Category: 2021

United States Senator Bob Menendez highlights need to pass NDAA amendment cutting aid to Azerbaijan

 09:54, 18 November, 2021

WASHINGTON, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. United States Senator Bob Menendez, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has once again emphasized the need to cut U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan following the latest attacks on Armenia.

“Reports of Armenian casualties and Armenian soldiers taken as political prisoners by Azerbaijan are deeply concerning,” the Senator said in a statement released on social media.  “Defense aid to Azerbaijan helps enable these heinous acts against ethnic Armenians. It is time to pass my NDAA amendment cutting this aid.”

On November 4, Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) announced two of the foreign policy amendments he is filing to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As the primary vehicle for authorizing defense spending for Fiscal Year 2022, Chairman Menendez’s proposed changes to the NDAA seek to significantly improve the U.S. government’s ability to track and assess the national security implications of the proliferation of Turkey’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program, as well as to prevent further exceptions to bypass a 1992 law banning U.S. military assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan. 

        Amendment Ending 907 Waiver: Prohibits the continued use of an exemption waiver of Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act. Section 907, which has been law since 1992, bans most assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan until it takes demonstrable steps to cease all blockades and other offensive uses of force against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The Government of Azerbaijan has clearly not taken these steps, yet assistance to that government has skyrocketed in recent years.

“As the regime in Baku, with Turkey’s support, continues choosing a path of violence instead of a peaceful, negotiated process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is long past time for this and all future administrations to halt this type of assistance and fully respect Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act,” said Menendez. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure this year’s NDAA continues to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests all while representing a prudent use of U.S. taxpayer dollars.”

       Amendment on Turkey’s Drone Program: Mandates the State Department and Pentagon report on Turkish drone exports since 2018 and whether those drones contain parts or technology manufactured by U.S. firms. The amendment also requires State to determine whether Turkey’s exports are a violation of the Arms Export Control Act or any other U.S. law or sanctions. Turkish drones played a decisive role in last year’s war between Armenian and Azerbaijan. Since then, Poland, Morocco, and Ukraine have purchased the Bayraktar TB2 and several other countries have expressed interest, including Angola, Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, and Rwanda.

“Turkey’s drone sales are dangerous, destabilizing and a threat to peace and human rights,”  added Menendez. “The U.S. should have no part of it, and this amendment is a recognition that we must prevent U.S. parts from being included in these Turkish weapons.”

Editing by Stepan Kocharyan

 10:20, 18 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. For the first time Armenia was elected as member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the period of 2021-2025, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The elections were held during the 41st session of the UNESCO General Conference in Paris.

Four countries were nominated for the three positions allocated in the elections: Armenia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

Armenia captured the first place with 146 votes as a result of the closed voting and was elected member of the Board.

This is the first time Armenia is elected member of the UNESCO Executive Board since its membership to the organization in 1992.

The Executive Board is one of the three constitutional organs of UNESCO (the others being the General Conference and the Secretariat) and it is elected by the General Conference.

Acting under the authority of the General Conference the Board examines the programme of work for the Organization and corresponding budget estimates submitted to it by the Director-General.

It consists of 58 Member States each with a four-year term of office.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 10:29, 18 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Defense released the identity of the soldier who was killed in action during the November 16 Azerbaijani attack on Armenia and whose body was transported from Baku to Yerevan by the Russian military.

The fallen soldier is identified as Senior Lieutenant Taron Sahakyan of the Armenian Armed Forces, born 1990. The transfer was mediated by Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov, the Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces.

The Armenian military said they continue working in direction of finding the missing troops and returning the captives.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 10:33, 18 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani armed forces opened sporadic fire in some directions of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in the Tavush province in the evening of November 17, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The fire was suppressed by countermeasures.

As of Thursday morning the situation has relatively stabilized. “As of 10:00, November 18 the situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is relatively stable,” the Ministry of Defense said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 11:11, 18 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. 1019 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 331,914, the ministry of healthcare reports.

10,074 COVID-19 tests were conducted on November 17.

1461 patients have recovered in one day. The total number of recoveries has reached 299,953.

The death toll has risen to 7183 (30 death cases have been registered in the past one day).

The number of active cases is 23,381.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 11:15, 18 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. On November 17 the Ministry of Defense of Russia made proposals regarding a preparatory phase for delimitation and demarcation of borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during the Cabinet meeting.

“During the questions and answers time in parliament yesterday, I said that since May there’ve been three proposals from Russia on delimitation and demarcation of borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and all three were basically acceptable for us and continue being acceptable. After my statements yesterday, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation made proposals regarding a preparatory phase for delimitation and demarcation. And I’d like to reiterate that these proposals are acceptable for us,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister tasked Defense Minister Suren Papikyan to clarify details with Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu to try and realize the proposals.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

 11:56, 18 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian met with Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat, the Presidential Office reports.

The sides discussed the opportunities of expanding the bilateral ties and the cooperation directions in different areas.

They both emphasized that there is a big potential for the deepening of partnership in high technologies, communication, science, education and a number of other fields.

The Armenian President and the Singaporean deputy PM also discussed the development of cooperation between the scientific-educational institutions of the two countries and the opportunities of conducting exchange programs.

Boosting cultural ties between Armenia and Singapore was also highlighted.

The Armenian President visited Singapore for the participation to Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 12:03, 18 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government today approved the 2021-2026  draft action plan.

Introducing the details of the plan at the Cabinet meeting today, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said that the package covers the strategic goals, the actions for achieving those goals, the expected results, timeframes and financial sources.

A total of 439 goals have been set, the action plan consists of 1276 measures.

“I would like to note that this action plan also reflects the implementation process of Armenia’s commitments assumed by the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU, as well as the actions to be taken within the 2.6 billion Euro aid package to be provided to Armenia under the EU economic and investment plan. This document is in accordance with both the main provisions of the EAEU strategic programs and also the strategic partnership frameworks approved by the international organizations and donors for Armenia, in particular in terms of political targets and goals”, deputy PM Grigoryan said.  

He emphasized that this document must become the government’s main working plan.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in his turn noted that everything connected with this action plan has been discussed publicly.

“The action plan includes all those measures which we have announced publicly, such as investments in education, science, infrastructure development, social assistance and other areas”, the PM said.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 12:54, 18 November, 2021

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan assures that there is an interest in making investments in Syunik province.

“Probably, at the next session of the government a program on investments to be made by a group of major Iranian companies in the Meghri free economic zone will be presented, and if approved, it will immediately start to be implemented. In addition, there are many other topics as well, for instance, tourism. We have quite a good project in Meghri, which we are doing together with the Izmirlyan foundation”, the minister told reporters after the Cabinet meeting today.

He also informed that there are many Armenian investors who invested and continue investing.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan