Author: Maral Chavushian

EU reaffirms commitment to expand security cooperation with Armenia: Borrell

Maral Chavushian

 20:34,

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 13, ARMENPRESS. The European Union reaffirms its commitment to expanding cooperation with Armenia in the field of security and defense.

According to the Armenpress Brussels correspondent, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said during the joint press conference with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan following the results of the 5th session of the Armenia-EU Partnership Council.

"Today's discussions clearly showed that our relations are developing in a positive direction. We have addressed all the aspects of our relationship within the framework of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement. We recognize, however, that we still need to work to realize the full potential of this agreement. We have decided to start a new agenda of very ambitious partnership between the European Union and Armenia," said Borrell.

Ukraine’s Zelensky replaces top general Zalushnyi with Syrsky

Maral Chavushian

 21:43, 8 February 2024

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday has appointed commander of the ground forces Oleksandr Syrsky as the country's new army chief.

"Starting today, a new management team will take over the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Zelensky said. "I appointed Colonel-General Syrsky as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

In a post on X, Zelensky earlier thanked General Valerii Zaluzhnyi for his two years of service as commander-in-chief and discussed possible replacements for the top military job. “The time for such a renewal is now," Zelensky said.



Armenia’s Central Bank chief foresees no increase in food product prices in near future

Maral Chavushian

 18:13,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 30, ARMENPRESS. The Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia, Martin Galstyan, stated during a press conference on Tuesday that no increase in the price of food products is foreseen in the near future.

"Given the weakening demand in the global economy and such behavioral manifestations, we believe that we will experience weak deflationary phenomena from the external sector at the moment.

At least, we do not foresee an increase in the price of food products in the near future," assured Galstyan.




Armenia develops 2023-2033 Diaspora Partnership Strategy ahead of 2nd global summit

Maral Chavushian

 10:25,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 29, ARMENPRESS. The Office of the High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs has developed the 2023-2033 Armenia-Diaspora Partnership Strategy, High Commissioner Zareh Sinanyan told Armenpress.

He said the strategy is based on a vision of a “state-centered, pro-state” Diaspora. The document has been put into circulation.

“We expect to work with the Diaspora based on principles of respect, based on the objective of further deepening the ideology of statehood-building and state-centeredness. Today, this is very weak in the Diaspora. Understandably, the Diaspora was formed in conditions of absence of statehood,” Sinanyan explained, adding that while Armenians living in Armenia have the sense of nationhood and statehood-building, Diaspora Armenians don’t necessarily have that notion. “The work we want to do with the Diaspora must be exclusively centered on the state. Not because we are egoists or focused on ourselves, but because we see the state as the guarantee of perpetuity of not only the Armenians of Armenia, but of the Armenian nation and the Diaspora. Without a strong state there can be nothing. If the Diaspora was able to exist in the Middle East for many years, then the Diaspora that was formed in the past fifty years cannot exist for long without an anchor, and that anchor is the state,” Sinanyan said.

The High Commissioner said they have already received numerous recommendations and offers regarding the strategy and they are amending the document. Sinanyan’s office is working with the Diaspora regarding the strategy. He said that the strategy’s inception was in 2022 during the First Global Diaspora Summit in Armenia. “We are trying to realistically involve many representatives from the Diaspora,” Sinanyan said.

The 2nd Global Diaspora Summit is planned for mid-September 2024 in Armenia.

The 2023-2033 Armenia-Diaspora Partnership Strategy will be forwarded to the Cabinet for discussions in the coming months.

The agenda of the 2nd summit is currently under development, but it will feature security, economic and cultural issues.

RFE/RL Armenian Service – 01/26/2024

Maral Chavushian 
                                        Friday, 


Baku Unimpressed By More Armenian Information On Minefields

        • Ruzanna Stepanian
        • Susan Badalian

Azerbaijan military sappers clear mines in a countryside outside the town of 
Fuzuli, November 26, 2020


Azerbaijan dismissed on Friday Armenia’s decision to provide it with more maps 
of Armenian minefields in and around Nagorno-Karabakh made in response to 
Azerbaijani demands for such information.

Baku renewed those demands earlier this month after reporting that another 
Azerbaijani civilian hit a landmine in the Karabakh conflict zone and was 
injured as a result. It called for international pressure on Yerevan.

Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) said late on Thursday that it has 
located eight more minefields in recent interviews with Karabakh Armenian 
military personnel who fled the region along its entire civilian population 
following Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military offensive. Their maps will be 
passed on to the Azerbaijani side “in the coming days,” the NSS said in a 
statement.

The statement came the day after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian visited the NSS 
headquarters in Yerevan and met with the security agency’s leadership. Pashinian 
signaled last week his readiness to make more concessions to Azerbaijan. On 
January 13, he accused Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev of laying claim to 
Armenian territory.

Responding to the NSS statement, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said that 
Armenia is still not serious about helping Azerbaijan clear the territories 
recaptured by it during the 2020 war and last September of landmines.

“This step cannot be assessed as a confidence-building measure,” it said. 
“Azerbaijan expects Armenia to present concrete maps of all mined territories.”

The ministry claimed that minefield maps provided by the Armenian side earlier 
are very inaccurate.

Yerevan shared that information with Baku in 2021 in return for the release of 
dozens of Armenian prisoners of war. The NSS statement suggests that it is not 
linking the fresh data on minefields with the repatriation of at least 23 other 
Armenian captives remaining in Azerbaijan.

They include eight former political and military leaders of Karabakh detained 
following the Azerbaijani assault. Azerbaijani courts on Thursday extended their 
pre-trial detention by another four months. The country’s prosecutor-general 
said on Friday that they must stand trial for their “crimes against the 
Azerbaijani people.”

The Armenian government strongly condemned the arrests and urged the 
international community to help free the Karabakh leaders. But it does not seem 
to be raising the issue in ongoing contacts with Baku on an Armenian-Azerbaijani 
peace treaty.

Siranush Sahakian, an Armenian human rights lawyer dealing with the captives, 
suggested that their release is not a top priority for Pashinian’s 
administration now. She said Baku is using the issue to try to clinch more 
concessions from Yerevan.

“I share the view that there were going to be concession regardless of the issue 
of the captives,” Sahakian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “It’s just that the 
issue is being used for selling those concessions to the public.”

Pashinian’s political opponents say that Armenia is not gaining anything in 
exchange for those concessions and that this appeasement policy will not lead to 
a lasting peace between the two South Caucasus nations.




Armenian FM Again Invited To Moscow For Talks On Azerbaijan


RUSSIA - A view of the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow.


Russia said on Friday that it has again invited Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat 
Mirzoyan to visit Moscow to discuss a potential peace treaty between Armenia and 
Azerbaijan.

“Ararat Samvelovich Mirzoyan was invited to Moscow for consultations on issues 
of the peace treaty many times, starting from last September,” said Maria 
Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. “Among other things, that 
was discussed during bilateral contacts at various levels. The last signal was 
sent to Yerevan literally a few days ago.”

In recent months, Moscow has repeatedly offered to host high-level 
Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks as it sought to sideline the West and regain 
the initiative in the negotiation process. The Russian Foreign Ministry rebuked 
the Armenian leadership last month for ignoring these offers. It warned that 
Yerevan’s current preference of Western mediation may spell more trouble for the 
Armenian people.

On January 17, a senior Russian diplomat urged Armenia to agree to resume 
Russian-mediated negotiations with Azerbaijan based on earlier understandings 
reached by the leaders of the three countries. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov 
said the following day that unlike Yerevan, Baku is ready to sign the peace 
treaty in Russia.

“I have not heard such an assurance from the Azerbaijani side either during 
closed meetings or publicly,” Mirzoyan told reporters earlier this week. “If 
Sergei Lavrov claims so, maybe he has some reason to make such a claim.”

The chief Armenian diplomat did not clarify whether his government is ready for 
peace talks hosted by Russia now that the Azerbaijani side objects to U.S. and 
European Union mediation.

Russian-Armenian relations have steadily deteriorated since the 2020 war in 
Nagorno-Karabakh, with Yerevan accusing Moscow of not honoring security 
commitments to its longtime regional ally. Azerbaijan’s recapture of Karabakh 
only added to those tensions.

Zakharova insisted on Friday that Russia remains Armenia’s ally, having made a 
“decisive contribution to preventing an even more difficult situation and, one 
can even say, the defeat of Armenia.”




Armenia, Georgia Announce ‘Strategic Partnership’

        • Shoghik Galstian

Georgia - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili (R) and his Armenian 
counterpart Nikol Pashinian meet in Tbilisi, .


Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and his Georgian counterpart Irakli Gharibashvili 
signed a joint declaration calling for “strategic partnership” between their 
countries as they held talks in Tbilisi on Friday.

They described the declaration as historic. It was not immediately made public.

“De facto, we were already strategic partners and friends,” Gharibashvili told a 
joint news briefing. “It can be said that this reality was formalized today.”

“This achievement is the result of several years of joint work and reflects our 
commonalities and intentions,” Pashinian said for his part.

The Armenian premier listed more than a dozen areas where Armenia and Georgia 
will strive for closer ties. Defense and security was not among them.

The declaration was signed at the end of a session of a Georgian-Armenian 
intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation. Both Pashinian and 
Gharibashvili spoke of growing commercial ties between the two neighboring 
states, saying their bilateral trade surpassed $1 billion last year.

Armenian government data shows, however, that Georgian-Armenian trade stood at 
just $239 million in January-November 2023, down by more than 13 percent from 
the same period a year earlier.

Pashinian said he also briefed Gharibashvili on Armenia’s peace talks with 
Azerbaijan. He said he hopes that the peace process will resume “on a full 
scale” after next month’s Azerbaijani presidential election.

“I want to express our hope that Armenia and Azerbaijan will sign a peace treaty 
soon,” Gharibashvili said in this regard.




Another Foreign Investor Gives Armenian Government Minority Stake

        • Robert Zargarian

Armenia- Viva cell MTS, undated


A Cyprus-registered company has pledged to donate a 20 percent stake in one of 
Armenia’s three mobile phone operators to the Armenian government after being 
allowed to buy it from Russia’s MTS telecom giant.

MTS first asked Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) to 
approve the sale of its Armenian subsidiary to the little-known company, Fedilco 
Group Limited, last spring. The PSRC rejected the request at the time, saying 
that the deal could damage the country’s national security. It did not elaborate.

MTS, which runs Russia’s largest mobile phone network, filed another request in 
November and it was granted this time around. The company announced on Thursday 
that the sale of the Viva-MTS operator to Fedilco for an undisclosed amount has 
been completed.

A separate statement released by Viva-MTS said that its new parent company, 
which was reportedly registered in Cyprus in 2022, is controlled by 
“professional investors” Zhe Zhang and Konstantin Sokolov. It said they intend 
to cede 20 percent of shares in Viva-MTS to the Armenian government in view of 
the cellphone operator’s “strategic importance” to the country.

The PSRC did not clarify whether it dropped its initial opposition to the deal 
because of the lavish donation pledged by Fedilco. A senior official from the 
regulatory body, Armen Hunanian, said only that the PSRC followed the 
recommendations of the Armenian Ministry of High-Technology. The ministry 
declined to comment on Friday.

Fedilco is the third foreign company to give the government a sizable minority 
stake in its Armenian subsidiary. Russia’s GeoProMining group was the first to 
do so right after buying Armenia’s largest metallurgical enterprise in 2021.

And just last week, the government was formally granted a 12.5 percent stake in 
a multimillion-dollar gold mining project which it helped to freeze in 2018. The 
government pledged last year to help U.S. and Canadian investors revive the 
Amulsar project.



Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2024 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

We should combat culture of impunity: Vladimir Vardanyan gives a speech at PACE Session

Maral Chavushian

 20:28,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. It is quite alarming that in some countries of the Council of Europe, torture has started to be used in a widespread or systematic manner for the oppression of certain persecuted groups, which amounts to crimes against humanity, the member of the Armenian National Assembly delegation to PACE Vladimir Vardanyan gave a speech at the Assembly Session.

First of all, the deputy congratulated Mr. Constantinos EFSTATHIOU for the brilliant report reflecting all the topical issues of combating torture and addressing the main strategic challenges of the organisation in that respect.

"Absolute, imperative, unacceptable, prohibited, and immoral: these are the adjectives which may be used to describe torture as a phenomenon prohibited under general international law for a long time.

But torture is not just prohibited. It is absolutely prohibited under general international law, having the status of jus cogens prohibition with no derogation possible and no justification acceptable.

Frankly speaking, for the first time I read the draft resolution and faced some factual events mentioned there. I thought that I was mistaken, and I was not reading a contemporary document but I rather faced something which came to me from medieval times.

How is it possible, in the digital era, that there are such kinds of manifestation of torture in the member countries of our organization.

Ladies and gentlemen, the absolute prohibition of torture is not just a legal imperative, it is a moral obligation that defines our civilization, our wellness, our organization. And hence, a zero tolerance approach towards torture should be the only option for our Assembly," Vardanyan said.

He noted that despite the existence of innumerable international documents on the absolute prohibition of torture at a universal and European level, torture persists in various corners of the globe, reminding them of the need for continued vigilance and advocacy.

“We do not naively believe that torture would be demolished as a social phenomenon entirely. The problem is not in the phenomenon of torture, but rather in a gap existing between international obligation taken and their implementation in practice. We should combat the culture of impunity, which is one of the main challenges.

It is quite alarming that in some countries of the Council of Europe, torture has started to be used in a widespread or systematic manner for the oppression of certain persecuted groups, which amounts to crimes against humanity.”

Vardanyan underscored that the Committee on the Prevention of Torture (CPT) is one of the main international instruments combating torture within the Council of Europe, and its activity should be supported in the widest possible manner, not only by incorporation of the standards in the national legislation, but also providing their full implementation on national level.

“The automatic publication of all the CPT reports, past and present, would be a manifestation of goodwill of all the countries concerned and would contribute to the elimination of culture of impunity and torture.

Last but not least, we fully agree with the rapporteur that, in the digital era, the usage of information technologies, video recording, and other technologies would be served as a very efficient measure to prevent torture and ill treatment and for giving up the culture of impunity.

Let’s make the digital era synonymous of an era without torture,” concluded Vladimir Vardanyan.

Armenpress: Biden should stop fighting to resolve Middle East crisis — Lavrov

Maral Chavushian

 20:21,

YEREVAN, JANUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has advised US President Joe Biden to stop the fighting and not to veto UN Security Council resolutions that seek to establish a humanitarian ceasefire if he wants to resolve the crisis in the Middle East.

The minister made the statement in an interview with CBS television, when asked what advice he would give to Biden on the Middle East, reports Tass.

"Stop the fighting. Don't use veto when a resolution is proposed to declare humanitarian ceasefire. You used vetoes twice. There is no reaction from the Security Council as regards to demand a ceasefire. And of course, don't drag on like your predecessors did for decades on creating the Palestinian state,'' Tass quoted Lavrov as saying.

Asbarez: Assemblymember Holden Welcomes Armenian Delegation to California

Maral Chavushian
by Contributor

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories
ANCA and Armenian community leaders with Assemblymember Chris Holden in Sacramento on Jan. 22


SACRAMENTO—Assemblymember Chris Holden on Monday welcomed a delegation of Armenian leaders from California and the province of Syunik, Armenia to mark the Assembly Concurrent Resolution 105 of 2022 and Assembly Joint Resolution 1 of 2023.
 
“The establishment of a sister state relationship between California and Syunik, Armenia will foster educational, cultural and economic opportunities for both California and the Syunik province, a critical area for Armenia’s sovereignty as a democratic nation. We look forward to the establishment of a committee, which will accelerate this important relationship between the two states. We also salute Assemblymember Holden for his continuous and unwavering support for significant issues concerning the Armenian American community in California,” said Aida Dimejian, Armenian National Committee of America National Board Member.
 
ACR 105, chaptered on February 22, 2022 was a result of a two-year effort to establish a sister state relationship between California and the Province of Syunik – the southernmost province in Armenia. Syunik is home to the Armenian Stonehenge, Karahounj, which dates back to the Bronze Age, the Ughtasar Mountain petroglyphs that are 7,000 years old, as well as the 9th Century Tatev Monastery that served as a center of scholastic and spiritual activity. The most populated town in the province is its capital, Kapan with 43,000 residents. The resolution declares California’s unity with Syunik to encourage and facilitate mutually beneficial educational, economic, and cultural exchanges. 
 
“We salute Assemblymember Holden’s leadership and commitment to the Armenian American community, and his steadfast support of the Republic of Armenia’s Syunik Province. We look forward to bold and fruitful collaborations between California and Syunik, Armenia,” said Dr. Alice Chalian Manoukian, Chair of Armenian National Committee of America, Crescenta Valley Chapter.
 
Last year, Holden also authored Assembly Joint Resolution 1, which passed the Legislature with unanimous support and was chaptered on July 17, 2023. The resolution called on President Biden and the State Department for the enforcement of Section 907 restrictions on military assistance to Azerbaijan, the imposition of sanctions on Azerbaijani officials complicit in the enforcement of the blockade and commissioning of war crimes. AJR 1 urged the Administration to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to the Armenians of Artsakh.
 
“Both resolutions reaffirm California’s solidarity with Armenia and our 1-million-strong community of California-Armenians,” said Assemblymember Chris Holden. “There is power in our solidarity and there is even more when we acknowledge the wrongs committed and urge for justice. We set precedent for the future with our action or inaction and today, we are creating long-lasting ties to thread forward a better tomorrow.”



Prime Minister receives the Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption of the US State Department

Maral Chavushian

 20:08, 15 January 2024

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS.  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Richard Nephew, Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption of the US State Department, the PM's Office said.

According to the source, the Prime Minister emphasized close cooperation and its continuity with the US administration in the fight against corruption and the development of democratic institutions. Nikol Pashinyan noted that the anti-corruption policy and promotion of the reform agenda is a priority for the Armenian government and the executive is consistently moving towards the development of anti-corruption mechanisms and increasing the efficiency of institutions. In this context, the Prime Minister emphasized the further implementation of programs with partner states, active cooperation, exchange of experience and capacity building.

It is noted that Richard Nephew noted that the US administration will continue to support the Armenian government in strengthening democracy, effective implementation of reforms in the field of justice and fighting corruption. According to the Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption of the US State Department, the USA highly appreciates the steps taken by the Armenian government in the above directions. Richard Nephew added that within the framework of his visit to Yerevan, he had effective discussions with Armenian partners with the goal to give a new impulse to further cooperation.

Issues related to the digitalization process, as well as the implementation of joint programs in other directions were also touched upon at the meeting.

Central Bank of Armenia: exchange rates and prices of precious metals – 18-01-24

Maral Chavushian

 17:36, 18 January 2024

YEREVAN, 18 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs “Armenpress” that today, 18 January, USD exchange rate down by 0.24 drams to 405.25 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.59 drams to 441.48 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.01 drams to 4.57 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 0.06 drams to 514.18 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 359.69 drams to 26211.27 drams. Silver price down by 3.37 drams to 297.13 drams.