Category: 2020

Countries selling arms to Azerbaijan must set preconditions for its use in the contract – MP

 20:30,

YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The countries selling arms to Azerbaijan must set clear preconditions in the contract which will prohibit their use first of all against civilians, MP representing ‘’My step’’ bloc Vladimir Vardanyan said, commenting on the positions of Armenia following its victories in July clashes against Azerbaijan which were presented by PM Pashinyan on July 23.

Referring to the establishment of an effective international monitoring mechanism and its possible results, Vardanyan said, ‘’If the side reach an agreement on the establishment of an effective international monitoring mechanism, they will express also their consent to preserve those rules. And from the point of view, the OSCE Minsk Group will have an opportunity to be more actively involved in that process’’.

Speaking about the tool of establishing direct contact between Armenian and Azerbaijani servicemen proposed by PM Pashinyan, the MP noted that the direct contact will in many circumstances give an opportunity to avoid from incidents which can take place when the sides have no deliberate intention to violate the ceasefire. Vardanyan also thinks that this tool can raise mutual confidence between the sides and become an important tool to avoid misunderstandings. ‘’But it’s hard to say if Azerbaijan will agree to given the military rhetoric in Azerbaijan’’, he said.

Referring to the firing at the civilians by Azerbaijan, Vardanyan expressed confidence that the recent incidents on the border with Armenia, as well as during the April war and the contact line in general, are just targeted attacks by Azerbaijanis against civilians, which can be assessed as not a side effect of the clashes, but a serious violation of the Geneva Convention or crimes against humanity.

‘’The countries selling arms to Azerbaijan must clearly understand that they should set preconditions of in which conditions and how those arms should be used’’, he said.

The MP also noted that the Minsk Group has no alternative and Armenia has always emphasized the necessity of the negotiations under the auspices of the Minsk Group and these negotiations should go on.

Referring to the recent developments on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, he said, ‘’We once again reaffirmed that no one should speak in the language of threats or use of force with Armenia or Artsakh. We reaffirmed our readiness to continue this process with peaceful negotiations. And we also showed that Armenia is capable to protect its borders and guarantee the security of the Republic of Artsakh and its population’’.

Reporting by Anna Grigoryan, Editing and translating by Tigran Sirekanyan

COVID-19: Armenia reports 383 new cases, 509 recoveries in one day

 11:12,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. 383 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been registered in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 36,996, the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention said today.

509 more patients have recovered. The total number of recoveries has reached 26,243.

8 people have died in one day, raising the death toll to 700.

The number of active cases stands at 9,833.

The number of people who had a coronavirus but died from other disease has reached 220 (2 new such cases).

So far, 155,664 people have passed COVID-19 testing.

Reporting by Lilit Demuryan; Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

Armenian PM’s wife urges Azerbaijani women to join Women For Peace campaign

 11:56,

YEREVAN, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Spouse of the Armenian prime minister Anna Hakobyan commented on the recent clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis abroad.

In a Facebook post, Anna Hakobyan said on July 13, when the active military operations have started on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as a result of the Azerbaijani attack and had a tendency to deepen, she has urged the Azerbaijani women and mothers “to call on their country’s leadership to stop the military operations and do not endanger the lives of Azerbaijani and Armenian soldiers”.

“I did this as author of the Women For Peace campaign, which aims at uniting women against wars, creating a favorable environment so that the leaders of the conflicting countries will search for solutions to conflicts around negotiation table.

Several mothers of Azerbaijani soldiers responded to this call through Azerbaijani media outlets greatly controlled by the leadership, and the answer was the following: “As a mother of a soldier I state: Fight. Go ahead Azerbaijani soldier. Fight. Homeland is the only mother of soldier. The fight for the homeland is a sacred fight”.

Thus, according to the Azerbaijani state propaganda, the Azerbaijani mothers rejected my call on stopping the military operations and moving towards peace. Instead, they announced that they are sending their sons to fight and die in the sacred fight. A large number of Azerbaijanis were killed in the following days”, Anna Hakobyan said.

She said it’s already several days the “sacred fight for the homeland” has gone beyond the boundaries of the conflict zone.

“Azerbaijanis living in Russia, different European countries started various actions against Armenians in that cities in order to avenge their killed compatriots. Firstly, they were stomping on Armenian apricots, then banned the sale of the apricot in the trade centers owned by them, then attacked the Armenian women during the protest, set on fire the vehicle of the Armenian embassy, broke the cars, stores of Armenians, attacked and beat an Armenian man.

The Azerbaijani actions didn’t go unanswered: our compatriots, of course, had to defend themselves”, she said, adding that now not only the life of soldiers is under danger, but also the life of Armenians and Azerbaijanis living in Moscow, Brussels, Los Angeles, etc.

“I urge the Azerbaijani women and mothers to be more courageous and join the Women For Peace campaign.

As violence brings new violence”, Anna Hakobyan said.