Category: 2019

Egyptian Ambassador to Armenia expressed readiness to promote economic cooperation between Armenia and Egypt

Arsine Chaltikian
Arminfo, Armenia
Feb 14 2019
Alina Hovhannisyan

ArmInfo.Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Egypt Bahaa El Din Bahgat Disuki intends to contribute to the development of  Armenian-Egyptian economic cooperation, the implementation of joint  investment programs, the involvement of Egyptian business in the  Armenian market.

The Ambassador stated this during a meeting with  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.According to the press service of the  government, the ambassador noted that he is honorably accepting a  commitment to strengthen friendly ties between Armenia and Egypt, for  which he will make maximum efforts.In turn, the Prime Minister noted  that Armenia attaches particular importance to the development of  political, economic and cultural relations with Egypt.

In particular, he praised the level of political relations, noting  that economic cooperation should correspond to this level.At the same  time, Pashiyan stressed the importance of activating the work of the  Armenian- Egyptian intergovernmental commission and organizing a  business forum, which will help increase the volume of mutual trade  turnover between the countries.According to the report, during the  meeting, the sides exchanged views on the development of bilateral  and multilateral trade and economic relations, intensification of  contacts in different formats. At the same time, Pashinyan and Bahgat  Disuki stressed the importance of Egypt signing a free trade  agreement with the EAEU.

Another incident of Armenian church targeted by vandals in Istanbul

Emil Lazarian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 14 2019

New case of vandalism has been found on the walls of the Armenian Surb Astvatsatsin Church in Istanbul’s Zeinlink district, according to a report by ermenihaber.am. The spray-painted graffiti captured by the photographer of the news outlet is signed “OHB” which is one of the most active graffiti makers in Istanbul.

This is not the first incident, in which Armenian institutions have been the target of graffiti and vandalism in Istanbul in recent years. In April 2018 photos of graffiti reading “This homeland is ours” spray-painted on the exterior wall of the Armenian Surp Takavor Church and a pile of trash dumped in front of the church’s door began circulating on social media and various Turkish news outlets. The Kadıkoy Municipality condemned the incident as a “racist attack” in a Twitter post, saying the necessary work has been initiated to clear the writing and remove the trash.

In 2016, the exterior walls of the Bomonti Mkhitarian Armenian School of Istanbul were vandalized with anti-Armenian graffiti recently. “One night, we suddenly will be in Karabakh,” read the graffiti in Turkish.

New festival named after Armen Dzhigarkhanyan to be launched in Russia

Babken Chilingarian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 14 2019
20:27 14/02/2019 World

The artistic staff of the Moscow Drama Theater of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan have announced an idea to launch a new festival named after the famous Armenian-Russian theater and cinema actor Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. News.ru report that the concept of the new festival is ready, and the name of the prize is “Dzhigarkhanyan award”.

The initiative comes as a tribute to the immense contribution of the actor to the national theatre and cinematography.

“This high award will be bestowed to the winner of the festival that will be launched on October 3, 2019 on the birthday of Dzhigarkhanyan,” The head of the theatrical group Vyacheslav Dyachenko has stated.

Armen Dzhigarkhanyan is one of the most renowned living film and stage Armenian and Russian actors, has appeared in more films than any other Russian actor with more than 250 appearances.

Born and raised in Yerevan, Dzhigarkhanyan started acting in the academic and Russian theaters of the city, before moving to Moscow to continue stage acting. Since 1960, he appeared in a number of Armenian films. He became popular in the 1970s with the various roles he portrayed in Soviet films.

Shoulder to shoulder: France continues to demonstrate its commitment to and support for the Armenian people.

Boris Nahapetian
Al-Ahram, Egypt
Feb 13 2019
 
 
Shoulder to shoulder
 
France continues to demonstrate its commitment to and support for the Armenian people.
Nora Koloyan-Keuhnelian looks into the history of their close friendship
 
 
 
Macron and his wife Brigitte plant a fir tree in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide at the memorial in the Armenian capital Yerevan, October 2018
 
NORA KOLOYAN-KEUHNELIAN
 
French President Emmanuel Macron last week announced that France will “make 24 April a national day of commemoration of the Armenian Genocide”. Speaking to the Armenian community at a dinner in Paris organised by the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organisations of France, Macron added: “France is, first and foremost, the country that knows how to look history in the face. France was among the first to denounce the killing of the Armenian people, which in 1915 named genocide for what it was, and who in 2001, after a long struggle, recognised it in law.”
 
Macron’s remarks honoured a campaign promise from his election in 2017.
 
The French Armenian community is the largest in the European Union, exceeding 500,000.
 
Turkey dismissed the decision of Macron, “who is facing political problems in his own country to save the day,” Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a statement. Macron is “turning historic events into political material,” the statement read, referring to the jilet jaune protests, saying that Macron is using the Armenian issue to deflect attention.
 
“The 1913-1923 Christian genocide is Turkey’s original sin. If Turkey wants to be a civilised, democratic and respected nation, they need to face up to the reality of the genocide and do their best to secure some respect and justice for the victims. But they don’t. Instead, they continue verbally attacking the governments that rightfully recognise the genocide,” Washington-based Turkish analyst Uzay Bulut told Al-Ahram Weekly.
 
The first Armenians in France date back to the sixth century. Military and commercial relations between the French and Armenians started growing in the 11th to 14th centuries. In the ninth century, several young Armenians moved to France to receive their education and became part of the social and political life in the country. In 1855, the first French Armenian newspapers, Arevelk (East) and Masyats Aghavni (Pigeon of Mount Masiss) started publishing in Paris.
 
Formal diplomatic relations between France and Armenia were first established in 1992. In 1998, at the time of President Chirac, a resolution by the French National Assembly saying “France recognises the Armenian genocide of 1915” was passed, meeting strong Turkish objections. France was also the first European country to officially recognise the Armenian Genocide, in 2001.
 
In 2012, in the time of Nicolas Sarkozy, tensions mounted between France and Turkey after the  French National Assembly voted in favour of a bill that would leave denial of the Armenian Genocide illegal. Turkey froze relations with France, recalling its ambassador and suspending all economic, political and military meetings in response. Tensions resurfaced in 2016, when the French National Assembly voted again in favour of outlawing denial of the Armenian Genocide, the 2012 bill having been later blocked by the Constitutional Court.
 
During the 1915 massacres, the French welcomed tens of thousands of Armenians into their country as a safe haven. France was also one of the few countries to send rescue boats for the Armenians after a heroic 53-day battle of self-defence known as Musa Ler (Mount Musa).
 
The French pro-Armenian position is historic. “This friendship between the two nations has a multi-decade long history,” Marseille-based member of the Armenian National Committee Hratch Varjabedian told the Weekly. France’s former presidents have all had positive political attitudes towards Armenians. “This is because of the efficiency of the Armenian community of France and its powerful lobbying efforts, which definitely worries Turkey all the time,” Varjabedian said.
 
He believes that continuous Armenian lobbying was one of the reasons that made President Macron take the step he did last week.
 
There are monuments dedicated to victims of the Armenian Genocide in several cities in France, including Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Armenians of France remained close to their cultural origins, while at the same time they integrated in France and contributed greatly to Francophone culture.
 
Many Armenian writers, poets, painters and musicians have worked and died in France. Both French and Armenians are proud of the likes of Charles Aznavour, Henri Verneuil, Marc Aryan, Sylvie Vartan, Youri Djorkaeff, Michel Legrand, Andre Manoukian and other prominent figures in the French Resistance, like Patrick Devedjian, Missak Manouchian and Louise Aslanian. Also died in Paris, founder of the Armenian national school of music, priest, composer, singer and choirmaster; Komitas, whose ashes and manuscripts were transferred to Armenia after his death.
 
“The great respect the French president and his people paid when Aznavour departed this world is never to be forgotten. It was like honouring one of the most respected communities in France,” Varjabedian said.
 
Macron visited Armenia in October 2018 and took part in the 17th Summit of Francophonie.
 
“Most of today’s Turks reject that a genocide existed; however, there is an increasing movement, it’s still in small numbers, of Turks who do accept that something very nasty happened to the Armenians,” France 24’s Jasper Mortimer said in a televised report.
 
According to Mortimer, the Renault automobile factory in Turkey produces 365,000 cars a year. “You see a lot of Renault cars on Turkish roads; trade is very important between the two countries and I expect it to be maintained,” Mortimer said.
 
In response to Macron’s decision, in Turkey, leader of the right-wing Grand Unity Party (BBP) Mustafa Destici called for the deportation of 100,000 Armenian workers who he claimed are working illegally in Turkey.
 
“In 2010 too, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had made a similar statement. He threatened to deport 100,000 Armenians if foreign parliaments continued to recognise the Armenian Genocide. It is ironic that Turkish authorities threaten to harm the Armenians who are alive today when they want to “prove” that their ancestors did not commit crimes against Armenians a century ago. This shows that violating Armenians and other non-Turkish peoples comes so naturally to them that they do not even realise that their statements are incredibly inhumane, hostile and atrocious,” Bulut told the Weekly.
 
It remains to be seen whether trade between the two countries will be affected by Macron’s decision, but Bulut is doubtful.
 
“No. Turkey is going through an economic crisis now and Turkish officials cannot risk commercial troubles with France,” Bulut concluded.
 

US criticism of Armenian humanitarian mission in Syria fueled by geopolitical differences – defense minister

Raffi Khondkarian
ITAR-TASS, Russia
Wednesday 6:09 PM GMT
US criticism of Armenian humanitarian mission in Syria fueled by geopolitical differences – defense minister
 
YEREVAN February 13
 
Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan stated that US criticism of the Armenian humanitarian mission sent to Syria can be explained by geopolitical differences.
 
 
YEREVAN, February 13. /TASS/. Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan stated that US criticism of the Armenian humanitarian mission sent to Syria can be explained by geopolitical differences.
 
Earlier, the US embassy in Yerevan stated that it does not support the cooperation between Russia and Armenia in Syria.
 
"I think this statement has some geopolitical differences, but the decision to help the people of Syria, part of which belongs to the Armenian community, is spotless from the moral point of view. This issue must not become the topic of speculation," the Armenian defense minister stated during Wednesday’s briefing.
 
On February 8, a group of experts from the Armenian Ministry of Defense arrived in Syria in order to carry out a humanitarian mission in the country. It is reported that the Armenian mission arrived in Syria with the cooperation of Russia.

ServiceTitan Opens Office in Armenia

George Mamian
PRNewswire
ServiceTitan Opens Office in Armenia
 
 
Founders of the No. 1 home service business management software platform are determined to partner with community and help grow programming talent and opportunities in their native country
 
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — ServiceTitan, the world's leading all-in-one, cloud-based software for residential home service businesses, has opened an office in Armenia. The tech company was founded by Armenians who emigrated to the United States with their families as children.
 
"Our roots are in Armenia and it's really important for us to not only have a presence here, but to invest in the community," said Vahe Kuzoyan, president and co-founder of ServiceTitan. "Our intention is to contribute to the education of the labor force and provide opportunities so the best talent doesn't have to leave the country."
 
ServiceTitan was founded by Kuzoyan and Ara Mahdessian in 2012 when they discovered there were few software options to recommend to their fathers both of whom were tradesmen. ServiceTitan now has more than 600 employees in two of the largest American metropolitan areas, Los Angeles and Atlanta, and more than 2,500 client businesses throughout the USA and Canada.
 
Kuzoyan hopes to create an environment and culture that is an extension of ServiceTitan's U.S. operation, which provides competitive compensation and several benefits and perks to employees, with a dedication to helping people find long-lasting careers. One goal is to help develop the Armenian tech workforce so the country doesn't suffer from a shortage of talent.
 
"Initially it's going to be an engineering office with a handful of senior employees, primarily for extending our team, which is working on product development," Kuzoyan said. "If that's successful, I can see our employee numbers growing exponentially. It depends on how effectively and fast we can scale."
 
Kuzoyan and Mahdessian want to cultivate world class engineers and be known as a company where excellence is expected.
 
"We want everyone from university students to senior engineers to know that if they come and work for us they can become world class," Mahdessian said. "It's not going to be a place where you'll be bored in a few years and then want to leave for a better opportunity."
 
2018 was a notable year for ServiceTitan. In March, the company announced it had secured $62 million in Series C funding, and in November ServiceTitan secured $165 million in Series D funding. It also has been named one of the best places to work by Inc. and the Los Angeles Business Journal and placed on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, the Forbes Cloud 100 list of the world's best private cloud computing companies and the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. In 2017, Forbes recognized ServiceTitan as one of the Next Billion-Dollar Startups.
 
For more information about ServiceTitan jobs available in Armenia, visit https://staff.am/en/company/servicetitan.
 
About ServiceTitan
 
ServiceTitan is a mobile, cloud-based software platform that helps home services companies streamline operations, improve customer service, and increase sales. ServiceTitan's end-to-end solution for the multi-billion dollar residential home services industry includes CRM, intelligent dispatch, custom reporting, marketing automation, a mobile solution for field techs, and accounting integrations with Sage Intacct and QuickBooks. ServiceTitan brings a fully operational modern SaaS infrastructure to an industry traditionally underserved by software. ServiceTitan is the preferred software for the world's most successful plumbing, HVAC, and electrical companies. For more information about ServiceTitan, visit https://servicetitan.com/.
 
Media Contact:
 
Heather Ripley
 
Ripley PR
 
865-977-1973
 
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/servicetitan-opens-office-in-armenia-300793618.html

Azerbaijani Press: Kiro Manoyan: We are for unification of Armenia and Karabakh

Parkev Tvankchian
Turan Information Agency, Azerbaijani Opposition Press
Wednesday
Kiro Manoyan: We are for unification of Armenia and Karabakh
 
 
Yerevan / 13.02.19 / Turan: At the end of January, for the first time in history, the congress of the Dashnaktsutyun party was held in Nagorno-Karabakh. It means that for the Dashnaks the Karabakh issue is one of the most important and the party sees its decision in the accession of Karabakh to Armenia, said in an interview with Turan the Co-Chairman of Dashnaktsutyun Party, Kiro Manoyan.
 
"Our position is that Nagorno Karabakh should be joined to Armenia, since it has never been a part of Azerbaijan and never will be. Our main goal is to consolidate this status of Karabakh," said Manoyan.
 
According to him, Karabakh proclaimed independence in September 1991, holding a referendum. This happened based on the laws of the Soviet Union that existed. Independence was proclaimed by Azerbaijan. After the international recognition of the independence of Karabakh, the issue of its unification with Armenia will be only technical in nature, the leader of the Dashnaks said.
 
How can the Armenian side achieve this if the international community de jure recognizes Karabakh as a territory of Azerbaijan? Kiro Manoyan answers a question that at first the task is to recognize the independence of Karabakh by several countries. This will give grounds to consider Karabakh as a subject of international law and the position of Azerbaijan cannot prevent it. After that, the issue of recognition of Karabakh by the world community will be only a matter of time, Manoyan said. To the question whether such a scenario seems unreal to him, Manoyan recalls the fate of Kosovo. "Many countries have recognized the independence of Kosovo, which has become an international entity, despite the protests of Serbia," he says.
 
What part of the Armenian society wants Karabakh to join Armenia? Manoyan answered this question in the following way: "The position of the Armenian National Congress (the party of Levon Ter-Petrosyan) on this issue does not coincide with ours. However, in the parliamentary elections they did not receive the support of the people. At the same time, the winning party, "My Step" Movement by Nikol Pashinyan supports our position on this issue,"says the leader of the Dashnaks.
 
Why did not Dashnaktsutyun get into parliament? Manoyan replies to this that not only the Dashnaks, but also the Republicans, Sasna Crer and the ANC did not go to parliament. But on this issue, the opinion of the majority of political forces and the population of Armenia is the same, although a small part of the political elite are not supporters of the entry of Karabakh into Armenia. In particular, this is the position of the Armenian National Congress.
 
What is the percentage of the population of Armenia that does not support the annexation of Karabakh? The leader of the Dashnaks answers this – the majority. Do Armenians intend to fight to achieve these goals? Kiro Manoyan gives an unexpected answer to this, arguing that the mood in Azerbaijani society is such that they understand that it is impossible to return Karabakh and Baku will have to accept it. "It will be difficult for you to wage war taking into account such sentiments in your society," said Manoyan.
 
Continuing his thought, he argued that in 2001 the Azerbaijani authorities were ready to recognize the independence of Karabakh after the talks in Key West.
 
"At the same time, the question was raised about the return of the territories around Karabakh, but today, 18 years later, talking about the return of the territories around Karabakh in exchange for independence is unrealistic. You have to put up with it," says Manoyan in a fatherly tone, while smiling sweetly.
 
Is the Key West version of the settlement possible today, when Karabakh is connected to Armenia through Lachin, and Nakhchivan is connected to Azerbaijan?
 
"It was unreal then, and even more so today," our interlocutor replies. If again the war and the Armenians lose the territory around Karabakh and Karabakh itself. Isn't it better to take a step towards a meeting and agree? To this question, the Dashnak leader says that he does not exclude such a scenario, but he immediately added: "Rather, you will lose new territories."
 
As for the unification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, it implies the annexation of Karabakh itself and the territories around it. "We are against a compromise in this issue, and the territories around Karabakh must also be annexed to Armenia," said Manoyan.
 
After the change of power in Armenia, opinions on the need to return to a phased settlement of the conflict are increasingly heard. How realistic is it that the current authorities of Armenia will go for this option? The Dashnak leader answers this question that so far the new government of Armenia officially does not say anything like that. All at the level of some kind of talk and rumors. At the same time, official Yerevan clearly says one thing – Nagorno Karabakh should be a party to the negotiations, the conflict cannot be resolved without its participation.
 
How does the Dashnaktsutyun party see the resolution of the conflict with Turkey?
 
Our position is that the current border between Armenia and Turkey is illegal. The real border was determined by Wilson in 1921 and it should pass through Erzurum, Kars, Trabzon and Van.
 
"There are many similar territorial disputes in the world and their presence does not mean that they should war", said Karo Manoyan. -02B-

In pictures | Nowhere else to go: the stories of Yerevan’s homeless

Emil Lazarian
OC Media
Feb 13 2019

13 FEBRUARY 2019 BY ARMINE AVETISYAN

Этот пост доступен на языках: Русский

A homeless man sleeps on a bench in the centre of Yerevan. There are currently around 400 homeless people in Yerevan, with three-quarters of them living on the streets. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Yerevan’s homeless population comes from all over Armenia and beyond, but they all have ended up in the same place. There is one shelter in the city, with a capacity of 100, but it is not enough to house the hundreds living on Yerevan’s streets.

There are no official figures on the number of homeless people in Armenia. According to Shavarsh Khachatryan, the director of the Hans Christian Kofoed homeless shelter, there are approximately 400 homeless people in Yerevan alone. Around 100 live in the shelter, the only one of its kind operating in Armenia, which is run by the Armenian-Danish charitable foundation.

Davit can be seen every day at the Barekamutyun Metro Station in Yerevan; he sleeps in the tunnel leading to the metro. Though he is around 35-years-old, Davit almost never speaks — he likely has an intellectual disability. He will often stand in the same position for hours and silently stare in one direction.

Davit has been living at the metro station for years and is well-known to the owners of the adjacent kiosks — though they do not even remember when Davit first appeared at the station. Many of them try to help him; one will give him some coffee, another a cigarette, someone else will offer food. They also sometimes give him small amounts of money. The kiosk owners describe him as calm and say he is not aggressive. As long as no one attempts to interfere with his living conditions, he is not a disturbance.

Though friendly with the owners, Davit is not always allowed to approach the kiosks due to complaints from customers. When this happens, Davit just smiles and waits patiently until the customers leave. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Sveta, a former healthcare worker, resides in the same area as Davit. After losing her job, she became a prostitute in order to make a living, eventually, losing her home. Today, she collects her daily bread from various restaurants and shops. In addition to taking any surplus food, Sveta also asks if she can have bones and meat scraps to feed her dog and its puppies. They all sleep together under the bridge near the Barekamutyun Metro Station

Sveta and her dogs are inseparable — they sleep next to each other on their own mattresses. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Sveta uses the spaces between concrete slabs under the bridge as shelves. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

While Sveta will allow herself to go hungry for days, she always manages to find some scraps for the dogs to eat. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Natalia Marayeva, 60, moved to Armenia with her husband eight years ago but has been living on the streets for the past two years due to family issues. She previously worked as a doctor and a nanny. She learned about the Hans Christian Kofoed shelter, where she currently resides, from one of her previous charges. Marayeva still visits her former patients, who often give her books because they know she loves to read.

Though she originally comes from the Russian city of Perm, Natalia Marayeva has been living on the streets of Armenia for two years. On the advice of one of her former patients, she moved into the Hans Christian Kofoed shelter. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

There is currently only one homeless shelter in Armenia — the temporary shelter run by the Armenian-Danish charitable foundation Hans Christian Kofoed, which receives financial assistance from Armenia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

A person is allowed to stay in the shelter for a maximum of three months. However, there are exceptions made for individuals who have nowhere else to go — some residents have been living in the ‘temporary’ shelter for several years.

The shelter provides residents with both breakfast and dinner. Some meals that have previously been offered include bread and jam, macaroni patties, and potato purée and sausages. During the holidays, various sweets are also available.

The majority of the shelter’s residents are over 50, though there are exceptions, such as 19-year-old Aleksan Tadevosyan. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Though there are TVs available, many of the residents prefer to play backgammon. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

The shelter’s rooms are organised by gender. Each room has a heating system, and each bed has a set of wall hooks for residents’ clothing. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Nineteen-year-old Aleksan Tadevosyan is one of the youngest and quietest residents of the shelter — the majority of residents are over 50. The shelter staff told OC Media that Tadevosyan came from Russia with his parents two years ago, but after his father passed away, he and his mother were left on the streets. They have only been at the shelter for a few days.

Another young resident is Sila Abdullah, 25, a citizen of the west-African state of Guinea. Six months ago, he illegally crossed the Turkish-Armenian border in an attempt to reach Iran. He is currently staying at the shelter while trying to get the necessary documents to leave. Though he has a wife and children back in Guinea who he misses, he does not want to return. The few clothes he has with him are his only belongings in Armenia.

Smoking is forbidden in the shelter, which is why many homeless people prefer to live on the streets. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Residents of the shelter come from all over the world. Sila Abdullah, 25, originally comes from Guinea and ended up in Armenia while trying to get to Iran. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

The shelter has one strict rule — smoking is forbidden. Many of Yerevan’s homeless population refuse to move into the shelter due to the ban, preferring instead to continue living on the streets.

At the moment, there are around 103 people living in the shelter, which is designed to hold 100 people. Though the shelter only has limited space, the director of Hans Christian Kofoed, Shavarsh Khachatryan, told OC Media that they are trying to help everyone.

Hasmik Daveyan, 56 is always either chatting or laughing. She says she tries to alleviate her pain this way. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Saribek Aghbamyanis, 69, spent 35 years of his life in jail. He says he has nothing in the world: neither relatives nor a home. After leaving prison, he spent many days hungry, sleeping in the streets but has lived in the shelter for the past few months. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Mother and son Garegin and Aghavni have been homeless on and off for 22 years, sleeping in the streets between periods of renting and staying with relatives. For the past four years, the shelter for homeless people has been their home. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)


Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry urges Armenia not to escalate Karabakh tensions

Babken Chilingarian
Interfax: Russia & CIS Military Newswire
Wednesday 11:40 AM MSK
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry urges Armenia not to escalate Karabakh tensions
 
BAKU. Feb 13
 
Azerbaijan has rejected Yerevan's allegations of aggressive rhetoric and urged the Armenian administration not to escalate tensions around the Karabakh conflict but to assist in a peaceful settlement process, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said on Wednesday, commenting on a recent statement made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in parliament.
 
"Pashinyan shouldn't be escalating tensions with his remarks; instead, he should lay the foundations for productive talks on the settlement of this conflict, which the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs called for in their latest statement," Abdullayeva told Interfax.
 
Azerbaijan rejects Armenia's allegations of Baku's "aggressive rhetoric" and attempts to change the format for negotiations, she said.
 
"On one hand, he [the Armenian prime minister] talks of the importance of creating peaceful environment for the sake of settling the conflict while, on the other, he is trying to change the format of the negotiating process and to accuse Azerbaijan of 'aggressive rhetoric' and apparently preparing its population for war, instead of peace. Truth be told, this is not about the 'aggressive rhetoric' of Azerbaijan, but about the aggressive actions of Armenia," Abdullayeva said.
 
In her words, Azerbaijan is continuing peace talks with Armenia despite 20% of its lands having been occupied by the Armenian army.
 
"Nagorno-Karabakh and adjoining territories are an integral part of Azerbaijan, which is internationally recognized and currently occupied by the Armenian forces. The international community recognizes members of the local Armenian community as Azerbaijani citizens," Abdullayeva said.
 
So far, the statements made by Armenian leaders are simply raising more questions instead of promoting peace and development in the region, she said.
 
"That's the stance of the Armenian administration. Naturally, all these useless comments are not helping Armenia's appeals for an exclusively peaceful resolution of the conflict," Abdullayeva said.
 
"The sooner the Armenian prime minister realizes the good a settlement of the conflict will do for the region and, specifically, his country, the sooner he'll be able to keep his promise of 'an economic revolution' to the Armenian population," she said.
 
Pashinyan said in parliament on Tuesday that Armenia was considering an exclusively peaceful settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, but all conflicting sides should be trying to create an atmosphere of peace in order for that to happen.

Sports: Armenian Weightlifting Men’s Championship underway with new champions named

John Hovhannisian
Panorama, Armenia
Feb 14 2019

Athletes competing in the 96kg and 102kg weight class of the Men’s Championship took place on Thursday. As the National Olympic Committee reported, Hakob Mkrtchyan lifted 160kg in the snatch and 200kg in the clean and jerk, becoming Armenian champion with the double-event of 367kg.
Meanwhile Arsen Martirosyan competing in the 102kg weight class was declared champion with the double-event of 350kg.

On February 15, the final day of the championship athletes in the 109kg and109+kg will join the tournament. The list of athletes competing for the title includes Simon Martirosyan the world record holder in the clean and jerk and total for the −109 kg division and Gor Minasyan Olympic silver medalist (2016).