Author: Karagyozian Lena

On January 26, Edward Nalbandian, Minister of Foreign Affairs, received Nikolay Bordyuzha, Secretary-General of Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed the decisions of the session of CSTO Collective Security Council held in Moscow, the process of implementation of priorities of the Armenian chairmanship in the Organization.

Expressing gratitude for the reception, Nikolay Bordyuzha presented to the Foreign Minister of Armenia the ongoing activity of the Organization, commended the extensive work undertaken by the Armenian chairmanship in the CSTO.

Edward Nalbandian and Nikolay Bordyuzha discussed issues on the agenda of Organization, touched upon preparatory works of the sessions of CSTO statutory bodies.

President Serzh Sargsyan had a telephone conversation with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani on Sunday.

Serzh Sargsyan and Hassan Rouhani discussed issues pertinent to the Armenian-Iranian friendly relations and cooperation, as well as a number of pressing issues of the international and regional agenda. The Presidents exchanged views on the possibilities of further developing the bilateral relations in the light of the implementation of the recent agreements reached on Iran’s nuclear program. They also mentioned the positive effect of all these developments which will strengthen regional security and stability. In this context, the parties concurred that any issue can be resolved through the negotiations as long as there is political will to do so.

The President of Iran underscored his country’s readiness to work actively towards the strengthening the good-neighborly, close partnership, expand and deep cooperation with Armenia. Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Hassan Rouhani stressed the importance of going on with the efficient and incessant cooperation aimed at the implementation of the agreements reached at the high level and realization of new, perspective initiatives which will allow to fully use the existing potential.

During the phone conversation, agreed was also the timetable of the forthcoming visits.

Photo: EPA

 

Three foreign tourists have been injured after two suspected Islamic State militants stormed into a hotel in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Hurghada, the BBC reports.

The attackers, armed with knives, were killed by police at the Bella Vista hotel after they stabbed two Austrian guests and a Swede, officials say.

The assailants were aiming to kidnap tourists, officials told the BBC. Reports say they raised the IS flag.

Security forces are still searching for possible further attackers.

President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in the Russian Federation on a working visit, participated today in the session of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

President of the host country Vladimir Putin at the beginning of the session welcomed the participants and wished them productive work. After that the session was presided over by Serzh Sargsyan, President of Armenia, which assumed the chairmanship of the CSTO. At the moment, the negotiations are being conducted in a restricted format with the participation of the Presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and the Secretary General of the Organization. Later, the heads of the CSTO member states will continue the session in the extended format with the participation of the members of the delegations.

At the plenary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council the parties will sign a number of documents, including the Declaration of the Heads of the CSTO on fighting international terrorism, drafts of the resolutions of the Collective Security Council “On the Secretary General of the CSTO” and “On the rotation of the officials – members of the permanent bodies of the CSTO.”

In the framework of the agenda, the leaders of the CSTO member states will exchange views on the current global situation and future activities of the Organization.

Photo: Getty Images

 

A private plane carrying Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was forced to make an emergency landing, but the star and his pilot were unhurt, the BBC reports.

The plane blew a tyre on take-off from Clarksdale, Mississippi, on Saturday.

The SJ30 jet made a forced landing in Tunica, about 65km away, where it went off the runway.

In a statement, the Shawshank Redemption star said: “Sometimes things don’t go as planned and a tyre blew on take-off, which caused other problems.”

He continued: “But thanks to my excellent pilot Jimmy Hobson we landed safely without a scratch.

“I cannot say the same about my plane. I appreciate the concern and prayers for our safety.”

The 78-year-old has been nominated for seven Oscars for films including Driving Miss Daisy, Street Smart and Invictus, and won in 2005 for his role in Million Dollar Baby.

The City Council of Italy’s L’Aquila recognized the Armenian Genocide on November 26, Press Service of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

In letters addressed to the Armenian Embassy in Italy and the Union of Armenians of Italy, L’Aquila Mayor Massimo Cialente informed that the City Council of Cialente recognizes the Armenian Genocide on its centennial and expresses its solidarity with the Armenian people as a confirmation of protection of historic truth and human rights.

The presents the photo of an Armenian woman sitting in her studio and freshly painting a pot in the Old city of Jerusalem as today’s Photo of the Day.

One of the four quarters of Jerusalem’s Old City is the Armenian Quarter. It’s located between the Yafo and Zion gates.

Armenians have been in Jerusalem since the fourth century CE. Though many arrived only after the 1915 Armenian Genocide committed by Turkey.

The entire Armenian quarter consists of no more than around 1,000 people.

But there you can find genuine (Jerusalem-style) Armenian pottery and artwork, and even watch as it’s made.

Photo by AP    

Egyptian authorities on Sunday projected the flags of France, Russia and Lebanon onto an ancient pyramid on the outskirts of Cairo in the wake of coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night, The Mosocw Times reports.

The images were projected onto the Great Pyramid of Giza, the most ancient of the Seven Wonders of the World at more than 4,500 years old. A candlelight vigil was held at the foot of the pyramid in solidarity with the victims of the recent tragedies in the three countries.

Paris was targeted on Friday by coordinated suicide bombings and shootings in a wave of violence claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group. At least 130 people were killed in the attacks and hundreds more were injured.

A day earlier, twin suicide bombings in Lebanon’s capital Beirut killed 43 people in a Shiite neighborhood.

The attacks followed the crash of an Airbus A321 over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula late last month, in which all 224 people on board, mostly Russian citizens, were killed.

Western leaders have said the plane crash was likely caused by a bomb aboard the aircraft, but Russian authorities have said it is too early to draw any definitive conclusions.

TBS’s late-night show host Conan O’Brien visited Armenia with his Assistant Sona Movsesian to shoot the installment of his show.

The trip marked the first time in Armenia for both O’Brien and Movsesian. “I think it’s every boss’s responsibility to take their assistant back to their ancestral land,” said O’Brien.

The show will air on Tuesday, November 17.

“It’s going to be a great show. The people of Armenia are amazing. It was a glorious experience,” Conan says.

On November 13, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan delivered a speech at a round-table discussion entitled “Nagorno Karabakh: New Challenges and New Opportunities” organized in the framework of the “Days of Artsakh in Moscow,” NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports.

In his speech, Karen Mirzoyan briefed on the current stage of the peaceful settlement process of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict and the situation on the Line of Contact between the armed forces of the NKR and Azerbaijan. Karen Mirzoyan noted that the Azerbaijani leadership had consistently demonstrated unwillingness and lack of political will to reach a peaceful and final settlement to the conflict and had taken steps aimed at further escalation of tension.  This is, in particular, manifested in Baku’s consistent rejection of both; the initiatives of Armenian sides on the stabilization of the situation on the Line of Contact and the latest proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen on the establishment of mechanisms for the investigation of incidents.

The NKR Foreign Minister also presented the state-building process in the NKR, noting that the people and authorities of Artsakh are united in their determination to continue the path chosen in 1991 referendum on independence, and confirmed in the constitutional referendum in 2006. In this context, the NKR Foreign Minister underlined that Karabakh is a reliable, predictable and responsible partner and an important geopolitical factor in ensuring stability and peace in the region.

In his speech, the NKR Foreign Minister also touched upon a range of current issues of regional and international politics,including the issue of international terrorism. In this regard, Karen Mirzoyan noted that the NKR faced that problem back in 1992 – 1994, when Azerbaijan violating the norms of international law attracted thousands of foreign mercenaries from different terrorist groups, to participate in the hostilities against Nagorno Karabakh. The Foreign Minister noted that international terrorism is a global challenge requiring consolidated approach of international community to overcome it.