Category: 2019

27th group of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers arrives in Armenia

Emma Jilavian
Panorama, Armenia

A group of 37 U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Armenia last night. The volunteers are all U.S. citizens, who have made a decision to spend two years of theirs lives serving the Armenian people. They will live in towns and villages across Armenia, will co-teach English with local school teachers and work in NGOs, the Peace Corps reported.

Before coming to Armenia, the volunteers participated in a virtual online course with Armenian language teachers.  This course provided them a basic, rudimentary understanding of the Armenian alphabet and conversational Armenian.  They are now prepared for more intensive Armenian language training in the next few months.

During the first three months in Armenia, the volunteers will receive technical training and will continue to learn the Armenian language and culture.  After successful completion of a rigorous training course, they will officially be sworn-in and start their service in Armenia on May 31st.

The volunteers will spend a minimum of six months living with Armenian host families where they will learn first-hand about Armenian culture and values.  Some volunteers will spend their entire service living with a host family.

With the addition of this new group, there are 108 Peace Corps volunteers serving in rural villages and towns throughout all of the regions of Armenia.

The United States Peace Corps was founded in 1961 by John F. Kennedy to promote world peace and friendship. The Peace Corps started its activities in Armenia in 1992 at the invitation of the Government of Armenia. Over the past 27 years more than 1,100 volunteers have served in Armenia.

Armenia addresses Azerbaijan’s military exercises at OSCE

Torgomian Varazdat
MediaMax, Armenia
 
 
Armenia addresses Azerbaijan’s military exercises at OSCE
 
 
Yerevan/Mediamax/. Permanent Mission of Armenia to the OSCE has broached with the organization the issue of large-scale attacking exercises that Azerbaijani Armed Forces held recently and demanded an explanation from the official Baku.
 
Spokeswoman for Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan has announced the mission’s actions at a press briefing today.
  
“Implementation of such large-scale military exercises by Azerbaijan without proper notification is a violation of international commitments provided for by the OSCE regulations. It does not facilitate strengthening of the atmosphere of trust in the region,” she said.

Awesome Foundation Artsakh yields its first awesome fruit

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Society 11:30 20/03/2019 NKR

A cozy library and intellectual nook has been inaugurated in Nor Shen village of Martuni region of Artsakh. The project was sponsored by the Awesome Foundation Artsakh and is the brainchild of Milena Asryan, a local schoolgirl, and her teacher Ara Harutyunyan.

Competing with a number of other applications, the project was named winner of the November 2018 Awesome Foundation Artsakh funding grant. Over the following months, thanks to the volunteering efforts of the schoolchildren and other village residents, the project has been translated into life, fostering conductive climate for the intellectual development of the kids and their recreation activities. In particular, provisions have been made in the room for reading, discussions, drawing and mind games.

Ara Harutyunyan, the local school teacher, highlighted creating proper conditions for the intellectual recreation of the kids, especially in rural communities, believing it was part and parcel of quality education, Awesome Foundation Artsakh reported.

Approaching two years of his teaching activity in Nor Shen, Ara has stood out as instigator of a number of innovative educational projects, channelling practical knowledge and skills to the children and sowing the seeds of social entrepreneurship in them.

Armine Grigoryan, one of the trustees of the Awesome Foundation Artsakh, welcomed the measures undertaken in Artsakh to deliver new approaches in the sphere of education. She pointed out that the cozy environment of alternative education and development in Nor Shen embodied through the library, which the kids put into life with their own efforts, had strong public importance and would become an additional stimulus for instilling love in the children towards books, for socializing the image of the reader.

Armine Grigoryan also viewed it as an important step that the schoolchildren were not indifferent and had motivation to change their life, create a corresponding environment for themselves.

Artak Beglaryan, founding trustee of the Awesome Foundation Artsakh, underlined that their aim was to boost initiativeness, innovation, volunteering, and community life in Artsakh through diverse awesome and creative projects.

He commended the implementation of the Nor Shen library project, informing that it was the pioneering accomplished project sponsored by the Foundation and that three more are pending.

Artak Beglaryan voiced his confidence that the projects of the foundation would become the making of social entrepreneurship and volunteering culture in Artsakh, advancing at the same time the shaping of a more comprehensive environment.

Awesome Foundation Artsakh was established in June 2018 as an autonomous chapter of global Awesome Foundation. It is an independent group of people (currently about 40 trustees from Artsakh, Armenia and the Diaspora) aiming to make the reality a little more awesome with some initiatives. Every two months the foundation gives out micro-grants to the winning project, local equivalent of $1000, which come out of pockets of the chapter’s trustees and are given on a no-strings-attached basis.

Biggest hotel in Armenia to be built soon

Emil Lazarian
ARKA, Armenia

YEREVAN, March 20. /ARKA/. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Tuesday American-Armenian businessman, philanthropist and well-known designer James Tufenkian, the press office of the Armenian government reports. The premier welcomed James Tufenkian’s activities in Armenia and Artsakh, noting that the Tufenkian Foundation-supported projects are of great importance both for Armenia and Artsakh.

Nikol Pashinyan advised that as part of the proposed economic revolution, the Government is implementing reforms to improve the business climate, promote entrepreneurship, simplify the legislative framework, etc in a bid to foster business activity and investment. 

The prime minister stressed his government’s focus on the promotion of different initiatives, considering that problems can only be solved through employment.

James Tufenkian, on his side, noted that the Diaspora is closely following the changes underway in Armenia with enthusiasm and pride. There is a great desire and interest among the Diaspora-based Armenians to visit their Homeland, get a first-hand view of the ongoing processes, contribute to development programs and support the reforms.

He said that he can use his long experience to raise awareness of those positive changes taking place in our country – introduction of new business culture, improvement of regulations for doing business, etc. Noting that the reforms are of great importance in terms of attracting new investments, James Tufenkian said the government’s innovations can foster and catalyze business activity.

Coming to the programs implemented by Tufenkian Foundation, Nikol Pashinyan and James Tufenkian spoke about the hotel complex construction project in Areni community of Armenia’s Vayots Dzor province. Nikol Pashinyan hailed the project, noting that it will trigger a tide of business activity not only in Areni, but also in the neighboring communities, improve the business environment in the region, promote both inbound and outbound tourism and lead to infrastructure improvements.

The Tufenkian Hotel will be the largest in Armenia and is scheduled for completion in two years. Mr. Tufenkian assured of his readiness to continue implementing development programs in Armenia and Artsakh and support the government in implementing the proposed reforms. In this context, Pashinyan and Tufenkian exchanged views on the prospects of new programs.

Businessman James Tufenkian invests in Armenia and Artsakh through Tufenkian Foundation. The Foundation’s programs are aimed at overcoming poverty, creating education opportunities, protecting the environment, promoting social justice and human rights in Armenia. The Foundation has implemented and is going to implement large-scale infrastructural and development projects in Artsakh. –0—

Armenian nuclear power plant to continue running, but supplemented by new power unit

Ophelia Vardapetian
JAM News
 
 
Armenian nuclear power plant to continue running, but supplemented by new power unit
 
JAMnews, Yerevan
Artur Xachatryan
 
The authorities of the country have stated that they have no obligation to close the nuclear power station, but there is a need to find sources to replace it
 
 
Operations of nuclear power plant must be extended
 
The Metsamor nuclear power plant has been the subject of controversy for a long time.
 
Some international structures, including the European Union, insist on either the closure or modernization of the station.
 
The EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement demands that Armenian close the nuclear power plant and replace it with new energy capacities. But the authorities of the country have already stated that the terms of operation will be extended because Armenia is currently unable to build a new plant or extend its existing capacity.
 
At the moment, work is underway that will prolong the safe operation of the station. However, it is unclear how long this period will be extended.
 
A new power unit will also reportedly be built and will cost Armenia $5 billion.
 
 
The nuclear power plant will close when other power sources are brought online
 
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the issue of closing the nuclear power plant is not on the agenda. The agreement with the EU, he says, does not demand the closure of the power plant:
 
“I want to state that in the Agreement on Comprehensive and Expanded Partnership, the topic of closing the nuclear power plant is linked to the creation of energy sources of adequate power. Our agenda is not the closure of nuclear power plants, but extending their capacities.”
 
The Metsamor nuclear power plant
 
Armenia’s Metsamor nuclear power plant has remained a key link in the republic’s energy security system for more than twenty years.
It provides for about 40 per cent of the electricity generated in Armenia.
It was commissioned in 1977. After the devastating earthquake in the north of the country in 1988, the USSR Council of Ministers and the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR decided to shut down the nuclear power plant. This was due to the likelihood of repeated shocks.
However, five years later in 1993, the authorities of independent Armenia went to restart the second power unit of the station. In the absence of other real sources of electricity, it was the only way out of the energy crisis that began in the country after the collapse of the USSR and the blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Nuclear energy continues to occupy an important place in the overall energy system of the country.
 

Analyst: The entrance of Russia in Artsakh is not needed either by Iran, or by the West, or by Armenia with Azerbaijan, or by Artsakh itself

Emil Lazarian
Arminfo, Armenia
David Stepanyan

ArmInfo. The entrance of Russia -Russian peacekeepers – in Artsakh is needed neither by Iran or the West, nor by Armenia with Azerbaijan, or by Artsakh itself. Director  of the Armenian Center for Strategic and National Studies Manvel  Sargsyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo, commenting on the  recent statement of the hero of Artsakh Samvel Babayan. 

On March 15, ex-commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, Samvel  Babayan, proposed to abandon the Madrid principles, voicing the idea  of granting a territorial mandate of Russia as a mechanism for  resolving the Karabakh conflict.

“Opinions about the intention of Moscow to deploy troops in Artsakh  sound periodically. However, I can say that in the context of the  uniqueness of the status quo, the absence of international  peacekeepers around Artsakh, this is almost impossible. And none of  the countries that have an interest in the region will allow the  appearance of foreign troops here, of course, each because of their  own reasons. This explains the periodic statements of the co-chairs  that none of the OSCE Minsk Group countries can participate in the  deployment of peacekeepers in Artsakh, “he stressed

Since 1992, the OSCE Minsk Group, represented by the co-chairs from  Russia, the United States and France, has been involved in resolving  the Karabakh conflict. At present, the settlement process is  proceeding on the basis of the Madrid Principles put forward by the  OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in 2007 and the Madrid Principles updated  in 2009, among other things, providing for the deployment of a  peacekeeping force in the conflict zone.

According to Sargsyan, who secured the tripartite signing of the  Armistice Agreement in 1994, Russia received a mandate from the CSCE  to organize negotiations and deploy peacekeepers. And all parties  approved the original version of the relevant agreement, although now  no one wants to admit it. However, later, after the transformation of  the CSCE into the OSCE, this topic was closed at the suggestion of  the other mediating countries, and the agreements remained hanging in  the air. “Four months later, tripartite negotiations began on  reaching the” Big Political Treaty “between Armenia, Artsakh and  Azerbaijan. I headed the Artsakh delegation at these negotiations.  After four months, the negotiations were interrupted due to the  insurmountable contradictions that arose between Moscow and the CSCE.  Armenia then supported the idea of a large treaty, but defeated  Azerbaijan did not. Baku unsuccessfully addressed NATO with a request  to intervene in the situation. For the Artsakh delegation, however,  the deployment of peacekeepers was epriemlemo always, as a result of  any agreement, ” Sargsyan concluded.

Forecast: Over time, Baku will find it harder to explain to the world the reluctance to talk with Stepanakert

Emil Lazarian
Arminfo, Armenia
David Stepanyan

ArmInfo. Baku is already difficult and over time it will only be harder to explain to the  world its own unwillingness to speak with a Stepanakert. Director of  the Armenian Center for Strategic and National Studies Manvel  Sargsyan expressed such  opinion to ArmInfo.

“The current situation around the Karabakh conflict is characterized  by the withdrawal of old approaches around its settlement. The Vienna  agreement on the implementation of control mechanisms and the  identification of the violator of the truce led to the fact that the  so-called military diplomacy worked against Azerbaijan itself. In  other words, the shots began to play against the violator of the  truce which is extremely dangerous for Baku. Plus, the change of  power in Yerevan led to the failure of the Yerevan-Moscow-Baku  triangle whereby Azerbaijan repeatedly forced Serzh Sargsyan and to  the solutions that are necessary. In April 2016, this became obvious,  “he stressed.

In this light, according to analysts, the negotiation process will  resume only with the return of the Artsakh people to the negotiating  table. At the same time, in Baku, in his opinion, he will not agree.  However, no one in the world, except Turkey and Pakistan, is going to  recognize the de facto formal rights of Azerbaijan to Artsakh, while  not recognizing its right to use force. Thus, Baku, according to  Sargsyan, it remains only to conduct formal negotiations, trying to  return to the situation before April 2016.

According to the analyst, while recognizing the preservation of the  status quo around Artsakh for an indefinite time, the world community  will not accept military resolution of the conflict and no one will  allow Azerbaijan to be shot. According to his estimates, it is  becoming more and more dangerous to play with the Karabakh conflict.  And the high legitimacy of the new authorities of Armenia and, as a  result, the degree of sovereignty deprived even the former methods of  influence on Yerevan.

Conflict resolution Sargsyan connects with the achievement of  international consensus on this issue. On the example of Kosovo. In  this light, he noted the achievement of a similar consensus on the  issue of the non- use of force to resolve the conflict. In this  light, according to his forecasts, the unauthorized provocation by  Baku of a new round of escalation will end very badly for Azerbaijan.  Especially, taking into account the results of the “four-day war” of  2016.  “Starting a war today is a serious matter, but rather a  serious one. Especially full-scale, which will then be very difficult  to stop. Such a war would destabilize the entire vast region, part of  which is the South Caucasus, up to the Russian North Caucasus.  Fortunately, today everyone understands , hence the international  consensus prohibiting Azerbaijan from using force, “the analyst  concluded. 

Police reports about 56 cases of crime detected in the territory of Armenia over the past day

Jagharian Tania
Panorama, Armenia

According to the operations reports of Police of Armenia, 56 cases of crime were detected by officers of various police subdivisions in the territory of the republic from March 19 to March 20.

 In particular, 10 cases of infliction of bodily harm, 9 cases of fraud, 7 cases of personal theft, 4 cases of official forgery or official negligence and battery, 3 cases of misappropriation or embezzlement, abuse of official authority and drug detection, 1 case of kidnapping, theft of state or public property, intentional damage to property, counterfeiting, cybercrime, hooliganism, illegal felling of trees, bribery, trafficking or exploitation of people, drug traffic.

According to the source, 2 wanted persons have been detected, 2 others turned themselves in to the Police, 1 missing person has been found, 5 cases of voluntary surrender of arms and ammunition have been registered.

From earlier committed crimes 7 cases of personal theft have been solved.
Over the past 1 day, 9 accidents have been registered in the Republic: 12 people received bodily injuries of different levels of severity.

Armenian PM calls for platform to address Azerbaijani people

Elizabeth Jabejian
Public Television of Armenia
Armenian PM calls for platform to address Azerbaijani people

[Armenian News note: the below is translated from Armenian]

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that he would like to address the Azerbaijani people.

During a news conference aired by Public TV on 19 March, Pashinyan positively assessed his informal meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. He said he positively assessed the idea of an upcoming meeting with Aliyev as well. He pointed to the importance of the constructive atmosphere at the meetings.

Pashinyan said his dialogue with Aliyev was important despite the fact that the two of them did not have a common vision of the conflict.

At the same time, Pashinyan reiterated that the leaders of both countries should reciprocally participate in the process of preparing the nations to peace. He claimed that he should take part in the process of preparing the Azerbaijani people for peace, and so should do the Azerbaijani leader with the people in Armenia.

“For instance, I am interested whether the Azerbaijani president has something to say to the Armenian and Karabakh people, directly talk to them? To tell the truth, I have much to say to the Azerbaijani community,” he said.

Pashinyan stressed that he would be very satisfied if an opportunity was created within the framework of the negotiations process for them to speak to the other nation.

“I think I would like to talk and I would have something to say,” he said, adding that he would not do it in unilateral format, however.

Time to stop swearing in social networks

Pashinyan also condemned the abusive language Armenians and Azerbaijanis use against each other on social networks.

“Is it not time to understand whether we have to anything to say to each other on the social networks except curses, or not? I would be very glad if, on social networks, people would discuss this issue, discuss what is going on,” he said.

Pashinyan said that Armenians and Azerbaijanis had been cursing at one another for over 20 years already. He said it was time to stop and discuss more important things as the social networks could serve as a platform for discussion.

“One can try to understand what is going on in Azerbaijan, what is going on in Armenia, in Karabakh. One can understand how people perceive all this, what they think about this,” he said.

Pashinyan said his thoughts were directed to both Armenian and Azerbaijani social media users. He said they can communicate just as the Armenian leaders and foreign ministers do.

Armenian PM emphasises dialogue in remarks on Karabakh peace talks

Tatoyan Vazgen
Public Television of Armenia
Armenian PM emphasises dialogue in remarks on Karabakh peace talks
[Armenian News note: the below is translated from Armenian]

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has underscored Yerevan’s commitment to negotiations and dialogue to resolve the Karabakh conflict.

During a news conference aired by Public TV on 19 March, Pashinyan reiterated Armenia’s position on the involvement of the Karabakh authorities in peace talks. He said this stance was not new for Azerbaijan and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, who mediate a peaceful solution to the conflict.

“It is the same agenda that was formulated in May 2018. And we continue serving this agenda. … As I have already stated, it is not a whim or a pre-condition on our part. We will continue discussions on this issue with our [Azerbaijani] colleagues,” he said.

The PM also called for restoring a peaceful format to return Armenian and Azerbaijani citizens who “get lost” and accidently enter the other country’s territory.

Willing to ‘soften’ position

Pashinyan said that Armenia had demonstrated that it is capable of listening and trying to understand Baku’s position. He said the same thing was expected from Azerbaijan.

“In those instances, where our colleagues consider our stance to be too tough, we can soften that position but we should have the same expectations from our [Azerbaijani] colleagues otherwise no conversation can take place,” he said.

Pashinyan did not clarify what he meant by “soften” or which position he was referring to, however.

Pashinyan claimed that his statements on Karabakh were an “invitation for a dialogue” and not a challenge. He said the dialogue had started in Dushanbe and continued in St Petersburg and Davos.

“Naturally, we will not reject dialogue, and during this dialogue we will put our arguments on the table and we will attentively listen to our colleagues’ counter-arguments. And I think that a constructive and efficient solution or the continuation [of talks] must be within this logic,” he said.

‘New person’ at talks

Pashinyan again reiterated that the “three principles and six elements” proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs as a basis for the Karabakh negotiations process gave way to different interpretations and needed to be clarified.

“The interpretations of the announced principles provided by Azerbaijan are unacceptable for us, we can come up with our own interpretations but we do not because engaging in a verbal dispute is not our aim,” he said.

Pashinyan said he was a new person at the talks and he wanted to understand which of the interpretations was correct and which was not. He said he had many questions and needed to understand the meaning of each word and each stage in the Karabakh conflict settlement process. At the same time, he pointed out that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had been engaged in the negotiations for over 10 years already.

“I received huge information but this huge information created the necessity to acquire even more information because this is a complex process, which has many delicate aspects and anyone who wants to be involved in the talks must possess all information,” he said.

Pashinyan said that his upcoming meeting with Aliyev will also be devoted to clarifying the “contradictory” information existing in the negotiation process.

‘Restoration’ of negotiation format

Pashinyan dismissed statements that Karabakh’s involvement in the negotiation process was an attempt to change the format of talks.

“It is not a proposal to change the format of talks, it is a proposal on the restoration of the format of talks,” he said.

In this relation, Pashinyan presented a number of international documents which, he said, testified to Karabakh’s involvement in the peace talks during the initial stages of the Karabakh conflict settlement.

“Those who say that my statements imply changing the negotiation format are not well-informed about the negotiation format,” he said.

At the same time, Pashinyan said that everyone knew who was responsible for sidelining Karabakh in the negotiations but he did not mention any names.

Exchange of citizens

Pashinyan said there had been a practice between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides to exchange citizens who got lost on the other’s territories within a week.

Pashinyan said the practice was interrupted when armed people crossed from Azerbaijan to Armenia and caused the deaths of Armenian citizens.

“We are ready exchange the persons who got lost [in Armenia] with those who got lost [in Azerbaijan],” he said.

Pashinyan said, however, that this could not work if the border trespassers’ actions resulted in the death of another persons.