Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

 17:14,

YEREVAN, JUNE 27, ARMENPRESS. On June 26, the Permanent Mission of Armenia inaugurated an exhibition dedicated to the 105^thanniversary of the first Republic of Armenia. The exhibition was organized in the United Nations Office in Geneva within the framework of the session of the Human Rights Council. The exhibition was entitled “Women in State Building”.

The stands presented the role played by Armenian women in the social, political, religious, cultural and educational spheres during the first Republic of Armenia and in various other historical periods.

The Permanent Representative of Armenia, Ambassador Andranik Hovhannisyan, Director General of the UN Office in Geneva Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director of the UN Library and Archives Mr. Francesco Pisano delivered remarks at the opening ceremony. The speakers referred to the importance of empowering the women and ensuring equality of rights worldwide, presented episodes about the significant contribution of Armenian women in state building.

Ambassador Andranik Hovahannisyan introduced prominent Armenian women who made an important contribution to the development of the statehood, referred to the medieval Armenian legal texts to this end and dwelled upon the role and rights of Armenian women during the first republic. He also presented the achievements registered in Armenia in terms of empowerment of women.

Ambassador Hovhannisyan concluded his speech by drawing the attention of the audience to the statue of Mother Armenia depicted on the invitation card of the exhibition. He emphasized that it symbolizes the woman who protects the heart of Armenia, the capital Yerevan. She stands as an unwavering symbol of sovereignty, strength, peace and endurance.

Ambassadors of a number of countries, diplomats, officials of the UN Office in Geneva, representatives of the Armenian community were present at the exhibition. At the conclusion of the opening ceremony the guests tasted Armenian wines.

The exhibition was created, compiled and displaced last year in New York with the efforts of the Permanent Mission of Armenia at the United Nations headquarters.

 13:33,

YEREVAN, JUNE 26, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has acknowledged Armenia’s territorial integrity with a numerical wording, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan said on Monday.

“The wording of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is a bit different. He says he doesn’t have any territorial claims against the Republic of Armenia. I have to say that during a closed meeting he has accepted and is accepting the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia with a numerical wording, this is an important nuance,” Simonyan said.

Armenia has numerously said that it expects the Azerbaijani leadership to publicly confirm that it recognizes Armenia’s territorial integrity with a 29,800 square kilometer area.

 09:30, 20 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 19, ARMENPRESS. The recent meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken was highly important because of the unstable global situation in the multipolar world order, and because the risk of the use of nuclear weapons has increased in some regions, according to expert on China Mher Sahakyan.

During the meeting with Blinken, the Chinese President said that they have recorded progress and reached agreements over several concrete issues. The parties agreed to adhere to the common understanding reached during the 2022 G20 summit in Bali.

“At this phase, the normalization of the United States-China relations is of great importance not only for the two countries but the whole world, and if they find solutions that would help ease the tension and avoid a direct confrontation it would definitely be a positive signal for resolving the existing conflicts in international relations as well,” Sahakyan told ARMENPRESS when asked to comment on the prospect of normalization between China and the United States.

Sahakyan said that the recent Beijing meeting was a preparation for a future meeting between Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss global issues, including the sanctions. However, Sahakyan believes that it’s unlikely for the U.S. to cancel the sanctions as Washington will try to pressure China’s technological development.

“Bilateral meetings are highly important as they allow easing the tensions because the parties see what’s happening in the European region, particularly in Ukraine, where nuclear and strategic facilities are already being bombarded, the consequences of which will soon be felt by the residents of entire Europe, thus they will try to avoid a similar scenario in Taiwan,” Sahakyan said.

If a war were to erupt in Taiwan the entire international geo-economic system would be affected, especially when the global development center has long shifted to the Asia-Pacific.

The expert believes that cautious policy will make the U.S. and Chinese leaders find solutions, thus a meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden could be of crucial importance.

China and the United States agreed on Monday to stabilize their rivalry so it does not veer into conflict, but no major breakthrough was achieved.

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed “progress” after shaking hands with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The top U.S. diplomat and Xi both stressed the importance of having a more stable relationship, as any conflict between the world’s two largest economies would create global disruption.

U.S. President Joe Biden said later on Monday he thinks relations between the two countries are on the right path, and indicated that progress was made during Blinken’s trip.

“We’re on the right trail here,” Biden was quoted as saying by Reuters when asked on U.S.-China relations. Asked by reporters during a trip to California whether he felt progress had been made, he replied, “I don’t feel,” he said. “You know it’s been made.”

Biden said of Blinken: “He did a hell of a job.”

 20:17, 21 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, ARMENPRESS. 54 US Congressmen, led by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, sent a letter to the Secretary of State Antony Blinken, demanding the US President Joe Biden’s administration to stop military aid to Azerbaijan and support Artsakh, ARMENPRESS reports, the Armenian Committee of America said in a message.

“54 US Congressmen, led by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, demanding that Joe Biden’s administration stop military aid to Azerbaijan, support Artsakh and oppose Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh and anti-Armenian aggression,” the message states.

 12:40,

YEREVAN, JUNE 13, ARMENPRESS. At its meeting today, the Board of the Central Bank of Armenia decided to lower the refinancing rate by 0.25 pp, setting it at 10.5%.
The Lombard repo facility rate is set at 12.0 % and the Deposit facility rate is at 9.0 %.

By Michael Rubin

AEIdeas

Secretary of State Antony Blinken may have denied any deal to trade Turkey F-16s in exchange for the lifting of Turkey’s veto on Sweden’s NATO accession, but no one told the White House that. Not only has President Joe Biden alluded to just such a deal, but also National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has apparently outlined the quid pro quo to key Congressional leaders.

On the surface, such a trade may seem both straightforward and logical: Turkey wants F-16s, the United States wants Sweden in NATO. Turkey has the ability to greenlight Sweden’s accession.

Biden and Sullivan may want to claim credit for a deal and bask in the glow of success, but it would be an illusion: Sweden’s accession under such circumstances would be a strategic disaster.

Consider:

• The deal would reward President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s blackmail. Not only will Erdogan hold NATO hostage again, but other countries will also follow suit. In the past, Washington assumed NATO members would try to do the right thing; in the future, various governments will look at looming votes as an opportunity to win the lottery.
• Sweden’s accession would be welcome, but its symbolic importance is minor. More important is European unity in the face of Russian aggression. That unity exists whether or not Sweden joins NATO. Sweden might just as easily act in concert with NATO without submitting to Turkish blackmail.
• Nothing Sweden brings to NATO would be a game-changer. Certainly, Sweden’s handful of diesel submarines would be welcome, but they do not offer NATO a capability that would significantly change the operational environment. Finland is another matter: not only does it border Russia, but it also has more artillery pieces than the United Kingdom, France, or Germany.
• The price Turkey demands from Sweden erodes the quality of Sweden’s democracy. It would be far better for the White House to encourage Turkey to adopt Swedish democracy than for it to encourage Sweden to bend toward Turkish autocracy. It is bad enough Turkey represses Kurdish identity; it should not demand Sweden do the same.
• Upgrading Turkey’s F-16 fleet will do little to enhance NATO. Turkey does not use its jet fighters for NATO’s defense or to preserve regional stability; rather, it consistently uses its F-16s to bomb Syrian Kurds, Iraqi Yezidis, and threaten Greek islands. Biden and Sullivan should carefully consider both whether a photo-op welcoming Sweden into NATO is worth increasing the danger of an intra-NATO military clash or whether NATO can even survive such a fight.

Make no mistake: One day, NATO should welcome Sweden as a full member, but timing and circumstances matter. Congress is a co-equal branch of government. Its leaders—both Democrat and Republican—should balk at White House pressure to accede to a bad deal and a counterproductive quid pro quo.

A far better response would be to tell Sullivan that Congress will disallow new F-16s or upgrades to Turkey until Erdogan is gone and Turkey’s behavior changes. If that means tabling Sweden’s NATO accession, so be it. Plan B might be greater military cooperation between Sweden, the United States, and key NATO members. Such a response would mean all the military capability, none of the blackmail, and a more stable Europe.

 18:11, 7 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 7, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan took part in the narrow-format session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Sochi, ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Ministers of the Eurasian Economic Union member states discussed a number of topical issues related to Eurasian integration. In particular, issues related to the operation of the EAEU internal market, cooperation in various fields were addressed.

The expanded-format session of the Intergovernmental Council will take place on June 8.

 15:12, 3 June 2023

YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Turkey plans to send commandos to Kosovo in response to a NATO request to join its KFOR peacekeeping force following the latest unrest, Reuters reported citing the Turkish defence ministry.

In a statement on Saturday, the ministry called for restraint and constructive dialogue to resolve a crisis that it said could harm regional security and stability.

“Our assigned unit (a commando battalion) is planned to be deployed to … Kosovo on June 4-5,” the ministry said.

NATO earlier said that 700 additional troops from the alliance will be deployed to Kosovo.