Author: Lilit Nahapetian

Armenpress: Azerbaijani President put himself in deadlock – Armenian PM

Lilit Nahapetian

Azerbaijani President put himself in deadlock – Armenian PM

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 16:10, 19 June, 2020

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. The united security system of Armenia and Artsakh is more than ever ready to protect the Armenian people’s security in each part of the homeland, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the joint session of the Security Councils of Armenia and Artsakh in Yerevan.

“The use of force will not remain without a consequence and will always receive more than adequate response both at the military and political domains. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also understands this, who, in fact, has put himself in a deadlock. For more than 15 years he has promised his own people to solve the Karabakh issue through military means, billions of dollars have been spent under this title, which quite often result in money laundering, which eventually settle in the accounts of famous peoples in offshore zones. And now he is unable to explain his own people why the reality is as it is. He understands that his possible adventure will bring irreversible damages not only to Azerbaijan, but also will destroy his anti-national power. And in order to divert the people’s attention, he raises the temperature of his statements in order to get out of this deadlock, trying to compensate the failures of the past with new and more absurd promises about the future”, Pashinyan said.

The PM added that recently at the guidance of Azerbaijani special forces a so-called “western Azerbaijan” initiative has been created, meaning the Republic of Armenia. According to Pashinyan, by this the regional policy run by Azerbaijan is becoming more complete, and this so-called “western Azerbaijan” absurd initiative came to replace the so-called “southern, northern, north-western Azerbaijan” ridiculous series, highlighting Azerbaijan’s destabilizing aspirations in the context of the whole region.

“But I want to state in this regard that when we talk about the stability, security of the Karabakh conflict zone, in fact, we talk about the stability and the security of our entire region, and in this sense Armenia is becoming the security guarantor of not only the Karabakh conflict zone, but also our entire region. I think here we should demonstrate a special responsibility towards this regional role and be strong, firm, but not to give in to meaningless and absurd provocations. Especially now when our societies are fighting against a global challenge – the novel coronavirus pandemic, we should call on to refrain from the propaganda of hostile actions. Whether we want it or not, the history and geography made us neighbors, and we should derive from the simple truth that our peoples are equal, cannot be under one another’s rule and should determine their fate based on their will, the right to self-determination. The acceptance of this equality will greatly contribute to preparing our populations to peace and will put reliable basis for the long-term and stable development of our region”, the Armenian PM said.

33-year-old Armenian citizens dies of coronavirus

Lilit Nahapetian

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 19:45, 4 June, 2020

YEREVAN, JUNE 4, ARMENPRESS. A 33-year-old citizen has died in Armenia of coronavirus, Healthcare Minister Arsen Torosyan said in a briefing following the session at the Commandant’s Office.

‘’The citizen suffered chronic diseases, while the cause of the death was complicated anamnesis’’, ARMENPRESS reports the Minister as saying.

Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan

Armenia to participate in Victory Day military parade in Moscow

Lilit Nahapetian

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 17:40, 2 June, 2020

YEREVAN, JUNE 2, ARMENPRESS. Armenia will take part in the military parade dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War on June 24 in the Russian capital of Moscow, Defense minister’s spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan told Armenpress.

“A column from the Armenian side consisting of 75 people will participate in the military parade. They will carry Armenia’s and the Tamanyan division’s flags”, she said.  

Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic this year’s Victory Day celebrations in Russia scheduled on May 9 were postponed and will take place on June 24.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian Museum of America to digitize Garabed Gospel dated 1207 AD

Lilit Nahapetian
Public Radio of Armenia

The Armenian Museum of America will digitize one of the most important piece in its collection, the Garabed Gospel, 1207 AD.

The Garabed Gospel was delivered by Museum staff to the Northeast Document Conservation Center earlier this year and the digitization process is slated to begin very soon, the Museum said in a Facebook post.

“This project is part of our ongoing effort to maintain and preserve in perpetuity an active program of collecting, conserving, and documenting Armenian artifacts, books, and publications,” the Museum added.


Government discusses option of banks accepting farming lands as pledge for loan

Lilit Nahapetian

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 12:36,

YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. The Government of Armenia is seeking mechanisms which would enable banks to accept farmers’ lands as pledge for providing loans, PM Nikol Pashinyan told residents of the Verin Dvin community during a tour. He talked with the farmers about their businesses, some of whom are experiencing financial issues amid the coronavirus situation.

He said there are preliminary discussions over the matter, but the issue is not simple.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

If Turkey recognizes Genocide, it will be good for itself in first place, Armenia President says

Lilit Nahapetian
News.am, Armenia
May 15 2020

16:02, 15.05.2020
                  

Asbarez: Armenians Among NASA Team to Develop Ventilators for COVID-19 Crisis Use

Lilit Nahapetian

A team of engineers, among them 10 Armenians, at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California developed a ventilator, the use of which was approved last week by the Food and Drug Administration.

One of the JPL engineers, Arbi Karapetian, spoke to Asbarez Editor Ara Khachatourian on Thursday and described the process and the work that it took the JPL team to develop the ventilator under social distancing guidelines.

A new high-pressure ventilator developed by NASA engineers and tailored to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) patients on April 30 was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use under the FDA’s March 24 ventilator Emergency Use Authorization.

Called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), the device was developed by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California to free up the nation’s limited supply of traditional ventilators so they may be used on patients with the most severe COVID-19 symptoms.

“This FDA authorization is a key milestone in a process that exemplifies the best of what government can do in a time of crisis,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “This ventilator is one of countless examples of how taxpayer investments in space exploration – the skills, expertise and knowledge collected over decades of pushing boundaries and achieving firsts for humanity – translate into advancements that improve life on Earth.”

A front-facing portrait of VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), a ventilator designed and built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. (Phoro by NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships at Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA, is offering a free license for VITAL and is reaching out to the commercial medical industry to find manufacturers for the device.

“Now that we have a design, we’re working to pass the baton to the medical community, and ultimately patients, as quickly as possible,” said Fred Farina, chief innovation and corporate partnerships officer at Caltech. “To that end, we are offering the designs for licensing on a royalty-free basis during the time of the pandemic.”

The Emergency Use Authorization allows for use of the device specifically for COVID-19 patients, with the aim of addressing the acute demand for ventilators during the coronavirus pandemic. Like all ventilators, VITAL requires patients to be sedated and have an oxygen tube inserted into their airway to breathe.

“Fighting the virus and treating patients during this unprecedented global pandemic requires innovative approaches and action. It also takes an all-hands-on-deck approach, as demonstrated by the NASA engineers who used their expertise in spacecraft to design a ventilator tailored for very ill coronavirus patients. This example shows what we can do when everyone works together to fight COVID-19,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn. “We believe today’s action will increase availability of these life-saving medical devices. The FDA will continue to add products to this emergency use authorization, as appropriate, during this pandemic to facilitate an increase in ventilator inventory.”

Prior to the FDA’s review, the VITAL prototype passed a critical test April 21 at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. VITAL poses several benefits in the national response to COVID-19. It can be built faster and maintained more easily than a traditional ventilator, and is composed of far fewer parts, many of which are currently available to potential manufacturers through existing supply chains. Its flexible design means it also can be modified for use in field hospitals being set up in convention centers, hotels and other high-capacity facilities across the country and around the globe. Intended to last three or four months, the new device wouldn’t replace current hospital ventilators, which can last years and are built to address a broader range of medical issues.

“It’s been exhilarating coming up with VITAL’s design,” said Michelle Easter, a mechatronics engineer at JPL who worked on developing the device. “Now that we have FDA approval, we’re looking forward to seeing companies license this technology and share it with the rest of the world.”

Solution must be acceptable for peoples of Armenia, Artsakh and Azerbaijan: Pashinyan on NK conflict

Lilit Nahapetian

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 13:25, 6 May, 2020

YEREVAN, MAY 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reaffirms that any solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict cannot become a solution in practice if it is not acceptable for the peoples of Armenia and Artsakh.

During a Q&A session in the Parliament, the PM was asked to present his position on the statements of the Russian foreign minister and the Azerbaijani defense minister.

“No Armenian leader has expressed a position on the NK conflict in such details as I did. No Armenian leader has expressed a position on the NK conflict so frequently as I did. No Armenian leader has been so public and transparent over the NK issue as I have been. My positions, the positions of the Armenian government exist insofar as they are our positions. In other words, our position exists regardless of what any positons exist in the world. And it’s clear that there are numerous positions in the world regardless of our positions. And this whole settlement process is for us to try to respond to one question whether can make closer the positions and have a common position? And I have included 2 more important components in all of these which is a very famous negotiation format that any solution to the NK conflict cannot become a solution in practice if it is not acceptable for the peoples of Armenia, Karabakh, and also the National Assembly”, he said.

He said if in the past there have been leaderships which thought they would sign and give a solution, they have overestimated their powers.

According to the Armenian PM, the solution, which can be implemented theoretically, is the one which is acceptable for the peoples of Armenia, Artsakh and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani defense minister Zakir Hasanov recently stated that the possibility of resumption of military operations has increased. In turn Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov talked about a document proposing a stage-by-stage solution to the NK conflict.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Over 30 U.S. Senators support increase of Artsakh funding

Lilit Nahapetian

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 21:59,

YEREVAN, APRIL 27, ARMENPRESS. Over thirty U.S. Senators have joined the more than 75 U.S. Representatives in seeking increased Fiscal Year 2021 Artsakh funding for The HALO Trust’s de-mining efforts and much-needed rehabilitation services, like those provided by the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

The Senate letter – circulated by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Foreign Relations Committee – calls on the bipartisan leadership of the Appropriations Committee to mandate at least $1.5 million in FY21 assistance for U.S. humanitarian programs in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh). This humanitarian aid program, long under attack by Azerbaijan’s Aliyev regime, has been aggressively targeted by the Trump Administration, even as it ramps up U.S. defense and security aid to Baku.

The letter also asks for robust funding for Nagorno-Karabakh-based regional rehabilitation services for survivors of landmine injuries and individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities. Among programs that could potentially be supported by such aid is the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center in Stepanakert, which treats 1,000 patients in-house a year, and provides more than 24,000 out-patient treatments. Despite its remarkable progress, the Center still only meets 20% of the needs of the local population, leaving as many as 60,000 regional patients without adequate rehabilitation services.

Joining Senator Menendez in co-signing the letter were Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Robert Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

“This strong showing of Senate support – on top of the recent House letter signed by more than 75 Representatives, and the overwhelming adoption of the Valadao and Cox amendments – clearly establishes Congressional intent to continue U.S. humanitarian aid to Artsakh, despite the senseless, heartless attempts by the Administration to kill this life-saving program,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “We want to thank Senator Menendez for his strong leadership on this issue, and look forward to continuing our work in both houses of Congress to defend the Artsakh aid program.”

HALO USA Executive Director Chris Whatley concurred, noting, “We are thrilled to see this overwhelming display of support for our demining program in Nagorno Karabakh, and are grateful to Senator Menendez and the many Senators who consistently fight to ensure that HALO’s life-saving work can continue. Given our recent efforts to support the local population of Karabakh in the fight against COVID-19 in addition to our work addressing the threat of landmines, HALO’s presence in the region has never been more important.”

In March of this year, more than 75 U.S. Representatives signed a similar letter calling on House appropriators to fund Artsakh aid. Last year, 22 Senators and 89 Representatives cosigned bipartisan letters defending the USAID-funded HALO-Trust de-mining program in Artsakh. In 2017 and again in 2019 the U.S. House passed amendments supporting continued U.S. aid to Artsakh.

iLiveMap shows Artsakh as part of Armenia and Donbass as Russia

Lilit Nahapetian
Greek City Times
by Paul Antonopoulos

iLivemap.com is an Interactive Live Map for wars and conflicts in the Mediterranean and surrounding region. It provides the latest updates and news from the region, and is one of the most reliable sources out there on the Syrian and Libyan conflicts.

Although usually focusing on the conflicts in Syria and Libya, it has now broadened its range to include the conflicts in Donbass and Artsakh.

However, most interestingly is that iLiveMap has included Donbass, a region internationally recognised as part of Eastern Ukraine, as a part of Russia.

In another surprising move, the interactive map website has recognised the Armenian-majority region of Artsakh, or more commonly known as Nagorno-Karabakh, as a part of Armenia, despite being internationally recognised as a part of Azerbaijan.

Although neither Donbass or Artsakh have claimed to be a part of Russia or Armenia respectively, they are both unrecognised republics independent of Ukraine and Azerbaijan respectively.

Although Donbass has the backing of Russia, meaning it has huge support with weapons and financial needs, Artsakh affords no advantages like this.

In one of the many questionable moves by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, he had given the Armenian-majority province of Artsakh to Azerbaijan to appease Turkey in the hope one day Turkey too would join the Soviet Union. The Azerbaijaini’s are Turkic people with a near identical language and culture to Turks – the only major difference being that they are majority Shiite Muslims instead of Sunni.

As the transfer of Artsakh to Azerbaijan was not a major issue because the Soviet Union was like the European Union with movement between the different republics, the fall of the Soviet Union meant that there would be a hard border between Armenia and Azerbaijani-controlled Artsakh, which could not, and should not, be tolerated.

The Armenians against all odds, receiving assistance in weapons and finance from only Greece, and to a lesser extent Russia (who also supported Azerbaijan), prevailed against the Azeri Turks and won their liberation in 1994.

Despite their well earned independence and liberty, they have not been able to unite Artsakh with Armenia, and the Republic of Artsakh remains unrecognised and as a part of Azerbaijan.

Currently only a few individual states in the United States and the state of New South Wales in Australia recognises the Republic of Artsakh as an independent country – nowhere else in the world recognises their independence, including the Federal government’s of the USA and Australia, despite the reality that it operates independently with no Azerbaijani interference.

There is also one Greek village in Artsakh named Mehmana (Μεχμανά, Armenian: Mehmana) with just a few residents.

Is the world slowly waking up and realising that Artsakh is not a part of Azerbaijan and rather Armenian?