Author: Yeghisabet Arthur

Photo: AFP

 

Turkey has said it wants to develop good ties with Syria – in an apparent reversal of its policy towards its war-stricken neighbour, the BBC reports.

Turkey has long said the only solution for regional peace would be for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to go.

But Turkish PM Binali Yildirim insisted good ties with Syria were needed “for the fight against terrorism” and for stability in the region.

Turkey has recently moved to end rifts with both Russia and Israel.

Turkey-Syria diplomatic ties were severed after the Syrian conflict began in 2011 and Turkey has since argued that only Mr Assad’s departure could bring stability.

But Mr Yildirim said in comments broadcast live on television: “It is our greatest and irrevocable goal: developing good relations with Syria and Iraq, and all our neighbours that surround the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

“We normalised relations with Russia and Israel. I’m sure we will normalise relations with Syria as well. For the fight against terrorism to succeed, stability needs to return to Syria and Iraq.”

Since taking office in May, Mr Yildirim has repeatedly said that Turkey needs to “increase its friends and decrease its enemies.”

Photo: AFP

 

A French court has sentenced two former Rwandan mayors to life in prison for their part in the 1994 genocide, the BCC reports.

Tito Barahira, 65, and Octavien Ngenzi, 58, were found guilty of crimes against humanity and genocide.

They were accused of playing leading roles in the massacre of 2,000 ethnic Tutsis who sought refuge in a church in the town of Kabarondo.

About 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis, died at the hands of Hutu extremists during the Rwandan genocide.

It is the second case of its kind to be brought in France, after Rwandan army captain Pascal Simbikangwa was jailed for 25 years over the mass killings.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Francois Hollande on Thursday discussed by phone the settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine, the Kremlin reported.

“Vladimir Putin informed Francois Hollande of the June 20 three-party meeting with Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan in St. Petersburg,” the statement said.

“The leaders of Russia and France expressed the hope that the results achieved at that meeting would contribute to the promotion of the peace process. The parties agreed to continue active joint work within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group in that important sphere,” it said.

The two presidents also discussed other urgent issues on the international agenda witha special emphasis on efforts to settle the Ukrainian crisis.

 

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian will visit Sochi on July 1st at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Minister Nalbandian will participate in the 34^th sitting of the Foreign Ministers of the member countries of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization.

Photo: Reuters    

A gun and bomb attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk international airport has killed at least 10 people and injured others, with reports of at least one suicide bomber, the BBC reports.

At least 20 people were also wounded with casualties being reportedly rushed to hospital in taxis.

Police opened fire to stop the suspects at an entry point, Reuters reports.

“Ten people have been killed according to a preliminary toll,” Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said.

“According to the information I was given, a terrorist at the international terminal entrance first opened fire with a Kalashnikov and then blew himself up,” the minister added, according to the Associated Press.

Pope Francis has arrived in Etchmiadzin to pray for the Apostolic Catherdral together with His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. The motto of the visit is: “Visit to the First Christian State.” Pope has described the visit as pilgrimage to

The Pope has arrived in Armenia for a three-day visit. At Zvartnots International Airport the Pope was welcomed by Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan and Mrs. Rita Sargsyan, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, state officials and diplomats, bishops of the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches.

The Pope was greeted by “Little Singers of Armenia” children’s choir headed by Tigran Hekekyan. Children in Armenian traditional costumes served Armenian apricot and lavash, the Armenian bread included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

“Please pray for me as I begin tomorrow my pilgrimage to Armenia, first among the nations to welcome the Gospel of Jesus,” Pope Francis wrote on Instagram before the visit to Arnmena.

Pope wrote the message in six languages – English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French and German.

The Pope will visit Armenia June 24-26.

Few days ago “HayPost” took part in “New York-2016” world philately expo.

The Armenian collection with stamps from 2013, 2014 and 2015, presented by “HayPost”, took the second place at the philately competition organized under the auspices of the Universal Postal Union within the framework of the expo.

The collection consists from 29 stamps and Souvenir sheets, dedicated to the Armenian culture, history, the nature of Armenia, etc.

The exhibition of “HayPost” in the great international philately expo of New York, organized once a decade, awoke high interest among the experts.

Special attention was attached to the models of stamps and S-sheets dedicated to the Pope, developed and designed by the experts of “HayPost”. These stamps and S-sheets are already printed and shall be cancelled in a solemn ceremony during the visit of the Pope to Armenia.

The expo featured participants from more than 120 philately unions and organizations of different countries, National Operators of Postal Communication from more than fifty countries. This was the first time “HayPost” presented an individual pavilion in an exposition of such a high range, making Armenia more visible to the philately world.

Two S-sheets, dedicated to “New York-2016” expo and “Rio-2016” Summer Olympics, were cancelled by “HayPost” during this event.

Germany’s foreign ministry on Tuesday asked in the Turkish charge d’affaires over the row sparked by a German parliamentary vote declaring the Ottomans’ World War I massacre of Armenians a genocide, Agence Prance Presse reports.

German parliamentarians of Turkish origin have received death threats over the vote, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused them of backing “terrorism”.

He added that they should undergo blood tests to see “what kind of Turks they are”.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that these comments were met with “incomprehension” in Berlin.

A German foreign ministry source said that, with the Turkish ambassador currently recalled to Ankara, “today the Turkish charge d’affaires was invited to the foreign ministry for a talk about the events of recent days and the reactions to the Armenian resolution in the Bundestag”.

The talks with the high-ranking diplomat “focused on the traditionally close and trusting relations between Germany and Turkey and made clear that the most recent statements made to German MPs are at odds with this and were met with incomprehension”, the source added.

Erdogan had angrily condemned last week’s vote, charging that the 11 German MPs with Turkish roots who backed it supported “terrorism” by the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).

The June 2 vote further darkened Turkey’s ties with Germany, following recent disputes about press freedom in Turkey and a German TV satirist who insulted Erdogan, at a time when the EU is relying on Ankara to block the flow of migrants into Europe.

On a visit to Tehran, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian had a meeting with Iran’s Vice-President, Head of the Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi.

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the development of bilateral relations and exchanged views on urgent international issues.

Ali Akbar Salehi briefed Minister Nalbandian on the implementation of the agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.

The same day Minister Nalabndian had a meeting with Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran.

The joint steps towards the further deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation and the process of implementation of the agreements reached on the highest level were discussed.

The Armenian Foreign Minister briefed Mr. Shamkhani on the efforts towards elimination of consequences of the large scale-military actions Azerbaijan unleashed against Nagorno Karabakh in April. The interlocutors agreed that there is no alternative to the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

During the meeting reference was made to urgent international and regional issues and the efforts towards their settlement.