Turkish press: Russian pranksters posing as Armenian PM fool UK’s Johnson in phone call

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British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP Photo)

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson talked international relations and rude poetry with a hoax caller who pretended to be the Armenian Prime Minister in an embarrassing new gaffe for one of Britain’s most prominent politicians.

In an 18 minute call, Johnson discussed relations with Russia, the Iran nuclear deal and the Syrian war, according to audio of the call uploaded on YouTube and shared on the Twitter pages of Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus.

Britain’s foreign office confirmed that Johnson had been hoaxed and said the perpetrator was “childish”.

The caller, impersonating Armenia’s new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, said he was going to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I hope he will not poison me with Novichok,” the prankster joked, referring to a nerve agent used in the March attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, for which Britain has blamed Russia. Johnson can be heard chuckling on the other end of the line.

Later in the call, Johnson said he would like to come to Armenia to find out more about “Armenia’s Novichok experiences”, and they also talk about sanctions against Russia and high-profile individuals.

“You throw a stone in Kensington and you’ll hit an oligarch,” Johnson said, in reference to the central London district favored by Russian tycoons. “Some of them are close to Putin and some of them aren’t.”

Johnson is no stranger to controversy. In the run-up to Britain’s 2016 referendum on EU membership, he compared the goals of the European Union to those of Adolf Hitler and Napoleon, causing consternation in European capitals.

Also in 2016, Johnson wrote a controversial poem about President Tayyip Erdoğan, involving wild oats and a goat, which the prankster complimented him on.

“You’re very kind,” Johnson said, before trying to bring the call to a close. Some minutes later, as the prankster is talking, the line goes quiet.

“The Foreign Secretary realized it was a hoax and ended the call. We checked it out and knew immediately it was a prank call,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

“The use of chemical weapons in Salisbury and Syria, and recent events in Armenia are serious matters. These childish actions show the lack of seriousness of the caller and those behind him.”

The statement did not say when the call was made but it is thought to have been recorded on May 14, as the real leader of Armenia was to hold a meeting with the Russian president that day.

Alexei Stolyarov and Vladimir Kuznetsov, known as Lexus and Vovan, previously fooled other high-profile victims around the world. The two pranksters have denied links to Russia’s security services. In 2015, they phoned Elton John pretending to be Russian President Vladimir Putin after the musician criticized Russia’s stance on gay rights.

Turkish press: Israeli Parliament brings up ’Armenian genocide discussion’ amid Turkey political turmoil

Israeli lawmakers on May 23 approved a motion to hold a plenary debate on “recognizing the Armenian genocide,” as relations between Israel and Turkey continue their downward spiral. 

While such a motion would not be considered an Israeli government move, it could worsen already tense ties with Turkey, which has accused Israel of “Nazism” over its killing of some 60 Palestinians on the Gaza border, Agence France-Presse reported.

Ahead of the vote on holding the discussion, Tamar Zandberg of the left-wing opposition Meretz party said the timing of her motion had nothing to do with the rise in tensions with Turkey.

“Time and again this issue has fallen victim to political disputes. Not recognizing the Armenian genocide is a moral stain on Israel,” Zandberg said.

A plenary discussion “would be a significant measure to the moral message Israel is sending the entire world,” she said.

The motion was approved 16-0, although a date for the plenary discussion has yet to be set.

Meretz has since 1989 tried to approve recognizing the century-old Turkish mass killings of Armenians beginning in 1915 as a “genocide,” with Israeli governments rejecting the efforts because of ties with Turkey.

Relations collapsed over the deadly storming of a Gaza-bound Turkish air ship by Israeli commandos in 2010, until a 2016 agreement normalized ties.

Violence on the Gaza border that resulted in the deaths of 60 Palestinians last week and the transfer of the US embassy to the disputed city of Jerusalem prompted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to lash out at Israel, accusing it of “state terror” and “genocide.”

Erdoğan also chaired a summit of Muslim leaders at which he compared Israel’s actions to the Nazi persecution of the Jews in the Holocaust during World War II.

Ankara recalled its ambassador to Israel before expelling the Israel envoy and consul general, with Israel ordering the Turkish consul in Jerusalem to leave.

The Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people were killed during World War I as the Ottoman Empire was falling apart, with almost 30 countries to date having recognized the killings as genocide.

Turkey strongly denies the genocide charge, arguing that 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians sided with invading Russian troops.

Turkey, Armenia, Israel, genocide, Ottoman, World War I, Knes

Verelq: Press: Nikol Pashinyan’s team is seriously starving for personnel

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VERELQ presents the most notable publications of the Armenian press.


“Publication” the newspaper writes. “Nikol Pashinyan there was a serious shortage of personnel in the team, and many other options were discussed during appointments. until Artak Zeynalyanto be appointed as the Minister of Justice, that position was offered Edmon Marukyan, the latter did not agree, arguing that he would do a bigger job for the team in the parliament. However, according to our source, the long-term goal was the position of the chief prosecutor. Head of State Control Service Davit Sanasaryan He was also offered the position of SRC head, but he did not agree. Secretary of the National Security Council Armen Grigoryan wanted to occupy a place in the economic bloc, but did not succeed. There are also concerns in the team regarding the “substitute coach”. “If any of the ministers cannot cope, a new person should be appointed, and there are not many competent new ones.”


“time” the newspaper writes. “Yesterday, the leader of the “Tsarukyan” bloc faction visited Armavir Gagik Tsarukyan, to attend the opening ceremony of the fitness club. In Armavir, Tsarukyan was welcomed as a representative of the government. Even the heads of RPA institutions were forced to attend Tsarukyan’s welcoming ceremony with their RPA employees, so that it would be as crowded as possible. Now being a member of the RPA is no longer relevant, everyone is going to the PAP.”


“Publication” the newspaper writes. “According to our information, the ruling elite is preparing for constitutional changes. These days, both the government and the presidency have created internal groups that study the experience of different countries. The goal is to eliminate the super-prime ministership, increase the powers of the RA president, redistribute powers between the prime minister and the National Assembly, and create counterbalancing mechanisms. These two commissions are actively working, the end result of which will be the creation of an interdepartmental commission, taking concrete steps, making changes in the laws and the Constitution through the National Assembly. The need to make constitutional changes is conditioned by the new political situation.”


“Publication” the newspaper writes. “In the coming days, the consultations of the political forces on the amendments to the Electoral Code will begin. The task of meeting the government with the forces and developing a package was assigned to the head of the “Union of Informed Citizens” NGO Daniel Ioanisyan. The plan A of the government is to organize extraordinary NA elections as soon as possible. And if there is no agreement with the RPA to change the EO, plan B will be launched: the Ministry of Justice will file a lawsuit with the Supreme Court to declare the EO rating election system unconstitutional, because the proportional electoral system is fixed in the Constitution, and the EO rating system is close to the majority one. If this does not work, which they consider unlikely, they will try to hold early elections with a referendum.”


“Publication” the newspaper writes. “A new scandal is brewing around the Armenian Apostolic Church. According to our information, he is a former member of the National Assembly Aragats Akhoyan is going to go to court against the Catholicos. The point is that for years construction companies owned by Akhoyan have implemented the construction projects of the Mother See, and Garegin B, as everyone knows, does not like to pay, and Akhoyan’s cup of patience has run out. Perhaps the fact that Akhoyan is active in spiritual matters, particularly in the issues related to the election of the Patriarch of Constantinople, also played a certain role here, which the Mother See also does not like.”


“Morning” the newspaper writes. “At the top of the monument, a huge green zone will soon be sacrificed for the sake of a magnificent building. Weeks ago, the property was advertised for sale. There was no announcement yesterday. In this area, as in the surrounding areas, there are thick trees and a dense green garden. Judging from the announcement, the territory is not newly privatized and is not excluded by pennies. Today it is resold at several times more expensive prices, especially since the neighborhood is elite. The continuation of this piece of land is already built, former prime ministers are located here Hovik Abrahamyan, Karen Karapetyan, a little further on, a former police chief Vladimir Gasparyan, the luxurious mansions of several army generals.”


“Fact” the newspaper writes. “Judge of the Appellate Civil Court of Armenia Levon GrigoryanIn 2017, he submitted to the ethics committee of high-ranking officials. annual statement. According to the affidavit, the judge sold his car to buy another one last year. Thus, he sold the “SUZUKI SX4 1.6” car for 3 million 650 thousand drams, and bought the “VOLKSWAGEN POLO 1.3″ car for 6 million 300 thousand drams. At the beginning of last year, the judge also had loans in the amount of 4 million 126 thousand drams, which was returned to him before the end of the year. The funds amounted to 2 million drams, and the annual income was 15 million 349 thousand drams, of which 11 million 699 thousand drams is the salary, and 3 million 650 thousand drams is the money received from the sale of the car.”


“People” the daily writes. “Huge funds have been allocated from the RA state budget to buy cars for the newly established Supreme Judicial Council. It became known to “Zhoghovurd” daily that a few days ago, the “Judicial Department of the Republic of Armenia” has bought two cars for the newly created Supreme Judicial Council, spending 38 million 56 thousand 750 drams, about 80 thousand dollars, for this purpose. On May 7, the judicial department signed an agreement with “Toyota Yerevan” company, according to which 2018 cars were purchased for the BDH. one “Toyota LC Prado 4.OL Business (6G)” car, worth 27 million 695 thousand AMD or about 60 thousand dollars, and a “Toyota corolla 1.6L elegance plus” car, worth 10 million 361 thousand 750 AMD or more than 21.5 thousand dollars. According to “Zhoghovurd” daily, the car worth about 60,000 dollars will be serviced by the president of the Central Committee, former chairman of the Supreme Court. Gagik Harutyunyan: In fact, the all-time ruler Gagik Harutyunyan has decided not to lag behind the latest innovations of the car market, and now they have decided to buy one of the most luxurious cars for him. However, it is difficult to say how the new car will contribute to the implementation of his official powers, especially when Harutyunyan’s legitimacy is in doubt. “Zhoghovurd” daily had occasion to reflect on this circumstance in one of its previous issues. One fact. There are 32 cars in the balance sheet of the RA Judicial Department system, all of which are in use.”

Verelq: Taron Margaryan appealed to the CEC to terminate the mandate of Alen Simonyan’s Council of Elders

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Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan has sent a protocol to the Central Electoral Commission about the premature termination of the mandate of Alen Simonyan, a member of the Council of Elders of the “Yelk” faction.


According to CEC press secretary Hermine Harutyunyan, the issue will be discussed at the CEC.


To remind, Alen Simonyan, a member of the “Civil Agreement” party, received a parliamentary mandate in the National Assembly, replacing Nikol Pashinyan in the parliament. However, two days ago, Alen Simonyan announced that he had decided to give up the parliamentary mandate, although later he did not rule out that it is possible to withdraw the application to withdraw the mandate within the specified 7-day period.

Verelq: The Prime Minister proposed to dismiss the Chief of the General Staff Movses Hakobyan

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RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed to President Armen Sarkissian to fire the Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces Movses Hakobyan.

Pashinyan announced this during the regular session of the government.


According to the Prime Minister, Movses Hakobyan will move to another job.

“The decision was made by mutual agreement. Today, by the end of the day, a new appointment will be made to the position of Chief of the General Staff, and tomorrow he will be presented to the Armed Forces,” said Nikol Pashinyan.

Expert: It is wrong to consider the change of power in RA as a “color revolution”

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It is wrong to consider the change of power in RA as a “color revolution”. The “color revolutions” in the post-Soviet region took place with the calls to leave the zone of influence of the Russian Federation and to refuse to join the CSTO, as well as with the change of direction towards the West. There are no such things in RA. American expert Vladimir Sokor announced that.

He noted that Pashinyan and his supporters assure the population of Armenia that Armenia will remain an ally with Russia. From the point of view of the strategic alliance with Russia, nothing will change.

According to him, if Pashinyan does not implement radical changes, the population of RA will continue to fall into poverty and this may lead to new political crises. People’s uprisings in RA take place cyclically, every 6-8 years.

Drivers who commit an administrative offense will not pay the fine. MoH:

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According to the draft law developed by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia, until January 1, 2018, persons who have committed an administrative offense under certain articles of administrative offenses will be released from the obligation to pay the amount of the fine (the unpaid part), as well as the enforcement costs incurred in connection with its confiscation. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Justice.


The need for this initiative is due to the large number of fines imposed in the field of road traffic safety, which, on the one hand, does not contribute to the effective implementation of the policy aimed at preventing offenses by the state, and, on the other hand, the payment of fines, due to the social status of the recipients, in many cases has negative consequences.

In the coming days there will be publications about illegally enriched persons. Head of NSS

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In the coming days there will be publications about illegally enriched persons. This was stated by Artur Vanetsyan, director of the RA NSS, in a briefing with journalists before the government session.


He noted that the National Security Service of RA has started active operations since May 23 in relation to the revelations of persons enriched by corruption chains and information will be provided to the public in the coming days.


Referring to the statement made by him the other day that 350 people in Armenia do not know that they are engaged in big business and do not pay taxes, Vanetsyan clarified whether he did not say that 350 people will be arrested.


“Preliminary operational data has been confirmed. There are people who have been invited and detained, the work is being done. It is a complex and large-scale work, and we have to make sure that no one raises questions about this work, it will be done at a professional level,” he said. 


However, the head of the NSS did not answer whether the names of high-ranking officials will be mentioned in the findings.

No trees were cut in the botanical garden. deputy director

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The news that 500 trees were cut down in the Yerevan Botanical Garden is not true. Sahak Vardanyan, deputy director of the Institute of Botany named after Takhtajyan, said this in a conversation with VERELQ, referring to media reports that tree felling was carried out in the park in order to build an entertainment complex.


He assured that not a single tree was cut in the park, and on the contrary, 500 trees were planted in March and another 100 trees are planned to be planted in the Botanical Garden in the near future.


Referring to the news related to the ongoing construction works, Vardanyan said that it is misinformation, because no construction is being carried out in the park at the moment.


“No construction work is being carried out in the park. Simply, a tent will be set up in one of the sites during the summer in order to hold various events, conferences, and concerts,” he said, expressing his willingness to provide photos and videos of the said site of the Botanical Garden, in which it is clearly seen that there was no tree there either before or now. By the way, the tent will be assembled as soon as the cold starts.

We have money, just that money is not where it should be. prime minister

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At today’s session of the government, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the SRC has been faced with the issue of significantly increasing the incoming parts of the state budget and there is no second option.

He pointed out the shadow economy that exists in Armenia and emphasized the importance of reducing the shadow economy.

“There is a huge shadow economy in Armenia and our relevant bodies must work to bring this shadow economy out into the light. We should not think, oh, there is no money, let’s do nothing. We have money, it’s just that the money is not where it should be,” the Prime Minister announced.

According to him, the State Prosecutor’s Office, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Police, the National Security Service, the Special Investigation Service must ensure this process, and if they do not, appropriate conclusions will be drawn. 

“So, Mr. Janjughazyan, you can sleep peacefully at night,” added Nikol Pashinyan, addressing the Minister of Finance.