YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. Leader of the Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani discussed on February 2 the situation in the region with Armenia’s Consul General in Erbil Arshak Manukyan, Safak news reports.
During the meeting the Armenian Consul General highly valued Mr. Barzani’s efforts in fighting for the freedom and rights of Kurdistan’s people.
The sides highlighted the importance of expanding the relations between the Iraqi Kurdistan and Armenia.
On March 13, 2017, the President of Armenia signed a decree on establishing Consulate General of Armenia in Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan. The Consulate opened already in 2020.
STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 4, ARMENPRESS. The Artsakh search and rescue teams are unable to resume their operations to find casualties of the 2020 war because the Azerbaijani authorities are still banning the operations for unknown reasons.
The most recent S&R operation – usually conducted every day – took place on February 2.
On February 3, the Azeri authorities indefinitely banned the Artsakh rescuers from resuming their operations without giving any explanation.
On February 4, the Artsakh rescue service said the Azeri authorities aren’t allowing them to work because of the “various kinds of works that the Azerbaijanis are implementing in the settlements that have gone under their control.”
Since 2020 November 13 – the day the search operations for bodies of the dead and MIAs began – Artsakh authorities have found the remains of 1355 persons. According to preliminary information, 15 of the 1355 victims were civilians, while the remaining 1340 were military servicemen.
A concert in memory of the Artistic Director and Conductor of Yerevan State Chamber Choir, Honored Art Worker of Armenia Harutyun Topikyan will take place on February 12 in Yerevan. The event will start at 19.00 at Komitas Chamber Music House to be conducted by Choirmaster Kristine Voskanyan.
The programme features ‘Berlin liturgy’ and other spiritual works of Komitas Vardapet, ‘Northern Lights’ by Ola Gjeilo, as well as Voskanyan’s arrangements of Bourrée, Menuet, and Badinerie by Bach.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held a meeting with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Monday.
The top Iranian diplomat, who is visiting Baku in the first leg of a tour of the Caucasus and Turkey, held talks with Azeri President Aliyev on Monday morning.
In the meeting, Foreign Minister Zarif congratulated the Republic of Azerbaijan’s people and government on the recent victories, stressing the need for the promotion of cooperation between the two neighbours.
He also welcomed a six-party regional cooperation initiative proposed by the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, expressing Iran’s readiness for help and cooperation in any field contributing to regional peace, stability and calm.
Zarif then pointed to the successful visits that Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister paid to Iran, saying the mutual cooperation, particularly in the economic fields, is ready to make a leap.
The top diplomat also expressed delight with the results of the 14th meeting of Iran-Azerbaijan Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation, voicing Iran’s readiness for active participation in the process of reconstructing the recently-liberated Azeri lands, particularly in the construction activities, for the export of technical and engineering services, and cooperation in the electricity and energy industries, agriculture, extra-territorial cultivation, mine-sweeping, as well as the reconstruction of mosques and historical sites.
President Aliyev, for his part, praised Iran’s stances on the recent developments in the region, hailed the level of cooperation between the two nations, and said there exists a positive atmosphere for the expansion of relations in all fields, specifically the economic cooperation.
Enumerating the economic projects carried out jointly by the two countries, the Azeri leader welcomed the participation of Iranian companies in reconstruction of areas in the Karabakh region.
Aliyev also expressed satisfaction with Iran’s view on the six-party regional cooperation platform, saying the initiative would benefit peace and common interests in the region.
The Azeri President finally welcomed plans for holding trilateral meetings among the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia, as well as among Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey in future.
The meeting was also attended by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister and the Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Azerbaijan.
The Staff of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh has published a report on vandalism against the Armenian cultural heritage in the occupied territories of the Republic of Artsakh and the threat of destruction of Armenian monuments.
As a result of military aggression against the Republic of Artsakh, at least 1456 overwhelmingly Armenian historical and cultural prominent immovable monuments, including 161 monasteries and churches, 591 khachkars (cross-stones), the ancient sites of Tigranakert, Azokh, Nor Karmiravan, Mirik, Keren, fortresses and castles, sanctuaries and other monuments remained under the control of Azerbaijan. 8 state museums also came under the control of Azerbaijan with 19 311 exhibits, as well as private museums of Armenian Carpet and Armenian dram of Shushi.
The report presents a number of cases of destruction and acts of vandalism against the Armenian cultural heritage during the Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression and after the ceasefire, including deliberate targeting and vandalism against St. Holy Savior Ghazanchetsots Cathedral and St. Hovhannes Mkrtich (Kanach Zham) Church of Shushi. The report also refers to Azerbaijan’s policy of deliberately spreading disinformation on Armenian cultural heritage and “albanizing” the Armenian cultural monuments which is also a threat of extinction of the Armenian cultural heritage in the territory of Artsakh.
The analysis of the identified cases and the context of Armeniaphobia shows that the destruction and distortion of the Armenian cultural heritage are systematic and widespread. The actions and statements of the Azerbaijani state bodies and public figures show that this is a specific state policy based on the criminal policy of inciting hatred against the Armenian nation.
Given the many precedents and the real threats of deliberate destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan by the Azerbaijani authorities, the Staff of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh considers it urgent for the relevant international organizations and especially UNESCO to take effective and immediate steps to preserve the Armenian cultural heritage in the territory of Artsakh.
By Katy Dartford with DPA • Updated: 31/01/2021 – 13:51
Copyright ORF / EVN (Videostandbild)
Tensions are growing in Austria over the deportation of three girls to Georgia and Armenia, including a 12-year-old girl who was born in the country.
The government is being criticised for expelling the children, who are considered to be “well-integrated” into Austrian society, especially amid the coronavirus crisis.
Tina, 12, who was born in Austria and has lived there for 10 years in total said: “When we started, I saw many people and policemen who pushed these people away, who pushed them on the ground.”
After a seven-year process, her family’s asylum applications were finally rejected in December 2019.
Even without a legal base for asylum, the authorities examined the procedure of whether deportation would be compatible with the human right to private and family life.
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In the case of Tina and her family, the authorities decided that the state’s interest in ensuring respect for its laws prevailed.
Early Thursday morning, ahead of the eminent deportations, there were massive protests from friends, classmates and human rights activists at the deportation center the girls were staying at on the outskirts of the Austrian capital, Vienna.
“Even if she is not Austrian on the paper, she is a perfectly integrated member of our society, with many friends, a good student, a family and her life here in Austria. That’s why it makes us sad that she is deported to a country she has no relation to,” said one boy at the protest.
“We are here to fight for Sona [the other girl] because it is not fair,” said another girl at the protest.
“They took her from home in the middle of the night with the whole family, she is a great friend, integrated, well-adapted, she is a good student, preparing for her baccalaureate, preparing for a cooking exam, she writes a diploma thesis, that is not fair.”
The Greens, who are currently in the governing coalition with the conservative ÖVP party, sharply criticised the deportation.
“It cannot be that perfectly integrated young people, in this case, students, are taken out of the classrooms, and brought into a country of origin they don’t even know, they don’t even speak the language of,” said Rudolf Anschober, Austrian Minister of Social Affairs.
“I think it would be a good thing if we looked for a human solution,” he said.
Those in favour of the deportations, including the interior minister, Karl Nehammer, argued that several court decisions found that the family had no legal right to stay in Austria.
“I am concerned that the parents of these children brought them into this situation. That the parents deliberately abused the right of asylum. There were numerous negative asylum procedures against them,” he said.
The deportations have garnered national attention in Austria after schoolmates of Tina, launched an online petition that has gathered more than 34,000 signatures.
All Austrian courts rejected the family’s claims to stay, according to multiple media reports, and the Federal Administrative Court ruled that part of the reason the family had been in Austria for so long had been because it ignored the authorities’ instructions.
According to the interior ministry, Tina’s family had been in the country illegally for four years.
However, advocates of the girls said that Austria was not legally obliged to deport people without stay permits.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan chaired a consultation today in the government dedicated to the draft Economic response program with the preliminary action plan, the PM’s Office told Armenpress.
The program relates to the points 9th and 10th of the roadmap published by Pashinyan on November 18, 2020. Point 9th is about the overcoming of the coronavirus pandemic and eliminating its consequences, whereas point 10th concerns restoring the economic activity environment.
Pashinyan told the consultation participants that the government in practice is adopting various decisions every week connected with the fulfillment of that roadmap. “Today as well during the Cabinet meeting we adopted another such decision. Today we must discuss the draft action plan which will enable to restore the economic activity environment and will allow us to set new economic tasks and solve them”, he said.
It was reported that the program envisages targeted, significant and visible actions aimed at boosting the economic activity. The program has been developed taking into account the current challenges and problems.
Different proposals and recommendations were made over the action plan during the meeting.
Summing up the consultation, PM Pashinyan tasked the responsible officials to amend the draft based on the proposals made and submit it for the government’s approval.
YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan visited today the Ministry of Healthcare to introduce newly-appointed minister Anahit Avanesyan to the staff, the PM’s Office told Armenpress.
Pashinyan thanked former Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan for his activities. “We should state that the ministry of health has been one of our most effective agencies during Mr. Torosyan’s tenure, and of course, in such condition, has received most of the criticism which is normal in some sense. Starting 2018 large-scale reforms have been carried out in the field. These reforms have been human-centered, in other words, the goal has been to expand the quality and framework of the healthcare services provided to the people, and we have already registered serious changes there”, the PM said.
Pashinyan said 2020 was a year of major experiments for the healthcare sector conditioned by the coronavirus pandemic and the war. He said that the government has tackled the COVID-19 with an honor and today the situation is manageable according to the international standards. Pashinyan expressed hope that the Cabinet will manage to keep this trend.
“Of course, the next biggest trial was the war and it continues to be so. Unfortunately, now we have a problem with the identification of bodies, we had some complications, but now we can praise the fact that this work has also received very acceptable course”, he added.
As for Anahit Avanesyan’s appointment as Minister of Health, Pashinyan reminded that prior to her appointment she has served as first deputy minister of health. “Not only she, but also the remaining deputy minister, who have been appointed in different times, have in fact acted as a team. The ongoing change has the following meaning that we continue to trust that team and in this case it will be headed by Mrs. Avanesyan. I wish you good luck in continuing these works. We hope the Ministry of Healthcare will continue its active operation and will not be afraid of criticism because work, normally, leads to criticism. Of course, it is necessary to be very attentive to criticism and try to take useful and rational information and recommendation”, the PM stated.
Andrei Kortunov noted that although today’s agreements could not resolve other problems of the region, such as the one of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status, which is “hanging in the air,” the sides were moving in the right direction
MOSCOW, January 11. /TASS/. Agreements on new infrastructure projects in Nagorno-Karabakh that were reached on Monday by the Russian, Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders, Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan, will mitigate escalation risks in the region, a Russian expert told TASS on Monday.
“Any agreement, the more so the one in such an important sector as transport, seriously reduces risks of future escalation but gives no guarantees for a stable political settlement,” said Andrei Kortunov, director general of the Russian Council on International Affairs, a thinktank. “In such situations, any economic and infrastructure agreements take on a political nature. If it is about transport corridors, it means security and some sort of cooperation between the Armenian and Azerbaijani ethnic groups.”
The expert noted that although today’s agreements could not resolve other problems of the region, such as the one of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status, which is “hanging in the air,” the sides were moving in the right direction. “Even the limited agreements that have been reached make it possible to say that the meeting was successful. Transport was chosen as a neutral, technical aspect of relations. With the first step made, the second and thirds steps are to follow. So, the opening of transport communications should be followed by issues of the exchange of prisoners, return of refugees, and co-living of two ethnic groups,” he said.
Turkey’s non-participation
According to Kortunov, Turkey’s non-participation in the Moscow dialogue is quite demonstrative. “It means that Turkey is an important neighbor that cannot be absolutely excluded from what is currently going on in the South Caucasus but the Russian leadership has once again demonstrated that the key role in this settlement and post-settlement steps will be played by Moscow,” he said, adding that it would be logical to involve the Turkish side in the discussion of infrastructure matters but Armenia is unlikely to accept such a format.
Pashinyan’s future
The expert noted that Pashinyan’s positions as the prime minister had somewhat consolidated but his political future was “quite vague.”
“If we compare today’ situation with the situation when he was nearly ousted by the protesters in Yerevan, his positions have somewhat stabilized. Society has calmed down after a burst of emotions because of the failed war. Obviously, Pashinyan is now trying to make a maximum use of the international possibilities he has,” Kortunov went on to say. “It is not about Russia only. It’s only natural that he has raised the issue of invigorating the OSCE Minsk Group’s efforts. He has hopes for participation of other co-chairs.”
He noted that Armenian elites continued pressure on the prime minister and his future would depend on his ability to ensure socio-economic results, “keep Armenia’s presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, and make Baku begin the discussion of the region’s status.”
About Moscow’s talks
Trilateral talks between the Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh were held on Monday in Moscow on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The talks yielded a joint statement on new infrastructure projects in Nagorno-Karabakh. A special trilateral working group will be set up to be in charge of such projects. The group will be co-chaired by the three countries’ deputy prime ministers. Putin and Aliyev noted that the November 9, 2020 joint statement on cessation of hostilities was generally observed. Pashinyan agreed that the sides had managed to ensure the ceasefire. The Azerbaijani leader hailed the efforts of the Russian peacekeeping mission.
Unfortunately, the Karabakh conflict remains unsolved, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told reporters after a meeting with Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents in Moscow.
“We have managed to stop the hostilities, but a number of issues still need to be solved,” Pashinyan said.
According to him, one of those issues is the status of Nagorno Karabakh, and Armenia is ready to continue the negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship.
“Unfortunately, we did not solve the issue of prisoners of war today, and it is the most sensitive and painful issue. We agreed to continue the work in that direction,” he said.
The Prime Minister noted that point 8 of the trilateral statement is not being fully implemented and voiced hope that the parties would be able to reach a concrete solution in shortest terms.
He noted that the statement signed today is very important, and added that the implementation of the agreements enshrined in the documents could change the economic image of the region.
“The economic innovations can lead to more reliable security guarantees, and we are ready to work constructively in that direction,” Pashinyan said.
Unfortunately, he said, it’s impossible to solve issues during a single meeting and stressed that humanitarian issues, including the exchange of prisoners, remains a priority.