Author: Toneyan Mark

Rostelecom abandons plans to sell Armenian business unit

Toneyan Mark
Data Center Dynamics
March 21 2023

Instead plans to invest in the subsidiary

March 21, 2023 

By

 

Paul Lipscombe

Instead, Rostelecom plans to invest further in the company.ts Armenian business unit, Rostelecom Armenia (formerly GNC-ALFA).

Instead, Rostelecom plans to invest further in the company.

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It represents a U-turn from the company, which as recently as January had looked likely to sell its subsidiary to Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) in a deal estimated to be worth $25 million.

“There is no issue of selling it anymore, we have decided to develop it actively,” said Rostelecom president, Mikhail Oseevsky, as reported by Intel.am.

Rostelecom acquired GNC-Alpha shares back in 2012, taking a 75 percent stake in the company, which was founded in 2007, and provides Internet access, fixed telephony, IP TV, and other services in the country.

In October of last year, Rostelecom revealed it’s considering the development of a new data center in Armenia, although there were no further details around location, specifications, or timelines, shared.

The company operates Russian data centers in Moscow, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, Udomlya, Yekaterinburg, and Chita. Further facilities are planned in Murmansk.

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/rostelecom-abandons-plans-to-sell-armenian-business-unit/

Unearthing the truth: Recognition of indigenous Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocides gains momentum

Toneyan Mark
Neos Kosmos – The Hellenic Perspective
Australia – March 23 2023

Joint Justice Advocacy Week sees leading genocide scholar Dr. Melanie O’Brien, rally support for Australian recognition of indigenous Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocides

Momentum is building for Australian parliamentary recognition of the indigenous Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek genocides ahead of the annual commemorations of the three catastrophes.

Associate Professor Dr Melanie O’Brien, president of International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) participated in the Joint Justice Initiative (JJI) Advocacy Week held at the Commonwealth Parliament.

The commemorations of the three genocides serve as a reminder of the mass atrocities committed against indigenous Hellenic, Assyrian and Armenian communities by the Ottoman and Republican Turkish authorities in the early 20th Century.

Approximately 1.5 million Armenians, 300,000 Assyrians, and 350,000 to 500,000 Greeks (including Pontic Greeks) were killed during the genocides committed by the Ottoman Empire between 1914 and 1923.

Dr O’Brien, a global historical authority on genocide studies spoke to parliamentarians about the atrocities.

“We are delighted Dr O’Brien was our inaugural guest for the JJI Advocacy Week this year,” said Michael Kolokossian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU).

Dr O’Brien talked to parliamentarians about her book From Discrimination to Death: Genocide Process Through a Human Rights Lens.

Dr O’Brien has worked closely with Australian Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek organisations and was a keynote speaker at the 2018 National Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, including the commemoration for the centenary of the holocaust of Smyrna in Sydney, in September 2022.

“Being part of this Joint Justice Initiative delegation is an important way that I can represent the International Association of Genocide Scholars.”

“Our members conduct scholarly work with the goal of preventing and punishing genocide and aim for our work to influence policy and lawmakers,” said Dr O’Brien.

“It is crucial that Australia recognise the genocide of the indigenous Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic populations of the Ottoman Empire by the Ottoman and Republican governments.”

“It is important to acknowledge the reality of the crimes committed against the victims, survivors and their descendants – some of whom are Australian citizens – and to contribute to the prevention of future genocides.” O’Brien said.

Peter Stefanidis the president of the Federation of Pontian Associations of Australia said that a key factor in the success of JJI’s Advocacy Week was the involvement of youth leaders.

“Combining our resources on the key issue of genocide recognition continues to expand as the Hellenic, Armenian and Assyrian communities of Australia together develop the leadership skills of the next generation.”

The inaugural JJI Advocacy Week was held before Armenian Australians commemorate the 108th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and as Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Republic of Artsakh nears 100 days.

Formed in March 2020, the JJI is a joint advocacy effort aimed at achieving parliamentary recognition of the genocides of the Armenians, Assyrians and Hellenes from Australian Commonwealth, state and territory parliaments.

Military attachés of foreign embassies accredited in Armenia visit the training center after Marshal Baghramyan

Toneyan Mark

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 20:41, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS.  On March 23, military attaches of foreign embassies accredited in Armenia visited the training center named after. Marshal Baghramyan.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Defense Ministry of Armenia, the commander of the military unit provided the delegation of military-diplomatic representatives with some details about the history, structure, tasks and activities of the military unit, and also answered a number of questions.

After the briefing, the military attaches toured the territory of the military unit, got acquainted with the social and living conditions of the servicemen, and the educational and material base.

RFE/RL Armenian Report – 03/22/2023

Toneyan Mark 
                                        Wednesday, 
Armenian Opposition Wants Information About Talks With Azerbaijan
• Ruzanna Stepanian
Armenia - Opposition youth activists demonstrate against the Armenian 
government's policy on the Karabakh conflict, Yerevan, .
Opposition lawmakers have demanded that the Armenian government share with them 
details of its ongoing negotiations with Azerbaijan on a bilateral peace treaty.
The two sides have exchanged in recent months written proposals regarding the 
treaty which Baku hopes will help to restore full Azerbaijani control over 
Nagorno-Karabakh. Few of their details have been made public so far.
Agnesa Khamoyan, a parliament deputy from the main opposition Hayastan alliance, 
said on Wednesday that two months ago she sent a letter to Armen Grigorian, the 
secretary of Armenia’s Security Council, asking him to let her see Yerevan’s 
proposals sent to Baku.
“As a member of the National Assembly, I have a right to familiarize myself with 
that document,” said Khamoyan. “They have not replied to me.”
She accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government of deliberately 
withholding such information from the public.
“They present one thing to the public but clearly negotiate on something else,” 
she claimed.
Hayk Konjorian, the parliamentary leader of Pashinian’s Civil Contract party, 
dismissed the opposition complaints when he addressed the National Assembly on 
Tuesday. Konjorian argued that opposition lawmakers have previously turned down 
Pashinian’s offers to meet with them behind the closed doors to discuss details 
of the negotiating process.
Armenia - Opposition deputies Agnesa Khamoyan and Artsvik Minasian hold a news 
conference in Yerevan, November 19, 2021.
“I can read and don’t need any intermediaries,” countered Khamoyan. “I can read 
that treaty and don’t need any assistants, whether it’s Nikol Pashinian or 
somebody else.”
Hayastan and the second parliamentary opposition force, Pativ Unem, regularly 
accuse Pashinian of being ready to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over 
Karabakh. As recently as on Tuesday, the Armenian parliament’s pro-government 
majority rejected a Hayastan proposal to adopt a resolution voicing support for 
the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination.
Parliament speaker Alen Simonian said late last month that Yerevan and Baku 
continue to disagree on “three or four” elements of the would-be peace treaty. 
He did not disclose them.
Pashinian complained last week that the Azerbaijani side is rejecting most 
Armenian proposals on the would-be treaty and making more demands unacceptable 
to Armenia. He said that he will not sign any “capitulation” deals.
For his part, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared at the weekend that he 
will not sign such an accord unless Yerevan recognizes Karabakh as a part of 
Azerbaijan and accepts Baku’s terms for demarcating the Armenian-Azerbaijani 
border. The Armenian Foreign Ministry responded by accusing Aliyev of “doing 
everything to make peace in the region impossible.”
Armenian FM Signals Meeting With Russian, Azeri Counterparts
        • Astghik Bedevian
Tajikistan - The foreign ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan meet in 
Dushanbe, May 12, 2022
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan confirmed on Wednesday that his planned 
trilateral meeting with his Russian and Azerbaijani counterparts could take 
place soon.
The meeting was originally scheduled for the end of December. Mirzoyan cancelled 
it in protest against Azerbaijan’s blockade of the sole road connecting 
Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Moscow criticized the move while trying to set a 
new date for the talks.
Mirzoyan and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the matter when 
they met in Moscow on Monday. Lavrov indicated that the trilateral talks will 
likely be held soon.
“In the near future we will choose convenient dates for all three ministers,” he 
told reporters.
“There is a possibility of such a meeting in the near future,” Mirzoyan told the 
Armenian parliament. He did not give possible dates.
Answering questions from pro-government lawmakers, Mirzoyan also questioned the 
effectiveness of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks.
“What is the point of reaching agreements on other issues if they will be 
definitely violated by Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan will come up with tougher 
demands on those issues some time later?” he asked.
The minister pointed to the continuing Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin 
corridor. He reiterated that it constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 
ceasefire deal that placed the corridor under Russian control and committed 
Azerbaijani to ensuring safe passage through it. Moscow and Baku must put an end 
to the blockade, he said.
Armenian officials have repeatedly accused Russian peacekeepers of not doing 
enough to unblock the vital road. Moscow has rejected the criticism.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again claimed on Tuesday that traffic through 
the Lachin corridor was not blocked by Azerbaijani government-backed protesters 
on December 12. Numerous reports to the contrary are “false Armenian 
propaganda,” Aliyev told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a phone call.
Yerevan Officials Freed Shortly After Arrest
        • Narine Ghalechian
Armenia - Former and current Yerevan municipality officials facing corruption 
charges.
Two current and former senior officials from Yerevan’s municipal administration 
were set free on Wednesday one day after being arrested on apparently corruption 
charges.
Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) kept refusing to explain why it 
detained Davit Dallakian, the acting head of the municipality’s architecture and 
urban development department, and Seyran Mejlumian, who served as chief of the 
municipality staff until this week.
Sources told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the two men are facing criminal 
charges stemming from the sale of municipal property which was allegedly grossly 
undervalued by them.
Another senior local government official, Taron Miroyan, was also indicted as 
part of the same criminal case. All three suspects did not return phone calls on 
Tuesday.
Mejlumian tendered his resignation right after Yerevan Mayor Sargsian, who had 
appointed him to that position, stepped down on Friday.
Isabella Abgarian, an independent member of the city council, said that a 
Yerevan resident recently alerted her about a dubious privatization deal 
administered by the mayor’s office before filing a complaint to law-enforcement 
authorities.
“I don’t exclude that [the indictments] were made within the framework of the 
same case,” Abgarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
“I had a chance to raise the matter with the mayor [Sargsian,] and he said, ‘I 
don’t believe it because Seyran Mejlumian is a very honest man, my most trusted 
official,’” she said.
The ex-mayor has not yet publicly commented on the indictments. It is not clear 
whether he has been questioned by the ACC.
Sargsian’s resignation is widely seen as being part of the ruling political 
team’s preparations for municipal elections that are due to be held in 
September. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party has nominated 
Deputy Mayor Tigran Avinian as its mayoral candidate.
U.S. Urges Armenia, Azerbaijan To ‘Deescalate’
U.S. - John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic 
communications, answers questions during the daily press briefing at the White 
House in Washington, February 17, 2023.
The United States has called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to defuse tensions in the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone that have risen again in recent weeks.
“We urge all sides here to deescalate,” John Kirby, the White House national 
security spokesman, told a news briefing in Washington late on Tuesday.
“We don’t want to see any of this violence, and we want to see all sides take 
appropriate steps to deescalate the tension and to stop the violence,” he said.
Kirby refused to comment on the presence of Russian peacekeeping forces in 
Karabakh.
The U.S. State Department insisted on March 6 that Washington is not competing 
with Moscow in its efforts to facilitate an Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed those efforts with Azerbaijan’s 
President Ilham Aliyev in a phone call earlier on Tuesday. He spoke with 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Monday.
According to the State Department, Blinken told the two leaders that Washington 
remains committed to helping the two South Caucasus nations reach a “sustainable 
peace.”
Armenian leaders have repeatedly accused Azerbaijan this month of planning a 
“new military aggression” against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Pashinian 
expressed concern over “Azerbaijan’s increasingly aggressive rhetoric” during 
his conversation with Blinken.
For his part, Aliyev blamed the Armenian side for increased ceasefire violations 
reported from the conflict zone in recent weeks. He also dismissed on Tuesday 
U.S. calls for an end to the three-month blockade of the sole highway connecting 
Karabakh to Armenia.
Reposted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
Copyright (c) 2023 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.
1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

Armenia denies accusation from Azerbaijan on opening fire

Toneyan Mark

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 11:22,

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS. Armenia denied on Monday Azerbaijan’s latest accusations on opening gunfire on the border.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defense of Armenia said that the Azerbaijani State Border Service’s accusations are false.

“The statement released by the Azerbaijani State Border Service claiming that units of the Armed Forces of Armenia opened fire around 02:30, March 20 in the direction of Azerbaijani outposts deployed in the south-eastern section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani borderline is untrue,” the statement said.

Kerobyan: Border is open for Turkey agricultural products’ import, Turkish goods come to Armenia without hindrance

Toneyan Mark
News.am
Armenia – March 15 2023
19:03, 15.03.2023

From the point of view of the import of Turkish agricultural products to Armenia, the border with Turkey is open; that is, Turkish goods come to Armenia without hindrance. Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said this in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am, addressing the question of whether it is possible that in the event of the reopening of the Armenian-Turkish border, cheap Turkish agricultural products will be imported into Armenia, and therefore the local producers of Armenia will not be able to withstand that competition.

“Last year, the trade between Armenia and Turkey was more than $300 million, which is a record indicator. It was mainly import, and we mainly imported agricultural products. In 2019-2020, the trade with Turkey was about $200 million. Today there is no ban for these products. Yes, that product comes through Georgia, but still, those are tiny percentages. Today, the [Armenian] government implements many programs that are aimed at increasing agricultural productivity.

“Yes, in general, the productivity of Armenia’s economy in 2021 was about $7 per hour of GDP created by one person. It is about seven times less than the average indicator of the 37 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [(OECD)]. And productivity in agriculture lags far behind [in Armenia]. If, for example, our difference from developed countries in the IT sector is 3-4 times, then in some industries it is seven times, then in agriculture it is dozens of times. The main problem [in Armenia] is the severe fragmentation of the land and limited access to the water system. The solution of these two issues should be brought about by land enlargement and the development of the water system, which is in our plans,” said Kerobyan.


CivilNet: Connectivity, climate, cooperation: Exploring ADB’s work in Armenia

Toneyan Mark
CIVILNET.AM

14 Mar, 2023 07:03

Paolo Spantigati, country director for Armenia at the Asian Development Bank, sat down with CivilNet’s Mark Dovich to talk about ADB’s efforts to support the Armenian government’s growth and reform agendas. ADB is one of Armenia’s largest multilateral development partners, having provided the country with financial assistance worth more than $1.6 billion since 2005.


Armenpress: ViralMango: Influencer marketplace launched by Armenian entrepreneur offers effortless collaboration

Toneyan Mark

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 09:35,

YEREVAN, MARCH 10, ARMENPRESS. When influencers began redefining marketing as we knew it, brands and businesses started either hiring marketing agencies or doing all the time-consuming work themselves for finding the right influencer to advance their marketing campaign.

It didn’t take long for tech companies to develop influencer marketplaces to help firms bolster their marketing campaigns, save time and cut expenses.

An influencer marketplace is essentially an online tool that connects marketers, brands or businesses with influencers in social channels to promote a service or product.

One such marketplace is ViralMango, an Armenian startup that is now launched in the United States which already has over 60,000 registered influencers and 300-400 businesses.

“Now there’s a situation when people are not noticing the advertisements on social media, and the ads are gradually losing their effect,” said Rem Darbinyan, the Founder and CEO of ViralMango. Darbinyan is a serial entrepreneur who’s also founded SmartClick AI.

“At the same time, there are people who have many followers, they are influencers, and whenever they showcase some product the demand for that product or service grows. We try to find influencers who are active on social media, who have an audience, and we also try to find organizations who want to promote themselves. We link these two sides with each other,” Darbinyan told ARMENPRESS in an interview. 

With over 150,000,000 influencers around the world, it is difficult for businesses to find the right pick. Thus, ViralMango is using AI to find a potential match. The CEO says there are similar platforms but ViralMango offers several advantages.

“We are mainly working with nano and micro influencers. Nano influencers have between 1000 and 10,000 followers while micro influencers have between 10,000 and 50,000 followers. These influencers maintain a more active and closer communication with their audience because they manage to reply to messages, comments, therefore the advertisement becomes more targeted and effective,” Darbinyan said.

AI also determines the price of ads using statistical data. All it takes for influencers or companies to use ViralMango is a simple registration.

“For businesses, the advantage of using our platform is that they will get the ready content by paying comparably less money, and can use it in their social channels without copyright infringement. Whereas it would take them a lot more time and expenses if they were to maintain a dedicated team for the job,” Darbinyan said.

Amid a rapidly transforming market, ViralMango is studying the trends to act accordingly.

ViralMango received investments from Anton Yeranossian and Thomas Mazejian from BANA Angels, the Formula VC and BigStory VC.

Karine Terteryan




Azerbaijani armed forces open fire in the direction of the Armenian positions in Verin Shorzha

Toneyan Mark

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 20:33, 9 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. On March 9, around 5:50 p.m., the units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire from different caliber firearms at the Armenian positions located in the direction of Verin Shorzha.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Ministry of Defense, the Armenian side has suffered no casualties. As of 20:00, the situation on the frontline is relatively stable.

Congressional Armenian Caucus seeks $150 million in U.S. aid for Artsakh, Armenia

Toneyan Mark
Panorama
Armenia – March 8 2023

With Azerbaijan’s blockade against Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) entering its third month, amid Aliyev’s escalating attacks on Armenian civilians, the ANCA is rallying community and coalition support for a Congressional Armenian Caucus request to stop U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan and send at least $150 million in assistance to Artsakh and Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

The request comes in the form of a letter to Appropriations Subcommittee on State-Foreign Operations Chairman Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL) and Ranking Member Barbara Lee (D-CA), who have already begun crafting the U.S. House version of the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) foreign aid bill.

“Well over a hundred thousand Armenians and allied Americans have already asked their U.S. Representatives to stop U.S. military aid to oil-rich Azerbaijan and send American humanitarian assistance to at-risk Artsakh – a powerful groundswell of grassroots activism from all fifty U.S. states and across the American political spectrum,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “With Azerbaijan’s blockade now well into its third month and Aliyev steadily escalating his deadly aggression, we all need to step up – meeting with legislators, leveraging coalitions, and relentlessly writing, calling, and tweeting to demand concrete action from the elected officials who come asking for our votes every election.”

In a “Dear Colleague” letter sent to Members of Congress, Congressional Armenian Caucus founding co-chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) noted, “Meaningful increases in assistance to Armenia for important priorities – including supporting populations displaced as a result of Azerbaijan’s aggression and impacted by the blockade of the Lachin Corridor – are essential to ensuring the stabilization of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and paving a pathway towards lasting peace and security in the region.”

The letter includes the following budgetary requests:

— $100 million for security, economic, governance, and rule of law assistance to Armenia

— $50 million for Artsakh to provide a comprehensive assistance strategy and support the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh in their rebuilding and resettlement efforts – along with an additional $2 million for humanitarian demining and UXO clearance.

— The suspension of all U.S. military and security aid to Azerbaijan and a State Department assessment of potential sanctions against Azeri officials found to have supported human rights abuses and war crimes.

— Language supporting the Administration’s efforts to secure the release of Armenian POWs illegally held by Azerbaijan.

The ANCA has launched an action platform – anca.org/aid – through which pro-Armenian advocates can write, tweet, and call their U.S. Representative to cosign the Congressional letter.