Author: Parkev Tvankchian

Armenia 2nd President issues statement

Parkev Tvankchian
News.am, Armenia
21:16, 19.07.2021

Today official representative of ‘Armenia’ bloc Aram Vardevanyan submitted to the Central Electoral Commission an application on my decision to drop the mandate of Member of Parliament. This is what second President of Armenia, leader of the opposition ‘Armenia’ bloc Robert Kocharyan wrote on his Facebook page, adding the following:

“It so happened that I have been a deputy of the parliaments of both Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Armenia, but due to my personality, I have always been a person who is in government. I am certain that the right thing to do now is to cede to my teammates, and I am sure that each of them will be a good deputy.

With this, I am giving my consent to thousands of my teammates who expressed the view that I shouldn’t be tempted by the mandate of a deputy after holding the position of President of the Republic of Artsakh and President of the Republic of Armenia. After all, people were casting their votes for me as candidate for Prime Minister.

At the same time, I deem it necessary to stress that not being in parliament doesn’t mean I am not going to continue the struggle. The parliamentary faction is the presence of the bloc in the National Assembly, and I am still the leader of the bloc and will contribute to our future victories through daily and consistent efforts.

I am certain that everything will be alright.

Robert Kocharyan”

French FM, US Secretary of State discuss Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement in Washington D.C.

Parkev Tvankchian

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 15:40,

YEREVAN, JULY 15, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of France Jean-Yves Le Drian, who was on a working visit in Washington D.C. on July 13-14, has stated that he and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken have touched upon the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict during their meeting.

Summing up the results of the visit, the French FM said that they have discussed taking possible steps to establish lasting peace.

“I have talked about our joint actions as OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries aimed at establishing lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan”, the French FM said.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

ISIPO inks co-op MOU with Armenia’s Investor Support Center

Parkev Tvankchian
Tehran Times, Iran

– 16:38

TEHRAN – Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Armenia’s Investor Support Center for cooperation in various areas, including the establishment of joint industrial parks in border areas.

The signing ceremony, held online on Tuesday, was attended by senior officials from the two sides including the ISIPO Head Ali Rasoulian and Armenian Ambassador to Iran Artashes Toumanian, IRNA reported.

The development of bilateral cooperation, offering appropriate solutions for resolving trade issues, promotion and improvement of mutual investment and creation of an operational framework to strengthen and develop stronger trade relations between the two countries were reported to be the main goals of the mentioned MOU.

Speaking at the ceremony, Rasoulian expressed hope that considering the expansion of economic and industrial cooperation between Iran and Armenia, the two countries will take serious measures for promoting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and for the establishment of joint industrial parks.

“Small and medium-sized enterprises play an important role in the production and distribution of wealth in the economy, and therefore the governments need to strengthen small industries,” Rasoulian said.

Mentioning that 92 percent of Iran’s industrial sector is comprised of small and medium-sized enterprises, the official said: “we have successful experiences at the government and private sector levels in this field and try to provide the necessary infrastructure and a competitive environment for such enterprises by applying supportive policies.”

“So far, more than 900 industrial parks and zones have been put into operation in Iran and nearly one million people are working in 48,000 industrial units active in these parks,” he added.

Rasoulian further expressed hope that the two sides would improve the level of cooperation with the aim of implementing previously reached agreements and facilitating cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries which would lead to the creation of joint industrial parks.

EF/MA

Ombudsman: Solution to any border dispute should be based on the degree to which the normal life of the border population is ensured

Parkev Tvankchian
Panorama, Armenia
July 1 2021

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan reflected on another example of the loss of territories as a result of disregarding the rights of village residents and their normal life requirements during border disputes. 

The Ombudsman reminds that as a result of the inconsistency of the policies by Soviet Armenia, the entire disputed territory of Shinikh-Ayrum region (11.659 “desyatinas”) was declared as a part of the Azerbaijani Kazakh Uyezd, and the disputed territory of the forest (4.000 “desyatinas”) – as a part Dilijan in the Armenian SSR. Meanwhile, under the decision of April 28, 1923 of the commission on land dispute resolution of uyezds within the Transcaucasian Central Executive Committee (CEC) from, a land with an area of 5000 “desyatinas” in the region of Shinikh-Ayrumi was handed over from Dilijan Uyezd to the Kazakh Uyezd.

“As a result of this unfortunate decision for Armenia and especially for the rural population, the village of Bashkend, a part of the Armenian SSR (later with an Armenian title – Artsvashen), appeared in the Kazakh Uyezd: it was decided to detach a section of a land (summer pasture) that would have territorially connected the village with Dilijan. Nevertheless, this was important precisely in terms of the rights of Armenian population of Bashkend.

Ultimately, during the session of the presidency of the Transcaucasian Central Executive Committee on February 18, 1929, it was decided to reaffirm the agreement of January 11, 1927, and to link Bashkend with Armenian SSR with a narrow land section.To execute that decision, 45 border signs were installed in forest areas of Shinikh-Ayrum during 1929,” wrote Tatoyan. 

According to the decision of the Central Executive Committee, it was planned to allocate a part of the lands of Shinikh-Ayrum region for the use the residents of Bashkend village. However, in 1929, the offer to provide at least 0.75 hectares of land per capita was rejected by the decision of the July 20 sitting of the presidency of the Executive Committee, citing scarcity of land.

Moreover, The Azeri authorities incited their sections of the population to write imaginary protests against the Armenian SSR, thus provoking more problems. Usually wedged in the territory of Armenia, the Azeri villages began to try to expand at the expense of the Armenian villages as usual.

“In the 1920s, Soviet Armenia lost territories and one of the reasons was that human rights and the rights of the peasants were not at the basis of the decisions, in that sense there was a lack of consistency of policies. It was not taken into consideration that the solution to any border dispute should be based on the degree to which the normal life of the border population is ensured. Of course, the Soviet leadership did not take that into consideration either,” Tatoyan wrote.

Erdoğan henchman accuses US senator of being under the influence of his Armenian wife

Parkev Tvankchian
by Levent Kenez
 

 

 A Turkish lawmaker last week harshly criticized a prominent US senator for prioritizing his family relationships at the expense of damaging ties between Turkey and the US.

Heading a parliamentary delegation to Washington, D.C., Akif Çağatay Kılıç, chairman of the Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed displeasure that his interlocutor, Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, did not respond to his request for a meeting.

Kılıç claimed Senator Menendez behaved this way because his wife is Armenian and that he did not want to hear the truth about the Armenian genocide.

Menendez and his wife Nadine

“We know his wife is in the Armenian diaspora. It’s not right to make moves in politics based on populist and family motives that could damage relations with a country, a parliament and a nation,” Kılıç said.

“It is significant that even a dialogue is not sought here, or at least that a request for an appointment was not answered,” he added.

In April US President Joe Biden formally recognized the mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide, making him the first US president to recognize the massacre as an act of genocide.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s close lawmaker Kılıç did not explain why the Turkish delegation did not visit the US and meet with their counterparts prior to Biden’s historic decision that had been expected by almost every Turkish and Armenian circle since Biden was elected president in November 2020. 

 

Senator Ron Johnson (second from right) met with the Turkish parliamentary delegation led by Çağatay Akif Kılıç (third from right). Senator Jim Risch (L) and Çağatay Akif Kılıç

The Turkish delegation last week met with several senators and members of the House of Representatives, among them Ron Johnson and Jim Risch from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chaired by Menendez. The delegation also met representatives from the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and the US Chamber of Commerce. The delegates also joined a round table discussion with several experts on Turkish-American relations at the Washington office of the Turkish government-funded SETA think tank.

Contrary to Kılıç’s claim, Senator Menendez has long worked for the official recognition of the Armenian genocide. A quick study of his Capitol Hill record suggests that his position on the Armenian issue has been unwavering, and he was known for his pro-Armenian stance long before he was elected to the Senate in 2006. Menendez married his Armenian fiancée Nadine Arslanian in 2020 after dating for several years. The couple is said to have first met in 2011. He previously sponsored many resolutions for recognition of the genocide. In 2009 Menendez himself introduced a Senate resolution that called on the president to officially recognize “the systematic murder of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923 as genocide.” In April 2019 he submitted a non-binding resolution with a bipartisan group of 15 senators including then-Senator Kamala Harris, who is now vice president of the United States. Some Armenian groups hailed Arslanian’s influence on the resolution, and in a Youtube interview titled “She Was the Link,” Arslanian was presented as the Armenian woman who” influenced the passage of the Armenian Genocide bill in United States” in 2020. She also elaborated on her family story of survival and her relationship with Menendez in the interview.

Ironically, in 2010 Menendez was criticized for opposing career diplomat Matthew Bryza’s nomination as ambassador to Azerbaijan for the reason that Bryza’s wife was Turkish. Menendez denied that his position had anything to do with the ethnic origin of Bryza’s wife, claiming that he was uncomfortable with Bryza’s opposition to recognition by Turkey of the Armenian genocide and his close ties to individuals in the Turkish government.  

Erdoğan and Biden met for the first time at the NATO summit in Brussels in June after Biden’s Armenian move that disappointed Turkey. Erdoğan said at a press conference before he departed Turkey that he would ask Biden about the Armenian genocide recognition and express Turkey’s discomfort. However, while answering journalists’ questions after the one-on-one meeting, he said, “Thank God, this issue was not brought up,” sparking criticism from the opposition, which accused him of speaking differently at home and abroad.

Nordic Monitor previously published secret documents which revealed that Kılıç, who is also vice president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), had past links to a one-time al-Qaeda financier from Saudi Arabia. According to the document Kılıç, a former aide to President Erdoğan, was identified as having developed a relationship with Yasin al-Qadi, listed as an al-Qaeda financier on both the US Treasury and UN lists for many years, and his son Muaz al-Qadi (Kadıoğlu). The document, which was stamped “secret,” detailed an intercepted communication of Kılıç with al-Qadi’s son. The two sounded very friendly on the phone according to a readout from the transcript.  

After working closely with Erdoğan for years, Kılıç ran for parliament in 2011 on Erdoğan’s party ticket. He was appointed in December 2013 as minister of youth and sports. In September 2016 Kılıç was involved in a major scandal with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), which conducted an interview with him for its flagship political talk show, “Conflict Zone.” The reporter, Michel Friedman, asked Kılıç questions about a failed military coup on July 15, 2016, mass purges and arrests that began in the aftermath of the abortive putsch, the situation of the Turkish press and the place of Turkish women in society. When the DW team was preparing to leave the ministry building after the interview, the minister’s press advisor came and told the team that they could not air the interview. When the team refused to agree, ministry officials told them they would not be able to leave the building without handing over the video footage of the interview, after which they seized it. DW General Director Peter Limbourg strongly condemned Turkish authorities for their confiscation of the video footage of the interview with the Turkish minister.

Kılıç was removed from his ministry position in a cabinet reshuffle in 2017. He ran for parliament again in 2019 and was elected as a deputy from Istanbul.



We together reaffirmed the values of 2018 revolution

Parkev Tvankchian

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 20:38, 21 June, 2021

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the Board of Civil Contract Party Suren Papikyan thinks that by the elections of June 20 the people reaffirmed the values introduced by the revolution of 2018, ARMENPRESS reports Papikyan said at the raaly of ”Civil Contract” arty at the Republican Square.

”The process of political reproduction by the methods of bribing and intimidating the people is in the past in Armenia. Yesterday we together reaffirmed the values introduced by the revolution of 2018.  Yesterday we showed that despite the problems we have and despite our wounds, we are standing firm and are ready to rise’’, Papikyan said.

According to preliminary results of the elections, Civil Contract Party has received 53.92% of votes, Armenia Alliance received 21.04% and ‘’I have honor’’ bloc received 5.23%.




Lukashenko wishes happy birthday to Armenia president

Parkev Tvankchian
Belarus, June 23 2021
Armen Sargsyan and Aleksandr Lukashenko. An archive photo

MINSK, 23 June (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has sent a letter of birthday greetings to Armenia President Armen Sargsyan, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian leader.

“Your many-year selfless work in various fields – from science and economy to diplomacy and politics – has always been an example of sincere service to your country and its people,” the head of state stressed.

“In this difficult time mutual trust and generous friendship which have historically connected Belarus and Armenia become especially important,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “I am convinced that on this solid foundation we will manage to use the existing potential of Belarus-Armenia relations to the full, expand joint activities within the framework of integration projects.”

According to the Belarusian president, he is ready to do his best to promote the further development of cooperation between the two states.

 

Putin, Pashinyan discuss Nagorno-Karabakh during phone call, says Kremlin

Parkev Tvankchian
TASS, Russia
June 24 2021
During an exchange of opinions on Nagorno-Karabakh, they stressed the importance of steady implementation of agreements between leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan dated November 9, 2020, and January 11 of this year
– Russian Politics & Diplomacy – TASS

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. Russia will continue its mediation efforts to ensure stability in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Kremlin press service informed on Thursday after the phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

“During an exchange of opinions on Nagorno-Karabakh, they stressed the importance of steady implementation of agreements between leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan dated November 9, 2020, and January 11 of this year. Russia will continue active mediation efforts aimed to ensure stability in the region,” the message says.

The leaders agreed to maintain contact in the future, the Kremlin stated.

For its part, the Armenian government’s press service reaffirmed that Putin and Pashinyan discussed the implementation of agreements on Nagorno-Karabakh. “In this context, Acting Prime Minister of Armenia stressed the primary role of returning prisoners of war,” the press service stated.

On June 23, Putin also discussed Nagorno-Karabakh in a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, Putin, Aliyev, and Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides remain at their positions, and a number of districts, including the Kalbajar District, come under the control of Baku. Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line and the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Zatulin: ‘Declaration of Shushi’ is clearly targeted against Armenia

Parkev Tvankchian
News.am, Armenia
Zatulin: ‘Declaration of Shushi’ is clearly targeted against Armenia
23:49, 24.06.2021

The so-called ‘declaration of Shushi’ only attests to Turkey’s future advancement towards the Caucasus. This is what Special Representative of the Russian State Duma for Migration and Citizenship, Director of the Institute of CIS countries Konstantin Zatulin said during today’s Sochi-Yerevan teleconference.

According to him, the ‘declaration’ also affirms that Azerbaijan is, in some sense, a mediator for Turkey’s interests.

“Baku is currently paying off the debt it owes to Ankara, taking into consideration Turkey’s full support to Azerbaijan during the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Based on the ideas and principles stated in the ‘declaration of Shushi’, it’s hard for a specialist to find out where Turkey ends and where Azerbaijan begins. A military-political alliance is being declared, and the sides will view any attempt of a third party as a threat to both sides. In the ‘declaration’, the sides have also mentioned Armenia and the victory over the latter a few times and have even condemned any action for recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and Azerbaijan has signed under the ‘declaration’,” the Russian MP emphasized.

As Zatulin mentioned, Turkey and Azerbaijan talk about complying with the requirements of the United Nations and state that their cooperation isn’t targeted against third countries, but Armenia, the ‘Armenian occupation’ of Nagorno-Karabakh and ‘Armenian machinations’ are mentioned a few times in the text. “All this leaves no doubt that the ‘declaration’ is targeted against Armenia,” Zatulin said.

According to the Russian politician, even though the document doesn’t impact Russia in any way, except for the point about the operation of the joint monitoring center in Azerbaijan, it’s clear that Moscow, being linked to Armenia with contractual obligations, must assess the fact that Ankara and Baku have chosen Shushi as the venue to sign the anti-Armenian document.

Pashinyan highlights security cooperation with Russia as a priority for Armenia

Parkev Tvankchian
TASS, Russia
June 13 2021
Russia and Armenia are in constant contact for solving the problem in the Sotk-Khoznavar border section, Armenian Prime Minister noted

YEREVAN, June 13. /TASS/. Closer security cooperation with Russia is a priority for Armenia, acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a speech broadcast on his Facebook on Sunday.

“I want to present my vision of our country’s security. In order to ensure security, it is very important to further deepen relations between Armenia and Russia,” the acting prime minister said in the town of Yeghvard in the Kotyak province in central Armenia.

“We will continue developing and strengthening strategic partnership with Russia, which is our number one partner in the security sphere. Today we are in constant contact with our Russian partners for solving the problem in the Sotk-Khoznavar border section [with Azerbaijan],” he noted.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, 2020, with intense battles in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10.

Under the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides maintained the positions that they had held, seven districts passed over to Baku’s control and Russian peacekeepers were deployed along the engagement line and the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Armenian-Azerbaijani border was moved close to Armenia’s Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces. The situation in that area aggravated on May 12 when Armenia’s Defense Ministry reported that Azerbaijani forces had attempted to carry out “certain activities” in one of the Syunik border region’s districts to “adjust the border,” moving 3.5 kilometers into the country. The ministry added that the Azerbaijani troops halted their activities following some steps taken by Armenian forces.

Acting Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan has come up with a proposal that Armenia and Azerbaijan withdraw their troops from the border at the Sotk-Khoznavar section in the Gegharkunik province and Russian border guards be deployed there.

Pashinyan also stated that Armenia and Russia were discussing expanding the capabilities of the Russian 102nd military base in the republic and creating the base’s branch in the Syunik province.