Anadolu Agency (AA) Turkey Friday Turkish president to visit Azerbaijan next week By Diyar Guldogan ANKARA President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Azerbaijan on Oct. 30 and 31, the Turkish presidency said in a statement on Friday. Erdogan, together with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, will attend on Monday the first official train service of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project. The 826-kilometer (513-mile) long railway is being built in accordance with an intergovernmental agreement between Ankara, Baku and Tbilisi. Erdogan on Tuesday will attend the 6th Turkey-Azerbaijan High-Level Strategic Council meeting. The Turkish leader and Aliyev are expected to discuss "in detail" bilateral relations, regional and international developments, particularly the occupied Karabakh dispute. Azerbaijan and Armenia remain in dispute over the occupied Karabakh region. Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan in 1991 with Armenian military support, and a peace process has yet to be implemented. Turkey reiterates that the dispute needs to be resolved within the framework of international law and Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity. According to Friday's statement, a number agreements on cooperation between Ankara and Baku are also expected to be signed.
Author: Nahapetian Zhanna
Yerevan turned 2799 years old
ARMINFO News Agency, Armenia Saturday Yerevan turned 2799 years old Yerevan October 17 David Stepanyan. From early morning, the townspeople began the celebration of the city's day "Erebuni-Yerevan-2799". The morning was traditionally marked by a parade of watering cars along the streets of Yerevan and the washing of monuments. The program of festive events is as follows. The morning will begin with the exhibitions: "Cloth my Yerevan" in the square of Saryan, "Yerevan in painting" in the foyer of the Yerevan municipality, "Old and New Yerevan" in the park near the metro station "Republic Square" (the first - at 11:30, the second and third - At 12:00). Fans of graffiti on asphalt will be able to start drawing them from 12:30 in front of the Yerevan City Hall building, at 13:00 in the children's park a festive program for kids will begin. Performances of "Sport Yerevan" on Freedom Square will begin at 13:00 and will last until 18:30. From 14:00 to 19:00 a children's and youthful concert "I and Yerevan" will be held in the park near the Republic Square. From 15:00 to 18:00 Yerevan residents will have an opportunity to get acquainted with the innovative platform "Smart Yerevan" on the "Cascade". From 14:30 to 15:30 a festive parade of brass bands "My love to you - Yerevan" will take place on Liberty Square, Northern Avenue, Republic Square. In the Small Center from 14:30 to 22:30 will be organized youth flash mobs "With love Yerevan." On the Republic Square at 15:30 will open international festival of balloons. Folk festivals, a mobile exhibition of works of folk art, national cuisine, the display of ethnic costumes, folk games will begin at 16:00 on Erebuni Street. Photo-pavilions "Feel Yerevan" will open on Swan Lake and Northern avenue, the chess championship among students of chess schools in Yerevan. At 17:30 in Argishti Street and in the squares of Italy and the Republic, on the street Amiryan and Mashtots Avenue will be organized a festive bike ride. At 18:00 on Charles Aznavour Square will begin a jazz concert, a book The "Night of the Book" fair in the Misaka Manushian Square will last from 18:30 to midnight. Celebration is marked by a number of concerts. Concert of classical music (Komitas square, 18: 30-20: 00) "Sunny Yerevan" (the square opposite the Erebuni Museum-Reserve, 19: 00-22: 00), a rock concert (Freedom Square, 19: 30-22 : 00), "Yerevan is a city of love" (Cascade, 20: 00-22: 00). At 20:00 on Swan Lake the videos "Look Yerevan" will be shown. At 22:00 the celebrations will end with a youth disco and festive fireworks on Liberty Square.
Tevan Poghosyan: CSTO is not the guarantor of Armenia’s security (video)
No country will support Armenia during a war. Some Armenians connect the security issue with Russia, which is considered as an ally state. During the April incidents, when Armenia needed help more than ever, Russia did not do anything. Moreover, the weapon supply, costing $200 million, was postponed. Political analysts Tevan Poghosyan and Hovhannes Igityan said that unlike NATO, the Collective Security Treaty Organization exists only on paper and in no way is the guarantor of Armenia’s security.
“CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) threat is not the statement of the President of Kazakhstan, or friendship with Turkey or Azerbaijan, CSTO’s threat to Armenia is that Armenia’s authorities not only attach their security to CSTO, but also consider the issue to be resolved and achieved,” said Hovhannes Igityan.
Tevan Poghosyan added: “Do you believe that Belarus, Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan will come and protect our borders? If we do not believe it, let us not make it the topic of our agenda. CSTO is an artificial institution. If we can get weapons or knowledge from it,then let us make use of it.”
Armenian parliament ratifies agreement on Armenian-Russian joint troops
ARKA, Armenia
Oct 5 2017
YEREVAN, October 5. /ARKA/. The Armenian National Assembly ratified Thursday an agreement on Armenian-Russian joint troops.
As many as 87 members of parliament voted for the agreement, and seven from YELQ (Way Out) opposition bloc against it.
Artak Zakaryan, first deputy defense minister, presenting the agreement to the lawmakers, said that the agreement makes it possible to use the joint troops in the event of outside threat or military attack against Armenia.
“In fact, we gets access to armament and technical equipment of Russia’s army as well as the opportunity to use its airspace resources and navigation equipment, including radar and air-defense resources,”
Zakaryan said adding that any decision will be made by the two countries’ chief commanders.
In his words, the agreement lays ground for strengthening defense and for using arms, which can be applied in the common interest.
The deputy minister stressed that the united troops will not be used for solving interior political conflicts in Armenia or Russia. The joint troops will be run by the united command.
The agreement is signed for five years, and it can be prolonged automatically for other five years.
The document was signed by the countries on November 30, 2016.
Russia’s parliament ratified it on July 14, 2017. –0—
San Lazzaro, trecento anni di cultura armena
la Nuova di Venezia– Italia
20 set 2017
Prima fu lebbrosario, poi l’abbandono. Sbocciò in tutta la sua bellezza con Mechitar nel 1717, oggi i monaci tramandano il messaggio del fondatore di Vera Mantengoli
VENEZIA. L’Isola degli Armeni festeggia i suoi primi trecento anni. Èra infatti l’8 settembre 1717 quando il monaco Mechitar, dopo essersi guadagnato la stima del futuro doge Alvise Mocenigo, ricevette in concessione l’isola di San Lazzaro, usata in passato come lebbrosario e poi abbandonata. Sono passati 300 anni e l’isola non ha mai perso il ruolo di punto di riferimento della cultura armena grazie ai monaci mechitaristi, che da secoli tramandano il messaggio del fondatore.
Prima degli armeni. Le notizie che si hanno dell’Isola di San Lazzaro risalgono all’810, quando è sede dell’ordine dei benedettini. Nel 1182 si edifica un ospizio per pellegrini e una chiesa dedicata a San Leone Magno.
Un secolo dopo, nel 1262, il Senato decide di farci un lebbrosario che rimane fino al 1348 quando si iniziano dei lavori di restauro e l’isola passa sotto la giurisdizione di San Pietro di Castello.
Diminuiti i lebbrosi, l’isola diventa un luogo per accogliere i poveri. Per qualche decennio, dal 1645 al 1678, l’isola viene occupata dai domenicani che fuggono da Creta occupata dai turchi. Per un periodo qui si fabbricano armi per sostenere la guerra in Morea.
Dal 1696 è usata per coltivare orti, ma lentamente viene abbandonata, per poi sbocciare in tutta la sua bellezza con l’arrivo di Mechitar.
La visione di Mechitar. Una breve apparizione della Vergine Maria, della quale si festeggia la Natività, irrompe nella vita del sedicenne Mechitar, orientandone il successivo percorso.
Negli anni il sogno di un ordine monastico dedito all’elevazione spirituale e culturale del popolo armeno porta Mechitar, nato nel 1676 a Sabaste degli Armeni, a fuggire dall’Anatolia alla Morea, per poi trovare rifugio a Venezia.
Il monaco fonda la sua congregazione a Costantinopoli nel 1700, ma poi fugge arrivando a Modone, nella Morea greca governata dalla Serenissima. Nel 1712 la flotta ottomana sbarca nella penisola, costringendo Mechitar e i suoi monaci a fuggire a Venezia, dove c’è già una consolidata comunità di armeni a San Martino, in prevalenza mercanti. Essendoci troppe congregazioni religiose a Venezia, un ne decreto vietava l’ammissione di nuove, ma non nelle isole.
Quando Mechitar approda a San Lazzaro ci sono soltanto una chiesetta e un edificio in rovina con qualche stanza, avvolta da sterpaglie. Un rudere, ma per chi come lui ha vagato senza trovare pace, quel fazzoletto di terra è finalmente una casa dove mettere radici.
Grande sognatore, ma provvisto anche di senso pratico, il monaco si rimbocca le maniche e comincia a progettare il monastero. La struttura odierna è ancora quella progettato da Mechitar, rinforzata nelle rive una quindicina di anni fa.
Il regno della cultura. L’isola, settemila metri quadrati di terra, si trova di fronte al Lido (vaporetto 20, fermata dopo San Servolo) ed è composta da un monastero con chiostro e da un giardino ricco di alberi, ulivi, melograni e i celebri roseti per la marmellata di rose realizzata dai monaci.
Le pareti sono coperte da scaffali con 170 mila libri, senza contare la biblioteca speciale finanziata dal benefattore Boghos Ispenian che custodisce 4500 preziosi manoscritti, come Il libro del Venerdì del 1512 e il lavoro di una vita del monaco, il primo dizionario della lingua armena classica, pubblicato pochi giorni dopo la sua morte nel 1749.
L’isola, come dimostrano le decine di lynotipe ancora esposte e utilizzate dal 1789 al 1989, fu sede di una straordinaria stamperia poliglotta in grado di pubblicare in 36 lingue.
Una targa nel cortile ricorda la permanenza nel 1816 di Lord Byron che s’innamorò della cultura armena. Proprio nella stanza di Byron oggi il monastero custodisce una vera e rara mummia, donata nel 1825, rivestita di una reticella ricamata con perline policrome in pasta vitrea.
Nelle sale, una affrescata dal Tiepolo e molte con quadri di Pietro Novelli, sono esposti le più svariate testimonianze e donazioni: dai dipinti del più famoso pittore armeno Ivan Aivazovsky al busto del salvatore delle canzoni tradizionali armene Komitas Vardapet. In alcune teche anche molti scritti del 1915/16.
Nel corso del genocidio morirono sette monaci mechitaristi. «La biblioteca è l’esempio dell’importanza della stampa per Mechitar e per i monaci», spiega Alberto Peratoner, docente della Facoltà teologica del Triveneto e amico della comunità armena, «si vede la cura minuziosa ed estetica del testo, la qualità delle incisioni, la scelta della carta, il risultato era un prodotto di altissima qualità».
Missione: volare. Oggi quelle radici continuano a dare i frutti che Mechitar piantò 300 anni fa. «Continuiamo a essere un ponte tra l’Armenia e la cultura occidentale per poter avere la possibilità di volare, come diceva il fondatore», spiega Padre Serafino, priore dell’isola.
«Mechitar diceva che bisogna avere due ali: una è la Bibbia, la religione e l’altra è la cultura e la scienza».
RFE/RL Armenian Report – 09/20/2017
Wednesday, Yerevan Signals Scrapping Of Turkish-Armenian Accords . Emil Danielyan U.S. - Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian speaks at the UN General Assembly in New York, 19Sep2017. President Serzh Sarkisian indicated late on Tuesday his intention to formally annul the U.S.-brokered 2009 agreements to normalize Armenia's relations with Turkey, citing Ankara's continuing refusal to implement them unconditionally. "Given the absence of any progress towards their implementation, Armenia will declare the two protocols null and void," he declared in a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. "We will enter the spring of 2018 without those, as our experience has demonstrated, futile protocols." The protocols signed in Zurich in October 2009 committed Turkey and Armenia to establishing diplomatic relations and opening their border. Shortly after the high-profile signing ceremony, Ankara made clear, however, that Turkey's parliament will ratify the deal only if there is decisive progress towards a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to Azerbaijan. The Armenian government rejected this precondition, arguing that the protocols make no reference to the conflict. The United States, the European Union and Russia have also repeatedly called for their unconditional implementation by both sides. Switzerland -- Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (2ndR) and his Armenian counterpart Eduard Nalbandiana (2nd L) shake hands as they hold signed documents after a signing ceremony, Zurich, 10Oct2009 In his speech, Sarkisian denounced Ankara's "ludicrous preconditions." "Turkey's leadership is mistaken if it thinks that it can perpetually hold those documents hostage and ratify them only on what it sees as the most opportune occasion," he said. The Turkish government did not immediately react to the announcement. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for more international efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict when he addressed the General Assembly earlier on Tuesday. Successive governments in Ankara have kept that border with Armenia completely closed since 1993 in a show of support for Azerbaijan. Sarkisian already threatened in February 2010 to scrap the protocols if they are not ratified by the Turks "in the shortest possible time." But he avoided doing that, saying two months later that he does not want to upset the U.S. and other world powers. Sarkisian formally recalled the protocols from the Armenian parliament ahead of official commemorations in April 2015 of the centenary of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire. He told Turkish journalists afterwards that the move "does not presuppose any legal consequences because I did not withdraw Armenia's signatures from the protocols." Turkey -- President Abdullah Gul (R) speaks with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian during the World Cup 2010 qualifying football match between Turkey and Armenia in Bursa, 14Oct2009 Sarkisian's Western-backed policy of rapprochement with Turkey proved highly controversial within Armenia and especially its worldwide Diaspora. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), an influential pan-Armenian party, pulled out of his coalition government in protest in 2009. Dashnaktsutyun and some opposition groups in Armenia were particularly angered by a clause in the protocols that called for the creation of a Turkish-Armenian "subcomission" of historians that would examine the 1915 mass killings and deportations of Armenia. They said that the very existence of such a body could call into question the genocide acknowledged by most Western historians. Sarkisian and his allies denied that. Some critics also questioned economic benefits of an open border with Turkey for Armenia. Economists generally agree that cross-border commerce would be good for the Armenian economy. Just how substantial and quick that impact would be is a matter of contention. A 2015 opinion poll by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), a U.S. non-governmental organization specializing in the South Caucasus, found that only one in two Armenians support the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border. According to the European Union-funded poll, nearly half of respondents felt that it would damage Armenia's national security. Also, 82 percent of those polled agreed with the notion that Turkey "cannot be trusted." More U.S. Lawmakers Visit Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh - U.S. Representatives Frank Pallone (R) and Tulsi Gabbard meet officials in Stepanakert, 20Sep2017. Two more members of the U.S. House of Representatives visited Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday in a show of support for the Armenian-populated territory's pursuit of international recognition. Representatives Frank Pallone and Tulsi Gabbard met with government officials and lawmakers in Stepanakert after touring the nearby historical town of Shushi (Shusha). Pallone, who is one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, reaffirmed his pro-Armenian views on the Karabakh conflict. "We believe that the people of Artsakh (Karabakh) must be able to exercise their right to self-determination and have mechanisms for ensuring their security," the Artsakhpress news agency quoted him saying at the meeting. "We are going to do our best within the Congress or within the confines of the [OSCE] Minsk Group # to see if we can play some role in creating some confidence-building measures and obviously pushing along a process that would lead to a peaceful settlement," Pallone told reporters afterwards. "But all of that necessitates that Karabakh continue to be Armenian and have its own self-determination. That, we will always insist on," added the New Jersey Democrat who has repeatedly visited Karabakh in the past. Both Pallone and Gabbard, a Democrat of Hawaii, praised the Karabakh authorities' human rights and democracy records. Karabakh shares "important values" with the United States, Gabbard said. Nagorno-Karabakh - U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard speaks at a meeting in Stepanakert, 20Sep2017. The two lawmakers were accompanied by the chairmen of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and the Armenian Assembly of America, the two main Armenian lobby groups in the U.S. "As our congressional friends saw today, Artsakh is a very American story: the victory of a free people over foreign rule, the well-deserved and hard-earned triumph of democracy over dictatorship," said the ANCA's Raffi Hamparian. Pallone and Gabbard were part of a six-member U.S. congressional delegation that held talks with Armenian lawmakers and senior government officials in Yerevan on Tuesday. Another member of the delegation, David Valadao, travelled to Karabakh on Monday to inspect U.S.-funded demining activities there. Earlier this month, Valadao and other pro-Armenian lawmakers pushed through House of Representatives legislation mandating continued U.S. government funding for the humanitarianeffort. The U.S. Congress has financed it since 2001 as part of direct economic assistance to Karabakh allocated over strong Azerbaijani objections. Armenian General Cleared Of Corruption Charges . Hovannes Movsisian Armenia -- Retired General Melsik Chilingarian speaks to RFE/RL in Yerevan, 20Sep2017. Armenian law-enforcement authorities have dropped corruption charges against a high-ranking Defense Ministry official who was arrested last year, it emerged on Wednesday. General Melsik Chilingarian was taken into custody in May 2016 ten days after being sacked as head of the ministry's Department on Armaments which deals with storage, maintenance and repair of weapons and ammunition supplied to the Armenian Armed Forces. Also arrested was Colonel Armen Markarian, one of Chilingarian's subordinates who was in charge of vehicles used by the army.Armenia's Investigative Committee accused the two men of procurement fraud that cost the state 145 million drams ($300,000) in losses. A uniform-clad Chilingarian was spotted by an RFE/RL correspondent while taking in part in the latest Armenia-Diaspora conference held in Yerevan. He said that he was set free and cleared of any wrongdoing about one month after his arrest. He said investigators found that only Markarian was responsible for the alleged misuse of government money. The spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee, Sona Truzian, confirmed the information. She said that "large-scale investigative actions" taken by the law-enforcement body found no evidence of corrupt practices or other abuse of power by the general. Despite being cleared of the corruption charges, Chilingarian was not reinstated in his Defense Ministry post.He said he now only sits on one of the ministry's advisory bodies. Chilingarian's arrest followed the sackings of Deputy Defense Minister Alik Mirzabekian, as well as General Arshak Karapetian, the Armenian military intelligence chief, and General Komitas Muradian, the commander of the Armenian army's communication units. They came more than three weeks after the outbreak of heavy fighting around Nagorno-Karabakh that nearly escalated into a full-scale Armenian-Azerbaijani war. The four-day hostilities raised questions about the Armenian military's apparent lack of prior knowledge of the assault. Critics also suggested that Karabakh Armenian frontline troops did not have sufficient modern weapons and other military equipment when they came under attack. Both Chilingarian and the Investigative Committee official insisted that the criminal case against him was not connected with the April 2016 war. Aliyev Laments Lack Of International Pressure On `Fascist' Armenia U.S. -- Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York, U.S., . Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again strongly criticized the international community on Wednesday for not helping Azerbaijan regain control over Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-held districts surrounding it. In a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, he also lashed out at Armenia, calling it a "corrupt" and "fascist" dictatorship and branding his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sarkisian as a "war criminal." Aliyev repeated Baku's regular claims that Armenia has been ignoring the Karabakh-related resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council in 1993-1994 and trying to maintain the status quo. "The question is how can this corrupt, failed state ruled by a despotic, medieval regime afford to violate international law for so many years and ignore the resolutions of the UN Security Council and statements of the leading countries of the world?" he said. "And the answer is double standards. "There is no international pressure on the aggressor, no international sanctions imposed on the Armenian dictatorship. This policy must be stopped." "The international community must stop Armenian fascism and terror," he added. Aliyev, who is facing growing internationalallegations of corruption and criticism for harshly suppressing dissent in Azerbaijan, did not name any world powers allegedly backing Yerevan. He reiterated instead that "the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be completely restored" as a result of a Karabakh settlement. Sarkisian ruled out such an option when he addressed the UN assembly on Tuesday. He stood by the official Armenian line that the Karabakh Armenians' right to self-determination must be at the heart of any peace accord. Sarkisian said Karabakh cannot be placed back under Azerbaijani rule not least because Aliyev's regime is a "symbol of medieval backwardness." "Azerbaijan has no legal and moral grounds to lay claim to Artsakh (Karabakh)," he went on. "Artsakh has never been part of an independent Azerbaijan." "Whatever variant of settlement we arrive at, the Republic of Artsakh cannot have a lower status and enjoy less freedom than it does now," said the Armenian leader. Peace proposals jointly made by the United States, Russia and France over the past decade call for a phased resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute. It would start with a gradual liberation of virtually all seven districts around Karabakh that were occupied by Armenian forces in 1992-1994. In return, Karabakh's predominantly ethnic Armenian population would be able to determine the territory's internationally recognized status in a future referendum. Aliyev and Sarkisian traded the verbal attacks ahead of a possible meeting in New York of their foreign ministers. The U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group hope that the meeting will prepare the ground for an Armenian-Azerbaijani summit later this year. Press Review "Zhamanak" analyzes possible implications of Prime Minister Karen Karapetian's latest remark that he would like to continue serving as prime minister next year. "Karen Karapetian was never known for his determination and straightforward answers," writes the paper. "If he is now making clear his ambitions relating to 2018, one can presume that either a political decision has been made or that Karen Karapetian intends to seriously fight, with the help of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetian, for power in 2018. We are more inclined to believe in the former." It suggests that the premier would have hardly made such a statement without having reason to be optimistic about his political future. "Haykakan Zhamanak" speculates, meanwhile, that President Serzh Sarkisian "did everything" to sack Karapetian or force him to resign before the Armenia-Diaspora conference that began on Monday. "Sarkisian had serious reason to do so," writes the paper. "As we all know, the Diaspora is not quite enthusiastic about Armenia's current authorities and has reservations and grievances on many issues. In this situation, with his European image Karen Karapetian could become a real alternative for respected Diaspora figures." The paper claims that Karapetian has also received "serious support" from the West of late despite his strong connections with Russia's government and business circles. It points to statements by Western diplomats hailing his reform agenda. Karapetian could therefore pose a "serious threat" to Sarkisian, concludes "Zhamanak." "Zhoghovurd" blasts government plans to step up the teaching of the Russian language in Armenian schools. A government document disclosed by the media last week stresses the importance for Armenians to speak "different foreign languages." The paper says that the government is singling out only one of those languages. "This is an abnormal phenomenon," it says, adding that the Armenian authorities are trying to promote Russian under pressure from Moscow. "Hraparak" is unimpressed with the latest Diaspora-Armenia conference, saying that many of its participants are now less enthusiastic than they were during the previous gatherings held in Yerevan. This is why, the paper says, some Diaspora Armenians openly criticized the Armenian authorities this time around. (Tigran Avetisian) Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2017 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
Our goal is to have 4 million population by 2040 – President Sargsyan
Category
Politics
Our steps over the coming years will seek to bolster the population’s natural growth in Armenia and achieve a significant change in the emigration and immigration ratio, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said during the 6th Armenia-Diaspora conference.
“Summing up the achievements and shortcomings of the twenty-fifth years of independence, at the first session of the National Assembly of 6th convocation, we put on record our perceptions of the main priorities for the next 25 years. Improving the demographic situation in Armenia was a key focus over there. We are stating that the demographic trends are extremely worrying in our country: they are caused by several objective and subjective factors. Our steps over the coming years will seek to bolster the population’s natural growth in Armenia and achieve a significant change in the emigration and immigration ratio”, Sargsyan said.
In the words of the President, it has been announced that the goal of the authorities is to ensure at least 4 million population in Armenia by 2040. “Obviously, we will hardly achieve that goal by merely increasing the birth rate, life expectancy or by improving the demographic pattern. Nevertheless, we will be steadfastly moving forward in the aforementioned areas. Therefore, this goal implies achieving serious indicators in immigration over the next 25 years”, he said, adding that this will be the main topic of the discussions of the coming Armenia-Diaspora conferences.
“The next Armenia-Diaspora Forum will come as a pan-Armenian discussion of the “4 million Armenia” program and the real start of its implementation. This is what we should agree upon here and right now”, President Sargsyan said.
Artsakhpress: Grape harvest starts in Artsakh
In an interview with “Artsakhpress” correspondent, Karen Aghajanyan, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Artsakh, said that 156 hectares of about 2200 hectares of vineyards were gathered today.
The deputy minister said that the average crop yield was 50.2 centners.
“Taking into account the adverse weather conditions, this year’s grape harvest is not very successful,” said Mr. Aghajanyan. Speaking about prices, the deputy minister said that the market price of table grape varieties is 140-200 AMD.
“By the way, traditionally “Cardinal” grape variety is the majority of sold grapes in Artsakh,” Mr. Aghajanyan added.
Meanwhile, the grape harvesting is carried out by factories on average by 120-125 drams depending on the sweetness of the harvest.
BAKU: No appeal received over blogger Lapshin’s extradition
AzerNews, Azerbaijan
Aug 31 2017
18:06 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
Azerbaijan received no appeals from any country or embassy in connection with the extradition of blogger Alexander Lapshin, sentenced in Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani Justice Ministry announced about this on August 31.
Blogger Lapshin, who is a citizen of several states, violated the Azerbaijani laws on state border in April, 2011 and October, 2012. Helped by his accomplices in the occupied territories, Lapshin paid a number of visits to Azerbaijan’s occupied lands, where he voiced support for “independence” of the illegal regime, and made public calls against Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territorial integrity on April 6 and June 29, 2016.
The blogger was arrested in Minsk in late 2016 and transferred to Baku in February 2017.
On July 20, the Baku Court on Grave Crimes sentenced last week the blogger to three years of imprisonment on charges of his illegal visits to the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani lands and a criminal conspiracy with the Armenians living there.
Artist Artyom Sargsyan: “The apricot pit symbolizes the enduring quality of Armenians."
17:43, August 26, 2017
By Yeranuhi Soghoyan
The pit of Armenia’s most beloved fruit, the apricot, has become an emblem for painter Artyom Sargsyan from Gyumri. Its images are everywhere – from the entrance door to earrings, leather belts, necklaces and paintings. The avant-garde artist has been in search for his unique style for a long time.
Seven years ago, when he finally decided to make jewelry from brass, bronze and silver, he realized that combining metal, leather and even wood with oil paints, displaying the apricot pit as a constant theme, would become his way to present himself and his country to the world.
Artyom was born in a family of a jeweler and a teacher. He inherited his love of painting from his father, Edik Sargsyan. He says that as a child he covered all the walls of their family house with his paintings. “Now, if we scratch the renovated parts of the walls, you’ll see my “masterpieces” beneath,” Artyom jokes.
At the age of ten, he attended the Merkurov Art School in Gyumri. He’d been a student there for a year when the 1988 earthquake struck. The school had to move to domiks (containers). “I had good teachers, Mirzoyan Sergei, Tsoghik, Ninel and Gasparyan Hovhannes. I also had good teachers in the Academy, and my dad, who was my main teacher,” Artyom says.
Artyom started studying in the Gyumri State Academy of Fine Arts, Faculty of Painting, after returning from military service in 1998. Being qualified as an artist and a teacher, Artyom taught for one year at the National Aesthetics Center in Gyumri, and three years at the Haybusak University.
“It’s not only painting that I like. We always made something at home, with my father, using our hands. From the beginning, I’ve always strived for creating something new and unique,” Artyom says with a smile, arranging the jewelry he’s made on the table.
“If you look closely, you’ll see that there are no duplications in my work. Even the pairs of earrings are different. We know that if there are earrings, they should be symmetrical and resemble each other. All my creations contradict those norms. ”
“I read somewhere that some Japanese made a large laboratory to grow apricots. They spent seven million dollars and even took Armenian soil from here. They considered everything – conditions of cultivation, the sun, the heat, light duration, direction of winds, quantity of water and God knows what else, so that they can get Armenian apricots. Well, they’ve managed to get apricots that look like apricots but don’t taste the same. Metaphorically speaking, the apricot pit symbolizes the enduring quality of Armenians.”
Artyom’s jewelry is mostly in favor with young and middle-aged women. Men can choose among a variety of leather bracelets. Their prices are not affordable for many (they range from 35 to 300 thousand drams).
“My work isn’t intended for a wide range of people. It’s a matter of preference, appreciation, and financial opportunity,” Artyom says. “Somebody might appreciate them but have no money to buy. Those who buy, do it consciously, as this is neither gold nor silver. It’s unusual to our eyes. ”
In the autumn of 2016, Artyom Sargsyan was invited to take part in the Armenian Fashion Days exhibition in Moscow. Designer Edita Grigoryan from Gyumri, who was working in Moscow and was aware of Artyom’s work, had invited him. “After the show, some works were sold, and I also got acquainted with new people. It’s important to be recognized, by your work, outside of your country. It’s a pity that there is no such tendency in the field of painting yet,” Artyom says.
His jewelry is mostly sold online. His sister, living in the U.S., helps him a lot, especially when communicating with English-speaking buyers.
Like many other artists in Gyumri, Artyom also has a problem with selling paintings. Recently, he has participated in three national exhibitions and all six exhibitions of the Real Art project, based in Gyumri. “An artist is recognized and somehow accessible via these exhibitions, but they aren’t frequently organized,” Artyom says.
“To have an individual exhibition, each artist must have at least 30-40 works, and they aren’t created in a day or in a few months. I’ve now got 18 works ready, and I’m working on four or five other things simultaneously. I’m thinking of reaching forty. I don’t know how much time is required for that, especially when I’m making some jewelry as well. I hope I can present myself to the Gyumri public with my own exhibition in a year,” Artyom says.
Being an avant-garde artist, Artyom Sargsyan has participated in international biennales in Gyumri only once. It was in 2000, when the Second International Biennale was held in Gyumri, where students from the Academy of Art, participated. Artyom’s composition, a combination of wood and oil paintings, was called “The Entrance of Christ to Gyumri.”
Artyom and his friends decided to create a group, that would later serve as a basis for a school, where children would learn pottery, painting, make-up, sculpture, design and more.
The group included sculptor Mikayelyan brothers, artist-ceramist Vazgen Gevorgyan and graphic painter Karen Tovmasyan. Artyom was the author of the initiative, and the group was called ARATTA.
The collaboration lasted less than two years. They were all too busy doing other things, Artyom says, but hopes they’ll reunite one day to establish their dream school.
Photos from the personal archives of Yeranuhi Soghoyan and Artyom Sargsyan