Author: Karapet Navasardian

On a visit to the United Arab Emirates, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had a meeting with Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Noting that Armenia is interested in intensifying the political dialogue and developing comprehensive cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, President Sargsyan voiced hope that agreements reached during the visit will contribute to the further development of ties.

Serzh Sargsyan hailed the fact that the relations between Armenia and UAE have entered a new, more practical stage of development, over 20 agreements on cooperation in different spheres have been signed between the two countries, more documents are expected to be signed within the framework of the visit.

The interlocutors agreed that the interstate relations between Armenia and UAE are successfully developing on the basis of the centuries-old friendship between the Armenian and Arab people.

President Sargsyan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan emphasized the importance of the activity of the Intergovernmental Commission in promoting the current pace of trade-economic cooperation.

The parties agreed to intensify the work towards attracting more UAE investments in the Armenian economy and find effective mechanisms to implement the investment projects.

The interlocutors referred to a number of issues on bilateral agenda, the urgent international issue, the crisis in the Middle East, the problems and challenges existing in the South Caucasus, the process of settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

On 24 October Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Igor Popov (Russian Federation), Pierre Andrieu (France), James Warlick (USA), personal representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk and accompanying them officials.

Issues related to the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement and recent developments were discussed during the meeting.
President Sahakyan noted that Azerbaijan maintains its non-constructive stance of violating the ceasefire regime and continues to pursue an anti-Armenian policy.

The President highlighted the necessity of elaborating the mechanisms of maintaining the ceasefire regime and revealing the violations,  considering it among pivotal components of the peace process.
President Sahakyan expressed gratitude to retired co-chairman Pierre Andrieu for honest and efficient work wishing him successes in life and future career.

Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, today conducted a monitoring exercise on the Line of Contact in accordance with his mandate. This exercise took place six months after the outbreak of hostilities in early April.

Personal Representative Kasprzyk said: “As usual, the sides provided information regarding the situation on the Line of Contact, including ceasefire violations registered since the previous monitoring exercise. This information has been reported to the Minsk Group members, including its Co-chairs, and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office. Reports in the media sometimes allege that my Office does not register ceasefire violations or indicate the responsible party. They may be referring to the fact that no ceasefire violations occurred during the observation phase of our monitoring exercise, at the time when staff members are in exposed positions on the front lines. We always register ceasefire violations when they occur in our presence. Otherwise we rely on information provided by local commanders. I would like to reiterate that we do not have the mandate to conduct investigations of incidents.”

He added: “In the six months following the April clashes, the Minsk Group Co-chairs have worked tirelessly to stabilize the situation and move the negotiation process forward, and the information provided through the monitoring exercises is an indispensable part of this process. These efforts continue.”

Photo: AFP

 

At least 30 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack at a Kurdish wedding in north-eastern Syria, the BBC reports.

The bomber blew himself up on Monday night at a hall in Tal Tawil, outside Hassakeh city, reportedly while the bride and groom were exchanging vows.

There were conflicting reports about whether the groom was among the dead.

So-called Islamic State said one of its militants had attacked a “large gathering” of Kurdish fighters with a machine-gun and and explosive vest.

Kurdish-led forces have driven the jihadist group out of most of Hassakeh province, but they have been unable to prevent deadly bomb attacks.

According to a decree signed by President Serzh Sargsyan, Artem Asatryan has been appointed as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.

Deacon Hovhannes Nersesian of St. Sarkis Cathedral of the Araratian Patriarchal Diocese, soloist at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre after Alexander Spendiaryan has won the second place at the 4th international Pavel Lisitsian Competition.

The contest featured 48 vocalists from 12 countries – Armenia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, China, Mongolia and others.

The event was held in North Ossetia from September 15 to 18. People’s Artist of Ukraine Larissa Gergieva was the President of the jury. She’s also the founder and director of the festival.

The Turkish authorizes are constructing a 8km-long road to Mount Maruta – the highest peak in Sasssoun Province, Akunq.net reports, quoting the Anadolu Agency.

The construction works are expected to be completed within a month. The road will make it easier to reach the Armenian St. Astvatsatsin Church on the peak of the mountain.

Acting Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian participated in the High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to Address Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. The Minister’s full speech is provided below:

Honorable Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The convening of this meeting at such a high level indicates the growing prominence of the problem of migrants and refugees on the global agenda, including within the UN system and the strong determination to tackle it.

Armenia has been facing the challenges relating to refugee hosting for almost 3 decades. In the late 80s and beginning of 90s Armenians were massacred and expelled from their homes in Azerbaijan and found refuge in Armenia. This year again, in early April Azerbaijan unleashed another large-scale military offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh that resulted in a number of casualties among civilians and another wave of displacement.

In this context we would like to stress the significance of addressing the root causes of large movements of people through the prevention of conflicts and crisis situations, peaceful settlement of disputes and achievement of long-term political solutions. Likewise, we would like to highlight the importance of providing equal, prompt and unhindered access to international humanitarian assistance for refugees and displaced persons in all affected parts of the world, without distinction to their current political status.

Mr. President,

Armenia is deeply concerned by the situation in our immediate neighborhood – the Middle East. On numerous occasions Armenia has condemned the crimes committed by DAESH and other terrorist groups, which threaten the people of the region and beyond. The war in Syria has a devastating impact on its civilian population, including national and religious minorities who face existential threats due to identity based crimes perpetrated by terrorists and foreign fighters.

The violence in the Middle East has not bypassed Syrian Armenians, many of whom lost their lives in terrorist attacks. The Armenian settlements, churches, schools and cultural institutions were destroyed. One hundred years ago Armenian refugees found shelter in many Arab countries after the Armenian Genocide. Today thousands of Armenians, together with other people of the Middle East, again are forced to abandon their places of residence. From Syria alone more than 20 thousand Armenians found refuge in Armenia, making our country the third largest recipient of Syrian refugees in Europe on per capita basis. Therefore, we have first-hand knowledge about what it means to be a refugee and to host refugees.

The challenges of receiving, accommodating and integrating refugees from Syria are high on the agenda of the Armenian Government. We have been offering a variety of protection options of accelerated asylum procedures, facilitated provision of residence permits and naturalization. The State supports them in setting up businesses, provides durable housing, free medical assistance and scholarships.

Armenia is committed to making its utmost to address the issues of Syrian refugees, however no State can manage such large movements on its own. We believe that greater international cooperation is needed to assist host countries. To this end, we welcome the adoption of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and believe that the full implementation of our collective commitments, particularly those referring to a more equitable sharing of the burden and responsibility, could make a real difference for the benefit of refugees.

Thank you.

The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire 19 times at the line of contact with Karabakh forces last night.

The rival fired more than 320 shots from weapons of different calibers in the direction of Armenian positions.

The front divisions of the NKR Defense Army refrained from response actions and confidently continued with their military duty.

The Armenian National Security Service informs that several policemen are still held hostage as of 17:00 and the demand of the armed group remains the same.

Representatives of law-enforcement bodies are currently trying to persuade the terrorists to refrain from actions that could threaten the life and health of people, to release the hostages and surrender to the authorities without resistance.

The special forces are in the state of combat readiness, but there has been no order to storm the building or take any actions.