Author: Karapet Navasardian

On 2 April Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan partook in the opening ceremony of the new Oncology Center in Stepanakert.

The President expressed gratitude to the “Hayastan” all-Armenian Fund and French philanthropist of Armenian origin Richard Ohanesian and acknowledged their effective participation in the implementation of the project, underlining the significance of such an institution corresponding to modern conditions in the life of our republic.

National Assembly chairman Ashot Ghoulyan, Prime Minister Arayik Haroutyunyan, other officials and representatives from Armenia and the Diaspora attended the event.

A woman has died and a police officer has been stabbed in the Houses of Parliament in London, in what police are treating as a terrorist incident, the BBC reports.

The attacker, who was shot by police officers, is reported to have earlier mowed down several pedestrians as he drove a car across Westminster Bridge.

He crashed it into railings before running into the Palace of Westminster and stabbing the officer.

A Downing Street source said Prime Minister Theresa May was safe.

Prime Minister Theresa May was seen being ushered into a silver Jaguar car as what sounded like gunfire rang out at Parliament during the incident.

MPs said they had heard three or four gunshots and staff inside Parliament were told to stay inside their offices.

Commons Leader David Lidington told MPs the “alleged assailant was shot by armed police”.

An Armenian official delegation headed by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian attended the reopening of the Jesus tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Attending the event were Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, high-ranking officials from other countries, Christian church leaders, thousands of pious people.

Earlier the day Minister Nalbandian had visited the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem to meet with Patriarch, Archbishop Nurhan Manukian.

Archbishop Nurhan Manukian delivered a speech at the ceremony along with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of the Greek Orthodox Church, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos II. A message from His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, was read out.

The tomb where Jesus is believed to have been buried was unveiled today following nine months of restoration.

Three main Christian denominations – Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Churches – jealously guard separate sections of the church, but they put aside their longstanding religious rivalries to give their blessing for the restoration. Armenian architects were involved in reconstruction works.

A number of Somali refugees were killed when their boat was hit in an air strike off the coast of Yemen, the UN says, the BBC reports.

At least 31 people died in the incident, news agencies reported, quoting officials in Hudaydah port.

Women and children were among those killed when the vessel was attacked near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the port officials said.

Images from the scene showed a boat strewn with bodies.

The refugees were on their way from Yemen to Sudan when they were attacked by an Apache helicopter near the strait, coastguard Mohamed al-Alay told Reuters.

It was not clear who carried out the attack. The port is controlled by Houthi rebels who are fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen’s two-year war.

The escalation of tension on the Line of Contact, provoked by the Azerbaijani side, only deepens the distrust and postpones the prospects for a final resolution of the conflict, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Lack of international response fuels Azeri aggression

The full text of the statement is below: 

“In the early hours of February 25, 2017, the Azerbaijani armed forces attempted an attack on the positions of the Defense Army of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), which was neutralized by the military units of Artsakh. The incident was the most serious violation of the ceasefire by Azerbaijan after the April war of 2016. Like in last April, it followed the systematic and deliberate steps by the Azerbaijani side on the gradual escalation of tensions, to which the mediators responded by untargeted appeals for restraint.

The incident of February 25, 2017 is another proof of total disregard for the commitments assumed by Azerbaijan in the frameworks of the agreements of 1994 and 1995, as well as the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg. It is obvious that by increasing the degree of tensions on the Line of Contact the Azerbaijani side tries to check not only the combat capability of the Defense Army of Artsakh, but also the reaction of the international community to the use of force.

It was the absence of international community’s strong and targeted assessment of actions of Azerbaijani authorities on disrupting the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict and preparing for war that to a certain extent, created a situation, taking an advantage of which, Baku considered it possible to unleash a military aggression against Artsakh in April 2016.

The escalation of tension on the Line of Contact, provoked by the Azerbaijani side, only deepens the distrust and postpones the prospects for a final resolution of the conflict. We believe that the response to the provocative policy of Azerbaijan must be refraining from making untargeted appeals to the parties of the conflict and increased efforts on the practical implementation of the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg on strengthening the ceasefire and creating conditions for the resumption of the negotiation process.

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has published the names of the names of its soldiers killed in no man’s zone as a result of an act of sabotage undertaken by the Azerbaijani forces on February 25.

Baku claims that the Karabakh side hindered the recovery of the bodies, bringing forth new requirements.

The Defense Ministry of the Artsakh Republic declares that according to an agreement reached between the parties with the mediation of the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the recovery of bodies was to be organized on February 26 with the participation of ICRC representatives.

Artsakh says Azerbaijan is to blame for the failure to recover the bodies. “Evacuation of bodies did not take place because the Azeri side violated agreements,” the Ministry said in a statement.

“There is no alternative to the Minsk Group co-chairmanship format for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, if we are really committed to seeking a mutually acceptable solution,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a joint press conference with visiting Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs do not stay idle. Lavrov said the Minsk Group Co-Chairs have spoken about the need to accelerate the negotiation process on many occasions.

“The latest statement adopted in Munich underscores the unacceptability of the use of force and military rhetoric and stresses the necessity to implement the agreements reached at the summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg,” Lavrov said.

“We’ll continue to work in cooperation with out French and American counterparts to create an atmosphere conducive to a constructive dialogue that will allow to consider concrete offers on the Karabakh settlement,” the Russian Foreign Minister noted.

Speaking about the future of the OSCE Office in Yerevan, Sergey Lavrov said “we cannot be indifferent towards the issue, especially considering that the Office is headed by a Russian citizen.”

“The German and Austrian chairmanships of the OSCE have worked hard to settle the issue with Azerbaijani colleagues,” Lavrov said.  He voiced hope that the latest offer will help solve the question.

Armenian Foreign Minister has said  Armenia disapproves of arms purchases by Azerbaijan from Russia and intends to maintain a “balance of forces” in the region.

Armenia disapproves of arms purchases by Azerbaijan from Russia and intends to maintain a “balance of forces” in the region, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan told .

“Of course we cannot like the fact that Azerbaijan buys weapons from our ally, which puts a lot of effort to preserve peace and stability in our region, including in cooperation with Armenia, as co-chair of the Minsk Group,” Nalbandyan said.

Nalbandyan, commenting on what he classified as an “arms race” between the two countries, said “we have to make every effort to maintain a balance of forces in the region and prevent further escalation.”

Dear compatriots,

On behalf of the Artsakh Republic authorities and on my own behalf, I cordially congratulate you on the Artsakh Revival Day.

February 20 of 1988 entered into the chronology of our people as a crucial and decisive day that heralded the unshakable will of the Artsakh people to live freely and independently. It has become the symbol of national unity and the revival of invincible spirit. A wave of protests against the foreign yoke turned into a national-liberation movement and recreation of our national statehood corresponding to democratic values, principles and norms of international law.

For the sake of our fair struggle brave sons of the Armenian nation sacrificed their lives, carving the heroic pages of the modern Armenian history through their unparalleled courage and brevity. Eternal honor and glory to all the devotees!

During all these years together with our brothers and sisters from Armenia and the Diaspora we are building and developing our dear and beloved Artsakh, defending our ancestral land and hearth, our children’s future. We don’t violate the rights of other people, but will always protect our own ones.

Dear Artsakh people,

I once again congratulate all of us on this significant holiday and wish peace and great successes to the independent Artsakh Republic and our whole people.

On February 16, upon the proposal of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and in their presence a meeting between Edward Nalbandian, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, and Elmar Mammadyarov, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, took place.

Issues related to future meetings between Foreign Ministers as well as Co-Chairs next visit to the region were discussed.