Armenia official: We can lose Lake Sevan

News.am, Armenia
June 2 2020

16:36, 02.06.2020
                  

Armenia continues to suffer skyrocketing COVID cases – including the prime minister

EurasiaNet.org
June 2 2020
Ani Mejlumyan Jun 2, 2020

Armenia humanitarian mission in Syria demines 17,471 sq. m. in May

Aysor, Armenia
June 2 2020

The sappers of the fourth group carrying out Armenia’s humanitarian mission in Syria have demined an area of 17,471 square meters in May, during which homemade shells and anti-personnel mines were found, the Center for Humanitarian Demining and Expertise of Armenia reported.

A total of 170,209 square meters have been demined since the first day of the mission, and 142,000 square meters of which were handed over to the Syrian authorities.

Due to the coronavirus restrictions, the doctors from the fourth group provided medical assistance to 549 locals in May. Thus, from February 2019 until today, Armenia’s humanitarian mission to Syria has provided medical assistance to a total of 12,584 patients.

And on June 1, the specialists of the Armenian group carrying out a humanitarian mission in Syria handed the gifts that were collected during an event to the Armenian Retirement Home of Aleppo and the orphanage of the local Armenian community.

Azerbaijani Press: Azerbaijan Says It Reserves Right to Use Force to Liberate Occupied Territories

Caspian News, Azerbaijan
June 1 2020

By Mushvig Mehdiyev June 1, 2020

Over 10,000 personnel and more than 120 tanks and armored vehicles of different types attended weeklong military drills from May 18-25 / Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan 

  • The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has continued for nearly 30 years, with diplomacy failing to achieve any lasting solution. While Armenia evades political negotiations, officials in Azerbaijan say the Caspian country reserves the right to use military force if its lands remain occupied.

    In a statement issued on Sunday, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that the Azerbaijani army is entitled to exercise this right to liberate occupied territories in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The ministry explained that such measures, if taken by Azerbaijan, would be devastating and destructive for Armenia compared to what took place in 2015, 2016 and 2018.

    “The only language in which you need to speak with the enemy is the power of arms, with the use of which we will push the occupying forces of Armenia to leave the borders of our territories. Azerbaijani soldiers will certainly achieve this by the power of their weapon,” the ministry said in the statement, which was carried by 1news.az.

    The statement follows recent provocations by Armenia in the occupied territory. On May 21, the illegal separatist regime in the occupied lands held a so-called “inauguration” for the region’s self-proclaimed “president”. Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan traveled to the occupied Shusha city of Azerbaijan and attended the event on his second visit to the region in May. He also called for international recognition of the occupied region’s illegitimate separatist regime.

    The government of Azerbaijan described Pashinyan’s visits as a threat to peace, a provocation and a violation of obligations under international law and the conflict resolution procedures by the government in Yerevan.

    The conflict in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region is a result of Armenia’s illegal claims to the historically and internationally recognized lands of Azerbaijan. Growing anti-Azerbaijan sentiments in Armenia eventually led to a bloody war in the early 1990s. Armenia’s full-blown military campaign against its eastern neighbor enabled it to occupy 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s sovereign territory including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts in 1991-1994. The four-year bloody war claimed the lives of 30,000 Azerbaijanis and displaced one million others.

    Armenia has refused to pull its forces out of the occupied Azerbaijani lands despite International calls and four UN Security Council resolutions adopted at the height of the war in 1993. The counterproductive approach of Armenia’s officials in diplomatic procedures and fatal violations of the ceasefire by the country’s forces regularly trigger hostilities along the Line of Contact in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

    The sudden midnight shelling of the civilian villages of Azerbaijan by Armenia’s military in 2016 led to the most brutal military actions since the ceasefire took hold in 1994. The four-day war claimed the lives of 320 Armenian soldiers and destroyed 30 tanks and armored vehicles of various types, as well as 25 artillery complexes, according to data compiled by the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan. The military of Azerbaijan managed to liberate 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of territory from Armenia’s occupation, including the strategic Lalatapa and Talish high hills.

    The next clashes between the Armenian and Azerbaijani armies broke out on May 20 in 2018, known as Gyunnut clashes or Operation Gyunnut. The clashes and subsequent military operations of the Azerbaijani army ended in regaining the control over several occupied villages and strategic positions within the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an exclave in the southwest of Azerbaijan. By the end of May, the Nakhchivan Separate Combined Arms Army took the control back over Gyunnut, a village that has been annihilated by the Armenian forces in 1992. In addition to the village, Azerbaijan took new positions in two strategic points.

    Coronavirus: Armenia reports 13-fold increase in cases in two months

    Panorama, Armenia
    June 2 2020

    The epidemic situation in Armenian remains dire, the Head of Armenia’s National Center for Disease Control and Prevention Artavazd Vanyan stated on Tuesday.

    “We had threefold increase in coronavirus cases in April to compare with March, while in May the cases soar 13-fold in two months. That is to say after lifting the restrictions, large public gatherings followed,” Vanyan said at a briefing following the regular meeting at the Commandant’s Office.

    The Head of the Center called once again on the public to maintain safety measures and avoid organizing and attending public events.

    “If we fail to limit our interactions, the negative dynamics will continue. It is especially recommended to refrain from attending memorial ceremonies and funeral. Another problem remains people’s gatherings in the their yards in the evenings,” said Vanyan.

    Vanyan also warned against pilgrimages which may result in uncontrolled spread of the virus. 

    Why is coronavirus recovery rate falling in Armenia?

    Panorama, Armenia
    June 2 2020

    The coronavirus recovery rate keeps decreasing in Armenia, sparking concerns about the situation with the infection in the country.

    3,145 people reportedly recovered from the disease on May 25, while the recoveries stand at 3,427 on June 2, i.e. 282 patients have overcome the virus in 8 days. Only 25 coronavirus recovered were recorded in the past 24 hours.

    Panorama.am asked the Ministry of Health for comments on the issue.

    Spokeswoman Alina Nikoghosyan reminded that the ministry has switched to a new policy since May 22 when coronavirus patients showing mild symptoms are no longer hospitalized or isolated. Such people now receive treatment at their homes.

    “Their data is entered into the system and only 14 days later they are removed from the system, being declared cured,” she said.

    Accordingly, an increase in the number of recoveries can be expected on June 6, 14 days after May 22.

    In Nikoghosyan’s words, the figures published by the ministry and the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention refer to those recovered and discharged from hospitals.

    As reported earlier, the citizens receiving home treatment will not be tested for coronavirus again. 

    Armenia PM deletes comment and live broadcast at a family party from his Facebook page

    News.am, Armenia
    June 2 2020
    (PHOTOS) (PHOTOS)

    23:18, 02.06.2020
                      

    Alexander Lukashenko discusses Belarus-Armenia cooperation with Nikol Pashinyan

    TVR,  Belarus
    June 2 2020
    2 June 2020

    Belarus-Armenia cooperation was discussed by Alexander Lukashenko and Nikol Pashinyan. The leaders had a telephone conversation today. Our President congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday, wishing the Prime Minister and his family health and speedy recovery from the coronavirus infection.

    The leaders discussed the fight against the pandemic in both countries and shared their experiences in responding to the challenge. Alexander Lukashenko and Nikol Pashinyan also addressed the bilateral cooperation and the previously planned projects in various areas. They agreed to meet soon to discuss everything in person.



    Italian ambassador to Armenia: Our relations also benefit from the contributions of our communities

    Panorama, Armenia
    June 2 2020

    Italy’s Ambassador to Armenia Vincenzo Del Monaco has issued a message on the National Day of the Italian Republic celebrated on June 2. The message reads:

    “The occasion of the National Day of the Italian Republic offers me the welcome opportunity to send a warm message to the authorities of the Republic of Armenia, to the distinguished colleagues of the Diplomatic Corps, to our fellow nationals who are currently here, either as residents or not, and to the friendly Armenian people.

    On this day we celebrate the 74th anniversary of the Italian Republic. We celebrate the referendum which allowed Italy to become a republic, and to adopt the current Constitution, which to this day represents the extraordinary foundation of our civic life, through a number of principles and values dear to all of us.

    A charter that still maintains all its vitality, one that grants form and vigour to the idea of Fatherland, one that provides the regulatory framework of our political, civil and social liberties.

    The current circumstances oblige us to avoid the traditional hosting of the reception which in the previous years I had the pleasure to offer. Nevertheless, I can attest to Your closeness and Your friendship. Such feelings are renewed on this special day, but I have constantly felt them since the beginning of my tenure here in Yerevan. To my fellow nationals I assure that the Fatherland is closer to them than ever, and that physical and geographical distance from yours, as well as ours, loved ones, cannot stop us from feeling as a part of a greater whole.

    I also wish to take this opportunity to offer my gratitude to the Armenian authorities for the exceptional intensity of our bilateral relations in the last year, at the highest level and in virtually all fields. It is also true that the deep ties that bring our countries and peoples together are strengthened by our shared history, and by our common yearning for and achievement of freedom and democracy, though through different paths and times. Our relations also benefit from the contributions of both of our communities, the Italians resident in Armenia and the Armenians resident in Italy. Today relations between Armenia and Italy can also draw on relations between the European Union and Armenia.

    I wish to thank the Armenian authorities and citizens for the many messages of solidarity that were addressed to Italy and presented to me at the peak of the pandemic. Allow me now to reciprocate, expressing my sincere closeness to Armenia for the painful health crisis it is experiencing. The Armenians have been faced with enormous threats and challenges throughout their history. This one will be overcome as well, thanks to the abnegation of the healthcare personnel, to the resilience of the citizens, and to the greatest efforts of their national authorities, together with the international cooperation, starting with the European Union.

    While words can sometimes fail, music will always bring people closer. In memory of the victims of coronavirus, I propose we now watch together, clicking on the link, the concert performed by the orchestra of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, conducted by Daniele Gatti, with an extraordinary program, including Mozart, Vivaldi, Bach and Puccini.

    I also wish to express my gratitude to the Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, Sergey Smbatyan, for the virtual concert in honour of Italy that will be broadcast tomorrow, and will also be shared on our social media and Youtube. The famous notes composed by Nicola Piovani for “La Vita E’ Bella” will be performed by artists of clear renown: the orchestra director Gianluca Marcianò, the bandoneon player Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi, the violist Anna Tifu and the pianists Gloria Campaner, Roberto Cominati and Costanza Principe.

    Such beautiful harmonies, touching our deepest chords, can remind us of how Art and Beauty represent the essence of our being in this world as Italians.

    I now virtually raise my glass to Italy, to Armenia, to each and every one of our fellow nationals who reside here, to Your and Our health and prosperity.

    Viva l’Italia!

    Vincenzo Del Monaco!”

    Virtual mission to Armenia: innovation in Europe

    World Health Organization
    June 2 2020
    26 May 2020 español