Category: 2021

The handover of the districts of Sanasar and Kovsakan to Azerbaijan did not stem from the November 9 trilateral statement of Yerevan, Moscow and Baku, opposition With Honor faction MP and security expert Tigran Abrahamyan told a briefing in the Armenian parliament on Friday.

He underlined that the November 9 document clearly stated that the parties were to stop in their “current positions” and stipulated the surrender of only three districts – Akna, Kashatagh and Karvachar – to Azerbaijan.

“If the administrative-territorial division in the Soviet period is taken as a basis, at the time three different districts were part of Kashatagh: Lachin, Kubatulu and Zangelan. Even if we follow this logic, it’s obvious that parts of those two districts which were under our control were not subject to surrender, otherwise it does not fit into the logic of the November 9 statement,” Abrahamyan stressed.

The lawmaker called attention to the fact that there were no talks on the details of the Goris-Kapan road when those territories were ceded to Azerbaijan.

“No one took into account the problems that may arise after the handover of those territories. As for the statements that if they had not been surrendered, a war would have erupted, Azerbaijan likewise may demand the handover of Vardenis, Goris, Kapan or Meghri. Should the Armenian authorities follow the same principle and hand over those districts, citing the risk of renewed war?” Abrahamyan said.

The oppositionist stressed there will be no chance of success if the authorities stick to this principle.

Outgoing Armenian Ambassador to Iran Artashes Tumanyan met with Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Qasemi on Thursday, October 28.

In a statement on Friday, the Armenian Embassy in Iran said issues related to the construction of the alternative Goris-Kapan road, the North-South highway and Persian Gulf-Black Sea Transport Corridor were discussed during the meeting. The sides attached importance to the implementation of the projects. 

Noting that the construction of the alternative road connecting Goris and Kapan are nearing completion and that a large-scale road construction project will launch in Armenia in 2022, Ambassador Tumanyan attached importance to the opportunity for Iranian companies to participate in the project.

At the end of the meeting, Minister Qasemi expressed the willingness of the Iranian side for cooperation and thanked Artashes Tumanyan for the work done, expressing hope that the Armenian-Iranian cooperation will continue and new programs will be implemented.

Artashes Tumanyan has been recalled from his post and will be replaced by Arsen Avagyan.

Armenian boxer Vahe Badalyan (54 kg) has reached the 1/8 final of the 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships being held in Belgrade, Serbia from October 24 to November 6.

The Armenian boxer defeated his Taipei rival Li-Yu Hung 5-0 in the 1/16 final, the Boxing Federation of Armenia reported on Friday.

He will next face Kirgiz Sanzhai Seidekmatov.

Two other Armenian boxers – Karen Tonakanyan and Arman Darchinyan – will start competing tonight.

Jivan Avetisyan’s “Gate to Heaven”, a film about the 2016 Artsakh war, has won four prestigious awards at the Ontario International Film Festival.

“Congratulations to the team behind “Gate to Heaven” for winning 4 of our prestigious awards, including best sound, music and script for an international film and best international film!” the festival said in a statement.

“We were honored to showcase this film at our festival this year,” it added.

“Gate to Heaven” centers around 50-year-old Robert Stenvall, a European journalist, who returns to Artsakh in 2016 to cover the war which has been reignited after a 22-year ceasefire. During his time in Artsakh, Stenvall meets Sophia Marti, 35, a young opera singer, who happens to be the daughter of missing photojournalist Edgar Martirosyan, whom Robert abandoned in captivity during the fall of the village of Talish in 1992. Robert and Sophia’s frequent rendezvouses ignite a passionate romance.

The film features Tatiana Spivakova, Sos Janibekyan and Naira Zakaryan in lead roles and its Armenian and Artsakh premiere took place in 2019.

“Gate to Heaven” is a co-production of Armenia, Lithuania, Finland and France.