Author: Parkev Tvankchian

Berdzor residents receive security guarantees and stop evacuation

Parkev Tvankchian

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 13:45, 27 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. The evacuation of residents in the villages of Berdzor, Aghavno and Sus of the Kashatagh region in Artsakh is halted and these settlements will remain under Armenian control, the Kashatagh regional administration chief Mushegh Alaverdyan told ARMENPRESS.

“Without elaborating, I can say that agreements were changed, we’ve received security guarantees. Under my direct responsibility we stopped evacuation in these settlements and we will remain in place,” he said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

​Armenian President Leaves for ‘Private Visit’ to Russia

Parkev Tvankchian
Sputnik
Nov 28 2020
 
 
Armenian President Leaves for ‘Private Visit’ to Russia
 
© Sputnik / Yevgeny Odinokov
World
08:27 GMT 28.11.2020Get short URL
 
YEREVAN (Sputnik) – Armenian President Armen Sarkissian left his country for Moscow for a “private visit” on Saturday, his press office said.
 
“Sarkissian departed on November 28 for a private visit to Moscow. Continuing discussions with representatives of the [Armenian] diaspora, Sarkissian will meet with members of the Armenian community and community networks operating in Russia,” the office said.
 
The press office added the president would discuss the latest developments in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh during meetings in Moscow.
 
Earlier this month, Yerevan and Baku agreed to a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, putting an end to the six-week war over the disputed area. The agreement resulted in the loss of most territories controlled by the Armenian-dominated Republic of Artsakh and envisions the deployment of 1,960 Russian peacekeepers to the region.
 
 

Armenpress: Pashinyan expresses concerns to ICRC for the slow process of works

Parkev Tvankchian

Pashinyan expresses concerns to ICRC for the slow process of works

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 21:04,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 27, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received the representatives of the ICRC headed by Claire Meytraud, Head of the ICRC Delegation to Armenia.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan expressed concerns over the works done in the direction of ensuring the return of the war prisoners, as well as searches of missing in action and bodies of victims. PM Pashinyan emphasized the necessity to add the capacities of the ICRC, including human resources, and noted that the Government of Armenia is also ready to make all efforts for contribution to the faster and more effective implementation of the mentioned activities. PM Pashinyan emphasized the importance of providing regular information on the condition, health and detention conditions of the war prisoners.

Claire Meytraud presented the process of their works to the PM, provided information on the meetings with Armenian war prisoners. The Head of the ICRC Delegation to Armenia expressed satisfaction for the cooperation with authorities of Nagorno Karabakh, Defense Ministry of Armenia and Russian peacekeepers. At the same time Claire Meytraud pointed out the presence of mined areas and bad weather conditions as obstacles for the searching works.

2 Lebanese-Armenian repatriates go missing in Artsakh AFTER ceasefire, presumed kidnapped by Azeris

Parkev Tvankchian

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 16:38,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Two Lebanese-Armenians, a man and a woman, have gone missing in Artsakh after the armistice was declared, the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan told ARMENPRESS.

“We have two Lebanese-Armenians who have disappeared. A man and a woman have disappeared in Artsakh after the ceasefire. They went there to get their belongings and now they are missing. We are trying to find out their whereabouts, but we are unable to find them,” Sinanyan said, adding that unknown individuals speaking Turkish or Azeri are answering the mobile phones of these missing persons.

One of the Lebanese-Armenians had repatriated after the August 4 Beirut blast and settled in Artsakh. The repatriated woman was temporarily accommodated in a hotel in Shushi until getting a home. Then, when the war began, she moved to Goris in Armenia. When the war ended, on November 10, accompanied by a Lebanese-Armenian man, she supposedly went back to Shushi to retrieve her belongings.

They went missing ever since. Calls to their mobile numbers are answered by Turkish or Azeri people who initially claimed that the Lebanese-Armenian woman is held hostage, but then said she is killed. There is no information about the missing man.

The High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs contacted the National Security Service, the Red Cross and the Human Rights Defender over the issue.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Putin: Russia expects international organizations to take part in Karabakh settlement

Parkev Tvankchian
TASS, Russia
Nov 24 2020
The Russian peacekeeping contingent has been deployed to the region

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Russia expects international organizations to take part in the process of further settling the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a ceremony of receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors in the Kremlin on Tuesday.

The situation in Karabakh “is generally stabilizing and the Russian humanitarian response center is beginning its work to deal with the issues of providing assistance to residents of affected districts, restoring the infrastructure and creating conditions for a normal and peaceful life,” Putin said.

“We expect specialized international organizations to take a substantial part in these efforts. We believe that all this creates pre-requisites for the long-term and full-format settlement of the long-standing conflict on a fair basis in the interests of the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples,” the Russian leader stressed.

Russia has taken active efforts to halt the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh that entailed the deaths of thousands of Azerbaijani and Armenian citizens, Putin noted.

In doing so, Moscow followed the key accords reached with the OSCE Minsk Group, including its co-chairs: Russia, the United States and France, the Russian president said.

“The main thing that has been achieved is that the bloodshed has been stopped and the truce has been sealed in the trilateral statement by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Putin stressed.

The Russian peacekeeping contingent has been deployed to the region. The peacekeepers are monitoring the ceasefire, providing security for civilians and escorting returning refugees and humanitarian cargoes, he said.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27 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. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian forces would maintain the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region.


Putin highlights protection of monuments and sanctuaries in Nagorno Karabakh

Parkev Tvankchian

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 20:24,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, ARMENPRESS. The issue of protection of monuments and sanctuaries in Nagorno Karabakh is very important, the involvement of UNESCO is highly demanded here, ARMENPRESS reports, citing Ria Novosti, Putin said in a consultation on the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno Karabakh.

“I would especially like to speak about the protection of historical monuments and religious shrines, by the way, both Armenian and Azerbaijani monuments. This issue has an important human moral standard. I think that the involvement of UNESCO is highly demanded. We hope that UNICEF will help children and adolescents who are particularly vulnerable to the horrors of military conflict,” Putin said.

Vladimir Putin added that the Russian Foreign Ministry has instructions in all these directions.

Dutch Parliament adopts resolutions on imposing sanctions against Aliyev and Erdoğan

Parkev Tvankchian

Dutch Parliament adopts resolutions on imposing sanctions against Aliyev and Erdoğan

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 20:34,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS. The Dutch Parliament has adopted the resolutions on imposing individual sanctions against the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, his wife Mehriban Aliyeva, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan  and others for war crimes and atrocities against Artsakh, ARMENPRESS reports Ambassador of Armenia to the Netherlands Tigran Balayan wrote on his Twitter page.

The Ambassador also informed that the EU imposed an embargo against supplying arms to Turkey for participating in the aggression.

The resolution authored by Sadet Karabulut calls on the parliament of the Netherlands to impose individual sanctions against those in Azerbaijan and Turkey who are responsible for the violence in Nagorno Karabakh.

”In light of the fact that violence between the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave between Armenia and Azerbaijan has resurfaced in recent months, noting that the latest attempt of violence was initiated by Azerbaijan with the encouragement of Turkey, the MP calls on the government to impose individual sanctions on those individuals in Azerbaijan and Turkey, who are responsible for these atrocities”, reads the resolution.

Another resolution offers imposing individual sanctions on Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and his family members and key individuals in connection with the Azeri attack and the deployment of Syrian militants in Nagorno-Karabakh by Turkey.

”Based on the fact that Azerbaijan and Syrian jihadists sent by Turkey have committed large-scale war crimes in Nagorno Karabakh in the last 5 weeks, considering that Genocide Watch has alerted that there is an unnoticed genocide, we call on the government to pursue at the EU level personal sanctions against Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, his family members and key individuals over the Azerbaijani attack and Turkish deployment of Syrian militants in Nagorno-Karabakh”, reads the second resolution.

Asbarez: Nevada’s Clark County Recognizes Artsakh

Parkev Tvankchian

November 17,  2020



Las Vegas Armenian community members after the Clark County recognition of Artsakh

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Armenian-American community representatives gathered at the Clark County Government Building on Tuesday where the Board of Commissioners adopted a Proclamation recognizing the right to self-determination, freedom and independence of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh / Artsakh.

Clark County is the largest County in Nevada with a population of 2.3 million and jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, which generated over 45 million visitors in 2019.

The Clark County proclamation

Clark County is also home to a fast-growing Armenian-American community estimated at 20,000 with several prominent Armenians who have significantly helped Southern Nevada’s economic growth; such as MGM Casino Developer Kirk Kerkorian, UNLV Basketball Coach Jerry Tarkanian, Renowned Tennis Player Andre Agassi, and Casino Developer Alex Yemenidjian just to name a few. The community has also recently built two churches in 2013 and 2016.

Commissioners Michael Naft and Justin Jones made an introductory statement in support of Artsakh recognizing the humanitarian crisis suffered by Armenians and presented the Proclamation.

The Proclamation was presented to Adroushan Andy Armenian, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Las Vegas, and to Lenna Hovanessian Esq., cochair of ANCA Nevada. Both recipients thanked the Clark County Board of Commissioners for their efforts in understanding the Armenian population of Artsakh and their belief in their right to self-determination.

Ambassador Armen Baibourtian, Consul General of Armenia in Los Angeles and Mr. Robert Avetisyan, the Permanent representative of Artsakh in Washington DC, along with representatives of Las Vegas Armenian churches and organizations were also present for the presentation of the Proclamation of the Recognition of Artsakh and made statements regarding community and nation involvement.

Due to Covid-19, restrictions the number of people in the Government Building was limited, therefore community activists and supporters were gathered outside to welcome the presentation of the Proclamation and to show their appreciation to the Clark County Board of Commissioners.

Armenian PM says he tried to change the logic of negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh

Parkev Tvankchian
Public Radio of Armenia
Nov 16 2020

No doubt for me and there can be no misreading that I am the number one official responsible for what happened in Artsakh, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during an online press conference.

“I understand that I will stand the trial of the people. But for the judge – the people in this case – to make conclusions – it must be aware of all circumstances of the case. Therefore, it’s important to listen to all – the soldiers, the opposition, the government,” Pashinyan said.

He said that as of May 2018 [before he came to power] the negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh had crossed the point of irreversibility and the issue had stepped into a phase of “territories for nothing.”  

According to the Prime Minister, his policy since has been aimed at changing that logic.

“Actually now we can say that, unfortunately, we have not succeeded, because we faced a situation of an international consensus that the territories must be handed over to Azerbaijan without any precondition. Whole our policy has been aimed at trying to change that logic, but we have not succeeded,” PM Pashinyan stated.  

“I couldn’t put up with that and have done my best to improve the resisting ability of Armenia, to raise the combat readiness of the armed forces,” he said.

“We are accused of opposing things. We are accused of signing a paper to cede certain territories and accused of failure to sign that paper earlier,” the Prime Minister said. “We are therefore accused of both ceding and not ceding lands.”

“The responsibility first of all lies with me, but to bear that responsibility, I think it necessary for all circumstances to be explained to the society,” he reiterated.

The Prime Minister said “we must analyze and form the agenda on the situation today, focusing on the status of Nagorno Karabakh.”

“The issue of status should be put in the basis of negotiations, as should the communication, humanitarian and transportation issues,” he emphasized.

The Prime Minister noted that there are a number of provisions in the trilateral statement that need to be interpreted and discussed “and we will try to call the best proposals to life.”

“Could we avoid war? Yes, we could, had we agreed to hand over seven regions including Shushi. But was that the policy we wanted to pursue? No, it wasn’t. Artsakh’s Defense Army, Armenia’s Government and Armed Forces decided to accept the challenge, which unfortunately did not produce the result we wanted,” PM Pashinyan stated.

“The events of July showed we were ready to fight against Azerbaijan, but the involvement of Turkey and mercenary terrorists were the main cause of our failure. Could we prevent this development. Yes, we could had we agreed to cede the territories, without the status of Nagorno Karabakh. That’s why, we tried to fight and try to ensure more favorable conditions,” Pahsinyan stated.

Russia hopes Karabakh statement will be honored by all parties – Zakharova

Parkev Tvankchian

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 17:26, 10 November, 2020

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 10, ARMENPRESS. Moscow is adamant the joint statement by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the full cessation of hostilities in Nagorno Karabakh must be complied with by all signatories, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the television broadcaster RTVI in an interview, reports TASS.

“This document has the status of a statement. We proceed from the assumption it must be complied with by all signatories. Their signatures are a hard fact”, she said.

She warned against speculations about various scenarios of how this agreement may fail to be implemented.

“Let’s talk about what is to be done to make it a reality. And a great deal is being done with an eye to that”, Zakharova said, adding that the agreement was a result of consensus and all signatories agreed it was crucial to implement it.

As for the peacekeepers, Zakharova said it has been discussed a month ago, also at the October 9-10 meeting of the Armenian, Russian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a statement on a full ceasefire and cessation of all military actions in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone since 01:00 Yerevan Time on November 10.