Melikset Poghosyan appointed Governor of Syunik Province
20:48, 8 December, 2020
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, ARMENPRESS. Melikset Poghosyan, who had been reviled of the post of Vice Governor of Syunik Province of Armenia, has been appointed the Governor of the province, ARMENPRESS was informed from the official website of the Government.
Former Governor of the province Hunan Poghosyan had resigned on November 30.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry handed the French ambassador to Baku a note of protest in connection with the adoption by the National Assembly (upper house of parliament) of the country of a resolution calling on the government to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh.
French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross was summoned to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry today. At the meeting, the Ambassador was handed a note of protest by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in connection with the resolution on “Protection of the Armenian People and Christian Communities of Europe and East “adopted by the French National Assembly.
The head of the French diplomatic mission noted that he would bring the position of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry to official Paris.
On Thursday the French National Assembly voted 188 to 3 on Thursday to adopt a resolution that stresses the urgent need to recognize the independence of Artsakh.
“Both sides are making efforts to make this happen,” the agency’s interlocutor said, answering a question about the possibility of resuming the work of the airport by the end of the year.
He added that the airport will also serve passenger flights, which are expected to arrive in Nagorno Karabakh not only from Moscow, but also from Russian regions.
Another source confirmed the credibility of these plans. In his words, “probably by the end of this month we will witness the first Russian planes landing in Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Advisor to the President of Artsakh, David Babayan, earlier told RIA Novosti about the possibility of an early opening of the airport in Karabakh. In his words, the opening of air communication will become an important aspect of economic recovery of the region after the recent aggravation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani military conflict.
BAKU, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan in a diplomatic note on Friday protested the French National Assembly’s approval of a resolution on Karabakh on Thursday.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry summoned French Ambassador to Baku Zacharie Gross, and gave him a diplomatic note on the Senate’s decision, the ministry said in a statement.
The decision is against international norms, principles, and law as well as relevant UN resolutions, the ministry noted, adding that Azerbaijan strongly objected to the decision.
On Nov. 26, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry had given another diplomatic note to the French envoy over the so-called resolution which urged the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as “a republic”.
Relations between the former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
When new clashes erupted Sept. 27, the Armenian army launched attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violated several humanitarian cease-fire agreements.
During the conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and nearly 300 settlements and villages from the Armenian occupation.
The two countries signed a Russian-brokered agreement Nov. 10 to end fighting and work toward a comprehensive resolution.
The truce is seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia, whose armed forces have been withdrawing in line with the agreement.
*Writing by Burak Bir
The Armenian side prioritizes the full implementation of the project “Strategic Directions for the Development of Eurasian Integration by 2025” , Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the siting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council.
This document is aimed at bringing the levels of economic development of the member states closer, expanding the spheres of economic cooperation, and improving the institutions of the Eurasian Economic Union’s regulatory sphere, he said.
“The mechanisms for the formation of common markets without barriers and restrictions mentioned in this document are an important factor for the practical establishment of the four freedoms, the cooperation of our national economies and the level of competitiveness,” the Prime Minister stressed.
He noted that the implementation of the document will serve to strengthen the Union’s reputation in the world, and will undoubtedly contribute to the growth of its investment and innovative attractiveness.
“The need to create equal, non-discriminatory conditions of competition in all sectors of the Union’s economies remains a key issue for us. That is why we believe that it is necessary to pursue a coordinated energy policy to develop the common markets for oil, oil products, gas, as well as the common market for electricity,” PM Pashinyan stated.
In this regard, he added that the adoption of an international agreement on the EAEU common gas market will be of great importance. It envisages the implementation of common approaches to pricing and tariff setting in the EAEU common gas market, including common tariffs for services provided by natural gas monopolies.
The Prime Minister highlighted the creation of a single market for construction services. “The adoption of an action plan in this area is an important step in that direction. In the context of the envisaged measures, it is possible to develop an international agreement within the EAEU on mutual recognition of the professional qualifications of the leading technical personnel in the field of construction.”
“Finally, I would like to address the issue of providing tariff benefits for goods and services from developing, less developed countries. I consider it necessary to immediately review the list of countries using the common system of tariff privileges. It must be made in accordance with our own standards,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
He reiterated Armenia’s readiness for active cooperation in favor of further development of Eurasian integration.
Drones using Swiss-made components were reportedly deployed by the Azerbaijan army in the recent conflict with Armenia, according to Swiss public television, SRF.
This content was published on December 7, 2020 – 18:00 December 7, 2020 – 18:00
Drones purportedly played a crucial role in the recent conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region.
According to an SRF news report on December 7, an Israeli drone belonging to the Azerbaijani army, which was reportedly shot down by Armenian forces near the town of Shuschi on October 18, carried technology made in Switzerland.
A drive motor cylinder engraved with the name Faulhaber Minimotor SA and the words “Swiss made” can be seen on photographs validated by SRF that it received from Armenian journalists.
The pieces recovered on the ground reportedly belonged to an Israeli Harop “loitering munition” drone, also known as a “kamikaze drone”.
In a statement sent to SRF on December 6, Faulhaber, the German industrial group, whose subsidiary Faulhaber Minimotor in Ticino builds electric motors similar to the one allegedly used in the drone, said its goods were subject to internationally applicable export control regulations. The firm said it assumed that these applied in the current case.
Swiss legislation does not prohibit the export of such electric motors from Switzerland to Israel and then on to Azerbaijan.
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco), which is responsible for export controls, told SRF: “Such electric motors are not covered by goods control legislation and can be exported without a permit. Such drives have a wide range of industrial applications.”
Seco noted that the electric motor is not used to power the drone, but most likely for its wing mechanism. Such electric devices can be sold to any country, where they can be installed in armed and unarmed drones, it added.
Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994. That conflict left not only Nagorno-Karabakh itself, but large chunks of surrounding lands, in Armenian hands.
Armenia will face Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Liechtenstein in Group J of the World Cup Qualifiers for Qatar 2022.
The first of each group will qualify for the 2022 World Cup, plus the three winners of the play-offs between the runners-up of all the groups and the two best winners of the Nations League groups out of the qualifiers.
World Cup 2022 Qualifiers
Group A: Portugal, Serbia, Rep of Ireland, Luxembourg, Azerbaijan
Group B: Spain, Sweden, Greece, Georgia, Kosovo
Group C: Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria, Lithuania
Group D: France, Ukraine, Finland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kazakhstan
Group E: Belgium, Wales, Czech Republic, Belarus, Estonia
Group F: Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Israel, Faroe Islands, Moldova
Group G: Holland, Turkey, Norway, Montenegro, Latvia, Gibraltar
Group H:Croatia, Slovakia, Russia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta
Group I: England, Poland, Hungary, Albania, Andorra, San Marino
Group J: Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Armenia, Liechtenstein
We’ll try to create trouble for all teams, Armenia captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan said after the 2022 FIFA World Cup draw.
Armenia was drawn into Group J together with Germany, Romania, Iceland, North Macedonia and Liechtenstein.
Speaking to the official website of the Football Federation of ARmenia, Mkhitaryan said the group is “not bad for us.”
“There are no easy opponents today, but I can say the group is not the most difficult one,” Mkhitaryan said.
“We’ll chose different styles against different teams and will try to prepare maximally well and play effectively against all teams,” he added.
“We’ll try to create trouble for all competitors and earn points in every match,” the captain said.
The Human Rights Defenders of Armenia and the Artsakh Republic have prepared a new report on “Organized hate speech and animosity towards ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan as root causes of ethnically-based torture and inhuman treatment by Azerbaijani Armed Forces.”
The report substantiates Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide through terrorist methods. The report proves that the atrocities, torture and inhuman treatment of Azerbaijan during this war are the result of years of hostile propaganda and organized anti-Armenian policies (Armenophobia).
Hatred towards Armenians is in a closed chain: it is generated by the Azerbaijani authorities, including the high-ranking officials, largely promoted by cultural, sports and other public figures and earns public praise, very often targeting children.
Azerbaijani servicemen are well aware that the torture of Armenians will not only go unpunished, but will be praised by the authorities and the public.
YEREVAN, December 7. /TASS/. Comprehensive talks on the settlement of the conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh will begin after the situation in the conflict zone stabilizes, Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazyan said on Monday after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.
“Key top priority matters remain for comprehensive talks that will begin immediately after the situation in the conflict zone stabilizes. I share Sergey Lavrov’s opinion that there is cautious optimism in that context. I think we all must do our utmost to prevent any recurrence of the tragedy that happened in the recent two months,” he said.
Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July.
On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting from November 10. Under the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides stopped at the positions that they had held and Russian peacekeepers were deployed to the region.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the highland region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992-1994, tensions boiled over and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs – Russia, France and the United States.