The Upper Lars checkpoint will remain closed until July 10, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reports.
The border crossing point, the only land road that connects Armenia to Russia, has been closed for 10 days now because of landslide caused by flooding.
The vehicles jammed at the checkpoint can continue their way through the ports of Poti and Batumi.
The Terek River still risks flooding, the Ministry said.
President Serzh Sargsyan today offered condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the terrorist act at Turkey’s Ataturk airport that claimed the lives of dozens of innocent peopleand left many injured.
President Sargsyan strongly condemned this act of terrorism, expressed his deep condolences to the relatives of the victims and wished speedy recovery to the injured.
“The military-technical cooperation between Armenia and Russia is developing. All agreements are being implemented on due level,” Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan told reporters at Yerablur Pantheon.
Speaking about the interstate loan agreement, the Minister said “it allows Armenia to purchase modern weapons at internal prices in Russia and the CSTO.”
As for the new Joint Air Defense System with Russia, Minister Ohanyan said “it will provide us with an opportunity to involve the fourth-generation multi-purpose fighter jets of the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia, as well as all capacities of the aerospace to solve air defense issues in the Caucasian region.”
“This will allow to collect all reconnaissance data in one place and prevent all violations, including the ones committed by our rivals. We do not see a more reliable partner than Russia in this respect,” the Minister added.
He assured that “all capacities of the Joint Air Defense System, the aviation forces and means will be planned and used under the leadership of RA Armed Forces and the aviation.”
Seyran Ohanyan dismissed the reports that it could lead to the worsening of relations with NATO.
“Shooting at each other is the alternative to the lack of meetings and negotiations,” Vice-President of the Armenian National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov said.
Commenting on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s latest speech, Sharmazanov said “it was retreat not only from the St. Petersburg meeting, but also the agreements reached in Vienna.”
“There is no need in the implementation of the investigation mechanism on the line of contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops in this stage,” Aliyev said during a meeting with servicemen and military officials in Baku. He sees the mechanism as a way of freezing the conflict.
Sharmazanov said the Minsk Group Co-Chairs should express a stance on Aliyev’s remarks.
Asked whether it’s expedient to continue the meetings, the Vice-President of the National Assembly said: “I’ve always said that negotiations are better than absence of meetings. Shooting at each other is the alternative to the lack of meetings and talks, while peace remains our primary goal.”
In the speech Ilham Aliyev once again hinted at the step-by-step settlement of the Karabakh conflict and declared he would never allow creation of a second Armenian state “on the historical lands of Azerbaijan.” In response to that Sharmazanov said “Whatever its status, Nagorno Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan.”
Pope Francis will meet with descendants of Armenians who fled persecution by the Ottoman Empire a century ago during his visit later this week to Armenia, according to the.
The meeting will take place at the Tsitsernakaberd monumentin Yeevan which commemorates the approximately 1.5 million Armenians victims.
The encounter will be “a very moving” event and one of the most important activities during the pope’s trip next weekend to Armenia, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said.
Francis will lay a wreath at the monument and will greet a group of children who will show him pictures and items related to the “Medz Yeghern” (The Great Evil).
The pope will then enter the monument within a circle enclosed by 12 huge, slanted stone walls and will stand before the eternal flame that honors the victims.
Francis will attend the planting of a tree that will memorialize his visit to Tsitsernakaberd.
Later, Pope Francis will meet a dozen descendants of the 400 Armenian orphans who were rescued in 1915 and lodged at the papal Castel Gandolfo residence near Rome.
Francis’s visit to Tsitsernakaberd is expected to be the highlight of his trip to Armenia, the 14th journey outside Italy during his papacy.
In April 2015, Pope Francis celebrated a Mass at the Vatican to commemorate the centennial of the massacres, calling them “the first genocide of the 20th century.”
Expectations in Armenia are high preceding the visit of Pope Francis to the country. “The Holy Father is coming to strengthen us Armenians in our faith. We Armenians, no matter whether Catholic or Orthodox, love him. After all, he recognised the genocide of our people. We will always remember him for that,” Armenian Catholic Archbishop Raphael Minassian, who is responsible for Eastern Europe, told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in an interview.
Pope Francis will visit Armenia from 24th to 26th June. “In the past year, the pope showed strong moral leadership when he called the genocide committed against our people one hundred years ago by its name and recognised it as the first genocide of the 20th century. This is extremely important to us Armenians.” The archbishop then emphasised that in this respect, one needs to understand the psychology of the Armenian people. “For one hundred years we have worked to have our suffering recognised, but to all intents and purposes without success. We only received empty promises from nations and politicians and were at the mercy of interests. The pope, however, is not a politician. He is the representative of Christ on earth, and he is concerned with truth and human rights,” the archbishop said. He further declared that, despite being on the periphery geographically, Armenia is of great significance to Christianity worldwide.
“Armenia was the first country on earth to adopt Christianity. This was more than 1700 years ago. Our people continue to be influenced by the faith today. Over the centuries we have also given Christianity millions of martyrs. I always say: the Jewish people prepared the first coming of Christ. Through our martyrs, we Armenians are preparing the way for the second coming of Christ. We are bearing witness to Christ for the entire world.”
The vast majority of the Armenian population belongs to the Armenian Apostolic church. The Armenian Catholic church, which is united with Rome and has about 160,000 members, emerged from this church. Archbishop Minassian said that the ecumenical relations between Catholics and the Orthodox majority are now excellent.
“I have been bishop in Armenia for six years. At no point during this time have I felt a divide between us Catholics and the Armenian Apostolic church. On the contrary, I have always been met with cooperation and sympathy. When it now became definite that the pope was coming, the head of the Armenian Orthodox church said to me that he would give his best for the visit. The relationship between our churches would become even stronger. I am also convinced of this.”
He then said that the differences between the Armenian Orthodox and Armenian Catholic churches were minimal anyway. “We have the same faith, celebrate the same sacraments and have the same liturgy. The only difference is in the recognition of the pope in Rome. But other than that, there are no differences. And in any case, the Armenians, no matter whether Orthodox or Catholic, feel they are one people and one church.”
The anticipation within the Armenian Catholic church for the papal visit is great, the archbishop said. “We already have a lot more applications from people who want to attend the public Mass that will be celebrated by the pope than can fit into the square. We will therefore broadcast the service on a screen set up in a second square, which the Holy Father will visit after holding the Mass. In all, we are expecting more than 50 000 people to attend the large divine service.” More than 300 volunteers will ensure that the service will proceed in an orderly fashion. “They are already preparing for it with Masses and meetings. Our entire church with its forty parishes is filled with great anticipation. We hope that this will lead to a real deepening of our faith.”
According to Archbishop Minassian, the situation of the church in Armenia is completely different from that in other parts of Western Europe. “There is no secularism here. The Armenians are a religious people. The people have faith. This is a fixed part of life. And our church is alive, even though there are not many of us. But for that we have many charitable projects for the poor, old and disabled. However, we as a church only have limited funds. This makes us even more grateful to Aid to the Church in Need and its benefactors for their generous support. I would like to thank them expressly for this. But now I would like to ask them specifically to pray that the papal visit will be a success.”
Photo: Reuters
Reality television stars, Hollywood actresses and social media fans came together for the 20th Webby Awards in New York on Monday, where the likes of Kim Kardashian West and Jessica Alba were honored, Reuters reports.
Kardashian picked up the “Break the internet” prize for her social media presence while her husband, Kanye West, who did not attend, was named Webby Artist of the Year.
Alba received the Entrepreneur of the Year award for The Honest Company, which the actress founded in 2011. The annual ceremony honors outstanding online achievements.
Two weeks ago, the launched a poll asking to cast votes for the best music video released by the 2016 Eurovision contestants.
Over 12,300 votes have been cast and the results are in: with more than 12% of the ballot, Iveta Mukuchyan’s video for “LoveWave” takes the crown.
Armenia’s strong entry made waves ever since it was released together with the video, a co-production between national broadcaster AMPTV and Germany’s BLACKSHEEP communications. In it, a sensual Iveta Mukuchyan, also a worthy contender for the crown of , works her best physical assets — besides her voice — to wow and seduce. The object of her affection is Swedish model Ben Dahlhaus, who has been dubbed “Sweden’s Brad Pitt.” Micro shots that almost look scientific and medical are, in the words of Iveta’s team, used to picture the chemistry behind feelings of love and lust that spread through the whole body.
The “LoveWave” video was also a preview of Iveta Mukuchyan’s show-stopping performance on the Eurovision stage. The Armenian team incorporated the same sort of cutting shots and imagery in the singer’s visually arresting presentation.
In order to continue the negotiations with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, it’s necessary to reinforce the ceasefire regime, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said in an interview with the Austrian Die Presse.
He reminded that despite the periodic violations, the ceasefire agreement signed in 1994 by Nagorno Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan is still in place. “Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire on April 2, unleashing military actions. The ceasefire was restored under a verbal agreements reached on April 5. Azerbaijan is trying to foil the Minsk process. Now it’s important to reinforce the ceasefire regime, because soldiers were killed even after April 5.”
Asked why the escalation happened now, Shavarsh Kocharyan said “the issue should be addressed to Baku.” “Azerbaijan pursues the policy of solving this conflict through force. Obviously, they cherished the illusion of solving the issue through a Blitzkrieg, but failed. There is a great discontent in the country connected with the corrupt regime, and war is a means to divert the public attention,” he added.
“War is a threat to all of us, both Armenians and Azerbaijanis,” the Deputy FM noted.
Speaking about the ways out of the situation, Kocharyan said “international mediators should condemn Baku’s attacks.”
“Baku constantly demands return of “occupied territories,” but keeps silent about the occupied regions of Nagorno Karabakh, which remain under Azeri control. The Madrid Principles speak about Karabakh self-determination and Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. There is an opportunity for mutual concessions,” he added.
“Unilateral concessions are excluded. One should realize that there are questions outside Armenia’s competence. Yerevan cannot declare about return of territories, because it’s up to Nagorno Karabakh to decide. Yerevan is not authorized to make a decision on the status of Nagorno Karabakh. It’s also up to NKR. We refrain from recognizing Nagorno Karabakh in order to maintain the negotiation process,” Kocharyan said.
“If Azerbaijan unleashes large-scale aggression, it will lead to the recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic by Armenia,” the Deputy Foreign Minister stressed.
Speaking about Russia, Shavarsh Kocharyan said “Moscow is our ally, but has close economic ties with Baku; therefore, it will be inclined to keep the balance in the South Caucasus.”
As for the sale of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan, the Deputy FM said Armenia has raised the issue on the highest level. “I stand for complete embargo on weapons for all conflicting parties. The Minsk Group co-chairing countries can reach that at the UN Security Council.”