21:15,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. U.S. congressman Jim Costa condemned Azerbaijan’s military actions against the sovereign territory of Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports he made a note on his Facebook page.
“I condemn Azerbaijan’s aggressive actions against Armenia. I urge the State Department to help de-escalate this situation before more lives are lost. America must stand against human rights violations”, he wrote.
17:29,
YEREVAN, 10 NOVEMBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 10 November, USD exchange rate down by 0.08 drams to 475.68 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 0.90 drams to 550.74 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.03 drams to 6.73 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 3.06 drams to 643.88 drams.
The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.
Gold price up by 71.02 drams to 27945.75 drams. Silver price up by 1.39 drams to 372.78 drams. Platinum price up by 73.75 drams to 16211.07 drams.
19:52, 3 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenia bloc will hold a rally in the Freedom Square on November 8 at 18:00, ARMENPRESS reports, the bloc informed in a statement.
In the statement of the alliance is mentioned that “it is necessary to form national resistance and reach a change of power which is the precondition of getting our country out of this condition, ensuring dignified peace, overcoming the socio-economic crisis.”
10:12, 2 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The new Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State Erika Olson will travel to Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to “promote regional cooperation and discuss bilateral issues”, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia said in a press release.
While in Yerevan, DAS Olson will participate in a regional Chiefs of Mission meeting in November 2-4, joining U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Lynne M. Tracy, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly C. Degnan, and U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Lee Litzenberger, as well as Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations Andrew Schofer and USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Alexander Sokolowski.
“We are excited to resume this long-standing tradition and gather with our colleagues from the region and from Washington, DC, to exchange ideas and information to better coordinate our policy in respect to all three countries in the region.
The participants will engage in internal discussions as well as informational meetings with representatives of the Armenian government and civil society. Most recently, U.S. Embassy Baku and U.S. Embassy Tbilisi hosted regional Chief of Mission meetings in 2019 and 2018, respectively,” the U.S. Embassy said.
Tuesday, November 2, 2021
Russia’s Lavrov Again Talks To Armenian, Azeri FMs
RUSSIA -- Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (left) meets with his
Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, August 31, 2021
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has phoned his Armenian and Azerbaijani
counterparts to discuss the implementation of Russian-brokered agreements to
stop fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh and open Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the separate phone calls took place
on Monday and Tuesday “in view of the upcoming anniversary” of a ceasefire
agreement that stopped the six-week war over Karabakh.
The ministry said Lavrov “compared notes” with Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan
of Armenia and Jeyhun Bayramov of Azerbaijan with regard to easing tensions
along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and “unblocking all transport and economic
links in the South Caucasus.”
“Sergei Lavrov stressed the importance of continuing efforts aimed at political
and diplomatic settlement of the full range of issues in relations between
Azerbaijan and Armenia,” it said.
The conversations came a week after some Russian and Armenian media outlets
reported that that Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to host fresh talks
between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev.
Aliqmedia.am claimed that the talks will be timed to coincide with the first
anniversary of the November 9, 2020 truce accord brokered by Putin. Citing
unnamed Armenian diplomatic sources, the publication said Aliyev and Pashinian
will sign two agreements envisaging the demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
border and its opening for cargo traffic.
The Armenian government sent mixed signals in response to those reports.
Mirzoyan did not explicitly rule out last week the possibility of an
Armenian-Azerbaijani summit. But he denied that Yerevan is planning to make
far-reaching concessions to Baku.
The official Armenian readout of Mirzoyan’s phone call with Lavrov said both
ministers agreed on the need to address “humanitarian issues resulting from the
44-day war.”
“Ararat Mirzoyan stressed the need for the unconditional repatriation of
Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees as well as the preservation of
Armenian religious and historical-cultural heritage in the territories of
Artsakh that fell under Azerbaijani control,” added the statement.
Armenia’s COVID-19 Deaths Hit New Daily Record
Armenia -- Medics at the Surb Grigor Lusavorich Medical Center in Yerevan,
Armenia's largest hospital treating COVID-19 patients, June 5, 2020.
Health authorities in Armenia reported on Tuesday morning 62 more deaths from
COVID-19, the highest single-day figure since the start of the pandemic.
The Ministry of Health said six other people infected with the coronavirus died
as a result of other diseases in the past 24 hours.
The country’s daily death toll hit a new record after months of a steady
increase in coronavirus cases which has accelerated in recent weeks. Health
Minister Anahit Avanesian said on October 28 that all of just over 3,000 beds
set up for COVID-19 patients at Armenian hospitals are now occupied.
More than 1,000 Armenians died in October alone. The total number of officially
confirmed coronavirus-related deaths rose to 7,746 by Tuesday morning.
The Armenian government last week ordered universities to revert to online
classes and extended school holidays until November 7 but ruled out lockdown
restrictions. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said it will instead step up its
vaccination campaign and push for greater mask wearing to try to contain the
latest wave of infections.
Less than 10 percent of Armenia’s population has been fully vaccinated against
COVID-19 so far.
Tight Mayoral Race Expected In Another Armenian City
• Karine Simonian
Armenia -- A street in Vanadzor, November 5, 2018.
Ten political parties and alliances have applied to run in a local election that
will be held in Armenia’s third largest city of Vanadzor next month.
The main election contenders are expected to be the ruling Civil Contract party
and a bloc led by Mamikon Aslanian, who served as Vanadzor mayor until last
month.
The Armenian government controversially appointed a caretaker mayor after
Aslanian’s five-year term in office expired in early October. Aslanian denounced
the decision as illegal, saying that he should have continued to run the
administrative center of the country’s Lori province until the election
scheduled for December 5.
Voters in Vanadzor and three nearby villages, which were recently incorporated
into the city, will elect a new municipal council empowered to appoint the next
mayor.
Aslanian was affiliated with the then ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)
when the former Vanadzor council elected him mayor in 2016. He is now seeking
reelection not as a candidate of the HHK but as the leader of a newly formed
bloc bearing his name.
Armenia - Former Vanadzor Mayor Mamikon Aslanian (right) and Lori Governor Aram
Khachatrian.
His main rival is Lori Governor Aram Khachatrian, who tops the list of Civil
Contract’s election candidates. Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service last week,
Khachatrian claimed that Aslanian is unofficially backed and sponsored by
hardline opposition parties represented in the Armenian parliament.
Two of those parties, the HHK and Hayrenik (Fatherland), make up the Pativ Unem
alliance. Hayrenik has joined the mayoral race in Vanadzor separately, while the
HHK has not fielded or endorsed any candidates. The main opposition Hayastan
alliance has also not entered the fray.
Among the eight other local election contenders are the opposition Bright
Armenia and Prosperous Armenia parties that were represented in Armenia’s former
parliament but failed to win any seats in the current National Assembly elected
in June.
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2021 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.
Two young men, K.S., 16, and A.P., 17, who are residents of Stepanakert, according to preliminary information, got lost in the forest belt near the village of Khnatsakh. The Crisis Management Center of Artsakh’s State Service of Emergency Situations was alerted about the incident at 8:09pm on Sunday, October 31.
The young men were athletes, who ran along a bypass road and then could not orientate themselves in the area because of fog, the State Service of Emergency Situations said in a statement.
Rescue squads and police units, led by Director of the State Service of Emergency Situations Mekhak Arzumanyan and Stepanakert Police Chief Boris Jalavyan, headed to the area to carry out search operations.
“Mobile communication was successfully established with the men at times, which was supposed to facilitate the search efforts, but because of the darkness and fog, they could not communicate their exact location,” the service said.
The search continued through the night in difficult geographical terrain, but the night searches yielded no results.
After nearly 15 hours of searching, the young men were found and brought to Stepanakert at 1:25pm on Monday.
It is also noted that their lives and health are not in danger.
The With Honor opposition faction in the Armenian parliament has nothing to discuss with Nikol Pashinyan other than the issue of his resignation, MP Tigran Abrahamyan from the same faction told reporters on Thursday.
His comments came after Pashinyan invited the two opposition parliamentary factions to hold a discussion on Wednesday.
Abrahamyan noted the authorities had missed the opportunity to discuss various issues with the opposition. He recalled that the National Security Service (NSS) director, defense minister and prosecutor general ignored the opposition call to appear before the parliament and provide clarifications on the border issues.
In addition, the MP said instead of the foreign minister, NSS chief and defense minister, the commander of the NSS border troops and the deputy chief of the army’s General Staff were involved in the urgent parliamentary debates on the border situation and demarcation issues.
“The latter were not authorized to answer 90% of the questions on the agenda,” Abrahamyan said, adding the officials provided no significant information with regard to the other issues raised.
“As for a meeting with Nikol Pashinyan, the secretary of our faction has already announced that its can only focus on his resignation,” the MP said.
In Abrahamyan’s words, Pashinyan, in fact, fails to answer the questions addressed to him during a Q&A session in the parliament, is “crossing the line” and addressing a completely different issue to avoid answering a question.
“Therefore, I don’t consider it expedient to meet with Nikol Pashinyan to discuss any issue,” Abrahamyan said.
By
On October 15, the Armenian premier visited Moscow and agreed to the opening of a railway from Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave and then onto Turkey via Armenia’s southernmost region of Syunik. The proposed development will also benefit Armenia, through the opening of a rail link to Russia and Iran through Azeri territory. This seems to be a good bargain for Azerbaijan but especially for Armenia; for three decades, the country has been locked in geo-economic isolation, sandwiched between the closed borders of Turkey and Azerbaijan, and dependent on Russia and Iran.
For Azerbaijan, it answers dilemmas raised by its recent standoff with Iran, a neighbor openly unhappy that last year’s second Nagorno-Karabakh war has greatly increased the influence of Turkey. Rather than be dependent on Iranian routes, Azerbaijan will now have a shorter link to its exclave and to Turkey.
Which brings us to the biggest winner: Turkey. While the West is re-thinking its position in the wider Black Sea region, Turkey has been actively involved in the South Caucasus both by choice and necessity. It has achieved significant results, disrupting the regional status quo both through its involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and by offering alternative transportation routes to South Caucasus states with limited connectivity.
This started in the 1990s, when Turkey worked with Georgia and Azerbaijan to undermine Russia’s centuries-long monopoly on the region’s railway and road connections by pioneering east-west links.
Turkey’s grand strategy to open up the South Caucasus has developed since the second Nagorno-Karabakh war and seeks improved connections to Azerbaijan beyond the Georgia route. Armenia is critical here. Humiliatingly beaten in 2020, it has so far opted to view its post-war status in terms of realpolitik.
Circumstances are ripe for Armenia to break the blockade imposed since its victory in the first Nagorno-Karabakh war of the 1990s. With Azerbaijan now victorious, the major problem haunting potential Armenian-Turkish reconciliation has been at least partially removed. An earlier attempt to resolve this, in 2008-2009, broke down because the Azeris would not agree while Nagorno-Karabakh was under Armenian military occupation. Now however there is progress. For instance, Turkish and Azeri air carriers are allowed to use Armenian airspace. There are also rumors of further agreements in the works on border demarcation.
Armenia has also toned down the rhetoric around Nagorno-Karabakh, which signals some acceptance, at least for now, for rapprochement and the rejection of a radical irridentist policy. Better ties with Turkey would also mean a lower likelihood of military confrontation and could represent a tacit agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan of an emerging status quo acceptable to all parties.
This is a significant — and unheralded — opportunity for the region. Normalizing bilateral ties would create the basis for economic cooperation for Armenia and Turkey, neighbors with a bleak history but also with common interests, like improved trade. Progress could ultimately lead to the opening of the 300km-long (186 mile) border. Of course, agreement is one thing and implementation is another. Mutual distrust and potential interference by outside powers, as well as by nationalistically charged elements of the population, could limit the momentum behind the potential improvement, or even reverse it.
A longer-term perspective is important here. The rail agreement would offer Turkey yet another major route to penetrate the South Caucasus and reach further east to the Caspian Sea. On the surface, other powers such as Russia and Iran would also gain from improved connections. Both would have additional routes to Armenia. This is a win for Iran, which has largely been excluded from post-war developments, but it is unclear how it fits Russia’s plans; a largely sealed-off and isolated South Caucasus handed the Kremlin powerful leverage in the region. A Turkish-led reopening would reduce it.
The South Caucasus, the traditional meeting point of Europe and Asia, is now working to restore its historic connections to the wider world. Indeed, geographically the region has greater links to the south and west, including the Middle East, than to Russia, which lies beyond the formidable barrier of the Caucasus mountains.
Turkey’s and to a limited extent Iran’s inroads into the South Caucasus are instrumental in this process. Russia’s nearly two century-long domination over the region is coming to an end — the only viable instruments in the Kremlin’s hands are its spies and its soldiers, currently camped in Russia’s military bases in the occupied Georgian territories, plus units in Armenia and some peacekeepers between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Turkey’s strategy, fitting the ambitious regional agenda of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, may be an irritant to Russia but it is far more digestible than broader NATO engagement.
In an age of US-China great power competition and tensions between the US and European Union (EU) member states like France, the West has neither the desire nor the unity for greater involvement in hotspots like the South Caucasus. For now, at least, the region must focus on the neighborhood.
By Salvatore Cernuzio
As the Holy See and Armenia mark 30 years of diplomatic relations, a new office of the Apostolic Nunciature to Georgia and Armenia is to be inaugurated on October 27, in the Armenian capital Yerevan. The inauguration will take place in the presence of Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute of the Secretariat of State.
The opening of the Yerevan office represents a provisional setup in view of a wider arrangement in order to have sufficient space to adequately support the multiple commitments of the mission of the Holy See and of the Catholic Church in Armenia. For the Holy See, it is a further opportunity to look “at building a prosperous relationship for the benefit of all Armenians”.
The Apostolic Nunciature in Armenia was established on May 24, 1992, with the apostolic letter Armeniam Nationem of St. John Paul II. The relations between the Church of Rome and Armenia go back to ancient times, almost to the very origins of Christianity, when faith in Jesus spread from Jerusalem to the “known world”, where meetings and commercial and cultural exchanges between peoples became an occasion for debates that touched the “meaning” of life and existence.
Over the centuries, this ancient and prolific relationship between Armenia and the Holy See has grown in strength. Official diplomatic relations in modern times can be traced back to May 23, 1992, after Armenia gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since then, the Holy See has continually maintained diplomatic representations to foster relations, along with other initiatives and channels of various Catholic institutions. The first apostolic nuncio appointed to Armenia was Monsignor Jean-Paul Aimé Gobel (1993-1997). The current Holy See’s representative since 2018 is Archbishop José A. Bettencourt.
Over the years, the relationship between the Holy See and Armenia has also taken shape with the work and presence of the Mechitarist Congregation, the Armenian Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the clergy of the Ordinariate for Catholics of the Armenian rite in Eastern Europe, the Sisters of Charity of Mother Teresa in Spitak and Yerevan, the Camillian Fathers of the “Redemptoris Mater” hospital in Ashotzk, built after the 1988 earthquake, and Caritas Armenia. These are just some of the most well-known Catholic presences that draw on the resources and support of the worldwide Catholic Church and which, over the years, have provided valid support to the mission of the Nuncios in the country, who have always been able to count on the generosity and support offered by the Armenian-Catholic archbishops.
In 2019, during his visit to Armenia, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher said: “The intention of all the Catholic communities present in Armenia – the Armenian-Catholic, the Roman and other rites – is to strive for the welfare of Armenian society as a whole.” “Our communities continue to do so through their activities in the spiritual, cultural, educational, charitable and humanitarian fields.”
Pope Francis visited Armenia, June 24-26, 2016. In his meeting with the country’s civil authorities and members of the diplomatic corps, the Pontiff recalled the history of the country, marked by Metz Yeghern (the ‘Great Evil’ or what is known as the Armenian genocide under the Ottoman Empire during World War I), which has always gone “hand in hand with its Christian identity, preserved over the centuries”. “This Christian identity,” the Pope said, “far from hindering the healthy secularism of the state, nourishes it, favouring the shared citizenship of all members of society, religious freedom and respect for minorities.” “The cohesion of all Armenians, and the increased commitment to identify useful ways to overcome tensions with some neighbouring countries,” he said, “will make it easier to achieve these important objectives, ushering in an era of true rebirth for Armenia.”
Former Republican Senator from Arizona and nominee for ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake (R) walks with his wife Cheryl Flake, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 19, 2021. (EPA Photo)
The nomination of former senator Jeff Flake as Washington’s ambassador to Turkey was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.
The committee voted to approve 33 nominees for the State Department, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other critical foreign policy positions.
Among the ambassador nominees chosen by President Joe Biden are Thomas Nides for Israel, David Cohen for Canada, Claire Cronin for Ireland and Steven Bondy for Bahrain.
“The nominations move favorably to the Senate Floor for consideration by the full Senate,” said a statement by the committee.
Nominated in mid-July, Flake was a key Republican ally for Biden during last year’s White House race and endorsed the Democratic then-nominee after establishing himself as a Republican long at odds with former President Donald Trump.
Flake served in both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his time in Congress, which spanned nearly two decades.
In September, he said Turkey would face more sanctions if it purchases additional S-400 missiles from Russia.
Flake, who had rejected the so-called Armenian genocide during his term as a senator, said he would recognize it if he is appointed as ambassador.
Biden described the killings of Ottoman Armenians during World War I as “genocide” in April.
“We remember the lives of all those who died in the Ottoman-era Armenian genocide and recommit ourselves to preventing such an atrocity from ever again occurring,” Biden said. “And we remember so that we remain ever-vigilant against the corrosive influence of hate in all its forms,” he said.
“We do this not to cast blame but to ensure that what happened is never repeated,” Biden said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was quick to condemn the statement.
“We have nothing to learn from anybody on our own past. Political opportunism is the greatest betrayal to peace and justice. We entirely reject this statement based solely on populism,” Çavuşoğlu said in a Twitter post.
With the acknowledgment, Biden followed through on a campaign promise he made a year ago. Mainly hailing from Ottoman Armenians, Armenians in the U.S. constitute significant communities in the East Coast and California.
Turkey’s position on the 1915 events is that the death of Armenians in eastern Anatolia took place when some sided with invading Russians and revolted against Ottoman forces. A subsequent relocation of Armenians resulted in numerous casualties, added by massacres from militaries and militia groups of both sides. The mass arrests of prominent Ottoman Armenian politicians, intellectuals and other community members suspected of links with separatist groups, harboring nationalist sentiments and being hostile to Ottoman rule were rounded up in then-capital Istanbul on April 24, 1915 are commemorated as the beginning of later atrocities.
Turkey objects to the presentation of the incidents as “genocide” but describes the 1915 events as a tragedy in which both sides suffered casualties.
Ankara has repeatedly proposed the creation of a joint commission of historians from Turkey and Armenia plus international experts to tackle the issue.
The list of disagreements is unusually long for the two NATO allies, including the U.S. support for YPG terrorists, the PKK’s Syrian offshoot in Syria, Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system and Biden’s declaration of the 1915 events regarding the Ottoman Armenians during World War I as “genocide.”