Author: Kalantarian Kevo

NATO Secretary General made no mention of military exercises in
Karabakh – spokesperson

15:11 * 29.11.14

Upon Tert.am’s request, Simone De Manso, Press Officer at the NATO
General Headquarters in Brussels, commented upon Jens Stoltenberg’s
recent speech at the Parliamentary Assembly, denying the Azerbaijani
media’s earlier reports that Secretary General criticized the Armenian
for conducting military exercises in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Azerbaijani media said that at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in
The Hague, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
criticized Armenia for conducting military exercises in the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The report was later denied by Tevan
Poghosyan, a member of the Armenian delegation. What can you say in
that connection?

The NATO Secretary General delivered a keynote speech at the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly in The Hague on 26 November. Thereafter he took
questions from the audience. At no time the Secretary General
mentioned military exercises in Nagorno-Karabakh. Answering a question
from the audience, the NATO Secretary General said: “Both Azerbaijan
and Armenia are valued partners of NATO. And we stated that again in
Wales. And all Allies remain committed in their support to the
territorial integrity and independence and sovereignty of Armenia and
Azerbaijan. And that’s the reason why we continue to support efforts
towards a peaceful settlement of the conflicts in the Caucasus, based
on these principles and the norms of international law, the UN Charter
and the Helsinki Final Act. But as I said, there’s no direct NATO role
in the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh. But we support the efforts to try
to find a peaceful negotiated settlement. And we support the efforts
by the three chairmen of the Minsk process to try to make sure that we
are moving forward in a difficult and important conflict.”

Do you think NATO should express concerns over the increasing tension
along the Karabakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact, highlighting
Azerbaijan’s direct responsibility for the escalations?

On the same occasion, the NATO Secretary General expressed his concern
with the recent incidents of violence, whilst underlining that there
is no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and no
alternative to a political solution. A full transcript of his speech
and of the answers to the audience can be found on the NATO website
under

Don’t you find that Azerbaijan is in breach of the principles outlined
in the Helsinki Final Act, including peaceful settlement and non-use
of force?

Clearly, there are many cease fire violations, and they cause military
and civilian fatalities. The recent incidents are an escalation of
violence and of serious concern. They underline the need for redoubled
efforts to find a political settlement.

What do you think should be NATO’s role in the conflict settlement process?

There’s no direct NATO role in the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh. We
support the efforts to try to find a peaceful negotiated settlement
through the Minsk Group process.

Interfax, Russia
Nov 27 2014

Armenian peacekeepers deployed to Lebanon

YEREVAN. Nov 27

Thirty-two Armenian peacekeepers left for Lebanon on an Italian Air
Force plane late on Wednesday night, the Armenian Defense Ministry
press service told Interfax.

“A unit of the Armenian Armed Forces will operate within an Italian
contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to
protect a UN military camp,” a press service representative said.

Armenian servicemen joined the international peacekeeping mission in
2004. At present, Armenian peacekeepers are deployed in Afghanistan
and Kosovo.

San Gabriel Valley Tribune (California)
November 26, 2014 Wednesday

Montebello installs Jack Hadjinian as its first Armenian mayor

by Mike Sprague

MONTEBELLO >> Councilman Jack Hadjinian was elected mayor Tuesday,
becoming the first Armenian American to be selected to that position.

Nearly 800 were present at the meeting held in Bagramian Hall at the
Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Cathedral.

Today is a historic day, said Araksya Karapetyan, a Fox 11 news
anchor. I m so proud as an Armenian to be standing before you. This is
not just a big day. It s an important day for all Armenians living in
America.

Hadjinian, who was elected to the Montebello City Council in 2011,
succeeded Bill Molinari as mayor. Councilman Art Barajas was elected
mayor pro tem.

Councilwoman Vivian Romero called the evening special.

It was truly a historic moment, Romero said. Here we are in 2014 and
we ve never had a Armenian mayor, Romero said. It also is the 100th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide. That makes it even more special.

Many public officials from Southern California attended the meeting,
including Sheriff-elect Jim McDonnell who swore in Hadjinian as mayor,
and Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Krekorian.

It s a great moment for you and your family and a great moment for
Armenian-Americans everywhere, Krekorian said.

Also present was Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, who is prelate of
the Armenian Apostolic Church of America. He delivered the invocation
at the meeting.

Hadjinian said he was humbled and grateful to be named mayor.

As a native resident of Montebello whose roots go back three
generations, my love and commitment to the growth and prosperity of
Montebello has grown even deeper, he said.

My inspiration comes from my family, he said. It was in this city that
my grandfather and uncles all purchased their first homes to
experience the American dream.

As mayor, Hadjinian said he wants the council to get along.

We don t always agree on the issues, but we can agree that we are
passionate about the good will of the city, he said. Next year will
require some tough decisions to be made. We must work together for
benefit of the city.

The council in the next year is expected to decide on a proposed
housing development in the Montebello hills, as well as how to provide
relief for blockages caused by trains on four streets in south
Montebello.

CLOSED-DOOR MEETING WITH US ENVOY IN ARMENIA’S PARLIAMENT

13:46 * 28.11.14

US Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern is conducting a closed-door
meeting with members of the Armenian National Assembly’s Standing
Committee on Foreign Relations.

No details have been unveiled as to the issues on the agenda.

Alexander Arzumanyan (Heritage faction), one of the Committee’s members
who left the discussion room for just a few minutes, said they are
considering Armenia’s treaty to join the Eurasian Economic Union.

“I give no comments,” he told our correspondent, adding that the
discussion is confidential.

The Committee periodically organizes meetings with foreign ambassadors
accredited to Armenia. Earlier, its members had one meeting with
Russian Ambassador Ivan Volynkin and two meetings with Mohammad
Raiesim, the ambassador of Iran.

Armenian News – Tert.am

TURKEY’S DEMANDS AND WISHES UNACCEPTABLE TO ARMENIA – RUBEN MEHRABYAN

14:06 * 28.11.14

In commenting on a statement by Thomas de Waal, Senior Associate in the
Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment, that any decisive
step on Turkey’s part will cause a domino effect, political scientist
Ruben Mehrabyan told Tert.am that the statements are far from reality.

At a presentation of a book on Nagorno-Karabakh in the Turkish
language, Mr Thomas de Waal stated that, after signing protocols with
Armenia and reopening the border, Turkey may demand that Armenia cede
some regions of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The statements are far from reality for the simple reason that Turkey
is incapable of such a step now or in the foreseeable future,” the
expert said.

“Despite being the West’s ally, Turkey acted in opposition to the
West’s strategy over both the Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as
over the Crimea, Black Sea, Islamic State and policy in the Caucasus,”
Mr Mehrabyan said.

With respect to the remark that Turkey has no right to interfere
in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict or set a precondition involving
Nagorno-Karabakh, he said:

“Any country that has to date had a constructive position and wants
to help has a moral right to that. But Turkey has lost this right
due to its biased policy. Turkey claims Azerbaijan is its brother
and the conflict must be resolved in Azerbaijan’s favor. That state
is not saying anything else, and interfering in the conflict in this
way means supporting Azerbaijan. It is unacceptable to Armenia.”

Armenian News – Tert.am

ANTI-CORRUPTION PLATFORM LAUNCHED IN ARMENIA

13:25 * 28.11.14

Armenian civil society organizations have embarked on an
anti-corruption coalition project in an effort to raise the society’s
awareness and perception of the pressing problem.

The initiative, launched by the joint efforts of Armenian Young Lawyers
Association and Freedom of Information Center of Armenia, is aimed at
fostering civil society NGOs’ role in the implementation and promotion
of anti-corruption reforms, says Karen Zadoyan, the project’s manager.

“In the frameworks of this project, the monitoring and control
mechanisms for penitentiaries and the media will be strengthened
and anti-corruption trainings will be organized for NGOs and the
media in Armenia’s regions to promote a better understanding of
corruption-related problems and freedom of information. Small grants
will be offered for raising public surveillance and implementing
investigative projects. As a result, we will promote a sustainable
dialogue between NGOs and the government,” he told today the
participants of an event adopting the coalition’s declaration for
2014-2018.

The coalition is an EU-funded project envisaged for three years. Its
total budget is 650,000 Euros.

L’ARMENIE POURSUIVRA SES EFFORTS DIPLOMATIQUES AFIN DE TROUVER UNE SOLUTION POUR RECUPERER LES CORPS DES PILOTES

ARMENIE

La presse du jour relaie les propos du Ministre de la Défense, Seyran
Ohanian, selon lesquels, a l’heure actuelle, la partie arménienne
continue a déployer des efforts pour résoudre le problème créé
a la suite de la destruction de l’hélicoptère par des moyens
diplomatiques.

Le Ministre a dit espérer que les ” voisins ” finiront par
comprendre qu’en vertu des normes humanitaires, ils doivent permettre
l’accès a l’endroit du crash de l’hélicoptère, l’étude du terrain
et le transfert des corps des pilotes. ” D’autres solutions demeurent
en vigueur, mais a l’heure actuelle nos efforts sont concentrés
sur la solution du problème par la voie diplomatique ”, a-t-il
conclu. Prié de commenter la déclaration des coprésidents du Groupe
de Minsk , le Ministre a estimé que le travail diplomatique de la
partie arménienne, les rencontres avec les représentants des pays
membres du GDM de l’OSCE, l’Ambassadeur Kasprzyk, le CICR ont donné
un résultat qui s’est traduit par la déclaration des coprésidents
du GDM, ceux-ci ayant appelé l’Azerbaïdjan a permettre l’accès
a l’épave de l’hélicoptère. Le Ministre s’est dit convaincu que
la destruction de l’hélicoptère avait été préméditée et que
l’ordre avait été donné par avance. ” L’hélicoptère a été
abattu lors d’un vol d’entrainement et sur notre territoire, ce qui
est une violation de toutes les normes internationales ”. Prié de
commenter les propositions de l’Azerbaïdjan d’échanger les corps
des pilotes arméniens avec les deux ” saboteurs ” azerbaïdjanais,
le Ministre a invité a adresser cette question aux ” autorités ”
du HK, ajoutant qu’il est évident que les ” saboteurs ” ayant
commis un crime devaient en assumer la responsabilité.

Alors que les médias azerbaïdjanais ont accusé, hier, les forces du
HK d’avoir tué un soldat azéri, le porte-parole du ” Ministère de
la Défense ” du HK a fermement rejeté ces accusations, indiquant
que les forces du HK n’avaient rien a voir avec la mort du soldat
azerbaïdjanais.

Hayastani Hanrapetoutioun fait état de la lettre de l’Ombudsman
Karen Andreassian au Commissaire aux droits de l’Homme du Conseil de
l’Europe, Nils Muižnieks, invitant celui-ci a contribuer pour sa part
aux efforts visant a faire retourner les corps des pilotes arméniens.

Hayastani Hanrapetoutioun relaie également les propos du Président
de la Chambre des représentants de Chypre, Yiannakis Omirou, lors
d’une conférence de presse a Erevan, ayant condamné la destruction
de l’hélicoptère par l’Azerbaïdjan et jugé inadmissible le
comportement de celui-ci : ” Le respect envers les soldats décédés
est une loi qui a des siècles. Même pendant les guerres elle est
respectée. Ce comportement des autorités azerbaïdjanaises est donc
inadmissible ”.

Hayots Achkhar commente la déclaration du Groupe de Minsk, qui, aux
yeux de l’auteur de l’article, ne diffère pas beaucoup de celles, de
la même teneur ” vague ”, diffusée par les médiateurs a la suite
d’autres provocations azerbaïdjanaises. L’article en veut aussi au
porte-parole du Département d’Etat américain, qui, sollicité pour
commenter l’interdiction par Bakou d’autoriser l’accès de la mission
de l’OSCE au site, avait indiqué qu’il n’avait ” rien a ajouter ”
sur ce qui avait été dit, a savoir que cet incident traduisait une
fois encore la nécessité de redoubler d’efforts en vue de trouver
une solution au conflit du HK. Le journal estime que cette ” langue
de bois ” de la communauté internationale donne le droit a la partie
arménienne et aux forces armées du HK de décider elles-mêmes les
mesures a prendre pour retourner les dépouilles des pilotes. L’article
met toutefois en garde : ” après les mesures de l’Arménie,
ce sera le tour de l’Azerbaïdjan de s’adresser aux organisations
internationales pour récupérer les corps de ses militaires ”.

Extrait de la revue de presse de l’Ambassade de France en Arménie
en date du 21 novembre 2014

vendredi 28 novembre 2014, Stéphane ©armenews.com

IRAVUNK: HERITAGE ACTIVISTS DO NOT SUPPORT RAFFI HOVANNISIAN

12:27 28/11/2014 >> DAILY PRESS

Zaruhi Postanjyan and other members of Heritage Party publicly oppose
the position of party leader Raffi Hovannisian, in particular with
regard to joint activities of the three non-government parties,
Iravunk writes.

“However, it turns out that deputy chairman of Heritage Party Armen
Hovhannisyan is not either, to put it mildly, delighted with Raffi
Hovannisian’s statements. In an interview with Hayots Ashkharh, he
said, “Of course I have my own view about the matters Mr Hovannisian
touched upon and other issues. But I believe it correct to maintain
party discipline…I prefer voicing my viewpoints inside the party
and presenting publicly only the decisions of the majority.” “It
is obvious that Armen Martirosyan disagrees with Raffi Hovannisian,
but from considerations of “party discipline” he does not publicize
his position, unlike Postanjyan, who, according to Martirosyan,
“enjoys wider freedoms,”” the newspaper says.

Source: Panorama.am

YEREVAN TO ENHANCE COOPERATION IN AGRICULTURE WITH BUENOS-AIRES

YEREVAN, November 28. /ARKA/. Armenia’s minister of agriculture Sergo
Karapetyan discussed on Thursday cooperation with the delegation
of the Argentinean ministry of agriculture and the ambassador of
Argentina to Armenia Diego Alvarez Rivera.

The sides talked about future prospects of bilateral cooperation in
agriculture. Key directions of the cooperation were defined in the
bilateral agreement signed back in 2011.

The potential for cooperation is great as Argentina has one of the
best rural sectors in the world, the Armenian minister said.

Karapetyan expressed hope the meeting will open the doors for closer
cooperation between the countries, the press office of the ministry
reported.

The minister has also invited his Argentinean colleague to visit
Armenia in 2015.

The delegation of Argentina visited a few research centers, processing
plants and farms as part of their visit to Armenia. Some important
fields of cooperation were outlined, including crop farming, livestock,
meat processing, construction of slaughteries, food safety procedures,
anti-hail technologies and irrigation systems. -0–

AZERBAIJAN INVOLVES UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS – THE AUTHORS OF THE TV PROGRAMME ABOUT KARABAKH IN THE BLACK LIST

by Nana Martirosyan

ARMINFO
Thursday, November 27, 12:43

Azerbaijani Embassy in Ukraine has expressed protest to this country’s
Foreign Ministry regarding “15 republics” program aired on “1 + 1”
TV channel on November 23, 2014, Lenta. ru reported.

According to the embassy, “1 + 1” channel tried to cast a shadow over
socio-political system of the Republic of Azerbaijan, achievements
the country gained in the years of independence, distorted the causes
of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and praised
occupying Armenia and the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“A letter of protest has already been sent to the abovementioned TV
channel, as well as journalists Konstantin Andriyuk and Dmitry Volkov,
who without the consent of the Azerbaijani state made trips to the
Azerbaijani lands, which are under the occupation of Azerbaijan
and in where the separatist regime not recognized by any state,
including in Ukraine exists, will be declared “persona non grata”,”
– the embassy noted.