Mothers Of Dozens Of Armenian Soldiers Killed In Karabakh Back Peace Campaign By PM's Wife Karine Simonian The Armenian Prime Minister's wife Anna Hakobian (R) meets with mothers of soldiers killed in Nagorno-Karabakh, Yerevan, 15Sept2018 Mothers of about four dozen servicemen who were killed in action during the years of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in particular, during the April 2016 clashes, declared on Saturday about their joining the peace appeal of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's wife Anna Hakobian addressed to all warring sides in the world. During a reception by Hakobian at the prime minister's office in Yerevan, the mothers of killed Armenian soldiers urged women in Azerbaijan to join them in stopping the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. "Let all mothers of the world rise up. We especially address our appeal to mothers in Azerbaijan. Recently on the internet they also addressed an appeal to stop the war. We don't want war, we don't want to lose our sons," said Hamest Nersisian, mother of Captain Armenak Urfanian who was killed during the four-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh in April 2016. "[We want] peace to be finally established at the borders# so that after sending their sons to the army mothers don't have to go through excruciating wait for them to return safe and sound. We want no more mothers like ourselves in the new Armenia," said another woman who lost her son in the conflict. Yet another such woman added: "I am fighting for the rights of all these women, the rights of the families who have lost their sons, fathers, brothers. I am fighting for them not to lose their children anymore." Hakobian said in her speech that she will carry on her "Women for Peace" campaign with more confidence particularly enjoying the support of the mothers who lost their sons during the 2016 clashes in Nagorno-Karabakh. She stressed that in Armenia peace appeals addressed to Azerbaijanis usually elicit mixed reactions and after launching this campaign she also came under criticism. "What makes your message addressed to Azerbaijani mothers also very important is that it is not accepted unambiguously by our society. After my speech I also heard accusations that I shouldn't compare [Armenian and Azerbaijani mothers] and so on. But I want to ask you whether being a mother has ethnicity, nationality or religion," said Hakobian. The Armenian prime minister's wife urged Azerbaijani women to join this peace campaign. "I hope that your voice and our voice will also reach Azerbaijani mothers, and they will, too, speak up against war and for peace. And if this happens, if our ranks grow, one day we will also get our message across to the men who issue orders to fire and start a war," said Hakobian. The Armenian prime minister's wife Anna Hakobian called on the wives of former and current senior officials and wealthy businessmen to contribute to the activities of a foundation set up by Hamest Nersisian and bearing the name of her son, Captain Armenak Urfanian. "I think there will be women who will give it a thought and arrive at the conclusion that the valuables they purchased while their husbands were in office were not always earned so fairly. And they will think that by donating at least some of them to Hamest Nersisian's foundation they can find peace of mind," said Hakobian. To a journalist's remark that while they were campaigning for peace, Azerbaijani armed forces reportedly fired at an Armenian border village last night, Hakobian said that they were campaigning for peace as women and mothers and not on behalf of the state. She stressed that parallel to their peace appeal Armenia was also holding military exercises. "Life will show who will prove victorious. Either we will win and will make them lay down their arms and sit down at a negotiating table to try to understand each other and solve this problem, or we will lose and they will continue to shoot at each other at the borders. I want to exclude the option of our defeat and want to express confidence that one day we will prevail," the Armenian prime minister's wife concluded. Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL Copyright (c) 2018 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc. 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
Category: 2018
The Armenian Opera and Ballet Theater in Dubai
Dear Editors,
This is a historic moment for us all. Maestro Orbelian has put Armenian talent on the world map.
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Thank you All!
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Russian approves draft law on EEU-Iran free trade deal
Iran Daily
Saturday
Russian approves draft law on EEU-Iran free trade deal
The five-nation economic bloc of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia struck the provisional free trade deal with Iran on the sidelines of the Astana Economic Forum on May 17, Sputnik reported.
The provisional agreement is expected to last for three years, with the signatories committing themselves to enter into talks on a full-fledged free trade deal within a year since the accord’s entry into force.
“Approve the draft federal law … and table it in the State Duma in accordance with the established procedure,” the government said in a statement, posted on its official website.
The provisional agreement will cover a limited set of goods to ensure swift adaptation of exporters to a new level of relations.
The agreement is aimed at reducing tariffs and also removing non-tariff barriers to increase predictability and boost mutual trade.
In May, Iranian Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari said Iran has become a partner of a great economic union. The agreement will bear positive fruit for the whole region.
Shariatmadari said that his country, which exports goods worth $20 billion per year, is a good partner for the EEU and “is interested in the simplification of export procedures, the elimination of trade barriers and the establishment of stable economic and trade relationships”.
The chairman of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Tigran Sargsyan, hailed the agreement signed by Iran and the EEU, which he portrayed as “the first step toward establishing a new type of economic relationship” between the parties.
“The Iranian market is very large and dynamic and that is why it is so appealing to our business leaders,” he said.
“Of course we are worried, but we have our own economic interests and we will attempt to implement all of the terms of the agreement,” Sargsyan said.
According to Rakhim Oshakbayev, the director of the Talap Center and a Kazakh political scientist who specializes in studying the EEU, the agreement between Iran and the EEU is a consequence of the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran deal.
“I think this is positive and it would mean that the foreign policy of the United States is not completely effective,” he said.
The EEU bloc was established in 2015, after it superseded the Eurasian Economic Community that functioned from 2000 to 2014.
The union has an integrated single market of 183 million people and a gross domestic product of over $4 trillion.
Armenia also welcomed the free trade agreement between the EEU and Iran.
Armenia, the only EEU member state in the Caucasus, has been positioning itself as a trade partner to Iran via a free trade zone on its southern border.
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said We hope that it will stimulate our commercial ties [with Iran,]” he expressed. “It opens up opportunities. We hope to utilize those opportunities in full.”
Armenian Minister for Economic Development Artsvik Minasian said the deal would allow Armenia to serve as an important transit route between Iran and the wider EEU market. “This is also an opportunity to manufacture some products in the Meghri free-trade zone,” he told Azatutyun, Armenian news service.
Meghri, Armenia’s border town with Iran, has become an important part of Armenia’s economic strategy after a trade hub has opened there in December, 2017. The hub offers generous business terms for companies operating there.
“Companies operating in the Meghri will be exempt from profit tax, value added tax, excise tax and customs fees,” the provincial governor’s press secretary, Vazgen Sagatelyan, told Eurasianet recently.
“We expect the zone to attract 50 to 70 companies in the coming years, investing $100-130 million and creating more than 1,500 jobs.”
Erdogan Says Opening of Border With Armenia Impossible Until Nagorno-Karabakh Settlement
Sputnik News Service, Russia
Saturday 4:50 PM UTC
Erdogan Says Opening of Border With Armenia Impossible Until Nagorno-Karabakh Settlement
BAKU, September 15 (Sputnik) – The opening of the border between Turkey and Armenia and the establishment of diplomatic ties remain out of question until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is settled, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
“Without the settlement of the conflict, without the return of refugees to their homes, talks on opening borders and establishing any relations are out of question,” Erdogan said, speaking at the Azerbaijani military parade marking the centenary of the victory of the Caucasian Islamic Army, who fought on behalf of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and captured Baku from Armenian Dashnaks and Bolshevik forces.
The statement comes as Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev earlier in the day accused Armenia of shelling several areas controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, citing the data of the country’s defense ministry.
In a comment to Sputnik, the diplomat stressed that Baku would resist attempts to drag out the conflict settlement and warned that “the responsibility for the steps that Azerbaijan could have to take, applying its inalienable rights on the basis of the UN Charter, will entirely rest with Armenia.”
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dates back to 1988, when the Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh region, which was then part of the Azerbaijan Socialist Republic, announced its willingness to secede and join the Armenian republic instead. The military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted after the region proclaimed its independence and the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in 1991.
In 1994 a ceasefire agreement was reached, however, in 2016 the two sides renewed clashes leading to numerous casualties on both sides.
Azerbaijani Press: Labyrinths of Pashinyan
Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Press
Saturday
Labyrinths of Pashinyan
by ASTNA.biz
-What is the purpose of placing a telephone conversation in the Internet between the Director of the National Security Service of Armenia, Arthur Vanesyan, and the head of the Special Investigation Service, Sasun Khachiatryan?
-There is no secret for anyone: to strike at the new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has not yet strengthened his post. It is known that after Pashinyan came to power, operative and investigative actions were launched against former President Robert Kocharian, the brother of another former President, Serge Sargsyan, and members of his family, against representatives of the Karabakh clan. The investigation is conducted on charges of organizing bloody events on March 1, 2008 with the aim of overthrowing the Constitutional system, as well as allegations of corruption. It is clear that the judicial perspective on both charges does not promise anything good to the representatives of the former regime. There is even no need to get acquainted with the case materials in order to know about enough evidence.
As a results of this process the clan can be erased from the history of Armenia, and even they can lose their property and freedom. Therefore, while there is an opportunity they are trying to stop this process, there is no doubt that they have serious foreign support in the person of Russia. Moscow could not find a strong figure that could replace Sarkisyan, for this reason Moscow she had to enter into the game already used people. The fact that Robert Kocharyan was released from arrest, and Putin personally congratulated him on the phone on his birthday, indicates that Moscow is not interested in the destruction of the clan, and is trying to leave the old team in the game. The fact that a leak of telephone conversation between the heads of two law enforcement agencies was committed is an attempt to demonstrate that criminal cases are politically motivated. They are conducted by Pashinyan’s order and they do not have a legal basis. Thus, the goal is to question the legitimacy of the criminal prosecution of the representatives of the regime, both within the country and among the international community. Another goal is to shake Pashinyan’s authority, his support, create obstacles for the implementation of his political program. Pashinyan wants to quickly dissolve the parliament and get the elections. If new elections are held in the shortest time, Pashinyan’s bloc will win with a big advantage, it will be very difficult to remove him from power, and maybe it is impossible, at least for the clan. Therefore, the old system wants to use the available opportunities. The minimum plan is to delay implementation of Pashinyan’s political program with such deeds. The maximum plan is not to allow the implementation of this program at all and stop Pashinyan.
– Who is behind this?
– Behind this are either the people of the overthrown regime, which are inside the law enforcement and security agencies, or the Russian intelligence. Or, both forces together carry out this operation. In Armenia, Russia has two military bases. This means that what is known as the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, that is, military intelligence operates freely in Armenia. This structure has very high technological capabilities, so listening and recording telephone conversations is the easiest thing.
-The suspicion is that these events occurred after Pashinyan’s visit to Moscow. It seems that Moscow did not like Pashinyan’s behavior. What do you think about this? How will Pashinyan come out of this situation? Will he be able to change the situation in his favor?
– Pashinyan during his last trip to Russia tried to behave like the leader of an independent state, let Putin understand “do not interfere in our affairs, respect our sovereignty.” I do not think that Putin liked this behavior and the imperialist circles of Moscow. Pashinyan irritated Moscow so much. After many years in Armenia, a politician who is not a man of Russia came to power. And how did he come to power? The most unacceptable option for Russia is the people’s revolution. Imagine that Armenia is the strongest outpost of Russia not only in the post-Soviet space but also in the whole world. And suddenly important political process, not controlled by Russia happen there – a change of power; a person whose actions do not meet the interests of Russia came to power. Naturally, he must be punished, at least, he should be sent a warning signal, and Moscow is doing it now. Pashinyan is in a very difficult situation. On the one hand, as a prime minister, he has broad powers, but the system is not subject to him. That is, the head of state is opposed to the system. Or vice versa: the system is resisting the new leader. In order to put an end to this situation, early elections are needed, there is no other way out. However, in this matter, the word belongs to the existing parliament. Only if the parliamentary majority agrees, the current legal deadlock can be overcome. To take a decision on conducting early elections, the prime minister should resign and the attempt to elect a new prime minister should be twice unsuccessful. But Pashinyan is afraid if he resigns, the parliamentary majority will elect his own man. Moreover, the possibility of Serge Sargsyan’s return may arise. Therefore, Pashinyan, by amending the Constitution, wants to simplify the dissolution of the parliament. However, there is a need for this in the current parliament. That is, Pashinyan now seems to have got into the labyrinth. It is not easy to find a way out of this labyrinth. His only resource is popular support. I think if Pashinyan’s bloc wins with a big advantage during the elections to the Yerevan municipality on September 23, he, inspired by this fact, will direct the people’s pressure on the parliament and will try to obtain making necessary decisions. There is no doubt that in this case the tension will increase, and the confrontation will increase.
– So, Pashinyan is opposed to a great power. Some experts say that Pashinyan’s resistance can lead Armenia to chaos. The events that happened in Georgia and Ukraine can happen in Armenia. How real are these assumptions?
– Of course, there is possibility of a chaos in Armenia. If the system, the remnants of the old regime, the Karabakh clan continue to resist the Pashinyan system, then the tension will increase. Pashinyan will have no choice but to urge people to go to the streets. And the attempt to make political decisions under the pressure of the masses will not please Moscow. There is a possibility that Russia will declare these processes unconstitutional. It does not promise Pashinyan anything good.
How can the stubbornness Pashinyan and the events in Armenia affect Azerbaijan? In this context, probably, Russia will also need something from Azerbaijan. Can this time Russia use the Nagorno Karabakh conflict as a threat against Armenia?
– Russia will each time try to realize pressure on Pashinyan. It will create alternate traps in relation to it. The first step in this direction was the placement of the telephone conversation of two high-ranking officials in a social media. There are opportunities inside the country to neutralize Pashinyan. To do this, it is necessary to spoil his image, dissolve popular support. Russia is able to create chaos, political and economic crisis in Armenia. It is possible to use the Karabakh card if the attempts within the country do not give any result. It is also possible that Pashinyan will find a common language with Russia. It should be borne in mind that the bridges between the two camps have not been burned. The above said does not mean Russia is currently trying to overthrow Nikol Pashinyan at any cost. I do not think that Moscow has made such a decision.
Azerbaijani Press: Pashinyan Accuses Baku of Being Unconstructive
Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Press
Saturday
Pashinyan Accuses Baku of Being Unconstructive
Paris / 15.09.18 / Turan: If the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs want a settlement of the Karabakh conflict, first of all Azerbaijan should be called to order. This was stated by Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, who is visiting Paris.
“If Baku thinks that threats can force us to make concessions, it’s wrong. Azerbaijan will not understand that today’s Armenia is different; this is Armenia, around which the whole Armenian community has rallied, with its new potential. And aggressive actions of Azerbaijan will not be against Armenia or Artsakh, but against the Armenians, and they will meet a counterattack from the united Armenian nation,” he said.
Pashinyan gave a negative answer to the question whether his meeting with the head of Azerbaijan on the settlement will be held.
He also said that he discussed the Karabakh issue with the French President.
“He asked if there was really an opportunity to seriously discuss the issue of solving the problem. In this regard, we exchanged views, and I told him that, from my point of view, the leadership of Azerbaijan is not so sincere when it talks about the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. This will be possible only if there is an atmosphere of settlement in the region. But we hear threats, and it’s simply not realistic to talk about a settlement in such conditions,” Pashinyan said. -02D-
Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Supports Introduction of EAEU Single Currency
Sputnik News Service
Saturday 12:32 AM UTC
Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Supports Introduction of EAEU Single Currency
YEREVAN, September 15 (Sputnik) – Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mger Grigoryan said that the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) should introduce the single currency and stop using US dollars in the intra-bloc trade.
“Without the single currency area, if [union’s] members are working with a currency of another bloc or state, the effects that could be gained from the economic integration and blocs are not full-fledged. The relevance of this process is clear and the process will actively develop,” Grigoryan told the MIR 24 broadcaster.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) that Russia wanted to develop trade in national currencies with its partners replacing the US dollar.
The EAEU is a regional political and economic bloc that aims to optimize the flow of goods and services between its members: Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.
Une solution au Nagorny-Karabakh nécessaire pour rétablir les relations turco-arméniennes, affirme Erdogan
L’Orient-Le Jour, Liban
15 sept 2018
REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
Le règlement de la question du Nagorny-Karabakh est la condition “sine qua non” pour rétablir les relations entre la Turquie et l’Arménie, a déclaré samedi le président turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan, en déplacement en Azerbaïdjan. “Bien sûr, nous souhaitons l’établissement et le maintien de bonnes relations avec tous nos voisins, mais le règlement de la question du (Nagorny-Karabakh) est la condition sine qua non pour rétablir nos relations avec l’Arménie”, a déclaré le chef de l’Etat turc, dans un discours télévisé à Bakou. “Dans cette affaire, c’est avant tout aux occupants de faire un pas”, a-t-il ajouté.
Le Nagorny-Karabakh est une enclave en majorité peuplée d’Arméniens, rattachée en 1921 à l’Azerbaïdjan par les autorités soviétiques, mais qui a unilatéralement proclamé son indépendance en 1991, avec le soutien de l’Arménie. La Turquie a fermé en 1993 sa frontière avec l’Arménie par solidarité avec l’Azerbaïdjan et par mesure de rétorsion au soutien apporté par Erevan aux séparatistes arméniens. La communauté internationale considère toujours cette région comme faisant partie de l’Azerbaïdjan.
La guerre entre Azéris et Arméniens du Karabakh a éclaté en 1988. En dépit d’un cessez-le-feu signé en 1994, les accrochages armés y restent fréquents. La Turquie s’est dite prête en mai à envisager “une nouvelle” page avec l’Arménie à la suite de déclarations du nouveau Premier ministre arménien Nikol Pachinian évoquant le possible établissement de relations diplomatiques entre les deux pays.
Avant l’élection de M. Pachinian, Erevan avait désavoué début mars les accords de normalisation avec la Turquie, accusant Ankara de ne pas pouvoir “se débarrasser de ses stéréotypes”.
Les deux pays s’opposent notamment sur la question des massacres d’Arméniens commis par les Turcs ottomans en 1915-1917. L’Arménie qualifie de “génocide” ces massacres, qui ont fait selon Erevan quelque 1,5 million de morts, alors que la Turquie rejette vigoureusement ce terme.
Chess: Levon Aronian joining Tata Steel tournament in India
PanArmenian, Armenia
Sept 15 2018
– 16:19 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian will be seen in action in the upcoming Tata Steel chess meet which will be held in the Indian city of Kolkata from November 9-14, Times of India reports.
This rapid and blitz format tournament will be one of strongest-ever in the country with four of the 11 players in the fray are in the top-10 bracket of the Fide world rankings.
The Grandmasters meet will see five foreigners and six Indians vying for $40,000 prize money.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan,Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura of the United States and Sergey Karjakin of Russia (2760) will also be involved.
Turkish Press: Solution in occupied Karabakh a must to normalize ties with Armenia, Erdoğan says
Daily Sabah, Turkey
Sept 15 2018
Solution in occupied Karabakh a must to normalize ties with Armenia, Erdoğan says
DAILY SABAH WITH
ISTANBUL
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev visit the Turkish Cemetary in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sept. 15, 2018. (AA Photo)
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Saturday a solution in Azerbaijan’s occupied Karabakh region is the absolute precondition for Turkey to improve ties with Armenia.
Addressing top Azerbaijani officials including his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev and other attendees of a ceremony held for the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Baku in Azatliq Square, Erdoğan said: “We want good relations with our neighbors but solving the Karabakh problem is the absolute precondition for Turkey to improve ties with Armenia.”
The president added that it is pointless for Armenia to expect Turkey to open its borders while it continues to occupy 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s lands and prevent more than 1 million Azerbaijanis to return to their homeland.
Erdoğan also recalled the 1992 Khojaly massacre that killed hundreds of Azerbaijani citizens.
“Those who cannot explain what happened in Khojaly 26 years ago, the massacre in Upper Karabakh, and declare the killers heroes, should not give Turkey any kind of history lesson,” Erdoğan said, referring to genocide allegations over World War I killings of Ottoman Armenians.
The Khojaly Massacre is regarded as one of the bloodiest and most controversial incidents of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan for control of the now-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region between 1988 and 1994.
On the heels of the Soviet Union’s dissolution, Armenian forces took over the town of Khojaly in Karabakh on Feb. 26, 1992, after battering it with heavy artillery and tanks, assisted by an infantry regiment.
The two-hour offensive killed 613 Azerbaijani citizens, including 116 women and 63 children, and critically injured 487 others, according to Azerbaijani figures. Also, 150 of the 1,275 Azerbaijanis that the Armenians captured during the massacre remain missing.
The conflict over predominantly Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh displaced hundreds of Azerbaijanis as the Armenian occupation extended far beyond the borders of the de jure autonomous region, which has declared independence as the Republic of Artsakh and only recognized by Armenia.
Ankara and Yerevan did not establish formal diplomatic ties after Armenia declared independence in 1991 and in 1993, Turkey closed its border with Armenia in response to the Armenian aggression in Karabakh.
Erdoğan visited Azerbaijan to attend ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Baku by the Caucasian Islamic Army, comprised of Azerbaijani and Turkish soldiers.
Erdoğan arrived in Baku at 12.30 p.m. local time (0830GMT) at Haydar Aliyev Airport, where he was greeted by Azerbaijan’s Vice President Yagub Eyyubov, Deputy Foreign Minister Ramiz Hasanov, Azerbaijan’s envoy in Ankara Hazar Ibrahim and Turkey’s envoy in Baku Erkan Özoral. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar accompanied Erdoğan on his visit.
He then held a bilateral meeting meeting with Aliyev at the Youth Palace.
The two presidents later visited the Baku State Cemetery, where the tombs of Azerbaijan’s founding President Heydar Aliyev and the January 20, 1990 massacre victims are located.
Erdoğan and Aliyev also visited the Turkish Cemetery of Baku, where the fallen soldiers of the Caucasian Islamic Army during its 1918 campaign were laid to rest.
The campaign was launched by the Ottoman Empire to support the short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, established in May 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire, to liberate the city from Bolshevik and Armenian revolutionary Dashnak fighters. Baku was liberated in September 1918, but Turkish troops had to retreat and transfer the city to the British in November 1918 due to Ottoman defeat in the WWI.