armenia, but also on the global level. We’ll try to make this an annual event,” said Konstantin Yenkoryan, head of the coordinating group of the initiative. He said the event aims to draw attention to the fact of Armenia being a country with a huge scientific potential.

The Nobel laureates visiting Armenia are:

• Aaron Ciechanover, Israel. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2004 was awarded jointly to Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko and Irwin Rose”for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation.”

• Ada E. Yonath, Israel: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009 was awarded jointly to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E. Yonath “for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome.”

• Dan Shechtman, Israel: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2011 was awarded to Dan Shechtman”for the discovery of quasicrystals.”

• John Robin Warren, Australia: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2005 was awarded jointly to Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren “for their discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.”

• Ei-ichi Negishi, Japan: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010 was awarded jointly to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki”for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis.”

Seven criminal cases have been launched at the NKR Prosecutor General’s Office in connection with the cross violations of the international humanitarian law by the Azerbaijani armed forces between April 2 and 4.

The cases are related to the violations of international humanitarian law, using prohibited means and methods of warfare, targeting of civilians, particularly in the village in Talish, shelling of populated areas motivated by national, racial or religious hatred or religious fanatism, etc.

President Serzh Sargsyan convened the sitting of the National Security Council today. Issues related to the gross violation of the 1994 ceasefire agreement by Azerbaijan and the large-scale military actions against the Nagorno Karabakh Republic were on the agenda of the sitting.

During the sitting, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan reported on the provocative actions of the Azerbaijani side and the steps taken by Armenian forces to rebuff the aggression.

“Dear colleagues, as you know, the Azerbaijan armed forces undertook provocative actions all along the line of contact with the Karabakh forces. These were the most large-scale military actions ever since 1994 undertaken by the Azerbaijani side.

The NKR Defense Army regained control of the situation thanks to timely and skilled actions. The rival used air force, all types of armored vehicles and artillery. The losses of the Azeri air force, infantry and armored vehicles are sustainable. We also have losses: as of now, 18 are reported killed, 30 wounded,” the President said.

“The provocations continue, there is some tension in the north and south, but the Karabakh forces keep the situation under control,” the President said. He added that measures have been taken to ensure the security of the population in frontline villages.

“I think the Foreign Ministry needs to cooperate with the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs and work towards signing an agreement on mutual assistance. It’s necessary to develop the text of the agreement and hold discussions in the National Assembly. The Republic of Armenia will fully meet its obligations of ensuring the security of the population of Nagorno Karabakh. We have all legal basis for it as a party to the ceasefire agreement signed in 1994.

“Besides the Armed Forces, other agencies are also doing their work, we keep in touch with our partners from international organizations. However, as I have said on many occasions, we have to solve our problems ourselves and not rely upon anyone,” the President said.

The NKR Defense Army has published photos presenting the losses of the Azerbaijani side in the buffer zone one of the armed forces of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan.